Chocolate Gravy

Happy Saturday everyone! 
Blogging has been on a short hiatus as Ryan and I traveled home to KY to see my family over Spring Break and enjoyed the week and spending some time together. I got to see my mom and we even did some cooking together throughout the week! 

 Then I have to share (because I completely love them & their show) that I got to go to the Kansas City Home Show this past Sunday and listen to Chip & Joanna Gaines from the show Fixer Upper on HGTV. Wonderful people who love the Lord and I loved being able to hear from them and their experiences. We happened to get front row but didn't get to meet them since they had a plane to catch. 

  Now, for the food!  
Since the weekend is finally here, we are ready to bring you an awesome recipe that will rock your socks off! Extreme? I promise you it's not. 
It's Chocolate Gravy!    Whenever I talk about making chocolate gravy most people are like, "What, chocolate gravy? What is that?" It is delicious, rich, easy and not good for you in any way. 
Here is the recipe: 
2 3/4 cups milk  4 TBSP cocoa  4 TBSP cornstarch 1 cup sugar  1 TBSP butter 1 TBSP vanilla 
Bring 2 cups of milk to a boil in microwave. This will take about 6-8 minutes. 
In a separate bowl stir 4 TBSP cocoa, 4 TBSP cornstarch and 1 cup of sugar into 3/4 a cup of cold milk, one at a time until completely mix. This takes a little bit of stirring, try to get all the bubbles out. Once stirred, add this bowl to the milk that has boiled in the microwave and cook in microwave until thick. You should cook in 1-2 min. increments to avoid it boiling over. Stir in-between each increment. 
Once it reaches its desired thickness--add 1 TBSP butter and 1 TBSP vanilla.  Stir & serve with hot biscuits. I like to cook some bacon as well so we can have leftover bacon biscuits as breakfast for a couple of busy mornings. 

You may have noticed I said to serve with hot biscuits. If you are in a time crunch packaged biscuits, or frozen biscuits will work just fine. Saturdays right now are laid back in our house so I choose to make some homemade ones. Here is the recipe in case you want to do that too. 

Easy Homemade Biscuits
1 cup of flour- self rising 4 TBSP shortening Milk
Add 1 cup of flour and shortening to a bowl. Use a fork or pastry cutter to mix.  Add milk until the consistency looks right to you. 
I add some flour to the counter top and put out my dough. I use my hands to flatten it out because I like the texture of the biscuits better that way. but you can use a rolling pin as well. Cut out the size biscuits you want and cook at 400 for 8- 10 minutes. Makes about 8 large biscuits. 
Printable Recipe Here: Chocolate Gravy & Biscuits 
Hopefully you have some time to try this recipe this weekend, but if not I recommend you definitely adding it to your list! Enjoy! 

Not Your Typical Salad

I am typing this as we are getting ready to watch the UK vs. Hampton game so for starters, 
GO CATS!!! Pursuit of Perfection!!! BBN!!!

Okay, now for the food. 
This new recipe is a classic that my mom has made for a long time, and even if your not a vegetable lover (like my husband) you can not go wrong with this kind of salad. 
Broccoli Salad  Serves 14-16 
2 pounds of bacon (cooked & crumbled) 1 cup raisins 1 medium red onion (chopped)  1-2 large broccoli heads 
Dressing:  1 cup mayo  1/4- 1/2 cup sugar  2-3 Tbsp white vinegar 

Start out cooking your bacon until crisp and crumble into pieces. Add bacon, raisins, onion and broccoli into a medium bowl and stir. Refrigerate. 
**Can substitute bacon for bacon bits if you are in a rush**
In a separate bowl (we use a mason jar with a lid) add the mayo, sugar, and white vinegar then shake until mixed well. Refrigerate and pour onto the broccoli salad about an hour prior to serving so the salad doesn't get too soggy. 
You can really make this salad to suit whatever it is you like in it. We use broccoli, raisins, bacon, and red onions with the dressing but you can also put in sunflower seeds, pine nuts, or almonds. This salad normally can serve 14-16 people but you can half it if you don't need that much.
Finished Product: 

Easy Weeknight Dinner

Today's post is all about easy! An easy casserole you can pre make and have ready to bake when you get home from a busy day sometime this week. 
Cheeseburger Casserole
 1- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef  1 can cream of chicken condensed  1 can cream of celery condensed  6-8 slices american cheese  1 bag homestyle hash browns  dash of salt & pepper 
*Note- cream of celery condensed soup can be substituted with cream of mushroom. 
Start out cooking your ground beef until done and drain grease. You can have your ground beef cooked & frozen prior to as well. Many times we buy our ground beef in bulk when it's on sale and pre-cook and drain the grease.  Then we freeze it into meal size portions so it's ready for meals later.  All we have to do is thaw it out and throw in our recipes which saves a ton of time!
Mix your ground beef with your cream of chicken and cream of celery and spread evenly into a casserole dish. 

Layer with slices of cheese until all the casserole is covered. 

Your hash browns need to be completely thawed out before the casserole goes into the oven. Dump your hash browns over the casserole and give it a dash of salt and pepper and it's ready to hit the oven!  
Cook at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until brown and cheese is bubbling. 

Mom always gets nostalgic with the recipes.  When my older brother Brad went two hours away to college this was one of his most requested meals when he came home.  Who would have thought his choice would be so easy to make! Add a side vegetable and some rolls and you have yourself a nice hearty meal. Hope you enjoy this quick and easy casserole as much as we have over the years.  
Get printable recipe here: Cheeseburger Casserole 
Look for a few more recipes than normal this week coming your way! Have a happy Monday! 

Calling ALL Peanut Butter Lovers!

Hey guys! 
So this week has been extremely busy and showing no signs of slowing down in the next couple of days. SO, I opted for a super simple recipe for you guys to try out, cornflake chews! These are the perfect sweet treat to take somewhere when you are crunched on time. They only contain four ingredients and are just dreamy, especially if you are a peanut butter lover. 

Cornflake Chews
1 cup sugar  1 cup corn syrup  7 heaping spoonfuls peanut butter 6 cups of corn flakes
Mix sugar and corn syrup over medium heat until boiling. Once boiling take off the stovetop and add peanut butter until smooth. Then add your cornflake chews, and lay out onto wax paper in spoonfuls. 
Hope you guys enjoy this recipe! Since I will soon be cutting out sugar, I will not really be enjoying these sweet treats tonight which means more for Ryan's coworkers tomorrow. :) 
Here is one more pic of the deliciousness! 

Have a great weekend! We will see you back here Sunday. 

Roberts Favorite Gourmet Pizza

Welcome back! 
It's been hard to decide which savory dish to share first with everyone.  We have so many favorites in our family.  Food is not hard to enjoy around the Roberts household!  Kelsey and Maddy unanimously decided that the Roberts Gourmet Pizza should be the first.  It combines our love of fresh herbs and mexican flavors on top of a flaky crust.  What could be better?  When I first started experimenting with homemade pizza crust, I searched the web for different recipes.  I cannot take credit for the pizza crust recipe but I can't remember where I found it either.  You can easily use a mix for your pizza crust depending on your timeframe.  The topping, however, is an original Roberts and that is what I'm going to focus on today!  I will share the recipe to the pizza crust later on in the post.  
Roberts Favorite Gourmet Pizza
First, marinate 2-3 chicken breasts that have been cut into bite size pieces in 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup vinegar,  1/2 cup lime juice,  2 tsp. cumin,  2 tsp. garlic powder,  pinch of cayenne for at least 30 minutes and grill.
After pizza crust has cooked 6-7 minutes in a 450 degree oven,  spread a mixture of 1/4 cup olive oil and fresh chopped cilantro and basil to taste on crust Drizzle ranch dressing over this (about 1/2 cup).
Place cooked chicken pieces over the ranch dressing.  Put chopped (or sliced) jalapeño and sliced gouda cheese on top.  Lastly, slice roma tomatoes on top of this.  Bake @ 8 more minutes at 450 degrees.   

Now, excuse that this is not the best picture  (especially with my well loved pizza pan) but trust me when I say the taste is delicious.  And the homemade crust really does send it over the top!  

Pizza Dough in Bread Machine  (makes 2 pizzas)
1 cup lukewarm water 1 tsp. sugar 2 TBSP. olive oil 1 TBSP. honey 1 tsp. salt 3 cups bread flour 2 1/4 tsp. fast rising yeast
Place ingredients in bread machine in order given.  Run through pizza dough cycle.  When bread has risen remove onto floured surface and divide in half.  Spray olive oil on pizza pan.  Work with dough until spread out.  Bake in a 450 degree oven for 6-7 min.  Remove and add desired toppings and bake until cheese is melted. 
Here is the printable recipe for both the dough and pizza: Roberts Favorite Gourmet Pizza Enjoy & don't forget to sign up for our blog to see yummy new recipes! 

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie EVER

Hey y'all! As promised the very first recipe is here and we had to start with a classic! 
Wait for it, wait for it...........IT'S CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES! 
Not just any chocolate chip cookies either, these are guaranteed to be the best you have ever had.  My mom made these for my siblings and I growing up and they were a household favorite. After moving out of the house I had to learn how to perfect these myself, and I must say my husband absolutely loves them. In fact he will ask me to make them about twice a month! 
I can't take the credit here though because after all it is my mom' recipe, I am just doing you the favor of sharing these with you. Because I promise you will thank me later. 

Here is the super simple recipe. This recipe will make at least 30 cookies, so the dough will last me in the fridge a couple of days, or it even does well in the freezer.
Chocolate Chip Cookies: 
2/3 cup butter-softened  1 cup brown sugar  1 cup sugar  2/3 cup shortening (can substitute coconut oil)  2 large eggs  1 TBSP vanilla  3 cups self-rising flour 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips  Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes
I throw everything in my Kitchen Aid or by hand except for the flour and chocolate chips and mix. Then add the flour one cup at a time until mixed well. Add chocolate chips and mix. If the dough is still too gooey add a little bit more flour. The dough is always better on the second day. 
Find printable recipe here: Chocolate Chip Cookies
Speaking of the dough, here it is in all of its glory: 

The final results are these yummy looking cookies, one just isn't enough! 

Enjoy!