The Cookbook Experiment: Cheese Broccoli Stuffed Pasta

Tonight's dinner is courtesy of a recipe by Doris Baynes. I don't recognize the name (this book was published during a period that I lived out of state and unable to attend church here) but she is one smart cookie!

Let me say outright, this recipe is quite a bit of work. Preparing it for someone you love makes it easier but I have to admit I have never, ever made stuffed shells before but this recipe was worth waiting for.

Cheese Broccoli Stuffed Pasta by Doris Baynes
(1) 6 ounce giant shell pasta (I honestly never looked at the size in the store and bought a 12 ounce!)
(2) quarts boiling water
(2) Tablespoons of salt
(1) 10 ounce package frozen cut broccoli
(1) Tablespoon of butter or margarine (I used butter, because...duh, butter!)
(2) green onions, chopped
(2) cups chopped fresh mushrooms (okay....I did not use this. The majority of my family does not eat mushrooms, in fact I may be the only one who does so I omitted this. I'm sorry Doris!)
(1) teaspoon dried basil
(1) teaspoon dried oregano
(1/2) teaspoon salt
(1) Tablespoon All purpose flour
(3/4) cup milk (I only have whole milk in the house so that is what I used)
(1) cup shredded Swiss or Mozzarella cheese (I used the Mozzarella)
(1/2) cup grated Parmesan cheese (don't scrimp, get the real stuff)
(1/2) cup whipping cream

Cook pasta in boiling salted water for the length of time the package says for "al dente". (Doris says 15 minutes but that was too long for the shells I had) Rinse with cold water and drain. Cook broccoli as directed on package. Chop fine and set aside. (Doris, I feel dumb here. As I type your recipe it seems I missed that sentence and was mushing my broccoli while it cooked in the pan with a potato masher!)

Heat butter in skillet. Add onion, mushrooms (or not), basil, oregano, salt and broccoli.  Stir to blend. Sprinkle with flour and stir well.  Add milk. Stir and heat to boiling. Cook until mixture thickens (and it does so pretty quick so pay attention). Stir in shredded cheese and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan.

Fill cooked pasta shells with a rounded tablespoonful of broccoli mixture and place into a buttered shallow baking dish in a single layer. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese and drizzle with cream. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Good served with crusty bread.

OKAY, a few tips here from me:

• make sure you use butter to grease the dish. Cooking spray will not cut it here, you need real butter (or if you must, margarine)
• when your shells are done cooking, spread them out on some parchment paper so they don't stick to each other while they are waiting to be filled (I thought they looked like albino turtles, but maybe I am just crazy!)
• Don't forget to chop up your broccoli small like I did. It makes a difference.
• I prefer my milk and cream to be room temperature when I use them so I measure and set aside while I am doing everything else. I have never like putting cold anything to make a sauce thicken.

This was a delightful recipe that my whole family (except my vegetarian because she does not like broccoli!!!) enjoyed. I had never stuffed pasta before and this was a good starter recipe. Imagine, a last name of Maurizi and I had never stuffed shells before! 

I hope you try it! And Ms. Doris I cant wait to try your other recipes in this book! You are a keeper!

The Cookbook Experiment: Black Forest Dump Cake

Today I am trying a recipe by a fine man named Dick John. He is very special to me. This is the third recipe in my series of trying every recipe in this cookbook:

I was very intrigued by this recipe, who does not enjoy a good dump cake? I have never heard of a dump cake using a chocolate cake. I had to try it!

Black Forest Dump Cake by Mr. Dick John
(1) 8 ounce can of crushed pineapple, drained (save the juice)
(1) 21 ounce can of cherry pie mix
(1) 18 ounce box Devils Food cake mix
(1) cup chopped pecans
(1/2) cup melted butter
Whipped topping

Lightly grease a 13" x 9" pan. Layer with drained pineapple. Second layer - add the pie filling. Third layer - sprinkle dry cake mix over filling. Fourth layer - sprinkle with pecans. Combine the melted butter and pineapple juice and pour over top. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Serve with whipped topping.

I cannot wait for this to finish.  It is looking and smelling so very good! Thanks Mr. John for the recipe!

Helen's Fruitcake

It's Christmas time and the stores were all out of those little bricks of fruitcake that my husband loves. It made me sad because he really wanted some. I decided that after searching several stores that the best alternative was to make him one myself.

A while ago I purchased a large lot of recipes from an estate sale of a woman named Helen from Burns, Oregon. She had faithfully collected recipes for years. How the family let them slip out of their hands I have know idea but I am glad they slid into mine.  One of the recipes was her version of a fruitcake. It was contained in a sweet letter she wrote to a friend named Gail and her husband (?) Chuck. Truthfully, I made my adaptations on the recipe, but I followed the bones of it.

Here is what I did:

(1) 8 oz. container of green cherries
(1) 8 oz. container of pineapple wedges (candied)
(1) 4 oz. container of diced candied orange peel
(1) 4 oz. container of diced candied lemon peel
(1) 4 oz. container of diced candied citron
(1) 8 oz. package of dried mango
(1) package of Craisins (dried cranberries)
(12) ounces of seedless raisins
(1) 4 oz. of dried cherries
(1) 8 oz. maraschino cherries
Mix all the above in a large bowl with 1/2 cup of flour.

In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients together as follows:
(3 1/2) cups of flour
(1) teaspoon of salt
(3/4) teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg
(3/4) teaspoon of ginger
(3/4) teaspoon of cinnamon

In separate bowl cream one pound of butter (Helen says use shortening but I used butter, because, well...BUTTER) with (2) cups of sugar.

Separate (6) eggs from their yolks and whites. Beat the egg yolks and add them to the creamed butter and sugar.

In separate bowl (I know, this recipe gets a lot of dishes dirty!) combine the following:
(3/4) cup of honey
(1/4) cup of unsulfured molasses
(1/3) cup of juice (Helen says you can use wine, brandy or grape juice. I used pear juice because it was all that I had)

Alternate adding honey/molasses/juice mixture to the creamed butter/sugar/egg yolks with the sifted dry ingredients until combined. (I did this in my Kitchen-Aid but it was a struggle because it is a large amount of batter)

Once the above is combined, take the leftover egg whites and beat to stiff peaks. Fold in the fruit and the egg whites into the batter. Okay....let's get real right here. It was HARD at this point. I had to go get my 19 year old son to do the stirring. Combining that much fruit (and yes, it looks like TOO much fruit but it's not) is very difficult into that much batter. It takes a very strong arm. I was worried when I started to fold in the egg whites but discovered it was essential as well.

Place into a greased tube pan and bake in a 250 degree oven for a minimum of 2 1/2 hours.

Underneath the fruitcake, keep a pan of hot water for the first 1 1/2 hours of baking time. Be careful taking the hot water out of the oven.

Check the fruitcake with toothpicks to see if it comes out clean. Be patient. It takes time. Depending on your oven it may take longer to bake than mine did (or shorter, start checking for doneness at 2 hours).

Take out of the oven when done, loosen the sides with a butter knife and flip out on to a plate after about 10 minutes.

The verdict? My husband likes it. Even my son, who does not like fruitcake likes it. It's too much candied fruit sweetness for me BUT my men are happy so I am happy!! Thanks Helen!

"Italian" Meatloaf

I struggle lately with using ground beef. I am becoming more and more vegetarian as I get older. I am not exactly sure why, it's certainly not because of the animal factor. My body just seems to be rejecting the majority of it. BUT despite the fact that I am not all that interested anymore, I still have a house-full of people who DO eat meat.

Tonight I decided to make a meatloaf but I did not feel like making it my usual way with a combination of ground chuck (poor chuck!) and hot Italian sausage, mostly because the sausage was still frozen! Inspiration struck, however and I went at it with a couple of my other favorite Italian items.

It started with about a pound to a pound and a half of ground chuck. Next I added two packages of dry Italian dressing.

And then, to me, the most important ingredient is the Parmesan cheese. You can do it if you want, BUT I highly urge you not to...use that awful green container of shredded "Parmesan" cheese that is shelf stable. Yuck! Don't do it! For just about a dollar more you can get REAL GOOD Parmesan. And here is my favorite:

This is Sartori grated Parmesan cheese. You can get it at the specialty cheese section at your local grocery store.  I highly recommend it. It is a mellow yet perfectly wonderful Parmesan. Here is the web link to their website:

Sartori Cheese

I used approximately 1/3 cup of the Parmesan. I added the cheese and the dry Italian dressing into the raw ground chuck (poor chuck!). Then I formed them into small meatloaves because I wanted it to cook faster than a large hunk of meat would.

Make sure to knead the spices and the cheese into the ground chuck very well. I put them in on of my favorite Pyrex blue 9" x 13" pans and put in a pre-heated 350 degree oven. Bake until no longer red in the middle, approximately 35 minutes (times will vary depending on your loaf size and oven! Check the middle before stopping the oven for doneness)

About 20 minutes after the meat was in the oven, I put a new bag of Schwan's bow-tie pasta and veggies in to heat and serve with the meatloaf. I probably should have made more but I just really did not think there was anything else I could add except, maybe, for bread.

When the meatloaf was finished, it was so moist and tender. I believe it was the Parmesan that kept it so amazing.

This is what it looked like....not a whole lot on the plate but the family ate it up! And the asked for seconds. It turned out wonderful and I even ate it. I'm telling you honestly, my secret weapon in a lot of my food is that wonderful Sartori cheese.

Thai Beef Lettuce Wraps done The Crystal Chef way

The husband and I both enjoy Thai food. We love to go to one particular restaurant in our town every other month or so. He gets the exact same thing each time (Chicken Pad Thai) and I try something different. There must be hundreds of items on the menu and I am determined to work my way through all of them, at least the ones that are not too spicy!

I am also just as determined to learn how to make some of them at home. Tonight's experiment was Beef Lettuce Wraps. Here is what you need to get started:

(1 1/2) pounds of flank steak

Fresh ground black pepper and sea salt (I like Celtic Sea Salt that I get at the local Farmer's Market)

(1) head of Bibb lettuce

(2) carrots

(2) jalpenos

(1) red onion

(2) limes

(2) tablespoons of Thai peanut sauce

(4) tablespoons of fish sauce

Dash of soy 

Sliver of real butter

Fresh cilantro

I am not truly a chef so I like to do my vegetable prep work first so that I can focus when cooking my steak. I have not cooked a lot of steak in my time so focus is important for me. I did go ahead and take my steak out of the fridge while prepping my veggies.

Peel the carrots and shred them. Set aside to use for stuffing in your wrap.

Slice your red onion thinly and set aside for use inside the wrap.

Slice your jalapeno thinly and set aside. At this point, right or wrong? I don't know but I did remove as much of the seeds as I could because I did not want all of the heat from the jalapenos. I wanted the tasty flavor. Be careful cutting your jalapenos and don't rub your eyes! It will hurt! 

Heat a grill pan over high heat for at least 5 minutes. Season your flank steak with the salt and pepper. Depending on the thickness of your steak (REMEMBER, I am not a steak expert!!) cook for about 4 minutes per side until it is firm but yielding to the touch.  The flank steak that I had tonight was rather thick and I had to cook it longer than four minutes. Mine actually took 10 minutes per side. for the thinner side. The thicker side, because I was afraid to over-cook it, I finished it in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes. 

While your steak is cooking it is time to make your sauce. In a sauce pan combine the following:

The juice of (2) limes, the (2) tablespoons of peanut sauce and the (4) tablespoons of fish sauce. Stir over low heat. Add a dash of soy sauce and a sliver of butter. Don't forget to keep an eye on your steak.

When your steak is done, let it rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing against the grain.

Take your Bibb lettuce leaves (rinsed) and layer on your shredded carrots, onion, jalapeno, steak, cilantro and sauce or whatever combination pleases you. Don't forget to drizzle on your sauce and even squeeze on some extra lime juice.

It must have turned out okay because the whole family at every single bite of it! And the best part of all of this is that it was good for them and they don't even know it! They never read this blog anyway, so I think it is safe to put that here!

Momma's Potato Salad - Step by Step for the Future Generations

My mother's potato salad. It is legendary. I kid you not. Her recipe is well known in our church and there are people that still request I make it.  It is not a complicated one. No fancy ingredients or special equipment. I feel the need to record it, however, because no one else makes it anymore. I am sure one day, one of my kids will be sitting around saying, "You remember when mom used to make that potato salad?" So what is going to follow is a very basic, step by step direction.  There are not a lot of measurements as this is a taste as you go sort of deal. You just have to know what it tastes like to get it right.  Let's begin with the potato:

I use your basic Russet potato.  They work the best for this type of potato salad. It is what my mom used and it is what I use.  Peel them with a good potato peeler and not a knife so that you minimize potato waste.  Get them on your cutting board and cut into chunks like so:

I believe (and you can call me crazy....because I am) that the chunk of the potato is important. You don't want to big or too small.  They need to pretty uniform so they cook at the same rate. You don't want some of them getting done before the others or you will end up with half mashed potato salad! Not cool.

Rinse your potatoes in COLD water, drain, then fill your pot with COLD water and set to boil on the stove. Yes I am emphasizing the COLD part. Sometimes people think they can speed this process up by using hot water but that is wrong. It messes things up. I am not sure why, I am not a professional chef so I don't know all the reasons....I just know that you must, must, must start with cold water.

While the potatoes are boiling, chop one medium size yellow onion and set aside in a bowl until later.

My onion chopper broke so I had to chop this beauty by hand. I was really starting to cry from the onion when I discovered something interesting! I let the cold water run in the sink (conservationists, look away) while I finished chopping the onion and I stopped crying. Running the water seemed to help dispel the "onion effect"

Next, while the potatoes are boiling, put on 8 eggs to boil.  

Now, here is where controversy sets in. You can hard boil your eggs anyway you please. I am going to tell you how I hard boil mine.  I bring the water to a full boil.  No lid.  I set the timer for 12 minutes and let them boil and a full boil for 12 minutes. OH, and YES, I start out with COLD water.  After 12 minutes I turn the stove off and immediately poured out the hot water and then ran cold water over the eggs until they cooled down.

By now, my potatoes were done. Drain the potatoes in a colander in the sink. Put the chopped onions in the bottom of the large bowl the potato salad is being made in first. I like to start with my onions on the bottom first.

Next, add the steaming hot potatoes.

Now, this is where everything gets a little tricky.  There are no exact measurements. It's time to travel back. Remember the days of sitting around the table at Thanksgiving or Easter or even Christmas when Mom made this and remember what it tasted like.  That will guide you through these next steps.  Open the refrigerator and take out the following:

Yes, it has to be Duke's mayo.  Nothing else will do.  Do not even consider anything else.

Yes, it has to be Sauer's Mustard. Nothing else will do. It is wonderful. No, neither Duke's or Sauer's paid to put this here. They don't even know about it.

Now, for the sweet relish....I am not picky about.  Generic brand, or whatever, it makes no never mind. Shocking, huh?

Add a couple of heavy spoonfuls of mayo to the potatoes.

Next add a couple of heavy spoonfuls of mustard to the potatoes.

Next add a spoonful of the sweet pickle relish.

Start stirring the potato, mayo, mustard, relish and onion together.  Don't forget to stir up from the bottom to pull the onion up.  Don't mash. You don't wan't mashed potato salad. STIR gently but firmly.

If it looks like this, it is telling you it needs more mayo or mustard or relish. So give it some more.

Start with a little mayo and then TASTE it.

Mine needed a little more mustard....but something was still missing....

It needed more punch from relish so I added more. Be careful adding relish as it has a lot of liquid. And now that I have it right, it was time to peel the eggs and add them in!

No fancy chopping method here either. I chopped them right over the bowl and let them fall on top.

Stir them gently in and you are done. Most people refrigerate before eating. I like it warm and cold!

Ta-da! The finished salad.  You know it is right when you close your eyes and see Momma's smile when you taste it. I know I can. I hope at least one of my daughter's learns how to make this. Or maybe Nick will surprise me and he will. I miss you Momma. I love you. 

Chicken Salad Adventure

No one, and I repeat, no one can make chicken salad like Ms. Stella out at our church. People have been known to volunteer for events just because they know she is making it!  I do not even pretend to think that I could replicate it but I have decided its time to create my own recipe. My mother had her own version. I was not a real big fan as it was heavily laden with Miracle Whip. That stuff makes me shudder. I guess it has its place....just not in my household. A very nice lady at our church named Linda made a chicken salad recipe that had dried cranberries in it that my daughter and I loved. I used that as the basis of inspiration for my first attempt at our salad.

The ingredients I used were as follows:

• 2 stalks celery diced
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 chicken breasts, boiled, shredded and cut up
• 1 4 ounce bag of dried cranberries for salad
• Duke's Mayonnaise
• 1 lemon
• Salt and pepper
• dried dill

I found bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts on sale at Kroger. I boiled these and carefully removed the bones. This is a great opportunity to save the chicken stock for later. (I'm going to freeze mine in ice-cube trays!)  Just be very careful to get the bones out of the chicken.  Set the chicken aside to cool while you dice your celery and onions small.  Even my picky oldest daughter will eat this.  She loves chicken salad! She usually does not eat anything with vegetables but as long as the celery and onion are small, she eats!

After dicing the celery and onion, I shredded then cut up my chicken.  I like to shred the chicken with my hands. This way I can feel for any bones I may have missed the first time. After shredding and chopping the chicken, I mix in my celery and onion. I am still using my hands at this point.  I did not use all of the celery and onion.  It is a matter of taste at this point. As I mixed it in, I watched the ratio as I added it.  I really did not want the celery or onion to out-gun my chicken.

After washing my hands I decided it was time to switch to a spoon.  Here is where the measuring goes out the window! Once again it comes down to a matter of taste.  I cut my lemon in half and only squeezed half into my chicken/celery/onion mixture.  I tossed in the bag of dried cranberries and stirred.  Next I added the first of what was to be three large tablespoons of Duke's Mayonnaise.  I kept stirring.  Added salt, pepper and approximately 1/2 teaspoon of dill weed.  I stopped. I tasted. I added more mayo.  More salt. More stirring.  This is where you just have to go with your gut....or more with your taste buds.  I did not want soupy chicken salad.  I did not want salty chicken salad.  I knew if I accidentally added to much dill weed my kids would not eat it.  It was a ballet of chicken salad in the kitchen.  Eventually I stopped adding things and called in the BIG GUNS.  My seventeen year old son has no problems telling me like it is when it comes to my cooking.  He came in.  He took a bite, nudged me out of the way, grabbed the bread and made himself a sandwich.

Later he came into my office and declared it was good.  He thanked me for dinner and asked me to make it again.  He said it needed a little something more.  "Mayonnaise?" I asked.  "No." he said.  "More crunch?" I said. "No, but maybe more of the dill weed next time." Hmm...I was surprised.   Stay tuned for the next chicken salad adventure...

Bacon-wrapped Stuffed Chicken with Spinach & Cream Cheese with Sauteed Brussel sprouts and rice

I finally felt creative in the kitchen again after about two months of hitting a brick wall.  Yesterday's grocery shopping trip netted quite a lot of things on sale, one of the most exciting items was the bacon!  I decided I needed use it for dinner. I poked around the kitchen to see what I could add to it.  This is what I came up with:

(6) thin sliced chicken breasts
(1) block of cream cheese, softened
(1) pound of bacon
(1) thawed package of spinach

Spread the cream cheese on the chicken breast and press some spinach into the cream cheese. Make sure you squeeze any water out of the thawed spinach before you add to the cream cheese.  Roll the chicken up and the wrap with a piece of bacon.  Place in a baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.  I wanted to secure these with a toothpick but I could not find them! Fortunately they ended up not needing the toothpicks.  I baked them in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes and then switched to broil for approximately five minutes just to further crisp the bacon on top.

While the chicken was baking in the oven, I took the last two leftover pieces of bacon and put in a saute pan to fry with half a small yellow onion chopped small.  I let the bacon get crisp and then drained a small portion of the bacon fat off, but not all.  I then added three servings of frozen brussel sprouts and 1 tablespoon of butter to the saute pan, put a lid on and let gently saute for about 10 minutes while the chicken finished baking.  I do not think I will EVER eat brussel sprouts any other way again! They were the best I have ever had!

Here is how the finished dinner looked:

The cream cheese and spinach were warm and oozing inside the chicken. The chicken was moist because of the bacon.  The brussel sprouts were smoky and tender.  It was a wonderful dinner.  Even my pickest eater came back for seconds!  Mission accomplished for dinner!

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

I thought I had put this recipe on here but I looked and I had not. I cannot take the credit for this. A wonderful site called Momzone is where I first discovered this recipe.  The website seems to have closed now so I cannot link to it to give proper credit but I will share this wonderful recipe with you now.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

1 - 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1- stick or equal to 1/2 cup of butter (MUST be real butter, margarine will not work)
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3/4 cup of powdered sugar
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
Graham crackers

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beat until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Place onto plastic wrap; shape into a ball. Refrigerate at least 1 more hour. Just before serving, roll cheese ball in pecans. Serve with graham crackers.

Side note:  I do not use the pecans.  I just don't. I know too many people with nut allergies so I leave them out.  The above recipe is for one "ball".  It won't last.  I never make enough for "one".  I always double in not triple the recipe.  The cheeseball is better if you make it the night before.  Under no circumstances should you ever leave out the brown sugar.  It will not taste right.

Enjoy!! I hope it becomes a part of your family tradition as it has become a part of mine!!

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.

Smoked Ham and Lentil Soup

I wanted to make a hearty soup that I was sure was going to be enjoyed and be easy to re-heat as needed for my family and for some sweet friends.  As I wandered around the grocery store I discovered some heirloom rainbow carrots. They looked interesting so I decided to make them the basis of my soup.

The carrots were lovely. I peeled them with my potato peeler and sliced into rounds, not too thick and not too thin. I used the entire bag.  After rinsing I put them in the bottom of my soup pot and added just enough chicken stock to cover and set them to boil. As soon as they began to boil, I turned the heat back to medium low and let them simmer while I prepared the rest of the ingredients.

As the carrots were gently simmering I began to chop the ham.  Ham is a very interesting subject for me. Sometimes I like to bake it myself for hours and hours all day with my own special blend of seasonings. Sometimes I realize that I do not have time for that so I seek out special hams at the store that have excellent flavor.

This is the ham that I purchased. I bought a half one that was perfectly smoked. While my carrots were simmering, I chunked the ham into small bite size pieces. When all of the ham was completely chopped, I added them into the pot with the simmering carrots.

Into the pot next after the ham addition, I added 16 ounces of chicken stock and one stick of real butter (you really are not surprised I added butter, are you?).  As the next addition to the pot is lentils, I needed more liquid for them to absorb than just the chicken stock and butter that the carrots and ham were bathing in.  To the pot I added 8 cups of water. Because I used a rainbow selection of carrots I also decided to use two colors of lentils. To the carrots, ham, chicken stock and water I added one pound of green lentils and 3/4 pound of red lentils.

I brought the above combination to a boil again and then immediately turned the heat back down and let the lentils simmer gently with the carrots and ham for about twenty minutes. Honestly, do not overcook your lentils. This is the very reason that I pre-cooked my carrots. I knew the carrots would need longer than the lentils.   I also added a small amount of cayenne pepper and a healthy shake of Soul Seasoning.

Time your cooking of your lentils carefully. Follow their cooking directions carefully. The key to this soup was simple. Tasty carrots, smokey ham, well cooked lentils and a touch of butter. Give it a try and enjoy!
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Bacon-Butt Burgers for the Birthday Boy

I finally got to make my baby boy his birthday dinner tonight. His request:  hamburgers, my homemade macaroni and cheese with Ballyshannon Irish cheese, and canned peas. I made a run to the Farmer's Market and got two pounds of freshly ground chuck (poor chuck) at the butcher shop, some vine ripe tomatoes and lettuce. Strangely enough, the Farmer's Market did not have any lettuce! We had to go to Wal-Mart for that.

When your hamburger is ground fresh not a lot needs to be done to it. The only thing I added was a tiny bit of cayenne pepper and some soul seasoning.  I had some bacon ends and pieces (purchased in a 3 pound lump really cheap!) so I decided to give my hamburgers a bacon butt..  After mixing the seasonings gently into the ground chuck (poor chuck) I formed them into patties and added bacon pieces to the bottom and placed them in a pre-heated skillet on medium high to fry.

While the burgers began to fry, salted water went on to boil for the macaroni and I began slicing up a huge chunk of Kerrygold Ballyshannon cheddar cheese. It is Irish cheese and one of Nick's favorites.
Kerrygold cheese

When the water came to a rolling boil I added the macaroni and boiled until just tender. I do not like mushy noodles! It was dumped into the strainer (one pound of macaroni, by the way) and then back into the hot pot. One stick of REAL butter, half a pound of chunked Ballyshannon cheese and a splash of heavy cream get dropped into the hot noodles.  The amount of cream depends on how thick you want the sauce in the macaroni.  We use very little as we like the butter and the cheese to do the work.

In the meantime, the burgers have been flipped over.

The bacon has cooked into the butt of that burger like a glorious bikini bottom! The next is key:  DO NOT SMASH YOUR BURGER!! Good grief people. Let the burger be thick and juicy. Don't make the bacon give the hamburger a wedgie!!!

These yummy burgers were served with thick-sliced vine ripe tomatoes, lettuce, provolone cheese, onion, mac and cheese, and peas.  Here is the happy birthday boy with his dinner:

Even though his birthday dinner was delayed by one day, he was a happy fella.  He loved my bacon butt burgers and his homemade mac and cheese.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICK! I LOVE YOU!


PS....I must qualify this.  The birthday boy specifically asked for canned peas. I don't really eat them anymore. I used to make them when they were little and we were broke. Now that we are better off financially and I am a little more knowledgeable, I use frozen. I used canned tonight at his request.

Chicken Caprese Pasta

One of my favorite Italian dishes is a caprese salad. I decided it was time to take that salad concept and turn it into a healthy and yummy dinner dish. Here is how I did it.

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.  In a glass baking dish put some boneless chicken (I used sliced chicken tenders). I used approximately one pound of chicken tenders.  To this I added 7 cloves of smashed and chopped garlic. Next I squeezed some fresh basil paste onto the chicken.  It is your preference how much as to how much basil you like. I used almost a tablespoon.  I sprinkled some red pepper flakes on top as well and put it into the oven to bake.

 This is the basil I used. It was in the fresh produce department and is a wonderful tool.

While the chicken is baking, use a small saucepan and melt two tablespoons of butter (not margarine) and add one medium yellow onion, sliced and chopped.  To the onion and butter add two medium zucchinis chopped small.  Sprinkle with a little bit of salt to sweat out the zucchini.  Saute until soft.

Prepare one pound bag of macaroni, boiled al-dente in salted water. Assemble the pasta like this:

Place your finished chicken tenders that have been chopped in the bottom of your bowl.
Next add the sauteed zucchini and onions.

To the top of this, add your drained hot pasta.

On top of the hot pasta, squeeze approximately three tablespoons of the basil. More or less to your taste preference for basil.  After you add the basil, add the following:

(1) pound of FRESH mozzarella cheese, chunked
Murray's Cheese

(6) medium size Roma tomatoes, chunked

Give this all a really good stir so that the basil gets blended in well, the chicken and tomatoes and cheese are distributed evenly as possible.

This dish was so fresh and flavor-able I almost slapped MYSELF! I hope you try it. My whole family enjoyed it!