Dinner This Week

After 2 weeks of sickness, company, and general life craziness I am hoping to return to some semblance of normalcy this week. So, I am writing a dinner menu. Cross your fingers.

Monday - hamburgers and veggies

Tuesday - potato soup

Wednesday - dinner at church

Thursday - buffalo chicken sandwiches

Friday - dinner out with the Ericksons (RR I hope!)

Saturday - corned beef and cabbage

Sunday - tbd

What are you having this week?

Chicken Soup with Brown and Wild Rice

As with most of my cooking, this soup doesn't have an exact recipe. My first attempt at making something similar was off of a recipe found on 365crockpot if you want to google it. That being said, this is my favorite soup to make at home and all of my kids eat it.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups of chicken broth

2 cups of water

2 chicken breasts cooked and chunked (if I remember correctly, the original recipe you put them in raw and let them cook, but I didn't like that so I precook mine)

1 box of Rice-a-Roni long grain and wild rice

1/2-1 cup of brown rice (This isn't in the original recipe, but I like more rice in it as well as a more thicker versus runny soup. I normally just grab a couple of handfuls of rice and plop it in. A white rice could also be used as well as using Costco's wild rice mix)

1 cup of diced carrots or shredded if preferred

1 cup of diced celery

1/4 cup of flour

1/4 cup of butter

1 cup of half and half (fat-free does work in this)

salt and pepper to taste

Combine the broth, water, carrots, celery, chicken, rice and box of Rice-a-Roni with seasoning packet in a large crockpot or pot for stove. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. If you put your chicken in raw take it out and cube or shred it and put it back in.

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour (and I normally do a dash of pepper) by tablespoon to make a roux. Whisk in the half and half a little at a time until fully mixed and smooth. Stir cream mixture into soup and cook on low for 15 more minutes. (The original recipe had the amounts of the cream mixture at least doubled. I don't know if it is having added more rice or not, but for me, it is way too much and steals from the flavors and makes it a bit bland and too thick. The way I fixed that problem was to add chicken bouillon granules and water) Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy the comfort food!

This makes enough to feed 4 adults and 6 kids ;)

Frozen Blueberry Muffins

2 cups of flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cups of sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup of milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups of frozen blueberries

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Cream together butter and sugar in seperate bowl. Add eggs, mil and vanilla and mix well. Stir in dry ingredients until moistened. Fold in frozen blueberries. Spoon into muffin tins and bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. Makes 12-18 muffins depending on size of blueberries.

Cranberry Bliss Bars

ingredients:

Bars:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
6 ounces (about 3/4 cup) white chocolate chips (or chopped white chocolate)

Frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped

Drizzling Icing:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
1-2 tablespoons milk

directions:

Bars:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, ginger, and salt and mix well. Gradually add flour and mix until smooth. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate. Pour the batter into the greased pan, using a spatula to evenly spread the batter in the pan. Bake 30-40 minutes, until edges are light brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:
Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and lemon juice until completely smooth. Spread on the completely cool cake. Sprinkle the top with cranberries.

Drizzling Icing:
In a small bowl, whisk together 1 Tbsp of milk, powdered sugar, and vegetable shortening. Gradually add more milk until the icing has a thick but drizzly consistency. I used closer to 2 tablespoons. Put the icing into a ziploc bag and snip off a tiny bit of the corner. Drizzle the icing on top in zig-zags.

Cut into squares or triangles and enjoy!

Ham and Potato Soup

I found this on pinterest and is was SO good! I did NOT add the chicken bouillon granules to the water because I cooked the hambone in water and used that as stock which had a lot of flavor. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
4 slices american cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
Directions

Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

Another pinterest success! This is super yummy!

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped carrot

1 stalk celery, finely chopped (feel free to add more celery if you like celery; I don't, so I don't add much)

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

4 cups chicken broth (I usually use a mixture of low-sodium chicken broth and broth made with chicken soup base because it gives it such nice flavor)

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup milk

2 cups chopped broccoli

2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute over medium heat until tender. Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 additional minutes. Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender. Mix flour with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened. Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through. Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.

30 Minute Rolls

Found this recipe on pinterest. These rolls are a cinch and really yummy! My only advice is to bake a couple minutes longer than it says. They seemed to need it.

Ingredients:

1 C plus 2 Tbsp warm water

1/3 C oil

2 Tbsp yeast

1/4 C sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

3 1/2 C flour

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

In your mixer bowl combine the water, oil, yeast and sugar and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. Using your dough hook, mix in the salt, egg and flour. Knead with hook until will incorporated and dough is soft and smooth. (Just a few minutes)

Form dough into 12 balls and then place in a greased 9 x 13 pan and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees or until golden brown.

No-bake Granola Bites

This is pretty much a granola bar in a bite size ball. Easy and quick to pull together.

1 cup quick oatmeal

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup of coconut flakes

1/2 cup of ground flaxseed

1/2 cup chocolate chips or other add-ins (craisens, nuts, etc)

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix everything in a bowl except the peanut butter. Slightly warm the peanut butter in the microwave (it's only about 30 seconds in my microwave). Pour peanut butter over mix and stir it in to coat everything. Chill in the refrigerator for a half and hour. Remove from fridge and roll into balls. Keep in refrigerator.

Homemade Hot Pockets

Here's something I've been having fun with lately. Make your dough and then get creative with the fillings.

1 package yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cups flour, more as needed

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar. Let it set for a few minutes until foamy.

Stir in oil, salt, and flour. Knead 5 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes.

Divide dough into serving size pieces. (I make about 8) Roll and pat each piece into a circle (about 6-inches across or so). Top half of each circle with filling of choice, keeping back from edges so it will seal well. Fold the other 1/2 of circle over the filling and pinch sides together or seal with a fork.

Poke a couple steam vents and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

So far I have filled mine with...

Spaghetti sauce, Mozzarella and Pepperoni

Cream of chicken soup, broccoli, leftover chicken cut into bite size pieces

Leftover beef gravy, onion, peppers, leftover roast beef cut into bite size pieces

Sometime soon I'd like to try a breakfast variety. Maybe cheese sauce, ham and scrambled egg?

So far they've all turned out pretty good. I have learned to put a bit more sauce in them than you think you'll need. Otherwise they may turn out kinda dry. I hear they freeze well, but have never tried it myself. Have fun!

Creamy Ham 'n' Mac

2 c. elbow macaroni

1/4 c. butter

1/4 c. flour

2 c. milk

2 tsp. chicken bouillon granules

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1-1/2 c. diced ham

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Cook macaroni; drain and set aside. In large pan, melt butter; whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in the milk, bouillon and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Stir in 1 c. cheddar cheese, ham, Parmesan and macaroni.

Transfer to a greased 2 quart dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Corn Chowder

1/2 lb. bacon, cut up

1/2 c. diced onion

2 medium stalks celery, chopped

2 T. flour

3 c. milk (or if you want it soupier 4 cups is fine too)

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 can (3.75 oz) cream style corn

1 can (16 oz) tiny whole potatoes, drained and diced

Cook bacon in soup pot until crisp. Drain fat, reserving 3 T in pot. Set bacon aside.

Cook onion and celery in bacon fat over medium heat until tender. Stir in flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Gradually stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute.

Stir in pepper, corn and potatoes. Heat until hot. Stir in bacon. Enjoy!

This makes a great freezer meal too!

August's Menu

Here you go Lynne. I only planned three weeks of meals last month and I haven't done September yet, but here's what I have. Hope it gives you some inspiration.

M - Chicken Spaghetti

T - Chicken Sandwiches

W - Soup night. I have to confess that in an effort to save money on the grocery budget, soup night is often Ramen night. Drop in an egg/canned meat and add some frozen veggies and you've got an alright super cheap meal.

Th - Orange Chicken

F - Hamburgers

S - Potluck family picnic... I took Pasta Salad

Su - Mac n Cheese

M - Lasagna with salad

T - Leftovers

W - Creamy Ham n Mac

Th - Soup night

F - Tuna Casserole

S - Taquitos from freezer

Su - Mac n Cheese

M - Biscuits and Gravy

T -Chicken Enchiladas

W - Corn Chowder

Th - Soup Night

F - Pizza

S - Fish

Su - Fettuccine Alfredo

Kettle Corn

Another great recipe from Our Best Bites...I got this one out of their cookbook. :)

3 T canola or vegetable oil
1/3 C popcorn kernels
3 T granulated sugar
kosher salt

1. Place a large stock pot on the stove top. Set heat to medium-high. Add oil. While your oil is heating (it won’t take long), measure out your popcorn into a small bowl. Add sugar to the kernels. When it’s time to cook, everything moves very quickly, so it’s important to have it all ready to go.

Wait until you see your oil smoke. This is one little trick that a lot of people overlook, but it’s important. The smoke is very faint, but if you just stare at the pot (it helps to get down parallel to it), you’ll see little billows of smoke coming up. That’s your cue! Pour popcorn kernels and sugar into the pot.

Immediately stir using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, scraping sugar from bottom of pan. This step should only take about 10 seconds. Cover pot with lid. You will need to shake the pot with your hands and you’ll want to make sure the lid stays on, so I get a dish towel and drape it over the top.

Hold the pot by the handles in a way that you’re securing the lid on as well. Shake the pan side to side in all directions and up and down a few times. Do this every 20 seconds or so. It will keep the sugar from burning on the bottom and help the kernels to be evenly coated.

After a few minutes you should start hearing the pops. (If it doesn’t start popping after a few minutes, crack the lid to let some of the pressure out. Chances are when you put the lid back on, it will pop away). Continue the shaking every 20 second or so until you can tell almost everything is popped. Remove the lid and stir immediately.

Sprinkle Kosher salt to taste and then keep stirring. You can eat it warm right out of the pan (Disclaimer: caramelized sugar it HOT so don’t eat it right away.) or let it cool completely. It’s great either way!

Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadillas

Made these the other night and thought that, though you don't really need a recipe, it might just spark something on a night when you're stuck and don't know what to make.

1 pound of cooked chicken (though I used a Costco can of chicken)

1/2 package of bacon cooked to crispy

package of tortillas

1-2 cups of shredded cheese

2 tablespoons of ranch

Take a tortilla and put a layer of chicken on it. Crumble a strip of bacon over the chicken. Drip some ranch over it and put a layer of cheese. Top with another tortilla and either bake in oven, put in a skillet on the stove or on a greased grill rack.

Serve with lettuce, tomatoe, guacamole and salsa. Enjoy!

Other things I think are good with this...black beans and corn

Crock-Pot Chicken with Black Beans

I saw this on a blog this evening and thought it looked simple and yummy. Think I'll try it this week.

Ingredients:

4-5 boneless chicken breasts
1 (15 1/2 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz) can corn, drained
1 (15 oz) jar salsa, any kind
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

Direction:

Take 4-5 FROZEN boneless chicken breasts and put into crock pot. Add black beans, salsa and corn.

Keep in crock pot on high for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked. (My crockpot is always super hot, so I actually just put it on “Keep Warm” and leave the chicken in for 6-7 hours)

Add package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour.

Dinner This Week

Since we're going to Idaho next week, my mission is to save as much grocery money as possible for gas/etc. and eat what's in the cupboards. So this week may be interesting...

Sun - Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches
Mon - Taco salad
Tues - Chicken enchiladas and refried beans (I found a recipe to make the beans in the crock pot)
Wed - Homemade chili (all they way from dried beans)
Thurs - Probably some kind of pasta
Fri - OG or RR (A girl can't cook on her birthday, right?)
Sat - Porcupine meatballs from the freezer

Next week we'll be having leftovers and it'll really start the mystery dinners....

Cashew Chicken

Courtesy of the lovely Brenda Milton

Marinate Chicken at least 30 minutes prior to cooking.
2 Chicken breasts - cut into bite size pieces
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/3c water
Mix the above ingredients, pour over chicken and set aside for at least 30 minutes.

Served with rice - begin cooking rice while preparing

2 Tbsp Olive or Vegetable oil
2 tsp salt
2 inches of ginger root - peeled and sliced
1 Tbsp dry white wine or cooking sherry
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 medium onion - chopped
1-2c carrots - chopped
1-2c celery - chopped
Handful of snow peas
1 can water chestnuts - sliced
1 Tbsp cornstarch
3/4c chicken broth or water
3 green onions - sliced
1/2c cashews
1c chow mein noodles - crispy

Put oil, salt and ginger root in a hot skillet or wok. Cook 2 minutes and remove ginger root. Drain chicken and add to skillet. Brown chicken, add sherry/wine, soy sauce and onion/ Stir fry 1 minute, add carrots and stir fry 1 minute, add celery and stir fry 1 minute, add snow peas and stir fry 1 minute, add 1/4c broth or water, cover, turn heat down and simmer for 2 minutes. Add water chestnuts and then thicken with cornstarch and remaining broth or water. Put on a platter and top with green onions and cashews. Serve with rice and crispy chow mein noodles.

Serves 4

BBQ Pork-on-a-stick

Got this from my friend Katrina Stewart back in college. It stinks up the fridge, but is worth it! Feeds a crowd well ;)

Slice 8-10 lbs of pork butt into thin slices

Marinade overnight:

1 Tbs pepper

1 thinly sliced fresh lemon

3 Tbs. Worchestershire

3/4 c sugar

2 c soy sauce

5 cloves finely minced garlic

Grill on skewers. just before cooked, generously dab with BBQ sauce:

3/4 c ketchup

1 tsp worchestire

dash of tobasco

1 1/4c sugar

1/4 c melted butter

Stire over medium heat until sugar is completely dissolved and sauce is well-blended.

Donut Muffins

These are my new favorite thing. Like a snickerdoodle all wrapped up in a muffin. I didn't have nutmeg so I sprinkled some cinnamon into the batter which tasted great. Also, maybe my muffin tins are small, but I made 12 instead of 10 easily. I think they'd be super fun as mini-muffins. Enjoy!

3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking power
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk (low fat is fine)
1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a muffin tin with cooking spray or vegetable oil.
In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg until light in color.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Pour into egg mixture and stir to combine. Pour in vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract.
Divide batter evenly into 10 muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

While muffins are baking, melt butter and pour remaining sugar into a small bowl.
When muffins are done, lightly brush the top of each with some melted butter, remove from the pan and roll in sugar. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 10 muffins.

Taco Seasoning

I got this recipe from here. Another great help if you run out or if you're making a huge batch of taco meat. :)

1/4 cup chili powder

1 1/2 tsp onion powder

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 1/2 oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Mix all the ingredients above in a small bowl. Keep fresh in an air tight container for up to 6 months.

Double or triple recipe as needed.

To use: substitute 2 rounded Tablespoons for 1 packet of taco seasoning.

**You can also kick up the heat a notch by adding in 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes!!**