P.F. Changs Lettuce Wraps

Cousin Carly gave me this recipe and it's yummy!

Sauce:
4 T soy sauce
4 T dark brown sugar (light works too)
1 tsp rice vinegar

***We like them saucier so I double the sauce recipe.

Chicken Filling:
1 pound ground chicken (ground turkey works well)
8 oz can water chestnuts
2/3 can straw mushrooms
3 T green onions
1 tsp or clove of minced garlic

Maifun rice sticks (you can find these at any grocery store on the Asian foods isle)
Head of iceberg lettuce
vegetable oil

Brown chicken in heated oil. While meat cooks chop water chestnuts, mushrooms and green onion to about the size of peas. ( I use my pampered chef food chopper, it works great.)

Add vegetables to cooked chicken, then add garlic and sauce, let simmer until maifun sticks are ready.

Cook maifun sticks like package directions. (Very fun to cook, my kids love this part the best, this is why they love this for dinner.)

Cut head of lettuce in half and use the leaves for cups to spoon the meat filling into, wrap like a taco and eat. Yummy!

Pasta Fagioli

This soup is just like the Pasta Fagioli they serve at Olive Garden, we love it! So easy and it makes a ton so you can share with the neighbors, they love it too!

Pasta Fagioli

1 pound lean ground beef, browned and drained
1/2 large red onion, chopped
2 cup carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with juice
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups beef broth
1 jar (16.5 oz) pasta sauce
2 tsp oregano
1 T tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup dry pasta, to add at end of cooking time

Directions

Use a 6 quart or larger crockpot, or cut the recipe in half. This makes a lot.

Mix all ingredients together in crock pot, cover and cook on low for 8 hrs, or high for 4 hrs. When vegetables are tender, stir in 1/2 dry pasta.

Cover and cook until pasta is tender. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Creamy Spinach Pasta

1/4 cup chopped pecans

2 Tbls honey

3 cups torn spinach

1 lg onion, sliced and separated in rings

1 Tbls sugar

1 Tbls olive oil

1 Tbls balsamic vinegar

12 oz uncooked penne pasta

3/4 cup vegetable broth, divided

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup (4 oz) crumbled blue cheese, divided

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Line a baking sheet with foil; coat well with cooking spray.  In a small bowl, combine pecans and honey; spread over prepared pan.  Bake at 300 for 15 minutes, then remove, set aside, and keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a nonstick skillet, combine the sugar, oil, and vinegar; add onion.  Cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until onion begins to carmelize.  In a saucepan, cook pasta according to package directions. 

To the onions, add the spinach, salt, pepper, red pepper, and 1/4 cup broth to the onions; cook 5 minutes longer.  Drain pasta; add onion mixture and toss.

In the same skillet, combine blue cheese and remaining broth.  Cook over medium heat until the cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.  Pour over pasta; toss gently to coat.  Sprinkle with pecans and enjoy!

Oh, how I love this pasta!  I double the spinach, onions, and pecans when I make it, just because that's how I roll.  

Irish Soda Bread

1/2 cup white sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3 cups raisins (I don't add these)
1 TB caraway seeds (I don't add these either)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch round cast iron skillet, or 9 in round cake or baking pan. (I like to use and oval casserole dish that way it only bakes for an hour.)

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, raisins(optional), and caraway seeds (optional). In a small bowl, blend eggs, butter milk and sour cream. Stir the liquid mixture into the flour mixture just until flour is moistened. Knead dough in bowl about 10 to 12 strokes, Dough will be sticky. Place the dough in the prepared pan. Bake for 60-75 min.

Golden Harvest Potato Bake

I tried this at Thanksgiving and really loved it. The carrot flavor really shines through, so next time I make it I might only add three carrots.

5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
5 large carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried tarragon (we didn't have any so I didn't use it)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, (divided)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
2 TB cider vinegar
1 TB butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 to 1 tsp of pepper

Place the potatoes, carrots, garlic and tarragon in a Dutch oven (I just did it on the stove top) cover with water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-20 min or until tender. Drain.
In a large bowl, mash vegetables. Stir in 1/2 cup of cheese, milk, eggs, vinegar, butter, salt, parsley and pepper until blended.
Transfer to a greased 13x9 in baking dish; sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake uncovered, at 325 degrees for 25-30 min.

Honey and Lemon Marinated Chicken

Juice and zest of 1 large lemon (3 Tbls. juice)

3 Tbls honey

2 tsp garlic, chopped

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1/2 c. olive oil

4 chicken breasts

Mix all together and marinate in fridge at least 30 minutes, or overnight.  Fry in olive oil over medium low heat, seasoning with salt and pepper, for about 5 minutes.  Transfer to foil-lined, greased baking pan and bake at 400 for about 20-30 minutes.  

(Anytime I post a meat recipe, I'm just going off of Garreth's opinion, and he liked this one!)

Linkage

I just added links to my favorite cooking websites to the sidebar.  Do you go to fabulous food websites?  Hook a sista up and add yours, too!

Cheesy Zucchini Soup

Saute until tender:

1/3 cup butter

2 med zucchini, chopped

1 med onion

2 Tbls parsley

1 tsp dried basil

Stir in:

1/3 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3 cups chicken (or veggie) broth

Bring to boil for 2 minutes.

Add:

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can evaporated milk

1 can corn, drained

Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Just before serving, add:

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Biscuits & Gravy

Biscuits & Gravy

Hey Erin! Here is the recipe you requested, I will commit to also posting a recipe a week... I love trying new stuff so I am looking forward to finding good things here!

I really don't have an exact recipe I follow everytime, but here is a rough idea of how to do it:

GRAVY:

-Brown one pound sausage (I get it really brown) - don't drain it.

-In a seperate pan melt 3-4 tblsp butter and then add 3-4 tblsp flour and a couple shakes of seasoning salt. Cook together for a couple minutes

-Pour 6-8 cups whole milk into the browned sausage and warm just to room temp, add butter and flour, whisk to get out any lumps.

-Warm on med-high heat until thickened, can add more milk to thin out if needed.

For the veggie option I added the veggie sausage patties to the warmed milk.

BISCUITS:

You can use any biscuit recipe you want, I used Bisquick on Christmas morning because it was simple, but if I was making this for a birthday I would do homemade buttermilk biscuits. You can also use frozen ones or the ones from the tubes.

Call me if you have any questions Erin, I am not sure how much sense this makes!

Poor Neglected Blog...

I am back and committed to posting one new recipe a week again!  Please come back and join me!

I've decided that planning a week's worth of meals is the hardest part of cooking for me, so this year I am simplifying by assigning designated meals for certain nights.  Mondays are bread and soup night, Friday is pizza night, and Sunday is slow-cooker day.  (1:00 church will make it easier!)  If anyone has great recipes to help me out on these nights, or ANY great recipes, please share them with us!  Let's restore this blog to its' former glory!!!  

Baked Potato Soup

4 lg potatoes, cooked and mashed

2/3 cup butter

2/3 cup flour

6 cups milk

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

4 green onions, chopped

12 slices bacon, crumbled

1 1/4 cups cheddar cheese

8 oz sour cream

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat; add flour, stirring until smooth.  Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add milk, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick and bubbly.  Add potato pulp, slat, pepper, 2 Tbls green onions, half the bacon, and 1 cup cheese.  Cook until heated.  Stir in sour cream.  Add extra milk if necessary for desired consistency.  Garnish with remaining onions, bacon, and cheese.

I got this yummy recipe from a friend and it's one of the very few new recipes I've made that got unanimous enthusiasm from every member of the family!