Monday, October 24, 2011

Where Am I?

I haven't gone MIA.

I haven't stopped cooking.

I'm over at my MAIN BLOG...


I'll be posting there from now on.
Too confusing with two blogs.

I don't know how some people who have more than one blog do it.

I couldn't.

So here I am...


Come join me!

Yes, there are recipes!

And PLEASE if you follow me here,
follow me there as well.

You'll make me very happy!

Enjoy your day!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

She's All Settled...

After 20 hours in a car...

A few meals...


We finally arrived in Florida...


Move-in day on campus...

ID card ready...

My baby girl who was born 6 weeks early
is now in college.

All is well. 
We love the campus.
We love her dorm room.

But we really miss our girl!

Come back tomorrow for one of Olivia's FAVORITE recipes!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Scripture Sunday

"Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer." 
 Romans 12:12

I've been living with pain for quite awhile now.  

Some days it's not so bad,
while other days I can hardly walk.

We leave in 10 days to take our daughter to college.  

I need to be able to walk around the campus.
I need to be able to help her unpack.
I need to be able to endure the 20 hour car ride.
I need to be able to sit through orientation lectures. 

I'm going on Tuesday for an epidural in hopes of numbing the pain.  

I read this verse the other day and it just spoke volumes to me.  
Until my complete healing comes,
I will continue to have hope and be patient but
 more importantly I will continue to pray.

Because I serve an almighty God.  


Friday, July 22, 2011

Hide and Seek...

My Colonel and I recently remodeled our kitchen.
Yes, the entire kitchen.

I love everything in our new kitchen.

Well except for this...

Our ugly toaster oven.

BUT I love using it. 
Most days I use it for more than breakfast.

In the past I've tried the fabric covers.
They always looked just "okay" in the kitchen.

And a few times I've even burnt them!

Now that our kitchen was so new that flower fabric cover up
looked so out of place in my pretty kitchen.


So I purchased this...
It's a box that's hollow
and it slides OVER your toaster oven 
and hides it completely!

The toaster oven fits BEHIND the pretty box...


Now that's so much better!

Enjoy your day!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

A New Twist on Grilled Chicken...



Grilled Chicken with Roasted Grape Tomatoes





Ingredients:

Chicken Cutlets 
(marinated in YOUR favorite Italian Dressing)
Package of Grape Tomatoes
2 teaspoons Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Garlic, Salt and Pepper
Mozzarella Cheese

Begin by preparing your chicken...

Marinade the chicken cutlets in Italian Salad Dressing for 
a few hours in the refrigerator.
I usually do this early in the morning so the chicken has time
to soak in all the goodness.  


Now, prepare the tomatoes...


Mix together the balsamic vinegar with the olive oil and
toss with the package of grape tomatoes that you have already seasoned 
with garlic, salt and pepper.
I did this step a few hours earlier and put the grape tomatoes
in a plastic container and then in the refrigerator...



Now, let's start GRILLING...

Place your chicken on the grill and cook until just about done.
Remove the chicken and place in an aluminum pan.  

Please do not use a GLASS pan!

Spread the tomatoes, along with their marinade, over the grilled chicken.
Close the grill and let cook about 5 minutes or 
until the tomatoes start to burst...


Now sprinkle the chicken with some mozzarella cheese and 
close the lid again for a few more minutes until the cheese has melted...



Doesn't that look DELICIOUS?

I like to serve this chicken with a side salad and homemade mac and cheese.

Now this is dinner!
Easy, quick and DELICIOUS.



Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Chicken Pot Pie

This is a family favorite that I've been making for years.

Chicken Broth,  Half and Half,  Butter, Flour, Frozen Mixed Vegetables, Cooked Chicken...


Melt 1/3 cup butter in a large skillet.
Once the butter is melted, add 1/3 cup flour and stir till both are blended.

This is what your "roux" should look like...


Add 2/3 cup half and half and stir.
I usually use fat free half and half...

Next add 1 1/2 cups chicken broth and continue to stir...


Continue stirring and cooking until the mixture is nice and thick.
Season with salt and pepper to your taste.
I also add a chicken bouillon cube for added flavor.


Add the cooked chicken...


Add the frozen mixed vegetables.
Any mixture of frozen vegetables works great.  
Most of the time I use peas and carrots, but I had this mixture on hand...

Cook on low until the vegetables are cooked.
Now, doesn't this look DELICIOUS? 

At this point you can do a number of things.
You can pour the entire mixture into an uncooked pie crust and cover with another 
crust and you have Chicken Pot Pie.
OR...
You can have Chicken and Dumplings.

Mix 2 cups Bisquick with 2/3 cup milk...
Using two spoons, drop your "dumplings" into the chicken and vegetable mixture.

Cover and cook for about 10 minutes until the dumplings are cooked.
Now THIS is dinner!

I usually make the chicken and vegetable mixture early in the morning 
and finish it up with the dumplings or into "pot pie" about 20 minutes 
before we're ready to eat. 

You may need to add more chicken broth to the mixture 
if you let it sit for awhile.  
It will thicken up and you want it nice and creamy before
adding to a pie crust or making dumplings.

This mixture freezes well also!

And to be really fancy, I make individual chicken pot pies. 

Enjoy!

NOTE:  The original recipe calls for sauted onions.  
Our family doesn't care for the onions, so I leave them out. 
You can also add cubed "almost cooked" potatoes to the mixture. 

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Family Favorite...

Manicotti

Crepes:
4 eggs
1 cup water
1 cup flour

Combine above ingredients in blender and mix. Pour into large mixing bowl.


Pour a small amount, 1/3 cup, into a small frying pan. 
Spread evenly, cook 1 minute, flip crepe and cook another minute.

Layer crepes on plate with wax paper in between each crepe. 
You can make the crepes the day before.

Filling:
Ricotta cheese, egg, mozzarella, Parmesan...


Mix the above ingredients together and spread down the center of your crepe.
Fold both sides toward the middle.

Place crepe "seam side down" in a baking dish that has some sauce on the bottom.


Cover with sauce, mozzarella, Parmesan 
(sorry no picture with mozzarella!)

Bake at 350 until bubbly and your kitchen smells like Little Italy! 

Enjoy!