Soup and Salad Night

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year.  I was born in the fall.  Many fun activities happen in the fall.  As a child, one of my favorite fall events was the Fall Festival at my church. There were spook trails, cake walks, a variety of other games and most of all, chicken stew.  It always seemed like chicken stew was the first sign of fall for me.  My parents' Sunday School class still makes that same chicken stew.  It's so good, in fact, that the even sometimes make it for another church to sell at their festival.

I did not make chicken stew tonight, but there is something about the weather that feels just the same.  I had such a craving for potato soup with a white salad.  The potato soup recipe I got online, but the white salad is just what I decided to nickname the salad.

Ham and Potato Soup

3 ½ cups peeled and diced potatoes

1/3 cup diced celery

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

¾ cup diced cooked ham

3 ¼ cups water

2 Tbs. chicken bouillon granules

½ tsp. salt, or to taste

1 tsp. white or black pepper, or to taste

5 Tbs. butter

5 Tbs. all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, (~10 to 15 min). 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.

This was the most delicious potato soup.  Next time, I might consider putting a little shredded cheddar on top.  It didn't really need it, though, because there was plenty of flavor.  For me to say that it didn't really need cheese means it was super good. 

 

The salad was simply mixed greens with diced, apples, cucumbers, yellow onion and feta cheese. It was the most simple thing to throw together.  I have to say that Costco has the best deal for mixed greens.  You get about a pound of those leafy greens for only $3.99.  I topped it off with sun-dried tomato vinaigrette from Kraft.  Please try the soup and salad.  I'm sure you will love it!! Enjoy!

Baked Spaghetti

Many years ago, on one of my family's many trips to K&W Cafeteria, I had a meal they called Pizza Baked Spaghetti.  It was delicious.  I hated going to K&W, but meals like those made it bearable. Tonight, when trying to figure out what to make for dinner, I thought that Baked Spaghetti would hit the spot. 

Not having a recipe for this, I decided it couldn't be that hard.  All I have to do is make spaghetti, put it in a casserole dish, cover it with cheese and bake it.  It could be that easy, right?  Guess what! It really is that easy. 

Ross's Baked Spaghetti

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

8 oz. vermicelli pasta

26 oz. sauce

Oregano

Basil

Chives

Worcestershire Sauce

2 cups freshly shredded Parmesan

2 cups freshly shredded Mozzarella

Pepperoni Slices (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. Meanwhile, brown beef and add sauce and dried spices and Worcestershire to taste. Mix Parmesan into sauce. Mix sauce with cooked pasta and pour into 13x9 casserole dish. Cover with mozzarella (and slices of pepperoni) and bake for 15-20 minutes or when cheese begins to bubble. 

Unfortunately, I don't keep pepperoni on hand, so I'll have to get some and try this again soon. I can't wait because I'm sure it will be very tasty.  Try this, I'm sure you'll enjoy!!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken and Stouffers Mac and Cheese

Inspired by the Parmesan Crusted Chicken at TGI Friday's, last night's was a wonderful combination of flavors.  Unfortunately, since I didn't have an exact recipe for this dish, I had to attempt to create one.  It was delicious and juicy, but not exactly the tasty dish that Friday's offers.  In addition to the chicken dish, I made homemade macaroni and cheese.  The recipe for this dish was developed by Todd Wilbur.  He has lots of books that offer copy cat recipes of our favorite restaurant dishes.  This dish was (so I'm told) a very close copy of Stouffers Macaroni and Cheese.  I have never actually had the Stouffers version, but it was fairly tasty. 

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Caesar salad dressing.

2 Cups freshly shredded Parmesan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brush chicken breasts with salad dressing then coat them in Parmesan cheese.  Place the coated chicken breasts in a oven safe casserole dish and cover with any extra Parmesan.  Bake for 40 minutes or until done.

Todd Wilbur's Mac and Cheese

1 cup skim milk

5 tsp. flour

2 cups freshly shredded med. cheddar cheese

2 tsp. margarine

1/4 tsp. plus 1/8 salt

3/4 cup uncooked macaroni

Whisk the flour into the skim milk in a small saucepan then place it over medium low heat. Add the shredded cheddar cheese, margarine and salt.  Stir often with a spoon until the cheese begins to melt.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Use a whisk to stir the sauce every couple of minutes so that it becomes smooth and thick.

While the sauce thickens, pour the macaroni into rapidly boiling water.  Boil for 8 minutes or until tender, then strain. You should have about 1 3/4 cups of cooked macaroni.

When the cheese sauce has simmered for 30 minutes, pour the pasta into a medium bowl. Gently stir in the cheese sauce and then pour mixture into a loaf pan or casserole dish.  Cover and freeze.

When you are ready to dive into your macaroni and cheese, preheat the oven to 350.  Bake the frozen macaroni for 50-53 minutes or until the cheese begins to brown slightly.

I felt the chicken was very good.  I might try different ways to match the TGI Friday's chicken. Also, the Stouffers Mac and Cheese was very delicious.  I chose not to freeze mine.  I only baked it for approx. 30 minutes until the top began to brown.  Enjoy!!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Once upon a time, I went to the movies. I got a large coke, a popcorn (with extra butter) and settled in my chair ready to watch some awesome new trailers. Much to my dismay an advertisement appeared on the screen.  I detest paying to go to the movies and seeing commercials, but this time it was lucrative.  It was for Brixx Woodfired Pizza.  With my ticket stub, I could get pizzas Buy 1 Get 1 Free at Brixx. My favorite pizza is the prosciutto and arugula pizza with truffle oil.  Unfortunately, the truffle oil is seasonal so I won't be able to have it all the time.  My friend, Zac, however, got the Buffalo Chicken Pizza. It always looks so delicious and I love buffalo wings, so put that on a pizza and you can't go wrong.  When I found this recipe online (which is drastically different from the pizza at Brixx) I couldn't resist giving it a try.

Buffalo Style Chicken Pizza

3 chicken breasts - cooked and cubed

2 Tbs. butter, melted

1 (2 oz) bottle hot sauce

1 (8 oz) bottle blue cheese dressing

1 (16 in) prepared pizza crust

1 (8 oz) pkg. shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

In a medium bowl combine the cubed chicken, melted butter and hot sauce. Mix well. Spread whole bottle of salad dressing over crust, then top with chicken mixture and sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Bake in preheated oven until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly, about 5 to 10 minutes. Let set a few minutes before slicing, and serve.

I used Moore's Buffalo Wing Sauce (http://www.mooresmarinade.com/) instead of the hot sauce and melted butter.  I found it at Walmart and I thought it would be great to have on hand.  The hot sauce and melted butter works well also (it's what I use for the Buffalo Style Chicken Cordon Blue).  The crusts I use are the ones that's on the pasta aisle at Walmart.  Also, I don't use 8 oz. of Blue Cheese Dressing.  That is a bit ridiculous and a lot of overkill.  I just gave the crust a nice coat of the dressing.  After I coated coated the crust with dressing, I seasoned the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and cooked them in the skillet with a little olive oil. I cut the chicken into cubes and returned it to the skillet and coated it with the buffalo sauce. I scattered the chicken evenly on the crust and topped with as much mozzarella as I could stand (about 2 1/2 - 3 cups).  This pizza is so delicious, it will be a hit with everyone!! I hope you enjoy!

Key West Chicken with Zested Lime Rice

While searching for more fun and exciting dishes, I came across this recipe for Key West Chicken.  I thought this marinated chicken recipe sounded inspiring for my next meal.  If you've ever been to Key West, you know that the food is amazing, the views are beautiful.  The best part is the breeze and the smell and the feeling you have when you step into the clearest water.  The water at the beach on Key West is clearer and more beautiful than on any other shore.  This recipe was the same for me...it inspired me to make an entire meal full of flavor. My thoughts then turned to side dishes.  I felt that rice would be a great side dish, but rice alone would seem just a little to plain for this dish.  I zested a lime and used that to give it just the right flavor for this meal. 

Key West Chicken

3 Tbs. soy sauce

1 Tbs. honey

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 tsp. lime juice

1 tsp. chopped garlic

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

In a shallow container, blend soy sauce, honey, vegetable oil, lime juice, and garlic. Place chicken breast halves into the mixture, and turn to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes.

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.

Lightly oil the grill grate. Discard marinade, and grill chicken 6 to 8 minutes on each side, until juices run clear.

I marinated my chicken for about 6 hours.  I think marinating the chicken overnight would have been even better. I used a George Foreman grill, because I do not own an outdoor grill. I felt like a dash of salt and pepper would have helped as well.

 

Zested Lime Rice

2 Tbs. butter

1 cup white rice

zest of 1/2 lime

2 cups chicken broth

salt to taste

 

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Melt the butter and add the rice and toast slightly (1-2 minutes).  While the rice is toasting, add the lime zest and some of the juice of the lime.  Then add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Cover the skillet with a tight-fitting lid and reduce heat to low.  Let simmer for 15 minutes and then remove from heat and let stand for at least 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.  This is an original recipe so I hope you like it.  Enjoy!!

Caramelized French Toast

Do you ever wake up in the morning and wonder, "What am I going to make for breakfast?"  You are now going to have the best thing ever to put in your recipe box.  This recipe for caramelized french toast is the most delicious recipe and it doesn't even need syrup. Seriously!

Caramelized French Toast

4 Tbs. butter, divided

6 eggs

½ cup milk

1/8 tsp. salt

8 slices bread

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup water

Powdered sugar for sprinkling

Melt two tablespoons of butter in a frying pan or skillet over medium high heat. Beat together eggs, milk and salt. Dip bread one at a time into egg mixture and fry until light brown and egg is cooked.

After 4 slices of bread have been cooked, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Cook remaining bread slices until light brown on both sides and egg is cooked. After all bread slices have been cooked and removed from pan, add brown sugar to pan. Stir until melted and sticky. Add water and stir. Place French toast in caramel sauce. Turn to coat, then remove from pan. Serve.

As I was making this recipe, I went to the refrigerator to get the milk and noticed that it two days out of date and already soured.  What do you do when you're ready to make

Picnics

One thing I remember most about picnic lunches is my parents' picnic basket.  When my friends wanted to get together for picnic and an outdoor show (Children of Eden at WSCT in Lewisville), I was excited to be able to prepare a picnic lunch. I truly wished that I had a wonderful picnic basket to carry all the wonderful things that I wanted to take on this picnic.

The main ingredient for my meal at this picnic was a simple sandwich. Ham and chicken cold cuts with provolone and Swiss cheeses were topped off with bacon and all made my sandwiches very delicious. I toasted my bread and used only Kraft mayonnaise and honey mustard. I have found that people are more picky about the type of mayonnaise they use than about anything else that goes on a sandwich.  People are so faithful to their own brands that they would sometimes rather do without than to have the wrong kind.  I know that I'm not going to buy a whole jar of the other ones just because I cannot find my Kraft one day.

The thing that is most important about a sandwich to me, is the cheese.  I love a good, flavorful cheese.  Provolone would probably be my favorite, but Swiss (preferably Jarlsberg) is also delicious.  If you are going through life only eating sandwiches with slices of American, take a chance and buy something else.  You might be surprise how the sandwich soon becomes a lot more delicious.

Another fun thing for the picnic today was the fruit.  I got grapes and strawberries. It was so nice to be able to share this healthy snack with my friends.  I absolutely love both of these and it's a lot better to have these than a big bag of greasy chips or candy bars.  I'm not going to say I didn't have or want those things, but having the fruit was a much better snack and kept me from eating too much of the unhealthy things.

I hope you can think of a way to have an old fashioned picnic.  They're lots of fun and no more work than any other meal. Enjoy!!