Cajun Chicken Pasta

This is a yummy recipe! I like it a little hot so I put some extra cayenne on it. It makes great leftovers!

3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Cubes
3 teaspoons Cajun Spice Mix, More To Taste
1 pound Fettuccine
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Green Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
1/2 whole Large Red Onion, Sliced
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
4 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1/2 cup White Wine
1 cup Heavy Cream
Cayenne Pepper To Taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
Salt To Taste
Chopped Fresh Parsley, To Taste


Preparation Instructions
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain when pasta is still al dente; do not overcook!
Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun spice over chicken pieces. Toss around to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy skillet over high heat. Add half the chicken in a single layer; do not stir. Allow chicken to brown on one side, about 1 minute. Flip to the other side and cook an additional minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean plate.
Repeat with remaining chicken. Remove chicken, leaving pan on high heat.
Add remaining olive oil and butter. When heated, add peppers, onions, and garlic. Sprinkle on remaining Cajun spice, and add salt if needed. Cook over very high heat for 1 minute, stirring gently and trying to get the vegetables as dark/black as possible. Add tomatoes and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove all vegetables from the pan.
With the pan over high heat, pour in the wine and chicken broth. Cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in cream, stirring/whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until cream starts to thicken the mixture. Taste and add freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and/or salt to taste. Sauce should be spicy!
Finally, add chicken and vegetables to sauce, making sure to include all the juices that have drained onto the plate. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and hot. Add drained fettuccine and toss to combine. Enjoy!

Penne a la Betsy

This is one of my favorite pasta dishes. I love tomato cream based pasta sauce. I have made this a few times and can't get enough. Kevin loves anything with seafood and especially likes this! This is lick your plate yummy sauce! One of my favorite recipe blogs I follow is the Pioneer women blog. She has some fantastic recipes.

3/4 pounds penne pasta
1 pound shrimp
3 Tbs. butter
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 whole onion (small)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cups white wine
1 can tomato sauce (8oz.)
1 cup heavy cream
fresh parsley, to taste
fresh basil, to taste
salt to taste
pepper to taste


Cook the penne pasta until firm, also know as al dente.
Peel, devein and rinse (under cool water) 1 pound of extra large shrimp. Heat about 1 Tbs. butter and olive oil in a skillet. add the shrimp and cook for a couple of minutes until just opaque. Do not overcook them. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Now, put the cooked shrimp on the cutting board and pull of the tails. Chop the shrimp in to bite-sized pieces and set aside. Finely dice one small onion. Dice two cloves of garlic. In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and saute, stirring occasionally. After the garlic and onion have cooked a bit add your white wine, you can use low-sodium chicken broth instead (about 1/2 cup)
Now add an 8-ounce can of plan in tomato sauce. Stir well until combined. Then add 1 cup of heavy cream. Continue stirring. Turn heat down to low and let simmer.
Now chop your herbs, about a tablespoon of chopped parsley and about the same amount of chopped basil. Now add your chopped shrimp back in to the tomato cream sauce. Give it a stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Throw in your herbs and stir until combined. Finally add your cooked penne pasta and give it a good stir. Enjoy!

This would also be good with chicken if your not a seafood fan.

Also I use whole wheat pasta.

Chocolate Crinkles

This recipe is an all time favorite of mine and my siblings. It was a special treat when my mom would make these special cookies. To this day my brothers still ask her to make them some Chocolate Crinkles.

1/2 cup veg. oil
4 square bakers unsweetened chocolate (4 oz.)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
powdered sugar to roll in.


Mix melted chocolate squares and vegetable oil. Add sugar, eggs and vanilla.

Mix dry ingredients together and mix in with chocolate mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 - 15 minutes. Enjoy!

My Mothers Peach Pie

What can I say about My Mothers peach pie other than it is fantastic! I remember every year when peaches were in season, My mother rolling out her dough on the floured surface of the counter and making her delicious peach pie. I have made this pie a few times now but I am still trying to perfect pie dough. I know I will never be as good as my mother or Bernice Kelley so as of right now I do it the lazy way and pick up the refrigerated pie crust at the grocery store which is in no way as good as Bernice's or my mothers.

Pie Filling

4 cups Peaches
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon



Pie Crust

2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup water


Filling- Mix ingredients and dot with butter. Sprinkle with sugar on top. Bake at 425 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I got this a couple of years back while searching for a good Oatmeal cookie recipe. I got this out of my sister Stephanie's Parkway Neighborhood cookbook. This recipe came from Darylne McPheeters. I made these one time when my friend Tami was visiting and she just had to have the recipe! My kids love them and I do too! The picture on the header is these yummy cookies.

1/2 c. butter or margarine 2 c. flour

1/2 c. shortening 1 tsp. salt

1 c. brown sugar 1 tsp. soda

1 c. sugar 3 cups quick oats

2 eggs 1/2 c. chopped nuts

1 tsp. vanilla 6 oz. chocolate chips



Throughly cream butter, shortening, and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Add dry sifted ingredients. Add oatmeal, then nuts and chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Enjoy!

My kids do not like nuts in their cookies so I do not add them.

Braised Pork Chops in Sweet Apple Mustard

I found this on Zestycook.com and fell in love with pork chops. I have never been one to love pork chops well unless you count my mothers pork chops baked until moist over a layer of scalloped potatoes. They have never been my favorite but they were on sale one day when I was at the grocery store. Kevin said he would love some braised pork chops so I found this recipe and loved it!



- 4 Pork Chops
- 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
- 1 Tsp. dried Rosemary
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Apple Juice
- 3 dashes of hot sauce
- Salt and Pepper


1. Preheat to 400 degrees

2. Warm pan to medium high heat and add olive oil.

3. Season Pork Chops with Salt and Pepper.

4. Add them to pan and saute until they begin to caramelize, then flip.

5. After about five minutes remove them from pan and set on plate.

6.De glaze the pan with Apple Juice while still on high heat.

7.Combine all the remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.

8.Once Apple Juice begin to boil, all remaining ingredients.

9.Cook for about 2 minutes, then add pork chops to pan.

10. Place pan in oven for 15 minutes. The sauce will reduce and thicken in texture and flavor.

11. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Enjoy!

I served them with mashed potatoes and sweet corn.

My cooking blog

I have decided to start up a cooking blog. I have so many wonderful recipes that have been handed down, I've found and a few I pretty much had to beg for. I love cooking and love finding new recipes but my biggest motivation for doing this blog is to have all of my favorites in one place and to print up a book after a year or so. One of my biggest role models in this department is my mother. I enjoyed her cooking for nineteen years. I have to admit that I never cooked much until Kevin and I got married but soon after I started cooking and have loved it. On all my recipes I will give credit to who first made them, a couple of my photo's and a small tidbit why I love the recipe so much. So enjoy!