Hello! Welcome to Keeping Up with the Joneses. Thanks for stopping by! We're a young couple living in the East Arkansas/Memphis area otherwise known as The Delta, with a love for family, friends, faith and food.

We believe that some of the best memories are created at home around the dinner table, and when entertaining those you love. This little blog is where I share recipes, wine, our home and our life. Enjoy! -Kendall

What You'll Find:

I love to try new recipes. In fact, I rarely make the same thing twice. I'm a bona-fide cookbook collector, Pinterest addict and magazine aficionado. On the blog, you'll see what I've got cooking.

I love wine, y'all, so from time to time I feature bottles I've loved. Crafts and decorating our little house are passions of mine, so you may see some of that. Thanks for stopping by!

Raspberry Truffle Brownies

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I've got a thing for chocolate and raspberries. Or chocolate and strawberries. Or chocolate and anything...

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I found this recipe on Tablespoon.com (via girlwhoateeverything), and knew I had to try it. Well, they turned out great! These brownies are rich and decadent but with an interesting spin. Keith's family kept asking 'what's in this that makes it so good!?'. That's the raspberry preserves and almond extract. Yum! Plus, I love any recipe that takes a boxed mix and dresses it up.

Raspberry Truffle Brownies

1 package Betty Crocker brownies (and oil and egg that the package calls for)
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon shortening
raspberries for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with heavy aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Mix brownie mix, eggs, and oil according to brownie directions.Bake brownies according to package directions. Let cool.

Melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips and let cool slightly. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy; add the powdered sugar, almond extract, and raspberry jam; mix well.

Stir in the melted chocolate and mix until combined. Spread the filling evenly over the cooled brownies and chill in the refrigerator.

For the glaze, melt remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips and shortening in the microwave in 30 seconds intervals or until melted. Mix well.

Drizzle glaze over chilled brownies with a fork.

Keep chilled until serving and then garnish with raspberries.

Chicken, Apple and Smoked Gouda Salad

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Folks, you should make this. Trust me.

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I was speculative at first because of the random mix of ingredients, but, it blew me away! Southern Living, once again, provides a delicious recipe!

The recipe on their website is for a large amount, but I was fixing it for just the two of us. So, I'm listing it below the way that I followed it. I added as much or as little of each item to our plates as I thought we might want.

Chicken, Apple and Smoked Gouda Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Ingredients:
1 Gala apple
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Baby spinach and spring greens mixture
shredded cooked chicken (I bought a rotisserie and used less than half)
1/4 of a red onion, sliced
Smoked Gouda cheese, grated
1-2 stalks thinly sliced celery
Sweetened dried cranberries
pecans
salt

Honey Mustard Dressing
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (I didn't have fresh, so I did a little over a Tbsp of dried)
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp ground red pepper

Preheat oven to 350

Whisk together the dressing ingredients and refrigerate until ready.

Spread pecans on a baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with salt. Place in oven while you prepare the salad.

Cut apple into slices and toss with lemon juice.

Assemble salad with greens, red onion, cranberries, celery, shredded Gouda cheese, and shredded chicken. When the pecans smell fragrant, take them out of the oven. Top the salad with the apple slices, pecans and dressing.

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This salad is seriously amazing. I could not stop eating it. In fact, I ate it way too fast. I huffed it.

The honey mustard dressing is fantastic and I know I'll make it again and again. 

I'm linking up to Tasty Tuesdays at 33 Shades of Green. Enjoy!

Credit: Southern Living August 2010

Menu Monday 3/28/11

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Happy Monday!

I don't know about you, but I used this weekend to re-charge my batteries. The lousy weather was a-okay with us. We caught up on laundry, sleep and relaxation. We cleaned out closets, snuggled and cooked. It was glorious!

Now, it's time to start a new week...and a new menu!

Menu 3-28-11

From top left:

Spaghetti - Last night, I made a big pot of homemade spaghetti for Keith's family. We had such a great dinner and enjoyed our time together even more. I'm perfecting the sauce recipe more and more. Once I get it just right, I'll share it!

Raspberry Truffle Brownies - I made these yesterday, too. They were great! The recipe and photo is from Tablespoon (via girlwhoateeverything). I've got photos, the recipe and my comments to share this week!

Get the recipe for the brownies here!

Chicken, Apple and Smoked Gouda Salad - This is a Southern Living recipe that I'm looking forward to trying. The website doesn't have a photo, so I'm borrowing abountifulkitchen.com's photo since they have made it before. Sounds like it's going to be great!

See my post all about it here.

Sesame-Soy Meatballs - This Cooking Light recipe sounds pretty darn delicious. It will definitely be something new and different for us to try!

Result: Good, and easy. We like them, but decided they definitely need SAUCE. They're screaming for it. So, I'll make this again soon and add a sauce to it, and if it tastes awesome I'll post it all here on the blog.

Crab and Grilled Corn Salad with Manchego and Cracked Pepper Breadsticks - Gosh, I have been meaning to make this forever. It just looks SO appetizing! Can't wait to see how it turns out. It's another Cooking Light creation.

Verdict: Okay. These tasted good, but not great and certainly not memorable. We did love the breadsticks though. That was the best part! However, I probably won't make the salad recipe ever again.


I'm looking forward to all of these new dishes and sharing the best ones with you throughout the week!

Wine Friday: Blufeld Riesling

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I'm so glad it's finally Friday! It's been a long week and seemed to drag for me, even though I've been really busy at work. I also have had a sinus/allergy/throat yuckiness all week. Boo.....

So, I'm pumped for the weekend! And the nice weather in store....

wine fridays

It's time for Wine Friday, folks! Here's a great white I had recently. Our friends, Ashley and Jaycob, brought this over to our Fat Tuesday dinner and I just loved it. Oh, and the bottle is so modern and cute, too!

bluefeld01b

Bluefeld Reisling
Year: 2009
Origin: Mosel, Germany
Average price: $8-9
Notes from prnewswire.com: Blufeld's flavor profile makes it a great partner for many foods, from salads to smoked or salty foods (ham, smoked trout, etc.) or for simple grilled white meats. The sweet-acid balance makes Blufeld a perfect partner for spicy cuisines that may challenge drier wines. This is a perfect choice for Chinese or Thai dishes.

Okay, let me hear from you guys - Are you liking Wine Friday? Have you tried anything I've posted? What if I turned it into a linky party where people posted on their own blogs about wine and I hosted a spot for people to link up to? Thoughts?

Have a great weekend, friends!

Roasted Sesame Pork Tenderloin with Asian Slaw

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Mmmm, this was so good!

Southern Living never disappoints, and this recipe was another great one! It was very easy to make, too. It comes from the March 2011 edition.

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Roasted Sesame Pork Tenderloin with Asian Slaw

Ingredients
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup Sesame Ginger dressing, divided
1 (1 lb) pork tenderloin
1 head napa cabbage, shredded
4 green onions, sliced
2 large carrots, grated
1 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped wasabi and soy-sauce-flavored almonds


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Besides the pork tenderloin, the above is all that you need. To me, that's an easy list!

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First, preheat oven to 450.
Whisk together 3 Tbsp soy sauce and 1/4 cup dressing.
Pour over pork tenderloin in a freezer-safe plastic bag.
Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes while you make the slaw.

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Chop the cabbage.

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Slice the green onions.

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Chop up a bunch of cilantro.

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Grate the carrots.

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Add the almonds and a 1/4 cup dressing. Stir together, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
If you're making this very far in advance, then add the almonds just before serving.

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Remove pork from marinade, discarding marinade. Place pork on a lightly greased aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. 

Bake at 450° for 20 to 25 minutes or until done. Remove from oven, and let stand 5 minutes before slicing. (For me, this took about 35 minutes to reach the done temperature of 160 for pork)


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Oh, it was SO yummy! The slaw is excellent and I know I'll make that again even as a side dish for other meals.

Enjoy!

Menu Monday 3/21/11

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Happy Monday (end of Monday now :)!

After not doing much cooking last week and being out of town over the weekend, I was so excited to get back in the kitchen! Eating out is fun, but after a while it makes me feel gross and unhealthy. So, this week's Menu Monday is full of produce! My trip to the grocery store was pretty easy yesterday; I only had to go down 3 aisles. The best stuff is around the 'outside' anyway.

Menu

From top left:

Pepper-Jack Chicken with Succotash - Recipe is from Food Network Magazine and I posted about it yesterday -mmm mmm good!

Grilled Tilapia with Pineapple Salsa - I'm looking forward to making this Pampered Chef recipe, especially because it involves grilling some fresh pineapple, yum!

Result: SPICY! Wow, the flavors in this were overbearing to us. The salsa was just too spicy. So, I'm not going to post the recipe here, because I don't plan to make it again! It was worth it just to grill a fresh pineapple though :)

Roasted Sesame Pork Tenderloin with Asian Slaw - This Southern Living recipe from March looks fantastic! I can't wait to try it.

Outcome: Loved it!!!! Get the recipe in my post here.

Salsa Chicken Salad - This is a recipe from mixingbowl.com that I really like. I've posted the recipe on the blog before - click here to get it!

Along with this 'healthier' menu is a re-focus on getting back in the gym for me. Keith is great about it (sometimes going in the morning and evening - geez), but I'm not great at the morning thing and it's difficult to leave the office in time for the evening classes. But, I'm re-prioritizing and making it a goal to get back to my regular gym habit - no excuses! Wish me luck :)

Have a great week!

Pepper-Jack Chicken with Succotash

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We had a great dinner tonight! The flavors were so fantastic!

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This is a Food Network Magazine recipe that was featured on the cover of their September 2010 issue, and I've been meaning to try it ever since. The weather was wonderful for grilling today, so we whipped this up in about thirty minutes!

Pepper-Jack Chicken with Succotash

Ingredients:
2-3 ounces pepper-jack cheese, shredded
1 cup baby arugula, roughly chopped
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for brushing
Kosher salt
Cajun spice blend
Vegetable oil (or grilling spray)
1 cup frozen lima beans, thawed
1 1/2 cups corn kernels
1 medium yellow summer squash, diced
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
Juice of 1 lime


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1) Combine the cheese with arugula in a bowl. Cut a deep 2-inch wide pocket in the thickest part of each chicken breast with a paring knife. Stuff with the arugula mixture. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and the Cajun blend.

2) Preheat a grill to high and brush the grates with vegetable oil (or spray). Grill the chicken until blackened and a thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 155 degrees, 8-10 minutes on each side. Transfer to a cutting board and slice, if desired.

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3) In the meantime, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet over high heat. Add the lima beans, squash and corn, season with salt and cook until the squash is just tender, 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice.

*You could bake this if grilling isn't an option: 400 for 15-20 minutes

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YUM! We loved the mixture in the chicken and the vegetables were so tasty. It's a new favorite!

Giveaway Winner and Wine Friday: Pinot Grigio

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Happy Friday! I took the day off work today, so I am so excited! The world is my oyster....

Before we get into this week's Wine Friday, it's time to announce the Food Network Cookbook Giveaway Winner!

Picture 1

Comment #89 was from Chelsea Jewell!

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Congrats, girl! Send me your address and I'll get this cookbook ordered. You'll have to post about any great recipes you make!

I had fun with this giveaway and loved hearing about your favorite things to cook. I'm honestly sad I can't say "Surprise! You're all getting a cookbook!" (Oprah-style). But, my hubs probably wouldn't like it if I spent that much $$ :)
I promise to do another giveaway when I reach 400 followers, and as of now, we aren't too far off!

Alright, time for WINE

wine fridays

With this warm weather we're going to have there this weekend (hallelujah!), I'm in the mood for a crisp white wine:

cavit_pinot_grigio

If you're a pinot grigio fan then you've probably had this one before. It's a great go-to wine that always satisfies.

Cavit Pinot Grigio
Year: 2009
Origin: Trentino, Italy
Average price: $8
Notes from bestcovery.com: Ranked one of the best pinot grigios under $15, Cavit is particularly light and refreshing. Fruit dances with floral throughout, and the mouth-feel is slightly dry, offering a crispness which pairs perfectly with summer salads, chilled cream soups (especially cucumber) and light chicken dishes.


Yum! Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Giveaway: Food Network Magazine Cookbook!

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Well, hey there blog friends. I've got something for you today!

Today, Food Network Magazine released their first cookbook. And, y'all know Food Network Magazine is one of my very favorite mags I get in the mail. It's amazing.

RX-FNM-Book_Food-Network-Magazine-cookbook-great-easy-meals_s3x4_al


Food Network Magazine Cookbook Features:The eagerly awaited first cookbook from the hugely popular Food Network Magazine. This 416-page cookbook is packed with 250 beautifully photographed recipes (including 50 new ten-minute desserts); fun, interactive features from cover to cover, including mix-and-match recipes with endless combinations of stir-frys, mac and cheese, and more; sneak peeks inside the Food Network stars’ home kitchens; an all-photo recipe index, and dozens of shopping and cooking tips. Every page of this new book inspires home cooks with fun (and fast) new dinner ideas. 

Sounds pretty good, right? I was thinking I'd like to order the new cookbook for myself.

But, then I thought about you guys. I might as well order 2 at once, right?! I think it's fitting since I just reached 300 followers in my Google Connect thingy in my sidebar, and when I got to 200 I did a fun giveaway! Plus, I love you guys more than my mixer and I gotta say THANKS every now and then!!

Here are the basics:
  • One lucky reader will get a copy of Food Network Magazine's new cookbook
  • To enter, leave a comment on this blog post and tell me your favorite meal or cuisine to cook! Is it breakfast, appetizers, dinner? Baking, grilling, stir-frying? Or do you just love Italian, Mexican or Asian!? I want to know!
  • To have another chance to win, leave another comment if you are a Follower in my sidebar. If not, become one, and tell me that you did!
  • Contest ends on Thursday, 3/17 at midnight and I'll announce the winner on Friday!
    ......But wait, there's more!

    cookbookmagazine
    Food Network Magazine Cookbook + 1-year Magazine Subscription

    If the giveaway winner is NOT a current subscriber to Food Network Magazine, I'll throw in a 1-year subscription, too!

    Comment away!!

    Penny's Birthday Brunch

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    This weekend was my mother-in-law's birthday, so we had a little brunch in her honor. Since spring is finally starting to show up around here, I decided to bring out some bunnies and eggs!

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    The dining room table is starting to get used more often lately, thank goodness!

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    I love any excuse to use my burlap runner. I just cut a strip of it and it's about the easiest thing to do!

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    These bunnes (and fresh flowers) make me really happy.

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    Fake egg on a string = a new napkin ring!

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    Making breakfast was a family affair! Everyone helped in some way. It was really fun!

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    We had scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, Belgium waffles and tons of fruit topping choices. Delicious!

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    For the lovely Penny, we put a candle in her waffle and sang away!

    Happy Birthday to the best mother-in-law ever. You're too sweet and kind and I just don't deserve all you do for me!! Love you :)

    Wine Friday: Malbec

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    Happy Friday, friends. I couldn't be happier that it's the weekend!

    It's been a crazy week and the best way to end one of those is with a glass of vino!!

    wine fridays

    Here's a delish Malbec that I tried recently. I really enjoyed it. It would go with just about anything.

    crios


    Crios Malbec
    Year: 2008
    Origin: Mendoza, Argentina
    Average price: $12
    Notes from vine connections.com: This is a wine that you'll want to buy by the case because it can be consumed at almost any occasion, whether at a fancy dinner party, or just curled up on the couch in front of a movie. Fun and delicious-- what more can you ask for?!



    If you spot this bottle in your local wine shop, I suggest you add it to your collection!

    Spinach-Apple Salad with Maple Cider Vinaigrette

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    GOOD SALAD.

    I'm tellin' ya.

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    Delicious.

    Spinach-Apple Salad with Maple Cider Vinaigrette

    Ingredients:
    -Sugared Curried Pecans
    1 (6 oz) package pecan halves
    2 Tbsp butter, melted
    3 Tbsp sugar
    1/4 tsp ground ginger
    1/8 tsp curry powder
    1/8 kosher salt
    1/8 tsp ground red pepper

    -Maple-Cider Vinaigrette
    1/3 cup cider vinegar
    2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
    1 Tbsp dijon mustard
    1/4 tsp kosher salt
    1/4 tsp pepper
    2/3 cup olive oil

    -Salad
    1 (10 oz) Fresh baby spinach
    1 Gala apple, thinly sliced
    1 small red onion, thinly sliced
    1 (4 oz) package goat cheese
    Optional: Grilled chicken breast

    1. Prepare Pecans: Preheat oven to 350°. Toss pecans in butter. Stir together sugar and next 4 ingredients in a bowl; add pecans, tossing to coat. Spread in a single layer in a nonstick aluminum foil-lined pan. Bake 10 to 13 minutes or until lightly browned and toasted. Cool in pan on a wire rack 20 minutes; separate pecans with a fork.

    2. Prepare Vinaigrette: Whisk together cider vinegar and next 4 ingredients. Gradually whisk in oil until well blended.

    3. Prepare Salad: Combine spinach and next 3 ingredients in a bowl. Drizzle with desired amount of Maple-Cider Vinaigrette; toss to coat. Sprinkle with pecans. Serve salad with any remaining vinaigrette.

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    This is seriously SO GOOD! The pecans are the very best part and I think I'll make them many more times just to have as a snack. Delicious!

    Recipe courtesy of Southern Living magazine.

    Scholarship Banquet

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    On Saturday night, we attended a scholarship banquet for The University of Tennessee College of Dentistry, honoring all students who received a scholarship this year.

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    My wonderful, smart, talented leader-of-a-husband got a great one. And we were honored to be there for him to receive it!

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    There were other friends of ours there to receive scholarships, too. They handed out a wide variety of them! Here we are with Miles and Caitlyn.

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    Keith received the Winfield Dunn Scholarship. Dr. Dunn is a former governor of the state of Tennessee, and the UT College of Dentistry is named after him!! So, he's kind-of a big deal!
    He was a pleasure to meet and we enjoyed sitting with him. Such a sweet, cute man!

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    Keith and Miles with their certificates

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    Just an update on Keith's progress in school, since we are often asked! He is in his third year (D3) out of a 4 year program. He will officially be Dr. Keith Jones in May of 2012, and we can't wait! There are many big career decisions and possibilities that Keith will encounter over the next year and a half. We appreciate thoughts and prayers as we go through them together!

    I'm so PROUD of you, Keith! God has big things in store for you, and for us :)

    Menu Monday 3/7/11

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    Good morning! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Ours was relaxing and low-key. It's good to have those every now and then!

    I'm excited about the menu this week, especially since Fat Tuesday is on the calendar! I LOVE Cajun food and King Cake, so once again I'll be making some good food to celebrate Mardi Gras with friends.

    menu 3-7

    From Top Left:

    Spinach-Apple Salad with Maple Cider Vinaigrette - Keith picked out this salad from one of my recipe binders. We're having it for dinner tonight after we hit the gym. We're planning to add some grilled chicken to it.

    Result: OMG, fantastic! Click here to see my post on it.

    Chicken and Sausage Gumbo - This is a quick and easy gumbo and really good! I posted the recipe here last year.

    King Cake - Yum. I just love these. I was really proud of making one from scratch last year and I'm looking forward to doing it again. Click here to see my recipe. It's time intensive, but really easy and so delicious!

    Asian Lettuce Cups - This is one of our very favorite recipes from Cooking Light. It's fantastic! Click here to get the recipe.

    Speaking of Fat Tuesday, it's also the beginning of Lent. I had never given up anything for Lent before until last year. I chose sodas (all with caffeine). I'm proud to say that after Lent I didn't pick them back up! So, it's been a year since I've had a Coke or Dr Pepper; I can't believe I've gone so long! I feel so much better without them. There's been a few times where Keith has poured one over ice and it just looked so amazing. So, I've tasted a soda a couple of times, and all it reminded me of was syrup! I wonder what I'll attempt this year and if I'll have as much success!? We'll see.

    Have a great week!

    Grilled Chicken with Cucumber Melon Salsa

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    Fruity, fresh and delicious.

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    This was our dinner tonight and we loved it! It's a Cooking Light recipe from last summer, and it was so refreshing. Very simple and healthy. I made a few alterations (mostly out of necessity), so below is the recipe!

    Grilled Chicken with Cucumber Melon Salsa

    Ingredients:
    1 cup chopped honeydew melon (my store didn't have any today, so I did without it)
    1 cup chopped cantaloupe
    1/2 cup grapefruit segments (my addition! and the pink color looks great)
    1/2 cup diced peeled cucumber
    1/4 cup diced red onion
    1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
    1 small lime, zested, and all juice from the lime you can squeeze out
    1/2 of one jalapeno, seeded and minced
    1 Tbsp sugar (versus the recommended agave nectar)
    salt and pepper
    4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
    Cooking spray

    Prepare salsa first by combining all ingredients through sugar.

    Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt & pepper. Spray with cooking spray. Place on grill rack and cook 5 minutes on each side or until done. (We did ours inside on a grill pan because the weather was kind-of chilly tonight)

    Serve the salsa on top of the chicken. We also had some couscous seasoned with lemon pepper and it made for a great side. I did find myself wishing we had some Kings' Hawaiian bread rolls, too!

    The salsa makes plenty and would be great on a number of other things (shrimp, quesadillas, etc.)

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    Enjoy!

    Wine Friday: Red Blend

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    Happy, happy Friday! Wherever you are, I hope you are having a great day and are looking forward to the weekend! I am in Deerfield Beach, Florida, for a business trip and will be flying back home this afternoon. It's been wonderful, and it doesn't hurt to have such a lovely backdrop for meetings!

    wine fridays

    On this particular Wine Friday, I wanted to share with you a great bottle that I've had several times, and enjoyed again this past weekend.

    Seven_Daughters_Red_Blend


    Seven Daughter's Red Winemakers Blend
    Origin: California
    Average price: $9
    Notes from their website: Seven Daughters Red Winemaker’s Blend tempts the taste buds with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Syrah, Carignane and Sangiovese. Be prepared to be seduced by the dark red fruit on the palate, complemented by alluring aromas of vanilla and lavender and a provocative peppery finish.



    So good! And such a cute, fun bottle, too!

    Vanilla Buttercream Cake with Chocolate Ganache

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    Watch out. This is cake #2 in one week.

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    And it's a doozie. Quite good!

    There's a good reason why I've been so busy baking! I've been asked to donate a cake for a local alzheimer's association fund raising event this Saturday. Apparently, they sell slices of cake for $8, so it has to be great! I wanted to try two new recipes and see which was best. I cut a slice of each cake for us and took the rest to work, where they were both promptly devoured and voted on!

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    Vanilla Buttercream Cake with Chocolate Ganache

    Ingredients:
    cake-
    1/2 cup butter, softened
    1/2 vegetable shortening
    2 cups sugar
    4 large eggs, separated
    3 cups all-purpose flour
    2 tsp baking powder
    1/2 tsp salt
    1/2 cup whole milk
    1/3 cup, plus 1 Tbsp whole buttermilk
    1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
    2 Tbsp vanilla extract

    vanilla buttercream-
    1 1/2 cups butter, softened
    1 cup vegetable shortening
    8 cups confectioners' sugar
    2 tsp vanilla extract

    chocolate ganache-
    3/4 heavy whipping cream
    5 (1 oz) squares semisweet chocolate

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    -Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 3 9-inch cake pans (or use Pam for baking)

    -In a large bowl, beat butter and shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add sugar, beating until fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

    -In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.

    -In a small bowl, combine milk, buttermilk, cream and vanilla.

    -Add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternatively with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined.

    -In a medium bowl, beat egg whites at medium speed with an electric mixer until stiff. Gently fold egg whites into batter.

    -Spoon batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 22-24 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

    -Vanilla Buttercream: In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Spread in between layers and on top and sides of cake. Place cake in freezer for 30 minutes.

    -Chocolate Ganache: Heat whipping cream over low heat until warm, but not boiling. Remove from heat and add chocolate squares. Allow to melt, stir together and let it sit for a while to thicken. You want it to drop from your spoon instead of being runny. Pour over top of cake and push to edges to let it run over. Garnish with fruit. Store in refrigerator.


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    It was a very, very good cake, and really beautiful, too. The recipe came from a Paula Deen magazine, so it is obviously decadent and best reserved for special occasions! Yum yum.

    PS - the votes were split between the two cakes :)