Ham-Cauli Soup with Corn and Potatoes

The Occasion: Had a delicious ham and bean soup at a local bakery over the weekend and was inspired to cook some type of ham soup. Also, found cauliflower for sale at Redner's. $2.98 for the whole head.

The Recipe: Invented.

How it Went: Husband called this "phenomenal." So, I'd say it was a success.

What You Need:
Ham
Water
Bay Leaves
Cauliflower
Potatoes
Broth
Milk
Salt
Pepper
Frozen Corn
Provolone Cheese
French Fried Onions

Your Turn:
Wrap a smoked boneless ham in aluminum foil.

Place in a crock pot. Pour about half a cup of water over the ham. Toss in a few bay leaves.

Let it cook about eight hours on low.

Chop up one whole head of cauliflower and about three medium sized yellow potatoes.

Fill a large soup pot with the cauli and potatoes. Add about four cups of vegetable or chicken broth. Then remove the ham from the crock pot and dump into the soup pot the water from the crock pot. If the vegetables aren't covered, add a little more water til it nearly covers them.

Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 15-20 minutes until soft.

In the meantime, shred the ham with two forks.

When the cauli and potatoes are tender, add the ham. It will add up to about four cups of shredded ham. Add half a teaspoon of salt and about half a teaspoon of pepper.

Whisk 1 C milk with 1 T flour and pour into soup. Dump in half a bag of frozen corn, stir, and let simmer another 15-20 minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.

Now, the key is the toppings. And like on the Penne with Basil Rosa Sauce and Bacon, it was Husband who discovered the secret ingredient that makes this recipe fabulous. The soup must be topped with a slice of provolone cheese and french fried onions.

Trust me. This is the key to this unique soup.

Enjoy for days... this recipe makes about five quarts of soup.

Improvising

This is not a recipe post. This is a moment to reflect on kitchen boldness.
I am not a superb cook. I'm not even a great cook. I might be almost a good cook. I am definitely an OK cook. However, I'm only OK because of excellent recipes. There's not a lot of inborn skill in me. However, I've improvised a few recipes recently and been mildly impressed with my success.

Potato Cauliflower Soup
I have a recipe for Potato Soup from southernfood.about.com. I've never made it. But I bought a whopping big cauliflower a few weeks ago, and after using half of it in one soup, I needed a way to use up the rest of it. So using the Potato Soup recipe as a guide, and using some potatoes in addition to the cauliflower, I made a pretty yummy Potato Cauliflower Soup.

Chicken Pork Rice and Veggie Soup
While Hurricane Sandy was gathering strength out in the Atlantic and we didn't know if or for how long we might lose power, I wanted to prepare some food we could eat during the potential outage. Since we have a gas stove, I figured we could still use it to heat food up in the event of emergency, so I thought having some ready-made soup would be good. I used leftover cooked chicken, cooked pork, most of the veggies I had in the fridge, the last of the potatoes, and a few cups of cooked rice to throw together a pretty good soup. Nothing worth relating ingredient for ingredient, but something I was proud to find quite edible, even though I used no recipe and just improvised based on what I've learned about soup.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
Two browning bananas were heading to a doomed future on the counter. It was Saturday. Banana Muffins were in order. But two bananas didn't seem like enough for a whole batch of muffins or a whole loaf of bread. So I grabbed my go-to Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe, mashed in the two bananas, and baked it up. Result? Scrumptious. I guess it would be a no-brainer, to some people, but I wasn't sure you could just throw extra ingredients (especially extra "wet" ingredients) into a recipe like that. I was pleased to learn that you can.

Granola Apple Pie
One of my favorite pie recipes is called Sara's Crunchy Apple Pie. What makes it crunchy is four cups of Great Grains cereal, one of my favorite cereals. While I've always loved this pie recipe, I find that the flakes present in the cereal detract from the aesthetic nature of the pie and also become more soggy than crispy. The tasty part of adding the cereal is the granola bits, the raisins, and the nuts. So I swapped it out this time for a Cranberry Granola. It was good, but lacked a bit of flavor. Next time, I will choose a granola with more nuts, or add nuts (and possible raisins) of my own. It was definitely a step in the right direction, but still needs work.

It's exciting for me to see how, in just a tiny way, I can start to improvise recipes and create new dishes that reflect a tried and true recipe, but possess a personal flair. I'm looking forward to creating something tasty enough to share with you here!

Italian Chicken Stroganoff

The Recipe: From yummly.com, a recipe called "Simply Divine Crock Pot Chicken"

How it Went: Yummly was right. It was pretty divine. I changed the name because I served it with egg noodles, which seems stroganoff-ish to me. You could also serve it with rice. It was quite tasty.

What You Need:
1 package chicken breasts (3 breasts)
1 C Italian salad dressing
1 can cream of chicken soup
*OR homemade version: 2 T butter melted on the stove, whisked with 2 T flour, blended with 1/2 C broth and 1/2 C milk until smooth and thick*
1 C chicken broth
about 4 oz soft cream cheese
about 4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper
egg noodles

Your Turn:
Place 3 chicken breasts in crock pot.

Drench with 1 C Italian dressing.

Cook on low for 8 or 10 hours.

When you return to it, tear it all up with a pair of forks.

Drain the juice / dressing out. You can save it as a sort of stock, or just toss it.

In a medium bowl, mix:
1 can cream of chicken soup (or homemade substitute)
1 C chicken broth
about 4 oz soft cream cheese
4-5 fresh basil leaves, chopped small
1/2 tsp dried thyme
pinch each of salt and pepper

Pour over chicken in crock pot, and continue to cook on low about 1 hour.

It will become a divine thing.

Serve over egg noodles with a fresh steamed vegetable.

Meatball and Pasta Casserole

The Recipe: A variation of Baked Ziti... which I've never actually made.

How it Went: This was tasty. Husband thought it was a bit strange to have the onions and peppers in there. Kind of like a cheesesteak, he said. But I thought it was quite a tasty meal. Also, it made a lot of food!

What You Need:
one box pasta (any shape you like, but I used medium shells)
one jar pasta sauce (Francesco Rinaldi, Tomato & Basil is good)
one half bag of frozen meatballs
one yellow onion
one half green pepper
one half package shredded mozzerella
one half package shredded Parmesan 

Your Turn:
Boil water and cook the box of pasta to al dente.

Chop one yellow onion and half of a green bell pepper into small pieces. Heat a bit of butter in a small skillet and saute the onion and pepper until tender.

In a large saucepan, heat the jar of sauce and about 30-35 small meatballs. (It's not as many as you think. I promise.)

In a large casserole dish, greased with butter (I actually ended up using two medium dishes), layer cooked pasta, peppers and onions, sauce and meatballs, and cheese.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Pasta with Meat Sauce

The Occasion: Any quick dinner night

The Recipe: Improvised from my mom

How it Went: Love this super-easy dinner. Absolutely nothing fancy; just a cozy comfort-food dinner. Yum!

What You Need:
1 box pasta, any type
1 jar pasta sauce (Francesco Rinaldi Four Cheese is good)
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 yellow onion
1 lb ground turkey

Your Turn:
Boil 1 box pasta as directed to al dente.

Chop 1/2 green bell pepper and 1/2 yellow onion. 

In a large skillet, cook 1 lb ground turkey with a little salt and pepper. Add pepper and onion. Drain grease from skillet when turkey is cooked through.

Stir in 1 jar pasta sauce. Bring to a low simmer and let cook several minutes, until heated through.

Serve sauce over pasta with grated cheese on top.

For a complete meal, add fresh cooked green beans or broccoli.

Garlic Chicken Pizza

The Occasion: Nothing special.

The Recipe: From CookingLight's Weeknight cookbook, which I borrowed from the library. (Why did I never think to borrow cookbooks from the library before?)

How It Went: This was yummy. Making pizza at home is pretty easy. I'd do this again with lots of variations!

What You Need:
1 prepared pizza crust (store bought)
2 T red wine vinegar
1 and 1/2 T dijon mustard
1 minced garlic clove
1 and 1/2 C shredded cooked chicken breast
1 or 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
3/4 C shredded mozzerella cheese
1/4 C crumbled feta cheese
1/4 C shredded Parmasen cheese
1/4 C chopped scallions

Your Turn:
Whisk together

• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 1 and 1/2 T dijon mustard
• 1 minced garlic clove

Brush this mixture over pizza crust.

Top with 1 and 1/2 C shredded cooked chicken breast. Then add diced tomatoes (1-2 Roma tomatoes). Sprinkle top with cheeses (3/4 C shredded mozzerella cheese, 1/4 C crumbled feta cheese, 1/4 C shredded Parmasen cheese). Scatter 1/4 C chopped scallions over the top.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, or until cheeses are melted.

Taco Casserole

The Occasion: Satisfying that taco craving, but with a new twist.

The Recipe: From Pillsbury's Annual Recipes 2009 cookbook.

How it Went: This seemed like an easy thing to make, but you can never be sure with something this straightforward. Sometimes the easy things are actually too easy for their own good and end up tasting totally blah. Also, Husband is never too thrilled when I set out to try something new, and I know he was nervous about this one. However, when I brought it piping hot to the table, and the taco-y aroma wafted through the room, I had a feeling it was all going to be OK. We both loved it.

What You Need:
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1 can refried beans
1 jar medium salsa
1 package taco seasoning mix
tortilla chips
1/2 green bell pepper
4 scallions
1-2 tomatoes, depending on your tomato preference
1 C shredded cheese (cheddar or colby jack or something similar)
1/4 C sliced black olives
shredded lettuce
sour cream

Your Turn:
Chop 1/2 green bell pepper. Slice 4 scallions from the white end about halfway up the green part. Dice up 1 or 2 tomatoes. I used just one, but if you like tomatoes more than me, use two. Set this mixture aside.

Cook 1 lb ground beef or turkey in a large skillet until brown. Drain fat.

Reduce heat to medium, then stir in 1 can refried beans, 1 jar medium salsa, and 1 package taco seasoning mix.

Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.

In the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish, crumble about 2 C tortilla chips. You basically want to cover the bottom of the dish completely. Top this with the meat and bean mixture from the skillet.

Over this, scatter your vegetable mixture.

Sprinkle 1 C shredded cheese, and 1/4 C chopped black olives on top of this.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 20-30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Serve with shredded lettuce, sour cream, and additional tortilla chips.

Grilled Teriyaki Sesame Chicken

The Occasion: Husband does the grilling around here, although he prefers to grill burgers rather than chicken. But I thought having him make this would be an easy way to get out of making a dinner this week. Ha.

The Recipe: From Betty Crocker's 2009 Annual Recipes cookbook.

How it Went: I was quite pleasantly surprised with how this turned out. I really wasn't sure how it would work, but it was very flavorful! I will make this again for sure. I guess it mostly had to do with how Husby grilled the chicken, but I like to think I contributed.

What You Need:
1 T sesame seeds
2 T teriyaki sauce or marinade
1 tsp ground ginger
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 lb angel hair pasta

Your Turn:
I was lucky for this meal because I had leftover angel hair, already cooked, from a meal earlier in the week. If you're not so lucky, boil about 1/2 a lb of angel hair pasta. Toss it with a bit of soft butter when it's cooked, to keep it from sticking.

For grilling chicken, I find it easiest to slice the breasts lengthwise, like a hamburger bun, to make them thinner. This allows them to cook more quickly and with greater chance of being done all the way through. It's actually very easy to cut chicken breasts in this way if they are partially frozen. I took my package of chicken out of the freezer in the morning, stuck it in the fridge, and then did a quick defrost in the microwave when I got home from work. This softened it enough that it was no longer frozen solid, but it was still firm enough to cut easily.

In a small bowl, pour 2 T teriyaki sauce (I used a 30-minute marinade) and add 1 tsp ground ginger.

Toast 1 T of sesame seeds in small skillet over medium heat. It won't take long at all, and they burn much sooner than you'd expect so don't walk away and leave them unattended. When they just barely start to brown, they're ready. Toss them in with the teriyaki sauce and ginger and mix well.

Put vegetable oil on a paper towel and wipe over grill rack. Then place the chicken breasts (or halves of breasts, really) on the rack. I slathered them with some additional teriyaki sauce first, smeared it around on them in a large ziploc bag. You can do that, or not. Once they're on the grill, brush them with the teriyaki sauce mixture you made.

Grill about 5 minutes, then rotate 45 degrees to create some pretty grill lines. Grill 5 more minutes in this position, then flip. Brush the second side with the sauce. Grill 5 minutes in this position, then rotate 45 degrees and grill another 5 minutes. Check periodically for burning. About 20 minutes total should do the trick, but slice through the thickest piece and make sure it's no longer pink inside if you want to be sure they're done.

Discard remaining sauce mixture.

Serve with hot angel hair pasta and a veggie. Fresh green beans from a friend's garden were perfect with this summery dinner! Husby liked soy sauce on his pasta.

Penne with Basil Rosa Sauce and Bacon

The Occasion: It was Saturday night, a night I don't normally cook an organized meal. I had no plan and we were both hungry; I needed an easy meal with ingredients I already had. 

The Recipe: Pasta is a no-brainer for a night like this. I had some penne and some twirly egg noodles. It's probably frowned upon by real pasta eaters, but I blended the two. (Don't tell.) I didn't have a jar of tomato or alfredo sauce, so homemade sauce was a necessity. I wanted to make rosa sauce, something I'd first tried and loved at our favorite Italian restaurant (Giovanni's in Spring City). I found this recipe for penne with rosa sauce and used it as a springboard to create my own sauce. When I served it at the kitchen table, Husband remembered we had some cooked bacon in the fridge. He got it out and we added it to the pasta. It was this spontaneous ingredient, this last-minute addition that made the most significant difference in this meal.

How it Went: I didn't have extremely high hopes for this. It was pretty much made up and although I knew it would be edible, I doubted that it would be exceptionally tasty. To my surprise, Husby and I both loved this! The bacon, as I've said, was the key ingredient. So Husband gets 100% credit on this one. It was fabulous: a perfect blend of flavors. This might even be the central character on the table at our dinner party next weekend.

What You Need:
3 T butter
3 T flour
1 and 1/2 C milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can Italian diced tomatoes
1 slice provolone cheese
grated Parmesan cheese (the kind in the shaky bottle)
6-8 leaves fresh basil
1 box (1 lb) penne pasta
6 (or more) slices cooked bacon

Your Turn:
Cook 1 lb of penne. When it's done, toss in some olive oil or butter to keep it from sticking.

Using a sharp knife or kitchen scissors, cut 6-8 fresh basil leaves into small pieces. You'll need these later, so set them aside.

Melt 3 T butter in a large saucepan.

Whisk in 3 T flour when the butter is melted.

When smooth, add 1 and 1/2 C milk, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.

Simmer over low heat, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens.

Now, tear up your slice of provolone cheese and add the pieces, while whisking to allow them to melt in. Shake a few shakes of Parmesan cheese in.

Dump 1 can of Italian diced tomatoes into your blender and give it a few whizzes. Add the processed tomatoes to the sauce.

Now, carefully stir in your basil leaves.

Serve sauce over penne with crumbled bacon on top. Add additional Parmesan cheese on top.

Yellow Chocolate Chip Cake

The Occasion: Fourth of July gathering at Aunt Pam's house.

The Recipe: From this blog, except I used yellow cake mix instead of chocolate. Icing recipe is from here.

How it Went: This cake was unbelievably easy and delicious, the kind of dessert that gets you compliments you feel guilty receiving because you hardly did anything.

What You Need:
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 C vegetable oil
1/2 C water
8 oz sour cream
3 eggs
6 oz chocolate chips
1 C powdered sugar
1 T milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Your Turn:
In a large mixing bowl, combine

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1/2 C vegetable oil
• 1/2 C water
• 8 oz sour cream
• 3 eggs

Add 6 oz chocolate chips. I used a combination of milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Pour batter into a greased and floured bundt pan.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Check for done-ness with toothpick inserted into center of cake.

Let cool completely, if possible, before turning out of pan onto serving platter.

Whisk together

• 1 C powdered sugar
• 1 T milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Drizzle onto cake with a spoon.

Slice and eat!

Birdsboro Kitchen

The kitchen in our new house in Birdsboro is magnificent. It's large, sunny, and airy. Perfect for making lemon-mint iced tea, trying a new recipe for Taco Casserole, or hanging out for a late morning breakfast.

The closed white door is the powder room. The open white door on the right is the laundry room.

The fridge was beside the stove when we moved in, but we separated the two. It seemed funny to have the fridge, a cold item, beside the stove, a hot item. The fridge must work extra hard to stay cold when next to a stove. I really like this set-up now.

Also, the stove had no workspace next to it. My old kitchen had a ton of workspace alongside the stove, so this free-standing stove seemed inconvenient to me. I was hoping to find some old piece of furniture to go alongside the stove and act as additional counter space. Aunt Ruth, always up for a challenge, got the dimensions from me and scored this awesome, perfect-size set of shelves. We bought a square of tile from Home Depot for a few dollars and it's now a functional counter space.

Wonderful storage for crock pot, measuring cups and spoons, muffin tins, and cookbooks.

I had this stool in my other kitchen and I love it as an accessory, for my onion basket, perhaps.

Or as a spot for Husband to hang out when I cook.

We've got a ceiling fan, which is awesome for air flow. However, when I'm cooking on the stove, I need to turn it off because it blows the flame away and frustrates the cooking process.

The windowsill above my sink looks out to the sunporch. I love this space where I can keep lovely things in view.

Terrible lighting - taken mid-afternoon and edited in Picasa.

Our kitchen is the first thing we walk into when we come in the back door, and the last part of house we see when on our way out. It's the most trekked-through and the most dwelt-in. It's homey and inviting, at least we think so.

Welcome to Birdsboro's Kitchen!

Parker Ford Kitchen

When we first visited the Parker Ford apartment, to decide if we might be interested in renting it, the kitchen was the last room we saw. It was at the back of the house and overlooked the driveway. It was narrow - only about three feet from the edge of the counter to the wall - and had a mini-size stove and short fridge. The counter space was microscopic. My heart sank. I can't cook here. I can't live here. But everything else was right about the place - location, price, a landlord with a connection to Husband's family... It was the apartment for us. I took a deep breath and prepared for years of cramped, hot cooking in an inconveniently arranged, crowded kitchen space.


When we started moving in, I was surprised to find I actually liked the room. It was the sunniest place in an otherwise very dark apartment, and all that white gave it a fresh feel that was invigorating.

When we moved in, the stove looked pretty bad.

It actually looked even worse than this. This was after Mom scrubbed the whole thing, including the grates on top, the knobs, and the surface under the knobs. I got used to cooking on gas, but it wasn't long before we realized the oven had a problem. Sometimes the pilot light inside the oven would go out. This meant that in order to heat up the oven, we had to relight the pilot with a match or lighter, and then turn it on to let the whole heating element catch and throb into a blue glow. It also meant that when the pilot went out - which was unpredictable - a small bit of gas was leaking into the apartment. This seemed a bit unsafe.


Our landlord was awesome about the whole thing and bought us a new stove.

This was the stove in which I baked and on which I cooked many meals for Dinner in Parker Ford. It was little; a cookie sheet was almost too long to fit in it. But it was great.

You can see here that what I thought was small counter space was actually quite spacious in comparison to many other kitchens. I had all my non-counter things (fridge, drain area, sink, and stove) all bunched up at one end. The other half of the room was all counter. This seemed inconvenient when we looked at the apartment, but I ended up loving that counter and all the things I could fit on it at once. No other kitchen counter can compare to that broad plane of prep space.

One thing that wasn't so spacious - at least at first glance - was the storage space. There was one set of cabinets at the end of the room above the fridge. Then there was a short bank of them above the counter. There was some space under the counter too - open shelves with sliding wood doors. On the wall opposite the counter was a sturdy shelf mounted high on the wall. This was lined with hooks where I hung my pots and pans. Somehow the amount of things I was able to cram into these small spaces was incredible. It was the Mary Poppins carpet bag of kitchens.

I miss this little place, this haven where I cooked my morning oatmeal and made mint tea and
broiled tilapia for the first time. I miss the afternoon sun and the view of the cemetery. There will never be another kitchen like my first little kitchen in Parker Ford.

Dinner where?

Dinner is no longer served in Parker Ford. Last month, Husband and I bought a house and moved! We've been unpacking, painting, cleaning, organizing, gardening, decorating, and figuring out new little routines in our new place. It's been wonderful and the place feels so much like home already.

The next few posts will be a retrospective on my Parker Ford kitchen and an introduction to my Birdsboro kitchen. I love my new cooking space and I look forward to the yummy meals I'll serve from it over the next few decades. Dinner parties, birthday cakes, brunches for girlfriends, hot wintertime soups, and big salads for backyard cookouts. Years of food are waiting to be made in this home and I hope you'll enjoy the journey with me.

Welcome to Birdsboro!

Chicken Salad

The Occasion: Various. I love making this. It's easy and perfect to keep in the fridge for lunch all week. It's especially wonderful on homemade bread.

The Recipe: Improvised

How it Went: Don't be afraid to do this your own way. It's not a science. I usually eyeball it and it comes out fine.

What You Need:
3-4 C cooked chicken (about 2 breasts)
1 C pecan halves
2 C grapes
4 stalks celery, ends chopped off
ranch dressing
mayonnaise

Your Turn:
Cook 2 chicken breasts (or more). Again, my favorite way is in the crock pot. Cook it all day with some mixed herbs (basil, pepper, thyme) just enough broth to cover it. When it's done, while it's still warm, put it immediately in a large stand-up mixer and turn it on low for just a few passes of the paddle. The chicken will be perfectly shredded. (I describe this on my recipe for chicken pot pie.)

Wash the 1 C grapes. Quarter each one into tiny wedges.

Wash the 4 stalks celery. Cut each stalk lengthwise into three or four strips, then dice each strip into small pieces.

Even a little smaller than this would be good.

Heat a small skillet over low heat until warm. Toss in 1 C pecan halves. Let them roast a few minutes, then stir with a wooden spoon and roast a few more minutes, just until you hear them sizzle or smell that wonderful roasted nut aroma. When they're done, dump them onto a paper towel to cool for a few minutes, then chop them small.

In a large mixing bowl, combine:

• shredded chicken
• quartered grapes
• diced celery
• chopped pecans

Now add:

• 1/4 C mayonnaise
• 3/4 C ranch dressing

These are approximate, so go light at first, then add more as you need it. If you prefer a more mayo-y chicken salad, you might like to use less ranch dressing. I think the ranch makes it so flavorful!

Serve on homemade white bread, 12-grain bread, soft rolls, or eat plain.

Suggestions for adaptations:

• add diced water chestnuts
• use slivered almonds instead of the pecans
• try another kind of dressing, maybe sweet vidalia onion or caesar?

Be adventurous and let me know what you think!

Taco Salad

The Occasion: I had salsa and sour cream leftover from something else. Taco Salad was a perfect use for these things.

The Recipe: Improvised.

How it Went: This is always a smash hit. We love it.

What You Need:
ground turkey (1 lb)
1 packet taco seasoning
lettuce
tortilla chips
1 bell pepper (any color)
1 yellow onion
1 can black olives
shredded cheddar cheese
salsa
sour cream

Your Turn:
Cook ground turkey. Add taco seasoning as directed on packet.

In the meantime, shred up lettuce and prepare a bowl of tortilla chips.

Prepare a plate of chopped peppers, onion, and olives along with cheese, sour cream, and salsa.

Serve meat hot over a bed of lettuce with desired toppings.

Enjoy!

Easy Tortellini with Chicken Alfredo Sauce

The Occasion: I had leftover cooked chicken from another meal. I also had a jar of alfredo sauce and a package of dried tortellinis. I thought it would all go together pretty well.

The Recipe: From my head.

How it Went: We liked this! Very easy and very tasty. Ideally, you could even make your own alfredo sauce. And I had so much extra sauce, that I cooked up some additional pasta (wagon wheels) and put the sauce with it for a lunch for Husband. It would be excellent with broccoli.

What You Need:
1 & 1/2 cooked chicken breasts
1 packaged dried tortellini (mine was from ALDI, but Barilla makes it too)
1 jar alfredo sauce
splash of milk
Italian seasoning

Your Turn:
Cook pasta as directed on the package.

Warm alfredo sauce in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of milk and a few shakes of Italian seasoning.

Chop cooked chicken into pieces. If you can get it more shredded, that's good too.

Stir chicken into alfredo sauce. Cover and let simmer gently.

Serve chicken alfredo sauce over tortellini.

Start-to-Finish Weekday Chicken Pot Pie

The Occasion: I didn't plan on making pot pie this week, but I seemed to have all the right ingredients and it's a meal that lasts a few days, so it was perfect for a busy week.

The Recipe: Mostly the same as the one I posted here before, from Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2011. But I wanted to share the step-by-steps this time. Not only is it helpful, but I've shared some tips that help you conserve ingredients and make the most of your hard work!

How it Went: I love this pot pie. Husband doesn't like it quite as much, but it's mostly because he doesn't like biscuits like the ones baked into the top of this. I think it's scrumptious!

What You Need:
2 chicken bouillon cubes
3 chicken breasts
dashes of thyme, black pepper, and coriander
2 russet potatoes
1 C baby carrots
4 stalks celery
3/4 C frozen green beans
2 T butter
6 T flour
1 C milk + 1/2 C milk
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 & 1/2 C Bisquick
2/3 C milk

Your Turn:
In the morning, before leaving for work, boil some water. Put two chicken bouillon cubes in a glass measuring cup. When the water boils, pour two cups over the cubes and stir well to dissolve.

Place three raw chicken breasts in a crock pot. Sprinkle with black pepper, thyme, and coriander, or a blend of poultry seasonings. Pour the two cups of chicken broth on top. Set to low.

Peel 2 russet potatoes, rinse off, and cut into small cubes.

Chop 1 C baby carrots into small cubes.

Wash and dice up 4 stalks of celery.

Bring about 2 inches of salted water to a boil in a large saucepan and add the vegetables you chopped, plus 3/4 C frozen green beans.

When these are tender, after about 10-15 minutes, drain the water into the crock pot with your chicken. All the nutrients are in the water, so don't wash it down the drain.

Now, spoon out the veggies into a large dish, cover, and refrigerate.

Go to work.

When you get home, remove your cooked chicken breasts from the crock pot and place them in your upright mixer. With the paddle attachment, turn the mixer on low. The chicken will shred like a dream!

Set aside 1 C of the crock pot chicken broth. You'll need it. Strain the rest of the broth through a cheesecloth over a funnel into a few jars to be saved for a future soup or something.

Melt 2 T butter in a saucepan. Turn heat to medium-low. Add 6 T flour and whisk to blend until smooth and bubbly. Add 1 C milk and the 1 C broth you saved. Whisk constantly until it boils and thickens. You want it pretty thick, but not quite as thick as a cream of chicken soup from a can would be.

Pour the cream base you just made into a large mixing bowl. Add another 1/2 C milk. Also add 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir well.

To this, add the vegetables you cooked this morning, and 1 and 1/2 C of the shredded chicken. Put the rest away for chicken salad or another casserole or something.

Combine 1 & 1/2 C Bisquick and 2/3 C milk in a bowl and whisk. Distribute evenly in 12 biscuits over the top of the pot pie. 

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes until filling is bubbly and biscuits are golden brown.

Not only will you have a marvelous pot pie, which is quite a feast, but you've also made yourself about 15 ounces of flavorful chicken broth and a few cups of delicious shredded chicken!

Tilapia: Two Ways

The Occasion: My first two attempts at cooking tilapia. I have never eaten seafood. I mean, I've had fish a few times, but I just have never enjoyed or chosen to eat any seafood. But I'd been starting to feel like there's only so many things I can make with chicken and ham and ground turkey (we don't eat much beef), so I decided to give fish a try. Both of these recipes were quick, very easy, and quite tasty. I'll definitely make both of them again.

The Recipes: The basic cooking instructions were from the back of the tilapia package. I bought the fish, frozen in individual fillets, at ALDI. The flavors and spices were of my own invention.

First, Baked Lemon Dill Tilapia.

How it Went:
This was quite yummy. The flavors blended really nicely and we both really enjoyed it. I served it with rice and veggies sauteed in olive oil and herbs.

What You Need:
tilapia fillets
olive oil
lemon pepper
dried dill

Your Turn:
Defrost your tilapia fillets. I did this in the microwave, but you're not really supposed to do that. It's best to let them come to room temperature in a dish of warm water.

Place fillets in a baking dish and preheat oven to 400.

Drizzled olive oil, maybe 2-3 T, over the fish.

Sprinkle with lemon pepper (mine is in a grinder) and dried dill leaves.

Bake for about 10 minutes, or until fillets flake easily when forked.

Second, Fried Tilapia Fillets

How it Went:
I loved this! I'm excited to make it again, actually. My family never thought I'd say this about fish!!

What You Need:
tilapia fillets
flour
salt
pepper
coriander
onion powder
seasoned salt (such as Season-All)

Your Turn:
Defrost your fillets. (Breading below was enough for three fillets.)

Combine about 1/2 C flour with 1/2 tsp each of salt, pepper, coriander, and onion powder. Add a few shakes of seasoned salt.

In a medium skillet, heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. 

Toss each fillet in the flour mixture, then fry it in the oil for 1-3 minutes per side, until golden brown.

This is delicious with homemade macaroni and cheese! 

Chicken Fried Rice

The Occasion: Nothing special, but we love Chinese take-out and this looked like a fun alternative to try.

The Recipe: From Cook This; Not That cookbook

How it Went: We both thought this was great. It felt like a much more wholesome version of Chinese take out. And it felt safer, somehow, than the stuff from the white origami box. 

What You Need:

1 T vegetable oil

4 scallions

Dash grated ginger

1 garlic clove, minced

1 zucchini

1 C baby carrots

1 crown broccoli

1 & 1/2 breasts chicken, cooked

4 C cooked rice (brown or white)

2 T soy sauce

2 eggs

Your Turn:
[Cook the rice and chicken ahead of time.]

Chop the 4 scallions and separate the greens from the whites.

Chop

· 1 zucchini (into disks, then quartered)

· About 1 C baby carrots (quartered lengthwise)

· 1 crown broccoli (into small florets)

In a large skillet, heat 1 T vegetable (or peanut or olive) oil over medium-high heat.

Once it’s hot, add the scallion whites, dash ginger and minced garlic clove.

Cook 30 seconds or so. Then add the zucchini, carrots, and broccoli. Cook 4-5 minutes, stirring. Add chicken and stir to blend evenly and warm.

Stir in 4 C rice and 2 T soy sauce. Cook about 5 minutes. Allow the rice to become crispy on the bottom.

Create an empty space in the middle of the pan.

Gently beat 2 eggs, then pour into the space in the skillet. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to scramble the eggs in the middle of the pan. Once they’re cooked, stir them together with the rest of the ingredients.

 

Serve, garnished with scallion greens.