crockpot buffalo chicken soup

Alright, FB peeps.
Here's the recipe from our dinner tonight.
Simple and scrumptious.  

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Soup

Ingredients
6 cups milk
3 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup Frank's hot sauce (according to taste)
3 chicken breasts cooked and cubed

.....Now, I have no idea where this recipe came from.  When I added it to my collection, it said to shred the chicken, but then it just doesn't seem like there's any bulk to it.  I season the chicken with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and a little EVOO and bake the chicken at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes, and then cut it into cubes.

Directions
Combine sour cream and cream of chicken soup.  Mix well.  Add all ingredients into the crockpot.  Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Freezer Meals

Back before we moved I mentioned (on FB) that I had made some casseroles and put them in the freezer to help us not eat a ton of fast food during the moving process.  It was a hit!  Since several of you asked, I thought I'd let you know what I made and how they turned out.
I actually only made three recipes, but got five meals out of it.  Two of these normally fill a 9x13 baking dish, but there's always a bunch left over so I split them into two 8x8 dishes.  Also, I used the foil containers so that I could just toss them when we were done.  That worked out great!
If you know my cooking skills, then you know these are not gourmet meals but they are good and they work for us.

Let me know if you have any deliciousness to add to my short list of freezer meals!

#1:  Chicken Casserole
This is a regular around here and the recipe can be found here (just scroll down to the bottom of that post).  I've made that casserole approximately one bo-jillion times and have only ever boiled the chicken...this time I baked it and it was way better!  If you have the time to bake the chicken, it's the way to go. I almost always use frozen chicken.  It's more cost efficient to buy meat in bulk and freeze it rather than just in the pack that you need for that night, so that's what we do.  A lot of times I'm not thinking ahead enough to thaw the chicken so I'd just boil it.  This time I was on top of things, so I thawed it, drizzled it with EVOO and seasoned with- you guessed it- Nature's Seasons.  Since I didn't know what I was doing I texted my sister. :)  Then I set the chicken to bake on 375 for about 40 minutes.
When this casserole was done, it was a little juicier than normal.  I'm not sure if that's because it was frozen or because I baked the chicken.  Either way, it's one I'll do again.

#2:  Mexican Casserole
When I was given this recipe from one of my gal pals, it was intended to be a vegetarian dish.  I've made it without meat, with chicken, and with ground beef.  All are good, but our favorite is with ground beef.  
The only thing you have to prepare ahead is the meat.  I browned, seasoned, and drained the meat before adding it to my mixing bowl.  Everything else is tossed in and stirred together.  Then, just spoon it into the baking dish.  

Ingredients:
15.5 oz can whole corn, drained 
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
10 oz can whole diced tomatoes with green chiles (I use Rotel.)
8 oz sour cream
8 oz salsa
2 cups shredded cheddar
2 cups cooked white rice
I usually sprinkle additional shredded cheese on top, either before I bake it or when I'm serving it.
You could also add chopped green onions, black olives, or whatever other toppings you dig on.  
Bake on 350 for 45 or 50 minutes.  
*When I was ready for this one, I thawed it out but it still took a little longer to warm all the way through than it does if I don't freeze it.  
As with all Mexican dishes, we eat this with chips and salsa.

#3:  Baked Penne with Sausage & Creamy Ricotta
I had never made this dish before (it was a Pinterest find), but it looked awesome and was "in the freezes beautifully section of my cookbook."  If you're not familiar with the quote, you should watch Steel Magnolias!
Anyway, I was a little nervous about this because I've never bought or cooked Italian sausage before.  I did it.  It was fine.  
The recipe calls for ground fennel, but I didn't have that or feel the need to buy it.  It also says to use Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, but mostly I had Mozzarella and Parmesan so that's what I used. 
It was good, and I've added this one to my regular rotation cookbook.




We're loving the new digs!
We've already met some of the neighbors (which is a little out of my comfort zone, but is going well) and the kiddos are having a great time finding new places to play and ride their bikes!
I'm thankful that God blesses me instead of giving me what I deserve.

They were talking to Daddy on the phone.  I love to see those happy faces!

He's fascinated with the leaves.

Have a great Monday!

Now, I'd better get to packing since we're leaving for Orlando in less than 48 hours!!

Chicken Broccoli Ring and a story

I'm working up to the pre-school post.  In the mean time here's something easy.

Dinner last night was a win, so I decided to share.  

Before I get to the recipe, let me just tell you why I was so thrilled with dinner (other than the fact that it came out so pretty).
My kids are not terrible eaters.  We do not cater to them in such a way that they only have to eat what they like.  This is not a fast food restaurant and unless I ask you what you'd like to have to eat, I'm not really interested in you telling me that you'd really rather have  a bowl of cereal or a cheese sandwich instead of what we just prepared.  
We're also not in the habit (not anymore anyway) of making them eat what we give them.  When Christian was two, that is most certainly what we did and it really is just exhausting.  We may do a eat-three-more-bites-and-you-may-have-a-snack thing, but otherwise if you don't eat a respectable amount of your dinner, you are not getting anything else.  I guess if you're hungry enough you'll eat what I put in front of you.  
If you think this makes me the Mean Mama, that's alright with me.  I'm the one who has to live with my choices.

Two weeks ago I tried a new recipe: cubed steak and gravy in the crock pot served over bow tie pasta.  It was not a culinary masterpiece.  In fact, I doubt I'll make it again, but it wasn't terrible.  
Audrey ate her fruit first (as she almost always does).  She started in on the pasta.  I put some meat on her fork.  After protesting that she doesn't like meat, she did try a bite.  This was followed by such intense gagging that not only did she gag-out what was currently in her mouth, but she also threw up everything else she had already eaten.  I don't mean spit up or spit out chewed up food.  I mean the child actually vomited.  We were so shocked that we're both trying to help her, clean her up, etc.  She says politely, "I think I just don't like that meat."  We laugh.  We give her buttered pasta and more fruit.  Oh, no problem.  I get it.  There are just some foods you can't eat- believe me when I say I get that.  
I have no intention of putting green beans in my mouth.  Ever.  

Sunday, I go to Krystal and pick up some Krystal chicks with cheese.  I think this will be a treat- that it will go over well.  Christian did just fine and got some fries to boot.  
Audrey.  That girl.  She threw up again.  
I can tell you that this time there was no laughing.  There was no giving her something else.  

So, last night I make dinner.  I get plates on the table.  I'm putting Audrey's hair back so she can eat.  I get down on her level and say, "if you make yourself throw up again...," and I'll let you figure out the rest.

Bottom line:  they both ate it up!  They both got snack before bed.  Happy people all around.

Now, this is the recipe straight out of my Pampered Chef All The Best recipe book, but I didn't follow it to the letter.

I used a food processor to finely chop the chicken, broccoli, and bell pepper and found that to be more my speed than the "coarse chop" they suggest.  I used green bell pepper because that's what's still growing in our garden.  I didn't use any almonds this time, but I have before and I like it either way.  I usually add a little more mayo than it calls for so that it holds together a little better.  Best of all, I threw in some bacon...maybe three pieces, cooked and chopped.  

Chicken & Broccoli Ring/Wreath/Braid

2 8-ounce packages refrigerated crescent rolls

2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken

1.5 cups coarsely chopped broccoli (I use less.  Just depends on your taste.)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons dill weed (I only use 1 tsp.)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 garlic clove

1 egg white, lightly beaten

1/4 slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine chicken, broccoli, cheese, bell pepper, mayonnaise, dill, salt, and garlic.  Mix well.

Scoop filling over desired shape.  Finish shape as directed.  Brush with egg white.  Sprinkle with almonds.  Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown.

*The one I made is more of a wreath but mostly however you lay those crescent rolls out, they are still going to taste delicious.  So, just go with it.  Experiment.  Search YouTube.  There are some tutorials out there.

Finally, if you have any other delicious fillings you use for wreaths, rings, or braids please let me know!  I love these!

taco seasoning

  A few months ago I told you about a recipe for Salsa Crockpot Chicken and it is completely fantastic!  I serve this over a plate of chips and call it nachos.  Easy and tasty.  Score.  In that same post I also mentioned that there was a recipe for making your own taco seasoning.  I said I'd get back to you on that but mostly forgot I said that...so this is me, getting back to you...six months later.  
I'm not generally a make-everything-from-scratch sort of gal.  If we are out to eat and taste something great, Chris will frequently try to figure out how to make it at home.  I'm pretty content with just going back to wherever we ate it and ordering it again. :)
All that said, my favorite thing about the salsa crockpot chicken is that it included a recipe for making taco seasoning.  I'm not sure what it is about pre-packaged taco seasoning, but the indigestion that will undoubtedly follow whatever I eat that has that in there is just not usually worth it to me.
So I guess you can just chalk this up to one of those weird things that stay-at-home moms do.  I now make my own taco seasoning.  The only ingredient that I didn't have in my spice cabinet already was cumin.  By the way, it's the thing that gives taco seasoning that distinct smell.
Here's the link where I got it, but I've also included the recipe after the pictures.  If you make your own, let me know how it goes!

Just in case you're curious, this is a double batch.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients. Store in an airtight container.

Source: AllRecipes

   

ok, now what?

So we have all these home grown vegetables.  Now what do we do with them? 


Unless you like to have a side of steamed squash with every meal, if you grow food you probably want to find a variety of delicious things to do with those beautiful vegetables.


This fritter recipe came from my sister, but I'm not sure where she got it.  It's a good one (if you're into an easy ingredient list and fried food)!


Vegetable Fritters
1 large carrot
1 medium zucchini
1 medium squash
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black paper
1/2 cup vegetable oil


I've done this with carrot, squash, and zucchini or just with three squash.  Whatever you have, really.
Oh, and last time we used cheddar because we didn't have any Parmesan on hand and we liked it even better...but we are some cheddar-eating fools around here.


Shred the veggies and pat them dry with a paper towel.  In a medium bowl, mix the shredded veggies with flour, parm, salt, pepper, and egg.
In a 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Gently drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the heated oil.  As they cook, flatten slightly with a spatula.  Cook about 5 minutes (turning once) until golden brown.  Transfer to lined platter to drain.


---


Since this is a Paula Deen recipe, you know good and well it's gonna be totally awesome.
I like squash and zucchini just fine, but I really love cheese.  This has both!
Squash Casserole

• 6 cups large diced yellow squash and zucchini
• Vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon House seasoning, recipe follows
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup crushed butter crackers (recommended: Ritz)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Saute the squash in a little vegetable oil over medium-low heat until it has completely broken down, about 15 to 20 minutes. Line a colander with a clean tea towel. Place the cooked squash in the lined colander. Squeeze excess moisture from the squash. Set aside.

In a medium size skillet, saute the onion in butter for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and mix all ingredients together except cracker crumbs. Pour mixture into a buttered casserole dish and top with cracker crumbs. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

House Seasoning:

• 1 cup salt
• 1/4 cup black pepper
• 1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

---

Dill Pickles

I've talked before about my grandma making pickles.  I tried, and they were terrible.  My memory is that her pickles were so good that it was worth the old "try, try again" bit.  And so we have.  By we I mean that I roped Chris into pickle-making too!  As a matter of fact, he's started making some hot/spicy pickles too by using a variation on the old recipe.
One huge plus to making these is that there is no actual canner involved. :)  You cook the brine, but then once the jars cool off they just go into the fridge.  Score.
So, this is her recipe with the changes we felt made them awesome.

1 quart vinegar

2 quarts water

1 cup salt

cucumbers (Just however many you want to do.  My recommendation is to start small.  See if you like them.     That way you don't have a zillion pickled cucumbers if you end up wanting to make changes.)

Fresh dill

Garlic

Jars, lids, & bands (We prefer the wide mouth jars as it's easier to get the pickles out.  We have used quart and pint jars.)

Wash the cucumbers and cut of both ends of each one.  Soak them in a bowl of ice water for an hour before you can them.  This helps keep the pickles crunchier.  During that hour you can prepare the jars and brine.  Once my jars and brine are going, I usually go ahead and cut the cucumbers into whatever shape/size I want them and toss them back in the ice water.  This makes the process of packing them into the jars much faster when the time comes.  I always do some coins and some spears.  I'll caution you to do the coins at least an inch thick so they won't get too soft during the actual pickling process.  

Put one clove of peeled garlic, 2-3 pieces of dill stalk, and 1 flower of dill seed (the leafy-looking part) in each pint jar.  Of course if you are using larger jars, just double these amounts.

For the brine, mix one quart of vinegar, two quarts of water, and one cup of salt.  Bring to a boil.  (We've used sea salt, pickling salt, and regular old table salt and can find no difference in the results.)

Once the cukes have been soaking for an hour and your brine is boiling, you're ready to can.  Pack the cucumbers into the jars.  You want to get as many as you can in each jar, but without crushing them.

Fill the packed jars with brine, leaving a 1/4 inch head space.  Put on the lids and bands.  Let the jars cool a bit before moving them to the fridge.

Sometimes Chris can only wait 3 or 4 weeks before he gets into them, but I recommend waiting at least 6 weeks.  

Let me know if you try any of these!
I'll try to let you know what else we're doing with our home grown goodness.  

Popsicle Project Fail

Piña Colada Pops

You can find the recipe I got from Pinterest if you click here...you just have to scroll down, as it's the sixth one on the page. :)

I saw this and pinned it and then as I normally do, I waited forever to actually make it.  Who knew it was such an ordeal to find those little popsicle-holder/maker things?!  And really even after I found those it took me awhile to get back to it.  

It calls for a can of pineapple, a banana, a can of coconut milk, and a little vanilla.  I don't really dig on this flavor combo but I thought the kids might.  

So, I let them help put them together.

Two of the loudest kids around, and they still feel the need to cover their ears when something or someone else is being loud.  

So anyway, we blended all this together and I filled up the little holders.  There was a ton left that got poured into an ice tray with toothpicks as handles.


A few days later I decide they would make a great afternoon snack.  The kids were super excited.

I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that this was no small feat.  I sustained multiple battle wounds.  Okay, let's face it- using a butter knife to break the handles free from the container was probably not my shiniest moment, but those suckers would NOT come out!  

The container is now broken.  The stick part of the red handle broke off inside the popsicle.  Seriously?  This should not be this difficult.

Eventually I did get two of them out.  It seemed like a fun idea, but next time we'll just stick with the ice tray idea.

a few dinners

I haven't exactly been drinking as much water as I would like to.  Today I decided to leave a pitcher of water on the counter to get a better handle on it.  I feel like I've had a ton, but still haven't made it through my half-gallon.  That probably means I should keep the pitcher idea going.




Tonight for dinner was one of our regulars: Chicken Casserole.  To my dismay, I'm not sure where this one even came from.  It's easy.  It's delicious.  Win.
The recipe can be found below.  I served it with lima beans, which I'm not a huge fan of but they also don't make me gag. :)  I seasoned them with Nature's Seasons (which we put on most everything) and butter.  They were better than usual, so all in all dinner went over very well tonight!

Tomorrow's plan is roast.


Wednesday I'm trying a new recipe that Andrea recommended after finding it on Pinterest:  crock-pot salsa chicken.  She said it went over well at her house, so it's on the menu for us now too.  On the blog with the recipe it also gives a recipe for making your own taco seasoning.  Since packaged taco seasoning gives me positively rancid indigestion, I decided to make some and see if that helps. :)  I'll let you know how that works out...






Just something fun to show you...
They were playing together and both smiled at the camera at the same time!  
Love that!

Chicken Casserole
4-5 chicken breasts (boiled, cut into cubes)
2 cans cream of chicken soup (Tonight I discovered that I didn't have 2 cans of cream of chicken, so I used 1 cream of chicken and 1 cream of celery.  It was fantastic!  I may start doing this every time!)
1 cup sour cream
2 packages Ritz crackers
1 stick butter (melted)
salt & pepper (or if you live at my house that means Nature's Seasons)


Boil chicken, cut into cubes, lay on the bottom of baking dish.
Mix cream of chicken soup and sour cream, add seasoning if desired.
Spread on top of chicken.
Crush crackers and sprinkle over top of everything.
Melt butter and pour over crackers.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.  

today's work

I am so tired.
It's a good tired though.
This morning I went to the church to film the announcements.
Then it was back home to spend some time with my Audrey girl.  
Before I could turn around twice it was time to pick up Christian from school.

Go, go, go.
Last Thursday my mother-in-law kept the kids, and then today my sister did so I could work with Chris spreading pine straw at one of our properties.  
Just as an aside, I'm glad I don't live somewhere that I have no family close by.  I'm in the "it takes a village to raise a child" camp!  Thank you to all my peeps who fall into that category!!
Anyway, spreading straw is serious business.  It's not all that difficult to do, but it's serious work!  So, I am tired...but it's good.
Probably ten years ago, if you asked me if I thought I would know how to spread straw or enjoy it for that matter, I may or may not have laughed in your face.
I learned pretty shortly after Chris started the business that if I worked with him, he would get finished faster and I would get to spend more time with him.  Isn't it funny what you'll do for the people you love?  I know he loves me...among many reasons, when I showed up to the job site today (all decked out in my work-outside attire) he looked at me sweetly and with sincerity in his heart told me how hot I looked!  He is something. :)


After picking up the kids, we came home and got cleaned up.  Thankfully I had already planned to do leftovers tonight.  Last night we made potato soup and cheese muffins.  It's one of my favorite winter meals!  The potato soup is a recipe that we pulled from some random website probably five years ago, and have just changed it and changed it until it suited us.  I remember one day I took my leftovers to school and the ladies in the teachers' lounge asked where I had been to eat the night before.  It looks that awesome (and tastes that way too)!  The cheese muffins are a Paula Deen recipe and I LOVE them.  
After dinner was done, we launched straight into bath time for the kids and two batches of jam.
Busy. day.
Needless to say, I'm turning in early.




Potato soup recipe if you're interested:
2 lbs potatoes (I like less potatoes, Chris likes likes more.)
1 can of cheese soup
2 qt chicken broth 
1 stick butter or margarine 
1 tsp black pepper
2 cups milk
2/3 cup flour


Peel, cube, and boil potatoes.  Drain water.
While potatoes are boiling, in a stock pot, boil broth and a stick of butter.
When the stock boils, add the flour. We usually sift it in.  My sister says she whisks the flour into a cup of water before adding it to the stock to keep the flour from getting lumpy.
Bring to another boil and add milk.  If too thin, add more flour.  If too thick for your taste, add more milk.
Stir in the cheese soup.  Add potatoes and black pepper.


Chris likes his with shredded cheese and sour cream on top.  I like mine just as it is!

recipes

I just have a few recipes that I wanted to share.

The first is for the totally awesome candied pecans that I tried today.  As a rule, I'm not much of a pecan eater.  Recently I was given a lot of pecans (thank you!) and so I decided to do something with them.  Let me just say that shelling or cracking pecans...whatever you're supposed to call it...was a little more involved than I thought it would be, but it was totally worth it!
This is a really simple recipe, which you know is often the first thing I'm looking for. :)  Instead of just tossing them in a bowl as the recipe suggests, I put the egg and water mixture in one gallon storage bag and the dry ingredients in another.  This way they all get coated evenly and I can toss the bag after.
Even the kids loved them!  I'll definitely be adding some of these to my homemade gifts this year.

Next on the list and totally not a gift-giving sort of recipe is one for pork chops.  Normally Chris cooks pork chops on the grill.  One evening he wasn't going to be home from work in time to cook them, and I absolutely do not grill.  I searched for some way to bake them.  This was the first one I came to that didn't look scary to me, and I already had the ingredients- score!  These golden pork chops haven't been made exactly to the recipe even once in my house.  I love this recipe because it is super-versatile!  I do not use onion or mushroom, but I'm sure it would be good with both.  As for the soup, I have used combinations of golden mushroom, beefy mushroom, and cream of mushroom.  All are really good!  I always have at least one of these on hand.
Whether or not it takes the entire sixty minutes to cook just depends on the number and thickness of the chops.  If you don't have a meat thermometer, they are definitely worth having.  This way, you know for sure when it's done without over-cooking.

The last one for today is by request.
For years (and by that I mean at least 8 or 10) I have been making Artichoke Dip and taking it to most every party and family get-together.  I'm pretty certain I've never eaten artichokes in anything else.  Not that I know of, anyway. This is not your run-of-the-mill spinach dip.  It is fantastic!  I serve it with Fritos, but it's also good tortilla ships or baguettes.  This recipe came from a Longaberger recipe book called Fresh From the Pantry.  Although I looked on their site, I didn't find the recipe in their current selection.  It's easy to make and sure to be a hit!

8 ounces cream cheese, softened, cut into cubes
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (trust me when I say buy the real stuff)
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 teaspoon dill
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine all ingredients into a food processor (mostly I use a blender).  Process until blended.  Pour into a pie plate or 9X9 glass baking dish.  
Bake at 375 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes or until the top is golden brown.  For best results, do not reduced fat mayonnaise or sour cream.