garden pitas!

 We've been trying to eat a little healthier lately, as are many people around this time of year :). Remembering this recipe, I called up my mom and asked her to send it my way so I could try it out on the hubs. No surprises, he loved them! They are light but filling and just different than most "diet foods". Which really, these pitas aren't diet food at all they just aren't fried chicken- do you see what I'm saying? Ok, hope you enjoy! 

 

Garden Fresh Pitas

Mom 

1 1/2 c. cut-up cooked chicken

1/3 c. Creamy Italian dressing [light for low-fat]

1/4 c. finely chopped celery

4 small Pita breads [whole wheat]

lettuce leaves

1 medium tomatoe, sliced

1/2 c. thinly sliced cucumber

In medium bowl combine chicken, dressing, and celery.  Chill.  Line breads with lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber.  Spoon chicken mixture into center of pita bread. If you prefer your pitas warm before putting the chicken mixture in them, wrap in foil and heat in the oven on low for a few minutes. Avoid the microwave as it tends to toughen the bread up a bit.

it's been too long...

Sorry folks for the delay in new posts. I've had, well, lets just say an eventful couple of months since my last post. But I'm back! Hopefully for good because cooking has proven to be a kind of "therapy" for me...it's something I can do to just get away from everything else and just be. I'm not the kind of cook I'd like to be...yet...I still get stressed when things don't turn out right, but it know that it takes time, so I'll continue to drag you all along in the process if you so wish. :)

This week I tried something I've never had before: chowder in a bread bowl. Really, why eat out of a bread bowl, I mean, what's the point? I thought I'd figure it out once I had it but...no. I think its just for looks and fun. Chowder in a bread bowl just seems so much more interesting than chowder in a plain old bowl, right? Hehe. Anyway, hubby enjoyed it and thought it was neat.

I found my bread bowl loaves at Whole Foods in Austin. I searched H-E-B Plus and couldn't find anything "carvable"... so if you go in search of some, good luck! (I wish I could say I made mine from scratch, but no..not this time!) The chowder is SOO cheesy and delicious and perfect for a cold day. The best part is that it tastes even better the next day!

Corn, Sausage and Potato Chowder
singforyoursupperblog.com
 

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
2 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups fresh corn kernels from 2 ears (or frozen)
1/4 teaspoon white pepper or cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
6-7 cranks of freshly ground black pepper
2 cups low-fat milk
1/4 cup sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1 package fully cooked turkey sausage (about 1 pound – you can use more or less if you want)

In a deep pot over medium-high heat, melt butter. Saute onions for 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add potatoes and broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; add corn kernels, cayenne, salt, and black pepper, and stir well. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Add the milk, cheddar cheese, and parsley. Turn off heat and allow chowder to cool for 5-10 minutes.

Puree soup in two batches until smooth, and return to the pot over medium-low heat. Stir in cooked sausage and warm until thoroughly heated. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

for belly and soul

It may be cold outside, but this dish will warm you right up! Homemade chicken pot pie is the name and you are going to love, love, love it! I got this recipe from my mom and the hubs practically begs me to make it for him. Thanks, Mom! It works in all seasons, but truly is comforting on a cold day...here it is:

Chicken Pot Pie

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup flour 

1/3 cup onion

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

1 1/2 cup chicken broth

1/3 cup milk

Approx. 2 cup cut-up cooked chicken

1 (12 oz.) pkg. frozen mixed veggies

Cut up fresh potatoes, celery, and carrots (optional)

Pie crust (frozen works well)

Melt butter, sautee onion in butter until clear. Blend in flour, salt and pepper. Stir constantly until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in broth and milk. Heat to boiling. Boil and stir one minute. Add in veggies and chicken. Let cook for a while stirring regularly. Pour mixture over pie crust. Top with another pie crust and flute edges. Cut slits in center. Cook uncovered at 425 degrees for 30-35 minutes until crust is brown.

s.o.s

The beauty of forcing yourself to cook new things is that in the process you discover the use of herbs, spices, flavors, and techniques that you may not have stumbled upon otherwise. Not that chicken salad is hard to make or anything, but this is probably my fourth or fifth attempt at a recipe that hubby likes. See, he loves chicken salad but there's only about a couple of places he wants to eat it from: Napoleon's Restaurant (small eatery in our home town) and his mother's. I guess I need to ask her for her recipe since I've been missing the target lately. However, I did brave up and decide to try something new this time... and I just might be creeping closer to victory!

I usually buy the canned chicken from the store when making chicken salad, but the Pioneer Woman does not. This woman is basically living the life I dream of, so when she speaks- I listen. Enter: poached chicken (bone-in). For this recipe, I had to pick the meat off the bones instead of just dump it out of a can and I sincerely appreciate the experience. Why was I so scared of chicken bones before?? The chicken salad turned out great and hubby actually liked it. Score. Enjoy!

Chicken Salad

The Pioneer Woman 

1 whole cut up fryer chicken

2 stalks (to three stalks) celery, chopped

3 whole green onions, chopped

2 cups (to 3 cups) grapes, halved

a small handful of fresh dill, minced

1/2 cup mayonaise

1/2 cups plain yogurt or sour cream [I used a little of both]

1 T. (to 2 T.) brown sugar

1 T. (to 2 T.) lemon juice

kosher salt to taste

fresh ground pepper to taste

Step 1: Rinse chicken thoroughly and place in a large pot of water. Turn on the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is done (about 45 minutes to an hour). When you are ready, remove the chicken from the pot and place on a plate. With your fingers or a fork, pull all of the meat off the bones, chip into bite-sized chunks and set aside.

Step 2: Chop all of your fruits and veggies and place them in a bowl with the chicken. In another bowl mix mayonnaise, yogurt (or sour cream), lemon juice, brown sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Add fresh herbs (dill, oregano, cilantro...whatever makes your skirt fly up) and if you're feeling a bit brazen throw in a dash of cayenne pepper! When the dressing tastes just right (you must taste test for appropriate saltiness especially), pour it over the chicken/veggie/fruit mixture and stir gently until everything is thoroughly mixed.

Step 3: Allow the salad to chill for several hours (or even overnight). Serve on a bed of lettuce or in a sandwich.

happy 1st anniversary to us! :)

Today is our 1st wedding anniversary! Woohoo, we made it!  Of course the first year had its challenges as we adjusted to married life, but I can say with confidence that it has been the most exciting year of my life by far. Hubby works so hard for us so I like to keep him happy and full with my cooking experiments...he never complains and is my biggest fan! I love you, sweetie!!!

This morning I wanted to make something a little different for breakfast since it is a special day but didn't have a lot of time as it is a church morning. So with an idea in mind I set out in search of a pumpkiny, spicy pancake- and I found these. They are so perfect for this time of year and really add a different flavor to your every-day pancakes without an overbearing allspice taste. Trust me, these are a winner!!

 
Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

adapted from Joy the Baker Blog

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

(OR ¾ AP flour & ½ whole wheat flour)

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

pinch of ground ginger

pinch of ground cloves

1 cup milk

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 egg

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter

Step 1: Whisk together flours, salt, spices, sugar and baking powder in a medium sized bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, egg, pumpkin and vegetable oil or melted butter.  

Step 2: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined.  Don’t worry if you have a few lumps.  You don’t want to over beat the batter, it’ll produce tough pancakes.  

Step 3: Let the batter sit for 10 minutes while you heat the skillet [I skipped this step].  Over low-medium heat, melt a tablespoon of butter or vegetable oil.  Once skillet is hot, spoon a heaping 2 tablespoons of batter per pancake into the skillet.  When pancake starts to bubble slightly, carefully flip over.

Once browned and cooked through place pancakes on an oven proof plate and place in the oven set at 200 degrees F to keep warm while the rest of the pancakes are cooked. Serve with whipped cream and cinnamon sugar or maple syrup.  Delicious! 

the many faces of chili

Last week I found two packages of chili mix in my pantry and since I don't really have a good homemade chili recipe I decided to use up those little magic packs...and let me tell you something, there is NO shame in that! The chili was really, really good. Then over the course of three nights, I used the chili for three different meals: Chili & Cornbread, Frito Pie, and Loaded Baked Potatoes! What a great way to make your food and money stretch. Here is what I did:

• used two chili packets since I wanted to make a lot [and of course, all the ingredients to go with]
  
• added chopped onion & minced garlic [with the meat while it was browning]
  
• added 2 cans red kidney beans to add bulk and fiber
• used my crockpot to cook the chili slowly so that the meat gets tender and the spices get a chance to really set in

Here is the recipe for the best cornbread in the world! [The only kind I will eat!] It was passed down from my grandpa.


Sweet Cornbread
Poppy 

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine 
1 egg
1 1/2 cup sour milk [buttermilk]
1 1/2 cup corn meal
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
3/4 cup flour

Cream sugar and margarine. Add egg and sour milk. Mix cornmeal, salt, and soda. Add to wet ingredients and stir. Add flour and mix well. Pour into 9" greased pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 25 minutes.

It really doesn't get any better than this, folks!

The Frito Pie and Loaded Baked Potato are fairly self-explanatory. You can pretty much add whichever ingredients suit your taste. To the Frito Pie, I simply opened a bag of Frito's, filled the bottom of the bowl with them, poured the chili over the top, added shredded cheddar [gotta have the cheese] and then added some shredded lettuce and tomato for a little extra nutritional value ;) but I'm not going to lie... most of the time I enjoy it with just the chips, chili & cheese! Now for the loaded baked potato, well, you can go crazy with this one! I baked the potato in the oven for about an hour and then added chili, cheese, chopped green onion, and sour cream. Hubby and I both drooled over this one!

I'm sure one day I'll land a chili recipe that is to die for and never go back to the spice packets...but until then, they will have to do. They really do make a good tasting chili and the great thing is you can whip it with practically no effort!

sugar and spice and everything nice!

Is there anything better than pumpkin and spice in the fall? Is there anything better than cream cheese ever!? Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are a huge hit and one of my new favorite recipes! Hubby loved them, friends loved them, family at reunion this weekend loved them and all I can say is wow, I wish I could take all the credit! The recipe yields about 24 muffins so they are perfect for fall gatherings, Thanksgiving, school parties, or just to stuff yourself at home. :) It probably sounds like I'm trying to sell these, but they really just sell themselves. Make them and you'll see what I mean! ;) Thank you, Annie's Eats for this amazing recipe!

 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Annie's Eats

For the muffins:
3 cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 Tbsp. & 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree

For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar

For the streusel topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup and 1 tsp. flour
4Tbsp. butter, cubed
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 

STEP 1: To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and whip until smooth. Form into a log on a plastic wrap or foil, making sure that the diameter is small enough to fit into the well of a muffin pan. Wrap the log up tightly and freeze until slightly hardened, 1-2 hours. 
STEP 2: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. To make the muffins, combine the flour, spices, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Mix well and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, sugar and pumpkin puree. Mix until well combined. Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined.
STEP 3: To make the streusel topping, combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix together with a pastry blender or two forks until crumbly. 
STEP 4: Line two muffin pans with paper liners. To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well halfway with batter. Remove the cream cheese log from the freezer and slice into 24 equal slices. Place a slice in each muffin well. Divide the remaining muffin batter evenly among the muffin cups, on top of the cream cheese. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the top of the batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely before serving.