Spanish Rice

 Are you tired of the same old sides?

Why not mix up a batch of this Spanish Rice?

 It is very simple to throw together.

All you need is a big skillet with a lid.

Just mix the veggies and spices and add rice.

Simple

Pleasing

Satisfying

 We had brats on the grill to go along with the Spanish Rice.

Perfect!

This is what we did:

Spanish Rice

28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 c. water

1/2 of a green pepper, diced

1/2 of an onion, diced

1 jalapeno, seeds removed, diced fine

4 cloves garlic, crushed and diced

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

3 tsp. cumin

1 TBS Worcestershire sauce

Bring these ingredients to a boil in a large skillet with fitted lid. Turn down to a simmer and simmer for 8-10 minutes.

Bring back to a boil and add:

1 1/4 c. white uncooked rice.

Turn down to simmer and cover for 20 minutes. Do not remove lid until the 20 minutes are up. 

See Ya'all Soon

Chicken Noodle Soup & The Weekend

 Johnie and I went to a Halloween party on Saturday.

One of the best parties I've ever been to.

 Everyone was very friendly and EVERYONE showed up

in costume.

 Johnie and I went as King Kong and Jane.

You should have seen us Saturday afternoon frantically running all

over Marion to put these costumes together.

Johnie already had his costume, but he was in search of gorilla feet.

My costume was totally Goodwill.

I found a long sleeve white blouse that we ripped the sleeves off of

and tore holes in it.

Johnie used the grill to smear the shirt with black.

"I hope they don't have dogs. I'm going to totally smell like steak."

The skirt was brown and we shredded the bottom of it.

We went to three different places to try and find a blond color

spray-in dye for my hair.

Which didn't turn out as I planned.

The spray turned my hair copper instead of blond.

But we had a great time.

I think it was the party that lead to chicken noodle soup.

You know how parties go.....

The shot glass was passed freely.

 By Monday at noon I had the symptoms of flu.

I spent the whole entire day wrapped up in a big fuzzy blanket.

I was shivering and couldn't get warm.

And yes, 

Although I hate to do it I had to miss work.

I didn't want to take my germs and spread them to everyone else.

Tuesday morning I woke up like I had just stepped out of the shower.

Sweat it out!

That's a good sign.

But I felt like every single rib on my left side was broke.

So I made myself some comfort food and spent the day on the couch again.

 I kind of cheated with this soup.

I used canned chicken instead of the real thing.

But it was super good and hit the spot.

This is what I did in a quickness.

Chicken Noodle Soup

6 c. water

4 TBS chicken soup base

2 large carrots, sliced

3 celery heart stalks, sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tsp - 1 TBS dried Thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Bring to a boil. Boil for 8-10 minutes or until veggies are tender.

Add:

2-10 oz. cans chicken, undrained

Bring back to a boil.

Add:

1 1/2 c. uncooked Priano Pipe Rigate (found at Aldi's)

Boil for 9-11 minutes.

See Ya'all Soon

Hot Fudge Sauce

 A couple weekends ago it was rainy and cold.

So Johnie and I decided to shut ourselves in and 

make the whole entire day a Netflix day.

I could not stay awake for anything.

Have you ever had a whole entire day filled with napping,

and cuddling,

and movie watching?

I love those days.

 I did manage to stay awake long enough to make this 

amazing hot fudge sauce.

On a cold rainy day we were craving ice cream.

Many people say we are not right.....

But AMAZING it was.

The inspiration for this recipe came from Lil' Luna.

I only made one change.

Hot Fudge Sauce

2 c. powdered sugar

1-12 oz. can evaporated milk

1/2 c. butter

3/4 c. marshmallow cream

3/4 c. semi sweet chocolate chips

Place everything in a large sauce pan and bring to a slow boil. Boil for 8 minutes.

Let cool. Be careful on the size of sauce pan you use. Make sure the ingredients have plenty room to boil up. Mine boiled over.....

Cheeseburger Pie

 This is a sure way to satisfy those finicky school kids at dinner time. 

And it is so easy to make.

It is so easy that I chose this dish to be my lunch.

 You just brown the beef and onion, and then add whatever else you want.

Then it all goes into a pie plate,

placed in the oven,

and presto!

You have an awesome meal.

I chose to eat mine with a sliced tomato.

 Does it taste like a cheeseburger?

It sure does.

And you don't have all that startchy bun to deal with.

You could even make this dish with less calories.

Just substitute ground turkey or chicken in place of the beef. 

Was it good?

What do you think by the looks of my plate?

Cheeseburger Pie

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

1 lb. ground beef

6 green onions, sliced, tops included

Brown beef and onion together in a skillet. Drain grease.

Return to stove and add:

1/4 c. mild pepper rings, chopped

1/4 c. dill pickle slices, chopped

Heat thoroughly. Add to pie plate.

Top with 1 c. shredded cheese of your choice (I used a cheese that I found at Aldi, pepperoni marinara).

Mix together in a bowl:

1/2 c. pancake/waffle mix (I used a multi grain pancake mix)

1 c. milk

2 eggs

Pour over beef mixture in pie plate. Place in oven for 25 minutes (mine took about 28 minutes).

Mustard/Mayo Sauce

2 TBS Mayo

1 TBS mustard

Mix together.

Place a dollop on top of each serving and sprinkle with a little dill weed.

Dark Chocolate Raisinet Chicken Salad

 This is one of those recipes that I'm going to have to do my

best to put together for you.

This came about when I hit one of those 10 for $10.00 bins.

The bin was piled high with dark chocolate raisinets.

One of my favorite candies.

They are low in calories and you still get the satisfaction

of something sweet.

 And you guessed it right.

I put dark chocolate raisins in my chicken salad.

There are so many chicken salad recipes out there that call

for something sweet.

Sometimes it's grapes,

apples,

pineapple,

raisins,

etc....

But has anyone ever placed chocolate in chicken salad?

I would have to do a Google search on that.

But hopefully I am the only one that has created this.

I went to the kitchen and just started dumping.....

But I took the time to write everything down.

Why?

Because I love you all.

And I just know you will love this chicken salad.

Dark Chocolate Raisinet Chicken Salad

2-12.5 oz. cans of chicken, drained

1 small jalapeno, seeds removed and chopped fine

1 celery heart stalk, chopped fine

2 green onions, sliced thin, tops included

1/3 c. dark chocolate raisinets

1/4 c. toasted pecan pieces (to toast: place on foil lined baking sheet. place in a 400 degree F. oven for 10-15 minutes)

Mix all of these ingredients in a medium size bowl.

Dressing:

1/4 c. honey

1/2 c. mayo

crushed black pepper

Mix together and pour over the chicken ingredients. Stir well.

Toasted pretzel buns:

4 mini pretzel buns cut in half. Butter the cut sides. Place buttered cut sides up on a foil lined baking sheet. Place in a 400 degree oven. Toast until edges are brown (maybe 8 minutes). You can do this while you're toasting the pecans. Just keep an eye on them. You don't want the edges to burn.

See Ya'all Soon

Balsamic Wilted Spinach with Tuna

 Are you tired of the same old sides?

The same old veggie that takes up that tiny space on your plate?

Are you a spinach lover?

 Per the FDA, veggies are supposed to take up the biggest space on our plates.

I made some Potato Encrusted Cod and wanted a side to go with it.

And since this was lunch for me I wanted something lite.

Something without a lot of calories.

I had a 9 oz. bag of spinach in my refrigerator

that I wanted to slip into a chicken lasagna.

Perfect!!

You know how plans go, right?

Sometimes at the spur of the moment they change.

My spinach plans changed.

This is what I did to turn the spinach into the perfect side for my fish.

Balsamic Wilted Spinach with Tuna

1-5 oz. can tuna in water, undrained

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

lots of crushed black pepper

1-9 oz. bag fresh baby spinach

Place tuna, balsamic vinegar, and black pepper in a large skillet. Bring to a simmer and add spinach. Stir. Cover and simmer until spinach is wilted.

See Ya'all Soon

Italian Tortellini Soup

 Every morning when I get up, I look out the bathroom window

that frames the scene of our back yard.

Every morning there are more leaves on the ground.

For some reason this view makes me all warm and fuzzy.

Tell me I'm crazy.....It's okay.

Because I know what is coming after all the leaves are off the trees.

But the warm and fuzzy feeling directs me to soup.

This Italian Tortellini Soup is one of the best.

Sure did warm my soul.

And Johnie loved it too.

 I didn't really get a chance this week to touch on our last weekend.

Me working second shift hours has really been tough on us.

We never see each other during the week.

So when the weekends get here they are all about us.

Last Friday while I was at work Johnie sent me a text that read:

"I hope you love what I got for us."

Really?

I'm stuck at work and he sends a text like that?

I couldn't wait for my shift to end.

But the hours drug on, and on, and on.....

So by the time I made it home at 3:00 a.m. Johnie was fast asleep.

Which meant I would have to wait longer for the surprise he had planned.

Saturday morning he presented this gorgeous (picture above) hand painted

portrait of us standing beside his Harley.

This picture is huge and takes up one whole wall in our game room.

Johnie is definitely a man that thinks outside the box.

I am so lucky to have him in my life.

 Shall we get back to the soup?

Give me a minute to dry my eyes.....

This soup doesn't take long to throw together.

This is what I did:

Italian Tortellini Soup

In a large mixing bowl mix together:

5 c. hot water

4 TBS chicken soup base

1-7 oz. envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix

1-14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained

3/4 tsp. dried basil

a lite shake of red pepper flakes

In a dutch oven I squeezed and crumbled 7 chicken breakfast sausage links. 

Add:

1 medium chopped onion

4 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped fine

Brown the sausage, onion, and garlic

When this is browned add the liquid mixture

Bring to a boil

Add 1 package refrigerated cheese tortellini (9 oz)

Chop 1-10 oz. package fresh baby spinach

Add the spinach just before tortellini is done

Allow the spinach to wilt

And there you have it! Italian Tortellini Soup

See Ya'all Soon

Ranch Cheddar Roasted Potatoes

 With the cooler temperatures there is still plenty time to grill.

We love the smell of grilling steaks or burgers mixed with

the scent of Fall.

 Even though these potatoes are roasted in the oven

they still make a perfect side for the grilled foods.

These potatoes were some of the best we have ever had.

Creamy

Cheesy

Ranchy

Is ranchy a word?

The new ketchup, right?

Hidden Valley Ranch has it go'n on....

We buy the dry ranch dressing in bulk.

A great big container!

We use it for everything.

We even season our frozen pizzas with it.

Try it sometime.

It is great!

This is what we did:

Ranch Cheddar Roasted Potatoes

Line a casserole dish with foil. Spray with cooking spray.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

1/3 c. butter cut into pieces

1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix

4 green onions, sliced (tops included) Set some aside to sprinkle on top of the servings

6 medium red potatoes (cubed)

2 c. shredded Mexican cheese

Place half of the cubed potatoes in the bottom of the casserole dish. Sprinkle with half of the ranch, onions, cheese, and dot with half of the butter.

Repeat layer one more time.

Place in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

See Ya'all Soon

Chili Mac

 We know with the chilly temperatures creeping upon us

that you are going to have leftover chili.

What better way to use leftover chili than Chili Mac?

It is quick, easy, and makes a terrific meal.

And if you missed Johnie's Thick Chili recipe 

you can click it here.

 This can even be served up in Tupperware and placed in the freezer

for those busy weekday work lunches.

Serve this up with garlic toast and everyone will be satisfied.

This is what we did:

Chili Mac

1 rounded cup of uncooked pasta (we used the tri-color pasta) cooked al dente.

3 c. of prepared chili

Mix cooked pasta and chili together. Place in a small casserole dish, place 1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella on top, and bake at 350 degrees F. for 30-35 minutes.

See Ya'all Soon

Caramel Apple Crisp

 This post is going to be short and sweet.

SWEET!

That is.....

There is no other person that makes a better apple crisp

than Miss Betty Crocker herself.

She is my go-to person for certain things.

Pie Crust

Apple Crisp

and 

Peanut Butter Cookies

So what I'm going to do with this post is take you

directly to Betty Crocker.

Just CLICK HERE!

The only things I did differently was,

I used Macintosh apples, 

used salted caramel (Schmuckers) ice cream topping,

and topped it warm out of the oven with vanilla ice cream.

Oh and, a little more salted caramel.

See Ya'all Soon

Chorizo Steak Chili Burritos

I have to get this recipe in print before I forget.

 Over this last weekend Johnie tried to leave Angie in the dust

with the cooking of the meals.

Once Johnie gets started there is no stopping him.....

Angie is one lucky lady to have a man that can cook so well.

 Sunday morning Johnie pulled the steaks out of the fridge.

He likes to season them up and get them to room temperature

before he grills them.

This recipe is going to be a step-by-step

Angie desperately trying to keep up,

kind of post.

 Johnie also threw together some mushrooms and onions in a foil pack.

Two cans of mushrooms

One onion sliced

Two tablespoons of butter cut in pieces

The seasonings: salt, pepper, and Tony's creole spice

 Johnie thought it was kind of funny that Angie was desperately

trying to write everything down.

When he thinks something is funny he has to get it on film.

Why not capture laughter?

Laughter is one of life's best medicines.

 We ended up with one grilled steak left over.

Johnie sliced the steak real thin and mixed it with the leftover

mushrooms and onions.

He browned 1/2 pound of ground chorizo in a medium skillet.

After the chorizo was browned he added the sliced steak,

onions and mushrooms.

He heated everything up for about 3-5 minutes.

 Johnie then added 1 cup of leftover chili.

And if you missed his recipe, 

just click here. 

He scooped about 1/2 c. of the meat mixture into the center

of 6- 10 inch flour tortillas.

Then he folded in the ends and rolled them up. 

 He placed the them seam side down in a small casserole dish.

Topped the burritos with about 2 c. of chili,

and placed the dish into a preheated 350 degree F. oven

for about 25-30 minutes.

The last 5 minutes Mexican shredded cheese was added on top.

About 1 1/2 c.

 Just a little FYI....

These are very filling.

We had a late lunch on Sunday,

Johnie made these burritos for dinner,

and we both took two bites and said we were full.

You could also top these with toppings of your choice.

Sour Cream,

Lettuce,

Pico De Gallo,

Avocado,

etc.....

We hope you enjoy this recipe.

And if you want to make these quickly you can just use

canned chili of your choice.

It is a great way to use up leftover grilled steak.

See Ya'all Soon

Johnie's Thick Chili and The Weekend

Angie talked Johnie into making his signature chili.

She talked him into writing down all his measurements 

and ingredients to make things easy for you.

So his secret chili recipe is now given to the cyber world.

Not a secret anymore Johnie....

When you operate a blog there are no secrets.

Everything is thrown out of the closet kitchen.  

When a man cooks in the kitchen and enjoys it,

a woman must keep her opinions and mouth shut.

Just let the man have free rein.

Angie stepped back and let Johnie work his magic.

And she knows that silence is golden.....

She wants him to cook more for her.

And the chili.....
It was amazing!
Nice and thick,
cracker sitting thick,
rib sticking thick,
and it produced an awesome nose run.
You can tell when something is spicy good by the way your
nose runs, and produces good forehead perspiration beads. 

The weekend was quiet.

The temperatures were quite chilly so we locked ourselves in

and did some cleaning and rearranging.

We brought our outside plants inside for the winter.

Sunday was a SyFy day along with cat naps.

It is October.....

Johnie is in the mood for scary movies.

This is how Johnie made his chili:

Johnie's Thick Chili

1 1/2 lb. ground beef

1 med. onion, chopped

Salt & pepper

Brown meat with onion.

In a small bowl add:

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (or less if you don't like the hot)

1 tsp. onion salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 envelope chili seasoning of your choice

Add to meat mixture after meat is fully cooked.

Mix in:

3 (4 oz. cans) mushrooms, undrained

1 (28 oz. can) diced tomatoes, undrained

2 (6 oz. cans) tomato paste

2 (15 oz. cans) prepared chili of your choice

4 (8 oz. cans) tomato sauce

1 (15 oz. can) black beans, rinsed and drained

Bring to a simmer. Cover and allow to simmer for a couple hours, stirring occasionally.

See Ya'all Soon

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

 It is supposed to get cold this weekend.

Are you ready for it?

Do you have all your hoodies and insulated undies ready?

We thought we would greet the weekend with this 

soul-warming chicken pot pie soup.

 Angie is back in the working world and she is doing her best to

keep up with this blog.

Since Angie is working a split shift and Johnie is on first shift,

and neither one can use their cell phones at work,

they have resorted to communicating old-school.

A steno pad lays open on the kitchen counter with a pen near by.

One thing is for sure.....

The weekends are appreciated and not wasted.

This weekend we are going to lock ourselves in and eat soup.

Maybe Angie can convince Johnie to make his famous chili.

Keep an eye out for chili next week.....

This recipe was another chicken scratch noted one.

Let's see if Angie can put this together for you.....

The biscuit is a Schwan's home style biscuit.

Perfect with this soup.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

6 chicken legs, simmered with lid on for 45 minutes. Let cool and then remove skin and bones.

Measure 4 c. of the chicken stock and pour into a medium dutch oven.

Add 3 TBS of chicken soup base.

Cube 4 small/medium red potatoes

Add to chicken broth. Boil for 8-10 minutes (or until potatoes are tender)

Add 2 c. Schwan's mini bow tie veggie blend (or 2 c. frozen veggies of your choice)

2 TBS dried parsley flakes

Keep this at a low simmer.

In a medium size skillet over med. heat add 2 TBS butter, 1 small onion (diced), 4 garlic cloves (diced), 1 tsp. dried thyme crushed between fingers. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook onion and garlic till translucent.

Add 1/4 c. flour. Stir till combined with butter.

Slowly pour in 2 c. heavy cream. Stirring constantly, allow to thicken (maybe 5 minutes).

Pour into simmering broth and stir till slightly thickened.

See ya'all soon

Stay warm this weekend