Sunday, November 18, 2012
Craving a bowl of comfort food on these chilly evenings? This lasagna soup recipe is just the ticket.
“Once again, my life has been saved by the miracle of lasagna.” -'Garfield' (Jim Davis) Ah lasagna. You cheesy, saucy little minx. I do adore you. And now that I have found a recipe combining you with another of my great loves (soup) I may just have died and gone to foodie heaven. The component that truly makes this soup sing is the cheesy mixture. Ricotta, Parmesan and Mozzarella...oh my! The original recipe calls for the pasta to be cooked in the soup but I cooked the pasta seperately. If you are planning on having leftovers you don't want the pasta to get mushy. Ground beef can also be substituted for the Italian sausage and if you don't like tomato chunks use crushed tomatoes. Buon appetito! Lasagna Soup Ingredients For Soup: For …
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Chicken and vegetables simmer together to create this wonderfully satisfying dish .
"You don't want to make a steady diet of just lettuce. You don't want to make a steady diet of fried chicken." -- Paula Deen Chicken Cacciatore is one of those dishes that is just perfect for a slow cooker. Chicken and vegetables stewing together all day-the smell is heavenly and the taste is spectacular. So when I saw that the supermarket had chicken thighs on sale I just knew I had to make it. I dug out my old recipe, purchased my ingredients and pulled the slow cooker from the pantry. Then I ran late every morning, all week long. Rats! I did end up making the Chicken Cacciatore for dinner one night by modifying the recipe, but hopefully next time I'm going to make it I will get out of bed when the alarm goes off. The first time. Here …
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Here is a recipe for a veggie quiche, great to make ahead of time and bake on a relaxing Sunday morning.
"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." -- Lewis Carroll There is nothing like a lazy Sunday. Unfortunately because of our hectic lives we don't get to enjoy them as often as we'd like. Between sports, events, errands, etc. it seems as though there is never a day of rest during the week anymore. At this point I'll take what I can get...so how about a lazy Sunday morning? Just a few hours to sleep in, read the paper, take the dog for a leisurely stroll...then eat a nice breakfast with my cup of Joe. This quiche is perfect for that morning, because you can premake it a day or two ahead of time and just throw it in the oven when you're ready. The recipe makes two so you can even freeze one for later. …
Sunday, October 28, 2012
An inexpensive cut of beef becomes a new favorite with just the right marinade and a savory mushroom side.
"When you're on the Queen Catherine, don't let 'em give you any of that flank steak crap. You know what I mean? Try the London Broil." - Quote from Cabin Boy I have been trying to tighten our budget for awhile now and that has included trimming back everything from the cable bill to the grocery tab, the latter being the toughest. I read blogs written by thrifty ladies who somehow manage to spend a paltry fifty dollars a week to feed a family of five. I'm not talking about hot dogs and cans of beans for dinner either; these ladies make healthy meals with fresh veggies every day. I have yet to get anywhere in the vicinity of fifty dollars a week for groceries but I have been able to cut it back a bit. One thing I've done recently is to …
Sunday, October 21, 2012
These peanut butter cup bars are a dream come true. I dare anyone to eat just one!
"Anything is good if it's made of chocolate." -- Jo Brand Last weekend I got together with some of my favorite girls for a little chat, a lot of chow and a ton of laughs. We try to meet up every couple of months on a Saturday afternoon for a few hours and reconnect over good food and a tasty cocktail. Val brought a dessert that was absolutely delicious...peanut butter cup bars. They were sweet and light and almost too good to be true. Almost. Since they were very real and I really enjoyed the one I had. Ok, the two I had. Oh alright what is this, the Spanish Inquisition? I had three. Sheesh! Val sent us the recipe, which she found on browneyedbaker.com. It is a must try. Val's Amazing Peanut Butter Cup Bars Ingredients: Directions: Enjoy!
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Short on time and in need of a great appetizer? Try making these sweet and sour meatballs-they're sure to please.
"Miracles are like meatballs, because nobody can exactly agree on what they are made of, where they come from, or how often they should appear." -- Lemony Snicket I have been bringing sweet and sour meatballs to parties for years now and they have always been well received. My original version was made right in the microwave and then there was a slow cooker alteration, but I've finally settled on this stovetop version as my favorite.The combination of sweet pineapple and brown sugar mixed with tangy soy sauce and vinegar is just delightful. And come on, how many of us can resist a good meatball? If you are really short on time, go ahead and buy a bag of frozen meatballs. To be honest, I have used them many times and have never had a …
Sunday, October 7, 2012
French Onion Soup is delicious and easy when you make it in the slow cooker.
“You will find this to be a more oniony soup than the usual kind but, as the cross old lady said when a stranger told her that her slip was showing, "I like it that way.” - Margaret Yardley Potter I think of French Onion Soup as the Rocky Balboa of soups. It is an enduring favorite, it has bite and it may be basic, but it definitely has depth. You can envision it going a few rounds with Apollo Creed's Beef Stew. But seriously, French Onion Soup is that perennial favorite that we love to order in restaurants as an appetizer but seldom actually try to make at home. In all the years that I have been cooking the first time I tried to make it was last weekend, when I decided to try my hand at a slow cooker version. I have just one thing to say…
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Here is a recipe for a tasty stir fry that not only tastes good but leaves you with only one pan to wash. Bonus!
"The quickest way to know a woman is to go shopping with her." -- Marcelene Cox I can often be found browsing the aisles of the T.J. Maxx in town. This is mostly because I like to support businesses in town. And other towns too, I suppose, since I do frequent quite a few T.J. Maxx stores in the area. Ok if I'm being honest that may not be my number one reason...I mean, they have such great stuff! My favorite section is Housewares (which then also leads me to frequent their sister store, Homegoods, but that's another story) and during one of my wanderings through the store I found a wok-pan for a really good price. My husband and I have used it many times for different stir fry dishes but this one is my go-to stir fry recipe. I even picked…
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Apple Crisp is a Fall staple. Welcome the arrival of the season with this perennial favorite dessert.
"By all these lovely tokens September days are here, with Summer's best of weather and Autumn's best of cheer." -- Helen Hunt Jackson When September mornings begin getting cooler and sweaters make their reappearance, I immediately begin craving apples. Those crisp days trigger memories of fun family apple picking days and the subsequent making of pies, crisp and applesauce. I cannot effectively articulate how I much I love this season. I grew up in New England and lived here until I was thirty. It was on my thirtieth birthday that I decided I needed a change of scenery. So with a friend I moved to Florida, where I resided for three years before moving back. Now don't get me wrong, I am not knocking Florida. In fact my parents live half the…
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Looking for a new dessert to try? Here is a recipe for an easy tangy tart.
"Someone has stolen three of my tarts!" - The Red Queen (Alice in Wonderland) While thumbing through my People magazine last week I came upon a recipe for a lemon tart. Having never made a tart before, and therefore not realizing how easy it would be, I skipped right over it. The following day the magazine was laying on the coffee table and after a gust of wind blew through the window, the magazine opened to what else...the lemon tart recipe. My dessert destiny was calling to me. Clearly I needed to embrace it. And as luck would have it, I had all the ingredients right in the kitchen. This recipe calls for no baking and the whole process takes about fifteen minutes from beginning to end. It tastes so fresh and tangy and is such a beautiful…
Karyn
12:15 am on Saturday, November 24, 2012
I actually made this today and it was awesome! Was a bit skeptical at first, but all the layers melded nicely when the hot soup was ladled over them! Definitely a keeper. more ›