Back in the Kitchen Again

Recipes for the week:

Bacon Breakfast Bake

Baked Pork Chops

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Pepperoni Pasta Bake

Tater-Tot Casserole

And maybe these...

Homemade Snickers

Our Day - {January 20th}

6:40 am - My alarm goes off.  I walk to Caleb's room and turn on the lights.  I steal his covers and lay down in his bed, kicking him out to get himself dressed.

7:55 am - I drop Caleb off at school with a hug and a kiss.  I love that little man!

9:30 am - I throw some chicken a BBQ sauce in the crock pot for dinner.  This recipe was delicious!

10:00 am - I try to accomplish a few household chores.  Laundry, washing dishes, etc.  I get stressed out.

12:45 pm - Jadie, Sarah, Norah, and I arrive at the neurosurgeon's office.  I nursed Norah and talked with Sarah about pictures in magazines.  The receptionist commented on Sarah's large vocabulary.  I cuddled both girls and played with Sarah for almost an hour.

1:40 pm - We were finally called back and Jadie had his staples removed from having back surgery!

2:15 pm - We return this mop to Target.  It broke after a single use.  I'd say it was more useless than useful.  I wish we'd have done a little research ahead of time.

3:05 pm - As Sarah sleeps in the car, we arrive at the elementary school to pick up Caleb.  We let the kids play on the playground for about an hour.

4:00 pm - I begin working on dinner.

6:00 pm - Our friend, Sheena, joins us for dinner.  We enjoyed this:

And this:

And these:

And these:

8:30 pm - Jadie and I watched "Courageous" with no interruptions.  I almost can't believe it!  What a great end to a long day.

I hop you had a great day, too!

Meal ideas for this week

Crock Pot Chicken with Rice

Beef Enchiladas

Breakfast Casserole

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Frozen Pizza

Chicken Tortilla Soup

As I sit here devouring a homemade mish-mash of fajita leftovers, I can't help but think of chicken tortilla soup.  I can't wait until cooler weather.  Cooler weather is, of course, soup weather.  And I do love me some soup!

Courtesy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks...

Chicken Tortilla Soup

From The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Although I've copied the recipe here, you should really go to her site via the link above...it's so much more fun to "watch" her cook as you try to follow along!

Ingredients

• 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 cup Diced Onion
• 1/4 cup Diced Green Bell Pepper
• 1/4 cup Red Bell Pepper
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 can (10 Oz. Can) Rotel Tomatoes And Green Chilies
• 32 ounces, fluid Low Sodium Chicken Stock
• 3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 4 cups Hot Water
• 2 cans (15 Oz. Can) Black Beans, Drained
• 3 Tablespoons Cornmeal Or Masa
• 5 whole Corn Tortillas, Cut Into Uniform Strips Around 2 To 3 Inches
• _____
• FOR THE GARNISHES:
• Sour Cream
• Diced Avocado
• Diced Red Onion
• Salsa Or Pico De Gallo
• Grated Monterey Jack Cheese
• Cilantro

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix cumin, chili pepper, garlic powder, and salt. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on chicken breasts, then sprinkle a small amount of spice mix on both sides. Set aside the rest of the spice mix.

Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is done. Use two forks to shred chicken. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add onions, red pepper, green pepper, and minced garlic. Stir and begin cooking, then add the rest of the spice mix. Stir to combine, then add shredded chicken and stir.

Pour in Rotel, chicken stock, tomato paste, water, and black beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, uncovered.

Mix cornmeal with a small amount of water. Pour into the soup, then simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Check seasonings, adding more if needed---add more chili powder if it needs more spice, and be sure not to undersalt. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Five minutes before serving, gently stir in tortilla strips.

Ladle into bowls, then top with sour cream, diced red onion, diced avocado, pico de gallo, and grated cheese, if you have it! (The garnishes really make the soup delicious.)

Buttercream Icing Recipe

Let's be honest, who likes "Whipped Icing" anyway?

Source: http://sparkcloud.posterous.com/cupcakes-and-inbound-marketing

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, and vanilla. Blend in the sugar, one cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the milk, and continue mixing until light and fluffy. Keep icing covered until ready to decorate.

Recipe Source: Allrecipes.com

My Favorite (Ground) Beef Stroganoff

I tried this recipe for dinner last night.  It could be the pregnancy, but I just couldn't get enough!

1 lb. ground beef

2 garlic cloves

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 pkg. onion soup mix

8 oz. pkg. sour cream

Finely chop garlic.

Brown the meat with the chopped garlic.

Prepare the onion soup as directed on the box.

Add cream of mushroom soup to prepared onion soup.  

Mix well. 

Add soups to the browned meat.

Heat through.

Add sour cream and mix well.

Prepare egg noodles.

Serve the stronganoff over egg noodles.

Delicious Pumpkin Gingerbread

I made Pumpkin Muffins for Breakfast yesterday morning.  Yumm!  The problem is that the recipe calls for 1 cup of pumpkin, which is only 1/2 of the can.  I didn't want to double the recipe, because that would be too many muffins for sure...

So I searched allrecipes.com for another pumpkin recipe.  I found a great one!

This Pumpkin Gingerbread is divine...if you like that sort of thing.  I decreased the recipe to half the number of servings and used what I had left of the pumpkin from breakfast.  Waste not, want not...I'm sure glad I didn't!

I've also copied the address below as I made it.  The original recipe yields two loaves, but the halved version yields one.

Pumpkin Gingerbread

• 
  
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large mixing, combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice cinnamon, and clove.
3. In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed. Divide batter between prepared pans.
4. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour.  I had to leave the loaf in the oven an additional 10 minutes.  Just use the toothpick test and you'll be fine.

Carresa's Tuscan Soup

Tuscan Soup Recipe

What's For Dinner?

• Monday: Baked Chicken and Mac & Cheese...this was scrounge night before Tuesday's grocery store trip.
• Tuesday: Chicken Enchiladas...mine are as the recipe describes, Caleb's are chicken and cheese only...Jadie's are chicken only.
• Wednesday:  Spaghetti...I keep the meat unseasoned and assemble by the bowl.
• Thursday: Soft Tacos...I'll use the left over meat from spaghetti.
• Friday: Tater Tot Casserole.
• Saturday: Fajitas...I'll use the remaining tortillas, cilantro, etc from the other Mexican food from the week.

Update On the Homemade Pizza

A few notes:
1. The homemade pizza turned out great!
2. I used a round, metal, 12.5-inch pizza pan that I picked up at HEB a few years ago.
3. I used 1.5 cups of whole wheat flour and 3 cups all purpose flour to make the dough.  We liked it just fine.
4. It took approximately 1.5 hours for my dough to rise to twice its size.
5. The dough recipe made 3 dough balls for me.  I made 2 pizzas that fed 3 adults and 2 children, and I tossed the 3rd dough ball in the back of the freezer in a freezer bag.
6. I used a jar of marinara for the pizza sauce.  There's no sense in buying that tiny jar of "pizza sauce."  What a rip-off.  I used the remaining marinara to make spaghetti the next day.

Homemade Pizza Recipe

I have not yet tried this, but it is on my meal plan for THIS WEEK!!!

I don't usually copy and paste someone else's entire post, but I want a quick and easy place to return to when I try this for myself!

From Good Cheap Eats.

Homemade Pizza is a regular feature on the FishFam menu. I try to make it at least once a week, usually on Fridays. This makes a great start to our weekend. Coupled with rootbeer, a movie, and snacks, it creates a fun family night for my husband and me and our six children.

The first time I made pizza, it was a terrible bomb and I vowed never to make it again. That was fifteen years ago. About three years later when our first child was born and we moved to one income, I reconsidered that vow. I liked pizza, but I knew it wasn’t in the budget to indulge on a regular basis.

Instead, I set out to teach myself how to make it at home. After some trial and error, I’ve come up with something that we like just as well if not better than pizza parlour pies. I still goof up sometimes, but overall everyone enjoys pizza night.

Dough
I rely on my bread machine to make fantastic dough. The texture can vary a little, depending on the humidity, but overall it’s pretty consistent.

1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons honey
4 1/2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon yeast

Combine ingredients in the bread machine pan according to the order recommended by your machine’s manufacturer. Set on dough and start the machine, checking after ten minutes to make sure all the ingredients have been incorporated and not stuck to the side of the pan.

When dough is ready, divide into portions. This makes six individual pizzas or three to four large. Shape each portion into a flat round. Place on a cookie sheet or pizza pan that has been greased and sprinkled with corn meal. Spread pizza crust with sauce.

***Suggestions for those of us without a bread machine:

Warm the water and place it in a large mixing bowl (or Kitchenaid mixer). Add honey and stir.  Sprinkle the yeast and stir. Once it starts to foam (after about 10 minutes), add the rest of the ingredients. If using mixer, put the bread hook on and mix for 3 minutes. If by hand, stir until dough forms, transfer to floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Transfer to greased bowl and let rise until doubled in bulk.***

Sauce
I usually use whatever spaghetti sauce I have on hand. Usually something I’ve made myself, like this tomato sauce with meats. I prepare it in huge quantities and store it in 2-cup portions in the freezer. The morning of pizza night, I pull out a container to thaw in the refrigerator.

I use about 2/3 cup sauce for large pizzas, 1/3 cup for smaller, individual size pies.

Toppings

Start with a sprinkling of cheese. We like a combination of shredded jack and mozzarella cheeses.

Next layer on whatever toppings you like:

• pepperoni
• sausage
• sliced mushrooms
• diced onion
• diced or sliced tomato
• sliced, black olives
• chopped zucchini
• sliced bell pepper

Top with more cheese.

A preheated oven is key to a great crust. Up to an hour before baking, set your oven to 475 &deg. Bake pizzas for 8-15 minutes, depending on their size. Use the shorter baking time for smaller pizzas, the longer time for larger ones. Pay close attention to how your oven operates and how brown your pizzas are getting. I cook only one large pizza at a time.