Foodie Friday

So this week saw the end of Southern Plate/Pioneer Woman month.  It also didn't see much cooking.  I'm making a big promise to myself that now that the holiday season is completely over and life is returning  to normal I will get back to cooking 4 - 6 nights a week.

This week I made -

Chef of the Month

Big Juicy Burgers  from Christy Jordan's Come Home to Supper -
There really wasn't much to these burgers but oh my they were good.  I topped them with some sharp cheddar and bacon and it was seriously good.

For the Tornado's birthday dinner I made the Four Cheese Macaroni and was really impressed with it.  My brother-in-law who is not a mac & cheese fan got seconds and then asked for the recipe.

Also, from the Tornado's birthday dinner was Christy Jordan's #5 BBQ Sauce from her Southern Plate book.  This sauce was good and involves dumping ingredients into a pot and letting it simmer.  I really liked that it didn't scream doctored up ketchup like so many barbecue sauces do.  The flavor was a little more complex and tasted delicious on chicken.  My only problem was that it was a little thinner than I like but maybe a little more time simmering would thicken it up.

Tuesday we spent New Year's Eve at Chuck-e-Cheese because we know how to party.  This is a tradition we had when the older kids were little and it was always a lot of fun.  The Tornado saw a commercial for it on Disney Jr. and has been bugging us ever since.  So New Year's Eve we loaded up and went with 1 newly 4 year old and 4 teenagers (Emma brought her boyfriend).  As usual the mouse delivered and we all had a lot of fun.  The Tornado is already pushing to go again.

For New Year's day I tried out the Pioneer Woman's Hoppin' John from her The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays.  I modified it by leaving out all the peppers and using bacon instead of a ham hock.  Have you ever tried to find a ham hock on December 31st?  It's not happening, at least not here in the South.  I normally don't like black eyed peas of any sort but I thought these were pretty good.  J prefers canned.  There's not much I can do for him.  I also make ham and fired potatoes.  No greens though because we don't like them.  Since I think they're traditionally supposed to bring money in the new year this may explain some things about our finances.

Thursday we had lunch at Smashburger at 2:30.  My cheeseburger and sweet potato fries were fantastic and pretty much eliminated the need for dinner.  Luckily, no one else wanted any either.

Pinterest Recipes

Honey Rolls from the Pastry Affair - these rolls made an appearance on New Year's Day.  I've made them several times before and they're really good.  They are Ringo's absolute favorite and he'd had a rough New Year's Eve.  My only problem with these rolls is that I tend to make them too big so when they're browned on top there is still a little ribbon of uncooked dough in the middle.  If I made them like she does they'd be perfect.