P B & B

No, not P B & J, but P B & B, which stands for Peanut Butter and Banana. Elvis had it goin on man because this combination is outstanding. I don't put mine on bread though. Instead, I use the Quaker Fat Free Caramel Cakes. OMG!!! These are sooooo good. I mean, really folks, they are caramel and fat free. Totally a win win right?

So, I just take two caramel cakes and slather on (yes, I really do slather it on and the word slather is a funny word, it reminds me of Slytherin from Harry Potter, but anywho. Man, do I ever digress. Ha!) Better N' Peanut Butter (one of the best peanut butters out there) and then slice up some bananas on top. Mmmmmmm, sooooooo good!!! And soooooo good for you too!!! It is only about 4 WW points and so it is the perfect snack. This is definitely one of my go to staples. Seriously I have this snack at least 2-3 or more times per week. It is fab-u-lous!!!! Your kids will love them. heck, your adults will love them too! :)

Do you use rice or corn cakes and if so which do you like and what do you put on them?

Mellow Mushroom = Goooooood

I felt like I had to put the goooooood like that because it is supposed to be a mellow place and so that means talking slowly right? Ha! What the heck am I talking about right? Well, when my mom and I were in Tennessee and in Pigeon Forge we ate one night at this pizza place called the Mellow Mushroom! The outside is so cool looking and so we needed to check it out. The inside was so cool too. Very mellow indeed. Lots of tie-dye and lava lamps. Ha! Makes me wonder what the owners were thinking (or not thinking at all) when they designed the place. :)

We started out with cheese garlic bread, which is always one of my favorites. If it's on the menu and I am at a pizza place I am 100% guaranteed to order it for an appetizer! It is just so good. This was OMG!!!! so gooey and cheesy and fab-u-lous!!! And there was a ton of it. Yep, my mom and I ate the whole thing too!!!

Then we ordered a pizza. Man, I tell there was a ton to choose from. You could order a pizza and add on your own toppings, but that can get pricey especially if you are like me and love a ton of pizza toppings. So, we choose the white pizza, which is a favorite of mine. It had olive oil, goat cheese, another kind of cheese I cannot remember now, tomatoes, and roasted red peppers. OMG!!! really, really good!! We each had two pieces of pizza and took the two other pieces along with us and then had them in the car on the way home the next day. I love cold pizza the next day. Seriously, it has been my go to staple for breakfast many many times.

I think the Mellow Mushroom is a chain in the south right? Have you ever heard of it or been there?

Double Chocolate What???

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread that's what!! Yep, double chocolate zucchini bread. It is FAB-U-LOUS!!!!!!!! Seriously, you've got to try this. You know you always have so many zucchinis in your garden and so what do you do, make zucchini bread, zucchini pancakes, grill it, etc. Who would've thunk it that you could add chocolate and even double chocolate? OMG!!! Soooo incredible. And it is so simple!

First you take 2 zucchinis and peel them. You can leave the skin on (it won't change the taste), but I always peel mine.

Next, grate the zucchini. I just use a box grater.

Then, in one bowl mix together 4 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of cocoa (I use Hershey's powdered kind), 1 1/2 cups of sugar, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 3/4 tsp. of salt, 1 tsp. of cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp. of nutmeg.

In a separate bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups of oil, 3 eggs, 1 1/2 cups of milk, and 2 tsp. vanilla.

At intervals add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until it is fully mixed.

Then add in 1 cup of chocolate chips.

Pour into 2 greased loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then remove from the pans and cool completely.

DELICIOUS!!!!! You will never even know this has zucchini in it! C'mon your kids will love this and you will get them to eat some vegetables too! Plus!

Poppy Seed Chicken for the 91st!

Yesterday we had our 91st family reunion! yep, you read correctly, my father's side of the family has been getting together every summer for 91 years now!! What a feat it will be at 100 years!!!

We always do potluck and I am always thinking weeks in advance of what I would like to make. And now because of this blog a few family members are looking forward to it. Ha! :) Well, I decided to make Poppy Seed Chicken. I got the recipe out of some magazine. I cannot remember which one though. It was really good and super simple to make. It would be perfect for a potluck dinner or to make for someone who has fallen ill or for your own family. It is quick too and so it should be a go-to dinner for your family on nights when you are beat but still want something hot and filling.

First you boil enough chicken for 7 cups. I used 6 good-sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I always boil my chicken when I'm using it in a casserole. It's just so much easier. Once it was cooled off I just diced it up. Well, actually it was more like pulling it apart than dicing. :)

While the chicken was boiling I sliced two 8-oz packages of Portabello mushrooms.

Cook the sliced mushrooms in a skillet with 1 tbsp. of butter until browned.

Add the sliced mushrooms to the chicken in a large bowl.

1 tbsp. of Poppy Seeds.

Next, to the bowl I added 2 cans of Cream of Chicken Soup.

2 cups of Sour Cream.

1 cup of Slivered Almonds.

Mix this all up really well and then put in a greased 9x13 baking dish.

Finally, mix together 2 tbsp. of melted butter with 1 cup of crushed butter crackers (like Ritz Crackers). Sprinkle these over the chicken dish. Cover with foil.

Bake in a 375 degree for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes until bubbling.

OMG!! Seriously this is really good and I cannot believe it doesn't have any cheese in it. I swear there is no good casserole without cheese, but I have proven myself wrong because here is one! It is so easy and quick. Your family will love it. I did have to add some salt to taste before eating.

Mmmmmmm...Fudge!!

I love fudge. Plain and simple, it's just good stuff. My mom has always loved fudge but until recently my notsomuch. My mom makes really good fudge too. She makes peanut butter fudge and orange creamcicle fudge. Man, the stuff is good.
While we were in Pigeon Forge, TN. we did quite a bit of shopping. We needed a break one of the days and decided to just sit down at this little bakery and get some fudge to share and a cup of coffee. The fudge was OMG!!!! FAB-U-LOUS!!!! We got three different little slivers to try and share. It was so incredibly hard to just order slivers and not big 'ole hunks of the stuff.

This first one was called a Bear Paw and it was layers of chocolate and peanut butter!!! Seriously sooooo good.

The second one was called a Tiger Paw and it was layers of white chocolate and peanut butter!! Amazing!!! And I'm not even a big white chocolate person, but man oh day this stuff was incredible!!!

Then because I love pecans we got a pecan and caramel and white chocolate one. I cannot remember if it had a cutesie name or not, but it was GOOD!!!!!

Who out there loves fudge? What's your favorite???

The Divine Intervention and Pecans Too (Ha!)

While we were Gatlenburg, TN. we got a little hungry but didn't want to eat lunch yet. So, we stopped by this little candy shop. The candies and sweets inside looked divine. The smell gotcha too as soon as you walked in the door.

I saw these cute little packs of pecans balls and the inside was marshmallow. And there were two to a pack, which was perfect for my mom and I. I'm not sure I have ever seen these before and I know I had never tried them. Are they a southern thing?

My mom saw some candy called Divinity that she loves. She decided that's what she was buying. And it came in a pack of two too, which again was perfect for the two of us. :) I'm not really sure what Divinity is or what exactly it is made of. It is REALLY REALLY sweet though. It was just super sugary. It was good, but not my favorite. I did like it though. Have you ever heard of Divinity? Do you like it?

Country Fried (Is there really any other way???)

I was told by my blog friend Nicolle that while in the south on vacation I had to have some country fried steak with white gravy and green beans cooked in bacon fat.

Well, I did have some fab-u-lous country fried steak with white gravy!!! OMG!!! This was incredible!!! It really is so good in case you've never had it. I remember growing up my mom and my sister loved country fried steak, but for some reason I never did. I loved fried chicken, but not steak. Well, I don't know what the heck was wrong with me because this stuff is AWESOME!!!! The outside is crispy like fried chicken, but then the inside is juicy like a steak. Seriously, doesn't that just make your mouth water reading this???

Well, I didn't see green beans cooked in bacon grease in any restaurant we went to and so I didn't get to try those. However, I did get dumplins with my country fried steak. These were delicious!!! They were thick and creamy. I love dumplins. I've had these before and didn't know they were southern. But I can see with the rich and creaminess that they would be. :) I swear all things in the south are rich and creamy. Mmmmmmm.