Homemade Chicken and Noodles

Feeling a little ambitious today as I start my largest batch of homemade noodles ever.  Intending to share with others and have a meal for us as well.  Wish I still had little ones to help me roll them out on the counter to dry.  I will always be grateful that my mom shared this skill with me as my family was just beginning. on my large island in my kitchen the noodles filled a space of about a 4.5x 4.5 area.  I think mom would be proud.

Red Lobster Biscuits

For years I have been trying to find a "copy cat" recipe for the cheddar biscuits at Red Lobster.  I have tried many and they failed me.  As the Gourmet Guy and I were doing some shopping at Costco we came across this Red Lobster Mix.  It had to be good because it carries the Red Lobster Logo.  We tried it last night, it is so easy and good.  As I opened the little silver herb packet I knew that it was going to be good because it smelled just like Red Lobster when you walk in.  This is a keeper for me.  I may just have to experiment with some of the spices in those little packets and see if I can come upon the flavor combination.  For me no copy cat recipes when I can pull this off of the shelf occasionally. 

 

This made my day, pretty simple, but it made my day!

Crock Pot Sweet BBQ Chicken (my version of Sweet Baby Ray Chicken from Pinterest)

Crock Pot Sweet BBQ Chicken

6-8 Boneless, skinless chicken thighs (Original recipe calls for Chicken breasts)
3/4 c. Noh Hawaiian Bar-B-Q Sauce
3/4 c. apricot marmalade
2 T. soy sauce (La Choy is gluten free)

Place chicken thighs in crock pot and cook on low for three hours (for easy clean up use a crock pot liner).  Mix remaining ingredients and set aside. After three hours drain juices from the chicken and cover with the sauce for 30-45 minutes.  Serve over egg noodles, a gluten free pasta, or rice.

(I made it with all of the specific ingredients from the original recipe and then with ingredients that I generally keep on hand.  We actually liked the second one better. We like using chicken thighs because they stay more tender and don't dry out as much as chicken breasts tend to,)

Pasta Fagioli (Copy Cat with my modifiations)

 

Pasta Fagioli

2 lbs. ground  beef (next time I will make it with sweet Italian sausage)
1 onion, chopped
3  carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 c. minced dry garlic (added for my own personal taste)
1 qt. canned tomatoes (the original called for 2 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes), undrained
1 15 oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed (white kidney beans)
3 10 oz. cans beef broth
3 t. oregano
2 t. ground pepper
5 t. parsley
1/2 t. Tabasco sauce (originally called for a full teaspoon)
1 24 oz. Prego Traditional Spaghetti Sauce (my personal preference)
8 oz. small cut pasta

Brown beef and place in lined crock pot with everything but the pasta.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours or low 5-6 hours. (for my personal crock pot 4 hours was not long enough for the vegetables to be tender)  30 minutes before serving add the pasta. 

*This makes a large batch of soup in the future I will take 1/2 of the soup out before adding the pasta and freeze for another meal and add the pasta at that time.  To make it gluten free just make sure the beef stock is gluten free and use a gluten free pasta.  This is compared to Olive Garden in the original recipe but I don't think it is the same, but it is a keeper for me.

Parmesan Rolls (Copy Cat Magelby's-revisited with modifications)

Parmesan Rolls (like Magelby’s)

25 frozen roll dough (preferably the Terrel's brand)

1 c. Parmesan cheese (the powdered kind)
4 t. garlic powder
1/3 c. parsley flakes
1 c. butter melted

While you are preparing the rolls, preheat oven to 200 degrees,  put the butter on a jellyroll pan while the oven heats.  In a bowl mix together Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and parsley flakes.  Roll the frozen dough in the melted butter then the Parmesan mixture. Turn oven off then place rolls in oven.  Let rolls rise between 2-3 hours.  Remove from oven and preheat to 350.  Bake until lightly brown on top 15-20 minutes.

(I found this recipe from a woman who was teaching a class at the Little Theatre in the Orem Macey's during the time I was hosting (working) there.  These are a copy cat from a local restaurant called Magelby's.  The owner recently passed away and learning of this made me pull this dust off this recipe and make it again, it has been far too long!  The restaurant like the owner is gone and it makes me sad but at least I can remember both when I make these.

Family Favorite Bluberry Muffins with Crumble Topping

My daughter Natalie finds these beautiful blueberries for me and I have learned to love them.  We love them enough that we are trying to get a bed with a PH balance that will allow us to grow several bushes to raise them ourselves.  In the mean time we get these wonderfully sweet huge berries and learn to use them in many fun recipes.  This batch of berries are sweet and huge.  In fact they were to big to use as many as I did for this batch and the muffins didn't hold together very well.  The best part of the muffin is the crumble that is placed on the top,

Blueberry Muffins with Crumble Topping.

for the muffins:
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. canola oil
1 large egg
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries, if frozen don't thaw, (if the berries are really large cut down on the quantity.)

Mix milk, oil, and egg in a small bowl.  In a larger bowl whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Add the wet ingredients to the large bowl and gently mix them together, don't over mix.  Fold in the blueberries. 

crumble topping:
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
2 T butter, softened (not melted)

Grease muffin tin thoroughly (so the blueberries do not stick to the pan) fill the cups about 2/3 full and top with the crumble.  Place in a 400 degree preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.  Yields 12 medium size muffins. 

Stoup- ( Italian Sub Soup from Rachel Ray) A combination of soup and stew a family favorite

Soups are some of my favorite things to make. I have a large arsenal of recipes that I like to use.  This one was on the old "Thirty Minute Meals" show of Rachel Ray's on the Food Network.  This particular recipe is one that everyone in the family likes which is rare. 

Italian Sub Soup (from Rachel Ray)

 1 lb. mild Italian sausage, fried

¼ lb. pepperoni stick, diced

1 ham steak, diced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, seeded, quartered and diced

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

salt and freshly ground pepper

6 c. chicken stock

½ lb. gemelli pasta or other short-cut pasta

In a soup pot preheat to med. heat.   Brown the sausage and crumble, drain off excess grease.  Then add ham and pepperoni.  Cook meats together for two minutes then add peppers and onions and cook for 2-3 minutes more.  Add diced tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.  Add chicken stock and bring stoup to a boil.  Stir in pasta and cook for 8 minutes.  Make croutons while pasta cooks.

Croutons

5 c. cubed crusty bread

3 lg. cloves garlic, removed from the skin

½ c. grated Parmigiana-reggiano cheese

1 t. crushed red pepper flakes

½ t. dried oregano

 In a large skillet heat ¼ c. of olive oil.  Add garlic and cook 1 minute.  Add bread to oil, and toss, toast for 5-6 minutes.   Season the toasty bread cubes with red pepper flakes, oregano and lots of grated cheese.



 

Ladle the soup and float several toasty garlic breads cubes in each bowl. 

Slow Roasted BBQ Ribs (Pork)

Slow Roasted BBQ Ribs

Barbeque Sauce

2 T. brown sugar                                                
1 t. paprika                                                                    
1 t. dry mustard                                                 
1 t. salt                                                                        
1/8 t. cayenne pepper                                                    
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
¼. c. vinegar
1 c. tomato juice
¼ c. ketchup
1 medium onion, chopped
 

Pork or Beef Ribs (I prefer the boneless, country style the Gourmet Guy prefers the beef short ribs)

Bake in 400 degree oven for 1 hour.  Remove from pan and place into a roasting pan.  Cover with BBQ Sauce, bake at 325 for 3-4 hours, covered.  You can also cook it longer at 250 degrees.  Remove the lid in the last half hour to thicken up the sauce. This can also be placed in a slow cooker for 3-4 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low. Serve over rice or noodles.

(This was one of Grandma Rayda Stevenson’s favorite recipes.  It was always fun to have dinner at her house when she served these and her homemade rolls.  It was one of the first recipes I asked for from her,)

Mega Meal Day(s) New Dietary Challenges

I got the urge to make Chicken Pot Pie for dinner a week or so ago.  The recipe I have makes a huge batch, big enough that I always made two and froze one for another day.  Now that it is just the Gourmet Guy and I at home I usually cut it in half and still make two and freeze one for another day.  I decided that I would make the full recipe and freeze a couple for us and some small ones for my Mother-in-law.  Simply doing that put me in the mood to make some meals ahead and freeze them for my daughter in Idaho who is having a baby at the end of the month.  Since they don't live half way across the country anymore I can take them to her frozen and not have to do all of the work while I am there. Instead I and can play with the Grand kids and snuggle the newborn and not be in the kitchen all of the time, except for that days meals.  She will have eight meals for days when she just needs to pull one out of the freezer, and as mom of three small children and a newborn she will need them.

 

NEW DIETARY CHALLENGES

Over the years we have had favorite meals as a family. Recently we have had new challenges that have caused us to rethink some of our recipes.  We have a  dairy allergy, gluten intolerance, and most recently a severe nut allergy that gave us quite a scare, as well as diabetes!!!! Actually the nut allergy was one we were aware of but it was hidden in with another ingredient and caused a life threatening experience.  We have to read labels much better than we have ever before and she will have to stay away from bakeries in general from now on. Preparing meals for all twenty three, with the newest addition is going to be more and more of a challenge! As I had these mega cooking and days I had to alter some of the ingredients and my taste buds were put to the test.

 

 Using:

10 lbs of potatoes

1 med bag of carrots

4 stalks of celery

5 onions, diced

1 medium bag of frozen mixed vegetables

6 14.5 cans of beef broth

4 14.5 cans of chicken broth

3 4 oz. mushrooms

6 4 oz. cans tomato sauce (what I keep in my storage)

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

2 10 3/4 cans tomato soup

4 10 3/4 cans cream of chicken soup

1 quart tomatoes, home canned

1 pint tomatoes, home canned

3 sleeves of Ritz crackers

4 c. sour cream

1 lb. butter

 

After two days of cooking (I kind of went crazy)  I ended up with 20 meals, 7 mini meals and 

3 1/2 dozen cinnamon rolls. Part of the meals were non dairy. My Mother-in-law took home 9 mini meals this morning when she left our home.

 

After loading my freezer I realized I was able to share with some others in my neighborhood and took some of the warm cinnamon rolls to five families and three meals as well.  It was great fun!  Now to finish putting away Christmas decorations.  I would rather be cooking!!!!!!

Cream Of Broccoli Soup

 

Broccoli Soup

6 c. chicken broth

½ c. onion

2 t. salt

2 heads broccoli, cut into small pieces

 1 1/2 c, butter

1 1/2 c. flour  

2 quarts half and half (I use 1 quart half and half and one quart milk)  

1 15 oz. jar Cheese Whiz            

Place broth, onion, salt, and broccoli in a large pan and cook until tender.  In a separate pan melt butter, gradually stir in flour until blended, add half and half, heat until thickened.  Mix into vegetables and add Cheese Whiz.  Serve warm.  .

 

Fudge

Fudge

4½ c. sugar

1 can evaporated milk
2 sticks butter
1 pint jar of marshmallow cream
1 t. vanilla
1 pkg. semi sweet or milk chocolate chips
nuts, optional

In a medium heavy saucepan combine sugar, milk, and butter.  Boil hard for 9-10 mins. or to as soft ball candy stage. Remove from the heat and add chocolate chips, vanilla and marshmallow.  Beat until the fudge stands in peaks or changes in texture.  Pour and let stand 24 hours.

Compound Butter (revisited)

 

 

Rosemary Orange Butter

 

1 c. butter, softened

2 T fresh Rosemary, finely diced

2 T orange juice

1 orange rind, finely grated

1-2  fresh garlic cloves, minced

 

Combine all ingredients and place on wax paper, roll and refrigerate until firm.  Remove from wax paper and serve.  This is also fun to place in molds and chill. 

Wild Rice and Turkey Soup (great for the leftover Thanksgiving turkey)

Wild Rice Turkey Soup

 
1 box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice
½ c. green onions
1 ½ c. turkey
8 strips fried crumbled bacon
3 14.5 oz. cans chicken broth
2 c. water
2 c. half and half
½ c. butter
¾ c. flour
1/4 t. poultry seasoning
1/4 t. pepper
salt to taste
2-3 caps of cooking  (optional but gives a good flavor)
 
Boil your rice in the broth until rice is tender.  Make your rue.  Combine all ingredients and simmer until ready to serve.

Grandma Rayda's Butter horn Rolls

Butter Horn Rolls
 

2c. milk, scalded

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
3 t salt
2 pkgs. yeast
1 c. water
6 eggs, beaten
8-10 c. flour, add until dough is soft but not stiff

Bake at 400 for 15 mins.

 

(Grandma Rayda Stevenson made these rolls all of the time.  She had it down to an art and had made them so often that she made them from memory.  The aroma in the house was wonderful as they baked.  We could always look forward to them buttered and toasted the next morning for breakfast; we loved the “breakfast toast”.)

Pumpkin Roll (modification)

 

 Pumpkin Roll

3 eggs, beat on high for 5 minutes.

1 c. sugar gradually added to the eggs
2/3 c. pumpkin (stir into the above mixture)
1 t. lemon juice

In another bowl mix.

3/4 c. flour                                         

1 t. baking powder                               
2 t. cinnamon                                       
1 t. ginger
½ t. nutmeg
½ t. salt
 

Stir the above together and fold into pumpkin mixture.  Spread in a greased and floured jelly roll pan. (Parchment lined then floured and greased makes it easier to roll.  Wax paper can also be used) Top with 1 c. finely chopped walnuts (optional)  Bake at 375 for 15 mins.  Turn out on tea towel, cool.  Spread filling over cake.  Roll and chill.

Filling

1 c powdered sugar               (note we do one and half of the filling recipe to make a thicker filling)

8 oz. cream cheese
4 T. butter
½ t. vanilla

Beat until smooth.

(lg can of prepared pumpkin pie filling makes five pumpkin rolls.  The pumpkin roll freezes well.  Any left over pumpkin can also be frozen, simply measure out and place in a zipper freezer  label and freeze.)

Holiday Tableware (caution for lead poisoning)

I love dishes!  I used to collect dishes for different holidays, weddings, special occasions, etc.  Until a few years ago I learned of the lead poisoning that can occur from dishes.  There was a so called effort to try and regulate these types of items as they were imported or manufactured and stickers were being placed on safe items. Safe to use, to put in the microwave or dishwasher.  It was short lived and I rarely see those stickers anymore.  Specialty dishes are often the ones that have more lead in them!  Be sure you check the labels.  If you do have some don't use them in the dishwasher.  Much to my dismay my favorite special birthday plate was highest in measurement when I had some of my dishes  tested.  Unfortunately it sits on the shelf as a decoration now.

Inexpensive dishes often accompany neighborhood Christmas gifts this time of year so buyer be ware!

These Christmas plates are safe but because they are a type of china I never use them in the dishwasher,  I don't want the pattern to disappear.

 At a very young age I had and Aunt that gave me some depression glass.  I fell in love with it and have collected more over the years.  Only last summer as I was looking in an antique store in Carson City Nevada did I learn something I had never known about these dishes before.  The dealer held up a black light to show me that they were indeed depression glass and informed me that they were made with a radio active isotope.  The glassware glowed, wow!  I have never used these in the dishwasher either because of the age and not wanting them to be scratched.  Now I am relieved that I haven't because it would cause scratching from the caustic detergent and would have cause problems with the use of the glass.  I only use them once in awhile but I was grateful to learn more about them.  I still love them and will look for "special pieces."  I just won't use them as regular servings!

Orange Bread

Orange Bread

3 c, flour
2 c. sugar
¾ c. orange juice
2 eggs
½ c. oil
1 c. milk
zest from 1 orange
1 t vanilla
1 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
2 t cinnamon
1 t salt

Mix ingredients and pour into two greased and floured loaf pans. Bake in 350 oven for 45-50-minutes.

 

We use this to make French toast and it is heavenly!  Just after we were married the Gourmet Guy went with  a couple of friends to a wedding in California.  While they were there they picked fresh oranges and brought them home.  We had a lot for a young couple so we tried making bread from them and discovered that it was really good also makes really good French toast.  Some trial and error is just worth the effort.

Pasta Shells

This is one of the cookbooks I have collected over the years.  I chose this recipe because I literally had all of the ingredients in my pantry/fridge.  I only had the medium shells so it took longer to stuff them than it would have with the larger shells.  I also put the meat in with the cheese mixture and pulled some of my own homemade marinara sauce (recipe on the bottom of the blog as Lauri's Italian Sauce) out of the freezer.  What I realized is that the reason I chose this recipe on the fly is because I always have these ingredients in stock and it tasted much like my own. I would also use Sweet Italian Sausage rather than the ground beef in the future.  This is so close to the way I make my own Manicotti, not very risky but good flavors and seemed comfortable.

(From the Cookbook-Church Suppers)
 Stuffed Shells

25 jumbo shell
2 c. ricotta cheese
8 oz. mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 t. salt
1/8 t black pepper
1 t dried parsley
1/2 t dried oregano
1/2 . ground beef
1 28 oz. jar spaghetti sauce.

Cook shells according to the package directions; drain.  In a large bowl, combine the cheeses, eggs, salt, pepper, parsley, and oregano.  Preheat the oven to 350. Fill each shell with 2 T of the mixture.  In a large skillet, brown the beef and mix with the spaghetti sauce.  Spread a thin layer of sauce in 3 qt. rectangular baking dish.  Place the shells 1 deep in the dish and cover with sauce.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Bake for 35 minutes.  Make 6 servings. 

German Chocolate Cake

German Chocolate Cake

½ c. shortening

1 ½ c. sugar
3 eggs, beaten separately
pinch of salt
1 t. soda
1½ c. buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1½ squares of baker’s chocolate

Cream sugar and shortening, add egg yolks, melted chocolate and a little red food coloring

Alternate buttermilk, with soda added, with flour.  Fold in egg whites.  Bake in layer pans 30-35 minutes at 350.

German Cake Icing:

1 can evaporated milk

1 c. sugar
3 egg yolks
1 t. vanilla
¾ small package of coconut
pecans, finely chopped

Mix ingredients except the coconut and cook, about 12 minutes at a boil.  Stirring constantly not to let it scorch.  Cool and spread on cake.

(This was a recipe that Grandma Smith was well known for.  It was a treat for my sister and me to get this cake for our birthdays.  Two days before she passed away she was concerned that she had not been able to get a birthday cake made for Rosemarie. She had all of the ingredients purchased and waiting on her counter top.  We were all touched that she worried about the cake not being taken care of even as she was dying.  I love the frosting but cheat and put it on a much moister cake than the above recipe.  However, this is her true recipe.)

Cinnamon/Orange Rolls

 

After craving these for many months I finally broke down and made these sweet rolls. I used  the remaining mashed potatoes from another day because it makes the dough so soft. Since there are only two of us in the home I have been reluctant to make them, only because I knew that I wouldn't eat just one.  One of my solutions is to share with family and friends.  They were every bit as good as they sounded, nice and soft and filled with cinnamon and or orange.  Next time I'll do the Sticky Bun version!  ( I only made half of the recipe.)

Cinnamon Rolls

4 c. scalded milk  (Or 4 c, hot water and 1 c. powdered milk)

1 ½ c. sugar

2 t. salt

8 eggs, beaten

2 c. mashed potatoes

1 ½ c. shortening

½ c. warm water

2 pkg. yeast

6 c. whole wheat flour (or enough white flour to make a soft dough. approx. 9-10 c.)

 

Combine ingredients and let raise.  Roll out.  Sprinkle with butter, sugar, and cinnamon.  For orange rolls sprinkle with sugar and orange rind and some fresh squeezed orange juice. Roll and cut, place on a greased jelly roll pan and let raise once again.  Bake at 375 until golden brown.

Sheperd's Pie or Green Bean Casserole (Multitasking)

(individual portions for tonight and one for a freezer meal for another night, multitasking)

 

 

Shepherds’ Pie or Green Bean Casserole

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped
1 15 ½ oz. can green beans, drained
1 10 ¾ oz. can of tomato soup
3-4 medium potatoes
cheddar cheese, grated

Peel potatoes and cut into smaller pieces to speed up the cooking time, add to salted boiling water.  In a large frying pan brown the ground beef, add the onions when the meat is no longer pink.  When the onions become translucent, stir in the green beans and tomato soup, heat through.  Place the meat mixture into an oven safe casserole dish and top with the mashed potatoes and cheese.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes until the cheese is bubbly on top. 

Sweet Pork Burritos /Salad (Copy cat Cafe Rio)

Tomatillo Dressing

1 jalapeño pepper, minced finely
2 tomatillios, cut into pieces
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
Juice from 1 fresh lime
¾ jar of Ranch Dressing with peppercorns (Kraft)
Salt to taste


Sweet Pork

4 lbs pork butt roast
4 8oz cans tomato sauce
3 tsp minced garlic
3 cups brown sugar
4 tsp cumin
Dr. Pepper
3 Tbsp molasses
1/2 tsp salt

Put pork in crockpot with Dr. Pepper and cook on high for 7-8 hours. Strain and add the other ingredients and some more Dr. pepper, cook on low for 5 hours.

Cilantro lime rice
2 cups rice
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp- 1 tsp garlic salt
1 tbsp minced onion
Juice of 1 small lime
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Add all ingredients to rice cooker and press start.
Tortilla Strips
Cut corn tortillas into thin strips. Deep fry, drain, and salt.

*Serve with lettuce, black beans, quacamole or avacado, cheese, etc on warm tortilla.

Multitasking/ Mashed Potatoes

While making potatoes for chicken pot pie I knew that I had Shepherd's Pie on my menu and also wanted to the  make Cinnamon Rolls that I had been craving so I make extra potatoes.  Peeling  potatoes takes time and since I was already in the moment I decided to do it all at one time.  After cooking the cubed potatoes I removed the quantity that I wanted for the pot pie mixture and then I mashed the remaining potatoes and put them in the fridge for another day or two. While I could use instant potatoes for both the Shepherd's Pie and Cinnamon Rolls, and I have, I love the real thing.

Chicken Pot Pie (update)

(for this post/batch I only did a half of a recipe and still had enough for 2 ramekins for a dinner, a freezer meal for the "Gourmet Guy" and I and a small freezer meal for my Mother-in-law.  I also had two previously grilled chicken breasts in the freezer that I used on the fly for this instead of cooking a whole chicken like I typically do.

Chicken Pot Pie

 

Boil a chicken roaster or use rotisserie chicken left overs or any leftovers you many have such as turkey.
 

Make Gravy:                                                       Half recipe gravy:

2/3 c. margarine or butter                                  ½ c. butter                    
2/3 c. flour                                                         ½ c. flour                                  
1 t. salt                                                               ½ t. salt                                   
½ t. pepper                                                          ¼ t. pepper
3½ c. broth                                                         1¾ c. broth
1 1/3 c. milk                                                        ¾ c. milk

Melt butter over low heat, blend in flour, salt, and pepper.  Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly, remove from heat.  Stir in broth and milk.  Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.  Boil and stir one minute.  Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.  (reserve about 1/3 of gravy for top when serving.)

Stir in

2-4 boiled potatoes, cut up
cooked meat                               
1 4 oz. can mushrooms
1 16 oz. bag of frozen vegetables

Pie Crust

1/3 c. plus 1 T. shortening                                         
1 c. flour                                                                       
1/2 t. salt
 2-3 T .cold water

(Double for two crust)

Pie crusts did not come easy to me until my mother-in-law showed me how to make them.  The method of rolling them out in wax paper was the best advice I have ever had.  A double pie crust recipe was perfect to top all of these.  For the full recipe it would take two double pie crust recipes to top all of the mixture.  These freeze really well for up to about six months.  Because they freeze like a brick they should be taken out the night before and placed in the fridge to thaw.  They may still be partly frozen and need to be out on the counter for an hour before baking.  I have put them in completely frozen and it took at least two hours to cook through and some even longer.  Bake them at 425 until the mixture bubbles through the slits on the top of the pie and the crust is golden brown. the fruits  of one evening, four meals and I did extra potatoes and mashed them for a couple of other projects that will be in the next few days,  Maybe it is has been awhile but they were the best tasting mashed potatoes that I have make in quite awhile, I guess good practice for the upcoming holiday! 

 

 And the chicken filling inside of the flaky crust was just the meal I was looking for that night. Pure comfort food.



 

The efforts of the night and multitasking in a nice way!

Bread Sticks (repeat)

Bread sticks

1 T. yeast

2 T. sugar
1½ c. warm water
Add:
1 t. salt
3½ c. flour

Mix slightly sticky dough.  Let raise once.  Roll out, cut, and twist.  Put on cookie sheet with 1 cube melted butter.  Sprinkle with garlic salt, Parmesan cheese, and sesame seeds.  Let rise until double and bake at 400 until golden brown.

I also use this recipe to make Calzones!  Cydney uses this to make the bread sticks as well as cinnamon knots for her family.

Low Cal Tostadas - Pantry Staples

I have been watching recipes on Pinterest for new or improved recipes.  I have noticed a lot that are called Mexican Pizza's or Mediterranean Taco's or something similar.  I came up with something from my pantry.
I always have corn and flour tortillas in my fridge as well as salsa's or my own Pico.  In my freezer I have chicken breasts, chicken thighs, drumsticks, and whole chickens.  I also have cooked chicken, sometimes grilled, baked or boiled, cut up into pieces ready for certain recipes.  In food storage I have my home canned salsa, green chilie's, black beans, as well as frozen chilie's from my garden. so this is my version of Low Cal Tostada's

2-4 corn tortillias
olive or canola oil
black beans, warmed and drained of most liquid, mashed
1 c. cooked chicken, cubed
1/3 med. onion, chopped finely
1 t. cumin, more if desired
tomato, cut in pieces
1/2 half avocado, sliced

 Place tortillas on a foil lined baking sheet and brush with olive or canola oil.  Bake at 450 for 8-10 minutes to turn crisp, a shorter time will make them tough.  Put black beans into a pan and heat thoroughly, drain leaving a small amount of the liquid to mash.  In a skillet place a small amount of oil and saute the onion until transparent, add the chicken, the green chilie's, and cumin and warm through.  Place the beans on top of the shell then the chicken, avocado, and tomatoes.  Additonal toppings if desired.



other possible ingredients: (this would add calories and no longer be dairy free)
sweet corn
cheese
sour cream
olives

Homemade Bread (the lost recipe)

White-Whole Wheat Bread

2 T yeast
3/4 c. warm water
2 c. milk lukewarm  (I use 2/3 c. powdered milk with two c. warm water)
1 T shortening
1 t salt
7-8 c. flour

425 until Golden Brown.  Makes two loaves

Trick or Treat 2014

After time of for another and lengthy recovery I was starting to feel like doing fun things in the kitchen again!  Who better for than my Grandkids!

 

Rather than giving them an extra large candy bar like in the past I decided to do something I borrowed from Pinterest.  The adults thought they were kind of creepy but I thought they were fun and different.

Looking through some of my old recipes I found my file on Harry Potter party themes and it made me want to do something for fun since it was Halloween I actually got more response to these little loaves of bread than from the hands.  I hadn't made bread in a very long time and I couldn't believe that I didn't have my original recipe in my "binder" or on the blog.  We, the Gourmet Guy and I, even tried a recipe for Butterbeer but it didn't turn out as well I had hoped. It was fun trying and seeing responses.  Oh to have the recipe from Universal Studios! It felt so good to be back at the creative stuff again.

 

 

Roasted Corn Salad

Gourmet Guy here.We had a couple of ears of fresh corn and didn't use them right away. Needed to find a way to use them, so I winged it and this is what happened!

Ingredients

2 ears fresh corn
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 medium bell pepper
2 slices yellow onion, 1/4 inch
1/2 small jicama
3 Roma toamtoes
1 Anaheim chili
1/2 small jalapeno
1 scallion
Cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Honey lime dressing

Coat corn with olive oil and grill over high heat until corn begins to char. Slice corn off cob and place in bowl. Cut sides off bell pepper core. Grill two sides and dice the other two. Remove skin from the grilled pepper and dice. Grill onion slices until browned and dice. Peel and dice jicama. Dice tomatoes. Dice scallion and chilies. Add all ingredients to the corn, stir, salt and pepper to taste.

Honey lime dressing
1 Tbsp honey
1 lime, juiced
3 Tbsp oil
2 small cloves garlic, pressed

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well.

Strawberry Spring Salad with Red Onion Vinaigrette

Salad

Spring Mix
Strawberries, sliced
1 c candied pecans
1 c sugar
Craisins
Cucumber, sliced
Feta

Vinaigrette

! c red onion, diced
2 c canola oil
2/3 c. white vinegar
1 c sugar
2 t Dijon mustard
2 t salt

Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth.  Refrigerate until serving, can be stored for up to one week. 

Layer all salad ingredients and drizzle dressing over, usually one half of the recipe is enough, or serve on the side.  Top with candied pecans, also can be served to the side as an option. 

Candied Pecans

1/4 c. sugar
2 T water
1 c pecans

Dissolve sugar in water and bring to a boil.  Add the nuts and coat evenly place on parchment and let stand.


(Note my youngest daughter dislikes most of the ingredients in this salad but she is the one who found and brought this to our family meal.)

We love Frozen!

Like so many our family has been struck by the movie Frozen!  With five daughters the message of sisterly love touched me deeply.  At family gatherings we often turn on the music and before long all of us are singing at full volume.  The grand kids love to have the music playing out on our deck and I am sure the neighbors think we are nuts, but we have a great time, memories abound. 

For recent birthdays the love of the theme has been prevalent.  Three different cakes made for three different granddaughters by three different mothers with who are so talented. 

 

1. The most recent

 

2. Frozen in the summer time

 

     

3. The first. (several sides)

 

Love my creative and imaginative girls!!!