Classic Deviled Eggs 

Picture compliments of the thousands already on the www. Who doesn't like to pop in a devilled egg or two during dinner or just because you opened the refrigerator door and didn't know what you wanted. I like the recipe listed on the Jamie cooks it up family freindly recipes. Please visit them at http://jamiecooksitup.net/2012/03/classic-deviled-eggs/

Ingredients for 14:

·         7 hard-boiled eggs

·         3 T mayonnaise (I use Best Foods Light)

·         2 T salad dressing (I use Miracle Whip Light)

·         2 t honey mustard

·         1 T sweet pickle relish (optional)

·         Salt and Pepper to taste

·         Paprika or Smoked Paprika, either one is fine

Preparation:

1. Hard boil, and then peel yourself 7 eggs.

2. Slice your eggs in half with a knife.

3. Carefully pull out the cooked yolks and toss them into a medium sized mixing bowl.

4. Add 3 tablespoon of mayonnaise (that's the Best Foods) and 2 tablespoons of salad dressing (yes, you guessed it. The Miracle Whip). Now, you may be wondering why I have used both of these instead of just one. They have very different tastes. The Best Foods has a really smooth, creamy taste, and the Miracle Whip has a slightly sweet, zippy taste. The combination of the two gives you the best of both creamy and zippy.

 

5. To your bowl add 2 teaspoons honey mustard, a little bit of salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon pickle relish, if you have opted to use it.

6. Mix all ingredients together with a fork, smashing the egg yolks as you go.

7. Scoop the filling into the eggs and sprinkle them with paprika. I have confessed several times recently about how much I love Smoked Paprika. Ah, the sweet smokey sent of it is fabulous. If you don't have any, no worries. Just use regular paprika, or don't use paprika at all. What ever suits your fancy. :)

 

8. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and store them in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake 
Picture by Pat Farrell

This recipe is one of my ultimate favorites for an easy-going desert. Most of my family learned to make this easy-going cake because they love it and never fails to draw the ooohs & awwws from the kids and grandkids.

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1 20 oz. can sliced pineapple, drained
• 1 small jar maraschino cherries
• 1 box Duncan Hines pineapple supreme cake mix or regular yellow cake mix
• Eggs, water and oil for cake mix

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Very lightly spray 13x9x2-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. Put butter in pan and put pan in oven just until butter is melted (maybe 5 minutes).

Remove pan from oven and evenly sprinkle brown sugar over melted butter and arrange pineapple slices and maraschino cherries on top of brown sugar.

Prepare cake mix (adding eggs, water and oil) as directed on package and pour batter evenly over fruit.

Bake 50 minutes or until toothpick in center comes out clean.

Let stand 5 minutes (if you wait too much longer than that the cake will stick in the pan), then carefully invert onto large serving plate.

Southern Smothered Pork Chops

This recipe & picture are downloaded from Mamas-Southern-Cooking.com. They were the greatest. Visit the site at http://www.mamas-southern-cooking.com/smothered-pork-chop-recipe.html

 

Ingredients: 

• 4 to 6 thick cut pork chops, 3/4 to 1 inch thick (rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel), you can use either bone-in or boneless
• 2/3 cup of flour
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 2 large sweet onions, sliced
• 1 or 2 (14 1/2-ounce) can beef broth
• 1 teaspoon of beef base (optional)
• 1/2 cup of shortening or vegetable oil

Preparation:

 

On a plate, mix together flour, salt pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Coat your pork chops with the flour mixture. Melt the shortening in a large, heavy bottom skillet. Add the pork chops. Cook in skillet until golden brown. Remove the pork chops from the pan and set aside. Save the rest of the flour mixture for the gravy.

 

Turn heat down to medium to medium low and add onions to the pan and slowly cook and stir the onions until they are soft. Add enough of the leftover flour to the pan to soak up all of the grease and cook until golden brown, stirring constantly.

 

Slowly add 1 can of the beef broth while continuing to stir. Bring to a boil and stir for one minute. (If the gravy is too thick, add enough beef broth to thin it down...it should just coat the back of a spoon).

 

Add the beef base, if desired. Stir to dissolve. Return the pork chops to the pan with the gravy. Turn the heat down to low. Cover and simmer for about 1 hour or until the pork chops are tender.