Lunch/Dinner

Lunch is diners choice of leftovers or chili over angel hair pasta with shredded cheddar cheese.

Dinner will be Ham and Scalloped Potatoes, peas, and cabbage salad.

Chili

Rachael Ray's recipe

1# ground beef (I use ground turkey)
1 lg onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T chili powder
2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
3 T tomato paste
2 T worchestershire sauce
1 1/2 cup chicken stock (I use 2 cups and reduce down for more flavor)

Brown meat and onion, drain
Add garlic, spices, and tomato paste; cook 1 minute
Stir in stock and worchestershire. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer 10-30 minutes

We like this served over cooked anger hair pasta or a baked potato, topped with cheese.

Scalloped Potatoes

This recipe is from The Better Homes and Gardens cookbook circa 1994.(aka wedding gift) ;-)

I also double the recipe for my family.

1/4 cup chopped onion
2 T butter
2 T AP flour
1 1/4 cups milk
3 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 t salt
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups cubed ham (opt)

For sauce, cook onion in butter till tender. Stir in flour, salt, and 1/8 t pepper.
Add milk. Stir until thickened. stir in cheese until melted.
In a greased casserole dish, layer half the potatoes. Cover with half the sauce. repeat. top with additional cheese is desired.
Bake at 350 covered 35 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes.

I like to add the ham cubes over the potatoes but before the sauce in the layers.

New Years Day Supper

Happy New year! This blog has been neglected long enough! One of my goals this year will be to chronicle all of the dinners we eat.

Tonight we are having Bri's Dad over, so I am making a stand by but nice dinner.

Roast chicken, herbed rice, green beans, biscuits, and chocolate cake with whipped cream.

Roast Chicken

1 whole chicken, 3-5 lbs
oil
dried rosemary
dried thyme
garlic salt
onion powder
dried parsley

*Thaw bird , if frozen
*rinse with cold water, pat dry
*place on small rack in baking dish (if no rack, put a few whole carrots or other vegetables underneath for bird to rest on)
*rub with a little oil, sprinkle a bit of each seasoning all over bird.
* Place iin a 350 oven and bake 1 1/2 -2 hours or until golden and a meat thermometer reads 160.

Herbed Rice

2 cups chicken broth or water
1 tablespoon butter
dashes of parsley, thyme, garlic powder, and onion powder
1 cup brown rice

Combine all in a pot. Bring to a boil. cover with lid and simmer until liquid is absorbed. 30-40 minutes.

Green Beans

Fill a saucepan half way with water; bring to a boil. Stir in frozen green beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer 3-5 minutes. Drain. Stir in a dab of butter, salt and pepper.

Biscuits

2 cups flour, can use 1/2 whole wheat
1 tbl sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbl butter
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
1 tbl honey

combine dry ingredients, cut in butter. Stir in remaining. On lightly floured surface, gently knead dough 3-4 times. Pat flat with palm of hand, cut with biscuit cutter or glass. Place on lightly greased baking pan or stone. bake at 425 for 10 minutes.

Crockpot Chicken With Black Beans and Cream Cheese

Crock pot Chicken With Black Beans & Cream Cheese
Source: HDMac_WA (TOH)

This is one yummy dish and the crock pot does all the work! My chicken wasn't completely frozen so it came out of the crock pot semi shredded which didn't matter to us! It would of been great in a soft tortilla as well and I may try that with the little leftovers I have! My god-daughter also requested next time, that I buy sour cream and extra salsa for toppings! Sounds pretty good to me!


4-5 frozen boneless chicken breasts
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 16 oz. jar salsa, any kind
1 8 oz. package cream cheese

Take 4-5 frozen, yes, frozen, boneless chicken breasts and put into crockpot.

Add 1 can of black beans, drained, 1 jar salsa, 1 can of corn, drained.

Keep in crock pot on high for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked.

Add cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour. (I stirred mine in)

Dilled Shrimp Salad with Herb-Dill Dressing

This recipe comes from the South Beach Diet book. It is our favorite recipe so far.

Dilled Shrimp Salad with Herb-Dill Dressing

Shrimp:
1 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
1 lemon, sliced
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Herb-Dill Dressing
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 medium red onion,sliced
1 large head romaine lettuce
4 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
6 fresh mushrooms, sliced
fresh dill sprigs (optional)

To make the shrimp: Combine the wine, mustard seeds,pepper flakes, bay leaves, and lemon in a large saucepan. Add water to fill the pan two-thirds full. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the shrimp, and cook for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp have turned pink and are no longer translucent in the center. Drain and cool. Discard the bay leaves.

To make the herb-dill dressing: In a screw-top jar, mix the olive oil, red wine vinegar,water,basil,dill,garlic,mustard and onion. Shake well. Place the shrimp in a large bowl and add the dressing. Toss well, cover and refrigerate until well chilled. Serve the shrimp mixture on romaine leaves and surround with tomato wedges and mushrooms. Garnish with dill sprigs if using.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies

1 box cake mix (I use spice and carrot)

15 oz can of pumpkin

1/2-1 cup of chocolate chips

Mix cake mix and pumpkin together. Stir in chips. drop by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake in 350 oven for 10 minutes.

Chocolate Cappuccino Cookies

I made these last week to take camping. The get better after sitting in an air tight container for a day or two. The recipe is from the Taste of Home cookbook The Best of Country Cooking 2003

Chocolate Cappuccino Cookies

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules

1 tablespoon hot water

1 egg white

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons corn syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup baking cocoa

1/4 teaspoon salt

In small bowl, dissolve coffee granules in hot water. In a mixing bowl, combine the egg white,3/4 cup sugar, oil, corn syrup,vanilla and coffee; beat until well blended. Combine the flour, cocoa and salt; gradually add to coffee mixture.

Roll into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten to 1/4 inch thickness with a glass dipped in the remaining sugar. Bake at 350 for 5-7 minutes or until center is set. Remove to wire racks to cool. Store in an air tight container. Yield: 3 1/2 dozen. (I got closer to 50 cookies)

The dough is sticky, it helps to dampen palms when rolling into the small balls.

Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

From the Recipe Blog called Tammy's Recipes

Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
Sun, 2006-08-20 16:03 by Tammy Tags:

* Chicken
* chicken broth
* make-ahead
* milk
* Miscellaneous
* Soups
* stove-top

Recipe Name:
Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
Picture:
condensedchickensoupban.jpg
Description:

A flavorful condensed cream of chicken soup base recipe for use in dishes that call for canned creamed soups
Yield:

3 cups (about 2 cans)
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups chicken broth*
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon onion powder**
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder***
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt (or less; taste to test)
1/4 teaspoon parsley
dash of paprika
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup flour
Instructions:

1. In medium-sized saucepan, boil chicken broth, 1/2 cup of the milk, and the seasonings for a minute or two (longer if using fresh onions or garlic).

2. In a bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 cup of milk and flour. Add to boiling mixture and continue whisking briskly until mixture boils and thickens.
Additional Notes:

*I use the broth from my oven-roasted chicken. Refrigerate broth and then take fat off the top. If you're using chicken bouillon + water for your broth, you may want to add a little extra seasonings, such as lemon pepper, extra garlic, or seasoned salt, since my broth normally has bits of those in it. You can also add bits of chicken, but if you have good rich chicken broth, you probably won't need any chicken in it.

**Or, diced onions (boil with broth for a few minutes)

***Or, fresh minced garlic (boil with broth for a few minutes)
Preparation Time:

5 minutes
Cooking Time:

10-15 minutes
Tammy's Review:

I think this is an excellent substitution for the store-bought cans of condensed soups. It's so flavorful (even without MSG)! ;) I like to make this with leftover chicken broth (or even turkey broth!) and then freeze in 1 1/2 cup sized portions. Then, when I need a quick "can" of soup for a recipe, I just thaw some! I have made this in large batches (3-4 quarts at a time) and it saves even more time rather than having to make a small amount each time you need some. My rating: 10/10.