In the Beginning!!

So this is my first time at having a blog....thanks to my daughter, Tiffany for helping me set it up! (and yes, Jasmine, thanks to you as well!)

Tiffany has been doing a cooking blog for a while now, and my two children still at home keep talking about all the wonderful recipes she has been making. Jasmine, my youngest, even asked if she could go and spend the summer at Tiff's house...I guess she is tired of fast food??

Anyway, due to family circumstances...taking care of my invalid mother-in-law (who has now left us for greener pastures) and one of my daughters getting cancer during pregnancy (which required my traveling from Louisiana to Utah every two weeks to take care of her and my beautiful grand daughter, born 2 months early--due to the cancer) our family completely quit having meals together as a family...and yes, fast food became the food of "choice".

As Tiffany has been talking about her experience with her 'cooking blog groups' and how it is more 'inspiring', ie peer pressure of having to report somewhere, I decided to take the plunge and actually start cooking for my family and trying to have family meals again. I mean, what is my future daughter-in-law going to have to feel pressure for if my son NEVER makes the statement "This doesn't taste as good as MOM made it". So to the pleasure of my family I am cooking, and blogging! (not sure they care as much about the whole blogging bit!)

I have some wonderful cookbooks that I believe are only available in Canada called "Company's Coming" which have been my favorite for years. I have only made a handful of recipes from them, but every one I have made has been a winner. After we moved from Canada, Tiffany continued to buy me more of these favorite cookbooks, so I have quite a selection. Sooo, once a week I am going to make a recipe from these books (I was going to just skip around in the books as the mood hit, but Jasmine suggested I take one book at a time, and go straight thru it...yes as most mothers who ADORE their kids, I am also ruled by them...why fight it or deny it! I love them too much!)

And then I am going to do a second meal, or recipe as the case may be for the crock pot. I happen to love the thought of crock pots, but have found that most meals made in the crock pot taste the same, so I am really hoping to find that these wonderful cooks who are doing crock pot recipes will give me a love for my crock pot and the freedom it suggests!

AND as I said above, since my two children left with me at home are always lusting after Tiffany's recipes, I have promised to add the ones she suggests as time permits...

I already did my first meal with my Company's Coming cookbook this week, but as I was waiting for Tiffany's arrival to show me just how to 'blog' my recipes, I didn't take any pictures. The recipe I did was One-Dish Eggs as well as the cherry almond muffins that were pictured with it. Some might think this sounds like a breakfast meal, but I served it for dinner. Hey my family is just thrilled to eat something homemade...they have had days where cereal was for dinner (sad, but true) so they aren't real picky if it's a breakfast sounding meal or not.

My son called on his way home that night and let me know he had already eaten at his friend's house (apparently the mom 'cooks' and he couldn't resist the opportunity of REAL home cooked food) I was a bit disappointed, but after reminding him I was trying to do family dinner time again, he promised to at least sit with us for the meal.

When he walked in the door, his first comment was what smells so good? It smells like cookies or something, and when we sat down to eat, he ate along with us without anymore encouragement. The family loved both recipes, and Tristan (my son) had to ask if I had anymore of the boxes that made the muffins? When I explained that I actually made them from scratch, he ask if I wrote down what I had done, so I could make them again! lol. Hey---I already admitted it's been awhile since we had regular meals! He was thrilled to find it was an actual recipe that could be repeated! So, my start has been encouraging.

I will include the recipes, and when I make them again I promise pictures!

One-Dish Eggs
6 Bacon Slices, diced (I actually used my kitchen shears, knife wasn't doing as well)
1/3 cup Chopped Onion
1 1/2 cups Frozen hash brown potatoes
1 Tbsp finely diced green pepper
1 Tbsp finely diced red pepper
1/2 tsp Dill weed
1/8 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Pepper

6 Large eggs
1/2 cup Milk

Fresh dill sprigs, for garnish (I forgot about these, oops)

Fry bacon and onion in large frying pan on medium-high for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until onion is golden. Transfer to small bowl using slotted spoon. Drain fat, reserving 1 tbsp in frying pan.

Add hash brown potatoes, both peppers, dill weed, salt and pepper to same frying pan. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add bacon mixture. Stir.

Beat eggs and milk together in small bowl. Add to bacon mixture. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly using wide spatula, until eggs are cooked but not dry.
Garnish with dill sprigs. Makes 3 1/2 cups and serves 4.

Cherry Almond Muffins
For even faster preparation, combine and cover dry ingredients in the morning, or even the night before, until ready to add wet ingredients just before baking. Toast almonds ahead of time too.

2 cups All-purpose flour
1 Tbsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup Dried cherries

1/4 cup hard margarine (or butter) softened
1/3 Granulated sugar
1 Large egg
3/4 cup Milk
1/2 tsp Almond flavouring

Topping
1 Tbsp Granulated sugar
1/4 cup Ground almonds, toasted

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and cherries in large bowl. Make a well in centre.

Cream margarine and sugar together in medium bowl. Beat in egg. Add milk and flavouring. Stir. Pour into well. Stir until just moistened. Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full.

Topping
Combine sugar and almonds in small bowl. Sprinkle over muffin batter. Bake in 400 degree F oven for 18 to 20 minutes until wooden pick inserted in centre of muffin comes out clean. Let stand in pan for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool. Makes 12 muffins.