Mom's 9-Day Coleslaw

My Mom has made this coleslaw for as long as I can remember.  It even says at the bottom of her recipe, "Good for days."  It's a great make-ahead dish for potlucks, cook outs and barbecues.  For our first tailgate of the year, we played Louisiana Tech.  Sometimes we try to get cute and have a theme to our tailgate.  We thought Cajun-style food was only appropriate.  A big pot of Jambalaya, sausages, some grilled pork chops.  I volunteered the side-dishes.  I normally make creamy coleslaw because that's what Mr. Devilish Dish likes.  This is the version I prefer, because it's the one my mom makes and the one I grew up with.  Well, let's just say when I took it to our tailgate it's the version EVERYONE prefers  Seriously.  I had more complements on this super simple slaw, than any of the (sometimes) elaborate things I've made for tailgate.  Whether your bunch likes creamy or tangy, give this one a try.  I'm betting you'll win some of the creamy coleslaw lovers over to the tangy side!

My very favorite coleslaw.
And not just because it's my Mom's recipe.

Greek Stew over Couscous

I think we've all figured out by now that Mr. Devilish Dish is a carnivore.  I've told you several times how his favorite phrase may as well be, "Where's the beef?"  Little Devil on the other hand would probably survive eating only pastas and grains.  I've never seen a kid put away more carbs in my life.  One of her very favorites is couscous.  If you haven't tried couscous before, it's granular semolina (the same kind of wheat often used to make pasta) that is moistened with water and rolled into tiny bead-like pellets.  It's roots come from North Africa, but it's so versatile you could use it almost anywhere you'd want to serve rice, noodles or mashed potatoes.  It's great as a side dish by itself, but when you pour something rich and hearty like Greek Beef Stew over the top, you really have a winner!

Try something new tonight!

The Line-Up!  So simple and all in one pot!

Here's a great tip:  Add your salt, pepper
and flour to a zip top bag.
Add the beef cubes and shake to coat. 
Simply toss the bag away.  No mess!

Enjoy!

Fajita Bacon Chicken

You already know we love Mexican food around here.  Any kind of Mexican food.  Good Mexican food.  Even bad Mexican food isn't that bad.  It's like pizza, even the bad Mexican food is still pretty good.  Of course we love fajitas, and who doesn't with the peppers and onions???  The only thing I don't love about making fajitas is they are kind of a chore.  Marinating, cooking, slicing, dicing.  When I started off making this recipe, I kind of envisioned serving the chicken breasts whole, topped with the bacon, onions, peppers etc... (similar to a Monterrey Chicken Dish.) But then we got hungry and I thought the chicken might cook faster if I sliced it first.  And after I did that I decided to serve it fajita-style  with flour tortillas.  Really good.  Really easy.  One dish.  Make this for dinner tonight.  Seriously.

It's like a cross between Monterrey Chicken
and Chicken Fajitas.
Oh so good!

Allow cheese to melt over the top.
Ooey Gooey Cheesy Chicken Goodness.

One skillet.
4 Stars.

Easy Oven-Baked Ribs

Mr. Devilish Dish is a huge rib fan.  I on the other hand am not fond of any dinner that requires immediate dental flossing.  So we rarely have ribs.  We do have a smoker in the back yard that I haven't the slightest idea how to use.  Basically if the weather is nice enough for smoking, it's nice enough for golfing.  He doesn't like ribs well enough to babysit a smoker on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.  I decided I would attempt to make him his beloved ribs, only definitely inside the house.  This method was so simple and the ribs came out great.  I ate my obligatory one, but Mr. DD ate 5.  And we are not talking baby ribs.  We are talking Fred Flintstone Gigantasaurus Ribs.  Use whatever seasoning and barbecue sauce you have, and pork or beef ribs, your choice!  They will come out great.

3 Ingredients, 3 Hours. 
I told you they were EASY!

I used a sauce and seasoning we had on hand.
Try your favorite bottled sauce and
all-purpose seasoning.

The ribs came out tender and delicious!
So EASY!

Pumpkin Cupcake Centerpiece

I LOVE Halloween!  It's my favorite holiday.  Even more so than Christmas.  I even have a huge Halloween village that lights up and makes noises.  (Yes, I know most people have Christmas Villages.)  Since my accident, this is the first year I've decorated for Halloween.  The porch, the door,  the kitchen table.  I intended to set up the Halloween village on the dining table but I gave up.  It's a lot of work to make sure the lights and cords work for 50+ houses and I ran out of time and patience.  Maybe next year.  So I was left with an empty dining table with only a black tablecloth and my silver candelabras with black tapers in them.  We were in Dallas last weekend and Central Market had the cutest little white baby pumpkins you've ever seen!  I didn't know what I was going to do with them at the time, but I bought a bag full.  I brought them home and the idea hit me.  I have a really cool black wire cupcake stand.  I added the white pumpkins (now I wish I had bought more) and orange pumpkins and came up with an adorable centerpiece I'm really proud of.  You could substitute mini decorative gourds too, but I love the Halloween look.  I hope you do too!

My mother-in-law bought me this
adorable cupcake stand at Target.  She said
they only carry the black this time of year.
(I also have it in cream.)
I love cupcake holders and cake stands
almost as much as I love Halloween!

Here's a better view.  It's easier to see the
cupcake stand when It's not against
the black tablecloth. Isn't it fun?
And yes those are Halloween
platters displayed on the bar.

Easy Apple Crisp

Occasionally, my family will get a yearning for something sweet.  I don't make dessert every night.  Usually on special occasions.  But once in awhile I'll make a treat to go along with a meal, for no special reason.  It might be cookies or brownies.  In my husband's world it would be something to go with ice cream.  This apple crisp hits the mark.  It is ooey-gooey and super rich.  Super Rich.  As in you need AT LEAST two scoops of ice cream to take the edge off.  And if you're one of those people that likes to lick the cake batter off of the spatula then this is the dessert for you.  It's like an apple pie with a cake batter-flavored crust.  And butter.  Lots of butter.  Try it, but trust me...have a small bowl with extra ice cream.

The Easy Apple Crisp Line-Up

Spread pie filling into a greased dish.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Top with dry cake mix.

Pour melted butter over cake mix layer.

Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Until golden brown...

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

CHOCOLATE 13th Birthday Gift

My Devilish Assistant Emily just turned 13.  Sadly that cute little apron that says "Baking Princess" doesn't fit anymore.  But she still loves to bake and I'm so glad to have a helper in the kitchen.  Like most 13-year-old girls she loves dogs.  She has two big chocolate Labrador Retrievers that she adores.  One of them was her birthday gift 4 years ago.  A cutie-patootie chocolate lab puppy.  What a birthday that was!  The other ball of chocolate love was adopted after the tornado that struck Moore, Oklahoma in May of 2013.  The poor guy went through a lot, has had several surgeries and he's just so happy to have a family that loves him.  He sleeps with Emily every night and he's quite the cuddle bug.  It's safe to say she is a fan of chocolate labs, so when I saw a set of notebooks and folders with chocolate lab puppies on the cover I knew exactly what she was getting for her birthday.  Since she loves to bake almost as much as she loves chocolate labs, I included a brownie mix.  (Because we call the dogs the Brown(ie) Brothers.) And like every girl on the planet, she loves chocolate so I added some of that too.  I put everything in a dog bowl (ha!), added some shrink wrap and tied it up in a cute bow.   A chocolate-themed 13th birthday gift for a girl that loves chocolate AND chocolate labs!

A "Chocolate" Themed
Birthday Gift for my
favorite 13-year-old!

Folders and notebooks featuring"Chocolate" Labs, Brownie Mix,
and some Chocolate too!
(All in a cute dog bowl!)

Here's Emily on her birthday 4 years ago
with Moose.
Get it?!?
Chocolate Moose.