Garlic Butter Chicken Wings

I'm so excited these came out exactly like my mind pictured them when I decided to make this recipe. I'm sure you've heard me mention before how much my twin daughters (4.5 yrs old) love chicken wings. I usually make the balsamic wings and was afraid to deviate from that recipe, figuring it was the glaze that they liked and not necessarily the chicken wings. But they ate these up just as heartily as the others. The bonus is that these wings were a lot easier to make!
-Amanda

Garlic Butter Chicken Wings

20-24 wings and drummettes
2-3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup of olive oil
4-5 cloves of garlic
sea salt
pepper
parsley
hot sauce (I put it on at the table, since my kids don't like spicy)

Grate or finely chop the garlic in a small sauce pan. Add the butter, salt, olive oil and pepper. Simmer on very low for 20-30 minutes. This mellows the garlic out. Pour over raw chicken wings and let marinade for at least an hour. Line a baking sheet with foil and spread the marinaded chicken wings out where they are not touching. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, flip them over and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Chop parsley. Put chicken wings in a serving bowl, pour the run-off pan juices on top and sprinkle the parsley on and toss. Enjoy!

Homemade Texas Chili

Just so you know, authentic Texas Chili is not cooked with beans. Some may argue, but it really is true. It's not made with ground beef either. There is a lot of mystique around Texas Chili and it sounds all complicated (and it can be) but most of the time, it really is easy to make as long as you've got patience on your side. The results are so worth it, so kick back and stir you up a big ol' pot of Texas Chili, hold the beans, please! (Like usual, I didn't measure so adjust to your preferences, these are all guesses.)

This recipe has been submitted to Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday Blog Carnival.

-Amanda

Texas Chili

1.5 lbs of stew meat
1 onion
3-4 cloves of garlic
3-4 slices of bacon
1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste
3-4 cups of homemade bone beef broth
1/2 - 3/4 cup of minced beef liver (okay, this is not traditional to Texas Chili*)
1/4 cup Braggs apple cider vinegar**
1 tbsp of chopped ancho chili in adobe sauce
2 chopped fire roasted anaheim chilies
3-4 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp ground cumin
salt

garnish:
Sour cream
Raw milk cheddar cheese
Diced green onion
1 tbsp coconut oil per bowl***

Cut bacon into small dice. Place in a large pot (cast iron dutch oven is traditional, I didn't use my tonight though) and cook until almost crispy. Meanwhile chop one onion into a small dice. Add it to the bacon and cook on a medium low heat until the onion is very translucent. Do not rush this step. When onions are translucent, add minced garlic. Then put in your anaheim chili and ancho chili (or any chilies you want, really.)

Next go in the spices. Add the chili powder, oregano, cumin and generous amount of salt. Stir well to "toast" the seasonings. Add the tomato paste, and again stir in well. You want to actually get "color" on the tomato paste developing flavor. Stay on a medium heat, you want color, not burn. At this point you want to deglaze the skillet. That means add a liquid to pull up the brown bits that are starting to stick to you pot. Traditionally you'd use a beer, but I grabbed apple cider vinegar instead.

This is a good time to add the liver. Make sure the liver is chopped extremely well or even puree it in a food processor. Next goes in the stew meat. Stir to coat the meat with all of the spices. Add 3-4 cups of homemade bone-beef broth. The chili will be very soupy at this point. Lower the heat and let simmer for hours. I started my soup at 1pm and we ate at 7pm. The longer it just sits and slightly bubbles the better, just walk by and stir it every once in awhile. Somwhere after about 4 hours or so you can start to tear apart the beef. It'll start to shred and fall apart. That is why there is no flour in this meal. The broth will slowly reduce from simmering and the beef shredding will soak up the additional broth. You will be left with a thick and delicious chili. Enjoy!

* LIVER: From the Weston A. Price Foundation website: So what makes liver so wonderful? Quite simply, it contains more nutrients, gram for gram, than any other food. In summary, liver provides:

• An excellent source of high-quality protein
• Nature’s most concentrated source of vitamin A
• All the B vitamins in abundance, particularly vitamin B12
• One of our best sources of folic acid
• A highly usable form of iron
• Trace elements such as copper, zinc and chromium; liver is our best source of copper
• An unidentified anti-fatigue factor
• CoQ10, a nutrient that is especially important for cardio-vascular function
• A good source of purines, nitrogen-containing compounds that serve as precursors for DNA and RNA.

** APPLE CIDER VINEGAR: I've been using Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar more often because of it's health benefits. I'm sure cooking it all day, probably rids some of the nutritioun, but I needed something to deglaze the pan with and figured it wouldn't hurt. Here are some of the benefits of a REAL apple cider vinegar, such as Braggs brand:

• Rich in enzymes & potassium
• Support a healthy immune system
• Helps control weight
• Promotes digestion & ph Balance
• Helps soothe dry throats
• Helps remove body sludge toxins

*** COCONUT OIL: I try to add coconut oil to anything I can. It is very healthy for you. Among other things, it aids in metabolism, helping to lose weight. (More info here.)

Kale Chips

Why haven't I tried this sooner? These are so good! Next time you are craving a savory salt treat, try these. Kale is super good for you and you won't even know you are eating something healthy when you munch into this crispy treat. As a matter of fact, my three year old twin daughters who have been known to turn their noses up at a vegetable or two literally couldn't get enough of these tonight. I should have made twice as many!

-Amanda

Cristpy Kale Chips

1 bunch of kale
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
garlic powder
sea salt
splash of apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 425 with your cookie sheet in the oven. Cut the stems out of the kale leaves and cut the kale into smaller pieces. Place them in a large bowl. Toss with olive oil, garlic powder, sea salt and apple cider vinegar. Coat really well, make sure the olive oil is on each part of the leaves. Remove cookie sheet from oven and pour kale onto hot sheet. Spread in one layer. Bake 10-12  minutes. Remove before they start to turn brown. The brown parts are a bit bitter. Enjoy! I've known people to crumble this up on their popcorn, it's that good.

From Scratch - Traditional Green Bean Casserole

I was asked to bring the green bean casserole to Thanksgiving Dinner this year, which I was more than happy to do since I love, love, love it. The only thing is, I'm no longer cooking from cans for the most part. There was a moment when I thought to myself that I could make an exception since Thanksgiving is all about traditional dishes and the traditional way to make green bean casserole as far as my memory goes is with the cans. Two cans of green beans, 2 cans of mushroom soup, 1 cup of milk and a can of Frenches Onions. But then I thought about it, and wondered if perhaps the dish could be made with real ingredients and still taste like my memories of the dish. I found a recipe on Kelley the Kitchen Kop's blog that I mostly used, putting my own spin on a bit of it.The biggest problem is I didn't really measure anything so this is more of a method than a recipe. Sorry about that! And this was a HUGE hit at Thanksgiving, I guess it lived up to expectations because there was none to take home!
-Amanda

From Scratch- Green Bean Casserole

Green Beans:
A bunch of green beans- about 7 cups
left over bacon grease
garlic clove
1 bay leaf
sea salt
pepper

Mushroom Sauce:
a lot of mushrooms- 5 cups or so
1/2 large onion finely diced
1 container of heavy cream preferably not pasteurized, but I haven't been able to get any of that yet.
1/4 cup flour - I used whole wheat
3 tbsp butter

Crunchy Onion Topping:
2 onions - I used a sweet yellow onion
1/2 cup arrowroot powder
Cajun seasoning
3 tbsp butter + more if needed

Cut the tips off your greenbeans and then cut them in halves or thirds. Put them in a large skillet and cover with water. Add plenty of sea salt, pepper, bay leaf, smashed garlic clove and bacon grease. Bring to a boil, reduce, cover and let simmer for 45 minutes taste and re-season as necessary. WHAT! Yes, you heard me. I'm not making a "Fresh" greenbean dish here... I'm mimicking greenbeans from a can and greenbeans from a can are much softer than beans that have been blanched for 5 minutes. No, they aren't vivid and pretty green but they are GOOD! Plus, this is how my Mema makes greenbeans and she's been doing it that way for years. Drain the greenbeans and set them aside.

To make the mushroom sauce, chop onion very small and place it in a large skillet with melted butter. Chop mushrooms as small as you like. Since I was again, mimicking the canned sauce, I chopped them fine since the canned stuff almost doesn't even hint at mushroom.... strange, right? Add the mushrooms to the softened, translucent onions and cook until they have cooked down quite a bit. Add more butter if the skillet is dry. Sprinkle flour across mushrooms and stir until there is no dry flour left. Pour in cream and bring to a boil to thicken.

Butter a baking dish, I used an oval one so I'm not sure what size. Pour the cooked green beans in it and top with the sauce. Stir them together. You could also mix them in the skillet and then pour in the baking dish, whatever is easiest. Set aside. Be sure to scrape the skillet and lick the spoon.... oh yeah, it's that good.

To make the topping, pre-heat oven to 475. Slice 2 onions (they cook down A LOT) into thin slices and place in a ziplock bag. Add arrowroot and seasoning. Toss until coated very well. Add melted butter and mix again. On a large cookie sheet that has been greased, lay out onions in a very thin layer. Use two sheets if needed. (I should have used two!) Place in the hot oven and stir every 8 or so minutes for about 30 minutes until they start to crisp up and turn brown. Top casserole and serve. If you are doing it the night before, do not top the onions or they will get soggy. If you can save the onions to the next day, do that. If not, store them in a bag with a paper towel and recrisp them in the oven for a little bit before topping the casserole. Enjoy!!!

From Scratch - Decadent Nut & Maple Syrup Oatmeal

I bet when you think of all the things that could be decadent, oatmeal didn't come to mind. You'd be wrong. This is so warmy-ooey-gooey and filling. It's great for a cold morning (or night) and it uses all real food.I made one large portion for my dinner this evening and I didn't measure, so these are educated guesses, but it's really all to taste anyway. If you like your oatmeal thinner, add more milk, if you like it thicker don't. (Updated 3/6/11)
-Amanda

Nut & Maple Syrup Oatmeal

3/4 cup stone ground oats
1 tbsp Braggs Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
enough water to cover, plus some
1 cup milk or so
1/2 tbsp butter
4 tbsp heavy cream
2 tbsp Grad B Maple Syrup (Grade B is better, and more nutritious than Grade A)
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup crispy nuts*, I used walnut, toasted


Soak oats in water and apple cider vinegar for 8-12 hours. (This breaks down the phytic acid in the oatmeal and makes the nutrients more easily digestible.)

In a small pot add soaked oats and milk bring to a low boil and stir for 8-10 minutes.Add the butter and remove from heat. Stir in the heavy cream, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and last garnish with freshly toasted nuts. Enjoy!

*Crispy Nuts- a recipe by Sally Fallon. Soaking your nuts in salt water gets rid of the phytic acid in the nuts, an anti-nutrient that is very hard to digest and isn't good for your body. Use about 1 tsp of salt per cup of nuts. Cover the nuts with filtered water and stir in salt. Let them soak for 24 hours. Drain, and spread out on a cookie sheet and bake at 150 (or as low as your oven goes) for 12 hours. Or use a dehydrator until they are completely dry and crispy. Store in a airtight container in your refridgerator.

Red Pepper Mac N Cheese

I love Mac N Cheese!  One of my favorite things about it is that it is very versatile.  You can add veggies, or meat.  Growing up my mom used to add stewed tomatoes or chunks of ham.  Yum!  The other day I wanted a fancier Mac N cheese without the chunks of veggies.  I decided to blend the additions right into the roux, and it was a success. 

-Jules

Mac N Cheese (Mom’s Recipe)

White sauce
6 tablespoons of butter 
6 tablespoons of flour
1.5 C milk
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese
1 lb pasta (any) al dente (firm)
Bread Crumbs

Additions

4 Red Peppers chopped
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced

Melt the butter on low heat, add in the flour.  Stir until bubbles appear - cook for 2-3 mines.  Add 1.5 C milk slowly - stirring constantly.  Blend the Peppers, onions and garlic until smooth and add to the roux.   Add approx 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Cook 1 lb pasta (any) al dente (firm)

Mix together and bake covered till hot about 15 minutes

Take off cover, add (buttered) bread crumbs & grated cheese mixture - bake a few more ins or broil for a minute...watching constantly.  It burns quickly.   

Chocolate Pecan Carmel Cookies

John made these cookies for me to take to a Christmas cookie exchange party two years ago, a few days before Maddie and Izzie were born. I'm headed off to another cookie exchange and since these were such a hit, he made them again. They are from the cook book: Best Loved Cookies. A lot of the cookies from this book are a hit!
-Amanda

Chocolate Pecan Carmel Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg, separated
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup finely chopped pecans
Carmel filling (recipe follows)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp shortening (do not use butter, margarine, or oil)

1. Beat butter, sugar, egg yolk, milk and vanilla in a medium bowl until blended. Stir together flour, cocoa and salt; blend into butter mixture. Refridgerate dough at least 1 hour or until firm enough to handle.

2. Heat oven to 350º. Lightly grease cookie sheet.

3. Beat egg white slightly. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Dip each ball into egg white; roll in pecans to coat. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Press thumb gently in center of each ball. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set.

4. Meanwhile, prepare Carmel Filling. Remove cookies from oven; press center of each cookie again with thumb to make indentation. Immediately spoon about 1/2 tsp Caramel Filling in center of each cookie. Carefully remove from cookie sheets; cool on wire racks.

5. Place chocolate chips and shortenting in smal lmicrowave safe bowl. Microwave at High (100%) 1 minute or until softened; stir. Allow to stand several minutes to finish melting; stir until smooth. Place wax paper under wire rack with cookies. Drizzle chocolate mixure over top of cookies.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
Caramel Filling: In small saucepan, combine 14 unwrapped light caramels and 3 tbsp whipping cream. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth.

Thanksgiving Cornbread Dressing

In my family the dressing is prized over the turkey. As a matter of fact we usually make the turkey to compliment the dressing. We need the turkey "juices" as my Mema calls them. Also, with the leftover turkey we'd chop it up and add it to the dressing and eat on it for days. Why days? Because we make a small bathtubs worth of dressing every year so that everyone in the family can have leftovers. The thing is, this recipe is simple and I totally get that it isn't for everyone, because one thing I've learned is that people like and want the dressing they grew up with. Here's our family version. This makes a big lasagna pan, for a smaller amount, half the recipe, we usually triple it at least! Oh, one other thing. I'll run this recipe by my Mema to make sure it gets the final stamp of approval!
-Amanda

Thanksgiving Cornbread Dressing

2 recipes of cornbread (Homemade, CornKit, whatever suits you)
6 hard boiled eggs
1 onion finely diced
3 stalks of celery finely diced
4 pieces of the whitest white bread you can find
salt & pepper to taste
ground sage to tast <- this is hard to put a measure on, but probably at LEAST 3-4 tbsp.
6-8 cups of liquid: which means as much turkey "stock/juice" as you can get your sticky fingers on (the gravy people in the family also fight for this high prized commodity!) Supplement turkey drippings with chicken STOCK (not broth) and water if you must.

A lot of recipes have you saute your veggies before you add them to the dressing, our family likes the crunch so we put the veggies in raw. So, dice up your onions, celery and the hard boiled eggs and set aside. In a very large mixing bowl crumble up your cornbread into various sized pieces. With the white bread, tear off small pieces and roll and crumble them between your fingers to evenly distribute throughout the cornbread. Add veggies and egg and mix well. Add salt and pepper. Add sage. Stirring everything in very well. Now you do a "dry" taste until the seasonings taste right. Add the liquids. Transfer to baking dishes and cook on 325 degrees until the top gets browned. It is important to taste every 10-15 minutes just to make "sure" the seasoning is correct. Also just as important to have multiple tasters available.

I can't say how long you bake it because other things are usually crowding the oven and the temp goes up and down depending on what else is in the oven. That is just a Thanksgiving issue!

Creamy Chicken Broccoli Noodles

Since today is the day after Thanksgiving and the leftovers didn't seem to make it past lunch time in our house, I wanted a simple dinner for tonight. It dawned on me that this would also work great for leftover turkey if you are lucky enough to have any left. This hit the spot with my twin toddlers. It is the first time they have ever asked for thirds in their life.
-Amanda

Creamy Chicken Broccoli Noodles.

2-3 chicken breasts
1 package of frozen broccoli florets
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of mushrooms (or sliced fresh mushrooms)
1/2 cup fat free half and half
1/2 cup mozzarella
8-10 oz noodles (I used egg noodles)

Boil noodles according to package directions and drain.
Meanwhile, cut chicken into small squares. In a large skillet start the chicken cooking. Season with salt and pepper. When it is about half cooked, add the frozen broccoli, can of mushrooms, can of mushroom soup and fat free half and half. Stir everything together. Add noodles and sprinkle with cheese.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup is my favorite homemade soup. I think there have been days that I've eaten it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yes, I know... call me weird. Every time I make it I make it a bit different. Sometimes I make it with no chicken, so it's a Vegetable Tortilla Soup, sometimes I combine the two and add a ton of veggies, with chicken. Sometimes I throw in some rice, other times I leave out the rice. This version is just a simplified Chicken version without too many bells and whistles.
-Amanda

Chicken Tortilla Soup


Some of the pantry ingredients: Green Chili Peppers, Chicken Broth (or stock), tomato sauce and a can of black beans.

Other ingredients:


2 chicken breasts chopped into bite size pieces.



3 cloves of garlic (pictured above) 1 onion, diced, 1 bell pepper, diced & 1 cup frozen corn (not pictured)


About a tbsp of Ancho Chili in Adobo Sauce. It comes in a can. I empty the can into a freezer safe ziplock bag and freeze it. That way I can chip off just the amount I need. This stuff is spicy!


In a large pot, saute the onion, garlic and bell pepper in 1 tbsp of oil on high heat until it starts to brown around the edges.


Add salt (about a tablespoon of kosher)


And seasonings... I use cumin and oregano. About 2-3 tsp of ground cumin and about 1/2 tbsp of dried oregano.


Add frozen corn (about 1 cup) and black beans. I usually don't drain them.


Add tomato sauce and about 4 cups of chicken broth. Simmer on low for 30-45 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Do not boil or chicken will get tough.


Serve with tortilla chips, cheese, avocado and sour cream if you like.

Chicken and Bean Taco Salad

A quick and easy go-to meal. I have a couple different taco salads here at The Frickin Chicken, and this was another tasty one.... not mention high in fiber and decent in Weight Watchers Points.

Chicken and Bean Taco Salad

6 oz chicken breast
3 oz shredded cheese
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 small red bell pepper small dice
2 cloves garlic
1 can of black beans
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp lime juice
salt and pepper
chopped lettuce
2 tortillas per person

In a cast iron (or other favorite skillet) saute the onions, garlic and bell pepper until the edges start to turn brown. Add the chicken. When the chicken is almost cooked through, add the beans and all of the seasonings. Build your taco how ever you like. I put a tortilla down on the plate, piled it high with lettuce and then my chicken taco mixture. I put 2 oz cheese on top and melted it in the microwave for a few seconds. My second tortilla I cut into triangles and served on the side. This serves 3 Weight Watchers portions for 8 pts each.
-Amanda

Homemade Mac N Cheese

I bet some of you don't know how incredibly easy it is to make homemade mac n cheese... from scratch. If you did, I know no one would ever again buy a powdered box mix and call it cheese again. You can even make it look like the fake stuff if you choose. I want everyone to repeat after me, "I solemnly swear to never ever buy or make boxed mac n cheese ever again." See that wasn't so hard. Here is how you do it:

Homemade Mac 'N Cheese

3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2-2/3 cup shredded cheddar
1 tsp turmeric (for color)

Melt butter in a small pot. Add flour and stir until all the butter is absorbed and the flour is moist. Add 1/2 cup of milk, turn burner to medium high and whisk until there are no lumps in the sauce. Add the rest of the milk and the cheese. Bring to a high simmer stirring until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and turmeric if desired. Pour over your favorite pasta. Add cut-up hot dogs and peas (or broccoli) for a complete kid meal.
-Amanda

Shrimp Scampi

This dish is easy enough to do in under thirty minutes with two 19 month old toddlers running around your feet. It is also tasty enough that you will think you paid a lot of money for it at a fancy Italian Restaurant. By the way, it isn't in the low-fat category...

Shrimp Scampi

20 pieces of shrimp
1 pint of grape tomatoes
20-30 large fresh basil leaves
3 tbsp butter
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
dash red chili flakes
salt & pepper
pasta of your choice

Prepare pasta to package directions. (Salt the water!)
In a cold skillet place chopped garlic and chili flakes. Add oil and butter. Turn stove to medium-low heat to let the garlic & chilis infuse with the oil. While the garlic is "simmering" in the oil, cut grape tomotoes into halves and quarters depending on size. Place in oil, carefully so you don't splash. Increase heat to medium and let simmer until tomatoes start to burst open. (While tomatoes are cooking, chop your basil.) Increase to medium-high heat and add shrimp, salt and pepper. Sautè shrimp until almost done and then add chopped basil. Drain pasta add to shrimp and toss to coat. Serves 2 but can be easily adjusted for more. This is a fluid recipe, you can add a bit more or less oil to your prefrences, I don't really measure!
-Amanda

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

This is a very tasty dish. The first time I made it, my husband I went crazy for it. I had planned on freezing the leftovers, but we ended up eating on it every night for about four nights because we seriously couldn't get enough of them. It's been awhile since I made them, and this go around I accidentally bought 10-inch tortillas instead of 6-inch ones. That means instead of making 24 like the recipe said (I doubled it), I only made 12. But then again, they are almost twice as big...

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
From: Don't Panic--More Dinner's in the Freezer

1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
3 cloves of garlic (I added this to the recipe)
2 tbsp butter
2 cups cooked chicken*
1- 4oz can green chili peppers, diced
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp ground coriander (I changed this to 1/2 tbsp of cumin and 1/2 tbsp oregano)
3/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
6 oz Monterrey Jack Cheese, shredded
12 6-inch tortillas

*I grilled my chicken for added flavor! (You can also buy, pre-grilled chicken in the freezer section)

Cook onion and green pepper in 2 tbsp of butter until tender. Combine onion mixture in a bowl with chicken and chili peppers; set aside.

For sauce, melt 3 tbsp butter and stir in flour and seasonings. Stir in chicken broth all at once; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes more. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup of cheese. Stir 1/2 cup of sauce into chicken mixture (I found that 1 cup is better.)

Fill each tortilla with 1/4 cup of chicken mixture, roll up and arrange in a baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Recipe as printed should make 12 Enchiladas. This recipe is easy to double or even triple.

This is a good casserole to make in Foil Baking Dishes and freeze for later. Like I said before, I doubled the recipe when I made it tonight. This recipe isn't hard to make, but it is a bit time consuming, especially if you double/triple it. But it is SO worth it!
-Amanda

Pantry Chicken & Rice Casserole

This meal can be made out of things that I keep on hand in my pantry and freezer. There are ways to make it lower fat, but tonight I went all out. I guess I was craving that southern-style delicious casserole. One of my blogger friends from Australia mentioned that her husband didn't care for casseroles. That got me wondering what a traditional casserole is for Australia (I need to look that up still!) Then I started wondering what would be the iconic American casserole. I think it is very region dependent. I've heard of tator-tot casseroles from up north, and here in Texas we do a lot of Tex-Mex casseroles. But some variation of a chicken rice casserole is all South. This is my version. By the way, this is my "pantry" version. I have been known to do a "all-from-scratch" version too!

Pantry Chicken & Rice Casserole

2- 13oz cans of cooked chicken breast
1 large onion
1- 13 oz package frozen broccoli
2/3 cup + 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 cans of "cream of" soup*
2 cups white rice
4 cups + 1/4 cup of chicken broth
1 cup of bread crumbs or 3 slices of fresh bread made into crumbs
2 pats of butter (you can decide how many calories you want to add...)

*Whatever is in YOUR pantry. I used cream of mushroom and cream of chicken, but cream of celery would be a good mix too.

Make rice according to package directions, I cook mine 2 cups of rice to 4 cups of chicken broth instead of water. When I make 2 cups worth I cook it for 20 minutes instead of the 15 that my package recommends. Preheat oven to 350º.

In a skillet, saute diced onion until translucent, in one pat of butter you don't want to brown it. Add canned chicken meat. You can skip this if you are omitting the onion, but to me, sauteing the chicken makes it taste better. Add broccoli so that it starts to defrost a bit.

In a large casserole dish, add chicken, onions, broccoli. In a medium bowl, mix mayonnaise, both "cream of" soups, 1/4 cup of chicken broth and 2/3 cup of cheddar cheese. Add cooked rice to chicken mixture. Top with soup mixture and stir very thoroughly.

Rinse out your bowl or get a clean one. Melt your second pat of butter. Add bread crumbs and remaining 1/3 cup grated cheese. Mix with your fingers and spread across top of casserole. Bake for 45 minutes. Serves about 12.

Really great with a crisp iceberg salad on the side and ranch dressing. Also, the leftovers freeze well.
-Amanda

Homemade Rag Pasta

If you have ever had fresh, homemade pasta it is nothing like store bought pasta or even store bought "fresh" pasta. It is light and airy and so yummy! Tonight I made "rag" pasta, so called because after you roll it, all you do is tear it up into big pieces (rags) and boil it. I decided to add a bit of health so instead of all flour I added 1/4 cup of flax seed meal that I had on hand. Flax Seeds have tons of great nutrients and are another way to add omega-3's to your diet. It tasted fine in the pasta, although, with only 1/4 cup in the entire recipe, who knows how much nutrition we got from each serving, but some is better than none, right? Oh, and I love making homemade pasta, but I don't enjoy making it by hand. I use a food processor.

Homemade Rag Pasta

1 1/2 cup of flour*
1/2 cup flax seed meal
2 eggs
2 tbsp oil
about 1/4 cup of water

*You can play around with your flour. Use 2 cups of all purpose and no flax, use half all purpose and half wheat, or all semolina (which is more authentic.)

In a food processor blend all of the ingredients. Drizzle in water until dough starts to come together in a ball. Pulse for a bit longer. Dump dough on your counter and knead a couple of times to bring it together. It should look like this:

I have rolled pasta with a rolling pin, so it can be done! Cut the dough into small manageable balls and roll as thin as you can. Or, if you used your Christmas money on a pasta machine like I did, you get to pull it out of the pantry and use it again! Cut the dough in half and place on machine. Starting with the largest setting (1 on my machine) roll the dough through the opening 3 or 4 times on the same setting.

After 3 or 4 times on 1, set the machine to 2 and keep rolling. It should begin to look like this:


Between rolls, fold your dough in half. Work each setting at least twice before moving to the next setting. If your dough gets caught and all mangled, go back a setting or two and just keep going.

Keep working to until you get to the last setting, which will make the pasta very thin. Only run it through the last setting once. Get creative and find a space in your kitchen that you can hang your pasta to dry. You don't HAVE to do this step, but it does something to the pasta which really does seem to make it better some how. I cleared off a shelf unit, wiped it down and used it. I've seen people take a broom stick (clean it) and then lay it from their island to their counter and use it. Let the past dry for at least 20 minutes.


Bring a REALLY big pot to boil. Fresh pasta has a lot of starch and needs a big pot of water or it will all gum together. Believe me. I did this amount of pasta in about 4 batches in the largest pot I have. Don't forget to salt the water! When it comes to a boil, tear the pasta into pieces and boil for about 2-3 minutes. If you hand roll your pasta and it's a bit thicker it may take 4-5 minutes. This makes enough pasta for 4 people.

Quick and Easy Tomato Sauce

2 cans of diced tomatoes
1/2 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons fresh basil
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
salt and pepper

Sautè onion and garlic in olive oil until the onion becomes translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Bring to a ripping boil and to reduce the sauce, stirring frequently about 15-20 minutes. Adjust seasonings as needed.

-Amanda

Amanda's Enchiladas & Mexican Rice

If you were to ask my husband what his favorite dish is that I make, 9 times out of 10 he'll say your burritos! For some reason we've always called this dish 'my burritos' but in truth they resemble big enchiladas more than a burrito. I looked it up on Wikipedia. Either way, this is a simple, filling and tasty dish. (Extras make a great freezer dish, if you can get them to the freezer without eating them all!)

Enchiladas

1- 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef or turkey
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic
1 can of diced tomatoes (I like fire roasted)
1 can of refried beans (I use fat free)
2 ears of corn (or 1 cup frozen or canned)
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp dried oregano (I used 2 sprigs of fresh)
2 tbsp chili powder
Any extra heat you want in the form of jalapenos, dried peppers, canned chilies, ect.
1-2 cups of Mexican cheese
2 cans of green enchilada sauce
8-10 large tortillas

Preheat oven to 375º. Peel corn ears and toss in oven on the rack. While you prepare the meat, let the corn cook. You know its done when you can pierce the kernels with a fork easily.

Sautè onions and minced garlic in a skillet. Add ground meat. Stir until almost cooked through. Add seasonings (salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, chili powder & any additional spice.) Add refried beans mix thoroughly. Partially drain the tomatoes and add them to the meat. When corn is finished, take out of the oven and let cool. With a sharp knife, carefully slice off the kernels. Stir them (or the canned/frozen corn) into the meat mixture.

In each large tortilla add about 1/2 cup 0f meat (okay, I didn't measure, it's usually two big scoops with a big serving spoon.) Roll the tortilla up and place it into a greased baking pan. Do this with the remaining tortillas. Sprinkle with grated cheese and pour the cans of enchilada sauce on top. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is nice and melted.

Mexican Rice

1 cup of white rice
2 cups of chicken stock
1 can of tomatoes
1/2 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 can of diced chilies
1/2 tsp turmeric (you can omit this, but it gives it the nice yellow-y color)

Dice onion and sautè in a saucepan. Add garlic. Stir everything else into the saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook covered about 20 minutes. (The extra tomato juice requires it to cook a bit longer than the package directions for the rice.)

Toddler Quesadillas


For my twin toddlers, instead of a big messy burrito, I gave them small messy quesadillas instead. I took some of the meat mixture (before I added extra heat) placed it on a tortilla, added grated cheese and folded in half. I grilled them for a couple of minutes in my cast iron skillet. Served the rice and some fruit on the side. I made these for my toddlers, but I'm sure they would be a good lunch for adults too!
-Amanda

Chicken Cheddar Potatoes

Chicken Cheddar Hoagies has become one of my favortie dishes lately. Last night I was looking for something quick and easy to make for dinner and that dish came to mind. The only problem was that I didn't have the "hoagie" part of the recipe. So, scrounging around the pantry, I discovered some pretty small, pathetic looking potatoes. An idea sprung to mind. I made the Chicken Cheddar Hoagie recipe (minus the red pell pepper, since I didn't have that. I did use some green pepper though.) And then I baked the potatoes and piled the chicken on top. My potatoes were so small I actually served one and half per person. I love dishes that I creatively use what I already have in the pantry/refridgerator. There is a certian level of satisfaction that comes from them. Oh, and it was very tasty! I think I prefer it on the bread, but I won't be surprised if I repeat it on the potatoes in the future!
-Amanda

Shepherd's Pie

This is a dish that I like to make for women who have just had a baby. At least that is what John, my husband says. He told me tonight that I've made it for several New Moms and I guess he's right. Especially the reason we ate it tonight was so I could make a double batch to bring some of it to my friend, Sarah who just delivered twin boys last Sunday. She requested no red meat, so I made this version with ground turkey meat.

Shepherd's Pie

About 1lb of ground turkey meat
1 small onion
1 stalk of celery
1 carrot
1/2 bell pepper
2 garlic cloves
3 tbs flour
1 cup of chicken broth, or beef broth
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
thyme
1 cup of peas
4 good size potatoes
1/2 cup milk
2 tlbsp butter
2 tsp of Ranch Dressing Packet


Peel and cut up potatoes in two to three inch cubes. Place in a pot and cover with water. Add one clove of garlic, whole. Add salt to the water. Bring to a boil. When you can pierce potatoes easily with a fork, they are done. Drain. Set aside.

While potatoes are boiling, start browning your turkey meat in a skillet set to med-high. Make sure to break up the meat with your spoon as it browns. Chop onion, celery, carrot and bell pepper. Add to meat as it is cooking. Mince up one garlic clove. Add it to the meat as well. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Add Worcestershire sauce. Sprinkle flour across meat mixture. Stir to make sure the flour gets incorporated. Add broth of your choice. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until gravy thickens. Add peas.

Take drained potatoes and put back in pot. Add milk, butter, Ranch seasoning, salt and pepper. Mash (including the garlic clove.)

Place meat mixture in a casserole (or individual ramicans, like I did.) Top with mashed potatoes. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. This meal can freeze well.
-Amanda

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Sorry I've been away for a few days. I went to my Mema's house where I got lots of delicious Southern food to fill me up and keep me inspired. Tonights meal wasn't Southern, but it's one of my very favorites. I even made a second version to be toddler friendly.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

2 Acorn Squash
1 cup of raw rice if making toddler version too, otherwise use 1/2 cup (I used brown)
5 button mushrooms
1/2 a small onion
1 package breakfast sausage (such as Owens)
salt & pepper
nutmeg (optional)

Prepare rice according to package directions. Preheat oven to 325º. Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place on a cookie sheet or casserole dish cut side up. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle a bit of nutmeg over the top. Place in oven and cook for 45 min. - 1 hr or until a fork can pierce the squash very easily.

Meanwhile, in a cast iron skillet (or other heavy bottom skillet) brown sausage, making sure to break it up with your spoon into small crumbles. Chop your onion and mushrooms very tiny. Add diced onion and mushrooms. Continue cooking until sausage is cooked through and onion is translucent. Stir in 1/2 of the cooked rice.

When squash is done, mound stuffing in the center and broil on HI for a few minutes. I like to serve extra stuffing on the side. (Save 1/4 cup of stuffing, for toddler dish) Serves 4



Toddler "Stuffed" Squash

1/2 cup rice (or 1/2 of rice left over from main dish)
1/4 cup of sausage & mushroom mixture
1/2 cup pureed squash (I used a can, but you can prepare an extra squash and puree it very easily. I just didn't have any extra one tonight)
1 egg
1/4 cup whole wheat flour

Puree rice in a blender with a small amount of water. Mix rice, sausage mixture, pureed squash, egg and wheat flour in a bowl. Spoon mixture on a hot griddle or skillet. It's very sticky. Cook until starts to brown, flip and cook second side. My mixture made 8 pancakes about the size of my palm. Freeze extras.

Toddler sides:
Steamed carrots
Honey Cinnamon Poached Pears
-Amanda