Spaghetti and Meatballs

Good morning, everyone!  We have spaghetti a lot in this house, as its one of the few things we can get our daughter to eat with us, without a fight....or bribery.  She loves everything about spaghetti, and even has the recipe memorized, so...yeah, we have it a lot in our house.

Creamy Mushroom and Chicken Soup

Hello, everyone!  I don't know about where you are, but here fall is fully upon us!  Well, mostly upon us...it's still a little bit warmer than I would like, but the cooler temperatures will come!  I made a big batch of this soup the other night, with the feeling of, "If I make cold weather food, clearly the cold weather will come..."

Kickoff Chili!

Hello, everyone!  Happy Thursday!  I don't know if you're aware, but college football has started.  That means, that for the next few months, all of my Saturdays (and, sometimes on Thursdays!) are booked up!  That also means that fall is upon us.  Pumpkin spiced everything, hoodies, crisp air and crunchy leaves....and chili.  Chili in my family was always a big deal, and served at almost every football game!  Load it up with toppings of your choice, and you have a perfect meal to eat while screaming at the TV!  Because, if we're being honest, the team and refs can totally hear us!

Sauerbraten with Spatzle

Hello, everyone, or should I say, guten tag!  Happy Tuesday!  As I've mentioned, several time before, my husband is fortunate enough to be able to travel to Germany, usually once per year, for work.  While he's there, he tells me about all of the amazing food that he's indulging in, and while I've never been able to go, I like to try my hand at a few staple favorites.

Arancine (fried risotto balls)

Hello, everyone!  Happy Thursday!  The weekend is well on its way, so why don't we celebrate with some fried stuff with cheese?  I don't know if you're familiar with arancine, but these little lovelies are just leftover risotto, surrounding a filling of choice (mine just happened to be little balls of mozzarella cheese), coated in panko bread crumbs, then fried until golden brown and delicious!

Tabbouleh

Hi, everyone!  Happy Tuesday!  Today I'm going to make up one of my favorite side dishes, a lovely tabbouleh salad.  If you're not familiar with tabbouleh, it is a quinoa with vegetables and feta cheese!  What's not to like?!

Rice pilaf

Hello, everyone!  Happy Tuesday!  The other day, during my brown rice (beef consume rice) post, I spoke about the boxed San Francisco treat rice that is a very common side dish, and it got me thinking about doing a post on a homemade version.  

Brown Rice (Beef Consume Rice)

Hello, everyone!  Happy Tuesday!  I don't know about you, but I, for one, am very excited to be going through a new week!  I was horribly sick last week, and am very excited to say that I'm feeling much better!  I'm still pretty weak, so I figured I would put together a quick and easy recipe for today's post! 

This is a very easy recipe that is always a crowd pleaser - for some reason, we usually had it on holidays growing up; I still don't make it that often, and every time I make it, I always question why I don't!  

Chicken Cacciatore

Hello, everyone!  What a crazy week!  Yesterday was my birthday, and it was a really, really lovely day, from the overflow of love from friends and family, down to the amazing weather; hard to ask for a better day!

My husband took our daughter to school with me (she loves when Daddy is able to come with us!), after which he and I went to one of our favorite cafes for a quick breakfast!  

After that, I went over to the dollar store, and picked up a ton of stuff for my daughter's Easter basket!  I love that they have licensed Disney stuff, all for a dollar!  I know Easter is a couple of weeks away, but I'm a big time planner, so I'm happy now that her Easter basket is all together and ready to go!

Wow!  That was a little bit off course from why we're here today, wasn't it?
Anyway, my point is, I had a really lovely birthday, and while I didn't have this for my birthday supper, it is one of my favorite suppers to have.  

Guinness Beef Stew

Hello, everyone!  It looks like we're in the countdown to St.Patrick's day, and the internet being filled with green foods and beer.  There's nothing wrong with that, but I wanted to do something slightly more authentic.  This beef stew is really lovely, with the soft potatoes, tender meat and the slightly biter flavor of the Guinness, it is in pretty steady rotation in our house!

Shrimp and Corn Chowder

Hello, everyone!  Happy Thursday!  I don't know about where you are, but it is snowing here, and the whole state has lost their minds!  I'm in the South, so we get one, mayyybbbeee two snow days per year, and when we do get snow, everyone panics and buys up all of the milk and bread in the grocery store.

This always baffles me.  Between tonight and tomorrow morning, we're supposed to get between 6-8 inches, and while that is a lot (for us, anyway), it will all be gone in a day or so.  It's not like we're going to be snowed in for days and days.
There have been a couple of times where I've gone to the store, in actual need of milk - I have a kid, we go through a lot of milk, only to either go to multiple store, or debate between getting her buttermilk or a bunch of the single serving containers to hold her over.
Not to mention that I love milk, too, but these are some desperate times!

14 Bean Soup

Hello, everyone!  We've started another week, and while we're one week closer to spring, we're still in the grips of winter.  As I've stated before, during the winter, I love a nice stick to your ribs meal, that I can curl up and dive into.
Is it possible to curl up and dive into something at the same time?  I'm not sure...I'll say it is with a bowl of soup!

Chicken 'n Dumplings

Hello again, everyone!  I'm going to let you in on a little secret today.  I hate that my husband travels so much for work, however, when he does, I get to make my favorite dishes that he doesn't like!  

I cannot for the life of me understand what he has against chicken 'n dumplings, but, I guess that's more for me!  The broth is comforting, and the dumplings are tender!  

Easy peasy broccoli and cheese soup

I love broccoli and cheese soup.  And I mean llloovvveeee broccoli and cheese soup!  I love broccoli, I love cheese, and I love soup!  What's not to love??  I love to curl up on the couch with a big bowl, grab some oyster crackers and dig in!
The problem that I have, is that I'm the only one in my house that likes it.  The easy solution I have, is that since my husband travels often, I get to eat this a few times every winter!  The best part, is that this takes less than an hour to put together, and I get to eat off of it for days!

This one is going to go by pretty quick, so let's get started!

Pressure cooker beef stroganoff

Like I was saying on Tuesday, I love stick to your ribs meals during winter, and it is hard to find a meal that fits into that category more  than this one!  I love beef stroganoff, but my husband doesn't care for it (he doesn't like mushrooms or sour cream), so I usually make it when he's out of town.  Just so happens, he's out of town!
That being said, with trying to keep up with a 3 year old, and putting her to bed while getting supper together for myself...well, if it weren't for my pressure cooker, beef stroganoff would just not happen.
However, I do have a pressure cooker, therefore, I do have beef stroganoff!  

Chicken pot pie

Hello, everyone!  Happy Tuesday!  I'm a big time seasonal cooker, and I don't just mean cooking with foods that are "in season" (although I do that, too); I mean, I cook certain foods more during certain seasons.  For me, winters are filled with soups and stews, and some heavier comfort food!  Chicken pot pie certainly fits that bill!  This hearty, rustic dish is flavorful and stick to your ribs comfort food!  This pot pie comes together very quickly (not including the time it takes to cook the chicken), feeds an army, and is very impressive looking, making it great for entertaining!

Turkey and kale soup

I love soups in the winter!  They're a great way to stretch your protein, and a wonderful way to clean out your fridge of veggies that need to be used.  If I'm rummaging around the fridge, and notice that I have some veggies that need to be used up, I just toss 'em into a pot with some chicken stock, and simmer until done.  Boom!  Healthy, easy, and yummy!  

Spatzle with jager sauce

I love cooking foods from different areas in the world.  As much as I love to travel, I don't often get a chance to do so; however, I can travel through food.  And I do that way more often!  As I said in my pork schnitzel, my husband gets to travel to Germany about once per year, and he comes home raving about the food.
The first time he came back, he told me about the schnitzel, and the spatzle.  I had no problems whipping up the schnitzel, but I had no idea how to go about making spatzle.  I asked him to help me find a recipe, but nothing ever came of that.  I could find recipes, but I wasn't sure how things were supposed to look, taste, or cook.  Not helpful.  Thankfully, after a few trial and errors, I have it figured out, and am excited to share a few tips and tricks that I have picked up along the way!  

Roasted garlic, lemon chicken soup

Hello everyone!  I'm sure school has started in your neck of the woods, and as we all know, when school starts, your child starts to bring home illnesses along with mounds and mounds of paperwork!  This has been the case in our house, as our daughter brought home a cold last week.  Great.  When someone in our house has a cold (or whatever else), my go-to is instantly chicken soup.  I have a couple of variations of it, but this is one of my favorites.  Why?  It has lemon.  It has roasted garlic.  It has orzo.  What's not to like??

Beef Stock

I love my pressure cooker.  I went for years without using one, but boy oh boy was I hooked after my first experience, that's for sure!  There is almost no limit to the things you can do with a pressure cooker, but I use mine most often for making stocks.  I've already shown you how easy it is to make chicken stock in a pressure cooker, but today, we're going to see how easy it is to make beef stock!  The process is very similar, however, there are a few extra steps.