Art Show

The woman's club where we live had an art show. The local schools submitted art projects from their students. My girls didn't win anything, but they had fun visiting the show to see their art projects. Adah was in the local paper. A reporter happened to be at the show when dad and Adah went to get an early peek. Unfortunately it was closed, but a reporter was coming out of the building. She wanted to interview Adah and get her spin on event. I was mortified when I found out that her picture had been taken that night and would be in a newspaper. Her hair was a mess! She had been at school all week, it was Friday night and we had been at a soccer game. All that plus me as a mom equaled what is called-"White mom hair." I will try and scan the article when I get to my other computer. Until then enjoy these little gems.

Starbuck savings & recipe book

I subscribe to The Krazy Coupon Lady. In today's email she has an article on how to get more savings at Starbucks. Since I didn't know about these savings I thought maybe you didn't know either. Sip and Save is where you'll find out the ins & outs on how to save more at Starbucks. There is also a 32 page recipe book that is available at Starbucks Recipe Book. Unfortunately they don't have the recipe for the iced coffee that I love and my 15 year old son knows how to make perfectly, but I did find the recipe for their frappucinos. Enjoy!

The Hour That Matters Most-Free eBook!

  
http://www.tyndale.com/ebookextra/ebook-promos/

A friend just emailed me this link for a free ebook from Tyndale. I downloaded mine to my Kindle Fire. It's free until Oct. 13 so grab yours today!

The Sister Circle is also free! Just click the above link and it will take you to both books.

From my house to yours,

Vikki

What's for dinner?

During the last few weeks I bought some Smoked Summer Sausage and Sweet Italian Sausage. I googled recipes for both and found two winners right out the gate. Last night we had Dirty Rice and tonight we had Baked Ziti. Both were doubled for my large family of eleven. My oldest son's family of four (he has a German exchange student until June) stopped by and enjoyed some Baked Ziti as well. It was a hit with everyone!

 With the Dirty Rice we had salad which went well.  To go with the Baked Ziti I fried zuchinni in olive oil and seasoned with seasoning salt and garlic powder and rounded out the meal with fresh Italian bread from Fresh & Easy. Pretty yummy stuff! VERY kid friendly!!  Enjoy!!

Dirty Rice         Baked Ziti with Sweet Italian Sausage

Turkey Noodle Soup

I use a 23+lbs turkey carcass and double or triple this recipe. Today we tripled it. My fourteen year old son was quite excited to see this being prepared as it his favorite soup. It is our day after Thanksgiving tradition to have this soup. We even fix it if we're camping and make it in the big roaster oven.

1 leftover turkey carcass (from a 12-14 lb turkey)
14 cups water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 large onion, halved
4 whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup uncooked egg noodles

Place the first nine ingredients in a soup pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for at least an hour. Strain broth; discard onion, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Remove carcass and any bones in the broth; allow to cool. Remove turkey from bones and cut into bite-size pieces; set aside.

Add carrots, celery, potatoes, and chopped onion. (I do this after making the broth and place in a big bowl.) Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the veggies are tender.

Add nooldes and reserved turkey. Return to a boil; cook, uncovered for 10 minutes or until noodles are tender.

Yield: 12-14 servings (3-1/2 quarts)

Joel's Lasagna

This is Joel's favorite lasagna so I thought I would name it after him.

Joel's Lasagna

2 lbs ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons basil
1 teaspoon pepper
1 container (16 ounces) cottage cheese
2/3 cups Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
3 cups mozzarella cheese (divided)
12 lasagna noodles

Fry ground beef, onion, and garlic untill beef is browned and onion is tender. Drain the oil (we use a baster). Stir into the beef mixture the tomatoes, tomato paste, and seasonings; simmer about 15 minutes.

In a bowl, combine the cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese and half of the mozzarella cheese.

Spread half of the meat sauce on the bottom of a 13x9 pan/dish. Arrange six of the noodles over the meat sauce.

Spread the cheese mixture over noodles. Top with remaining six noodles. Spread the rest of the meat sauce on top of the noodles.

Cover with foil and bake at 350* for 45 minutes.

Uncover; sprinkle remaining mozzarella making sure your top is nice and cheesy.  Return the pan to the oven with the foil off and bake until the cheese is melted.

Yield: 12 servings (so they say)

Baked Spaghetti

Tonight we had baked spaghetti. It's a good make-ahead type dish but good for the last minute too.

Baked Spaghetti

2 cups chopped onion
2 lbs. ground beef
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
4 teaspoons dried oregano
32 oz. cooked spaghetti (2 pkgs)
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese (at least)
2 cans (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/2 cup water
1 cup Parmesan cheese


In a large skillet fry the ground beef and onion. When done add tomatoes and oregano. Simmer for about ten minutes. Place half of the cooked spaghetti noodles in a big pan. Top with the hamburger mixture and sprinkle 2 cups of cheese on top. Repeat layers. Mix the soup and water until smooth; pour over casserole. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered at 350* for 35 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 24 servings

Sunday Supper Soup

This is a tasty beef broth based soup. I make four batches at a time. So good I even have it for breakfast. If making multiple batches only add as much tomtatoes as your family likes. Mine likes three cans of tomatoes for a four batch pot. I also added fresh parsley vs. dried parsley in the soup base. We had salad and garlic bread to go with it. Y.U.M!

Meatballs:
1-1/2 lb.. ground beef
1 egg, beaten
3 T. water
1/2 C. dry bread crumbs
1/4 t. salt
1 t. chopped parsley
2 T. butter

Soup:
2 C. water
1 can (10-1/2 oz.) condensed beef broth, undiluted
1 can (1 lb. 12 oz.) tomatoes, undrained, chopped
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 C. sliced carrots
1/4 C. chopped celery tops
1/4 C. chopped parsley
1/4 t. fresh ground black pepper
1/4 t. oregano leaves
1/4 t. basil leaves
1 bay leaf

To make the meatballs, combine all ingredients but butter. In dutch oven, heat butter and brown meatballs, a single layer at a time, on all sides. Drain off fat; remove meatballs and set aside. To make soup, combine ingredients in same dutch oven. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add meatballs; simmer 20 minutes longer.

Makes about 2 quarts or 6-8 servings.

Au Gratin Potatoes

Au Gratin Potatoes

4 cups peeled and thinly sliced potatoes
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 butter
1 Tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

Cook and stir onion in butter in good-sized pot until onion is tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk and 1-1/2 cups cheese. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Place potatoes in your baking pan and pour the cheese sauce on the potatoes. Cook uncovered in 325* oven 1 hour 20 minutes or in 375* oven for 1 hour.

Mix remaining cheese and the bread crumbs; sprinkle over potatoes. Cook uncovered until top is brown and bubbly, 15-20 minutes longer.

This serves 6 and I triple the recipe to serve 18.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

I had some leftover chicken from the night before and not a whole lot of time to come up with something to make. I found a recipe and tweaked it to our liking. This is my version.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

12 ounces cooked and drained egg noodles
12 Tablespoons butter
12 Tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth or 2 cups water and 2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 cups milk
1 Tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
4 cups cooked diced chicken
1 cup Parmesan cheese plus some for the top of casserole


Preheat oven to 350*

Grease a 13x9 pan. (I didn't and I was fine)

In large skillet over low heat melt butter. Blend in flour stirring until smooth and bubbly. Gradually add chicken broth, milk, and salt & pepper. Stir constantly until sauce is thickened. Stir in chicken, parmesan cheese and the cooked noodles. Spoon the mixture into a baking dish. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese over the top. Bake for 2-25 minutes.

Serves 16. (actually it fed our family for one meal and a little bowl leftover)

Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies

This is for Jenn. :)

Because I'm tired and don't want to type the recipe out follow the link and you'll see a yummy picture. Your palate will thank you when you devour these!

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/ShowRecipe.aspx?rid=14463

Chalupa Grande

1 pound dry pinto beans
1 pork roast (3 pounds), fat trimmed
7 cups water
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
Fritos
Shredded cheddar cheese
Diced avocado
Diced tomatoes
Chopped green onions
Salsa

Place first 10 ingredients in a large kettle. (Beans do not need to be soaked, but you should rinse them and make sure there aren't any rocks/dirt.) Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 3 hours or until beans and roast are tender. Remove roast; cool slightly. Remove meat from bones; shred with fork. Return meat to kettle. Cook, uncovered, until thick, about 30 minutes. Serve over corn chips. Pass remaining ingredients as toppings. Yield: 10-12 servings.

Marcia noted that she uses beef instead of pork. That would probably be just as yummy! Also as we were eating today we thought that we could use the meat/bean mixture over rice or even lettuce.

Recipe found in The Best of Country Cooking, Second Edition by Taste of Home Books.

Menu Plans

Sat down with some cookbooks yesterday and came up with:

Spaghetti
Buttermilk Baked Chicken
Pot Roast
Chalupa Grande (Mexican type pork roast/pinto beans/fritos/avocados)
Hungarian Chicken
Red Beans & Rice
Potato Soup

Yesterday we had Chili.
Two days ago we had Chicken Noodle Soup. (I used my Turkey Noodle Soup recipe and used two chicken carcasses for the broth instead of one turkey carcass.)

My most used cookbook is Betty Crocker's orange cover from way back when. I used my first one up and had to buy another on Ebay. I bought one for Jacob when he moved out. It has basic but tasty recipes. It has never let me down. :)

Mexican Lasagna

I haven't made this in a long while, but we had ground beef and it just sounded better than soup. This is from The Best of Country Cooking by Reiman Publications-1993.

I double this!

1-1/2 lbs. ground beef
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper (cayenne)
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 16 oz. can chopped tomatoes
10-12 corn tortillas
2 cups small curd cottage cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (with peppers-optional)
1 egg
2 cups shredded lettuce
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
3 green onions
1/4 cup sliced black olives

Brown ground beef; drain thoroughly. Add cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, red pepper/cayenne, salt, black pepper and tomatoes; heat through. Cover bottom and sides of a 13" x 9" x 2" baking dish with tortillas. Pour beef mixture over tortillas; place a layer of tortillas over meat mixture and set aside. Combine cottage cheese, Monterey Jack cheese and egg; pour over tortillas. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, green onions and olives over casserole. Yield 6-8 servings.

Now the way they have it photographed in the cookbook there is a diagonal row of green onions, olives, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese in the middle, lettuce, tomatoes, olives and onions. The onions are in opposite corners and each row gets longer until the single cheese row in the middle. Of course, you can just sprinkle all of it all over the top and then everyone would get some of every topping.

Guacamole

2 avocados (smashed with a fork)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
few dashes of hot sauce

Combine all the ingredients and serve with tortilla chips or put on your tacos. Enjoy!

Just so you know I used twelve avocados for about ten people and it went VERY fast.

Onion Swiss Steak

2 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 pound beef boneless bottom or top round, tip or chuck steak 1/2" thick
1 tablespoon shortening
1-10 3/4 oz. can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
envelope of onion soup mix or 1/4 cup minced onion, 2 tablespoons instand beef bouillon & 1/2 teaspoon onion

Mix flour and pepper. Sprinkle one side of beef steak with half of the flour mixture; pound in. Turn beef and pound in remaining four mixture. Cut beef into four or five serving pieces.

Heat shortening in ten inch skillet until melted. Cook beef over medium heat until brown, about fifteen minutes.

Mix the soup, water and bouillon/onion mix together and pour on beef. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer until beef is tender, about forty-five minutes.

Makes 4-5 servings.

I always double/triple this recipe, and I quadruple the amount of soup mix so that I can have extra gravy for my mashed potatoes.

Carne Asada Tacos

Skirt steak or Flank steak
Corn tortillas (the smaller the better, Street tacos in Tijuana are very small.)
cilantro
tomato
avocado
onion
sour cream
cheese
hot sauce

BBQ the steak and cut into small pieces. I don't season mine or do anything to it other than take it out of the package and cook it.

While the meat is cooking cut up your onion, cilantro, tomato, avocado and set out your other condiments in bowls.

Heat up your corn tortillas. Don't fry them, just heat them up. I heat mine in my cast iron skillet.

Set everything out on the counter and you're ready to go!

Red Beans & Rice

2 lbs dried red beans, rinsed and sorted over

Place the beans in a large pot, and cover with water by 2 inches or 12-16 cups of water. Boil 3 minutes, cover and soak 1-4 hours, adding water as needed to keep beans covered.

Drain off soak water and rinse and set aside.

Heat 6 Tablespoons of bacon grease, oil, or shortening over medium-high heat in frying pan.

To hot grease add:

3 cups chopped yellow onions
1-1/2 cups chopped celery

Saute a bit

To onions & celery add:

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 sprinkles of cayenne pepper
6 bay leaves
4 tablespoons parsley
4 teaspoons thyme
6 tablespoons chopped garlic

After a few minutes of sauteeing the seasonings & onion/celery mixture put the beans back into a big, big pot and all of the above ingredients. To this you will add 20 cups of chicken stock or water (for quick chicken stock, just add 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon for each cup of water)

Add a nice big ham bone or several ham hocks to the beans, seasonings, and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender and starting to thicken, about two hours. If the beans become thick and dry, add more water, about 1/4 cup at a time.

When the beans are tender and the ham is falling off the bone, take the bone out and go through your beans (I use a strainer with a pot underneath to make sure to catch my liquid) to make sure there aren't any small bones are pieces of fat in your meal. When you're satisfied you can add everything back into the pot and continue heating.

Serve with white rice. I made 12 cups of rice and have used it all even making rice as needed. This lasted us for dinner and several lunches. All my children enjoy it!

Granola

Many years ago I was on the MOMYS board and an acquaintance that I went to an Above Rubies retreat with posted this recipe. I've tweaked it to my liking. My version is below. I thought I lost it, but found it today! Steve has asked me to make this again., but he has to go to the healthfood store to buy some of the items.

Good Day Granola
8 cups rolled oats
1-1/4 cups brown sugar
1-1/2 cups unprocessed bran
1-1/2 cups natural wheat germ
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup walnuts
1 cup coconut
3/4 cup canola oil
1 cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips.

Stir oats, sugar, bran, wheat germ, sunflower seeds and walnuts in a large bowl. Heat oil and honey in small pan on low heat until bubbly. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour liquids over dry ingredients and mix THROUGHLY! Divide mixture evenly and spread on two rimmed cookie sheets. Bake in a preheated oven at 325* for 15-20 minutes and stirring once to keep granola evenly browned. When completely cool, add in chocolate chips (unless you kind of want the choc. to melt in a little-yum) Store in an airtight container.

No Bake Cookies

If you like peanut butter and oatmeal together then this is a recipe for you! Jesse thinks these are better than fudge and fudge is just about his absolute favorite thing in the world.

No Bake Cookies
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1/2 butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
4 cups uncooked oats

Cook sugar, cocoa, milk, and butter over medium heat until it starts to boil. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat. Add in vanilla, salt, peanut butter and oatmeal. Stir well, then drop by spoonful on to waxed paper. Let them sit and they'll harden up.