Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

Have you ever been to Olive Garden and had their unlimited soup and salad?  The soups are wonderful!  ...the salads, well, they have green stuff so yeah, not too interested in that.

I was at Olive Garden with my sister Heather a while back.  When I talked about how yummy my Gnocchi (pronounced "No-Key") soup was she told me she had the recipe!  She emailed me the recipe and it has now become a regular favorite at my house.  Here is a link to the original recipe that she used.  She gave me instructions and told me some of her personal changes to the recipe.  We both substitute the cream with half and half. Now, Doug and I don't eat out very regularly so I'm not sure how close this is now to the Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi, but it sure is tasty. (Doug has since told me that it is BETTER than Olive Garden's version.)

Olive Garden's Chicken and Gnocchi Soup:
-1 rotisserie chicken (roasted and ready from the grocery store)
-1 tbsp. olive oil
-1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
-1/2 cup finely chopped celery
-1/2 cup finely chopped onion
-1 tsp. minced garlic (either fresh or the spice)
-4 cups chicken broth
-1/2 tsp. thyme
-1/2 tsp. parsley
-chopped spinach (as much as you like)
-2 cups half and half
-1 lb. potato gnocchi

1. Start first by picking the rotisserie chicken. (One time I used chopped chicken breast and it just wasn't as good.) If you have a pair thin rubber gloves handy, you could wear them if you don't want greasy hands. I do it without them though. Picking a chicken is an art and I find now that I have the process down, I get finished faster and get more meat. 

Pickings from rotisserie chicken.

2. Next, chop up all of the veggies and saute them in the olive oil until the onions are transparent. I add the garlic at this point as well. (If you're in a hurry, I've found pre-chopped packaging with carrots, celery, and onions in the produce section.)

Chopped carrots, celery, and onion.

3. After that, add the chicken, the chicken broth, the chopped spinach, and the spices and bring that mixture to a boil.

4. Once it is boiling, you can add the potato gnocchi and follow the directions on the packaging for cooking time.

5. The last step is to add the half and half.

All done!  Enjoy!

I think I have made this about a half a dozen times already.  Doug and I both eat as much as we want and we still have enough for leftovers in our lunches the next day. This makes great leftovers!

Down to Earth Granola

We scheduled an appointment with Home Depot to have the bathroom floor in the basement measured for tile.  They didn't call until 9:00am to tell me that they were going to be here some time between 2:30 and 4:30pm.  I was going to go into work, but with driving, I only would have gotten in about 3 hours of work...

So, I decided to stay home and work on channeling my inner housewife.

This recipe has a little story.  Doug's Aunt Leslie is a great cook... well all of his aunts are because they learned from grandma.  Each time we go to her house, Doug snacks on her homemade "grainola" the whole time.  I asked for the recipe last time I was down there in June and finally decided to make it today.

Down to Earth Granola - Aunt Leslie
4 c. Old Fashioned Oats
1 1/2 c. Sliced Almonds
1/2 c. Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/3 c. Cooking Oil
1/3 c. Honey
1 tsp. Vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a bowl mix the oats, almonds, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
3. In a saucepan, warm the oil and honey (do not boil).
4. Stir in vanilla after the oil and honey are warmed.
5. Pour liquid in saucepan over dry oat mixture in bowl.
6. Stir until just coated
7. Spray baking pan with non-stick spray (line with aluminum foil beforehand if you like)
8. Spread mixture into 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan (deep cookie pan).
9. Bake 30 minutes stirring gently every 10 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and let cool before breaking into pieces.

Step 2: Mix all dry ingredients in a big bowl.

Steps 3-4: Warm oil and honey in saucepan, then add vanilla.

ALL DONE!  Time to eat it all!

I despise doing dishes, so most of the time I make Doug do them since I do all of the cooking.  I went ahead and cleaned up after this because it was so easy.  I just made sure to put down aluminum foil in the cookie pan first.  It took two pieces because I want to make edges to keep it all in.

The good thing is that this stuff is cheaper (AND TASTES BETTER) than the granola I buy in the grocery store.  It wasn't hard at all to make.  The hardest part was remembering to set the timer so I could stir it each time.  I also like that all of the ingredients, except for maybe the sliced almonds, are things that you have in your food pantry already.

After I took it out of the oven the last time, I let it sit for about 20 minutes before eating it.  It wasn't quite hard yet, but OH was it SO tasty.  Once it's completely hardened, I'll put it in a cereal container and add it to lunches to put in yogurt.   That is, if I don't eat it all first.

Bacon-Wrapped Little Loaves

Disclaimer: I didn't take pictures, but this is basically what it looks like.

So, I'm not sure if this recipe is something that others had growing up, but my family had it tons.  Yesterday, I was trying to come up with something new for dinner that I had the ingredients for and I ended up making Bacon-Wrapped Little Loaves.  Basically it is little meatloaves wrapped in bacon... and since bacon basically makes everything better, they were VERY tasty.

I cut the recipe in half for just the two of us and made a few simple substitutions because I didn't have some exact ingredients.  I crossed those out and put what I used instead. (If you make it, you can use whatever is most convenient.  I personally didn't notice a change in taste.)

Bacon-Wrapped Little Loaves Recipe
2 lbs. ground beef
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 eggs
1 c. dry bread crumbs toasted bread (crumbled)
3 Tbsp dehydrated minced onions
1 tsp instant beef bouillon 1 package onion soup mix
1/3 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. water
8 slices bacon

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.  
2. Mix beef, cheese, eggs, bread crumbs, onions, lemon juice, water, and bouillon.  (onion soup mix)
3. Shape mixture into 8 little loaves.
4. Cut bacon strips in half
5. Place bacon strips crisscrossed on each loaf, tucking ends under loaf
6. Place loaves on a rack (or broiler pan) in shallow baking pan.
7. Bake uncovered for 50 minutes

Makes 8 servings

I didn't have a rack OR a broiler pan, so I just put them on one of my deeper cookie sheets and lined it with aluminum foil.  I turned the edges of the foil up so it created a sort of bowl to keep the juices from going everywhere.  (Clean up was a BREEZE!)

I like this better than just plain old meatloaf because ONE - the serving size is already determined by the little loaves, so dishing up is a breeze. TWO - each little loaf is cooked perfectly and gets a little crispy, and THREE - the bacon (duh!)

Enjoy!

*Warning* Pyrex May Explode

The other night I decided to make Ritzy Chicken for dinner. I was really excited about it. It was a recipe that my mother in law gave to me probably about 4 years ago, but I had never gotten around to making it. I just was too busy preparing extravagant meals EVERY night... NOT! The sad truth is that I prepare an actual meal about 1-2 times every 2 weeks.

I threw together the ingredients really quickly because this recipe is a breeze. I even remembered to preheat the oven. I put it in the oven and came back when the timer beeped 30 minutes later to this...

KABLOOEY!

The Pyrex exploded while it was cooking! I had never had this happen to me before and it has definitely made me a little weary about cooking with Pyrex in the future.

Simple Recipe for EXPLODING Ritzy Chicken:

1) Cup up 3-4 pieces of chicken.
2) Spread chicken along bottom of bottom of an 8x10 Pyrex dish.
3) Mix 1 Can Cream of Chicken and an 8 oz container of sour cream.
4) Spread this mix over the chicken.
5) Crush up a sleeve of Ritz crackers and sprinkle it on top.
6) Drizzle 1/4 cup of melted butter over crushed Ritz crackers.
7) Bake for 30 minutes at 350°
8) Enjoy! (Unless it explodes and is full of glass slivers.)

Potato Soup... from SCRATCH!

So I've been trying to try some new things specifically with cooking. I got the idea to try this fun meal from a friend's blog here. She has links to other blogs with the actual recipes. I actually made this the night of Halloween, which I wouldn't recommend because it is very time intensive. We really liked the soup and it was EXCELLENT for leftovers. (I really HATE leftovers so this is quite the accomplishment.) The bread bowls weren't really worth the time, but I always find making bread so interesting (the whole 3 times that I've done it).

Recipe for the Potato Soup:

Ingredients:
-4 large baking potatoes
-2/3 cup butter
-2/3 cup flour
-6 cups milk
-3/4 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon pepper
-1 1/2 (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
(I usually add more because I love cheese)
-12 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled and divided
-4 green onions, chopped and divided
-1 (8 ounce) carton sour cream

Instructions:
Wash potatoes; prick several times with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees for one hour or until done; cool. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp and reserve. Discard shells. Use a potato masher to mash the potato so it isn't so chunky.

Melt butter in a big pot over low heat; add flour stirring until smooth. Cook one minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk; cook over medium to medium heat high; stirring constantly until thick and bubbly (at least 30 minutes).

Stir in potato, salt, pepper, 1 cup cheese (I just do a big handful which is probably more than one cup), 1/2 cup bacon, and 2 tablespoons green onions. Cook until heated.

Stir in sour cream; cook just until heated (don't boil). Sprinkle servings with remaining cheese, bacon and onion and enjoy!


Recipe for Pumpkin Shaped Bread Bowls:

Ingredients:
-1/4 cup warm water
-1 cup tepid water
-1 teaspoon kosher salt
-1 package yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
-3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
-1 beaten egg white

Instructions:
Pour the yeast in the 1/4 cup of warm water. Let it sit for a few minutes to activate the yeast. Once the top is foamy with bubbles, pour the yeast mixture into your mixing bowl. Also add the other cup of water and the salt. Mix this together. Add some drops of food coloring to color the water a nice orange color. I used liquid food coloring and put about 4 drops of red and 6 drops of yellow.

Next, attach the dough hook to the mixer. Add the flour a little bit at a time. Keep kneading the dough for another 2 minutes after all the flour is in. You’ll see a soft, slightly sticky dough.

Spray a large bowl with oil. Place dough into the oiled bowl and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Place in a warm place and let rise for 1 hour. It should double in size.

Flour your surface and rolling pin. Punch down the dough and remove it from the bowl. Remove a small handful of dough and add some green food coloring to it. Knead the dough to mix the color as thoroughly as possible and set aside. Knead the rest of your orange dough. Separate into 5 small round balls (for kid sized bread bowls) or make 4 round balls for a larger bread bowl.

Set your round dough balls on a greased cookie sheet. Take the green dough and make 4 or 5 small stems by making little round balls. Place the stems on the top and middle of your orange dough balls. Cover it again with oiled plastic wrap and let it rise for another 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. When the dough is ready, beat the egg white and brush the top of the dough.  Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. When you tap it, it should sound hollow. Allow it to cool before slicing. Slice the top of the pumpkin bowl off and hollow out the inside of the pumpkin to make a hole for your soup to sit in. Now, fill with your favorite soup!

Here are some pictures from my cooking experience!






I've actually made the potato soup again since we tried it the first time. I got a potato masher instead of bending up my wire whisk again. I'm trying to find an easier way to mash up the potatoes. It takes an hour in the oven before I can even start skinning and mashing. Does anyone know if you can do this process in the microwave faster without losing quality?

Cookies in Class!

We made cookies in class today as part of our unit on customary measurement. It was lots of fun and we got cookies afterwards. My photographer was a fourth grader so we got like 2 good pictures out of 50. They're all blurry which is admittedly disappointing, but here are some of the pictures so you can see all of the fun we had!

Add 2 cups of butter crisco!

Don't forget the sugar!

Watching the cookies mix!

Add the eggs.

Put them on the cookie sheets!

For those of you that would like to try this recipe, it is AMAZING! They are the same ones my mom used to make, if you grew up with me.

Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe:

Ingredients:
- 2 c Butter Shortening
- 1 ½ c White Sugar
- 1 ½ c Brown Sugar
- 4 Eggs
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 5 c White Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 tsp Salt
- 1 bag Chocolate Chips

Procedure:
1. Open the two packages of shortening and dump into mixer
2. Put in white sugar and brown sugar
3. Crème together
4. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract
5. Blend in the salt and baking soda
6. Add flour slowly one cup at a time until the dough is thick
7. Open the bag of chocolate chips and dump in
8. Mix all together
9. Place the cookie dough in small balls on cookie sheets
10. Bake at 375° for 10-12 min