​1.  Line three baking sheets with foil and grease the foil with 1 teaspoon of butter each.  Set aside.

2.  In a heavy large saucepan over medium heat, melt the stick of butter (or 1/2 cup).  Stir in sugars, cream, milk, corn syrup and salt.  Cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until a candy thermometer reads 236* (soft ball stage), about 20 minutes.  

3.  Remove from heat.  Stir in pecans and vanilla.  Cool without stirring to 170*, about 20 minutes.  Stir with a wooden spoon until mixture just begins to thicken but is still glossy, about 2 minutes.  Hang in there--short of spending time in the icebox, they're halfway ready to inhale or devour.  Your choice!

4.  Working quickly --QUICKLY, I said...Not that I know from experience or anything -- drop by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets.  

5.  Let stand until pralines are set and no longer glossy.  Refrigerate, baby!  Refrigerate 1 hour or until completely set.  Store in an airtight container in that same refrigerator!  

Don't be like Liz and eat 2 or 3 in one sitting.  These thangs are SWEET! I think they deserve a warning label so that nobody will get hurt or inflict serious injury while grooving on the taste!  

Enjoy your pralines, party people!  

Did I hear somebody say they have leftover Mississippi roast?  

Did somebody ELSE tell me they are watching carb intake?

And did anybody ever climb a lot of stairs and steps for a good meal, only to feel all breathless and victorious and triumphant and lightheaded?  Yeah, me neither.  But after trying this tonight, I cannot guarantee you that I wouldn't.  All the flavors will rilly make you want to box somebody or maybe even slap yo baby daddy!

Forgive me for being so dramatic.  But...at the very least, anyway...these are so good you'll probably want to get in line for seconds.  Yep, as in 'round II'...

4 bell peppers, halved and seeded                                    Black pepper
1 Tbsp vegetable oil                                                              2 cups leftover Mississippi Roast
1 large onion, sliced                                                               2 tsp Italian seasoning
16 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced                                        16 slices provolone cheese
Kosher salt                                                                              Parsley (definitely optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 325*.  Place peppers in a large baking dish and bake until tender, about 30 minutes.

2.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high flame, heat oil.  Add onions and mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until soft, 6 minutes.  Not 5...and certainly not 7.  Just 6 increments of 60 seconds.  Six!  Maybe put a lid on top and let it enjoy itself in the sauna for the mingling of fungi and pungent perfection.  Are you climbing those steps yet?

2.  Add leftover Mississippi roast and season with more salt and pepper.  Also, add the Italian seasoning riiiiiiiight here.  Cook the whole mess for about 3 minutes.  Note:  If you don't have any Mississippi roast on the ready, I have included the recipe variation below that calls for the real deal, sirloin steak​!  

3.  Add provolone to bottoms of baked peppers and top with steak mixture.  Top with another piece of provolone and broil until golden, about 3 minutes.  Trust me, three's company when it comes time to achieve the perfect cheesy bubble-up atop this dish!  Heck, don't worry about the calories -- we can burn those off later.  

4.  Garnish with parsley before serving.  If you feel that's just one more thing to get caught in your teeth, just forget it, because it's fine without the parsley.  :) 

5.  This picture does this masterpiece meal absolutely NO justice.  Photographing food before you throat punch it and eat it is HARD, y'all...Congratulations on your prize, too.  What could be better than a trophy plate fit for champions?  

Enjoy!!  

4 bell peppers, halved                                                            Black pepper
1 Tbsp vegetable oil                                                                 1-1/2 lb sirloin steak, thinly sliced
1 large onion, sliced                                                                 2 tsp Italian seasoning
16 oz. Cremini mushrooms, sliced                                         16 slices provolone cheese
Kosher salt                                                                                 Parsley (still optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 325*.  Place peppers in a large baking dish and bake until tender, approximately 30 minutes.

2.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil.  Add onions and mushrooms.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook until soft, 6 minutes.  Add steak and season with more salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes.  Stir in Italian seasoning.

3.  Add provolone to bottoms of baked peppers and top with steak mixture.  Top with another slice of provolone and broil until golden, 3 minutes.

4.  Bon appetite!  :)  

Simple ingrdients and minimal time invested in a meal that tastes so good it'll send you spinning off your axis (axes?!) is the epitome of this picture.  If you looked up the phrase "Simple and Good" in your circa 1987 World Book Encyclopedia, this picture and this simple-yet-exact recipe would be sitting on the page there, just staring you right back in the face!  

I did add one last ingredient after tasting the beef, though.  In the mood for comfort food, I decided I needed more of a gravy consistency so I decided to take action.  I like to call it a bonus ingredient because it makes something already good even better.  

THE RECIPE:
1.  Gitchurself a roast, right? Then sprinkle a package of Ranch dressing mix over it.

2.  Then, sprinkle a package of beef au jus mix over THAT.

3.  Then, you’re gonna put like half a jar of pepperoncinis on top of all of it.

4.  Finish it up with 1/4 cup butter cut up into cute little “pats” and place them strategically over the top of the whole mess.

5.  Cook on low all night like me, or maybe 5 hours full throttle.  When the beef is ready, shred it up if you wanna. 

6.  Now, here's where that bonus ingredient comes into play for this whole thing.  I added one package of brown gravy mix and stirred it up and around and upside down until it turned into a delicious, almost chunky-sauced consistency.  I served mine up over baby red mashed potatoes with a side of green beans for a filling, comfortable meal.  

7.  Don't be a nitwit like me and forget the beets, though.  A friend pointed out last night, "Where's the beets?"  So, yes.  I forgot the beets last night.  But trust me, never again. Never!!  

Don't be like me and forget your pretty red beets on the side.  They're my bonus side dish, beets.  And, had I not forgotten to add mine to my plate last night, that bonus ingredient would have made a wonderful meal...even better.  

Bon appetite!  You are what you eat!   Enjoy!  :)