Cooking . . . It's a Family Thing!

2010-11-05T08:49:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted any new recipes in a while! It isn't because I haven't been cooking (I cook every day). I just really haven't had time to take pictures and post my recipes. I did just post a new one today, however, for Chicken Cacciatore. It is a delicious dish so you should try it. I baked 3 cakes last night (with the help of my daughter, Lindsey, who by the way is so creative)! I will try to have those recipes and pictures posted in a week or so.

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

2010-11-01T18:07:00.001-07:00

INGREDIENTS:

6-8 whole Chicken Thighs, Skin On (can use any whole chicken pieces)
Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 T Olive Oil
2 T Butter
1 whole Medium Onion, halved & sliced
2 Cloves Garlic (minced)
2 whole Red Bell Peppers, cored and sliced (not too thin)
2 whole Green Bell Peppers, cored and sliced (not too thin)
12 ounces Mushrooms, sliced (white or Crimini)
1/2 t ground Thyme
1/2 t Turmeric
1/2 t Kosher Salt
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 can (28 oz) Whole or Diced Tomatoes, with juice
1 lb Egg Noodles
Chopped, flat leaf parsley (if you have some)
Parmesan Cheese, for sprinkling

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cook noodles according to pkg. directions. Do not overcook! Drain and set aside.
Salt & pepper both sides of chicken and dredge in flour. Heat olive oil & butter in a heavy skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place chicken skin side down in pan, four pieces at a time. Brown chicken on both sides then remove to a clean plate. Repeat with remaining chicken. Pour off half the fat in the pan & discard. Add sliced onions, peppers & garlic to pan. Stir around for 1 minute. Add mushrooms and stir around for 1 minute. Add thyme, turmeric & salt and extra black pepper to taste. Stir in chicken broth & allow to bubble. Pour in canned tomatoes and stir to combine. Add chicken to pan, skin side up, without totally submerging the chicken as you want the skin to retain its crispness. Place lid o the pot and place in oven. Cook for 45 minutes. Remove the lid and increase heat to 375. Cook for an additional 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven. Remove chicken from pan and place it on a plate. Remove vegetables from pan and place them on a plate. Return pot to burner and turn heat to medium high. Cook and reduce sauce for a couple of minutes. Pour cooked, drained noodles on a large platter or in a big serving bowl. Add vegetables all over the top, then place chicken pieces on top of the vegetables. Spoon reduced sauce over the chicken and pasta. Before serving, sprinkle on chopped fresh parsley and grated Parmesan.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hr. 15 min.
Servings: 6

I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman's website (thepioneerwoman.com). Ree provides pictures for you on this site so if you're a visual person just go to this site, open the "cooking" tab and search for Chicken Cacciatore. This is a delicious dish and even though the list of ingredients might make you think it's complicated, believe me when I say it is not. You could even prepare your veggies a day ahead if you wanted to save a little time.

GARDEN ROTINI WITH GRILLED ZUCCHINI & CHICKEN

2010-07-22T15:14:00.000-07:00

With tomatoes & zucchini at their peak now is the perfect time to make this dish! My oldest daughter sent the recipe blog to me. It's from eatathomecooks.com so you can just head there to get the recipe. I substituted whole wheat Rotini for the Garden Rotini, which I prefer. I also made and used her recipe for homemade seasoned salt and I think that really made this dish! Since it's so hot I didn't want to light the grill for 2 chicken breasts (I halved the recipe), so I just pulled out my George Foreman to grill the chicken breasts and zucchini. It was so easy. I can't wait for Richard to get home so we can eat! Even if you don't make the dish you should make the seasoned salt. I picked up the spices I didn't have at the dollar store @ 2 for $1! Can't beat that!

BURRITOS, QUESADILLAS & PICO DE GALLO

2010-07-15T17:43:00.000-07:00

We had ourselves a Mexican Feast tonight. The Burritos were some I made a while back & froze (there were 3 of them). Katie made the Quesadillas from stuff we had in the fridge. Some were chicken & cheese from leftover rotisserie chicken others were made using red bell pepper & onion that she sauteed. I also made a big bowl of Pico de Gallo. It was really, really good!

BURRITOS

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground Beef

1 can (15.5 oz) Mexican or Pinto Beans

1 can (4.5 oz) chopped Green Chillis

1 can (15.5 oz) Enchilada Sauce, Red

1 package Taco Seasoning Mix

8 oz Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded

8 oz Cheddar Cheese, shredded

8 Flour Tortillas, med-large (burrito size)

Directions:

Brown the ground beef. Before you drain the fat, stir in the dry taco seasoning mix. Simmer 5 min. then drain. Combine beans, chillis, beef, 1/2 the can of enchilada sauce, 3/4 of the Monterey Jack & Cheddar cheeses in a large pan. Cook over low heat until cheeses are melted and mixture is thick. Microwave tortillas until slightly softened. Fill the middle of the tortillas with mixture and place in a baking dish and fold. (Note: I just folded mine in half but you could fold each side in and then roll up like a traditional burrito.) Spread remaining enchilada sauce over top & sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Cover with foil. At this point you could either freeze or bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Depending on the size of your family you could cook 4 and freeze 4 or double the recipe and freeze one entire batch. When you're ready to eat the frozen burritos, remove from freezer to fridge the night before and bake as directed above. If you forget to take them out of the freezer just bake for about an hour from frozen state (that's what I did).

QUESADILLAS

Just use whatever ingredients you have on hand plus some cheese. Katie layered the bottom tortilla with the ingredients and topped with another tortilla and cooked in a non-stick pan on top of the stove on medium heat. Once the bottom browns flip the tortilla over and let that side brown slightly. You just want to make sure everything has heated up and the cheese has melted. She used a pizza cutter and cut into fourths! Of course, it goes without saying to serve this up with sour cream and salsa or some of the pico!

PICO DE GALLO

I have posted this recipe before but basically you just chop up equal amounts of tomato, onion & cilantro; add 1 or 2 finely chopped jalapeno peppers that you've seeded & removed the white membrane from and mix. Squeeze 1/2 lime over this and add salt to taste.

FRENCH STYLE YOGURT CAKE WITH LEMON

2010-07-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

This is the cake Katie made the other night for dessert. If you're a lover of all things lemon you need to make this cake!

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE CAKE:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 t baking powder

Pinch of Salt

2 t grated lemon zest

1/2 cup well-stirred plain whole-milk yogurt (not low or no fat)

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

FOR THE SYRUP

1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 cup lemon juice

FOR THE ICING

1 cup powdered sugar sifted

3 T lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9" round cake pan with butter or cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper, and grease it too. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the lemon zest and whisk to mix thoroughly. In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, and eggs, stirring to mix well. Add the flour mixture and stir to just combine. Add the oil and stir well. At first, it will look like a horrible, oily mess, but keep going, and it will come together into a smooth, pale yellow batter. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not overbake. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan, and invert the cake onto a wide, flat plate or pan. Remove and discard the parchment paper. Invert the cake back onto the rack so that it sits upright, with the shinier, slightly domed side facing up. Set the rack over a rimmed baking sheet. In a small bowl, whisk together the syrup ingredients. Spoon the syrup slowly on top of the warm cake. Some of the syrup will run down the sides and onto the baking sheet; don't worry. Cool completely. In a small bowl, combine the icing ingredients. Whisk well to dissolve the sugar completely. Spoon the icing over the cooled cake. Serve immediately - the icing will be soft and a bit juicy - or wait until the icing has firmed up, about 1 hour. Whichever way you like! Or however long you can wait!

BUFFALO CHICKEN JALAPENO POPPERS & CARAMELIZED CAULIFLOWER WITH SALSA VERDE

2010-07-13T04:49:00.000-07:00

Katie made the Buffalo Chicken Jalapeno Poppers and I prepared the Cauliflower! I cannot begin to tell you how good this was. The "poppers" are supposed to be served as an appetizer but we had as our main course! I think we ended up with 18. The 3 of us ate and there were enough left over for Richard & I both to take for lunch the next day. To give you an idea on just how good these were, Richard never takes his lunch! While we were eating he said "if there are any left I'll take for lunch!"

Katie topped mine with blue cheese cause I really love blue cheese. The rest she topped with feta and/or Monterey Jack.

If you like cauliflower, you will love it roasted this way! And the Salsa Verde . . . well it is just delicious!

BUFFALO CHICKEN JALAPENO POPPERS

Ingredients:

18-20 Jalapeno peppers

1/3 cup hot sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot

2 T butter

2 cups of Rotisserie chicken, shredded (remove skin & bones)

1 rib celery, finely chopped

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 cup Blue cheese crumbles or Feta or whatever you like!

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 F

Working lengthwise, slice off the top quarter of each jalapeno. Using a small spoon or paring knife, scrape the seeds and ribs out of each pepper. (One important note here, make sure you use gloves, we did not and our hands are still burning the next day!)

Place a small saucepan over low heat. Add hot sauce and whisk in the butter until melted. In a medium size bowl, combine the chicken, celery, Monterey Jack cheese and half of the blue cheese. Pour hot sauce into mixture and combine well.

Scoop some of the chicken mixture into each of the peppers, filling them all up. Lightly mound the chicken into each pepper. Place the peppers into a baking dish and top with the remaining blue cheese or whatever cheese you've chosen.

Bake the peppers until tender and heated through, about 15 minutes. Serve Warm.

CARAMELIZED CAULIFLOWER WITH SALSA VERDE

For the Salsa Verde:

Ingredients:

1 medium jalapeno, ribs & seeds removed, finely chopped

3 T finely chopped cilantro leaves

2 medium cloves of garlic, minced with a pinch of salt

3 T fresh lime juice

4 T olive oil

Salt to taste

For the Cauliflower:

Ingredients:

1 medium cauliflower ( 2 to 2 1/2 lbs)

2 to 3 T olive oil

Salt to taste

First, prepare the Salsa Verde. In a small bowl, combine the jalapeno, cilantro, garlic, lime juice and olive oil and whisk to combine. Add two pinches of salt, or more, to taste, and whisk well, Set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees, F.

Wash & dry the cauliflower well. Put it on a cutting board, stem side down and slice it vertically, top down, into 1/4-inch slices. You'll get 3-4 intact slices and the rest will be a hash of cauliflower crumbs. That's okay. Put the cauliflower in a large bowl and toss with the olive oil. (Your hands will work best for this). You want each little bit of cauliflower to get a thin coat of oil. Spread the cauliflower in a single layer on a heavy sheet pan, or if the pan seems crowded, use 2 pans. You don't want it packed too tightly, or the cauliflower will steam rather than roast. Salt it lightly.

Bake until the cauliflower is tender, golden, and even deeply browned in spots, 20 to 30 minutes, turning once with a spatulal. Salt lightly again.

Serve cauliflower hot or warm, with salsa verde on the side for drizzling.

CHICKEN SOUVLAKI PITA WITH TZATZIKI

2010-07-13T04:48:00.000-07:00

When I decided to title my blog "Cooking . . . It's a Family Thing," it was right on. In my household anyway! This is my daughter, Lindsey's, recipe. The pita pockets are also homemade, by her and I prepared the homemade baked fries! I'm so glad all of my offspring love to cook. If my son, Matthew, had been there he would have contributed something to the meal as well. Katie, my youngest, as I've said before is my baker! She made Yogurt Lemon Cake for our dessert. This is such a good, light meal, especially for the summer. Even if you don't make your own pitas, you should try this!

INGREDIENTS

1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

4 t Greek Seasoning (we found this at Fresh Market. It's in a packet like Italian Dressing mix)

4 T Olive Oil

12, ounces, weight drained, Non-fat Plain Yogurt

1 whole Cucumber, chopped

1/2 whole Yellow Onion, chopped

2 t Lemon juice

Salt & Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Most of this recipe is in the prep. You marinate the chicken for several hours before you grill. I did mine the night before.

Pound out the chicken breasts until they are about 1/2 inch thick. Rub down with olive oil then season both sides generously with the Greek seasoning. Wrap the chicken in cling wrap and refrigerate for several hours. Grill for about 3 minutes on each side (or until done). Let sit for a minute or two and then slice into strips.

The night before you plan to serve this dish, place 12 oz of plain yogurt in a coffee filter then set in a mesh colander set over a bowl and drain in the fridge overnight. This just makes the sauce thicker. You could forego this step by using Greek Yogurt.

Chop up the cucumber and onion and mix with the drained yogurt, add the lemon juice and salt & pepper to taste. This is the Tzatziki!

Place grilled chicken strips and tzatziki into warmed pitas. We also added chopped tomatoes and shredded lettuce to ours!

This recipe serves six. If you do all the prep work the night before, cook time is about 15 min total.

For the oven baked french fries, just wash, dry and slice your potatoes. Toss with olive oil and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinke with sea salt or seasoning salt and bake in a 450 oven till they are a nice golden brown and fork tender.

CANNELLINI BEANS & BROCCOLI

2010-06-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Broccoli Tops

1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup Chopped Onion

1 clove Garlic, Minced

10 whole Mushrooms, Sliced

1 t Corn Starch

1/4 cups Vegetable Broth

1/2 cups White Wine or Chicken Broth

2 cups Cooked Cannellini Beans (I used canned)

2 Turkey Sausages, sliced & browned (use Kielbasa, Polish, whatever you like)

1 sprig Fresh Basil, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Steam broccoli tops for 3-4 minutes and then turn off the heat and remove the lid (this prevents the broccoli from continuing to cook)

Put the olive oil in a saute pan over medium low heat. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic and saute, stirring often, for about 4 minutes. Turn the heat up to medium and add the mushrooms. Cook this mixture until the mushrooms are browned, stirring often. Add the corn starch to the broth and stir until dissolved. Pour the wine (or chicken broth) over the mushroom mixture and then pour the broth over them. Let this cook for a few minutes to thicken up. Add the cooked beans, steamed broccoli and the sausages and stir. Cook for a few more minutes, or until everything is warmed through. Garnish with chopped basil.

I heated the canned beans and then drained the liquid which I reserved. Once I had everything mixed together I added back in as much of the reserved liquid from the beans as I wanted. I also added a little crushed red pepper flakes (cause I like a little heat)!

This is really, really good and Richard ate 2 bowls full so he must have enjoyed it also. Can't wait to try it leftover for tomorrow's lunch, yum!

RATATOUILLE

2010-06-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

I'm sure there are many different recipes for Ratatouille but this one is really, really good. I can't wait to have it as "leftovers" for lunch tomorrow. I served this for dinner tonight with crusty wheat bread with olive oil for dipping and chicken breast tenderloins that I marinated in pineapple juice, soy sauce & Italian Dressing. I just cooked them in a non stick pan on the stove. If you have a griddle pan that would be a good way to cook these also. I could have definitely done without the chicken but Richard doesn't want dinner without meat. So there!

INGREDIENTS:

1 large Eggplant

2 medium Squash (I used 1 zucchini & 1 yellow) that's what I had

2 small to medium Bell Peppers (any color you have will do)

1 small Onion

8 oz of Sun dried Tomato Vinaigrette (I had some of this & some leftover Tomato Basil Soup so I just mixed this together and used)

2-3 fresh Tomatoes (or a 16 oz can of diced tomatoes)

2 T Garlic Powder

Salt, Pepper, Parsley & Basil to taste (use fresh if you have)

2 T grated Parmesan Cheese

1-2 cups of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1)Slice eggplant into rounds and then quarter rounds. Slice squash into rounds. Dice onion. Slice peppers into strips and cut into smaller segments (2-3 slices per strip). Add all these ingredients to a large sauce pan along with the Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette (if you don't have this substitute a small can of tomato sauce). Cook on medium-high heat for 8 minutes.

2)Meanwhile dice tomatoes if using fresh or drain tomatoes if you're using canned. After the 8 minutes of cooking add tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil, parsley & garlic powder. Cook for an additional 15 minutes.

3)Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add contents of pot to a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan Cheese and Mozzarella Cheese (use as much or as little cheese as you like, this is really a personal preference). Bake for about 15 minutes until cheese is nicely melted.

KATIE'S PINEAPPLE PIZZA

2010-06-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (I normally make mine, but this came from Trader Joe's)

Pizza Sauce

Fresh Pineapple

Onion

Bell Pepper

Jalapeno Pepper

Fresh Mozzarello Cheese

Shredded Monterey Jack & Cheddar Cheeses (or whatever you like)

Directions:

Roll dough out on a floured surface (either circular or rectangular)

If you decide on a rectangle pizza roll dough up at ends

Spread on pizza sauce

Add a little of the cheese then add toppings and add more cheese

Now, melt 1T of butter and brush on edges of dough.

Bake @ 350 for about 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and crush is a golden brown.

Katie did such a good job and this was so good. I'm so glad my girls like to cook!

PASTOR RYAN'S ROASTED CHICKEN

2010-06-25T16:26:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

3-4 lb whole chicken

Something to stuff inside the chicken: I used 1 onion, 1 lemon & a few cloves of garlic

Canola Oil

Salt & Pepper

Fresh Herbs:

For the outside I used sage, rosemary & thyme (1-2 T of each)

1T Salt (Kosher is best)

1t pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 while you pick herbs from the stems. Give them a good chop.

Toss the herbs in a bowl and add 2-3 T Canola Oil

Mix Well

Wash and dry the chicken

Fill the cavity with a lemon (cut in half), 1 onion, quartered and garlic cloves, mashed

Now rub the chicken all over with your herb mixture, making sure to rub all sides.

and place on a baking sheet and roast for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes until your bird is a golden brown color.

Remove from the oven and make sure you let your chicken rest 10-15 minutes.

If the legs get too brown for you, cover with foil.

This is the best roasted chicken. The skin, which I normally don't eat, is crisp and delicious! Make this for your Sunday lunch!

ANGEL HAIR PASTA WITH TOMATOES, BASIL & PARMESAN CHEESE

2010-06-09T18:37:00.000-07:00

This is such a great summer meal! It's light, fresh and so easy.

INGREDIENTS

Angel Hair Pasta

2-3 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Clove Garlic, minced

1 Can Diced Tomatoes

Salt to taste

1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes

1 T chopped parsley, chopped

2-3 T fresh basil, chopped

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

DIRECTIONS

Cook pasta according to package directions

Heat olive oil in a large skillet

Add garlic and saute until golden. Add tomatoes and crushed red pepper. Season with salt and simmer 5-10 minutes. Drain pasta and add to skillet with sauce. Add herbs and mix w ell. (I used fresh basil & parsley from my garden). Add parmesan cheese and serve. I toasted slices of honey brown bread that I bought for $.99 a loaf from Food Lion and served this pasta on top of the bread, bruschetta style.

You can adjust the amount of all these ingredients to make as much or as little as you want. For instance if you use an entire box of pasta, use a 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes. If you want to use a half box of pasta, use a 16 oz can or more if you really like tomatoes. Use as much or as little of the garlic, basil and parsley as you want.

ROASTED BEETS & SAUTEED BEET GREENS

2010-05-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

Went to the Wilson Farmer's Market this morning and bought, among other things, some fresh beets! This was so good and I used all of the beet (including the tops). I've really only ever had pickled beets so I wasn't sure what to expect but this was so good! If you haven't been to our local Farmer's Market yet, please check it out. They are at the fairgrounds on Hwy 301 every Saturday from 7am till noon.

INGREDIENTS

1 bunch of beets (with the greens)

1/4 cup olive oil, divided

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 T chopped onion (optional)

salt & pepper to taste

1 T red wine or balsamic vinegar (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash beets thoroughly, leaving the skins on and remove the greens. I just whacked off the tops! Wash greens well, removing any large stems and set aside. Place beets in a small baking dish and toss with 2T of olive oil. Cover with foil and bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until a knife can slide easily through the largest beet. When they are done remove from heat and let cool. Then peel the beets (it comes off very easy). Once they are peeled, dice the beets and set aside. Now, heat the remaining 2 T olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook for a minute or two. Tear the beet greens into bite sized pieces and add them to the skillet. Cook & stir until the greens are wilted and tender. Now, add diced beets to the skillet and stir until beets are heated. Season with salt & pepper and add your red wine or balsamic vinegar to taste. (I used balsamic).

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: About 1 hour

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CAKE

2010-05-26T19:28:00.000-07:00

You're not going to believe how good and easy this is. This recipe was featured on Tasty Kitchen. All 60+ reviews talked about how good this cake is and how quick it is to make. I had all the ingredients I needed in the pantry, so before church I laid all my ingredients out. We got home from church about 8:20 and I had this ready to eat by 9pm and that's without the convenience of a microwave to melt the chocolate (mine is broken)!

INGREDIENTS

4 squares Semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/2 cups butter (1 stick)
1 cup powdered sugar
2 whole eggs
2 whole egg yolks
6 T flour (all purpose)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray 4 custard cups with Pam and place on cookie sheet. I don't have custard cups so I just used cupcake pan that is a little deep.

Microwave chocolate and butter in a large bowl on high for about 1 minute, until butter is melted. (I melted this in a glass bowl over a pot with simmering water). Whisk until the chocolate is melted.

Stir in the sugar until well blended. Whisk in eggs and egg yolks. Stir in flour and mix well. Divide between 4 cups. Bake 13-14 minutes until sides are firm and center is soft. In my oven I only had to bake 13 min. Let stand 1 minute. Invert cakes onto your serving dish and serve with ice-cream or whipped topping.

Prep Time 15 min

Cook Time 13-14 min

Serves 4

THE BEST CHEESEBURGER YOU'LL EVER EAT

2010-05-17T17:36:00.000-07:00

This isn't really a recipe but a new twist on an old favorite. This idea is courtesy of Tony Bradshaw. Sunday night at church he was telling Richard about this . . . so this is what we had for supper after church. This is a plain, grilled burger (he went by Cookout to pick these up) but feel free to grill them yourself or pan fry them. Top the burger with a generous helping of "Pimento Cheese" then spread some on the top bun. Now, the best store bought pimento cheese, by far, is Stan's Pimento Cheese and you can only find this brand at Harris Teeter. Pop in the microwave & heat until the pimento cheese is melted (about 35-45 seconds). This burger needs nothing else but eating! I could not believe how good it was! You must try this.

CROCK POT BAKED ZITI & GRANNY'S CHOCOLATE COBBLER

2010-05-13T04:43:00.000-07:00

Let's start with the Crock Pot Baked Ziti! This was delicious and so easy. I got the recipe from a site called "A Year of Slow Cooking." This is perfect for working moms and families with kids involved in sports activities. I put this together before I left for work and it was ready to eat when I got home.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Bag or Box of your favorite pasta (I used about 3/4 of a box of Penne)

1 Jar of Marinara Sauce

Your favorite shredded cheese (I used some Mexican blend, shredded Mozzarella & Ricotta)

I also browned a pound of hamburger to add in & used a can of diced tomatoes with the juice

DIRECTIONS:

Rinse your pasta in a colander (just so there's some added moisture)

Add a handful of pasta and some sauce to your crock pot

Then throw in some of the ground beef (if you're using)

I then added some of the diced tomatoes followed by some cheese (a little of the different kinds I used)

Then start over until you've used all of your ingredients

I poured the juice from the canned tomatoes over the top after everything was in my crock pot. If you don't use canned tomatoes, just add a couple of tablespoons of water.

I cooked mine on low for about 7 hours but that was too long, noodles were too soft for my taste (but it was still good). Probably 4-5 hours would be perfect. Also, don't forget to add in some salt. I served this with a salad topped with toasted pine nuts!

Now for the dessert!!! Granny's Chocolate Cobbler. This recipe was featured on Tasty Kitchen and it is delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup All-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
7 T Cocoa Powder, divided (I used the Dark Chocolate Cocoa)
1 1/4 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cups milk
1/3 cups melted butter
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 cups hot tap water

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

First stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, 3 tablespoons of the cocoa and 3/4 cup of the white sugar. Reserve the remaining cocoa & sugar.

Stir in the milk, melted butter and vanilla to the flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Pour the mixture into an ungreased 8" baking dish (mine was 8 x 8).

In a separate small bowl, mix the remaining white sugar (should be 1/2 cup), the brown sugar and remaining 4 tablespoons of cocoa. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the batter. Pour the hot tap water over all. DO NOT STIR!

Bake for about 40 minutes or until center is set

Serve this warm with some vanilla ice-cream. This is even good several days later (if it lasts that long) warmed up for a few seconds in the microwave.

Strawberries (Sun Dried in the Oven)

2010-05-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

This was an experiment that turned out very good! I helped Lindsey & Silas make strawberry jam Saturday morning before the soccer tournament. They also froze whole berries (for smoothies) and sliced some & froze for muffins and crushed some and froze for whatever. I started to think about how I make my "sun dried" tomatoes in the oven and wondered if I could do the same thing with srawberries. So I prepared a couple of pans. I just sliced them (not too thin), put them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, sprinkled a little sugar on them and baked for 3-4 hours at 200 degrees. The first batch, which I left in the oven (after I turned oven off), while we went to the soccer game, were too crispy. However, the second batch turned out perfectly. I took them out as soon as they had dried but were still pliable! They are very, very good and will make a great, healthy snack! So, if you find yourself with an abundance of strawberries you should try this. Try to use the larger strawberries so all your slices are about the same size. In my first attempt some of my berries were just too small. When they dried there was basically nothing left. Also, the picture was taken with my Mother's Day gift from my family, A CAMERA JUST FOR MY FOOD PICTURES!

Chicken Parmesan,Caesar Salad & Brown Rice

2010-05-04T03:43:00.001-07:00

CHICKEN PARMESAN
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 37 min

Ingredients:

4 Slices Whole Wheat Bread
1 t dried oregano
1/2 t garlic powder
4 heaping teaspoons paprika
1/2 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
2 egg whites
1/2 cup skim milk (or whatever you use)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 (6 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2" thickness
Cooking spray
1 jar good quality marinara sauce (about 3 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 T (1/2 ounce) shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the bread in food processor and process until fine crumbs are formed. Put the crumbs on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes, or until golden. Let cool. In a medium bowl, toss crumbs with oregano, garlic powder, paprika, 1/4 t salt & 1/4 t pepper. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites and milk together. In a third bowl stir together the flour and remaining 1/4 t salt and 1/4 pepper. Dip each chicken piece, 1 piece at a time, in the flour, shaking off excess, then egg, then bread crumbs, shaking off excess. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Place breaded chicken on baking sheet and spray each side with cooking spray, about 5 seconds total per side. Bake breasts until cooked through and crumbs are browned, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer chicken to a baking dish with sides. Top with marinara sauce, mozzarealla and parmesan cheeses and return to oven for an additional 10 minutes, until cheese is bubbling.

CAESAR SALAD

Ingredients:

Romaine Lettuce
Caesar Salad Dressing (I used a bottled dressing, Kraft)
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Croutons (make your own or use store bought)

Directions:

Wash & dry your lettuce and tear into pieces. Place into a bowl and refrigerate until lettuce is chilled. Once it has chilled, remove from fridge and add dressing, cheese and croutons. Add as much or as little as you like (no measurements here). Toss to combine and serve. Now I know this isn't a true Caesar Salad as I didn't use anchovies and did not make my own dressing but it was good and I had all these ingredients at home!

I prepared the brown rice according to the directions on the bag. However, instead of water I used chicken stock that I had made earlier from the carcass of a rotisserie chicken I bought last week from Food Lion. This made a huge difference in the taste of the rice!

Panko, Parmesan & Parsley Pork Chops

2010-04-30T04:27:00.001-07:00

My family loved these pork chops. Richard kept talking about how good they were, how he really liked the crunch! I served these chops with sauted Swiss Chard (from my garden) and potato salad (Food Lion's Southern Style). This potato salad is so good, I'll never make homemade again! By the way, if you have a small garden, you should grow Swiss Chard. It is really good and very easy to grow. It looks really pretty in the garden too. Mine is multi colored, meaning the stems are different colors. Some are red, orange, yellow, kind of like a rainbow!

Ingredients:

8 whole Thin Sliced Boneless Pork Chops (I used 4 & mine were thick so I just put them in a zip lock bag and pounded them to a thickness of about 1/4")
Salt & Pepper
2 T Fresh Parsley, chopped (I used dried)
1/4 cup all purpose flour (I used about 1/8 cup for 4 chops)
2 whole eggs (I used 1)
1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs (I used 1/2 cup for 4 chops)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Lemon

Directions:

Place boneless pork chops in a large zip lock bag or between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound to tenderize or thin your chops. Remove from plastic and salt & pepper both sides of the meat; set aside. Finely chop your fresh parsley or use dried. Next you want to prepare your dredging/breading assembly line. Use 3 shallow dishes (I used pie plates). The first should be your flour. Plate 2 should have your eggs, beaten. Plate 3 should have your panko bread crumbs. Mix the Parmesan & parsley with the bread crumbs.Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat with enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Start your dredging process. First coat the pork chop in flour on both sides. Then dip in the egg. Then finally in the panko mixture. Make sure you fully coat both sides. Set on a platter and continue dredging 3 more chops. (It's easier to do 4 at the time and get them into your pan, then you can dredge the other 4 while the first batch is cooking). Place the first 4 chops into the pan (you should get a good sizzle). They will only need to cook about 3-4 minutes per side. Turn them over when they are nice and golden brown. Remove the first batch and place on a plate lined with a paper towel. Add more oil, if needed, to cook the 2nd batch. Slice lemon into wedges and squeeze over pork chops. I am the only one who likes lemon on my food so I only did this for my chop! I also sprinkled a little chopped, fresh parsley over chops before serving.

Prep Time 15 Min Cook Time 15 Min; Serves 8

SWISS CHARD

Ingredients:

1 bunch Swiss Chard, any color (what I have in my garden is a rainbow of colors)
1 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 whole Medium Onion, halved & sliced into half moons
1/2 t crushed Red Pepper Flakes (you can omit this or decrease if you don't like heat)
1/2 cups Chicken Broth, vegetable broth or water
2 T Toasted Pine Nuts (I love these)
1/4 cup Feta Cheese, crumbled (I didn't have any so I just left out)
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Cut the stems off the Swiss Chard leaves (I just lay down the leaf, start at the top of the stem closest to the leaf and cut down on each side of stem). Thinly slice the leaves into long ribbons & cut the stems (if they are large) into thin slices. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the Swiss Chard stems, onion and red pepper flakes. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Cook until the stems & onions have softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add the broth or water and the Swiss Chard leaves. Partially cover and cook until the leaves have wilted but still have some body to them, about 5 minutes. (You don't want to overcook the leaves or they will be mushy). Using a slotted spoon, scoop the Swiss Chard and onions into a serving bowl, draining off most of the liquid. Top with toasted pine nuts and feta cheese (I left off the feta). Serve hot or warm.

Prep Time: 10 min, Cook Time 15 Min; Serves 4

2010-04-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

PASTOR RYAN'S MEXICAN LASAGNA

The original recipe would make enough for a small army so I just halved everything so that I could use a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. This is so good and really not very time consuming. I put this all together Sunday morning before I went to church and then just baked it when I got home. When you begin to layer this dish you can do it anyway you want, just start with the salsa verde on bottom and then your tortillas. All the other ingredients add like you want!

Ingredients:
2 cups Unprepared Rice
3 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth/Stock
2-3 Whole Tomatoes (I used 2 cans of diced tomatoes which I drained but saved the liquid)
1 Whole Onion, chopped
4 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
Taco Seasoning, to taste (I made mine using 1 1/2 T of chili powder and 3/4 T of both paprika & cumin)
1 Can Black Beans
1 1/2 lbs Lean Ground Beef
1 Jar Salsa Verde (16 ounce)
Flour Tortillas
2 Packages Mexican Cheese Blend
1/2 can of Enchilada Sauce
1 1/2 Cans Corn, Drained (I just thawed some I had in the freezer)
Cilantro, to taste
Butter

Directions:
Begin by preparing rice using chicken stock instead of water (follow package directions.) Once prepared, salt to taste. Chop up tomates (or use canned diced tomatoes), onion and garlic as small as you prefer. Saute in pan with a tablespoon or so of butter. Since I used canned tomatoes I sauteed my onion & garlic till the onion was translucent then I added my diced, drained tomatoes. Let this simmer for about 5 minutes. Add about half of your taco seasoning, to taste. Stir until nicely combined. Add the beans here, if you like them, or leave them out . . . no need to drain. Mix rice together with the tomato/onion/garlic mixture.

Brown the ground beef adding the rest of the taco seasoning and salt to taste and about 4-6 ounces of water to create the taco beef. Since I used diced, canned tomatoes, I just added the liquid I had reserved when I drained my tomatoes instead of using water!

Spread about half the jar of salsa verde in the bottom of your casserole dish. I used a 9 x 13 dish. Then just start layering like you would lasagna; tortillas to cover the salsa verde, rice mixture to cover tortillas, ground beef, corn & cheese. Then begin again with another layer of tortillas but next pour enchilada sauce over tortillas and spread it out evenly. Now more rice mixture, ground beef, corn & cheese and contine layering until you've used everything then add the rest of the salsa verde on top and cover with any remaining cheese. Sprinkle the top with some taco seasoning or cayenne pepper.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25-35 minutes until the cheese has melted and begins to brown a bit.

Serve this up topped with a dollop of sour cream and chopped cilantro (if you like it)

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Serves 6-8

BEST GRAPE SALAD

2010-04-26T17:27:00.001-07:00

This is delicious and we loved it. Well, Richard and I did and he doesn't even like fruit! Katie said it was good but not the best thing she'd ever put into her mouth! That's OK with me, I'll take it for lunch this week.

Ingredients:
1 lb green seedless grapes
1 lb red seedless grapes
4 oz sour cream (I used light)
4 oz cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 t vanilla extract, to taste

Topping Ingredients
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed (I used Splenda Brown Sugar Blend)
1/2 cup crushed pecans

Directions:

Wash and stem grapes (I dried mine off) & set aside
Mix sour cream, cream cheese, white sugar and vanilla by hand until blended
Stir grapes into mixture and pour into a large serving bowl
For topping: Combine brown sugar and crushed pecans
Sprinkle over top of grapes to cover completely
Chill overnight (I chilled about 3 hours)

Prep Time: 10 min

Serves: 6 - 8

SUPER YUMMY CHICKEN POT PIE

2010-04-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

Whenever I make chicken pot pie I always use the Pampered Chef recipe. However, I didn't have pie shells and didn't want to go to the grocery store today so I searched for chicken pot pie recipes using ingredients I had at home. This will replace the Pampered Chef recipe in my household! When Katie says a new recipe for something is better than the old one . . . well that just never happens! We all agreed, this is definitely better!

Ingredients:
1 Chicken or 5 chicken breasts, cooked & chopped (I used a leftover rotisserie chicken)
16 oz (1 can) Mixed Vegetables (don't drain)
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup

Topping:
1 cup Bisquick, baking mix
1/8 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup chicken broth

Directions:

Lay chicken in bottom of 8x8 baking pan (I used an 8 x 11 1/2 Pyrex dish)
Mix vegetables and cream of chicken soup in microwave bowl; heat until warm
Spread vegetable mixture on top of chicken
Combine bisquick butter, mayonnaise & chicken broth & stir until just combined
Pour over chicken and spread to evenly distribute.
Bake at 350 degrees till the topping is golden brown, about 45 min.

Recipe says this serves 6. Probably would if no one wanted seconds!
If you use rotisserie chicken prep time is about 20 min.

SWISS STEAK

2010-04-20T17:40:00.001-07:00

Katie had a 5pm soccer game today so I put tonight's dinner in my slow cooker before I left for work this morning. It was delicious and so easy! A couple of year's ago my Aunt Madge mentioned "swiss steak." I knew what "country style steak" was but that wasn't what she was talking about. So I did a little research and the recipe I'm sharing is Paula Deen's. Your family will love this!

INGREDIENTS

Cubed Steak (enough to feed your family)
1 t garlic powder
salt & pepper
all purpose flour for dusting
1/4 to 1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 14 1/2 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, cut into strips
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into strips

DIRECTIONS

The cubed steak I had was in rather large pieces so I just cut mine into serving size pieces, a couple of larger pieces for Richard and smaller ones for me & Katie. Season to taste with garlic powder, salt & pepper. Dust meat with flour. In a heavy skillet brown meat on both sides in the oil. Transfer meat to a Dutch oven Add garlic, onion, bell pepper, tomatoes and about 1/2 to 3/4 tomato can measure of water on top of meat. Simmer over low heat until meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Once I browned my steak I added it to my slow cooker and then added all the other ingredients, put the lid on and cooked it on low all day. I served mine over top of rice.

CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES & GARLIC

2010-04-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

Yall, I can't tell you how good this tastes. You will just have to prepare this dish sometime soon! The last time Harris Teeter or Food Lion put chicken legs & thighs on sale I bought a family size bag and froze 3 legs & 3 thighs to each bag. These chicken pieces are usually pretty inexpensive making this a very cost friendly meal!

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time 1 hr
Servings 6

INGREDIENTS

8 pieces Chicken Legs or Thighs (I used a combination and only 6 pcs)
Salt & Pepper to taste (I didn't add any)
3 T Olive Oil
1 T Butter
1 (28 oz) can Diced Tomatoes
1 (14 oz) can Whole Tomatoes (I just used 3 cans (14 oz ea) of diced
2 T (heaping) Tomato Paste
Fresh Herbs: Basil, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary (I grow all these & used all but parsley). Just chunked them in the pot whole.
8 Cloves Garlic (just peel it)
16 ounces, weight Pasta, your choice (I used 3/4 bag of Whole Wheat Wide Egg Noodles)
Grated Parmesan Cheese, for serving
1/2 cup chicken broth

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Salt & pepper chicken. Heat ovenproof skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil & butter. When oil/butter is hot, add chicken and brown on all sides. Remove chicken from pan. Pour in chicken broth to de-glaze pan, scrapping the bottom to loosen any bits of the "good stuff." Cook for 1 minute. Pour in tomatoes with their juice and add tomato paste. Add salt & pepper to taste, stirring to combine (I didn't add any and it was perfect). Bring sauce to a boil, then turn off heat. Add plenty of fresh herbs (any all of those listed in ingredients), 8 cloves of peeled (but whole) garlic and the chicken. Put lid on pot and cook in the oven for 1 hour. Remove pot from oven & allow it to sit on the counter with the lid on while you boil the pasta. Cook pasta to al dente. Drain and add to a large serving bowl (I just put mine back in pot). Remove lid and check sauce. If it's overly thin, remove the chicken from the pot and boil the sauce on the stovetop for 5 to 10 minutes. (I did not do this but if you want a thicker sauce you should). To serve, pour sauce over cooked pasta, then arrange chicken pieces on top. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan. Since there were only 3 of us eating today I just made everyone a plate instead of dirtying up another dish! I served this with some crusty French bread and a salad made of lettuces & spinach from my garden, tomato, cucumber, red onion, celery & carrots. Make sure you have enough bread as you're gonna want to use it to soak up that good sauce!

BLACK BEAN SOUP & SPINACH SALAD

2010-04-15T16:49:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted a new recipe in a while and I'm sorry! My grand kids were here last week and, well, they are top priority when they are here! My dinner tonight was delicious! I hope you will give it a try.

PANERA BREAD BLACK BEAN SOUP
25 Min/5 Min Prep

INGREDIENTS:
1 Onion
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 Celery Ribs, finely chopped
1/4 large Red Bell Pepper, finely chopped
2 small Chicken Bouillon Cubes
2 1/2 cups Boiling Water
(I just used 2 1/2 cups chicken stock that I had in my freezer)
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, undrained
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cumin
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 1/2 T cornstarch

DIRECTIONS:

In a pot, combine the first six ingredients; simmer for 10 minutes
Add half a can of beans, salt and cumin; cook for 5 minutes.
Puree soup (I used an immersion blender which makes it easy to do right in the pot).
Add the rest of the beans to the soup.
Combine the cornstarch with 1 1/2 T of water.
Add the lemon juice and cornstarch to the soup; cook until thickened.

I served this with a dollop of sour cream and a little cilantro I got from my garden. I also had a loaf of Rosemary Bread I bought from Harris Teeter. It was so good!

SPINACH SALAD WITH WARM BACON DRESSING
Prep Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
3 Whole Eggs
7 Slices Thick Cut Bacon
1/2 Red Onion
1 Pkg. White Button Mushrooms
8 Ounces Baby Spinach, washed, dried and stems removed (I just used some from my garden)
3 T Red Wine Vinegar (any vinegar will do except Balsamic)
2 t Sugar
1/2 t Dijon Mustard
1 dash Salt

DIRECTIONS:

Cooks eggs; cover with water, bring to a boil, then turn off heat and allow to sit in water for 20 minutes. Drain off water and add ice on top of eggs.
Fry bacon until crispy/chewy. Remove to a paper towel.
Remove 3 T bacon grease and set aside.
Add 2 add'l T of bacon grease to a separate skillet over medium heat.
Slice red onion very thinly, then add to skillet. Cook slowly until caramelized and brown. Remove to a plate and set aside.
Chop bacon
Peel and slice eggs (I used my Pampered Chef egg slicer; it worked great)
Make hot bacon dressing; Add 3T reserved bacon grease, vinegar, sugar and Dijon to a small skillet over medium-low heat. Whisk mixture together and heat thoroughly.
Add spinach to a large bowl. Arrange onions, mushrooms and bacon on top. Pour hot dressing over the top; toss to combine.
Arrange eggs over the top and serve.

Katie & I ate before Richard. I guarantee there will be no leftovers for me to take to lunch tomorrow once he eats! I hope you will make this soon. It is so, so good.

FLUFFY OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES 3/29/2010 BY KATIE

2010-03-29T17:23:00.000-07:00

Katie made these and they are delicious! She's the "baker" in the house. Here's the recipe, just in case you get a sweet tooth! Oh, I almost forgot, prep time is about 15 minutes.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, 2 sticks, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground nutmeg
2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats (not instant)
1/2 cups raisins
Hot fudge sauce, as needed
Marshmallow creme, as needed (recommended: Fluff)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 or 3 baking sheets or line with parchment paper (that's what we did).

In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the egg and the milk and beat until combined.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, beating until incorporated. Stir in the oats and raisins. Form cookies by dropping 2 heaping tablespoonfuls of the batter onto the baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet, spacing evenly. (These are supposed to be large).

Bake until the cookies are lightly browned, about 11 to 13 minutes. Let them cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

Spread a small dollop of the fudge on the inside of 6 cookies (or more if you like chocolate). Spread a large dollop of the marshmallow fluff on the inside of another 6 cookies. Sandwich the cookies together and transfer to a platter.

Make sure you let the cookies get good and cool. Katie was in a hurry so the top was kinda sliding around as the inside goodness was being melted by the slightly warm cookies!

RANCH STYLE CHICKEN 3/29/2010

2010-03-29T16:34:00.000-07:00

This is the 2nd time I've prepared this chicken for my family. Was it as good this time? You bet! They loved it. So, as promised, I'm going to share the recipe with you. Hey Teri, prep time for this is about 2 hours due to the fact that you need to marinate the chicken breasts.

Ingredients:

1/2 cups Dijon Mustard
1/2 cups honey
1/2 whole lemon (just the juice)
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t salt
6 whole, boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I only used 3, since there's just 3 of us)
1 lb thick cut bacon (or enough so that each breast has 2 slices)
Bacon grease
Sharp cheddar cheese, to taste (shredded)
Canola oil

Directions:

To begin, make the marinade. In a large bowl mix together 1/2 cup Dijon or country, grainy mustard with 1/2 cup honey, juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whisk together until smooth. Set aside.

Next, rinse the chicken breasts, place between two sheets of waxed paper and pound to around 1/2 to 3/4" thick with a mallet or rolling pin. I just made mine as close to the same thickness all around. You know how part of the breast is always thicker. . . I just pounded until that part was the same thickness as the other part of the breast. Now, add the chicken to the marinade, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 hours. I let mine set about 2 hours.

While the chicken marinates, fry your bacon. When finished cooking, reserve 1/4 cup of the bacon grease and clean out the skillet.

When the chicken is done marinating, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the chicken from the fridge and pour off excess marinade. Heat half of the reserved bacon grease with an equal quantity of Canola Oil in the clean skillet over medium-high heat. When the grease is nice and hot add two or three pieces of chicken to it. Cook until brownish/blackish. The recipe says 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side but mine cooked longer. I guess it depends on your stove. Remove the chicken to a large baking sheet and place in a preheated oven to cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

Lay a couple of pieces of bacon over each chicken breast and sprinkle your shredded sharp cheddar cheese over the top of the chicken as generously as you like. Return pan to oven for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bacon is sizzling. As my brother, Phil, likes to say, yumo! I served this with mashed potatoes, garden peas, fresh strawberries and of course Katie wanted some fried okra. By the way, there were no leftovers! Tune in later for dessert. Katie made "Fluffy Oatmeal Raisin Sandwich Cookies."

RED BEANS & RICE

2010-03-28T11:54:00.001-07:00

RED BEANS & RICE

This is what we had for lunch today. I am not going to post the recipe because it's too long. If you want to make this just let me know, send me your email and I'll copy and paste into a document and send to you. I actually started on this Saturday. I soaked the red kidney beans, cut all the veggies and cooked all this in a dutch oven with the ham hocks. This morning before church I added the smoked sausage and prepared the rice.The rice is actually cooked in a loaf pan in the oven and calls for stock, chopped onion, celery, green peppers, melted butter, salt, garlic powder and a pinch of cayenne. You just mix it all together, cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees about an hour.

So if you get a taste for "Red Beans & Rice" let me know. Thanks so much to my good friend and fellow "cook" Phil M. for lending me his Louisiana Kitchen cookbook.

MURPHY'S HOT HAMBURGER

2010-03-28T11:29:00.000-07:00

First of all let me warn you, no part of this dinner was low fat or low calorie, except the steamed veggies! But once in a while you just have to "go for it" and this was worth every calorie and fat gram! I got this recipe from the "Tasty Kitchen" site. The Pioneer Woman posted it on her site and she made it look so good (as happens with most every recipe she posts) I just had to make.

MURPHY'S HOT HAMBURGER

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1 T minced garlic
1 T onion powder
1 t seasoned salt
5 T flour (all purpose)
2 cans beef broth which is about 2 cups maybe a little more
5 whole potatoes (next time I'm gonna use the frozen, crinkle cut; that's the consensus of my family and it will be a lot easier)
1 T oil, or as needed (I used Canola)
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to425 degrees
If you use whole potatoes, wash, dry and slice into fries. Place them on a large baking sheet and pour about a tablespoon of oil over them and toss with fingers to coat evenly. Sprinkle fries with seasoning of choice. I used seasoning salt. Place in the oven & bake for approx. 45 minutes or until golden and crispy. Just be careful not to over cook them. That's what I did. I turned the oven off after 45 min but just left them in the oven; they got too done.
If you decide to use frozen, crinkled french fries, just follow the directions on the package.
In a mixing bowl, mix hamburger, garlic, seasoned salt, onion powder, pepper and a little more salt if you want to (I didn't add anymore salt). Mix this well with your hands and divide in for portions.
Form 4 large patties. They really don't need to be uniform in shape. Make them look kinda rustic!
Place patties in a large preheated skillet over medium heat. Brown burgers on each side until they are done.
Remove burgers from the skillet and place on a plate covered in paper towels. Do not drain the grease from your pan. Place the plate of burgers in a warming drawer, if you have one, or cover with foil or another plate to keep them warm. I started cooking my hamburger patties when the fries had about 15 min. left to cook.
Now, add the flour a tablespoon at a time to your skillet, stirring with a whisk. You know you have added enough flour when the grease is all absorbed and the flour mixture gets thick and bubbly. Slowly add the broth, a little at a time, whisking constantly (you're making a gravy here).
Bring to a simmer and allow to thicken. If it seems to thick just add a little water.
To serve, place an ample amount of fries on the plate. Place a hamburger patty on top of the fries and cover it good with the gravy.

I served with a bag of those vegetables that you steam in the microwave. To be honest you really don't need anything else. Also, Katie added a slice of cheddar cheese to her hamburger before we put on the gravy. She said it was really good that way!

Total Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 min if you make your own fries; less if you bake frozen ones.

GUACAMOLE

2010-03-27T16:38:00.000-07:00

I have a couple of recipes for you today. One is what I had for lunch, Pico De Gallo & Guacamole and our dinner, Murphy's Hot Hamburger. Let me go ahead and tell you, both were delicious! Also, I've had a request to post prep time. All I can say is, I will try!

OK, let's start with my lunch today!

GUACAMOLE
For the guacamole you need to first make the Pico De Gallo so here we go. For the Pico you will need; equal amounts of onion, Roma tomatoes (slightly underripe is fine), cilantro, jalapenos, lime juice and salt.
Directions:

Dice up the onions, keep them pretty finely chopped
Next, dice up an equal amount of tomatoes
Now grab a bunch of cilantro equal in quantity to the tomatoes and chop it up pretty finely
Now, slice 1 or 2 jalapenos in half and with a spoon scrape out the seeds. (I forgot to buy the jalapenos today so I made mine without them).
Dice the jalapeno very finely.
Now dump the four ingredients into a bowl. Notice that there's an equal quantity of onion, tomato and cilantro. This is the secret of perfect pico de gallo!
Slice a lime in half and squeeze the juice from half a lime into the bowl.
Sprinkle with salt, and stir together until combined. Be sure to taste the pico de gallo and adjust the seasonings, adding salt or more diced jalapeno if needed

This won't keep very long in the fridge - probably 24 hours or so. After that the sugars start to break down and it turns into a soupy mess. So it's best to make it the same day you'll want to serve it.

Now for the GUACAMOLE: This makes 1/2 cup per avocado used
Ingredients:

Ingredients:
Avocado
Salt
Pico De Gallo

Directions:

Halve the avocados lengthwise. Remove the pit and scoop out all the meat onto a large plate.
Next, sprinkle on some salt and mash away with a fork until you get the avocado to the consistency you want.
Now throw on a big pile of pico de gallo and stir together gently.
Always test the guacamole with tortilla chips so you'll get a more accurate guage of the salt content. Adjust the seasonings to taste. This is not only good with the tortilla chips, but also on top of quesadillas, spooned over grilled chicken or just eat it with a spoon, it's that good! I had mine with "blue" tortilla chips and it was just so good!

Total prep time for this entire dish was only about 30 minutes!

ITALIAN MELT-IN-YOUR MOUTH MEATBALLS & SPAGHETTI

2010-03-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

I really want everyone to make these meatballs! They are so good, so easy and you can use some now and freeze some for later! The first time I made them we had "spaghetti & meatballs" and I froze some that we used for "meatball subs.

ITALIAN MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH MEATBALLS

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs ground beef (I use 1 lb ground beef and 1/2 lb ground pork)
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup breadcrumbs (I used Italian bread crumbs)
1-2 T fresh minced garlic (which is what I used; 2 T) or 1 t garlic powder.
1-2 t salt (I used 2 t seasoned salt (Lawry's)
1 t fresh ground black pepper
1/3 cup milk
1/2 t dried oregano
1/4 cup chopped, fresh parsley (I used 2T dried parsley) It's a little too early for my "fresh from the garden" parsley

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl
Shape into small meatballs (at this point you can place on a baking sheet and freeze to use later or cover with plastic wrap & refrigerate up to 24 hours before using). I placed some on a baking sheet, covered with plastic wrap and put in freezer. Once they are frozen I will place in a zip lock bag for later use. If you freeze them this way you can remove them one at a time to use for a quick meatball sub for yourself!
Drop the meatballs into simmering pasta sauce (which I just poured from a jar) do not stir for at least 20 minutes or you will risk breaking the meatballs.
Continue cooking in the simmering sauce for another 20 minutes (depending on how fast your sauce is simmering 40 minutes total should fully cook the meatballs).
You may also bake the meatballs at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

Now you are ready to serve the meatballs & sauce over cooked spaghetti or make meatball subs. We had spaghetti & meatballs, tossed salad and olive and herb filone bread that I got for $1.89 at Harris Teeter today. I served the bread with a bowl of olive oil for dipping. Oh my, it was delicious! I promise, if you make this for your family one time they will ask for it again and again! Make sure you check back this weekend. My plan is to make "Red Beans & Rice." My good friend Phil M. brought me some he had made along with the recipe. It was awesome! Can't wait to make for my family.

QUICK SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN

2010-03-24T14:48:00.001-07:00

This was a quick & delicious dinner for a Wednesday church night! I got off work at 3pm, went to Harris Teeter for "triple coupons", came home and had this ready to eat before 5pm! By the way, how early do you have to get to HT to take advantage of the triple coupons you have that allow you to get some items for free. Just about every time I have some needed items that would be "free" they are all gone! Next time I'm gonna be there at 7am and see what happens! Sorry, just had to vent a little! OK back to dinner. The recipe calls for 1 - 15 1/4 oz can of pineapple chunks in juice. Well I had some fresh pineapple that I used which meant I had no pineapple juice. I just substituted apple juice in place of the pineapple juice and it worked just fine. This was so easy and so good. I hope you'll try it!

QUICK SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 T veg. oil
1 medium green and/or red pepper, cut into 1" pieces (I used some of both)
1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
1 - 15 1/4 oz can pineapple chunks in it's own juice (or you can do what I did)
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white wine vinegar or regular vinegar which is what I used
2 T corn starch
2 T soy sauce (I used reduced sodium)
Hot cooked rice

Directions:
Preheat a wok or large skillet over high heat; add oil. Stir-fry pepper & onion in hot oil for 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from pan. Add more oil if needed and then add chicken strips; stir-fry until done & browned. Keep warm.

Drain pineapple, reserving juice. In a small saucepan combine the juice, brown sugar, vinegar, cornstarch and soy sauce. Mix well and bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly.

Return peppers and onion to skillet, stir in pineapple and thickened pineapple juice mixture (if this is too thick just add a little water) and cook until heated through. Serve with rice.

SIMPLE, PERFECT ENCHILADAS

2010-03-22T17:59:00.000-07:00

This recipe is straight from my "The Pioneer Woman Cooks" cookbook. It was very good and pretty quick to put together however, it takes several pans so I tried to clean as I went along! I got home from work about 3:30 and had everything put together and ready to bake by 4:30 at which time I left for Katie's soccer game. When we got back home I popped it in the oven for 20 minutes, opened a can of refried beans and we had dinner! There was enough left over for Katie & I both to take for lunch tomorrow.

SIMPLE, PERFECT ENCHILADAS

Ingredients
The Sauce
1 T canola oil
2 T all-purpose flour
1 large (28 oz ) can enchilada sauce
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
2 T chopped cilantro, plus extra for serving (you can omit this but why would you want to?)

The Meat
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion
Two 4-ounce cans diced green chilies
1/2 t salt

The Rest
10-14 corn tortillas
Canola oil for frying
1/2 cup chopped black olives (I left these out, Katie doesn't like them)
1 cup chopped green onions
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
Cilantro

Directions

First the sauce: In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the canola oil and flour
Whisk together and allow to bubble for 1 minute
Pour in the red sauce (enchilada sauce), chicken broth, salt & pepper; bring to a boil
Reduce the heat & simmer while you prepare the other ingredients
While the sauce is simmering prepare the meat: Finely chop the onion
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef with the onion. Drain the fat, then add the green chilies. Add the salt & stir to combine. Turn off the heat & set aside.
In a small skillet over medium heat, lightly fry the tortillas in canola oil just until soft. Do not crisp. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat until all the tortillas have been fried. Now you're ready to assemble!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13" baking dish.
Next, dip each tortilla into the sauce (use tongs & be careful not to tear)
Set the sauce-soaked tortillas on a cookie sheet. Onto each tortilla, place some of the meat mixture, black olives, and green onions.
Top with a generous portion of grated cheese.
Roll up the tortilla to contain the filling inside.
Place the tortilla seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas. Stir the cilantro into the sauce & pour the remaining sauce over the top.
End with a generous sprinkling of cheese.
Bake the enchiladas for 20 minutes, or until bubbly. Sprinkle extra chopped cilantro over the top.

Serve with beans and/or rice!

YOGURT-MARINATED CHICKEN WITH ASPARAGUS & WATERCRESS

2010-03-18T15:45:00.000-07:00

TONIGHT'S DINNER 3/18/2010

This was delicious! It may have been the best thing I've prepared all week. Well, to be honest everything I've had this week has been very, very good!

Yogurt-Marinated Chicken withAsparagus
and Watercress

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plain yogurt, preferably Greek-style (this is what I used)
6 T EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
2 t chili powder
1 t ground coriander (and yes, I had this spice in my cabinet, I guess you could leave out)
Grated peel and juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise into thirds
Salt & pepper
1 bunch asparagus
1 bunch watercress (you can find this at Harris Teeter; kinda looks like clover)

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, 1 T olive oil, the chili powder, coriander, lemon peel (I just used my micro plane zester over the entire lemon). Season chicken with salt & pepper then toss into the yogurt marinade; let stand for about 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a greased rack on a rimmed baking sheet(that you've lined with foil for easy clean-up), then arrange the chicken in a single layer on the rack; drizzle with 1 T olive oil. Bake the chicken for 15 minutes, turn chicken over, drizzle with another 1 T olive oil and cook another 15 minutes. My total cook time was 30 min. then I turned the broiler on to give the chicken a nice golden brown color.
Meanwhille , on another baking sheet, toss the asparagus with 1 T olive oil, season with salt & pepper and arrange in a single layer. Bake in the oven with the chicken the last 10-15 minutes cooking time.
Divide the watercress (that you've washed & dried) among 4 plates, then top with the asparagus and chicken. Drizzle with the remaining 2 T olive oil and lemon juice; season with salt & pepper. I actually mixed the olive oil and lemon juice together and just let each person use if they wanted to.

Katie tried to eat the watercress but she said it tasted like grass smelled so she did not eat it. Richard did and said it was good. Of course, I loved everything about this dish! Even if you don't want to serve the watercress, you should try the chicken and asparagus with the lemon & olive oil! Yummy!

CHICKEN SANDWICHES

2010-03-17T15:23:00.001-07:00

You see this picture. This is what I fixed for dinner tonight. My good friend, Faye Jones, told me about these. You can find these chicken fillets at Aldi Food and they are delicious. Faye was right when she said they taste just like Chick-fil-A sandwiches. I just popped em in the oven for 25 minutes, turning them over halfway through the cooking time, heated up hamburger buns in the microwave, added mayo and a few hamburger dill chips and we had really, really good chicken sandwiches. I cut up a few russets, mixed them with evoo & some southwestern seasoning and cooked them in the oven right along with the chicken. Everything was done at the same time. Thanks, Faye, for hooking me up with this tasty meal idea!

CRISPY POPCORN CHICKEN WITH HONEY MUSTARD

2010-03-16T17:47:00.000-07:00

Panera Bread made dinner for me & Katie tonight! Katie had a soccer game in Greenville so I didn't cook. However, I do want to share a recipe that I have fixed. It's one of Katie's favorites. This recipe was given to me by my oldest daughter, Lindsey, who got it from a friend from her church.

CRISPY POPCORN CHICKEN WITH HONEY MUSTARD

Ingredients
1 lb chicken cut into bite-sized pieces (I just use boneless, skinless chicken
breasts
1/2 cup of Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 pkg onion soup mix (any brand will do, I buy whatever is the cheapest)
4 T melted butter
1 gallon sized zip-lock bag

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Add all dry ingredients to zip lock bag and shake to mix up
Add chicken pieces to bag and shake to coat
Place chicken on a greased baking sheet & drizzle the pieces with melted butter
Cook 10 minutes, turn chicken pieces over and cook an additional 10-12 minutes or until done. I just cut into a piece after they have cooked a few minutes on the second side to see if the chicken is still pink. You just don't want to overcook and dry it out. Mine turned out delicious and juicy! Serve with the Honey Mustard!

HOMEMADE HONEY MUSTARD

Ingredients
Honey
Mustard (regular, yellow mustard)
Mayonnaise

Add honey, mustard & mayo to a bowl and adjust to your liking. I did equal parts of honey & mustard and about twice as much mayo, but this is up to you. Then just mix it up good and serve. I had some leftover so I used it on a sandwich the next day. It really is good!

ROASTED LONDON BROIL WITH CUCUMBER-PINEAPPLE SALSA

2010-03-15T17:23:00.000-07:00

Tonight's dinner was delicious. I can't wait for you to try it. It's beef, your man will love it!

ROASTED LONDON BROIL WITH CUCUMBER-PINEAPPLE SALSA
(The recipe actually called for Tri-Tip steak but I had no idea what that was, I had a London Broil in the freezer so that's what I used!)

INGREDIENTS
5 T EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 T chili powder
Salt & Pepper
1 lb tri-tip steak (again I used London Broil) at room temperature & patted dry
1/2 whole wheat baguette, thickly sliced
1/4 pineapple, peeled and finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 english cucumber, finely chopped (english cucumbers were too expensive so I just used a long regular cucumber that I washed, cut in half and cored to remove the seeds)
1/2 red onion finely chopped
Grated peel and juice of 1 lime

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together 2 T olive oil, chili powder, 1 t salt and 1/2 t pepper; rub all over both sides of the steak. In a large ovenproof skillet (I used my cast iron skillet), heat 1 T olive oil over medium high heat. Add the steak to the pan and cook, turning once, until browned, about 5 minutes total. Transfer steak and pan to the oven; roast until it registers 125 degrees on an instant-read thermometer for medium-rare, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven & let it rest 10 minutes before thinly slicing. I added about 1/2 cup beef broth to my skillet after I removed steak and deglazed the pan using this liquid as au jus to pour over steak.

2. Meanwhile, brush the bread slices with the remaining 2 T of olive oil (I just drizzled some on top of bread) and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet; toast in the oven (I used my toaster oven) for 3 to 5 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the pineapple, cucumber, onion, grated lime peel (I used my microplane grater for this; if you don't have one please get one) and lime juice; season with salt & pepper. Serve with the steak and toasts.

I also roasted some asparagus. Just put in a pan, drizzle with olive oil, add salt & pepper and roast at 400 degrees until tender (it only took about 10 minutes) and I reheated my leftover twice baked potato casserole.

Everything about this meal was perfect! The Cucumber-Pineapple Salsa was my favorite and was a great side dish to the beef! My family thanked me which is always nice!

TWICE BAKED POTATOE CASSEROLE

2010-03-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a request and great idea from my good friend Joanna Davis, I made some additional comments on the recipe for the Caribbean Chicken Wings. Also, I will try to let you know if there is something I think you can omit or substitute that won't affect the taste of the dish. Case in point, today's lunch. Richard barbecued chicken & wings on the grill last night. He removed all the meat from the whole chicken and bagged it up. The wings he left intact and just stored in a zip lock bag. I just heated up the "pulled" chicken in a skillet with some George's Regular Barbecue Sauce and served. I took about six of the wings out and made a "version" of the sauce I use with the Caribbean Chicken Wings, omitting what I didn't have which meant I used everything but the habanero pepper and green onion and I didn't blend it in a food processor. I was going to leave out the fennel seed but I really like flavor. I just mixed everything together in a small sauce pan for about 10 minutes. Placed the "aleady cooked" wings on a pan lined with parchment paper and brushed them with some sauce and cooked for about 10 minutes on one side at 350 degrees (this temperature cause I was cooking the Twice Baked Potato Casserole at the same time)flipped them over, brushed with more sauce and cooked about 5 minutes more at 400. I did this at Katie's request (she really likes those Caribbean Wings). I'm sure the wings would have been good jsut as they were. Now for the Twice Baked Potato Casserole recipe! Katie actually wanted this so she prepared. We did have to make do with things we had and I will note changes we made today from the original recipe.

TWICE BAKED POTATO CASSEROLE

Ingredients
2 lbs potatoes, unpeeled & cubed (make sure to wash them) & I use Russet
4 oz cream cheese (I always use reduced fat)
1 cup sour cream or 1/2 sour cream and 1/3 ranch dressing (again I use reduced fat)
4-5 slices bacon, diced and cooked and drained on paper towel
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 t black pepper (I like to use fresh ground)
1 t garlic powder
This recipe calls for 1 t salt but I leave it out, the cheese, ranch dressing etc have enough salt.

DIRECTIONS
Boil potatoes until fork-tender. Drain and return to pot. Slightly mash potatoes before adding any other ingredients. Add cream cheese, sour cream (or sour cream & ranch), bacon, 1 cup of cheese and seasonings to the potatoes. Stir until well combined. Transfer potato mixture into a small casserole dish. Cover with remaining cheese. Refrigerate or bake immediately at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Today when Katie made this we didn't have any bacon or cheddar cheese. We did have some Velveeta and Monterey Jack cheese so we used that. It was just as good!

HOMEMADE PIZZA CRUST

2010-03-13T16:25:00.000-08:00

Richard is cooking chicken on the grill tonight for tomorrow's lunch! Tonight, however, I decided on pizza. Not store bought, not delivery, but homemade pizza including the crust. This crust is so easy. I think you'll like it a lot! It comes straight out of my "The Pioneer Woman Cooks" cookbook. (Thank you Sheryl)

PIZZA CRUST

INGREDIENTS

1 t or 1/2 packet active dry yeast (1/2 packet = 1 t)
4 cups all-purpose flour (feel free to use all white or all whole wheat; I used 2
cups of white and 2 cups of whole wheat
1 t kosher salt (now I have Kosher salt but if you don't I think regular salt
will work just fine
1/3 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) plus more for drizzling

1. Pour 1 1/2 cups warm water into a bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water.
2. Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl (I use my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer)
3. With an electric mixer on low speed, drizzle in the olive oil until just
incorporated.
4. Gentle stir the yeast/water mixture. . .
5. And drizzle it into the flour/oil mixture; mix until the dough forms a ball
(You can also mix by hand until the dough comes together)
6. Drizzle a little olive oil into a large clean bowl. Toss the ball of dough
in the bowl and turn over to coat in oil.
7. Cover the bowl with a moist kitchen towel and set in a warm place for 1 to 2
hours. At this point you can cover bowl with plastic wrap and store in fridge
for up to 2 days. I turned my oven to 200, let it preheat, turned it off and
set my bowl of dough in the oven. Also, I let mine set for only about an hour.
I was in a hurry (Katie had a date)
8. To prepare the pizza, preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
9. Divide the dough in half. Lightly drizzle olive oil on a pizza pan or rimmed
baking sheet.
10. Using your hands, stretch the dough to the desired shape, pressing the dough
into the pan with your fingers. The thinner the better. Some holes came in mine
but I just worked the dough around to close up any holes. The surface of the
dough should be lumpy from finger marks. It will hold your toppings better!
11. Now just add whatever toppings you want. Tonight I used Marinara Sauce, Monterey
Jack & Cheddar cheeses, caramelized onions that I made last week from recipe in
Wilson Times (they are so good, let me know if you want that recipe), a piece of
leftover meatloaf that I crumbled up, a few sliced, black olives that I found in
fridge, some basil pesto I had and a couple of garlic cloves that i sliced up.
12. Bake the pizza for 8 to 10 minutes (I had to bake mine longer to get the crust
as crispy and brown as I like it). If you're using all white flour just bake till
the edges of the crust are golden brown. It's harder to tell if you use whole
wheat flour as it's already a little brown.

The other half of the dough may be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 3 days before use, or frozen for up to 6 months. I wrapped mine in 2 layers of plastic wrap and then stored in a zip lock freezer bag. The next time I want pizza I'll just take out of the freezer, let it thaw. It's very easy and very good. The basil pesto really gave it a fresh taste. Remember, when you make your own, you know everything that's in it, where it's been prepared and whose hands have been involved!!! I hope you enjoy.

BROCCOLI & CHEESE SOUP

2010-03-12T18:10:00.000-08:00

It's Friday! I don't usually cook on Friday and tonight was no exception. But Texas Steak House did a good job! I will share what I cooked last night though! It's a repeat for me +1 so if you like broccoli & cheese soup you will definitely want to try this one.

BROCCOLI & CHEESE SOUP

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 lbs fresh broccoli florets (cut into bite sized pieces)(2 pkgs of the
broccoli from Aldi is what I use, just cut the florets off the stems.
2 cups water or chicken broth (I always use broth, just makes it better)
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup cold water
1 pint half & half (I use fat free)
1 lb velveeta cheese, cut into cubes (I use the 2%)

Steam broccoli until crisp tender
Place half & half and broth or water in a double boiler (I just put about an inch of water in a pot, bring to a simmer and set a bowl on the pot thus a "double boiler")
Add cheese, salt & pepper to the broth & half & half. Heat & stir until cheese is melted. Add broccoli. Mix cornstarch & cold water in a small bowl. Stir into broccoli mixture and heat over the simmering water until soup thickens.

That's all there is to it. Katie likes me to serve hers up in a bread bowl. Just go to Harris Teeter and buy one large round loaf of bread or several small round loaves. Cut the top out, scoop bread from the inside and use as a serving dish for the soup. After your soup has been eaten, eat your "bowl!"

CARIBBEAN CHICKEN WINGS

2010-03-10T15:07:00.000-08:00

All I can say is "oh my goodness!" The Caribbean Chicken Wings were a huge hit. I fixed enough wings so that we could have 6 each. I had 4, Richard ate 6 and guess who ate the rest. . . Katie. The Mango & Avocado Salad was delicious to me but not to the rest of my family. Katie did eat some and Richard tried it. He was ok until he got a bite of the avocado (he didn't like) and he didn't like the onion in it. But to me it was perfect. I will change one thing next time I make it. I will use white balsamic vinegar instead of the dark. Also, if you're feeding kids you might want to omit the habanero pepper. The heat was perfect for us combined with all the other ingredients but might be a bit much for kids. Now don't freak out when you see all of the ingredients. It really doesn't take anytime to throw them all into a food processor or a blender. I actually had all of the spices in my cabinet. The marinade can be made the night before so the wings can soak up all that flavor. Ok, it's almost time for church so here you go! I found this recipe on Food Network!

CARIBBEAN CHICKEN WINGS

Ingredients:
1 habanero, seeded & chopped (feel free to substitute any pepper or just leave it out)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 T sugar
2 t fennel seed (this spice has a licorice flavor leave it out if you don't think your family will like it)
2 t cayenne pepper
2 t allspice
2 t dried thyme
1 t ground ginger
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup orange juice
7 lbs chicken wings (this is a lot) I used wing pieces & cooked 18 pcs

Throw all the ingredients into a food processor or blender except wings and blend until smooth. Reserve 1 cup of the marinade. Place wings into a large zip lock bag and pour remaining marinade over them. Seal and marinate in the refrigerator 4-6 hours or overnight as I did. Preheat oven to 350. Line your sheet pan with parchment paper (be sure to do this or you'll never clean your pan). Remove chicken from marinade and place on baking sheet. Discard zip lock & marinade. Bake 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan bring reserved marinade to a boil. Reduce by 1/3 until it thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Once the wings have cooked for 20 minutes remove wings from oven and brush with the glaze (marinade you've reduced). Raise the heat to 400 and cook chicken through, another 20 minutes. Delicious!

MANGO & AVOCADO SALAD

Ingredients:
1 T balsamic vinegar (I would use the white)
1 T lime juice
2 T EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
2 Mangos, peeled & cubed
2 Avocados, peeled & diced
1/2 small red onion, diced or cut into strips
Salt & pepper to taste

In a large serving bowl, whisk together vinegar, lime juice, salt & pepper to taste. Slowly whisk in oil. Toss in mangoes, avocado & red onion to coat. Serve immediately. I actually squeezed more lime juice over the top after I mixed it together. This was my favorite. Leaves a really good taste in your mouth.

Hope you enjoy!

SUNNY'S CHICKEN FRIED STEAK WITH DICED POTATO GRAVY

2010-03-08T15:59:00.000-08:00

For those of you who enjoy reading about the meals I prepare for my family! Tonight we had "Sunny's Chicken Fried Steak with Diced Potato Gravy" and "Creamed Spinach" with homemade applesauce that I made this summer. Oh my gosh! It was delicious. For your palate pleasure, here are the recipes:

Sunny's Chicken Fried Steak with Diced Potato Gravy

Ingredients

2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds cube steak, cut into individual steaks
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
Vegetable oil, for frying
Diced Potato Gravy, recipe follows

Directions

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper, to taste. Add the steaks, stir to coat, and let sit 10 minutes. In a paper bag, combine the flour, cornstarch, a few pinches of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove the steaks from egg mixture and put into the paper bag. Roll the top of the bag to close, and shake until the steaks are evenly coated. This may be done in batches. Let the coated steak rest on a sheet tray lined with a rack for 10 minutes.

In a deep, heavy-bottomed skillet add enough oil to reach 1/2-inch up the sides. Heat the oil over medium heat to 370 degrees F. (When a wooden spoon inserted into the oil creates tiny bubbles, the oil is ready.) Fry the steaks, in batches if necessary, flipping only once when color is golden and a poke releases no red juices, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove to a serving platter and serve with Diced Potato Gravy.

Diced Potato Gravy:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups beef broth
1 large russet potato, diced into 1/4-inch cubes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup roughly chopped parsley, for garnish

In a large straight-sided skillet heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the flour, stirring to combine with the butter. Add the bay leaf and broth and bring to a simmer. Cook until slightly thickened, then add the potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are tender and the gravy has thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and the parsley. Serve poured over Sunny's Chicken Fried Steak.

Creamed Spinach (this is so good)

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for pan
1/2 red onion, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons red chili flakes
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1 cup shredded Parmesan
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sour cream
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup packaged fried onions (recommended: French's)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch baking dish. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Saute for 3 minutes, then add the garlic and red chili flakes and saute for 2 more minutes. Add the heavy cream, Parmesan, and nutmeg. Heat until the cream is just beginning to bubble, stirring often. Turn the burner off and stir in sour cream and spinach. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the top evenly with fried onions. Bake until golden and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes.