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Archive for the ‘Quick and Easy’ Category

creamy chicken rice soup in bowl

A few weeks ago, I had company coming for dinner and since it was a week night, I knew I wouldn’t have a lot of time to put together something fantastic when I got home from work.

Dragging my slow cooker out of the cupboard and rinsing off the cobwebs, I decided a nice, hearty soup would do nicely. At the time, the temperatures were ridiculous frigid, so the idea of a steaming bowl of creamy deliciousness sounded really yummy.

This soup is so good,  comes together quickly, and can be left simmering in your slow cooker all day, ready to razzle-dazzle your guests (or family) when you get home from work.

Ingredients

Ingredients

Cut boneless, skinless chicken breast into bite-sized pieces.

Cut boneless, skinless chicken breast into bite-sized pieces.

Chop celery and carrots into about 1/4 inch thick pieces.

Chop celery and carrots into about 1/4 inch thick pieces.

Place chicken in the slow cooker and season.

Place chicken in the slow cooker and season.

Add carrots and celery.

Add carrots and celery.

Add rice and frozen veggies.

Add rice and frozen veggies.

Pour in broth, cover and set to cook for eight hours. (If you'll be home sooner, set it for six, later, set it for 10 on low).

Pour in broth, cover and set to cook for eight hours. (If you’ll be home sooner, set it for six, later, set it for 10 on low).

About 10 minutes before you are ready to serve, pour in a cup of heavy cream, and stir to blend it into the soup.

About 10 minutes before you are ready to serve, pour in a cup of heavy cream, and stir to blend it into the soup.

By this time, your mouth should be watering and you can't hardly wait to scoop up a bowl and devour.

By this time, your mouth should be watering and you can’t hardly wait to scoop up a bowl and devour.

To serve, add a little parsley garnish, a sprinkling of grated cheese or some toasted bread crumbs.

To serve, add a little parsley garnish, a sprinkling of grated cheese or some toasted bread crumbs.

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

1 1/2 pounds of skinless, boneless chicken breast

1 32-oz box of chicken stock

1/2 cup celery

1/2 cup carrots

1 16-oz. bag of frozen mixed vegetables

1 16-oz. bag of wild rice blend

salt

seasoning

1 cup heavy cream

Spray the inside of your slow cooker with a non-stick cooking spray. I used a 5.5 quart Crock Pot, so if yours is smaller, just reduce the amount on the ingredients accordingly.

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to the slow cooker. Sprinkle with salt and seasoning (I used about 1 tsp. salt and 1 tbsp. seasoning).

Chop celery and carrots into pieces about 1/4 inch thick. Add to chicken. Add frozen veggies and the rice. (I used a blend of long grain brown, sweet brown, black and wild rice).

Pour the chicken stock in, cover and set your Crock Pot to cook on low for eight hours. (Mine ended up cooking 10 by the time I got home, which was just a tad longer than it should have gone).

About 10 minutes before you are ready to serve, add 1 cup of heavy cream to the soup and stir thoroughly to mix.

Serve with a garnish of parsley, shredded cheese, or toasted bread crumbs.

Perfect for a cold wintery day!

She Who Needs to Make This Again

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When I was a young girl, my mom had a circa 1960-something Betty Crocker cook-book for kids that originally belonged to my sister. I glommed onto it once I decided I wanted to bake and create in the kitchen. This was one of the first things I made. Mom also made these pear bunnies for us sometimes and they never failed to make me smile.

Easy and simple, make pear bunnies for Easter and see if your kids aren’t begging for more.

Ingredients - leaf lettuce, a can of pear halves (or fresh pears, cut in half) cottage cheese, cranberries, sliced almonds and Red Hots. You are supposed to use raisins instead of cranberries, but since I hate raisins, my bunnies have bizarre red eyes.

 

Put leaf lettuce on a plate. You can use as many as you like.

 

Place pear half on lettuce, split side down.

 

Add a dollop of cottage cheese at the broad end of the pear for a tail.

 

Stick in sliced almonds for ears, cranberries for eyes and a Red Hot nose.

 

Enjoy!

 

She Who Wishes You all a Very Happy Easter!

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A couple of months ago, I noticed cowboy nachos on a menu and the thought intrigued me. Not enough I ordered them, but it piqued my interest and I started looking up recipes online.

The two things I learned from all the recipes I found were:

1. You must include beans

2. You can use cheap cuts of beef

So I decided to make up my own recipe and give this a whirl. Captain Cavedweller was pretty glad I did.

The recipe is easy and really quite tasty. Give it a whirl!

Ingredients

 

Start by cooking your brisket.

 

I cut mine in half, stuffed it in the slow cooker, added a can of chicken broth and some seasonings. Eight hours later, I had perfectly tender meat.

 

Bake fries in a single layer in the oven.

 

Start building your nachos with the fries first.

 

Followed by the chili beans.

 

Dollop on sour cream.

 

Layer on slices of meat and sprinkle (or drench if you are Captain Cavedweller) with barbecue sauce.

 

Top with cheese and olives - then enjoy!

Cowboy Nachos

beef brisket, cooked and sliced thinly

waffle fries

can of chili

shredded cheddar cheese

sour cream

barbecue sauce

sliced olives

Start by cooking the brisket. I put mine in the slow cooker for eight hours with a can of chicken broth and some salt and seasoning. If you have a good barbecue joint in your town, you could also pick up brisket already cooked if you are in a hurry to put this together.

About 20 minutes before you are ready to serve, pop the fries in a single layer in the oven and bake until golden (following package directions).

Ten minutes before the fries will be done, remove the meat from the slow cooker and let rest for about five to seven minutes. Cut into thin slices.

Cook chili according to can directions (I nuke mine since it takes less time and then I can serve in the same bowl!).

You can let people put on their own toppings or you can make a huge platter – your choice. Just layer on fries, chili, sour cream, meat, barbecue sauce, cheese and olives.

That’s it.

Hearty, flavorful and so good!

Enjoy!

She Who Will Be Making These Again

 

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Ingredients

 

Wrap with bacon

 

Secure with a skewer

 

Put on a rack in a baking pan (foil lined if you are lazy like me and don't like cleaning up baked on messes).

 

Cook until bacon is crispy and sizzling.

 

Drizzle with seasoned butter and prepare to indulge in a delicious treat!

You know that saying bacon makes everything better… I’m pretty sure it’s true.

I don’t even like scallops, but wrapping them in bacon and drizzling them with butter made them quite tasty!

This recipe is easy, simple and fast, so give it a try and enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Scallops

6 scallops

3 pieces of bacon

1tbsp melted butter

1 tsp seasoning

skewers or toothpicks

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut bacon strips in half lengthwise. Wrap each scallop with a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick or skewer. Place on a rack in a roasting pan. Because I am a lazy slug and don’t like cleaning up messy baking pans, I lined mine with foil before I did anything else. Spray your rack with a little Pam to speed up the cleaning process and keep your scallops from sticking.

Place in oven for 15-20 minutes or until bacon is crispy and sizzling.

Melt butter with a teaspoon of seasoning. You can do spicy or mild. I used an all-purpose seasoning (Mrs. Dash works fine).

Pour over scallops and serve.

This recipe would serve two.

She Who Likes Bacon Wrapped Indulgences!

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