Chicken and Noodles

1 - 3 to 5 pound whole chicken
2 celery stalks, halved
2 carrots, peeled, halved and quartered
1/4 of whole onion, sliced thick
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 sprigs of thyme
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Gravy:
4 TBS butter
4 TBS flour
2 to 3 cups of chicken stock

4 cups cooked Noodles
Mashed potatoes

In a large pot put the chicken and vegetables in, sprinkle all with the salt and pepper and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the chicken and let cool. Strain the stock through a wire mesh strainer to reserve the liquid and let cool, discard the vegetables and herbs. Pour 2 to 3 cups of the stock into a container to use for the gravy, pour the remaining stock into an airtight container, place in the refrigerator and use within 2 weeks or store in the freezer for up to six months.
Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred and set aside. In a large pot, add the butter and melt, add the flour and stir to combine for one minute. Pour 2 cups of the stock into the butter/flour mixture and whisk until it thickens, if needed add more stock to thin down. When desired thickness is reached, add the shredded chicken and cooked noodles, season with more salt and pepper as needed. Reduce heat to simmer for a few minutes. Serve over mashed potatoes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've been trying to perfect my chocolate chip cookie recipe and each time I think I'm getting closer and then I bake them and have to go back to the drawing board. This recipe is pretty good, but still not the "perfect" cookie I'm looking to create.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 C butter, softened
1 C creamy peanut butter
1 C brown sugar
1/4 C granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 C AP flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 TBS malted milk powder
1 C old fashioned oats
1 1/2 C chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk-or combined)
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl and with a mixer on medium high cream the butter and peanut butter together with the sugars. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Pour in the vanilla and beat until combined. In a medium bowl combine together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and malted milk powder. Stir in the oats. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and with the mixer on low combine completely. Stir in the chocolate chips with a heavy spoon or spatula until mixed in. Spoon mixture by tablespoons full (I use the small size scoop) onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-13 minutes. Let cool for two minutes on the baking sheet then remove to a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Store in an air tight container.
These cookies do not spread very much, they come out approximately 2" in diameter.

Following Recipes

So...you know how you follow a recipe to the "T" and they still don't come out just like the picture or how they look on the TV show you get it from??? It's because they "fix" it to make you want to make it because it's soooo easy and looks so beautiful and of course you think yours is going to look exactly like that! I just made some brownie bites that were made on the PW foodnetwork show....mine did not turn out like hers...not enough chocolate to cover my brownies, I put the same amount of the brownie batter into each mini muffin cup and mine look flat, they don't have the "dome" top like hers did...what else...oh yes, after I dipped the "tops" into the chocolate and covered the other end with what was left, mine stuck to the rack I put them on to set! I had to scrape them off the rack! Thus scraping off most of the chocolate I ever so carefully dipped them in! GRRRRRRRR! And another thing, they were bland. I am going to have to pump up the volume on this recipe, I think it will make a cute valentine treat, baked in a multiples heart shaped pan if I can find one. I will definitely plan on melting more chocolate to cover them completely too!

Beefy Chili Mac

1 pound lean ground beef, browned and drained
1/2 C onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. salt, divided
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Cups elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
1 can (14.5 oz) chili ready diced tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) chili beans in sauce
1 C beef stock or broth
2 TBS chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 C shredded cheddar
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Bring a pot of water to a boil with 1 teaspoon of salt, add the macaroni and cook uncovered for 9 minutes. Drain, return to pot and set aside. Cook the ground beef with the onion and garlic, the remaining teaspoon of salt and the pepper until no longer pink. To the pot of cooked and drained macaroni, add the tomatoes, chili beans, beef stock or broth, and seasonings, mix together.  Add the cooked beef to the macaroni pot. Stir to combine all. Pour into the prepared baking dish and spread out evenly in the dish. Top with the shredded cheddar. Put into the heated oven and bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Shredded Taco Meat

1 - 4 to 5 pound chuck roast
1 tsp. taco seasoning (I make my own)
1 tsp. onion soup mix (I make my own)
Season both sides of the roast with the seasoning and onion mix, 1/2 tsp. per side of each. Grease the inside of a crock pot or spray with cooking spray and place the seasoned roast inside. Cook on low 6 - 8 hours. When cooked, remove roast from crock pot and shred with two forks. Serve on warm tortillas, hard taco shells, or make taquitos:
Heat about 1/2" of oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Dip a corn tortilla in the hot oil, turn over about 3 seconds per side. Place on a plate or baking sheet covered with paper towels to drain and cool prior to handling. Do not discard the oil, leave heating to use to fry the taquitos.
For each corn tortilla, place about 2 TBS of the shredded meat toward the top of the tortilla and roll up. Place on a baking sheet until all are rolled up and ready to cook. With the seam side down, carefully place in the hot oil for a few seconds, turn and cook the other side for a few more seconds, remove to a paper towel lined baking sheet to drain. Repeat until all are cooked. Top with guacamole, sour cream and fresh Pico de Gallo.

Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

Turkey & Wild Rice Soup
2 C turkey, cooked and chopped
1 C onion, chopped
1 C celery, chopped
1 C carrot, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper
1 tsp. thyme (fresh if you have it, if not dried is good)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 C wild rice
4 C chicken broth
4 C water
Combine all in the crock pot and cook on low, 6 -8 hours.  Season with more S & P as needed. If you like creamy soups, add one cup of heavy cream. If not everyone in your family likes creamy soups, you can add a splash to each individual bowl if desired.

Chicken Spaghetti

Chicken Spaghetti
2 chicken breasts, bone in
1 pound spaghetti, broken into thirds
4 TBS butter
4 TBS flour
2 C milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced bell peppers (any color)
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
S&P (salt and pepper) to taste
Preheat oven to 375°F. Drizzle EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) over the chicken breast and spread evenly to coat the entire pieces. Sprinkle with S&P. Place on a baking sheet or dish and roast in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until chicken is done and juices run clear. SAVE the drippings! Reduce the oven temp to 350°F. When the chicken is done let cool until easy to handle, remove the meat from the bones and cut or tear into bite size pieces, WAIT...don't discard the bones! Fill your pasta pot with water to cook the noodles, boil water over high heat and throw those bones in to create a bit of stock, add some salt to the water. Once the water has boiled remove the bones and carefully place your broken spaghetti noodles in the water, continue to cook until al dente, or as directed on the package. When the noodles are done, before you drain the water, take out one cup of the water and reserve. Now you can drain your spaghetti. Remember the drippings from the pan you roasted the chicken in? Pour that into a sauté pan and add your onion, celery and bell peppers. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. 
To make the white sauce: In a medium saucepan add the butter and melt, stir in the flour and cook for one minute. Pour in the milk and stir until thickened, about 5 minutes. Or you can use 2 cans cream of soup (either chicken, mushroom, or celery).
Now you can start assembling your casserole. In a large mixing bowl, combine the white sauce or cream of soups, chicken, sautéed vegetables, shredded cheddar, cayenne pepper, seasoned salt and s&p. Fold together until combined, add in the spaghetti and if needed the one cup of reserved stock water. Spray your casserole dish (9x13 baking pan works) with a no-stick cooking spray such as PAM. Pour the spaghetti mixture into the dish spreading evenly. Bake at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes or until gold and bubbly!

Creative thinking...

So this morning as I was checking the level of water in the gallon container that we use for the coffee maker (I run water through a Brita pitcher to filter it), I knocked out a jar of marinated artichokes. I thought, hmmmm...what besides dip can use this for. Now, I've been thinking about this for awhile but, how fun would it be to have a party, ask each guest to bring their favorite type of food, whether it be their favorite cut of meat, maybe someone brings their favorite vegetable, a jar of peanut butter, it doesn't really matter as long as it's something they love to eat, and I help them create a meal for us to enjoy with the items they bring. I just want to show people that you can create something delicious with the items you have in your pantry. You don't have to have fancy tools, fancy spices, fancy vegetables or special cuts of meat. I can help you create a tasty meal with a few items, doesn't take alot of time and with no stress. Well, hopefully no stress, I typically make a mess in the kitchen when I cook :). I have a notebook full of recipes I've created and hopefully by next summer I'll be ready to talk with a publisher about a cookbook! Anyway, back to that jar of artichokes, I am planning on making a chicken casserole tonight for supper, that jar of artichokes may just make it's way in there! It will be a new recipe so I'll get that posted soon. ~Fran~

Salted Caramel Brownies

Salted Caramel Brownies
1 C unsalted butter
4 T cocoa powder
1 tsp. espresso powder (optional)
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate baking bar
2 C all-purpose (AP) flour
2 C granulated sugar
pinch of salt
4 eggs
1 T vanilla extract
1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C English toffee bits
1/2 C caramel topping
coarse Sea Salt crystals
1/4 C walnuts, chopped (if desired)
Heat oven to 350°F. In a small saucepan over medium low heat, combine the butter, cocoa, espresso* (if desired), and the unsweetened chocolate bar until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Pour the chocolate mixture over the flour mixture and with a mixer, beat on low to combine. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat for one minute. Add the chocolate chips and toffee bits and stir just to combine. Pour the mixture into a 9 x 13 baking dish or a divided brownie pan** greased or sprayed with cooking spray. Bake the 9x13 for 30 minutes, and the divided pan for 18 minutes.  When done, remove from oven and immediately drizzle with the caramel sauce, it helps to warm the caramel sauce in the microwave to soften for about 20 seconds. Once the caramel is on, sprinkle lightly with the sea salt. If you'd like you can sprinkle the top with the chopped walnuts too.
*Using the espresso powder is optional, however, I find that it enhances the chocolate flavor.
**Makes 21 brownies using a large scoop to put into each section of the pan.

Creating new recipes

Today I've been busy working on some recipes for the cookbook I'm working on. I hope to have it done by next summer. Fingers crossed! I'll share a few on here but I'd really like to save them for my book. I'm going to start with a Salted Caramel Brownie. I made a recipe from Ina Garten a couple of weeks ago but I wasn't very happy with it. Sorry Ina! I found it crumbly and hard around the edges. I like to make my brownies in a divided brownie pan, because I love the edges. When I made Ina's recipe, the brownies fell apart and the edges got really hard. Oh well, I have a recipe here that I'll share, hope that you will enjoy, and they are delicious and pretty easy to make. I'll post a few pictures of the pan and steps along the way.
I combined the main ingredients and added some of my favorites, English toffee bits:



Mini semi sweet chocolate chips:

Here is my favorite brownie pan to use:



Drizzling the yummy caramel topping:



Adding the coarse sea salt:

and finally the finished product, yum!

Fried Chicken

Here is my recipe for Fried Chicken, the crust is so light and delicious it practically melts in your mouth and the meat is so moist and tender. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Lightly breaded Fried Chicken

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 TBS salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
vegetable oil (pour to 1" deep in fry pan)

Heat the oil on medium to medium high heat in pan (oil temp should reach about 350°).
Pound out the thickest part of the chicken breast to make it even, this ensures even cooking. Combine heavy cream and ranch dressing in a bowl, set aside. Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a gallon size ziploc bag. Dip the chicken into the cream mixture, shaking gently to remove the excess cream, drop into the dry mixture bag and shake to coat evenly. Fry in the hot oil, turning each piece over only one time during cooking. Depending on how thick the pieces are, they should be ready to turn after 8 minutes. Cook on the other side till done (about another 8 minutes, again depending on the size of the piece). Chicken is done when the juices run clear (NOT pink).

Creamy potato salad

Creamy Potato Salad
6 to 8 medium sized red potatoes, cooked and chopped
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup pickles, diced
4 hard cooked eggs, sliced or chopped
1 cup Hellman's mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup garden vegetable cream cheese
2 TBS dijon mustard
1 tsp celery salt
S & P to taste

Combine the vegetables in a large bowl, gently stir in the salt, pepper and celery salt to coat, set aside. Cream together the mayo, sour cream, cream cheese and mustard. Pour over potatoes and stir, add the eggs and gently combine all.

Fran's Goulash

If I haven't mentioned before...I don't follow recipes very well. :)
I do to a certain extent...but more often than not I like to pump up the volume a bit.
And here is a good tip to follow when creating a dish that you really don't know what to call it and you are basically using whatever is in the frig/freezer/and/or pantry...start with a trinity. What's a trinity you ask? Well I don't know for sure if that is what this is called but that is what I have called it for ... well forever. Or since I've been cooking. Start with a little extra virgin olive oil (EVOO as RR would say) maybe 2 tablespoons, or use a couple-ish tablespoons of butter in a sauté pan. Chop anywhere from one half to a whole onion and two or three stalks of celery. Dice one half of a bell pepper....any color they are ALL fabulous! Add 1/2 tsp. of salt and 1/4 tsp. of pepper (S&P). Cook these lovelies over medium heat until they are tender. Now it's up to you on whether or not to add these to the mix, but I throw in a couple of pinches of crushed red pepper, and depending on what dish I am preparing such as Italian I would add oregano, basil, thyme and parsley, and for Mexican I use oregano and just a pinch of thyme, cumin is great too but use the thyme and cumin sparingly especially if using dried. Cook this for about 3 more minutes and if you are adding meat, throw that in so your meat absorbs this delicious flavor of herbs. If you want a creamy sauce to your meat mixture, add in any type of stock, if using chicken use chicken, or beef stock when cooking beef. If you don't have either, Lipton's onion soup mix is really good too. Now, if you have diced tomatoes in the pantry toss a can of those in, or tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes work great. Oh I was talking creamy sauce too wasn't I? Sorry I got a bit off track...but as far as measuring, I really don't, I just pour stock in until I cover the meat, stir in my tomatoes and then I pour in some heavy cream...yes! the creaminess begins! And use your judgment on the cream, if I were to guess I think it is at least a half a cup measured. But taste it, and add more cream if you want. And don't forget to season it again, a little more S&P.

Goulash:
2 TBS olive oil or butter
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper (I used red)
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp dried oregano
1/8 or less of dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound lean ground beef
Your favorite pasta, cooked (I used mezzi-rigatoni by Barilla, 1/2 box)
1 can (15 oz) diced or crushed tomatoes, or an 8 oz can of tomato sauce.
1 to 2 cups of beef stock
1/2 cup of heavy cream
In a saucepan sauté the onion, celery and bell pepper until tender. Sprinkle salt and pepper, crushed red pepper, oregano and thyme over all. Cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Add the ground beef and brown until no longer pink. Meanwhile cook your pasta so it is ready to combine. When the meat is cooked, add the can of tomatoes or sauce, add stock and cook for about 3 minutes over medium heat until heated through, then add the heavy cream and stir to combine.
Drain your pasta and add it back to your stockpot it was cooked in (I use my dutch oven) and pour the meat mixture over the pasta. Stir until all of the pasta is coated. If at this time it looks too dry, add more stock and if needed a little more cream. Continue to heat through. This will probably feed four to six hungry people. I had plenty of leftovers since only two of us ate tonight.

 

Pasta absorbs your sauce quickly so with your leftovers, add more stock to moisten as needed. Enjoy!

Beef and Peppers

I've made this recipe many times over the years, it's a favorite at our house. Actually we used to call it "Pepper Steak", but since I used a beef arm roast for this recipe, "steak" just didn't seem appropriate. Feel free to use your favorite cut of meat and call it what you want! I hope you enjoy it too!

Beef and Peppers
Round steak, sirloin steak or beef roast
1 cup sliced onion
1 cup any color bell peppers, sliced
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
2 packages brown gravy mix
2 cups water
2 cups Cooked rice

Heat a large skillet over medium high to high heat. Season the beef roast with salt and pepper and pan roast in 2 TBS olive or vegetable oil, (my roast was about 1 1/2 inches thick), sear each side for about 3 minutes per side and turn down heat to medium low, cover pan and continue to cook. If using steak, season and cut the meat into strips and pan fry until desired doneness. I pan roasted the meat for about an hour. Remove the roast from the skillet, when able to handle, slice it into thin strips. Add the onion, peppers and mushrooms to the skillet with the drippings, sauté until tender over medium heat.Sprinkle the gravy mixes over the veggies and stir until completely incorporated into the vegetables. Turn up the heat to medium high and add the water stirring to combine. Once the mixture is thick and bubbly, add the sliced beef. Continue to cook until beef has heated through. Now wasn't that easy!
Serve over cooked rice or noodles.  
 
 
 

Potato Soup

Potato Soup

6-8 medium potatoes, peeled and diced or cubed                       

3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped 

2-3 celery stalks, chopped       

1 medium onion, diced

½ stick of butter or margarine

            

Sauté onions, carrots and celery in ¼ cup of butter or margarine in a soup pot or Dutch oven. When tender, add potatoes and water to cover. Cook until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile mix together the following in a pan over low heat:                                 

8 oz. cream cheese softened    

1 stick butter or margarine      

1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup    

2 cups of milk

1 cup heavy cream

Tip: melting everything in the microwave seems to go faster and that way it doesn’t scorch.                   

Add mixture to the cooked vegetables.

Add 1/2 lb cooked crumbled bacon or 1 cup of diced ham if desired. Heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Creamy potatoes au gratin

Creamy potatoes au gratin

4 to 5 medium russet potatoes
2 cups of heavy cream
4 TBS unsalted butter
Salt and pepper

Wash and slice the potatoes into thin slices. A mandolin works well for this. Spray the bottom and sides of a baking dish wish cooking spray such as PAM. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper to coat all, add to the baking dish. Pour the heavy cream over the potatoes and dot with the butter.

Bake in a 375° oven for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Chicken salad with sass

Chicken salad with sass
1 cooked and diced chicken breast half
3 TBS diced red onion
3 TBS diced celery
2 pinches kosher salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground celery salt
3 TBS real mayonnaise
2 TBS sour cream
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to blend. Serve on your favorite bread or cracker.

  

Saucy Chicken and Rice with chunky tomatoes

Saucy Chicken and Rice with chunky tomatoes:
1 1/2 to 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced green or red bell pepper (I used red because that is what I had)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 TBS vegetable oil
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 cups Minute Rice, uncooked
1 cup cheddar or Monterey jack shredded cheese
Sauté onion and bell pepper in the oil until tender (about 5 minutes) over medium heat. Add chicken pieces and cook until chicken is no longer pink. DO NOT DRAIN!  Add can of tomatoes and stock or broth, bring to a boil uncovered. Sprinkle in garlic powder and cumin and stir until combined. Add Minute Rice and reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until rice is cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed. Top with the shredded cheese (or whatever you like) and serve!
My apologies because my pictures aren't very good but here is what it looks like:

Creamy Potato and Ground Beef Stoup

Creamy Potato and Ground Beef Stoup


6 to 8 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped carrots
salt and pepper
Combine the vegetables in a 5 qt. saucepan, add water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Drain.

1 lb. cooked ground beef (or ham)

8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 can cream of condensed soup (chicken, cheddar, celery or mushroom)
2 cups of milk

Combine in a small saucepan or microwave safe bowl and heat to melt the cream cheese. Add the creamed mixture to the vegetables and add the meat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until bubbly. (Picture not original, it's a picture of cream cheese potato soup, I didn't take pictures of my soup) :(

Lazy Night Skillet Beef and Pasta

Lazy Night Skillet Beef and Pasta

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
2 cups cooked beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper, any color
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 basil leaves, chopped or 1 tsp. dried basil
1 28 oz. can San Marzano tomatoes, rough chopped, with the juice
1 cup beef stock
1/2 lb. Orecchiette pasta, cooked and drained

Add the olive oil to your skillet heat over medium high setting. Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper and cook until almost tender, add the garlic and basil and cook another minute or so. Add the beef and cook until heated through, another 10 minutes. Pour in the beef stock, chop up your canned tomatoes and add along with the tomato juice from the can into the skillet. Stir to combine and add the pasta. This will be a little saucy, just let it cook a little while longer and some of the juice will be absorbed into the pasta. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to desired seasoning and enjoy!

Chuck roast cooked on the stove top

Chuck roast is typically a tough piece of meat and the best way to cook it is slow and long, like in the crock pot or covered in a low heat oven for 3 hours. I don't have that kind of time. I am a workin' gal and by the time I got off work, I gotta get a move on! Plus it's still hot out and who the hell wants to heat up the kitchen when it's already too hot!? Anyway, I've been cooking my roasts this way for years. The roast turns out juicy and tender. See what you think...

Chuck Roast on the stove top
1 - 2 to 5 pound chuck roast
Salt & Pepper
Dutch oven or other deep skillet with a lid
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

Liberally season all sides of the roast with the salt and pepper.

Heat the pan over medium high heat, add the olive oil.

When it's hot, add the roast. Brown each side until nice and brown, keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn.

When all sides are browned, turn the heat down to low and put a lid on it.

Let it pan roast for about 30 minutes, less if you like it rarer. Don't throw out the juices, this caramelized sauce (au jus) makes the BEST gravy EVER! Add a couple of cups of water, bring to a boil, add 1 to 2 TBS of corn starch to 1/4 cup of cold water and whisk into the au jus. Let cook for 1 minute until bubbly, reduce heat to low and serve over the roast. Season as needed.

Enjoy! We sure did!

Strawberry Mousse Filled Cupcakes

 

Strawberry Mousse Filled Cupcakes
1 box white cake mix
Follow the directions on the mix and bake in cupcake lined muffin tins. Let cool.

Filling
4 oz. cream cheese
3 TBS seedless strawberry jam
4 oz. whipped topping, thawed (I used 1/2 of an 8 oz tub)
Beat cream cheese and jam until completely blended. Add whipped topping and blend lightly until combined and fluffy.

When your cupcakes are cooled using an apple corer, or handle of wooden spoon, poke holes in the center of the cupcakes to fill.

Spoon your filling into a pastry bag, or I use a ziploc sandwich bag...easy clean-up, plus I'm lazy like that and that's how I roll. Clip the end off one corner if you are using a baggie.

Begin piping your filling into the centers of your cupcakes.

Once all filled, top with the remaining whipped topping.

I topped mine with some strawberries, you can also substitute the strawberry jam with seedless raspberry or any flavor you like!

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Cream of Asparagus Soup

1 lb. asparagus, cleaned and chopped
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
4 TBS butter or oleo
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a 3 qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and chopped asparagus, saute until all are tender (about 10 minutes). *Add the stock and bring to a boil. With an immersion blender (or in a *food processor) blend the veggies in the stock until almost smooth. Add heavy cream and stir together. Simmer until heated through.
*Note if using a food processor: blend the veggies in the food processor before adding the stock. Return the veggies to the saucepan and add the stock, bring to boil then add the heavy cream and continue to heat through.
Tip: If you like it thicker you can combine 1 tsp corn starch with 1/4 cup of stock and add to the soup stirring constantly until desired thickness.

My life of cooking and baking is born

Hello. I decided to start a new blog. Not that my old blog got much attention, however, it was pretty muddled with a mish mash of sewing and cooking, and the title is "SoSewBusy" http://www.sosewbusy.com. What better idea to separate the two...so here is it, My Life of Cooking and Baking. I really really love to cook and bake. But I also really really hate to cook and bake. You know? Aaaay...what can I say, I'm a mood cook. It would help if I lived in a city where you can actually get all of the ingredients a recipe calls for. Hmmm...maybe someday?! Anyway, I am going to take all of my recipes out of the old blog and upload them here. Not sure if that will be today, but it will be done! I love to watch the Food Network channel. Yes, I still love Paula. Hey we all make mistakes. My three favorite cooks on there are Ina Garten, Giada De Laurentiis, and Ree Drummond. They cook like I like to cook. With reckless abandonment and easy recipes that I can usually modify if I don't have those special ingredients and it tastes fab...well in my own opinion anyway. So I hope you'll come along with me as I share my favorites, as well as my very own recipes and enjoy what I have to share with you.
Più tardi!