Crack Corn: The Recipe That Inspired My Blog

If you've ever wondered why I decided to name my blog The Devilish Dish, there are a couple of reasons behind the inspiration.  First of all, I thought "Devilish" would not only imply the spicy food that I love to cook, but also rich, sinful desserts that none of you could resist.  "Dish" would symbolize not only a plate of food, but "the dish" as in The Gossip, The Scoop.  If you've ever seen the skit on Saturday Night Live that is a parody of NPR's The Splendid Table, then you know they call their radio show, "The Delicious Dish."  I thought The Devilish Dish would be a nice homage to Molly Shannon and Ana Gasteyer.  I love listening to The Splendid Table, but I love the SNL version better.  Why the catch phrase, "So good it tastes like Jesus made it?"  A dear friend in Nebraska gave me this recipe.  It's simple, and addicting.  I mean really.  Like crack addicting.  And she should know, because they really love their corn up in Nebraska.  So I got hooked on the popcorn.  And I got everyone I know hooked on the popcorn.  I made "Oklahoma Sooners Bowl Bags" for Christmas gifts one year.  You know:  chips, salsa, popcorn.  Everything you need snack on while watching a bowl game.  I received a thank-you note from a friend that simply said, "That popcorn was so good, it tastes like Jesus made it." She's right.  It is sweet, salty and so simple to make.  

THE Popcorn.  Careful, it's addicting!



4 ingredients. 
It doesn't get any easier than that!



Combine almond bark and vegetable oil.



Microwave until smooth and pourable.



Remove any popped kernels from the popcorn.



Pour melted almond bark over popcorn. 
I like to put the popcorn in a paper sack.
Then you can just shake it really well to combine.
I usually make this popcorn in triple batches,
so the sack makes things easy.



Add sprinkles if desired. 
Let popcorn "dry" before serving.



So good it tastes like Jesus made it.



Crack Popcorn:   A.K.A. The Popcorn So Good It Tastes Like Jesus Made It

2 bags microwave popcorn, popped
3 squares white almond bark
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
sprinkles, optional

Pop the popcorn and sort out any unpopped kernels.  Melt the almond bark and vegetable oil together in the microwave until smooth.  Pour over popcorn and stir/shake until evenly coated.  Add sprinkles if desired.  Let popcorn "dry" before serving.

Prep Time:  Approximately 10 minutes     Cook Time:  0

NOTE:  You can use any kind of microwave popcorn that you like, butter/no butter, salt/no salt.  I like it with butter and salt because it is the perfect combination with the sweet white bark.  You can change the colors of sprinkles for holidays, sports teams etc...This makes a great gift packaged in a cute bag too!

Blue Cheese Potato Salad

Nothing is more American than potato salad.  Perfect all Summer long from Memorial Day to Labor Day and every cook out in between.  With all of those occasions to get together, it's time you had some new material.  Not that there is anything wrong with traditional potato salad.  This one just happens to be a nice variation.  The crisp green onions and celery are a great complement to the tangy blue cheese.  Try it for your next backyard bonanza!

Garlic Onion Burgers

I'm pretty picky when it comes to burgers.  My personal favorite would be the greasy kind with fried onions.  You know, from a bowling alley snack bar?  The rest of the family likes them cooked outside on the grill.  To me, those burgers are always dry and too thick.  A little like a meatball on a bun.  No amount of mustard, ketchup or pickles can make up for a bad burger.  These garlic onion burgers pack a ton of flavor and make a really juicy burger.  I just ate my plain.  No cheese, no mayo.  I know, I'm weird.  Hubby ate his with the works and he was still going on about what a great burger it was at bedtime.  We have a winner.  I've found a tasty, juicy burger that I can enjoy without going to the bowling alley for dinner.

The Birthday Dinner Re-Cap

We had a birthday celebration for my mom, and her twin sister tonight.  Since I had my wreck in 2010, and subsequent surgery, the two of them have been so much help to me.  I wanted to reward them with a special meal.  Since my walking is limited, I put together a menu perfect for easy entertaining.  Lots of make-ahead ideas, that allowed me some time to rest my foot!  The menu included:  Spasagna, Caesar Salad, Crusty Bread with Roasted Garlic, and a Pecan Pie Trifle for dessert.  Everything turned out to be a success!

Here's the Birthday Girls! 
And they are still this cute, even at 70!

The entree was "Spasagna" which really was like a
spaghetti in alfredo sauce, covered in a meat sauce.
Once it was baked, the spaghetti thickened up and could
be cut into squares before serving.  It was truly the perfect
"company" dish.  A HUGE hit.  I doubled the recipe and made
TWO casseroles.  It was almost all gone!  If you'd like to make
Spasagna, please visit The Country Cook.  I love her blog.
She has many wonderful recipes.  I also follow her on Facebook. 
You can find the Spasagna recipe HERE.

I made a simple Caesar Salad to accompany the Spasagna.
Everyone loves a good Caesar Salad.  I prepared the dressing
ahead.  At meal time I simply had to toss together the lettuce,
croutons, dressing and Parmesan cheese.  Not a bite left!  You can
find my directions for making Caesar Salad HERE.

No Italian meal is complete without warm, crusty bread.
Brushed with melted butter and lightly toasted. 

I roasted a few heads of garlic to spread on the bread.
The flavor makes a wonderful addition to mashed
potatoes and dips.  But my favorite way to serve it
is just like this.  With a spreader and some toasted bread.
If you'd like to learn how to roast your own garlic,
I can show you HERE.

Instead of a traditional birthday cake, I chose to make a
Pecan Pie Trifle.  My mom and aunt both love
Pecan Pie.  This just sounded too perfect.  AND, it
all started with a frozen pecan pie.  Not only did my kitchen
stay cool from not baking a pie, this dessert went together
super quickly, and in advance.  I had the chance to rest my foot!
I found the recipe at Confessions of a Cookbook Queen. 
She is extremely witty, I just love her blog.  She has lots of
yummy recipes, including the Pecan Pie Trifle.  Layers of
pecan pie cubes, a fluffy cream cheese layer, hot fudge and caramel
topping.  That's it.  It wasn't rich or anything.  Not at all.

I made my trifle in this beautiful antique bowl that
belonged to my Grandmother Mary.  (Eat your heart out
Cousin Lindsey!)  The bowl is so big, I decided to add a layer
of whipped cream and pecans.  You know, just to top it off.
Because it wasn't rich enough already.  Everything needs
a little whipped cream.  And hey, it was a birthday party!



For their gifts, I made the them Tulle Fourth of July
Wreaths for their front doors.  You know that's coming up
right around the corner.  One of my favorite holidays to celebrate.
They love it too.  Summer birthdays just make me think
Red, White and Blue!  I found the original idea for the wreath
along with the instructions HERE.  The amount of
talent and imagination that people have always amazes me.
Please be sure to visit all of these wonderful bloggers!

I added some anti-bacterial hand soap
from Bath and Body Works.  You know how I love
a theme.  I couldn't resist throwing in the Apple Pie
and Blueberry Pancake soaps. 

Here they are.  Two wreaths.  I'm used to making two of
everything.  When you're lucky enough like me to have
"Two Moms" it's the natural thing to do!

Raspberry Ice Cream--Greatest Invention Ever...

I'm pretty sure I've told you by now the Mr. Devilish Dish's favorite flavor of anything is raspberry.  Raspberry candy, raspberry sauce.  Fresh raspberries on the side of anything.  I knew I would hit the baseball out of the park with this one.  Tart, cool, refreshing.  PERFECT for sweet summertime.

Raspberry Summery Goodness...And it's pink!

The Raspberry Ice Cream Line-Up

Beat eggs with electric mixer.

Add whipping cream...

And instant pudding mix.

Add sugar.

And vanilla.

Dissolve raspberry gelatin in boiling water.  Add
the juice from the sieved raspberries.

Combine with egg mixture.

Pour into ice cream freezer container.

Add milk, stir well and freeze.

Serve as soft serve or freeze mixture until
it gets harder.

Enjoy!

My Mom's Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I've tried lots of carrot cake recipes and none of them compare to my Mom's version.  She uses baby food carrots instead of grated fresh carrots.  The result is a super moist cake with a much nicer consistency.  This recipe has been published time and time again in the church cookbook, and I cannot count how many times my Mom has taken this to a potluck, birthday or other occasion.  You can't beat the cream cheese frosting on top.  It's simple, but so rich and decadent.  Pecans or no pecans?  That's up to you.  I usually don't put them in the batter, I save them for the frosting. 

 Mom's Carrot Cake Line-Up

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and oil.  Beat well.

In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients
and set aside.

To sugar and oil mixture, add the eggs...

Add the baby food carrots...

Add vanilla and beat until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture,
and mix until combined.

Place in prepared cake pan or muffin tin
and bake at 350 degrees F.

Meanwhile beat cream cheese and butter
until smooth and creamy.

Add vanilla and continue
beating until combined.

Add powdered sugar a little at a time.

Beat the heck out of it until it is smooth,
creamy and spreadable.

Frost your cake or cupcakes.  Garnish with pecans
or add them to your frosting.  That's up to you.

I left a few plain, my husband
doesn't go for pecans.  Look how
pretty they came out.  YUM!



Father's Day Re-Cap

It was a great Father's Day here at The Devilish Dish.  I think I told you we were having Indian Tacos.  They were a big 'ol hit, as expected.  In addition to topping them with Ranch Style Beans, lettuce, onion, cheese, tomatoes and hot sauce, I cooked up a couple of pounds of ground beef.  It got seasoned with various chile powders, a little salt, garlic powder and onion powder.  I also put out sour cream.  It's not a traditional topping at the State Fair, but it was a request.  I made my fry bread dough up about 45 minutes before everyone got here and started frying them up.  Delish!  You can find the Indian Fry Bread/Indian Taco Recipe HERE.  It all worked out great because an Indian Taco is a meal in itself.  I didn't have to grill anything or make any side dishes.  That gave me more time to spend with my sweet Daddy!

That's my Daddy on the right.  On
the left is his twin brother.  My
"Daddy Vernon."  He lives in Heaven.
I was so lucky to grow up with two dads!

For dessert I made Root beer Float Cupcakes.  I'm not even a huge root beer fan, but you'll see why I chose that particular dessert.  I'm working toward a theme here!  Shame on me for not taking a picture of them.  I baked them in bright, striped wrappers, and decorated each one with part of a neon colored bendy straw.  You know, to get the full root beer float effect.  If you are interested in the recipe, I got them from a very clever blog.  The recipe for the Root beer Buttercream frosting is to die for.  I should have made extra.  You know, for breakfast in the morning.  If you'd like to make your own Root beer Float Cupcakes, please visit Confessions of a Cookbook Queen.  Her blog is awesome.  Plus she is freaking funny and her recipes are to die for.  And don't get me started on how good everything looks.  That's part of the reason I didn't take pictures of my cupcakes.  Because in my mind, I want to pretend they looked just like hers.

And now you'll see why I went with the Root beer Float theme.  That's what all the Dad's got for their Father's Day Treat.  Originally I was going to make Cracker Jack Cookies and Pop-Fly Popcorn, and go with a baseball theme, since the College World Series is going on right now.  And then my crappy foot decided not to cooperate and my Dr said no walking.  Which I'm also going to guess means no standing in the kitchen on the crappy foot and baking.  And I just didn't feel right about asking Mr. Devilish Dish to bake his own Father's Day treat.  I had already bought the root beer, only because the brand name was DADS and I thought that was funny.  I had everything ready to go except the cookies and popcorn.  So last minute change of plans and I added vanilla ice cream instead.

Here's the finished product. 
Not exactly the cookies
and popcorn I had originally planned,
but they were a hit anyway!

I have to give credit to the original
creator of this idea.
I saw it on the 2 Clever Blog.  
So talented.  One of my favorite blogs to look at. 

I changed the tag a little bit
from the original, but I loved the caption
"Top Pop" so I went with that.
Just too much fun with the DAD'S Root Beer.

Big Daddy Size.  What a riot!

Now you can see why I chose
the Root beer Float Cupcakes. 
It made my little treats all the cuter. 
I'm a sucker for themes. 
The moms made out pretty good too because
the root beer and ice cream
are in salad bowls.  Everybody wins!