Black Bean Soup

  Can you believe it? The last time I was here I was still pregnant and living in Texas!

I now have 4 children and live in North Carolina!

Which brings me to my recipe today. Getting your groceries in order in a new house is costly and takes some time, so after the first week of being here (and 20 minutes away from the store), I looked into the fridge and found a half a head of iceburg lettuce, some ham, mustard. some milk, and 1 egg. The freezer held juice to make jelly with, and 1 pound of ground beef. What would we have for dinner? I couldn't even make pancakes because I didn't have enough eggs!

I found this recipe and it was do die for!!!

Black Bean Soup

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans
• 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
• 2 cups cubed cooked ham
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup sour cream

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, bell pepper, carrot, and garlic, and cook 5 minutes, until tender. Mix in 1 can black beans and chicken broth.
2. In a blender, puree remaining can of beans until smooth. Mix into the pot. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Mix in ham, cumin, salt, and pepper. Simmer 20 minutes. Garnish with Cheddar cheese and sour cream to serve.

Enjoy!! This one's a keeper.

JoAnn's Black Friday!

I LOVE the Black Friday sales at JoAnn's. 

L.

O.

V.

E.

Really only because of the flannel. This year it was $1.49/yard so I got TONS of fabric for baby blankets to make. I made 2 for me and the rest will be for gifts.  Here are the ones I already finished for me the new baby.

Can I get a vote on the above blanket? Dave thinks the polka dots (which are black) make the top one a little girly. Is it girly or boyish?? Now I'm worried about it.

This blanket I LOVE! And because I bought the last of the bolt of the monkeys, she gave me 75% off the sale price! I paid .50 for 1 1/2 yards of those little soccer monkeys! haha!!

More to come as I finish them!

 

Chicken Lo Mein

adapted from Ming Tsai

I'm not gonna lie - finding the ingredients for this was NOT fun. Smelling the individual ingredients before it was cooked was not a good idea. BUT, Once I tasted the final product to check for seasoning it was BAM in my mouth!!!! It is SOOOOO good!!!! It was so worth it and I WILL be making this again!

Here are the ingredients:

Marinade:
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 C rice wine vinegar
1/2 C oyster sauce (found mine at walmart)
2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 C sliced scallions
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp chile sauce

mix all that together in a bowl and add 1 pound boneless skinless chicken - thighs are traditional and hold up well in high heat cooking. let it marinate for 1-2 hours.

In a hot wok, add some canola oil and cook the chicken.  When the chicken is cooked, add:
1 C chicken stock
6 cloves sliced garlic
3/4 head cabbage, sliced thin (don't worry, it will cook down)

after the cabbage is cooked, add 8-10 ounces of blanched lo mein noodles. (you can use linguini, but I went and found real lo mein noodles).
toss until the noodles are warm and taste for salt and pepper seasoning. Mine didn't need anything extra.

This was awesome.
Even Dave said so.

The Menu

As the feasting season is upon us my son asked me this morning what we were going to eat for Thanksgiving. aaahhhh!!!!! I haven't thought about it ONCE. My birthday is Saturday and I'm prepping for a pie crust class I'm teaching at church next week (read: making lots of pies).

Well, let's talk about the feast.

Since we will not be traveling and it will just be our family, I don't need to make a 10 course dinner for 2 adults and 3 kids, right?? So let's discuss the necessities.

Turkey. duh. I'm a HUGE fan of a brined turkey since it infuses the flavors into the meat and keeps it moist while cooking. My eyes are peeled for .39/lb sales!

Pies. double duh. I'm thinking I'll make an apple crisp to go alongside my pumpkin pie. I LOVE pumpkin pie. As well as apple crisp. That should tide us over for a little while.

Sweet potato casserole. I love this. Dave loves this. my kids don't love this. but I DON'T CARE!! Yes, I just yelled at you over the internet. Dave and I can finish this on our own, that's how delicious it is.

Salad. I'm thinking along the lines of a broccoli bacon salad. Something like this.

Rolls. Homemade? heat and serve? I've got to mull that one over.

another veggie side of some kind. What are your favorites??

cranberry sauce!


gotta get shopping.

Crock-Pot Creamy italian chicken

  I made this dish a couple weeks ago and our whole family LOVED it. It's a little like a stroganoff, but with chicken instead of steak or ground beef. plus, it's a good way to use up the extra egg noodles I have laying around!

Throw into a crockpot:

2 chicken breasts (they can be frozen)
8 oz. cream cheese
1 3/4 C milk
1/2 C cream
1 dry packet italian dressing
1 Tbsp chicken bullion
1 tbsp corn starch

cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4, then shred the chicken. If you just take a fork and stir it around the crockpot, it falls apart really easy! Cook a 12 oz. bag of egg noodles and dump in a huge bowl. Dump the chicken mixture on top of the noodles and stir it all around. YUM. YUM. YUM.

I really couldn't believe how yummy this was. Serve with some rolls and a salad and you're golden!

Red Lobster Biscuits

I got this recipe on the Red Lobster website when we were first married and it is a family favorite!! It really does come out the exact same as the ones they serve!! LOVE THEM...and SO EASY!!!

Red Lobster Biscuits

2 c. Bisquick
2/3 c. milk
1/2 c. cheddar cheese
1/4 c. margarine or butter-- melted
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Mix bisquick, milk, and cheese---beat vigorouskly for 30 sec
Bake @ 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown on ungreased sheet
Brush butter/garlic powder mixture over warm biscuits

Serve & Enjoy!!!!!

Deep Dish Pizza!

  I was making homemade pizza for dinner yesterday but the dough I pulled from the freezer didn't thaw in time for dinner, so I was stuck with all my toppings prepped and no idea what to do with all of it!!

I remembered in a novel (I know, right?) that there was a pizza crust recipe that didn't need yeast or need to be rolled out. I found the book and proceeded to create:

Crazy Crust Pizza!
(this fits in a home cook's baking sheet. 11x18? PLEASE do not try a pizza stone because you will want to rip your hair out.)

3 Cups flour
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp oregano
6 eggs (I know - sorry)
2 cups milk

whisk all that together until most of the lumps are gone. Spray your baking sheet LIBERALLY with Pam and sprinkle some cornmeal over that. Dump your gloppy "dough" on top of that and spread it out until it's even.

THEN add your toppings - no sauce or cheese yet, be patient - I used:
1 lb. browned sausage
1 small package pepperoni
1 HUGE red bell pepper
1 tomato
2 carmalized red onions

Put into a 425 oven for 25-30 minutes. It should be a little brown on top.
Then pull it out, add 1- 14 oz. jar of pizza sauce (got mine at walmart for $1), and as much mozzerella cheese as you desire. Back into the oven for 10 minutes to melt the cheese.

Let it sit for 10-ish minutes for 2 reasons. #1 - you will scorch off your taste buds if you want to eat it right away. #2 - it will set a little and be easier to slice and serve.

This was SO good. I am going to keep this in my arsenal when I don't feel like making regular pizza dough!