Anonymous Comments

This last month has seen many many anonymous comments that were spam :( I've always tried to make it super easy for people to comment, but today I changed my settings to no longer allow anonymous comments.

I hope this does not affect any of you who read and comment. If it does, email me and I'll reset it again.

I'm hoping this change will cut down on the spam comments I've been getting and then deleting.

Audrey

Chicken Enchilada Casserole with White Sauce (crockpot)

I decided to take a favorite recipe and see if I could turn it into a crockpot recipe:

5 chicken breasts - boiled and shredded
2 cans cream of chicken soup
8 ounces sour cream
1-2 cups shredded cheese
1 4 ounce can of diced chiles

Shred the chicken:


Then mix the chicken with the soup, sour cream and chiles:



In the crockpot, start with a layer of tortillas. I used one and half tortillas per layer:



Use 1/3 of the chicken and 1/3 of the cheese:



I had enough for 3 layers. Cook on low for 4 hours.

Yummy!!!

Audrey :)

Win a Flipping Waffle Maker

Jen at 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, 365 Days of TV-Free Toddler Time, and Mega-Family Blogs is giving away a flippin' waffle maker...

To enter, go HERE!!

Broccoli Casserole (crockpot)

20 ounces frozen broccoli (I buy the florets, since that's what my daughter likes)

1 can cream or broccoli soup
2 cups shredded cheddar
1 cup cracker crumbs (we use a wheat Ritz)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Mix together the soup, onion, Worchestershire sauce,one cup of the cheese and pepper. Place broccoli in greased crockpot. Pour sauce over the broccoli. Sprinkle the cracker crumbs on top and then dot with butter. Cook for 3 hours on low. Open, sprinkle remaining cheese on top and cook another ten minutes.

Note: Try other soups for additional tastes. We love to use a combination white and yellow cheese instead of cheddar. If you're watching calories and fat, omit the one cup cheese at the end, or use only 1/2 cup cheese in the sauce and another 1/2 cup on top.

In the bowl:

After it was cooked:

Audrey :)

Chicken and Stuffing

We made this last night. I have several recipes for this dish. After looking at all of the recipes I devised my own.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of broccoli soup
1 can chicken broth
1/4 cup milk
1 box stuffing





Cook on low 6 hours.

While the flavor was WONDERFUL, this was too much liquid. We're going to try again, but we'll leave out the cream of broccoli soup and add in one more chicken breast.

Audrey :)

Cornbread Casserole

Have I mentioned how much I love my new camera? We made the cornbread casserole again last night. Here's how it looked after it was cooked:

It's pretty easy.

1 box corn bread mix
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can creamed style corn
1/2 cup melted butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Mix it all together and then pour into a casserole dish.



Bake at 350 about an hour. Mine wasn't quite done at 60 minutes so I let it sit in the hot oven for another 10 minutes (oven off) and it was just fine.

This is how it looked after we finished dinner :)


Audrey :)

Wonderful Smells In the House

I got my new camera. So, I'll start taking photos again of the foods I make. In the meantime, here's one of the first photos I took with the new camera. Plain old chocolate chip cookies. My house smelled wonderful.

Audrey :)

Boiling Eggs

We seem to boil eggs often around here. Sometimes they peel easily and sometimes they don't. We've tried every tip we've heard from how to boil them, how many days they should sit before using them, how long to let them cool, what temperature water to cool them in etc.

Today I read a tip that I can't wait to try:

When you boil eggs, add in one tablespoon of vegetable oil. The shells are porous and oil is absorbed, making them very easy to peel.

Has anyone else ever tried this?

Audrey :)

Spaghetti

When you make spaghetti, do you bake it at all? For some reason I thought everyone baked their spaghetti. I grew up with my mom always throwing the bowl in the oven, so that's what I always did.

I boil the noodles, pour the sauce on, toss and then pop in the oven. The sauce somewhat bakes into the noodle. I've baked the bowl/casserole for up to an hour depending on how long until we eat.

What about you?

Audrey :)

Chicken and Veggies In the Crockpot

My crockpot is being used at least 2 or 3 times per week right now. I rotate between chicken and beef dishes.

4 chicken breasts
1 - 16 ounce package mixed veggies, either broccoli and carrots or broccoli and cauliflower
1 can cream or celery soup
8 ounces shredded cheese - I use the yellow and white mixed packs

Put chicken in crockpot. Mix together the veggies, soup and half the cheese. Pour over the chicken. Cook on low 5-6 hours. Ten minutes before serving, pour remaining cheese on top.

Note: Try different soups for different flavors. I love cream of broccoli or even an onion soup.

Audrey :)

Ritz Cracker Chicken

My camera is still on its way here. Amazon says they've shipped it, but I don't have it yet :(

This is a really easy chicken recipe:

6 chicken breasts
1-2 sleeves crushed Ritz crackers
1 container sour cream

Wash the chicken. Spread sour cream on chicken, then roll in Ritz cracker crumbs. Bake about 55 minutes at 350 degrees.

Note: You can make this same recipe using dark meat chicken. Also, I buy the non fat sour cream to cut down on both calories and fat.

Audrey :)

Mayonnaise

When making sandwiches, spice up your mayonnaise a bit for a wonderful sandwich addition. Add in either a bit of mustard, a bit of hot sauce or a bit of salsa. Mix it up and spread it on sandwiches. Your sandwich will have a nice kick to it.



Audrey :)

Nuts Or No Nuts

When you make banana bread or any other loaf bread, do you add nuts? While I love peanut butter, I do not like nuts in cakes or cookies.

This is a great zucchini bread, makes two large loafs. The original recipe does call for 1 cup of chopped nuts, but I've never used them.

2 cups zucchini grated
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix together the sugar, oil, eggs, pineapple and zucchini. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into loaf pans and bake 60 minutes at 350 degrees.

Audrey :)

Corn Casserole

We buy the Jiffy Cornbread Mixes when on sale. This is a simple side dish to make and here in my house we all like it:

1 box corn bread mix
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can creamed style corn
1/2 cup melted butter
1 egg
1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Mix it all together and bake for one hour at 350 degrees.

Audrey :)

Kitchen Tips

I wanted to share a few tips today:

When you find toothbrushes on sale, buy them and store them in the kitchen. They work great on grout, plastic container lids, garlic presses and more.

If you're going to freeze casseroles, do not cook all the way. Instead cook 10-20 minutes under the specified time. Now when you go to heat and serve, you'll actually be finishing the cooking time while you warm the dish.

Don't throw out old crackers. Instead, crumble them and add them on top of veggie casseroles.

When melting chocolate add in Crisco. The chocolate comes out softer and smoother, making it much easier to dip foods in.

If you have an ink stain on clothing, try sponging with milk to remove it.

Throw a mothball in your garbage can. It will reduce the odor.

Take left over mashed potatoes and form pancakes with them. Fry and serve up for breakfast the next morning.

To create your own heart shaped cake, make both a round cake and a square cake. When cooled, cut the round cake in half. Turn the square cake so that you have a diamond facing you. Now place 1/2 the round cake on either side and you have a heart shape. Place on serving dish and frost.

Audrey :)

Spinach Balls

I ordered a new camera last week. So I'm hoping once the new camera arrives I'll have more photos again to share.

2 - 10 ounces packages, frozen, chopped spinach, cooked according to package directions (drained well)
2 cups herbed stuffing
4 eggs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, chopped

Allow spinach to cool slightly. Mix everything together and chill for 2-3 hours. Roll into balls. Serve cold.

Audrey :)