menu Nov 12th-Nov 20th

haven't made a menu in a long long time...

and it's showed in our nightly dinners...

nachos 

bean soup 

nachos

breakfast burritos

nachos

cereal

nachos

candy & popcorn (oh, yes we did...blog to follow)

I also have a confession to make...

My name is Kiera, and I am a pintrest addict...

a part of my self-induced therapy is to actually 'create' some of my 'pins' 

and thus...the pintrest menu was born!

Saturday night: Lasagna Soup

Monday night: Chicken Tikka Masala

Tuesday night: black bean taquitos

Wednesday night: Chicken in Basil Cream

Thursday night: Honey Lime infused Chicken

Friday night: Zuppa Tuscana soup

Saturday night: Phyllo Dough Pizza

there you have it...

now off to grocery shop...something else that I've been failing at since I haven't been making my menus...

Meatball.Soup.Yum!

I have had meatball soup just a few times in my life and it was always some sort of grocery store deli version...
which I've always liked...
and normally grocery store deli soups aren't the greatest...
So that got me to thinking...
if I like the grocery store deli version then how about I take a stab at making a homemade version...

so I searched for a few recipes online ...there are a ton...

source: For the Love of Cooking

and had one in a cookbook here at home...
so in true-to-me fashion...
I made a combo version using ingredients that I had on hand,
making a recipe for the very first time, and not sticking to the recipe...

Hearty Meatball Soup
Meatball recipe*
1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 egg
1 cloves of garlic, grated or chopped
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Dried oregano, to taste

Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs together and form small balls, I made them smaller than I would make meatballs, more bite sized. Chill for 30 minutes.

Soup
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup sweet yellow onion, diced
3 carrots, diced
2-3 stalks of celery, diced
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp Dried oregano
1 bay leaf
6 cups of beef broth
1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
1 can white kidney beans or garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup pasta of your choice (my choice, orecchiette, the ones shaped like yamaka)
2 cups spinach rinsed and chopped
2 cups of green cabbage, chopped
Parmesan cheese, garnish


Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat, add the meatballs and cook for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned all over. Remove the meatballs to a plate. Cover with foil and set aside.

Turn the stove down to medium low and add butter, onions, carrot, & celery. Cook stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes, scrapping the meatball goodness off the bottom of the pot. Add the bay leaf, beef broth, tomato paste to the pot, season with oregano, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Cover with a lid and let the soup simmer for 1 hour. Add the meatballs, pasta, beans, spinach and cabbage to the soup, cook until pasta is done (depends on the pasta you use) taste and re-season, if needed. Serve topped with Parmesan and some good crusty bread for dipping.

the family ate this up...it will for sure be on our menu a few more times this winter...
and bonus, we had enough for a few leftover meals this week!

*in a hurry, use frozen meatballs.

Bluster Busting Beef Stew

Yesterday was a blustery day....
a good ol' tie down the patio furniture windy day!
and yep, mother-of-the-year...
I checked the weather on Google like every good mother does before her kids pick out their clothes for school...
it 'said' 70...
pretty yellow sun, shiny all bright, no clouds

so I told them to pick out shorts and tee's...
this is where the mother-of-the-year part comes...
I just glanced at Google...didn't really study it...
and I wasn't looking at the weather for Redding...
I was looking at the weather for Kelseyville (where the in-laws live)
Redding did have the pretty sun...
but also the note of '25 mph winds'....

yeah, so um....it didn't feel like 70...poor freezing kids
to redeem my mother-of-the-year award I decided to make a cozy dinner
made-in-the-bread-machine 'homemade' bread with soak-your-bread-in-the-broth-stew...

Beef Stew recipes are all over the web...I have 'pinned' a few on pintrest

source Brown Eyed Baker

I looked over a few recipes online and in my own cookbooks...and not wanting to run to the store for anything...this is what I came up with a combo of all the recipes I looked at and what was in my fridge and pantry...

Blustey Day Beef Stew
1-1 1/2  lbs. beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 in. cubes ( I look for it on sale already cubed)
Salt and ground pepper
1-2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
3-4 stalks of celery chopped, including leaves
1 medium garlic cloves, chopped or grated
3 tablespoons  flour
5 cups beef broth, divided (or 5 cups warm water and 5 tsp beef bullion)
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 medium  potatoes, washed and cut into 1-in. cubes (don't peel...more vitamins)
6-8 carrots (about 1 lb.), peeled and sliced 1/4 in. thick

Dry beef with paper towel and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy-bottomed pot over medium high heat and brown beef with Worcestershire sauce, about 8 min.

Remove beef and add onions, celery, and 1/4 tsp salt and cook, scraping bottom of pan for brown bits until softened (about 5 mins). Add garlic and continue to cook for 30 sec. Stir in the flour and cook until lightly colored (1-2 min.). Add 1 cup of broth and vinegar, scraping the bottom and stiring until thick and flour is dissolved.
Gradually add the remaining beef broth, stirring constantly, scraping up the remaining browned bits on bottom of pan. Add bay leaves and thyme and return to simmer. Add beef, return to simmer, reduce heat to med-low, and cover. Simmer for 25 min.
Add potatoes and carrots, leave uncovered, increase heat to medium and cook for additional 30-45 min

if you like a thicker stew this is when you would add a mixture of 1/4 cup broth and 1 tablespoon flour (stir together before adding to stew, and slow stir into stew...I like brothy stew...so I didn't do this.

Also I HATE dislike peas (the one veggie I don't like, I even like Brussels sprouts....), but you can add a bag of frozen peas at the end, just rinse them in water, drain and put in stew the last 5-10 minutes

Discard bay leaves (or not, we always said the person that ended up with the bay leaf was exempt from dishes...and then it only ever worked for my dad for some reason!), adjust seasoning and serve with warm bread.
..
We had enough left over to bag and freeze

Yea for easy dinner some day next week...or month (I guess next month is next week!)

Red Beans and Rice

about 2 months ago I was the host for my book club (we take turns hosting)...
and...
depending on the book and the host sometimes there is food served per the genre of the book...
we meet at 7, so usually there is a dessert but it can be a little late for dinner
     (well, that's a late dinner for me...)
anyways, we had read the book Five Smooth Stones a book set in the south during the 60's (great book, I highly recommend)...
and the main character in the book was know for his great cooking ability, his specialty being Red Beans and Rice...so I decided to make some for book club, along with corn bread (my recipe is NOT southern but I like it and it's what I made) and a gooey butter cake (recipe to follow soon...)

anyways, the Red Beans and Rice were a hit with the family and the book club...and it will be a staple on our winter menu...the girl child loves it but doesn't like 'sausage' aka kielbasa & the boy child loves it and he doesn't like beans...so she eats his beans and he eats her kielbasa and I figure they are both getting a protein....

Red Beans and Rice
1 (16 ounce) package turkey kielbasa, cut diagonally into 1/4 inch slices
1 onion, chopped
3-4 stalks of celery, chopped including leaves
1 cup sweet peppers* chopped
1 clove garlic chopped or grated
2 (15 ounce) cans canned kidney beans, drained
1+ cups broth (chicken or veggie...or water and bullion)
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon pepper
rice (I used jasmine rice both times I've made it...we are in love with jasmine rice!)
Start/cook rice (per your rice cooking directions)...
In a large skillet over low heat, cook sausage for 5 minutes. Stir in onion, celery, sweet pepper and garlic; saute until tender. Pour in beans, broth and tomatoes with juice. Season with oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Serve over rice.


This is a very easy recipe and all ingredients that I usually have on hand, I've added it to my throw down recipe list!

*I get a big bag of peppers and use them in everything...I like these better than the plain ol' green peppers, sweeter...and bonus the kids like to eat them as a snack after school with ranch...

Sometimes you feel like a dumpling

One rainy week and I was in soup mode...too bad the 80 degrees and sun came back...
okay, not complaining too much about the weather, I love this fall weather it is the best...but I got soup on the brain and now it's warm again...

found this recipe last week when I wanted chicken and dumplings, and since I've only ever made biscuit type dumplings I decided to give it a try.  Everyone like them, I LOVED them, and ate it for lunch for the rest of the week!...but the rest of family voted that dumplings were meant to be in the form of biscuit not cornbread...they did like it just they want 'regular' dumplings next time...we'll see!

Chicken & Cheesy Cornbread Dumplin's
1 Tbs butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
2-3 stalks of celery
3 cups chicken broth
2-4 carrots peeled and sliced
1 cup frozen corn or peas
2 tsp fresh basil or 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
dash of garlic powder
dash of pepper
1 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
2 + cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 recipe cornmeal dumplings (follows)

In large saucepan saute butter, onion and celery until tender, add chicken broth, carrots and corn/peas and dried basil (add the fresh basil later if using), salt, garlic powder and pepper.  Bring to boil.

In small bowl mix together milk and flour.  Stir into veggie mixture, stir in chicken.  Cook and stir until thicked and bubbly, stir in fresh basil if using.

Meanwhile make cornmeal dumplings.

Drop dumpling dough by rounded tablespoon into bubbling stew, about 8.  Cover and simmer  over low heat for 10-12 minutes.

Cheesy Cornmeal Dumplin's
1/2 cup flour
1/2-3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup cornmeal
2 tsp sugar (optional) (original recipe didn't call for sugar, but we are a sweet cornbread family)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
dash of pepper
1 beaten egg
2 Tbl milk
2 Tbl oil

Combine flour, cheese, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, garlic & pepper.  Stir in egg, milk and oil with fork until just combined.

enjoy...let me know if you prefer regular biscuit dumplings or cheesy cornbread dumplings...

cozy soup day

who doesn't love soup on a rainy day...

and even better, putting soup in the crock pot in the morning and letting the smells drift thru the house all day long....

I'm putting a batch of Crock-Pot Minestrone soup on, and cutting up extra stuff, going to run over to my friend Kim's house later this morning and put a batch into her crock pot also...

blog note...when taking a meal to a friend think outside the box...are they okay with you coming into their home and prep-ing the meal there?...would they be okay with you coming over in the morning and putting the meal in their own crock pot?

...this is a good easy soup that is full of flavor and tons of veggies...but mild that kids love it...
it's also easy to make on the stove top...and actual this was a stove top recipe that I changed into a crock pot one...
it's also a very versatile recipe to make vegetarian or to use what you have on hand...clean out the fridge and pantry on this one...

Throw Down-Clean out the Pantry Minestrone Soup
1 lb ground beef (optional, leave out for vegetarian or change to ground turkey or pork or sausage)
1 medium onion, chopped about 1/2 cup
1 clove garlic, grated or chopped
2 cups spinach, chopped (cabbage or kale can be substituted)
1 can broth (beef, chicken, veggie) or
     1 1/4 cup water and 2 tsp beef or chicken bouillon
1/4 cup fresh basil-chopped (or 1 tsp dried basil or Italian seasoning)
3-4 cups veggies
     chopped celery, sliced carrots, zucchini, squash, green beans (fresh, canned, or frozen), corn (fresh, canned or frozen) etc...don't count the spinach from above in the 3-4 cups or the tomatoes below
1 can chopped tomatoes, undrained
1 can beans, undrained-kidney (red or white), black, your choice
1 cup shell pasta (or whatever you have on hand, small tortellinis or raviolis also work)
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan Cheese to top

1.  Brown ground beef in skillet with onion and garlic, drain and put into crock pot.
2.  Add all other ingredients except pasta and cheese...cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours.  about one hour before serving add pasta to the crock pot and stir.  Soup is done with pasta is tender.
3.  Serve warm with cheese on top....and with fresh bread if you can!

all the stuff just thrown into the crock...pre-pasta of course!

this is so great on a rainy day like today...can't wait for dinner...I also threw a batch of French bread into my bread maker...

I highly recommend people use their bread machines...so many have them and leave them in the dark corner of their pantry or out in the garage, pull it out, dust it off and throw in a nice batch of bread....if you don't have one you can always find them at thrift stores or yard sales or on clearance sales this time of year.

Beans Beans the Musical Fruit...

it was a day that NEEDED a throw down meal...and I didn't realize it until, oh, about 4:45...

it's actually been a throw down meal week!!!

*husband's out of town...

*took the boy and his friend on a field trip 

     (yeah...preschool field trips=parents driving to and staying for the whole time)

*grocery shopping...with no list...but it had to be done...

    going on about week 3 of no real grocery shopping trip....

          just little things here and there...

*girls piano lessons rescheduled for today

     normally they're on Tuesday and they're dad's duty...

          but he's out of town...so now it's me

*helping the girl with the end of the week's homework packet=the pages the girl didn't want to do all week

so while I'm helping the girl with homework I'm "reading" my favorite new cookbook

...the Dinner Doctor....

and came across the recipe Black Bean Soup...

and guess what was on sale, on an end cap today, while I was grocery shopping???

...Yep...you guessed it...

Black Beans...and since I didn't have a list I was just grabbing random things...

so without a proper list or any menu in my head I for some reason bought 6 cans of black beans...

YES...6 cans...

I was thinking,

   "Oh, I'll make taco salad this week"...

and for that simple reason my brain decided on 6 cans...

     reason #37 why I need a grocery list!

So now I have 6 cans of black beans in my pantry and a beautifully simple black bean soup recipe right in front of me...and it's a blustery soup sort of day...sometimes life is just swell like that...

oh, and of course this isn't the recipe that was in the book...this is my modified recipe...because even though I had just gone grocery shopping hours earlier, I had done so without a list (remember 6 cans of black beans...not to mention the OTHER beans I bought!!!)...and without a menu...so a few things that the recipe called for were NOT in our house...

so I just made due...and it turned out YUMMY

ChambersMade Black Bean Soup

2 cans Black Beans, NOT drained

1 cup chicken broth (or 1 cube of chicken bullion and 1 cup HOT water)

1/4 cup onion, chopped up

1 bay leaf (I wasn't sure I had one...but I found them at the back of the black hole I call my spice cupboard...thinking they might have been there for a few years so I'm not sure how much bay was left in the leaf...so I threw 2 in just to be sure!)

salt and pepper to taste

sour cream and grated cheddar cheese to top

1.  Place beans, their liquid, chicken broth, onion, and bay leaf into saucepan and heat over medium-high heat, stirring just to combine.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cover the pan, bring to boil, reduce heat to med-low and let soup simmer for 5-7 minutes...YEP 5-7 minutes!!!

2.  Remove from heat.  Discard bay leaf (or leaves).  And smash soup with potato masher...the recipe said to pour into a food processor and puree...like I'm going to get another appliance dirty...this is a one dish meal and it's staying that way...and it worked out beautifully!

3.  Serve with sour cream and cheese to top it with...

we ate this with steamed artichokes...it was a wonderfully yummy...wonderfully fast dinner...and the kids LOVED it...there was 1/2 cup of soup left over...we would have been scraping the pan had the husband been home...I will probably double next time because leftover soup is good!...and then I'd be using 4 of the 6 cans I randomly bought!

Can you do that?

I tried something last night that could have been disastrous!

it could have knocked the earth off of it's rotation!

it could have re-aligned the stars...

I made Sunday Night Potato Chowder on Wednesday night...

and guess what...the family ate dinner and went off to church and the world just kept right on turning!

Sunday Night Potato Chowder (or Wed night or any night)
4 pieces of bacon (optional, I didn't have any bacon so I used some bacon fat I had in the fridge...yes, I have bacon fat in the fridge...and some bacon salt...yes, I have bacon salt!)
4 cups of onion tater tots*
2 cups milk
1 can chicken broth
1 cup frozen corn, thawed (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
grated cheese to top (optional)
1.  cook up bacon in saucepan until nice and crispy, drain and chop into pieces.  Leave about 1 tsp bacon drippings in pan, add tater tots and cook for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly until they thaw some.
2.  Add milk and broth to tots, bring to boil, boil for 2-3 minutes and then reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes, salt and pepper to taste.
3.  Serve with bacon on top and grated cheese.


This was an amazingly FAST recipe to make, very good throw down meal, from start to finish this dish was on the table in under 20 minutes!   I wouldn't say it's my family's favorite, but it will go on the list of fast yummy soups.  The only way my son ate it was covered in cheese, but nothing wrong with that!  I also left out the bacon (didn't have any) and the corn (the daughter requested NO corn!)...
*Personal note: I have NEVER EVER purchased tater tots before until I needed them for this recipe...my daughter was ecstatic because she LOVES when they have them at school...(she eats them off her friends trays!)
Serving Suggestions:  I served the chowder with the rest of the tater tots and then some sliced cheese, and next time will probably also throw some fruit on the table.  

What's Poppin' for Dinner?

Okay so I might be weird but I like to read...

...read cook books that is 

(well, really almost all books I like to read)...

so anyways, I was reading my "Dinner Doctor" cook book that I got for Christmas (Thanks Julie) a few weeks ago and came across a Popcorn Soup recipe...

okay, must have read that wrong, can't make soup out of popcorn...

rewind...

yep, it said Popcorn Soup...

after reading the recipe I realized that the name was a little tricky because it's actually a corn soup/chowder that you top with popcorn right before serving...but had to give it a try...

AND...the meal ONLY took 10 minutes, that's right 10 minutes!

...the hardest part was opening cans and listening for the microwave popcorn so it didn't burn!

Popcorn Soup

2 cans cream-style corm

1 can corn kernels, drained

2 cups half & half

1 chicken-flavored bouillon cube

1 tea sugar

2 Tbl butter

Black pepper

2 cups popped popcorn

Hot Pepper Sauce (Optional)

1. Place the cream-style corn, corn kernels, half & half, and bouillon cube into 4 quart saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly for the first few minutes.  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the soup thickens and is hot, but not boiling, 10-12 minutes total.

2.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sugar and butter.  Season with pepper to taste.  Ladle the soup into serving bowls.  Top with popcorn* right before eating. Pass the hot pepper sauce for the adults that want to spice up their soup...

*You may want to give it some time to cool down for the kiddos.  

The popcorn shrinks up pretty fast and then just gets soggy...

we ended up giving the kids a bowl of popcorn and having them add a few pieces, eat that, and then add a few more...it was a fun dinner..

oh...minus the fact that we learned that the girl child doesn't like corn (not so fun when the entire meal revolves around corn)

but she did good, she ate the popcorn and the broth and didn't make too many weird faces...

oh, and what do you serve with Popcorn Soup?  We had a plate of cheese and Beau was craving chips and salsa...the recipe book also suggests some sliced fruit and bread...maybe cornbread? (or is that overkill?)

Next time we may try a few things...
*one, I realized once I sat down to type up this recipe that it also called for 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth that I completely left out (didn't see it when I read over the recipe 3 times!), but not having the chicken broth gave it more of a chowder than a soup feel and it didn't seem like any liquid was missing.  If you want to add the broth you add it at the beginning with the corn and half & half.
*some crisp bacon would be nice tossed on top and maybe even some shredded cheese.
*pieces of left-over deli chicken mixed into the soup for some added protein
*steamed broccoli
*I thought some crab or shrimp would add to the chowder feel of it, but my family all said NO...bummer!

It Just Might be a Snail

Made a really yummy soup last night...and then as Beau and I are trying to enjoying our dinner, we turn into "those parents"...
...sit up straight...can't you just sit still...what did you just drop...have you forgotten HOW to use a napkin...please just try the soup...take just one bite...will you please stop touching each other...STOP SLURPING the soup!...no there is not poison in the soup...you have to eat some soup before you get any more bread...no you can't have any more cheese on top of your soup...

and then...
Yes, it's probably a snail in your soup, mommy likes to cook with snails...

the Snail soup...

This is a VERY easy soup, the prep is the hardest part...my suggestion is to prep everything ahead of time, open all the cans, drain, chop, zest/grate, etc. and then you can just dump the ingredients as you go...I hadn't done any prep and felt like I was running the whole time, because the recipe went faster then I had expected...

Tortellini Soup
1/2 lb Italian sausage (mild) or ground beef browned (or omitted for a vegetarian soup)
1/2 cup onion chopped
2 Celery stalks chopped
2-3 cloves garlic finely grated (I like to use my zester; the fine side of the grater for my garlic, you get all the flavor without chunks of garlic, or you can use a garlic press, but I don't own one)
3 cups beef broth or vegetable broth
1 can chopped tomatoes, drained (or one fresh tomato chopped)
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1/2 Green Bell Pepper chopped up
2 carrots peeled and chopped
1/2 -1 cup sliced up zucchini
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1- 1 1/2 cups dried tortellini (I used pesto filled, from Trader Joe's a 16 oz bag was $1.99 and I used less than 1/2 the bag...any kind/flavor would work)
Parmesan cheese for topping

Brown the sausage or beef in large sauce pan, remove meat from pan and drain all of 1 Tbl of fat from pan.  Sauté onion, celery and garlic in pan, return sausage/beef to pan, add broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, peppers, carrots, zucchini, basil, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for about 25 minutes, add tortellini and cook to package directions, around 15-20 more minutes, don't over cook the tortellini...
top with Parmesan cheese when serving.
Serve with French Bread for dipping....

It's a Potato Soup Day

It was on the menu for dinner last night...the kids vetoed me...
but today I will overcome...
I will win...
I will get my Potato Soup for dinner tonight...I woke up cold and knew that it was a Potato Soup day!

Easy Cheesy Potato Soup
4-6 potato’s peeled and cubed
1/2 cup onion chopped
3-4 stalks celery chopped (including the top leaves)
2 tbs butter
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups milk
2 1/2 tbs flour
1/2 tea salt & dill weed (more to taste)
Pepper to taste
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese (plus more to top)

1.  In stock pot sauté onion & celery in butter until tender.  Add broth and potatoes, boil until potatoes are tender (about 10 min).
2.  In sm bowl combine milk, flour, and seasoning.  Add to soup when potatoes are tender. 
3.  Boil until soup thickens, stir in cheese.
4.  Serve with more cheese on top and some crispy bacon slices, and warm French bread!


This can also be made in the crock pot, just wait to add the cheese to the last 30 minutes of cooking...

Options...
Potato Corn Soup-add 1 cup corn
Ham & Potato Soup- add 1 1/2 cups ham; cubed
Creamy Potato Artichoke Soup-add 1 jar of artichoke hearts; drained
Creamy Garlic Potato Soup-add 2-3 grated cloves of garlic 
Spicy Hot Potato Soup-omit celery add 1 cup chopped Poblano Chilies, 2 tablespoons seeded and minced Jalapeno Pepper, 3 cloves Garlic, minced, 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin top with 5 ounces grated Pepper Jack Cheese, 2 ounces Light Cheddar, & 2/3 cup chopped Green Onion