Prepared Pantry Blueberry White Chocolate Muffins

So I debated about sharing this since it calls for tidbits and flavor you can only get at the Prepared Pantry.  But if you are able to pick up these items it so worth it.  If not you could use the base recipe and makes substitutions.  I made this while camping with my parents and my mom declared it one of the best muffins she has ever had.  Nuf said.
Here is the recipe.  I used blueberry tidbits instead and no walnuts.

Red Velvet Cookies-to die for!!

Just tried these red velvet cookies made out of red velvet cake mix.  Soooo good!!

Cafe Rio Pulled Pork

I was in charge of girls night this month and we had Cafe Rio (and Cupcake Wars as previously mentioned).  So I assigned out all of the different toppings but I was in charge of one pot of meat.

Here is the recipe I used and it is pretty danged good.  Great on sandwhiches too.  And easy.

Here's the recipe!  I did exacty what she said.  I did two smallish pork roasts so I did double the sauce.

Friendship Bread Goldmine

Have you ever gotten friendship bread or a friendship bread starter?
If not it's kind of like sourdough bread where you have a starter and you can keep refreshing it and using it and giving (and possibly annoying) all of your neighbors. 
I did once.  The bread was quite good but I wasn't sure it if it was sooo much better than regular sweet bread and you had to babysit for ten days before you could make it.
Plus I had to find three friends who wanted to take the starter after it had mulitiplied.  So the next time I was asked I said no.
Then I read the book, "Friendship Bread" which I loved.  And I learned that you can make tons of variations on the original.
So, I just thought I would share this site with you in case you were ever offered some friendship bread starter.  The possibilities are endless!

Check it out here.

Blueberry Oat Scones

Tried these this morning.  Delish!! Next time if I have lemons on hand I think I will add some lemon zest.

Pizza-Nini

I just made up an awesome dinner tonight.  I was cooking something in the crock-pot and it was no where near done when the troops starting getting ravenous. 

So, luckily I was at Sam's early today and they had a bag of Ciabatta Rolls (8 large rolls for about $3.50).
I have a weakness for ciabatta so I grabbed a bag knowing I could make something awesome out of them.

So, basically we put pizza sauce, turkey pepperoni, olives, and cheese in the roll, then cooked them in my panini maker (Christmas present-love it!), until bread was crispy and cheese was melty.

Yummmmmm!!!!

I'm already thinking up my next filling when I pick a bag again.

And I have dinner all ready for tomorrow.  Bonus!

Alton Brown's Stove Top Mac N Cheese

We tried this mac n cheese recipe last night.  This is my favorite homemade mac n cheese recipe I have ever tried and it was the easiest because you usually have to cook your noodles then bake,  because this is all on the stove.  I have usually found my homemade versions a bit bland too, but the hot sauce (don't worry- you can't tell it's in there), the dry mustard, and the Kosher salt really help boost up the flavor.  This was so easy and good that it will definetly be a keeper.

Almost Famous Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I got this from Food Network Magazine.  They were trying to knock-off a soup from a restaurant called Panera Bread.  It is the best broccoli cheddar soup I have tried.  And the loads of broccoli more than make up for the half and half right? The soup is pureed so the kids aren't whining about big pieces of veggie.  Served in a bread bowl or with some yummy rolls or fresh bread.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

6 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth (I made up three chicken bouilion cubes)
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cups broccoli florets (fresh, or frozen-slightly thawed)
1 large carrot, diced
2 1/2 cups grated cheese (any combo of white or yellow)

1. Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  Whisk in the flour and cook until golden, 3-4 minutes, then gradually whisk in the half-and-half until smooth.  Add the chicken broth, bay leaves and nutmeg, then season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, until thickened, about 20 minutes.
2.  Add the  broccoli and carrot the broth mixture and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaves,  Puree the soup in batches until smooth; you'll still have flecks of carrot and broccoli.  Return to the pot.
3. Add the cheese to the soup and whisk over medium heat until melted.  Add up to 3/4 cup water if the soup is too thick.  Ladle into bread bowls and garnish with cheese.

Brazilian Lemonade

Last night for FHE, I tried the Brazilian Lemonade.  I don't know why it is called lemonade because it is made with limes, but you could call in garbage and it would still be good. I followed the recipe exactly and it was so good.  Tristan thought it would be too sour, but it wasn't at all.  I will definitely make this again.

Welcome

It's that time of year when Julie hasn't had enough adult conversation and does crazy things.  And you get to be a part of it!  If you got invited to this blog, I thought you might be interested in sharing recipes.  I know there is a million recipe sites out there, but the purpose of this one is to share amongst friends new recipes we have tried and for you to review how you liked it.
There aren't many rules.  Feel free to participate as much or as little as you want to.  It's not a private blog, but the purpose isn't to gain readership from strangers, but more to share recipes amongst friends.
I will give all authors admin priveleges so feel free to invite other people who you think would enjoy this exchange.
I was thinking that mostly we would post new recipes we have tried, and not so much a huge list of family favorites from years ago.  But if you do, the recipes police won't come.  I guess it is just the "one" in me and that just want the new and exciting recipes.
In the labels if you could label four things:
1) Your Name
2) Recipe Category (desserts, bread, etc)
3)Your rating: 1-5 Stars
4) Difficulty level: easy, moderate, easy-but time consuming, difficult etc.

Also, please only include recipes that you have tried, not ones that you want to try.  Please list the source you got the recipe as much as possible. If you got the recipe online you can just include the link and not the recipe.

Thanks! I hope this is fun and helpful.