1,000 Hits Giveaway Winner!!

This was totally random thanks to a site called Random.org! You can go give it a number range & it will randomly generate a winner! So I went in and entered our range of 1 - 9 (and can I just say I was so relieved that you guys actually entered this thing! I would have been sad & embarrassed if I'd done a giveaway & nobody entered!!! LOL) OK - back on topic! ***drumroll*** Random.org chose:

Entry #5: Jim Rowley who said: "Mmmmm. Cookies."

Congratulations to the lone testosterone that entered the contest! I'm happy to make a special request or I can choose & just surprise you!

And.... speaking of GIVEAWAYS!!! I was contacted this morning by an online retailer and.... they want me to host a giveaway for them!! My little, insignificant blog was found by a big guy!! LOL I feel like a little rolly-polly potato bug that just wandered into the sun! So keep your eyes peeled for that - coming soon!!

Chicken Pot Pies

This is a recipe that was shared with me by a friend, Shanti. I don't remember, exactly, what the original recipe was. I just know that I changed a couple of things & our family enjoys it! This is a very kid-friendly recipe - very 'vanilla' for the little ones picky palate. When I put it on my plate I add a lot of black pepper! It would probably be good with a dash of hot sauce, too, but I'm too chicken to try it out! LOL This is a perfect busy-mom recipe because the 'from scratch' is as minimal as it can get - but it's still a home made meal you can feel great about.

Here is our line up:

Cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, cream of celery (I use the Healthy Request ones to keep the fat & sodium down), frozen peas & carrots, frozen diced hash browns, pie crust & cooked chicken (you'll want to dice it up, but use whatever chicken you want. Leftovers, a grocery store rotisserie, fresh cooked chicken - whatever).

Now, if you have the time and want to save a few bucks you could always make the pie crust from scratch (it's actually quite simple) and just peel/dice up some russet potatoes. But in the interest of this being a QUICK & EASY recipe, I go for the convenience items.

Before you get too into this, pull the pie crusts out of the fridge & let them sit on the counter for about 15 minutes before you unroll them so they don't split/crack as you handle them. Gives them a chance to become pliable.

Ready for E-A-S-Y!? Just mix everything together!

(Not entirely sure why it keeps loading this picture on its side. Sorry - I've tried several times to get it right!)

Stir, stir, stir...


Then prep the pie shells. Unroll one into the bottom of a pie tin. Press it into the bottom edges & up over the sides.


Now pour in HALF of the chicken mixture. Then top it with a second crust, seal the edges with a fork, cut some holes to vent the steam (I like to make a flower because it makes me feel extra fancy!) and then cut off the extra crust from around the edge of the pan.


Now you've got a couple of choices. You can repeat this step again if you have a lot of people eating dinner - or make them both & take one to a neighbor. The other option is to put the second half into a gallon-sized sip lock bag & pop it into the freezer. That way you have an even easier dinner ready to go for another night! Just make sure you date it because it's easy to forget when you put thing in there. I'd say you should use it within three months.


Now pop your pie(s) into a 350 oven for an hour, or until the crust is golden & delicious looking & your entire house smells amazing.


Man, I wish you could smell this!!!!! Let it sit for about 10 minutes before you cut into it. It'll let the inside set up a little so it doesn't all run out on you.

Chicken Pot Pies
makes 2 pies

2 boxes of rolled up, refrigerated pie shells (4 shells, total)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 16-oz bag frozen peas & carrots
1/2 a small bag frozen diced hash browns
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of celery

Set the pie shells out on the counter for about 15 minutes before making these - to take the chill off them so they don't break when you unroll them.

Boil chicken breasts in a pot of water, seasoned to taste. I use season salt, garlic powder, black pepper & dehydrated onion. They should be done in about 20-25 minutes. Once cooked, dice into bite-sized pieces.

In a large bowl, mix chicken, soups & the veggies (no need to thaw any of them).

Put half the mixture into one pie shell, top with another. Seal the edges with a fork & cut slits in the top to vent the steam. Repeat with second pie. Or, if you only want one pie now, put the other half in a gallon zip lock bag & pop it in the freezer. Then you have an even easier dinner ready to go for another night!

Bake at 350 for an hour. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

***This is very easy to cut in half so you only get one pie. The leftovers are great - but if you don't want two, just use 1 cans cream of chicken, 1/2 can cream of mushroom & 1/2 of everything else!

1,000 Hits!!

Well you all know how to make a girl feel special! My little baby is only about 4 months old & you've all helped me reach 1,000 visitors already! Kind of exciting for little me! As a thank you to you guys I'm gonna bake someone some cookies! Wanna get them? Just make sure you are a "follower" of my blog & then reply here on this post. I'll randomly choose someone to give the goodies to - and if you're not local, don't worry. I'll even stick 'em in the mail! I'll hold this open until Tuesday morning. Let's say 9:00 Nevada time.

* 1,000 *

Skillet Lasagna

As I was thinking about this post I had to laugh. The spaghetti I posted a while back, which is traditionally a stove-top dish, was made in the oven. And now my "lasagna", typically an oven dish, is made on the stove top. If you're Italian I apologize for any disrespect you may feel by me calling this a lasagna! I know it's not lasagna:

la-sa-gna (luh-zahn-yuh)
-noun
1. large, flat, rectangular strips of pasta.
2. a baked dish consisting of layers of this pasta, cheese, tomato sauce, and usually meat.

OK, so I get it. It's TOTALLY not lasagna! It's noodles, meat, cheese & sauce. But not layered & not flat. So what is it? It's not spaghetti, either. Do you see the struggles I have in my life!!?? I don't know how many times I've asked "What should I name this?" in one of my posts!! LOL Help me, people! Settle the insanity in my life! Name this dish!

Here are the ingredients:


Sausage, bow tie pasta, sour cream, mozzarella, Italian seasonings, garlic powder & marinara sauce (not pictured). I know... how could I forget to put the sauce in the picture!!!? Ugh.

Start out by browning your sausage. If it's in casing just peel it like a banana & crumble it into the pan. You can also just use ground beef. If you do, add about a teaspoon of salt, too. While that is browning up boil your pasta according to the package directions.


Once they're both done, drain the pasta & toss it on top of the meat. Give the pasta a quick drizzle of olive oil so it doesn't get sticky. Add in everything else - the sour cream, cheese, sauce, seasonings. Keep out half the cheese for later & give it all a good stir.


Now top it with the rest of the cheese & pop it under the broiler to melt the cheese. If you're not sure if your skillet is oven safe just wrap tin foil around the handle(s). Leave it there for maybe 5 minutes - until it's good & melted, just starting to brown.


And that's that! My skillet lasagna! Hope you try it and love it!

Skillet Lasagna:

1 lb ground sausage
1 box bow tie pasta
1 jar marinara sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp Italian seasonings
1 tsp garlic powder
a drizzle of olive oil

Brown meat. Boil pasta to al dente. Drain pasta & dump on top of meat. Drizzle with olive oil.

Add remaining ingredients, reserving half the cheese. Stir to combine well.

Top with remaining cheese & put under broiler for about 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

Weekly Menu, 9/6 - 9/12

Been a while since I posted my menu - sorry about that! Had more camping + school starting + sick baby + tired Mama = no menus for the past 2 weeks! Hopefully now that routines are starting to be cemented again I can get back on track with my menu planning! It just makes the day go so much smoother when I already know what's for dinner & I know that I have it in my pantry/fridge ready to go!

Monday: Blue cheeseburgers, green bean fries, salad

Tuesday: Baked chicken, tater tots, peas & carrots

Wednesday: (Zac @ work) Tacos, corn, carrot sticks

Thursday: (Zac @ work) Grilled cheese, chicken soup

Friday: (MEEEEEEE out of town!) Zac's in charge.

Saturday: (MEEEEEEE out of town!) Zac's in charge.

Sunday: Pulled pork, silver dollars, salad

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Krispers

I have a good friend, Kristi, that took a challenge last year. She called it Cookie Monday. She set a goal to have fresh baked cookies for her girls every Monday when they walked in from school. And she did it!!! She made it the whole year! And now, I've decided to take the challenge myself! The first Monday snuck up on me so I just used a bag of oatmeal cookie mix from the cupboard & added butterscotch chips to the batter (YUMMY!). But this past Monday I was a little more prepared and I made one of my favorites - Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Krispers. I think I call these a different name every time I make them!! LOL Oatmeal Cocoa Crunchies is another one that comes out sometimes. Can you name them anything better?

Here are our ingredients:


Rice Krispies, oats, chocolate chips, margarine, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, flour, baking soda & salt.

Cream together the butter, sugars & vanilla.


Add the flour & salt.

Now get a quarter cup of boiling water & dissolve the baking soda.


Add to the creamed mixture.

Now stir in the oats, chocolate chips and cereal.


Now grab a spoon & eat the dough. It's totally OK - there are no raw eggs in there!


MMmmmm...... COOKIE MONDAY! How I love theeeeeeee.

Oh, wait - I guess we should cook these.

If you choose that road, heat the oven to 350, drop them onto a cookie sheet & bake for about 10 minutes. Be sure you don't over cook them!


Here they are - not the greatest picture, but they sure are good!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Krispers:

1 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup boiling water
2 cups quick oats
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup Rice Krispies

Beat butter, sugars & vanilla together until creamy. Add flour & salt. Mix well.

Dissolve baking soda in boiling water. Add to the mixture Stir in the oats, chips & cereal.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cokie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Beef Stew

Here we are, in the middle of the summer season. Temperatures have been hovering in the 90's for several weeks now. It's been warm and wonderful! But, out of nowhere this weekend, we had a 30-degree drop in temperatures. Sunday there were gloomy storm clouds, strong winds & even a little drizzle! And it put me in a baking/comfort food mood. (Thus the french bread you saw a couple of days ago!) To go with it, I made a big pot of beef stew! Comfort heaven!!

For this we'll need:


Stew meat, carrots, potatoes, onion, stewed tomatoes, beef broth & Italian dressing (not pictured).

Start out by putting the meat in a zip-lock baggie with 3/4 cup of the Italian dressing.


Close up the bag, massage the dressing around all the meat & then stick it back in the fridge to marinate for about 1/2 an hour.

While that is soaking get your veggies all peeled and chunked up.


Now get out your stock pot, drizzle a little oil into the bottom, set it to medium heat & throw in your onions. Stir them around to get some color on them & soften them up - about 10 minutes.


Once they look good to you add in everything else! Get the meat out of the marinade & toss the dressing out. Add the meat, veggies and canned stuff to the pot.


Now bring it to a boil, cover & reduce heat to low. Simmer it for an hour & 15 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times. After that time is up, take off the lid & let it go for about 15 more minutes. Once it's done you can thicken it up, if you like more of a gravy. If you like a broth you're done.

To thicken it: Pull some of the broth out into a separate dish. Add in a couple forkfuls of corn starch. Whisk it around to combine, then slowly stir it back into the pot. Viola! Gravy!


Now just serve it up & enjoy! This is a very kid-friendly stew. For me, I ad a couple of shakes of salt and a LOT of black pepper. It's also good with some hot sauce stirred in!


Comfort food at its best!

Beef Stew:

3/4 cups Italian dressing
2 lbs stew meat
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cups of carrots, peeled & sliced
3 medium russet potatoes, peeled & chunked
1 14.5-oz can stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 14.5-oz can beef broth

Place dressing and beef into a large zip-lock bag. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cook onions in a stock pot over medium-high heat, with a little oil, for about 10 minutes. Remove beef from marinade; discard marinade. Add beef, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes with their liquid and broth to the pot.

Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour & 15 minutes. Uncover and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

**To thicken: Remove a small amount of the broth into a small bowl. Add a few tablespoons of flour or cornstarch & whisk together with a fork until well combined. Add mixture back to the stew pot & stir until incorporated into stew.