chicken stroganoff

i didn't have a specific recipe when i made this the other night, was more winging it than anything else, but it turned out fabulous, and here's what i did...

what you need:
1 pound ground chicken (or beef, whichever)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can milk
1/2 envelope onion soup mix
8 oz cream cheese
olive oil

first off, brown the mean in olive oil with the onion soup mix. since i was using chicken, there wasn't anything really to drain off. add the can of soup and the milk. i cut the cream cheese into chunks to make it a bit easier to incorporate, then i just stirred over low heat until everything was all melted together and looked heavenly.

i served it over rice, but i bet it would be equally delicious over egg noodles. enjoy!!

what's been cooking

just because i haven't been typing, surely that doesn't imply we haven't been eating or i haven't been cooking. let's see, where to begin...

i was ecstatic when i found this recipe. j and i both love granola, but it is hella expensive. i've made this several times now, and it's just awesome. the first batch, i went way overboard with the cinnamon. when you were munching it dry, it wasn't noticeable, but wow, pour some milk on that bad boy and the cinnamon practically carjacked ya. the second time i made it, i forgot the vanilla, but you almost didn't notice because it was so damned yummy.

i haven't made this yet, but it's on the short list for this week, i think. we inherited a bread machine this weekend, and i've been learning how to use it and making a few loaves of bread. next item that's coming out of that thing? the dough for these. and if i can figure out how to make a decent sandwich style bread dough? ohhhhh, that will rock mightily.

something else that we've made a weekend event is ham and egg cupcakes. i ran across the recipe a couple of weeks ago when i was cleaning out some old 3 ring binders. i've got a link for the recipe, but it seems to be a dead link now, and i can find some things that are close, but not quite this. so here's the scoop:

- 6 slices of shaved ham
- 6 eggs
- 1 T cream (i used half&half, and it worked great)
- 1/2 t salt
- 3/4 t pepper
- 2-3 T sliced mushrooms (i've left those out each time...gotta be judicious with my mushroom use around here, or j will rebel entirely... :D)
- 1/2 C grated cheddar cheese (i'll be honest here and say i hate shredding cheese. plus i'm not wild about the texture of melted cheddar with eggs. i know, i'm a pita. so i used american cheese slices instead. not gourmet, by any stretch, but it melts well and i like american cheese better in eggs.)

mkay, now spray down a 6 cup muffin tin lightly with cooking spray. line each cup with 1 slice of shaved ham, forming a little cup. in a mixing bowl, beat eggs with the cream, salt and pepper until frothy. add mushrooms and cheese. (i tear the slices up and add them to the individual muffin cups after i pour.) stir until blended, then spoon 1/2 cup of the egg mixture into each ham cup. bake at 375 for 20 - 25 minutes or until eggs are puffed and set.

yumminess, and perfect for those sunday brunches where you don't know what you want but it's getting to that point where you know you've gotta eat...

ham and mixed bean soup

incredibly easy soup...i didn't start from a recipe, so i don't have a link to share unfortunately, but the good news is that my experiment was yummy!

ingredients:

- 1 C cubed ham
- 1 lb mixed dried beans, soaked overnight
- 3 or 4 medium carrots
- 2 medium onions
- 1 - 2 stalks celery
- 64 oz chicken broth - i actually used 32 oz chicken broth, 32 oz water, and 5 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 T cornstarch mixed with 1/3 C cold water, optional
- 1 T butter

to start, i got the butter melting on medium heat in the bottom of a stock pot and dumped in the cubed ham while i chopped the carrots, celery, and onions. as i chopped each, into the pot they went. did a semi-saute for a bit, and when the onions were mostly translucent, i put in the chicken broth. i held off on the rest of the water and the bouillon until after i'd put the pre-soaked beans in the pot. wanted to make sure the ratio of "stuff" to liquids worked out well...

simmered everything on low all day, then put a little cornstarch in at the end to thicken a smidge before inhaling two bowls of it...very yummy, very filling, and we've got plenty of leftovers, half of which i froze. i'd love to hear if you try it!

chicken divan

i made this last night, although i pretty much rewrote the hell out of the recipe, so i'm not sure if i can even say that's what i made...

instead of broccoli, i used a bag of frozen cauliflower and broccoli...i only used one 4 ounce can of mushrooms...left out the water chestnuts, but only because i didn't have any, love water chestnuts...used 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and 1 can of cream of celery soup...and i bumped up the cheese to a full cup, because mama needs not only a cocktail, but also her cheese.

i layered everything according to the directions - amazingly, that part i did follow - in the 4 quart nesco i recently inherited from mom since she - she says - doesn't cook any more. (side note: i also got her 18 quart nesco, and it was perfect for the turkey breast i cooked for christmas dinner. i'm scaring me now.) the 4 quart has pretty much taken the place completely of my slow cooker, since i can do everything with it that the slow cooker did, plus bake, roast, and god only knows what else...still learning... :)

let everything cook and do its thing, and 45 minutes later, spooned some of the best smelling stuff ever over some rice and fed it up to hubby. i don't believe i've ever had chicken divan, but let me say, this was awesome. the curry and the lemon juice were just perfect together, and the whole thing just melts in your mouth. i should also add, when i saw the recipe i initially thought, shred the chicken? screw that... but honest to all that is holy, the shredding totally makes the recipe...the texture of chicken chunks just would not have been the same.

tonight's dinner is still up in the air, unfortunately...but last night's leftovers on a baked potato were a very yummy lunch...

ham & swiss quiche

another easy peasy recipe...tastes wonderful, but you won't be pulling your hair out...in all fairness, i must advise that parts of this i found when i was looking for ham and swiss quiche recipes, and parts of this were me going, "i'm so not doing that...i'm putting *this* in instead..." but it's yumminess, so don't fear... :)

ingredients:

-9" uncooked frozen pie shell
-1 cup half and half
-4 eggs, beaten
-1 tablespoon dijon mustard
-1/8 teaspoon white pepper
-1 cup cubed cooked ham
-1 cup shredded swiss cheese
-1 cup chopped onions (the grocery store down the street sells bagged, frozen chopped onions...this is the best thing ever as far as i am concerned, because as long as i've got a bag of these, i'm never out of onions and? i don't hafta chop 'em. *le sigh* check into it at your store...near the frozen veggies!!)
-2 tablespoons grated parmesan

preheat oven to 350. mix half and half, eggs, mustard, pepper and beat until combined.

put the ham, cheese and onions in the bottom of the pie crust...you're also going to want to make sure your pie crust is on a cookie sheet. some folks might think that's just common sense, but meh...you get to cookin', you forget stuff. so...there's my PSA for the day... :)

pour the egg mixture over the other good stuff, and sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese. i forgot the parmesan the last time i made this and, just for the record? still way yummy.

bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes, until crust is golden and filling is set. an easy way to check for the "doneness" of the filling is to take a clean toothpick and slide it into the center, all the way to the pie plate...if it comes back clean, you're good to go. if not, a few more minutes in the oven are needed.

when i cook this, it usually swells up, kind of like a souffle only not quite as poofy. also, you've got melted swiss in there, which is about the temperature of a thousand burning suns. so...when you take it out of the oven, everyone is going to love you so much more if you let it sit for about half an hour or so. it will still be piping hot, but 999 of those suns will have backed it down a few notches for ya.

enjoy!! :)

split pea soup

another recipe...this has become one of my favorite soups to make. the first time i made it was the first time i'd ever made soup myself from scratch...i was sooo proud of me! :) ok, the first time i made it, i made it with bacon, but i think i liked it better this time, so that's the ingredient list you're getting.

-32 oz swanson chicken broth
-1 pound split green/yellow peas, soaked in water overnight the night before
-1 cup or so of diced onions...really however much you want
-1 can sliced carrots, which i then roughly cut into smaller pieces
-1 cup ham, cubed (if you want to go with bacon, omit the butter and go with a little over half a pound, cut into small pieces, then sautee with the onion as below)
-1 chicken bouillon cube
-butter...kind of however much you want, really
-garlic powder, salt, pepper to taste
-cornstarch/water, if you feel it needs it

as in the directions, soak the split peas the night before. there are quicker directions, but honestly i haven't tried them, so i can't really recommend them.

melt butter in the bottom of a large stockpot or dutch oven...i used about half a stick this last time, i think...sautee the onions and the cubed ham together. when the onions start to get fairly uniformly clear, pop open that box of swanson broth and pour it in. follow that up with the split peas, the carrots, and the bouillon cube.

from here on out, the rest of it is to taste...i wait to put in the salt, pepper and garlic powder until closer to the end, and both times that i've cooked this, i've let it cook alllllllll day. usually starting it around 11 or so, and dishing it up for dinner around 6 or 7 in the evening. i've never done the bit with the blender or the hand blender, because frankly, after letting it simmer for that long, the peas do their split pea thang, and the texture is just right. if you feel that it's still a little on the watery side, cornstarch works its miracle as always and doesn't affect the flavor in the slightest.

if you try it, hope you enjoy!

pork chop a la king...ish

(note: originally posted here.)

ok, so...anyone who has known me for quite a while will be surprised at the vast amounts of cooking and domesticity that are commonplace for me now. i think it's pretty nifty, as does the man...and the puppy has been known to partake every now and again. and we're all still alive! so while my baseboards will never be clean, we're at least eating fairly well. i've made soup, people. from scratch!!

i love to hunt down recipes from ye olde internets to try, but i have also become pretty adept at just tossing stuff together and calling it dinner. almost every time this has worked out well. so i thought, meh, why not just post these. that way i've got 'em for posterity or a repeat performance or whatever, and if they help somebody else, well then good for us all.

now, i don't claim that these are lab-tested or that they are gonna be delicious for you. i also don't claim that these are original necessarily. i mean, the recipe i'm about to post is one that i threw together out of my cabinet, but that doesn't mean someone else didn't already have this idea. so...please don't sue me for copyright infringement if you came up with this recipe first is i guess what i'm sayin', cuz i totally didn't know it was yours. and if it is yours, lemme know and i'll give ya credit.

and away we go...first, the ingredients:

-pork chops, boneless...i used about 3 and the total weight was around a pound or so
-1 can mixed veggies, drained
-1 small can pieces and stems mushrooms, drained
-1 can cream of mushroom soup (yummmm)
-1/2 can milk - i used whole milk, but that's because i'm a bad bad person...i'm sure it would work with whatever percentage you use
-1 chicken bouillon cube
-a pat of butter - real butter, because see above, i'm a bad bad person :)
-1 tsp corn starch
-steamed rice

so. i had about a pound and a quarter of pork chops thawed out for tonight, but i didn't want to do the same ol' baked pork chop thing. the man gets bored with that, and i try to make sure all the carnivores are kept happy around here, helps me sleep with both eyes closed. ;)
ok, i cubed the pork chops and got them going over medium heat with a little bit of olive oil. i drained them once they were cooked through and dumped in the mixed veggies and the mushrooms. mixed veggies can vary, and this particular brand had corn, peas, green beans, potatoes and i think celery. since it was only one can though, it was just enough on the veggie meter.

in next was the cream of mushroom soup and then the half can of milk...i gently stirred all of this and got it back up to just shy of a boil. around now is when the butter went in, and then i crumbled the bouillon cube into the mix.

can i just say here, i've grown to love bouillon cubes?? they really do add a little bit of "oomph" to recipes, especially when you're cooking something from scratch. off my soapbox now...things were moving along pretty well, but my sauce was looking a little thin. here's where the cornstarch made its appearance.

if you've never used it, oh my GOD this stuff is a miracle worker in the kitchen, you absolutely must must must try it. a little goes a long way, however. i cranked up the heat to high, and got everything to just boiling. meanwhile, i mixed about a teaspoon or so of cornstarch with about 1/3 cup of water. you must put the cornstarch in water first, or you'll get lumps. lumps are bad. stir the cornstarch/water mixture well, then pour into whatever you're cooking. then just stir as it continues to boil, and you'll see everything start to thicken up a bit.

truthfully, i don't know for certain if the cornstarch was necessary or not in this one...i might have been impatient, since when i went to put the leftovers away, everything seemed pretty durned thick. all up to you on that one. so...now i had creamy vegetable and pork chop goodness...now what to do?

about an hour before all the fun began, i got some rice going in the steamer. all i had to do now was spoon out some rice, and top it with the creamy goodness...the man agreed that it was yummy, although he added a little bit of salt.

and there ya have it...tonight's dinner, internet. if anybody gives this a try, let me know how it worked for you or if you tried something different!