From My Kitchen to Yours

I really enjoy cooking. I love making something delicious that brings our family together around the table. I am always searching for new, healthy and yummy recipes! Since I am, I figure you are too. Right? =) So here's a favorite from my kitchen to yours.....

I love making this meal. It's comfort food that warms you heart and soul---and it's totally delicious. 

Thanksgiving-Style Turkey Meatloaf 

with Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Cranberry Sauce and Acorn Squash

2 Tbls. unsalted butter

1 lb. lean ground turkey

1 apple, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1/4 cup celery, chopped

3/4 cup bread crumbs (or stuffing)

1/2 cup Romano cheese (or whatever cheese you have handy)

2 eggs

1 tsp. poultry seasoning

1/4 cup milk

Saute veggies and apple in butter until onion is translucent. Let cool. Mix all ingredients except the turkey in a large bowl. Add turkey last-- don't over mix! Place in a greased 9 inch loaf pan. Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes. 

Serve with Mashed Potatoes, Gravy and Cranberry Sauce. 

Cranberry Sauce

8 oz. fresh cranberries

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup cold water

Bring all ingredients to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes, until cranberries start to pop.

Acorn Squash (serves 2)

1 acorn squash, cut in half to make 2 small bowls. Remove seeds.

2 Tbls. unsalted butter

2 Tbls. brown sugar

Place cut squash halves face down in 1/2 inch of water in a 9x13 pan.

Bake at 350 for about 30-45 min. 

Make rings out of aluminum foil. After baking, place squash face up on the rings.

Place 1 tbl. butter and 1 tbl. brown sugar in each half. 

Bake another 15 min. Enjoy! It's like dessert! =)

I'm Back!

I have taken quite the hiatus from my blog. My last post was in April (hanging head in shame). Apologies. The good news is that I am resolved to keep this thing current. You have much to look forward to.

Our life has changed drastically in the last weeks. Don't worry, I have posts in the works to update everyone on our new life adventure.

We live here now. Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore. 

For today, I am sharing a fabulous recipe from the kitchen of my aunt. It's a new favorite and  I'm making it this evening  I made it this weekend. See how long it takes me to get a post out? Blame it on my children who have refused to nap in a week. Since my mouth is watering just thinking about this dish, I figured you all might want an exciting new meal to try. Trust me, this one will not disappoint.

A few preliminary thoughts: Ethnic food is cool. This recipe just so happens to be Hungarian. My great grandmother was from Hungary. She claimed we were gypsies. Cool. Interesting at least. This recipe is also best served the next day. Can you hear the angels singing? Yes, make it a day in advance. So easy and great for company!  

Hungarian Chicken Paprikash 

2 Tbs. Olive Oil
2 Yellow Onions, chopped
3 lbs. Chicken (thighs taste best), cut into bite sized cubes
3 Tbs. Paprika
1 tsp. Salt and Pepper (add more to taste after cooking)
4 Bell Peppers, chopped (different colors look nice)
3 Tomatoes

1-2 Tbs. Unsalted Butter
16 oz. Sour Cream
1/4 Cup Flour

Egg Noodles (I like to get the nice thick kind. Makes it look more gourmet.) 

*Heat oil over med. heat in a large pot. Add onions and cook until translucent. Increase heat and add chicken. Cook until chicken is slightly brown (approx. 8-10 minutes). Add paprika, salt and pepper. Coat meat. Add peppers and tomatoes. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes. Will make a bubbling stew.

*Mix sour cream and flour together. Add to cooked stew spoonfuls at a time. Mix well. Bring to boil and simmer 5 minutes.

*Serve over buttered egg noodles. (Make the noodles fresh if preparing stew a day in advance).

Before I added the sour cream. My camera died. Just picture this all creamy and fabulous!

 I am so hungry now. Make this!! You will love it.

Miss Personality

I am so far behind in my blogging--it's not even funny. I have many posts swimming around in my head but they are just going to have to wait.

This weekend Lucy got to visit with her Grandmother and Granddaddy. She was Miss Personality as always. My birthday is in about 2 weeks and Mom and Dad W. gave me and Lucy matching aprons. Lucy looks super cute in hers!! I am envisioning many cookie baking dates in our future. I love my little helper!

 

Lucy just started "posing" for the camera. Let me tell ya, it couldn't be cheesy-er. Haha! Here's the new pose. What do ya think???

She like squints one eye and gives a silly grin. What a little ham!

 

She seriously makes me laugh all day long with the things she does. Love this girlie!!

New Recipes

If you're anything like me when it comes to cooking, sometimes you just get in a "rut." Please tell me I'm not the only one!? =) I like the food I normally cook. It's flavorful, pretty healthy (for the most part!), and best of all-- CHEAP. I am a coupon-er, I go to 5 different stores to shop the "deals" and hate hate hate when our grocery bill gets above $50/wk. That doesn't include Lucy's formula.....so I guess groceries cost a little more. Anyway, overall that's pretty good!! :)

This week I decided to get out of my dinner rut and cook some amazing recipes I found. I totally splurged and spent way over our grocery budget! I was completely out of meat, so that did it. BUT, the meals have been incredible! I can definitely re-make these recipes again for much less and plan to put them on rotation.....all while sticking to my $50/wk. budget!

Mon. and Tues. we ate up some leftovers....so those days don't count. Here's what we had Wed, Thurs, and Fri. I have 3 more meals to try next week! I can hardly wait!

Before I give you the links to these fabulous recipes let me say: EVERY one of these meals gets 2 thumbs up from me and my hubby! Carey exclaimed, "This is excellent!" every meal. Bad news: I now will be held to a higher standard of cooking. HA! =)

Here's what we ate this week:

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Tortilla Soup. Oh my. So good. 

Murphy's Hot Hamburger from Tasty Kitchen. Yeah, it was as good as it looks! (I used ground turkey and made sure to use olive oil.....had to add a little extra for the gravy since turkey doesn't have a lot of fat. Anyway, it turned out great. My hubby had lots of great things to say about this meal!) AND.....I maybe devoured it too. :)

Chicken Parmesan found on kevinandamanda.com. This was oh so yummy! I have never made this dish. We had it a lot growing up but I never really enjoyed it. BUT, when we were at Olive Garden a few weeks ago I got the Tour of Italy. Chicken Parm. was on the plate and it was so good! I knew right then I had to give it a try. Very glad I did!

Also.....I gave Lucy spaghetti for the first time last night. ......um, yeah. Let me just say we're not doing that again maybe ever. :) She was not a fan of the flavor and decided finger painting with marinara sauce was tons of fun. Also, rubbing the sauce through your hair is fun too. I was smart enough to undress her before eating, thankfully. She went straight to the bath after dinner. Here are some pics of the damage. Yuck.

Another Snow Day!

We got about 7 inches of snow yesterday. What does that mean? Carey took my 4WD 4Runner to work and I'm basically stuck. Again. :) I might venture out later to go to Hobby Lobby (only 1 mi. away), but I want to be safe. I have hair bows on the brain. Our niece, Baby K., will be arriving any day. So I need to finish her collection! :) Plus, Miss Lucy needs some new bows. I'm a little tired of the ones she has. I also want to get into making THESE. So cute! Ok, maybe we will go out later. :)

Anyway, in other news. I made the most amazing Tortilla Soup last night. Oh my. Thanks to Pioneer Woman for her amazing recipe! Carey LOVED it and of course I did too. There is not much left over. Tonight I am making THIS. Oh yes. If we die of heart attacks tomorrow, you will know why. =) I don't cook stuff like this a lot. But it's snowy and everyone needs some comfort food once and a while. Plus, I am going to use ground turkey. And oven fries are not that bad for you. I am using olive oil.... (can you see me justifying this meal!?)

I've been practicing with my new camera over the last few days. All of this aperture and ISO stuff confuses me. But I found some tutorials and I'm working on getting better. Here are some pics I've taken of Lucy while "practicing." She mostly just ignores me these days. I think someone has had enough picture taking. =)

Playing with saturation while editing.....

Another picture?

She's asking if she can take her bow off. I said no.

I cannot resist the faces she makes sometimes. :)

Playing with aperture.....

She's singing along to the ABC's on Baby Einstein. The kiddo cracks me up!

So that's what we've been up to. Tomorrow, I think a grilled cheese and tomato soup date at Nordstrom Cafe' is in order for me and my girlie. Our favorite place to lunch. Then some shopping--of course!! We're going to spend a gift card Lucy has to the Children's Place. I cannot believe how big she's getting! She's growing out of most of her 12 month clothes. (Ok, I know. It makes sense since she's 13 months.) I just can't believe we're in 18 month clothes now. Time flies! 

P.S. --Like the new blog look? I am trying to make it a little more chic. I'm making little changes every few days. =)

 

Tea Parties

Welcome to our Tea Party! 

Miss Lucy has created some delicious tea
and some fabulous petite fours.

Sit around and you'll be served by the
cutest little hostess you've ever seen!

Lucy's guests include: Mommy, Monkey, Baby Doll and Baby Belle.

We all love sipping tea and eating cakes. 

Lucy loves serving all of her tea party guests! 

Whether you want to or not, =)

you'll be drinking and eating
yummy-ness at one of our parties!

Lots of cuteness going on here!

Baking Together

Yesterday I was baking pumpkin rolls and had some sweet company in the kitchen! 

Mommy baked and Lucy "baked."
Not sure what she was making, but it tasted good. 

Trust me, I know. I had to try it a zillion times. :)

Here is my little helper!

We had fun baking and talking. Lucy is my little talker.
She always has something exciting to say!
She's very expressive when talking too. 

Here she is telling me all about baking.

I see lots of fun times in the kitchen in our future! :)

Mmmm.....

So what's for dinner tonight? If you're like me, you're always looking for new recipes to try. Sometimes I feel like I get into this "rut" and cook the same things week after week. Boring. I often blame this on my tight grocery budget--but I think I'm just making excuses. :) :::Daydreaming::: "How I wish I could go to Whole Foods and get gourmet ingredients for every meal! I would be a master chef!" ::::: And then I come back to reality. I'm the typical wife and mom. My job is to help my husband by making yummy budget-friendly meals. SO, when I find a good one, I'm going to share it with you---because I hope you'll share yours with me! :) We're in this together, right? Please tell me I'm not the only one. 

Last night I discovered a great recipe that helped me use up the stuff left over in my fridge. If you're like me, there's always random unused ingredients from other meals during the week. I usually have a little shredded cheese, half a pepper, tomato, some mushrooms, and maybe half an onion. Go ahead, laugh. But I don't use the whole veggie if I don't need it! I hate seeing these good veggies wasted so I usually make something like Jambalaya to use them up. But, since I'm trying to add variety to meals, I decided to try something different this time. Bruschetta! It sounds so gourmet, right? Actually, it's super easy! And I used up all the ingredients in my fridge. The only item I had to buy was the Italian Bread.....

ringing in at a whopping $.99. 

Here's the recipe (also can be found at www.campbellskitchen.com) I tweaked it a little by using the leftover shredded Italian cheese I had and by adding mushrooms and tomato. I highly recommend adding tomato. It gave it a fresh taste. Super yummy! I also made up my own recipe for one half by using olive oil, tomato and fresh basil. This would also be great with some Balsamic. Yum! 

*Thanks to my friend Laura for the fresh tomatoes and basil from her garden!

MUSHROOM MOZZARELLA BRUSCHETTA

1 loaf (about 1 pound) Italian bread  (16-inches long), cut in half lengthwise

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup  (Regular or 98% Fat Free)

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning, crushed

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese  (about 4 ounces)

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1 small red pepper, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

2 green onions, chopped (about 1/4 cup)

• Heat the oven to 400°F.
• Place the bread on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes or until it's lightly toasted.
• Stir the soup, garlic powder and Italian seasoning in a medium bowl.
• Spread the soup mixture over the bread to within 1/4-inch of the edges. 
• Top with mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, pepper and onions.
• Bake for 5 minutes or until it's hot and bubbling. Cut each half into 12 slices.

I broiled mine for about 2 min. to get the top a little crispy. I think this made it much better! :)


The finished product. Voila! Doesn't it look yummy? 

The best part---only spending $.99 on dinner.