Sweet Cheesy Biscuits

Better than Jim 'N Nick's Cheesy Biscuit
from plainchicken.com

ingredients
1 1/2 cups Bisquick
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 Tbps sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

directions
Preheat oven to 425. Stir together all ingredients just until combined. Scoop into a mini muffin pan coated with cooking spray. Bake 12-15 minutes, until golden. **I used a medium spoon and got 20 muffins**

Sorry for no picture on this one... I made them to go with the Potato Soup and I made them at a friend's house so they would be piping hot! I didn't feel comfortable taking a picture of them there... haha it still feels weird taking pictures of food!

Anyways, my review? They were good. They were fluffy and bite sized, which was perfect. And the cheese was a nice touch. But I honestly didn't care for the sweetness, and I am a SWEET addicted person! I love sweets. But I would've liked more of the buttermilk taste with these. SO the search continues for some Cheesy Biscuits!

Loaded Potato Soup

My husband and I wanted to visit some friends of ours who recently had a baby. I know meeting up with friends that have a family is harder than it is for just the two of us... and add a baby into the mix and it becomes even harder still. So I thought we could save them some trouble and bring dinner and hang out at their house! I wanted to try this potato soup recipe I found, and thought it would be perfect for these cold winter days we have been having recently. I was right! The soup was delicious and everyone enjoyed it!

Modified from mamalovesfood.com

Ingredients:
- 5lbs Russet Potatoes, washed but NOT peeled. Diced into 1/2 inch(ish) cubes
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 10 cloves of garlic (you can use whole, crushed, or minced)
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 8 oz cream cheese (I used 8oz lowfat)
- 1 TBS seasoned salt or all-purpose seasoning
(I didn't have either seasoned salt or all-purpose seasoning, so I made my own mixture of: marjoram + paprika + dried parsley + chili + cumin + salt, all to taste but about a table spoon of each spice and a good amount of salt)

Garnishes:
- Crumbled bacon
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Clive

Directions:
- Add potatoes, onion, garlic, seasoning and chicken stock to slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.
- Remove and puree the garlic cloves (if you used whole cloves) and cream cheese along with 1/2 to 1/3rd of the soup, and then reintroduce to the remainder in the crock pot.
- Add any additional seasonings to taste. Stir every 10-15 minutes until soup is well blended.
- Top with your choice of garnishes & serve!

Yields about 10-12 servings.



Cooking in the Crockpot and almost ready to eat soon! (made our home smell delicious all night!)

I wasn't able to take a picture of out soup in their bowls, we all ate them so fast! But here is a picture (with some left over toppings) of the soup in it's "left overs container" :) There wasn't really that much left after 4 adults and a child got through with it! YUMMM!

Salmon with Dijon sauce Sandwich

Sorry about the steam! It was a fresh off the grill kind of meal!

Here's a quick dinner sandwich I made using salmon Patties (frozen, from Costco) and left over Dijon sauce.

ingredients
Salmon Patties (frozen)
1Tbs butter
Leaf spinach
Dijon sauce (see recent post for recipe)
Sliced onion pieces
Bun/ roll

Directions
In a pan, melt butter. Then place in patties and cook according to packaging (about 5 min each side). Then place on bun when done, adding dijon sauce and onions and spinach to taste. Serve with sweet potato fries for a healthy take on burgers and fries!

We both loved this meal. I waS inspired by Jason's Deli who has a salmon-wich that looked good. And I loved getting another use out of the dijon sauce! It was simple and easy. And definitely a good base for future sandwich recipes!

Little Update

Hey everyone! Sorry for my recent absence. I have been having some problems with my camera that I didn't know about till several recipes were already eaten and days had past! I don't like to post recipes without their picture, I feel like that is my proof that I have made them and that my comments are truth. So I have been dealing with that... may have to call some recipes "lost" till they make the rotation again! haha

And aside from that. I have been trying some new things with the blog. I wanted to give credit to all original recipes found... since I am by no means a master recipe maker. I just follow a recipe and gain ideas from others, and MAY tweak them as me or my pantry see fit! But I always think, give credit where credit is due. So all my new recipes will contain a main site source... and that leads me to have to "right my wrongs" in my old posts that were published credit-less. Boy, I should have thought of this in the beginning!

Which leads me to my last thought... about where I feel my blog is going. So far, I feel no where. I had hoped to have this blog as a record of recipes for my self as well as a place to share my findings with family and friends. I think that is all working out, but I can't help but think I want more for this site. I want to be innovative, and I feel I have begun taking on too much with the craft and travel and things I ♥ sections of the blog. We can't do it all! And I am job searching right now, with little luck so far. So blogging is on hold... I don't know how it will fair when I actually GET a job... but if my readers or follows have any advice or thoughts on the matter, I would love to hear.

So for now, I apologize for my lack of activity, I appreciate your support, and look forward to any advice. Thanks!

Creamy Chicken Rosa Bake

Creamy Chicken Rosa Bake
from plainchicken.com


2 cups penne pasta
1/4 cup pasta water.
2 large chicken breast, cooked and chopped (I seasoned the chicken with some garlic seasoning)
1 jar (15oz) Bertolli Four Cheese Rosa sauce
1 cup frozen veggies (green peas, broccoli)
2 oz Asiago cheese, grated (or Parmesan or mozzarella)

Preheat oven to 375. In large saucepan, cook the penne pasta for 7-9 minutes (al dente). Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water. Drain the pasta and return to pan. Add chicken, peas, sauce and pasta water. (I dumped the sauce into the pan and added the pasta water to the sauce jar and shook it to get the remaining sauce out of the jar). Mix well. Transfer mixture to 9x13 pan. Top with grated cheese and bake for 25 minutes.

"Snow"

It was a really really mild winter here in Raleigh, NC. And the most snow we got was little to nil. But I caught that little amount on camera! As proof that it can snow in The South and in North Carolina. Although... I have seen more snow in Georgia... but I digress :)
On our "snow day", I remember seeing on the weather channel that snow was guessed to be coming our way. I was so excited! When you don't get snow often in the winter, a snow day or two is exciting! Sorry Michigan friends, I know it's hard to understand :) Well, our snow didn't come till late at night, and I knew by the morning it would be gone (silly sun), so my husband and I stayed up to

Snow by the AC units, it was the best place to see clusters of snow at night!

It rained, then snowed. But here is a view of our tree and the grass field behind it.

My husband made me a snow ball so I could have a clump of snow! Yay!

Chicken Pot Pie

It is a cold rainy day and I am craving some hot chicken pot pie... What do ya got Paula Deen!?!?!

from foodnetwork.com (Lady and Sons Chicken Pot Pie)
Ingredients
4 sheets frozen puff pastry (**see my tip for using baguette dough, Below!)
1 egg, beaten
4 chicken breast halves, or 2 cups leftover cooked chicken
Paula Deen Seasoned Salt
pepper
2 tablespoon cooking oil
1/3 cup melted butter
2/3 cup flour
1 quart heavy cream
1/4 cup chicken base
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 small yellow onion, minced
1 cup frozen green peas, cooked
1 cup cooked carrots, chopped
pinch fresh grated nutmeg (optional)

Directions

Crust: (**see my tip for using baguette dough, below!)
Cut each sheet of frozen puff pastry into 1 strips, 8 inches long. On a large cookie sheet, weave strips into a lattice large enough to cover each pot pie. Beat egg and brush onto each lattice square. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Dough will rise and turn light golden brown. Set aside until ready to assemble pies.

Filling:
Season chicken breasts with seasoned salt and pepper. In about 2 tablespoons oil, Sautee chicken breasts until cooked, cut into chunks and set aside (you may use precooked chicken breasts). In a large saucepan melt butter and slowly add flour stirring until consistency of peanut butter, but not brown like a roux. Slowly add cream and keep stirring. Add chicken base, garlic and onion and stir until thickened. Add peas, carrots and chicken. Remove from heat. In 4 oven- proof bowls, fill with sauce and top each with one of your pre-cooked lattice squares. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes until bubbly. Any remaining pie filling may be frozen.

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen






My review: Impressive look over all (mainly from the lattice work)! But the taste wasn't right. My husband ate it all and wanted more, but agreed, it wasn't what you would expect from a pot pie. I see pot pies as a creamy filling, and this turned more into a dough. I would definitely be willing to learn more about adding flour to recipes, seems more of a chemical thing that I am not grasping here... but I don't think this recipe was right anyways. I followed it precisely. So I will learn more about flour adding, and research a new recipe for the filling.
But the lattice crust was IMPRESSIVE! My husband even thought it looked professional!
But I "cheated" on that:
**I used baguette dough (from the refrigerated tubes) (which is WAY cheaper!!! than puff pastry) and pinched two triangles together to make a rectangle. Then I cut four strips. I stretched each to the desired length, then I weaved them on a baking pan. THEN I did the egg and brush. Cooked at 350 for about 7 minutes.

Broiled Tilapia with Tomato Caper Sauce

In our home, we are trying to start the New Year off right with some healthy dishes! I know everyone quotes resolutions of "loose weight" and "eat healthy" and "exercise"... and I figure, why not us too! I think we eat fairly healthy any ways (I strive for many veggies on the plate, and I ALWAYS limit the butters and salts), so we are basically half way there! And what's better then making a goal? Making an accomplish-able goal! WOO!

(by skinnytaste.com)
Ingredients
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 (6 oz) tilapia filets
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 shallots, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped (or some left over marinara sauce works great!)
2 tbsp capers
1/4 cup white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
salt and fresh pepper

Directions:
Brush fish with 1 tbsp olive and season with salt and pepper.

In a medium sauté pan, heat remaining olive oil. Add garlic and shallots and sauté on medium-low about 4-5 minutes. Add tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add wine and sauté until wine reduces, about 5 minutes. Add capers and sauté an additional minute.

Meanwhile, set broiler to low and place fish about 8 inches from the flame. Broil until fish is cooked through, about 7 minutes.

Place fish on a platter and top with tomato caper sauce.



Husband said: This one's a keeper! Yummmm!

happy new year!

A little bubbly to celebrate at midnight!


Our fancy steak dinner spread! Complete with Dill red potatoes, broccoli, spinach salad and of course... a juicy steak!


Happy New Year, from our family to yours!