Bad Name, Great Recipe - Mud Hen Bars, Great for Super Bowl Sunday

This my friends is a Mud Hen Bar.  A What?  A Mud Hen Bar.  A what?  You read that correctly.  What exactly is a Mud Hen and why would anyone name something so delicious such an awful name?  I wish I knew.  Truly.  This is something you will want to make in the very near future.  They would be excellent for Super Bowl Sunday!  They are easy to make and so, so good.

I tried to do some research on why they would be named Mud Hen Bars, but with no luck.  Seems there are many people on the world wide web asking the same question.  Evidently the recipe has been around for years and years with no information about how the name came to be.  This is what I did find.  There is a Mud Hen, New Jersey, a minor league baseball team in Toledo, Ohio, named the Mud Hens, and a Mud Hen is a bird that lives in the marshes, is very round with long legs and has trouble launching itself into flight.  Now, I see no connection to any of these other than the fact that the original recipe could possibly have come from Mud Hen, New Jersey.  Even then, I think I would have come up with a better name.  Seriously, Mud Hen does NOT sound inviting in any way and they are really, really good!

I found this recipe on one of my favorite sites, Plain Chicken.  I read over the ingredients and knew these would be good because I have been making a cookie bar called Chinese Chews for years and they are somewhat similar. (I'll share that one some day).   Now there's another name - Chinese Chews.  Where did that name come from?  Makes you wonder and they are just as good as Mud Hen Bars.

Here is what you need to make these delectable treats:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 whole egg
2 eggs separated
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

First, beat the white sugar and butter together until creamy.  Beat in 1 whole egg and 2 egg yolks, keeping the whites for later.  Mix in the flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla.  Spread cookie batter into a lightly greased 9x13 pan.

Sprinkle the marshmallows and chocolate chips on top of the unbaked cookie crust.

(Are you thinking s'mores yet?  That's what I thought, but kind of yes and no.)

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.  A stiff peak must stand on it's own.

Now, fold in the brown sugar.  This is your meringue.  Folding means stirring from the bottom up and over the top, not just mixing.  Be gentle.

Spread the meringue mixture over the marshmallows and chocolate chips.  Bake for 30 minutes.

It looks kind of flat when you first spread it on, but looks like this after it is baked.

That lovely merengue gets nice and puffy and brown and kind of crunchy.  Oh my.

Let cool in the pan and cut into squares.  Serve.  Try to keep from eating them all in one sitting.

These bars are sweet, I am warning you now.  But, holy cow they are good.  My only idea would be to add chopped nuts and maybe even some coconut if you like either or both.  Wowsa.  That would make them over the top good.

You have a nice layer of cookie base, just a hint of chocolate chip cookie, but not quite because of the melted marshmallows in the middle with the chocolate chips.  The texture of the meringue is heavenly with all that brown sugar in it.  They are chewy bars that you will just have to make to understand how good they are.

Yeah, you need to make these.  They would be a real hit for Super Bowl Sunday.  Dan LOVES them. If you're like me and don't really care about the game, but do love the good eats, these are for you!  They will make your day.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Even though the name is not particularly appealing for a recipe, don't pass it by.  Names can be deceiving.  ; )

Parmesan Chicken Sticks - Perfect For Super Bowl Sunday

Iiiiiitttttttt's Monday!  Again!  Hope your weekend was spectacular.  We spent ours at grandsons' (plural) basketball games on Saturday and helped our other daughter pack her house for their big move this week.  Have you ever packed to move with two little ones running around?  I have, and all the help you can wrangle is a major bonus.  Some to pack and some to chase children.  They are moving to a new house all on one level.  She is so excited.  No more flights of stairs to navigate with two little boys.   Talk about a workout.  Wow.

On Friday night, I felt ambitious and wanted to fix something different for dinner.  Don't you get tired of the same things all the time?  I sure do.  Well, that huge package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts  in the fridge looked like they were it whether they wanted to be or not.  I hunted around the net to see what I could find as far as recipes using chicken breasts.  One of the first places I always look is Foodnetwork.com.  Lots and lots of good recipes on there and Ina Garten, better known as the Barefoot Contessa, always has awesome recipes that are not hard, but always flavorful and delicious.  What did I spy, but a recipe for parmesan chicken sticks.  Sounded good to me!  I mean, who doesn't love chicken parmesan?   And, what to go with them?  Why my 3 cheese mac and cheese of course (made from scratch) and a recipe for zucchini cakes that I found on Pinterest a while back.  They are like potato pancakes made with zucchini and a tzatziki sauce to go with them.  Yum.  Yum.  Yum.

I put our youngest son to work grating zucchini while I prepared the parmesan chicken sticks.  They are really easy and oh my goodness delicious.  These would be perfect for Super Bowl serving!!  For Super Bowl you want some finger type food that guys will love and these certainly fit the bill.  Here is what you need:

1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts (3 to 4 - I used 4 and had a mound of chicken sticks)
1 cup flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 extra large eggs
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I used Italian bread crumbs)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Unsalted butter
Good olive oil
Bamboo skewers 6-10 inches long, optional

Directions

Lay the chicken breasts on a cutting board and slice each diagonally into 4 or 5 large strips.  (The chicken breasts I had were very large so I got 6-7 strips per breast).  I also ended up doubling the breading recipe.

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl.  Beat the eggs with 1 TBSP of water in a second shallow bowl.  Combine the breadcrumbs and Parmesan in a third shallow bowl.  Dredge the chicken breasts on both sides in the flour mixture, then dip both sides into the egg mixture and roll in the bread-crumb mixture, pressing lightly to coat.

Heat 1 TBSP of butter and 1 TBSP of olive Oil in a large saute pan and cook the chicken sticks on medium low heat for about 3 minutes on each side, until just cooked through.  Don't crowd the pan.  (I used my non stick electric skillet so I could cook more at a time).  Add more butter and oil and cook the rest of the chicken sticks.  Serve each stick on a skewer if you want.  (We didn't bother, but could be good for the Super Bowl).

You can keep the chicken breasts warm for about 15 minutes on a sheet pan in a preheated 200 degree F oven until you finish all the chicken sticks.

We ate these with some Trader Joe's marinara sauce (warmed) for dipping.  Mm, mm, mm, mm, mmm.  Dan and Tyler declared these fantastic and we certainly will be making them again!  We had a huge plate of chicken sticks and enjoyed them for two more meals.

If you have children, I guarantee they will love these scrumptious pieces of chicken.  So will anyone at a Super Bowl gathering.  They were so tender and tasty we could not stop commenting on how delicious they were.  Tyler, who is somewhat of a foodie, TRULY liked them if you want a good testimonial from someone with rather discriminating taste.  Dan declared the meal better than most restaurant meals which made the effort more than worthwhile.

Thanks Ina for a great recipe!  Hope you all give it a try.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

I predict that one of the teams will win the Super Bowl.  ; )

Sinfully Good Red Velvet Cookies - 21 Days Til Valentine's Day

Greetings friends and neighbors.  I have been absent for a couple of days due to an AT&T issue that shut our internet and cable down.  Seems there was a server problem in Atlanta and it caused outages all throughout the southeastern United States.  If you think you are not dependent on the internet, think again.  I look up so many things in a day's time its unbelievable.  Then again, perhaps I spend way too much time on the world wide web.  How did I discover this?  By all of the things I accomplished here at home during the two days without service.  Perhaps it's time to reevaluate my minor addiction.

We are now 21 days away from Valentine's Day.  It is rolling up in a hurry don't you think?  Do you make things for your sweetheart, family or friends?  Or, do you just run out and grab some run of the mill manufactured card and maybe some candy or flowers?  I am not knocking your choice whatever it may be.  Thoughtfulness is the name of the game when it comes to the big red heart day.  If you start planning now, you can do something original or hand made which shows you put in just a little more thought or effort into expressing your love and appreciation for your special someones.  Perhaps you can make a special dinner, hand made card, or gift.

How about baking some lovely cookies that are devilishly delicious?  How about some sinfully good red velvet cookies?  Huh?  How about it?  These are divine and so easy to make.  This recipe came from Food.com.  Here is what you need:

1 8 ounce block of cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter, room temperature (1 stick)
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 18 ounce box red velvet cake mix
confectioner's sugar for rolling and dusting

Directions:

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Beat in the egg.  Beat in the vanilla extract.  Add the cake mix and beat until thoroughly incorporated.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to firm up the mix so that you can roll the batter into balls.  

After the batter has chilled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar.  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 12 minutes.  The cookies should remain soft and gooey.  Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioner's sugar.

My thought was to add some white chocolate chips to the batter for a little extra something something.  Doesn't that sound just fine?   Either way, these cookies are sooooooo good and the beautiful red and white is perfect for Valentine's day.

(A little FYI, your hands will be very red from the food coloring in the batter after rolling all the balls.  Don't be alarmed, just scrub them really well with a good soap or dishwashing liquid.  It does come off and does not leave your hands stained.)

Now is the time to start your plans.  Aldi's still had some of their seasonal red velvet cake mixes today and I am partial to theirs, but there are other brands available.  You might want to make a test batch before the big day so you will get to eat some of them.   I'm just sayin'.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

"Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope."

-- Maya Angelou

Valentine Candles

 Happy Martin Luther King, Jr., Day and Inauguration Day!  What a momentous occasion today has been with the second inauguration of President Barack Obama and celebrating the life of a true hero of the American Civil Rights movement.  Reverend Dr. King did so much for the rights of everyone to be free and equal.  He laid down his life for his beliefs and we all owe him a huge debt of gratitude.  Celebrating his birthday is one way we can remember him and all of his contributions to mankind.

Watching all the ceremony and pomp of Inauguration Day certainly makes one grateful to be an  American and know that we are free to elect whomever we choose to be the best candidate to lead our country.  We still have a way to go in making everyone in our country equal in enjoying rights given to some, but not all.  This is a part of President Obama's speech today.

It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.  Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote.  Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country.  Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia, to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for and cherished and always safe from harm.  President Barack Obama, January 21, 2012.

It makes me proud to know we have a President leading our country who truly believes in equality for all.  Hopefully, the day will soon arrive when the tenets of our Constitution will apply to everyone.

Time to get down off my soapbox now and proceed with today's blog post.  Yes, it's more Valentine's Day ideas and yes, these are really cute and really inexpensive.

Perhaps you may need a few small gifts for Valentine's Day, or you just want something to decorate your home.  You may need centerpieces for a Valentine party or a romantic dinner.  These devotional candles are quick and easy.  You may remember my post before Christmas where I made Santa's bellies and burlap angels using these candles.  Because they come in clear glass, the possibilities for decorating them are endless.  Everything came from the Dollar Tree except the piece of red felt which came from Michael's and was only $.35.

Here is what you need:

Devotional candles - $1.00 each  - however many you want to make
1 package of white paper heart doilies - 20 for $1.00
1 spool white cotton twine - $1.00
1 piece of red felt 9x12 - Michael's $.35

First, I cut out some small red felt hearts that would fit inside the center of the paper heart doilies.
Run some hot glue around the edge and center of the felt hearts.  Press them on the paper heart doilies in the center
.
When the glue is set, place a dot of hot glue in the back of the paper heart doily and place on the devotional candle where you want it.  Put a small dab of hot glue on the top edge of each heart (both sides) and press it to the glass until it holds.

Now, cut a piece of twine about 1.5 - 2 feet long.   Wrap the twine around the heart however you desire.  Make whatever design you want.  I made mine 3 different ways.

Tie the twine in a knot on the back of the candle and cut the string close to the knot.  That's it.  Done.  Easy peasy.  You have a gift that cost you peanuts about $1.10 each.  Look how adorable they are!  If you wanted to use red card stock instead of felt, you could put a message in the center of each heart.  Just an idea!  Now, you have a Valentine card/gift all in one.  Pretty.  Handmade.  Thoughtful.  Original.

I put mine on the sofa table in our living room.  They look so pretty there and brighten up the gray, cold days we have been experiencing.  

The antique blocks on the left are the initials for our 6 grandsons with the number 6 on top.  I have been looking for a set of these blocks for years and found them right before Christmas at a wonderful shop in East Nashville called Wonders on Woodland.  A few of the blocks are missing, but I was so excited to find them.  You see them used in decor in magazines all the time and they are one of those items I kept asking myself where I could find them?  Lucky me, they were right on the counter when I walked in the door and they were calling my name.  Needless to say, they did come home to live with me.  

Our two year old grandsons, who are cousins, think they are the bomb.  All the fancy toys in the world today and they want to play with these blocks.  Go figure.  The carved "R" block is missing, so I had to use one of the printed sides for our NYC grandson whose name starts with R.  There are 7 more blocks in the set and I will be using them a lot in the future.

These are one of those simple things that make my heart smile.  On the right side are some pictures of three of our precious little men.  Being a grandparent is such a joy!

A friend of mine tried to find some of these candles before Christmas and had no luck.  They are always in the candle/vase department at the Dollar Tree.  Our Kroger also sells them.  I have not checked any other dollar stores for availability.  I do know that Dollar Tree will order items for you if they do not have them.  They have a catalog and you can order in quantity and have it shipped to the store so you don't have to pay shipping.  Then, you can pick the items up there.  I used to do it when I worked as the floral designer at the casino back home.  They are usually very helpful about ordering items for you.  

 Your Valentines will love receiving such a thoughtful gift from you.  Even if you don't consider yourself a crafty person, these are quick, easy, and thrifty!  Remember, these would be great for teachers, friends, or to use as a centerpiece for a Valentine party or romantic dinner.  Have fun with this project and be creative!  You can do it!!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

My country tis of thee, sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing.
Land where our father's died,
Land of the pilgrim's pride,
From every mountain side,
Let freedom ring.

America, written by Samuel Francis Smith

Hanging Paper Hearts

Hello!  Sorry to have missed posting yesterday, but it was another gray, gloomy day and we spent it helping our oldest daughter with our grandsons.  Needless to say, I didn't get any writing done, but that's okay because we had a lot of fun with the boys.  Any day with the grandsons is a good day!

Thought I would continue with some Valentine ideas that you might be interested in trying.  These paper hearts are hanging from out dining room light fixture.  They are so adorable.  Not only are they festive and colorful, but they help complete the Valentine theme going on in the little yellow cottage right now.

I used scrap book paper to make these and it was not Valentine paper, but Christmas paper.  Red, pink - it all works and it didn't cost me anything.  I just used stuff from my stash.  That's my favorite price for a project - nothing.  Zip.  Zero.  Nada.   Just took a little digging and some ingenuity.  

I don't have a Cricut or any fancy cutting machine, so my hearts are not perfectly even because they were cut with scissors.  Good old fashioned Fiskars and a little steady cutting.  Throw in a little glue, some 20 gauge silver wire, a few beads and voila, we have ourselves a Valentine mobile of sorts.

Feel free to use any kind of paper that you like.  There are so many beautiful scrap book papers available these days.  I just wanted to save a little money and a trip to the store by using what I had on hand.

To make each heart, I used two pieces of the same kind of paper, 2 pieces with dots, 2 pieces with stripes, and 2 pieces of solid pink.  Depending on the size heart you make, you can get many from a 12 x 12 piece of scrapbook paper.  Here is what you do.

Lay two pieces of paper wrong sides together (that means with the design facing out).  Make yourself a heart to use as a template.  My heart is 4 inches x 4 inches and I simply cut it out of a scrap piece of felt.  Lay your template on the paper(s) and trace as many as you would like to make.  It takes two heart complete heart shapes (4 pieces) to make one actual hanging heart.

I pulled the bottom piece of paper up so that the wrong side shows in this picture to remind you to put wrong sides together.  The heart template is laying at an angle because I wanted the stripes to be diagonal.  I cut all my heart pieces out and began to glue them together by putting two heart shapes of the same pattern wrong sides together.  Using a glue stick, I traced the outside edge of the heart on the wrong size of the paper.   Then, I put a strip of glue down the middle of the heart.  Next, I pressed two hearts together.  Once I had two complete hearts, I folded them in half like this.

If you are confused, please forgive me.  I forgot to take a picture of the stripes and did polka dots instead.  Oops.  Then I ran a bead of hot glue down the folded edge of one heart and pressed the two hearts together.  You now have a heart with 4 sides.

Open the 4 sides up and use a darning needle to pierce a hole through the heart.  I used 20 gauge silver wire because I liked the way it looked.  You could use twine or ribbon or anything you like.  I threaded the wire through the hole and brought the end up and twisted it around the long piece of wire to make the heart hang level.  Next, I put a few beads on the long wire and then wrapped the long wire around the arm of the light fixture.  I made a curlicue in the middle just for interest.  Just simply wrap the wire around a pencil to make the curlicue.

When I was making the pink hearts, I decided they looked really plain next to the patterned hearts so I used the X and O stamps from an little alphabet set I have to make "hugs and kisses" all over the hearts.  Love the way they look.

Is there anything cuter or happier than polka dots?  Gotta love em.

This is out table set for Valentine's with some silver place mats I found at Old Tyme Pottery.  The napkins have pearl napkin rings around them and I simply put a red doily in the corner for some color and to tie in with the Valentine theme.  Have I told you I have a thing for paper doilies?  I do.  It goes back to childhood.  Don't ask me why, I just love them.

The candle holders and votive holders in the center of the table are mercury glass which is another love.

These adorable hanging hearts could be made any size and hung any place you would like.  They just happen to be perfect over our table.  You could made a real mobile if you were so inclined.

Well, the days are counting down and it will be Valentine's Day before you know it.  Time to get started if you haven't already.  This project would be fun to share with your children or grandchildren.  Perhaps you have a crafting circle or friends looking for an inexpensive project to share.   This would be a good one.  Have fun and let me see what you make!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Only do what your heart tells you.    Princess Diana

Ruffled Crepe Paper Heart

Rain, rain, rain, sleet, more rain and sleet.  That is the weather we have been experiencing the last two days.  Ugh.   The only thing this weather is good for is to keep us inside.  When I am inside, I accomplish things.  Crafting and cooking would be two of the things accomplished.  So, I guess it's really not so bad that the weather is ugly.  But, I am ready for some sunshine.  Just sayin'.

It was time to decorate my "shutter" and cabinet top for Valentine's Day since the mantel was complete.   A heart.  That's what I wanted because what could be more representative of Valentines' Day?  I had some things that I could use to make decorations with, or I could use last years decorations.  With time on my hands, I opted for making something new.

It was very hard to get the pictures to not look like the heart had been irradiated by something nuclear.  Some colors are very difficult to photograph and pink and red together happen to be two of those colors.

I tried taking pictures with the lights on, with the lights off, with some lights on, and every combination I could think of.  No luck.  The heart looked like it glowed from within and you could not see any of the detail.  It looked like a big glowing orange flame ball.  So, the next best thing was to show a close up which is not perfect, but is somewhat better.

Now, you can see some of the detail which is really quite adorable in actuality.  All the ruffles make the heart look like the lid of a Valentine candy box or a big ruffled pillow.

Once again, I started with no particular plan other than knowing I wanted a heart to hang on the shutter.

Did you know you can sew on crepe paper? When I was in first grade in 1953 (don't faint), I was in a production at school produced by one of the first grade teachers.  Students were chosen to be in the production which was about the months of the year.  Everyone had a costume and sang a song that represented their month.  I was one of 4 little girls who represented the month of February as Valentines.  We wore white pinafores made from crepe paper decorated with red hearts and a red crown of hearts.  Our mothers made our pinafores by sewing the crepe paper.  They were so adorable with ruffles and a full skirt tied at the waist.  This production is one of my most treasured memories from school and I loved the costume.  Loved it.

That story was to say that I had a couple rolls of crepe paper in pink and red.  I put them together, red on top of pink, and ran a gathering stitch down the center all the way to the end of the roll.  If you put your stitch length on the longest stitch (gathering stitch), the crepe paper will just ruffle as you stitch it.  I used clear nylon thread to sew it with.

Okay, so I now had a lot of ruffled crepe paper.  Now what?  I had a piece of poster board, so I cut out a big heart by folding the poster board in half and cutting a large heart shape with scissors.  The heart measured 19 x 16.  I got the glue gun and plugged it in.  I started at the bottom point of the heart and began running a bead of glue in sections and then pressed the center of the ruffle over the glue a section at a time, pink side down.  I kept this up all the way around the heart and then continued another row with the edges of the ruffles touching.  What next?  It looked flat.

As I finished a row, I decided to separate the red crepe paper from the pink, like you do when you are making tissue paper flowers.  I gently pulled the red crepe paper up on each side of the gathering stitch and let the pink lay flat.  Around and around I went until I got to the center.  How to finish?  Hmmmm. I rolled the crepe paper close together and glued it down to make the center look like a flower.

 After separating all the paper, it looked like the picture at the very top.   I loved the way it looked, but it was kind of bendable.  It would not be hanging flat against a wall.  Time for a remedy.

I had a 14 inch wreath from the Dollar Tree, so I wrapped some red crepe paper around it and attached it at the beginning and the end with hot glue.

After covering the entire wreath, I glued some remaining ruffle around the outside edge of the wreath.

Next, I laid the heart on the wreath, centering it so the heart would be stable.  I lifted sections of the heart and put hot glue on the wreath and then pressed the poster board onto the hot glue. It didn't take long to go around the entire wreath.  This gave the heart stability so it didn't bend or collapse on itself.

I had some red satin ribbon that I placed around the wreath and through a little opening I left between the poster board and the wreath and tied a bow for a hanger.  Then I marched it right over to my shutter and hung it up.  LOVE it.  Total cost, $3.00.  Yes, you read that right.  $3.00.  Each package of crepe paper with two rolls per package were $1.00 each at the Dollar Tree and the wreath was another $1.00.  How's that for a super bargain?

I finished the cabinet top with some pretty white doves my mom gave me for Christmas and some red deco mesh.  Next, I tossed in some silk flowers I had in my stash and made a couple of candle decorations from dollar candles from you know where.

This was one of several projects I worked on today.  Doesn't it look pretty?  Romantic?  Valentine-ish?  (Is that a word?  Guess it is now).  It also added some glam to this super gloomy day.

This was a fun project that didn't take a whole lot of time or money.  Perhaps this will give you some ideas for projects of your own.  We are now under one month until Valentine's Day.  Time to get busy!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

I claim there ain't
Another Saint
As great as Valentine.
~Ogden Nash