Gooey Butter Cake/Bars

We Love Gooey Butter Cake/Bars. I dont make these alot because I love them so much & eat too many. I finally broke down & made a batch after my poor husband asked me about 7 months ago to make some, lol.

Gooey Butter Cake/Bars
1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
Filling
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside. Still using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth; add eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioners' sugar and beat well. Reduce speed of mixer and slowly pour in butter. Mix well. Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake it past that point. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares.

I love Soup...

Yes I do,
I love soup.
How bout you?

The other day I stopped in at Happier Than A Pig In Mud blog & seen a yummy soup recipe she had posted Vegetable Beef and Barley Soup Crock Pot Version & it looked so good, I said I was gonna make it one day... well heres my version...

...Simple Good Soup...

~ 1 lb cooked lean ground beef drained, 2 bags frozen mixed veggies, 2 huge cans chicken broth, 1 can diced tomatoes w/green chilies, 1 can black beans drained rinsed, 1 cup barley, garlic, spices... throw everything in a big ol pot, bring to boil then simmer for a bit. I let it simmer 3.5-4 hours.

* This was my 1st time buyin & cookin barley... I like it :)

I Love Baked Eggplant Parmesan...

I've never even ate eggplant til this past weekend... I've always wanted to make eggplant parmesan, dont know why just thought it looked good, so over the weekend I bought 3 eggplants. On Saturday I looked up a recipe & make Baked Eggplant Parmesan for the 1st time, it was soooo good, taste like Lasagna & I love me some Lasagna. I think Brian & I were the only ones who ate it... Kaylin wouldnt touch it with a 10 foot pole, its a vegetable & the only veggies she eats is corn & iceberg lettuce. Blake & Dylan both asked me if it had any meat in it... boys. Well sorry to tell ya kids but this recipe is a keep in mommas kitchen... Yummy :P

Baked Eggplant Parmesan
(to read original recipe click H-E-R-E )

Ingredients

Eggplants, sliced lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick pieces (about eight) (I used 2 eggplants)

2 eggs, beaten

Italian break crumbs or make your own.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 (15 oz) can of diced tomatoes

1 (25-ounce) jar pasta sauce

shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Method

Preheat oven with a baking sheet inside to 375°F. Coat eggplant slices with beaten egg, then bread crumbs. Spread oil on hot baking sheet and place eggplant slices on it in a single layer. Bake 15 minutes, flip and bake another 10 minutes.

Increase oven temperature to 475°F. In an 8 x 10-inch ovenproof dish, layer pasta sauce, then eggplant, and top with cheeses. Repeat, finishing with cheese. Bake until the cheese melts and turns golden in spots, about 15 minutes.

Crochet By Jen

Hello~ I've started a new blog because 2 is not enough, lol. No I just wanted a blog for my crochet so if ya want check it out & follow... Crochet By Jen

Alittle More On V-Day

Kay & I munchin on some V-day chocolate later that night...
Dylan ate some with us too.

Valentines Day...

Hope you all had a nice Valentines Day... I did. Heres how we spent the day... Honey had a doctors appointment so I went with him, then the feed store, save a lot & then we had lunch at the local Chinese restaurant. We got home honey cleaned family room carpet & I fixed dessert, then started dinner. The boys & a friend had dinner with us, Kaylin & Mark went on a date. These are the kinda days I cherish.

I am not a good fried chicken maker until today... today I made the best darn fried chicken followin these directions How to make delicious pan fried chicken legs (I also added 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to the flour mixture).

Dylan asked me last nigh if I would make this today.
Recipe To The Ice Cream Sandwich Cake H-E-R-E

***Cute Valentine Quotes That Are Sooooo Me :)

(Honestly I dont care about Valentines Day... well I like it & everything but I just dont see the big deal, I love my honey & he loves me, we dont need one day out of the year to show it. But it was very sweet of my honey to make me a card & get me a box of chocolate that I will share with the family. OOo & his Valentines Day gift is a nice foot rub... with lotion, lol )

Dear Honey... I wanted to send you something Romantic for Valentines, but the mailman told me to get out of the mailbox ;)

Who needs Candy and Flowers for Valentine's Day? Give me a clean house and all the laundry done. And I'll have the Sweetest Heart around

Valentine's Day is really everyday of the year to show the love you have for that special someone. Show it and live it each day, not just on Feb. 14th.

Does not need one day to know that I am LOVED -I know everyday because I have one very special guy

To My Husband: Thank you for putting up with me, being there for me, and loving me in your own special way.

I'm linkin up with The Country Homemaker Hop- Week 7

My 1st Amigurumi Doll

...Crochet by Jen ...

Someone on my husbands side of the family made this for Blake when he was born... I've always loved it & thought it was so cute. I've always wanted to try to make one, so yesterday I did...

I think he turned out so cute...

I didnt have a pattern to go by, I just looked at the original & did it.

Kaylin & Mark 1 Year...

...Young Love Is So Sweet...

My daughter & her boyfriend had their

1 year dating anniversary on Feb. 7

* They're actually engaged, happened a few weeks/month ago. Cheers to a long engagement...

Citrus Juicer... I love it.

We bought a handy dandy lil citrus juicer over the weekend & we have been using the heck out of! Sunday we juices oranges for fresh oranges, got 64 oz. Yesterday I zested & juiced 28 lemons, then froze the zest in a container & the juice in ice cube trays... which I need to take out today & put in freezer bags for later use.

This mornin I juiced some tangerines & added the juice to my banana blueberry breakfast smoothie :)

I Married My Best Friend 18 Years Ago...

When I look at my life, my kids and my spouse,
 I realize just why God put me on this earth and how blessed I truly am...

When I'm an old lady, I want to sit on a porch swing with the man I love, holding hands, sipping iced tea & swatting mosquitoes.

Honey bought me some pretty flowers

The he cooked breakfast this mornin while I was out doin my barnyard chores... it was pretty nice to come in to a nice warm breakfast I didnt have to cook ;)


He made... french toast, eggs with peppers in em, sausage & plantain

For our 18th Wedding Anniversary ya wanna know how we spent it... Well on Saturday we spent quality time together goin to the feed store, Lowes, the Wal-Mart & then to Cracker Barrel (we got a gift card for Christmas & decided to use it). Then we came home, had our 2 sons help us bring all our goodies in from shoppin, then I went out to feed my animals, worked in the kitchen freezin grapes, then later honey watch the Kentucky game and I crocheted. Today I think we are takin the teenagers for haircuts. To some this might not sound like a very nice 18th wedding anniversary but to me it is. It doesnt matter what we do as long as we do it together. I love you honey.

*** L O V E ; love isn't about finding someone perfect its about finding someone imperfect & seeing them perfectly

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Banana Smoothie
(to read original recipe click on words above)

1/2 cup goat milk
1/2 cup crushed ice
1 tablespoon sugar ( I didnt have any honey... see why I need bees, lol)
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 frozen sliced ripe large banana (mine was not frozen)
2 tablespoons of goat yogurt

Combine milk, ice, sugar, nutmeg and the banana in a blender. Press the top on tightly then process for 2 minutes or until smooth. Add the yogurt and process just until blended. Enjoy.


Banana Bread
(to read original recipe click on words above)

2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 medium (1 cup) ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray, line the bottom with parchment paper and spray the paper with cooking spray.

Combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl whisk bananas, eggs oil, milk and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula just until moistened. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool bread in the pan for 10 minutes before removing from the pan and cooling completely on a wire rack.

* I baked 4 loaves today, 2 with choc. chips & 2 without. ( I gave my momma 1 loaf with choc. chips).


I smashed up 2 bananas & put them in baggies to freeze (12 baggies)... Gonna use them in makin more bread, smoothies & banana ice cream, then I cut up bananas & filled 2 freezer gallon bags. I also cut some bananas in half, put a stick in em & frozen for choc. covered frozen bananas :)

Stay tuned for more food post... I worked alot in the kitchen today ;)

February Beanie Special...

For the month of February I'm doin a special on my regular style beanies... They will only be $5.00 (plus shipping) and 1 color shown above & any size. Put your order in today. If I run out of a color sorry you'll have to pick another. Thanks, Jen

Click H-E-R-E to see what colors are available :)