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Thursday nights are special. Not that they’re anything out of the ordinary. As a matter of fact, every Thursday night is pretty much the same, every week. It’s the night when we shine up our Grandma and Grandpa badges, because our daughter and son-in-law, and our three grandkids, come to eat supper and spend the [...]
Thursday nights are special. Not that they’re anything out of the ordinary. As a matter of fact, every Thursday night is pretty much the same, every week. It’s the night when we shine up our Grandma and Grandpa badges, because our daughter and son-in-law, and our three grandkids, come to eat supper and spend the evening. I love Thursday night! It’s busy and it’s noisy, just like when our kids were smaller. The house is bustling and full of laughter and fun. So, yes; it happens every week, just the same as the week before, but it’s special.
Gettin' silly and havin' fun on Thursday night! The grandkids and Aunt Rissa are enjoying Coke floats!
This particular Thursday, I knew with the way my afternoon had gone, supper would need to be fast and easy to put together. On the other hand, I also knew that it had to be “supper at Grandma’s” special. Hmmm.. Easy AND special for 3-, 5- and 6-year-olds — Pizza and Coke! Wait! Let’s make it over the top and surprise the kids with Coke floats! Sweet! This was definitely a good plan and one that would net us the Grandkid Seal of Approval on Thursday night supper.
I made one stop at our local thrift store, before heading out to Walmart for some supper groceries. I hadn’t been in the thrift store in awhile and with the holidays approaching I like to keep up on what new things may have come in. Plus, I always check out the dishes and glassware — just in case. Our Christmas Eve tradition is to attend services at church, drive around to look at all the houses decorated with Christmas lights and then come home to eat ice cream sundaes for supper. We have a special set of glasses that we have used for this, since our kids were small. As we have added family members, over the years, I watch for extras to turn up at garage sales and thrift stores. As luck would have it, I found one, plus two other soda glasses that were similar enough that I grabbed them, too. I can’t wait for Christmas!
At the thrift store, I scored three more soda glasses for our collection. These are part of a special family Christmas Eve tradition. And you KNOW I love bargaining, so I managed to get all three for for only 75 cents each, instead of the $2 marked on the one in front. Yahoo!
After my successful, thrift store visit, I headed to Walmart to grab what we needed for dinner. (If you would like to see my whole shopping experience, thrift store and all, be sure to check out my Google+ album with the complete pictorial story.) I was momentarily sidetracked from my original plan, because as I turned to the deli, where I normally grab the Marketplace pizzas, I spied rotisserie chicken — butter and garlic rotisserie chicken, plus original and lemon pepper. For the briefest instant, I registered that for Grandpa, THIS would be a much more special supper. After a moment of wavering, I determined to stick to the plan and save rotisserie chicken for a Grandma and Grandpa date night. Pizza it would be!
Rotisserie chicken, you cunning temptress. You almost diverted me from my mission!
I LOVE the selection of varieties available in the fresh Marketplace pizzas at Walmart. I’m also pretty fond of the fact that they taste great and no place else can come close to their price for fresh pizza. I always check for their Featured Pizza of the day. It’s only $6.98 for an absolutely GIANT 16″ pizza. Today, that’s pepperoni and sausage on thin crust, which is actually our favorite Marketplace pizza crust. Score! Now, all I need is ice cream and Coke for the sodas. The kids are going to be SOOOO excited!
Walmart Marketplace Take and Bake pizzas. Tasty and a great value!
I grabbed a bucket of vanilla ice cream and headed for the chip and soda aisle. I actually found Coke in three places — the main chip and soda aisle, on an endcap at the end of the detergent aisle and in an island display in the store’s central aisle. I’d say I’m not the only one who enjoys a Coke now and then, and then and now, and more often than not, at least one more time. :) Coca Cola and I are pretty chummy. We go places together. The relationship works for me. :) But, I digress. This is about the grandbabies and a special dinner to surprise them on a plain old Thursday night. I better get home to get it ready, before they arrive.
Those are the smiles of anticipation that make a Grandma's heart sing! And yes, those are the special Christmas Eve ice cream sundae glasses. They seemed fitting for our treat, tonight.
For those of you who weren’t sure of it before, I can tell you that without a doubt, something as simple as pizza and Coke floats really can make Thursday night something special. Look at those smiles! Anticipation can be a very good thing and while the pizza baked, we made ice cream sodas. After all, this IS Grandma’s house. I can serve dessert before dinner, if I want to. I’m pretty sure there’s a rule about that in the handbook. :) The food was delicious and the time together was so much fun. We certainly can’t eat pizza and Coke floats every night of the week, but what a fast, easy and yummy way to make a weeknight dinner extra special. I’m pretty sure that this simple “Grandma magic” could work for you, too! How do you take an ordinary meal and make it something special for your crew? What special treats put dinner “over the top” for your family?
Yup! Simple can be special. Pizza and Coke turned everyday supper into a family celebration!
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End of summer is a crazy time. We’re still finishing up those last fun, warm weather activities and trying to squeeze every drop of freedom and fun out of the last days of warmer weather. As we do that, though, the schedules, time crunches and added responsibilities of everything that goes with fall and back-to-school [...]
End of summer is a crazy time. We’re still finishing up those last fun, warm weather activities and trying to squeeze every drop of freedom and fun out of the last days of warmer weather. As we do that, though, the schedules, time crunches and added responsibilities of everything that goes with fall and back-to-school gets tossed into the mix and we can get overwhelmed. By the end of the day, I’m tired and if I don’t have a plan or an option for something “quick”, it won’t be long before I have succumbed to the urge to “just order in” or hit a drive-thru. This is a bad habit to fall into, for our health and for the health of our grocery budgets. There is no way around the fact that, cooking at home, we will spend a fraction of the money it takes to eat out. The trade-off is in time and sometimes, you and I both let that get the best of us. You’ll love the solution I’ve found for those occasional harried evenings. Of course it would be from a brand I know and trust – Kraft.
All you need for DELICIOUS bacon cheddar cheese burgers!
Kraft Fresh Takes include packets of cheese and/or bread crumbs, spices and seasonings. Everything you need to prepare a delicious meat dish, in one handy package! This is the contents of my Bacon Cheddar.
Kraft Fresh Takes are a brand new way to “spice up” a quick meal at home and serve food your family will love, for a lot less than a “drive-thru dinner. I got to test them, this past week and I really loved the bacon cheddar variety! You know, I mixed it up a little though, since these tasty products were designed for breading/coating chicken, fish or pork chops. Something about seeing the words bacon and cheddar made me think BURGERS! I had a 2 1/4 lb package of ground chuck and I simply mixed in the contents of both the cheese and crumb packets from two Bacon Cheddar Fresh Take packages. Then I grilled them up, along with some fresh sweet corn and we had one of the most delicious and easy suppers I’ve prepped in a long time!
Who wouldn't love this delicious dinner? And it's so simple and fast to prepare!
It was a quick weeknight supper that had the whole family raving and I am anxious to try some of the other varieties, soon (I have a 4 Cheese package in my fridge as we speak. :) ) And as a hint, I have another idea for “thinking outside the box” with these, because I think some of them would be fantastic in quick weeknight casseroles – blending in the cheeses and then topping with the flavorful bread crumbs, for a flavorful, crunchy topping. That means that Kraft Fresh Takes have a ton of versatility, offer some tasty alternatives to the same old, same old and can help you make a “quick supper” a powerhouse of flavor and texture. They are available in six great flavors: Italian Parmesan, Chili Lime and Panko, Rosemary and Roasted Garlic, Cheddar and Bacon, Southwest Three Cheese, and Savory Four Cheese.
Ready to head to the grill with everything prepped and together in my handy-dandy Quirky Porter BBQ Prep & Serve Tray! I absolutely love it!
Don't those look fabulous?!!! It was such a tasty, simple dinner and quick and easy to prepare. It's easy to make something amazing, with Kraft Fresh Takes, for a weeknight supper!
One lucky Busy-at-Home reader is going to win a prize pack from Kraft that includes coupons for FREE Kraft Fresh Takes, a Quirky Porter BBQ Prep & Serve Tray (my new favorite grilling tool), and a Fox Run Mesh Food Cover!
The Kraft "Make Something Amazing" Prize Pack that one of you will win! (The Fresh Takes will come in the form of a coupon for FREE product, so you can select your favorite variety!) and you'll also receive a Quirky Porter BBQ Prep & Serve Tray and a Fox Run Mesh Food Cover.
GIVEAWAY:
- You must be a resident of the U.S. and at least 18 to enter.
- Mandatory entry MUST be completed before any other optional entries will be accepted.
- Winner will be chosen in a random drawing from all eligible entries.
MANDATORY ENTRY: Go to the Kraft website and check out the recipe ideas for all the great new Fresh Takes flavors. In a comment on this blog post, tell me which recipe you would love to try and the Fresh Takes variety it calls for. Or if you have an idea of your own, choose one variety and tell me how you would use it. Click the DO IT and then Enter button in the Rafflecopter Form, below, and you are entered. You will unlock all the optional entries at that time and you can add as many of them as you would like, to increase your odds of winning. Good Luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I received the Kraft Fresh Takes prize pack, pictured above, in order to test the products in my own kitchen and collect data for this review. No monetary compensation was received and a positive review was not required. As with all Busy-at-Home reviews, the views and opinions expressed are wholly my own and based on my personal experience with the product. While Busy-at-Home administers the giveaway and randomly selects the winner, the prize is provided and shipped by Kraft Foods.
I love one-dish meals and, in the summer, I especially love salads that are meals. It’s fantastic to be able to prepare a delicious, satisfying lunch or supper without heating up the kitchen. (Although, if you don’t have your chicken pre-cooked and bagged in the freezer, you will need to raise the temperature in there, [...]
I love one-dish meals and, in the summer, I especially love salads that are meals. It’s fantastic to be able to prepare a delicious, satisfying lunch or supper without heating up the kitchen. (Although, if you don’t have your chicken pre-cooked and bagged in the freezer, you will need to raise the temperature in there, for a little bit. 
) Our family really enjoys the flavors of Mexican food, so this simple layered salad is one of my go-to recipes on hot summer days. It’s always a hit at potlucks and is definitely pretty enough to serve to company! Serve it with fresh-baked bread and some fresh melon or fruit, for dessert, and this would literally be my idea of a perfect summer meal. Yum!!!
Delicious melding of flavors and textures in a satisfying salad meal. You'll love this one for summer!
This is such a versatile and forgiving recipe. Use the veggies you have on hand and substitute turkey or ground beef for the chicken. You'll love how whatever is in the fridge, fits perfectly in this tasty salad meal!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream
- 3/4 cup thick and chunky salsa
- 1 - 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup chopped cauliflower
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
- 1/2 bag of salad mix
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 - 2 cups kale pieces
- 1/2 - 1 cup diced bell pepper (any color)
- 1/2 - 1 cup diced cucumber
- 1 - 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 c. chopped chicken breast
- 1 ½ cups corn chips
- 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Combine sour cream and salsa; mix well and set aside .
- Drain and rinse beans.
- Dice bell pepper, cauliflower and cucumber,
- Cut tomatoes; thinly slice green onions.
- Chop cooked chicken breast.
- Layer the salad mix in the bottom of a 9x13 container or large salad bowl.
- Layer spinach, and then kale, over the salad mix.
- Layer the diced chicken over the greens.
- Sprinkle diced peppers, cauliflower and cucumber over the chicken.
- Add a layer of tomatoes over the veggies.
- Spread the black beans, evenly, over the tomatoes.
- At this point, I would normally spread the salsa/sour cream dressing over the top of the salad, cover that with cheddar cheese and crush the corn chips on top. However, our daughter was asked to avoid gluten and dairy, this past week, so I stopped layering at this point and served the dressing, cheese and corn chips on the side, so those who wanted could add their own.
- You can chill the salad for several hours before serving, so it's easy to make ahead for an event.
- Enjoy!
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http://busy-at-home.com/blog/southwest-layer-salad-a-summertime-favorite/UPDATE: It is with great sadness that I can no longer endorse the company producing and marketing the NuWave or the NuWave PIC. I LOVE, seriously LOVE the products, but the manner in which they charge for shipping is, in my opinion, not ethical. The product is worth far more than the price being charged [...]
UPDATE: It is with great sadness that I can no longer endorse the company producing and marketing the NuWave or the NuWave PIC. I LOVE, seriously LOVE the products, but the manner in which they charge for shipping is, in my opinion, not ethical. The product is worth far more than the price being charged for it; and it would seem more honest to me to simply charge what the product is actually worth, rather than saying it is only x dollars and then charging inflated prices for the shipping and handling. Should those practices ever change, Busy-at-Home would be glad, once again, to endorse not only a great product, but the company who produces it. Thank you for understanding.
Every once in awhile, something happens that reveals a secret prejudice of mine – one I don’t even realize I have until it just !POPS! out. Upon deeper reflection, I have discovered myself to be an infomercial bigot. I know, it’s hard to believe, but I actually harbor the sentiment that the majority of televised infomercials are fronts for some sort of scam. I suppose there are support groups or therapies that can help me with this “wrong thinking”, but in the meantime, I feel so much better just admitting it to you. Thanks for listening! -lol- All joking aside, I do have a slight aversion to most infomercials.
I received the black and silver NuWave Oven with an Extender Ring kit and frozen pizza accessories, for this review. After using it for so many different dishes and recipes, I'm ready to say that the NuWave Oven is my new kitchen essential! Who knew?
So, when David called me into the living room, saying, “You’ve got to see this!”, I did that barely detectable eye-roll thing and humored him by standing there for a minute or two. In my defense, there have been a couple of other “infomercial must-haves” that I relented on and will remain eternally embarrassed about. Really? A carpet cleaning machine strong enough to suck up a bowling ball? How did I get talked into that one? lol The difference with this particular infomercial was that David wasn’t giving up on it. Every couple of months, I would be summoned, once again, to observe the televised demonstration. I was actually pretty amused that he was so intensely interested in this product – a countertop oven that cooks with something called Triple Combo Cooking Power – a NuWave oven. Once I accepted that he was not going to forget about this marvel of cooking technology, I decided to do a little online research.
The black and silver NuWave oven included the following components. I love that everything, except the power head, is dishwasher safe! This was so simple to assemble and use, plus, clean-up is a cinch.
Triple Combo Cooking Power combines conduction heating (like your oven at home), convection heating (utilizes a fan to circulate heated air evenly around the food being cooked) and infrared heating (heat from the source directly to the food, cooking it from the inside and outside at the same time). I read that with the NuWave oven, all three are used in a perfect balance to achieve delicious, healthy meals in a fraction of the usual time. That all sounded great, but I really didn’t understand infrared heat. I wanted to know more.
I learned that in infrared cooking, the heat is transferred directly to the food from the heat source, rather than heating air and the vessel the food is in and then waiting for the heat from those to transfer heat to the food. Unlike convection and conduction methods of cooking, infrared cooking doesn’t usually heat up the air where it’s being used or require a conductor, like pots and pans, oil, water, etc. to effect a transfer of heat. The energy that directly strikes the food molecules causes a rise in temperature of the food and cooks it. This allows for faster and more even cooking, plus, there is much less risk of drying out your food. Juicy, tender and flavorful are the norm with infrared cooking. Resolving another of my concerns, I discovered that it’s also completely safe. Infrared cooking is commonly used in restaurant cooking and a typical feature of most modern grills. As a matter of fact, infrared radiation occurs in about 80% of natural sunlight.
The Extender Ring Kit contains an Extender Ring that allows you to increase the size of your NuWave oven to accomodate up to a 16 lb turkey, a standing rib roast, or a gigantic (up to 14 lb) ham! It also includes a 10", non-stick baking pan and a 2" baking rack. I've put them all to good use already. Can't wait to share all the tasty recipes with you, that we've been trying out!
Okay, it’s safe. It’s efficient; AND my favorite guy REALLY wants one. Plus, to top it off, I found this adorable video on YouTube. “Mmmm…delicious!” -lol- You have to watch it, and then, you’ll understand.
Anyway, I was convinced, and decided to check into testing a NuWave oven in our own kitchen. Thanks to the NuWave manufacturer, Hearthware, Inc., I have owned a NuWave Oven Pro for about a week, now; and as much as I hate to admit it, David was totally right. (If you tell him I said that, I will disavow any knowledge of you, this blog and that statement ) So, it seems, not ALL infomercials are scams. It’s ok. I’m getting help. 
I received everything in this Pizza Accessory Kit, except the bamboo cutting board. My set included a silicone pizza pan, a stainless steel"flipper" tool and a really cool stainless steel pizza cutter/server combo tool.
What are some of the features that I LOVE about my NuWave oven?
- From the box to assembly and then to cooking was literally only a matter of minutes!
- The NuWave Oven is simple to operate.
- Everything except the power head (which can easily be attached and detached from the cover) is dishwasher safe.
- It can cook up to 50% faster than conventional methods and uses up to 85% less energy – cost effective and environmentally responsible.
- I can cook in any pot or container that I can put in my oven! Yup! Even metal! Glass, stoneware, silicone, and metal are all perfect in the NuWave!
- Forgot to defrost meat for dinner? No worries! Start from frozen! This cooking method is a perfect companion to our favorite time- and money-saving freezer-cooking method. Imagine a freezer full of pre-marinated meats, meatloaves, pizzas, veggies, casseroles and more that can simply be placed in the NuWave, right from the freezer, and cooked to perfection!
- It can Broil, Roast, Grill, Bake, Barbeque, Steam, Dehydrate and even Air-Fry.
- It has a built-in reheat function.
- No heating up the house, even when preparing an entire meal!
- Controls are digital, with adjustable power settings.
- It’s light-weight and easy to move around.
- With the Extender Ring, I can cook up to a 16 lb turkey (or a huge ham or rib roast).
- Food browns beautifully, which was a fabulous surprise that I don’t experience with microwaving.
- Meats cooked in the NuWave stayed moist, juicy and delicious.
- I was able to prepare meat and side dishes all at the same time, without extra dishes or heating up my oven.
- You can bake in the NuWave – breads, cookies, cakes, sweet rolls, etc. Yum!
- It’s QUIET! I actually leaned in to listen, the first couple of times I used the NuWave, to make sure it was actually on.
- For parties and big get-togethers, this expands my roasting/baking/cooking power exponentially, using both my conventional oven and the NuWave to prepare many dishes at once and have everything ready at the same time!
- It’s a healthier way to prepare “whole” foods, without having to add a lot of additional fat. A dash of olive oil and some herbs and spices create fantastic results!
- Cooking on racks means excess fat drips away from the food, to the tray in the bottom of the oven, and you’re left with the flavorful, natural juices of the meat or veggies you’re preparing.
- The website and the NuWave Cooking Club website, are loaded with information, video tutorials, recipes and information to help me use the NuWave to its fullest potential! I love that immediate, hands-on support!
- The black and silver exterior of my NuWave Oven Pro, coordinates beautifully with my other kitchen appliances.
David’s favorite features?
- He can watch the food as it’s cooking! lol He’s extremely “visual”.
- The food tastes amazing and he gets to eat all my “tests”!
- The NuWave functions as it was advertised and delivers on the promises made in the infomercial. (He loves being right!)
- It comes with a 1-Year Warranty.
Was there anything I didn’t care for? Well, if I was getting nit-picky; it IS large, taking up about a 16″ diameter footprint on my countertop. You know how I am about “stuff” on my counters. The NuWave is something I will use so regularly, however, that I am willing to sacrifice the space, in order to keep it out and handy. The other thing is that I need to buy a meat thermometer. (Okay, I should really already have one, but I don’t, so I gotta.) As with any oven, the cooking times on some recipes seem to vary +/- 5 to 10 minutes, at times. Having a meat thermometer would be a good assurance that my meat actually is cooked through. I’m not used to meat cooked well and still being juicy. It throws me a little, but in a good way.
Okay, if I go on with recipes, this post is going to be 14,687 miles long, and I know you want to get to the giveaway, SO…I’m going to make this post just about the review and giveaway and then publish the recipes as separate posts. I’m not above teasing you with a few pictures of delectableness, in the meantime, though! I’ve been busy and these aren’t even ALL that I have cooked in the NuWave.
I baked this 3 1/2 lb meatloaf to serve 10 hungry family members. It was moist, delicious and baked in only one hour! Do you think a 3 1/2 lb meatloaf would bake in your conventional oven in just one hour? What if you were also roasting potatoes and carrots alongside it? That's exactly what I did! -- an entire meal, cooked in one place without heating my kitchen, dirtying extra dishes (everything cooked directly on the racks), timed so everything was done at one time AND done in only one hour.
Home fries (roasted potatoes) and carrots cooked to delicious perfection in our NuWave oven.
Just in case you thought this appliance isn't versatile, I made a simple, PERFECT grilled cheese for lunch. Don't you just want a bite. Instructions for preparing all this great food will be posting soon. Don't miss out!
Chocolate Dump Cake (Brownies) baked in the NuWave - fudgy and delish!
The moistest, most flavorful boneless skinless chicken breasts I have ever eaten - literally! The recipe couldn't be simpler and it's coming within 24 hours!
Okay, lets make entering this fabulous giveaway for a NuWave Oven Pro to put into your own kitchen, as quick and simple as possible to enter. The mandatory entry will be to leave a comment, telling me the first thing you would like to cook in your NuWave, if you’re the giveaway winner. Then click the “Do It” button on the Rafflecopter form below, to open all the extra entry possibilities that you have for additional entries. Easy peasy!
I received the black and silver NuWave Oven Pro with Extender Ring kit and pizza accessories, in order to test them in my own kitchen and conduct this review. No monetary compensation was received and a positive review was not required. As with all Busy-at-Home reviews, the views and opinions expressed are wholly my own.
Okay, it’s finally going to happen, because I’ve promised it so many times, but you have to know this is a little intimidating to a “cook by feel and looking at it” kind of cook. -lol- You know what I mean. I use recipes, but for the ones I use most often, the ones I [...]
Okay, it’s finally going to happen, because I’ve promised it so many times, but you have to know this is a little intimidating to a “cook by feel and looking at it” kind of cook. -lol- You know what I mean. I use recipes, but for the ones I use most often, the ones I have made tens or even hundreds of times, I “just know” how it should look coming together or how the dough should feel to have the right texture and moisture content. At that point, it is less about measuring and more about “when it’s right”. Homemade noodles are one of those things for me. People ask for the recipe and I have never actually written down a precise formula, so I can’t give them specific details. I’m happy to tell you that I made myself measure what I did as I went, last weekend, just for you! So, now I can show you the steps to what is actually a very simple process. Once you make noodles from scratch, it’s going to be hard to accept something from the pasta aisle, again, and the timing couldn’t be better, since you’ll be able to use them to make a FABULOUS turkey and noodle soup after the holidays.
Easy homemade noodles - ready to be used in your favorite dishes - in my case, amazing chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes. Heavenly!
I have to warn you that this is the recipe for the noodles only. I forgot to get any pictures of the finished dish, which is one of David’s all-time favorite meals – homemade chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes. So, I will snap a few shots the next time I make this dish and post the recipe of how I use these noodles in a favorite meal that has been passed down for generations in our family. In the meantime, you can use these noodles in any of your favorite dishes, boiling them and using them just as you would store-bought noodles. You can also make them, dry them and flash freeze them in a single layer on cookie sheets. Then transfer them to ziptop bags and keep them handy in the freezer for whenever you want one serving or a dozen.
Ingredients
- 7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons of salt
Instructions
- Beat the eggs, milk and salt together. You can do this by hand or if you have a mixer with a dough hook, this recipe just got even easier for you.
- Add the flour and mix until thoroughly combined and a ball of dough is formed. It's a soft dough, but not sticky at all. It will clean the sides of your mixing bowl and come together as one mass.
- Dust your counter with flour and place the raggedy ball of dough in the center.
- Knead for 3 to 4 minutes by hand and form a smooth, round ball.
- Cover the dough with a piece of plastic wrap and let it rest for about 15 minutes, after kneading, to allow the gluten to relax and make it easier to roll out.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to about 1/8' thickness or even a little thinner. This will make a GIANT sheet of dough, but you don't want it to be to thick. The noodles will swell as they are cooked and end up thicker than they are on your counter. You'll end up with dumplings instead of noodles if you leave them too thick.
- At this point, I generally let the noodles dry on my counter for at least one hour, more if I am storing them. If I'm going to be using them right away, an hour is enough. They don't need to be 100% dry. If I were going to freeze them to use another time, I would completely dry them, before cutting them and then flash-freeze them in a single layers on cookie sheets. Then, once frozen, I transfer to zip top bags so I can pull out just a few or a really large batch, when I next need them.
- For this particular cooking session, I was making a big pot of chicken and noodles for a get-together with friends, so after a couple hours, we pulled out my pizza cutter to slice up the noodles. You can be very precise and even if you like, but part of the beauty of homemade noodles is the rustic non-uniformity in size and shape. I try not to make them too wide, but that is a matter of personal preference. I just like them to be about 1/2" or less. This was my 10-year-olds first time helping me with noodle making and she loved buzzing across the dough with the pizza wheel.
- As the pizza wheel whizzes across the dough, your lines won't always be perfectly straight or the same distance apart. I generally cut all one direction first, so I have a counter top full of long strips and then I cut them cross-wise to get the short noodle lengths for the dish I am making. If you have a crank pasta cutter, you could definitely feed sheets of this dough through it to get very precise noodles and that would work well when you want a specific shape, like spaghetti or fettuccine. For my homemade chicken and noodles, quick rustic cuts are perfect!
- Once the noodles are cut, I scoop them all into a pile, bringing the flour from the counter along with them. I toss the noodles with the flour, making sure they are completely coated. This helps with the drying process, too.
- Add your noodles to boiling water or stock, for whatever recipe you are using. Use them just as you would any noodles you have bought from the store. Cook them until they are tender and serve them with your favorite sauces or in casseroles and soups.
- For this particular meal, I made sure my noodles were heavily coated with the flour from the counter and even added any excess flour to my chicken stock, because my husband's favorite way to eat my chicken and noodles is over mashed potatoes. So, rather than being soup, with a thin broth, this batch of chicken and noodles was thickened more like a sauce or gravy. I actually add butter and whole milk to my homemade chicken stock, bring it to a boil. I add the noodles, bring it back to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. The noodles cook up tender and lovely and the broth becomes deliciously chicken-y and thickened. When the noodles are done, a scoop of mashed potatoes in the bottom of a bowl smothered with the delicious chicken and noodles is David's idea of perfection. It is classic comfort food at it's best. Pure heaven! (I promise to get you the recipe and pictures for that yummy supper, very soon!)
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I first pinned this recipe a couple of weeks ago, because the pictures looked so delicious. It was originally called Oma’s Sour Cream Chicken and posted over at the Making Life Delicious Blog. As usual, when the time came to make this yummy main dish, I adapted the recipe, somewhat, for our own family’s tastes [...]
I first pinned this recipe a couple of weeks ago, because the pictures looked so delicious. It was originally called Oma’s Sour Cream Chicken and posted over at the Making Life Delicious Blog. As usual, when the time came to make this yummy main dish, I adapted the recipe, somewhat, for our own family’s tastes and my pantry. Essentially, though, I think I did a fair job of sticking to the basic premise of the recipe.
Easy and delicious!
Well, it is SOOOO incredibly delicious that we ate every bite before I remembered that I hadn’t taken a pretty picture of it, served up on the plate, for you. I would promise to take a good one and update this post for you next time I make it, but that ship has sailed, my friend. We made it again, about a week later, and I forgot, again. Oy! So, I will try to remember to make a gorgeous plate and photograph it for you, when we serve this again, and we WILL be serving this, again. Seriously, it’s better than any chicken I have ever eaten in a restaurant. Making it for guests will make you famous and no one will ever have to know how easy it is. Five ingredients — it doesn’t get simpler.
Note: I have a new tip for prepping your chicken breasts — to use in any recipe, really. You can pound your chicken breasts out to make them all an even thickness, however, I have recently taken to slicing mine in half horizontally, resulting in two chicken breasts “tricking” the eye into seeing two pieces of meat, the same size as the original. They are just thinner. Oddly enough, if it looks the same size, somehow your eyes tell your stomach you are just as satisfied and you stretch your grocery budget in a significant way.
Ingredients
- 5 lbs chicken breasts, sliced in half horizontally or pounded thin (about 3/8")
- 3 - 4 Tablespoons Spike Seasoning
- 2 cups sour cream
- 1 (8 oz) pkg. Italian Panko Bread Crumbs
- 1/2 cup butter (one stick)
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts on ungreased baking sheets.
- Sprinkle each piece liberally with Spike Seasoning.
- Spread sour cream over each seasoned chicken breast.
- Sprinkle with Italian Panko Bread Crumbs.
- Cut stick of butter into small cubes and dot over chicken breasts.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes until chicken is done and crumbs are nicely browned.
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http://busy-at-home.com/blog/crispy-baked-chicken-divine-the-easiest-chicken-recipe-youll-ever-make/…September’s Secret Recipe Club challenge sent me to scour the delicious blog pages and photos belonging to Tina, at Mom’s Crazy Cooking. Not only is she a fabulous cook, she’s one of the fearless leaders that help to keep all the plates spinning at Secret Recipe Club. I had so much fun searching her recipe [...]
...September’s Secret Recipe Club challenge sent me to scour the delicious blog pages and photos belonging to Tina, at Mom’s Crazy Cooking. Not only is she a fabulous cook, she’s one of the fearless leaders that help to keep all the plates spinning at Secret Recipe Club. I had so much fun searching her recipe archives and bookmarked many, many along the way. I was specifically looking for a recipe that would utilize ingredients already in my pantry, since we are attempting to trim the grocery budget, in September. When I ran across Crockpot Barbecue Chicken, I knew my search was over. It made a tasty, easy supper served with seasoned brown rice and fresh cucumbers and tomatoes from the garden.
This yummy barbecue chicken was delicious with steamed brown rice and garden veggies!
I cook for a large crew and we shared this meal with my daughter, son-in-law and grandkids. So, while I didn’t really change up the recipe too much, I multiplied it — meaning my ingredient proportions were significantly different, because I still only used one bottle of bbq sauce and by removing the lid from the crockpot in the last hour of cooking, I really didn’t need the broiler step from the original recipe.
Ingredients
- 6 lbs frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 bottle of your family's favorite barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Pour 1/2 of the barbecue sauce into the bottom of your crockpot.
- Place the chicken on top of the sauce.
- Pour remaining sauce over the chicken. Put a small amount of water in the bottle and shake vigorously to remove every drop of sauce from the bottle and not waste anything.
- Set crockpot on high and cook 4-6 hours. Using frozen chicken means you will probably need more time to cook the meat through. If your meat is thawed when you start, 4 hours will likely be sufficient.
- For the last hour of cooking, I removed the lid from the crockpot and allowed the sauce and chicken juices to bubble and cook down, getting thicker and making a wonderful coating that adhered well to the chicken pieces.
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Check out the other great entries in the
September Secret Recipe Club!
Have you heard about the new Grilled Essentials from Hillshire Farm? They come two to a package, individually vacuum-sealed. For one of those nights when you need a dinner idea in a hurry and you are roaming through the grocery store without an idea, these pre-cooked and seasoned chicken breasts may be your perfect solution. [...]
Have you heard about the new Grilled Essentials from Hillshire Farm? They come two to a package, individually vacuum-sealed. For one of those nights when you need a dinner idea in a hurry and you are roaming through the grocery store without an idea, these pre-cooked and seasoned chicken breasts may be your perfect solution. The night I prepared them, I sure was hoping they would be mine!
The yummy Chicken Faux-fredo I made with Hillshire Farm Grilled Essentials.
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I needed some groceries and I was definitely looking for the new Grilled Essentials on this shopping trip. I was curious to try both the Italian and Original flavors. I made the five minute drive to our local Wal-Mart to re-stock our depleted pantry and fridge, only to discover that they didn’t have the new Grilled Essentials. Hmmm…roadtrip! Normally, I opt for just shopping at home and paying the little bit higher cost that goes along with small-town living. Yup, even at Wal-Mart. When I shop Wal-Mart in Lincoln, (a 30 mile drive), I save at least a few cents per item over the prices at our local Wal-Mart store. However, I definitely save money on gas by shopping at home, so I always feel like it balances out. The only other difference that can send me on an unplanned trip to our state capitol, to shop, is greater product availability in the larger store. So, I parked my cart and headed for the city.
Our local Wal-Mart is the nation’s smallest super center. No joke. That really is it’s claim to fame, so it’s a huge difference, shopping in Lincoln. Not only is there a much larger variety of products available, but the services are more plentiful. For my husband, the favorite feature of shopping in the city is the Tire and Lube Center. For only a few dollars more than doing it himself, he can have the oil changed in our car or new tires put on, while he “window shops”, inside the store. The Lincoln store also has a hair salon, bank, photography studio and video arcade inside. The only thing our small-town store has, that the big one doesn’t, is a fabric and crafts department, which for me, is a pretty big deal.
It’s a thirty to forty minute drive, depending on traffic, so it wasn’t long before my favorite, southside Wal-Mart was in view. (Lincoln has three Wal-Mart’s available.) I found a handy parking place, next to the cart return and headed inside to make quick work of my grocery list.
Our "big city" Wal-mart.
The produce department is the first thing you see when you enter on the grocery side of the store and I usually like to spend lots of time here, browsing the options I don’t normally have, but I needed to get through my list quickly and back home to make dinner, so I went straight for the tomatoes.
These look SOOO good and I appreciate the variety. I grabbed red on-the-vine tomatoes and moved on.
I added two bunches of fresh asparagus, some lemons, salad mix, 10 lbs of red potatoes and a bunch of green onions before I left the produce department.
Next up is the meat department. I found a good deal on family packs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts (only $1.88/lb) and picked up two packages. Then I moved on up the aisle to the sandwich meat section, where the Hillshire Farm Grilled Essentials should be displayed. It wasn’t long before I had that sinking feeling that I had made a trip to Lincoln, for nothing. I back-tracked and checked one more time, to make sure I hadn’t missed them, but no, they simply were not there. I checked a couple other places in the meat department where I thought they might have been displayed, instead.
Breaded chicken, chicken wings, specialty flavored chicken -- but they're all frozen. Grilled Essentials are refrigerated, but not frozen.
I found some other specialty chicken products. Mmmm....chicken cordon bleu.
I checked a couple more spots before I experienced the overwhelming urge to pull out my “Veggie Tale angry eyes”, but I shook off that impulse and decided to check with someone. Fortunately, there was someone working to stock the meat department, so I was able to just go straight to him and ask for help. The moment I told him I was looking for Hillshire Farm Grilled Essentials, his eyes registered recognition of what I was talking about, which gave me a newfound hope. He said,”Oh yeah! We don’t have a display spot for them, yet, so they’re still in the back. Let me get you some.” Score! Why didn’t I ask before? The one thing I will say about Wal-Mart, is that I have always had good luck in getting genuinely friendly help from their employees. He came back with both the Original and Italian varieties for me. And to top it all off, each package had a 55 cent coupon attached. Things were definitely starting to look up.
I got two packages of the Italian flavor and three Originals.
I had to grab a few more items to complete my list, so I headed for the dairy department where I picked up sour cream, eggs, butter, cream cheese and milk.
I'm so grateful for the Great Value prices at Wal-Mart.
A quick buzz through the pasta aisle to grab the fettuccine and then down the bread aisle for our favorite sandwich loaves and I’m ready to check-out and head back home.
Great variety and prices on pasta in the Great Value brand.
Off to the checkout stand.
On the drive home, I had the opportunity to plan out our supper menu and how I would incorporate the Hillshire Farms Italian Style Grilled Essentials. I decided to put together my own version of “chicken alfredo” and serve it over fettucine with some broiled asparagus on the side.
Ingredients
- 4 Hillshire Farms Italian Grilled Essentials chicken breasts or 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pre-cooked with Italian seasoning
- 1 (24 oz) carton sour cream
- 1 (8 oz) block of cream cheese
- 2 (10.5 oz) cans cream of chicken soup
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan or Italian blend cheese
- 1 lb. fettuccine noodles
Instructions
- Boil and drain the fettuccine noodles.
- While the noodles cook, heat the sour cream, cream cheese, cream of chicken soup and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Slice the chicken into thin strips.
- Add the chicken and shredded cheese into the sauce. Stir and continue heating until cheese is melted and incorporated into the sauce.
- Serve the sauce over the drained fettuccine noodles.
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This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. As always, at Busy-at-Home, the views and opinions expressed are wholly my own.
Homemade chicken stock, straight from my freezer, is a staple in my kitchen; but there are times when I have depleted my stockpile and in a time crunch, resort to “store-bought” stock. And when I say stock, I’m not talking about cans or cartons of watered-down, diluted liquid that are labeled “broth”. Stock is a [...]
Homemade chicken stock, straight from my freezer, is a staple in my kitchen; but there are times when I have depleted my stockpile and in a time crunch, resort to “store-bought” stock. And when I say stock, I’m not talking about cans or cartons of watered-down, diluted liquid that are labeled “broth”. Stock is a deep, rich, flavorful rendering of meat and or vegetables that has a darker color and a greater intensity of flavor. It has been slow simmered over a long period of time to extract the maximum nutrients and flavor from its components. So, when I am forced to purchase it in my small community, there is only one option. It’s a name brand and it is pricey — over $3.50 for a 4 cup carton! Needless to say, I was intrigued when I heard that Knorr had developed their own homestyle stocks and thrilled to discover them on the shelves at our local Wal-Mart. The Knorr Homestyle Stock was only $3.38 for 4 tubs of concentrate that would make 12 cups of stock! At nearly 1/3 the cost of what I normally pay, you bet I was ready to try this new product. I bought both the chicken stock and the beef stock.
That first night we were in a big hurry to make supper and buzz right back out of the house, again. I had looked over the recipes on Knorr’s website and I found two that I knew I wanted to try or at least adjust to our family’s tastes – French Dip Burgers and Lemon Chicken Primavera. For our “fix-it-quick” night, I decided to eliminate the au jus dip for the burgers and simply add the stock to the ground beef before frying it up. I used 2 lbs of ground beef and mixed in two of the Knorr Homestyle Stock-Beef tubs (They come 4 tubs in a package). Super simple and fast!
I broke out my favorite cast iron skillet and fried the burgers, using fresh ground pepper to season them. As they started cooking, I could already see that the stock was melting and permeating the meat, creating a sort of basting sauce in my skillet. The aroma, in the kitchen, smelled like I was making roast beef and the burgers were absolutely delicious. We had a quick, easy burgers and fries supper that was elevated to a tasty new level by Knorr Homestyle Beef Stock. I actually didn’t mention the secret ingredient to my most finicky family members. My fifteen-year-old carniverous son was the first to complement the flavor and ask what was different. My husband was close behind him. The rich, delicious, beefy flavor was a huge hit — even with the grandbabies! Check out my This Moment Slide Show to see their happy faces and more details of this quick hamburger supper.
- Juicy, delicious burgers, seasoned with Knorr Homestyle Beef Stock and ready to be topped with everyone’s favorite condiments and veggies. Yum!
The next night, I had more time to prepare a special dinner and I decided to tackle the Lemon Chicken Primavera recipe, from the Knorr website, and see if the chicken stock was as tasty as the beef. It turns out that not only was this a delicious meal, but it was quick and simple to fix, as well. I changed up the recipe slightly. My variation is below. When the chicken was complete, I served it with roasted red potatoes and broiled asparagus. Fantastic!
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ground black pepper, to taste
- 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin
- 4 Tablespoons butter, divided
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 2 cups water
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tubs Knorr® Homestyle Stock - Chicken
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil and 2 Tablespoons butter in a large skillet.
- I used my marble rolling pin to flatten the chicken breasts, so they were all an even thickness. The easiest way to do that is to place them in a gallon ziptop bag and flatten them.
- Dredge the flattened chicken pieces in flour, shaking off any excess.
- Brown the chicken on both sides in the hot skillet, rotating the browned pieces to a plate until all pieces have been browned.
- When browning is complete, use the same skillet, with its pan drippings, to prepare the sauce. Add the juice of one lemon, remaining 2 Tablespoons butter, zest from the lemon, two tubs of Knorr Homestyle Chicken Stock concentrate, water and the chopped green onions.
- Bring the sauce to a boil, add the chicken pieces back into the skillet and reduce the heat to medium low.
- Continue cooking until the chicken is done (10 minutes or less, probably. Remember the chicken is pressed flat and will cook quickly.)
- The sauce will reduce and thicken, somewhat, as the chicken continues to cook.
- Serve with your favorite side dishes for a quick delicious meal!
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http://busy-at-home.com/blog/a-simply-delicious-hamburger-supper-and-easy-lemon-chicken-primavera-newknorrstock-cbias/I will never pay three times the cost, again, when my freezer stock supply is gone. I’m sold on Knorr Homestyle Chicken and Beef Stocks. The rich, homemade taste, along with the simplicity of use and the fantastic price compared to my other options makes them winners in my kitchen! I hope you’ll stop by my This Moment slideshow to see even more pictures. You can’t miss a chance to see sweet grandkids!
This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for #collectivebias. As always, the views and opinions expressed are wholly my own, based on my personal testing and use of the product.
My recent post about Texas on Tour and the fun Chili Gift Set giveaway, set off my taste-bud alarm for a dish I haven’t prepared in awhile — Chicken Chili Casserole. It was originally inspired by a recipe, called Sonora Chicken, from an old church cookbook. My friend Carrie submitted a recipe that sounded so [...]
My recent post about Texas on Tour and the fun Chili Gift Set giveaway, set off my taste-bud alarm for a dish I haven’t prepared in awhile — Chicken Chili Casserole. It was originally inspired by a recipe, called Sonora Chicken, from an old church cookbook. My friend Carrie submitted a recipe that sounded so delicious and we HAD to try it, or at least our version of it. As usual, I put our own family spin on it and it became Chicken Chili Casserole. It’s warm, rich and comforting and it can be as spicy or mild as you choose to make it, depending on how spicy you make (or buy) your salsa. Potluck simple and fairly inexpensive to make if you stockpile chicken when it’s on sale and make your own salsa. (By the way, if you don’t make your own salsa, you will change your mind when I post the recipe in the next few days.)
Yum! We served it with broiled asparagus and it was DELISH!Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe1.2.4
Simple, frugal and delicious. Stockpile chicken when it’s on sale and make your own salsa and this delicious comfort food casserole will be a regular go-to meal on your menu-plan.
Ingredients
- 6 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
- 2 (14.5 oz cans) your favorite chili beans
- 2 cans cream of chicken soup
- 1 1/2 cups of sour cream
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 jalapeno, finely minced (optional)
- 10 flour tortillas
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Cook and dice chicken, then set aside.
- Mix beans, soup, sour cream and salsa in a medium-sized mixing bowl. If you opt to add a little extra heat, add the minced jalapeno to this sauce mixture.
- Layer 1/2 of the diced chicken in the bottom of a 9×13 pan.
- Tear 5 of the tortillas into small bite-sized pieces and layer over the chicken.
- For the third layer, spread 1/2 of the bean/soup/sour cream/salsa mixture over the tortillas pieces.
- Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheddar cheese over the sauce layer.
- Repeat all four layers, using the last 2 cups of cheddar cheese on the very top.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.
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Here’s how to put it together:
- If you don’t have diced chicken in the freezer, cook and dice your chicken.
Dice chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Mix beans, cream of chicken soup, salsa and sour cream in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
Mix the sauce ingredients (beans, salsa, sour cream, & cream of chicken).
- Layer 1/2 of the diced chicken into a 9×13 pan.
Diced chicken in the first layer.
- Tear 5 tortillas into bite-sized pieces and layer over the chicken.
- Spread 1/2 of sauce/bean mixture over the tortilla layer.
Third layer is 1/2 of the sauce/bean mixture.
-
Use 1 cup of the shredded cheddar to form the fourth layer (over the sauce).
Shredded cheese is the fourth layer.
- Repeat all four layers, ending with the final 2 cups of shredded cheddar in the very top layer. Your pan will be VERY full.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
- Enjoy!!!
This was SO delicious. We served it up with broiled asparagus.
