CHICKEN AND WILD RICE SOUP

I shared this picture on Instagram of a chicken and wild rice soup that I recently made, and the crowd went wild! I received LOTS of DMs for the recipe, so here it is!

This soup is adapted from a recipe in the book called Hungry for Home written by Ruth McKeaney. If you are interested, you can order the book from Amazon. In it Ruth shares the history and story of her home. Along with the book, she also has a blog where she shares other recipes and all things home. Visit it here. Now let's get cooking...

Ingredients:

2 sticks of butter

1 cup shredded carrots

3/4 cup chopped celery

3/4 cup chopped onion

6 cups shredded cooked chicken

8 cups of chicken broth

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 box (6 oz.) long grain and wild rice mix with herbs

8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup self-rising flour

4 cups of milk

frozen puff pastry

Directions:

• Melt 1 stick of butter in a large Dutch oven.
• Add the celery, onions, and carrots and cook for approximately 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. (I probably cooked them more like 7 or 8 minutes.)
• Stir in the broth and bouillon cubes.
• Add the rice, seasoning mix, and shredded chicken.
• Simmer for about 40 minutes. 
• In a separate large skillet, melt the remaining stick of butter and then add the mushrooms.
• Mix in the flour and the milk. Cook the mushroom mixture on medium-high heat until it is bubbly, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat slightly. (I cooked it about five minutes after the bubbling started to soften up the mushrooms a little.)
• Afterwards, add the mushroom mixture to the soup. Simmer and cook until thickened. 
• Unfold thawed puff pastry (following directions on box), and cut into hearts with a sharp knife or use a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Bake according to instructions until golden brown. Add the hearts to the top of the soup. Enjoy!

Here are a few other cold-weather recipes you might like:

Game Day Chile

Turkey Taco Soup

Potato Casserole

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

GRILLED PORK CHOP MARINADE

Marinades are not something I usually take the time to make, but in my search for something different to do with pork chops, I came across a really easy one. I didn't have some of the ingredients it called for, so I improvised. This is what I came up with. It is so good. Your people will love the flavor, and you'll probably have most of what you need on hand. 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon of Dale's steak seasoning

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of black ground pepper

3 cloves of garlic, minced

4-6 bone-in or boneless pork chops

Directions:

• Whisk together all ingredients until blended.  
• Put the pork chops in a gallon-size zip lock bag.
• Pour in marinade, squeeze out the air, and seal. 
• Turn bag until all chops are covered well with marinade.
• Refrigerate 2 - 4 hours and can be left over night.
• Discard the left over sauce. 
• Grill over medium heat 4 - 5 minutes on each side. 

What could be easier?

Kathryn

DIVINE CASSEROLE: A NEW RECIPE

It's recipe day! I have a new-to-me recipe to share with you guys today that you will love, especially if you like spaghetti and lasagna. It's kind of a cross between the two. It's full of flavor, and it makes a large amount if you're feeding a crowd, or you could easily half the recipe for a smaller group.

Ingredients:

1 large package medium egg noodles

2 pounds ground beef

2 - 15 oz cans of tomato sauce

1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

1 - 24 oz carton small curd cottage cheese

12 ounces of cream cheese ( 1 1/2 bars)

1 cup of sour cream

3 - 4 chopped green onions (about 1/3 cup)

1 stick of butter or margarine, melted

salt to taste

Directions:

• Prepare the noodles according to the directions on the package and rinse under cold water.
• Set out the cream cheese to be softening. 
• As the noodles are cooking, brown the ground beef well, drain.
• Add tomato sauce, Worcestershire, and salt to the beef and set aside. 
• Mix the cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, and onions.
• Melt the butter.
• Grease 2, two-quart casserole dishes. (I used 2, 8 x 8 pans, and 1, two-quart casserole dish.)
• Place 1/4 of the noodles in each dish and pour a little butter over them.
• Add 1/2 the cheese mixture to each dish.
• Add the remaining noodles, more butter, and top with the meat mixture.
• Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes, until the edges begin to brown and bubble. 

Add a salad and bread, and you are done! This pull apart bundt bread would be a great choice with this dish. 

Thank you to my soon-to-be daughter-in-law's mom for sharing this recipe with me. 

I hope you like it.

Kathryn

MEDITERRANEAN SALAD WITH ORZO

We love Mediterranean food, and it's supposed to be one of the healthiest ways to eat. I've been looking around for recipes we might like, and this is the first one I've tried. It's full of flavor--strong flavor--and it's a great side for pasta lovers.

Ingredients:

8 oz orzo pasta, dry

1/2 cup feta cheese

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 clove of garlic

1 1/2 cups of grape or cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup of chopped parsley

2 tbsp of capers, drained

1 tsp of honey

1/4 cup of Kalamata olives, pitted

1/4 cup of lemon juice

salt and pepper

Food processor (I used a single-serve shake maker)

Directions:

• Once everything is chopped, drained, and measured, cook orzo according to directions. While the orzo cooks, mix the dressing.
• Dressing: combine the lemon juice, salt, pepper, honey and garlic clove in the food processor.
• Add the olive oil to the juice mix a little at a time. 
• Taste; add more salt and pepper if needed. 
• Add the rest of the ingredients to the orzo. Combine.
• Drizzle with enough dressing to coat. Toss well. 
• Serve, or refrigerate until ready to eat. 

In the kitchen

Measuring cups  //  Mixing bowls  //  Food processor   //  Knife/Cutting board set

Yes, the orzo looks like rice. 

(My husband reminded me of that the entire time he was eating it.)

Kathryn

DEEP DISH PIZZA--SOUTHERN STYLE

Today is your day if you are a deep dish pizza lover. You are in for a treat! Filled with flavor and texture and lots of cheese, this is an easy week night meal. My friend Staci, who is a fabulous cook, not only shared this recipe with me, but she also let me borrow her iron skillet. (I have one for myself in my Amazon cart.) :-)

INGREDIENTS:

Any deep dish pizza crust mix - (I used Martha White)

1/2 - 3/4 jar Ragu pizza sauce

8 oz Conecuh sausage-thinly sliced

1 lb breakfast sausage 

1 bell pepper-chopped

1/2 onion-chopped

8 oz block Mozzarella cheese-shredded

8 oz block Cheddar cheese-shredded

Cast iron skillet

Crisco

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 400
• Slice Conecuh into thin slices. In a large skillet, crumble up the breakfast sausage and mix in the Conecuh slices, the chopped bell pepper, and onion. Cook slowly until meat is browned and the vegetables are almost caramelized. 
• As the mixture is cooking, make the pizza dough according to the directions on the package. Once ready, set aside, and allow it to rise. After rising, lightly grease the iron skillet with Crisco and press the dough into the bottom of the skillet. Cook the dough for 8-10 minutes on 400. 
• Remove the crust from the oven, and layer the pizza sauce, sausage mixture, and the cheeses. 
• Cook until it's bubbly and browning. 
• Allow the pizza to cool slightly, then slice into pie slices.

All layered up and headed to the oven.

In the kitchen

Iron Skillet  //  Pizza Wheel and Server  //  Mixing Spoons  // Cheese Grater  //  Dinner Plates

I hope your family loves it!

Kathryn

CREAM CHEESE COOKIES

It seems like it's been forever since I've shared a recipe. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy doing these posts! Food photography is fun. :-)

Back in the fall, with a group of  some of my favorite ladies, I did a book study. Our host was our friend Emily. She served these cookies at one of our last sessions. They were so good! I've been trying to find time to make them ever since. Like most of you, I've had nothing but time lately. So here they are: A light, not-too-sweet, delicious-with-milk, treat.

Ingredients:

3 ounces of cream cheese

1 stick of real, salted butter (no margarine)

1 cup of sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon of almond flavoring 

2 1/4 cups of All-purpose, sifted flour

Pecan halves (optional)

**One quick note before we start: they no longer sell cream cheese in a 3 oz size, so you'll have to cut an 8 oz bar. If it's a little over 3, it will not matter. Okay, now we're ready! Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

• Unwrap the stick of butter and place it in your mixing bowl. Allow it to get to room temperature, then cream the bar really well. 
• Add in the cream cheese, and again, cream the two together really well. 
• Mix in about half the sugar, and when smooth, mix in the rest. 
• Add the egg yolk and almond flavoring, and mix.   
• Begin adding the flour. I mixed in about 3/4 of a cup at a time. The dough will no longer be smooth once all the flour is mixed in. 

Dip out a small amount and roll into a ball. Place on cookie sheet, and lightly push in the centers of the cookies. They will not spread much on their own. Bake 11-12 minutes. The top doesn't brown really, but the bottom will.

Love pecans? Place one pecan half in the center of each cookie. I love pecans, but I didn't have any on hand.

I hope you enjoy them. I've enjoyed them a little too much!
Kathryn

ITALIAN PASTA SALAD

I tried a new pasta salad this summer. It's crazy easy, only five ingredients, and it can be eaten warm or cold. I liked it much better cold, but my picky son liked it better warm. And the fact that he liked it at all, was reason enough to share it with you--it must be good. :-)

Ingredients:

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

1 (20-oz) bag of cheese tortellini

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2  cup Asiago peppercorn salad dressing

Directions:

Bring water to a boil for the tortellini. Cook according to the directions on the package. While it's cooking, halve tomatoes and chop the basil leaves coarsely. Drain the pasta when ready.

Add the other ingredients...

...and toss!

That's it!

We probably got about six servings out of this bag. It would be really easy to double the recipe if you were feeding a bigger bunch. So glad my local Publix grocer was having a food demo. I picked up the recipe card and a new favorite was born.

Happy Tuesday...

LEMON CHICKEN PICCATA

I've never made Chicken Piccata before. It sounded too complicated. But when I came across this recipe on Cassie Sugarplum's blog, I knew I could do it. There weren't a ton of ingredients, and it sounded pretty easy to put together.

It turned out great! I'm definitely a fan. The best part--it didn't take forever to make. Now I have a new, quick and delicious recipe for weeknights during the school year.

It's way too good to keep to myself...

Ingredients:

1 lb cooked pasta (I used linguine) 

4 - 6 chicken breast cutlets

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup All-purpose flour

3/4 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 cup of chicken stock or broth (I used broth)

2 lemons, juiced

1/4 cup of capers

chopped parsley for garnish

Directions:

• Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. 
• Salt and pepper the chicken to taste and flour both sides of the breasts or cutlets. 
• Saute chicken on both sides until thoroughly cooked. 
• Remove from skillet and set aside.

• Leave the chicken juices in the skillet and add the broth, heavy cream, lemon juice, and capers. 
• Bring to a boil. 
• Reduce heat and simmer until sauce starts to thicken. This took longer than I thought it would. I probably let it simmer around 15 minutes (maybe longer), stirring occasionally.

• When the sauce begins to thicken, put the chicken back in and simmer a few more minutes. 
• Spoon the sauce over the cutlets.

• Serve over the pasta and get ready for lots of compliments!

If you aren't serving a crowd, you probably won't need the full pound of pasta. We had plenty left over.

Enjoy!!

Kathryn

EASY CHESS SQUARES

Chess squares are one of my very favorite desserts. But would you believe this is my first time to make them? 

I was walking by the break room in our office at school a couple of weeks ago, and from the corner of my eye, I thought I caught a glimpse of this favorite dessert of mine. And, because I have no shame when it comes to sweets, I casually mentioned to our registrar Mrs. Frith that I spied something delicious looking in the lounge. Without hesitation she offered me one. She brought them for the office staff, and after just one bite, I immediately wanted the recipe to share with you. 

Ingredients: 

Layer One

1 box yellow cake mix (without pudding in the mix)

1 stick of melted butter

1 egg, beaten

Layer Two:

1 - 8 oz bar of softened cream cheese

3 eggs

1 box of confectioners sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the layer one ingredients and spread/press in a 13 x 9 baking dish. 

Mix the layer two ingredients well and pour over layer one. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Then, turn down the oven to 325 degrees and bake an additional 30 - 35 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting--although this will be extremely difficult. :-)

They took no time to make and were sooo easy. I hope you like them!

Kathryn

THE PERFECT PECAN BALL RECIPE

Last week it was my Sunday to help with breakfast in our ABS (Adult Bible Study). I took two things: this breakfast quiche and a new recipe I decided to try--pecan balls. Turns out they are easy and delicious. I'd be remiss if I kept this kind of goodness to myself. Here's the recipe...

A GLUTEN-FREE COOKIE SOURCE

Not too long ago, one of my dearest friends shared a gluten-free cookie on Facebook made by her sister-in-law from a family recipe. I know there are many of you who have to avoid gluten and these look wonderful! I wanted to pass them along to you because I bet they are as scrumptious as they look. The three mix flavors that are now available at Amazon are original, chocolate, and cashew.

FALL LINKS: FAVORITE FALL RECIPES

Today I'm linking to my favorite fall recipes shared on the blog over the past few years. Y'all know I'm a working mom, so most of these are easy and perfect for a weeknight or a weekend. Just click on the blue link and ENJOY!

Game Day Chili

(Double the recipe if you're the hostess for the game.)

Chicken and Dumpling Casserole

(I'm making this one as I type.)

Turkey Taco Soup

(I take this to lunch for days after I make a pot.)

Bundt Bread

(This is a great bread for any meal.)

And for dessert...

Pumpkin Roll
(The only pumpkin thing I eat.)

Ghost Cake
(Takes forever, but it's so cute!)

I hope you see something you'd like to try. They're all good, I promise.  :-)

Kathryn

SUMMER LINKS: SWEET SUMMER RECIPES

Today I'm linking to my five favorite summer recipes shared on the blog over the past few years that your sweet tooth or your summer guests might appreciate. Click the blue link and ENJOY!

Poppy Seed Bread

(my mom's recipe)

Fruit Pizza

(my husband's favorite)

Green Apple Dip

(everyone always wants this recipe)

Lazy Cake Cookies

(for lazy summer days)

Summer Fruit Casserole

(perfect for your fresh picked blue berries)

Have a great weekend!

Kathryn