Grab a Glass of Sweet Tea and Sit a Spell

Yes, you really do need to get that glass of sweet tea to enjoy while you read this post because I just know you are going to go visit Christy at Southern Plate and your mouth will be watering as you read. I was recently introduced to Southern Plate while reading Kim's blog. Kim raved about some recipes she had tried so I just had to take a peek and see for myself. Now, I love to read cookbooks and have a nice collection of them with a few favorites that are pulled from the shelf time and time again. As much as I love to read cookbooks, I have never been very good about actually trying new recipes. All that changed when I found Southern Plate. I was so inspired (maybe it was the picture tutorials!) that I immediately printed out six recipes and we tried four, yes FOUR, new recipes in one week. The first recipe we tried was Country Casserole. I doubled the recipe - it was too easy not to make one to freeze. My family loved this casserole and I loved how easy it was. Next, we tried Pizza Rolls and they are great for busy weeks or weekends when everyone is eating at different times. The other two recipes we tried were Salisbury Steak and Crock Pot Chicken and Dressing. The Salisbury Steak was great and pretty easy so I doubled that recipe and froze half so that all I have to do is thaw and throw it in the crock pot to heat on a busy day. The Crock Pot Chicken and Dressing was good and will feed a crowd. I love crock pot recipes because we have one or two days a week that our schedules make it hard to get a good meal on the table without the help of the crock pot. I have two more recipes that I printed that I want to try soon. Robert's favorite salad dressing is Thousand Island and Christy has a recipe for homemade Thousand Island that I can't wait to surprise him with. The other recipe I can't wait to try is Chocolate Cobbler!! This looks divine and according to Jen, it is! I think we have to have some ice cream to go with this one though and I forgot to buy ice cream this week. The great thing about Chocolate Cobbler is that the ingredients are readily available in my pantry. I hope you took the time to visit Christy as you read this post! If you are like me, you might just decide you'll have to add her cookbook to your collection.

EDITED to add: We tried the Chocolate Cobbler over the weekend and it was a wonderful dessert - warm, gooey, plenty of chocolate served with vanilla ice cream on top.