Christmas is almost here!!!!!!!!

Yikes! Where has the time gone this year?????

I have completed most of my shopping, just need stocking stuffers and a mother-in-law gift. (Any ideas?) The kids seem super excited this year! Santa is bringing Isabella a wooden Barbie House...(I always wanted one of these!!) and Jaxson is getting a Hot Wheels City Plex set....He will be in Hot Wheel Heaven!

We will be traveling to Texas for the holiday. It has been 4 years since we have spent Christmas with my side of the family. I am very excited! My aunt that lives in Texas asked me to plan the menu and coordinate the dinner. It felt very strange to be doing the job that has been handled by my mom and her sisters. (Made me feel old!)
But it has all turned out well nad should be great fun! I planned a traditional holiday dinner. mainly because it has been a while since we have been together. I asked everyone to make their "specialties" and even a few new ones. I am making pumpkin bread, green bean casserole, cherry cream cheese pie, chocolate chip cookies, cranberry sauce, a pasta salad, raisin pie, candied walnuts and cranberry pistachio bark. Whew! I get tired just looking at it. The cookies, bread and candy can be made before we travel, the rest will have to be done when I get there. I am staying at my best friends house. i know, it is corny for an almost 30 year old to say Best friend...but she has been for 15 years! We can cook and laugh together...well I will cook and she can make me laugh!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Season! I will take pics and post some of the recipes. I have been falling behind in my blogging!

Merry Christmas to all!

Soup's Up!

Colder weather also begs for soup! This is a new one I found on Taste Of Home's website. It is delicious!! I have savored the leftovers!! This is one soup sure to warm you inside out! It is very fun to make too!

For the cooked chicken, I like to poach it. I place a pound of boneless chicken breast in a pot and cover with cold water and slowly simmer for 25-35 minutes until no longer pink. Try to keep the water from coming to a full boil.



Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Tasteofhome.com

Ingredients:
• 2 quarts chicken broth
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, chopped
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• 1/2 cup dry white wine or additional chicken broth
• 3 cups cooked wild rice
• 2 cups cubed cooked chicken
Directions:
In a large saucepan, combine the first nine ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
In a soup kettle or Dutch oven, melt butter. stir in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in broth mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Whisk in soup and wine or broth. Add rice and chicken; heat through. Yield: 14 servings (3-1/2 quarts).

Lovely roasted pork with baked sweet potatoes

As colder days approach I am enjoying my roasting recipes! This recipe calls to slow roast your pork roast for an hour and half to two hours on 300-325 degrees. In a bowl, I combine extra-virgin olive oil, parsley, salt, pepper, dash of allspice, cayenne, and one or all of the following: basil, garlic powder and mustard seed.
It just depends on what you want. Sometimes I squeeze a bit of lemon juice in too.
I mix this up and make a rub of sorts and smear it over the top and sides of the roast. For the sweet potatoes, I just poke holes in them using a fork, rub extra virgin olive oil on them and wrap them in foil. They cook alongside the roast.
It was very good.



We usually add a little butter and cinnamon to our potatoes :)
I also prepared a green bean casserole to complete the meal. Hubby was loving this meal!

Up and Running again!

Yikes!!! My modem exploded and I was out of touch with the wide world for a while!
It is all better now and my new modem is humming along nicely :)

I got an A on my Humanities test and next Tuesday I will find out what I got on my book report. Yea!! This class has been very interesting. I am so glad I decided to sign up. Next semester I will either take Humanities II or a composition class. i can't decide!

Here is a picture of my Spanish Chicken Recipe. this is something I came up with one night when I was tired of the same old stuff. The amounts of the ingredients change with my mood when I make it :)
I start by melting 1 stick of butter. I add garlic powder, dash of cayenne, dash of Worcestershire sauce, dash of seasoned salt and 1/2 cup to 1 cup of salsa, mix well.
I place boneless chicken thighs in a greased 11x7 dish. Pour the sauce over. Cover with foil and bake for 60-75 minutes at 350 degrees. I serve it with Spanish rice, chips and salsa.

Pasta Night!!

I LOVE pasta...LOVE IT!!

This is a recipe I changed up for my family's preferences. I boiled the Mostaccioli, scrambled the hamburger/Italian sausage mixture until no longer pink. Drain the fat off, add the sauce of your choice. Mix with drained cooked noodles. Place all in 11x7 baking dish. Cover with shredded mozzarella and bake. I also made Italian drop biscuits. They are easy and very tasty! I always make a double batch :)
Serve with a salad and you have a tasty meal!!



Hope your week is going GREAT!

Taste of Home recipe's I used for this meal:
Baked Mostaccioli
8 ounces uncooked mostaccioli
1/2 pound lean ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 cups (16 ounces) fat-free cottage cheese
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Cook mostaccioli according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook turkey and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain if necessary.
Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, water, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese and marjoram; set aside. Drain mostaccioli.
Spread 1/2 cup meat sauce into an 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Layer with half of the mostaccioli, meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. Top with cottage cheese mixture. Layer with remaining mostaccioli, meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (dish will be full).
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. Yield: 6 servings


Italian-style Drop Biscuits
1 cup biscuit/baking mix
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons chopped green chilies
1/4 cup cold water
4 teaspoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the biscuit mix, cheese and chilies. Stir in water until a soft dough forms; stir 30 seconds longer. Drop dough into six mounds 2 in. apart on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
In a small bowl, combine the butter, parsley, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Brush over biscuits. Serve warm. Yield: 6 biscuits.

Sunday Dinner

Growing up I knew that Sunday dinner would usually be roast beef. Mom would put it in the oven, with potatoes and carrots, before we headed to church. It was slow cooked and delicious! It was either roast or chicken fried steak.
My family enjoys roast as well. However, I have put different sides with it. I slow cook mine in the crock pot, just the roast. And then I make a sweet potato casserole. YUM! I boil the whole sweet potatoes, peel them, slice them, and place them in a 11x7 baking dish. I put tabs of butter around them, sprinkle with brown sugar, top with marshmallows and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until marshmallows are turning light brown.
I know your are shuddering at the amount of carbs, butter and marshmallows....but rest assured we do not have this EVERY Sunday. Just once in a while it nice to indulge in such comfort food!!
The casserole:

Dinner is served!



**Just a little note of thanks to those who read, comment and email me. I appreciate you hanging in with me. I have been struggling with time lately, there doesn't seem to be enough of it!! As some of you know I am taking a class in Humanities, trying to get my feet wet so I can jump in when Jaxson goes to school. I will take one or two a semester until he goes to school at which time I will probably go full-time. I really want to get my degree. I am also trying to start up a club at the college that has been inactive for 3 semesters. It is called the Writer's Bloc. Just an organization for people who enjoy creative writing, to gather and collaborate and have fun. I am not sure what it will turn out to be. Tonight is the first meeting and I am nervous. I fear no one will show up except the advisor who has to be present for college activities. I also fear the fact someone might show up....Feel the fear?
We all have struggles, trials and daily routines that we have to deal with. Mine are changing and i am trying to keep up! Isabella has dance class once a week, homework (with higher grade levels come more work), Jaxson is enjoying being 2 too much :) He will be 3 in November. He will suddenly morph into a quieter child, right? The terrible twos stop at 3....like midnight or something...please, let me enjoy this illusion.
My mom has MS. She was diagnosed 10 years ago. It is relapsing/remitting. It has been in remission for several years and now appears to be flaring up. I have talked to her about cutting back on the hours she works from 60/week to the normal 40. She is unable to do some of the things she could, which is probably why she spends more time at work. I now go to her place once a week to clean and do her laundry. She felt guilty about this at first, but has come around to see that I simply want to help and this is one way I can. The first time I went I was shocked by how little food she kept on hand. I guess when you live alone, cooking a meal doesn't seem as important. I now make her left over meals from our dinners and put them in her refrigerator a couple of times a week.
So, my days are full. i love blogging and I miss being able to do it everyday. I just wanted to let you in on why I may not post except for once a week.
Thanks! and special thanks to all of you who actually read this whole rambling post!

Southern Dinner

Sunday was a wonderful day! Cool Breeze, family and chicken fried steak!
I always pound the cube steaks with a mallet to make sure they will be tender. Dip them in egg and roll them in seasoned flour. (Flour seasoned with salt and pepper.)
Then fry in hot oil. I always serve it with mashed potatoes, corn, green beans and of course gravy!

Chocolate cake...how divine!

Birthdays are a great excuse for cake!! I made this one for my mom. She loves chocolate and strawberries, especially together! I sliced several to place in between the layers, then covered the rest and placed them on top.

Chicken Quesadillas

My daughter requests these often! I love the smell of onions and bell peppers sizzling together! A little salt, a little pepper, a dash of garlic powder and let the fun begin!

I bake chicken breast for 60-65 minutes. I pour a little extra virgin olive oil on them, add seasoned salt, pepper, dash of garlic powder, chili powder and cayenne pepper. Then I cut it up to place in the tortillas. I shred whatever cheese I have on hand. Saturday I had cheddar. Then I pile on the peppers and onions. Line a cookie sheet with foil, spray with PAM. I secure the tortillas with a toothpick. In a 400 degree oven cook for 7-8 minutes, flip quesadillas and then bake an additional 5-7 minutes, depending on your desired crispiness.
Before baking...

And after...yummy goodness!!!! I serve it with spanish rice and broccoli florets

My daughter requests these often! I love the smell of onions and bell peppers sizzling together! A little salt, a little pepper, a dash of garlic powder and let the fun begin!