Zucchini Noodles or "Pasta"

Zucchini noodles are a great alternative to pasta as a side dish. I make mine sauteed in butter or olive oil mixed with parmesan cheese, garlic salt and black pepper.

You can peel it with a regular potato peeler into strips or I use a Julienne Peeler made by OXO, which you can get at Bed, Bath and Beyond. This makes nice thin spaghetti size strips

Tonight I made the zucchini with shrimp and mushrooms

Julienne Peeler

Dijon mustard sauce

This is a easy sauce that you can make with pork or chicken.

1. Brown boneless pork chops or chicken breasts in a little butter in a frying pan.
2. Remove meat to platter.
3. Add a tablespoon of dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1/2 cup cream. Simmer over medium heat until sauce thickens.
4. Return meat to sauce and serve

Teriyaki Ranch Baked Chicken

This seems like a weird combination but it has a nice taste. I used crumbled real bacon, not bacon bits and no green onions as I did not have them.

Teriyaki Ranch Baked Chicken


SERVES 4

4 boneless skinless chicken breast
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
3 green onions, chopped
1 (3 ounce) jar bacon bit

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix together Teriyaki and Ranch dressing.
3. Spoon sauce over each breast.
4. Put chopped onions, cheese and bacon bits on top.
5. Bake for 45 minutes.

Cream of Chicken Soup

Sorry for my lack of posts. We have been busy and eating not at home or someone (including me) have been sick. Today since my son and husband are sick I made this for dinner. It was my first time and I really loved the taste of this soup.
I added the cayenne pepper in a separate batch for the adults and it really added a great flavor.


Also I chopped the chopped the carrots, celery and onion in my mini food chopper so my kids would not see the veggies. I would double the recipe for a larger family or just to have some to freeze.

Cream of Chicken Soup
SERVES 4

6 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup celery, chopped fine
1/4 cup carrots, chopped fine
1/4 cup onion, chopped fine
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup cooked chicken, chopped
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or to taste)

1. Melt butter in large heavy saucepan.
2. Add onion, celery,carrot and garlic and saute until soft.
3. Add flour mixing well.
4. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
5. Add milk, cream and broth mixing well.
6. Cook and stir until mixture thickens and comes to a boil.
7. Reduce heat and stir in chicken and remaining seasonings.
8. Adjust seasonings to taste.
9. Cook over low heat 2-3 minutes then serve

Homemade Microwave Popcorn

Great idea and much more economical then the commercial microwave popcorn.
I used this recipe in a microwave corn popper I bought from Walmart. It holds up to 12 cups and has a vented lid for popping. Then when it is ready you just take off the lid and enjoy



Homemade Microwave Popcorn
6 -8 cups

1/3 cup popcorn
2-3 tablespoons melted butter
salt

1. Pour kernels into a small paper bag (standard lunch size is fine) and fold the top of the bag over twice to close (each fold should be 1/2 inch deep; remember the kernels need room to pop).
2. Seal the bag with tape placed 2 to 3 inches apart. (Do not use staples, in a microwave they can be hazardous)
3. Place bag in microwave on carousel.
4. Cook on high 2-3 minutes, or until the pops are 5 seconds apart
5. Mix with butter and salt

Pork Chops in the Crockpot

This was very easy and had lots of flavor. After the pork was ready I put the extra sauce in a small sauce pan and thickened it a bit with Gold Medal brand Wondra Flour. It is great for thickening sauces.

Wondra Flour is a high-quality, bleached, enriched all-purpose flour milled from a select blend of wheats. This quick-mixing all-purpose flour is the perfect solution for lump-free gravies and sauces, as well as for tender pancakes and popovers. It’s also ideal for breading fish and poultry
http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/gold-medal-flour/gold-medal-products.htm


Pork Chops in the Crockpot
SERVES 6


6 boneless pork chops (I am sure you could do this with chicken also)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup soy sauce (I usually cook with low sodium)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 garlic cloves, Crushed (I buy pre minced garlic in a jar and use it in everything)

1. Place pork chops in slow cooker.
2. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over pork chops.
3. Cook on Low setting for 4-5 hours or until internal temperature of pork has reached 160 degrees F.

Before cooking in the crockpot

Homemade Ketchup

Most store bought ketchup's have high fructose corn syrup them and not much else. I finally decided to try making my own which was very easy. This is a very basic recipe. Some recipes add dry mustard and additional spices but I wanted to keep it simple since my son is picky with foods. I may go a bit more creative next time. You can lower or omit the salt if you are following a low sodium diet or even sub splenda for the sugar if you follow a low calorie diet.

Homemade Ketchup

4 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 cups water
3/4 cup vinegar
6 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon onion powder
4 teaspoons salt (kosher preferred)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Place tomato paste in pan and stir till smooth.
2. Add water little bit at a time while stirring.
3. Add vinegar same way.
4. Add remaining ingredients and stir over low heat till simmering.
5. Place into old bottles and cool. Store in fridge.

This and That

I have added a email sign up section on the left of the main page. This will allow you to receive updated via email when I update my blog.

I will be making some updates/notes to my Homemade Oatmeal packet recipe. Instead of making mine in baggies I have just been grinding some and putting it in a container and I wrote the recipe right on the lid of my large Quick Oats container. When I need to make a bowl I just put all the ingredients that I would normally put in a baggie into the bowl and add hot water. Also I realized my kids like their oatmeal a bit thicker so I have been using 1/2 c of water.