Yummy Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Bethany received a kids cookbook for her birthday. Our friend, Becky knows Bethany loves to cook and in fact they have cooked together on occasion. The cookbook is called Let's Cook! by Pamela Gwyther. I look forward to more times of cooking together with Bethany and Becky!

We've made the Perfect Pasta twice now with raving reviews.
Here's what you'll need to make it:
9 oz pasta
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 stick or 1/4 cup butter
5 tbsp all purpose flour
1 3/4 c. milk
1 c Cheddar cheese, grated
4 1/2 oz cooked ham, roughly chopped
4 cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 c Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat some water in a large pan. Add salt and bring to boil.
2. Add pasta carefully and cook pasta according to package directions.
3. Gently melt the butter in a pan over low heat. Add flour and mix well. Cook mixture for 1 minute and then remove from heat.
4. Stir in milk (I use dry powdered milk and water), a little at a time, to make a smooth sauce. Put pan back on heat. Stir while the sauce thickens so it doesn't get lumpy.
5. When the sauce boils, turn down heat and cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix the Cheddar, ham and tomatoes. Season.
6. Drain the pasta. Mix with the sauce. Place in oven safe dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake in oven, on a baking sheet, for 20-25 minutes.

Side note: The first time we made it, I had some ham but no tomatoes. Tonight when I made it, I had neither of those things, but it was still delicious. We had raw veggies on the side.

Menu Plan Monday

Week #3 (in a row) of Menu Planning! I dare say that it's becoming a habit! :) I really enjoy the way it takes the guess work out of "What's for dinner??" at 5 p.m. A couple things that I need to do now are:

• try to expand our menu choices--make a new meal every two weeks or maybe even every week
• keep a running list of ingredients that each meal needs
• take inventory of the pantry and freezer every so often (probably 2 weeks for the pantry and every month for the freezer) so that nothing is getting shoved to the back and not being used.
  

This week's menu is somewhat bland and even uses one meal that was on the menu for last week. My hunny took me out for our anniversary, so that meal didn't get made. :)

Monday--lasagna **freezer meal** (note to self--next time be sure to set it out to thaw)
Tuesday--pancakes
Wednesday--chicken and stuffing from last week
Thursday--chili **using freezer Big Beef Batch**
Friday--homemade pizza

Simple, but filling!
For many more menu plans, hop over to Organizing Junkie.

The Menu for this week

Even though it might be easier to just feast off the freezer meals we made on Saturday, I think it would be more wise to continue to make meals and use the freezer ones for busy days. By the way, the freezer meal cooking day was a success. We had fun together and we each came home with 3-9x9 pans of lasagna, 2-9 in pans of chicken enchilada casserole, 2 dozen parmesan chicken sticks, a two cup baggie of big beef batch, and a baggie of the ranch snack crackers. AND, we each paid $27! Of course, some of the ingredients I had on hand and others are just staples that you don't need to buy each time. All in all, a very good deal.

Okay, on to this week of meals:
Monday--chicken and veggies
Tuesday-Black Bean Enchilada Casserole This is a new recipe for us!
Wednesday--Creamy Italian Chicken (crock pot meal)
Thursday--Chicken and Stuffing (our 15th anniversary!)
Friday--Japanese meal (Bethany and I are planning this meal tomorrow. Hopefully it will be a wonderful way to end our study of Japan.)

Check out Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday for more menus sure to please your family.

The Freezer Meal Frenzy

I am getting together with two friends on Saturday to put together several different freezer meals. I don't do this very often with friends, but am looking forward to the fun and fellowship that being together offers. To cut down on confusion, I offered to do all the grocery shopping and then we will just split everything 3 ways.

Here's what we are making: (click on the title to go to recipe)
Snack Crackers
Lasagna
Parmesan Chicken Sticks
Chicken Enchilada Casserole* recipe below

The snack cracker recipe makes a huge batch. So I bought two bags of oyster crackers (12 oz. each) and already mixed them up. Even though the recipe calls for 20 oz of crackers, the extra 4 ounces don't seem to make any difference. My daughter Marissa said, "We need those extra 4 ounces--these are GOOD! I divided the crackers 3 ways and hopefully my kids won't eat our part all today. :)
For the lasagna, we are going to make 9 pans (9x9) size.
For Parmesan Chicken Sticks, we are going to make 3 bags (2.5 pounds each).
And for the Chicken Enchilada Casserole we are going to make 6 round (9 inch diameter) pans.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole:
For 6 pans
12 flour tortillas (10 in. size)
9 cups chicken, cooked and diced
126 ounces of cream chicken soup, undiluted*
3 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Assembly directions:
1. Place 1/2 c. soup in the bottom of each 9-inch pan. Spread to moisten the bottom.
2. Tear tortillas into strips. Place a layer of tortillas on the bottom of each pan.
3. Layer chicken (a little less than 1/2 cup).
4. Pour 1/2 c. of soup over the chicken.
5. Repeat the layers, ending with soup.
6. Sprinkle cheese over the top.

Freezing directions:
1. Wrap tightly with freezer paper, foil or place in 2-gallon zip lock bag.
2. Label with cooking directions:
To serve: thaw and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. To bake from frozen stage, add 10-15 minutes extra baking time.

* I don't use that much soup. I use about 1 1/2 cups for each pan, so for 6 pans it would be about 72 ounces. I also use half homemade white sauce and half cream chicken soup. Here is a recipe for white sauce. This is a way to save money and sodium!

I've already cooked all the ground beef/turkey (I used half and half). I'm thinking that we may have left over meat which we will freeze and use for chili or spaghetti.
Next, I am going to cook and chop the chicken for the casserole. Having the meat cooked will help tremendously.

Back to the kitchen!

Menu Plan for the Week

How about a little menu planning to help the week go better?
Sunday I made the Big-Batch Beef Sauce I froze much of it and the rest I used for tonight's lasagna and still have some left over for a quick spagetti lunch.
Monday--lasagna and cottage cheese bread *recipe below
Tuesday--roast, potatoes and carrots in the crock pot
Wednesday--Chicken Salsa casserole* recipe below
Thursday--Tuna Melts
Friday--Homemade Calzones with cheese with veggies
Saturday--making freezer meals with two friends (recipes and game plan to come later this week!)

Cottage Cheese Bread
1/4-1/3 cup
1 cup cottage cheese
2 Tablespoon butter
1 egg
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour
2 teaspoon yeast

Put ingredients in bread machine according to manufacturer's directions. I set mine to dough cycle, then shape the loaf and put it in a loaf pan. Put dough in cold oven, set to 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Chicken Salsa Casserole
6 flour tortillas
2 c. diced cooked chicken
1 can cream chicken soup
1 c. salsa
1 c. chicken broth
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Grease 9x13 pan. Line bottom with small pieces of 3 tortillas. Top with 1/2 the chicken. Mix soup, salsa and broth, pour 1/2 over chicken. Top with 1/2 the cheese. Repeat the layers. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.
Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Run over the I'm an Organizing Junkie to find tons of more Menu Plans!

Healthy Sour Cream

It's not a hidden fact that dairy upsets a lot of people's stomachs. Our household is not exempt from the stomach distress. I've been searching and experimenting with different things...for example, for years and years now we only drink rice milk or almond milk. Quite tasty, in fact my younger two children don't like the taste of regular cow's milk.

So what to do about sour cream?? We enjoy a generous dollop on top of baked potatoes or tacos, who doesn't? A couple years ago, I followed a recipe that called for plain yogurt to be drained overnight and then used as sour cream. I'm trying that again for tomorrow night's supper. (okay I just looked at the time and it's "tonight's supper". )

Here are some recipes/instructions I found online for Sour Cream out of Yogurt:
Ehow: How to make sour cream from plain yogurt.
Yogurt, the healthy food substitute.

Drats! I just started to strain my yogurt and wondered why it was falling through the sieve at a rapid speed....it's non-fat! From what I read on the above sites, the yogurt must be 1% or higher.

Okay, maybe a quick trip to the grocery will be in order tomorrow morning!
{Just a side note: I want to start making my own yogurt again....it's been YEARS since I did it. We liked it, I just got out of the habit of doing it.}

Crock Pot Pinto Beans

I've not met a bean that I liked.

Does that surprise you seeing that the title of my post is "Crock Pot Pinto Beans"?

Well, my hunny likes beans and beans are good for a person, really good. So, I'm eating beans; not enjoying them, just eating them. Eating them for my health, for our budget and for hmmm, can't think of another reason.

Up to this point, I've been buying cans of beans--pinto beans, black beans, etc. I'm ready to try my hand at making them myself. Making them myself for the betterment of our budget and ummm, can't think of another reason.

So, here goes. I'm trying a recipe that I found here at Cooking Claire. [Disclaimer: I do not know Claire except that her recipe came up when I googled "Crock pot pinto beans". Since that was handy, I'm trying her recipe.]

I'll update tomorrow and let you know how it went.

Grape Expectations

Although the kitchen looks like a tornado went through, I thought I'd tell you all that I made grape juice today...27 quarts of grape juice! :) We really did love it last year and since my grape jelly didn't set up properly, I didn't want to brave it this year.

I love seeing all the jars on the counter. Makes me feel like a Proverbs 31 woman...

¹⁰ A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.

¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.

¹² She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.

¹³ She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.

¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.

¹⁵ She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.

¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.

¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.

¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.

²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

²² She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.

²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.

²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:

²⁹ "Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all."

³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Okay, so I didn't plant the vineyard and I didn't go out in a merchant ship to retrieve my grapes, but you get the point. :) I imagine I might feel the same way if I get the kitchen cleaned up and keep the rest of the house organized--you think?? I'm thankful for the weekend. My plans must include getting the house in order and catching up on clutter. The clutter has sneaked its way in when I was taking care of my sick little girl, or maybe when I was updating my blog or even possibly when I was catching a nap. The reality is that it's here and it needs to GO!

Declutter plan:

• finish the summer/winter clothes swap
• take too small clothes to "Once Upon A Child" tomorrow
• Declutter the school room (where does all the paper come from?)
• Clean off every surface in the kitchen and living room, only leaving the things that belong there (what an idea??)
  
• Put every piece of remaining clothes in its proper place

I'd better stop there--that's enough to keep this Proverbs 31 gal busy!
What's got you busy this weekend?

When life gives you grapes

Well, life didn't actually give me grapes....I bought a half bushel of the most delicious concord grapes. Keep reading to see what I'm doing with them.

Today has been quite a day! My 7 year old daughter has been sick since Saturday...she is finally on the mend, but still has a terrible cough. My hunny and I are exhausted from being up nights with her. God is faithful and I'm so thankful for His watchcare over us.

I Peter 5:7 "Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about what happens to you."

I read an encouraging post today from Jenni at Life is Not a Cereal. It's about what happens when your day doesn't go as planned...and even more than that, it goes downhill! I need to print out her suggestions and keep them handy! Good advice!

My order of concord grapes came in yesterday, so I'm getting ready to start making the grape juice. I'm using this recipe from Recipe Zaar. Last year's juice was SO good and we are all looking forward to it again. I'm debating on whether or not to make jelly. Last year it was a LOT of work because: 1. I didn't know what I was doing and 2. I didn't have a good method or materials for squeezing the grapes. And to top it off, I didn't follow the directions and the jelly didn't set up!
You'll have to tune in tomorrow to get the "Did she make jelly?" update.

Which brings me to a fun report: I know have 2 followers! What fun! Thanks you two!!
Off to make grape juice...

Projects, projects, projects

**NOTE: updates in blue**
I've started several projects and I'm having a great time. Here are links to where I got some of my ideas...

• Baby Burp Cloth--we are making these today for two baby showers. The cloths are washed, dried and waiting to be ironed...then the sewing will begin. Here is one finished gift. The burp cloths were not too hard, even for a struggling sew-er as myself. I'm still working on the other ones. Some of those will be pink. These were made for a baby shower where the parents are waiting to find out the gender. I love the brown, blue, green dots.
  

• Ribbon Wrapped Container--containers for the gifts to go in. I have to make a quick run to the Dollar Tree to see if I can find containers like this. Okay, so I didn't find a container with holes all the way around it. However I found the above container and it worked.
  

• Strawberry Fruit Leather--from our abundance of strawberries. The fruit leather is outside drying (from the comments I figured out that I could buy a new window screen and keep it for this purpose.) It's very humid out today; I sure hope it will dry. Fruit leather---uh, um---didn't work out so well. I think it didn't have enough ventilation because the stuff fermented!! In less than 24 hours...no joke. And the smell was STRONG. Anyway, it's now in the trash. If I was going to make a hobby out of making fruit leather (which I'm not) I'd have to find or make some sort of drying rack so the leather could breath through the top and bottom. Mine was on a cookie sheet with a screen over top to protect from bugs and dirt. I suppose I could also try drying in the oven...but I was trying to be green and all. Oh, well, you win some, you lose some and some are rained out (like my shutter painting...read on).
  

• Painting the vinyl shutters--I've wanted to do this since we first moved into our home SIX years ago. Nothing like jumping right on a project. I washed them, scrubbed them, primed them and painted them once. Today, they will receive their second coat and hopefully my Hunny will hang them up this evening. I will post pictures later on today--hopefully. No pictures of the finished shutters today because I didn't get the second coat on. It was SO humid and threatening rain, so I stayed inside today sewing burp cloths and eating strawberry fruit leather---JUST KIDDING-- that stuff smelled nasty. All of that was my eventful day! Wonder what tomorrow holds??
  

If you've clicked on any of the links above, you will realize that I have a new blog love...Make and Takes. The step by step instructions and photos are fabulous. The low-cost projects are fun and functional. I have found a few other blogs that I'm enjoying; I'll save those for another day. What?? I've got to keep you coming back somehow! :)

Recipe Swap: Chicken Casserole Supreme

I was chuckling earlier as I was trying to decide which recipe to share today. One of my favorite aunts submitted a recipe to a local church recipe book. She submitted directions to the nearest food market and told folks what to buy at the deli. :) Some days I definitely feel like that. I get tired of cooking and planning meals. That's why I'm thankful for things like the Recipe Swap--I can get new ideas and jump start my meal planning. Thanks Randi!

This recipe is a wonderful comfort meal. It's great to take to someone else who is sick or recently had a baby, etc.

Chicken Casserole Supreme
2 pounds of chicken cooked/cubed
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 c. butter, melted
8 oz. package herb seasoned stuffing mix
16 oz. sour cream (I use less)
1 c. chicken broth (I use broth from when I cooked the chicken)

Mix cubed chicken with sour cream and soup. Put mixture in a 2 qt. casserole dish that has been lightly greased. Mix stuffing, butter and broth together, put on top of chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Meal Plan for the Week

I've found that a meal plan makes our week go so much smoother. Keeps me on track and, of course, stops the "AHH, it's 5 o'clock and I have no idea what's for dinner" syndrome.

So here's the plan for this week:
Monday: Pasta Meatball Soup
Tuesday: Parmesan Chicken Sticks and Salad
Wednesday: Breakfast for Supper
Thursday: Stir-fry Chicken and veggies
Friday: BBQ Chicken in the crock pot, rice and salad
Saturday: Homemade pizza (I'm going to try this recipe for the dough.)

I made this plan before my good friend, Melanie shared this website with me: $5 Dinners. The gal who writes this blog goes to church with Melanie and her blog has gained national attention. I'm going to enjoy perusing her recipes and seeing what I can add to our menu.

We are going to make pretzels this week too as part of our Lent activities. From what I've read, homemade pretzels originated as a Lenten treat and their twisted shape suggested arms crossed in prayer. I'm going to use this recipe.

Visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for more fantastic meal plans.

What a Great Friday!

We had a great day today! It was a great way to finish up the week. I was watching a friend's two daughters, 5th grade and K. They brought their school work and let me tell you, having them here helped us stay on task SO much! At one point everyone was doing school work...even Trenton who was doing 'math'. :) It was a beautiful sight. And at break time, the kids all played so well together. I know I'm going on and on about it, but really I'm serious it was a good day. They (good days) don't happen like that very often, so I've got to relish in it!

Bethany and I are working on a maple syrup lapbook that I found at homeschoolshare. I borrowed the needed books from the library and we've been having a sweet time working on this study. The sweetness was enriched through a field trip yesterday to a maple sugar bush. Fantastic two-hour tour through the woods, and at the end, a tasty lick of the yummy syrup.

At meal times, the older girls pitched in and helped which was very fun. They made cherry delight for dessert and Parmesan Chicken sticks for dinner. *Recipes at the end. Clean-up times when fast and well too. It was all around a great day.

Today I started a training 'system' whereby the girls earn "screen time" through different means. I explained the idea to them (another friend of mine shared it with me). Basically, you make cards--I made mine on the computer. I put 15 minutes of Screen Time at the top and a picture of a tv/computer screen in the middle. My friend printed mine out and laminated them for me...thanks Angie! I have two different colors, one for each girl. They can earn screen time (computer, tv, etc.) by doing their chores and school well and by showing good character (Fruit of the Spirit qualities--love, joy, patience, peace, self-control, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness). The girls can't ask for the cards--I will reward as I see and hear. So, when the girls want to watch something or have computer time, they will give me a screen card for each 15 minutes. Their screen cards can also be taken away as a consequence for wrong-doing. This system is working very well. I could tell they were trying to do their best in every area. It was refreshing. I'm praying that it continues to go this well.

This evening my Hunny was dancing and playing with the kids. Everyone had a good time. Here are some pictures of our night. In the first picture, Trenton is pretending his stick horse is a guitar. We are listening to a Third Day song, and you know how we feel about Third Day!


In this picture, Bethany and Daddy are dancing together. He took turns dancing with us (I even had a turn!)


This last picture is of my strong men. Don't you love that little boy's face!


Well, thanks for listening to my tales of a great day. I could use many more of these kinds of days.

*Recipes:
Parmesan Oven Fried Chicken Sticks
1/2 c. fine dry bread crumbs (I used a combination of bread crumbs and crushed croutons)
1/2 c. crushed saltines
1/3 c. grated Parmesan
2 T. dried Parsley
1/2 t. poultry seasoning
1/4 t. garlic salt or powder
1/2 t. pepper
12 chicken breast halves
1/2 c. Italian salad dressing

1. Combine first 6 ingredients; set aside.
2. Cut chicken into strips about 1/2 x 1/2 inch
3. Dip chicken in salad dressing; dredge in crumb mixture.

To Freeze: flash freeze by laying strips on a sprayed baking sheet and put in freezer until frozen. Then put them in a ziploc freezer bag.
To Eat: Pick out as many strips as you want to cook and bake on cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or until cooked through.

Cherry Delight
note: this recipe is my Grandma's and it is so delicious. I warn you, once you make it and take it to a gathering, you will be asked to bring it everytime. Marissa wants it for every birthday (here and here). I'm surprised that I haven't given the recipe before now.

2 c. cinnamon graham crackers, crushed
1 stick butter, melted
3 T. powdered sugar
2 envelopes Dream whip
1 c. milk
1 c. sugar
2 packages cream cheese softened
2 t. vanilla
2 cans cherry pie filling

1. Mix crackers, butter, and powdered sugar. Press into 11x7 pan and set aside.
2. Mix dream whip with cold milk, beat until stiff
3. In another bowl, mix sugar, vanilla and cream cheese. Beat into dream whip mixture.
4. Pour into prepared crust pan.
5. Add cherry pie filling to top and refrigerate. 24 hours is best for firmness.
Enjoy!

Sometimes we skip the cherry pie filling and crumble oreos or butterfinger candy bars on top.

Lots of Organizing Going On

I think my email rebelled against my cleaning and organizing! Saturday morning I woke to find that my juno account that I worked so hard to declutter, had a melt-down and threw EVERYTHING into the SAME email folder and named it "restored January 31". I almost had my own melt down. It has been difficult to sort through and reorganize it all again. I'm not done yet, but am trying to balance taking care of it with taking care of my children.

Being the Pollyanna that I am, here are the things I am thankful for:

• I didn't lose my emails altogether
• The computer still works
• I didn't break down or break the computer
• By having to go through all the emails again, I've deleted a whole bunch more!

I've also determined to get our meals, shopping list and food budget in order. So I've been working hard on organizing lists, recipes, the pantry and our budget. I received some good advice from a couple different friends on how to go about this huge task...here's what I did: (Scroll down for our menu this week.)

• First I went through and listed meals we eat.
  
• Then I looked through my recipe book and box to rediscover recipes that I haven't made in a while. And I decided to make one new recipe every two weeks, so for that, I had Marissa look through recipe books and choose something that we wanted to try.
  
• Next, I listed all ingredients needed for each recipe, followed by organizing all the ingredients in 'like' groups and crossing through the ingredients I already had.
  
• Finally I made a list of all the ingredients I needed to purchase.
  
• As for the food budget, I've been tracking our variable expenses for a while now and have a rough figure of what we spend on food and non-food items each month. I divided this figure in half and took that much cash to Aldi and Walmart. I prayed that God would help me stick to the list and that the money I had would cover the two weeks worth of goods.

The end result: I got everything I needed (except I forgot cottage cheese for lasagna) and I went over my budget $7. I'm excited and I feel good about having the next two weeks of meals planned. I need to mention that we invested in 1/8 of quality beef (we split a quarter with another family)--so we have plenty of ground beef in the freezer. Also, I stocked up on chicken when it was on sale. And a friend gave us a ham the first of January. It was already sliced and I packaged it up in freezer ziplocs. So I didn't have to buy any meat this time.

Here's what is on the menu this week:

Monday: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup* recipe below
Tuesday: Baked Potatoes
Wednesday: Spagetti
Thursday: Homemade Mac-n-cheese with bites of ham*
Friday: Lasagna and bread
Saturday: Breakfast for supper

Chcicken Noodle Soup:
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
dash ground pepper
1 medium carrot, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
1/2 cup uncooked extra wide egg noodles
1 cup shredded cooked chicken

1. I've already cooked a whole chicken (from last week). I boiled everything down and bagged up the broth, saving out what I needed for tonight's soup. Heat broth, pepper, carrot and celery in saucepan over medium high heat to a boil.
2. Stir in noodles and chicken. Reduce heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes or until noodles are tender.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese: (recipe from my homeschooling friend, Melissa B.)
8 oz elbow macaroni, cooked
3-4 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
13 oz can evaporated milk
1 1/2 c. milk (we use dry non-fat milk for these purposes)
2 eggs
1 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1/2 t. dry mustard
1 cup diced cooked ham

1. Combine all ingredients except 1 c. cheese in a greased crockpot. Sprinkle reserved cheese over the top.
2. Cover, cook on low 3-4 hours. Do not remove lid or stir until mixture has finished cooking.

I found this great recipe for french bread over at Pleasant View Schoolhouse. I really want to try this recipe...maybe I'll plan for it the next time I go to the grocery.

For more recipes and meal plans, run over Organizing Junkie's Meal Plan Monday.

Recipe Swap

For one of my Works for me Wednesday posts I showed you all my bread that I'd made into bread crumbs. Today I thought I'd give you the recipe for Oven Fried Chicken--why I didn't give it to you way back when, I don't know. I received a comment on that bread crumbs post that prompted this recipe...and it's Recipe Swap day over at Randi's I have to Say. Thanks Randi!

Baked Parmesan Chicken (Oven Fried Chicken)

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a bowl.
1 slice whole wheat bread (1 cup)
¼ c. minced parsley
½ c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. garlic powder
Wash and pat dry 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts. (I cut my chicken into “nugget” size pieces.)
Dip pieces of chicken in nonfat milk, then coat with bread crumb mixture.
Bake on baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour or until done through.

It's the Brady Bunch!

As I said yesterday, I'm helping my sister as she is recovering from surgery. She has a great family with a husband and 5 kids. It's a blended family (hence the Brady Bunch). The kids are ages 12 and under. Mixing in my kids, we had quite a housefull today! They all did great though. The kids mostly played outside--the bottoms of Bethany's feet bear the proof of that. :) Marissa said that the washcloth will never come clean...what a pessimist...or is that a realist? 

My sister is doing very well and is a good patient. She is walking around appropriately, taking her medicine and resting adequately. It was really an easy day. She had me psyched up for heavy duty parenting--rather "aunting" and the kids did wonderful. 

Some things you should know about my sister: 

• she is extremely giving--she had 4 bags of clothes and goodies waiting on me. Hand-me downs from her kids and her husband plus yard sale finds. 
• she is the queen of yard sale shopping. She finds the best deals and the best stuff. She gave me a pyrex bowl that is so fun! It's yellow and squarish. When I return home, I'll take a picture of it. 
• she is tons of fun and has a great laugh.
• she thoroughly loves my kids and hunny. 

What more could I ask for in a sister? 

It's been my privilege to help her (although honestly I didn't feel like I was doing much today). 

I did make this dish for supper...one of them and one for my grandparents and aunt, whom the girls and I are staying the nights with. It was yummy. 

Ham and Hash Brown Casserole

3 cups of frozen hash browns

1/4 c. butter melted

1 cup diced cooked ham

1/4 cup diced onion

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

Press hash browns in bottom and sides of 9 in. pie pan. Drizzle with melted butter and bake in 400 degree preheated oven for 12 minutes. In bowl, mix ham, onion and cheese. In another bowl whisk eggs and milk. Put ham mixture in pie pan, then add egg mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes in 350 oven. 

Enjoy!

Sweet Strawberry Sweetness

Yesterday my girls went strawberry picking with a friend. I stayed home and napped the little guy (yeah, I'm a wimp when it comes to 90 degree heat and high humidty!) But thankfully they braved the heat. The reward was sweet strawberries. Lots and lots of them. The u-pick strawberries were only $1.29 a pound!

This morning I made 10 8-oz jars of freezer jam. Yummy! This winter we are going to enjoy the strawberry sweetness so much.

I'm going to try to go once more next week. I'd like to freeze some strawberries whole for smoothies. And of course, we are enjoying them straight out of the colander.

Recipe Exchange

Here are some of our favorite recipes.

Blueberry, Orange and Cherry Salad

Dressing:
1/2 c. olive oil
3 T. sugar
1/2 t. coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. beef bouillon granules
3 T. Balsamic vinegar
1/4 t. dried basil
1 T. reserved Mandarin orange juice

Salad:
3/4 c. fresh blueberries
1/2 c. dried cherries or cranberries
1/3 c. chopped green onion
1/3 c. slivered almonds, toasted
8 c. mixed salad greens
1 (11oz) can Mandarin oranges, drained, juice reserved

Combine all dressing ingredients, shake well.
Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Pour dressing over salad and toss.
Serves 12

Dressing may be prepared and refrigerated 3 days ahead.
Fruits and greens may be prepared up to 1 day ahead and refrigerate in separate containers.

To toast almonds, bake at 400 degrees on a baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Check frequently to avoid burning.

Italian Turkey Cutlets

1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 t. olive oil, divided
1 can (14-1/2 oz) Italian stewed tomatoes
1 t. dried basil
1 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. dried rosemary, crushed
1 1/4 pounds turkey breast cutlets
1/2 t. salt
1/8 pepper
2 T. shredded Parmesan cheese

In a saucepan, saute onion and garlic in 2 t. oil until tender. Stir in the tomatoes, basil, oregano and rosemary. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until sauce thickens. Meanwhile, sprinkle both sides of the turkey cutlets with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick pan over medium heat, cook turkey in batches in remaining oil until juices run clear. Serve with tomato sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Yield: 4 servings

The salad recipe is from my scrapbooking friend, Deb. I'm not sure where she found it. It is one of those recipes that once you make it and take to a gathering--most people want the recipe and they want you to bring it to all the gatherings. :)

The Italian Turkey Cutlet recipe came from Taste of Home.

Make sure you visit the Baking and Cooking section from archived posts.

And, run right over to Randi's and get more great recipes. Thanks Randi for hosting this recipe exchange.

Calzone recipe

I am making calzones tonight for supper. I am using Randi's recipe which can be found here. The picture looks good enough to eat.

Also, she is hosting a Recipe Exchange tomorrow. Please join in because I know I could use some new zing in my menu planning.

So, go over to Randi's at I Have to Say and get her calzone recipe and read about the recipe exchange.

Golden Potato Soup and Honey Wheat Rolls

We are having a carry-in lunch after church tomorrow. The theme is soup and bread. So I'm bringing this combination.

Golden Potato Soup
3 c. potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 c. chopped celery
1/2 c. chopped onion
15 oz. can chicken broth
2 carrots, chopped
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch black pepper
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. chopped ham OR 1/2 c. cooked and crumbled bacon

In a large stock pot, combine first 6 ingredients. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until vegetables are tender. In separate bowl, mix flour and milk. Once it is well blended, add to soup mixture and cook until soup becomes thick. Stir in cheese and ham and simmer until cheese is melted.

[Note: I omitted the celery and the ham/bacon with good results.]


Honey Wheat Rolls
8 oz. warm water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 c. honey
1 large egg, beaten (or 2 egg whites)
2 c. bread flour
1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
2 teaspoon dry yeast

Put the ingredients into your bread machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Set on "dough". When it is finished shape into rolls (about 12-18 depending on size). Let rise and bake until done.

These rolls are a favorite of our family. The recipe is especially precious to me because my friend Julie shared it with me. The recipe card is in her handwriting. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her. I miss her.