Lentil Soup Recipe

This recipe originated with a friend of my mom’s from way back when I was little. It has since been passed down to me. I’ve modified it some to fit my tastes but it is YUMMO.

Ingredients:

1/2 bag lentils (any color will do I usually use brown)
1lb Polska Kielbasa
1 or 2 potatoes diced small
1/2 large onion diced small
spoonful diced garlic
couple shakes of salt
1 tsp Marjoram
1 large can diced tomatoes
slices of swiss cheese

What you do:

Slice kielbasa (I usually cut slices in half so there seems to be more meat).

Brown kielbasa in a large pot.

Add potatoes, onion and garlic cook 5 minutes or so to blend the flavors.

Add salt and marjoram cook for 5 min to blend flavors

Add rinsed lentils and 8 cups of water.

Stir it up and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add tomatoes and lower the heat.

Cook until lentils are your desired tenderness.

Serve topped with a slice of swiss cheese.

Enjoy!

Thanks for coming back! I love return visitors. Feel free to leave a comment I love to hear from you. If you aren't already why not follow me on twitter? Filed under Kitchen Antics | Comment (1)

Hot Pot Solar Cooker ~ A Cool Crock Pot

If you love crock pot cooking this is gonna be cool for you ~ another kind of slow cooker ~ a SOLAR cooker. The Hot Pot Solar Cooker is like a crock pot powered by the sun. How cool!? It takes about an hour for the cooker to heat up to cooking temperatures and can stay at those temps for up to 6 hours.

What a fun way to start teaching about solar power and ecology ~ or just a great way to keep the kitchen cool in the summer!!

The Hot Pot Solar cooker is pretty affordable, and if you do a lot of camping could be a great way to cook home cooked meals while still giving you time to go off and have fun.

Here’s a great video of the hot pot solar cooker in action.  Looks like the Frijoles are boiling, so I imagine it gets hot enough to really cook your food.

I’d love to hear if any of you already have the hot pot Solar cooker ~ please leave your comments below, I think it sounds like great fun!!

Filed under Kitchen Antics | Comment (0)

Dinner in a Pinch ~ What to do with these 5 ingredients?

This has been a weird week or two ~ our schedules have been totally whacked out and the one night Ryan was home I had no idea what to cook for dinner.

I really wanted to get in the car and go out to eat ~ but we’re working on eating at home so I went in the kitchen and dug around.

Here’s what I found:

hamburger (bought on sale a couple weeks ago)
pasta (was looking for elbow ~ but we only had small shells)
tomatoes (diced in a can)
frozen corn (big bag $1 on sale)
an onion

I also had some homemade gourmet Garlic basil seasoning in the cupboard too. (if you don’t have Homemade Gourmet spices you can just use garlic and basil to season the dish

Here’s what I did:

Threw the shells in boiling water while I fixed the rest.

Browned 1/2lb of the hamburger and put the rest back in the freezer. (Normally would have used the whole pound, but it was just as good with half and we saved half the money)

Chopped up the onion and threw it in.

Added a spoonful of chopped garlic.

Added a can of diced tomatoes.

Added a cup or so of frozen corn.

When the pasta was done I mixed it all up in a bowl and served it up.

How’d it turn out?

Quite good actually. Even hubby asked ~ was this a recipe or did you just make it up? When I get that question I have to ask because he could either hate it or love it. This time he loved it.

I also quartered some cucumbers which we have plenty of from the garden.

When I added it up I think this meal came in right at $4.00. The thing is it ended up being more than enough for two meals ~ we had it again the next night (and it was better the second time around). So each dinner cost about $2.00.

Pretty exciting.

I have to say ~ I have never in my life thought about cooking dinner like this. I have to thank $5 Dinners for getting my brain going this way ~ it’s almost a game now! I’m having a lot of fun putting together dinner for less than $5!

Filed under Kitchen Antics | Comment (0)

Old Fashion Homemade French Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

If you’re looking for a rockin’ ice cream recipe here ya go! Enjoy.

Old Fashion French Vanilla Ice Cream

What You Need:

1/2 C sugar
1/4 t salt
1 C of milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 T vanilla
2 C whipping cream, chilled

How to Make It:

Dump the sugar into a heavy duty saucepan.

Sprinkle the salt over the sugar.

Pour the milk into the saucepan and stir to combine.

Add the egg yolks and stir until all the ingredients are combined together well.

Place the pan over medium heat and stirring constantly cook 3 minutes or until bubbles begin to appear around the edges.

Remove the pan from the stove and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
Stir in the vanilla.

Pour the ice cream into a refrigerator try and place in the freezer 45 minutes or until mushy.
Place 2 bowls in the refrigerator to chill.

Add the whipping cream to the chilled bowl and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks begin to form.

Spoon the partially frozen ice cream mixture into the second chilled bowl.

Beat with the mixer on medium speed until smooth.

Fold the whipped cream into the mixture well.

Pour the ice cream evenly into 2 refrigerator trays and cover with wax paper.

Freeze at least 3 hours or until firm stirring the ice cream mixture about every 10 minutes for the first hour of freezing time.

Makes 1 quart of ice cream

To make this ice cream in a crank style ice cream maker, follow the above directions to where you add the vanilla.  Add the vanilla and whipping cream together. Pour 1/2 of the mixture into the freezer can of ice cream maker.  Fill the freezer tub 1/3 full of ice and then add the remaining ice cream.  Crank until it becomes too difficult to turn.  Drain off water, replace the lid and allow the ice cream to ripen for at least 4 hours.

Filed under Kitchen Antics | Comment (1)

Wonderful Ways to Use Watermelon

It’s that time of year again – time to enjoy some of nature’s most delicious foods. Summertime yields some of the juiciest and sweetest fruits there are and watermelon is on the top of my list. Why do I love watermelon so much? It’s sweet, juicy and refreshing.

Just the thought of a juicy slice makes my mouth water, especially on a hot summer’s day. Not only that, but some of that pretty red and green fruit brightens up any plate or table; not to mention how good it is for you. All the water in watermelon will fill you up and naturally cleanses your body. Yes, I know the seeds can be a little annoying, but to me, they are worth the work of picking them out (or spitting them out…politely of course) for all the other benefits you get from watermelon.

Here are some of my favorite ways to use Watermelon

–> The obvious is to slice it up into triangular pieces, small enough for little hands. Divide them up into storage containers and place them in the fridge for easy access. I know if something is in sight and easily accessible my family will eat it up. On the other hand, if it takes a lot of work or is out of sight they won’t touch it. Obviously you will want to take out the seeds first, before storing it for the smaller kids.

–> For a beautiful side dish on any table, lay the watermelon on its side and cut about 1/4 of the top off using a zig-zag motion, which will make a nice oblong “bowl”.  Slice about a 1/4 of the bottom off to make a stable base. You can use a round watermelon as well.

Create little melon balls by scooping out the fruit with the help of a melon-baller. Remove the seeds as much as possible while scooping. You will want to place the melon balls in a bowl while scooping, then once the inside of the melon is fairly clean and smooth, place the melon balls inside the watermelon bowl.

You can add other melon like cantaloupe and honey dew as well, if desired. The top part of the watermelon can be used as a lid if transporting. Be sure to use the flesh from the lid as melon balls as well so not to waste any of the delicious goodness.

For the more creative readers, create shapes out of the watermelon like fish and cars. A great site to learn how to make shapes out of watermelon is the National Watermelon Promotion Board.

–> For breakfast, dice up some seeded watermelon; layer with banana slices, apples, oranges or other fruit of your liking. Add some yogurt and granola for a tasty and healthy morning starter.

–> A fun appetizer is to make watermelon checkers. Cut equal sizes of 1/2 inch thick squares of watermelon and your favorite cheese. Layout like a checkerboard, alternating watermelon and cheese. Cut small circles of the watermelon and cheese to use as checkers. What a fun creative appetizer to serve at any summer outing.

–> For a fun and healthy summertime treat kids will love, make watermelon “ice cream” cones. Using regular cake cones fill the bottom of each cone with a tablespoon of pineapple cream cheese frosting. Then place a spoonful of dried Craisins over the frosting. Using an ice cream scoop, place a scoop of seedless watermelon over the Craisins, then top with sprinkles. You’ll have a healthy, delicious and adorable treat kids ask for again and again. Great for birthday parties, 4th of July or anytime.

–> Another fun treat kids and adults both enjoy is Frosted Watermelon. Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out cookie-like shapes from the watermelon. Frost with flavored yogurt and sprinkle with granola. You can also use classic watermelon wedges instead of cookie shapes.

These ideas will brighten up any table, plus give the added benefits of eating something delicious and healthy. Watermelon really is nature’s healthy, sweet treat.

Filed under Kitchen Antics | Comment (0)

PB & J Chicken Stew

I’ve had a couple people ask me what Peanut Butter and Jelly Chicken stew is so I thought I’d share the recipe with you here. This recipe comes from my favorite CrockPot Cookbook ~ 300 Slow Cooker Favorites

I’m not big on following the recipe when it comes to crock pot cooking. I just threw everything in the pot and let it cook. After a couple hours I stirred it all up and then let it cook for the rest of the cooking time. Here’s the real recipe from the book.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Chicken Stew

What you need:

8 skinless chicken breasts, thighs or drumsticks (Iused chicken quarters since I had a huge bag that was stuck together and I had to defrost the whole dang thing to use some for Morrocon chicken a couple nights ago)

1 large onion chopped

1 cup mushrooms, quartered

2 tbsp fresh parsley (I used dry~ just sprinkled it on, didn’t have any fresh)

1 cup chicken stock (used my favorite “Stock in a Box” by Rachel Ray)

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

1/4 cup grape jelly or berry jam or jelly

1 tbsp tomato paste (I seriously need to get some tomato paste in a tube so I quit wasting most of a can)

1/2 tsp salt

1 red pepper cut into 1/2 inch strips (left it out since we didn’t have any on hand ~ probably would have added a nice flavor though)

2 tbsp chopped peanuts (skipped this too, didn’t have any on hand)

What you do:

Place the chicken pieces in slow cooker. Sprinkle onion, mushrooms, parsley around and on top of chicken.

IN a bowl, combine stock, peanut butter, jelly, tomato paste and salt. Pour sauce over chicken and vegetables.

Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours or on high for 2 1/2 to 4 hours, until chicken is no longer pink. (It was done right at 5 hours with my crock pot)

Add red peppers. Cover and cook on high for 20 – 25 minutes or until peppers are tender.

Garnish with chopped peanuts.

I served this over rice, the sauce was so good. I also served up a side salad for those of us who eat salad in this house. (that being the girls lol).

Let me know if you try it and what you think.

Filed under Kitchen Antics | Comments (5)

How Many Times a Day Do You Say Yes?

It’s funny how little lessons and aha moments can be wrapped in the oddest things.  As part of my marketing for one of my sites I’ve decided to use video.  I’ve been meaning to do this for well, ever. I finally decided to get down to it and just do it.

I’ve done a few “inspirational” type videos before, and wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to create a marketing video, and for a site filled with easy chicken recipes no less.  It occured to me yesterday afternoon I could do it very much like the inspirational videos and just take pictures through the process of creating the meal.

I found a great recipe to work with and then realized I didn’t have one of the ingredients. A quick trip to the store here is a 15 minute trip each way. So I packed Hanna in the car and trekked on out there and back. It was getting late by this time . . . how does the day slip away so quickly?

I started pulling together the ingredients so I could get a group shot before we started, and realized I was out of garlic powder. How on earth that happens I have no idea. I use garlic powder in almost everything. Ok cancel the salt in the recipe and throw in garlic salt instead.

I started putting the dish together taking pictures after each step. That’s when my husband comes home and asks if I just took a picture of raw chicken lol.

After the chicken was in the oven I decided to make some cornbread to go with it and realized we had no milk. Who drank the last of the milk? Well since I pour for two people who live here, it must have been the third. I thought about running back to the store but the chicken wouldn’t take that long to cook.

I finally decided to call our “neighbors” (they live about a mile away) and ask to borrow some milk. They agreed and I ran over. When I got there I was bludgeoned by a Christmas decoration explosion. I forgot their house is on the Christmas parade of homes, and WOW. It was beautiful, but I can’t imagine having the time to put all that stuff up, and THEN have to take it all back down again! We barely got one tree up.

Dinner was delicious. If you’d like the recipe you can get it on this quick chicken recipes lens. It’s the Mexican chicken one.  I’m also going to put the video on there as soon as I get it finished.

Which leads me back to this whole video thing. I’m trying to decide whether I should use music in the background or just narrate the process.  Each thing brings its own difficulties, finding music I can legally use, or figuring out how to capture my voice on the computer and effectively put it together with the images.

It dawned on me through this whole process how many times in a day or a project I have the choice to give up. We are big on giving choices to Hanna around here, she seems much happier when she has control over some of the things going on in her life, but I never really thought about the choices I make.

I’ve always been one to say you always have a choice, but never really realized how many times in one day I choose to keep going, when I could just as easily just quit.

There are at least 3 or 4 times I could have chosen to throw in a pizza or call for chinese food during that meal. I could have chosen not to do the video because I didn’t know exactly how I was going to do it. I could have chosen not to make the corn bread when I realized I didn’t have milk. I could have chosen not to make the video when I realized I didnt’ know how to do the sound. I still can choose not to do the video when I realized I STILL have no clue how to make the audio work.  I could always choose not to do something that makes me money while I’m sitting here at this computer working.

I’ve heard a quote about the fact you make a choice every second of your life, and I suppose it is true. I guess this is where having an outcome in mind helps you navigate all those choices. No matter what it’s about.

My desired outcome for my daugther is to be a self starting, independant thinker, who is happy and healthy. That really makes a difference in how I make choices in relation to her. If I just wanted a kid who did what she was told I would probably be making very different choices in the way I deal with her.

It’s the same with being able to work from home. Man, I have had a million (at least) choices to say no to this and walk away. But I have a desired outcome I’m working toward, and I just keep making choices second by second that will drive me in that direction.

I am not a huge fan of goals. I think we beat ourselves about the head and shoulders with goals, but I do believe in knowing where you want to be, or how you want the situation to turn out. It gives me a great way to navigate, not only my actions, but the emotions needed to get there.

This is turning into a crazy rambly post, I guess I had some things in my head I needed to work through. Thanks for listening and I’ll let you know how the video turns out.

Filed under Kitchen Antics | Comment (0)

Making Magic In the Middle Cookies

I’m not much of a baker, but it is the holidays, and these cookies looked just too good to pass up.

So Hanna and I decided to tackle this delicious baking project. She and I have never really baked together before. She loves to cook, so she was all about it.

She helped pour the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl,and roll the “magic middles”.

Then she was all about rolling the big chocolate balls in sugar.

I didn’t realize how fun it would be to bake with the little monkey. She is very “me do it”, but she was able to be patient and help with the parts that were good for little fingers.

All in all we had a blast. The last batch is baking in the oven, and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into them.

I found the recipe for these “Magic in the MIddle” cookies on The Recipe Girl, a great recipe blog.  The cookies are a chocolate outside with a yummy peanut butter surprise in the middle.  It was a little complicated, but not difficult, just quite a few steps. It was a nice treat to spend a while with Hanna baking though.

Here’s how our cookies turned out.

Hanna has just declared them “delicious!”

Grab your kids and cook some yummy Magic in the Middle Cookies.  We’ve got some Sugar Cookies to make on Wednesday for Santa, so we’ll be back in the kitchen soon.

Filed under Kitchen Antics | Comment (0)