Weekly Menu April 2nd-4th

Good Evening Everyone :-)
Here is our weekly menu for next week :-)

Homemade Pizza

Hawaiian Cheeseburgers and potato salad

Chicken Casserole

Good Evening Everyone

I was so happy when I found @TheCountryCook on facebook. Her recipes are great, and something that everyday people make and enjoy. I was even happier when I saw she had a easy recipe for Beef Stroganoff :-)  The only kind I have made here is the Hamburger Helper kind...and well that's not the healthiest at all. So I thought I would give it a try and see what my family thought. Well....I made it and everyone LOVED it :-) It tasted almost like Hamburger helper but well healthier.

Why don't you give this recipe a try?? And while your there check out her other recipes.
The Country Cooks Beef Stroganoff

Chicken is whats for dinner!

For some reason this week, my grocery list was missing a few key items. I usually have everything I need but well something must of went crazy this week.  J had to go and purchase some of the ingredients for me. Its rather frustrating when you go to fix supper, to find out your missing something. So tonight I had chicken breasts to figure out what to do with.

So tonight for supper we are having baked chicken marinated in italian dressing(and whatever else I toss in there), rice, and broccoli :-) My three year old last night asked me if we could have broccoli with our chicken. Of course I agreed (most fight with their kids about veggies, my kids adore em). Im not sure if the chicken will taste right but I will let you know tonight of course.

I would kind of like to make a dessert but not sure if I will or not.

Have a great day Friends :-)

American Chop Suey

I grew up in IL and had never heard of the term " American Chop suey"....In IL it was most likely called Goulash. LOL So when I moved to MA and heard the term " Chop Suey" I was confused. That was until I made it. Then I realized "HEY Its GOULASH" LOL Anyways, this is a super simple recipe that anyone can make. Plus its easy to make...some nights who doesn't like that?

2lbs of Hamburger
1 Jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 Can of diced tomatoes
Half a box of elbow mac

Sometimes I amp it up and do different things with it. First you brown the hamburger, then add spaghetti sauce. Boil elbow mac and then mix up the hamburger mixture. Combine and add diced tomatoes. You can also add peppers,onions and other spices. Its JUST that EASY :-)

Have a great day everyone!

You've been tagged

1. How did you get involved with food blogging?

For awhile I have been sharing on my personal Facebook page, what I make each day for supper...Many people told me I needed to start my own. So I just started writing on Blogger. Thus began my blogging. I eventually was seeing the massive amounts of food blogs, and started mine.

2. How long have you been blogging?

I have been blogging now for about two months or so. I enjoy it and it makes me happy.

3. If you were stranded in a cabin with no electricity, what one kitchen tool would you have to have?

I'd have to say my knives....I love my potato peeler but I think knives would work better for me. LOL  With my knives I can do more things with it :-)

4. Do you have children? If so, tell us a little about them.

Yes, I have 2 daughters :-) Meghan Brianna who is three years old, and Karina Grace who is a year old.

Meghan was born on Fathers day, and she is an awesome little girl with a huge heart. She will be four years old on June 15th. She attends dance every Friday. She loves her lil sister Karina and helps me cook. She just recently got her own cookbook :-)

Karina is a year old...will be 2 on May 3rd. Had she stayed in instead of coming early she would of been born on Mothers day :-) She is also very caring, and loves to read books. She was born at 36 weeks but you could never tell.  I love my kids <3 

5. What would you like to accomplish with your blog in 5 years?
I want to build it up and have people become inspired to cook, to show others that cooking with your kids can be fun. I want to bring cooking into the average family home.

6. What is your favorite recipe? 

Its a tie between Chicken Casserole and Taco Casserole.        

7. What inspires you about blogging?                                                                                        

I love talking about cooking :-) Its amazing to me that you can share you favorite recipes, talk about how you cook, and get inspiration from others.  Blogging has helped me share my love of cooking with others, and inspire them.

8. What is your favorite time of the year for cooking?

I have to say Winter :-) I can make soups, bake different things, and not have to worry about  sweating to death in my kitchen. LOL But Summer also brings salads, grilling, and different items. I love eating grilled food.

9. Do you have any pets, if so, tell us a little about them.
We have a tiger cat named Muffin. He use to be a really mean cat but after my oldest was born he changed. He now loves the kids, and is often found sleeping next to their bed. If he could protect them he probably would. :-) The kids can do anything to him even dress him...and he'll just lay there.

10. Is that anything about cooking that you dislike? 
Yeah I hate peeling potatoes....or sticking my hands in raw meat. Ewwwwwww.

11. How many days a week do you actually cook at home? I generally cook Monday through Friday :-) And I love it :-)

1. What do you enjoy cooking the most?


2. Who taught you how to cook?


3. What is your favorite part of blogging? 


4.  Do you cook straight from a recipe or do you change it?


5. Do you have a favorite pair of socks?


6.  What is your favorite season? And why?


7. Do you feel strongly in family dinners? 


8. What is your worst thing to eat?


9.  Do you like to invent your own recipes?


10. What is your worst pet peeve?


11. When blogging, what is your favorite part? 


I pick as my victims: Cupcakes &KaleChips
                                   Table For 7

My two victims will pick 2 people who gets to answer their questions.  You must post a picture of yourself. Have fun!

Ultimate Chocolate Nachos

Good Morning Everyone :-)

You might be thinking Chocolate? Nachos? Together? Gross! Yeah so not the case in this sweet dessert :-) Who doesn't like a nice chocolate dessert? Last week I decided to come up with the "Ultimate Chocolate Nachos". I asked J if he would like to help me make this recipe up and he jumped at the chance. We are always looking for things to do together, and well we love cooking. So last night about 10 PM We started making the Ultimate Chocolate Nachos. It was fun, tasted amazing and beautiful...or at least I think so.
Just a note: We tried to use Grated orange peel on top to give it a pop but couldn't figure out a way for it to look good. So if you make this and try it with orange peel...Let me know :-)

Ingredients

5 Tortillas ( you can add more depending on who you are feeding)

Oil( You can use a deep fryer or just a pan with oil)

Directions:

Heat up the pan and make sure it is hot....you do not want them to just float... Once the oil is hot then flip them over. You want them to be golden brown. Take a plate and line it with paper towels. Just enough to where it soaks up the grease.Then you want to make a sugar mixture for the top. 

Cinnamon Sugar:

1/2 Cup of Sugar

1 Tsp Cinnamon

Sprinkle the chips with the Cinnamon Sugar mixture, then arrange them on a plate.

Once you have arranged them on a plate then you can start adding toppings.

                                                               1st Set of toppings:

Dark Semi Sweet Chocolate(You can use whatever chocolate you want, but this tasted good.)

Bowl

Directions:

We used bitter sweet dark chocolate to melt and drizzle on top. We melted it in a bowl in the microwave, poured it in a little baggy. Then cut the end just a little bit. Then drizzled the top. 

2nd Set of Toppings:

5 Mint Leaves

Raspberries

Crumbled cookies( I made homemade chocolate chip cookies, but you can use store bought)

Directions

Around every other triangle we put a mint leaf and a raspberry on top. Then in a blender we took cold cookies and put them in my blender. Till it was cooking crumbs(not chunks). Then we lightly sprinkled it with cookie crumbs. 

Third set of Toppings:

The leftover melted chocolate

Whip Cream

5 Mint Leaves

1 Raspberry

Grated Milk Chocolate

In the middle we put whip cream in the middle. We used Redi Whip from a can. We drizzled the leftover bitter sweet dark chocolate on it. Placed the mint leaves around it. Topped it with a red raspberry in the middle. Then took the grated milk chocolate and sprinkled it over the dish. 

Last Set of toppings

Confectioners Sugar

Sifter

Sprinkle lightly over the top with the confectioners sugar :-) Then ENJOY!

Please check out: Check out Walking On Sunshine Foodie Friend Friday Party

And: Plus Check out Foodie Friend Friday

                        

Weekly Menu

Good Evening Everyone :-)

This weeks menu is :

Beef Stroganoff and butter dipped biscuits

Chicken Pot pie and some kind of dessert

American Chop Suey and Garlic bread :-)

Grilled Sirlion Steak strips, grilled veggie medley and roasted red potatoes

Grilled Veggie Medley (You can use this in the oven as well)

2 cut up Summer squash

1 red pepper

1 Green Pepper

1 Onion

Sea salt

Pepper

4 T of butter

I cut up the summer squash in discs....Then I sliced peppers and onions. Then I took out two pieces of aluminum foil. I made a plus sign. In the middle I put the vegetables, salt, pepper and 4 tablespoons of butter. Wrapped it up tightly. You can grill it or cook it in the oven.

Sirlion tips

Marinade:

Soy Sauce (about half a bottle)

Sprinkle Ginger

4 T of minced garlic

3/4 C of BBQ Sauce

Mix it all up...Its really just a guess...so have fun with it.

Marinated it for a day but could of used just half a day. However it was still good. We grilled them.

Roasted Red Potatoes

6 red potatoes diced

1/2 C olive oil

Sprinkle of Salt

Sprinkle of Pepper

In a baggy put half cup of olive oil, diced potatoes. Mix till covered. Put on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at 400 till potatoes start turning golden brown.

This post is apart of Foodie Friday Friday

Check out  Walking On Sunshine

and

Foodie Friend Friday

                                               

Whats for supper, and Gardening

Good Morning!
I thought I'd combine two things into one post :-) WOO :-) Technically I just woke up and never much of a wooing mood. Anyways :-)
Tonight for supper, J is grilling out sirloin steak strips, and a veggie medley packet. The veggie packet will have zucchini, summer squash, onions, red and green peppers, garlic and butter. Then I'm making roasted red potatoes with olive oil,pepper and sea salt :-)

Now onto other news :-)

Growing up we always had a garden or almost always! I LOVE vegetables out of the garden....nothing like going out in the garden to pick your salad, or going into the garden to chow down on a tomato. My mom also canned...She did both water bath and pressure canning. I love that, and love doing it. Nothing like having your own garden goodies waiting for you in the winter when vegetables suck. LOL

Fast forward to adulthood....This is the first year in my adulthood that I can do my OWN garden. I hate buying vegetables at the store...they never taste as good as the ones you grow. Not to mention who knows what crud they put on them. While I can not pressure cook canning(can't afford the canner), I'd love to use my water bath skills to can a few things, what I won't can I will freeze. That way this winter when veggies become plastic, then I will have my own treasure of goodies. We finally got permission to plant a garden( we live in an apartment). Our landlord is awesome and agreed to it. So now I'm getting to start on a whole other treasure trove. My kids love vegetables so yes they will be involved. Each of my daughters will be getting their own plant. They will help me clean up the area and pick vegetables. I look forward to the time where I can teach my daughter the things that my mom taught me. I have fond memories of picking vegetables, snapping beans :-) Precious memories that can not be taken away! For that I am grateful :-)

Lysska

Chicken Parmigiana and Garlic Knots

For supper tonight we had Chicken Parmigiano, garlic knots and a salad..

This was taken from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 4 whole (up To 6) Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Trimmed And Pounded Flat
• 1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 3/4 cups Wine (white Or Red Is Fine)
• 3 cans (14.5 Oz.) Crushed Tomatoes
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1/4 cube Chopped Fresh Parsley
• 1 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 pound Thin Linguine

Preparation Instructions

Mix flour, salt, and pepper together on a large plate.
Dredge flattened chicken breasts in flour mixture. Set aside.

At this time, you can start a pot of water for your pasta. Cook linguine until al dente.

Heat olive oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter is melted and oil/butter mixture is hot, fry chicken breasts until nice and golden brown on each side, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Remove chicken breasts from the skillet and keep warm.

Without cleaning skillet, add onions and garlic and gently stir for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape the bottom of the pan, getting all the flavorful bits off the bottom. Allow wine to cook down until reduced by half, about 2 minutes.
Pour in crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add sugar and more salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook for 30 minutes. Toward the end of cooking time, add chopped parsley and give sauce a final stir.

Carefully lay chicken breasts on top of the sauce and completely cover them in grated Parmesan. Place lid on skillet and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer until cheese is melted and chicken is thoroughly heated. Add more cheese to taste.

Place cooked noodles on a plate and cover with sauce. Place chicken breast on top and sprinkle with more parsley. Serve immediately.

Then we had Garlic Knots :-) 

This recipe was found at Garlic Knots

I want to add that I used double the mixture for dipping them in...and sprinkled with garlic salt :-)

Yield: About 40 knots

Ingredients

For the Dough:
1¾  cup warm water (about 15 degrees F)
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ½ tablespoon active dry yeast
About 5½ cup all-purpose, unbleached flour

For the Garlic Mixture:
1/8 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup Italian parsley, finely chopped
Sea salt to taste
Plus extra Olive Oil and Flour for making the knots

Directions
Combine water, ¼ cup olive oil, sea salt, sugar, and active dry yeast in a large bowl. Mix to dissolve yeast. Slowly add flour.  Mix to incorporate flour. Cover and set in a warm spot until doubled in volume, about 1-3 hours.

Chill the dough for a bit (will keep fine in the fridge for several days, if you make dough ahead of time) to make it easier to handle (this can be skipped if you don’t have time), then set up your knotting station.

Oil your hands to help keep dough from sticking to them. Divide the dough in 2 parts to make it easier to handle.  Take the first half and roll it out into an even rectangle about 5″ x 16″ and ½″ thick. Using a pizza cutter, slice the rectangle into ½″ x 5″ strips.

Taking the strip nearest to you, roll it back and forth to create an even rope. Tie into a kno t-over, under, and through. Then place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place knots about an inch apart.  At first it may seem awkward making the knots but with a little practice it will become easy. Keep flour on hand to keep dough from becoming sticky.

Continue making the rest of the knots with the second half of the dough. After each sheet pan fills up, cover with a dry towel, and place in a warm, draft-free spot to rise.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. After knots have doubled in size, take off towel and place sheet pans in the oven.  Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until just barely golden brown.

While knots are baking, make garlic coating.  Gently warm olive oil, butter, and garlic in a small. Add chopped parsley and set aside.

After removing knots from oven, while still warm, either brush with garlic coating, or place knots in a large bowl and toss with garlic coating. Season with sea salt to taste. Best served warm, but still good when at room temp.

My first blogger award

Thank you to cupcakes and kalechips for this award :-) Made my Monday awesome!

I would like this award to go to: Cooking with Libby Cooking with Mel The Country Cook  MyImperfectKitchen ItsYummilicious 4littleFergusons Cookingformykids Table-for 7  EasyHomeCookedRecipes Mennonite-Girls-Can-Cook /Whenthedinnerbellrings Served-Up-With-Love  allykitchen Decorate-with-Sprinkles Food-Warms-the-Cockles-of-My-Heart

The RULES for the Versatile Blogger Award

1. Add the award to your blog.
2. Thank the blogger who gave it to you.
3. Mention 7 random things about yourself. (see below)
4. List the rules.
5. Award to 15 bloggers.
6. Inform each of those 15 by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I do not like any type of breakfast egg dishes....so no scrambled eggs, fried eggs, deviled eggs or anything else with chunks of egg. Eww! 

2. I was home schooled myJr high/high school years :-)

3.  I rarely follow a recipe all the way though without adding my own touches to it.

4. I do not eat Seafood....its so gross

5. I am left handed

6.  I love the ocean, sounds and everything. The salt air relaxes me.

7. I have naturally curly hair