Womans Day magazine recipes

We are finally back in our home. Unpacking is continuing and I have no idea where my church cookbook is but I hope to find it soon and resume my testing of each recipe in the book. Until then I have been looking for healthier ways to feed the family.

The March 2017 issue of Womens Day has four recipes that are 400 calories or less. The first one I made tonight was the Meatball soup. It was a little bit labor intensive because of the grating of the fresh ginger. Outside of grating the ginger, it was a fairly easy recipe to make. I admit I was a little nervous broiling the meatballs but it worked very well. I am not going to list the recipe but instead I have provided the link to the website as this is not mine.

Gingery Meatball Soup with Bok Choy

My take aways for this recipe:

• I only bought one head of Bok-Choy. Truthfully the recipe was not exactly clear. It said four heads and about 12 ounces. I believe it actually needed four separate ones but not sure. I felt like the one I bought did not provide enough greens for the soup. Next time I make it I will use more Bok-Choy. 
• It was the very first time I have ever tried Bok-Choy and was not sure how to use it. My little friend Google told me that the stem parts are edible as well so I tore the leaves into the pan but chopped the stems up so that they would cook quicker.
• The ground chicken was very, very sticky. I have no idea what I should have done to make it easier to roll the meatballs.
• I made my meatballs too big so the cooking time under the broiler was longer for mine.
• I did not chop the cilantro up well enough. Mine had large pieces of the leaves and that just did not work out well. Next time I will chop finer. 
• The husband liked it but the son did not. I liked it but felt the cilantro was too strong and that it needed more garlic.

As if trying one new recipe was not enough, I also tried a second recipe from the same magazine and same set. I have provided the link to the website as this is not my recipe.

Sweet and Sour Pork and Vegetable Stir-Fry

My take aways for this recipe:

• This recipe was quite delicious. The only problem is it did not have enough sauce. I do not know if it was the recipe or if it was me as I followed it completely except for the bean sprouts.
• The only reason I did not add the bean sprouts was because Kroger did not have them today.
• I think next time I will try this with chicken as my hubs cannot have very much pork.
• I will also double the hoison sauce mixture
• Everyone like this one - hard to believe a serving is only 317 calories.

Overall it was a successful meal. It was very challenging for me to use new ingredients I had never tried before. I hope you give it a try and I sure wish Womens Day would let me know some more info on both recipes.

Glad to be back!!

Chicken and Sausage Soup

It's a cold snowy day here in Virginia Beach, VA so it seemed like a good day for soup.  Yesterday I picked up some bone-in split chicken breasts on sale plus some Andouille sausage.  It sounded like an interesting marriage!

Here is what went in my big green soup pot:

(4) bone-in split chicken breasts
(1) medium onion, chopped
(8) cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped
(2) packages Johnsonville New Orleans brand Andouille Recipe smoked sausage
(1) package crinkle cut carrots
(1) package peas
(1) package roasted red & green peppers
(2) cans of Hunt's diced tomatoes
(1) small can of V-8
(2) drops of Texas Pete
chili powder

Boil the chicken until done and no longer pink.
While the chicken is boiling, saute the onion and garlic in 1/2 a stick of butter until tender.
Slice the Andouille sausage into about 1/2" thick rounds and toss with onions.
When the chicken is done, remove from bones and discard bones and skin.
Chunk the chicken and add back to the broth, keep at a low boil.
Add the sausage and onions to the pot with the chicken.
Add the remaining ingredients, the chili powder and Texas Pete are to your liking!

I served this with jalapeno poppers! It was very good.

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!

My mother's chicken and stuffing casserole

I was in need of a good casserole to take to some friend's home.  As a member of a close church family, it is a real privilege to help out another family. I was trying to decide what to make. That is when I remembered my mother's favorite casserole.  It was fast, easy and really good.  I forgot to take pictures this time but trust me, its yummy!  Here is what you need:

(1) box of Cornbread stuffing
(1) box of Herb stuffing
(1) can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken and Herb soup
(1) can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup (you can substitute the cream of chicken soup if you don't like mushrooms)
Chicken stock
Cooked chicken, shredded

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Into a large bowl combine both cans of soup with 1 3/4" soup cans of chicken broth.  Stir well until combined.  Add both boxes of dry stuffing mix and stir until mixed well.  Stir in the chicken.  Spread into a 13" x 9" pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes covered with foil and then for about 10 minutes without foil until the top is lightly brown.

Be careful about adding any salt to this recipe as it is quite salty enough from the dry stuffing mix.  I think my mom added a melted stick of butter too but I am not sure. I opted to not add it. (I know you are shocked!)

This is a great recipe for church suppers and company. I hope you try it. My mom used to make it all the time.

Desperation Soup!!!

I had (and still have) no plans on attending family game night with the church youth group tonight. AND I thought none of my kids were attending either.  WRONG.  One decided to go, so I had to come up with soup REALLY fast for them to take with them.  I will not send my kid empty-handed!

So now, I go into the kitchen and do what I do best....make something wonderful out of whatever is in my cupboards. I should be named Little Miss Hubboard.  I ended up making Vegetable Beef Noodle:

This is what is in it:

1 pound of ground beef, cooked
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
Carrots
Green peas
Corn
Broccolli florets
Egg noodles
Salt & Pepper
Dry brown gravy mix (yes, I went there....)

While I thawed the hamburger out in the microwave, I sauteed the onion and bell pepper in a scant bit of olive oil. I added the smashed garlic in as well.  After the ground chuck (poor chuck) was thawed I added it to my pot as well. I guess I should explain I went ahead and started with my soup pot, no need to get TWO pans dirty.

Of course, the whole two pans thing did not, well, PAN out! I used a second pot to heat about 4 cups or so of water and added a generous dumping of the dry brown gravy mix.  I did not measure, sorry! I whisked this together until it began to boil then removed from the heat.

I drained the first pot of ground chuck (poor chuck), onions and peppers of the grease from the hamburger.  I then tossed in the vegetables I had from my freezer (the carrots, peas, corn, broccolli). Next came several cups of water and I turned the heat up to high to get a boil going. 

I then added the brown gravy mix I had set aside.  I stirred it well and then washed the pot so that I could use it again (I was determined not to get a THIRD pot dirty!) so I could boil the egg noodles.  I only used 2/3 of the bag of egg noodles.  When they were almost al-dente, I added them to the soup.

It actually tastes pretty good for a desperation move!! Now to go wash all those pots!!

There is actually a very good reason why I was not going to Family Game night. I am in the midst of preparing for something VERY big that I cannot as yet reveal on this website! But when I can, I will let you in on the secret!!!!

Old Fashioned Chicken & Dumplings

Talk about an epic fail! I had planned to make my sweet husband some Healing Chicken Soup tonight and did not realize I was out of most of the ingredients! I guess I need to make a trip to the Farmer's Market!

Instead of the soup, I am making old fashioned chicken and  dumplings.  My husband generally prefers the flat dumpling but I do not have any.  And, as I am OUT of all the ingredients for the soup, I am making the old fashioned biscuit type dumplings.

Of course, I generally use Bisquick to make the dumplings but I have not bought any Bisquick in a while.  I opened up my old Pillsbury cookbook and used the baking powder biscuit recipe.  I did look at their dumpling recipe but did not like it.  It is all bubbling away on the stove right now.  Hopefully it will turn out nice and fluffy and yummy.

My sweetheart had outpatient surgery today to remove two areas that were determined to be possible skin cancer.  The one on the front of his chest is most likely a squamus cell cancer and the one on the back (and the bigger of the two) is not determined yet. 

This pot of chicken and dumplings will hopefully be just the comfort food he needs.  I am thankful for church family members and friends who were kind enough to pick up my kids for church and understand that I did not want to leave my baby alone. 

I hope you are all doing well.  Never forget to tell those you love that you do love them.  Our time on this earth is short, live it well, with love and in Jesus' name.

Okay, I admit it......

I use Campbell's soups to cook with.  I am not a sauce genius yet and sometimes I just don't feel like whipping up a bechemel sauce or gravy from scratch.  Tonight was one of those nights but I have discovered that Campbell's has this Cream of Chicken with Herbs soup.  It is WAY yummier than regular cream of chicken.

I poured it over three very large bonelesss chicken breasts, put foil over it and put it in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour until the chicken was done. Oh! And I used two cans of soup with about 1/2 of can of water...that is all you need.  I poured it over rice although it is really luscious over mash-a-taters but I was too lazy tonight to do that.

The picture does not do it justice.  The gravy is good enough to just drink by itself....it was quite the yummy, no fuss dinner.  I hope you try it sometime!

My soup is growing and changing.....

So I am making some soup for a friend who is going through a rough time.  It started out to be ordinary chicken soup but it is changing fast.  Here is what I have done so far:

Melted a stick of butter and softened up one good size yellow onion and about 6 minced cloves of garlic.  I then added three good size boneless chicken thighs that had been well salted and peppered.  I let them saute in the butter mixture for a while.

Next I added two cans of chicken broth.  A few cups of water too.  I let that boil until the chicken was falling apart and done.

Next was the addition of about two cups of baby carrots.  Then I added about four peeled and chopped russet potatoes and some rough chopped cabbage.  I tasted the broth and was not too happy. 

Next I added a can of Hunt's chopped tomatoes (they are my favorite because they are flash steamed to peel not chemical treated) and one can of Hunt's tomato paste.  I sprinkled in some dried basil., and oregano.  NOW it smells good! I have to let this simmer awhile to let the potatoes finish cooking and then I think I will be able to quit adding things to it!!

Tonights episode of "What's for dinner?"

Well, I was feeling way too icky to go to the store.  Standing around in the kitchen I felt like I was on Food Network's "Chopped".  I have to figure out how to make an entree out of the mystery ingredients left in my cupboards and fridge!

So far, I have been boiling chicken.  After that was done, I just threw in some chopped carrots, broccolli and corn.  I sauteed onions and garlic in butter and just dumped that in.  I think my hubs and I need chicken soup!

I have added some spices, fresh cracked black pepper and will let that stew for a while.  I will probably add more to it.....gotta make the soup part taste yummy.  Then it will be on to face the "judges" and see who chops me! LOL