Chicken casserole

This is a little embarrassing, since it contains a couple cans of "cream of xyz," but I was asked for the recipe, so here you go!  (And yes, I know I can make homemade substitutes for the processed "cream of" soups, HOWEVER- I make this casserole for my husband, and he prefers it with the canned stuff!)

1.5-2lbs chicken, cooked and diced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
8oz sour cream
1 small can of sliced mushrooms, drained
cooked egg noodles (how much just depends on how noodly you want it; I keep mine in a storage container and usually use 3 or 4 handfuls for this)
French onions, for topping (or, you can use crushed Ritz type crackers tossed with a tbsp or two of melted butter)


I like to mix the soups and sour cream over heat so they're nice and smooth, and I usually put in a bit of milk to thin it out (maybe half a cup).  Add in the chicken and mushrooms, mix, toss with the noodles, cover with the onions, and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

I've tried sneaking veggies in to this and I like it, but dh doesn't, so I normally leave it out.  But some peas, at least, are a good addition!

Enjoy!

Coq au vin

I truly enjoy cooking (well, most of the time...), but I'm also a bit stuck in the "country girl" cooking mode.  I could live and die Pioneer Woman cooking.  Which is delicious and all, but I've been wanting to stretch my culinary wings a bit lately.  So I decided to start out with coq au vin, a classic French dish that literally means "rooster in wine."  I more or less followed the recipe out of my Betty Crocker Cookbook.   I was NOT taught cook growing up (my mother can barely make toast!), and an older version of this cookbook is the first cookbook I ever owned. I love it, and I owe my ability to cook at all largely to the great instructions and explanations in this book! Anyway, on to the food...

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3-3.5 lbs cut up whole chicken
8 slices bacon
3/4 cup frozen pearl onions
8oz sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup chicken broth (homemade is best!!)
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 tsp salt
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2 in pieces
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Bouquet garni (a couple sprigs of thyme, parsley, and a bayleaf tied up in cheese cloth)

Cut up the bacon and throw it in the frying pan.  While that cooks, mix the salt and pepper with the flour and coat the chicken.  After the bacon is crisp, remove it (do NOT drain the grease).

Add the chicken to the bacon grease and fry on all sides until nice and brown.  I had to do mine in batches in my dutch oven.  Once it's all browned remove it (and again, do NOT drain the grease).

Add the mushrooms and the pearl onions and cook over medium heat about 6 minutes.

While that cooks ready your bouquet garni.

And your carrots!

Add in the rest of the ingredients and put the chicken back in.  I added in enough water to just cover the chicken.  Bring to a boil and cover, reduce to low, and simmer until the chicken is nice and tender.  Remove the bouquet garni and it's ready to go.

Delicious!  The family loved it, even my picky little girls :)

Sausage Meatballs and Kale with Pancetta

One of my favorite "quick and easy but wholesome" meals is sausage meatballs and kale with pancetta.

Kale is hands down my favorite leafy green.  It's actually a type of cabbage, and it's full of vitamins A and C, lutein, beta carotene, and even calcium.  It's super nutritious with anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory (and maybe even anti-cancer!) properties.  And it's in season up through December, so eat up!  It's a very mild green, so it's great to throw into soups and stews, too.


I almost feel silly calling these "recipes" because they're really not!  I don't measure anything, so beware :)

My sausage is pre-seasoned and made from local hogs.  All I add to it is one egg, some freshly grated parmesan cheese, and some homemade sourdough breadcrumbs.  If you're using unseasoned pork, you want to add some spices (just look up "sausage spices" to guide you).  Roll 'em up into balls and put them on an aluminum foil covered cookie sheet.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes, or until done. 

While they're baking, I start on the kale.  First, start browning the pancetta in a pan.  Pancetta is similar to bacon, so you could use bacon instead, but I love pancetta, especially since it comes cubed for me!  Tear the kale leaves off of the steam and wash well, the chop.  I don't drain the pancetta (kale loves fat!), I just add a tbsp or so of extra virgin olive oil to the pan before I throw in the chopped kale, tossing to coat.  The other thing that kale loves is acid, so I drizzle on some balsamic vinegar.  Cover and let it cook down, then give it some fresh ground black pepper before serving. 

There you go!  Simple, delicious, and nutritious :)

Streusel In-Between Pumpkin Cake

Nothing says says fall like baking, and who can pass up baking with pumpkin?  It's fantastic and full of vitamin A.  I have a Betty Crocker "Fall Baking" cook booklet that I turn to every year around this time.  This is one of our family's favorite recipes- Streusel In-Between Pumpkin Cake!




Streusel
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsps all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp butter, softened

Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsps baking soda
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup canned pumpking (NOT canned pumpkin pie mix!)
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
powdered sugar

• Heat oven to 350F.  Greast bundt cake pan and lightly flour.  In a small bowl, stir all streusel ingredients until crumbly, and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.  In a large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until creamy.  Add eggs two at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in pumpkin, sour cream and vanilla.  Gradually beat in flour mixture until blended.
• Spread half of the batter in the pan.  Sprinkle streusel over the batter,, making sure it does not touch the sides.  Top with the remaining batter, making sjure battery layer touches the side of the pan.
• Bake for one hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool for 30 minutes, remove from pan to cooling rack.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar once cooled completely.

Cut and enjoy!

Homemade fabric softener and sourdough starter/sponge

A couple recipes for you!

Fabric Softener

1 cup baking soda
4 cups vinegar
4 cups warm water

Baking soda and vinegar react, of course, so you need to mix the vinegar in very slowly.  Stir it well and add half a cup to your rinse cycle.  This does not get clothes as soft as commercial softener, but personally, I don't like the way that feels, anyway (it feels...gunky!)

Onto sourdough.  It's easily one of my favorite breads.  There are a number of ways to do starter, but I do the plain old way- 1 cup of flour (I normally use whole wheat) and 1 cup of warm water.  Cover it with a light cloth and let it sit in a draft free spot for a few days (I prefer near the stove so it gets some warmth), stir it once a day.  What you're doing is trying to "catch" wild yeast, so there's no guarantee it will work.  It should have a sour, alcoholic smell and some bubbling.  It should not smell rancid.  If you can't catch yeast that way, you do 1 cup warm water, 1 packet, yeast, and 1 cup flour.

Because I'm the only one in the house that likes sourdough, I don't bother to keep my starter fed. I put it in a mason jar that has a couple holes poked in the lid and keep it in the fridge.  To revive, stir it up, add 1 cup warm water, 1/2 cup flour, and 1 tsp sugar.  Cover and let it stand in a warm spot until foams.

Most sourdough recipes start with a sponge.  So now you have your starter, put 1 cup of it into a large bowl with 2 cups of warm water and 2 1/2 cups of flour.  Mix it, cover, and let it rest for a few hours. 

If you have surplus sponge, you can use it to feed your starter!  Just replace whatever you took out, or pour off some of the starter and add an equal amount of sponge.

Indian butter chicken and naan

This meal is a family favorite, even my notoriously picky 8 year old loves it!

Naan (Indian flat bread)

1 packet dry active yeast (or 4.5 tsp bread machine yeast)
1 cup warm water
1/4 sugar
3 tbsp milk
1 egg
2 tsp garlic salt (or you could do 2 tsp regular salt and 2 teaspoons of minced fresh garlic)
4 1/2 cups of flour (I usually do half whole wheat and half white)

Mix the yeast and warm water and let it set for 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and knead until smooth (6-8 minutes). Place the ball of dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let it rise for about an hour. Punch down the dough and pull off golf ball sized balls, place them on a tray and let them rise for another half hour (I like to rise them in my oven, I warm it at 200 for 10 minutes or so and then turn it off). Heat a dry cast iron skillet. Flatten or roll the balls into circles and heat 2-3 minutes per side. You can brush each side with melted butter if you'd like. Cover and keep them warm until they're ready to serve.

Yes, it's important to let the yeast and warm (always warm!) water sit for 10 minutes. That's how all those nice little yeasties get activated and make your dough rise.


Did I tell you that dh bought me a Kitchenaid stand mixer? I've been pining for one for years. Is it possible to be in love with an inanimate object? Because I'm pretty sure I am. Yes, kneading dough by hand puts love into your bread and blah blah blah, but sometimes, I just want to get dinner made, and not spend ten minutes elbow deep in sticky dough contemplating how much I love my family and hoping that translates into delicious bread. So there.





After rising in the prewarmed oven, ready to roll!



They don't need to be pretty. We're going for taste here, not photogenicness (is that a word?)



See? Not pretty. But delicious.





Easy Butter Chicken

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (boiled and chopped)
1/4 cup butter
1 onion, chopped fine
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1tsp ground ginger
1tsp ground turmeric
1tsp chili powder
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp salt
1 cup milk or cream
1tbsp tomato paste

Sautee the onions and garlic in the butter. Add the cooked chopped chicken, spices, and salt. Stir the milk and tomato paste. Bring to a light boil, then cover and reduce the heat. Let it simmer for at least 10 minutes. Serve over rice and sprinkle with garam masala, if desired.



Incidentally, the sauteeing garlic and onions has been the only thing this whole pregnancy that's actually smelled appetizing. I contemplated eating them right out of the pan, it smelled so great, but decided the atrociously bad breath it would give me wasn't worth it.



Isn't it lovely? And it smells divine. Almost as good as the garlic and onion.

WFMW

For my first Works for Me Wednesday I thought I'd share my laundry soap recipe. It's cheap, quick and easy to make, cleans well, and it's probably better for the environment, too! It's a very basic recipe, but I find a lot of people have never even thought to make their own laundry detergent!

You will need a 2 gallon bucket with a lid to store it in.

• 1/3 of a bar of castille soap (I prefer a scented Dr. Bronner's, though I've also used Fels Naptha in a pinch)
• 1/2 C washing soda (NOT baking soda!!)
• 1/2 C borax
• lots of water

Grate the soap (I have an old grater I use just for this) and put it in a large sauce pan with six cups of water. Heat, stirring, until the soap has melted. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir till dissolved. Remove from heat. Add 4 cups of water to the bucket. Then, add the soap mixture and stir. Add enough water to get within a few inches of the top of the bucket (about 1 gallon + 6 cups of water) and stir well. Let it stand for 24 hours before using. The soap will be gel-like and a little odd looking, but it works! *Use 1/2 c for each wash*

I've been using homemade laundry soap for a few years now. I use it on everything, including cloth diapers! It saves a lot of money, especially when you have a larger family.

One of my favorite, though moderately time-consuming, things to make is homemade flour tortillas. Oh. My. Gosh. Store-bought just can not compare to them! My favorite way to eat them is warm right out of the pan, smeared with salty butter. It runs down my arms, but I don't care, I just eat it over the sink! Below is my favorite recipe, courtesy of The Hillbilly Housewife (I love the recipes on the site, cheap and nutritious!


Flour Tortillas

• 4 cups flour (white or whole wheat or half and half)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder (not traditional, so it's optional, though I'd put it in unless you're out)
• 1/3 C shortening
• 1 to 1 1/4 C cold water

Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Cut in the shortening. When the flour is crumbly, add in the water and mix with a fork until it begins to form a ball. Knead it 20ish times on a lightly floured surface and then let it rest for at least 10 minutes (or up to 2 hours). Now, take your dough and form it into 12 equal sized balls. Roll the balls in flour (they just need to be lightly coated). Go ahead and get your pan heating, you want a medium-high heat (I use a cast iron skillet) Now to rolling! I like to roll them between to floured sheets of wax paper. It takes practice to get them to nice round shapes, so don't worry if they look odd, they'll still taste yummy! Roll it out till it's about 6-8 inches in diameter. You don't want it too thin or it will tear. I gently peel back the top sheet of wax paper and it usually comes right off. Just be slow so that if it's stuck you don't mutilate it. Now just stick it in the pan for approximately 30 seconds on each side (you want some little brown spots on it). I keep them wrapped in aluminum foil as I cook, it keeps them warm and it also makes them flexible (they'll be a bit stiff when they come out of the pan).

I like to make my own refried beans, too.

Refried Beans

• 1/2 pound of cooked pinto beans (more if you have a very large family, but 1/2 pounds serves 2 adults and 2 children in our home with plenty left over)
• Fat of some kind (I prefer butter, lard is traditional)
• garlic salt
• salt

I like to do mine in the food processor, but you can mash them by hand for chunkier beans. So put them in the food processor, and if they're nice and hot still, go ahead and the fat (a TBSP of butter is what I use). I add in garlic powder and salt to taste and a couple TBSP of water and process till they're nice and smooth, but make them whatever consistency you want. Put them in a pot and heat them over medium heat (add the fat here if you were starting from cold beans). When they're nice and thick and hot they're done!

Serve them on the homemade tortillas with some thinly sliced onions fried in butter (this is what we had for dinner last night, if you're wondering!)

With two growing girls (okay, technically three, but one's strictly on the "mama milk" at the moment) I hear at least one whining "I'm hunnnngry" at given moment throughout the day (unless, of course, we're in the middle of eating, and then it's usually "I'm fuuuullll"). Since money is tight and most snack food from the store is highly processed and devoid of any real nutrition anyway, I cook most of our food from scratch.

For snacks, one thing I like to do is make up muffins most mornings (usually every other morning at least). They're quick to make, they travel easily, and I can sit a plate on the table for the girls to snatch muffins off of whenever they like.

Here's a few of my favorite muffin recipes-

*Note* I use whole wheat flour and raw sugar often. It takes trial and error to determine what they're best in. For example, I wouldn't use them in the donut muffins, but they're a wonderful substitute in the oatmeal muffins, and they're great in zucchini muffins. Raw sugar is not nearly as sweet as refined white sugar, and whole wheat flour has a grainier texture and a fuller, more earthy flavor. I like to use extra finely ground whole wheat flour so that I can use it more often. If you're not used to raw sugar and whole wheat flour, it's best to only substitute for half; so if the recipe calls for 2 cups of flour, use 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup all purpose.

Basic Muffins (very versatile! Add shredded zucchini or carrots, mashed banana and nuts, whatever you have on hand)

• 1/4 C oil
• 1 egg
• 1 C milk
• 1/4-1/2 C sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 TBSP baking powder
• 2 C flour

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine oil, egg, milk, sugar, and salt. Mix well. Add in baking powder and flour, mix gently till moistened. Spoon into greased muffin tins, about half full. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Oatmeal Muffins

• 1 C oatmeal
• 1 C buttermilk (or, mix 1-2 TBSP lemon juice into regular milk and let it stand a few minutes)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1/3 C oil
• 1 1/4 C flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine the oatmeal and milk, mix, and let it set for a few minutes while the oatmeal absorbs some of the milk. Add egg, sugar, and oil. Beat with a whisk. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix gently until moistened. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden.


Donut Muffins pictured above (surprise, surprise, these the family favorite!)

• 1/3 C shortening
  
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 C flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  
• 3/4 C milk

Topping-

• 1/2 C sugar (the orginal recipe called for powdered, but we prefer granulated, good either way, though!)
  
• 1tsp cinnamon (or more if you like)
  
• 1/4 c melted butter

Preheat oven to 350F. Mash shortening and sugar (I use a pastry cutter). Add egg and whisk till smooth. Add flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Add milk and whisk till smooth. Drop into greased muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes. Let cool.

While they're cooling, melt the butter in a bowl. Mix the sugar and cinnamon. Once the muffins are cool, dip the tops in the butter, and then in the cinnamon and sugar mix. Try not to scarf them all down as you do this. It's hard. They're really good.

Variation- Jelly donut muffins

Prepare as above, however, spoon half the batter into the muffin cup, put a tsp of jelly on top, then cover with the over half. Bake the same, and for the topping, wait till completely cooled, dip in melted butter, and then in plain powdered sugar. (Jelly is good in the basic muffin recipe above as well. It's yummy, though don't expect a big glob after baking, it kind of melts into the muffin. Very good, though!)

Magic Muffins (this was off the side of a Malt-O-Meal box, I just made them tonight and daddy and the girls loved them!)

• 1 1/4 C flour
• 3/4 C dry Malt-O-Meal cereal
• 1/2 C sugar
• 3/4 C milk
• 1/4 C vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 TBSP baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat over to 400F. Combine all ingredients and mix until moistened. Pour into greased muffin tins and back for 20 minutes.