French Onion Soup...

Oh.. Man.. Must blog about the best thing I've made in a LOOONG time. Made French Onion Soup yesterday. I've made it a few times before (last time was Valentines day a few years ago) and it just sounded like a good idea now that the weather is starting to get chilly. I must toot my own horn on this one.. I had two bowls of it last night and another for breakfast this morning.. yummy yummy yummy!! Just a note on the bread/cheese finishing part. I have no idea where my oven proof bowls have gone to so instead I sliced the bread, drizzled with olive oil and toasted in the oven. Then topped with the cheese and broiled until the cheese was melted. Then I just dropped it in the bowl of soup and it was just as good!

French Onion Soup
4 large onions, sliced
1/2 c butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 c red wine
3 Tbs flour
2 qts beef broth
french bread
Gruyere cheese

Saute onions and garlic in the butter on medium heat until they are caramelized (20-30 minutes). Deglaze with red wine. Add herbs. Allow to reduce on medium heat until wine is almost gone and onions are almost dry (10-15 minutes). Lower heat to med-low and add flour. Cook stirring constantly so flour does not burn for 5 minutes. Add beef broth and allow to simmer on medium heat for at least 20 minutes. When ready to serve ladle into oven proof bowl and top with toasted french bread slice and cheese and broil in the oven until golden bubbly.

Salsa!!

Really? I haven't posted my salsa recipe? It's one of my all time favs! I haven't made it for my mom since I've moved back... even tho I've probably bought the ingredients 3x (and had the cilantro go bad... 3x...) Until I FINALLY made it tonight! Now this is my quick version. My all means use fresh tomatoes if you want. Personally I actually kinda prefer the canned..they're a little ... soupier? and I kinda like it that way! lol Add more/less jalapeno, to your taste. Personally I gut it (take out the seeds and ribs) so it's not too hot. As for the 'Adobo' it is a Spanish seasoning. It can be found down the 'ethnic' food aisle with all the other Spanish foods. The name brand of it would be 'Goya'. If you can't find it all it is is salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano (Mexican Oregano.. a little different that your usual Italian variety). Really just a pinch or two of salt and you'll be good. I would invest in the Adobo tho.. you'll find it very useful in a LOT of things! I pretty much use it in place of salt/pepper a lot of times.. or when I'm making something and feel like its 'missing something'

Salsa

2 cans petite cut tomatoes
1/2 can whole kernel sweet corn
1/2 onion, finely minced
1 'handful' cilantro, finely minced
1 jalapeno, finely minced
1/2 lime, juiced
Adobo, to taste

Mix it all up. Eat with chips. :)

Oh yes!

I KNEW there was an actual reason I wanted to post something! SO I'm actually gonna try to blog more.. Maybe not all about cooking things.. I REALLY wanna be more crafty and have been following more and more blogs with SO many great ideas!

ALSO I wanted to share the most awesome website ever.. I do not own or take any rights to it of course, I just absolutely love it! Any time someone asks me for recipe ideas I send them here because it's what I use. http://www.allrecipes.com Go! create an account! You can browse their recipes and add them to your recipe box! As your browsing you can see how their rated and read other peoples comments on them... how they liked it, how they would change it, ext. You can also post your own recipes, comments, ext. I love this website! You can sign up for the 'daily recipe email' which I'll admit most days gets deleted.. but we've all been in that food rut and sometimes that's all you need for some great inspiration! So please! Check it out and enjoy! :)

Oiy..

So.. This post is non food related.. But I just feel the need to right. I've been sick, again. I feel like I'm always sick! And when I'm not sick Javion is!! I got real sick at work on Wednesday.. strangest thing ever and it hit me SO fast! Started with a little bit of a sore throat.. then got some crazy nausea and dizzy spells.. tried working a bit more and my hands started shaking and before I knew it I started seeing spots like I was about to pass out. My chest got tight and I could hardly breath. I sat down for a bit and my boss told me to go take my lunch break. Got a sub and sat out in my car for the hour.. Ate a few bites and started feeling better.. Got back into work and not 20 minutes in it started all over again.. so I would go into the bathroom just to sit down for 5 minutes, pull myself back together, and go out again. Did this for 2 hours and finally broke down and left early. By then I started getting some serious pain in my back so I knew my kidneys were involved some how (when are they not?!) Called my Aunt Luan who's a PA and she told me to go to the ER. Got admitted and put on tons of fluids and antibiotics. Had yet another urine sample done and no evidence of infection but they were sure I had a kidney infection.. and sure enough a little after the anitbiotics started my back pain started to subside. They also think I had some strep too. Had some more ultra sounds done of my kidneys and the cysts are till there and seems like theres at least one more stone.

Those of you who DON'T know my heath history.. I've been dealing with problems with my kidneys since high school. Senior year I woke up one night in the worst pain in my life and went to the ER to find out I had several kidney stones, several cysts, and all around 'abnormal' kidneys. I've moved about a zillion times since then across 3 states ever staying with one doctor for long enough to actually get a diagnosis or a cure. I've had some doctors think its PKD - Polycystic Kidney Disease. I've had others not want to diagnose me with that because usually it's not until your 30-40ish... My last doctor in Utah was calling it 'multiple cystic kidneys'. They say they're not hindering the function of my kidneys, but I'm getting unsure of it. It seems like I'm always in pain now a days.. weither it be just a dull back pain, to a searing stabbing back pain, to UTI type pain.. I'm so sick of it! I want to be healthy! I want to just wake up in the morning and have a good day! And when I'm not sick with kidney stuff I usually have a migraine!

*sigh*

Okay.. My rant is over.

As for cooking things.. been slacking again. Used the slow cooker a bit.. Joe's addited to tacos/sloppy joes. Been buying the powder stuff but making it with ground turkey. I really can't tell the difference.. well actually I can.. becaues it doesn't make me sick! OKAY.. those who know my eating habbits.. I've been known to be a BEEF-A-HOLIC.. but it's changed since the pregnancy. While I was preggo even the thought of the smell of beef made me want to hurl (granted it didn't take much to do that) but I find even now, my son being 8 months old, I am still turned off by a lot of beef things. Now.. a good seared filet sounds great.. but hamburger? Taco? bleeh. And I've found anytime I have beef I get all bloated and just gross feeling! SOO we've been on a turkey fix and I've find it doesn't make me sick! Not asking questions.. Don't care.. just laying off the beef for a bit.. lol!

What was for dinner tonight? Funeral potatoes.. Got the recipe on here already in my Thanksgiving post. Mom never had that recipe before and she even agreed she liked it better than my grandmas :P And it's about a zillion times easier.. Sorry Grandma.. LOVE ya.. but Velveta is gross..

Okay. That is all.

No time...

So with working a full time job and having a 2 hour commute everyday I'm gone 55+ hours a week.. then what time I have at home is spent with Javion.. SO cooking hasn't been as high on my list of things to do.. Mom and I however went to the Clay County Fair and picked up a cook book called "The Busy Womans Slow Cooker Cook Book" ... Now a lot of these recipes are 'a can of this' 'a can of that' type recipes that I'd rather stray away from.. I used to be a very 'from scratch' kinda girl but with the crazyness that is my life this is how it goes!

We had a whole week planned out and what not BUT of course things never go as planned.. But we did make some pulled pork Sunday night that pretty much lasted until tonight. Today before I went to work I prepped up this and Mom was able to finish it up and I was actually able to have a home cooked meal waiting for me!

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

3lbs beef stew meat
2 cans Cream of Mushroom
1 pkg Onion Soup Mix
8oz sour cream
noodles

Place beef, soup, and mix in slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours. When ready to eat add sour cream and serve over noodles.

Other things..

Here are some additional recipes that I've been using in the past days

Rhubarb Jam

4 c chopped Rhubarb
4 c white sugar
1/4 c water
1 pkg Jello

Mix rhubarb, sugar and water in pot and heat over medium heat. Stir frequently until sugar has melted and become a syrup. Continue to cook until rhubarb is tender. Add package of jello. Cool and enjoy

My grandma would make this quite often. The flavor of jello is up to you! The flavors I remember her using the most was blue raspberry and strawberry. I've made two batches this month (there has been rhubarb at the farmers market for $1!) the first was with cranberry jello, and today's with peach. I'm not a big peach fan so that was okay but the cranberry is FANTASTIC!

Gravy

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can water
1/2 pkg Lipton Onion Soup

Mix. Put on anything. Enjoy

Don't know what is is about this but it's SO good. We first did it with pot roast in the slow cooker - but doubled the recipe.. DELISH! Now I find myself cooking meatballs in it, chicken, pork chops.. ANYTHING! It's just so yummy and quick and easy!

Grandma's Pecan Pie

1/2 c pecans
4 eggs
1 T melted butter
1/2 c light Karo
1/2 c dark Karo
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 c brown sugar
1 Tbs Flour
1 c peacan halves
pie crust

Put all ingredents except last cup of pecans into the blender and blend until smooth. Place pecan halves in pie crust and pour filling over. Bake at 350 foor 45 minutes

As this says, it is my grandma's recipe. Family favorite all around. I made 2 pies for the 4th, slightly burnt them, but they were still gone by the end of the night. I also tweeked it a bit to make it my own and tried adding a Tbs of molasses. It made it sweeter and richer.. oh so yummy!!

Opps

HA.. I'm sorry little food blog.. I promise I've been cooking! Life has thrown me a few loops in the last few months... But here I am again! I WILL BLOG MORE! However I killed my camera.. and lost my mothers camera.. SO there may not be many pictures.. but I will blog!

I find myself making Chicken Parmesan today. This was like the first 'fancy' meal I learned to cook when I was like 8 or 9 maybe? It's a go to for me.. Something I always make good, doesn't take much time, and everyone seems to enjoy. I've started to make homemade bread crumbs now.. My mom and I don't eat the heels of the bread so we freeze them. Once I get a bunch I throw them in the food processer.. Instant bread crumbs from something we would have normally trown away. I keep these bread crumbs in the freezer however.. There is still some moisture in the bread an I don't want them to mold.

I normally serve with pasta and garlic bread! Enjoy!

Chicken Parmesan

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 c Flour
2 Eggs, beaten
1 c Breadcrumbs
2 c Pasta sauce
2 c Shredded Itailan blend cheese
salt + pepper
Itailan seasonings
garlic powder

-Start by patting the chicken dry with a paper towel. Then set up your 'breading station' by having flour in one bowl, the eggs in another, and lastly the bread crumbs. Season flour with salt and peper and bread crumbs with salt and pepper, itialian seasonings, and garlic powder to taste.
-Coat the chicken in the flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. Then move to a greesed baking sheet.
-Bake at 350 for 30-45 min until chicken is fully cooked.
-Remove from oven. Top each with pasta sauce and cheese.
-Return to oven and bake until cheese is melted

Saturday is pizza night

So we've started making homemade pizza every Saturday night.. Well at least that's the plan. We used to make it just here and there but we've really started to perfect it and i just cant have enough!

Basic Pizza Dough
1 c warm water
1 tsp honey
1 pkg yeast
2 1/2 c flour
2 Tbs sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbs olive oil

Mix the warm water and honey until honey is disolved. Add yeast and set aside. Sift dry ingredients and add oil and yeast mixture. Work into a dough and knead for 10-15 minutes. Put into an oiled bowl and let rise for 1 hour. Punch down and let rise another 15-20 minutes. Turn out onto floured board and roll into pizza shape. Put into pizza pan, top, and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Our favorite type of pizza is a chicken bacon bbq pizza. We cook off a chicken breast and cut it into strips and roll into a little bit of ranch dressing. We also cook off 2-3 strips of bacon and crumble them and saute about 1/4 of an onion. We put bbq sauce down on the pizza and drizzle some ranch on top. Then we add the chicken, mozzorella cheese, bacon and onions. Very very yummy! We also ususally double the recipe and make bread sticks out of the other half. For this we just make a mixture of butter, garlic, and italian seasonings and top the dough with that and a little bit of cheese. Also very yummy!

Thanksgiving and Christmas Yummies

So, been meaning to blog a bit about Thanksgiving and Christmas. We ended up with 2 Turkeys this year so we had one for each holiday. We almost had the same exact meal really. Here are some snap shots and tips =D

So this is our Thanksgiving bird. It came out better than the Christmas one. For this one I made a compound butter using butter (duh) minced garlic, salt and pepper, and lots of paprika. I slathered it all over the bird - inside and out, and under the skin - the night before and let it sit in the fridge. I also stuffed it with a cut up orange, lemon, and onion. Then we baked it at about 350 for probably 3 hours. I have an oven safe probe thermometer that I can put in the turkey and set a timer to. I put it in the thigh and set the timer to 175 degrees. At that point I cranked the over up to 400 to get a good crust. Cooked it like that for about 20 minutes and took it out to rest. Came out great. We did a simular recipe for Christmas but it was more 'Puerto Rican'. It was a vinager based marinade, still with paprika, but with some other spanish seasonings like Sazon and Adobe. Also the recipe said to cook breast down so I tried that. Christmast turkey came out more dry. Not sure what contributed to that, I may have over cooked it a bit, may have been the vineger, but either way Thanksgiving was better.

This is the yummyest and easiest potato casserole ever.

Potato Casserole

1 32 oz bag frozen hash browns
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cups sour cream
2 cups cheddar cheese
Salt and
Pepper

Mix the hash browns, soup, sour cream, and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese. Season with salt in pepper. Put into casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until cheese and golden and bubblely.

For Christmas we made it again but added diced ham and it was even better. This recipe makes A LOT so you could cut it in half.. or just have left overs..

Beef Wellington

Oh my poor food blog! Your getting forgotten! Well.. not really. Been pretty busy with the pregnancy and on bed rest so no fun.. Plus I pretty much don't cook anymore, Javier has taken over.. I do have a few recipes from Thanksgiving and Christmas I need to post tho.. But first.. A few weeks ago Javier, Jason, and I made Been Wellington! I've been wanting to make it for EVER and we finally got the courage to do it! I did learn however that I do not like proscuitto. If we ever make it again I may just use ham or pancetta...

Beef Wellington

Beef- Either one large tenderloin or we did indivual steaks
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
Prosciutto
Puff Pastry
Egg

First you'll need to sear the beef. Season it well with S&P and coat a pan in a bit of olive oil. Get it good and hot and give the beef a good quick sear. You want to give the beef a crust, but not cook it all too much. It will be going in the oven later. Let it sear for a minute or so each side and set aside to cool.

Once beef is cool cover in pesto. I bought a jarred one. Classic recipes will actually want you to make a mushroom 'paste'. Basically just buy some portobellos and pulse them in the food processer until it turns into a paste and cover that on the beef. Whatever you use, wrap the beef in then prosciutto afterwords. Then you'll wrap in plastic wrap and let chill for 20 minutes. Go ahead and take out the frozen puff pastry at this time and let it start to defrost.

Roll out the puff pastry and unwrap the beef. Place in the middle of the puff pastry and use an egg wash to cover the egdes. Wrap around the beef and let chill for another 10 minutes. Go ahead and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Glaze the tops of the wellingtons with the remaining egg wash. You can use a knife to 'score' the dough which will stop it from rising. Doing this you can make some pretty cool designs. Javier tried his best, but they don't actually show up that well. Top with kosher salt and bake until dough is golden brown, ours took about 15-20 minutes.