Spaghetti and Meatballs

We love regular old spaghetti around here. Nobody ever gets tired of it. The kids and hubs, I mean. I use it as a last minute, quick and easy fall back meal. It's not something I ever really crave.

And so I hate to mess with it too much, but this looked good, so I thought maybe I would try it. I haven't yet, so I can't add my thoughts. 

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Old Fashioned Potato Soup

Old Fashioned Potato Soup 

(link)

This is one of my favorite soups. 

And the girl kid's too.

Simple. And easy, like this post...

Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

(link)

It was just a sad, sad day when I found this recipe. A sad day for the jeans in my closet that are too small and think they might see the light of day again soon. So sad for me and for them.

Oh well! I'm happy, and I have other jeans!

Macaroni and Cheese

I know there are a thousand recipes for macaroni and cheese, but this one is a family favorite. I don't make it much, since it's pretty unhealthy. It is a holiday favorite, though, which is why I looked it up, and wanted to put it here. I usually make it for Thanksgiving and Christmas. (It's good to make when you're taking a family a meal too.) The kids like it, but it's fancy enough for grownups!

I omit the ham and the parsley, just as a side note. 

Giada's Macaroni and Cheese

JimnNick's Cheese Biscuits

I accidentally found this recipe, and I accidentally made them.

It's a shame, really. This won't end well. 

Jim-n-Nick's Cheese Biscuits

(link)

Chicken and Dumplings

This recipe comes from my most beloved Better Homes and Garden cookbook that I've already blogged about. This is one of my favorite recipes.

This particular recipes has vegetables in it, which I prefer to the plain chicken and dumplings recipe. 

I recently cooked this for my new cousin-in-law who just happens to be an English foodie/former chef.

I nearly had a nervous breakdown preparing it. Seriously. I actually cooked it for my cousin, who lost her mom, my aunt, 9 years ago. This was my cousin's favorite dish that her mom cooked for her. 

So no pressure.

English Cousin-in-law had no complaints about and said he would learn to make it for Cousin. 

Good enough for me.

Anyway, here it is, straight from the cookbook:

Chicken and Dumplings

• 2 to 2 1/2 pounds meaty chicken pieces (breasts, thighs and drumsticks)

Let me pause right here and say that this is a pretty intensive recipe. I highly suggest getting a precooked rotisserie chicken from the store and shredding that sucker. Or cooking a chicken in the slow cooker so that you can use that chicken and the broth from that. Or cooking some chicken breasts on the stove and then shredding it and using that along with store bought broth.)

• 3 Cups water
• 1 medium onion, cut into wedges (I dice for the kids' sake)
• 1 t dried basil
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t dried marjoram
• 1/4 pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1 cup thinly sliced carrots (2 medium)
• 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (I don't add these)
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 T parsley (I used dried)
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t oregano
• 1 beaten egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 T cooking oil (I use olive)
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour

So here's how I do it. I saute the onion, celery and carrot over medium heat in an iron skillet with some olive oil until vegetables are tender but still firm. I use my dutch oven and add 3 cups of chicken stock to it.  (Or your broth if you cook your own chicken) Heat over medium heat. I skin my rotisserie chicken and add it to my warming chicken broth. Then add cooked vegetables to broth. I then add the basil, no salt since the broth is already salty, marjoram, pepper and bay leaf. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer while you work on the dumplings.

Now these are the actual instructions from the cookbook:

1. Skin chicken, if desired. Rinse chicken. In a large pot, combine chicken, the 3 cups of water, onion, basil, the 1/2 teaspoon salt, marjoram, pepper and mushrooms. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Add celery, carrots and mushrooms. Return mixture to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes more or till chicken and vegetables are tender. Discard bay leaf.

2. For dumplings: in a mixing bowl combine the 1 cup flour, parsley, baking powder, the 1/4 t salt and oregano. In another bowl, combine the egg, milk, and oil. Add to flour mixture. Stir with a fork just till moistened. Drop batter onto the hot chicken broth, making 6 dumplings. (Make 6 balls of dough and sit gently on top of chicken mixture with a spoon. Don't let the dumplings go into mixture. Just let them rest on top) 

Return to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or till a wooden toothpick inserted into a dumpling comes out clean. Do not lift cover while simmering. 

Then transfer chicken, dumplings and vegetables to a serving platter; keep warm.

3. For gravy: pour broth into a large measuring cup. Skim fat from broth. Discard fat. Measure 2 cups of broth. Return to pot. Combine the 1/2 cold water and the 1/4 cup flour; stir into the broth. Cook and stir until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Serve gravy over chicken and vegetables with dumplings. Makes 6 servings.

Okay, here's how I do step 3. I scoop out the vegetables, chicken and dumplings carefully, trying not to destroy the dumplings in the process, into a Pyrex dish. Set aside. Combine 1/2 cold water and 1/4 flour in a small bowl and add to the broth in the pot a tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly, until it starts to thicken. (You won't use all of the flour mixture) I don't ever have 2 cups of broth left over, like the recipe says,  so you can't add the whole flour mixture or it will taste like the flour mixture. I always have enough gravy, though. 

So there it is. It takes some time, but oh my. It's really really worth it.  I promise.
 

Stuffed Shells

I love this recipe. It's not mine, but I have it written on an old piece of paper, and I need to get it here before I lose it. I can't find one just like it!

This is not a hard recipe, but it does have several steps. Start early in the day. Trust me. This is not a recipe you can throw together at the end of the day or you won't eat until 8 o'clock at night. Don't ask me how I know this. And there's nothing wrong with eating at 8 at night, but since that's my kids' bedtime, I try to not push that back. Because they need their sleep. Not because I'm tired. You know, at 8. 

Anyway.

Prepare one box of jumbo shells according to package directions. Perhaps this is easy for the average person, but for me, this can be challenging. The first time I did this, I ended up with a bowl full of torn up noodles. 

You can't stuff those. 

Unfortunately.

So. I add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to my water. And stir occasionally, but not too much. And if the package says to cook for 12-14 minutes, I only cook for 10. Al dente shells are easier to stuff that fully cooked ones. And if some are stuck to the bottom of the pot, which mine always are no matter how big the pot is or how much water I add, then just add some water to the ones that are stuck and let that sit. Then you can come back and get them out with a spoon.

I'm sure it's not supposed to be that hard.

Anyway.

Let the shells cool. This is one reason you have to start early in the day. It's not easy stuffing hot shells. Not that I have or anything.

Stuffing:

1 1/2 pounds ground meat

1 medium onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or I use less dried parsley)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 t basil leaves

1/2 t oregano 

1 cup bread crumbs (1 toasted pieces of bread, crumbled in food processor or prepared ones)

1 egg slightly beaten

1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, cooked and drained

1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped

3 cups prepared sauce

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1c Mozzarella cheese (or more to taste)

Cook ground meat and onion. Drain and cool. Combine next eight ingredients with meat mixture. Spread a thin layer of sauce in a 13 X 9 inch baking dish (It always takes one large dish and one smaller dish for mine) Fill shells with filling. Place shells in a single layer, top with remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

(I put that in bold because if you forget this step, the whole dang thing will burn. Not that I have done this or anything. *ahem*)

I actually brown the first 6 ingredients in a skillet and then transfer to a bowl to cool. Then I add in bread crumbs and egg. I don't add the tomatoes because the kids aren't fans, and so I always have some shells left over, but the kids do love those, so it all works out. 

This does freeze well also. We never have any left over, though!

I read a recipe that added cream cheese to the meat fixture, and that sounds really good. I'm not looking to add any calories or fat to this dish, so while that sounds good, I think I'll pass. But I thought I'd throw that out there, since I just came across that idea. 

Honey Garlic Chicken

This was so so good. I slammed it in the Crock Pot before we left for church yesterday morning, and I was a little worried about it. I used frozen, boneless chicken thighs, so I wasn't sure if putting it on "low" was going to be a good thing or not. I also realized I was out of honey and substituted it with agave nectar. I figured if it was awful, we'd eat... I didn't know what.

We opened the door of the house when we got home from church, and the most wonderful smell hit us full force. The husband yelled, "Wow! Now I'm really hungry..."

He is always really hungry after church. 

I also added canned diced pineapple at the last minute and stirred that in while the rice was cooking. You could totally throw in some instant rice in the beginning, but my weird-o kids don't like things mixed up, so I had to make that separately for us.

This was so stinking good. I was sad when my bowl was empty, and the hubs and I are fighting over the leftovers. Yes! There was enough for leftovers!

So very good. Definitely added to the rotation! 

Honey Garlic Chicken

(link)

Salmon what?

Croquettes. I call them salmon croquettes, because that sounds fancier than "Salmon Cakes." 

And much better than "salmon from a can."

No really, though, salmon is good for you, and wild caught canned salmon isn't that bad. I use it in place of tuna in "tuna fish salad" and it's good that way too! Plus it's inexpensive, which is a definite plus. 

So try this recipe. And you MUST try the alternatives suggested by this mom, including the sauce ( I use plain yogurt instead of mayo. )

Salmon Croquettes

(link)

"Excellent and with such simple ingredients. I always make this with leftover salmon, not a fan of canned fish. I just double the ingredients if I have more salmon. A nice variation is to saute 1 tablespoon of finely minced garlic and parsley (fresh or dried) in some olive oil (appx. 1 tablespoon), then add to the mixture. The oil adds moistness and the garlic adds a fantastic flavor and aroma, just like in the restaurants. I've added dill, garlic powder, garlic salt, paprika, onion powder, whatever I have on hand for more flavor. And definitely serve with garlic aioli or garlic mayonaise. (Mayo - 1/2 cup mayonaise, 1 garlic clove minced, dash of paprika and lemon juice.) Serve a small dollop on top and you're dining in style. My kids love this too. Nice for small ones just learning to chew since they can mash this easily in their mouths. Nice company dinner too!"

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

I was excited at the prospect of this recipe. It had to very important components for the day: chicken and the Crock Pot.

I used 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 1 can of mild Rotel and a cup of corn. 

I put it on high for 4 hours. 

After 3 hours I was skeptical. I added a tablespoon or two of this  taco seasoning and a cup or so of the black beans I had cooked on the stove.

That was much better. 

I warmed the tortillas in a skillet (one day I'm going to make homemade tortillas) and scooped the chicken mixture in a shell, topped with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Good stuff. I could have eaten 40 of them. 

Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos

(link)

Meal Planing - August 28-September 3

Monday

Lentil Soup

Grilled Cheeses

Fruit

Tuesday

Fried Green Tomatoes

Corn on the Cob

Whipped Sweet Potatoes

Red Beans

Wednesday

Crock Pot Lasagna

Thursday

Chicken Soft Tacos

Black Beans

Friday

Salmon Croquettes

Fried Okra

Rice

Saturday

Spaghetti

Sunday

Hopefully Left Overs

Chicken Legs

I know it seems odd to buy and cook up chicken legs, but the are cheap and not that unhealthy, really. The organic ones are cheap also, and the kids like eating them. Sometimes I fry them, but this was a really good and easy way to cook them up!

Crock Pot Chicken Legs

I found a slower cooker chicken recipe we all enjoyed, so I wanted to sticky it here to find again! 

Brown Sugar Chicken

Chicken Cacciatore

 

I really feel like I have written this post already. I'm hoping not. It's like a huge case of Blogger's Deja Vu. 

Anyway, I love my old cookbook. It's 15 years old, splattered and falling apart. I cling to it, though, because it was written when food was still cooked from scratch. I'm big on that. I don't like recipes that tell me to use anything store bought. If this cookbook tells you to use a pie crust, they tell you how to whip one up. Biscuits? Recipe. Croissant? Yep. It's in there.

I love that.

Anyway, this recipe is on the same page with Chicken and Dumplings, which I need to get typed up soon too. It's all from scratch and it's so good.

Take note that this dish has to simmer on the stove for 30-40 minutes. It's not one you can whip up in 15 minutes and serve. It's so easy to prepare, but there is that simmer time to consider. 

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients:

1. 2 to 2 1/2 pounds meaty chicken pieces (I use organic thighs because they are cheap and go well with this recipe - usually boneless)
2. 2 T olive oil
3. I medium onion, minced
4. 1 clove garlic, minced
5. 1 7 1/2-ounce can tomatoes, cut up
6. 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
7. 3/4 c of dry white wine (I buy those little 4 packs of small bottles to have on hand to cook with. I'm not a fan of white wine, so it's safe in my pantry)
8. 1 4-ounce can mushrooms, drained
9. 2 T snipped fresh parsley (I use dried, the same amount)
10. 1 t sugar
11. 1/2 t salt
12. 1/2 t dried rosemary, crushed
13. 1/2 t dried thyme, crushed
14. 1/4 t dried oregano, crushed
15. 1/8 t pepper
16. Hot cooked spaghetti 

Directions:

1. Cook chicken in a skillet in hot oil until done, turning to brown evenly. Add onion and garlic the last 5 minutes of cooking, then drain off fat.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, combine undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, mushrooms, parsley, sugar, salt, rosemary, thyme, oregano and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Pour over chicken in skillet. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and let simmer 30 to 40 minutes. Turn chicken once during cooking. Serve over hot spaghetti.

Fettuccine Alfredo

This is a dish that will probably give you a heart attack if eaten too often.

But every now and then, I just really want Fettuccine Alfredo.

This recipe is super easy and very good. It's from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. The cookbook is old, and I love it. I'm not going to ever be able to let it go.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of half and half, light cream or (heavy) whipping cream

1 tablespoon butter

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

cracked black pepper

nutmeg

Directions:

In a sauce pan, place butter in pan over low heat. After butter is melted, add cream. 

Stir and let sit until warm.

Stir in Parmesan cheese. 

Add a sprinkle of black pepper and nutmeg.

Stir and let sit over low heat until it barely bubbles.

I will use penne pasta, or you can use fettuccine, obviously. (I just never seem to have fettuccine on hand.) I also saute some chicken to add to the dish, just to give it some good old protein.

Simply mix your choice of pasta and chopped up chicken in a bowl, and then stir in Alfredo sauce.

It's really quick and easy. 

And I'm trying to stop eating the leftovers...

Country Captain Chicken

I don't know why it's called "Country Captain Chicken." It took me forever to find this recipe on the site, so I am really glad to have it here. 

This is my favorite new recipe I've made lately. It's so so good. And I typically don't like any cooked recipe that has raisins and apples in it. Don't let that stop you. You really have to try this. 

But. If you use long grain brown rice like I do, you need to cook it separately and then add it or you will end up with crunchy rice stew. Just ask the sweet girl I made this for after her surgery. *sigh* (I'm still not over that...)

Country Captain Chicken

Vegetable Soup

It's called "Mama's Vegetable Soup" but I remember my grandmother making this and her mother too. We just call it "Mama's Soup" and that covers all the generations that have made it.

All that said, it's just vegetable soup. Not a huge big deal. I love it, though, because it's easy and fairly cheap to make. With a good grilled cheese and some saltine crackers, it's makes a pretty great dinner! (And there's always lots left to freeze and/or to make lunches)

Mama's Soup

Begin the soup by coating the bottom of a dutch oven or a large pot with olive oil. Over medium-high heat, saute 1/2 an onion (or more) and 3 sliced carrots until tender. 

Add:

• 28oz can tomatoes (or a fresh one or two) 
• small can of sauce (I can't figure out how to get around this one by not using canned products. Unless a vegetable juice might work? I might try that next time and report the results.)
• 1 bay leaf (and as a friend reminded me to instruct in a recipe, take out the bay leaf before you serve soup)
• 1T dried parsley
• 1-2T of dried rosemary

Now you add your vegetables. You can put in what ever you choose. Here is what's in my soup right now (everything is frozen):

• 1C corn
• 1C speckled butter beans
• 1/2 pound frozen okra
• 1C green beans
• left over lima beans

I love this part because basically I just empty what ever bag of frozen something I have hanging out in the freezer. Makes me feel super thrifty!

I add about 20ish oz of water to the soup and pepper to taste and then bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and let it simmer for 2 hours on low. (Or you can do the saute part in a skillet and then throw everything in the Crock Pot.)

20 minutes before you are ready to eat, add pasta. I tend to like spiral pasta or penne (or in today's soup, both) because the thicker pasta holds up well in the soup. 

I add a lot of pasta, since it's cheap and really thickens up the soup. You may even need to add more water at this stage.

And that's it!

Banana Bread

This is another of my mom's recipes. It's another family favorite!

Ingredients:

1. 1 1/2 c flour (I use whole wheat)
2. 1 1/2 t baking powder
3. 1/4 t baking soda
4. 1/4 t cinnamon
5. 3 medium bananas smashed (the mushier and more brown the peal is, the better)
6. 3/4 c sugar
7. 1 egg
8. 1/4 c oil (I use coconut)

In one bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. (Save sugar for next bowl.)

In another bowl, mash bananas and then add wet ingredients-egg and oil- and then add sugar to this bowl. 

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and then mix well. Pour into a greased bread pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50 - 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean.

Then try not to eat the whole loaf in one sitting. (Or toast a slice with some butter. Oh my.)

Don't remind me that bathing suit season is just around the corner. Okay?

Cornbread muffins

These aren't really cornbread, exactly. They have corn meal, but they have actual corn kernels, and a sweet taste too. They are perfect with soups and stews. I could eat a batch of these just by themselves. A favorite. 

Cornbread Muffins

Italian Crockpot Chicken

This is one of those super quick and easy recipes that will give you a heart attack if eaten often, but I love it so I'm adding it here. I also  hate searching for the recipe. It's my favorite for when I take a family a meal, because it's a crowd pleaser, and it can feed a larger family.

Italian Crock Pot Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
(whole or cut into bite-sized pieces)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 stick BUTTER (tastes better than marg.)
1 env. dry Italian dressing mix
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, room temperature

Melt butter, pour over chicken in crock pot. Sprinkle with dry Italian dressing mix.
Cover, and cook on high for 3-4 hours. Blend soup and cream cheese, pour over
chicken for last 1/2 hour.*

Serve over angel hair or your choice of pasta.

*when I add the soup and cheese, I take the
chicken out, blend the soup/cheese into the
pot contents until creamy, and return chicken
for the last 1/2 hr.

Chicken Parmesan

I had a meeting last night, so I thought I'd do my quick and easy fake Chicken Parmesan.

I just brown a couple of chicken breasts in a skillet with some olive oil and seasonings. When they are done, I reduce heat and top with jarred spaghetti sauce, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese and cover until all warm and melty. Make a quick side of pasta and some veggie, and there is an easy dinner.

Well. THIS email came yesterday, and I thought, "Oh, I'll make some changes and it will be even better!"

Um...

I did think that making my own bread crumbs would be so easy and a great idea. I toasted two slices of bread, threw them in the food processor with my homemade Italian spice and make me up some bread crumbs.

Then when I followed their instructions to brown the chicken in the skillet, the chicken burned on the outside. 

Uh oh.

I eyed the clock and realized that I didn't have time to scratch this dinner and start over, so I forged on. (I wouldn't have wasted the chicken. I would have scrapped off the burned part and made something else.)

I got the chicken into the oven, and since I didn't have sliced mozzarella, I topped the chicken with shredded mozzarella.

When I opened the oven, the cheese had burned too. 

I hastily served the dish, hoping the kids wouldn't notice. 

Oh, they did. 

So this recipe didn't turn out as expected. I did like the breadcrumb portion of the new recipe, and I may do that again. Or perhaps I like my old way just as well.

So maybe I'll call this a recipe fail, and you know, not a cook fail. :)

Chicken Gumbo

This is a family favorite, and I've made it for years. (Okay, fine, I have to pick out the okra for the boys. Oh well.) 

It's really just a super simple chicken soup. I'm not sure I'd really call it "gumbo" since usually those have lots more ingredients and are a little more fancy. This is just simple and easy. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups stewed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice (I use instant brown rice in a pinch)
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 cup sliced okra
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pepper to taste
• 1 cup chopped cooked chicken breast

Again I use a whole chicken cooked in the slow cooker. Then you have your cooked chicken and your broth already. Just add water to the bottom of the slow cooker before you add your chicken.

I also make more soup with the entire chicken to eat for lunch or to freeze for later.

Directions:

• in a large pot, cook onion and celery in 1 tablespoon of broth until tender
• add remaining broth, tomatoes and rice
• bring to a boil
• reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes
• add green pepper, okra, bay leaf, salt and pepper
• cook about 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender
• add chicken and serve through
• serve immediately

That's it! I normally throw it back into the slow cooker to keep it warm and simmery until it's time to eat. I love the way the house smells-all warm and cozy!

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever.

Yes. It is. And I know this well. 

I could eat this entire cake in one sitting. By myself. I'd actually like to make a pool sized one of these and dive into it...

*ahem* Sorry about that. It's pretty good. You should make one, but only when you have lots of friends over to help you eat it, or else you might eat the whole thing by yourself. 

I don't know anything about that...

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever

Breakfast Casserole

My friend Tracy calls this recipe "The Mancatcher." I call it the "Rear Extender." Either way, it's a super simple breakfast casserole that we all love best at dinner time!

 (Courtesy of either my friends Sandi and/or Jennifer V. I'll blame the 40 pounds this recipe has given me on either one of them.)

Ingredients:

1. 2 rolls refrigerated crescent rolls. 

2. 1 can Rotel. (I use Mild)

3. I block cream cheese

4. 1 pound sausage (The kind that crumbles when you cook it. Not the links) 

Directions:

 Preheat oven to 350.

Brown the sausage in a skillet. When browned, add Rotel and cream cheese and mix well. Let simmer for 10 minutes or so. Unroll one crescent roll into the bottom of a Pyrex dish. Pour sausage mixture on top of crescent roll, and then unroll the other crescent roll on top of sausage mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the top crescent roll is browned.

Yep. That's it. And according to Tracy, you can catch (or keep) a man with this sucker. :)

Black Bean Soup

I haven't ever made black bean soup. I'm not sure why, really. I usually have everything on hand to make it, but never thought about it. (I keep diced onion and diced green pepper in sandwich bags in the freezer. Makes all of this a lot easier.)

I decided to try this recipe since it looked so easy. And it was. It went into the Crock Pot before church. I was a little worried about it since I'd never made it before. Hubs went to make a bowl as I was on the way out the door for a run. When I got back, there wasn't much left in the Crock Pot, so I figured he liked it! I sat down with a bowl and ohmygoodness. This was so very good. 

The only thing I changed was that I used diced Greenwise Mild Turkey Sausage from Publix instead of the ham, for obvious reasons. Honestly, I would have liked it just fine with out the meat. I thought I would need to add that to give it some staying power, but it would have been just as good and plenty of filling without the meat. (I just used two links, so I didn't really add that much.) Oh, I did add some extra beans, and I'm glad I did.

So here it is. This recipe is a keeper. It was delicious!

Black Bean Soup

Gross

This is what I got after I washed my organic "triple washed, ready to eat" bagged lettuce. The water was really more brown and dirty than the green it looks here. Lesson learned. Wash your already washed lettuce. :)

Casserole Happiness

I was going to write "Casserole Nirvana" for some reason. Then I figured that would mess people up who were trying to Google the band. Nirvana. Not Casserole Nirvana, although if I was going to finally have my band, full of stay-at-home moms I might add, I'd call it "Casserole Nirvana." 

I wonder if any of my friends have any hidden musical talent?

I forgot what I came here to post.

Oh yes. This:

Casseroles 

 

I think there is such a thing as "casserole snobbery," and I guess that's okay. I'm pretty country, so I like me a good casserole now and then. (I think casseroles are country. Maybe they aren't.) Anyway, I do like them occasionally,  and they are especially good for things like taking meals to families. I haven't looked through this yet, but I'm bookmarking it here to look through later!

My new favorite dish (chicken)

Epicurious.com is a great place to get new recipes. I have an app on my phone where you can enter in an ingredient and a few other bits of information and it will spin this spinner thing and give you a recipe to try. (I found a black bean soup I want to try this weekend that way.) 

I wanted to try something different, and I found this recipe. It's my new favorite. (I think I've said that before. Let's be honest. Everything is my favorite.) 

Now the thing is, you really do have to have the smoked paprika. It makes all the difference. But the fun thing is that after you buy some from Publix, you can go to epicurous.com and type in "smoked paprika" and find more fun, new recipes to try. (Yes! Fun! Do I need a life? Yes!!!)

I'm about to make this for dinner. I'm very excited :) Oh and I don't add the cilantro. I wasn't a fan. And I make couscous and spoon this whole thing on top of that. Yum. I'm off to cook!

 Roast chicken with Smoked Paprika

Southwestern Chicken Soup

This is one of my new favorite soups. It's just really good! I'm dashing out the door to the grocery store and needed to look it up for the ingredients for my grocery list. I'm throwing it up here with out much comment, but do I use garbanzo beans instead of cannellini beans since I'm using them for another recipe I'll post later. Also, salsa verde is in the Mexican section of the grocery store! (Edited to add that I found a jar of salsa verde at Walmart in the salsa section!)

Southwestern Chicken Soup

Crock Pot Lasagna

The hardest part about not eating out is Sunday. We don't get out of church until late, and by the time we get out of there, we are all really hungry. No matter how strong my resolve not to eat out is, it wanes in the face of post-church low blood sugar. 

It's not entirely possible to eat out cheaply with a family of five. At best it's $35.00. (Maybe $25.00 if we run through Milo's.) That times four is about $150.00 a month. That's a lot just to eat out on Sunday. 

My solution is to have something IN the Crock Pot for lunch so that we must to go home and eat. It works well. I just need to have it planned out and in the Crock Pot before we leave Sunday morning. Yes, this requires that I get my rear out of bed a few minutes earlier on Sunday morning, but it's worth it.

This is one of my new favorite Crock Pot recipes. It's really good and pretty easy. For this one, I'll probably brown my meat on Saturday night and then just combine it all in the morning.

Crock Pot Lasagna

I omit several things. I don't put any veggies except the spinach, which cooks down so much it's barely noticeable. (The kids eat it right up.) I also don't add eggs. I just used regular mozzarella cheese too.

This is a nice lasagna that is super easy. It's especially nice to walk into a house after church that smells good and have lunch ready to go!

Chicken Cacciatore

I made this once, I think. I had to search my other blog to find the recipe. I've thought about it since then. (No, I do not have a food addition/problem. Why do you ask?) I don't know why I haven't made it again since then. It was one of those dishes where I was really sad when I got done with my dinner. Actually I'm sad every time I get through with dinner, but NO, I do not have an abnormal love of food. Goodness. 

I remember hearing about this dish for the first time when an old friend of mine was home for Christmas one year, and he was sitting in his mom's kitchen talking to her while she made Chicken Cacciatore, and he posted on Facebook about it. What did I do? Not be happy he was spending time with his mom. I Googled "Chicken Cacciatore" and found a good recipe. (And then later thought, "Man, no wonder he hung out with her for a while. This dish takes a while to make, but it's so worth it...)

(So see, Facebook can be a dangerous thing. It makes you eat:)

I'm making it tonight, though, and I'm just a tad excited.

Oh and,

I like to get boneless/skinless chicken thighs. They are cheaper than other sections of meat, good and easy to work with. They worked really well with this recipe too.

Chicken Cacciatore

No bake chocolate cookies

My friend calls me up and tells me that she's doing a fast. A "no dairy, no wheat, no meat" fast. It was for 40 days. She went on to say in no uncertain terms that unless I wanted to end our friendship immediately, I would do the fast with her. 

I think that's what she said. I can't imagine under what other circumstances I would have agreed to do a fast of that sort for that long.

Yeah, as I think back on it, I'm pretty sure that's how it went down.

As I look back on it, seriously, I learned a lot about food- Why I eat, what I eat and when I eat. It wasn't a spiritual fast at all, but it really turned out to be one for me. I realized that for me, food wasn't just for nourishment. And that can be a bad thing.

I also learned that there are times that if I don't have something chocolate, I will sprout horns, foam at the mouth and decimate anything in my path.

That's how it feels anyway.

So in the midst of this fast, I ran to my computer to search for some sort of something I could whip up that would satisfy my sweet tooth, and I found this recipe. It was so good that I kept it and continue to make them. The kids like them, and I was surprised at how good they were, considering how healthy they are!

No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

2/3 cup maple syrup 

1/4 cup oil (I use coconut)

5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup peanut butter (natural with no hydrogenated oils)

1 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the maple syrup, oil, cocoa and cinnamon. Boil for three minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter, rolled oats and vanilla until well blended. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto waxed paper and chill to set, about 30 minutes. 

No Bake Chocolate Cookies 

It's a really good cookie that will satisfy you even if you are in the midst of a fast to save a friendship. :)

Mimi's Blueberry muffins

My mom makes great muffins. We just call these "Mimi's Blueberry Muffins." I love them, and they got baked as we anticipated Snowmageddon '11.

In one bowl, combine:

2c flour (I use whole wheat)

2t baking powder

1t ground cinnamom

1/4t salt

In another bowl, combine:

2 eggs beaten

1c milk

3/4c sugar

1/2 oil (I use coconut)

Once these are combined in their respective bowls, add them together and then mix well. 

Add 3/4c of blue berries. I buy bulk frozen organic blueberries from Costco. I like using frozen because they don't burst and make your muffins all blue.

Spoon into muffin tins and bake at 400 degrees for 15-17 minutes.

I like to double the recipe. We like them best toasted with, of course, butter.

(I also store these in the refrigerator, even thought they don't last long.)

So easy!

Sandwich bread

I used to make my own bread. I think those were to days when I got a shower every day too. I had more time back then. 

When the Snow Blizzard '11 was on its way, I decided to bake up my own little storm. I realized I was craving home baked bread. I was tired of how expensive store bought bread was, and the one brand that didn't used to add soy anything now added soy flour. (We avoid processed soy for reasons you don't want to know about today.) 

So in the baking flurry, I decided to make a trial run with a recipe for bread that I hadn't tried in years. My super amazing, previously mentioned cooking/baking phenomenon of a friend, Jennifer L., gave me this recipe, and I made it for a long time before I got super busy (ie, had my third kid, whose mission in life most days is to destroy me.) 

Anyway. Here is the recipe. It makes two loaves. I'll rave about the bread in a bit.

4 1/2 t yeast (it's cheaper to get the yeast in a jar than in the packets)

1/2 cup warm water

dissolve

then add:

1 3/4 cup warm water

1/4 soft butter or coconut oil

1/3 cup honey

1T salt

3 cups whole wheat flour

1/3 oatmeal (old fashioned or quick)

1/3 cup cornmeal 

1T dry milk (totally optional - adds calcium)

blend well for 3 minutes with beater hook. 

Then add 2-3 1/2 cups of white flour until dough is still, elastic and smooth using dough hook.

Rise in warm oven (170 degrees then turned off) for 65-75 minutes.

Punch down and divide in half. Shape into loaves and put into well greased pans.

Rise 35 minutes again in warm oven. Take out and preheat oven.

Bake at 375 degrees 30-40 minutes until golden brown.

Oh. My. This bread is so good. I made grilled cheeses to go with our Chicken Noodle Soup, and it was so so so good.

I have a love affair with carbs. Can you tell? I love bread. Too much.

Oh, and I remembered Jennifer saying that using an electric knife was the best way to slice the bread. So after locating the base of the least used wedding gift we received 15 1/2 years ago, I had to search for the blades part of it. Then I realized they were dirty. I almost did an Edward Sissorhands trying to wash the blades. Then I put them in backwards. Then I almost cut my fingers off getting them in the right way. Then I forgot how to work the lock (lock?) on the knife. Then I forgot how to turn the knife on. Then I forgot how hard it was to actually slice the bread into straight, thin slices.

Oh well. I'll practice.

The bread is so large and dense, one slice makes a kid sandwich. I'm thinking if I baked bread once a week, we'd be good. I'm going to look at Costco and see what of those ingredients I can get in bulk to cheapen this whole process even more. It's so much better than store bought bread and better for you too.

I may need to go eat piece of cinnamon toast right now.

Chicken noodle soup

My friend, Jennifer L., is a freak of nature (in a good way). I mean really. If Martha Stewart and MacGyver had a child, she'd be it.

She can make a meal with a toothpick, some flour and duck tape. And it would be fantastic.

(She's an amazing seamstress too. Luckily she has a son that is tall and thin. And she makes him pants. Lots of pants. I don't have words for what a blessing that is.)

She also will give you an recipe of anything she makes. This is our most favorite soup, and she calls it "Chick-fil-A Soup."

You start with a whole chicken, which is fabulous for several reasons. I'll number the reasons so you'll get the full effect of how great this is:

1. Whole chickens are cheaper. I get organic ones from Costco, and I think they are $1.99 a pound. For organic. Good.
2. They are really easy to cook. Throw a chicken in a slow cooker with a couple of cups of water and pour a bit of olive oil over him with some spices added on top and 4-6 hours later you have a meal. (If you have some, stick in some red potatoes and baby carrots, making sure they are covered with water, and then you have nearly a whole meal in your Crock Pot = perfect.)
3. Eat a meal with your chicken, and even then you'll have enough left over for a large pot of soup.
4. The broth that is in the bottom of your slow cooker is now going in your soup for the broth. Better for you than store bought and, of course, cheaper. 

I think you've gotten your money's worth out of this bird. You are basically just tossing the poor thing's bones away.

Jennifer starts her soup by boiling the entire bird. I just can't bring myself to do that. Go for it if you're comfortable with that. I'm sticking with my Crock Pot way:)

Once you have eaten your fabulous dinner from your Crock Pot, get the rest of the meat off and put it in a bowl. I mean all those little slivers of meat. Pick that sucker dry.

In the bottom of a stock pot, pour in a table spoon or two of olive oil. You are going to saute 1 onion, minced; 2-3 carrots, sliced; and 2 celery stalks, diced (or sliced). Saute that over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they everything is tender.

You are now going to make what some call a roux, or a slurry. This one just uses flour and water. It's going to thicken the soup just a bit.


So take 3 tablespoons of flour and 3-4 tablespoons of water. Mix this very well until you have a thick, smooth, liquidy paste sort of concoction.


Add this to your vegetable saute and let it cook for just a minute as you stir it around.


Now you are going to stir in your broth from your slow cooker to your mixture in your stock pot. (I strain my since I don't like all those chicken pieces floating in my soup.)

Stir that up well. Add salt and pepper to taste, and your chicken from your bowl too. Now you just bring all that to a boil and let it bubble for a few minutes until it has thickened up a bit.

I now add some water. How much is up to you. It depends on how much chicken you have and/or how much or how little soup you want. Lots of variables there.

Now you add your choice of noodles. I like whole wheat egg noodles, but what ever makes your skirt fly up is good with me. I add half a bag of the noodles.

Stir this up and bring it to a boil again. Reduce heat and let simmer until the noodles are tender.

Now you add 1/4-1/2 cup of milk and stir through.

You're done! I prefer to make grilled cheese sandwiches with this and serve with lots of crackers. I'm not even hungry, but I could go eat this meal all over again. Luckily it makes a pretty good amount of soup, so there is plenty in my refrigerator for lunch this week.

And there you have it.

Chick-fil-A soup!

Ingredients

1 onion, minced
2 celery stalks, diced/sliced
2-3 carrots, sliced
shredded chicken
chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
3T flour/3-4T water mixed
1-2 cups noodles
1/4-1/2 cup milk

Pumpkin Bread

Something about impending snow made me crave pumpkin bread. I don't know why. I pretty much could eat this bread year around, and I think we actually do. This entire family could devour a loaf in seconds. I think we actually do that to!

I've used this recipe for years. I've made it countless times. It should actually be called Pumpkin Cake, but calling it Pumpkin Bread makes it sound less caloric! 

I do use whole wheat flour, and you can't tell a bit of difference. Surely that makes it healthier...

 http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Downeast-Maine-Pumpkin-Bread/Detail.aspx

Pizza crust and sauce

I haven't made homemade pizza in awhile, and my husband requested it last week. We are starting off in January trying not to eat out. At all. That means not even $5 Little Caesar's. I'm a little sad about that.

This pizza is good, though. It's fun to roll out the dough, and it's really much easier than I thought it would be. 

Here is the recipe for the crust:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quick-and-Easy-Pizza-Crust/Detail.aspx


I do add some spices into the dough mix, which was suggested in the comments. I always read the comments on Allrecipes.com because there's such a plethora of good information, suggestions and tips there. It's one of the reasons I love that site. 

I also melt butter to brush on the crust when it's done too. I'm related to Paule Dean that way. I love butter.

Here is the recipe I use for the sauce:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Pizza-Sauce-I/Detail.aspx

I actually preferred this next recipe for pizza sauce, but my husband didn't like the sweetness of it. If you like a sweeter sauce, this one would be the one for you:

 http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Exquisite-Pizza-Sauce/Detail.aspx

I obviously left off the anchovy paste, which may have counter acted some of the sweetness, but I didn't know were to get anchovy paste. Thinking back on it, I could have just asked the nice people at Publix to show me on what aisle the anchovy paste was. I do believe that you could ask those Publix people to get you a unicorn horn and they would. I love Publix. They are so nice that I have to not go too early in the morning or all that niceness and "Are you finding everything okay?" makes me a tad cranky. I'm not really a morning person. 

Um. Oh yeah. Sorry about that. Top your pizza crust with cheese and what ever toppings you like. I used to use the turkey pepperoni but then I realized it had BHT and BHA, along with sodium nitrite. I won't get to those today, but they are things we avoid. (I mean BHT is used in embalming fluid. Hello? Why is that okay for humans to consume? Sorry. I couldn't help myself.)

I'm off to make a homemade pizza. And follow it up with my favorite no-bake cookies. I'll post that recipe later!

White Chicken Chili

I just found some of this in the freezer, and I nearly did a happy dance. It's been that kind of day! This chili is so good, I could eat it every day. No changes, no advice. Just maybe make an extra batch to freeze for you to discover at the end of your own crazy day!

White Chicken Chili

(here's the link)

Taco Soup?

It makes me laugh at myself that I'm posting the recipe for taco soup, but I have a suggestion for it, so I'll just put the whole thing up here anyway. I love this soup, because it's one of the few that almost everyone in our family (that includes my weirdo soup-a-phobic children) will eat.

Now that we aren't eating canned beans, all you need is a bag of each of the following: black, pinto and red beans. I combine half of each of the bags of beans and cook them all to package directions. Yes, that's a lot of beans, but when they are cooked, you take half of the batch and freeze them so the next time you make taco soup, half the work is already done!

(I would also like to point out that for around $3, you've enough beans for 4 large batches of soup. Cheap!)

Next I brown a pound of ground turkey in a skillet. (Cast iron. We'll talk about that later.)

You're also going to need a bag of frozen corn. No canned. And I use organic corn, trying hard to stay away from GMO's.

I don't think you want me to get into this, but GMO's are genetically modified organisms. Basically scientists genetically modify food, for you guessed it, financial reasons mostly. I prefer to eat my food non-genetically modified. There is a lot of research that points out several dangers of eating genetically modified food, which probably isn't too hard to imagine the dangers of. A simple Google search will yield plenty of reading material, if you're so inclined. 

So we have our organic (or if you're perfectly normal and don't worry about these sort of strange things like GMO's - non-organic) bag of frozen corn.

I use about half of the bag, for our soup, that we're making, if you've forgotten that we are actually discussing a recipe here, which apparently I have.

Whew. I need a re-cap.

So far:

• Dried black, pinto and red beans, half a bag each, prepared by package directions. (I also reserve some of the bean juice for the soup.)
• 1 pound ground turkey (or if you're a red meat eater, ground... meat.)
• Half a bag of frozen corn. 

Now add some fresh (or canned, if you're normal) tomatoes. How many is up to you. I like to use more of the vegetables and less meat, since meat is more expensive and less healthy than vegetables, for the most part. I throw in maybe two tomatoes. 

Taco seasoning. I had a hard time finding any that didn't have any MSG in it. I won't make you cry by talking about MSG today, but it's not really that good of a thing. It's also in nearly all processed foods, so I avoid it when I can to make up for when I can't. I stumbled upon this recipe for taco seasoning years ago, and I make it up and keep in it a sealed glass container to use for tacos, burritos, taco soup, etc. It's super easy, and, here it comes... cheap!

________________________________________________________________

You simply mix all the spices together, and there you have it. Taco seasoning. I actually quadruple the recipe so I don't have to make is as often. It stays in my cabinet. (I wanted to say cupboard since that sounds so much more romantic and antiquated, but I didn't. I have cabinets. Sadly.) It keeps nicely in the glass covered container.

How much seasoning you use in the soup is up to you. Make it as wimpy or as spicy as you like. 

So finally, here is the terrifically simple soup I've made terribly difficult with GMO's and homemade taco seasoning:

• Dried bean concoction
• 1 pound of ground turkey
• 1/2 bag of corn
• 4Tish of taco seasonings (or your choice amount)
• 2 fresh (or canned) tomatoes

I usually simmer the soup on the stove for at least 30 minutes. The flavors need to meld. Or what ever word foodies use to say the flavors need to mix up. Cook it in a slow cooker if you're feeling so inclined. That's easy and it makes the whole house smell you, and also makes you hungry long before it's time to eat.

I top with shredded cheddar cheese (and sour cream when I have it and am feeling dangerous) and scoop with corn chips. Yum!

My Chili

***Edited to add: Roadhouse Chili is now my favorite recipe. Hands down. It has more prep work but more flavor and kick. I think I'll change the "1/2 t cayenne pepper" to 1/4 t since I am a great big wimp. Other than that, it was perfect.


This is an old post from my regular blog. I'll post it here and then add the changes:

I have been trying several chili recipes for a while now. I have finally settled on this one, that for now, is our favorite. It's so easy, pretty cheap and makes a good bit of food. I love to have chili turkey dogs, chili fries or chili baked potatoes with left over chili too. Such a perfect time of food for this time of year! So here it is, in all it's simplistic glory:

1 pound ground turkey
3 or 4 cans of dark and light red kidney beans
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1t cumin
1/2t cayenne pepper
1/2t sea salt
1/2t fresh ground black pepper
2T chili powder

In case you are a remedial cook like I am, "t" is for teaspoon and "T" is for tablespoon. Imagine the disasters until I figured that out...

I add some water, about 3/4 cup, to make it more soupy. I love to do this in the crock pot, especially on Sunday mornings. When you walk in the house, the smell is fabulous! Allen adds hot sauce to his, while the kids and I like it wimpy. You can play with the spices, obviously, to get it to your liking.

So there it is. Simple. Wonderful!

~~~~~So here are the changes~~~~

Though it pains me terribly to do this, add one square of super dark (preferably organic) chocolate. I can't explain scientifically what it does, but it makes it better. And that makes sense. What in the world does chocolate not make better? It makes ME better all the time.

I've also gotten away from using canned products as much as possible. Here is a link with the explanation as to why:

BPA IN CAN LINERS

Buying dried beans is cheaper and safer. It takes a little more planning on my part, to remember to get them ready for my dish, but that's just good organization and time management skills (both of which I'm fabulous at... anyway.) 

Using the "quick soak" method for dried beans is not hard. I usually start them when I'm cooking breakfast and follow package instructions. Really easy. And cheap. Did I mention it's cheap and safer than canned beans?  Okay...

Now canned tomatoes are WORSE than canned beans because the acidity of the tomatoes causes the BPA to leach into the tomatoes. Super bad. So I just buy regular old tomatoes and chop them up and throw them into my soups. I add water to make up for the juice from the tomatoes. If I was really on top of things, I'd cook me down a ton of tomatoes, freeze them up with some of their own juice and then add them as needed. But since I stay very under things,  I chop up a tomato or two and throw them in. The soups take on a different color and a slightly different taste with the absence of the tomato juice, but hey, I'm not killing anyone with my chili.

Whew. 

So dried beans and fresh (or frozen from your freezer because your bestest friend gave you too many tomatoes from her garden last July and you chopped them up and froze them instead of making way too many tomato/mayo sandwiches or just *gasp* throwing them away) tomatoes.

So that's it. A very simple, won't kill you chili.

A food blog? Really?

I'm not all that good of a cook. I didn't learn to cook really until I had kids. Even now I don't consider myself all that good of a cook. Matter of fact, most nights, as I serve dinner, I think, "Well, it's not gourmet, but at least you won't starve..."

Now I say that loosely, because I know all too well that something like around 30,000 kids will die today of starvation and/or preventable disease. And given my choice, I'd be there, somewhere, trying to stop that. But for now, I'm here. So I'll be irreverent and say stuff like, "You won't starve..." when that has a larger, truer meaning for so much of the world. 

Where was I?

Oh yeah. This is a food blog. I should save that stuff for the other blog. (I hate how pretentious that sounds, "My other blog." Blech.) 

Anyway. Back to my not being a good cook. I do love to look for and try new recipes. And I do. And I cook them. And I love them. And then I lose them. Or I post them on Facebook and someone says, "Where is that recipe?" and I'll think, "I don't know; it's buried under all my brilliant status updates."

It then dawned on me to put them all somewhere where I can actually categorize and organize them and find them.  And if someone wants it, they can come here and look for it. And I do have an old fashioned recipe card cookbook, but honestly I hate printing recipes out and putting them there. Waste of ink and paper if I can just stick them here. See, I can save the planet too!

But these aren't MY recipes. I don't really have any. Except for my chili. Which is just plain old chili. Nothing fancy. So I'm not going to actually invent any recipes here, thankfully. I'm just going to share the ones I like. Or didn't like. And then I can actually cook them! And save my kids from their favorite dinner, (organic) boxed macaroni and cheese. Really. It's their favorite. I try to not be offended by that. 

So there you go. A food blog. As if the world needed another. :)