Homemade Parmesan Ranch Salad Dressing

Kim and family were coming up again on Sunday for the day.  She requested burgers and corn for dinner lol, I made burgers (recipe to follow another day), I bought fresh corn on the cob and I am making 2 salads.  I decided on a regular tossed salad and a doctored up coleslaw (recipe for this to follow another day too lol), so I thought I would make a homemade salad dressing for the regular salad… and who doesn’t love ranch dressing??? AND what could be easier than tossing all the ingredients in a mason jar and shaking?

Sandie

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cake

It’s been a while since I’ve made a fancied up cake for dessert. Since we were having “company” on Sunday I thought it was the perfect time to make one.

This time I decided on a chocolate cake base with a peanut butter icing and decorated with peanut butter cups!  Chocolate and peanut butter… does it get any better?

Sandie

Cheesy Dill Pickle Bread

Yes, I do know it sounds weird but it certainly makes up for it in taste.  I don’t know about anyone else but anything dill pickle is awesome in my books.  Dill pickles have always been a staple in our house, my kids actually teethed on them lol, and still love them to this day. Being able to bake them into a loaf of cheesy bread, well that is just another wonderful way to enjoy them!

While this is a baking soda bread (not my favourite type of bread to make) it was worth taking a chance away from my usual yeast breads!

Sandie

Pork Chops in the Crock Pot

I made some really tasty pork chops in the crock pot the other night for dinner.  Both Chris and Dillon cleared their plates.  There was a really good sale on pork chops when I did the grocery shopping so I made way more than what I needed for dinner that night but I put the remaining pork chops in an aluminum pan to freeze for a quick dinner one night that I don’t feel like cooking.  You’ve got to love those nights and the knowledge you have something ready made that you just have to pull out of the freezer and reheat!  I really like precooking when I am working.  That and of course, crock pot meals!

But fork tender pork chops, smothered in a thick BBQ type sauce, served with potatoes boiled in minced garlic and chicken broth, definitely take the cake!

Sandie

Air Fryer – French Fries

I don’t know why I’ve never posted an air fryer recipe yet.  Dillon bought me one, for my birthday I think.  It took a few tries to get the French fries down pat… I either over cooked them, undercooked them or they were just tasteless…until the other day lol.

All it took was some olive oil and a few spices, cooking them at the right temperature and we had some delicious fries to go with the Burgers I made the other night!!!

Sandie

Smokehouse Burgers with Caramelized Red Onion and Burger Sauce

Here I am experimenting with burger flavours again.  With a fresh bottle of liquid smoke in the cupboard it was destined to be added to these burgers.

These burgers again received kudos from Chris and Dillon and will be added to our burger rotation!

Sandie

Root Beer BBQ Sauce

I know, it doesn’t sound all that appealing when you first read the title but this BBQ sauce is worth trying.  The root beer gives it just the right amount of sweetness and makes anything you put it on really, really good!

I used it the other night on chicken legs but you can use it on pork chops, ribs, whatever you like to BBQ and it will be absolutely delicious!

 

Sandie

Buffalo Chicken Taco Bowls

We don’t generally make our tacos using chicken so I decided to change things up a bit last week and not only make taco boats instead of using regular taco shells, I used chicken and buffalo sauce to make these.

Chris ended up burning the inside of his mouth getting into them too quickly but both of “the boys” ate 4 each and then Dillon finished off the last 4 the next day for lunch.  That to me is a hit lol!

Sandie

Apple Dijon Pork Tenderloin (and Veggies)

Yesterday was actually a cooler, dreary sort of day.  Not a day that you particularly feel like cooking, let alone BBQing…. so I made a one pan dinner for the boys and it was a big hit.  I love one pan dinners…. only one dish once it’s oven ready and if you are feeling as lazy as I did yesterday that one pan can be a recyclable aluminum pan lol!

Sandie

Fish Soft Toy

Let me start by saying my grandbaby loves fish for some reason… maybe the bright colors?

Yesterday I felt like making something but didn’t feel like embarking on a big, involved project. When I was trying to think of what to make I remembered the cute little knitting machine/loom Chris bought me for Christmas.

My original idea was to make a “tube” doll, the kind where you knit a tube of varying coloured stripes and sew lines through the stuffed tube to form the arms and legs.

Somehow I ended up making a fish lol. I guess the doll will be next!!!

As with the doll, I started by “knitting” a striped tube in the colours I wanted my fish to be.

I crocheted lips on the gathered end of the fish. I did 2 rows of slip stitch, single crochet, 3 double crochet (in the same space), single crochet, slip stitch, and this formed the fish lips.

Next I added fins. I single crocheted across 9 stitches on each side (10 for the top fin), and then worked single crochet rows with a decrease stitch at the beginning and end of one side to taper the fins until I got down to 3 stitches. I would the ends in and my fish had fins!

Next I stuffed the fish and crocheted closed the tail end. I ran a gathering stitch where I wanted the tail to start , and to hold the stuffing in.

I crocheted 2 little circles for eyes by chaining 2 and then working 7 single crochet in the second single crochet and then sewed a white line in the middle of the black circles.

I decided the fish needed something else, so I ran rows of single crochet around the fish where the colours of the stripes met.

And my Fish Soft Toy was done and ready to add to the fish collection for my grandbaby!!!

Sandie