Chicken Spaghetti

This is another recipe from PW's Cookbook. It sounds weird but tastes delicious, trust me :o)

Things You Need:
Chicken: 1 cut up fryer chicken OR about 2 lbs of chicken breast tenders
1 lb. thin spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pcs.
1- 4oz. jar diced pimientos, drained
1 small onion
1/4 c. finely diced green bell pepper
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 1/2 c. cheddar cheese
1 tsp. seasoned salt
black pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper or 1/4 tsp. depending on how spicy you're feeling ;o)

The Process:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook your chicken in a pot of boiling water. Once done remove chicken & cut into bite size pcs. Also remove 2 cups of broth from the pot & set aside.
Boil spaghetti in pot until al dente: in other words you don't want it too soft.
Dice the onion & bell pepper.
Drain spaghetti, add cans of mushroom soup, 2 cups of cheddar cheese, onion, green pepper, & pimiento. Then season with black pepper, cayenne pepper, & seasoned pepper. Last add chicken & remaining 2 cups of broth. Stir together well.
Pour into a casserole dish, top with the last of cheddar cheese. Bake for 40 minutes or until bubbly.

My kids were not 100% happy with this recipe but it's to be expected. My kids don't like onions or bell peppers. They thought it had a great taste but didn't like the "green crunchy part" lol! So I figure next time I'll split off a tiny bit for myself with green peppers & add mushrooms to theirs instead :o) They think they'll like it better that way. But overall I thought it was a great dish & simple to make. The hardest part is the dicing. What I like is that you can consolidate everything into ONE pot, easy cleanup!

Lasagna & Olive Cheese Bread

So I've started trying out the recipes in PW's Cookbook. So far everything has been delicious :o)

We'll start out with the Olive Cheese Bread, it's divine. Seriously you could eat this bread, add a salad, & you've got a full meal. I ate 3 pieces :oP This recipe makes a LARGE amount so feel free to cut it in half or you can refrigerate & use later in the week :o)

Here's what you need:
1 - 14.5 oz can black olives, drained
1 - 6 oz jar pimiento-stuffed green olives, drained
2 green onions (*I actually left these out b/c I forgot to buy them)
1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 cup real mayo
1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 loaf crusty French bread (*I used Texas Toast instead)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Dice the black olives pretty tiny. Dice the green olives not so tiny :o)
Dice the green onions, if you remembered to buy them lol!
Throw all your ingredients into a bowl: olives, onions, butter, mayo, & cheese
Mix it up until it's good & combined.
Then spread it on your bread.
Bake for 20-25 minutes unless you used Texas Toast then it's more like about 10 minutes.

You can literally eat the mixture right out of the bowl. I did.


Or you can stick to the rules & wait until the bread's done :oP


The lasagna is a lil more complicated but it's SO worth it. By far the BEST lasagna I've ever made :o)
We'll start with:
10 oz lasagna noodles (*I actually only used 8 noodles - save the others for the next time)
1.5 pounds hamburger meat
1 pound hot sausage
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 - 14.5 oz cans WHOLE tomatoes
2 - 6 oz cans tomato PASTE
10-12 Basil leaves (*The market didn't have any so I left these out)
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley (*Again the market was out, must've been the end of the week lol)
(*I substituted fresh oregano for the basil/parsley)
3 cups low-fat cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Most of the prep is regular ol' stuff.
Boil your noodles with salt & Tbsp of olive oil. You don't want your noodles falling apart so watch them as they boil.
Saute your hamburger, sausage, & garlic. Drain off the fat.
Add the whole can of tomatoes, juice & all, tomato paste, 1/2 tsp. salt & pepper.
Stir together well & simmer for about 30-45 minutes depending on how much time you have & how hungry you are :o)
At this point you chop up your basil & parsley(*OR oregano lol!)
Add half to your meat mixture, set the other half to the side.
In a bowl, combine cottage cheese, eggs, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, & the rest of the herbs you chopped. Stir well.

Now we're going to layer them all. Lay 4 noodles on the bottom of your casserole dish. Half of the cottage cheese mixture goes on top of that, spread it out. Then comes half of the mozzarella cheese YUM! Then half the meat mixture & spread. Now repeat with the remaining noodles, cottage cheese, mozzarella, & meat mixtures. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan.
Bake for 35-45 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before you cut into slices.

Folks it's deeeeeelicious, you've got my word. My kids licked their plates clean, no joke!

Apple Biscuits

I keep so many things on hand in my kitchen that I can make just about anything at a moment's notice. I enjoy it. So last night while I was reading a romance novel & beginning to feel sorry for myself - all the damn love in the air was about to choke me :oP - I decided to drown my sorrows in deliciously sinful goodies. So I scoped out my fridge to see what I had that I could just throw together. Hmm, biscuits & apples, there's nothing sweeter in the world, well for that moment at least lol!

So next time your feeling sorry for yourself grab a couple cans of cheap biscuits, some apples, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, & butter - trust me you'll be better in no time :o)

This is not a time to measure, just throw it together, you cannot go wrong.


Yumminess!


Plop it on a biscuit :o)


Bake & Enjoy!

Chicken & Dumplings II

Alrighty I've been asked to post my recipe from last night's dumplings. I've posted a recipe HERE before but I must admit that's not how I normally do it. Yes that recipe is still good but I've found that when I just kinda throw it all together by taste & feel, it turns out so much better :o) So here's my best explanation of an off the cuff chicken & dumplings "recipe".

I start by filling up halfway a large pot(5-6qt) with water. Then I do the same with a medium sized(2-3qt) pot, throw'em on the stove & set the water to boiling. I start looking in my fridge for goodies that I can throw together. Last night just happened to be peas, carrots, & mushrooms. I also had some fresh oregano on hand via my new oregano plant :o) YUM! So I start chopping my veggies, how many? I eyeball it, depending on if I'd like more veggies or chicken. I throw them in the medium pot to cook.

I pullout my chicken breast & slice them into tenders, plop them into the large pot of boiling water. Yes you can do this the hard way by cooking an entire chicken, pulling the meat from the bones, etc etc. It's still probably one of the tastiest ways but I'm a last minute kind of gal so I don't always have time to boil an entire chicken :oP For now your work is done, let the veggies & chicken boil until done/tender.



The chicken needs to be cut again once it's cooked thoroughly. So I pull them out of the pot & commence to dicing to whatever size I deem appropriate for the evening lol! & if you look inside your pot of "water", guess what? You now have chicken stock! At this point you can leave the stock the way it is or you can add a lil chicken bouillon to it. I add the cubes, about 4, just enough to give it some extra flavor. Maybe add a dash or 2 of salt & pepper. And of course, some milk, about 1-2 cups, again I don't measure I just pour :oP Throw your diced chicken in, along with your veggies(the whole pot, water n all). I finely minced about 2 large leaves of oregano & threw those in too. Now let this boil for another 5-10 minutes, stir it up, let it all meet & mingle together :o)

Now everyone wants to know my dumpling secret, sshhh, it's..... are you ready for it?

Bisquick! Seriously this stuff is so versatile, you can do biscuits, pancakes, dumplings, just about anything bread wise. So just follow the directions on the box for dumplings(2 1/4 cup bisquick, 2/3 cup milk). Drop them into your boiling concoction of meat & veggies, about a spoonful at a time. Cover with a lid & let them "bake". Look at them, you'll know when they're done :o)

Now a few tips:
You can thicken up your dumplings with sour cream, milk, etc but the surest way to get them the consistency you want them is to watch how much stock/water you leave in your pot. You don't need a pot full of water to boil your chicken in. And remember the more things you add to that pot ie:chicken, veggies, other liquids, the more displacement of water your gonna have so start out with the smallest amount of water to get the job done. If you think you have too much then drain it off with a measuring cup & set it to the side. That way if you NEED the extra liquid you have it on hand all ready to go.

Now I'm by no means an expert, everything I've learned in the kitchen have been from various people in my life or by trial & error. But I don't think I'm half bad at it ;o)
My finished product:


Next recipe I'm dying to make: Eggplant Parmesan YUM!

Makes Me Better

When I'm feeling down or having a rough day I normally get some love from my Princess Kitty :o)


And I do things like put my socks on my pup :o)


It makes me better.

One of Those Days

I'm having one of those days where I'm struggling to keep it together. One of those days where I'm tired of doing it all by myself. I'm tired of the worry, coming home to an empty house, not having anyone to share my day with. I want to skip the holidays so I don't have to be reminded of yet another Christmas without him. I'm tired of the reminders. I don't need reminding, I live with it every day. I left the house yesterday without my phone. Didn't realize it until I picked up food. The desperation I felt was ridiculous. I don't want to be married to my phone or computer. I want my husband home.

Tomorrow I should be back to normal, whatever that is.

The Speech Part Deux

Be aware that what you are about to read will contain a wide range of thoughts & emotions. It may or may not make sense to you. I won't promise that it will sound educated :oP It's MY blog so just roll with it, k?

I sat down last night to watch Obama's speech on the troop expansion in Afghanistan. I won't lie, I sat there fully expecting to get pissed off and be indignant. I try hard not to judge but it happens, we all do it. I was incredibly surprised to find that I AGREED with what he was saying. As a military wife I realize that every decision this man, our President, makes will ultimately decide our future & the course it will take. If you don't think that's true then take your blinders off people.

The war in Iraq has overshadowed the purpose of the war on terrorism. The original intent was to go after Bin Laden. It is still our purpose today but it's been on the back burner. We got caught up in the mess in Iraq, did it serve a purpose? I'm sure it did somewhere along the lines. We are doing good things in Iraq & the war there is coming to an end. My husband is on his second tour there in less than 2.5 years. He WANTED to go to Afghanistan to "fight the good fight". I was terrified & when he had his opportunity to do just that, I talked him out of it. But from the way things are looking he'll still get his chance. I realize that he "signed up" for this, it's his career but that in no way makes it any easier.

I agree with the troop surge. I agree that it's time to do right by this war. I agree with setting a timeline. The lack of a timeline in Iraq is part of the reason why we've been there so long. Yes it's going to cost more money but isn't it worth it to be done with war? Don't we owe it to both the Afghans & Americans to do this right? Will the world ever be free from terror? I pray every night that it will but for now we have brave men & women who are working their asses off to accomplish that.

You know what burns my biscuits? The media & every swingin' dick who thinks their answer is the right answer. The ones who will argue for the sake of arguing. The ones who will find fault with anything. The ones who point fingers & blame. The Americans with their blase indifference. The ones who think that everything in the world is free. The ones who sit on their ass while the few warriors fight for their rights & freedoms. I firmly believe that every American should serve in some sort of military service, make the sacrifices that my family & friends have made. I'm tellin' ya so many people would look at life differently. It's like one of my favorite quotes states: "For those who fought for it FREEDOM has a flavor the protected will never know."

This lifestyle takes my patriotism to whole new heights. I cry during the pledge of allegiance, Star-Spangled Banner, Taps, speeches involving our troops, etc. I've never felt such pride in my country, troops, & my husband. All these things remind me of why we're fighting the war on terror, of why it's important this troop surge goes smoothly, & why we left back on the homefront need to stand tall & proud. So while I support the President's decision, I also dread the separation & fear that is inevitable for so many military families. It's not fun living with that knot of unknowing fear, it wraps itself around your life & while outwardly you seem like you're doing fine, it's still in there, embedding itself into every cell of your soul. It stays there until your Soldier gets back on American soil, safe & healthy. & the seed grows again when decisions like this surge have to be made. So please pray for our military troops, spouses, families, America, & most of all, the people of the world. We all deserve peace & tranquility.

I'm still trying to swallow the fact that I agree with Obama's decision. LOL! I think his exit strategy is what won me over. If he were to just announce the 30k+ troops with no time line for an exit or end to this war then yeah I would have been pissed. But wow, he seems to have got it right this time. I'm hoping with all hope I can muster that it plays out to our benefit. & that's all I have to say about that :o)

The Speech

I'm sure everyone is waiting with bated breath to hear my opinion of Obama's speech. & an opinion I certainly have but I think I'm going to sleep on it tonight. Not because I'm incredibly upset & don't wanna piss people off, it's mostly because I'm torn. Torn between agreeing with his decision & knowing the utter devastation it is going to have on many, many military families, possibly including my own.

In the meantime, drop by my friend Tucker's blog to read her view on the expansion of troops in Afghanistan. She's got a very good, REAL point :o)