Recipe: Shrimp and Corn Chowder

Easy, easy, easy!

Shrimp and Corn Chowder

Boil about a pound of russet potatoes, rough cubed, until tender. Drain. Saute about 1/2 onion and butter in dutch oven over medium heat until onions are tender. Add a few tablespoons of flour (it will bubble) and blend. Then add milk or cream (about 1 cup) and stir to blend. Continue stirring until mixture thickens. Add chicken stock (about a quart), potatoes, creamed corn (one can - or 2 cups if homemade) and about a pound of shrimp (season shrimp with salt and pepper before you start cooking). Cook, stirring occasionally until shrimp are cooked through and soup is the consistency you want. Salt and pepper to taste.

WFMW: Homemade Break Apart Cookie Dough

I posted this last August and thought it was time to share it again. I love the convenience of break apart cookies from the grocery store, but don't like all those funky chemicals that I can't even pronounce lurking in my kiddos snacks. Last year, I made a quadruple batch of sugar cookies and baked one, then put the other three in separate gallon sized zip top baggies.



After smooshing the contents of the bag flat, I used chop sticks to make the "perforations". When I want to use them, I take the bag out of the freezer and break them apart while still frozen. It also helps to put baking instructions on the bag in case you can't put your hands on the recipe when you're ready to bake (not that I ever lose a recipe or anything, lol).

Now, when we make cookies, we usually at least double (but often quadruple) the recipe and put some in the freezer for later. And it works beautifully with other kinds of cookies, too. If you'd like to read the original post, click here.

And check out more ideas at Rocks in My Dryer and Works for Me Wednesday.

Home made "Hot Pocket" style calzone

I had a few minutes this morning to catch up on some blog reading and I loved this idea over at Thrifty Florida Mama. She makes homemade Hot Pockets. I remember when I used to do that, too. Somehow, we got out of the habit. It was really nice to have something quick and easy ready to heat up and eat. So, inspired by her post, we made up a batch of biscuit dough, rolled and cut with biscuit cutter, then rolled them out flat (the boys really had fun with this part), chopped up some hot dogs, mixed in chili and a handful of shredded co-jack. We put a tablespoon of filling into each circle, folded over, sealed and baked. We made 20 of these for $2.20 or .11 cents each. Quick, easy and better for you than the store bought stuff, plus much more tasty. I think we'll try to make some with pizza sauce, cheese and black olives (oldest ds's favorite kind of pizza) either later this week or next week.

There are lots of great ideas like this over at Thrifty Florida Mama for Make it Yourself Monday. Check it out!

Popsicles?

Is that even how you spell Popsicles? Anyway, the kids are already asking for them, which, with the weather lately, isn't that surprising. I've been freezing the leftovers when we make smoothies (I have tupperware Popsicle molds) and they've been a big hit. I especially love that they contain fruit, pro-biotic (in the yogurt), and veggies (carrots, sweet potatoes, zucchini, cauliflower and white bean purees - but not too much - about 2 tablespoons of each), plus protein and fiber to prevent blood sugar spikes and no added sugar.

A few years ago, I checked out this cookbook from our library (I've since forgotten what its called) which had a recipe for slow cooker caramelized onions. Until then it had never crossed my mind that you could make these in a crock pot! It works so nicely - the onions come out perfect. Here's how you do it - thinly slice about 2 lbs of white or yellow onions and put them and1 stick of butter into the crock pot on high for about 6 hours. That's it! You can use less butter if you'd like, but they may not brown as much. The reason I mention these onions is because there are some going in the slow cooker right now. We're having french onion soup tonight with these sandwiches. We skip the mayo and use whole wheat bread when we make them and they are huge hit over here.

Meatless Friday

Supper tonight is coming from a recipe in a book I found at the library called THe Vineyard Kitchen: Menus Inspired by the Seasons by Maria Helm Sinskey. The recipe is called Spinach and Sheep's Milk Ricotta "Pie". This savory cheesecake will be combined with a light salad and homemade bread to make what I hope is a nice meatless dinner. If you've never seen this book before, I highly recommend it for the wonderful recipes and interesting ways that seasonal foods are used.

What do you get when you cross a bag of frozen spinach . . .

. . . a couple of chicken breasts, a jar of white sauce, a pound of bread dough, an end of a wedge of parmigiana reggiano and lots of garlic? A lovely chicken florentine pizza!

I'm still not sure how it will turn out, as this is an experiment, but it sure does smell great. Here's what I did:

Made a one pound loaf in the bread maker on the dough cycle. While the dough was kneading, I cooked the chicken breasts till brown on both sides. Then I de-glazed the pan with a little water to make a nice rich sauce and chopped the chicken. Next I added the thawed and drained spinach, sauce and garlic. Next I rolled out the dough, spread some of the sauce on it and some cheese, then I added the rest of the chicken mixture and topped with the remaining cheese. Its in a 425 deg oven right now. I'll let you know how it turns out.

ETA: This experiment turned out GREAT! This is definitely a keeper :o)

Wintry Mix

That's what the weather is like here right now - some rain, some sleet and some SNOW!! Being from the Deep South, this is a once in a decade sort of thing. The boys are outside making "snow men" which are about 1 inch in diameter. What fun! If I can ever get my computer back to working properly, I'll post some pictures.

All this exciting weather has brought our A.A. Milne birthday celebration to a screeching halt. Before the snow started falling, we did manage to make some honey butter for our yummy biscuits. Tonight, by the fire, with our hot chocolate, we will read our favorite Winnie the Pooh stories while we watch our wintry mix fall.

Honey Butter

1 cup of butter at room temperature
1/4 cup honey

Mix with hand or stand mixer until well combined. Store in refrigerator. Wonderful on hot biscuits or rolls.

My favorite Sweet Potato Recipe - Yummy!

Smothered Sweet Potatoes

Peel and thinly slice one or two sweet potatoes. Place one tablespoon of butter per sweet potato into a warm skillet until melted. Place sweet potatoes into skillet. Add salt to taste. Stir occasionally to make sure all slices are buttered and salted. These slices will brown nicely as they cook and the smell in the kitchen is heavenly. Yummy!

Our Favorite Smoothie Recipe

We love this smoothie! Its something we have almost every day. I don't measure, so these are approximations.

1/2 bag frozen strawberries (8 oz)
1/4 bag frozen peaches (4 oz)
1 cup orange juice
1 banana cut into chunks
1 cup yogurt (we like either strawberry or plain)
The contents of 4 Omega 3 (fish or flax)Oil capsules

Add all ingredients to blender. Blend until smooth. Add water if it is too thick. Serve with a straw - its more fun that way :o) This recipe makes 4 small or 2 large smoothies.