Dishes 11 - 20

11.  Pecan Pie
       This was my first attempt at baking (and eating) a pecan pie!  I found a simple recipe, and no it did not have Bourbon in it, but it was still delicious!  I took it to work and it was gone before lunch, so it must have been good!  I will be making this again soon!

12.  Beer Bread  (I used Corona Beer)
      I made this recipe after a co-worker told me I should try the beer bread from Tastefully Simple.  Since I cannot make box recipes, I made this one myself from scratch and learned another valuable lesson... when you don't have self-rising flour, you can substitute 1 cup all purpose flour plus 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.  Saved me a trip to the store!

13.  Ranch Popcorn
      I made this recipe for my friends when I hosted a movie night at my house.  I thought it was pretty tasty (you use a package of ranch dressing mix, not the dressing itself) but I was the only one that ate it.  My friends couldn't seem to wrap their head around the idea, probably won't make again.

14.  Chicken Lo Mein
      What can you do with left over chicken, a carrot, two packages of ramen noodles, and some cabbage?  NEVER ORDER TAKE OUT AGAIN!!  I tweaked a recipe I found on-line and made this delicious dish that has become a new favorite.  Not only was it super cheap, but it was delicious the next day, and very impressive to my friends.  Serve with eggrolls and fortune cookies!

15.  Jenny's Oven Fries
      I made up this recipe as well.  I thinly cut up a bunch of potatoes tossed them in olive oil, Lowry's seasoning salt, onion powder, garlic salt, and a dash of cumin.  Then I cooked them in the oven at 375, turning when needed until crispy.  Served with ketchup mixed with a tiny bit of mustard.

16.  Buffalo BBQ Wings
      I made these for another football game.  I have never made wings before, but found wings on sale, and decided to try them.  I tossed about 10 wings in my slow cooker, covered with Sweet Baby Ray's Wing Sauce, Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce, garlic salt, onion powder, and black pepper.  Put on high for 4 hours, and by the time they are done, the meat will fall off the bone dripping with flavor!  Serve with ranch dressing, carrots, celery, and Jenny's oven fries.

17.  Sour Cream Apple Pie (and mini pies!)
      I made this recipe after mom told me about it.  The sour cream is in the filling and makes the filling have a sweet creamy flavor.  Also, the topping is a crumbly topping with brown sugar, butter, and chopped pecans.  I had left over filling and topping than could fit in my crust so I put crescent rolls in muffin tins, topped with filling and crumbly topping, and baked until crescents raised and filling bubbled.  Those made for great breakfast muffins, and a good size to take for lunch.


18.  Tangy Sloppy Joes
     I love eating sloppy joes.  We have been eating them in my family for years and it was always one of my favorites.  I decided to try making some from scratch with this recipe I found, and they were tangy but savory and give Manwich a run for it's money.


19.  Mac & Cheese
      I decided that since I was making sloppy joes from scratch I would also make mac & cheese from scratch to serve with it.  I liked the recipe I tried, but it was a little bland until I tried adding a little dijon mustard to it.  

20.  Zucchini Wrapped Pesto Pork Tenderloin
     This recipe was also from BHG magazine, and was pretty good.  Roasting the pork tenderloin wrapped in zucchini helped it retain moisture, and the pesto gave it a lot of flavor.  I passed the recipe on to my Grandma to try, but I am not sure if I will make this one again or not.