Alphabet Soup

Meal Plan Dec 4-10, 2011

2011-12-04T15:06:00.001-06:00

So, you may remember me mentioning that I don't tend to do a very good job of meal planning. That's still true, but I have been doing better. I made a plan for last week and stuck to it completely! I've got a plan in place for this next week as well, and have my fingers crossed. I thought I'd share what we had last week and what I'm planning on for next week. You know, just in case you were curious. It's nothing fancy, trust me.

One thing that I'm trying to do more of is sit down with the weekly grocery ads, see what is on sale for a great price for the week, and use that to jump start my meal planning. I also went through and took an inventory of what is in my freezer (I do that periodically and usually do a fairly good job of keeping it updated as I add/use items). However, I still need to clean out my pantry....it's a mess!

Mostly I'm just listing main dishes. Sides vary depending on what I have and what sounds good, lol.

Week of 11/27 - 12/3
Sunday - chicken strips
Monday - breakfast (pancakes, sausage, and eggs)
Tuesday - quesadillas and corn chowder
Wednesday - frozen ravioli
Thursday - grilled cheese and spaghetti-o's
Friday - pizza night
Saturday - hamburger steak (similar to this recipe)

Week of 12/4 - 12/10
Sunday - slow cooker roast chicken (similar to this recipe), with roast brussels sprouts (my husband & I don't really like brussels sprouts, but we both liked these and even my 9 yr old admitted they were "kind of good" -- he preferred the really crispy ones!)
Monday - chili & cornbread
Tuesday - taco night
Wednesday - leftovers
Thursday - breakfast
Friday - pasta dish to be determined (possibly this one; it's good!)
Saturday - sandwiches/clean out the fridge

What's on your menu for the week?

Sugar Cookies

2011-12-01T12:52:00.001-06:00

Last year, Christi and I hosted a cookie exchange. It was fun, and one of these days I think it would be a great idea to do it on an annual basis...just not this year! Anyway, she made the sugar cookie recipe from Brown Eyed Baker. When I had to send cookies to the Thanksgiving celebration at the Munchkin's "Tuesday school" I knew that these would be the perfect thing to send. I was right -- the kids loved them.

This really is a great recipe. Simple, easy, and delicious. What more can you want? And I didn't change a thing, so visit Michelle's website for the recipe. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving last week and can you believe it's December???

Enjoy! :)

I'm linked up to the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies & Sweets -- check out what the others have made!

Thick and Chewy Snickerdoodles

2011-11-16T11:34:00.001-06:00

I admit, I love snickerdoodles. Cinnamon and vanilla? Yes, please. What’s funny is that I never really had them much as a kid, just occasionally in the school cafeteria. I know, ew.

Anyway, snickerdoodles were one of the first cookies that the Munchkin helped make when he was little. He could help dump everything in the mixer (or “loud noise” as he would call it!) and then it was fun for him to roll the balls of dough in the cinnamon sugar before putting them on the baking sheet.

Even since then, my go-to recipe for snickerdoodles has been this one by Emeril. It’s a great recipe, baking up a thin, crispy cookie (at least when I make them!).

However, I was looking for something different this time, something thicker and chewier. I found this recipe from the blog How Sweet it Is. I decided to try it, and while I did keep the ingredient list the same I changed up the method a bit to suit me better. The result? What I was looking for – thick and chewy…and great tasting!

I will say that it does not make many cookies, so depending on how many you will be sharing these with, you will probably want to double the recipe.

Thick and Chewy Snickerdoodles

Adapted from How Sweet It Is

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp real vanilla extract

2 Tbsp milk

**additionally, for rolling the dough in before baking, you will need**

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix an additional two minutes. Add the milk and mix another minute.

Slowly add in the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated. The dough will look wet and sticky. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

While the dough is refrigerating, preheat the oven to 375’F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

When the dough is ready, mix together the additional ¼ cup sugar and 1 Tbsp cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Using a #40 disher (about 1” across) scoop the dough into balls and then coat with the cinnamon sugar. Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake 8-9 minutes or until set. Remove from oven, allow to cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 22 (2 ¼”) cookies

Enjoy! :)

Hey Everyone! I'm linked up to the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies and Sweets over at Meal Planning Magic. Hop over and see what everyone else has made this week! :)

Sharing the Love

2011-11-06T20:24:00.000-06:00

I don't know about you, but when I search for new recipes to try, I also like to read reviews from other people that have actually tried them. I think that's why websites such as food.com and allrecipes are popular -- you post a recipe, others try it and leave reviews. That's essentially what food blogging is all about -- sharing experiences with food. But, I think a lot of us (myself included, if you include me as a food blogger, lol) tend to only want to post our own recipes, or our own take on the recipes of others.

My husband claims that I can't follow a recipe to save my life. That's not entirely true. I do occasionally follow a recipe as written...sometimes...maybe. :) A lot of times I do feel like I change the recipe enough to call it "adapted" or "inspired by". Sometimes though? Yeah, changing one ingredient isn't really enough to make it my own. Those are the recipes I'm going to be talking about today. Ones that I've tried, that my family liked enough to make it to the "keep" file.

I started reading food blogs because they are about real food written by real people. That's what I am -- a real person, with a real family that often has really picky tastes. Here are some of the recipes we've tried recently, and my thoughts on them.

I don't know why it took me so long to try the Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos from Our Best Bites, because they are dang good! My family prefers flour tortillas, so that's they way I make them. My BFF & her family prefers corn, so that's what she uses. Honestly, I never make the dressing, though it sounds very good. We usually dip in salsa or queso. I've also done a version of the taquitos using regular salsa and taco seasoning mix and they were quite good as well.
Also from Our Best Bites, we really like the Stuffed Pizza Rolls (or pizza bites, as I call them). They are a blast to make with the kids, by the way. I use my favorite pizza dough and sauce recipes, but OBB is where I first saw the idea.
The Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken Wings from Steamy Kitchen rock, and I don't really even like chicken wings! I've done the same thing with chicken legs and it was very good as well. The kiddos and hubby loved it too. I did use Italian herb mix instead of just rosemary.
The Maple Pecan Pancakes from the $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook (which I found via Once a Month Mom) were a favorite of mine, even if the Munchkin didn't like them. The other kiddos did though! I did freeze some of them and it was handy to have them ready to heat up for breakfast in a rush.
I love the Light & Airy Whole Grain Biscuits from Simple Scratch (I also love many of the recipes at her other blog, In Jennie's Kitchen). I don't think I'd ever even heard of spelt flour before reading that recipe, but now I always have some on hand and make these biscuits quite frequently.

Ok, those are seriously just a few of the recipes that I've gathered from other food bloggers. What are some of your recent faves?

Enjoy! :)

Oatmeal, White Chocolate & Toffee Cookies

2011-11-03T12:44:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday I had lunch with some former co-workers. We went to this little cafe, and I enjoyed warm food and conversation with wonderful company - two great people that I haven't seen nearly enough of in the last few years.

I was also reminded that I am Katy. Meaning, I am more than "just a mom". My children each carry a piece of my soul around with them. That will never change. But there is more to me than "mom." However, being a mom and now a homeschooling mom has consumed so much of my energy, that I've had a tendency to forget about Katy, about my dreams and desires. So, when I decided to make the time to get some cookies created and post about them today, it felt that much better to slip on my purple apron, turn on some music, and dance around the kitchen while baking up these treats. I'm a sap, I know, I hear it from my husband all the time!

While we were at the cafe on Tuesday, we tried several different cookies for dessert. One of those was an oatmeal cookie with white chocolate. They were hands down the favorite at our table (though the snickerdoodle was a close second for me!). I tried to recreate those, and while these aren't quite the same, they are tasty in their own right.

I started with the cookie recipe here (which is a favorite at our house) and made the following changes.

I substituted white baking chips for the semi-sweet.
I decreased the coconut to 1/2 cup.
I added in 1/2 cup toffee bits.

That's it! I do make my cookies smaller; I use a #40 disher (about an inch across) and they bake for about 13 minutes in my tempermental oven.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Crunch

2011-10-20T10:42:00.000-05:00

Starting back in the 60's (not that I was around then) the home economics department of a local electric company would put on cooking demonstrations near Christmas, and would hand out booklets with the recipes. I can remember attending many of these with my mom and grandmother when I was in junior high and high school. In 1993, they published a 30th anniversary cookbook with all the recipes from the past demonstrations. It was a go-to cookbook of mine for many years, and I still use some of the recipes. One of those is the recipe for Peanut Butter Crunch that I am sharing today. I have actually adapted it over the years, so I'm writing out my adaptation for you. Unfortunately, that electric company was bought out by another and they don't do the demonstrations any more. I always thought they were fun!

I know that intro was kind of boring, but I wanted to give you the history on this recipe! I make it almost every year to hand out in goody boxes and it always seems to be a hit. It's creamy, with a hint of the peanut butter, but then you have the crunchy peanuts and cereal, and the marshmallows are just a sweet bonus! Another thing that I like about it is that it makes a lot, which is great when you are planning on sharing.

*~*~*
Notice how there is no picture of this yummy treat yet? That's because when I went to the pantry to gather ingredients, I was out of the almond bark! I swore there was some in the bottom of the basket under the bags of various baking chips, but nope. I'm posting the recipe anyway, and as soon as I can get a minute (or 30) to get to the store, I'll be sure to make up a batch and post a pic. :)
*~*~*

Peanut Butter Crunch
by Katy of Alphabet Soup

1 (1.5 lb) package white almond bark
1 cup peanut butter (I use the creamy)
2 cups miniature marshmallows
2 cups dry roasted peanuts
3 cups crisp rice cereal (Rice Krispies)

In a large glass bowl, melt the almond bark in the microwave. Depending on your microwave, this will probably take 2-3 minutes, but stir often and keep an eye on it. Add the peanut butter and stir until blended. Stir in the marshmallows, peanuts, and cereal. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper and let set before storing. Keep in an airtight container between layers of waxed paper.

Enjoy!

12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies, 2011 Edition

2011-09-29T21:35:00.002-05:00

Hello, hello, hello! I could babble on about what's been going on lately, or you could just go here and read, so I won't. ;)

Anyway, it's that time of year again, if you can believe it, to start the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies, being hosted this year by Brenda of Meal Planning Magic.

Now, we just got running water back temporarily last night, and for real this afternoon, so suffice it to say I haven't exactly had time to whip up a batch of something yummy, take pics and write up a blog post about it, so I'm going to go back in time to last year and remind everyone about one of my favorite holiday cookies, the Chewy Ginger Snaps.

I've already got a list of goodies I want to make for this year's blog hop, and in the meantime enjoy what everyone else has been working hard on!

My Take on Homemade Spaghetti O's

2011-08-13T23:07:00.000-05:00

When I was a little kid, I loved canned spaghetti. I would even make a spaghetti sandwich out of the stuff. I can't make this kind of story up! What's funny is that real homemade spaghetti is actually one of the things that my mom would make, and it was good. I just still loved the canned stuff too.

Anyway, I can remember when the Munchkin was younger he would see commercials for Spaghetti O's and ask me to buy them. In contrast to my childhood, I would never buy the canned version. I caved and finally bought him a can so he could try it. He took about two bites, declared mine much better, and wouldn't eat any more. Score one for mom! {virtual fist bump}

But, you have to admit, Spaghetti O's are cute! They just are. Here's my take on a homemade version. It makes a lot, be warned. However, if you aren't feeding the entire neighborhood you can freeze it. I tried it and it heated up quite well without the pasta getting all mushy. The kids loved this recipe, and so did I!

Homemade Spaghetti O's
from Katy | Alphabet Soup

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, chopped (just use 1/2 onion if it seems overly strong)
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
1 ½ tsp minced garlic
10 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
a few turns black pepper
2 cups water
1 lb ditalini pasta (or your favorite fun shaped pasta)
1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup milk

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large stock pot or dutch oven. Cook onion, bell pepper, celery and carrot until they start to soften. Add the garlic and cook about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Puree until smooth using a blender, food processor, or immersion blender.

Return to pot, add water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add pasta and cook, stirring frequently, 15-20 minutes or until pasta is done. Add salt, pepper, sugar, cheese, and milk and stir just until cheese is melted.

If freezing, divide into freezer containers, allow to cool in the refrigerator, then transfer to the freezer. To serve, thaw in the refrigerator (or microwave) then heat in the microwave or in a saucepan over medium-low heat.

Enjoy! :)

For Jennie

2011-08-12T19:23:00.000-05:00

I honestly don't even know how to start this post. I've written it a thousand times in my head, and now that I'm sitting at the computer, the words won't come.

Earlier this week Jennifer Perillo of In Jennie's Kitchen lost her husband suddenly. There was no chance for a goodbye. She has two girls, 8 and 3. Though I've never met her in person, I follow her through her blog and on Twitter. And even though I don't know her or her family, when I read what had happened, it brought me to tears.

On Tuesday she posted on her blog. I don't know that I would have had the composure to do so. This is part of what she wrote:

For those asking what they can do to help my healing process, make a peanut butter pie this Friday and share it with someone you love. Then hug them like there's no tomorrow because today is the only guarantee we can count on.

So I baked today, along with many others. I made our family's new favorite chocolate chip cookie. It's not a peanut butter pie, but it's my way of telling my family I love them, my way of grieving for Jennifer's loss, my way of helping.

Baked French Toast Sticks

2011-07-30T21:40:00.000-05:00

Do you remember when fast food french toast sticks became a hit? You know -- those deep fried sticks of bread? Yeah, I don't know exactly when it was, but I do remember asking my mom to take me to get some. I thought they were wonderful! And I have to admit, there are times when I still get a craving to run to Sonic and order some. I will even admit to feeding them to my kids before. However...never again. Not after making them myself! :)

They're really not that hard to make, and the best part? You can make them ahead of time, freeze them, and just heat them up when you're ready to eat.

The first time I made these, Munchkin and Squirt gobbled them up. Sprout? Well, he was too busy being...himself to eat that morning. Although I did catch him taking a "picture" with a toy camera instead of eating. Couldn't possibly be because I had just been taking a picture of the food myself, right? Since then, he's actually eaten them and decided they taste good. Especially with powdered sugar and cinnamon dusted on them.

Baked French Toast Sticks
adapted from One Crazy Cookie

1 (1 lb) loaf challah bread (or bread of choice)
1 cup milk
4 large eggs
2 Tbsp real maple syrup
2 tsp real vanilla extract
¼ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
pinch nutmeg

Preheat oven to 425'F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and spray well with cooking spray.

Cut bread into 1" slices, and then cut each slice into strips about 1 ½” wide.

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla, powdered sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Be sure that it is mixed really well. Pour into a shallow dish or pie plate.

Dip each strip of bread into the milk mixture, coating completely and allowing it to soak up a little of the liquid, but do not over soak (how quickly you have to work will depend upon the bread you are using!). Place the strips of bread on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, then flip them over and bake another 5-10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

If serving immediately, dust with powdered sugar and cinnamon and serve with warmed maple syrup.

If freezing, allow to cool completely, then place on a baking sheet and freeze for a couple of hours. Transfer to freezer bags. To serve, reheat in a toaster oven for 3-5 minutes or in the microwave for a few seconds.

Enjoy! :)

Hey, those are my kids!

2011-07-01T15:35:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! A few things I have to share. First - I have a new laptop. I am screaming from a virtual mountaintop I am so excited about this! My old laptop officially crashed, and I just could not get this new baby set up fast enough. With any luck, this will also mean that I can get some posts up that have been in the queue for a while...because, well, the old laptop has been giving me issues for quite some time now and was really bogging me down in all aspects of technology-related life.

Second, I have a reader story up on the What's Cooking with Kids website. If you haven't read What's Cooking, I encourage you to. There is also a Facebook page where you can snag a sample of her Whole Family Cookbook. Here's the link to my story.

Ok people. It's Friday -- have a great weekend, and if you're celebrating the Fourth of July, here's to a safe and highly enjoyable one! :)

Pizza Joes with Zucchini Fries

2011-06-19T16:50:00.000-05:00

Every time I make sloppy joes for the family, I get the same question: “Why are they called sloppy joes?” Good question. An internet search will give you several different answers. I prefer to stick with “because they're sloppy to eat.” Awesome answer, I know.

I never know if the kids will eat sloppy joes or not, even when I use a recipe that's been a hit before. This one is a slightly different twist on the traditional sloppy joes, borrowing pizza flavors. Everyone liked them, even the baby, except he didn't like the pepperoni.

The zucchini fries were a slightly different story. I thought they were really good, but everyone else preferred the zucchini crisps that I usually make. My mom made the zucchini fries a few days later, using some changes that I had suggested to her and I think they turned out better. The recipe below reflects those changes. I still think it's great, and I'll try it again at my house and see what my people think. :)

Pizza Joes
adapted from Taste of Home

1 pound ground turkey

1 recipe pizza sauce, prepared or 12 oz of your favorite pizza sauce

¼ cup mini pepperoni slices, or chopped pepperoni
6 burger buns
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground turkey until no pink remains. Add the pizza sauce and pepperoni. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook until sauce is heated through. Add a few ounces of water if needed to adjust the consistency. Toast the burger buns if desired. Divide the meat sauce among the buns and top with cheese.

Zucchini Fries
adapted from Everyday Food

1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 ½ tsp Italian seasonings

½ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp paprika
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper

2 egg whites

2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into wedges

Preheat oven to 425'F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, and spray with cooking spray.

In a shallow bowl or pie plate, mix together the panko, Parmesan, and seasonings. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg whites. Dip the zucchini wedges into the egg whites and the coat in the bread crumb mixture, then place on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake for 20-22 minutes or until brown and crispy. Serve with ranch dressing or marinara on the side for dipping.

Enjoy! :)

Facebook

2011-06-10T14:22:00.000-05:00

Yes folks, I may not be spending a ton of time on the blog right now, I admit, but I created a Facebook fan page. Because I need my head examined, that's why! Anyway, I'm having some technical difficulties getting it linked on the sidebar of the blog, but if you search for "Katy's Alphabet Soup" it should pull up. I need some outside input too -- if you see anything weird going on with it, please let me know. I'm a little bit of a noob when it comes to Facebook!!

Enjoy, and thanks!! :)

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

2011-04-20T22:03:00.001-05:00

First off, I have to tell you something you may or may not already know. I have a trouble-maker. Yes; yes I do. Do not let his cuteness factor fool you. He is a bona fide trouble-maker. He's either going to turn my hair gray, make me pull all my hair out, or possibly both. We're talking about the Sprout here.

This shirt says it all.

Now, you are probably wondering what this has to do with Parmesan tilapia, right? Well I'll tell you. Right when the dish was ready to come out of the oven, I walked over, camera in hand to take a picture as I was pulling it out. And I discovered that someone had managed to turn the self-clean cycle of the oven on. And that the door to the oven was locked. And I couldn't get it unlocked. And the fish was still in the oven. I managed to cut the self-clean cycle off, but the oven door was still locked. I had no idea you could even turn the self-clean cycle on while you were baking something. Now I know. Bad, bad design!

So, yeah. I had visions of much, much badness. I even went to the garage and flipped the breaker for the oven to see if that would somehow reset it so the door would unlock. Nope. Luckily, the oven cooled off enough in a few minutes that it did actually unlock and I was able to rescue our dinner. Sheesh. That kid.

The fish, despite the near disaster, received two thumbs up from my family. The Munchkin ate half of his before asking for ketchup, then he finished it and ate half of another piece! The Sprout ate his after we called it fish sticks (really?). And D double-checked to make sure I had written down all my notes for the recipe, because he said he was going to request it often!

This was my first time to cook with tilapia from scratch. And, um, I'm not 100% positive but it may have been my first time to cook with any fish from scratch. I know, I know. It was simple, delicious, easy, and inexpensive! Tilapia was on sale this week, which was what prompted me to finally make the dish I'd been working on in my head. I'm glad I did. :)

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

1 lb tilapia fillets
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Italian herb mix
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/8 tsp paprika

Preheat the oven to 400'F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a shallow dish or pie plate mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, and spices. In a separate bowl or plate, drizzle the tilapia with the olive oil, coating well. One piece at a time, place the tilapia in the bread crumb mixture, turning to coat. Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until done (it will be white all the way through).

Enjoy! :)

Butter Junkie

2011-04-04T22:23:00.000-05:00

I have a confession. I love butter. Since I also love to bake, I try to keep a hefty supply of butter on hand at all times. However, over the last few days, I managed to run out of butter! I was ready to declare a state of emergency. Well, ok, technically I had half a stick left, but that's just not nearly enough.

When D sent me a text earlier this evening that he was about to head home, I asked if he would be willing to stop and pick up some butter. Yes, I asked him to go to the store just for butter. I wanted to make biscuits to go with supper! Anyway, here is the text conversation that followed. It amused me.

Me: I don't supposed you'd want to stop & get me some butter, would you?

Him: I could. What type?

Me: Unsalted sweet cream. Land o lakes or challenge brand.

Him: Ok. How much?

Me: 2-3 lbs.

Me: Just please make sure it's UNsalted. :-)

Him: Holy $#%@

Me: What??

Him: That's a lot of butter.

Me: I can't function without a stash of butter.

Him: Lol. Butter junkie?

Me: Duh.

Apparently I'm a butter junkie, and apparently my husband just figured this out...

Homeschool, Birthdays, and Cookies

2011-04-01T21:55:00.000-05:00

No, this is not some sort of weird April Fool's Day joke. You really are viewing an actual blog post from me! :)

I mentioned before that we've had a lot of changes hit recently, and that we are homeschooling our 9 year old Munchkin. We've been on that adventure for a little over a month and it is going quite well! It is definitely a work in progress and we are certainly learning as we go, but for the most part we are all enjoying it.

During the last month, the Sprout turned 3. Three years old!! Can you believe it? We had his party at home, a Toy Story 3 theme of course.

I had all these grand Martha Stewart-ish plans, but forgot that I'm me, and ran out of time to get them all done. However, I did get some "3" cookies made and decorated and was pretty proud of myself. It was something new for me -- I'd never decorated cookies like that before. I'd always wanted to, I just never had! They may not look perfect, but at least you can tell what they are supposed to be. ;)

The Munchkin even got in on the act. He should have been in bed asleep, but after I discovered him standing there asking if he could help decorate them, how could I turn him down? (this photo was taken with the ipod; it was the closest camera I could find!)

I used the cookie and royal icing recipes from Bridget of Bake at 350. She's got some absolutely amazing cookies on her blog if you haven't checked them out.

We'll be celebrating Squirt's first birthday later this month, and I'm still trying to figure out what theme we'll do for his party.

I've missed blogging, and even though I haven't been around much lately, I do promise that I'm not going anywhere. As soon as we get more of a routine figured out, so I can get in some regularly scheduled baking and writing time, I hope to be back more often! And that's no joke. :)

A New Kind of Adventure

2011-03-13T21:39:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed that I've been absent from the blogging world for a few weeks now. Without going into too many details, we've had some changes going on around here and are embarking on a new adventure with our 9 year old.

That's right. We are now homeschooling, at least for the rest of this semester. It has been a challenge, be sure, but I have to admit that I'm really enjoying the extra time spent with him. I think this new adventure will be good for all of us, in a lot of ways.

So that's why I haven't been around as much lately. I've been spending more time and attention on my family, and less on taking pictures of food. :) I do miss it, and hope to be around more often soon.

Frosting for the Cause: Moon Pies

2011-02-22T07:00:00.007-06:00

Hey everyone! I'm guest posting over at Frosting for the Cause today, and I made moon pies for the occasion. Check it out!!

Snow Day Baking

2011-02-19T12:32:00.001-06:00

It's almost amusing to talk about the snow day we had a couple of weeks ago, considering that the temperature the last few days has been in the 70's! Crazy, I know. But anyway, we had a snow day at the beginning of the month. Well, honestly, it was more of a snow-covered-ice with sub-zero windchill day. The schools closed. My husband even stayed home from work! So, of course I wanted to bake. And bake I did!

I was able to cross making challah bread off my learn-to-do list, which was awesome! My loaf of bread certainly wouldn't win any beauty contests, but it definitely tasted good. I used this recipe from Red Star Yeast (which I love by the way!), and I would use it again. I mixed it up in the bread machine, then shaped it by hand and baked it in the oven. I must make challah bread more often!!

I also tried the Baking Illustrated chocolate chip cookies via Brown Eyed Baker. I don't know if it was just me, but the dough was super crumbly, not the stick-together cookie dough I was expecting. But it worked. The instructions for how to form the cookies may sound lengthy, but if you're going for a certain "look" to your cookies, it's worth it. I used some Ghirardelli chocolate chips that I had found at Sam's, and they're larger than normal chocolate chips. I thought they were fine, but my family didn't seem to like them as much as the cookies I usually make. I did make them a bit smaller than the recipe instructed and got 2 dozen cookies.

I fired up the bread machine a second time for cinnamon raisin bread. I decided to try a new recipe this time, also from Red Star Yeast. My kids love cinnamon raisin bread (ok, I do too) so there's not much to say, except it was good!

And then the blueberry coffee cake muffins from Ina Garten. Delicious. I will seriously make these again. My husband's office was probably happy that we had a snow day. I haven't sent many baked goods to the office lately, but they got the majority of the leftovers the next day. :) So, what do you do when you have a snow day??

Enjoy! :)

French Bread Pizza

2011-02-15T21:41:00.001-06:00

Sometimes it's the simple things in life that are the best. Like French bread pizza. So quick and easy to put together. And yet so good. I had originally planned on making homemade pizza for supper on Monday, Valentine's Day. But it was Monday. Who had the bright idea to make Valentine's Day on a Monday? I mean, seriously.

So, when I made a quick grocery store run earlier in the day I bought a loaf of French bread and decided we would go that route. And get this, the bread was the only thing I had to buy. Everything else was already in my pantry or fridge. That means this meal only cost me 95 cents. That's right. Less than a dollar...if you only count what I had to buy yesterday. :) Even so, counting everything I used for it, less than 10 bucks, easy.

Random, but the bread came off the "day old" cart. My mom used to call that the "used bread". Honestly. And the bread thrift store? Yeah, the used bread store. Anyway...

I like to split the loaf in half lengthwise, but the kids like it sliced, so I did a little of both. I whipped up some of my favorite pizza sauce, spooned that on, added some cheese and toppings, and baked in a 450'F oven for about 6-7 minutes. And ta-da!! Supper!

Enjoy! :)

Random Pet Peeve

2011-02-11T21:05:00.000-06:00

So, this is just a random pet peeve of mine. Have you ever noticed on cooking shows and other TV spots that the chef will handle raw meat, and then dig his hand right into the salt bowl, or grab the pepper mill? So. Not. Cool. You know they know better. Or at least you sure hope so. But they do it anyway. I'm sure it has something to do with not wanting to take away precious seconds out of the well-scripted time slot to properly wash their hands or something. But hello!! Food safety, people. It just irks me.

Any why, do you ask, am I ranting about this today? Well, because in the winter, my hands get so dry that my knuckles will start to crack if I don't watch it. And repeatedly washing my hands during the day doesn't help matters. But I do it anyway. When we had a snow day a while back, I did a lot of cooking and baking. And a lot of hand washing. And watching of cooking shows on TV. ;) And that's when I really go to thinking about this issue. It just sends the wrong impression to the viewer, in my opinion.

I wouldn't classify myself as a germophobe, but I do wash my hands often. I have kids, and I cook/bake a lot, and well, I just want to be clean!! So that's it. My random pet peeve and vent for the day.

Now, where did I put that hand sanitizer...

Image Credit: Soap bubbles by the Italian voice

And the Winner Is...

2011-02-04T19:46:00.001-06:00

First, thank you all so much for the birthday wishes!!

Sorry it took me a little longer than planned to get the winner drawn. A group of almost 20 wild and crazy 8 & 9 year olds playing laser tag and eating pizza took my attention. :)

The winner, chosen by random.org is commenter number 2 -- Jen!! And you're right, I'm not sure what you can't buy at Amazon. I need you to email me to arrange (electronic) delivery of your gift certificate! alphabet dot soup at live dot com Thanks!!

Enjoy! :)

It's My Birthday...

2011-01-30T13:37:00.001-06:00

And I'll doing the gift-giving if I want to! :)

I don't have much to say today. It's been a day...it's been a month! I'm usually pretty fond of January, but this year? Not so much. I'm hoping that February proves to be the start of a better rest of the year.

What am I giving away? A $35 gift certificate to Amazon.com. I thought about giving away a cookbook, or some fun kitchen gadgets. But how do I know which ones you want or need? Well, maybe you don't want anything kitchen related at all! Although I can't imagine...

And how did I come up with the $35 amount? Would you believe me if I said it's just a random number I came up with? No?? Okay, fine. It's my 35th birthday today. There. Happy? :)

How do you enter? Just leave a comment on this post. Talk about anything you want to. Maybe what you'd buy if you won. Just as long as it's not a mean comment, I'm good with it.

I'll choose a winner with a random number generator around noon (central time) on ~~Friday, February 4th~~. As long as you have a valid email address that I can't send the electronic gift card to, you're eligible. Giveaway now closed!!

And just in case you were wondering, this giveaway isn't sponsored by anyone except me. Well, I guess technically it's sponsored by my husband. ;)

Enjoy! :)

Image Credit: Birthday Cake by Will Clayton

Tortilla Casserole - Lightened Up

2011-01-28T21:20:00.001-06:00

I shed tears for you guys over this recipe. Literally. That was one strong onion! :) Normally I can tolerate chopping onions, but seriously, the one I used here had tears rolling down my face.

This is a slightly lightened-up version of a tortilla casserole that my mom makes. She's made it for a few years, and when a friend asked for the recipe, she said "it's not really a recipe, more of a list of ingredients". I've seen her list of ingredients...there are instructions under it. Um, doesn't that make it a recipe? Anyway...

I tried passing this off as Mexican lasagna to the Munchkin. He wasn't really buying it, although he did try a few bites. I really liked this, and so did D. The leftovers heated up quite well the next day for lunch. I hope you give it a try! To make it lighter, I subbed in reduced fat cheese and used ground turkey instead of ground beef. That's it! The original recipe wasn't all that bad to begin with. I mean, I did make a few other changes, because that's what I do. :)

You can adjust the heat level in this recipe by adjusting the type of picante sauce you use, and you can also add some dried red pepper flakes and/or some cayenne pepper as well. A diced up jalapeno or two would also make a nice addition. I didn't have any on hand, but I think it would be good served up with some guacamole.

And just in case you were wondering, I still have concrete floors. The new flooring is scheduled to be installed on February 7th. Please cross your fingers that it actually happens then. I'm ready for things to return to as "normal" as they were!

Tortilla Casserole

1 lb ground turkey breast

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained

1 (8 oz) jar picante sauce
1 (16 oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn

9 corn tortillas (the 6" ones)

2 cups shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350'F. Coat a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Cook the ground turkey and onion, over medium heat in a large skillet until the turkey is no longer pink, stirring to break up the large pieces of meat. Add the garlic and bell pepper and cook 2-3 minutes longer, or until peppers begin to soften. Stir in the tomatoes & green chilies, picante sauce, pinto beans, and corn. Cook and stir just until heated through. Remove from heat.

Place three of the corn tortillas in the bottom of the prepared baking dish (you may have to tear one or more of the tortillas in half to get them to fit). Top with one third of the meat mixture, and then sprinkle with one third of the cheese. Repeat the layers two more times (tortillas, meat, cheese, tortillas, meat, cheese).

Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 8 servings

WW PointsPlus Value: 7 points per serving (note, I used the "extra thin" corn tortillas (brand - Mission) and 2% cheese; other changes may affect the points value).

Enjoy! :)

Italian Crockpot Chicken

2011-01-12T10:33:00.001-06:00

It's January 12th, and this is my first post of the year. Crazy, huh? Well, things have definitely been chaotic around here. It all started on New Year's Eve when we were without power for over 4 hours. Then, that night the baby started running a fever. New Year's Day our internet was out most of the day. On Sunday, the chaos rested.

Then, the afternoon of January 3rd, a Monday of course, the flood came. And it came in the form of a washing machine that overflowed for 30 minutes. Now, you wouldn't think it could do that much damage in that short amount of time, right? Wrong. Luckily I was still home and caught it. But I caught it on my way out the door to start picking up kids! My first calls were to their schools to say "hey, water everywhere, I'm going to be late!" Then I had a bit of a breakdown. Imagine me, with my shoes off and pant legs rolled up, wading through water in my own kitchen and laundry room, standing in the middle of the floor sobbing. Yep, not a pretty sight!

Next, I called the water removal company. Thank goodness they could send someone quickly! Up next was the insurance agent. Yeah...that might be a good idea to call them. Then my mom: "Help!!" When the water removal guys came is when I realized how extensive the damage actually was. It not only got the laundry room, kitchen and dining room, but it had also gotten about 75% of the office wet, plus the hall and part of a bedroom! And what really floored me (no pun intended) was that they had to completely remove all of the flooring in the kitchen and dining room. All of it. Crazy.

Now, we wait. Things have been upside down at my house for over a week. They initially had 13 ginormous fans and 4 big dehumidifiers here. They finally took them away last Friday. It was like living in a wind tunnel. They are actually here today to replace the carpet padding and put the carpet back down. I'm so ready, because we've had to play musical chairs with the kids' sleeping arrangements and it has not been a good thing. We're still waiting on the insurance company to tell us what the final report is on the damages, etc. I have to tell you, I'm not really diggin' the concrete floor in the kitchen and dining, but I'll deal with it for now.

Oh, the problem with the washing machine? It needed a new intake valve, or something like that. It's fixed now. And it better stay fixed!!

You probably came here for a recipe, didn't you? Yeah, yeah. I tried a new recipe yesterday and it turned out really well. The Munchkin even asked to take leftovers to school for his lunch today, and that is a high complement indeed!

The other thing you might want to know - D has started Weight Watchers. Don't worry, I'll still be posting plenty of butter-laden recipes, but I'm also going to share the lighter fare that works for us! I'll post the points values with those recipes as well. Disclaimer: the points values that I post will be calculated using the Weight Watchers online tools to the best of my ability. If you notice a discrepancy, please (kindly!) let me know and we'll get it figured out! :)

Italian Crockpot Chicken

Servings: 6
Weight Watchers PointsPlus value per serving: 6

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
4 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces (about 6 oz)
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped (about 5 oz)
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1 inch pieces (about 6 oz)
3 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 Tbsp Italian herb mix
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in a medium to large slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve as desired (see notes).

Katy's notes:

Okay, here's where the fun begins. I had originally planned to serve this with Ronzoni Smart Taste penne. (sorry for the brand plug, but I really like it). But, I had also purchased some refrigerated three cheese tortellini and decided to go with that instead. The brand I had turned out to be 6 points for a 1 cup serving, making the entire bowl 12 points. I topped each bowl off with 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, which added an additional 1 point per serving. This recipe has a lot of uses. I could also see adding a couple cans of rinsed & drained cannellini beans instead of pasta.

Enjoy! :)