Chicken Tortellini Primavera

This is a recipe I've made since before my son was born and it's always been a hit!  People are always surprised at how delicious it is combined with how easy it is to make!

Ingredients:
I lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small pieces
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach
1 Tsp Italian seasoning
1 16 oz. package tortellini (frozen, dried, fresh- your choice)
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 medium tomato, diced
1/2 c. onion, diced
1/2 lb mushrooms, washed and sliced
1 Tbsp olive Oil
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper


Thaw the spinach and drain it thoroughly, it is important that you use chopped spinach.If the spinach isn't chopped, it gets all tangled up in a big heap and doesn't disperse through out the dish.

Prepare tortellini per package directions. In the mean time, over medium heat, sauté chicken with mushrooms, onions, and seasonings until chicken is browned and onions are translucent. Cube the cream cheese and place in skillet with chicken, it will start to melt. Add in the Parmesan cheese. When cream cheese has gotten creamy, add the milk slowly and mix  well. Add in the diced tomato and tortellini. Mix gently until pasta is coated. Serve right away, refrigerate leftovers.

Slow Cooker French Pork and Bean Casserole

                                

Today has been our first really good cold snap here at the base of the Smoky Mountains, and it has put me in the mood for warm hearty meals that have fabulous leftovers!  I found this recipe several years ago and it became and instant classic at my house.  It sounds and tastes a lot more complicated that it actually is, which is part of the magic of crock pot cooking.  

2 slices bacon, chopped
1 lb boneless country style pork ribs, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 c. shredded carrots
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
2 15- 16 oz cans great northern beans, drained
1/2 lb cooked kielbasa, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Spray 3.5-4 qt slow cooker with nonstick spray. Add in all ingredients. Cook on low setting 7-8 hours. This dish is wonderful served over home made chunky mashed potatoes, but could also be served over rice or perhaps stuffing.

I truly hope you and yours love this dish as much as we do!

Mayo anyone?

So, I've wondered lately how one would make mayonaise.  Since I trust Alton Brown's recipes indubitably, I went to the Food Network website and this is what I found.

 

Ingredients

• 1 egg yolk*
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 2 pinches sugar
• 2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 cup oil, safflower or corn

Directions

In a glass bowl, whisk together egg yolk and dry ingredients. Combine lemon juice and vinegar in a separate bowl then thoroughly whisk half into the yolk mixture. Start whisking briskly, then start adding the oil a few drops at a time until the liquid seems to thicken and lighten a bit, (which means you've got an emulsion on your hands). Once you reach that point you can relax your arm a little (but just a little) and increase the oil flow to a constant (albeit thin) stream. Once half of the oil is in add the rest of the lemon juice mixture.

Continue whisking until all of the oil is incorporated. Leave at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours then refrigerate for up to 1 week.

* Raw Eggs

*RAW EGG WARNING
Food Network Kitchens suggest caution in consuming raw and lightly cooked eggs due to the slight risk of salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, we recommend you use only fresh, properly refrigerated, clean grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.

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As far as I can tell from browsing other recipes, you can add in different flavors, like dill.  I am not sure about the dry mustard yet, but I will let you know.  I am almost out of my favorite mayo here at the house, so I will probably be giving this recipe a try soon.  I will likely be substituting olive oil in for safflower, because it's healthier. Hehe.   I will also be using my immersion blender, because I don't whisk.  I just don't.

Happy mayonaising!

Home made laundry soap

So I've been promising to post the recipe for home made laundry soap for some time.  I am going to get that done today.  A friend of mine posted a link to an urban farming blog that shared this recipe, and I was immediately sold on the idea, and gathered up the supplies.  Initially, I was going to go in with a group of friends to make some up and we would split the soap, but that didn't work out, probably because I am impatient, LOL!  Anyway, let's get down to making laundry detergent.

Ingredients:
2 five gallon buckets with lids
A cheese grater
a pot (about 2 quart size)
hot water

1/2 cup Washing soda
1 cup Borax
1 bar laundry soap

You should be able to find all of the actual ingredients in the local supermarket in the laundry isle.  Make sure you buy Washing Soda and not baking soda!  There are pictures of each of the products in this blog so you know what to look for!

  


Each one of these products cost about $2-$3 and you will get a lot of laundry detergent in the long run.   You will also need to buy one bar of laundry soap, I used Fels-Naptha, which was the only kind that they had at my grocery store.   You do need a whole bar per batch of laundry soap. 

Alright, let's get down to making soap!

Begin by grating the bar of soap.  Place the shavings into a pot and cover with about a quart of water and put it on the stove, over medium heat and stir it until all the shavings are melted.  This is going to take a little time, so be patient.  In the meantime, you can fill one of your five gallon buckets about half full with screaming hot water.   It doesn't have to be boiling, but when the water is hot, it helps the ingredients dissolve better.   Once the bar soap is melted, add it to the hot water, and stir in the other ingredients.  Fill the bucket to the top with hot water and after it has all been thoroughly stirred, put the lid on it and let it sit over night. 

The next day, take the lid off and stir the soap.  You will find that it has congealed into a big semi-solid mass.  Get most of it broken up and then pour half of it into the other five gallon bucket.  At this point, I found it easiest to get out my hand mixer and use it to break up the chunks of gelled soap.  You can also go ahead and fill the bucket with hot water and use a big stick, or your arm (LOL) to pull the big pieces of gelled soap up to the mixer to break up.  After you have it blended, it's ready.  Just repeat the procedure on the other bucket. 

You now have ten gallons of laundry detergent that is good to use on anything.  You can also use it to pre-treat stains.  Use 8 ounces per load to wash.  Use empty, washed out milk or juice bottles, or what ever you have handy to store your soap in your laundry room.

Of note, I got my five gallon buckets from Firehouse subs.  They were $2 each and the money goes to purchase much needed rescue equipment for local fire departments.  Just so you know, if you do use their buckets, they smell strongly of pickles.  The smell hasn't gone away yet, and I made my first batch of soap early this summer.  My laundry does not, however, smell like pickles when washed with the soap made in them.  I am hoping that over time, the smell gets washed out of the buckets.  If not, I am still getting my laundry clean. 

All total, you get ten gallons of laundry detergent for about 2 bucks.  You can't beat that.  Good luck!