Cheesy Shrimp Dip

This is Paula's recipe.  We are on a first name basis as I watch her everyday.  Actually tape her everyday and appreciate her take on butter and cream.  This looked so yummy I added this to our Xmas eve appetizer list.

1 red bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoon butter
1 bunch green onion
1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 cup Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayo (I used miracle whip)
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the pepper in the butter until tender.  Add remaining ingredients until shrimp almost cooked.  Spread in small baking dish and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until shrimp cooked and dip bubbly.  Serve with baked pita chips (recipe follows)

1 package pita bread (split in half and cut into wedges)
olive oil
salt and pepper

Drizzle pita wedges with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Chicken Rustica

So, this was one that Alex told me I needed to put in my blog, and since he is picky eater I took his word for it.  It liked it a lot, and Dan even liked the sweet potato portion.  It was VERY easy too, even though it sounds kind of lengthy, the steps are pretty easy.

4-6 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (I used about 6 small)
8-10 Yukon gold potatoes, cubed (if you use russet probably use 3-4, and I left the skin on these)
2 onions sliced
olive oil
3-4 tbs. bacon bits (use real, not the hard ones)
Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
1 - 14 oz. can chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
6 chicken leg quarters with skin on
1 stick butter, softened and cut into pieces (2 for each piece of chicken)
3-4 tbs. grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Toss potatoes and onion with olive oil (enough to coat).  Place in roasting pan.  Sprinkle with bacon bits, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.  Pour chicken broth and heavy cream and mix.  Place one piece of softened butter under leg skins, and another smear on top of skin.  Place chicken over potatoes and sprinkle with Parmesan and salt and pepper.  Cover with foil or lid and bake in oven for 1 hour.  Uncover and bake for another 30 minutes or until chicken juices are no longer pink.  You may need to drain juices every 30 minutes.  Do not drain completely.  Enjoy!!!

Chicken Primevera Pizza

I know it has been a while but I have been cooking this whole time, just no time to post anything.  So here I go.  Tonight I made pizza that I must say was pretty damn good.  If my stomach wasn't smaller than normal I would have eaten a ton more.  And it was easy.... Good for a working mama to make on a school night.  Course not all the family got to eat, Maddie passed out at 4:30 on the couch yelling at me because she couldn't eat candy!  She would have liked it though!  I made 2 pizza's for the 5 of us and there was only about 1/4 of a pizza left.  Even Gage my picky eater came back 3 times and asked to take it to lunch, but Alex had already called dibs.  Moral of the story, you should try this pizza!


2 tubes pizza dough (I used flat bread dough)
olive oil
garlic salt
grated Parmesan cheese
4 chicken breasts
3/4 stick butter
minced garlic
1 onion, sliced
1 green pepper, diced
4 cups shredded cheese (I used pizza blend, but you could use mozzarella or Italian blend)
6-8 tablespoons ranch dressing
1 cup fresh spinach, torn into pieces
pizza seasoning
additional grated Parmesan cheese

Saute chicken, onions, and peppers in saute pan with melted butter for 20 mins or until no longer pink, turning after 10 mins.  Let rest 10 mins and then slice each piece into bite size pieces.  Meanwhile, unroll each tube of dough on a greased cookie sheet and press into rectangle.  Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons oil on each rectangle and brush over dough.  Sprinkle with garlic salt and grated Parmesan cheese (to taste).  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 mins or until brown.  Brush each with ranch dressing.  Layer each pizza with shredded cheese, drained onions and peppers, torn spinach, and sliced chicken.  Sprinkle each pizza with pizza seasoning and Parmesan cheese.  Bake for an additional 8 mins or until cheese is melted.  Enjoy!!!

Stuffed Zucchini

A while ago my dad got some fresh zucchini from a co-worker and so I decided to be creative.  It was a whole ago that I made them, but they were good.  I will try to remember everything, but really this recipe is more to taste or correct consistency so if something seems weird or it is too sloppy it probably was my memory that was wrong.  They were really good though!  This was one of the first things I ate after surgery.

3-4 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
6-10 mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
ground pork sausage (I used maple flavor because I like the sweet and savory combo)
1-2 eggs
1 box/bag corn bread stuffing mix
1 jar diced pimentos
1 - 1.5 cups shredded Swiss cheese
6-8 slices provolone cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Boil the zucchini for about 10-15 mins or until slightly tender.  Once cool, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out core.  Meanwhile, saute the onions, squash, mushrooms, and garlic in oil until tender.  Brown sausage in separate pan until cooked through and drain grease.  Combine sauteed veggies, sausage, eggs, Swiss cheese, cornbread stuffing, and pimentos.  Season with salt and pepper.  Fill the zucchini boats with mixture and top with provolone cheese.  Bake in 350 degree oven 15-20 mins until cheese is melted.  Enjoy!!!


Farmers Market Canning

I don't know what has gotten into my mother and me, but we have been canning for 2 weeks now.  So far, we have done pickles, jelly, and salsa.  Next week is spaghetti sauce, but for now I thought I would share our endeavors from the past 2 weeks!

Pickles
We purchased our pickling cucumbers in bulk, this year we thought we would start small and got 1/2 bushel.  It ended up making about 22 quart sized jars.  It probably would have been more like 20 had I packed the first set correctly.  We tried a variety of different additions into the jars, trying to see which ones we like for next year.  The varieties are listed below:
dill (they all got dill)
garlic
Hungarian garlic (purchased from the farmers market, the man said it was stronger)
shallots
vidalia onions

And then about 3/4 of the way through we realized we forgot the alum, so one batch got alum added, which is supposed to keep the pickles crisp. 

After packing the pickles into the sterilized jars, we added a combination of 8 cups white vinegar, 8 cups water, and 1/2 cup pickling salt, (boiled for 5 mins).  Once each jar was fill, we wiped off each glass rim and sealed each jar in a hot canning bath for 10.  I will let you know which combo we liked the best.  They need to sit for 6-8 weeks.  If you work with me, you will probably see me eating the crap out o pickles in a few weeks!

Jelly
So I got inspired from Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa) to make jelly from scratch.  I wanted to do it with the least amount of ingredients I could, and try it without using pectin like she did.  She didn't can hers though, and I didn't think about the fact that I am not her!!  Not sure what I will do next time, but it did turn out good!  I used 1/2 pint jars and only got about 10 jars from this.  It was a ton of work for little reward!

8 quart containers of strawberries, hulled (large ones halved)
2 quarts blackberries, rinsed
8 cups sugar (divided into both batches)
Juice of 10 lemons (divided into both batches)

I made two different kinds, strawberry and then strawberry/blackberry.  I had about 5 quarts of fruit in each batch, and halved the sugar.  Mix the sugar with the fruit and set out for a few hours to overnight, allowing the sugar to dissolve in the fruit.  This will bring out the flavors.  Once this is complete, add lemon juice and bring to boil.  You will need to skim the mixture and stir often, and I can't stress this enough, just cook the crap out of it!  You will know when it is done when you take a cold plate, place a drop of jelly on it and let it cool, then run your finger through it.  Really the easiest way to tell was that it cooked about 1/2 way down.  If you use pectin or even gelatin, I heard it takes minutes rather than hours like mine did.  I also watched Bobby Flay recently make jelly and he boiled it a lot higher than I did, which would have cut my time.  Anywho, the result still tastes really good, and next year I will try something different.  I also just hot packed these, which means I didn't water bath them, I just put them in hot jars, turned them upside down for a few seconds, then let them sit.  The heat seals the jars without the water bath.

Salsa
This recipe made about 14 quart jars.  I got this recipe from Jennifer Altwegg, tweaked a little bit.  I HATE cilantro, but it could be added if you would like. 

20 lbs tomatoes, skins removed (boil for a few seconds and put in cold water)
6 green peppers, diced
6 onions, diced
5-6 jalapeno peppers, diced
1 bulb of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup salt
3 small cans of tomato paste
garlic salt (to taste)

I put the tomatoes and peppers in a food processor and pulsed until desired consistency.  Add remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil over medium heat .  We cooked it until some of the liquid cooked down, probably about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  If you don't mind it runnier than less cooking time.  We canned this in a hot bath for 15 mins.  It is good!  Tastes like Carlos O'Kelly's salsa!!!  Yummy!!!!

Thanksgiving in August

I was feeling inspired from the farmers market and their huge sweet potatoes that they had.  Nothing screams sweet potato like a big Thanksgiving dinner, so I decided to make it in August.  Being that the heat outside has made me absolutely miserable, I was attempting to confuse myself with food, which worked a bit.  For those of you that know my recent surgical endeavors you know that I cannot eat very much right now, but if I could I think I would have eaten myself into a coma just like on Thanksgiving!  First I baked a 20 lb Carvers ham for 4 hours at 325.  We also had mashed sweet potatoes and scalloped corn.  Granted this was for 7 of us (my troop and my folks).  Yummy!

Mashed Sweet Potatoes
About 7 small-medium sweet potatoes
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tsp kosher salt

Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into about 1 inch pieces.  Boil until tender, about 20 mins.  Drain and return to pot.  Let the butter melt on top of the potatoes.  Add remaining ingredients and mash with a potato masher or mixer. 

Scalloped Corn
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can creamed corn
1 package Jiffy Corn Bread mix
1 stick butter, melted
2 eggs
8 oz. sour cream
2 heaping teaspoons sugar

Mix all of the ingredients until smooth.  Pour into 8x8 baking dish (or any smaller ceramic baking dish).  Bake at 350 until metal knife inserted in middle comes out clean.  This ranges for me based on what dish I am using, but it usually takes at least an hour.  Sorry for the vagueness, today it took closer to 90 mins because I baked it at a lower heat with the ham.  This is also good with honey drizzled over the top!

Busy mom meatball sub

I made a quick meatball sub tonight for dinner.  Although I didn't make it all from scratch it was still pretty good for a quick meal. 

hoagie buns
mozzarella slices (2 per sandwich)
frozen meatballs (or can definetly make fresh if you have enough time, enough to cover each bun)
spaghetti sauce
garlic salt
olive oil
pepper

Cook meatballs according to package directions.  I dug out bread from the top portion of each hoagie roll.  Brush each roll with olive oil and srpinkle with garlic salt and pepper.  Broil rolls on high from 2-3 minutes or until brown.  In a seperate suace pan, heat spaghetti sauce.  Spread over the bottom of the hoagie, topping with meatballs and 2 slices of mozzarella.  My meatballs were small and took about 8 to cover the hoagie.  Place the bottom roll wtih meat and cheese back  in over (now turned off) just until cheese melts.  Place top roll on sadwich and enjoy!!!

Next time I make this I will add shredded parmasean to the cheeses.  Also I would make my own sauce and meatballs, but I was in a time crunch.

3 Cheese Turkey Burgers - Italian Style

So, I bought some turkey meat to make some burgers with, but had just got done watching a burger showdown on Food Network, so I was feeling creative.  I think if I made this again, I would use lean ground meat, or even add a little ground sausage in the meat with it.  They turned out really good, especially if you like cheese!

Burgers
1.5 lb ground turkey or beef
1 package onion soup mix
1 egg
salt and pepper
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
provolone cheese slices
fresh mozzarella, cut into bite size pieces
buns


Topping
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
fresh basil chopped (about 10 leaves)
1 tomato chopped (or can use can diced tomatoes drained)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sauce
About 3 tablespoons mayo (or miracle whip)
About 1 tablespoon spaghetti sauce

Mix all of the burger ingredients except the provolone and mozzarella cheeses.  Divide into patties (probably about 6.  Place a piece of mozzarella in each patty and shape meat around, making sure to seal up the edges so the cheese doesn't melt out.  Grill each patty on a grill until done to likeness.  Top with provolone cheese at end until melted.  Mix toppings together and drizzle with oil, add salt and pepper to taste.  Mix mayo and spaghetti sauce to taste.  Place sauce on bottom of bun and topping on top of bun and enjoy!!!

Crock Pot Mom

I have been asked lately by a few people about  raising kids and having dinner ready every night by 5:30.  It isn't super easy, but much easier with a crock pot, and if I wasn't a teacher and got off early, I for sure wouldn't have a chance to make dinner every night.  So, for all the mom's and busy people that don't have an extra hour every night after work to make dinner, these recipes are my compilation that I go to when I know time is short.  I am not saying that they are the best or creative at all, most are just a few ingredients, but they will feed the masses.  *These recipes are used with a big crock pot, so adjust for smaller size.

Fajita Chicken
Frozen or fresh chicken breasts
1 jar salsa
1 package taco seasoning
2 onions sliced
2 peppers sliced (green, yellow, or red)
Toppings (sour cream, salsa, guacamole, shredded cheese, etc.)

Place onion and pepper slices on the bottom of crock pot.  Place chicken on top.  Mix salsa and tact seasoning and pour over chicken.  Let cook on slow all day (6-8 hours).  Shred chicken with fork before serving and return to crock pot until ready to serve.  This meat and veggies can be served with tortillas, used as nacho topping, or enchilda filling if you have a few extra minutes to put them in the oven.  If you were doing that, I would suggest filling each tortilla with meat and veggies, roll up and place in bottom of 9x13 pan.  Cover with cheese and desired sauce (red enchilada, green tomatilla).  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and sauce bubbly.

BBQ Chicken

This is Alex's favorite dinner.  He LOVES chicken drumsticks, but you can use any part of the chicken and either homemade sauce or from the bottle.  I have used both and don't tell much difference, it just depends on what you have on hand.

Fresh or frozen chicken thighs, breasts, drumsticks, or whatever piece you like. 
BBQ sauce, bottle or homemade (see recipe below if you make your own)

Cook on low all day in crock pot.  The meat will be falling off of the bone by the time you get home and it will be yummy!!!  You can also use this same thing with a cut of any kind of roast and have BBQ sandwiches for dinner.  That is also a hit!

BBQ sauce from scratch
ketchup (about 2 cups)
brown sugar (1-2 cups)
Worcestershire sauce (about 1/2 cup?)
minced garlic (2 tablespoon)
liquid smoke (2 tsp)
Dijon mustard (1-2 tsp)
red wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar) (about  2-3 tablespoons)
chili powder (1-2 tsp)
salt and pepper

Honestly these are very rough guesses.  I never measure anything, just start dumping and tasting.  So, if it is too sweet, add more worchetershire sauce and vinegar.  If you like it with more of a kick add more chili powder/ liquid smoke.  If it is not sweet enough add more brown sugar.  You can't really mess it up as long as you don't add too much mustard. 


Pot Roast
My mom always makes hers in the oven and roasts it all day.  This is the crock pot version!

About 3 lbs boneless chuck roast
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 can beef broth
1 onion, chopped
1 bag baby carrots
10 yokon gold potatoes (or about 3 russet) quatered

Place onions, carrots, and potatoes on bottom of crock pot, covering with meat.  Sprinkle onion soup mix and pour broth over.  Cook all day (6-8 hours) on low.  You can make gravy off of the liquid in the crock pot if wanted.  Just bring liquid to boil on stove top and add corn starch or flour (mix with a little hot water before adding to the big pot of juice to avoid clumping)  Enjoy!

When I made this last, I double the recipe and kept half of the meat and made another Alex's favorite Shepard's pie.  If you want that recipe I can give it to you, just let me know.

Sloppy Joe's

1.5 lbs lean ground beef (I even used ground deer from my dad)
1/2 chopped onion
1/2 chopped green pepper
1 cup ketchup
1-2 tbls brown sugar
1-2 tbls vinegar
1 tsp yellow or dijon mustard
hamburger buns

Mix the sauce the night before.  Place meat and sauce on crock pot and cook on low all day.  Mix and enjoy.  You really need to use lean ground beef, or it will be too greasy when it is done.  You could also just buy the can sauce, but for me I just always have the ingredients on hand and can whip it up without another trip to the store.

Veggie Beef Soup

1.5 lb stew meat
Large (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
2 envelopes onion soup mix
5-8 Yukon gold potatoes (cut into bite size pieces)
1 bag baby carrots cut in half
1 can corn
1 can green beans

Place all in crock pot and cook all day on low.  You can also use canned carrots or canned potatoes if you want.  Or even a bag of frozen stew veggies.  I usually make corn bread with this soup.  Yummy!

Beef Burgundy
I just made this one tonight.  It was too salty, so I am going to write the recipe as I think it should be.


1 lb stew meat
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 package fresh mushrooms sliced
1/2 onion chopped (optional)
1 bag egg noodles

Mix all ingredients but noodles in crock pot and cook on low all day.  If sauce is thin, thicken with corn starch or flour (mixed with a little hot water first to avoid clumping).  Serve over noodles.  I served steamed carrots with this and it was a good addition.