Smoked Sausage, Potatoes, Peppers & Onions!

Here in this area, it's good luck to have pork and sauerkraut on New Year's Day.

Curtis and Allison don't like sauerkraut. I love it but as I get older it's not my friend if you know what I mean.

So instead of making something that my family won't eat and I can't eat, I decided we could still have the "pork" of the good luck tradition.

I don't really have a name for this dish. It's something my friend, Nancy, used to make when I lived across the street from her. I'm not sure if it's really the recipe she used but it's what I kind of remembered. I loved it when she invited me to dinner. She's a good cook!

Smoked Sausage, Potatoes, Peppers & Onions

Ingredients:
1 lb. smoked sausage (you can use kielbasa but we like the sausage better)
6-8 medium to large potatoes (we like potatoes so I always do more)
1 large red pepper (or green if you like)
1 large onion
3/4 stick of butter
Frank's Hot Sauce

Directions:
~ Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
~ In a large roaster sprayed with non-stick spray, layer the following in order:
~Potatoes, cut into large cubes. We like the skins on but you can peel them if you like.
~Smoked sausage, sliced on the diagonal into 1/2 inch "coins".
~Onions, peeled and sliced into thin slices then cut the slices in half.
~Peppers, cleaned and cut it into large cubes.
~ Shake hot sauce all over the top of the layers. Start with a little as you can add more half way through cooking.
~ Layer the top with sliced pats of butter.
~ Bake covered for 30 minutes.
~After 30 minutes, remove lid and stir well to mix everything together. You can taste a potato at this time to see if you would like more hot sauce. If needed, add more and stir well again.
~Put back into the oven uncovered for 15-20 minutes more.

A couple of notes:
~I wouldn't make this in a Crock Pot. It wouldn't give it the crispness that cooking it with the lid off gives you.
~You can make this ahead of time and then keep it warm in a Crock Pot for a party. This does work well and it's a big hit for the men at a party.
~Great idea for a Superbowl Party!

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen!

Chicken Spread Ball!

Long time no post! If you read my other blog, you know I've been busy and to keep my sanity I had to easy up on a few things. Blogging was one of them. I hope you are still out there because I am back with more recipes.

This one is from my best friend's Mother, Sandy or as Allison calls her...Grandma Sandy. On New Year's Eve I make several dinner plate size platters of appetizers for the three of us. It's nothing fancy. We just spread them out on the coffee table and treat ourselves to our little New Year's Eve celebration.

This particular recipe is one of my very favorite appetizers. I've taken it with me to several places and some one is always sure to ask for the recipe. It is so simple. I hope you love it as much as I do! My favorite cracker to have it on is Wheat Thins. Triscuits is a close second and I think Sandy serves it with Chicken in a Biscuit crackers. To tell the truth, I don't think you could go wrong with any cracker so pick your favorite!

Chicken Spread Ball

Ingredients:

1 can Underwood chicken spread

1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. chopped onion (I may be bad but I use the minced dried onions)

1 tsp. mayo

Directions:

~Mix all together and roll in chopped parsley. (I use dried parsley and I don't even roll it. I just put it in a bowl and generously sprinkle it on top.)

~Serve with crackers.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen!

Italian Wedding Soup!

I've had Italian Wedding Soup many times but never thought about making it. That is until my best friend, Susan, asked if I had a recipe for it and put the idea into my head. I researched it online, read many recipes from many sites but hadn't decided on one that I wanted to try. I figured that I would end up combining a few of them until I came up with one that my family and I would like. Well as luck would have it, one of the guys brought some into work for all of us girls to try. It was just what I was looking for....almost. He graciously shared his family recipe as long as I promised not to tell his Mother. No problem. My lips are sealed. However, as always, I need to change things up a little bit. It was really good but there wasn't something quite right about his meatballs. When I told a friend at work that I had made it, she immediately said she wasn't fond of the meatballs....so I guess it wasn't just me. So of course, I have modified his family recipe to better fit my tastes and make this recipe my own.

Before I post the recipe, I should tell you that I like a heartier soup. As I've said before, Rachael Ray would call it a "stoup" and that pretty much describes it. So if you like it to be more "brothy," you can add more broth or cut down the amount of the pasta. Also, some people do not like a lot of garlic so I put on the recipe "to taste" so you decide if you want a little or a lot. It's your choice. Make it how you like it and be sure to share with your family, friends and neighbors. This recipe makes a lot and they will love you for it!

Cindi's Italian Wedding Soup

Ingredients for Meatballs:

1 lb. lean ground beef

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 grated Parmesan cheese

2 T. dried parsley

1 large egg

garlic powder, to taste

1/2 t. salt

pepper, to taste

Remaining Ingredients:

5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 20 ounces)

8 cans of College Inn chicken broth

3 chicken bouillon cubes

2 beef bouillon cubes

1 box of frozen chopped spinach, thawed

3 large eggs

3 T. grated Parmesan cheese

8 oz. of "Acini Di Pepe" pasta

3 "shakes" of Paprika

Directions:

1. Boil chicken in water in a large pot until thoroughly cooked. Cool and shred into bite sized pieces.

2. In a large bowl, mix together all of the meatball ingredients until well blended. Form into 1/2 inch sized meatballs and set aside.

3. Rinse the chopped spinach in a colander until the water runs clear. Drain as much of the water out of the spinach as possible.

4. To make the soup, bring all 8 cans of chicken broth, chicken bouillon cubes and beef bouillon cubes to a boil. Add the meatballs to the pot and simmer until meatballs are cooked through.

5. Add the prepped chicken, chopped spinach and paprika to the pot.

6. Whisk the 3 eggs until it gets foamy. Add 3T grated Parmesan cheese to the eggs. Stir the soup in a circular motion. While the soup is circling the pot, drizzle the egg/cheese mixture in a steady stream being careful not to add it all at once.

7. Add the Acini Di Pepe pasta to the pot, stir and simmer until the pasta done.

Garnish with more grated Parmesan cheese and serve with Italian bread.

One more thing before I go...Allison asked me why it's called Wedding Soup. I told her I don't know...maybe because they serve it at Italian weddings? She replied and said she thinks "it's because the flavors are united together." Well, I looked it up and she was basically right. How did she get so smart?!?!?!

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen!

***Edited to link up to: Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace and Tuesdays at the Talble with All the Small Stuff.

Philly Cheesecake Brownies!

If you haven't ever had or made Philly Cheesecake Brownies, you have to try these. They are so easy and offer up the "Wow" factor. I found this recipe years ago on a box of brownie mix and cut it out. I love cream cheese so I knew this was a must try. I don't know why but I kept it in my recipe box for years before making it. I now regret that decision. I can't believe I deprived myself of these yummy brownies for all those years! Anyway, the recipe is below and as you can see in the picture, I also sprinkle chocolate chips on it if I have them in my cupboard. You could probably stir them in if you like but I like picking them off the top when I eat the little square of deliciousness!

Philly Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients:

1 pkg of brownie mix (I used the basic Betty Crocker mix.)
1 pkg (8 oz.) Philadelphia cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1. Prepare brownie mix as directed on package. Pour into greased 13 x 9 in baking pan.
2. Beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add sugar, mixing until well blended. Ad egg and vanilla and also mix until well blended.
3. Pour cream cheese mixture over brownie mixture; cut through batter with knife several times for marbled effect.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until cream cheese mixture is lightly browned.

Cool and cut into squares. Makes 24.

Thanks for visiting my kitchen!

My Crock Pot Chili Recipe!

Although I love chili, I haven't made it in years. Allison wouldn't eat it and since I don't believe in cooking separate meals for the family, I would only order it out in a restaurant. Last week when we had dinner out, Allison tried it and LOVED it! She ate her whole bowl! I was so excited because that was my sign that I can make chili at home again. So last night I asked her if she would like chili for dinner tonight and she gave me a big smile and said "YES!" and then she said she can almost taste it now. How funny is she?

Cindi’s Crock Pot Chili

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef, browned and drained
2 - 15.5 oz. cans of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 – 14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes in juice
2 – 8 oz. cans of tomato sauce
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, minced
½ green pepper, chopped fine
4 oz. mushrooms, chopped fine
3-4 Tablespoons chili powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Directions:
~Mix all ingredients together in a big bowl.
~Put mixture in a Crock Pot sprayed with non-stick cooking spray for easy clean up.
~Cook for 8 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high.

We like ours with soda crackers, shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Thanks for visiting my kitchen!

I'll Be Back Soon!

I promise! I'll be back soon. I've just gotten off track. I'll be back with some comfort food to share with you soon!

Thanks for visiting my kitchen!

Chicken Noodle Soup!

I'm sure everyone has a their own recipe for Chicken Noodle Soup and here is mine. This is how my Mother makes it and I saw no need to change it so I make it the same way. This is one of those recipes that there really isn't any measurements for the ingredients. You just sort of throw it in the pot as you go for the size of your family. I must think I'm feeding the Osmond's because I always seem to make a huge batch. That's okay, we always seem to eat it all...even if I have to share it with the neighbors.

Here are the participants: chicken, chicken broth, chicken bouillon, egg noodles, potatoes, carrots, parsley, black pepper and just imagine there is a can of green beans there. I forgot them until all the pictures were taken and the cooking was done.

First, put a big stock pot on the stove of water and get it boiling.
Once it's boiling, put your chicken in the hot bath. I use two boneless, skinless chicken breasts from Market Day. I also throw some other chicken in later but we'll get to that. You can turn down the heat once it starts to boil again.
While the chicken is cooking, I peel and dice the potatoes and slice the carrots. I use baby carrots because that's all I ever have in the refrigerator but you use what you like.
The chicken in the hot bath is probably done by now. Take it out, cool it and shred or dice it into bite sized pieces and set aside. Here's the other chicken I was talking about. I pulled this from my freezer. We love those rotisserie chickens from Sam's Club and the grocery store but there is always chicken left over. I clean the chicken off of the bones and use my "Seal a Meal" a.k.a. my "suck & seal" to save them for later use. I use the chicken for soup, pot pie, casseroles and anything else I need. The seasonings add such a special flavor to soup and pot pie, I like using it for them best.
I strain the chicken water and discard some of it. The chicken breasts don't really add a lot of flavor so that's where the broth comes in. I add it to the pot to get the desired liquid level in my pot. This is where I also add some chicken bouillon cubes. This is sort of a taste and see kind of thing. Be careful you don't add too many. You can always add more at the very end if you feel it needs it. Now you can add the potatoes and carrots to the broth. Cook these until they are a little al dente. They will cook more by the end of the recipe. You don't want them to be mush by the end.
Now it's time to add the chicken back into the pot.

And a hand full of parsley, some black pepper to taste and a can of drained green beans.
Bring the pot back to a boil.
Next it's the egg noodles turn to jump into the pot. I add about 3 cups of big egg noodles to my pot because we like a lot of noodles. After I add the noodles, I turn the pot off and cover it with a lid. Let it sit until the noodles are done.. The noodles will cook perfectly and the soup will not be boiling hot for dinner.
Yum! Doesn't that look good. Just imagine the green beans are in there! I know potatoes aren't usually in chicken noodle soup but we like it....especially Curtis. They break down a little and make the broth a little thicker. Also, as with most soups, it's better the second day!

As I stated earlier, this recipe is hard to write out since it all depends on how much you want to make or what you have on hand. I'm speaking of the chicken since I use both raw and cooked. You can also cook whole pieces and use that. My advice would be to use the above instructions as a guide when making your soup. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Cindi's Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

Chicken

Chicken Broth

Chicken Bouillon cubes

Potatoes, peeled and diced

Carrots, sliced

Can Green Beans, drained

Dried Parsley

Black Pepper

Egg Noodles

Directions:

~Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add chicken and cook chicken until it's done. Remove from water to drain. When cooled, shred or dice and set aside.

~Strain water and discard part of it. Add chicken broth and bouillon cubes as needed.

~Cook potatoes and carrots until almost done.

~Add chicken back to pot.

~Add parsley, black pepper to taste and green beans.

~Bring pot back to boil and add egg noodles. Turn the heat off and cover until the egg noodles are done.

Thanks for visiting my kitchen!

Outrageous Cookie Bars!

One of the girls at work brought these in a few years ago. They were so good that I knew I had to get the recipe. They even have coconut in them and as a general rule, I avoid coconut. I actually like the flavor of coconut but I don't like the texture. I don't like the sound it makes when you bite it and I definitately don't like how you can't seem to bite through it. I know. I'm odd. I've never denied it and now you have proof.

Many of you probably already have this recipe. It seems to be a holiday favorite on cookie trays. I guess I never noticed it before since I usually avoid all cookies with coconut in them. After these cool, I cut them into squares and put them in decorative cupcake papers. It just adds a special touch to the cookie tray.

I made these a couple of weeks ago for one of Curtis's bosses at work as a thank you for letting us park at his house for Allison's Open House at school. There is seriously not enough parking at the school. We are told to park down the road at a grocery store and they shuttle us back and forth. Fortunately his boss lives several houses down from the school so he lets us park there. I wanted to make sure he knows we appreciate our own private parking space and what better way to do that but with home baked goodies?

Outrageous Cookie Bars

Makes 48 bars

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed Milk
1 (14-ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Melt butter in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan in the oven. Remove the pan from oven and sprinkle with the graham cracker crumbs over butter. Stir the two together well and press it onto bottom of the pan.
3. Pour sweetened condensed milk over the crumbs evenly
4. Next sprinkle with the crust with the chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. Press down firmly.
5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until light golden brown.
6.Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

The picture below shows you how I packaged them up for delivery. I had purchased some take-out containers from work a couple of years ago for a bake sale I did. I still had some in my stash and it worked perfectly for 2 layers of 9. I matched the ribbon to the holiday papers and ended up with a festive thank you. As you can see, it doesn't take a lot of money to show someone they are appreciated.

Thanks for visiting my kitchen!

Crock Pot Swiss Steak!

I tried a new recipe for Swiss Steak in the Crock Pot or slow cooker. Although Curtis liked the recipe I used previously, I thought the tomato flavor overpowered the dish. This new recipe is just perfect for me. I put it in the Crock Pot on Thursday because I wasn't sure how long I was working that day. I wanted to have dinner ready for them just in case. Good thing I did too because I didn't get home until after 7:00. Part of my new healthier eating is not to eat after 7 pm so I had something little for dinner earlier. However, when I got home the house smelled so good from the Swiss steak cooking all day that I had to have a little. This picture is of my little. I must have said "Mmmm" ten times while I was eating this. Curtis had 2 1/2 helpings and Allison loved it too. Next time I'm going to try fat free gravy in it. I wanted to this time but the store didn't have any. The only change I made in their recipe was to dredge the steaks in seasoned flour before browing in the skillet.

Crock Pot Swiss Steak
(adapted from Betty Crocker)

Serves 6
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds beef boneless round steak
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon peppered seasoned salt
6 to 8 new potatoes, cut into fourths
1 1/2 cups baby-cut carrots
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cups petite diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained
1 jar (12 ounces) beef gravy
Chopped fresh parsley, if desired
Directions:
1. Mix flour and seasoned salt together.
2 Cut beef into 6 serving pieces. Dredge through flour mixture. Spray 12-inch skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Cook in skillet 6 to 8 minutes, turning once, until brown.
3. Layer potatoes, carrots, beef and onion in 4- to 5-quart Crock Pot or slow cooker. Mix tomatoes and gravy; spoon over mixture in slow cooker.
4. Cover and cook on low heat setting 7 to 8 hours or until beef and vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with parsley.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 8 hours

Thanks for visiting my kitchen!

Cucumber and Tomato Salad!

This recipe is unbelievably simple to put together but packs the big "WOW" factor. I made it yesterday for our Parish Picnic. Afterwards I brought home the big bowl with six lonely cucumber slices floating in the bath of leftover dressing and one serving spoon that sunk to the bottom. I'll be returning that to the church kitchen this Sunday after Mass. Mind you, I used 6 large cucumbers and 10 medium vine rip tomatoes in it. There was so much food there and so much left over. It made my heart happy that my bowl, the sweets table and a few other casserole dishes were the only ones empty. After all, isn't that one of the reasons us cooks cook? We love it when others love our food!

Although I can take the credit for the parishioners loving this dish, I can't take credit for this recipe. It came from a lovely lady in Utah named Sophia. I've been reading her personal blog for well over two years. In addition to being a great Mom, she has some great recipes with this being one of them. She, like me, has recently started a cooking blog to share her recipes with all of us. Here is the link to this recipe. While you are there, look around and see what other goodness she cooks up!

Here is her recipe directly from her site with her permission. Thanks Sophia!

Cucumber & Tomato Salad

Ingredients:
cucumbers and tomatoes, chopped (I use at least 3 or 4 of each)
1 sliced and slightly chopped onion
1 cup sugar (I add an extra 1/4 cup)
1 cup cider vinegar
4 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbs. salt
pepper to taste (I use lots!)

Directions:
Mix the dressing and pour over the chopped veggies.
Chill and serve!

Okay, you know I usually don't make a recipe as it but this one I did. I will tell you that I used red/purple onion because it's my favorite onion and added a touch of pretty to the cucumbers and tomatoes. I also didn't add the extra 1/4 cup of sugar and it was yummy anyway. I would suggest you start with the cup and then if you want it sweeter, then add more. Remember, you can always add but can't take away from a recipe once you've dumped it in.

Also. Since there are only three of us in my family, I've made it with 1 cucumber, 1 tomato and a cubanelle pepper from my Dad's garden. I cut the recipe by 4 when I did this or we would have been drinking the dressing. When I did this, I also substituted 4 packets of Splenda sweetener instead of the sugar to fit into my healthier eating habits these days. Although it wasn't as good as the sugar one, it was still good an we had no trouble eating the whole bowl!

Thank you for visiting my kitchen!