One Year Anniversary!

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of when I started Cooper Cookin'. I believe I have come a long way from my first recipe post; and as this next post demonstrated, I am thankful I no longer feel the need to have catchy titles with matching first letters. I decided to compile a list of my family's favorite recipes, in order of oldest to most recent, from this website as a celebration of my first year blogging. These are recipes that I make often and enjoy sharing with others. Thank you to all of those who read this blog, your comments really make my day! Have a wonderful week!

1. Taco Ring
A family favorite and most popular main dish on this website. If you haven't made this yet, you need to do so soon! Check out this recent update for ideas on making this a little bit healthier.





2. Herbed Breaded Chicken
Eeek that's a terrible picture but the chicken is no less delicious. Most of the time I just throw in whatever herbs I want and I always use homemade breadcrumbs.




3. Taco Soup
 I actually haven't made this for a while (it's a good fall/winter recipe) but it's always one of our favorites.



4. Garlic Bread
Yummmm I love this stuff. I use whatever bread I have on hand and real Parmesan cheese if I have it too. Always delicious with some pasta...carbs anyone?



5. Cast Iron Seared Steak
So simple and delicious. Make it a treat by spending a few extra bucks on high quality grass-fed beef.



6. Bourbon Chicken
Recently I have quit frying the chicken with cornstarch and usually just stir-fry it with some olive oil. Last time I made this I added diced red peppers and sugar snap peas!



7. Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes with Cream Cheese Drizzle
Knock your socks off delicious and heavenly. These are definitely a rare treat, good for lazy weekends with family visitors.



8. Slow Cooker Maple and Brown Sugar Ham
This recipe is so simple, don't even bother measuring. Just put it in the slow cooker and walk away. Amazingly tasty. I love to save the leftovers for casseroles, soups, and egg dishes.



9. Brownie Bite Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache
Okay, so this isn't something that I've made more than once, but I really shouldn't unless there's going to be a crowd. Because it's that good. I might eat half of it on my own if no one was watching.



10. Puffy Chocolate Chip Cookies
I make these often. Once or twice a month. My husband is addicted, I pretend I'm not addicted. When I wrote this post I mentioned that I wanted to try other chocolate chip cookie recipes, but I just haven't gotten around to that yet because these are always so good. I have the recipe memorized...



11. Simplified Chicken Cordon Bleu
It lives up to it's name, and the flavor is fantastic. This is one of those recipes that I saved my slow cooker ham to use with.



12. Cheesy Chili Mac
This recipe is wonderful and simple. I have recently used only 3/4 pound of meat instead of a full pound and it's just as hearty.



Again, thank you so much for reading my blog and especially for making the recipes! I love it when I hear that someone has enjoyed one of the recipes that I shared. That is what makes me want to continue blogging. And you wanna know a secret? Every time I get a comment or a new follower, I do a little happy dance. : )Thank you!

My Favorite Things No. 6

I wrote about my new tea kettle in this post, and told you that I won a giveaway from CNS stores. I was also able to purchase this handy kitchen timer with that prize too! In my kitchen wishlist, I mentioned that I wanted a kitchen timer, because I have had to use my microwave until now. This was tricky sometimes, as the microwave only beeps once, making it easy for me to not hear it! Other times I would need to cook something in the microwave while the timer was going, so then I would have to stop the timer and try to keep track of the remaining time in my head!

Check out this little beauty! It can do three timers all at once, how cool is that?! And once the time is over, it starts counting up to let you know how long the timer has been going off. It is magnetic, a feature that I was definitely excited about. It also has a clock. I'm very happy with my little timer!

My Favorite Things No. 5

This week's favorite thing is Garlic Garlic, a seasoning from the Tastefully Simple company. It makes the best garlic bread, as you may recall from November. I use it all the time and it never fails me!

My Favorite Things No. 4

This is one of my new favorite things. I won a giveaway from CSN stores and I chose to buy this little beauty. I used it for the first time last night and enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate with Jeremiah.

I have a confession to make. The whistle scares me. As in, I take it off when I start to hear it hiss so that the whistle doesn't sound. I don't know why, but it makes me anxious and slightly uneasy. Ah well, we all have some strange quirks I guess. Well, this tea kettle has a different noise, a "harmonic hum" as the website stated. That's one of the main reasons I got it.

But let me tell you that the "harmonic hum" is more like a train whistle, and I had the feeling that a train wreck was about to happen in my kitchen. Alas, it was humorous and definitely better than the ear-piercing whistle that is commonly heard. All in all, I love my new tea kettle!

My Favorite Things No. 3

Here I've started a new weekly series and I already missed a post! But with the holiday weekend, I'm sure you will forgive me. This week I decided to write about my set of Pampered Chef stainless steel mixing bowls.

I'm probably the only person in the world who is willing to do the following: stretch as far as possible to reach the cabinet above the fridge to get out all the mixing bowls, haul them over to my living room floor, position them as to avoid the electrical outlet and the curtains, and then lie on the ground at odd angles to get a good picture. Of my mixing bowls.

{but they are worth it!}



These little beauties have rubber bottoms to prevent that annoying spin-around-on-the-counter-while-you-mix syndrome. As you can see, there are measurements on the inside, in liters and cups. Each mixing bowl has a lid that fits tightly, making them great for storage too! I love the pour spouts, they keep things from getting too messy. They fit inside of each other, which allows them to reside in a humble corner in the cupboard above my fridge. That's choice real estate in my 7x8 foot kitchen!

I received them as wedding gifts and I use them all of the time! I couldn't have asked for anything better. Wishing you all a great week!

My Favorite Things No. 2

This is my beloved 10-inch Pampered Chef skillet. And it is definitely one of my favorite things!

It is hard-anodized aluminum reinforced with titanium. It is the Best nonstick cookware I have ever used. Anything gooey, greasy, sticky, or messy literally slides off the pan or wipes out effortlessly. I'm not joking here! And it has a LIFETIME guarantee! That's right, I never have to buy pans again!

I wish the pictures (which by the way, it is rather difficult to take pictures of a skillet) could show you how sturdy and thick this skillet is. It has a heavy bottom and distributes heat beautifully. If you need new pans, I highly recommend this line of executive cookware! They also have stainless steel cookware too.

I was fortunate to have a Pampered Chef bridal shower (the best idea for any kitchen items!) and was able to receive the 5-piece and 7-piece executive cookware sets 50% off! And with a lifetime guarantee, that was one amazing deal! Just to say it one more time, I love these pans!

And just for fun, this is another of my favorite things:

It's even prettier with the white twinkling lights! Have a great week and Thanksgiving!

My Favorite Things No. 1

This is the first of a new weekly post I am going to present. As I'm sure you all know, I love everything that has to do with a kitchen, cooking, and baking. I want a way to show the tools, gadgets, techniques, and products I use everyday in the kitchen. Every Monday you will be introduced to one of my favorite kitchen items, be it a pan, knife, or random food product. For the first week, I'm going to start with my stove.

Ah, yes. The stove. So basic, so essential, so taken for granted.

And don't forget its better half, the oven! I have friends from South Korea, and they don't even have ovens! Can you imagine?!? No cookies, cakes, casseroles, bread. None. They buy those items from a bakery on special occasions. How sad to not have an oven!

So you might be thinking I'm strange, maybe even a little crazy. After all, I did take pictures of my stove and oven. But when you think about it, where would we be without this amazing kitchen appliance?

This is the first stove that I can call my very own. It's not stainless steel, cool black, or even white; it's actually kind of a dingy yellow. It isn't very new and it's home is in a 7x8 foot kitchen (yeah you read that right, 56 square inches, with only 44 inches of walking space between the counters...I've done the math). The hood is a different brand than the stove. My oven likes to cook things hot and fast, and 3 out of 4 of the burners are crooked. I mean, visibly and unmistakeably crooked.

But I love my stove. Because it's just that, my stove! And it never lets me down.

As a bonus, I have these beautiful handmade towels that I received as a wedding gift. Each day has a different picture and they add aesthetic beauty to my slightly ghetto stove.