Week of Thanksgiving

Are you cooking Thanksgiving this year? Have you already started your shopping or prepping? I have already started my shopping but no real prepping yet. I try to get most of the prep work done by Tuesday night like peeling and chopping vegetables. On Wednesday, I will assemble my casseroles so they are ready for the oven the next day. I will check on the star of the meal to see if it is thawed. If not, I will be waking up early to thaw it in the sink. If it is thawed, then I will sleep a little longer since we tend to eat around 3 pm. See I need my sleep since I will be out early Friday morning with my sister. 

In preparation for Thanksgiving, I made up some chicken broth. It really is easy just time consuming. I ended up with 18 cups worth of chicken stock. If I buy chicken stock, it comes in a 4 cup container, so I decided to store the chicken stock the same way but in double lined plastic freezer bags. This way I can lay the bags down in the freezer to save space.

 Chicken Stock
1 whole stewing chicken
2 carrots, unpeeled
2 stalks celery
10 whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves
5 quarts water

Directions:

1. Chop the carrots and celery into 3 inch pieces.
2. Place the chicken, carrots, celery, and peppercorns in a large pot.
3. Add the water to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
4. Once it boils, lower the heat to medium low and simmer for 1 hour uncovered. 
5. Turn the heat as low as possible and simmer uncovered for at least 2 hours.
6. Remove the chicken and refrigerate it.
7. Using a large strainer, strain the chicken broth into a large container.
8. Discard the vegetables and refrigerate the stock.
9. Once the chicken has cooled, pull off the meat and store in the refrigerator for a couple of days or freeze.
10. Once the chicken broth has cooled, store in containers or double layered freezer bags in the refrigerator for a couple of days or the freezer until needed.

Recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen Cookbook by Rebecca Rather.

One year ago................... I made Chocolate-Peanut Butter Whoppie Pies.

Did you already know.....
-In 1621, the Plymouth Pilgrims invited the Wampanoag Indians to the first Thanksgiving feast.
-The feast lasted three days.
-The pilgrims used spoons, knives, and their hands to eat the feast since they did not have forks. 

My daughter showing how I double line my freezer bags with the broth:

Really Mom, really?

Green Beans and Bacon with Browned Butter

My youngest daughter has an Easy Bake Oven. She loves it and decided to bake something for us. It doesn't matter what the packet says she tries to place it in the oven like frosting. I'm just glad she asks me right before cooking it. I'm not sure how good baked frosting taste. She did finally find a cake packet to bake. When it came out, she offered all of us a piece. I kindly thanked her but I was full. My husband and son said sure. They both took a bite and left the room. They came and right after they whispered to me that it tasted awful. She hollers, "So, what do you think?" My two guys in unison holler back, "You did awesome!" (while making a face I may add.) I did think it was very sweet of them that they didn't want to hurt her feelings. I did notice they didn't finish their piece.  After they left, my daughter did come in and told me quietly that she didn't like it but she'll try another one later. I told her that she should. When I think back to when I was a kid and had an Easy Bake Oven, I don't really remember eating a lot of them but I just like to bake in it. 

I usually like my green beans plain. For Thanksgiving, we always have green bean casserole but I like to try out new recipes before I decide to make it on Thanksgiving. The kids really liked this recipe with bacon and brown butter. How could they not? I think they would elect to eat their green beans this way everyday.

Green Beans and Bacon with Browned Butter
2 lb. green beans, trimmed
4 oz. bacon
2 shallots, thinly sliced
4 Tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. In a large saucepan, add the green beans to boiling, salted water.
2. Cover and cook the green beans for 4 to 7 minutes. The green beans should be crisp tender.
3. Drain and set aside the green beans.
4. In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp.
5. Remove the bacon and place on a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.
6. In the skillet, reduce the heat to medium low.
7. Add the shallots and cook for 4 minutes or until just beginning to crisp. Stir frequently. Remove the shallots onto the same plate with the bacon.
8. Season to taste with salt.
9. To the skillet, add the butter and melt over medium heat.
10. Reduce the heat to medium low.
11. Continue to cook for 4 minutes. Do not stir. The butter needs to become light brown. Reduce heat to low.
12. Add the green beans and shallots back to the skillet.
13. Cook 2 to 4 minutes until heated through, stirring occasionally.
14. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
15. Serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Garden November 2012 magazine.

Did you know....................a year ago I made Honey Yeast Rolls. 

Did you already know........
-In 1963, the first Easy Bake Oven was sold.
-The first Easy Bake Ovens sold for around $16.
-Since the first Easy Bake Oven, there has been 11 models.

Growing Up!

Recently, my Mom gave me a back rest pillow. The kids thought it was the neatest thing. They were more fascinated with the pillow than some of their toys. They placed it on my bed and had to take turns trying it out. Then finally they let me try out my gift which is always nice. They told me to lean back into it and how comfy it felt. Then my son told me to go to sleep. Why he thought I would want to sleep sitting up was beyond me but I pretended to sleep. Anytime I pretend to sleep I make some snoring noises, don't you? My seven year old son started to laugh and he said, "A woman snoring, that is funny!" He knows I don't snore in my sleep and neither does his sisters so he assumes females don't snore. (Good thing he hasn't been around my sister much when she sleeps because I know she snores!) So, it got me thinking about my childhood assumptions.

Childhood Assumptions:

1. Men are serious and don't smile a lot. (My Dad and my maternal relatives did not smile a lot. They are men.)
2. Men do not eat sweets. (My Dad use to eat a lot of candy as a child and outgrew candy plus my maternal Grandfather was diabetic.)
3. Men like beer and women don't. (My Mom very rarely drinks.)

Do you have any childhood assumptions that have changed since becoming an adult? My husband does smile and loves sweets. I will drink a beer once in awhile especially when I am cooking chili since I don't want it to go to waste. 

My oldest daughter asked me to make some steak fajitas. My sister orders this meal a lot so I knew what was in it but had never looked up the recipe since it seemed like a quick meal. I was surprised by all the recipes I looked at wanted me to marinade the meat for hours. Since I had lack of planning, I just used a better cut of meat so it would be tender. We liked it and my daughter was happy. These are the type of meals we serve when my husband is away since he doesn't eat steak and peppers. I think he is missing out.

Steak Fajitas
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
8 oz Sirloin Steak, cut in strips
1 Tbsp Montreal Steak seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 red pepper, sliced in strips
1/2 green pepper, sliced in strips
1/2 yellow onion, sliced in strips
1/2 fresh lime juice, optional
8 flour tortillas

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat.
2. Season the steak with the Montreal Steak Seasoning, a little salt, and pepper. 
3. Add the steak and brown for about 3 minutes per a side or cook until the desired doneness.
4. Remove the steak and place on a plate.
5. Add the red pepper, green pepper, and yellow onion to the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes.
6. Squeeze the lime juice over the vegetables and cook for about another minute or two. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Remove the vegetables and mix with the steak before serving on tortillas.

One year ago........................I made Cranberry Cream Cheese Bundt Cake. It was so good that I know what I'll be making this week.

Did you already know....
-Some causes of snoring are excess weight, alcohol consumption, congestion, and exhaustion.
-4 out of 10 men snore and 3 out of 10 women snore per Health 24.
-Snoring can be a sign of sleep apena.

Minestrone

Happy Veteran's Day!

Both my parents were in the military. I remember growing up and my father wearing his uniform. My father had made it a career so we lived all over from Guam and Hawaii to Virginia. Since they served in the Navy, my father told me to join the Air Force. I'm glad I did for many reasons. To this day, I still keep in touch with several service members. I wanted to take a moment to Thank all my fellow Veterans out there and our military members who are still currently serving. It is a tough life. 

Thank you!

I normally do not post two soup recipes in a row but I am cold lately. My oldest daughter is even wearing a coat lately. When there is snow on the ground and it is February, I will have to remind her about her coat but not now. I guess she has to become immune to it once again. The best thing about soups are they normally can be a healthy alternative. I really like soups with lots of vegetables so this is a great pick. This is a great recipe to keep our Veteran's healthy!

Minestrone Soup
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
2 (28 oz.) can fire roasted tomatoes
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 (15 oz) can low sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup elbow pasta
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.
2. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add the celery and carrots. Cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the green beans, dried oregano and dried basil. Salt and Pepper to taste. Cook for 3 minutes.
6. Add the fire roasted tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
7. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes.
8. Stir in the kidney beans and pasta. Cook for 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked to the al dente or desired texture.
9. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with fresh basil if desired.

 Recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger from Food Network.
(If I had planned it right, I should have served a recipe by Sunny Anderson since she is also an Air Force Veteran.)

Did you already know...
-The Veteran's Day National Ceremony is held every year on November 11th at Arlington National Ceremony and it commences with laying a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns at precisely at 11:00 am.
-There are over 23 million Veterans in the United States.
-"1.8 million veterans are women." according to History Channel.

Lasagna Soup

I love reading blogs. I bookmark many recipes but it usually takes me awhile to make the recipe especially if it isn't a quick recipe. Plus, I try to take a consensus for the recipe. For an example, I have been trying to make pork chops for a week now. My husband keeps suggesting something else or he will cook. So, I purchased the pork chops so guess what we will be having tomorrow. My husband is normally fine with soup unless it is vegetable then he would rather have chips and dip. So when I saw this recipe, I knew I would be making it real soon. I just said we were having soup.

I will tell you that I blog recipes my family likes. There was no liking this recipe. We loved it. My husband is not a big fan of pasta but he told me that I could cook this meal four times a week-yes four times. My children loved it. My oldest daughter just kept saying.......mmmmmmmm. It is easy. It is cheesy. It is delicious. You really need to try this recipe. It is so much easier than lasagna. You need to try this soup. I guess I sound like Sam I am in Green Eggs and Ham. "Try them! Try them! And you may. Try them and you may, I say." (pg 53) You may want to try it four times a week.

Lasagna Soup
1 lb. ground sweet Italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp thyme
1 Tbsp brown sugar
4 cups chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz) can diced stewed tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can diced Italian stewed tomatoes
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
7 lasagna noodles, broken into large pieces (about 3" pieces or smaller)
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat the ground sausage over medium heat.
2. Add the onion, pepper, garlic, and salt. Cook until the sausage is browned.
3. To the pot, add the thyme, brown sugar, the cans of stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and chicken broth. Bring the soup to a boil.
4. Once the soup begins to boil, reduce the heat and allow the soup to simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add the noodles to the soup and stir. Allow the soup to simmer for 10 minutes or until the noodles are a dente or the desired consistency.
6. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and stir. Allow the cheese melt for a minute before lading into bowls.
7. Top the soup with mozzarella cheese and serve.

Recipe adapted from Jamie Cooks It Up!.

One year ago...................I made Roasted Chicken.

Did you already know.....
-Dr. Seuss was a pseudonym for Theodor Seuss Geisel. 
-Seuss was his mother's maiden name. 
-Dr. Seuss received his bachelor's degree in literature from Dartmouth College. 
-Dr. Seuss continued his studies at Lincoln College, Oxford but never completed his doctorate studies.