Bounty At The Table

All good Room Moms know that they will be asked, at some point, to provide a dish for Teacher Appreciation, birthday celebration, PTO parent night, Book Fair kickoff party, etc, etc.

Wondering what to bring?  I’m going to share some of my tried and true recipes that have gotten me rave reviews AND are relatively easy to prepare!

Here we go…..

White Trash Coffee Cake.  The name says it all–and I take absolutely NO credit for this!  I found it while visiting a favorite site of mine, Jac O’ Lynn Murphy.  It is very simple–cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, eggs, and cinnamon sugar.  She is super duper creative (for real, ya’ll) and she ‘s super sweet.  Someday I hope to meet her in person.  Until then, I’ll enjoy this coffee cake (that can be made into muffins!) while reading about her children’s adventures.

Whoopie Pies   – These have made many a trip to volleyball tournaments recently!  I’ve found a few recipes that have worked for me over and over again.  I like using Bakerella’s chocolate whoopie pie recipe, The Best Icing recipe from Tasty Kitchen, and  Rachel Ray’s Pumpkin Whoopie pie and cream cheese recipe.  Easy, straight forward and they can be made a day ahead, kept in the fridge and served room temperature the next day.  One serving suggestion from me is to put each whoopie pie into a cupcake liner.  This makes it easier for your guests to handle.

Chicken Nuggets Parmesan – A very easy, kid friendly recipe, this is a staple at my house.  It is good warm or cold.  Plus, if you put it on a stick, that makes it even more special.  This is my own recipe and here is how to make them. (I’m sorry! No pictures! I can’t believe I’ve not posted about this.)  You’ll need: chicken – as much or as little as you’d like.  I usually do 4 or 5 chicken breasts cut into small pieces, Seasoned breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, 1 stick of butter.  Preheat the oven to 350 and put the stick of butter in a pan to melt.  While the butter is melting, cut the chicken and put some of the breadcrumbs in a dish.  Mix with some of the parmesan cheese.  Make an assembly line with the melted butter, bread crumbs and an empty dish.  Coat the chicken in the butter, then dredge in the bread crumbs till covered.  Place in a baking dish.  Repeat with all the pieces.  Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes till chicken is done.  Super duper easy and, as you can see, it is a recipe that can be increased or decreased as you need.

Brownie Extreme – Nothing too terribly exciting here…boxed brownie mix (I prefer Ghirardelli).  Make according to directions, then add 1/4 cup hot fudge sauce!  The sauce doesn’t need to be hot…just scoop it right from the jar.  I learned this from Picky Palate and haven’t gone back since.  Cut the brownies into bite sized pieces and put in mini cupcake liners.  Yum.

Hot Ham Biscuits – Officially known as “Ruth’s Hot Ham Biscuits”, these have been a staple in my family for years.  My mom would make these in the winter to go with corn chowder and a good Georgia/Georgia Tech football game.  Superb.  (On a side note, no one knows who Ruth is.  Seriously.) Here’s the scoop on these little bites of goodness….1 stick margarine softened, 1 t mustard, 1 small onion chopped finely, 1/2 t Worcestershire, 1 T poppy seeds, 1 package thin ham slices, 1 package swiss cheese slices, 2 pkg Pepperidge Farm finger rolls.  MIx all ingredients except ham and cheese together.  Slice the rolls in half by taking them out of the package and cutting them across in one mass–you’ll end up with a big “top” and a big “bottom”.  Spread the margarine/mustard mixture on both sides.  Put ham and swiss in between rolls and cover with foil.  Heat slowly in  a 300 degree oven till cheese melts.

Chicken Chili – This takes a day to make, but this tastes soooo great the second day!  Plus, you can cook it and then keep it warm at school in a crock pot.  It is truly fantastic.  I use the Barefoot Contessa‘s recipe for this.  Think less regular beef chili and more enchilada without the tortilla.  Serve with chips and cheese and you will have some satisified teachers on your hands!  Plus it is relatively healthy! Bounus!

Buttermilk Banana Bread – This is a new recipe for me.  I love banana bread and am always disappointed in the texture.  This one is so great in muffin form OR in loaf form.  It is from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe.  This bread has come out perfect each time I’ve made it.  It is wonderfully sweet and moist, but not gooey.  Plus, if you make muffins, you can put three of them in a wide-mouthed mason jar and voila! You’ve got a great little “happy” for your teacher!

I hope you will click on some or all of these recipes!  They have all been tested and have been given an A+ by my hard-to-please crew.

Happy Cooking!