3 Olives

I went to dinner last night with Judi and Theresa at 3 olives. The food was good and the therapy was great! The family ate leftovers. No cooking for me!! YAY!

Baked Ham Rigatoni

This one is a keeper. Everyone loved it. I think it would be good with some steamed broccoli in it so I might try that next time I make it. I got this from another one of my favorite blogs!!


BAKED HAM RIGATONI


1 pkg (16 oz) rigatoni pasta

2 - tablespoons real butter (1 oz)

1/2 cup flour

1 qt milk (4 cups)

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese (separated)

about 1/2 lb thinly sliced ham

seasonings

(onion salt, pepper, cayenne pepper is optional)

small pads of butter for top



Preheat oven to 425degrees. Melt butter over medium heat and start water boiling for pasta. Once butter is melted, whisk in flour. Add your milk, and continue to stir until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. When the water is boiling, add pasta and cook until just past the Al-dente stage. Just starting to get soft. When the white sauce is done, add your seasoning, ham, and one cup cheese. stir well, to get the cheese melted. Drain your pasta and add to the sauce. Pour mixture into a greased 9x13 pan, smooth the top and sprinkle with remaining cup of cheese. Dot the top with your pads of butter and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the top is bubbly and brown.

Enchiladas Suiza Mexican Lasagna

Last night we had meatloaf.......nothing exciting!
Tonight I made a new recipe, warning.....it took alot of time to prepare. We thought it was pretty good...had too much lime flavor we thought so next time I will just use one lime.

Enchilada Suiza Mexican Lasagna

Ingredients:

* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)

* 2 pounds ground chicken or turkey breast

* 1 tablespoon ground cumin

* 1 tablespoon ground coriander

* Salt and pepper

* One 15-ounce can hominy, rinsed (I left this out)

* 1 red onion, chopped (I used white)

* 2 jalapeño or serrano chiles, chopped (I used jalapeno)

* 3 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped

* 12 large or 14 small tomatillos, peeled and coarsely chopped

* 1/3 cup cilantro or flat-leaf parsley leaves (a generous handful)

* 2 avocados

* Grated peel and juice of 2 limes (I will just use 1 lime next time)

* 1 tablespoon honey

* One 11-ounce package flour tortillas
* 1/2 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded

* 1/2 pound Swiss cheese, shredded

* 1 cup crème fraîche or sour cream



Directions:

1. Preheat the broiler or the oven to 400°. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, crumbling the meat, and the cumin and coriander; season with salt and pepper. Cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Stir in the hominy and cook for about 3 minutes more.

2. In a large saucepan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon EVOO, 1 turn of the pan. Add the onion, chiles and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

3. Using a food processor, process the tomatillos and cilantro until almost smooth, then stir into the onion mixture and simmer for 5 minutes. Rinse out the food processor bowl. Add the avocados, lime peel and lime juice; puree, then season with salt. Stir the avocado mixture into the tomatillo sauce. Stir in the honey.

4. In a dry skillet, or over an open flame, cook the tortillas until charred. In a bowl, combine the monterey jack and Swiss cheeses. In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, layer some sauce, tortillas, meat, cheese, tortillas and so on, ending with a layer of cheese. Broil until browned and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Pass the crème fraîche at the table.

Merry Christmas

Had a GREAT Christmas! Had a houseful but it was really alot of fun! We had alot of laughs. I made a turkey with stuffing, mashed red potatoes, turkey gravy, manchego roasted butternut squash, sweet potatoe casserole, strawberry pretzel salad, chocolate mousse crunch cake, cheesecake, sugar cookies and pumpkin fluff dip (Made lots of desserts because we were having several friends over that night for dessert). My sister brought a ham and rolls. Mom made pineapple augratin and Banana Split Cheesecake Squares. Mike's mom brought cornbread dressing, sugar free apple pie from Cracker Barrell and a sugar free pecan pie. Terri brought broccoli rice casserole and pumpkin pie. Good Grief!!!! We had enough to feed several more families!!!! This was the first time in many years that we had both sets of parents and our sisters here......but I REALLY like it this way! That evening we had friends over for dessert and really enjoyed that. Might have to make that a new tradition!!!!!! Hope you all had a blessed day with your loved ones!

The Weekend

On Friday my dad took Blake hunting for the weekend. He only got a squirrell but he had the best time! Emily spent the night with her BFF Virginia Kate. Mike and I went to dinner at McCormick and Schmicks (Thanks Jamie for the gift card ;) it was YUMMY......I had Salmon stuffed with lump crab meat and Brie it was SO good.  We then went to see Michael W. Smith, it was a great night!

Saturday night we had our Sunday School Christmas Party. It was at the park and we had hot dogs, chips and then smores. The kids all played and it was really fun. The weather turned out to be perfect!! We were a little nervous about planning a party outside in December but we took our chances and it was really great!!

Sunday night we had some delicious leftover fajitas that Robin gave us from her company party. I made spanish rice to go with them. Thanks Robin!! :)

Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday Mike's dad was rushed to the hospital......his defibulator shocked his heart 5 times..........he's going to be fine but had he not had that in his cardiologist said he would have died!! Thank goodness for technology. So when the kids got home from school we headed to the hospital to visit him and then went out for a late dinner at Vida Loco.

Thursday night Blake and Mike went to a Bible Study party for Blake's Bible study he started at WCJH. Me and Emily went and hung out with Theresa, Judi and Kim and kids! We had frozen pizza and lots of laughs!!

Sweet and Saucy Pork Chops

I was going to a cookie and ornament exchange Tuesday night so I made this crockpot recipe. I served it with skin on mashed red potatoes and shoe peg corn.


Sweet and Saucy Pork Chops

Ingredients


2 tablespoons olive oil

4 pork chops, bone in

2 cups onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup water

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 cup brown sugar

Directions

1.Heat olive oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

2.Add pork chops and brown for 3 minutes on each side.

3.Remove pork chops and place in slow cooker. Add onion to skillet and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

4.Reduce heat to low. Add garlic, water, ketchup, cider vinegar, soy sauce, mustard, and brown sugar. Stir until the brown sugar is dissolved. Pour sauce over pork chops.

5.Cook on Low for 8-10 hours.

Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

Not much cooking over the weekend once again. Today I have Chicken and Dumplings in the crockpot and it smells really good!!

Classic Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients


2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch slices

2 celery ribs, sliced

10 3/4 ounces condensed cream of mushroom soup

10 3/4 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

16 ounces refrigerated buttermilk biscuits, canned

1/2 cup frozen green peas

Directions

1.Place the chicken pieces, carrots, celery, soups, broth, garlic powder, thyme, salt and pepper in the Crock-Pot® slow cooker and mix to combine thoroughly.

2.Cut five of the buttermilk biscuits into quarters. Add to the chicken mixture and lightly combine.

3.Cover; Cook on Low 6 to 8 hours (or on High 3 to 4 hours).

4.Fifteen minutes prior to serving, bake the remaining biscuits as directed.

5.Add the peas to the chicken and dumplings about two minutes before serving, or until warmed through.

6.To serve, spoon the chicken and dumplings into individual bowls and top each serving with a warm biscuit. Ladle additional sauce over the top, if desired.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

Wednesday night we had Spaghetti. Thursday night I made Chili.....I use the McCormick packet and follow the directions, easy and good. This time I used pinto beans instead of kidney beans and we all liked it that way much better!! Friday night since I forgot to take out the meat to thaw for hamburgers we had leftovers! :)

Soup

There's a boy named Garrett who is a sophmore at Seven Lakes, he has been diagnosed with Brain Cancer.....I did a fundraiser for him last night for the football team....GO Bald For Garrett, I shaved 25 teenage boys heads and raised 800.00!! It was alot of fun, they were sweet boys and as I shaved each one they recorded a video message for their friend, it was so good to hear their well wishes for him........Very Sweet Boys!!! 

I also went to Harwin with a friend yesterday, haven't been there in MANY years......we only had a couple of hours so I will be going back soon!

With all that going on I put dinner in the crockpot, I don't know what it's called so I call it Melinda's Soup because she gave me the recipe. The recipe is for the stove......I just put it in the crockpot for a few hours on low. I did cook bone in breasts for 4 hours in the crockpot then shredded and deboned them and threw in the soup ingredients.

SOUP

1 Can Diced Tomatoes
1 Can Rotel
1 Can French Onion Soup
1 Can Cream of Potatoe Soup
1 Can Evaporated Milk
Shredded Chicken

Combine all ingredients bring to a boil reduce heat and simmer for a little bit serve with shredded cheddar on top.