Crustless Turkey Pot Pie Topped with Stuffing

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

I had a great time with my family and friends! 

I wish I could have stayed another few weeks! 

Always so much to do and not enough time to fit it all in!

Anyway....

My mom made this great crustless version of a chicken pot pie... turkey style

It actually would be a great dish to serve on Thanksgiving if you didn't have a turkey

It's got all the fixings.... turkey, stuffing... and so on.

But we made it after Thanksgiving with all our leftover turkey. 

We had a lot of leftovers

My mom made a LOT of food

As always

So, she got creative and made this dish.

We ate it with a side of leftover mashed potatoes

And my leftover pumpkin cheesecake

Basically an awesome leftover meal. 

If you want to try it out, check it out below:

Ingredients:
2 C Turkey/chicken, cooked & diced
2 Potatoes, diced
2 Carrots, diced
1/2 C Onion, finely diced
1 Can corn, drained  (or peas, green beans etc.)
2 Cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 C Chicken broth
2 Boxes stove top stuffing (whole wheat turkey)  Any kind would do
1/4 tsp Chicken seasoning
1/8 tsp Pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Boil the potatoes and carrots until they are half done
Drain and set aside
Sautee Onions (or boil them with the other veggies if you don't want to sautee them)
Add veggies to a bowl and add all other ingredients except stove top.
Mix well and place in a greased 9x13 dish
Prepare stovetop according to package directions and add to top of chicken mix
Bake for 45 min or until heated through


Here is a photo taken after we all dove in... I totally forgot to take a pic until after we ate!

***Review:

Hubs and I loved this.  3 of the kiddos ate it and 2 hated it.... I know, shocking!  All the other adults loved it too.  It was a great way to eat up all the leftover turkey!

**Tips:

You can add any veggies you want to this dish... it's up to you.  Don't leave out the potatoes, but pretty much anything you want to add will work.  You could probably even throw all the ingredients in the crockpot (adding the stuffing the last 1/2 hour or so) and it would be great! You might add a little more broth and cook for about 3-4 hours on low. 

Happy Thanksgiving

So tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the US

I have so many blessing in my life and so much to be thankful for!

No, my life is not perfect.... but I thank God every day for everything I have

Imperfections and all!

I am thankful for my family and friends!

I have been blessed with the best of both.

We have lived many places over the years and I love that I have friends all over

We have a great family that I love!

What more could a person ask for! 

You could have all the money in the world, but if you don't have the blessing of sharing your life with others, what good would it do?

I'd like to say Thank you to you for reading my blog

And if I am lucky enough to be able to call you friend (or family)

Thank you for that as well.

As for a recipe today......

there won't be one.

I am taking a blogging break to spend time with my most important people this week

So, I'll see you all next Monday!

Have a great holiday! 

PS  I made another pumpkin cheesecake today to share with my family! 

Sassy Crockpot Chicken BBQ

I haven't posted since Friday.

Sorry!

Normally, I don't post on the weekends anyway.

But this past week has been "off" in the way of posting

Last week I had internet/computer issues

Then yesterday..... oh yesterday

 I made a crockpot meal I have been wanting to make for weeks.

I found it somewhere online and was so excited to try it.

It had artichokes in it.... which I love.

Well, I finally made it and couldn't wait to taste it.

Um.... I never did actually taste it!

Well, not really!

Not like, a full bite or anything.

Lets just say the chicken was GREEN! 

Yes, green.

Very un appetizing to say the least. 

NO ONE LIKED IT! 

Even hubs... who usually likes everything.

I decided not to try it at all.

The smell was enough!

We all get a dinner disaster once in a while.

So I'm not sweating it!

But, that's why I didn't blog... there was nothing to say or show

I won't subject you to the recipe.....and there were no photos allowed!

The End! :)

On to todays cooking!

I keep hearing about McDonald's McRib sandwich.

I don't like fast food....

But I do like BBQ

I almost ordered one today.

Whew... close call.

So, I came home and threw some stuff in the crockpot to quench my cravings

I guess it's called sassy because it has some italian dressing in it.... which is a little different. 

Sometimes different is good.... sometimes not.

We shall see!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1 (18 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce
• 1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Place chicken in a slow cooker.
In a bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce.
 Pour over the chicken.
Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low

***Review:
These were good!  Very very good!  I loved them and hubs loved them.  Kids say "it's super good"  What more can you ask for?
They were pretty easy to make too... definitely adding it to my favorites list!

**Tips:
Today I served these on hoagie rolls.  Usually, I would serve them on a hard roll or Italian bread.  But these are what I had on hand.  Top them with a little cheddar and they are awesome!  Sometimes in a cuban BBQ sandwich, they will add pickles... this is awesome too!  Gives a little cruch and that sweet/salty flavor I love!
Just and FYI, you definitely want to cook these for a while to get them to shred consistency.  I cooked on high for 4 hours and then gave it another hour  because they weren't quite ready.  They were cooked, but didn't easliy shred.

Also, there seems to be a lot of liquid in the crockpot, I just took the chicken out, shredded it and put it back in to "marinate" for a little while.  You could add more BBQ sauce if you want it more saturated.. but I think it's good just how it is!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Oh my!

That's all I have to say about this!

Not really.

I have been waiting to taste this thing ALL day

Totally worth it.

I have never made a cheesecake before

I thought it would be hard.

Making my little cheesecake minis a few weeks ago showed me that it isn't hard at all

So, I decided that since we're doing all things pumpkin ,and since I do not want to make pumpkin pie,

Well, this would be the perfect dessert.

I was not wrong.

I actually took a few different recipes and sized them up and then came up with my own concoction

I don't think you'll be disappointed

I know I'm not

We'll see what the neighbor/taste tester thinks

This was supposed to be her cheesecake

Payment for babysitting my kids

But since my internet was down yesterday and I couldn't access my recipes, I couldn't make it

Today she is going out of town for the Holiday

She won't get the whole cheesecake... but I will make sure she gets the piece in the picture before she leaves.

I'll make her another dessert soon

Anyway... on to the recipe.

One warning... it IS very easy... but there is a LOT of waiting involved.  This is best made the day before you want to serve it..... trust me! 

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 3/4 C crushed Nilla wafers
1/4 C Brown sugar
1/3 C Butter, melted


Filling:
1 container (24 ounces) nonfat cottage cheese (3 cups)
1 1/2 pkg  (12 ounces) Neufchatel/cream-cheese
1-1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
2 large egg whites
2 large eggs
1 can (16 ounces) pumpkin puree (2 cups)
2 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Toppings:

Carmel:
1 1/2 Stick butter
3/4 C Brown sugar
1/2 C Heavy cream

Candied nuts:
1 C Nuts (walnuts, pecans or almonds)
4 Tbs White sugar


Directions:

Crust:
Lightly grease bottom and sides of 9x3-inch springform pan.

In case you don't know, this is a springform pan.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (only for the crust)
Put the cookies in a food processor and blend until you get small crumbs
OR you can roll then with a rolling pin or crush them in a bag ...get creative
Add the sugar and mix
Add the melted butter and mix until coated
Using the bottom on a greased glass, press the crumb mixture into the bottom and an inch up the sides of a springform pan
Bake at 350 for 6 minutes
Set aside
Turn oven down to 325 degrees and go on to cake filling directions below

Filling:
Heat oven to 325 degrees F. (only for the cheesecake)
Process cottage cheese and cream cheese in a food processor or blender about 2 minutes until thick and smooth.
Add brown sugar, process until sugar dissolves.
Add eggs and egg whites and process just until blended.
Transfer mix to a large bowl.
Stir in pumpkin, cornstarch, spice and vanilla until well blended and smooth.

Pour into crust.

Bake 1 hour and 20 minutes or until top of cake looks set.

Turn oven off.

Cool completely on wire rack in oven

Cover and refrigerate in pan at least 6 hours or up to 4 days.
See?  Here is where all that waiting comes in....grrr!

Toppings:

When ready to serve, you can add this yummy topping:

Nuts:

Spray a fry pan with Pam and add 3 TBS sugar and 1 C nuts

I used walnuts, but pecans or slivered almonds would work too
Cook nuts & Sugar until sugar melts and carmelizes onto nuts

(don't cook too long or the sugar will burn)
Set aside to cool
Place on cake whole or chopped up
Carmel:
Melt butter and sugar in sauce pan
Add heavy cream and bring to boil
Simmer for 3 minutes, stir often
let cool and drizzle over nuts on cake

***Review:
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!  Is that enough?  Everyone but the child allergic to pumpkin LOVED it!  He didn't get to try any.  It's ok, don't feel bad.  He wasn't even home ;)  It actually tastes similar to pumpkin pie (but way better) but I'm not complaining... no one else is either!
UPDATE:  Here is the neighbor's response: "Not to be the bragging neighbor or anything, but YES, YES once again I got to eat this too. My husband thinks pumpkin pie is just OK, but this cheesecake I'm thinking must have rocked to him b/c he ate nearly the whole piece and it was a large piece!!"
**Tips:
I will state the obvious first... you don't have to use any of the toppings.  I just wanted to.  You could just used whipped cream really... or nothing at all.
Using the glass to press the crumb crust into the pan is really the BEST way to go.  I tried it other ways... didn't work.
You have to wait for the cheesecake to be fully cooled before you can take it off the springform base.  Trust me... I tried that too.  Almost a disaster.  I am not the most patient person!

Apple Pumpkin Bisque

Well, in the spirit of "All things Pumpkin" I tried to make a dinner that incorporated pumpkin

I mean, this is a dinner site after all

I know a lot of desserts have pumpkin... so that part is easy

But dinner?  Well, not so much

Soup is about the closest thing I can find

I tried an apple squash bisque a few weeks ago and I liked it

So, since squash and pumpkin are related, I figured I'd search for a similar recipe

I found a few

Most of them call for the same ingredients, so it was easy to just pick one

Since I already had the pumpkin ready, it was very easy to make.

I didn't take long at all.
I did change the recipe up slightly from the original and the recipe reflects my changes

Here we go

Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon unsalted butter ( I used salted, because that's what I had on hand)
1/2  small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger root ( I used 1/2 tsp ground ginger)
2 1/2 C pumpkin purée
1 1/2 C  unsweetened applesauce
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) chicken broth
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon apple-cider vinegar

1 cinnamon stick

1 small, dried chile pepper ( I didn't use this)

Pinch ground nutmeg

Salt and ground white pepper, to taste

1/2 cup heavy cream or sour cream ( I used the heavy cream)

Directions:

Melt butter over medium heat in a large, heavy saucepan.

Sauté the onion and ginger until onion is tender, about 4 minutes.

Add all other ingredients (except the cream), and simmer about 15 minutes until flavors are blended.
 Stir in cream just before serving.

This is what the soup looked like after I stirred the cream in

***Review:
I am still not sure what I think about this soup.  I have a major cold/sinus infection and can't taste much.  Probably a bad time to be taste testing new foods huh?  I didn't like it at all until I added the cream at the end, and then I liked it.  (But I can't be trusted since I couldn't even taste the bitter stuff the dentist put in my mouth yesterday)
2 Children ran to the sink to spit it out immediately...lol   I am guessing it's a thumbs down in the kid area.  It is kind of a savory soup and not really kid friendly I guess.  As of this posting, Hubs is working late and hasn't tasted it yet.  I am definitely curious to see what he will think!
UPDATE:  Hubs loves the soup... says it could use some cheese. Baby also loves the soup, although his opinion is questionable since he is also walking around eating a raw onion. 


**Tips:
If I were to have the motivation (which my cold has sucked from me) I would put this soup in the food processor to blend up all the onion bits... I think that would add to the texture.  Obvioulsy, it's not necessary, but definitely would be good.  Also, you might think of adding a bit less of the chicken broth until you get the texture you're looking for.  I personally, thought it needed to be thicker, but I added the broth in the beginning .
Do NOT forget the cream in this soup... trust me.
As for serving, I would most definitely not eat this alone... it's a very light soup and just wouldn't cut the "meal" status at my house.  I added a little cream on top before serving and if I'd had any, a sprinkle of chives would have looked awesome!  But, sick people don't grocery shop....so I didn't have any.



Pumpkin Scones & Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Scones

I have never ever made a scone!

Before today that is.

I don't think I'd ever eaten one either. 

I didn't really even know what they were exactly

But that's ok... because they looked yummy

And I have some pumpkin puree to use up!

My friend Kara also does a food blog.

She had a recipe for these yummy scones and I've always wanted to try them

I just never had the motivation before

Well this time, one of her readers suggested a pumpkin scone recipe

Bingo!

Just up my alley!

So, here's Kara's reader recipe for pumpkin scones

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
4T Sugar
1 T Baking Powder
1 stick butter (1/2 Cup)
1 C pumpkin puree
1 T of milk
1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice (or a mix of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves).
1C raisins or chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix all dry ingredients together
Then add:1/2 Cup (1 cube) butter cut in with pastry cutter until crumbly (I cube up my cold butter before I throw it in) *see photo at bottom of page
Mix in 1 C pumpkin puree + 1 T of milk + 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice

Kara's reader recipe calls for chocolate chips here.. but I opted for 3/4 C raisins and they complimented the pumpkin wonderfully!  Plus, I am not a huge chocolate fan.

Pat into round on a floured cookie sheet. Sprinkle with cinammon & sugar. Cut into 8 pie wedges. Separate onto cookie sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden brown on the bottom




and then here is Kara's original recipe for the regular ol' buttermilk scones with chocolate chips

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
4T Sugar
1 T Baking Powder
1 stick butter (1/2 Cup)
1 C Chocolate chips
1 C Buttermilk or nonfat plain yogurt
**Also - if you don't have either on hand, just add 1 Tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar plus enough milk to make 1 Cup and that will be your buttermilk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix all dry ingredients together
Then add:1/2 Cup (1 cube) butter cut in with pastry cutter until crumbly (I cube up my cold butter before I throw it in)
Mix in the buttermilk

You can add chocolate chips here if you want to ( trust me... you want to)

Pat into round on a floured cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut into 8 pie wedges. Separate onto cookie sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden brown on the bottom



***Review:
The kids really liked these.  My 5 yr old said... where's the pumpkin flavor? in the pumpkin ones.  I really should have added more raisins.... they definitely helped bring out the flavor.  The Buttermilk chocolate chips scones were by far the favorite.   I brought these to my bible study and everyone liked them.  Or... they were being polite...lol   But, they ate them.... so that's good.  I personally didn't love them.  I am not a "cake" person, and these are pretty much a cakey-biscuit (if I had to describe them).  They aren't really that sweet, and I like sweet.  BUT... they were great dipped in my coffee.... so I did like them that way.   Hubs tried one and liked it too!  They are, however, very easy to make and I think would be great with morning coffee too!

**Tips:
I think the only thing I would do different is to add at least double the raisins to the pumpkin ones next time... 
Also, just an FYI, I didn't have buttermilk (who actually keeps that in their fridge?) so I used the lemon juice/milk combo.  I do keep lemon juice on hand :) and I used mini chocolate chips.  One of the suggestions on Kara's blog is to add chunks of cream cheese and dried cherries to the mix... if I ever make these again, that will be the recipe I try!
One tip for the novice pastry chef. If you want to see what a pastry cutter looks like click here
I couldn't find mine, so I just used a fork to cut/blend the butter into the flour.... it takes a little more time but it can be done that way.  Also cutting the butter up into small chunks makes it easier when using a fork!
The photo here shows what "crumbly" should look like:

All things Pumpkin

Thanksgiving is coming!

Not that my neighbors know this... because they all have their Christmas lights & trees up already

Ahem.... anyway.

I am thinking about all things pumpkin & baking

I normally don't do this, so I'm going to go with it

I bought some cute little pie pumpkins for my boys to paint before halloween

We ran out of time to do that so they've just been sitting here staring at me for a few weeks

I couldn't just let them go to waste

But, I've never done anything with a real pumpkin besides carve it

I assumed cooking it was similar to cooking squash but I wasn't sure

So, I googled "how to cook a pumpkin" and found this handy dandy site

I also saw some great recipes online and decided to make a few of them

I am sick of plain old pumpkin pie... so I am opting for a pumpkin cheesecake

And some pumpkin scones ( I am hi-jacking those off my friend kara's site)

These will all be in my up & coming Holiday posts

I promise they won't be difficult recipes....

Pureeing your own pumpkin, however, is a pain in the butt ( I won't lie)

But, I had to try it... and now I have to share it!

This is what I did to my little pie pumpkins this morning.

In case you a have a few pumpkins that you're feeling angry with.....

You'll notice that they are not all nicely cut... 2 of them were so hard that I had to smash them on my tile floor because the knife wouldn't even penetrate them.  Not fun!

Anyway.... here we go!

Ingredients:
- 4 pie pumpkins (yes, there are "pie" pumpkins ... not all pumpkins are good for making pies)

Directions:
** I made these 2 different ways... just to see if there was a difference or one was easier than the other
I would recommend the boiling.. it's faster. But I will post them both

• Wash the exterior of the pumpkin in cool or warm water, no soap.
• Cut the pumpkin in half. 
• Scoop out the seeds and scrape the insides.  You want to get out that stringy, dangly stuff that coats the inside surface.
• Baking in the oven:
• Heat oven to 350 degrees
• place pumpkin pieces face down in baking dish
• fill dish with about 2 inches of water

• Bake for about 45 minutes or until pumpkin is soft and a knife goes right through it

OR

• Boiling in a pot:
• Place pumpkin in large pot
• cover with water
• Once the water is boiling it should take about 10 minutes until done
• When pumpkin is really soft it's done
• Scraping the cooked pumpkin:
• Using a spoon gently lift and scoop the cooked pumpkin out of the skin.  It should separate easily and in fairly large chucks if the pumpkin is cooked enough
• Place in a bowl then add to food processor in batches


• Blend the pumpkin until smooth

And ..... you're Done!

Now the pumpkin can be placed in freezer bags and frozen until you are ready to use it...or start baking your pumpkin goodies right now.  You can use this just like canned pumpkin.

I am using some today & tomorrow and freezing some to use for a thanksgiving treat!

***Review:
This was not the most difficult thing to do.... but I wouldn't say it's something I would do all the time.  Honestly, opening a can of store bought pumpkin is much much easier.  But.... this is not difficult... just time consuming.
It was fun to do... the kids always love helping me do something different... so that was a bonus.  Today was one of those rare days that not much was going on so I was able to make this stress free..... and in my jammies!  At least now I know if there's ever a time that I can't find canned pumpkin, I can make my own.

**Tips:
Well, as I mentioned above, boiling the pumpkin was much faster and the pumpkin cooked more uniformly.  I thought baking it would give it a different flavor... more rich & roasted tasting...but it didn't.  Same exact flavor... so I say, if you have a large enough pot... boil it.  Either way... it's cooked.
I was also thinking that this would make great baby food.  I mean, how fresh and natural can you get?
Also, it would be good to use in recipes from Jessica Seinfelds book Deceptively Delicous (which you can actually see in my kitchen in the background of this photo)
Here's a tip from the site I found: "To eliminate watery pumpkin, I strain my pureed pumpkin through a cloth overnight. If I use frozen pumpkin I do the same again as it thaws out. It works great and my pies cook beautifully."


I am looking for some different ways to use this pumpkin puree!
Do you have any yummy pumpkin recipes you want to share with me?
E mail them to me at thedinnerdrama@hotmail.com

Homemade Peanut Butter!

Sorry about not getting this posted last night.

We are having some major computer issues

Not quite sure what it is, but my internet access last night was almost zero

It was like having dial up all over again.... do you remember dial up?  Blech!

This morning, it seems to be working ok.

Anyway, I wanted to share with you my peanut butter recipe.

Well, it's not mine, and it's not exactly a recipe... but you get the idea.

Here are the reasons I make my own peanut butter

1. It's very very easy
2. It's healthier than any of those store bought ones with trans fats and all that other junk in them
3. It is 100% peanuts and NOTHING else... no preservatives no oils... nothing!
3. It's cheaper
4. Kids LOVE it

I never thought it would be this easy .... the thought of making your own...well, anything seemed a bit
over achiever-ish. 

Let me assure you that this is not the case.  This is E-A-S-Y!  Really!

My friend Alisha makes fun of me for making my own peanut butter... but that's ok because her daughter loves my peanut butter and thinks it's the best in the world... I can live with that :)

All the kids LOVE making peanut butter. 

My friend Kara's daughter has helped me make it too..as well as a few of my son's friends. They just think it's so neat how the nuts turn into peanut butter right before their little eyes!

Kids love to cook and it's such a fun & easy thing to do with them! 

It makes a healthy snack too!

Ingredients:
- 2 (1 lb) Jars of  honey roasted peanuts ( I use any kind that's on sale)
- Food processor ( I know it's not an ingredient... but you have to have this to make the peanut butter)
- Air tight storage container 32 oz or larger (yes, also not an ingredient... but necessary)

Directions:

Place 1 jar of the nuts in the food processor at a time

Turn it on high for 2 to 3  minutes
(it will get lumpy and look like a crumbly dough at first)
***(If you like crunchy peanut butter then here is where we add another step
      When you first turn on the food processor and the nuts are just getting ground up, stop the mixing & take out about a cup of the ground up nuts.  You can add those back in at the end to make it "crunchy")

When it's done it will be smooth like this:

If it's not smooth enough for you, then blend it for another minute or so.

Next scrape it out with a spatula into your storage container like this:

2 (1lb) Jars of nuts make 32 ounces of  yummy peanut butter

***Review:
This is good peanut butter.  Everyone loves it.  I don't know what more I can say.  It's a healthier and tastier option than store bought.  Even the natural store bought isn't this good!  One thing you might notice is that it's a bit more grainy than Jiffy, but that's because we aren't adding all the stuff used to soften it.  It didn't take much to get used to the texture at all.  The kids have never noticed.  If you're used to store bought natural PB then it's pretty much the same texture as that.

** Tips:
This peanut butter can stay on the shelf in your pantry for about 3 months.  If you have kids, it won't last that long anyway...lol
You can easily make this organic by going to trader joe's and buying organic nuts.  I haven't gotten around to that yet... but that's the plan.
I used to use plain nuts and add real honey as I made it, but I don't do that anymore.  I found that the honey crystalized in the PB and makes it hard and not that spreadable. 
Using honey roasted nuts still gives it a sweet honey flavor but it stays nice and smooth.
I recommend putting this in a container with an open top.  If you let it sit a while, the oil separates and you need to mix it a little (not near as bad as the store bought).  If you have an open top, it's much much easier to mix than if it's in a jar. 

Let me know what you think!

Would you ever try this?

Does it look do-able?

Do you want to make fun of me too?  LOL

Leave me a comment and let me know!

Leftover Soup

We're still working on the leftover grilled steak from Tuedsay
Leftovers....... mmmmm!

I didn't always think that way.

My mom doesn't eat them, my grandmother doesn't eat them

I didn't eat them either.

I do not like them Sam I am! (sorry, I couldn't resist)

But... then I met my hubby.

He likes leftovers

At one point, I joked that he would eat boiled paper if you put hot sauce on it.

I was kind of serious though... during the college years he may have even tried that

Since meeting me his standards have gone up.....

and mine have gone down.

In the FOOD area people.... FOOD!

Remember, this blog is about food?

Anyway.... He is much pickier about food these days and as for me?

Well, I eat leftovers now

I actually love them

(here is where I really want to add another Green Eggs & Ham quote... but I am refraining)

I eat them all the time and I love love love to re-use them in another dish

I love to recycle too... and re-use.

Maybe I should call this recycled soup? 

Hmmm.. maybe not!

Anway, I went to a class once on saving money

She taught how to be frugal in grocery shopping and all that

She taught how to re-use food you would normally throw out.

Ok... don't get all grossed out on on me now!

I am talking about that last little tablespoon of corn left in the bowl after dinner

(NOT off someone's plate)

Those few green beans that no one will eat.

Not enough for a serving and so you just throw it away.

STOP!

Now there is a better way.

Get a ziplock freezer bag.

Label it leftover veggies or meat

Everytime you are done with dinner and have a few carrots or some corn,broccoli, green beans.. anything really..

Put it into this bag in the freezer.

You will be shocked at how fast this bag will fill up

I do the same thing with meat too.

Sick of eating pot roast AGAIN? 

Toss the rest in a freezer bag... juice, onions and all.

When the bags are full... it's time to make leftover soup.

You are basically getting a FREE meal.

These are all little bits of things you will toss anyway... but are perfectly good.

And the mixing of all the flavors is awesome! 

It's never really the same soup because there's always something different about it.

Sometimes it has beans, sometimes it doesn't.... and so on.

Anyway.... I love this soup.  I keep the bags in my freezer door and pretty much add to it every night.

E-A-S-Y!

Ingredients:
- 1 pkg McCormick Beef Stew seasoning
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 2 tsp garlic powder (or to taste)
- 1 (32oz) Beef or Chicken broth/stock
- 1 C water
-1 bag of leftover veggies
- bag of leftover beef
- *1 can diced tomatoes (optional)

Directions:
Add everything to a large pot and cook for a few hours

Cook some small noodles and serve them in the soup

See? E-A-S-Y!

***Review:

Hubs and I love this soup! The kids are iffy... sometimes they eat it sometimes not.  All those veggies in one place freak them out....lol   They do like it better if I serve the "ABC" noodles with it.  I love that this is an easy and free dinner.  Easy and Free.... what more could you ask for.

Hubs is not a soup person... so this only goes over for a day or two.  He doesn't think soup is a meal.  Luckily, you can only make this every few months. 

**Tips:

If you don't have enough veggies left or if you want to make this from "fresh" veggies.. you can still do it.  Just add cans or frozen of whatever veggies you want.  It's pretty much a free for all.  I have never mixed chicken and beef but I suppose you could do that too.  I just like mine this way because it's pretty much Beef Vegetable soup... and I like that.  But do whatever you want.  You can't really mess it up.

You can even put it in the crockpot. 

Everything is already cooked, so just toss it in on warm or low and let it heat up...  you might want to add a bit more liquid if you're going to cook it all day.  This is one of those things that is even better on the second day!
As for seasonings... keep tasting as you go... you may need less or more of somethings depending on how seasoned the meat was that you put in.  If it's too salty... just add more water.

Serve it over any kind of noodles you like... or none at all.

Sesame Beef & Chicken Stir fry

So last night's steak had purpose in today's meal (and tomorrow's)

I almost always make more than we need for one dinner so we can use it for lunch or for another meal

I like to cook this way because it saves me a lot of time

I like to save time! 

I think you probably do too.

This post is going to be to the point today...

I had dentist appointments for 3 kiddos ... no naps and a thingy at school tonight that I have to take ALL the kids to by myself because the husband has to work late!  (did I mention no naps?)

Oh the joy!

I am tired.... so I have no energy to write a fun post! 

I am really just wanting to take a nap!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
- 3 steaks (raw or cooked) cut into very thin strips
- 3 chicken breasts (raw or cooked) cut into very thin strips

- 1 small onion finely sliced

- 1 bag stir fry vegetables or parisian style veggies or fresh veggies

- sesame oil

- soy sauce

- 1 jar Ty Ling sesame sauce

- *1 (5 oz) can water chestnuts

-* 1 (15 oz) can baby corn

(*optional)

Directions:

Add 2 tsp oil to pan/wok

Add onions to pan when oil is hot

Cook onions until carmelized

Add vegetables

If using fresh broccoli add a little water to the wok (2 Tbs)

Add a few shakes of soy sauce to the veggies while cooking

When veggies are done, take them out of the pan and set aside in a bowl

Add a few more tsp of oil to the pan

When it's hot add the raw meat 1st (my chicken was raw)

Add a few shakes of soy and cook until done (just a minute or 2)

Add the cooked meat (my steak was already cooked)

Immediately add the Ty Ling Sesame sauce to the meat (aprox 1/4 C)

Let the sesame sauce cook down for about 3 minutes

Add vegetables

Add more Ty Ling Sesame sauce (about 1/4C)

Cook for a few more minutes to blend flavors and you're done

Serve over white or brown rice

***Reviews:
A-W-E-S-O-M-E!-  I LOVE this stuff!  I love Asian food, but we can't always afford to eat out.  I found this sauce one day and thought I'd give it a try... oh..my ... goodness.  It's sooo good!  So, whenever I make steak for dinner this is always dinner for the next day!  Hubs loves this dinner and the kids LOVE this.  Yes, I know it seems wierd that they would eat this with all its veggie friends inside.. but they do.  Add "Chinese" to anything and they are all about it.  Too bad this is one of the few "chinese" dishes I can make! Anyway, I hope you try it because it's really very easy. 

**Tips:
You can use raw or already cooked meat in this... which I love.  I didn't have enough leftover steak so I used that and the raw chicken... it was actually better having the combo. Make sure you cut the meat very thin... wok cooking is supposed to be "high heat" so you want things to cook fast and not burn.  Also, if you don't have a wok, you can use a fry pan... just make sure it's a big one!  Oh and sometimes I add sesame seeds to this while cooking and then as a garnish after... but I totally forgot this time!
 I used a frozen veggies in this.. and I always have before, but I find that the frozen bags ususally are lacking in the broccoli area... so I added a little fresh broccoli too... I just cooked it first so it wasn't so "raw", then added the other veggies.  I liked the fresh broccoli better... though frozen would work just fine. 
I usually add water chestnuts and baby corn if I have them... I didn't tonight.  It still tastes good.
Basically, meat, broccoli and the sauce is all you really need.
And if I'm being honest here.... even though brown rice is healthier.. and that's what I used.... I definitely prefer white rice with this.  Not sure why. I didn't have any though... so brown minute rice it was.  Speaking of rice... make sure to put the water on for the rice right about the time to start the veggies cooking or just before so that it can be done when the stir fry is done. 

I hope you like this recipe! Pleae let me know if/when you try it out!  I'm curious to know what you think.
Also, if you have any great "Asian" recipes....I would love it if you would share them with me.  You can send them to thedinnerdrama@hotmail.com
 I can't wait make some reader recipes to post on here!

Grilled Steak... with a purpose

The weather here is beautiful! 

It's near 70 degrees in November... I love that

I grew up in Michigan and there is sometimes snow by now

I never remember being able to go to the park with the kids in November when I lived there

Weather like this makes me want to grill some food

So, I will

Now, just in case you care, we eat deer meat

So the steaks I grill are deer... not cow. 

But you can grill cow meat if you like.... the result is the same

But mine was free (just sayin')

Anyway.....  I used to be afraid to grill steak.

I thought you had to have mad steak grilling skills

You don't... not really anyway

I mean, you could get all fancy with them

But, that's not what this blog is all about right?

Let's start with the basics... and we can get fancy in a few months maybe?

This is a very basic recipe.... if it's even a recipe. 

But really I am grilling this very basic steak because it will make a great dinner tonight and.....

Then, I will use the rest for 2 other dinners this week. (here's where the "purpose" in the title comes in)

Kind of along the same lines as my mass grilled chicken post

Ingredients:

- 6 steaks
- 1/2 C olive oil
- 2 Tbs garlic salt
-1 Tbs season salt

Directions:
Place steaks in olive oil to marinate for a few hours
Let them get to room temperature
Place steaks on platter
Sprinkle seasoning evenly over steaks on both sides (you don't have to use it all.... use your judgement)
Grill steaks a few minutes on each side until done to your liking.
We like ours rare so that doesn't take all that long
Enjoy!
It's pretty simple

***Review:
We have been eating this for years.  Everyone loves this. The kids sometimes like it with ketchup but I'm ok with that.  It's an easy easy easy go to dinner!

**Tips:
Sometimes I don't decide we're eating this until oh, about an hour before we eat...lol  so, I just take the meat out of the freezer, put the bag in hot water and thaw it quickly.  You don't have to marinate it for hours.. it's just a little better if you do. As for the spices.. you can do whatever you want there. I like mine salty... if you don't then just adjust the seasoning to taste.  Sometimes we even serve it with horseradish on the side... that's yummy.  As for cooking time, I'm sorry I can't be more precise... it really depends on the thickness of your steaks and how you like them done.  But I can tell that when the meat feels "squishy" in the center... that means it's pretty rare.  The more you do it the better you get at knowing when it's done.... this is where the mad skills come in ;)

(I can't wait to turn this into stir fry tomorrow night)

Stuffed Shells

So last week I made some homemade pasta sauce

 I used that sauce in tonight's great recipe

I think I've mentioned before that cooler weather makes me want warm, cheesy, savory comfort foods

Usually, I would make lasagna

But... since I'm doing this blog now, I figure you don't want multiple recipes for lasagna right?

So, I go to the next best thing....

Stuffed shells

It's pretty much still lasagna.... only fancier.

And a little more work

But, it's good and I like good food!

My mother in law made this last Christmas and I really liked it.

I was just too lazy to make it myself....lol

But I wanted to give you something different and I really had a lot of fun doing it

The kids had fun watching me too

They liked the sea shell shaped noodles .... A LOT. 


Ingredients:

- 1 box large pasta shells
- 3/4 C Parmesan (shredded not the powder stuff)
- 1 (24oz) small curd cottage cheese (or Ricotta cheese)
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tsp basil
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 3/4 tsp pepper
- 4 C spaghetti sauce
- 1 1/2 C Mozzarella Cheese (shredded)

Directions:

Boil noodles until al dente ( or slightly underdone)
Drain noodles and set aside
Spread 1 C sauce evenly on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish ( so the shells don't stick)

 In a bowl, mix the cottage cheese, egg, 1/2 C parmesan, basil, garlic salt and pepper.
*This next step is not necessary, but makes stuffing shells much easier.  You can just use a spoon instead.
Using a spatula, scrape the cheese mixture into a ziplock bag/pastry bag

Snip off the corner of the bag
Squeeze cheese mixture into each shell. Aprox 2 Tbs per shell
Don't overstuff shells.
Close up the seam and place shells on their sides into baking dish close together

I fit 2 rows of 10 shells and then 4 extra on the bottom
(the extra cheese you see laying in there is just what I had left over)
Once all shells are filled and placed, sprinkle remaining 1/4 C Parmesan over shells
Pour remaining 3 Cups sauce over top
Top with 1 1/2 C Mozzarella
Bake uncovered @ 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes
When cheese is browning and sauce is bubbling it's done

***Review:
This was a great dish.  I was very happy with how it turned out.  We had company over for dinner and they said they loved it.  I know the hubs and I did!  The kids didn't get a chance to try it, because they ate before our company arrived.  I honestly didn't think they would eat it anyway... but of course they begged for some and liked what they tried.  Go figure the one time I try to feed them a different dinner, they want what we're having!   I will be making this again and again! 

**Tips:
The ziplock bag trick is great.... it makes it so much easier to stuff the slippery noodles.  This is really the hardest part of it all.  Also, just to make things easier on me, I actually boiled the noodles in the morning, drained them and put them in the fridge.  When it was time to bake them I took them out and ran warm water over them to get them pliable again so I could stuff them.  It was great and was one less thing to do at dinner time.  But be careful not to tear them while working with them... you want them in one piece.
If you are using a jarred sauce instead of homemade, then I think it would be great to fry up some italian sausage and sprinkle it on top of the shells before baking as well.  Or it could just be a vegetarian dish with no meat. I personally would have loved to add spinach to this dish as well, but one of our dinner guests does not like veggies so I opted out of the spinach.  But if you were to add it, you could put it right in with the sauce or in with the cheese stuffing. Either way would be great.  Add a little crusty italian bread and you have the perfect meal! Mmmmm!

Mini Cheese Cakes

Just for fun, I thought I'd add a dessert or appetizer recipe in here once a week or so

I mean what goes better with a great dinner that a yummy dessert?

I am in no way a baker, but these little guys are so simple it's crazy

They are literally easier than any dessert I've ever made... except maybe scooping icecream.

I love it because they look fancy and difficult... but secretly, they take no time or effort!

That's what we're going for right? 

Ingredients:

- 2 pkgs. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
- 2/3 c. sugar
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- Nilla wafers (16-18 cookies)
-  1 Lg. Can  cherry or blueberry pie filling or fresh fruit

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

With a mixer,cream the softened cream cheese with the sugar.

Add eggs and vanilla, beat until fluffy.

Using a muffin pan and foil liners, place a vanilla wafer in the bottom of each liner.

Fill each up 3/4 full with cheese mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Cool.

Top each cake with pie filling or fresh fruit.

Makes about 16 -18 cheese cakes

***Review:

I have never made these before.  I seriously could NOT belive how easy they were.  I was afraid that they wouldn't taste good... but they did!  Yummy yummy yummy!  I made a lot of these and shared most of them with other people... neighbors, friends...etc.  Everyone loved them... either that or they were just being polite.  But, since I tried one or two... I will have to agree and say yes, I loved them too!  The kids, of course, begged for them every minute of the day and the hubs was pretty happy to eat a few himself. 

These will be my new "go to " dessert for sure!  I mean, you can't beat 5 minutes of work for a fancy looking dessert!

**Tips:

Make sure to have the cream cheese at room temperature before you start making this... otherwise it will be very difficult to mix.  When it's soft, it's much easier!
Foil baking cups work best for this dessert because they look "professional" and they are a little more stiff so they give more support to the filling.  I have not tried it, but I am pretty sure you could just use regular cupcake liners and they would work fine.They just won't look as good. I used cherry pie filling and it took the whole can to fill up 18 cheesecakes... so go light on the topping until you know you will cover all your cakes.  You can always go back and add to them. I think fresh fruit and a little whipped cream would be great on top of these.

I hope you love these just as much as we did!