Chicken and Noodles

1 - 3 to 5 pound whole chicken
2 celery stalks, halved
2 carrots, peeled, halved and quartered
1/4 of whole onion, sliced thick
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 sprigs of thyme
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Gravy:
4 TBS butter
4 TBS flour
2 to 3 cups of chicken stock

4 cups cooked Noodles
Mashed potatoes

In a large pot put the chicken and vegetables in, sprinkle all with the salt and pepper and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the chicken and let cool. Strain the stock through a wire mesh strainer to reserve the liquid and let cool, discard the vegetables and herbs. Pour 2 to 3 cups of the stock into a container to use for the gravy, pour the remaining stock into an airtight container, place in the refrigerator and use within 2 weeks or store in the freezer for up to six months.
Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred and set aside. In a large pot, add the butter and melt, add the flour and stir to combine for one minute. Pour 2 cups of the stock into the butter/flour mixture and whisk until it thickens, if needed add more stock to thin down. When desired thickness is reached, add the shredded chicken and cooked noodles, season with more salt and pepper as needed. Reduce heat to simmer for a few minutes. Serve over mashed potatoes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been trying to perfect my chocolate chip cookie recipe and each time I think I'm getting closer and then I bake them and have to go back to the drawing board. This recipe is pretty good, but still not the "perfect" cookie I'm looking to create.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 C butter, softened
1 C creamy peanut butter
1 C brown sugar
1/4 C granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 C AP flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 TBS malted milk powder
1 C old fashioned oats
1 1/2 C chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk-or combined)
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl and with a mixer on medium high cream the butter and peanut butter together with the sugars. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Pour in the vanilla and beat until combined. In a medium bowl combine together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and malted milk powder. Stir in the oats. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and with the mixer on low combine completely. Stir in the chocolate chips with a heavy spoon or spatula until mixed in. Spoon mixture by tablespoons full (I use the small size scoop) onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-13 minutes. Let cool for two minutes on the baking sheet then remove to a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Store in an air tight container.
These cookies do not spread very much, they come out approximately 2" in diameter.

Following Recipes

So...you know how you follow a recipe to the "T" and they still don't come out just like the picture or how they look on the TV show you get it from??? It's because they "fix" it to make you want to make it because it's soooo easy and looks so beautiful and of course you think yours is going to look exactly like that! I just made some brownie bites that were made on the PW foodnetwork show....mine did not turn out like hers...not enough chocolate to cover my brownies, I put the same amount of the brownie batter into each mini muffin cup and mine look flat, they don't have the "dome" top like hers did...what else...oh yes, after I dipped the "tops" into the chocolate and covered the other end with what was left, mine stuck to the rack I put them on to set! I had to scrape them off the rack! Thus scraping off most of the chocolate I ever so carefully dipped them in! GRRRRRRRR! And another thing, they were bland. I am going to have to pump up the volume on this recipe, I think it will make a cute valentine treat, baked in a multiples heart shaped pan if I can find one. I will definitely plan on melting more chocolate to cover them completely too!

Beefy Chili Mac

1 pound lean ground beef, browned and drained
1/2 C onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. salt, divided
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Cups elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
1 can (14.5 oz) chili ready diced tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) chili beans in sauce
1 C beef stock or broth
2 TBS chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 C shredded cheddar
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Bring a pot of water to a boil with 1 teaspoon of salt, add the macaroni and cook uncovered for 9 minutes. Drain, return to pot and set aside. Cook the ground beef with the onion and garlic, the remaining teaspoon of salt and the pepper until no longer pink. To the pot of cooked and drained macaroni, add the tomatoes, chili beans, beef stock or broth, and seasonings, mix together.  Add the cooked beef to the macaroni pot. Stir to combine all. Pour into the prepared baking dish and spread out evenly in the dish. Top with the shredded cheddar. Put into the heated oven and bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Shredded Taco Meat

1 - 4 to 5 pound chuck roast
1 tsp. taco seasoning (I make my own)
1 tsp. onion soup mix (I make my own)
Season both sides of the roast with the seasoning and onion mix, 1/2 tsp. per side of each. Grease the inside of a crock pot or spray with cooking spray and place the seasoned roast inside. Cook on low 6 - 8 hours. When cooked, remove roast from crock pot and shred with two forks. Serve on warm tortillas, hard taco shells, or make taquitos:
Heat about 1/2" of oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Dip a corn tortilla in the hot oil, turn over about 3 seconds per side. Place on a plate or baking sheet covered with paper towels to drain and cool prior to handling. Do not discard the oil, leave heating to use to fry the taquitos.
For each corn tortilla, place about 2 TBS of the shredded meat toward the top of the tortilla and roll up. Place on a baking sheet until all are rolled up and ready to cook. With the seam side down, carefully place in the hot oil for a few seconds, turn and cook the other side for a few more seconds, remove to a paper towel lined baking sheet to drain. Repeat until all are cooked. Top with guacamole, sour cream and fresh Pico de Gallo.

Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

Turkey & Wild Rice Soup
2 C turkey, cooked and chopped
1 C onion, chopped
1 C celery, chopped
1 C carrot, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper
1 tsp. thyme (fresh if you have it, if not dried is good)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 C wild rice
4 C chicken broth
4 C water
Combine all in the crock pot and cook on low, 6 -8 hours.  Season with more S & P as needed. If you like creamy soups, add one cup of heavy cream. If not everyone in your family likes creamy soups, you can add a splash to each individual bowl if desired.

Chicken Spaghetti

Chicken Spaghetti
2 chicken breasts, bone in
1 pound spaghetti, broken into thirds
4 TBS butter
4 TBS flour
2 C milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced bell peppers (any color)
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
S&P (salt and pepper) to taste
Preheat oven to 375°F. Drizzle EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) over the chicken breast and spread evenly to coat the entire pieces. Sprinkle with S&P. Place on a baking sheet or dish and roast in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until chicken is done and juices run clear. SAVE the drippings! Reduce the oven temp to 350°F. When the chicken is done let cool until easy to handle, remove the meat from the bones and cut or tear into bite size pieces, WAIT...don't discard the bones! Fill your pasta pot with water to cook the noodles, boil water over high heat and throw those bones in to create a bit of stock, add some salt to the water. Once the water has boiled remove the bones and carefully place your broken spaghetti noodles in the water, continue to cook until al dente, or as directed on the package. When the noodles are done, before you drain the water, take out one cup of the water and reserve. Now you can drain your spaghetti. Remember the drippings from the pan you roasted the chicken in? Pour that into a sauté pan and add your onion, celery and bell peppers. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. 
To make the white sauce: In a medium saucepan add the butter and melt, stir in the flour and cook for one minute. Pour in the milk and stir until thickened, about 5 minutes. Or you can use 2 cans cream of soup (either chicken, mushroom, or celery).
Now you can start assembling your casserole. In a large mixing bowl, combine the white sauce or cream of soups, chicken, sautéed vegetables, shredded cheddar, cayenne pepper, seasoned salt and s&p. Fold together until combined, add in the spaghetti and if needed the one cup of reserved stock water. Spray your casserole dish (9x13 baking pan works) with a no-stick cooking spray such as PAM. Pour the spaghetti mixture into the dish spreading evenly. Bake at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes or until gold and bubbly!

Creative thinking...

So this morning as I was checking the level of water in the gallon container that we use for the coffee maker (I run water through a Brita pitcher to filter it), I knocked out a jar of marinated artichokes. I thought, hmmmm...what besides dip can use this for. Now, I've been thinking about this for awhile but, how fun would it be to have a party, ask each guest to bring their favorite type of food, whether it be their favorite cut of meat, maybe someone brings their favorite vegetable, a jar of peanut butter, it doesn't really matter as long as it's something they love to eat, and I help them create a meal for us to enjoy with the items they bring. I just want to show people that you can create something delicious with the items you have in your pantry. You don't have to have fancy tools, fancy spices, fancy vegetables or special cuts of meat. I can help you create a tasty meal with a few items, doesn't take alot of time and with no stress. Well, hopefully no stress, I typically make a mess in the kitchen when I cook :). I have a notebook full of recipes I've created and hopefully by next summer I'll be ready to talk with a publisher about a cookbook! Anyway, back to that jar of artichokes, I am planning on making a chicken casserole tonight for supper, that jar of artichokes may just make it's way in there! It will be a new recipe so I'll get that posted soon. ~Fran~