The Kitchen Sink

I have not been grocery shopping nor do I feel like grocery shopping.  I stood in the kitchen wondering what to do.  I needed to feed the troops so I started poking around the cabinets, what to do?  This is what I came up with:

2 cups of long grain, white rice
Green peas, frozen
Carrots, frozen
Brussel sprouts, frozen
1 onion, chopped
1 turkey sausage, chopped
butter (duh!)

While the rice is cooking, throw the peas, carrots and brussel sprouts into a pan with some water and butter to heat through and get warm.  Slice the turkey sausage into rounds and then in half.  Put into a saute pan with the chopped onion and cook until the onion is wilted and the sausage is hot.

When the rice is done, dump the sausage and onions in the rice and stir. Next drain the vegetables from their water and add them to the rice and sausage mixture. Stir well and serve.  I did not pull this out of any cookbook or show.  It came out of my brain (scary, I know!) and since it was just a conglomeration of whatever I could find, I named it "The Kitchen Sink".

Smoked Ham and Potato Soup

The weather has begun to change. Its time to roll out the soup recipes. What better time for a hearty soup when my two favorite men at home are sick?  I think a good strong soup always makes a body feel better!

The main ingredients in this soup are as follows:

Back to my favorite Cumberland Gap smoked ham, cut into small to medium dice
(1) 3 pound bag of golden potatoes, cut into even small chunks - try to keep as close to the same size as possible so the cooking time will be the same
(2) medium onions, diced
(6) cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
olive oil
butter
(3) cans of Campbell's Cream of Chicken and Herb soup
(4) soup cans full of water
(1) cup of heavy cream

Chop your onions and put in the bottom of your soup pot with a turn or two of olive oil and two tablespoons of butter on medium low heat.  Dice the ham and add in.  Next add your smashed garlic.

While your ham and onions sizzle and marry, dice potatoes.  It is not necessary to peel the potatoes when using golden potatoes. The peel adds a nice texture.  Dicing them to even slices allows for even cooking time.  When they are all sliced, dump them all on top of the ham with the garlic and onions.  Next add the three cans of Campbell's Cream of Chicken and Herb soup and the (4) soup cans full of water.  Allow this to come to a boil and then reduce heat and cover and let simmer for at least 20 minutes.

Check the potatoes to see if they are done.  When the potatoes are tender, add (1) tablespoon of butter and (1) cup of heavy cream.  Allow the butter to melt and stir in the heavy cream.  Allow to heat through for about 10 minutes and then serve.

This was a thick, hearty soup that was warm and comforting. It was very easy to make and made my two men feel better. I hope you try it!

Chicken Pot Pie....sort of

Tonight was all about fast. I had a bag of shredded chicken leftover in the refrigerator I needed to use.  I had a can of biscuits.  I had a conversation with my friend Shannon about what she was going to do with her chicken tonight. We talked about pot pie and I started craving it. But I did not feel like fixing it very much. So I dashed off to the grocery store for some frozen veggies (I did not feel like dealing with all the chopping and peeling of fresh so don't fuss!) and some Campbell's Cream of Chicken and Herb soup.  This is how I threw (and I really did just throw) it together.

In the bottom of a pan that I rubbed with some butter I put a layer of shredded chicken. To the top of that I sprinkled some Soul Seasoning, Garlic Powder and Parmesan cheese.

Pardon my shadow fingers in that picture!! Oh well.....I really stuffed the chicken in the bottom of the casserole dish.  Next came the layer of vegetables. I used two bags of an Italian vegetable mix that had zucchini, carrots, lima beans, peas, cauliflower, peppers, beans and who knows what else!

I mixed two cans of the Campbell's Cream of Chicken and Herb soup with one and half cans of milk well mixed together.  This became the next layer over-top the chicken and vegetables.

And then for the next "cheating" part, I took two cans of biscuits and put them on top of the casserole and put it in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes until the biscuits are brown. I then put a sheet of aluminum foil on top to protect the biscuits from further browning and let it heat for another 10 minutes so that the vegetables and chicken and gravy could get good and hot.

As you can see from the picture I cheated even further....I used a foil aluminum pan so I did not even need to wash dishes! I had a fast, yummy stress-free dinner.