Tomato Basil Soup

A friend of mine sent me this recipe and I decided to make it tonight.  I made a few changes, but it still turned out great.  I served it with some spruced up Grilled Cheese sandwiches and it made a fabulous dinner on a cool, drizzly night.  Plus, it made quite a bit, so I have soup for lunch for a few days!

Tomato Basil Soup
4 cups fresh tomatoes, cored, peeled, and chopped (8-10) or canned whole tomatoes, crushed
4 cups tomato juice (or part vegetable or part chicken stock)
12-14 basil leaves, washed fresh
1 cup heavy cream
1stick sweet unsalted butter
salt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
1. Combine tomatoes, juice/and or stock in saucepan.
2. Puree, along with the basil leaves, in small batches, in blender, food processor (or better yet, one of those handy hand-held food blenders, right in the cooking pan).
3.Return to saucepan and add cream and butter, while stirring, over low heat. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with your favorite bread.

***I used 2 large cans of canned whole tomatoes and pureed both the juice and tomatoes together, and just didnt add any extra tomato juice or stock.  I initially strained the tomatoes and by eyeballing it, it appeared to be approximately 4 cups, so I decided to not open an additional can of juice.  It worked out great!

***I also pureed the tomatoes and basil together at the very beginning, then let it simmer with the salt and pepper and tomato juice for about 15 minutes.  Then I added the butter and cream and let it simmer for about 5 more minutes.  Turned out great!

Pot Roast Pie

I watch Wheel of Fortune just about every night.  Yes, I know that makes me a complete dork, and I am OK with that.  :-)  On the show, one of the types of puzzles they have is Same Name.  I think this could qualify... Pot Roast, Pot Pie.... I don't know.  Makes sense to me. :-)  Regardless, today's recipe(s) is a twofor.  One day make a pot roast, the next day make a pot pie with the leftovers.  Both are super easy, and both are super tasty!

Oven Pot Roast
1/2 cup flour
ground black pepper & salt to taste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
3 1/2 lbs rump roast
1/4 cup butter
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can water
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 baking potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 bag of baby carrots
 
1.Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
2.In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Dredge the rump roast in the flour and cover evenly. Shake off excess.
3.In a large pot (I used a dutch oven) over medium/high heat, melt the butter and brown the roast on all sides. Place in a 4 quart casserole dish (or keep in the dutch oven) with lid.
4.In a small bowl, combine the soup mix, mushroom soup, water and white wine; pour over roast. (If using dutch oven, stir soup mixture into the drippings).
5.Cover and bake in preheated oven for 5 hours or until desired doneness.
6. During the last hour, add veggies and increase oven heat to 350.
7. Remove meat and veggies and serve.  The liquid should be thick enough (from the flour used early on) to be used as gravy.

Pot Roast Pot Pie

Left over meat and veggies from Pot Pie, chopped into small pieces

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/3 can milk
frozen peas and/or corn if desired

salt and pepper to taste

2 Pillsbury Pie crust (the pre-rolled type found by the canned biscuit dough)

1 egg, well beaten

1. Press one pie crust into a pie pan. Set aside.

2. Mix first 5 ingredients in bowl.

3. Pour mixture into pie crust and top with second crust.  Seal edges.

4. Poke holes in the top with a fork.

5. Brush with beaten egg.

6. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

It's as easy as that! Two meals for the price of one!

Gettin' Ready for Noah

This weekend, my mom and I spent several hours in the kitchen making meals to stick in the freezer in preparation for baby Noah's arrival... I know my desire to cook will be VERY low for a while! Between meals that will be provided by our families, by our Sunday School at church, and the meals we made this weekend, we should be good for about 6 weeks. WOW!

I didn't take a single picture while we were cooking (imagine that), but have quite a few recipes to share. Every recipe has been adapted to feed two people. If you are feeding a larger family, simply use one regular baking dish instead of two 8x8 dishes. Oh, and keep in mind, most of these are not necessarily the healthiest recipes in the world... I am 9 months pregnant and about to nurse a little guy... calories are OK right now! But, you can always use low-fat ingredients (soups, sour cream, cheese, etc) and turkey as a substitute if you are looking for a more low-cal version. I hope you enjoy!

Mini Meatloaf

INGREDIENTS
- Your favorite meatloaf recipe
- 1 Bottle of BBQ sauce
- 1 bag cheese, any type (we used Mont. Jack)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Prepare meatloaf mixture per recipe instructions. Leave mixture in bowl.
3. Spray muffin tins (one recipe fills 12 muffin cups) with cooking spray.
4. Evenly divide mixture into 12 balls. Place into muffin tins.
5. Press mixture firmly into tin, and punch a thumb hole in the middle of the mixture.
6. Fill thumb hole with BBQ Sauce. Sprinkle top with cheese.
7. Bake at 350 until cooked through (~30 minutes).
8. Allow to cool, then place in freezer bag.

3 mini loaves = 1 serving ; yields 4 servings


Easy Chicken Pot Pie (recipe credit: Joyce Pierce)

INGREDIENTS
- 3 cans cream of potato soup
- 3 cans of Veg-Al (or something similar)
- ~1 lb chicken, cooked (you can boil or saute it)
- Milk (~1 soup can)
- 2 frozen pie shells
- 1 package pre-rolled pie dough (found by biscuit/cookie dough)
- Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Mix soups, veggies, and chicken in large bowl. Season w/salt and pepper to taste. Slowly add milk to create a smooth consistency.
2. Evenly fill pie shells with mixture.
3. Cover each pie with one sheet of pre-rolled dough. Trim if necessary, and pinch edges together to create a seal around the edges. Poke holes in the top layer of dough with fork.
4. Cover with saran wrap, then foil. Freeze.

TO BAKE:
1. Thaw overnight.
2. Remove saran and foil.
3. Beat one egg and brush the top layer of dough.
4. Bake at 350 until crust is golden brown.

Yields 2 pies; 1 pie serves 4


CHICKEN NOODLE CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 bag egg noodles
- 1 large can chicken (can use fresh chicken, use ~ 2 breasts)
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 can milk
- 1 jar Cheez Whiz
- 1 can chopped green chilies
- Shredded Cheese (we used Mont. Jack)

1. Boil noodles, set aside.
2. Mix soups, milk, Cheez Whiz and chilies. Stir in chicken and noodles.
3. Divide evenly between two 8x8 pans. Top with shredded cheese.
4. Cover (saran and foil) and freeze.

TO BAKE:
1. Allow to thaw overnight.
2. Uncover. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

YIELDS: 2 8x8 pans; 1 pan = 2-4 servings


CHIPPED BEEF CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS:
- 4 chicken breasts
- 4-8 strips of bacon
- 16 oz sour cream
- 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
- 1 can of sliced mushrooms undrained
- 2 packages of Budding Dried Beef (can also use jarred), cut into small pieces

1. Spray bottom of 2 8x8 pans.
2. Wrap bacon around chicken breasts. Place two breasts in each pan.
3. Mix sour cream, soup, mushrooms and dried beef pieces.
4. Pour over chicken breasts.
5. Cover (saran and foil) and Freeze.

TO BAKE:
1. Let thaw overnight.
2. Uncover and bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours. Serve over rice. (the sauce makes a nice little gravy!)

YIELDS: 2 8x8 pans; 1 pan= 2 servings

KING RANCH CHICKEN (adapted a little from my usual recipe)

INGREDIENTS:
- Meat from Rotisserie Chicken, cubed
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 can Rotel
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 can chicken broth
- 12 Tortillas (either corn or flour), cut into small squares
- 1 package shredded cheese (we used Mont. Jack)

1. Saute onion and green pepper in butter.
2. Add soups, Rotel, chicken and chicken broth. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Remove from heat.
3. Spray two 8x8 pans.
4. Evenly divide tortilla squares between the two pans. Be sure the bottom of each pan is completely covered.
5. Pour soup/chicken mixture on top of tortillas.
6. Top with shredded cheese.
7. Cover (saran and foil) and freeze.

TO BAKE:
1. Allow to thaw overnight.
2. Uncover and bake at 350 for 30min, or until cheese is bubbly.

YIELDS: 2 8x8 pans; 1 pan= 4 servings


RED BEANS and RICE

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 pound red kidney beans
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- Minced garlic (we used 2-3 cloves)
- 1 - 1 1/2 lb sausage, sliced into small rounds
- 1 or 2 bay leaves
- Tabsco, as desired
- A few dashes Worcestershire sauce
- Red pepper and black pepper to taste
- Salt to taste

1. Boil beans in water for 15min, then remove from heat. Allow to soak for ~1 hour. (Or you can simply allow beans to soak in water overnight) Drain.
2. Brown sausage. Drain and set aside.
3. Saute onions and green pepper in ~1 Tbsp vegetable oil until onions are translucent. Add garlic and saute for an additional 2-3 minutes.
4. In large pot, combine onion mixture, beans, and sausage. Add just enough water/chicken broth to cover. Add bay leaf and seasonings.
5. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add water as necessary. Cook for 2-3 hours until beans are soft and tender and the mixture is nice and creamy.
6. Allow to cool.
7. Freeze in plastic containers (I divided mine into two large containers).

TO HEAT:
1. Allow to thaw overnight, or quick defrost in microwave.
2. Bring to a simmer over low heat.
3. Serve over white rice.

YIELDS: 8 Servings (I counted each container as two meals... this is a HEARTY MEAL!!!)


I think that is it.... I have a feeling I cooked one more recipe, but I can not remember what it is right now... :-)

Enjoy!

Texas Brisket

This past weekend the whole family made our way out to the lake (along with our entire pantry, it seemed) to celebrate July 4th. We do some of our best cooking out there, and this weekend was no exception!!! We planned on making a brisket (what better way to feed a cajillion people, right?) in the oven, but my mother-in-law found a recipe for grilled brisket, and we decided to give it a go. As usual, I did not even THINK about pictures until we were chopping the tasty thing up, but I did get a few. Both of us were fretting over the brisket all day, which was incredibly ridiculous because I am pretty sure someone without a day of cooking experience could have made this thing. Seriously, y'all.... people actually called this meal "memorable".

So, without further ado....

Paula Deen's Texas Brisket

1 (5 to 6-pound) brisket, trimmed but left with a layer of fat about 1/4- inch thick
6 tablespoons House Seasoning, recipe follows
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 cups hickory wood chips, soaked in water for 30 minutes

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
**Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
Yield: 1 1/2 cups

**We used a 13lb brisket (I guess I was really hungry when I bought that sucker at the grocery store....) so we doubled the amounts of everything above.

1. Soak hickory chips in water for about 30 minutes..

2. Mix all seasonings together in a bowl and set aside.

3. Trim brisket. We completely trimmed one side of the brisket, and then left about 1/4"-1/2" of fat on the other side. This is going to be the top of the brisket, and what provides the moisture as it cooks. I promise, all the calories combust in the high heat of the grill. :-)

4. Rinse brisket under cool water, then pat to dry.

5. Rub 1/2 of spice mixture on the bottom of the brisket. Flip over into a large foil pan and rub the remaining mixture on the top. Try to cover sides as well.

6. Create a foil pouch for wood chips and place chips inside.

7. Place foil pouch under grill grate (we did one pouch on both sides) and place brisket on the grill. Cook on low heat (between 275 and 325F) for atleast 6 hours, or until meat thermometer reads 190 degrees. (or, if you are like us and do not have a meat thermometer, grill until the meat is falling apart when you cut into it!)

8. Replace wood chips as necessary, and baste with juices in the pan if desired.

9. Remove from grill and allow brisket to rest for about 10 minutes. Cut against the grain and serve.

I hereby promise this recipe to be lifechanging. This is my solumn vow to you.

Recent Cakes (sorry, no recipes...)

Here are some pictures of a few cakes I have done recently. Several of them I have done with my friend Joyce.... it is WAY more enjoyable when you have a partner in crime!

This is a cake for a friend's vow renewal ceremony.

This is for Joyce's Baby Shower. If I had a profile shot, you could tell it is a little preggo lady holding her belly!

This was a cake for a little girl's first birthday. It was an underwater theme, and the cake was made to match the invitations.

This was for a little girl's 3rd birthday. I donated a gift certificate to the CWJC auction for a free cake, and the winner chose this for her cake. It was a fun one to make!

12 Layer Cake

Recently the hubby and I ventured to the coast of Connecticut with his parents and his sister and her husband to visit his Grandmother, Uncle, and extended family. We had a really nice time relaxing and vegging out, but had to do some celebrating because it was my hubby's 30th birthday! We stayed in an old beach cottage that has been in the family since it was built back in the 50's, and had slim pickin's when it came to cooking tools. Sooo, we got creative and made what turned out to be a pretty impressive cake! It was SO easy (I am pretty sure an 8 year old could do it...). The best part is that you do not have to have ANY cake decorating supplies to do it.

12 Layer Cake

- Disposable 8.5" round foil pans (**see note below**)

- 2 boxes Yellow Cake Mix & ingredients to make mix

- 1 large package vanilla instant pudding

- 1/2 c Buttermilk

-1 1/2 Sticks Butter or Margarine

- 4 heaping Tbsp cocoa

- ~1 1/2 lbs powdered sugar

- 1 tsp vanilla

- Chocolate Icing (I actually used CANNED icing... 2 cans!)

** We only bought 6 pans and resused them... all we could find were pie tins, and we made do. However, if you can find foil tins with sides that are completely vertical, you will have cleaner edges. If you don't want to resuse the tins, just buy 12. They are cheap anyway!

1. Spray foil tins with PAM or grease with butter. Set aside.

2. Prepare 1 box of cake mix according to the directions on the box. Add 1/2 package of instant pudding powder.

3. Pour about 2/3 c batter in each foil tin. 1 box of cake mix should fill 6 pans.

4. Spread batter out as evenly as possible. I found that if I just banged the pan on the counter top over and over, it spread out nicely.

5. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 11 minutes or until golden brown. I was able to bake 6 at a time, 3 on each rack. They baked fairly evenly, but you may need to just do 3 at a time if your oven doesn't bake evenly. When finished, allow cakes (that actually look like pancakes!) to cook on wax paper.

6. Repeat steps 1-5 with second box of cake mix. If you are reusing pans, there is no need to clean them out. Simply re-grease thoroughly.

7. Now it is time to prepare the filling. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat.

8. Add cocoa. Then stir in milk. Finally, stir in vanilla.

9. Add 1 lb of powdered sugar and stir until most of the clumps are gone. Add more sugar until the mixture is about the consistency of chocolate syrup. (We added about 1/4 lb)

10. Now the fun part!! On a wire rack (we didn't have one, so we just used the serving platter, but it required lots of wiping up chocolate... so I thought I would make it easier on you!) place one layer of cake.

11. Spoon chocolate sauce on top of cake so that it completely coveres the top. It is ok if it drips over the edge! Then place another layer of cake, and repeat with more icing. Continue with all layers of cake. (We ran out of chocolate sauce and did not have ingredients to make more, so we ended up only using 9 layers. So... you may need to make more chocolate sauce...!) Top with the remaing chocolate sauce.

12. With a knife or cake spatula, spread the dripping sauce around the sides of the cake to cover as much as you can. It's ok if it looks messy... you are going to cover it with more icing!! Allow to sit for 15min or so to let sauce thicken and set.

13. Cover cake with chocolate buttercream icing. As I mentioned before, we just used Betty Crocker icing from the grocery store because we did not have an electric mixer to make our own icing. If you want to make your own, one recipe should work. Homemade chocolate buttercream is pretty amazing....

You are done!! You can always decorate the cake if you want, but people will be impressed enough when they cut it open... We used a can of decorating frosting that had a few tips with it so the birthday boy would feel like it was a real birthday cake... :-)

Enjoy!

Green Goddess Dressing

We were out at the lake this weekend, and as usual, we did some fabulous cooking. There is a fairly large kitchen out there, 3 women who love to cook, and plenty of time to do so....

My favorite thing we came up with this weekend was a homemade Green Goddess dressing. We tweaked the original recipe a bit, and now I can not imagine making it any other way! The flavor is fairly mild, so it can be served with a fairly intense main dish if you desire. We served ours with BBQ chicken and baked beans. It would also really be good on a Taco Salad with a southern-seasoned chopped chicken breast. Hope you enjoy as much as we did! Oh, I forgot to mention the best part... it is CRAZY easy.

Green Goddess Dressing
-1/2 cup mayo (we used light)
-1/2 cup sour cream (we used light)
-1/4 cup green onions lightly chopped
-1/4 cup cilantro
- 1 avocado
- 2-3 Tbs White Wine Vinegar (you could use any type of vinegar)
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- salt & pepper to taste
- milk (as needed to thin out to desired consistency)

Add all ingredients into a blender or food processor. Start with only 2 Tbs of vinegar and with no milk, and puree until all ingredients are fully pureed and mixed. Add milk 1 Tbs at a time until desired consistency is reached. If you add more than 2 Tbs of milk, add an additional Tbs of vinegar.

It is as easy as that!! We had quite a bit of this left over, and used it the next day as a dipping sauce for Chicken & Cilantro Quesedillas. It was fabulous!

Garlic, Lemon, and Rosemary Steelhead

Can you tell Micah and I really enjoy eating fish during the summer time? Luckily, most of my food aversions are GONE!!! and I can handle fish now.

We typically eat Salmon, but Steelhead Trout was on sale at Sprout's this week, so I decided to give it a whirl. (If you haven't shopped at Sprout's, I HIGHLY recommend it!!! They have excellent prices on produce, organic meats and fishes, and a great bulk section. If you go on Wednesdays, it is double ad day, so you get twice the sales!!! Check out their website for the weekly specials. We are talking GREAT specials, people...)

OK, now on to the yummy fish. Just an FYI... Steelhead Trout looks incredibly similar to Salmon. I think it is a little fattier, which means to me a little tastier. :-) Remember, you can always ask the butcher to skin the fish for you after they weigh it... it makes for much easier cooking and eating, and eliminates the possibility of losing a finger due to a very sharp knife.

Broiled Steelhead Trout

- ~1lb Steelhead Trout (will serve 3-4 people)
- 1/4 C olive oil
- 1/2 - 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
- 2 Tbsp fresh Rosemary, coarsely chopped
- Lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
- Lemon Zest (1 whole lemon)
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to Broil (550 degrees). Line baking dish with foil, and spray foil with Olive Oil Pam or brush with olive oil. Place fish fillet on top of foil, skin side down if it still has skin on it.

2. Combine olive oil, garlic, rosemary, lemon juice and zest, and sea salt in a small bowl. (I just used the glass measuring cup I used to measure out the olive oil.) Combine into a thick paste.

3. Spread paste evenly over the top of the fillet. Top the fillet and paste with pepper, to your liking. (I chose to cut up the other half of the lemon that I zested into thin slices and lay them at the sides of the fillet, just so they were slighly under the fish. I think it gave the fish some extra flavor...)

4. Broil the fish for approximately 4 minutes on the second rack from the top until the top is lighlty seared. Our oven got pretty smokey and the edges of the fish got a bit crispy (which was actually VERY yummy) but 4 minutes was perfect.

5. Move the pan down to the 4th rack of your oven and reduce the oven temperature to 325. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until fish is flakey and no longer translucent in the middle.

***I think you could easily do this on the grill as well. Prepare the fish the same way on top of a large piece of foil, and fold up the edges to create a little foil pan/boat. Cook on medium heat until flakey.***

Teriyaki Salmon Kebabs

I love summer time because I end up planning most of our meals around cooking out on the grill. I love not having to heat up the oven and get the kitchen warmed up (it is the warmest room in the whole house... with no windows that we can open... HORRIBLE planning on Mr. Architect's part).

I found the recipe at a grocery store a few years ago, and after some small modifications, it has become my FAVORITE salmon marinade ever. The recipe below is for kebabs, but I will make a note at the end on how to alter it for fillets. It works well with either one, and is SURE to be a hit the next time you venture out to the grill.

Teriyaki Salmon Kebabs
- 3/4 cup bottled Teriyaki Sauce
- 2 tsp ginger (I just use ginger powder, but fresh minced ginger would be great)
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2lbs Fresh Salmon, Cubed in 1 1/2" pieces
- wooden kebabs, soaked in water
- 1 bunch of green onion, cut into 2" pieces

1. Mix Teriyaki sauce, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes in a large plastic baggie. Add Salmon and coat. Allow to chill for at least 45min (best if chilled for up to 2 hours).

2. Soak wooden kebabs in a shallow pan for at least 20 minutes to avoid burning of the skewers.

3. Prepare skewers, alternating between salmon and pieces of green onion.

4. Prepare grill to medium heat. Place skewers on a well greased cooking grate or foil (I like PAM for high heat/grilling on my grill pan like shown below).

5. Cook covered for about 4 minutes. With tongs, turn skewers and cook covered for an additional 4 minutes. Fish is done when brown on the outside an no longer translucent in the center. If it is flaky and falling apart, it is done!

*** To cook Fillets***
- Chop green onion into small pieces, and add to marinade. Before adding meat to marinade, reserve about 1/2 cup and set aside to allow for basting while grilling. Cook at low-medium heat for ~6 minutes/side, or until brown and flaky.

Ziploc Omlets

How fun is this???

Ziploc Omlets

You will need:
-2 eggs/person
-1 large ziplock/person
-cheese
-fillings (bacon, sausage, onions, tomato, etc etc etc!)
-Sharpee Marker

1. Write name on the outside of a Ziploc bag so everyone knows who's is who's.

2. Crack 2 eggs (large or extra-large) into the bag and shake to combine them.

3. Add choice of ingredients: cheeses, ham, onion, green pepper, tomato, hash browns, salsa, etc.

4. Seal bag and shake for 15-30seconds.

5. Get all air out of the bag and zip it up.

6. Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for 13 minutes. You can usually cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot. For more, make another pot of boiling water.

7. Cut open the bags and the omelet will roll out easily.

Summer Salads

First of all, major props to my friend Adrien who surprised me with a new blog design and header... so fun!!! This appeared in my "in-box" the morning after I spent time laying in bed thinking about wanting a new blog design... I love fun little "coincidences" like that!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am still a bit turned off by raw meat. I just can't look at it. So, the little bit of cooking that I have done lately has been more cold-food oriented. I made two delicious summer salads this week, both you have probably made or had some version of. Both totally hit the spot with the 90 degree weather we have had, and did not make me gag once! So, you know they are both a homerun....! I don't have my own pictures of either one, but I am going to try to get better at that. In fact, the same Adrien that designed my new header is a genius photographer and has offered to show me a few tricks to make my food concoctions look more appealing... or something like that. :-)

Broccoli Salad
- one head of broccoli (or two small ones)
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 8 slices crispy bacon, chopped
- 1 clamshell Cherry/Grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup mayonaise
- 1 Tbsp left over bacon grease
- 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Cut the head of the broccoli into small pieces. (I pretty much just took a knife and cut high up on the stalk where the thick part breaks into many small stalks.) Dice stalks into bite size pieces. Add to large bowl.

2. Add onion, bacon, tomatoes, and cheese to bowl. Toss until evenly mixed.

3. In sepearte bowl (or dressing shaker) mix mayo (I used light), bacon grease, Vinegar and S&P. Shake or beat until smooth.

4. Toss dressing in salad mixture. Allow to chill for an hour for best flavor.


Black Bean & Corn Salad
- 1 can black beans, drained
- 1 can corn, drained
- 2 Tomatoes, diced and seeded ***
- 1/2 red onion, diced ***
- 1 small Jalepeno, seeded and chopped finely ***
- 1 cup Cilantro, chopped
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- S & P to taste

*** May substitute for a can of Rotel, undrained

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, cover, and serve chilled.

Excellent served as a side dish, over crisp Romaine lettuce, or with diced chicken mixed in.

Sabbatical

I have a confession to make. I have totally neglected my blog.

I know, I know, SHOCKER!!!!

To be completely honest... I have not cooked more than Shells n' Cheese, frozen pizzas, and bowls of cereal for the last 10 weeks or so. The mere thought of any uncooked meat, eggs, or milk... OR the thought of ANY aroma filling my house... was enough to make me sick for two days. (In case you did not know... my sweet hubby and I are expecting our first little one in October.) Thankfully, things are slowly (VERY slowly) coming back to normal and I am slowly getting back in to the kitchen.

Sooo..... my next post will have a tasty treat or two!!!

EASY Japanese Stir Fry

Last night I felt like making a very quick dinner... I was short on time and needed something tasty. And somehow, I delivered! Great for a Chinese-food fix.

Japanese Stir Fry
- 2-3 chicken breast, chopped into bite sized pieces (I used one pouch of Tariyaki Marinated Chicken from CostCo)
- 1/2 package Soba (Japanese Wheat Noodles)
- 1 bunch Asparagas, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped coarsely
- 1/2 Tblsp minced Garlic
- 1 tsp Red Pepper flakes
- Tariyaki Sauce to taste
- 1 Tblsp Olive Oil
- 2 Green Onions, chopped


1. Boil Soba noodles for 5 minutes or until tender. Drain, set aside.
2. Heat wok or deep skillet with olive oil on medium high heat.
3. Brown chicken with garlic and ~ 1/4C Tariyaki (~ 5-6 min).
4. Add Asparagas, Bell Pepper, and Red Pepper Flakes. Reduce to medium heat.
5. Let simmer until vegetables are soft (~7-8 min). You may need to add more Tariyaki sauce to coat veggies. I used about 1/2 C total. (I also added some water to add some moisture to cook the veggies without making the flavor too intense)
6. Add noodles to wok and stir until chicken and veggies are evenly distributed.
7. Add green onion and lighly mix in.

It is that easy! And OOOOH so tasty! Of course, once again, I did not take a picture. :-( I need to get better about this....

Crockpot Mexican Chicken

Yesterday morning I had a little time before I needed to leave for work, so I decided to throw some things in the crockpot so dinner would be ready for us in the evening and I woulnd't have to do much work! I have a typical Mexican Chicken meal I make, but this time I changed it up a little, and it was delicious. Once again, I didn't get a picture of it (I am new to this, ok!?), but it was still SOOOO yummy.

Mexican Chicken
- 1 lb Chicken Breast, trimmed of fat
- 1 package sliced mushrooms
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup, 98% fat free
- 1 can Corn
- 1 can Rotel

In the crockpot, layer ingredients in the order they are mentioned above. Do not drain corn or Rotel... you will need to liquids to keep everything moist! **You can also pre mix the soup, corn, and rotel in a bowl before pouring into crockpot, but it is not necessary.**

Cook on low for 6-7 hours. When finished cooking, shred chicken (either remove from pot and shred, or just use a fork and knife to shred in the pot) and stir.

Serve alone or over rice. Garnish with guacamole and sour cream.

Homemade Hot Pockets

This is not my own recipe, but I can't help but share. There are so many different variations to try with this, and the concept is great. I can't wait to try it with whole wheat bread dough and turkey sausage!!


Hot Pockets (from Money Making Mom)
These Homemade Breakfast Hot Pockets are a great "Baking Day" project. Take the time to make these on an afternoon or morning while you will be home. These take a couple of hours from start to finish to make, but they can be frozen and will provide a hearty breakfast for your family for a while.

If you do not have time to make your own dough you can use refrigerated bread dough, but your hot pockets will not be quite as large. Or, you could also substitute crescent rolls and make them in to "breakfast in a blanket".

Dough Ingredients:
9 cups flour
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
4 1/2 tsp. yeast
1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup water
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks melted butter

1. Put 9 cups flour in a large bowl, make a well in the center.
2. In a separate bowl beat 4 eggs, than add 1/2 cup sugar and 4 1/2 tsp. yeast.
3. In another bowl, scald 1 1/2 cups milk in microwave for 3 minutes.
4. Then add 1 1/2 cups water.
5. Add this mixture to the egg mixture.
6. Stir in 1 tsp. salt.
7. Mix all ingredients well.

Pour this mixture into the well of flour in the large bowl. Do not stir. Put lid on and let sit for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, add 2 sticks of melted butter and mix well.

Cover and let sit for 1 hour. Now that your dough is made you are ready to make hot pockets.

Egg Mixture:
12 eggs
2 Tbs. butter
1 roll of breakfast sausage
2 cups cheddar cheese
1 half onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped

While you are waiting on the dough you can be making the breakfast mixture.

1. Using butter or margarine, scramble 12 eggs over a skillet.
2. In another skillet, cook and crumble 1 roll of breakfast sausage.
3. In another bowl combine scrambled eggs, sausage, onion, bell pepper, and cheddar cheese.

To Make the Hot Pockets:

1. Pull off a round of dough about the size of a baseball and flatten on counter.
2. Place about 1/2 cup of mixture in the middle of the hot pocket (or about 1/4 cup if you are using crescent rolls).
3. Bring opposite sides together and pinch together. Then do the same with the other two sides.
4. Place onto a greased cookie sheet, or baking stone. Let rise for 30-40 minutes.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes.

Now, all your prep work and cooking are done! Once these are baked and cooled, you can freeze your hot pockets. When you are ready to eat them, just pop them in the microwave until warm.

Random Mexican Meatloaf

The other night I realized I had a family sized package of 93% lean all-natural ground beef from Sprouts (the most amazing grocery store/Farmer's Market EVER) that I bought on serious sale. Every Wednesday they have Double Ad Day where the sales from the previous week and the current week are both valid. I always try to stop by on my way home from work to catch the most savings. I believe I got this ground beef on sale for $2.99/lb, which is a steal considering it was super lean and organic/all-natural. Anyway, I needed to do something with all this meat so it did not go bad, so I decided to put together a "Whatever I have in my pantry/fridge" Meatloaf (which is often how I cook, anyway!). I made two of them and stuck one in the freezer for another day. Below is the recipe... the measurements are probably not perfect because I just eye-balled it all. :-)

Mexican Meatloaf

2lbs ground beef
1 can Rotel, drained
1/2 container Part Skim Ricotta
1/2 C egg beaters
1 clove crushed garlic (or more if you love garlic!)
1 C crushed Tortilla Chips (I used baked... and possibly a little more than 1C)
Cumin, Red Pepper Flakes, Salt, Pepper... all to taste
Cheddar Cheese (to top)

Mix first 6 ingredients in a bowl (along with the spices) with your hands. This gets messy... but it is so fun and gooey! (I used about 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1 1/2 tsp Cumin, 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes)

Divide into two balls. If the meat is too gooey, add more crushed tortilla chips. If it is not sticking together well, add more egg beaters or Ricotta.

Shape into loaves in two greased 8x8 or 9x9 pans. Top with Cheddar Cheese (I used 2%).

Cover one with Saran and Foil and freeze. Bake the other at 350 for ~1 hour (0r until no longer pink in the middle).

Top with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole for an extra treat!

Breakfast and Dinner... at once!

So, I have two new recipes that my friend Melissa encouraged me to add to my blog (we always swap recipes, and I recently gave her these two recipes). One is an oldie (but a GOODIE) that my mom used to always make, and the other is one of my own that I like to get my protein in the mornings. I don't have pictures right now, but I will work on posting some... ENJOY!

Chicken and Gooey Rice
1 can Healthy Request (or 98% fat free) Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Healthy Request (or 98% fat free) Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can Healthy Request (or 98% fat free) Cream of Celery Soup
1 cup brown rice
1 lb chicken, pounded thinly and cut into 4-6 pieces (total)
Paprika
Salt
Pepper

Heat oven to 325. Grease a 9x13 pan.

Combine first 4 ingredients in bowl, then pour and spread evenly in baking dish. Press chicken into mixture so that only top of chicken is showing. Sprinkle Paprika, salt, and pepper on top to taste. Bake 2 hours. ENJOY!

** I have added many things to this, including spinach, broccoli, and mushrooms (thanks, Melissa!). Just be sure to add a little bit of milk so that the veggies have enough moisture to cook!

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies

1/2 C unsweetened Dark Cocoa (ex: Hershey's Extra Dark Cocoa)
1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1 1/4 C quick-cooking rolled oats
3/4 C granulated white sugar (I think I used half splenda, half sugar)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 C dark chocolate chips (ex: Ghiardelli 60% cocoa)
1 large egg (I used 1/4 C egg beaters)
1 tsp vanilla (pretty sure I did about 2 or 3)
1/2 C unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 C natural peanut butter (no sugar added)
3-4 scoops vanilla or chocolate protein powder

Heat oven to 350.

Whisk first 9 ingredients (through Chocolate chips) in large bowl, add in protein powder and whisk again.

In small bowl, whisk egg, vanilla, apple sauce, and peanut butter.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (optional). Scoop balls of dough (between 16-20), and press down to flatten the shape of the cookie. Place one inch apart.

Bake 10 minutes, or until no longer gooey. Let cool, then enjoy!

** I typically eat a few of these for breakfast in the car, or for a good afternoon snack. They have ALL the nutritional content you need for a decent, on the run meal!

Biscuit Quiche Thingies

I haven't come up with a good name for this delicious treat, so I just call them Biscuit Quichey Thingies. Original, I know. :-) I made these for a baby shower yesterday, and they are always a guaranteed hit. I like them because you can pretty much add whatever ingredients you have, and they turn out great every time. My mother-in-law gave me the idea for these, and I have altered the recipe several times for different ingredients that I have. For the snacks I made yesterday, I used the following:

- 1 Can of refrigerator Flaky Biscuits
- 3 Tomatoes, diced
- 1 bunch of green onions, chopped
- 1 pouch of Recipe Style bacon bits
- ~ 3/4 cup Mayo
- 1 package shredded Swiss cheese
- Mini Muffin Tins


To prepare crusts:

1. Spray muffin tins with Pam.
2. Peel apart the layers of a biscuit and press into a mini muffin tin. (I normally am able to get 3-4 layers out of one biscuit.) I also smash the dough with my fingers to make it a little larger so that it fills the bottom and sides of the mini muffin container.

To prepare filling:

1. Combine tomatoes, green onion, bacon and cheese in a bowl. Toss to mix.
2. Add Mayo (I used fat free mayo) to the mix, one spoon full at a time. The goal is to coat all of the dry ingredients, but not have globs of mayo at the bottom. You may use more or less than the suggested 3/4 cup, depending on how much tomato and onion there are.


- Scoop a spoon full of the filling into each mini muffin spot. (don't you love my technical language?!) Do not overfill.
- Bake at 400 F for 10-12minutes, or until golden brown.
- Serve warm.



Recipe Variations (that I have tried):

- Add a package of frozen spinach, drained
- Use real bacon
- Use any type of cheese (I once used Asiago and it was DELICIOUS!)
- Use chicken, diced apple, and Swiss
- Mushroom, spinach, and mozzarella

You can really use your imagination with these! If you try this out with a different variation, I would love to hear!

Finished Product

So, as I promised, here is the finished product for the cake we used our homemade fondant on... Obviously, it is a little girl's baby shower cake. Most of the shower was themed around clotheslines... so this worked quite well with that!

Don't knock it till ya try it!

Last summer my sister-in-law and I dabbled into the world of cake decorating... we took a few classes, gained 5lbs from licking the spoon and sucking the icing out of the tips, and made a few halfway decent looking cakes. Since then, I have sharpened my skills a bit and have been ready for the next step... the forbidden land of fondant.

For those of you that don't know, fondant is the smooth (but hard) tasteless stuff that is often covering wedding cakes. They create a much nicer, more finished look, but provides very little desirable flavor. If you have never tasted store bought fondant, you aren't missing a thing, unless you like tasteless rubbery stuff that is hard to chew. It is also incredibly expensive (we are talking $10 for a pound). So, I have used it some, but mostly to just add a few flourishes here and there, like this cake.

Recently my cake decorating buddy Joyce (she is good for other things, too...!) and I decided to play around with fondant a bit more. We created some cute little people for her husband's family birthday party where he was celebrating with his aunt and niece (holding some fun balloons that had their ages on them). It turned out pretty cute, but we spent a fortune on fondant and it all went to the trash instead of tummies because it tastes just plane-ol' yucky. So, I became determined to make this stuff on my own, and make it taste GOOD!!

This morning we were iced inside and I got to skip school (at 26 snow days still make me giggle!!!), and I decided to give making fondant a shot. It turned out SO well, and was crazy easy and impressively tasty! So, the recipe for the day is Marshmallow Fondant. And yes, the above explanation was totally necessary!

You will need:

- 16 oz bag of mini-marshmallows

- 2-5 Tbsp water

- 2 tsp clear extract (I used vanilla)

- 2lb bag of powdered sugar

- Crisco

Let's get started!

1. Melt marshmallows, 2 Tbsp water and extract in greased, microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat until thoroughly melted (It took me about 5 intervals... 2 1/2 min)

2. Pour about half the bag of powdered sugar on top of the melted marshmallows.

3.. Grease the heck out of your working space and your hands (on top of hands, palms, inbetween fingers, you get the idea....). Keep extra Crisco handy for later. I placed some in a cup so I could access it easily.

4.. Pour marshmallows and powdered sugar on working space.

5. Knead the mixture like you would any type of dough. ***DISCLAIMER*** For those with sensory issues and don't like getting messing, get over it. :-) Special ed teachers... don't try this with your AU kiddos. They will go nuts.

6. When most of the powdered sugar has been absorbed, add the rest of the bag. Continue kneading and kneading and kneading. Add extra crisco to your hands and workspace as needed to prevent sticking.

7. If the mixture appears to be dry or tears when you pull it, add more water. I ended up using a total of 4 Tbsp of water.

8. Knead until the fondant is smooth and elastic. There may be a few sugar clumps, but these will desolve after sitting over night.

9. Completely coat the fondant ball in a thin layer of Crisco and wrap in plastic wrap. Place wrapped fondant in a ziplock bag and remove all air. (You can use the fondant right away, but it is easier to work with if it has had some time to sit).

This stuff lasts quite a while if stored in an air-tight environment. Just place in the refrigerator, and take out about an hour before you plan to use it. And I am sorry the pictures are not very detailed... I didn't feel like having to scrape out crystalized sugar from the nooks and crannies of my camera!

Joyce is coming over tonight so we can begin working on a baby shower cake we are making for a girl in our Sunday School class, Rachel. I will post pictures when we have a finished product!

The ladies from our Sunday School class had a lovely little girl's night on Friday. We got together for food and fellowship and made No-Sew Blankets to donate to Mission Arlington. Yes, we made some cute blankets. Yes, we had some good conversation. But most importantly, we stuffed our faces with some delicious food! I tried out a new recipe that I half-way took from the Kraft website and half-way made myself... it is good enough to deal with having a tummy ache for a few hours!

SPINACH QUESO

1 16oz Velveeta, cubed (I used 2% Velveeta... so I could eat a little more!)
1 8oz Cream Cheese, cubed (I used 1/3 less fat... so I could eat EVEN MORE!!!)
1 can Rotel, undrained
1 package pre-cooked Bacon
1 box frozen spinach, thawed and drained
Cilantro, chopped, according to taste (I used about 1/2 cup)
Green Onion, Chopped, according to taste (I used 5 or 6 green onions)
1 Jalapeno, diced

1) Place cubed velveeta and cream cheese, along with undrained Rotel into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave at 60 second increments until melted, stirring after each increment.
2) Add Bacon, spinach, cilantro, green onion and jalapeno. Stir.
3) Microwave for an additional 60 seconds.
4) Serve with tortilla chips, and enjoy! (This can also be done in the crock pot... add all ingredients and heat on high until melted, then turn to "keep warm".)

First things First

My first post! Yay!

Actually, I must admit, this is not my first EVER post... I had a fun, pretty hilarious blog back in the first days of my teaching career. I had some stories that would have you peeing in your pants and rolling on the floor dating, but wigged out and deleted the whole blog when I read a story in the Star Telegram about a teaching who got fired because of her blog. OUCH! Looking back, I realize I was very careful about changing names and sometimes even genders, but it is now floating somewhere in cyber space forever gone. Sad day!

I am starting this blog mostly because I wanted to have a blog so I could keep track of everyone else's blogs... but didn't think that anyone would have any desire to read about my crazy boring life. So, upon the suggestion my blog-obsessed friend Melissa (love you, Melissa!!!), I am just going to jot down some of the recipes that get whipped up in the Melstone kitchen... and I may even let you know when something totally bombs!

So, the next post will be something (hopefully) tasty!