Black Bean Soup

For me, soups are like appetizers-- I don't think I've ever encountered one that I didn't like! So when I found a recipe for a black bean soup, I immediately wanted to try it.  Beans are good for you, and cheap, so how bad could it be?  

This recipe did not disappoint, and it is now on the regular rotation for The Mr. and I.

Source:  Cooking Light, March 2009

Ingredients:

1 lb. dry black beans
4 c. chicken broth
1 c. water
2 c. onions (but I only had about 1 cup available)
1 jalapeno-- ribbed, seeded, and minced (This was my first time cooking with a fresh jalapeno, so I had to learn how to work with the pepper. I found this website that was very helpful.)
3 bay leaves
1 T. cumin
1 T. lime juice
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
3 T. sour cream
Cilantro sprigs, optional

Directions:

Soak the beans overnight in bowl of water.  To do this, cover the beans so that the water is at least 2 inches higher than the beans. Let soak overnight (8 hours) Drain when ready to use.

In a CrockPot, combine beans, water, broth, bay leaves, cumin, onion, and jalapeno.  Cook on LOW for 10 hours.

After cooking all day, add lime juice, salt, and chopped cilantro. (Before serving, I pureed the soup using an immersion blender to make it creamier, even though the original recipe did not call for this.)

Serve with sour cream and hot sauce, and garnish with sprigs of cilantro.

Verdict:

It's a keeper!  I'm glad I pureed it a bit, because I really liked the creamy texture.  

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Never have I ever made macaroni and cheese.

I tried to make Baked Macaroni and Cheese one time.  It's been so long ago that I almost forgot about it.  It was a recipe from a Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, and I remember doubting myself (and the recipe) as I was making it.  Tasting it confirmed all my suspicions; neither onion nor breadcrumbs belonged in Macaroni and Cheese.  

Since then, I have been on the lookout for a Macaroni and Cheese recipe that would fit my specific requirements in order to be tested.  Disappointment abounded during those years, since every recipe I found had ingredients that I was hoping to avoid.  Have you ever tried to search Mac and Cheese recipes?  It's harder than you think to find one without onions, breadcrumbs, cottage cheese, ricotta, heavy cream, or cream-of-something-gross soup!

Then one day, I found it.  The one. The ingredients? Pasta. Butter. Cheese. Milk. Salt and Pepper.  Perfect! Thank you, Jesus! Or, more specifically, thank you Melissa from Lemons and Love.

This has been bookmarked for several months-- but today was the day.  It's baking right now, and I can't wait! :)

Source:  Inspired by Lemons and Love (slightly modified)


Ingredients: 

16-oz. box of elbow macaroni
16 oz. Velveeta, cut into cubes
16 oz. Shredded Monteray Jack/Mild Cheddar blend (I prefer to use two 8 oz. bags instead of one big bag)
1 stick butter, quartered (Then, each quarter gets sliced into smaller pieces)
1 c. milk (I used skim because that's what we drink)
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven for 325 degrees.

2.  Cook the pasta according to directions on the box.

3.  In a baking dish (I used a Pyrex 8x10), evenly distribute a quarter of the butter pieces.

4.  Layer in half of the cooked pasta.  Follow with half of the Velveeta, then 8oz. of the shredded cheese blend, another quarter of butter pieces, and salt and pepper. 

5.  Repeat last step.

6.  End the last layer with butter pieces on top. Pour milk evenly throughout the whole dish.  

7.  Bake at 325 for 45-60 minutes, till cheese is bubbly and browned in some spots.

Make-Ahead Tip:  Do everything listed above EXCEPT adding the milk.  Cover and refrigerate.  The day you choose to bake it, let the dish come to room temperature, add the milk, then bake as directed. 

Verdict:
I can barely type.  I'm in food coma.  :)

Upon sampling the new recipe, The Mr. informed me that I will be required to make this at least once a week :)  As much as I enjoyed this, we'll have to see about that...

Hashbrown Egg Bake

So... a couple of Saturdays ago, The Mr. and I woke up from a long night of fun and debauchery... and on such mornings, I crave a breakfast with some carbs.  Potatoes, to be specific. Since we normally don't include potatoes in our weekend morning breakfast routine, I didn't have a go-to recipe to satisfy my Carb-needs.

Enter Allrecipes.com. 

Have I told you how much I love allrecipes.com?  This may sound dramatic, but this website is the main reason I originally started cooking.  If you create an account with them, you can have a "Daily Dish" emailed to you once a day.  If it sounds good, you can print it or save it in an online recipe box; if it doesn't sound good, just delete it.  Before I knew it, I had a great variety of recipes at my fingertips-- all of which seemed simple enough for a novice cook like me.  

Back to Saturday morning.  I needed a recipe that involved eggs, bacon, and potatoes.  So I went to allrecipes.com, performed a search with those ingredients, and found this Hashbrown Egg Bake. Since it was just the two of us, I cut the recipe in half, which ended up yielding the perfect amount for us. The recipe listed here, however, listed the original amounts. 

Source: Allrecipes.com  


Ingredients:


1 (30 oz.) pkg. frozen hashbrown potatoes, thawed


1 lbs. bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled


1 c. shredded cheddar, divided


1/4 tsp. salt


2 c. milk


8 eggs


pepper, to taste


paprika, to taste


1/4 tsp.




Directions:


1.  In a large bowl, combine hashbrowns, bacon, 1/2 c. cheese, and salt.  Spoon the mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish. 


2.  Beat milk and eggs together in a large bowl. Add pepper.  Pour mixture over hashbrowns.  Sprinkle with paprika. 


3.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, or till golden.  Remove from oven, and add remaining cheese.

Verdict: Keeper!

Bonus-- it kept well till Sunday morning, so we reheated leftovers and had an easy, but deliciously satisfying breakfast.

CrockPot Chicken Stroganoff

It's fall.


Okay, so maybe the calendar still considers this to be summer, but once we can sleep with the windows open and snuggle under the covers, I'm ready for football, beautiful trees, and comfort food!

...like I need an excuse for comfort food...


(To clarify, I reserve the title of "comfort food" for dishes that meet the following requirements):


1. It involves some kind of meat in some kind of thick sauce. Gravy qualifies as a sauce.


2. It involves a starch of some kind. Potatoes, noodles, rice, etc.


3. It cooks while I get to watch football :)

Since this recipe looked to satisfy all those requirements, I went ahead and tried it. 

Source: Modified from allrecipes.com




Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

1/2 c. water

1 (.6 oz) packet of Italian salad dressing mix

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

8 oz. fat-free cream cheese

1 (10.75 oz) can fat-free cream of chicken soup

Directions: 

Place chicken, water, salad dressing mix, and mushrooms in a CrockPot.  Cook on LOW for 5-6 hours.

Combine cream of chicken and cream cheese.  Add to the CrockPot and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes.

"Chunk" the chicken in the CrockPot into smaller pieces.  Mix well, and serve over egg noodles or rice.

Verdict: Keeper!

This has officially been added to the recipe box! :)

CrockPot Pulled Pork

While reading this recipe, I had a hard time believing that it would be any good.  Growing up, I was always taught "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."  Well, this recipe meets all the qualifications to fall under the "too good to be true" category. 

• It has 3 ingredients.
• It is low maintenace.
• It makes a lot of food, cheaply.
• The Mr. and I both like this meal.

I was hopeful that this recipe was as tasty as it was simple, because if it was, this could easily become another staple in our house!

Soure:  allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

3 lbs. pork shoulder

1 can diet root beer

Your favorite BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)

Directions:

1.  Place pork shoulder in the CrockPot.

2.  Pour root beer over the meat.

3.  Cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4. 

4.  During the last hour, use a baster to remove most of the juices.  Remove the bone, and place the meat in a separate container and shred  it with two forks.  Also, remove any excess fat from the meat.  Add desired amount of BBQ sauce, stir, and place back in the CrockPot to cook for approximately another hour.

Verdict:

This is a KEEPER!  It sounded too good to be true, but it wasn't! The trick, I think, is using the pork shoulder cut of meat... there was enough fat within it to not only give it great flavor, but it made it very easy to pull apart after it had cooked. The only thing I may try differently is using regular root beer instead of diet root beer, but that's because I can't ever leave a recipe alone :)

Gravy

What I have learned:

1) Making gravy is a piece of cake.

2) Making it more photogenic is a bit more of a challenge!

Since I was making Beef Stew, and remembered that I always end up wishing I had some gravy for it, I decided to take the plunge and make some gravy from the drippings contained in the CrockPot.  Gravy hasn't been something I have tackled recently, since my first (and last, till now) attempt was a little hair-raising. 

(Let's just put it this way... it involved Thanksgiving dinner at my house, my first time hosting, and my Mother-in-Law and my Mom in the kitchen with me both trying to show me how they make gravy.  And no, they weren't the same methods.  I felt like either method I chose, I was going to hurt someone's feelings.  Oy.) 

I want to curl up into the fetal position just remembering that moment.  

But anyway, I'm a big girl now, and I dove into making it on my own using what I remembered of that Thanksgiving near-meltdown. 

Source:  My Mom

Pretty much, you need 3 things to make any kind of gravy...

Drippings from the meat (I started with about 2 c.)-- I used a turkey baster to get the drippings out of the CrockPot and into a measuring cup.  Ideally, I'd use one of those nifty fat-separating cups with a spout, but that will have to wait till I get one!) 

Milk-- I started off with about 1/2 c. 

Flour-- I think I used about 1-2 T.

And just for good measure, I also ended up adding about 1 tsp. (maybe more) of beef-flavored soup base.  If I were working with chicken or turkey drippings, I'd use a chicken flavored soup base. 

Directions:

1.  In a saucepan, heat the drippings on medium heat. 

Here's the part that my Mom swears by... and I think I'll end up swearing by it, too...  

2.  In a Tupperware shaker, combine the milk and flour.  Shake well till flour is mixed thoroughly with the milk. 

3.  Stirring constantly with a whisk, add the milk mixture to the drippings. 

4.  Add soup base.

5.  Continue stirring for several minutes.  Gravy will thicken. 

Verdict:

Keeper!  The Mr. said that his Mom, a gravy expert, would love it.  That's good enough for me! :)

CrockPot Beef Stew

Oh CrockPot, how I love thee...

Okay, Okay.... I know it's summer, and in our part of the world, we've been battling temperatures in the upper 90's with humidity like that of a sauna. Beef stew isn't exactly what I would call a summer dish, but celery and carrots needed to be used up...  and when I need to use up those items, I am always drawn back to my quest of making a great beef stew.  Plus, since it's a CrockPot meal, the heat in the kitchen was not as intense. 

As easy as beef stew can be, I've never been happy with mine.  The meat was too dry. Or too tough.  Or the flavor was too bland.  Or it was too watery.  Whatever the case, I hadn't met "the one" when it came to beef stew.  

But today, I got it right!  And here's what I did...

Ingredients

3-4 lbs. beef chuck shoulder

2 c. water

1 packet of "Crockery Gourmet" seasoning mix-- So I cheated a little, what of it?

1 lb. carrots (about 5-6) peeled and chopped

1/2 bunch of celery heart, chopped

1/2 onion, quartered

6 New Potatoes, quartered

Directions:

1.  Mix together seasoning packet with water.

2.  Place beef in the CrockPot, and cover with seasoning/water mixture.  

3.  Add celery, carrots, onion, and potatoes.

4.  Cook for 4 hours on High, or 8 hours on Low. 

5.  Before serving, cut the meat into chunks.  Stir till mixed well.

Verdict: 

Keeper! The only change I might try is cubing the meat before cooking.  And since my trial run of making Beef Gravy went so well, I'll definitely do it again with this meal.  

Black Bean Salsa

If you can scoop it, dip it, swirl it, or otherwise put it on a chip and eat it, I love it. 

So, after experiencing  a "Girl's Night In" with margaritas and this Black Bean Salsa, I had to get the recipe and try it myself.  For me, it's the perfect salsa-- because it's not spicy.  If I wanted to get adventurous, and knew that I'd have a heat-seeking audience, I could add some chopped jalapenos to the mixture...  but I prefer flavor to flaming heat, so this one is for me :) 

Source:  My friend who doesn't like to be identified online, so we'll call her "Kiki."  

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn, drained (she said she sometimes uses the corn with red peppers mixed in, but I didn't for this version)

1 can of diced tomatoes (or one fresh tomato, chopped)

1 small red onion, chopped

1/4 c. lime juice

1 tsp. ground cumin

fresh cilantro (I used 5 sprigs, chopped... we'll see if I need to add more after I take it to the party!)  

Verdict:

Oh, it's a keeper-- and others thought so, too :) 

Simple Tuna Salad

Don't worry, I didn't fall off the face of the Earth... it's just that it's SUMMER and I've been cooking (kind of) but too busy enjoying the break to do much blogging.  (I'm sure you can find it in your heart to forgive me)

Anywho... I realized today that I haven't shared my love of tuna salad with you.  Since The Mr. is not a fan of most seafood, this is something I get to make and enjoy all for myself.  You usually cook for others, and hope that they enjoy what you create-- which is why tuna salad has a special place in my heart.  I'm usually by myself for lunch, so I don't have to feel guilty about making something just for  me, myself, and I.

Ingredients:

1 12-oz. can of chunk light tuna, drained.

1-2 T. of mayo

1 tsp. Lemon juice

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Chill for 1 hour.

Resist the temptation to eat the whole bowl... I dare you!

Makes 2 servings

Sigh.... it never lasts long enough...

Baked Pork Chops with Mushroom 'n Onion Sauce

Almost all of us have a few go-to recipes.  You know the kind-- the ones you can recite pretty much off the top of your head. 

Well, this one is mine.  It has very few ingredients, very little prep, and a very big payoff in the taste department.  I have made this one several times now, and each time we love it.  This is a perfect example of how cooking doesn't have to be fancy or time-consuming to be good! 


Source:  An unclaimed recipe I found through searching online.  If it's yours, let me know and I will gladly give you the credit.

Ingredients:

4-6 pork chops

1/4 tsp. seasoned salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1 onion, chopped

8 oz. package of fresh, sliced mushrooms

2 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Rinse pork chops and pat dry.  Arrange in a 9"x13" baking dish.  Season chops with salt and pepper.

3.  In a large bowl, combine the soup, mushrooms, and chopped onion.  Spoon the mixture over the chops. 

4.  Bake for 45-60 minutes, or till done. 

Verdict:  It's a regular in our household :) 

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

The Mr. and I have friends who live in St. Louis, and we try to make the trek from Cincinnati at least once a year.  Our usual excuse to visit is centered around the annual Mardi Gras Parade-- The Mr.'s favorite reason.  My favorite excuse to visit (other than simply hanging out and laughing my a$$ off, because that's what we do when we're together) involves a restaurant called Syberg's.

It's a non-descript kind of joint.  It lures you in with the facade that it's just another bar and grill.  You hear rumors that they are famous for their wings.  "Sure," you think to yourself.  "Every place says that they are famous for their wings."  You sit down with your group of friends, order some beers, some appetizers, and maybe even some of the "world-famous wings."  They put the food on the table, you grab a wing and begin to grub, just as you have done hundreds of times before...

Then it hits you. 

A change comes over you, and you're suddenly feeling the sensation of losing all self-control.  You've eaten all of your wings, but are thirsting for more.  You nonchalantly scoop the sauce from your plate for one last hit.  You start eye-balling the ones your neighbor has yet to consume, seriously considering if you can sneak one away undetected.  And once you come to the realization that it's all over, you settle back into your chair-- thinking about all those other times you thought you enjoyed buffalo wings-- but now knowing that you will never be satisfied with any other wing sauce but Syberg's Wing Sauce. 

This happened to me, and if you are lucky enough to live in the St. Louis area, you get to scratch that itch anytime you want.  (And I'm jealous!) But if you live out of town, and try this sauce, be prepared to order bottles of the stuff and have it shipped to your house, because you will be hooked!

So naturally, when we could not visit this year for the annual festivities, I was heart-broken.  Yeah, I missed seeing my friends, but I REALLY missed Syberg's. :)  Luckily, I was able to con another friend into bringing home a couple of bottles of crack, (er, I mean... sauce....).  Having such a heavenly wing sauce at my disposal, I decided it was time to try buffalo chicken pizza for the first time.

Source:  This is a Clark original, but inspired by the buffalo chicken pizza I experienced at Syberg's.


Ingredients:

1 pre-made pizza crust

1-2 c. cooked chicken, shredded

1 c. buffalo sauce, divided

1/2 c. red onion, chopped

1/2 c. celery, chopped

1-2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Ranch and/or bleu cheese crumbles, to taste

Note:  For those of you who keep track-- I'm aware that I actually used measurements in this recipe.  Shocked?  You should be :)  But I figured if it turned out well, I'd want to know what I did so I could do it again.  Thus, the measured amounts.


Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2.  Spread 1/2 c. buffalo sauce onto the pizza crust.

3.  In a medium bowl, combine chicken and 1/2 c. buffalo sauce.  Mix till chicken is thoroughly coated.  Spread chicken mixture evenly upon the pizza crust.  

4.  Add a layer of either ranch dressing, crumbled bleu cheese, or both.  (In our house, we did a "half and half" style with these toppings, since I love bleu cheese but The Mr. does not! )

5.  Top with mozzarella, red onion, and celery. 

6.  Place in preheated oven, and bake for 10-15 minutes (or till desired doneness).

Verdict:  Keeper!

Next time, I may use less chicken, and place more of the red onion on top of the cheese so it can crisp a little more.  But all in all, I was proud!  After all, it's not every day that I throw ingredients together without a recipe to follow...  

Salsa Chicken

Once while I was browsing other cooking blogs, I came across this recipe from Courtney over at Ice Cream &Wine.  In case you've never visited, she's all about simple pleasures in cooking.  This Salsa Chicken is a perfect example of said simplicity. 

As soon as I read it it, I thought to myself, "Now this is my kind of CrockPot recipe!" Know why? Because it's one of those recipes where you just throw it all in the crock and let it do it's thing. If CrockPot cooking is supposed to make my life easier, I don't want to have to do a lot of prep.  And that's exactly what this recipe is-- no prep.  I didn't even thaw the chicken breasts!   

Source:  Courtney, at Ice Cream & Wine

Ingredients: 

4 frozen chicken breasts

1 15 oz. can of black beans

1 12 oz. bag of frozen corn-- she listed this as 1 1/2 cups of frozen corn, but again, I don't like to measure.  So I just used the whole bag.

1 16 oz. jar of salsa-- I used a "sweet garden salsa" this time.

Directions:

Place the frozen chicken breasts in the CrockPot.

Rinse and drain black beans, then add them over top of the chicken.

Add corn atop the beans

Add salsa atop the corn.

Cook on LOW 7-8 hours or HIGH 3-4 hours (Today was a rush, so I did 4 hours on HIGH)

During the last hour, shred the chicken with some forks and mix well.  It'll look something like this:

Serve with tortillas and rice. 

Garnish with sour cream, scallions, or whatever else your heart desires.

Verdict:  KEEPER! 

This will be a new staple in our household.  It was so easy to make, relatively healthy, and it made plenty for leftovers.  And you can trust me... these leftovers won't go bad in the fridge :)

Pan-Grilled Pork Chops with Grilled Pineapple Salsa

Today, I had several "firsts."  

1.  I cooked something using the fresh juice of a lime.

2.  I minced a jalapeno (but I sorta-kinda cheated, but you don't care that much)

3.  I pan-fried fruit. 

But before I expound upon these firsts, let me celebrate a very real victory I had today.  To others, it's probably not a big deal, but for me, it's worth mentioning. 

Clutter is my nemesis. It's so bad, I think it's genetic.  It's not like I'm a hoarder, or even a pack-ract for that matter; for me, it's an issue of setting up a workable system that streamlines the shutff that enters my house and my life.  Once I have a system in place, I'm good.  Developing said system is what catches me off guard. 

For example, I have a system for my mail.  The Mr. thinks it's a slightly organized representation of paper chaos, but the fact remains that my bills are now paid on time, and all our social invitations are available at my fingertips. 

It looks like this:

Bills and invitations come in, I open them, see that my last payment posted to the account, shred the old statement, and store the new bill/statement in the correct date-slot. And on, and on, and on...

So anyway, the point is, I have a system in place for my mail.  As a result, I have an easier time conquering the clutter-demons brought by the mailman.  However, when the mailman started bringing magazines, I had an organizational hiccup.  With the best of intentions, I saved each magazine, hoping to someday try the yummy recipes published on those pages.  But before long, I was suddenly forming piles of magazines-- on the coffee table, on the kitchen counter, in the computer room-- if you're clutter-prone like me, you know that piles are dangerous.  Noticing these tell-tale signs, I knew I needed to act fast and get the magazines under control.

After heeding the advice of my more organizationally-inclined friends, I implemented this system for magazines:

1.  New issue comes in the mail.

2.  As I browse, I dog-ear the pages with recipes I want to try someday.  This issue stays out on the coffee table for all to enjoy.

3.  Next issue comes in the mail-- I take the last issue and tear out all the recipes I marked.  These go in a "To Try" file that I now have in my kitchen.  (I have a real Recipe Box, but I like to save that for my "tried and true" recipes).  The old issue then gets recycled, and the newest issue takes its place on the coffee table.

4.  And the cycle continues! Taa-Daah!!

Once I try a recipe from the "To Try" file, I've committed myself to one of two things:  I'll either make a card for it and put it in my Recipe Box, or I will throw it away. 



So what was the big victory?



Tonight, I pulled a recipe from the "to Try" file:  I proved to myself that I didn't need to hang on to the whole magazine, and I knew exactly where to find the recipe I tore out last month.  If you're a natural-born clutter-killer, you're not impressed.  It's okay though, because there are probably a few others out there that need these basic stream-lining tips spelled out for them-- just like I needed it.

And now for the recipe...

Source:  Cooking Light (April, 2010)

Ingredients:

4 pork chops

1 T, and 2 tsp. fresh lime juice, divided

4 slices of pineapple (1/2" thick)

1  medium red onion, cut into 1/2" think slices

1 T minced jalapeno-- Since I already had a jar of sliced jalapenos, I just scooped a tablespoon of these onto my cutting board, then diced them up.  There, confession over.

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1.  Combine pork and 1 T. of lime juice; let stand for 10 minutes.

2.  Heat grill pan over medium-high heat.  (I do not own a grill pan-- just 2 skillets. Since I wanted a little bit of a sear to the food, I opted for the stainless steel skillet.)

3.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  (Don't use cooking spray on stainless-- I used a little bit of olive oil). Add pineapple and onion; cook on each side for 4 minutes, or till onion is tender.

4. Coarsely chop pineapple and onion; combine in a medium bowl with remaining 2 tsp. of lime juice, jalapeno, and 1/8 tsp. of salt. 

5.  Sprinkle pork chops with 1/2 tsp. of salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper (I used less than this... don't like to over-season meat).

6.  Heat grill pan over medium-high heat (Again, I only have the skillet.) Add pork, and cook on each side for 4 minutes, or till done.

Verdict: I liked it, but too adventurous for The Mr.

He loves pineapple, but wasn't crazy about the fact that it was hot.  Like pineapple on pizza, it just didn't feel right to him.  I must agree, the texture of the pineapple took a couple of bites to overcome.  If I had had a grill pan available, that may have altered the texture of the fruit for the better.  Nonetheless, the flavors were great together, but I don't know that I'll be making this again for the two of us. 

Hashbrown Casserole

Happy Easter ( x 2!!)


This year I hosted an informal brunch for our family.  The holidays are always so hectic for everyone, it's nice to offer a relaxed, come-whenever-you-can, no-pressure option.  After all, it's a holiday!  What good is a holiday if you're so busy running around every place that you can't enjoy it and relax a bit?

That being said, I wanted to make some brunchy, hearty food that I could offer my family when they stopped by.  The trick is keeping it warm; because to me, there's nothing better than a hot breakfast/brunch to remind you to slow down and savor a holiday.  I already had a breakfast casserole planned with eggs and sausage-- the obvious compliment to it would have to include potatoes. 

Say it with me: "MMmmmmm..... carbs........ "

I have had breakfast-potatoey goodness at other family functions, but never grabbed a recipe for them.  After making a mental note to be more aggressive about getting recipes from friends and family members, I went to allrecipes.com and found the one I wanted to use.  As usual, I paused to consider whether or not I really wanted to try a new recipe for company-- but then I figured it was potatoes, cheese, butter, onions, and sour cream-- how bad could it be?? 

Source:  allrecipes.com (with my modifications and commentary)

Ingredients:

1  2-pound bag of frozen hashbrown potatoes, thawed-- (For those of you who are "details people," the amount on the bag actually says 1 LB. 14 OZ, so don't let that throw you off)

1/2 c. melted butter

1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup

8 oz. sour cream

1/2 c. chopped onions-- (And for those of you who hate to measure veggies, like me, this ended up being a little less than half of an onion.  I measured this time, since it was for company, but I'm quite sure I won't measure in the future.  Because I hate measuring chopped/sliced/minced veggies.)

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 c. crushed cornflake cereal

1/4 c. melted butter

Directions:

**I ended up making this the day before, then baking it the day of the event.  These directions are slightly different than the original recipe instructions.**

Day Before

1.  Make sure your hashbrown potatoes are nice and thawed. In a large bowl, combine everything except for the last 2 ingredients.  (those will be combined and added right before it goes in the oven.)  If you're like me, and not afraid to get your hands dirty, go ahead and mix it by hand.  This was MUCH more effective than mixing with a spoon.  But be careful, it'll be cold!!

2.  Place potato mixture in a  2 1/2 - 3 quart casserole dish.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Day Of

1.  Preheat the oven for 350 degrees. 

While the oven is preheating, take out the potato mixture so the dish has a chance to warm up a bit before going directly into the oven.  I know some bakeware is designed to go straight from the fridge to the oven, but I'm neurotic about breaking dishes, so I do everything I can NOT to :))

2.  To make the topping, melt 1/4 c. butter in a microwavable bowl.  Meanwhile, crush the cornflake topping in a separate bowl.  Combine the butter and cornflakes, then add to the top of the potato mixture.

3.  Bake for 40-60 minutes (uncovered), or till cooked throughout. 

The original recipe calls for 40 minutes of baking time, but I felt like it wasn't hot enough throughout, so I kept placing it back in the oven)

Verdict: 

The Mr. declared this a keeper, and I happen to agree.  I think the guests that had several helpings of this dish would agree, too.  

Breakfast Casserole

Happy Easter!

This year, I learned a few things:

1.  There is no greater joy than having family and friends in your home.

2.  If one of those family or friends catch you photographing the food on the table (because you forgot to do it earlier), be prepared to tell them all about your food blogging adventures.

3.  No matter how hard you try, there simply is no way to make egg and sausage casserole look good in a photograph!
(It's a good thing it tastes like the breakfast of heaven on a plate, because it's not very photogenic :))

My love affair with this dish began several months ago when a colleague brought a breakfast dish to an early-morning faculty meeting.  It was one of those meetings where nobody wanted to be there, but it was required in order to finish a job.  To ease our suffering, one of my fellow teachers volunteered to bring a breakfast casserole.

It was warm, and meaty, and cheesy, bready, and flavorful, and oh-so-good.  This dish opened my eyes to a whole new world of breakfast delight.

Of course, I asked my colleague how she made it, to which she replied with a semi-complete list of ingredients.  "Oh, there's eggs, sausage, ground mustard, crescent rolls..."

Ugh, what a tease.

But it's all good, because I love a good scavenger hunt.  Taking this list, I went to allrecipes.com and found this recipe after doing a search of ingredients.  It was close, but it didn't have the crust that I coveted.  So I decided to omit the bread cubes from the allrecipes.com version, and line the dish with the crescent roll dough instead. 

It worked!

Now, anytime I have an opportunity to host a breakfast/brunch event (or bring a dish to a similar event) this breakfast casserole has become my go-to contribution.

Source:  My colleague + allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 lb. pork sausage--I prefer to use the Bob Evans brand, it's well worth the money!
6 eggs
2 c. milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground mustard
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 cans of crescent rolls (refrigerated dough)

 Directions:

In a skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage. Remove from heat, drain, and crumble. Set aside.

 In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Add milk, salt, ground mustard, and cheese and mix well. Set aside.

In a 9"x13" baking dish, unroll the crescent roll dough. Line the bottom and sides of the dish. You may need to stretch and pinch the dough to get it to cooperate fully.


Add sausage to the baking dish and distribute evenly. Then, pour the egg mixture over the sausage. Refrigerate overnight (or for at least 8 hours)


When ready to bake, set the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 40 minutes (or till desired doneness) . Enjoy!

Verdict: 
It's a hit!  My guests gobbled it up, and I had requests to take some home.  Plus, it keeps well for a couple of days in the fridge.

Chicken Noodle Soup

So now that I had all this homemade stock at my disposal, I figured it was time to make chicken noodle soup.  Since The Mr. was still recovering from oral surgery, what a better way to help him feel better than a warm bowl of the universal elixir. 


After searching around, this recipe from Elly over at "ellysaysopa.com" sounded the most appealling and looked exactly as I hoped it would.  And by the way, if you haven't had the pleasure of browsing her blog, you need to make a point of it.  If the photography alone isn't enough to pull you in, I don't know what is!  She has fantastic advice and information; moreover, most of her dishes having intriguing and/or healthy ingredients (of which I am still learning to identify and pronounce! :)) Honesly, reading her recipes makes me want to be Greek.  But enough of my gushing, and on to the real reason you're here:  chicken noodle soup.


Quite simply, this soup will be a staple in our household forever.  That's right.  For-ev-er.  I never knew how good soup could be; but now that I have crossed over to the other side, I will never enjoy soup from a can quite as much as I used to.


Source:   based entirely on Elly's Chicken Noodle Soup (with very minor adjustments)


Ingredients:


2T. butter
1 onion, diced
4-5 carrots, sliced
4-5 celery stalks, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 c. chicken broth-- if you're feeling adventurous and want to make your own, click here to see how I did it the first time
4 c. cooked chicken
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. thyme
1 T. dried parsley
2 cubes of chicken bouillon
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
2 c. uncooked egg noodles


Directions:


Melt the butter in a large dutch oven.  Add onions and cook for several minutes over medium-high heat.  Add celery and carrots, cook for another couple of minutes.  Add garlic.  Stir and saute for one or two more minutes.


It looks like this when I cook it:

Then, add chicken, broth, bay leaf, marjoram, thyme, parsley, and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer lightly for 30 minutes. 


Add noodles and simmer till cooked (about 8-11 minutes)


Verdict:  Awesome.  It's the only chicken noodle soup I'll ever make!

... and it's so photogenic! :)