Menu September 10

Watermelon Rind Pickles: I remember when I was little having Watermelon Rind Pickles my grandma made. I saw something in a magazine this summer that made me decide I wanted to try making them myself. We've been enjoying these summery pickles immensely.

Cinnamon Sugar French Toast Bites: I ended up using my regular French Toast recipe but the method from this recipe and we really enjoyed the end product. We think the big difference is the extra surface area that can get toasty and therefore delicious.

Black Beans & Rice Burritos: According to my husband, for a meatless meal this was pretty good. We all loved this, even the 10-month old so we will surely have them again.

 

Grilling Glaze: This is the second time we've tried this simple glaze and have been extrememly impressed both times. {Recipe coming soon}

On the Menu...

Hawaiian Tuna Sandwiches (made with chicken instead) with Corn on the Cob {our daughter absolutely loves corn on the cob right now}
Cream Cheese Pasta with Breadsticks
Stuffed Peppers {New} with Creamy Corn Salad
Cheesy Salsa Meatloaf {from the freezer} with Twice Baked Potatoes
Chicken Fajita Pizza
Chocolate Banana Melts {New}
We were given a lot of tomatoes from a church member so I'll also make Red Sauce for the freezer.

Visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas.

Pear Chicken Salad Sandwiches

We are blessed to have two pear trees in our backyard. I never would have thought to put fruit trees in so it was definitely a bonus when we discovered them in the backyard. We got about fifteen pounds of pears this year so definitely lots of pears for experimenting.

When grapes were on sale I knew one great use for some pears would be a chicken salad. I looked at a few recipes for inspiration and then just started putting things in the bowl. It turned out quite well and thankfully I took notes!

Pear Chicken Salad Sandwiches

 Print Recipe

Yields: 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 cup grapes, halved

1 medium pear, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

2 cooked chicken breasts, diced

3 T onion, diced

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup mayonaise

salt & pepper

1/8 tsp dill

1/4 tsp parsley

dash nutmeg

dash ginger

Directions:

   1.  Mix ingredients in a medium bowl; refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve on bread or rolls.

Friday Foreshadowing

Fall is starting to make its rounds and I love it! We're getting close to soup weather, aromatic baking and cooler weather.

• Pasta and Pea Soup from Rachael Ray: This looks like such a neat dish, I think largely due to the different shaped pasta. Fun pasta aside I still think it will be good.
• Apple Cinnamon Raisin Bars from Gimme Some Oven: Oh I can just imagine the smell of these while baking. They look beautiful.
• Baked Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes from Pennies on a Platter: We tried "fake" donut holes one time last year and although it took a little time it was a fun and tasty so I'm definitely up for trying these.
• Impossible Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes from Baking Bites: And another glimpse of fall, this time in cupcake form.
• Homemade Yogurt from Simple Bites: I like my current yogurt recipe but my husband wouldn't mind if the end product were a little thicker. I read that this method, using a heating pad, gave a slightly thicker result so I'm willing to try it.

This is linked to Friday Favorites.

Crockpot Smokey Sesame Chicken

My husband loves this recipe for Sesame Chicken. However, though it is quite tasty it does take a little bit of time to make. Right now I'm usually more interested in easier, less labor intensive meals. So, the hunt was on to find an easier Sesame Chicken recipe. After browsing a variety of recipes I ended up modifying my original recipe for the crockpot with fantastic results.

Crockpot Smokey Sesame Chicken
 Print Recipe
Yields: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breast
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chicken broth
~1 cup sugar
2 T vinegar
2 T soy sauce
2 T sesame oil
~1 T chili powder
~1 T garlic powder
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
sesame seeds
3 cups cooked rice

Directions:
   1.  Place whole chicken breasts and chopped onion in crockpot; top with chicken broth, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili powder and garlic powder.
   2.  Cook on low for 2 hours. Remove chicken and cut into pieces; return to crockpot and cook two hours longer.
   3.  Forty five minutes before serving combine cornstarch and water in a small dish; stir into sauce. Add celery. Cook on high until slightly thickened. Serve over rice, sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Menu August 27

Crockpot Smokey Sesame Chicken {Husband's Birthday Request}: This was lovely, as many crockpot meals are. {Recipe coming soon}

Stromboli {experimenting with freezing it}: Freezing this worked out quite well. I will definitely be making two the next time and stashing one in the freezer.

Pear Chicken Salad Sandwiches: We have two pear trees in our backyard so the race is on to use lots of pears. These sandwiches turned out great. {Recipe coming soon}

Southwestern Pizza: I checked the recipe right before we made the pizzas. When we sat down to eat we thought something was off so I checked the recipe again. Turns out there's supposed to be BBQ Sauce on it. Whoops! It was still good even with the sauce smeared on top instead.

Butterfinger Chocolate Caramel Cake: My husband's birthday was last week and he loves butterfingers so when I saw this a few weeks ago I knew this had to be his birthday cake. It was amazing! {Recipe coming soon}

On the Menu...
Black Beans & Rice Burritos
Chicken Tortilla Soup with Non-Grainy Cornbread 
Out for Husband's Belated Birthday Meal
Ham & Potatoes
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza
French Toast

Visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas.

Menu August 20

Crepes with ham and cheese filling: These were amazing! My crepe technique could probably use a little work but they were still good. I'd like to try freezing them because it would be a handy thing to have in the freezer.

Honey-Mustard Sesame Chicken Planks with Puffed Rice Casserole: This sounded like too much work on Thursday so instead we had what we called Breakfast Nachos {eggs, cheese, beans, corn on top of tortilla chips, topped with salsa}. It was perfect because they were quick and easy to throw together.

On the Menu...
Crockpot Sesame Chicken {Husband's Birthday request}
Cheesy Salsa Meatloaf
Stromboli {experimenting with freezing it}
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Southwestern Pizza
French Toast

Visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas.

S'mores Ice Cream Cake

I rip out a lot of recipe and sadly, many of them never get made. However, when I saw this in Woman's Day I knew I would definitely make it. It's a perfect summer treat, combining s'mores (quintessential summer food) and ice cream (again, goes hand in hand with summer). Within the first few bites my husband asked how hard this was to make. When I said it wasn't too bad he said "Good, because I think this should go on a card" (meaning it's a keeper!)
The steps might look a little intimidating but they're all easy. It's a standard graham cracker crust, followed by whipping some ingredients for the chocolate ice cream. Once you've made the chocolate layer you just do the exact same thing for vanilla and then you're practically done. Easy!

S'mores Ice Cream Cake
 Print Recipe
Source: Woman's Day
Yields: 12-16 slices

Ingredients:
1 sleeve graham crackers
2 T butter, softened
4 oz baking chocolate (I used semi-sweet, the original recipe calls for bittersweet.)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup mini marshmallows (or dehydrated, if you can find them)
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

   1.  Line a 9 inch cake pan with tinfoil, leaving excess draped over the edges.

   2.  In a food processor, pulse 8 graham crackers until finely ground. Add butter and pulse until combined; press into bottom of cake pan. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes; let cool.

   3.  Melt chocolate in microwave in intervals, stirring after every 30 seconds. Using the whisk attachment mix half the condensed milk (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons), 3/4 teaspoon vanilla and melted chocolate until combined. Add 1 cup heavy whipping cream and beat until thick, stiff peaks form. Fold in marshmallows; spoon mixture on top of graham cracker crust and spread evenly.

   4.  Clean the bowl and whisk. Using the whisk attachment, beat remaining sweetened condensed milk, 3/4 teaspoon vanilla and 2 cups heavy whipping cream until thick, stiff peaks form. Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips; spoon mixture on top of chocolate layer and spread evenly.

   5.  Break last graham cracker into small pieces and gently press into vanilla layer. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips and any graham cracker crumbs over top. Cover and freeze until firm, at least eight hours.

   6.  To serve, remove from pan and slice, dipping knife in water between cuts, as necessary.

This is linked to Finding Joy in My Kitchen.