Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup diced carrot
• 1/4 cup diced celery
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1-1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1-1/4 cups uncooked medium egg noodles
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

Directions

• In a large saucepan, saute the carrot, celery and onion in butter until tender.
•  Stir in the broth, chicken and seasonings; bring to a boil. 
• Reduce heat. Add noodles; cook for 10 minutes or until noodles are tender. 
• Sprinkle with parsley.
  
• Yield: 6 servings.

Recipe and Photo Source:  Taste Of Home

Extra Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing

Making your own salad dressing is an awesome idea!  While it is so easy to pick up a bottle of premade Blue Cheese Salad Dressing, which is my favorite, the blue cheese flavor is always a bit too strong for me and I usually end up mixing it with mayonnaise.  Can't wait to try Mr. Food's recipe so I can control what goes into the dressing!

This recipe is part of a series of 31 homemade salad dressing recipes on Mr. Food's website.  The link is at the bottom of the page!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (4-ounce) package crumbled blue cheese
• 3/4 cup sour cream

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except the blue cheese; whisk until smooth.
    
2. Add blue cheese and stir to mix well. Serve, or cover and chill until ready to serve.

Source:  Mr. Food ~ Salad Dressing Recipes

Merry Christmas

From our family to yours

Merry Christmas!

May your day be happy, festive

and full of love :)

Dole Whip . . . like at Disney World!

Back in the day when JR and I went to Disney World at least once a month, we so loved the Dole Whips at the Magic Kingdom that we would sometimes take a quick trip to there, get a Dole Whip and proceed to another park.  They are so special and I have not seen them anywhere else!

Can't wait to go to Disney World with The Captain and introduce him to all the little things I love there . . . starting with a visit to the Dole Whip stand in Adventure Land at the Magic Kingdom!

Someone posted this photo on Pinterest, but did not include the recipe . . . so I went in search of a recipe . . . and I found two that would work for me since I don't have an ice cream maker.

• 
  
• 
  
• 2/3 cup pineapple chunk , partially frozen
• 1 cup real vanilla ice cream
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice (sweetened or unsweetened)
• 
  
• Directions:

1. 1
   Variation: 2 tablespoons frozen pineapple concentrate plus 1/4 cup or so water can be substituted for the pineapple juice.
2. 2
   Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Please feel free to add or decrease the amount of juice/ice cream to get a consistency you prefer.
3. 
   
4. Source:  Food.com
5. 
   

INGREDIENTS

2 cans (20 oz. each) DOLE Crushed Pineapple
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped
1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries, mini marshmallow or mini chocolate chips (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Drain crushed pineapple; reserve 2 tablespoons juice.  Set aside.

Place crushed pineapple, lemon juice, lime juice, sugar and reserved pineapple juice in blender or food processor container.  Cover; blend until smooth.

Stir in cherries or marshmallow or chips . . . if desired.

Pour into two 1-quart freezer zipped bags.  Store bags flat in freezer.  Freeze about 1-1/2 hours or until slushy.

Gently stir pineapple slush into whipped cream until just blended, in large bowl.  Return to freezer until completely frozen, about 1 hour.

Serve!


Source:  Dole

Pimento Cheese Ball

Love this quick and easy recipe that makes

one of the best appetizers ever!

Convenient to make for parties since it

can be made three days in advance.

Ingredients

• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (4-ounce) jar processed pimiento cheese spread
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, with an electric beater on medium speed, beat Cheddar cheese, cream cheese, pimiento cheese, and garlic for 2 minutes, or until smooth.
    
2. Place mixture on waxed paper and form into a ball. Wrap in waxed paper and chill for about 2 hours, or until firm.
    
3. Place pecans in a shallow dish. Remove waxed paper from cheese ball and roll it in pecans, completely coating it.
    
4. Serve, or wrap well and chill until ready to serve.

Yields: 2 cups

Source:  Mr. Food

Snickerdoodle Creme Cookies

Ingredients

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix

5 tablespoons butter, melted

1 egg

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

1 container (1 lb) Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy cream cheese frosting

Directions

Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, stir sugar cookie mix, butter, egg and cream of tartar until soft dough forms.


In a small bowl, mix cinnamon and sugar. Shape dough into 36 (1-inch) balls. Coat balls with the cinnamon-sugar mixture; place on cookie sheet.


Bake 7 to 9 minutes or just until cookies are just set. Watch them closely! You don’t want them crispy, browned, and over baked.


Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.


For each sandwich cookie, spread frosting on bottom of 1 cooled cookie. Top with second cookie, bottom side down; gently press cookies together.




Source:  Betty Crocker


I'm sharing this recipe at Talking Dollars and Cents 

Four-Layer Pecan Pie

I would have never thought adding cream cheese

to a pecan pie recipe, but it sounds delicious!

Can't wait to make this pie :)

Ingredients

• 1 refrigerated rolled pie crust (from a 15-ounce package)
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• ¹/2 cup sugar, divided
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 1 ¹/4 cups chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Unroll pie crust and place in a 9-inch deep dish pie plate, pressing crust firmly into plate.
    
2. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 egg. Beat at low speed until smooth; set aside.
    
3. In another medium bowl, beat 3 eggs. Add remaining sugar, the corn syrup, and remaining vanilla; mix well.
    
4. Spread cream cheese mixture in pie crust. Sprinkle with pecans and slowly pour corn syrup mixture over pecans.
5. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until center is set. Let cool, then refrigerate 4 hours or until ready to serve.

Source:  Mr. Food

Almond Cookies

Almond Cookies are

one of my favorites!

Ingredients

• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Spread the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, tossing occasionally, until golden, 4 to 5 minutes; let cool.
2. In a food processor, pulse ½ cup of the almonds with ½ cup of the brown sugar until the almonds are finely ground. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. With an electric mixer, beat the butter and the remaining ½ cup brown sugar at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract and beat to combine. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually mix in the flour-nut mixture just until combined (do not overmix). Gently fold in the remaining ½ cup almonds.
4. Form the dough into two 12-by-1½-inch logs. Refrigerate, tightly wrapped, until firm, about 2 hours or up to 2 days.
5. Heat oven to 350° F with the racks in the upper and lower thirds. Working with 1 log at a time (keep the other chilled), cut it into ¼-inch slices and place the slices on 2 baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until golden, 9 to 11 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
6. Storage suggestion: Keep the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Source:  Real Simple

By Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez,  December 2011

Stuffed Chicken Rolls

This is one of those recipes that can be varied in so many ways, depending on what you have on hand or what you like.  Of course the one ingredient that I find missing from the recipe is hot peppers and I will definitely add them when I try it out.  How about some mushrooms?

The first thing that came to mind when I found this recipe is to try it out as something different for one of my favorite meals . . . Chicken Parmesan.  Change the cheese to mozzarella and you're good to go!

I'm going to have fun varying the ingredients with this recipe :)

Ingredients

• 6 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• ¹/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• ¹/4 teaspoon black pepper
• ¹/2 cup sundried tomatoes
• 1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• ¹/4 cup pesto
• ³/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• ¹/2 teaspoon paprika

Instructions

1. Place chicken between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; flatten to 1/4-inch thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt and black pepper; set aside.
    
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Stir together sundried tomatoes, cream cheese, and pesto. Spread cheese mixture evenly over chicken breasts. Roll up jellyroll fashion; secure with wooden toothpicks.
    
3. In a shallow dish, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and paprika. Dredge chicken in bread crumb mixture. Place in a lightly greased 7- x 11-inch baking pan. Bake, uncovered, 26 to 28 minutes; let stand 5 minutes. Remove toothpicks, and slice each roll into 6 rounds.

Source:  Mr. Food

Thanksgiving

The holiday season is upon us!  Seems like the other day our family got together for the yearly feast and here it is again.  The years have scattered family members all over the place, but we all come together for Thanksgiving to give thanks for everything we have been blessed with.

This year, The Captain and I will celebrate our first Thanksgiving as a married couple.  My wonderful husband is what I am most thankful for this year.  After spending way too many years alone as a grieving widow after being a wife for 20-something years, the good Lord so blessed me with the most perfect man for me.  He was worth waiting for and I am enjoying life once again!

As I've compiled the following list of Thanksgiving links, my hunger grows for turkey, ham, dressing, sweet potatoes and a number of delicious desserts that we typically eat on Thanksgiving.  The search goes on for something new and different for an appetizer.  Going through all these recipes is a form of torture!

Here's a list of some awesome Thanksgiving links to help you plan your family feast:

Fine Cooking Magazine's Thanksgiving section

Thanksgiving 911 from Real Simple

How to get it all done . . . from Yahoo

Deep South Southern Thanksgiving Recipes

Martha Stewart's Thanksgiving Cookbook

Happy Thanksgiving!