Ten on Tuesday

1. What condiments are always, always in your fridge?

Always, always mustard & ketchup. Never, never mayonnaise. Blech! That stuff is "made by trolls." ; ) Oh & always, always ranch dressing. My kids will eat just about anything as long as they can dip it in ranch.

2. How do you like your steak cooked? Your burgers?

Steak - sitting in a pool of blood on the plate (or as my husband would say, "Moo'ing when I stick a fork in it.") Burgers - Medium well. I can take a tiny bit of pink, but NO red and I hate it if blood soaks in the bun. I mean, seriously...how gross is that!? "I'll take a medium rare hamburger patty & some blood-soaked bread please."

3. What's your favorite use for fresh tomatoes?

Wellll...typically I'm not much of a tomato eater. I love tomato sauce but I won't just eat the tomatoes. But BY FAR the best use of fresh tomatoes is biscuits with tomato gravy! (In case you're wondering, I am from the South & this IS a Southern dish.) You fry up some Mississippi sausage and, using the grease, make a brown gravy, add fresh diced tomatoes, salt & pepper, & simmer. Pour over freshly baked biscuits. Mmm.....

4. What's your go-to dinner when you haven't planned anything in advance and you don't feel like going out?

Sadly I usually resort to feeding the kids frozen chicken nuggets & fries. I do try to include some raw carrots or broccoli (dipped in ranch of course) & fruit so I feel a little better about myself as a mother. And Marty & I will eat whatever we scrounge up from the pantry/freezer. I'll eat cereal & he'll eat some sort of microwaveable burrito (Yummy!).

5. What's your favorite snack food lately?

For a salty snack I love Pita Chips with Sea Salt. For a sweet snack I can put down some dark chocolate covered almonds.

6. What's your favorite weekend breakfast to make at home?

Excuse me while I go off on a tangent here because I LOVE me some breakfast! I love all things breakfast; eggs, bacon, toast, pancakes, waffles....you name it! We love breakfast so much around here that I, many times, will make it for dinner. I'll do breakfast tacos or chocolate chip waffles. The kids love it! But let me just go ahead and say, "You're Welcome" for this one because trust me...you'll be thanking me. This quick & easy recipe I make sometimes on weekends for breakfast is so delicious, you'll not only be having it for breakfast but for dessert and for a snack with afternoon coffee.

Cinnamon Pull-Aparts

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 Tablespoons milk

3 regular (NOT jumbo) cans of buttermilk biscuits

1 stick butter

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix together one-half cup of brown sugar & 3 Tablespoons of milk. Pour into bundt pan. Separate biscuits from cans & from each other. Place biscuits end on end (like they're standing on their sides, side by side all around the bundt pan). Melt 1 stick of butter, 1 cup of sugar, & 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Stir until it all comes together & pour over biscuits. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Upend on large plate. Stand back. No, like really...get back. People will come swarming in to get their hands on this.

It's totally low fat & definitely on your diet plan.

**Thanks Mom for that one!**

7. What's your favorite thing to grill? How do you do it?

Probably my favorite thing we grill is a pork tenderloin. We lay out a package of bacon (each slice side by side) on some foil. Lay the tenderloin in the middle of the bacon. Slice the tenderloin down the middle length-wise. Smash up a package of softened cream cheese & chopped jalapenos in a bowl. Spread the mixture in the slice you made down the tenderloin. Wrap it up in the bacon. Use toothpicks to secure. Put it in the oven on broil for a few minutes until the bacon is cooked. Wrap up the tenderloin in the foil & stick it on the grill until it's cooked through. The result is a moist, tender pork with a creamy sauce with a bit of a kick. It's delish!

8. What's your favorite wine for under $10?

I've really been on a big white wine kick lately. I like red, but I haven't been drinking much red. So one of my favorite whites for under $10 is Cupcake Chardonnay (I may be off just a tad on the price. It might be $11.99 or something, but it's close to $10). I also like the Beringer Pinot Grigio. (I think this one is something absurd like $5.99!)

9. Give us your most delicious cocktail recipe.

I'm not much of a cocktail drinker. I have 3 small children to get up with in the mornings, remember? But I did make a white sangria once for a New Year's Eve party and it was so tasty and the hit of the party if I remember correctly. maybe I don't remember, but anyway...here's the link to the recipe: White Sangria

10. How do you like your eggs?

I really like eggs. oh, here we go again talking about breakfast...mmm I like them scrambled. I like them boiled (with salt & pepper). I like them fried. I'm not a big poached fan. If I had to choose a favorite I'd probably say scrambled with butter, salt & pepper, & a little shredded cheddar cheese thrown in at the end. Wrapped in a tortilla with crumbled up bacon will do too. Ok, ok enough about breakfast...

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