Jolene's Recipe Journal

It's vacation week here in NH.  For my son, that means no school, sleepovers, day trips.  For me, it usually means catching up on all the things that need doing, plus cooking.   I try to balance all the new recipes I want to try alongside quick and easy meals on the days I have lots of non-cooking things to do.

These Loaded Stuffed Potato Pancakes are golden, crispy on the outside with a cream cheese center that makes each bite amazing. I have a problem-  whenever I make mashed potatoes, I make enough for an army. That would be ok, if anyone ate them in leftover form besides me.   To reel the guys back in, I do what I do with anything I want them to eat without complaint- bread it and fry it!

When in doubt, go with the classics, right?   For the dessert portion of our Easter meal, I chose this gorgeous carrot cake.   Sadly, my food processor went to appliance heaven a while back, and the thought of hand grating carrots wasn't putting me in a festive mood.  

We always have the same old side dishes, usually corn or green beans.   I had sent my husband to the store for carrots and he came home with a gigantic bag, so I went in search of a recipe to use them.   This recipe looked so colorful and perfect for Easter! To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of peas except the first of the year straight from the farm, but I had some in the freezer to use up.   

I've mentioned it a few times, but in 2015, I was chosen to be a Community Cook for Taste of Home magazine.   I've got binders full of the magazines, plus cookbooks, and I've tried over 150 recipes from their site and publications.  

  Easter was a HUGE holiday growing up in my Italian family.   As years went on, we got away from the big gathering and spent it more casually, like taking a ride to the beach and having a picnic.   We do enjoy Easter dishes though, so at some point in April I'll make a ham and sides.

These loaded Oreo M&M cookie bars are thick, soft, and packed with Golden Oreos and mini M&Ms. Made in an 8x8 pan with melted butter and simple pantry ingredients, they come together quickly with no mixer required.

I've mentioned before that when I'm meal planning and needing inspiration, I turn to the Food Holidays calendar.   Chicken is the thing we eat most and the thing I get bored with most easily but seeing that today is National Chicken Cordon Bleu Day got the wheels turning.  

  It's Grilled Cheese month!  Grilled cheese growing up was Wonder bread and cheese that you had to peel out of it's single wrapper.   I was not a fan. Thankfully, the different varieties of cheese sold by the slice is fantastic now.   One of my current favorites is a thin sliced sharp cheddar.

Mother nature pulled its own joke on us here in New England yesterday- plowable snow, so I'm posting this a day late.