Crock Pot Chicen and Dumplings Review

All in all this was a very tasty dish. I did however make a couple of tweaks of my own. For one the liquid was very runny so I thickened it with a bit of flour toward the end. Also the original recipe said that it takes 30 mins for the dumplings to cook. Mine took more like 45 mins. Also I added onions and garlic which were not in the original recipe. Keep your eyes peeled as I am sure this will be a recipe of the week. Happy Eating!!!

Angel Food Delivery

We picked up our Angel food today. This is really such a great deal and I encourage everyone to look into it. Checkout their website at www.angelfoodministries.com

Regular Box

1.5 lbs Ribeye steaks
3 lbs Split chicken breast
1.5 lbs Chicken fried steak patties
1 lb 80/20 ground beef
1 lb fully cooked meatballs
1 lb mild Italian sausage
12 oz Deli sliced ham
1 lb diced carrots
1 lb green beans
20 oz shoestring fries
1 lb pasta
28 oz marinara sauce
10 oz condensed soup
1 lb pinto beans
32 oz shelf stable milk
1 dozen eggs
raspberry pie



Fresh fruit and veggie box

3 lbs Idaho potatoes
3 lbs sweet potatoes
1 head cabbage
1 lb carrots
2 lbs onions
2 heads garlic
1 cantaloupe
3 lbs oranges
4 honey tangerines
4 granny smith apples
3 lbs Fuji apples
1 mango

Recipe of the Week 03/21/09---Chicken Enchiladas

Filling Ingredients
one small onion
tortillas
leftover chicken
cream cheese
cumin




Dice up the onion and sweat it in a small sauce pan with a bit of butter. When you sweat something you should NOT hear it sizzle. This is a slow process that should not cause browning.


Mix four ounces of cream cheese, 1 teaspoon of cumin, and 1 Tablespoon of water in a bowl. You can put the cream cheese in the microwave for a few seconds if you need to soften it.


Add the onions and chicken(cut up) to the cream cheese. Stir until well incorporated. This will be a thick mixture it is supposed to be.



Put 1/4 to 1/3 cups of the mixture down the middle of a soft tortilla and roll up. I warm mine a bit. Makes them easier to roll.

Place seem side down in a 9x13 pan.



Topping Ingredients
1 Can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
1 cup milk
2 Tablespoons chopped green chilies, chopped (I didn't have these)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar


Mix the milk, soup, sour cream, and chilies (if you have them). Pour, evenly over tortillas.


Bake covered for 40 mins at 350. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake another 5 mins.


This is a very tasty dinner. I always serve mine with rice so that the extra sauce has somewhere to go. The original recipe calls for 1/4 cup chopped pecans too. I have never added those, however. I hope you try and enjoy this recipe. Happy Eating.

Bacon chicken and cheese Review

Not quite sure what to write about this one. The recipe was simple enough and did have some flavor. My husband didn't quite think there was enough flavor and was disappointed that the sauce was so thin. With some tweaking I think this recipe has some real potential. I am sure you will be seeing, at least some version, of this as a recipe of the week. Happy Eating.

Recipe of the week 03/14/09----Cheesy Shells

Ingredients
Mashed Potatoes
Corn (mine are leftovers I have frozen)
Diced Ham (also frozen left overs)
Cooked jumbo shells (slightly undercooked)
Jarred cheese sauce

Mix together the first three ingrediants.


Then stuff them into your cooked jumbo shells.



Place the shells filling side up in a 9x13 dish.



Pour over the cheese sauce. I then add a little milk to the jar and shake it up. Then pour this over the noodles. The little bit of extra liquid will help cook the noodles the rest of the way.



Cook your cheesy shells for 45 mins to 1 hour in a 350 degree oven.



These shells may sound a little strange, but they are very tasty. I do have to admit, however, that this is not my recipe. This recipe was created by my good friend Gen. She makes them at Christmas time. I made them once for my family and now do so almost every month. Happy Eating!!!

Egg Salad Review

I think I found a new way to make my egg salad. The recipe comes from the book Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke. It's called Norman's Egg Salad and boy was I a bit skeptical. Being a mostly southern girl, egg salad isn't good without some kind of vinegar. Usually this takes the shape of mustard. This recipe however has no vinegar of any type. It has eggs, cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, bacon, carrots and some seasonings. I know it sounds strange but it was so good. Keep your eyes peeled as I am sure it will be a recipe of the week sometime. Happy Eating.

April Menus

The things in bold are new recipes to our family.

1. Salmon cakes, mac&cheese, peas
2. French Toast, sausage
3. Pork chops, stuffing, lima beans
4. Sweet and sour chicken, brown rice
5. Chicken Divan
6. Grilled Chicken, Salad, garlic bread
7. Ham, scalloped potatoes, corn
8. Three envelope chicken, noodles, peas
9. Omelets, hashbrowns
10. Roasted Chicken and veggies
11. Tandoori Chicken
12. Chicken Noodle Soup
13. Lasagna, garlic bread
14. Country fried steak, mashed potatoes, peas
15. Sesame noodles, grilled chicken, broccoli
16. Rubens, fries
17. Two mustard chicken, mac and cheese, peas
18. Ribey steaks, fries, green beans
19. Bean burgers, pasta salad
20. German Deli pizza, corn
21. Tacos, red beans and rice
22. Chicken Curry
23. Spaghetti, pasta sauce, meatballs
24. Turkey breast, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans
25. Hot Turkey Sandwiches
26. Pepperoni Chicken, mac&cheese, broccoli
27. Pork cubed steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas
28. Meatloaf, corn, rice side
29. Cream cheese chicken, rice, California blend veggies
30. ???

Them bones, them bones......

them chicken bones. You've just made a roasted chicken (hopefully with my recipe) now you have to clean up. You know what to do with the meat but nothing can be done with the bones so they go in the garbage. WAIT!!!! Those bones are still good. Wouldn't it be lovely to know what was in your chicken stock. To be able to control salt and quality. You can. Once all of the meat is off the chicken save the bones.



Cut up some root veggies and herbs. I used parsnips, carrots, onions, garlic, celery, parsley, peppercorns, and a couple of bay leaves.



If you don't have all of that don't despair. You can use anything you want. Just onions or just herbs. It's really up to you. Then, and this is the hardest part, dump everything (bones and veggies) into a slow cooker.



Whew that was hard wasn't it. Cover with water and let it cook on low for at least 12 hours. Twenty-four hours would be better.


Once it has cooked as long as you would like strain all the veggies and bones out of it. I freeze mine in plastic containers and pull them out for soups or gravy's.


At 4 to 5 dollars in the store for boxed stock this will save your pocket too. Happy eating!!!

Recipe of the week 03/07/2009----Sesame Noodles

Sesame Noodles

2T peanut butter (Matt likes a little extra)
2T sesame oil
2T veggie oil (i use canola)
4 T soy sauce
Sesame seeds
1/2 box spaghetti (cooked)

Mix the peanut butter, sesame oil, veggie oil, and soy sauce together. It will take a little work. I find a whisk is best. Once it is all stirred together it will be a thick sauce.

Toss the hot noodles into the sauce with a pair of tongs. Then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Toasted if you like.

This goes great with grilled chicken and a veggie. My husband and even my children really love this recipe. Happy Eating!!!

Shameless Plug

Ok so this isn't a food related post. Instead, it is more of a shameless plug. My husband has joined the world of bloggers. Yes, that's right Matt is blogging. The musings of a blind man. Everyone can check out his blog at http://musingsofablindman.blogspot.com

Chicken and Cream Corn Soup Review

This recipe was big flop. The soup didn't have much flavor other than corn. It was quite bland. Also it didn't seem to be creamy like I thought it would be. This is one recipe than no one in my family liked. If it was so bad what did you eat? Well we ordered pizza. Haha thank the gods for Domino's!! Happy Eating!!!