Zoup! Zoup! Zoup!

Well my Papa always calls "soup"... "ZOUP!"  Cream of Broccoli soup is one of my absolute FAVORITES along with New England Clam Chowder and Cream of Potato...

To me soup is good at anytime of the day... well maybe not for breakfast, but any time from 11am and after is GREAT!!! Many nights were spent with one of my best friends, Danielle and I, at a nearby restaruant back home in Michigan drinking coffee or tea and eating soup while doing our homework!! Fun times!!

This meal honestly took me about 25 minutes to make... as long as you have all the ingredients, this is an easy meal to make and it makes about 5-6 servings....


Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds broccoli florets
2 cups water
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
dash nutmeg
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese


Prep:

~ In a 3 quart pot, boil water, then add broccoli and chopped onion (Picture below)
~ Cover and turn down and simmer broccoli till tender (Do not drain)
~ Put broccoli, onion and water in a blender, blend on medium speed until smooth (Picture below)
~ In another 3 quart saucepan melt butter, then add flour and stir constantly until smooth and bubbly
~ Stir in the chicken broth, and then heat till boiling stirring constantly for two minutes
~ Stir in broccoli/onion/water mixture and adding salt, pepper, nutmeg. Heat just to boiling. (Picture below)
~ Stir in whipping cream and cheese... turn to "low" heat and stir till cheese is melted. (Do not boil the soup after this boil or it might make the cream curdle) (Picture below)
~ Top with cheese  (Picture below)
~Serve hot!

Boil broccoli and onion

Blend broccoli mix and water

Stir in broccoli mix to chicken broth and add spices

Add cream and cheese and stir till cheese is melted

Voila!! Sprinkle cheese on top and serve hot!

Mahi Mahi.... Under the sea... Danielle's way...

"Under the sea
Under the sea
Darling it's better
Down where it's wetter
Take it from me
Up on the shore they work all day
Out in the sun they slave away
While we devotin'
Full time to floatin'
Under the sea" - The Little Mermaid


Yes!!! We love fish!! However... it's only good if cooked right! Not that I'm a professional at telling you how to prepare fish... I'm just going to tell you how I do it... and the hubby seems to like it!!


Ingredients:


4-6 Mahi mahi fillets fresh or thawed if frozen
1 can of fruit cocktail
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp pepper
1 tablespoon of melted butter or margarine

Prep:

~On a baking sheet, place a piece of tin foil lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray
~ Place thawed or fresh fillets on foil
~ Coat fish with melted butter
~ Mix garlic powder and pepper and then lightly sprinkle over fish (pictured below)
~ In a food processor or blender, puree fruit cocktail until it is a thick sauce (pictured below)
~ Broil fish for five mins and then pull out and flip over, coat bottom of fish with butter and sprinkle with spices, place back in oven for 4-5 mins
* Try not to overcook the fish and dry it out...
~ I like to serve this with white rice and a vegetable (pictured below)
~ Pour fruit sauce over fish
~Serve!!

Fish before putting in oven...

Fruit sauce...

Served with white rice and corn!

BLTs & Steak... Easy is best!

I haven't put up a post in a few days... things have been kind of crazy around here taking my son to the doctor and having tests done and what not to see exactly what is going on with him, which it appears he has a severe milk allergy and some severe acid reflux as well...

So when life gets at you... make simple meals. That's my motto...  I'm not even going to post this recipe because I'd hope everyone knows how to make a BLT sandwich.... but I will give a few tips :)

I have a George Foreman grill and I prefer to cook my bacon on there because those type of grills help get rid of excess fat and also has a grease/fat drip tray for EASY clean up! *I am HUGE into an easy clean up, I am a firm believer that if you wash dishes as you go along, you won't have much to do when you are done eating!* While the bacon is cooking, slice your tomatoes, and get your lettuce ready. So after cooking your bacon, use paper towel and damp the grease off of the strips. Toast your bread, and spread with either Miracle Whip or real mayo, put lettuce, tomato, and bacon on sandwich and poof! you have a delicious sandwich! Easy and good is the best way to go!

STEAK! I absolutely love steak!! I go to Sam's Club or Costco and purchase all my meat there and I package it up and freeze it individually. I might spend $60 and get 8 rib-eye steaks... which is a lot of money.. however it is nothing when you think that you spend that on going out to eat at a steakhouse for two people and that is only one night. I prefer to use Canadian Steak Seasoning (available also at Sam's Club) when cooking my steaks either on the grill or on the George Foreman. Also at Sam's Club (can you tell I love this wholesale stores?) they have frozen super sweet corn by their house brand.... VERY good and simple to make and very good with steak of course! Also for another quick fix I like to make Lipton rice sides or Lipton pasta sides. They come in pouch-like bags and take only 7 minutes to cook, and then let them set for a while and thicken up. So for another quick meal ... steak, corn and a bag of a Lipton rice or pasta side. 

Dee's Garlic Bread... YUMMY!!

EASY EASY EASY

Ingredients:

Loaf of fresh French bread - cut into desired slices
1 cup margarine
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon italian seasoning

Prep:

~On a baking sheet, put tin foil
~Turn broiler on in oven
~Cut bread into desired slices = preferably thicker
~Melt margarine in microwave
~Whisk garlic powder and seasoning in with melted margarine
~Spread melted mix onto BOTH sides of each slice
~Put under broiler till slightly browned, then flip, brown other side. Be sure to take out and let set for a few minutes for the centers to slightly harden before serving... be sure to watch... these cook fairly fast so don't let them burn!!

Cut slices fairly thicker for a better result...

Melt margarine and then add seasonings

Place on baking sheet with tin foil and cover both sides with mix.

Italian - The Art of the Red Sauce

Every Italian family just like mine, has a homemade spaghetti "red" sauce recipe that they hold dear to their Italiano dishes.... here is mine :) 

Ingredients: (**I like to DOUBLE or TRIPLE this recipe and then freeze half or more than half of the sauce since it isn't something you prefer to make because it is pretty time consuming...)
1-1/2 # ground round (you can always use ground sirloin or ground turkey for a lower fat option)
24 oz Hunt's tomato sauce
24 oz Hunt's tomato paste
12 oz water
1 bay leaf
1 tbl oregano
1 tbl basil
1 tbl parsley
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 tbl sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp minced garlic


Prep:

~Cook meat and brown in frying pain, drain grease
~ In separate pot, add sauce, paste, water, garlic and all spices in large pot over low to medium heat – bring to low boil – stir often
~ Once done, add meat, cover and simmer sauce 2 – 3 hours - be sure to STIR OFTEN, you don't want the sauce to burn...
~If you decide to double the sauce, freeze half :)

I like to use a ground beef chopper like above to make the meat smaller 

Sauce before adding meat

Add meat to sauce, mix in well, stir often. Simmer for 3 hours on low

Voila! Dee's sauce!!

Chicken Parmesan & Mostacholi

Well now that we have the sauce.... let's do something with it!!! What is one of the most popular Italian dishes  served at restaurants--Chicken Parmesan!! Why not enjoy it at home then?? Takes about 45 minutes from prep till served and even though there are several steps, it is still a fairly easy meal to make *once the sauce is made of course*... 

Ingredients: *Serving size - two *

2 boneless skinless thawed chicken breasts

Italian bread crumbs

1/4 lb. mostacholi noodles

2 cups of Danielle's homemade spaghetti sauce **see Red Sauce post for recipe

2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

Prep:

~Preheat oven to 350 degrees

~Fill pot with water to boil noodles

~Put sauce in pot and add 1/2 cup of water, heat, stir often

~Put tin foil over baking sheet, spraying lightly with non-stick cooking spray (this makes for an easier clean up)

~Put chicken on tin foil and lightly coat both sides with Italian bread crumbs

~When oven is preheated, put chicken in for 25 minutes

~Meanwhile cook noodles

~Take chicken out at 25 minutes, put sauce on top and cover with mozzarella cheese and sprinkle parmesan over, put back in oven for 5 minutes

~ If desired, after noodles are done, dish them out on the plate and cover with sauce and put mozzarella and parmesan cheese over noodles and melt in microwave, or serve with just sauce...

~ Serve with Dee's Garlic Bread** see blog post for recipe

 Chicken prepped for oven - note lightly coated in Italian bread crumbs.

Five minutes before the chicken is done, put sauce, mozzerella & parmesan cheese over chicken then put back in the oven for five minutes.

Finished chicken parmesan, mostacholi with sauce & melted cheese, served with garlic bread.

Roast Beef Subs!

Simple is my motto... and here's another easy meal for those who don't want to spend hours cooking when you get home from work...

Ingredients: (makes two subs)

10 slices of roast beef
Beef gravy mix
2 submarine buns
4 slices of provolone cheese
1/4 cup diced onions
1/4 cup diced mushrooms

Prep:

~ Grill roast beef so warmed
~ Make gravy mix but add 1-2 cups more water than normal so it is more like an "au jus"
~ Slightly warm buns in microwave
~ Grill onions and mushrooms using a small amount of olive oil
~ Put meat, veggies on bun and melt cheese over all of it in microwave
~SERVE!!!

Sandwich served with mashed potatoes and gravy (Pictured above)

New York's Finest!! The Rueben....

One of my all time favorite sandwiches is the classic Rueben, made famous in New York! Very simple again to make, yet extremely delicious!


Ingredients: (Makes two sandwiches)

4 slices of rye bread
1/2 cup drained sauerkraut
8 slices corned beef or 1 cup shredded corned beef
4 slices swiss cheese
Thousand island dressing

Prep:
~ Spread margarine evenly on one side of each of the slices of bread
~ Cut up corned beef as best you can, then add to skillet with sauerkraut, grill up for a few minutes
~ In another skillet, place one of the slices of rye butter side down in the pan. Spread 1000 island dressing evenly on slice. Then place one slice of swiss cheese on the bread. Add the corned beef and sauerkraut. Place the second slice of swiss on top of the sauerkraut. Place another slice of rye butter side up.
~ Carefully flip sandwich when bottom side has browned. Brown top side.
~ Cut in half, serve.

Cut up corned beef as best you can, fry up with the sauerkraut, butter bread and then grill with swiss cheese on the bread just like you would a grilled cheese.

Above photo shows the grilling phase...

Finished product!! I like to have a little extra 1000 Island dressing on the side, above pictured served with Cool Ranch Doritos... but a good ol' dill pickle spear can never go wrong!!

Enjoy!!

Harold & Kumar go to Coney Island?!

Well unless you are from the Metro Detroit area in Michigan, you may have never heard of National Coney Island. It is practically a sin if you haven't, but we do forgive you if this is a true, sad truth. According to the "National Coney Island" website, the first restaurant was opened in 1965 at the Macomb Mall in Roseville, today there are more than 20 locations in Southeastern Michigan. Coney dogs is what they are famous for... it includes their homemade chili, diced raw onions and mustard all on a boiled hot dog and bun. Might not sound like much, but to the late-night drunk, or perhaps someone who is having some wild pregnant cravings... *cough* me *cough*... a coney is the only way to go. Many people enjoy eating coney dogs while watching a football game, or even a baseball game!!

To make them is as simple as can be, although I do like a little altered topping...

Ingredients:

4 hot dogs
1 can Hormel no bean chili
1/2 sweet onion diced
mustard
shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 hot dog buns

Prep: 

~ Boil, broil, or grill the hot dogs
~ Heat chili in pot
~ Dice onion
~ Shred cheese if using a block
~ Warm up buns in microwave so they don't rip apart as easily... for only about 10-15 secs
~ Put hot dog in bun, smother chili over followed by onions, cheese & mustard.
~ Enjoy!!!

So even if you aren't in the Metro Detroit area, there is no reason you cannot simply enjoy one of these delicious dogs, even if you have already indulged in a bit to much of that liquid courage called "Captain Morgan"!!!!!

(This is my version of the coney dog, if you prefer to have an 'original' just don't add the cheese)

Information about Coney Island gathered from http://www.nationalconeyisland.com/AboutUs/History.aspx

Jesse's Morning Scramble

So I woke up this morning to my husband wanting to make me breakfast.... perhaps he's trying to butter me up for something he'll want in the future?? Who knows... but what I do know, is it ended in a messy kitchen, everything in the fridge in different spots, and one AWESOME breakfast!! This was simple to make and he honestly made WAY too much...

This recipe could easily make four decent sized skillets, so cut down all the portions if it is for less people...


Ingredients:

8 eggs scrambled
1/4 cup of milk
1/2 green pepper chopped
1/2 orange pepper chopped
1/2 red pepper chopped
1/2 yellow pepper chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms chopped
1/2 cup chopped ham (we used lunch meat)
1/2 cup chopped turkey (we used lunch meat)
1/2 sweet onion chopped
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon of lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder

Prep:


~Scramble all eggs with a whisk in a mixing bowl adding the milk. This makes the eggs fluffier.
~Chop all vegetables and meat and put in frying pan
~Fry up veggies and meats till cooked to liking using margarine or butter
~Begin cooking eggs in frying pan, and begin adding veggies in
~A few minutes before you think the eggs are done to your liking, add the cheese till melted.

Serve with toast, fruit or hash browns!!! Whatever you prefer!!

"MOM!! WHERE'S THE MEATLOAF!?!?!?!?"

As one may recall... in 2005 the movie "Wedding Crashers", Will Ferrell screams to his mom to "bring the meatloaf!!!"... it seems to be everyone's comfort food... and after have a few requests... here is my Mom's meatloaf recipe... which my husband seems to enjoy VERY much.... whether warmed up on a plate, or cold on a sandwich!!

This recipe makes a decent sized meatloaf... I like to cut it in half after it is done and cooled and freeze a half and save it to pull out on a day I don't feel like cooking.... definitely an option..

Ingredients:

6 lbs. thawed ground round
1 spanish onion (diced)
2 green peppers (diced)
1 1/2 cups celery (diced)
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups italian bread crumbs
1 cup of milk
6 strips of bacon thawed (or more if desired)

Prep:
~Preheat oven to 350 degrees...
~After dicing all vegetables, beat eggs and add to meat in a large mixing bowl. With your hands, mix veggies in with meat and eggs... only use the milk if it seems like the meat is too dry for it to form into a loaf. This is enough for two loaf pans. (You do not need to grease the pans, especially if they are "non-stick")
~Make sure the loafs aren't too tall that when they cook they seep over the sides.
~ Lay the thawed bacon strips across the top of the meatloafs...
~Put on middle rack in oven and bake for one hour... check loafs... if they are not done add increments of 20 minutes and check after each until cooked till liking...

Serve hot with gravy if desired.. serve cold on sandwiches...

Well that's all for now folks.... let me know if any of you try this.. it really is AWESOME!

How this got started...

I love food. I always have. My dad always cooked for holidays and my mom cooked the day to day meals growing up, and was always a huge baker around the holidays. Our family recipes have come from many different sources. Some of them have been passed along so many times the source is actually uncertain as of this point.

I started helping my dad cook for the holidays when I was a little girl and always said "Me cook dad, me cook" when I was young and it pretty much stuck with me. Now being a wife, I cook pretty much every night (unless we have leftovers) considering living on a military salary doesn't allow us much access to "date nights". As much as sometimes it would be nice, and definitely easier to go out to eat, it's just not practical. I started posting up pictures on my personal Facebook page. People would ask for recipes after I'd put up a status about what was for dinner that night... and thus here we are. Many of my friends told me to start a blog, so here we have it folks...

I hope you enjoy this and hopefully I can get the hang of it pretty easily... I look forward to the outcome of this, and who knows... maybe it'll end up with my own cooking show!!

My husband and I at our wedding - September 2010

Family pictures Dec 31, 2011

Manitou Springs, CO  - Oct 2011