Sharing the Love: Chicken Wild Rice Soup

1 6oz box Uncle Ben's chicken and wild rice
1 c cooked wild rice
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c celery
1/2 c chopped carrots
2 potatoes, cubed
1/4 c butter
4 c chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 - 3 c shredded, cooked chicken
1/3 c flour
2 c half & half
1 c milk

Make rice according to package directions.  Cook potatoes until fork tender.  Meanwhile, in a dutch oven, melt butter.  Add onion, celery and carrots*.  Saute for 3 - 4 minutes.  Add broth, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until veggies are tender.  Whisk flour into milk until smooth.  Bring broth and veggies to a low boil, add milk mixture and half & half.  Heat to boiling, but do not bring to a rolling boil.  Add potatoes, wild rice, and Uncle Ben's rice mix.  Heat through and serve. Enjoy!

*I think next time I'll just add the potatoes here and not cook them separately.

Grandma Johnson's Ginger Crinkles

This is Cory's maternal grandmother's recipe. These are soft and spicy and comforting and delicious.  Eat a couple with a glass of milk.  Here's to you, Grandma Johnson!

3/4 c shortening
1 c sugar
1 egg
4 T molasses
2 c flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cloves
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Cream shortening and sugar, add egg and molasses.  Mix well, then add dry ingredients.  Form into balls and roll in sugar.  Place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350.  Enjoy!

Sharing the Love: Easy Eggbake

My strata recipe requires an overnight to soak into the bread, and I needed something I didn't have to wait for.  Voila!  Here it is:

2 cups ham, sausage, bacon or any kind of breakfast meat (add any veggies you like as well)

1/3 bag of frozen hashbrowns

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded (sub swiss, Gruyere, or any kind of cheese you like)
8 eggs

3 cups of milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Grease 9x13 baking pan.  Mix hashbrowns, meat, veggies, and one cup of the cheese and place in pan.  Mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper and pour over hashbrown mixture.  Top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for an hour, or until eggs are firm. 

Enjoy!

Sharing the Love: Cavatappi Carbonara

I have previously shared my recipe for spaghetti carbonara, but I made it a little different this week.  This one knocked my socks off (if I must say so myself).  Try it and report back.

Cavatappi Carbonara with Asparagus

1 box cavatappi
1 lb bacon
1 small onion, chopped
4 eggs
1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut into one-inch pieces
1/2 c shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 c heavy cream
pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook cavatappi according to package directions.  While noodles are cooking, cut bacon into pieces and fry.  Drain all but 1T bacon grease.  Add onions and cook until opaque.  Remove from pan.  Add the asparagus to the pan and cook over medium heat until tender, about eight minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs and 1/4 c heavy cream.  Add remaining ingredients (drain but do not rinse the pasta).  Drizzle remaining 1/4 c heavy cream over entire dish and mix gently.  Pour into large casserole dish or pasta bowl.  Heat in the oven for 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese, if desired.

Enjoy!

*I don't really measure the cheese; put as much as you like.  I usually put a large handful.
** You don't have to heat in the oven; I just think it helps the eggs set up just a bit before serving.
*** Fresh or frozen peas are a good substitute for asparagus

Sharing the Love: Sloppy Judies

This is my aunt Tricia's recipe (page 134 of the Torola cookbook).  It's drool-worthy, and the perfect dish for a large group.  Half it if it's just for family or you'll be eating it for weeks!

Sloppy Judies:

3 lbs ground beef
2 cans tomato soup
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 medium onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c ketchup
1/4 c mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3 T chili powder

Brown ground beef, onion, and celery.  Drain juices.  Add other ingredients and simmer or cook in crockpot.  I have frequently mixed this up the day before and then just simmered in my crockpot the day I serve them.  Delicious.

Enjoy!

Pizza Pie

In my hometown, there's this pizza place called Pizza Factory.  They have thin crust, and amazing sausage, and nothing beats it.  I grew up on Pizza Factory pizza, and it set the bar high for me.  When we moved into our neighborhood, I was so pleased to find out that there was a little pizza place called Marcellos that rivaled that sausage Pizza Factory pizza.  They didn't deliver, but we loved to go there and sit in the same booths the captain sat in when he was a kid, eating there with his parents.  A couple years ago, Marcellos closed down, because the strip mall they were located in was bought out.

My family loves pizza, particularly the captain. I don't love pizza, but I tolerate it.  But I'm a pizza snob, it turns out.  After a couple years of mediocre pizza delivery, I got an issue of the Mpls/St. Paul magazine Best Pizza in the Twin Cities and we made a family decision. We'd try all of those places.  They get their pizza fix, and I don't have to settle.  It's been pretty fun.  Here's a rundown of some of the places we've tried.

I'm starting with Pizzeria Lola.  It's a little restaurant in South Minneapolis that has exceptional pizza.  I discovered it a few years ago when it was featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  MAN I LOVE THAT PIZZA.  The kids still haven't been there, but if I find myself in the Crosstown/Xenia area, I always pick up a Ma-Sharoni to go.  Mmm...

We tried Red's Savoy in Uptown.  Good pizza, but bad service, and it was about a million degrees in the restaurant.  I wouldn't go back.

We found a place we love, Detellos in Eden Prairie.  It's actually the same owner/recipes as Marcellos, and I was very pleased to find it.  It's a little drive, but worth every mile.

Lookit that cheese!

I've been to Black Sheep Pizza in downtown Minneapolis, and the mushroom pizza there is to die for.  I have discovered that some of my aversion to pizza is red sauce (I know...what??), so that mushroom pizza with loads of garlic is the bomb dizzle.  I also love the Mimi pizza at Punch, as well as the Nutella dessert pizza (YUM!), sauceless wonders.

We went to Mozza Mia in Edina.  Liked, not loved.  The sausage has tons of fennel seeds, which I love, but was so reminiscent of a Totino's Party Pizza that I couldn't get passed it to find out if it's really that good.  I did discover, by happy accident, that kids eat free on Sundays.  Might return just for that.  They have house-made mozzarella that is divine, also.

Tonight I picked up Latuff's, which is a great place right in Plymouth.  It's been here forever, and a fan favorite.

There are more on our list.  Pompeii Pizzeria in Elk River is next on my list.  It's a fun adventure.  Matthew thinks that next we'll have to try the best hamburgers.  I am lucky to live in an area where we have the opportunity to try this kind of food journey as a family.  I hope my kids are enjoying it as much as I am!  Would love more recommendations from my local readers if you have some.  What's your favorite pizza pie?

Sharing the Love: Pizza Bread

I got this recipe from my friend Jill years ago.  It's so easy!

Frozen bread dough
Mozzarella cheese
Pizza toppings

Thaw and let the bread rise per the instructions on the package.  When it's risen, spread it on a floured surface and roll it into an oval.  Top with cheese and whatever fillings you like (I'm partial to pepperoni, green pepper, mushrooms, and tons of cheese).  Roll from the bottom to the top so it ends looking like a log.  Pinch the seam shut.  Place seam-side down on a greased baking sheet (you might need to curve it to make it fit).  Bake for 350 for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Slice and serve with pizza sauce for dipping!

*Use your imagination for other variations.  Jill used to make a ham and cheese one where she's smear some Dijon mustard on the bottom, and then layer ham and cheese, and roll up.  Yum.  I need to make that one again soon.

**The Sandwich King has a variation that he calls Sausage Bread.  I made it, and I used the leftovers for the brunch dish with asparagus and egg.  That recipe here.

Enjoy!

Sharing the Love: Butter Croissant Rolls

Cory says I'm the only one he knows who bakes their own dinner rolls.  Truth be told, I'm a bit of a bread snob.  I love homemade bread.  I got spoiled by my mom growing up.  And in the day of the breadmaker, it's just so easy!

This is my sister Amy's recipe.  I can never get them consistent in size, but that's part of their charm, I think.  The thing about homemade bread is because there are no kind of preservatives, it's really best the same day.  But if you wait until they reach room temperature and then freeze them, they'll taste fresh whenever you pull them out of your freezer!  Make these for your holiday dinner; you won't regret it.

7 oz warm milk
1 egg, room temperature
4 T room-temperature butter
2 3/4 c bread flour
1 tsp salt
2 T sugar
2 tsp yeast.

Put ingredients in your breadmaker according to its directions.  Run on dough cycle. When it's finished, roll into a 12 inch circle on a floured surface.  Cut with pizza cutter into triangles.  Amy does 12; I do 20.  (I cut it into quarters and then cut five slices out of each section).  Roll up wide edge to point.  Place point-down on a greased cookie sheet (I just line with parchment instead).  For Amy's size, bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  I've found that my size is perfect at 325 for 20 minutes.  Brush with melted butter.

Enjoy!

Sharing the Love: Focaccia Breadsticks

A couple people have asked for this recipe.  Perfect weather for soup and warm breadsticks!

Foccacia Breadsticks
9 oz warm water
3 T olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
3 c flour
2 tsp yeast
1 tsp salt
Garlic salt
Parmesan cheese

Add all ingredients according to your breadmaker instructions. Run on dough cycle. Lay flat on greased cookie sheet. Top with a little olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt (and rosemary and/or parmesan cheese if you have it!). Cut into narrow strips with a cookie cutter. Bake at 400 for 20 - 25 minutes. Break apart and enjoy with soup!

Christmas Cookies

I'm gearing up for my holiday baking!  I'm one of those people who only makes her favorites.  I almost never try anything new because there is something comforting about tradition.  Plus, why waste the calories on anything you aren't absolutely certain you're going to love?!

I make:

Peanut Butter Temptations
Peanut Butter Bark
Fudge
Chocolate-dipped pretzels
Nut Goody Bars
Ginger Crinkles

What do you make every year?  Your go-to?  Share the recipe...and happy baking!

Sharing the Love: Zuppa Toscana

This is a copycat version on the Zuppa Toscana soup at Olive Garden.  (If you have the Magnolia Lane cookbook, it's on page 168.) It's absolutely scrumptious!

Zuppa Toscana

1 16 oz package spicy or hot sausage, cooked and crumbled
4 strips of bacon
3/4 c onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 c chicken broth
4 sm or 2 m potatoes, skin on (I prefer red or Yukon, but Russet work fine), thinly sliced
2 c kale leaves, chopped (stems removed)
1/2 c heavy cream

Brown sausage and set aside.  In large saucepan or stockpot, cook bacon and onion over medium heat until onions are translucent.  Add garlic and cook an additional minute.  Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add sausage, kale, and heavy cream.  Turn off burner and let rest for five minutes while everything incorporates and your kale wilts down.

If you want to really do it right, whip up these in your breadmaker:

Foccacia Breadsticks

9 oz warm water
3 T olive oil
1/2 tsp minced garlic
3 c flour
2 tsp yeast
1 tsp salt

Add all ingredients according to your breadmaker instructions.  Run on dough cycle.  Lay flat on greased cookie sheet.  Top with a little olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt (and rosemary if you have it!).  Cut into narrow strips with a cookie cutter.  Bake at 350 for 20 - 25 minutes.  Break apart and enjoy with soup!

Creamy Linguine

Coming off my first-trimester hiatus to share a recipe with you.   You're going to love it.  But don't make it if you're counting calories.  Make it if you want to indulge, if you want to make something you might order at your favorite restaurant.  I have a ton of leftover ham this week, and I remembered I had seen a recipe for ham and peas linguine.  My google search turned up a bunch of different recipes, but this one had mushrooms, so I was sold.  Delicious.  Here's the recipe with my variations:

Creamy Linguine with Ham and Peas

8 oz leftover ham, cubed
1 lb linguine
2 T butter
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T flour
1 c chicken broth
2 c heavy cream
1/2 c parmesan cheese
1 c frozen peas, thawed
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
6 leaves fresh basil

Cook linguine according to package directions. Be sure to add enough salt so cooking water tastes salty. 

Heat butter in large skillet.  Add mushrooms and sautee until soft.  Add garlic and sautee another minute or two until garlic is soft.  Add flour, and stir until cooked slightly.  Add chicken broth, and cook for a few minutes until flour is incorporated and sauce has thickened.  Add cream and heat to simmering.  Add peas and ham.  (add salt and pepper to taste if desired.)  Toss sauce with linguine, then toss gently with parmesan cheese, tomatoes, and basil. 

Serve and enjoy!

Sharing the Love: Monster Cookies

This is a half batch of my mom's recipe.  And yes.  I do juggle the shells to estimate half an egg.  Make it work.  Or double the batch and use five eggs.  But you're gonna need a monster bowl for that!

Monster Cookies:
1 c shortening
1 c brown sugar
1 c sugar
1 c peanut butter
2 1/2 eggs
1/2 T vanilla
2 1/4 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 c oatmeal
1/2 lb m&ms
1/2 c chocolate chips

Mix sugars with shortening, eggs, and peanut butter until creamy.  Slowly add dry ingredients until well blended.  Add vanilla.  Stir in oatmeal, and then candy.  Drop on cookie sheet.  Bake for about 10 minutes for 350 (do not overbake). 

*Do not be tempted to double the candy/chocolate.  The cookies will not stick together well.  Lesson learned the hard way. More than once. 

Enjoy!

Sharing the Love: Chicken Pot Pie

Alternate Title:  Longest Recipe Post Ever

This might be my all-time favorite recipe.  It's not super simple, so it's not generally my style.  But there are definitely ways to cut down the prep time, which I have listed at the end.  I also wrote down a whole bunch of miscellaneous suggestions for your culinary convenience.  The first time I made this, it took me an entire afternoon.  But today, from idea to oven, it took 50 minutes!

This is the BEST meal to make for someone who is sick, or had a baby, or is going through a hard time.  It's comfort food, it's a one-dish meal, you can make it ahead and they can refrigerate it or freeze it, and it's delicious.  I strongly suggest you use my crust recipe, but if you have to use a frozen premade one, please use Trader Joes. 

I hate this photo.  I shouldn't even post one.

Corn.  I'm sure.  You have to use peas and carrots.

Here you are, my mother's Chicken Pot Pie:

CHICKEN POT PIE:

Filling:
1/3 c flour
1/3 c butter
1/3 c chopped onion
1 - 2 chicken breasts, cooked, cubed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 3/4 c chicken broth
5 oz peas and carrots
2 small cooked potatoes, cubed
2/3 c milk

Melt butter. Add onion, cook for a minute or two. Add flour gradually until cooked together. Remove from heat. Add broth & milk. Bring to a boil until it starts to thicken, stir pretty constantly, or milk will burn. Season with salt & pepper. Stir in vegetables and chicken.

Crust:
3 c flour
1 c shortening (Crisco)
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3/4 c water
2 tsp vinegar

Blend flour, shortening and salt until crumbly. Add egg, water, and vinegar. Mix together (I use my hands!). Roll out with rolling pin. I use 2/3 for bottom crust and 1/3 for top crust.

Place bottom crust in greased 9x9 pan (or 9" pie pan). Leave some hanging over the edges. Scoop filling into pan until about 3/4 full (or a little more, just don't fill all the way to the top). Lay top crust over entire pan. Pinch the top and bottom crusts together to seal. I then take a fork and push with prongs all the way around the edges to complete the seal. Poke holes in the top of the crust either with a fork or knife to allow it to breathe while cooking. 

Bake at 425 for 30 minutes.
(If frozen, bake at 400 for 50 minutes)
ENJOY!

Tips and suggestions:
- To make in a 9 x 13 pan, triple the crust and double the filling

- I sometimes buy the disposable mini loaf pans at the grocery store and make individual pot pies. They're putzy, but then I can freeze them and make them one at a time. Or I give them for gifts to my friends!

- I never use more than 10 oz of peas and carrots, even when I triple the filling. Just add the amount to your liking.  Today, as you'll see from my photo, I used frozen corn because I didn't happen to have peas and carrots.  Also, frozen are way better.  Canned will do in a pinch, but they don't look very colorful after you cook them for half an hour.

- To speed things up, you can bake the chicken the day before or buy a rotiserrie chicken at the grocery store.

- If you're making this for a weeknight, you could always prepare it on Sunday and store it in the fridge overnight and cook it the next night. If it's going to be longer than one day, though, freeze it so the crust doesn't get soggy. Or you can make the filling on the weekend and put that in the fridge for up to a few days and make the crust on the day of.

- If your crust seems too "wet" and doesn't handle well, just slowly add more flour until it's easy to handle and rolls out well. I always have to flour my counter surface and my rolling pin. To make consistently good, flaky crust, you need to follow these measurements exactly.  I learned the hard way that estimating does not a good crust yield.

If you have any questions, please call or email me anytime.  I'd be happy to walk you through it.

Sharing the Love: Apple Crisp

10 c peeled and sliced apples*
1 c sugar
1 T flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c water

Topping:
1 c oatmeal
1 c flour
1 c brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 c melted butter

Mix first five ingredients together in a large bowl.  Pour apple mixture into greased 9 x 13 baking dish. 

Mix topping ingredients and sprinkle over apple mixture.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

*I am partial to Granny Smith, but any tart apple will do.
(good ideas: Braeburn, Jonathan, Pink Lady, McIntosh).

Speaking of Sandwiches...

No recipe.  That photo just reminded me of this photo of a sandwich I made for Cole this summer.  Looks yummy, right?

Sharing the Love: Big Boy Slim Jim

Almost as much as I love a ham dinner with mashed potatoes and ham gravy, a vegetable, and some yummy bread, I love recipes with that leftover ham.  I probably love wild rice soup the best, or scalloped potatoes and ham, or a good ham chowder.  But I won't lie, I bought a ham to make this week specifically for this recipe.  The captain and I were so excited to try it, and we were not disappointed!

My aunt Anne got the recipe from my Aunt Maria, and she shared it on her blog here.  But in the interest of keeping the recipe for posterity, and to share my variation, I'm also sharing the recipe with you here.

Slim Jim Sauce:
1 c mayo
2 T dill pickle relish
2 T pickle juice
1 T finely chopped onion

Mix together well.  (You can make this ahead of time and chill if you want.)

Hoagie Buns
Ham (I used leftover, but you could sub sandwich slices)
Cheese (I used provolone; Anne uses swiss)
Lettuce
Tomato
Slim Jim sauce

Brown ham in skillet, set aside.  Slice hoagie buns and lightly butter each side.  Grill butter-side down until lightly brown.  Liberally spread slim jim sauce on both sides of bun.  Layer ham, cheese, tomato, and lettuce.

Enjoy!

Sharing the Love: Pumpkin Cake with Caramel Frosting

My mom used to make spice cake with caramel frosting.  I love it so much...it tastes like my childhood.  I got a craving for it today, and I had pumpkin, so this is what I made:

Pumpkin Cake
1 3/4 c sugar
4 eggs
1 c vegetable oil
1 can pumpkin
2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Mix first four ingredients until well blended.  Add dry ingredients, beat on medium for two minutes.  Pour into greased and floured 9 x 13 cake pan.

Bake for 45 minutes at 350.  (For cupcakes, 17-20 minutes at 350) . Allow to cool before frosting.

Caramel Frosting:
1/2 c butter
1 c packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
6 T milk
3 c sifted powdered sugar

Melt butter and add brown sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Boil for two minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat, cool slightly then whisk in milk.  Return to a boil, then remove from heat.  Let cool to lukewarm (about 15 minutes).  Stir in powdered sugar.  (If it's too think, you can add a little milk, or if it's too thin, more sugar.)  Spread on cooled cake.

Enjoy!

Meal Planning

I thought with the teenager in football and Matty in school all-day, it's time to start planning a meal for every day. Gotta admit, I'm pretty accustomed to winging it, especially when the captain is at work.  I made a list of our staple meals.  I would love to add a new item each week, so I'm more than interested in your ideas!

Here are mine:

Meatloaf/Twice-Baked Potato Pie
Chicken potpie
Meatballs and gravy with mashed potatoes
Ham
Scalloped potatoes and ham
Rice hotdish
Spaghetti
Lasagne
Stuffed shells
Stirfry
Spaghetti carbonera
Sloppy joes
Chip beef on toast
BLTs
Hamburgers/Hotdogs
French dips
Chili
Beef Stew
Wild Rice Soup
Ham Chowder
Tostadas
Nachos
Tacos
Enchiladas
Quesadillas
Mexican hotdish
Breakfast for dinner

Sharing the Love: Flatbread (Take II)

This is another really great recipe for flatbread:

10 - 12 oz warm milk
2 T butter
4 c flour
2 T sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp yeast

Put ingredients in breadmaker according to your machine's instructions.  Run on dough cycle.  Flatten into oval on lightly greased cookie sheet.  Puncture a dozen times with a fork.  Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 20 - 40 minutes.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  Cool on baking rack.

Enjoy!