Slow cooker French Onion Soup.. Better for you recipe

As I mentioned in my last post I've been working on a better me.  Working on being healthier and cooking healthier not just for myself but my family.

I had a request for French onion soup for dinner for a Sunday night and I went about searching for a recipe that wasn't so full of fat and calories and in the end wound up tweaking a recipe to make it healthier (because honestly, there's no need for 2 Tbs oil and 2 Tbs unsalted butter).  Time and Patience, yes.. all that extra fat, no way.

I have this pan I love, like, I absolutely Adore it and use it for just about anything I can.

It's only a 2Qt, but I love that nothing sticks to it, and if I do get some sticking a little soak in hot water and scrub a bit with baking soda and it's good as new.  I've had this for over a year and a half and It still looks good as new inside.

I was making my soup in the crock pot, but to get the onions properly caramelized was either going to take me 12 hours in the crock pot, or just about an hour on the stove top.  I don't like leaving the crock on overnight (especially with four legged critters in the house). The recipe that I based mine off used 3 pounds of yellow onions, plus oil and butter.  Since becoming lactose intolerant butter isn't really my friend and all that fat is really unnecessary in this recipe (as well as 12 hours for the onions in the crock pot, that's not happening).  

I started out with three pounds of yellow onions plus one big vidalia onion, cut into quarter moon slices, one tablespoon of vegetable oil, 1 Tsp Sea Salt and set it over medium-low heat.   I knew this was going to take a while, so I had a project I was working on while this was going.

                                                                     15 minutes in...

45 minutes in

60 minutes in...

an hour and 15 minutes in...

                                             90 minutes and they're ready for the crockpot

This was the most time consuming part of this whole recipe, but really, it's so worth it because the end result is absolutely delicious.  I started this at 9am on a Sunday morning, my son was sleeping, my BF was at work so I had the time and while I was doing this I was working on a needlepoint project so I only got up every so often to give it a stir, plus this is a nice heavy bottomed pan that doesn't burn as long as you've got he heat set nice and low.

I don't have soup crocks, so in the end I ended up toasting the bread and cheese in the oven and topping the bowls of soup with it like that, it was amazing either way.

So now, without fail, here is my recipe, adapted from the Kitchn's recipe.

Ingredients

3 pounds yellow or Vidalia onions, peeled, sliced, and cut into quarter-moons

1 tablespoon oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed

Freshly ground black pepper

10 cups reduced-sodium beef broth 

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

4 to 6 toasted baguette slices per bowl

1/3 cup grated Swiss cheese per bowl (1 1/3 to 2 cups total)

Instructions

Since I started my recipe on the stove top as stated above, these are my directions:

Cut the onions into quarter moon slices and place in a heavy bottomed pan with 1 Tbs oil and 1 tsp Kosher salt.  Sweat the onions over low heat and continue to cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until caramelized.  Mine took just about an hour and a half to be right where I wanted them.

Add to Crock pot along with the broth and vinegar. 

Cover and continue cooking on low for 6 to 8 hours. Longer cooking will only intensify the flavors and add richness to the soup. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Portion the soup into oven-safe bowls. Arrange a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat to 350°f and place the bowls on a rimmed baking sheet.

Top each bowl with a slice of toast and about 1/3 cup of shredded cheese.

Bake until the cheese is completely melted, 20 to 30 minutes and then broil for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the oven to broil. Broil until the cheese is bubbling and browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Serve with chopped fresh shallot or onion if desired.

This makes a lot of soup and it was enough for dinner sized portions for the three of us, plus seconds for my kid and lunch for myself the next day

Chicken and black bean burritos

This has easily come to be one of my favorite quick meals.  Not only does it make enough for a family dinner (or for us enough for leftovers for a day or two) but it's quick and easy on a hot summer day.

Chicken and black bean burritos (adapted from cooking light)



1 pound chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 /2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 cup lower-sodium canned black beans, rinsed and drained or soak dried beans as per package directions
1 garlic clove, minced
2 (10-inch) whole wheat tortillas
Preshredded Monterey Jack cheese (or cheese of your choice, I like the new Kraft with a touch of Philly blends, they melt really well)

Cooking spray (I keep canola oil in a spray bottle, no chemicals)
1/2 cup pico de gallo
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Combine chicken, onion, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper in a bowl; toss well.

 Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add oil & swirl to coat. 

Add chicken mixture; cook 8 minutes or until chicken is done, stirring occasionally. 

Add beans and garlic; cook 2 minutes or until heated, stirring frequently.

Place tortillas on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel, microwave 15-30 seconds to make malleable so they don't crack while you roll them up

Divide chicken mixture evenly among tortillas. 

Top each burrito with 2 tablespoons cheese. Roll up each burrito jelly-roll fashion.

 Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. 

Coat both sides of burritos evenly with cooking spray. 

Place burritos in pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. 

Top with pico de gallo and sour cream.

a healthy lunch, for less than $3! Believe it!

To say I'm broke this week is an understatement.  I have learned to stretch my grocery budget when times are tough and today I made a really healthy lunch for myself and the kid that was filling, delicious and really inexpensive.

Pasta with lentil "meat" sauce.

1 cup Lentils
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 can tomato paste
2-3 cups water
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tsp oil
dry parsley
dry oregano
Pasta

Cook 1 cup lentils in 3 cups water with the bay leaf for 25 minutes, drain and set aside

In a saucepan saute onion with a pinch of salt in the oil until soft and translucent, add garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes.

Add tomato paste, parsley and oregano to the pan and cook together for 2-3 minutes

Add water and stir well to combine.

Cook for 20 minutes and add lentils.

Cook lentils and tomatoes for 20 minutes.

While the lentils and tomatoes are cooking prepare the pasta according to directions.

Add pasta to lentil mixture and serve with grated cheese.

Chicken ranch mac & cheese

I got this recipe off Pinterest which linked it back to One Ordinary Day, so I can't take credit for it.. it's one of the many recipes that I've gotten off Pinterest and has, obviously piqued my interest to make.

Sorry I didn't get around to doing this yesterday as I had planned.. I was on day 3 of a migraine from hell with the worst nausea just the thought of cooking anything had me queasy.

Today (Thankfully) I'm feeling better, at least no killer migraine.

Thanks Michelle for the great recipe.

Recipe:  Chicken Ranch Macaroni and Cheese

16 oz. dried pasta, elbow macaroni or shells

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 package of bacon

1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

3 c. milk, any fat content

1 pkg. Italian blend shredded cheese; divided

1 c. Monterey Jack shredded cheese or Colby-Jack blend, divided

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. dill

1 tsp. salt

pepper, to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, until crisp.  Remove bacon from pan, leaving some drippings in the pan.  Drain bacon on a paper towel.  Add chicken to drippings, increase heat to medium-high and saute for until no longer pink.  Set aside.

Melt butter in the same pot you made the pasta in.  Whisk in flour.  Cook and stir 2 minutes.  Add milk to saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Boil for 2 minutes.  Stir in most of the cheese.  (Reserve a handful of each cheese blend to sprinkle on top of casserole.)  Add spices and chicken and stir to combine.

Spray 9×13″ baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Transfer pasta to baking pan.  Sprinkle with crumbled bacon and reserved cheeses.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, until thoroughly heated.

Lentils & rice or, Mujaddara

This was just about the easiest dish that I've ever made.  Lentils, rice, caramelized onions, ground coriander salt and pepper.  

That's it, easy peasy and filling too!  

I've made this twice so far and find it easiest if you cook the rice and lentils separately otherwise you end up with mushy lentils (yuck)

1 cup Lentils, cooked 

1 cup rice, cooked  

1 onion, thinly sliced
2-3 Tbs oil
1 bay leaf
Salt
Pepper
1/2 tsp Ground coriander

I always cook my lentils with a bay leaf, it gives them a nice flavor and smells wonderful too.

Sautee the onion with about 1/2 tsp salt in 203 Tbs oil.  Cook over low heat until golden and soft.

In a large bowl mix together the lentils and rice, add salt & pepper to taste and then add coriander.  Mix in the onions and serve.

Last night for dinner I served this with lemon chicken and it was fantastic.

I Don’t like lentils, I don’t like Lentils... Oh hey, Lentils are good

I can be a stubborn ass..

Ok.. I Am a stubborn ass, I’ll admit it.

For the longest time I swore up and down I didn’t like lentils.  I just thought they looked gross, they smelled weird and I really didn’t want anything to do with them.

But... Lentils are cheap.

And... Lentils are really, really good for you with only 230 cal, 16 grams of fiber and 18 grams of protein per cup they're a great addition to almost any meal.

So I manned up and bought some lentils one day at the grocery store at $.79/lb Yeah.. Like I said, they're cheap.

The lentils sat in my pantry for 2 weeks.. I sorta forgot about them... Wasn’t really sure what to make with them, so one day when it was really slow here in the office I decided to head on over to foodgawker and do a little recipe research.

When I got home that night I decided to just go with what I had in the pantry and if it came out good then I was one up.. If not I’d just have to try again.  I wasn’t even sure if The Kid was going to like it... so I was apprehensive when I called him to dinner but... he loved it.  I almost fell over.  I mean, I thought it was good, and he’s my toughest critic so I was really happy that it was good.

Since that day I’ve incorporated lentils into dinner a few nights a week and over the weekend something really awesome happened.  I decided to try on a pair of jeans that have been taunting me for months... I bought them on clearance months ago.. 2 sizes smaller than my regular size and I tried them on occasionally.. Knowing that eventually I would fit into them.  Sunday morning I saw them sitting there and I figured what the hell... they pulled right up.. They zipped and they buttoned with ease.   I almost cried.

I haven’t changed the way I exercise.. But I have incorporated more protein into my diet with the addition of lentils and that’s the only change I’ve made.  So yeah.. I’ll be sticking with it.

When I get home tonight I will have a recipe with pics to add here too.

Chimichurri stuffed pork tenderloin

I bought this tenderloin with a completely different recipe in mind... but I'm missing 2 key ingredients and it's pouring rain and stormy here in NY so I decided I'll just make another recipe and just stay in my jammies instead today.  Hey it's Sunday, it's stormy.. why not be lazy?

Chimichurri stuffed pork tenderloin

2-1/2- to 3-lb. boneless pork loin roast
1 cup loosely-packed fresh Italian parsley leaves chopped
1 Tbsp. finely grated lime peel
3 Tbsp. olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp Red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350°

In small bowl combine herbs with 1/2 teaspoon of the lime peel, 1 tablespoon of the oil and 1/3 of the garlic and set aside.

In a small bowl combine the remaining garlic, pepper, parsley,  lime peel and oil..

Butterfly pork loin (for directions click here)

Spread the parsley garlic mixture evenly on the meat.

Roll roast to original shape and Tie at 2-inch intervals with kitchen string.

  

Spread reserved parsley garlic mixture over outside of roast. Sprinkle with black pepper.

Roast for 40-60 minutes.

Remove roast from oven, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes.

 It was Really good.  I served it with rosemary smashed potatoes and salad.

Chickpea burgers

Ever have one of those days when you open your fridge and realize that you have absolutely nothing to feed your starving 15 year old? No?  OK.. well, that might just be me, but really.. This is one of those weeks when I think.. Did I really go grocery shopping on Friday? WTF did I buy?

Luckily I had a can of chickpeas in the pantry and instead of making a salad with them I decided I'd get a little crazy and make some burgers with them.. so I did a little research online... Ugh.. every recipe I found had stuff I didn't have.. rice.. nope, tofu.. nope.. Quinoa?  nope, none of that either... so I decided to just wing it and go with what I had.

1 14oz can chickpeas
1/4 sweet onion chopped
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
pinch of sea salt
1/4 tsp ground coriander
about 2 Tbs olive oil

In a food processor add the onion and process it until it's finely chopped.  Add the chickpeas and pulse 2/3 times until fully incorporated with the onion.  Pour this mixture into a bowl and mix in the breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, salt and coriander.  Pour in the olive oil and stir well to combine.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat while you make the patties.

Cook the patties over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side.

I served mine with mayo and a dash of Tabasco on whole wheat bread, lettuce and  a cucumber tomato salad on the side.

This dinner was less than $2 to throw together.

W00t!

Sauteed Chicken breasts with mustard sauce

It was unbelievable when I happened to pick up boneless skinless chicken breasts NOT ON SALE for $1.99/lb at my local supermarket.  Totally unbelievable since I haven't seen boneless skinless chicken breasts for under $2.79/lb in a long time.  So, of course I jumped on it and grabbed a few packages.

I made this the other night on a whim after I saw something similar in an email that I had received and of course didn't print the recipe so I kinda just went along with what I thought would taste good.. and O M G they were Fantastic!

1-2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
cooking spray
2 Tbs Dijon mustard (the good stuff, not the yellow stuff)
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp garlic powder
tiny pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tsp. lemon juice

Heat your pan until it's hot, but not smoking (to test that your pan is hot enough splash a little water in it and if the water sizzles and evaporates you're good to go).

Lightly spray with pan with cooking spray (I use Pam professional high heat) and place the chicken breasts in the pan.  Cook the chicken over med-high heat for 7-9 minutes per side turning once more if they're not done inside (I use the really thick breasts, not the thin sliced ones, if you're using thin ones, cook 3-4 minutes per side, until they're no longer pink in the middle)

Remove the chicken from the pan and pour the broth into the pan and scrape all the bits from the bottom.  We don't want those little bits of goodness to go to waste :) Add the mustard and with a fork or a whisk give it a good stir until it's fully incorporated, add in the garlic powder and red pepper flakes.

Let the sauce cook down for about 5 minutes over medium-low heat until it begins to thicken and add the chicken back into the pan along with all the juices that escaped while it was resting. Let it all cook together for another 3-5 minutes, turning the chicken once to coat all sides with the sauce.

Finish with the lemon juice and serve with rice, pasta or veggies.  I served this with some steamed broccoli and it was amazing.

Chicken with Lemon & Olives

I did something on Saturday night that I rarely do.. and should really do more often.

I get a lot of cooking magazines and I love to read them and ooh and ahh over the recipes and beautiful pictures.. and then I don't look back.  Way back when I started dating the BF he was horrified by my stacks of cooking mags that I had hidden under the coffee table in my living room.  The next time he came over he brought over these gigantic binders and told me to go through all the magazines, pull out the recipes I wanted and to please toss the rest.

and I did.  I was very good with it and I still have that binder... and I still haven't made more than half the recipes in there.. *GUILTY*  I can be such a recipe hoarder.  But in my own defense, since the BF and I started dating I moved and unfortunately my kitchen considerably downsized and therefore my kitchen adventures have been not as adventurous as I would like.  My kitchen is so small I don't even have a kitchen table... I have a .... hell, I don't even know what to call it other than sort of another counter that's roughly a foot wide and 3 feet long.  we could sit there and eat if I had stools, but I didn't want to shell out $$ for bar stools when I moved in and they weren't supplied.

Anyway....I digress.

Lets get back on track here.

Last week while The kid was on my computer doing his homework and there was absolutely nothing on TV I started to go to through the latest batch of cooking mags and wondering to myself.. WTF Ashley?  Why don't you make some of these recipes?  They look great, you know what you're doing just make a shopping list and go with it."

See, there's my problem.  I do my grocery trip on Fridays after work and more often than not I go without a list, which is bad bad bad.  I have to stick to a grocery budget of $50/week which isn't all that easy but it's still workable and I manage to do pretty well keeping within the budget buying only fresh foods and nothing prepackaged. (OMG I watched that show extreme couponing on TLC last week and was totally shocked at the amount of prepackaged foods these people consume. Gross!)

When I went grocery shopping on Friday armed with my list I got everything I needed and was happy that I would be sitting around going "hmm, what am I making for dinner tonight?" which I do more often than I'm willing to admit.

I made these Saturday night and wow, they were so good.  The only thing I was missing was honey because I was positive that I had a jar, but it turns out I didn't.  They were still fantastic though!

Chicken with Lemon and Olives

Recipe from Cooking Light Magazine

YIELD: 4 servings (serving size: 1 leg quarter and 2 tablespoons sauce)

COST PER SERVING:$2.39

Ingredients
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
4 chicken leg quarters, skinned
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
16 pimiento-stuffed green olives, halved
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°f.
2. Combine first 7 ingredients; marinate at room temperature 30 minutes.
3. Pour marinade into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Arrange chicken in dish; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with olives and lemon slices. Bake at 400°f for 40 minutes or until a thermometer registers 165°f.
4. Remove chicken from dish; keep warm. Strain sauce over a saucepan, reserving solids. Bring sauce to a boil; cook 3 minutes or until slightly thick. Stir in olives and garlic; serve with chicken and lemons. Top with parsley.

Southwest style chicken & veggies with pasta

My local grocery store had the new Philly cooking creme on sale for 2/$4, I had a coupon with me for a free container.  Now, I hadn't planned on going to the supermarket at all today.  Actually, in all honesty it would have been nice to just stay in my PJ's and clean on this rainy Sunday.  But since we were out anyway to pick up The Kid's reserved copies of both Pokemon Black & Pokemon White and I was out of my favorite black cherry flavored water I figured I'd grab some groceries for the week while I was at it.

I picked up the Italian Herb and the Southwest style Philly Cooking creme along with a pack of Chicken thighs.  Now, you can use whatever kind of chicken you want.. I tend to stick with thighs for everyday cooking because they're cheaper than breasts and are easy to cook pretty much any way you want.

Cook the chicken (skin removed) in a preheated skillet (because I used thighs I didn't bother adding any oil to the pan)  Cook about 10 minutes on each side, turning twice until they're cooked through.

Into the pan add 1 thawed bag of broccoli florets (I use frozen because they're cheaper, I know they're fresh and they're there whenever I need them) and 1/2 box of mini rigatoni or any shaped pasta you'd like.

Stir in 1/2 container of Santa Fe style Philly cooking creme until incorporated.

The cooking creme holds up very well and has a great flavor.  Next time I'm going to try it with rice.   I didn't add any seasoning to my chicken before I cooked it and the cooking creme alone was just enough to give everything in the pan a wonderful flavor with light creaminess.  I didn't use the entire container because I was making just enough for myself & the kiddo.. so if you're cooking for more than 2 you should definitely use the entire container.

The final verdict was 2 thumbs up from The Kid & myself.

Portuguese Kale Soup

Some days are soup days, you just want warmth and comfort and a full belly with little effort.  Sunday was that day for me.  It was in the low 30's when I got up and I woke up knowing I was going to make soup.  I had picked up Chorizo at the store on Saturday with this soup in mind.  It's so incredibly good that between The Kid and myself, the entire pot of soup was gone by the end of the day.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb chorizo sausage 

1 quart chicken broth
1 large onion, roughly diced
4 large potatoes, cubed
1 bunch kale, stemmed washed & chopped (abt. 1 lb.)
fresh ground black pepper
salt (optional)

Cut sausage into bite sized pieces.

Heat oil in a heavy soup pot; saute the sausage& onion just until the fat is rendered, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Drain on paper towels.

Add other ingredients except kale

Bring to boil and simmer 10 minutes.

Add kale and simmer about 8 minutes until tender.

Taste for seasoning- depending on how spicy your sausage is, add salt and pepper to taste.

There’s something special about grilled cheese

Today's FoodBuzz Daily special is the Cuisinart Electric Skillet CSK-150 so lets talk about something you could make in this. The first thing that popped into my head was Grilled Cheese, it’s one of those comfort foods that just makes you go.. Ahh. Warm gooey cheese, toasty crusty bread.. Mmm.

I’m a little unorthodox in the way I make my grilled cheese.. I’m not straight up yellow American cheese. And Please, please do not give me a square of pasteurized processed pre-wrapped cheese. Give me some good cheese, either sliced fresh from the deli or from a chunk at home, but it’s gotta be fresh. I like Muenster mixed with a little American.

As for the bread.. I’m not picky as long as it toasts up well.

Oh.. One more thing.. Do NOT put oil in the pan or on the skillet because then you have grease soaked bread.. And there’s nothing good about that.

You can add a tomato, that’s always good, then it gets warm and the flavor really comes out, add a slice or 2 or turkey and you’ve got it made.

Here’s the breakdown of how I make a Grilled cheese sandwich.

Get your pan ready, bit enough for 2 sandwiches, because someone will come along and steal that sandwich when you’re not looking.

Preheat your pan on low heat because you don’t want to burn the bread

Spread mayonnaise on the outside of 1 slice, not a thin layer either.. You’ll see where I’m going with this in a second.
Take the second slice of bread and put it on top of the first side, so there’s a mayo sandwich and press them together good so that you get mayo on both pieces of bread.

Put a little mayo on the inside for the cheese to stick to

Layer on the cheese and tomato (and turkey if you’re going there too) & sprinkle in a little black pepper

now carefully peel apart the 2 slices of bread and place the bread mayo side down into the hot pan or skillet and you’ll hear it sizzle

put the second slice of bread on top, mayo side up and cook for a few minutes until the bottom is toasted & carefully flip & toast on the other side until it’s just the way you like it and the cheese is all gooey and melted inside.. And do not cover this no matter what because you’ll wind up with soggy bread.

Now, if you want you can just have your sandwich. My kid likes it with a side of chunky home made tomato soup

Spinach Stuffed Shells

I really hate it when I made a great tasting and great looking dinner, I go and get the camera all ready.. and BEEP.. the battery is dead.. Damn!

This is so amazingly delicious and good for you (well.. Kinda, Spinach is good, right ;) )

Ingredients



TOMATO SAUCE

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 dash crushed red pepper flakes
salt & pepper

SHELLS AND STUFFING

1 (12 ounce) package jumbo pasta shells
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed & cooked
1 lb ricotta cheese
2 eggs, slightly beaten
salt
ground black pepper
1 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional) or romano cheese (optional)
1 dash nutmeg (optional)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

For the sauce
Using a large saucepan, cook the onion in the oil over low heat until it is soft, but not browned. Add the tomatoes, garlic, crushed pepper and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.

For the shells
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Rub the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with olive oil. Cook the shells in boiling water, being careful not to tear shells while stirring occasionally until tender (about 15 minutes).

Drain and transfer to cold water.

In a bowl, combine ricotta, eggs, salt and pepper, spinach and nutmeg. Spread half of tomato sauce on bottom of baking dish. After filling each shell with filling (use a teaspoon), gently set them in the baking dish, cut sides up. Spread remaining sauce over all and sprinkle mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese over top. Cover with foil and bake 40-50 minutes. Spoon 2 shells onto each plate and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serves 8.

$5, 6 ingredients and less than 15 minutes.. Dinner!

Tonight I wanted something quick for dinner with stuff that I had on hand.. so I opened up the cabinets and it hit me...

Quick fix hearty pasta

1 box rigatoni
2 Tbs Olive oil
3 cloves garlic, Minced
1 can pitted black olives, drained
1 can diced Italian style tomatoes
Basil


Cook pasta according to box directions, drain and add back to saucepan with oil
add Garlic, olives and tomatoes to pan and turn the heat on medium stirring frequently for 2 minutes.
Turn off the heat and add the basil.
Cover and let stand 3 minutes and serve with Parmesan cheese.

Mmm Chicken & Dumplings

One of my very favorite comfort foods is Chicken & Dumplings. Today we're in for a whopper of a snowstorm that went from an estimated 3-5" on Friday up to 6-10" last night and then just a little while ago when flipping through the channels saw that it's gone up to 8-14" I've had enough of winter already.

Anyway, on to the Chicken & Dumplings

I don't like to just toss chicken in a pot with water and very rarely do I use bouillon, so what I do is I take the skin off all the chicken, toss it into a Zipper bag and season it really well with salt, pepper, sage and paprika then I roast it in a 425°f oven for 25 minutes


I then put the chicken into my trusty stock pot and cover it with 2 quarts of water, 1 small onion, sliced, 2 cloves garlic, smashed and then let it go for about an hour. After the hour is up I add in a big bag of frozen mixed vegetables, check the seasoning and adjust it to my liking and then it's time for the dumplings.

I will confess here, I don't go all out rolling dough for dumplings.. I make Bisquick dumplings. There is nothing like the little fluffy clouds of dumplings that you get from Bisquick, that's how my grandma made 'em and that's how I do it too. (Pancakes too, but that's another day) Bisquick dumplings are so easy! 2 1/4 cups Bisquick and 2/3 cup milk, mix in a bowl until doughy and add to hot liquid. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, cover and cook another 10 and you're good to go!

Yummy!!!

Kickin' Chicken with Gravy

I was making dinner one night and this was like an accidental recipe.. turned out to be pretty dang good!!

Kickin' Chicken with gravy
makes 2 servings

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbs. canola oil
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup water
1 tsp Lemon juice

Combine flour, paprika, salt & pepper in a ziplock bag, add chicken 2 at a time to the bag and coat the chicken well with flour.

Heat oil in frying pan and add chicken when the pan is hot, but not smoking. Cook chicken 3-4 minutes per side, until it has a nice golden brown crust.

Add wine and water and let simmer 5 minutes, stir in lemon juice and Voila.. you've got a pan of chicken with delicious gravy!

Creamy Mac & Cheese

I did something this week that I have never done before.. I ordered food via mail order! The girls at My Bargain Buddy were all a twitter about the big Hickory farms sale and I was intrigued. The prices definitely couldn't be beat, and I've never had Hickory farms cheese before.. so I was willing to give it a try. Honestly, since Cheese is so expensive in the supermarket I was all about trying what they had to offer for 75% off (Plus MBB had a coupon code for an extra 15% off!) I wound up with Smoked Gouda, Cheddar & Havarti blend, Mission Jack blend, Big barn Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar blend, Jalapeno & Cheddar Blend. There were some summer sausages, crackers, mustard and other assorted goodies in there.. but really I was just interested in the cheese and what I could make with it! I was so happy with what I ordered I went in and ordered some more cheese, lol!! (Hey, I'm all for a good bargain, but when I can get a box of Cheese and meat that was $25 for $3.75 and is gonna make my meals even better, I'm all for it!)

The box arrived at my door on Thursday (I ordered Monday afternoon) and I was so excited, I couldn't wait to open it up and try the goods! Even before it had all arrived I had Mac & Cheese on the brain, so last night I sprung into action with my old stand-by Mac & cheese recipe... the only difference was the blend of cheeses I used.. and it did not disappoint!

Yummmmm!! (the cell phone camera picture does not do it justice.. real camera coming soon)



Creamy Baked Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked Spiral pasta
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheese (I used a mix of cheddar, cheddar & Havarti blend and Jalapeno & Cheddar Blend)
1/2 c. bread crumbs (seasoned or plain)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°f
2. Cook pasta as directed on package
3. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in saucepan over low heat.
4. Mix together flour, salt, pepper and mustard and add to the melted butter.
5. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and bubbly.
6. Remove from heat and whisk in milk
7. return to the stove and heat to boiling, stirring constantly.
8. Boil and stir 1 minute
9. Remove from heat and add cheese, stirring until melted
10. Drain pasta and gently stir pasta into cheese sauce.
11. Pour into ungreased 2 Quart casserole.
12. Top with breadcrumbs and bake 20-25 minutes.

It's been a chili kinda day

I went to bed last night with a crippling migraine (of all the things I inherited from my mom, I had to get these damn migraines.. yea, thanks mom) when I got up this morning it was cloudy and damp.. and I still had a dull aching in my head. It was not the day full of baking or even really any kind of meaningful cooking like I was looking forward to. Today was one of the few days I was glad that The Kid likes to sleep until noon because I didn't feel bad laying in bed doing nothing but trying to ease this pain in my head.

I felt instantly horrible when The Kid finally got up and went to make some eggs and there were none.. so I got dressed and we took a walk over to 7-11 which is the closest thing to any kind of grocery I've got around here to get some eggs and while I was there I decided I would make some chili.. a pot of Mary's Magic chili was definitely the thing to make this dreary day a little better. It was nice to be able to do very little to have this great smell wafting through my little apartment, the only request from The Kid was "Please mom, no beans" (lol) so it was just a straight meat chili today.. yummy anyway :)

I'm hoping to get some baking done tomorrow.. I'm craving some pumpkin bread.

Food and music (these are a few of my favorite things)

The words of the late Andrew Wood rang in my head while I was thinking of a title for this post: "Words and music, my only tools". I've always loved music, since I was a little kid listening to the oldies with my dad and classic R&B and rock & roll with my mom. I fell into my own when I first learned about college radio, I listened day and night, I became friendly with the DJ's and even got lucky enough to host my own show for a few nights (that was a blast and I still have them on audio cassette) Of all places in my apartment my stereo is in my kitchen, yup, you read it right.. it's nestled in a little nook in my kitchen right under a shelf of cookbooks. I've got Q-104.3 on while I'm cooking or I've got a CD on and of those it's either something Grungy like Pearl Jam or the above noted Andrew Wood and his band Mother Love Bone or I'm listening to Country music.. Kenny Chesney being one of my absolute favorites that I came upon totally by accident one night after I moved here into this apartment and I was sitting in my room late one night by myself flipping through the channels and stopped at this guy who looked so much like This guy dated and I couldn't help but stare in awe. He was being interviewed about his new song that was being released "who'd you be today" and I sat and listened to that song as tears just came falling.. that song hit so close to home.. I kept listening to his music and I turned to country music because there was so much there.. it wasn't the old "my wife left me, my dog ran away" stuff that I thought it was.. it was life.. real life right there and I was in love. My friends and family think it's hysterical because after the 'grunge phase' I fell into heavy metal.. when my dad died when I was 15 it threw me into a bad place and I was angry at everyone for everything and I would lock myself in my room and blast this really dark scary music, I didn't want to be bothered with anyone or anything for a long time.. I say it all the time and no truer words have ever been said, but my family didn't really understand what I was going through at the time and if it wasn't for my best friend, Patty, I probably wouldn't be here to tell y'all this right now, she was there to talk to me and help me out of the hole I had fallen into. Tracy Lawrence says it in 'find out who your friends are"

You find out who your friends are,
somebody's gonna drop everything,
run out and crank up their car,
hit the gas, get there fast, never stop to think
What's in it for me�, or its way to far�...
They just show on up with their big old heart.
You find out who your friends are

When the waters high,
when the weather's not so bad,
when the well runs dry...
Who's gonna be there?

There's a reason I've been friends with the girl since I was 11, she's always been there for me, no matter what.

There is a theme song to every day of my life.. it's not all good, or fun.. but ya gotta make it through, right?

Today Kenny's new CD was released, Lucky old sun. I went after work and picked it up on my way home.. I had a pot of Chili simmering in the crock pot since last night so when I got home all I had to do was make some rice and The kid was in here finishing up his homework, so I popped the CD into my (slightly ancient) stereo and sat on my kitchen floor against the wall and just listened.. ate my chili and listened and sang along.. It's nice, it's not my usual Rock & Roll running around the stage Kenny (saw him in July '06 at MSG, it was awesome!) but a more relaxed, deeper Kenny.. and I really like it.. there's fun like 'Everybody wants to go to heaven' and more mellow 'down the road' I'm loving Every song on this album..

Food and Music.. and a little background about me.. Hey, it's how you learn about your friends, right?

I still tend to pull the heavy metal out once in a while.. like when the teenagers that live upstairs from me really start to piss me off with their music.. nothing like some live Metallica or Suicidal Tendencies to shut 'em up