Hello again!

Hello Blog Readers!

My last week of posts was the end of May.  You probably thought I'd given up cooking or blogging or both!  Here's what happened:  At the end of May my husband and I took a trip to Austin, Texas to see if we might want to move there.  We loved it!  So, between then and now we've been selling a house (try keeping a house clean with four boys running around during the summer-that's a fun challenge!), packing up and moving, saying good-bye to friends we dearly love, and unpacking again in Texas, getting kids started in school, getting lost every day trying to figure out this new city and basically having one great big adventure.  It's a strange feeling to turn your entire life upside down and move to a new place after living in Utah for 18 years.

I'm back to the kitchen and computer now and looking forward to adding new recipes and ideas to this blog that will hopefully help you and your family.

Melanie

Garlic Chicken with Orzo

from allrecipes.com, submitted by VBRAUER671

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cloves garlic 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast

halves - cut into bite-size pieces salt to taste 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 2 cups fresh spinach leaves grated Parmesan cheese for topping

DIRECTIONS:

1.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add orzo pasta, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain.

2.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the garlic and red pepper 1 minute, until garlic is golden brown. Stir in chicken, season with salt, and cook 2 to 5 minutes, until lightly browned and juices run clear. Reduce heat to medium, and mix in the parsley and cooked orzo. Place spinach in the skillet. Continue cooking 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

I added one can of italian stewed tomatoes, chopped in the blender for a few seconds, instead of the parsley.  It just sounded good!  And it was good.  The only complaint was the spinach.  I used baby spinach so the leaves were smaller than the regular kind, but I didn't break them up into even smaller pieces.  And when they are wilted they are long and slimey, really.  The boys didn't like that one bit!  I'd probably decrease the amount of spinach by half and chop the leaves a little before adding it to the dish.

Husband rating:  3 stars

Boys say:  mixed reviews

Fruit Dip

from allrecipes.com, submitted by RNACSHHS

INGREDIENTS:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a medium bowl, blend the cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Chill in the refrigerator 1 hour before serving.

I followed some suggestions from other reviewers.  I added a little lemon juice and wish I'd added some of the zest from the lemon.  I also added two spoonfuls of strawberry yogurt.  I thought the strawberry yogurt was a little overpowering for the flavor I was expecting.  

The kids loved this!  As if you couldn't make fruit any better, give the kids something to dip the fruit in and it kicks things up a notch!  

This does make a lot of dip.  I would cut it in half for personal use or use the normal amount for a party.  

Boys say:  thumbs up

Orange Rosemary Chicken

from allrecipes.com, submitted by DEERPANT

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups orange juice 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 (2.5 pound) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a medium bowl, mix the orange juice, olive oil, chives, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Place the chicken in the mixture. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator at least 4 hours.
2.	Preheat the oven broiler.
3.	Remove the chicken from the marinade, and shake off excess. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes; set aside.
4.	Arrange the chicken on a baking sheet. Broil 30 minutes in the preheated oven, 6 to 8 inches from heat. Turn and brush frequently with the remaining marinade mixture, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

I actually tossed the chicken (I used chicken breasts) on the grill but using the broiler would be fine too.  I really enjoyed the flavors in this dish.  We had steamed chopped zucchini and yellow squash with this.  This is another healthy, easy and inexpensive meal.  

Husband rating:  4 stars

Boys say:  thumbs up

Grilled Pork Chops and Sauce

from allrecipes.com, submitted by ScorpioGG

INGREDIENTS:

2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons brown sugar 3 tablespoons honey 3 tablespoons soy sauce 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 2 teaspoons ketchup

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 (6 ounce) thick-cut boneless pork loin chops

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Mix the garlic, brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, ginger, onion powder, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper together in a bowl. Pour half the mixture into a large plastic zipper bag, and place the pork chops into the marinade. Squeeze the air out of the bag, and seal the bag. Refrigerate 4 to 8 hours, turning occasionally. Refrigerate remaining marinade in the bowl.
2.	Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil the grate.
3.	Remove the pork chops from the plastic bag, and shake excess droplets of liquid from the chops. Discard the marinade from the plastic bag. Grill chops on the preheated grill, basting with the reserved marinade until meat is browned, no longer pink inside, and shows good grill marks, 8 to 10 minutes per side. A meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a chop should read at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).
4.	Pour remaining reserved marinade into a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook the marinade until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes, stirring constantly; serve sauce with chops.

We had these tasty pork chops with steak fries and a green salad.  We made more pork chops than we needed.   We used some the next day in a wrap.  I thinly sliced the pork chops and added some coleslaw to that and wrapped that all in a tortilla.  

Husband rating:  4 stars

Boys say:  thumbs up

Oatmeal Pancakes

found on rachaelray.com by Emily Wyckoff, with a few changes

Oatmeal Pancakes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup white or white whole wheat flour

3/4 cup oats, ground in food processor

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/4 cup milk

4 tablespoons butter, melted (or 4 tbsp applesauce)

1/3 cup chocolate chips or blueberries

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

2. In a small, bowl whisk together the egg, milk and butter. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.

3. Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium heat (about 375 F) and butter or spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour batter in 1/4 cupfuls, add any extras like the chocolate chips or blueberries and cook until the edges are cooked and bubbles form on the surface. Flip the pancakes and cook until the other side is golden brown, about 2 minutes.

4. Enjoy!

I doubled this recipe for our family of six. I poured the batter on the griddle then dropped a few blueberries on some, a few chocolate chips on others and left a few without anything else so we had three different flavors to choose from. My husband and I liked the blueberry ones the best. The boys liked the chocolate chip ones, which I'm sure doesn't surprise you!

I tried it with the applesauce and they were great.

Husband rating: 4 stars
Boys say: thumbs up!

Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage

from ourbestbites.com

1 pound Italian sausage or Italian turkey sausage (“hot” or “sweet”)
1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt
3 cups water
12 ounces (about 3 3/4 cups) ziti pasta
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (fresh is best, but if you need to sub dried, use a heaping tablespoon of dried basil and add it in with the tomatoes)
ground black pepper
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (1 cup)

Note: This recipe is to be cooked in a 12 inch skillet.  I recommend using one slightly larger if you’re adding the sausage as well.  Make sure your skillet is oven proof (no plastic handles) and has a lid.

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 475 degrees.  Pulse the tomatoes with their juice in a food processor until coarsely ground and no large pieces remain, about 12 pulses.

Remove sausage from casings and cook, crumbling with a spatula until browned and cooked through, about 3-5 minutes.  Heat 12-inch or larger oven-safe skillet to medium high heat and add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil.  (If you’re not using sausage, just add a little more olive oil and start with the next step, sautéing the garlic and pepper flakes.)  

Add garlic and red pepper flakes to sausage and cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.   Stir in the processed tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the water, then add the pasta.  Cover, increase the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring often and adjusting the heat to maintain a vigorous simmer, until the pasta is tender, 15-18 minutes.

Stir in the cream, Parmesan, and basil and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over the top.  Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the cheese has melted and browned, about 8-10 minutes (or just until melted, like, 1-2 minutes).  Serve.

I recommend dumping everything into an oven safe dish and cooking it in there, instead of in the pan.  Or you could do that but be very very careful not to think the handles are cool or you might burn yourself when you take it out of the oven or are serving this. Just saying!  

I don't like ground turkey.  I have never found a version of ground turkey or a recipe with it I could like.  Until now!  I used the Italian sweet turkey sausage and it was actually good in this recipe!  I love using fresh basil. Don't substitute the dry basil in this recipe.  Fresh basil and tomatoes are a match made in heaven!

Also, my store didn't have ziti so if you run into that pick a pasta with some texture to help hold onto the sauce.

Husband rating:  4 stars

Boys say:  thumbs up