Zinful Peach Punch

...because sometimes, a girl just needs a drink!

And other times, a girl just needs a grown-up punch to serve her friends and family when they visit.   This little ditty came from my Mom, and I plan to serve it many, many, many times over the years.

Or, I might just keep a pitcher of it in the fridge, because it's just that good!

Ingredients:

1 c. white zinfindel

1 c. peach schnapps

12 oz. pineapple juice

2-liter (or less, or more) of Sprite

Directions:

Combine all ingredients.  Serve chilled. 

Tip:  The day before, I froze some Sprite in ice cube trays, and used these to keep the punch cool without watering down the flavor. 

Chicken in Honey Sauce (a.k.a. Sesame Chicken)

Today I was home from work and decided to make something in the CrockPot.  For Christmas, my mom gave me 2 different cookbooks: one that focuses on Campbell's soup products and one that is a Rival CrockPot cookbook.  Flipping through the pages of the Rival book led me to a recipe titled "Chicken in Honey Sauce," and I picked it because I had all the ingredients waiting for me in the kitchen.

Much to my disappointment, this dish didn't taste half as good as it smelled while it was cooking during the day.  In fact, the longer it cooked, the less-appetizing it smelled--which leads me to believe that IF I cook it again, I'll have to cut the cooking time WAY down. The recipe called to set the CrockPot on LOW for 6-8 hours, and I cooked mine for 8 hours (I used frozen chicken breasts, so I wanted to make sure they were cooked through).  The outcome of this particular trial-run was gross.  Something in the sauce (maybe the honey?) tasted burnt, and infused that same taste throughout the chicken.  

It was bad enough to throw away two plates that were more than half-full.  ::::hangs head in shame:::: Luckily, The Mr. was willing to go out and forage for dinner at a local pizza joint. 

If you plan to try this recipe, pay careful attention to the cooking time.  Perhaps my CrockPot cooks hotter than others, or maybe I just need to cook it for less time.  Either way, trust your nose-- when it smells the best is probably when you should go ahead and serve the meal.


--adapted from the Rival CrockPot Simple 1-2-3 Slow Cooker Recipes

Note: The following recipe is 1/2 of what was listed in the cookbook.

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 c. honey

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. ketchup

2 T. oil

1 clove garlic, minced

Sesame Seeds (to garnish)

Directions:

1.  Place chicken breasts in the slow cooker. (I used frozen chicken breasts for the first time in this recipe).

2.  In a bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, ketchup, oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  Pour mixture over chicken breasts. 

3.  Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH 3-4 hours.

4.  Garnish with sesame seeds befre serving.  Serve with rice.

Verdict: Disappointed, but may try again... someday.

I need time to let my broken heart heal from this travesty before I try to make this one again.

Bean and Ham Soup

For the longest time, I would walk by the bags of dried beans in the grocery store, wondering what it would be like to cook with them.  It's only been within the last year and a half that I conquered my fear of "real rice," and since the real rice is located right next to the dried beans, they've become next on the list of items to conquer.

Once I found an excuse to buy a bag of beans, I was then introduced to another decision-- the "quick-soak method" or the "overnight soak method."  In my soul, I have always felt that good things are worth waiting for; as a result, I chose to let the beans soak for 8 hours during the day.  (It's been my experience that whenever I choose to do a "quick method" of anything, it ends up being a bad decision.) Being that it was a snow day, it gave me something productive to do while I watched the snow plows do their work. It also gave me good excuse to keep peeking in the kitchen to see if the beans were doing anything in that big bowl of water.  I felt like a kid waiting for sea-monkeys to hatch!

Save yourself the suspense-- they don't do a whole lot :)

This soup made the house smell fantastic, and I'm anxious to share it with family members-- because like so many of my recent recipes, this made enough to feed a small army!

Ingredients:

2 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 T. butter
12 c. water (Yes, this is a lot of water, but don't be alarmed-- it will boil down and thicken considerably)
1 ham hock
1 lb. dried Great Northern beans, presoaked and rinsed
1 tsp. mustard powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 bay leaves
2 c. chopped ham (I used a one-pound package of the pre-cooked, cubed ham)

Directions:

1. Saute carrots, celery, onion, and garlic in a soup pot till onion is clear (I used my trusty cast-iron Dutch oven)

2.  Add water, beans, mustard powder, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and ham hock.  Bring to a boil.

3.  Reduce heat and simmer for 60 minutes. (I did not cover the pot, because I wanted it to boil down a bit.  Next time, I might cover it for part of the cooking time, just to see how it affects the consistency.)

4.  Remove bone, add chopped ham.  Simmer another 30 minutes.

Verdict: Keeper
I want to see what other cubed/chopped ham options are available to me, because that was the one aspect I felt lacked a little flavor.

Fake-Baked Ziti

For Valentine's Day, I wanted to make something rich for The Mr.  He loves pasta-- add cheese and sausage, and I've got a happy husband.  So, I went skimming through my Allrecipes.com recipe box and found the perfect one.  Baked Ziti!  Yum!

Made the list.
Clipped the coupons.
Went to the store.
Got a migraine.

::::insert sad sound effect from The Price is Right:::::

While at the store (and ready to throttle a couple of kids screaming for no damn reason whatsoever) I couldn't find ziti pasta.  Anywhere.  I must have looked a little helpless standing in the pasta aisle for 5 minutes, pacing the shelves in search of a pasta that now I'm SURE doesn't even exist! By the time I got home, my stomach was beginning to feel nauseous (as a result of the headache) and all I wanted to do was lie down.

So I did.  And The Mr. bought take-out for the two of us.

Fast forward to this evening-- We enjoyed our Valentine's Dinner one day late (and one major ingredient off) but it was a wonderful dinner nonetheless.  So what if I used rigatoni?  Fake-Baked Ziti was a hit!

Now... if all those dishes would wash themselves... THAT would be a great Valentine's Day gift! :)


Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta (But you already know I used rigatoni for this one)

1 pound mild Italian sausage

2 (24 ounce) jars marinara sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil, divided

12 ounces ricotta cheese

1 1/2  teaspoons Italian seasoning, divided

1 dash salt and pepper

1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.



2.  Cook sausage in a skillet over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.

3.  In a large saucepan, heat marinara with 1 teaspoon basil until bubbling. In a medium bowl, mix together ricotta, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.


4.  Spread bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with sauce. Begin adding layers

• 1/2 of the ziti (or rigatoni, in my case),
• 1/2 the sausage,
• 1/2 of the ricotta mixture,
• 1/2 the mozzarella.
• Spoon half of the sauce over top. Repeat layers.

Note:  Since the rigatoni ended up to be rather large, I used the largest baking dish I had... which was a 10" x 14"Pyrex dish. 

5.  Sprinkle top with remaining 1/2 teaspoons basil and Italian seasoning.

6.  Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

Verdict: Keeper!

And next time, I hope to use real ziti pasta!  :)

Also, I may get adventurous and add some onion and garlic to the sausage mixture, just to kick up the flavor factor.  But as it is, this is a yummy addition to the recipe box

CrockPot Potato Soup

You know what's great about winter?  Snow.  Lots and lots of snow. 

You know what's better than snow?  The Snow Days we get off of school because of it!

While it wasn't a surprise, it's always great to get that phone call early in the morning.  The downside of this morning's phone call was that I couldn't get back to sleep...  so, I decided to be a little domestic diva today and try making something I've never made before:  Potato Soup. 

Which brings me to a topic I've never encountered until today-- potato soup vs. cream of potato soup.  Till today, it had never occurred to me that there was a difference between these two.  Sure, I've heard people say both names, but I just figured it was laziness-- I figured when a person said "potato soup," they were shortening the name of "cream of potato." 

Apparently, there is a difference.  According to one of my friends, one is brothy-based, and one is cream-based.  Now that I know this difference, I'm not sure if what I made today is actually "Potato Soup."  It has broth in it, but... it's pretty damn creamy, too (how could it not be creamy with sour cream and evaporated milk?)  Maybe I could compromise and call it "Creamy Potato Soup." 

Regardless, it was good-- good enough for The Mr. to get a second helping.  So, I'll make it again someday... whatever it's called.

Ingredients:

5-6 potatos, peeled and cubed

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 stalks celery

3 cans chicken broth

1 tsp. salt

1/4 black pepper

1 can of evaporated milk

3 T. flour, divided

1 c. sour cream

1 tsp. dried oregano

2 T. chives, dried and snipped

Directions:

Place potatoes, onion, garlic, celery, broth, salt and pepper in CrockPot.  Cook on LOW till potatoes are tender (about 6-8 hours).

Once potatoes are tender, coarsely mash them with a masher.


After mashing, combine evaporated milk and 2 T. flour in a separate bowl and mix well.  Stir into CrockPot mix and cook on HIGH for 20-30 minutes. 

Place sour cream in small bowl and mix with 1 T. flour; add some of the hot soup liquid; stir well with wire whisk to blend. Gently stir into crockpot along with oregano and chives, and cook on high for 20 minutes longer.

Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese.

Serves 8-10

Verdict: Needs revision

2T of chives might have been too much. I don't know if "chivey" is a word, but that's what I used to describe this soup.  Next time, I'll cut it back to 1 T. of chives.

Also, I'd like it to be a little smoother than it was-- I don't know what I'll do to achieve this goal, but it's worth pursuing.  

Buffalo Chicken Dip

This little ditty may be turning into one of those dishes that I'll always have to bring to parties.  I've only made it a couple of times; but each time I do, someone always asks me to send them the recipe. 


Actually, I was doing just that when I realized I hadn't blogged this recipe yet-- which is why I don't have a photo yet.  Next time I make it (which will be soon... another party is approaching... ) I will add a photo.   Till then, you'll have to use your imagination-- but trust me, it's good enough to make "sight-unseen." :)


Source: My Mommy :)

Ingredients:


2 10-oz cans of cooked chicken, drained


1/2 c. (or more, if you prefer) of red pepper/buffalo sauce (I used Frank's Buffalo Sauce)


2 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened and cubed


1 cup of either ranch dressing, bleu cheese dressing , or a combination of both (I used all ranch in the last batch)


2 c. shredded cheddar cheese


Directions:


1. Combine all ingredients into a CrockPot.  Warm for 30 minutes, stirring periodically.

2. Serve warm with celery sticks, Fritos, or Tostitos. Enjoy!



Verdict: It's addicting!!