Joy in the Kitchen!

Chocolate Eclairs are an elegant dessert fit for a special occasion.  Valentine's Day is coming up and I've been investigating possibilities for a special meal to share with my special Valentine. (Unless he has something better planned this year!)  These chocolate eclairs would be delicious!  Of course you don't have to reserve them just for Valentine's Day, or even for special occasions as they're pretty easy to make and even easier to eat! Today I am filling these with some Bavarian Creme filling I purchased from Alison's Pantry, but if you were so inclined you could make your own cream filling from scratch, or use a box of instant vanilla pudding.   I love the ease of the bavarian creme filling today. (and the flavor of it is amazing for a pre-made filling!) You will want to make these ahead because the shells need some time to cool, but I prefer to fill them right not too long before eating.  I'll have to decide what the rest of the menu for

Pound cake has always intimidated me.  I have no idea why, it just does.  However, I love to EAT pound cake! I'm not a lover of light, crumbly cake such as you get from a cake mix... I much prefer a heavier, moist cake and this fits that description perfectly! There are very few dishes that I love to eat that I don't learn to make at home.  I did try a recipe for graham crackers once.  I'll keep buying those in the store thank-you-very-much.  Between my New Years resolution to try a new recipe each week, and my love for browsing foods on Pinterest, I worked up the courage to give pound cake another try.  (I did try regular pound cake many years ago with less than desirable results... fail, fail, fail!)  I have had some lemons sitting in my fridge for a couple of months, so when I found a beautiful picture of an Old Fashioned Lemon Pound Cake on Pinterest, I knew this was the new recipe for the week!  I was happy to finally have a reason to try out my "new"

This recipe is out of a family cookbook on my husbands side of the family.  Aunt Jessie submitted it & she lived in Wisconsin at the time.  I'm not sure where the "Connecticut" part came from.  I like to think she got it from a friend who got it from a friend, because those are often the best sort of recipe! This casserole uses a nice amount of potatoes, making it a PERFECT dish for my Idaho-grown family!  We love it.  (Even Dave likes it and he prefers a "meat & potatoes" sort of meal)  Add a salad and vegetable and you've got a wonderful, filling, comforting meal. Connecticut Beef Supper 1 lb. hamburger 2 lg. onions, sliced 1 1/4 C. milk 1 C. sour cream 4 large potatoes, thinly sliced 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 C. shredded cheddar cheese 1 1/4 C. Wheaties cereal, crushed Brown hamburger in skillet; add onion and cook until onion is transparent.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Pour meat mixture into greased baking dish (9x13)