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.  

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!

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.

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. 

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!

Italian Wedding Soup..

I don't follow any "written" recipe.

This is my version of Italian Wedding Soup.

Start by making your meatballs.

Again, use your favorite meatball recipe.

I mixed together ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs, garlic, salt and pepper

 with a little bit of water.

Only you want to form them into tiny meatballs.

Here's what I started with this morning.

I didn't count but it's a lot!

Don't worry, they all don't go in the soup!

I like to plan ahead.

This amount will make enough tiny meatballs 

for about 4 recipes of soup.

Brown them in a little bit of oil.

Transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towel to drain.

If you're making a lot, you'll want to do this in batches. 

Fill a pot with two containers of chicken broth.

Add chopped carrots, celery and your meatballs to the broth.

I added about 20 meatballs to this recipe.  

Add some frozen spinach, about a third of the package.

BUT please don't tell my children it's spinach, okay?

They think it's just parsley.

You can also add fresh spinach but then my kids wouldn't 

believe it was parsley.  

So for now, I add frozen spinach.  

I let the soup cook for about an hour or so until the meatballs

 are cooked through and the carrots and celery are tender.

About 20 minutes before you're ready to serve the soup,

 cook some pasta to add to your soup

in a separate pot of boiling water.

When the pasta is done, drain and add to the soup.

I used these tiny little "bow ties."

In the past I've added cheese tortellini, DELICIOUS!

Here's the soup, all done.

Doesn't that look GOOD?

Top your bowl of soup with some fresh Parmesan cheese.

So...

What did I do with the rest of the meatballs?

I divided them into three different piles,

wrapped in aluminum foil, placed in a freezer bag.

Now the next time I want to make Italian Wedding Soup, 

I just go to my freezer, take a package of mini meatballs out and start the soup.

Let me know if you make the soup!

ENJOY!

Potato Soup

Last week my sister and her family came for a visit.

I made two different soups, 

Potato Soup and Italian Wedding Soup.

Both were delicious!

The complete recipe for the soup is at the end of this post.

I need to point out that I do not add the onions or the butter to the soup.

The bacon, chives and sour cream are for garnishes.  

AND I now use fat free half/half.  

Not the heavy cream or the regular half/half as in the picture. 

This makes the soup not as fattening. 

Potatoes and Chicken Broth...

Peel and dice your potatoes and add them to a nice size pot...

Cover with the chicken broth and bring to a boil...

Continue to cook until the potatoes are fork tender...

While still in the pot, mash the potatoes with a potato masher.

You don't want this soup too smooth...

Add one cup cheddar cheese and one cup half and half...

Adding the cheese...

Continue to cook until the soup is thick and your house smells like heaven.

If the soup is NOT thickening, 

you MAY need to thicken the soup with a flour/water mixture, as if

you're making a gravy.  Add the flour/water mixture to the boiling soup.

I do not use cornstarch as a thickener.  

I only need to do this when I use the fat free half/half.

  

Ready to serve with a nice topping of bacon, chives, 

cheddar cheese and sour cream!

YUM!

Potato Soup:

6 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

3- 14 oz cans chicken broth
1/4 c butter
2 1/2 t salt
1 1/4 t freshly ground pepper
1 c whipping cream or half and half
1 c shredded SHARP Cheddar cheese
3 T chopped fresh chives (for garnish)
Sour cream (for garnish)
4 bacon slices cooked and crumbled (for garnish or you can add directly to the soup)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (for garnish)

1.  Combine first 6 ingredients in a 5 qt. slow cooker.
2.  Cover and cook on high 4 hours or on low 8 hours or until potatoes are tender.
3.  Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soup is slightly thickened; stir in cream and cheese.   

4.  Top with sour cream and sprinkle with bacon, chives and Cheddar cheese before serving.