Loganville, Dacula and Bethlehem Real Estate - The Rains Team

Who doesn’t enjoy a good pot roast? There’s just something about that tender, juicy meat that fills you right up and comforts you at the same time. I love pot roast, especially one that I can put in the crock pot in the morning and forget about until dinner time.

This recipe is so easy and delicious that I bet you make it this weekend! And it tastes perfectly when paired with garlic green beans and horseradish mashed potatoes. Doesn’t that sound like a delightful combination?

INGREDIENTS:

• One 3-lb boneless chuck roast
• 1.5 teaspoons House Seasoning (See note at bottom)
• 1/4 Cup vegetable oil (or extra-virgin olive oil)
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 or 4 beef bouillon cubes, crushed
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 10.75 oz. can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1/4 to 1/2 Cup Chardonnay wine

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sprinkle roast on all sides with House Seasoning; seasoning well
2. In moderately hot skillet, brown roast on all sides in oil
3. Place roast in Crock Pot
4. On top of the roast, layer onion, bay leaves, crushed beef bouillon cubes, crushed garlic and cream of mushroom soup
5. Add Chardonnay
6. Cover with just enough water to cover all the ingredients sufficiently
7. Cook on low setting approximately 8 hours

House Seasoning is made of: 1 Cup salt, 1/4 Cup black pepper and 1/4 Cup garlic powder. Stir all ingredients together.

I hope you enjoy this delicious recipe! Bon Appetit!

(Recipe is from the cookbook: Paula Deen’s Kitchen Classics)

Gooey. Creamy. Tasty. Easy. Those are the words I would use to describe this banana pudding recipe! It’s so simple to make yet so delicious that you better watch out or you may eat the whole thing! The great thing about this recipe is that it makes a huge amount. It serves at least 12 people so it’s great to take to the next family gathering or the potluck supper at church on Sunday.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 bag of vanilla wafers or 2 bags Peperidge Farm Chessmen cookies
• 6 to 8 bananas, sliced
• 2 Cups milk
• 1 5-ounce box instant French vanilla pudding
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 12-ounce container frozen whipped topping, thawed

DIRECTIONS:

1. Line bottom of a 13×9x2-inch dish with cookies and put bananas on top.
2. Blend milk with pudding mix well with a handheld electric mixer.
3. Beat cream cheese and condensed milk together in a bowl until smooth; fold in whipped topping.
4. Add to pudding mixture, stirring until well blended.
5. Pour mixture over cookies and bananas; cover with remaining cookies.
6. Refrigerate.
7. Eat, eat, eat!

Okay, a few quick notes about this recipe: if you want to make a lighter version of this (so you can eat more *smile*) then use skim milk, neufchatel cheese (it’s the low-fat version of cream cheese–tastes the same) and light whipped topping. It still tastes the same I promise!

Also, I think that crushing the cookies for the top layer makes the presentation prettier. And I think this recipe is better if it’s made a day in advance and has time to chill in the refrigerator for several hours–I believe it makes the texture better because the cookies get soft and gooey.

ENJOY!
You know, I would really enjoy any wonderful dessert recipes you have…leave your best recipe in the comment section please

(This recipe is found in Paula Deen’s cookbook: “The Lady & Sons: Just Desserts”)

It’s a great time to buy a home in Georgia, whether you’re a first-time home buyer or not, and I would love to walk you through this process. If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today: 404.357.2231!

I love trying out new recipes and luckily last night I had the opportunity to as it was my night to bring snacks to my Small Group Bible Study. One of the recipes I attempted was this Mixed-Berry Crumble Tart and afterwards everyone said it was a keeper…so I thought maybe you would like to try this one out too!

Now, I forgot to take a before picture…but here’s an after picture…it’s nearly gone, so that’s got to tell you that it’s delicious. It’s made from a mixture of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries which I thought was perfect for the summer time. And berries are really good for your body too–full of antioxidants and vitamins, which is great–okay, okay there’s definitely some sugar and butter in this so it’s not the healthiest but what can I say? I love the sweets!!

Ingredients:

• Pastry for One-Crust Pie (You can use a store-bought pie crust)
• 1 1/2 C. sliced fresh strawberries
• 1 1/2 C. fresh blueberries
• 1 C. fresh raspberries
• 2/3 C. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 3/4 C. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 C. sugar
• 1 tsp. grated orange peel
• 1/3 C. butter/margarine, melted

Directions:

Heat oven to 425 degree F. Press pastry against bottom and side of pan. Trim any overhanging edge of pastry even with top of pan.

In large bowl, gently toss berries with 2/3 C. sugar and the cornstarch. Spoon into pastry-lined pan.

In small bowl, stir flour, 1/2 C. sugar, the orange peel and butter with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over berries.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until fruit bubbles in center. Serve warm.
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Just a few little tips and hints. If you don’t want to make your own pastry, it’s perfectly fine to use the store-bought crust…nobody will be able to tell the difference. Also, since berries can be pricy, I bought the frozen ones. I found a blend of raspberries, blueberries and black berries and then also bought a package of strawberries. Let the thaw and then they’ll be fine to use. If you don’t want to use a tart pan, you can also use a regular pie pan as I did.

It seems like lately I’ve been making a variety of chicken casseroles, maybe I need to branch out more, but they’re just so easy and very cost effective. Because it’s just the two of us we always have leftovers, which although I’m not a huge fan of, they do make our grocery budget go farther.

This one is a Mexican Chicken Casserole by my favorite cook (you already know I’m going to say Paula Deen don’t you?!). Well this one is cheesy, creamy, delicious and really quick to make–from assembly to oven to table is only about 40 minutes!

Ingredients:

• 1 10.75 oz. can cream of chicken soup
• 1 10.75 oz. can Cheddar cheese soup
• 1 10.75 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 10 oz. can Ro-Tel tomatoes
• 1 whole chicken, cooked, boned and chopped or 4 Cups leftover cooked chicken
• 1 11.5 oz. package flour tortillas
• 2 Cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, stir together the three kinds of soup and the tomatoes. Stir in the chicken.
2. In a greased 13×9 inch pan, layer the tortillas and chicken mixture, beginning and endgin with tortillas.
3. Sprinkle cheese over the casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

This delicious dish serves 8 people. I served it with a hot spinach and artichoke dip that complimented it well. Hope you enjoy this! A great one to make for the family!

Thank You for Reading!

I hope this information has helped you! If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today! 

Well, if you’re like me you really enjoy some good comfort food from time to time! I’ve found this delicious and simple to make chicken casserole that just hits the spot. Made with lots of yummy foods, well actually why don’t you just watch my video and you’ll see why I like this recipe…

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 6 oz. package long-grain and wild rice, cooked according to directions
• 4 C. diced cooked chicken breast
• 2 10.75 oz. cans cream of chicken soup
• 1 C. mayonnaise
• 2 tsp. curry powder, or to taste
• 1 8 oz. package Pepperidge Farm Cornbread Dressing Mix
• 1/4 C. (1/2 stick) butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put the rice in a greased 2-quart casserole.
2. Layer the chicken on top of the rice.
3. Mix the soup, mayonnaise and curry powder and pour over the chicken.
4. Sprinkle the dressing mix over the casserole and dot with butter.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutues or until bubbly.

Bon Appetit!

If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today!

While in Crested Butte, Colorado last week I had the best roasted red pepper soup at the slope-side restaurant, 9380 Prime. It had such a great flavor and it was so smooth, it was the perfect lunch. Well, when I got home I began craving it and decided to look on the Internet for a close replica. (I thought about first calling the restaurant and trying to beg the chef for the recipe but decided to try it on my own first!) I found a great recipe from the blog, Kerala Kitchen and decided to try it out…I wasn’t let down, it was delicious and tastes almost exactly like 9380 Prime’s version.

 You can still see the steam from the picture; really it was absolutely delicious and you must give a try.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Large Red Bell Peppers
• 2 C. canned diced tomatoes
• 2 C. chicken stock
• 1 red onion
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp. fresh basil (I left this out and it still tasted great!)
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper (I used 1 tsp. for extra sharpness)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. heavy cream (I actually used 3 Tbsp)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil

WHAT TO DO:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the onion into 4 quarters. Seed the red peppers and cut lengthwise into two pieces. Brush a baking sheet with olive oil and place the red peppers skinside up. Fill the spaces with the onion pieces and the whole garlic cloves. (I recommend putting down a sheet of aluminum foil and then placing the olive oil and vegetables on top–easier clean up!!) Drizzle 1 Tbsp. olive oil on top of all the vegetables and roast for 20 minutes or until the peppers turn brown. Remove the skins of the peppers and chop into large pieces. Set aside with the onion and garlic.
2. In a large saucepan, combine the chicken stock oregano and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and add the peppers, onion and garlic. Cook for 10 minutes. Then using a hand blender (or transfer to a regular blender), puree the mixture until it’s smooth and an even texture. (The lady who wrote this recipe feels the soup tastes better if it’s chunky, I disagree–I like the texture to be smooth, like a bisque). Return the puree back to the saucepan (if you used a blender) and add the sugar, black pepper and salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes then remove the pot from the heat. Add heavy cream and stir in well. Garnish with basil and sour cream if you like.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can (15-16 oz) garbonzo beans, drained (*These are also known as Chick Peas)
• 1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, cut in half (or more! I love garlic, so I always use more)
• 2 TBSP lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Chopped fresh parsley–this is just a garnish, I usually make it without
• Pita bread wedges, crackers or raw veggies

1. In blender or food processor, place beans, oil, garlic, lemon juice and salt.
2. Cover and blend on high sped, stopping blender occasionally to scrape sides if necessary, until uniform consistency.
3. Spoon into serving dish. Garnish with parsley. Serve with pita bread wedges.

Now, one of the reasons I enjoy hummus so much is that you can flavor it with different things to make it taste completely different. In the picture above I also added to the blender 1 can (2.25 oz) of chopped black olives. Next time I make it I’m going to add some chopped roasted red peppers to it.

Another way to change this recipe up is serving it with different things. I love pita wedges, but this time I used Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil Triscuits. It was a good combination with the black olives.

It makes a great appetizer, party food or an everyday snack. Hummus literally takes maybe five minutes to make. So there you have, quick, simple, tasty and healthy! Make some this weekend…it would be great to take to your Super Bowl Party…and let me know what special ingredients you add to yours!

Thanks for Reading

Sometimes, it’s hard to come up with a fresh new idea for dinner, which is why I love chicken so much–it is so versatile and can be used in so many different ways. If you have a lot of mouths to feed or just want to cook one night and have left-overs for a few days, a casserole is an easy and quick way to get a hearty meal. So, here’s my solution for tonight’s dinner:

Photo by Dave-F

Ingredients:

• 2 C. cubed cooked chicken
• 2 C. breadcrumbs
• 1 C. cooked rice
• 1 C. milk
• One 2 oz. jar pimentos, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 4 eggs, well beaten
• 1 10.75 oz. can cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken)
• 1 C. heavy cream

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, breadcrumbs, rice, milk, pimentos, salt and cayenne.
2. Stir in the eggs.
3. Pour the mixture into a buttered 2-quart baking dish.
4. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.
5. For the sauce, combine the soup and cream in a small saucepan and heat until bubbly.
6. Serve the sauce on the side.

This recipe will serve about 6 entree servings. I don’t like to eat a huge dinner, so I just served it with English peas. I stored the sauce and the casserole separately and re-heated them separately and it tasted just as good as the first day it was made…okay, maybe not just as good, because everything is always better when it’s hot and fresh out of the oven, but it still tasted good. You can see from the picture below, that the warm sauce is poured all over the casserole…very delicious!

Bon Appetit! Thanks for Reading!

If you are in the market to buy or sell your home in the Bethlehem or Dacula area, I would be happy to assist you! My passion is helping people find their dream home and stepping them through this exciting journey. I serve the Walton, Barrow and Gwinnett county areas. Call or text me today!

Saturday morning I got up early and made hubby and I home-made waffles. They were delicious and the recipe I used was very simple and easy. We had a few left over, so I made a tasty dessert later that night…WAFFLES and ICE CREAM! Now, if you’ve never had this before, you simply must try it.

Eating this delicious treat got me thinking about my wonderful memories from when I first had this–back in 2002 when I went to NYC for the first and only time (so far). I remember we had just seen the broadway musical Phantom of the Opera and we were hungry. So we stopped in at one of those cute 24 hour diners and I ordered a belgium waffle with vanilla ice cream. Mmmm! So good!!

I loved visiting NYC–I loved the energy of the city, I even loved how crazy busy the sidewalks and streets were! I loved taking a carriage ride in Central Park and eating at Tavern on the Green. I loved all the lights on Times Square and going to the top of the Empire State building at night and looking out at the city. It was so much fun going to see the Statue of Liberty and it was awesome going to shows on Broadway. All in all it was a great trip and I would love to go back sometime soon. I was just thinking how neat it is when a food reminds you of a memory…just eating that waffle with a bit of ice cream made me think about that trip.

Photo by Steve Kelley

SIMPLE, YUMMY WAFFLE RECIPE:

Ingredients:

• 2 C. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 2 C. milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp. melted butter

Directions:

• Separate the egg whites from the yolks and beat them until they turn into snow
• Mix the milk, melted butter, sugar and egg yolks in another bowl, until the sugar dissolves.
• Put all the dry ingredients in a larger bowl and pour in the wet stuff. Mix until the batter is even but with a few lumps.
• Gently mix the eggs whites into the batter.
• Put one cup of batter into a preheated waffle maker and bake for about 2 minutes.

Just add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some syrup and you’ve got yourself a wonderful treat. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!