I'm a Bread maker---I make Bread on my first try...

Okay, this may not look beautiful to anyone else but me, but this bread is INCREDIBLE. I had to have a taste before dinner tonight and ..........WOWZERS. It took me back to Italy with just one taste. Amazing! Thank you thank you thank you Aidsy---this bread has changed my life! And you wanna know the best part. It was EASY! I used my crockpot in the oven (which by the way the lid handle melted--so I had to change out lids). But really, minimal damage for such a work of art! Seriously, I'm gonna have to mail a loaf to you Tina. You'll be in heaven.

I'm making this thing EVERY week. I may gain 30lbs, but I'm doing it!


Here's that recipe one more time! You won't be sorry.

Guess who's coming for dinner

Our new ward is lots of fun. Saturday we hosted a "Guess who's coming to Dinner" night. There were 4 couples including me and Farmboy. Yummy food, cool people, and laughter---can't ask for more than that.

Are you in the mood for...

... Penne with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

12 ounces penne pasta

1 (8.5-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil

2 garlic cloves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, blend the sun-dried tomatoes and their oil, garlic, salt and pepper, to taste, and basil in a food processor and blend until the tomatoes are finely chopped. Transfer the tomato mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the Parmesan.

Add the pasta to the pesto and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper and serve.

HY loved this. He put his fingers in the holes of the pasta---no need for forks!

Farmboy cooked!

SOUR CREAM CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

1 chicken
4 cans Cream of Chicken soup
1 white onion, chopped
6 jalapeno pepper slices, chopped (I use canned)
1 small can mushrooms, drained and chopped1 pkg. flour tortillas
16 oz. sour cream
1 large package Mexican-style shredded cheese

Boil chicken in a large pot. While boiling, chop onion, jalapenos, and mushrooms. Sauté in a skillet until flavors are mixed well. Set onion mixture aside.
In a large bowl, combine 3 cans Cream of Chicken soup and the sour cream. Mix well and remove enough of the mixture to cover the top of the 9'x13" baking pan. Set aside. (You should have a small bowl and a larger bowl set aside with the chicken soup and sour cream).
Once chicken is done, cool and debone chicken into small pieces. Put chicken pieces and onion mixture in with the large bowl mixture. Mix well.
Get your baking pan and tortillas out. Cover the bottom of the baking pan with a thin layer of the small bowl mixture. Put about 2 large spoonfuls of the large bowl mixture into each tortilla and roll it up and place it in the pan until full.
Cover enchiladas with the mixture from the small bowl. Cover with a thick layer of cheese.
Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes or until cheese is melted and mixtures are bubbling.
Feeds family of 4.

Stir it up!

Mom's Stir Fry

I don't really have a recipe for this, I've just always watched my mom do it. Over the years, I've added my own twists.

2-3Tbs of olive oil (extra virgin)

1-2 Tbs of Soy Sause

1 Clove of Garlic (can use garlic powder)

1/2 onion (you can use dehydrated onions or even onion powder)

1-2 Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts cut into pieces

Array of Veggies. Broccoli, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, green beans, etc...anything you like with color) Fresh or Frozen

Heat large frying pan(med high heat), add oil, onion, and garlic. Stir until transparent. DON'T Burn! Add chicken (If I'm adding the garlic powder instead of the real stuff--I'd add it to the chicken instead of to just the oil). Add Soy Sauce to mixture. When the chicken is cooked thru, then I add the veggies. I put a lid over then and let them steam thru. I like my veggies crunchy so I don't cook them too long. If you need to add a bit more oil and soy sauce to the mix you can. I also add a bit of lemon pepper to taste.

Serve over rice and you can add some crunchy chow mein noodles if you have them. HY loves this with the "crunchies"

Tatertot Casserole

Brought to you by popular request (0kay, so 1 person asked for it, but I'm all about pleasing the reader)--this is what we had for dinner last night.

I don't follow the recipe exactly, but then again, I never do. Here it is:

You will need:

1 lb. hamburger

1 small chopped onion

1 can green beans, drained

1 can corn, drained

1 can mushrooms, drained

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup shredded colby or cheddar cheese

1 16 oz package frozen Tater Tots

1/2 soup can of milkBrown hamburger and onions.

Drain fat. Combine all ingredients except Tater Tots into a 9x 13 pan. Put Tater Tots on top of the casserole mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.Allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting into squares and serving.Serves 4-6.

What are you having for dinner tonight?

Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Pine Nut Pesto

2 boneless chicken breasts
2 cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves (about 2 ounces)
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 to 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Heat a grill pan on medium high heat. Lightly oil the grill pan. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
Combine the spinach, pine nuts, lemon juice, and lemon peel in a processor. Lightly pulse. With the machine running, gradually add 1/3 cup of the oil, blending until the mixture is creamy. Add salt and pulse. Put half of the pesto into ice cube trays and store in the freezer for future use.
Transfer the rest of the spinach mixture to a medium bowl. Stir in the Parmesan. Season the pesto with salt and pepper, to taste.
Spread the pesto over each piece of chicken and serve.

Da Cobb

Last night, farmboy made a delicious cobb salad for dinner. From the looks of it, you'd think that we were a family of 10 instead of 4...er...um...3 1/3. When I took the picture of it, he said "are you gonna put that on your blog?"

This one's for you farmboy!