Stuffed French Toast

This is super easy and a fun breakfast treat.

INGREDIENTS:
Bread
Cream cheese, softened
Jam or jelly of your choice (orange marmalade is good, too!)
eggs, milk, and whatever you put in french toast mix

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make a "sandwich" using the bread, cream cheese and jelly

2. Dip in egg mixture

3. Cook on a skillet until each side is lightly browned. I also briefly cook each end

4. Serve with syrup, or whipped cream, or just plain, and ENJOY!

Baked Breakfast Burritos

Aaron LOVES these! They came out of a casserole cookbook (oh, casseroles, the epitome of white trash.) Every time I make them I think to myself, "Gosh, these don't look like they are going to be very good," but they never disappoint. We make them for breakfast or dinner.

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound sausage (I love using the bacon sausage)
1/2 cup crumbled bacon
8 mushrooms sliced (optional)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
1 garlic clove, minced (or a heaping teaspoon out of the jar)
8 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 shredded cheddar cheese, divided (or your favorite)
3 tbls. enchilada or taco sauce
1 tbls. butter or margarine
6 large flour tortillas

DIRECTIONS:
1. In large skillet, cook sausage until brown, then add bacon. Remove to paper towels, reserving 1 tbls. of drippings.

2. Saute mushrooms, pepper, onion and garlic in drippings until tender, then turn to low.

3. In a bowl, beat eggs, sour cream. Add 1/3 cup cheese and enchilada sauce.

4. In another skillet, melt butter; add egg mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until eggs are completely set.

5. Add sausage and egg mixture to veggies. Spoon onto tortillas and roll up. Place seam down in a greased 13 x 9 baking dish.

6. Spoon some extra enchilada/taco sauce over each burrito, sprinkle with cheese and bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes (until cheese is melted.

7. ENJOY!

Oreo Truffles

My sister found this recipe, and I have since seen it in several magazines and all over the Internet. I don't know if you can technically call these truffles, but they are SOOO easy!

INGREDIENTS:
1 Pkg crushed Oreo's
8 oz softened cream cheese
melted chocolate (any flavor: milk, semi-sweet, white, dark, whatever)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix crushed Oreo's and cream cheese

2. Refrigerate for a few hours

3. Make into balls and dip into your preferred chocolate

4. Dip in sugar, top with some more crushed Oreo's, drizzle another chocolate or whatever, let set, and enjoy!!

Caramel Crispix Crunch

My sister-in-law got this off of a Crispix box years ago and it is one of my very favorite snacks. It's a sweet version of a Crispix/Chex like mix, but much better. I can eat an entire batch in two days!

INGREDIENTS:
1 box Crispix
1 small jar caramel ice cream topping
2 tbls. margarine
1 cup toffee bits
1 cup sunflower nuts

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place ice cream topping in a large microwave-save bowl. Heat in microwave on HIGH 30 seconds. Stir until smooth.

2. Add cereal and sunflower seeds, stirring until evenly coated. Return to microwave and cook 4 minutes longer, stirring after each minute.

3. Remove from microwave and mix in toffee bits. Spread evenly on waxed paper lined baking sheet. Cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Options: Add mini choclate chips, Golden Grahams or pretzels.

Taco Soup

This was one of our favorites as kids. The Ultimate White Trash Soup made with with ground beef and canned food! Doesn't get much better than that!

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 can tomato sauce
1 can stewed or diced tomatoes, not drained
1 can whole kernel corn, not drained
1 can kidney beans, drained (bean juice just isn't very good)
1 can black beans, drained
1 can olives
1 small can chilies

DIRECTIONS:

1. In large soup pot, brown beef with onion. Drain fat.

2. Add remaining ingredients and cook until hot.

Top with cheese and serve with tortilla chips!

BLT Salad

I like finding some variations on the usual "green" salad. This doesn't go over well as a leftover, but it's great fresh! You can substitute balsamic vinegarette (sp?) for the mayo dressing for a little different taste (and a lower fat recipe.)

INGREDIENTS
1 pound bacon
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
salt to taste
1 head romaine lettuce - rinsed, dried and shredded (Iceberg lettuce doesn't work as well)
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 cups seasoned croutons (or chopped up french bread toasted in the oven)

DIRECTIONS

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat, turning frequently, until evenly browned. Drain, crumble and set aside.

2. In a blender or food processor, combine mayonnaise, milk, garlic powder and black pepper. Blend until smooth. Season the dressing with salt.


3. Combine lettuce, tomatoes, bacon and croutons in a large salad bowl. Toss with dressing, and serve immediately.

OPTIONS: Add avocado, cheese, or whatever you please!

Quick and Easy Alfredo

This is one of my favorite (and most requested) recipes. I will serve this with grilled chicken and steamed broccoli for a great meal. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 teaspoons garlic powder (I used the good stuff...minced garlic out of a bottle)
2 cups milk
6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (a bag of shredded parmesan cheese from the refrigerated cheese is perfect!)
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. (It'll look kind of funny, but as long as it stirs like it's smooth)

3. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan, salt and pepper.

4. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long.

Toss with hot pasta to serve.

Pretzel Salad

This is a Utah-Mormon staple. While I consider it more as a dessert, this special treat is often served as a "salad" with meals. I love the salty/sweet mix. Yum, yum!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup margarine, melted
2 teaspoons white sugar
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
3/4 cup white sugar
4 1/2 ounces frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (6 ounce) package strawberry or rasberry flavored gelatin
2 cups boiling water
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen strawberries or rasberries

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

2. In a medium bowl, mix crushed pretzels, margarine and sugar.

3. Press crushed pretzel mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish, and bake in the preheated oven 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

4. Blend together the cream cheese and sugar. Fold in whipped topping and spread evenly over cooled pretzel mixture.

5. In a medium bowl, dissolve the strawberry flavored gelatin in boiling water. Mix in strawberries and set aside to cool for 15 minutes.

6. Pour gelatin mixture over cream cheese mixture and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours.

You can top with Cool Whip or just leave as is to serve!

OPTION: Use a can of crush pinapple, but drain well, use the juice in the gelatin mixture (lessen the water for how much pinapple juice you use) and mix some of the crushed pineapple in the cream cheese mixture

Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup

I served this with my Chicken Flautas and it was a yummy meal! Obviously, I can't take credit, this is Chili's recipe, but it is really good, and pretty easy.

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded or diced
1/2 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 quart chicken broth
1 cup masa harina
3 cups water, divided
1 cup enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large pot over medium heat, cook chicken breasts in oil until well browned on all sides.

2. Remove and set aside.

3. Cook onion and garlic in remaining oil until onions are translucent. Pour in chicken broth.

4. In a bowl, whisk together masa harina and 2 cups water until well blended. Pour into pot with remaining 1 cup water, enchilada sauce, Cheddar, salt, chili powder and cumin. Bring to a boil.

5. Shred cooked chicken and add it to the pot. Reduce heat and simmer 30 to 40 minutes, until thickened.

W.T. Chicken Flautas

I would never claim to have the best Chicken Flautas, my dear friend Brandalee introduced me to the restaurant with that title, but I tried to make some at home and they turned out fairly good, so I thought I'd share the recipe. (Just for your info: a flauta is somewhat of a morph of an enchilada, chimichaga and rolled taco. Traditionally, they are flour tortillas, but all of the recipes I found called for corn tortillas. I never did find the perfect recipe, so I kind of made up my own and I still prefer flour tortillas.)

INGREDIENTS:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked (cubed or shredded)
2 tbls. butter
1 can chilies
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tbls. flour
1 tsp. cumin
8-10 flour tortillas
cooking oil
shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix chicken, butter, onion and chiles in skillet and cook until onions are tender

3. Add flourm cumin salt and pepper (to taste) and broth. Mixture will thicken, set aside.

4. Pour enough oil in skillet to slightly crisp tortillas (approx. 1-2 minutes per side...you want it crispy, but soft enough to still roll up)

5. Use paper towels to soak up grease, sprinkle cheddar cheese on fried tortilla, put a heapeing tablespoon of chicken mixture and roll up

6. Place rolled up flautas on baking sheet, sprinkle with cheese, and bake for 15-20 minutes

Enjoy with sour cream, guacamole and/or salsa!!

OPTION: Serve them enchilada style! Pour enchilada sauce over flautas and sprinkle with cheese before baking

Broccoli Beef

I found this recipe and thought I'd try it because it had such rave reviews, but I never thought I'd love it more than take-out chinese Broccoli Beef. I've now made it several times and my neighbor has too, and we all love it. It is really good, and definitely healthier than take out. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 (10.5 ounce) cans beef broth
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 pound boneless round steak, cut into bite size pieces (I use whatever steak I have on hand)
1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups chopped fresh broccoli
**I add a little Cayenne Pepper or Red Pepper flakes to add a little kick. Also, I double the beef broth just to make it more saucy.

DIRECTIONS
1. In a small bowl, combine flour, broth, sugar, and soy sauce. Stir until sugar and flour are dissolved.

2. In a large skillet or wok over high heat, cook and stir beef 2 to 4 minutes, or until browned. Stir in broth mixture, ginger, garlic, and broccoli. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes, or until sauce thickens.

Cheddar Baked Chicken

Ok, there are hundreds of variations out there for this recipe. I'm going to post my favorite version and then give you a few ideas of how to change it up a bit. Regardless, this is definitely Aaron's favorite chicken. You can't go wrong!!

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup sour cream
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup crushed up goldfish crackers (Ritz crackers work, too!)
1-2 tsp. garlic powder
1-2 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbls. butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking dish with foil (easy clean up!!)

2. Mis together cheese, crushed up stuff, and spices

3. Dredge chicken in sour cream and then in mix and put in pan

4. Pour melted butter on chicken

5. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until coating is golden brown and chicken is done :) I'm sure you'll figure it out

Enjoy!

OPTIONS:
- Use parmesan cheese and crushed up bread crumbs for more of a parm. chicken. You can serve that with spaghetti or alfredo sauce and pasta/

- If you don't have sour cream, you can use 1 egg beaten and 2 tbls. of milk to coat chicken before you put on the mix

- For a little "gourmet" twist, slice a pocket in the chicken and stuff with swiss cheese and ham before covering with all the fun stuff for a white trash version of Cordon Bleu

-Do whatever the heck you want! It's hard to screw this recipe up

Apple Enchiladas

Yum, yum! No explaination needed.
INGREDIENTS:

6 flour tortillas

1 21 oz. can apple pie filling

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Spoon fruit evenly onto all tortillas, sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll up tortillas and place seam side down on lightly greased 8x8 baking pan.

3. Bring butter, sugars and water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly for 3 minutes.

4. Pour sauce evenly over tortillas; sprinkle with extra cinnamon on top if desired. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

MY TIP: Serve with Cool Whip or Ice Cream!!!

Recipe says: Makes 6 large tortillas; may be cut in half to serve 12.

Suz says: WHATEVER! Eat the whole dang thing, it's too good to only eat half. IN FACT, I could double the recipe and eat the whole dish myself.

Easy Peach Cobbler

This was a request from one of our good friends that Aaron met in nursing school. I'm a fan for cobbler with thick crusts, so this is one of my very favorites!

INGREDIENTS:
1 (29 oz) can sliced peaches, drained well
5 slices white bread, crusts trimmed (hamburger buns work well, too!)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons self-rising flour**
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Dump peaches in the bottom of a buttered 9-inch square baking dish. Cut each slice of bread

into 9-12 cubes and place over peaches.

3. In medium bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, egg, margarine, vanilla and cinnamon; pour over bread

4. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown

TIPS:

**If you don't have self-rising flour, you can just use all purpose flour with a pinch of baking soda, a pinch of baking powder and a dash of salt.

It is pretty sweet, so you can cut down on the sugar if you'd like. Also, I'm sure this would work just fine with Splenda for my diabetic readers :)

The Can Can Shepherd's Pie

So, I never liked Shepherd's Pie, and Aaron has said a few times that his mom always made it and he doesn't really like it, but I got desperate today and didn't want to go to the store, so I created my own version, and it was good!! Aaron's exact words were, "I don't want to say this too loud, but this was pretty dang good!" (He hates making his mom feel bad.)

Anyway, I used canned roast beef, but leftover pot roast I'm sure would be great.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cans roast beef (found by the tuna)
1 small onion, chopped (or a bag of onion soup would be good I'm sure)
2 beef bullion cubes
1 can chopped tomatoes (I had the garlic and chives mix)
1 can corn
1 can green beans
4 (or so..) cups of mashed potatoes, prepared (I used one of the mini bag of instant from Costco)
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. In skillet, mix roast beef (with juice from can), bullion cubes, can of tomatoes and onion or onion soup mix. Heat until onions are tender and bullion cubes are dissolved

3. Pour in 9 x 13 dish. Top with corn and green beans

4. Spread mashed potatoes on top of beef and veggies

5. Cover with cheese and cook for about 30 minutes.

Serve with a can of bisquits fresh out of the oven and you've got yourself a classic, white trash meal!

Hawaiian Beef

PREFACE: This is definitely not a White Trash Recipe, this is a little bit of heaven introduced to us while in Hawaii. My dad made a friend while he was barbequing chicken (definitely white trash style.) The guy was one of the nicest men I've ever met, and he shared some of the meat he was grilling. OH MY GOODNESS! It was amazing. He and his wife told me how to cook it, I don't know if I'll ever duplicate it, but I sure am going to try!!

The meat is just ribeye from Costco that they have the deli slice into thin pieces (I'm sure you could get Ribeye anywhere, but Costco definitely has the best meat.)

Marinade: (I don't have the measurements, so we'll just have to guess)
Shoyu (Hawaiian soy sauce) - enough to cover meat
Brown Sugar - LOTS! Like, probabl a whole cup, or more, depending on how much meat you have
Ginger - I grated 1 full fresh ginger root
Garlic (he says he uses lots of garlic)
Sesame seed oil (he said that is best on pork ribs)

The secret to marinading from our new native Hawaiian friend:
He says to leave the meat out for a few hours to get a "little slimy." Then, you marinade the meat for 1-2 days leaving it at room tempature for a couple hours at a time, then putting it back in the fridge. He says it's critical to marinade for at least a day, but 2 days is best.

I'm going to try some when I get home and I'll let you all know how it goes. He said he's going to meet us again tomorrow and bring morestuff from home to share...we told him we'd do a trade, but we don't have anything even remotely close to offer. He did share a shake and a hug from my dad when he left, though. Only in Hawaii do you hug people you just met. ALOHA!

Creamy Rice Pudding

I have never been a rice pudding fan because I was never brave enough to try it, but I found this recipe and decided to use the leftover Minute Rice I made for our teriyaki chicken dinner and I'm so glad I tried it. Aaron loves rice pudding and said that it tasted just like it was supposed to, and it was so dang easy, I thought I'd share!

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cup cooked white rice

2 cups milk, divided (I used skim and it worked just fine)

1/3 cups sugar (I used a heaping 1/3 cup because I knew I'd prefer it super sweet)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup raisins (optional)

1 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/2 teasponn vanilla extract

cinnamon and/or nutmeg (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. In medium saucepan, combine cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until think and creamy, about 20 minutes.

2. In a small bowl, mix egg and remaing 1/2 cup milk (this prevents the egg from getting cooked too fast in the pudding). While stirring rice, add egg mixture. Add raisins, if using. Cook for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly.

3. Remove from heat, add butter and vanilla and any spices you'd like for a little extra flavor! I added some Pumpkin Pie Spice which was just perfect. It's ready to eat!

"Homemade" Chicken Pot Pie

I've had several requests for this recipe, and this is another one of Aaron's favorites that he requests often. The jist of this is frozen pie crusts, a can of chicken, can of veggies and then homemade sauce that just makes it yummy, yummy. I usually will just use 2 cans of chicken or a torn up rotisserie chicken and will make 2--one for now, and one to freeze.

INGREDIENTS:
2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts (I just get frozen crusts and let them thaw out)
1 can chicken (my classic White Trash Recipe ingredient) or chicken from a fresh rotisserie chicken
1 large can mixed veggies

SAUCE:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery seed (I never have this on hand, so I don't use it)
1 can chicken broth
2/3 cup milk

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)

2. Place chicken and veggies in thawed pie crust.

3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick.

4. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Meatloaf for Non-Meatloaf Lovers

A white trash recipe blog would not be complete without a meatloaf recipe. I was never a mealoaf fan until I finally decided I needed to make meatloaf for my hubby and I might as well try to find a recipe that I like too. SO, I found this recipe online, made a few little changes, and not only do I love it, but Aaron says it's the best meatloaf he's ever had.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 cup crushed Ritz crackers
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons steak sauce

TOPPING
2 tbls brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup mustard
2 tablespoons of that Worts sauce (I don't know how to spell it and I don't want to look it up)


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Stir the ground beef, Ritz crackers, Cheddar cheese, and onion soup mix in a large bowl until well combined. Whisk the eggs, ketchup, and steak sauce in a separate bowl until smooth. Mix the eggs into the meat until evenly combined, if the mixture seems too dry, add a little water. Press into a 9x5 inch loaf pan, or shape into a loaf looking thing and stick it in a cake pan lined with foil.

3. Mix topping ingredients together and pour over meatloaf

4. Bake in preheated oven about 45 to 60 minutes until meatloaf is 160 degrees inside

W.T. Chicken Enchiladas

I thought I better post something you can actually make for dinner. Sorry, I don't have a picture, but if any of you make it and remember to snap a shot, send it to me, otherwise, I'll have to add one later,

This one is for Natty to make her husband happy one night when she needs it the most. I learned to make these in Young Women's years ago and it is still one of my favorite recipes. (Just as a warning, I don't really know the exact measurements and I always usually end up making a 9 x 13 and 8 x 8 pan full of enchiladas, but these usually go pretty fast and, if not, make great leftovers.)

Ingredients:

1 bag tortillas (10 would be plenty)
1 pint Sour cream
1 can cream of chicken
1 small can chiles (optional)
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 1-2 cans chicken, my White Trash secret for just about any recipe)
Lots of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. If using chicken breasts, cook the chicken and then shred it using 2 forks. You can also cut it into small pieces if you aren't in the mood to shred. Tip: If you think about it early enough, chicken in the crock pot with a little water and some onions that has cooked all day on low is super moist and easy to shred, and also has really good flavor. Also, the BBQ makes for some good, moist chicken, and is super fast

If using canned chicken, open the can. :)

3 Mix together sour cream, cream of chicken, a handful of cheese and chiles. Spread some on the bottom of your pan (just enough to coat the pan)

4. Put aside about a cup and a half of the sourcream mixture to put on top of the enchiladas

5. Mix the rest of the sour cream stuff with your chicken

6. Spread a hefty spoonful of chicken mixture in a line on the tortilla and roll up.

7. Line the pan with the enchiladas seams down, top with the rest of the mixture, and cover with cheese

8. Cook for about 30 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly

9. Yum, yum!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

This is my sister's request. And, yes, you can halve this recipe, but I too can finish a whole batch by myself, so I suggest making the whole dang thing. So good, and so easy (Hence, a part of my White Trash Recipe blog) I just happened to make these this weekend, so I stole a piece of my Wal-Mart leaves from above my cabinets and took a festive picture.

Ingredients:

2 boxes Spice Cake
1 can pumpkin (29 oz.)
1 bag chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees and grease cookie sheet with some sort of spray

2. Mix all ingredients together (all 3 of them...)

3. Place rounded balls of dough on greased cookie sheets and bake for approx. 15 minutes. (Ovens vary...the cookies are done when you can stick a toothpick in and it comes out clean.)

4. Enjoy! These are super soft cookies...if they are too chewy or gooey, just stick them back in the oven for a little longer.

A Tribute to my Heritage & Chocolate Eclair Dessert

Those of you who know me know I love to cook. Growing up, I was always baking, and when I got to college, the mess in the kitchen was almost always mine because I was the one usually cooking. My mom is a very good cook and could concoct meatloaf out of chocolate (ok, well not really, but she can make just about anything), and she came from a house where potatoes were not allowed because my Grandpa was too gourmet for potatoes. Needless to say, I didn't get their genes. I inherited the love for cooking, but not the gourmet cook gene.

Over the years, I have learned my strengths and I have learned that I am a great cook with what I like to call "White Trash Recipes." Don't get me wrong, I love the recipes with all of my heart, but they are classified as "White Trash" because I would not exactly consider them gourmet or even completely homemade, but they are pretty dang good. I am a pro at finding super easy recipes that taste really good, and I know I have reached new heights when my husband hypes up my food more than he does his mom's.

I'm not ashamed. We've always joked that as children, hiking in the woods singing "Hi Ho" in rainbow striped shirts and booty shorts, we were the epitome of White Trash, and I am proud to label my recipes accordingly. So, as a tribute to my heritage, and as a favor for all those wives out there who want to outdo their mother-in-law's cooking every once in a while and receive high-marks from the hubby's without having to spend all day in the kitchen, here is my recipe blog. I will add new recipes that I find that work, and I will also post my "Classic White Trash Recipes" that I have mastered.

As a kick-off, here is one of easiest desserts EVER that is one of my most requested recipes.

Chocolate Eclair Dessert

Ingredients:
1 box of Graham crackers
2 small boxes of vanilla pudding (I prefer French Vanilla)
3 cups milk
1 8 oz tub of Cool Whip

For chocolate glaze:
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 stick butter (or margarine)
1/4 cup milk

Directions:
1. In a 13 x 9 cake pan, make one layer of graham crackers

2. Mix together pudding and milk, then add Cool Whip. Spread half of mixture over graham crackers

3. Cover pudding mixture with another graham cracker layer, and then use the rest of the pudding mixture for another layer

4. Top with one more layer of graham crackers.

Ok, the original recipe calls for chocolate frosting on top. Now, that would really constitute a super white trash recipe, and I am sure if you're in a hurry, it would totally work, but for once, I went against my nature and actually made something from scratch. Here's the best part....

5. In a medium saucepan, mix cocoa, sugar, butter, milk and vanilla. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil for 1 minute and then remove from heat. (Be sure not to scorch--basically, as long as it's all melted together, you'll be ok.)

6. Let cool for a couple minutes, then pour over graham crackers.

7. Refrigerate for a few hours...overnight is best. (It's super hard to resist, but I promise that this is definitely better the second day, just ask my sister who probably ate half of the dessert the first night, no exageration, and by the time the dessert was at it's prime, there were only a few bites left.)

8. Enjoy!