I love pound cake.  My granddaddy used to make the best pound cake.  Sigh.  I haven’t been able to master his recipe yet, but that hasn’t stopped me from trying.  His wasn’t a chocolate pound cake though, so this Chocolate Pound Cake recipe was a new experience for me.  I thought it turned out pretty well.  Here’s how it came together:

First, I mixed flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder together.  I creamed butter, shortening, and sugar together until smooth and then mixed in the eggs. The recipe called for milk, but I only had skim milk on hand and I didn’t think that would be the best choice for this cake.  So instead I used a combination of cream and half and half which I did happen to have in the fridge.  I alternately added the dry ingredients and wet ingredients to the butter and sugar before stirring in the vanilla.

Check out my new giant bottle of fancy vanilla that will last me approximately 100 years.

In addition to enjoying this one ourselves, we were happy to share it with some of Phillip’s coworkers.  I liked slices of this cake plain, with vanilla frozen yogurt, or with sliced strawberries and whipped cream.  It was a fairly simple cake to make and we enjoyed having it around the house that week.  Not too rich, versatile, and perfect for a quick evening dessert.

This recipe for Chicken Cacciatore was delicious!  We both really liked it and it was fairly simple to make.  Here’s how it came together:

First, I browned some chicken thighs that had been seasoned and dredged in flour.Next, I sauteed onions, peppers, mushrooms, and garlic in some of the pan drippings.  I added salt, pepper, thyme, and turmeric to the mix. I added white wine and reduced the liquid for just a few minutes before adding diced tomatoes. Finally, I returned the chicken to the pan and baked the dish for about an hour.We enjoyed this over egg noodles and sprinkled with a little bit of Parmesan cheese.I wouldn’t change anything on this one.  Definitely spring for the Parmesan cheese for garnish as it does add to the dish.  A good weekend meal, perfect to share with friends, qualifies as comfort food, and is great leftover.  Can’t ask for much more than that.

I made this recipe for Trisha Yearwood’s Chicken Pie several weeks ago.  It was easy enough to make, but ended up being a little bland for us.  Of course, that’s nothing a change in seasonings and some additional ingredients couldn’t remedy.  Here’s how it came together:

First, I poured a mixture of chicken broth and cream of chicken soup over shredded cooked chicken.  I also added in some whole kernel corn because 1) I had some and 2) it seemed like this dish needed at least one vegetable. Next, I mixed up the biscuit topping using buttermilk, self-rising flour, melted butter, and pepper.  I gently spread this over the chicken mixture. After baking for about 45 minutes, the biscuits had browned and the filling was bubbly.This was just okay for us.  Again, I think you could punch it up with other seasonings and ingredients, but it might make more sense to just invest the time in making a real chicken pot pie instead.

When I was growing up, Easter dinner always included ham and twice-baked potatoes, so when this recipe for Scalloped Potatoes and Ham popped up on the April Sweet as Pie list, I knew it was destined for our Easter table.  Although we didn’t get to spend Easter Sunday with our families this year, we did get to spend it with some of our Charleston family.  Thanks to the Khalils for inviting us over for a delicious meal!  Here’s how the potatoes came together:

First, I sauteed diced onion in butter until slightly softened and then stirred in some diced ham. Meanwhile, I sliced the potatoes very thinly with my slicer (definitely the easier and more uniform way to go).I mixed heavy cream (slightly warmed) with flour and pepper to make the cream sauce.  Then, I layered the potatoes, onion and ham mixture, cheddar and monterey jack cheeses, and cream sauce in a casserole dish.  I had enough for three layers of each. This baked covered for about 40 minutes and then uncovered for another 20 minutes, although it could have used about 10 more minutes in the oven (but we were already running late so I had to go ahead and pull it out of the oven to pack up).

This one was easy enough for me to make while Carter napped and satisfied my Easter ham and potatoes requirement.  I really liked this and will definitely make it again.  The leftovers were good too!  The only thing I will change next time is to make sure to allow for a little extra baking time so that all of the potatoes get cooked through and I will probably throw in some thyme and/or rosemary for an extra layer of flavor.  Otherwise, this one was a hit!