The Ladies Luncheon (several recipes...)

Chicken Ambrosia Salad

This was a spin-off of your average ambrosia salad. The salty/sweet kind.

Recipe: Mix up cooked chicken, coconut, crushed pineapple and almond slivers.

Pecan-Crusted Chicken Breasts

This turned out relatively well, but I am not a pecan fan so they weren't my favorite. This reminded me of a health fried chicken. I used tenderloins rather than breasts and cut them up to make easy finger foods.

Recipe:
Season chicken with salt, pepper and a little mayo. In a separate bowl, combine a cup of panko bread crumbs, cup of chopped pecans and dip chicken into mixture. Press firmly. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Everyone's Favorite Pimento Cheese Dip

Yum!

Ham Biscuits

Very good! Simple, and tasty.

Ham Biscuits Recipe

General Robert E. Lee Cake

This was my first attempt at a layer cake EVER. As you can see, I am not exactly the best icer - lol. It is a trial and error type thing.

This cake was very light and refreshing with the hints of lemon and orange.

62 down.

Hot Pimiento Cheese Dip, Gooey Gorilla Bread and Chocolate Pecan Bars

Down side of the day: Texans lost. Up side: Accomplished three recipes. 

Cheeeeeese!

I had my first scare today. After piecing together the gorilla bread and pouring the sugar/butter mixture of the top, I slid it into the oven and was certain that none of the drippings would slide right out. I was wrong. Before we knew it, we were practically being smoked out of the house. We had the vents going, windows and doors opened, fans on, everything. Looks like I get to try out the Self Clean cycle on the oven.

Gooey Gorilla Bread

21 down.

Dr Pepper Pecans

Not. A. Fan. Of. Nuts. BUT it is necessary since it is a recipe in the book! The turned out beautifully and definitely smell wonderful. I am not sure if I mis-measured slightly or what happened, but they didn't seem to have turned out as expected after reading Paula's insight...

I followed the directions step by step but for some reason mine didn't seem to be thickening up as well as I had thought. She mentioned that it would become more of a gooey, sticky mixture but mine was still relatively thin. Mark and I had fun in the kitchen tonight, joking around and enjoying the time we are spending together throughout all of these recipes. He even came up with something really cute and funny, will share in a blog post tomorrow. But, yes, it has something to do with Paula Deen.

16 down.

Bubblin' Brown Artichoke and Cream Cheese Dip, Mousse, Gooey Butter Cake

Football playoff day! First season for our Texan's to make it to the playoffs, and boy were we pumped! The game isn't quite over yet, so I am posting this before the final score. I can tell you this though, they are doing awesome, and we threw a few yummy recipes in to get us through it all.

Bubblin' Brown Artichoke and Cream Cheese Dip

Smoked Salmon Mousse

I knew going into this that the artichoke dip would be amazing, it has parmesan and cream cheeses! The second one, I wasn't so sure. The sound of both Salmon and Mousse in the name of the recipe, kinda made me think twice. Mark and I have already been given a great recipe for Salmon Dip so we felt awkward straying away from it. This one is also definitely tasty! A bit smoother because it calls for the food processor, while the other one we just mix up using a fork.

Bubblin' Brown Artichoke and Cream Cheese Dip Recipe

You always need a dessert, and as I am quickly learning, it has butter more often than not. We are definitely trying to limit ourselves on all the intake of these recipes. I take most all desserts into work to share with co-workers and I will most likely be going door to door to welcome new neighbors with future recipes. So no worries all, we are NOT eating all of this stuff.

Right outta the oven

Finished product

The edges were caramalized and slightly chewy, and the centers were definitely gooey. You can't have too much of this, or else you'll be heading to the dentist. Paula mentions in her recipe about how much she loves cake batter, and sometimes more than the finished product. If thats the case, this cake is for you!

Gooey Butter Cake Recipe

8 down.