Cheese Soup

INGREDIENTS:

4-6 Cups Of Water

5 Large Potatoes (Skinned & Diced)

2 Large Carrots (I used 2/3 of a bag of freshly sliced carrots found in produce)

1 Onion

1 Cup Of Celery

3 Chicken Bouillon Cubes

8 Oz Velveeta Cheese

1 Qt Milk (4 cups=1 Qt  in case you are like me and have a gallon of milk)

3/4 Cup Flour
3/4 Cup Butter

Combine all vegetables, water & bouillon cubes into a pot.

Cook untill vegetables are soft.

Approx. 20-25 minutes

While veggies are cooking- melt 3/4 cup butter in a pan.
Once the butter is melted and a little brown, add 3/4 cup flour & 1 Qt milk.
(I found it worked better to use a whisk to keep it mixed and to prevent it from clumping)
Mix/whisk until thick/creamy.
Turn on Low heat and add velveeta cheese.

(Yes there is a spoon in the picture lol.. I didn't realize untill half way through that a whisk was easier. Go me.)

Once the cheese is melted, add it to the vegetable mixture.

(DO NOT drain water from Veggies)

Mix together and serve :)

Golden Rod Eggs

With Easter coming up you'll probably have a lot of hard boiled eggs hanging around your kitchen just waiting to be turned into something yummy. I have the perfect recipe for it! It's actually probably one of my all time favorite breakfasts since the time I was a kid. It's perfectly fine to eat at whatever time of the day though, the other night I made it for a bed time snack. :)

This isn't an exact recipe you just kinda go by the feel.
The following serves 2-3 people:

Ingredients
2-3 cups of homemade roux (butter, flour, and milk mixture)
3 or 4 boiled eggs with the whites and yolks separated
6 pieces of toast
salt and pepper

After boiling the eggs, separate the whites of the egg from the yolks. It's easiest to do this when they are cold. Then dice up the whites and set aside. Put your egg yolks in a bowl and crumble them up with a fork and set aside.
Then you make the roux (sounds like rue). This is how you do that: It's easiest to do on the stove top. You first melt a few tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan. When it's melted, pull it off of the stove and whisk in flour until it turns into a ball or is crumbly. Then add about a cup or two of milk and whisk it over medium high until the sauce is thick or bubbly. Turn down the heat to low and add the cut up whites of the egg. Then add salt and pepper to your liking (I like a lot of salt in this particular dish).
Now is a good time to get your toast going so it can still be hot when you eat it.
Then you just take your toast and break it or cut it up. Then you pour your sauce mixture over the top. Add salt if you think it needs more. Then sprinkle the egg yolks on the top.
Whala! You have the yummiest breakfast out there! If you're not into getting your toast soggy, I guess you could keep the cream sauce in a bowl and dip your toast in it.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

INGREDIENTS:

1 LB Chicken Breasts

Swiss Cheese

Ham

3 Tbs All-Purpose Flour

1 Tsp Paprika

6 Tbs Butter

1/2 Cup Chicken Broth

1 Tsp Chicken Bouillion Granules

1 Tbs Cornstarch

1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

Tooth Picks

Place ham & cheese in the chicken, folding a flap over and securing it with a toothpick.

(NOTE: Chicken is hard to come by here in Elko, so I had to use chicken tenders which made it more difficult. I suggest using chicken breasts.)

Mix 3 Tbsp flour and 1 tsp paprika in a small bowl and coat chicken on both sides.

Heat skillet on med-high & add 6 tsp of butter. Let butter brown before adding the chicken.

Add chicken, open side down first. Cook until chicken is no longer pink.

Mix 1/2 cup chicken broth & 1 tsp boullion granules (I used one chicken boullion cube and it worked just as great) in a small bowl.

Turn heat down to LOW and pour broth mixture over chicken.

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, blend together 1 tsp cornstarch & 1 cup of heavy whipping cream in bowl.

Slowly whisk cream mixture in skillet.

Stir until thick- about 10 minutes.

Remove chicken from heat and pour cream mixture over the top.

Serve and enjoy :)

Creamy Corn Chowder

This chowder is seriously delicious! I highly recommend doubling the recipe for lots of leftovers... It seems to taste even better the next day.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup water
• 2 1/2 cups milk (skim or 1% is fine to use)
• 2 regular sized chicken bouillon cubes, 1 Knorr chicken bouillon cube, or 2 teaspoons chicken base
• 1/2 lb. bacon (I've always used turkey bacon)
• 1 onion, minced
• 2-3 potatoes, minced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 can of corn, drained
• Salt and pepper to taste
• A few dashes of hot sauce (like Tabasco or Cholula)

Directions:

Fry your bacon until crisp. In the meantime, melt butter over low heat in a soup pot. When melted, add flour to make a roux and whisk until it comes together in a little ball. Add water and whisk until completely combined and there are no lumps. Add milk and chicken base or bouillon and bring to a simmer. Add potatoes, onion, and garlic, and simmer (do not boil), stirring very frequently for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add crumbled bacon and corn and heat through. Add a few drops of hot sauce and then salt/pepper to taste. Depending on what type of bacon/how salty your bacon is, the amount of salt you add is totally up to you.

Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with extra bacon bits and cheddar cheese. Seriously, SO good! Makes about 4 good sized servings.

I was so excited to eat this yummy chowder that I totally spaced taking a "final product picture".

Sorry!

Lemon-Blueberry Swirl Cake

Ingredients:

1 pkg. ( 2 layer size) white cake mix

3/4 cup water

3 egg whites

2 tablespoons oil

1 pkg. (3 oz.) Lemon Jello, divided

1 cup blueberries

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1 whole egg

3 tablespoons water

Optional: 1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat cake mix, 3/4 cup water, egg whites, and oil in a large boil with mixer until well blended. Add 1/4 cup dry jello mix; beat on low speed 1 minute, then on medium speed for 4 minutes. Stir in berries ; set aside.

3. Beat cream cheese and whole egg in a small bowl until well blended. For a sweeter cream cheese filling, add 1/4 cup of sugar to the cream cheese and egg mixture.

4. Pour half of the cake batter into a greased 12-cup fluted pan of a 10-inch tube pan. Cover with layer of cream cheese mixture and the remaining cake batter.

5. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cook cake in pan for 10 minutes. Loosen the cake from the side of the pan with a knife. Inver the cake onto a wire rack; gently remove the pan. Cool cake completely. Place cake on a serving plate.

6. Microwave 3 tablespoons of water on HIGH for 30 seconds. Add remaining dry jello mix and stir until dissolved. Brush over cake until the mixture is absorbed.

Refrigerate leftovers.

My insights:

- This cake is super moist... it reminded me of a blueberry muffin.

- I did not add the 1/4 cup sugar and think that it tasted just fine.

- Make a really thick layer of batter at first before you add the cream cheese filling... It tended to settle and peek through on the top of the cake in a few places.

- I used thawed, frozen blueberries and they tended to turn the cake batter purplish. The picture in the cookbook shows a yellow cake. Crap. It still tasted yummy, although it didn't look at all like the picture.

Nacho Chicken

This casserole serves about 8-10 people.. so plan on having leftovers!

*4 cups cubed cooked chicken (I use canned)

*1 lb Velveeta cheese, cubed

*2 cans (10 3/4oz each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
*1 can (10 oz) ROTEL diced tomatoes & green chilies, undrained

*1 cup chopped onion
*1/2 tsp garlic salt

*1/4 tsp pepper

*1 package (14 1/2 oz) Doritos

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the chips; mix well.

Crush chips; set aside 1 cup for topping (kid tip: open a tiny corner of the chip bag & let the air out.. and then let your kids crunch up the Doritos) add remaining chips to chicken mix.

Spoon into a greased 13x9 baking dish; sprinkle with reserved chips.

Bake, uncovered @ 350' for 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted & edges are bubbly.

I like to serve it with sliced olives, sour cream & lettuce.

Orange Julius

This is one of our fav's lately. we have it at least once every weekend.

6 oz. concentrated frozen orange juice
1 c. water
1c. milk
1tsp. vanilla
1/4 - 1/2 c. sugar

mix all the above ingredients in blender.

add ice until desired consistency.

enjoy!

~Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies~

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies. These are SUPER easy to make with lots of flavor..
My husband is a cookie lover and he LOVES these!

Ingredients:
1 C. shortening
1/2 c. sugar
1C. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2-1/2 C flour
1tsp. baking soda
1tsp. salt
1/2 bag choc. chips

Directions:
Mix ALL ingredients in a large bowl {DO NOT OVERBEAT}
Put on cookie sheet in about 2 TBSP balls ( I use the large Pampered Chef scoop)
Cook for about 8 min   {DO NOT OVERBAKE}
Let sit on rack for about 10 min, then place on cooling rack

*I didn't take a picture* Sorry *

Homemade Tortillas

We are big Mexican food fans at my house and these easy and delicious tortillas save us quite a bit of cash and help feed the addiction.

You will need:

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

3/4 cup shortening

3/4 cup HOT water

1. mix flour, baking powder, and salt thoroughly

2. mix in shortening until crumbly

3. add hot water and mix

It should look like this:

Then roll the dough into balls and using a rolling pin make them about 1/4 inch flat

Then cook on each side about 30 seconds on a grittle

and WALA!

ENJOY!

Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c sour cream
1 c Pace Picante Sauce
1-2 tsp chili powder (depending on how spicey you want it)
2 c chopped chicken
1/2 c Montery Jack cheese (or whatever kind of cheese you have)
tortillas

Stir the soup, sour cream, picante sauce, & chili powder in a bowl. Stir 1 cup of picante sauce mixture, chicken and cheese in a different bowl. Divide chicken mixture amoung tortillas, roll and place in a pan. Pour remaining sauce over the tortillas, cover with tin foil and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

*I'm a slacker and didn't take any pictures but these are so yummy and so easy to make.

WHITE CHILI (Chicken Chili)

I first had this chili at a party when I was visiting my mom in Spokane. It has become one of my all time favorites to make.. and eat of course! (This recipe serves about 6 people)


Ingredients:

*3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked & shredded

*1 Tbsp oil

*1/2 large onion, diced

*2 tsp minced garlic

*7 oz diced green chiles

*1-2 tsp diced jalapeno (optional)

*2 tsp cumin

*1 tsp chili powder

*1/2 tsp oregano

*3-4 cans (15 oz) great northern beans, drained

*1 can (15 oz) chicken broth

*1 1/2 cups monterey jack cheese

*1/2-1 cup sour cream

*Fritos/Bugles, extra sour cream & cheese

Directions:

*Saute onion & garlic in oil until onions are tender (about 3 mins)

*Add chiles, jalapeno, cumin, chili powder & oregano (cook 3 more mins)

*Put beans, chicken broth & chicken in pan. Add onion mixture & heat to a boil.

*Add sour cream & cheese. Cook until cheese melts.

Delish served with Fritos, extra cheese & sour cream!!!! Enjoy!

homemade baby food

 this post is for those fellow mommies of babies out there...

when we started spending $100.00 (sometimes more) per week on baby food i decided it was time to find a cheaper solution...quickly.

i've always wanted to make our own baby food but was intimidated at the idea and didn't know where to start.

after talking with a fellow triplet mama who makes baby food i felt better about the idea and decided to give it a shot.

she told me about this website:

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com

my first trip to the store i really didn't know how much to buy. i started out with this:

3 pkgs of carrots at $0.89ea. so $2.69 total.

2 whole butternut squashes at $0.99/lb. so $3.64 total.

one bunch of bananas $1.37

7 apples at $1.49/lb so $6.41 total

so all together i spent $14.11

yesterday i baked, steamed and pureed. it really didn't take long at all. being a mommy of a 2 1/2 year old and 6 month old triplets, anything i do needs to be something that doesn't take too much time.  i didn't even finish pureeing all the apples and by the looks of it i will have enough baby food to feed all THREE babies for 2 weeks.  yes, that's right, 2 weeks!

$14.11 every 2 weeks is a LOT better than $100.00 every week.

so to all you mommies of babies out there, i highly recommend you trying it! seriously, it is SO worth it. just a couple pros to making your own food is obviously it will save you a lot of money and it is a lot healthier for your baby to have fresh ground food. oh and the cost, i bought all the veggies and fruit at target and wasn't looking at sale prices. i'm sure if i shopped around and found good deals i could save even more! think about

this too...i'm feeding triplets. so if you have one baby think of the money you'll be saving. if i spend approx. $15.00 for enough food to last 2 weeks...just triple that if you have one baby. you'd probably spend $15.00 every 6 weeks! (if my math is correct...i'm horrible at math)

and if you're worried about having the right equipment, DON'T. the triplet mom i talked to uses the good old stove and an electric mixer, sometimes her hand mixer. i have a steamer and a food processor which works awesome...but you can use almost anything!

i store the food in sandwich-sized ziplock bags label and date them and stick them in our freezer. when i'm ready to feed the babies i thaw one bag and cut off the lower corner with some scissors and squeeze the food out into a bowl....so easy!

some parents with just one baby use these because each cube is equivalent to one serving for one baby. but i obviously need 3 servings, hence the ziplock bags.

-mary

Hot Dog Squids

This is definately a kids recipe... Even though some of you that are still kids at heart may like them as well! It puts a twist on two foods that kids love!

ingredients:

1 hot dog per child

uncooked spaghetti noodles

*cut the hot dogs into pieces & stick dry spaghetti noodles through the center

*bring large pot of water to a boil & place hot dogs with spaghetti in the water

*boil, stirring occasionaly until the pasta is tender (about 10 mins)

*serve with butter, spaghetti sauce, or ketchup