Creamy Wild Rice Soup

While planning my weekly menu I realized that I have made each week since September a soup.  In fact last week we had 2 meals that were what I considered cozy in a bowl.  My family is usually on board at first but by the end of winter they are done with soup.  Kinda like at the end of summer they are done with salads.  I guess I can't blame them but Summer=Salads and Fall/Winter=Soup....just that simple.

The last week or so around here has been consumed with Homecoming planning.  Since I am new to the current High School "trends" I had to learn as I muddled through Tux rental, dinner reservations, pictures....oh my Pictures....what an event that turned out to be.  But my sweet freshman had a wonderful time and his date was the cutest thing.  As stressful as it was, I loved every minute and by the time Jakey gets to High School I will be an old pro.

 

So anyway after this crazy weekend I was ready for an evening of "cozy" at home time with my family.  I found this recipe over at www.bettycrocker.com  a week or so ago and thought what better time to give it a try.  It came together super easy and my family loved it.  In fact next time that I make it I will double the recipe.  I had a couple of upset boys when they went looking for another bowl of this yummy soup. 

I had to convince them to give the almonds a chance.  When the soup is ready to serve, sprinkle toasted almonds over the top....I also crumbled a bit of crispy bacon on the top.  The recipe didn't call for it but I had a few slices left over from breakfast and thought that it might be a tasty addition.  I also added some diced ham to the soup as it was simmering.  I know....I just can't leave well enough alone.

Creamy Wild Rice Soup

 

1/2 cup uncooked wild rice    

1 3/4 ups water       

2 tablespoons butter or margarine  

2 medium stalks celery, sliced (1 cup)     

1 medium carrot, coarsely shredded (1/2 cup)  

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)   

1 small green bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)      

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

1/2 teaspoon salt    

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 can (14 oz) vegetable broth 

1 cup half-and-half  

1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted                

3-4 pieces of crisp cooked bacon, crumbled

1 cup of diced ham

 

1.  Cook wild rice in 1 1/4 cups of the water as directed on package.

                        

2.  In 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add celery, carrot, onion and bell pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until celery is tender. 

                        

3.  Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Stir in wild rice, remaining 1/2 cup water and the broth. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

                          

4  Stir in ham.  Heat just until hot.  Do not boil.

 

5.  Ladle soup into bowls and top with crumbled bacon and toasted almonds.

 

 

               Happy Monday!  Enjoy!

 

Soy and Brown Sugar Salmon

So my husband went salmon fishing on the stormiest weekend on record in Washington during the month of September. The funny thing was, while it was raining buckets here at home up on the strait it was just breezy and misty....well at least until Sunday.  But regardless, with 3 days of fishing he brought back 6 beautiful fish. 

Besides halibut, salmon has to be one of my favorite fish.  I spent the better part of Sunday evening preparing the fish for the freezer....but picked out a very delicious looking fillet to have for dinner this week.  I couldn't hold out any longer,....I had to prepare it tonight....I just couldn't wait. 

So the only decision I had was how do I cook it.  I really love grilled fish on the BBQ....but the weather really wasn't stellar.  I thought about using my indoor grill pan....but then I decided to use my counter top convection oven.  I found a great marinade over at www.allrecipes.com.  It was super easy and quick.....all the things that we are looking for.

To be very honest with you I had no intention of blogging this but I couldn't let it go....it was just too delish.  I kind of thought that I would be able to taste the soy sauce just a little bit more....but it was the perfect combo of salt and sweet.  Anyway the beautiful plating was missed and I was stuck with one tiny little piece to use as a photo.  I served this with a nutty rice pilaf and steamed broccoli.  I am sorry that you need to use your imagination just a bit.....but trust me on this one it was very yummy.

Soy and Brown Sugar Salmon

1 1/2 lb salmon fillet

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup canola oil

garlic powder, to taste

salt and pepper to taste

 

1.  Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, water and oil in a bowl.  Whisk well to combine well.

 

2.  Season salmon fillet with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.

 

3.  Place fillet in large zip lock bag and pour marinade over fish.  Seal bag well and gently tip the bag back and forth to make sure all of the fish is coated.

 

4.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

 

5.  Remove fish from bag, throw away marinade. 

 

6.  Cook salmon as desired. 

 

 

Happy Monday!  Enjoy!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

 I don't know about anyone else but I am so ready for the weekend. I have been dealing with Jakey's cold, getting Matt fitted for a homecoming tux and making sure Ray has what he needs to go on a fishing trip this weekend. Throw in a 5 hour power outage Tuesday morning and I would say I kinda deserve a weekend soon. Thank goodness we have just a little over 24 hours til Friday Happy Hour.


I have been doing pretty good lately finding great recipes that the entire family will enjoy. Recipes that are quick, ingredients most of us have on hand and super delish.  When I make a new dish and both boys tell me that it is "Blog Worthy" I know that I have succeeded.  I found this over at www.madefrompinterest.net.  There are many versions out there....I have made something very similar from Gooseberry Patch....equally as good.  I found that this came together very quick....and the sauce is way good!

 

I made this as a going away dinner for our sweet Sarah who was leaving for college.  Sarah became a part of our family several years ago.  She volunteered her time helping out in the daycare/preschool that I had in my home and also was Jakey's babysitter on the rare occasion that Ray and I ever got a night out.  We love her to pieces and we wanted to make her a great "comfort food" meal before she went off to a life of Top Ramen.



 In fact she sent me a message last night and told me that her first day was great and she was eating "Cup O Noodles".  I knew it!  Good thing we filled her with mashed potatoes and cheesy gooey ham/chicken.

 

 

 

 

 

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

 

5 cups chicken breast, diced or shredded

1/2 pound sliced deli-style black forest ham, chopped

1/2 pound sliced swiss cheese

 

Sauce:

4 Tb butter

4 Tb flour

3 C milk

2 Tb lemon juice

1 Tb dijion mustard

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp pepper

 

Topping:

4 Tb melted butter

1 1/4 C seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 C parmesan cheese

 

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13 casserole dish with nonstick spray.  Layer the chicken in the bottom of the dish followed by the ham and finally the swiss cheese.

2.  In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly add the milk, whisking to keep clumps from forming.  Turn the heat to high and cook until the sauce thickens and boils completely, whisking often.  Remove from the heat and add the remaining sauce ingredients.  Pour the finished sauce over the base layer already in the dish.

3.  In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients until the butter is evenly distributed over the crumbs.  Sprinkle over the top of the dish and bake for 45 minutes.  Allow to cool for 10 minute before serving so the sauce will thicken just a bit.



Happy Thursday!  Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Cake

When I think of caramel....I automatically think apples.  Really....it is a natural pairing don't you think.  Sure....a sliced apple and caramel for dip brings happiness to my heart but I wanted to bring that same happiness to the entire house.  That wonderful smell of apples baking...a scent that brings back wonderful memories of my Grandma.

 

I think I have mentioned all the apples that my dear friend has shared with me.....I have been trying to vary my apple recipes.  Cobbler, crisp, apple butter, apple chips.....all super delish.  But I needed something different.  I found a recipe for caramel apple bread over on www.thedomesticrebel.com and instantly knew I had to make it. 

 

When got ready to make it though I simply forgot what I was doing and grabbed my 9x13 baker....sprayed it and poured the batter into the pan.  Ooops!  Yikes....it was supposed to go into bread pans.  I decided that it was going to be way more trouble to try and get it out of the baker and into the pans....so....I left it.  And it was very yummy....in fact my husband thought that I had made a coffee cake.  Of course I did admit to him my mistake....but it seemed to work out great....the fam loved it.

 

 

Of course we topped ours with a spray of whip cream and a drizzle of caramel.  Did it need it.....no probably not.....but really it was super delish with it.

 

 

Caramel Apple Cake

 

1 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp lemon or lime juice

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups coarsely chopped apples

Caramel sundae sauce

 

 

Crumb Topping Mixture

1 tsp cinnamon

4 Tbsp flour

4 Tbsp brown sugar

4 Tbsp cold butter

 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non stick cooking spray.

 2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until creamy. In a separate bowl, dissolve the baking soda into the lemon juice. Mixture will foam up; that’s normal. Once dissolved, add the baking soda mixture, eggs and vanilla to the butter and beat to combine.

 3. Add the flour and salt until a thick batter has formed. Stir in the chopped apples by hand.

 4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the crumb ingredients until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Set aside.

 5. Spread 1/2 of the batter into the pan.  Sprinkle 1/2 of the crumb topping on top of the batter.  Drizzle caramel syrup over the crumb mixture.  Repeat layers ending with caramel syrup.

6. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out of center clean; allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

7. Bread can be stored up to 2 days at room temperature, wrapped tightly.

Happy Wednesday!  Enjoy!





Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Nothing screams "cozy comfort food" more than a great chicken pot pie.  I have a great recipe for chicken pot pie that is a family favorite.  For me the flaky buttery top crust is what it is all about.  Of course I do have one family member (Jacob) that does not like the crust...top or bottom and will scrape out all of the creamy filling and just eat that.  I know!  Really?....who's kid is he?  I don't complain too much though....because I usually snitch his top crust.

So when I came across this recipe for a soup version over at www.shugarysweets.com I was thrilled....and actually thought...why hadn't I thought of this?  I did make a couple of changes to ingredients...but other than that I stayed pretty true to the recipe.  I wish I would have doubled the recipe though....both boys were looking for seconds....and there were none.  I guess that is a good sign.  Bottom line....it was delish!  Creamy and flavorful without using a "cream of anything" soup.  I chose to use 2 cups of 2% milk rather than 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of heavy cream and it turned out great.

Instead of making strips out of the pie crust I took a biscuit cutter and made little discs.....we just tucked them in like you would crackers.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

 

2 cup chicken, cooked and diced

3 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 yellow onion, diced

3 celery stalks, diced

1/2 cup carrots, diced

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup chicken broth 

2 cups milk 

pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper  

1/2 package pie crust (I used Pillsbury), thawed

 

1.  In a large pot, melt butter over medium high heat. Add onions, celery and carrots and cook to soften about 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and cook an additional minute, stirring constantly. Slowly add broth, milk, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Use a whisk to combine, then add in cooked chicken. Heat over medium heat until warm, about 10-15 minutes.

2.  To make crust strips, unroll thawed pie crust (for one crust). Cut into strips and lay on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 6-8 minutes, until browned. Remove from oven.

 

3.  To assemble, Ladle soup into bowls and top with warm crisp pie strips. 

 

 

 

 

Happy Wednesday!  Enjoy!

 



Glitter Cup

We are huge football fans.....and we love our Seahawks!  In fact...we have always loved our Hawks....even when they were not so good and now that they are playing well it makes the games even better. 

Set up the big screen...gather friends and put on all of our 12th man gear....we are set.  I had to have a special cup for the games....whether it be water, diet coke or a Green Wave cocktail....I needed it.  I had a bunch of cups left over from last fall.  Sparkly cups with big ribbons were perfect for the gift giving season last year.

These are super easy to make.  The cups came from the dollar store....the Mod Podge and craft sealer can be found at a variety of locations....I picked mine up at Wal-Mart when I got the ribbon.  Try and find ribbon that has wire....it makes it much easier to make those great big full bows.

I raided my boys room for anything I could attach in the center of the bow to represent the Seahawks....I came across this great little helmet and beads that I cut and hooked in with wire.

These really are super fun to make and the possibilities are endless.  There are so many colors of glitter available now....I am sure that you could find a color that would work for your scheme.

1.  Remove the lid from the cup and set a side.

2.  Brush Mod Podge over the entire cup.  Try not to get it up near the area where the lid screws on.

3.  Sprinkle glitter very liberally all over the cup.   Don't worry there is no wrong way to do this.  Be sure to cover your work surface because glitter will be everywhere.  Also this way you can recollect the glitter  to use again.

4.  Allow to dry....at least 30 minutes.

5.  When dry, apply another coat of Mod Podge and sprinkle more glitter on the cup.  This will give the cup a great all over coating of sparkle.  When this coat is dry, apply a thin coat of clear multi-purpose sealer.

6.  I used a thin piece of ribbon (without wire) to wrap around the cup with a small Velcro dot to hold it in place.  It works great so the ribbon can be removed when washing the cup.

7.  Make the bow...attach the bling or extras with a thin piece of wire.  And then hot glue the bow to the thin piece of ribbon.  When glue is dry.....wrap the ribbon around the cup...press the Velcro pieces together and it is ready to use.

There is no worry with the glitter color bleeding when it gets wet.  I have used expensive glitter and also glitter from the dollar store.  Just remember you have to hand wash the cup.

Happy Sunday!  Go Seahawks!

Chicken Tortilla Stack

First full week of school is in the books....and we made it.  High School has been a success for Matt and Jakey has gotten back into the "school groove" without too much difficulty. 

We have had a week of beautiful sunshine and record breaking temps.....I know that the rain is coming soon...but I so enjoyed these last few day.  Wednesday was the warmest....hitting nearly 90 degrees.  We enjoyed happy hour in the garden with neighbors and before I knew it Jacob was asking what was for dinner!  Lucky for me I did have a plan....and lucky for me it came together quick and was very yummy.

Long ago I was a Pampered Chef consultant and one of the recipes that everyone wanted was the Tortilla Stack.  This is my little twist on that.....just as easy and delish!

My boys love to make nachos....everyone gets to create their own little masterpiece....well these are very similar.  I found these cute little tostada shells at Safeway that worked great....each stack used 3 shells filled with yummy chicken and cheese between the layers.  And then topped with all our favorite toppings.

Chicken Tortilla Stack

12 corn tostada shells

2 cups of cooked chicken, diced or shredded

shredded Mexican blend cheese

6 oz sour cream

taco sauce

favorite taco toppings...

tomato

green onions

avocado

shredded lettuce

 

1.  Mix sour cream and taco sauce together....the taco sauce is by taste.

 

2.  Spread some of the sour cream mixture onto a tostada shell.  Place the shell into a baking dish. 

 

3.  Sprinkle chicken and then cheese on top of the shell.   Then repeat the layer with another shell.  Place the 3rd shell on the top.  Gently pressing down.....then sprinkle a final layer of cheese on the top.

 

4.  Repeat to make 3 more stacks.  A 9x13 baking dish will hold 2 stacks....so 2 baking dish will be needed.

 

5.  Cover baking dish loosely with foil.  Bake at 325 degrees for 12-15 min.

 

6  Remove foil and bake another 6-8 minutes.

 

7.  Remove from oven.  After plating slice each stack into 4 slices....a pizza cutter works great for this.

 

8.  Add your favorite toppings and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Happy Friday My Friends!