Tortilla Pie

Tonight I tried a new recipe. It's actually on the cover of one of my cookbooks (well, a picture of the finished product is, anyway), and I've been wanting to try it. I decided this week was the week, and in fact, tonight was the night.

It's from the Southern Living at Home Easy Weeknight Favorites cookbook (a great cookbook!). The meal is called Tortilla Pie. I have to admit, I made several changes to it to suit our tastes... and suit our tastes it did!

Here you go!

Tortilla Pie

Prep: 11 minutes (!!)
Cook: 25 min.

1 (16-oz.) can refried beans (or black beans)
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
8 8-in. flour tortillas
1 cup chunky salsa
2 (4- or 6-oz.) cartons guacamole
1 (8-oz.) package shredded Mexican blend cheese
Garnishes: sour cream, lettuce, more salsa & guac

1. Combine first three ingredients (I combined black beans, 1 tsp. chili powder and I increased the cumin to 1 tsp. because I really like cumin)
2. Place 1 tortilla in the bottom of an 8-in. cake pan. Spread half the bean mixture on top. Place another tortilla on top of the beans. Spread 1/2 cup salsa (I didn't have any salsa and don't like chunks of tomato, so I did 1/2 can of refried beans then sprinkled chili powder and cumin on top). Top with another tortilla, and spread half of the guacamole, and top with another tortilla (I spread La Victoria taco sauce on this layer instead, as we don't care for guacamole). Next, sprinkle half the cheese, and top with a tortilla.
3. They tell you to repeat all the layers except the cheese. I just did one more layer for each type of bean.
*You can also put in a layer of meat, they suggest shredded chicken.
4. Cover (I forgot to do this, and it came out just fine) and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Cook 2-5 more minutes. Cut into wedges and serve (6 servings).

We used sour cream and shredded lettuce as our garnishes. Matt picked off the black beans, but he really liked it! He especially liked the tang of a little sour cream with each bite. I really liked it, and I loved how easy it was. :) Even without meat, we were both satisfied. :)

Happy tortilla-ing! :)

Matt's Final Birthday Party

Matt gets to have 3 birthday parties every year (it's so unfair!). :) This year, we celebrated on his birthday (July 1) with his parents and sister; then we celebrated on Saturday with my family; and lastly, he and I celebrated "just the two of us" this evening. I thought I'd share some pictures from our party. :)

Since we had a themed party back in TN, and he sprung on me yesterday that he wanted his party with me tonight, I got an exemption from thinking up another theme (I did Transformers last year). :) But we had a great time all the same.

I made chicken tortilla soup, bread bowls, and corn on the cob for dinner. As an appetizer when he got home from work, I had his favorite Green (iced) Tea waiting for him with some quesadillas, chips, and a yummy dip.


the bread bowl awaiting the soup



the birthday boy during dinner



pretty vase my birthday bouquet(s) came in now used as a votive holder... see how the design shines through to the tablecloth?



Bitsy's chocolate cake made an appearance! Mmmm mmmm good!



the loot

a cd he wanted

I wonder what this could be?

We like the wii. ;)


His final gift was hidden in the trunk of my car. This is Matt scurrying out to the garage when he figured out the clue I gave him as to the gift's whereabouts.


excited because he knows what it is AND where it is



an air compressor with 3 nailers--every man's dream (j/k)... he really did want it though, so he can finish our/do more crown molding

Hostessing

Tomorrow I am hosting a baby shower for a sweet friend who is due with a baby girl in August. This will be my first time really hosting a shower (I co-hosted a wedding shower for Matt & Ariana with Joy, but Joy did most of the prep as it was at her house). Whew! It's a lot of work, but I am pleased so far with how it's come together. Only 3 big boo-boos, and 2 of them were fixable. :)

What are the mistakes, you ask? Well, #1 A recipe I tried didn't work like it was supposed to, but instead of rolling it and then cutting swirly slices to bake, I just kinda plopped it all in the dish and baked it. It still smells delicious. :) #2 Publix forgot to put an "e" on the end of "welcome" as in "Welcome, Baby Katie," on the cake. I checked to make sure they spelled Katie right, but I didn't think to check the other words. Thankfully, my cashier looked to see what the cake said and noticed! Don't you just love Publix? :) They whipped up some pink icing and fixed it right up! #3 is the unfixable one. I was trying to make these as a favor for the guests (3 for each guest, and I was going to pipe a "K" on top of the "cupcake" for the baby's name). Well, I opened the fridge to put some bread away, and out came my cookie sheet of red velvet truffles. Only 18 out of over 50 survived (i.e. stayed on the cookie sheet, as opposed to the floor). I was pretty disappointed. :-( But you can't have it all, right? If I'd had time, I thought about finishing them off (they still needed the chocolate bark coating) and having one for each guest as birthday cakes, because one guest's birthday is tomorrow. But it's after midnight, and I'm EXHAUSTED! So, I'll finish them off for Matt later this week. :)

Lastly, I decided to take a trick from my mother, and I went ahead and set everything out for tomorrow (she does that for Thanksgiving or other really big, lots of people types of situations). Since it was all set up, I decided to take some pictures to show you!

The "cake toppers" that I made to match Baby Katie's nursery decor. I think I'll actually end up setting them right next to the cake, but all the same. :)

The cake (with an e at the end of Welcome :) )

In the foyer

On the coffee table in the den... may switch to living room. :) In fact, I probably will. :)
p.s. Don't mind the crazy pooch in the background.

Pitchers for orange juice and apple juice, a punch bowl for a punch I made, the coffee maker ready to go, and cups for all. :)

I even tried to set out serving utensils I think I'll need.

The food set up in the dining room. I tied a fork, spoon, and knife together in a pink napkin with a pink polka-dot bow. They're all in a basket, followed by plates, next will be a crockpot egg and cheese casserole, followed by the apple dumpling thing I had to dump instead of swirl, then a coffee cake, mini blueberry muffins, and mixed fruit. In the center 3 tiered platter I have cut up blueberry bagels and cinnamon/raisin swirl bagels and I made craisin scones. I also have strawberry and regular cream cheese and honey butter for that area.

The other side of the table.

So there you have it! I'm sure there will be more pictures tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: pasta bake
Tuesday: chili
Wednesday: taco pie
Thursday: teriyaki chicken with ginger rice
Friday: depending on when Tyson gets in town maybe veggie burgers, maybe pizza, we'll have to play that one by ear...
Saturday: chicken pot pie or grilled pork chops (that'll be the men's call) :)
Sunday: crockpot roast

**I am having trouble coming up with Tuesday night "beef" recipes that aren't basically Italian or Mexican recipes (to of our other dinner "themes" in the course of a week). Any ideas? Also, I'm going to start tutoring Tuesday night, so it'd be great if they were fast recipes. :) Am I asking too much? hehe Even if it's not fast, please share--I can always move an "easier" themed night to Tuesdays now that I'll be tutoring.

Yum Yum!

I have been wanting a good AND easy recipe for chicken and dumplings for awhile. I came across a recipe on this blog recently, and after that blogger's friend also gave it rave reviews, I just had to try it.

They were both right! It's SO good! If you have an "authentic" recipe, you may groan at this short cut, but it was perfect for us!

Normal Recipe - makes a big pot:
2 pounds of chicken boiled and deboned (save the broth)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 cans of biscuits
Salt and Pepper to taste

Boil the chicken in enough water to cover it. (about 15 minutes.)
Take chicken out of broth and debone and cut into small pieces.
Boil the chicken broth and the can of soup, and while boiling tear biscuits into small pieces and stir into the boiling broth.
When you have all the biscuits in the broth and stirred up, add the chicken and salt and pepper to taste.
Turn heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

NOW, Jenn's way:
6-7 good sized Tyson chicken strips
1 can cream of CHICKEN soup [her husband hates mushrooms...]
2 little cans of biscuits (or one normal sized can - about 10 biscuits)
About 1 cup of chicken broth (she covered the chicken MOST of the way with water to boil it, then use chicken broth to cover the rest.)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook as instructed above.

We highly recommend it! We used the "Jenn's way" making about half, and we even have some left-overs for lunch sometime!

Enjoy!

A New Recipe

Today was mix and match day on our new menu plan, and Matt has been asking me to make chicken tortilla soup since, well, for a really long time. :) He loves to get it in a bread bowl from McAlister's. I do not order it there, so part of my hesitation in making it at his request was I didn't know what it was supposed to taste like. :)

But, he asked again today, so I set to work looking for a recipe. I pulled several up on allrecipes.com, but then I searched google for chicken tortilla soup + McAlister's. Two contenders popped up as good options amongst the masses. Matt took a look at them and picked the one that sounded "closest" to him. :)

Off we went for a quick trip to Publix, and then it was cooking time! Here is the recipe we used:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 1/2 tsp. olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, minced I used onion flakes
  
• 2 Tbs. minced garlic I used garlic powder
  
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (28 oz.) can low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 c. plus 2 Tbs. water, divided
• 1/4 c. corn starch
• 1 (4 oz.) can green chiles
• 4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese (about 1 c.)
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro I skipped this
  
• 2 c. tortilla chips
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced

1. Bring about 1 inch of water to a boil in a skillet large enough to hold the chicken in one layer. Add chicken, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until chicken is done (about 15 min.). Drain chicken; cut into 1/2-in. cubes (I shredded the chicken instead of cubing it).
2. In a medium stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; saute until soft.
3. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes and their liquid, chicken broth, and 1/2 c. plus 2 Tbs. water
4. Stir together cornstarch and remaining 1/4 c. water in a separate bowl, and then stir into stockpot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 min., until broth is slightly thickened.
5. Stir in chiles, cheese, cilantro, and cooked chicken. Stir until cheese melts, then let simmer for 10 min.
6. Ladle soup into bowls, serve with chips on the side (or crumble a few chips over each bowl of soup). Garnish with green onions.

Yield: 4 servings

I actually doubled the recipe so we'd have some for the freezer. We each had PLENTY for dinner, and I have 3 more heaping qt. sized freezer bags for another day now.

Matt **really** liked it. He didn't recall the McAlister's soup being tomato-based, but he said this was delicious and the tomatoes just added a little sweetness to it. Per other recipes I saw, I added some black beans to my serving as well (Matt does not like them). Oh, and I added a shake or two of cumin, because I saw some of the other recipes called for fajita seasoning. Even though I had hesitations initially (I'm not a big soup person), it was really good, and I'm glad to have another recipe that cooks up a lot of extra food for the freezer. :) Even if I hadn't doubled it, we would have had at least one more *hearty* dinner in the freezer. :)

Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday

So, I am going to try something new with meal planning. I definitely don't prefer to just "think something up" when I get home from work. It's too tempting to #1- eat out by default (which we really don't do much), or #2- have Matt stop and pick up a few ingredients, which means I am not taking as much advantage of sale items at the grocery store. I usually make a weekly list, but to help me think of what to put on the weekly menu, I'm going to try a rotating plan. I'm not planning a whole month at once, because I do like to take sales into account in my planning. I design our weekly menu around what is on sale. But this way I'll have right in front of me some regular meals to rotate in and out depending on the sales. It also breaks things up into different "tastes" each day. It will not be hard and fast, set in stone. But I think it will cut some time off of deciding what to cook for the week, and hopefully help me rotate new/different recipes through more frequently.

Here's the schedule we'll try:

Mondays: Italian
Tuesdays: beef
Wednesdays: Mexican
Thursdays: chicken
Fridays: easy
Saturday: mix and match
Sunday: crockpot (now that our new small group meets Sunday late afternoon/early evening... more on that later :) )

So, then my Italian dishes to choose from currently are:
spaghetti
manicottis
alfredo
pasta bake
spaghetti pie
baked ziti
chicken parmesan
chicken cacciatore

beef:
stew
pot roast
goulash
chili
cubed steak
porcupine meatballs
hamb. stroganoff

Mexican:
hard, soft, or fractured tacos
enchiladas
taco pie
burritos

chicken:
chicken and biscuits
chicken pot pie
chicken and stuffing
company chicken
pineapple chicken
baked chicken
grilled chicken
teriyaki chicken
chicken ceasar salad
cornflake chicken
chicken packets
rice crispy chicken

easy:
frozen pizza
crescent roll pizza
frozen lasagna

mix and match:
pork chops (cook top or grill)
barbeque
ham slobs
something from another category
baked potatoes
potato soup

crockpot:
bbq crockpot chicken
crockpot pork roast
Italian chicken
(stew/pot roast)
(chili)
chicken and dumplings

Menu Plan Monday

Today commences our official thrust back into the swing of things (you should have seen Sammy's "what is going on?!" face when I was leaving for work... it was like she didn't even remember the days before lazing around the house with me home most of the day the last few weeks). Between traveling and just being totally out of routine, it's been awhile since I did a serious grocery shopping trip and planned a menu for the week.

Thankfully, there were some good sales, and we look forward to some good meals shared together! With just two of us, I usually just make a main dish and a side...

Sunday: spaghetti with rolls

Monday: chicken and biscuits with mashed potatoes

Tuesday: soft or fractured tacos

Wednesday: chicken alfredo with corn and rolls

Thursday: pork chops with mashed potatoes

Friday: lasagna with corn and rolls

Saturday: grilled chicken and potatoes

click the logo above to find more menus (some with links to the recipes!)

A New Treat

Tomorrow I will be taking dinner to a family at church who had a baby earlier this month. I'm going to make Mom's Italian crockpot chicken, take them a salad, some French bread, and I'm going to try a new dessert!

For Christmas I asked for the book Cookie Dough Delights. It's full of recipes that use refrigerated cookie dough as a short cut. I'm going to try Anytime Fruit Crumble (my first try from this book). It looks soooo good!! I'll let you know how it turns out. :) For now, here's the recipe so you can drool over it like we are. :)

1 21 oz. can of pie filling (I chose apple, because we've been hungry for apple pie--I know, more strange cravings from me)
2 18 oz. rolls of refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1 cup quick or old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
optional: vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 pan (or use two 8x8s) with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon pie filling into pan.
2. Crumble cookie dough into medium bowl; let stand 10-15 minutes to soften. Add oats and cinnamon; mix well with fingers, paddle attachment of a stand mixer, or a wooden spoon. Sprinkle mixture evenly over filling to cover.
3. Bake 24-28 minutes or until topping is a deep golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream, if desired.

Makes 10-12 servings.

Summer Kitchen

Easy Enchiladas

My mom has a yummy chicken and cheese enchilada recipe, BUT it requires turning the oven on. Especially in the time since I have moved to Florida, I try to avoid using the oven during the summer. So, I thought I'd share a few recipes we you that we enjoy all the more in the hot months!

This one came from the Campbell's Meal Mail daily emailed recipes.

Prep/Cook time: 5 minutes (!!)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup shredded chicken, beef, or pork (I've used chicken--not shredded--and ground beef/turkery, and it's been great)
flour tortillas
1/2 c. enchilada sauce (they recommend Pace, of course)
1/2 c. shredded Cheddar Jack cheese (I use what we have, sometimes it's just cheddar, sometimes cheddar, jack, and/or mozzarella)
--these recommendations are for one enchilada. I usually heat a pound of meat and then just eyeball how full to make them.

Directions
1. Place chicken down center of tortilla.
2. Top with half the enchilada sauce and half the cheese.
3. Roll up and place seam-side down on microwave-safe plate.
4. Top with remaining sauce and cheese.
5. Microwave on HIGH 1 1/2 to 2 min. or until cheese melts.


TIP: For a Cheesy Enchilada: Omit chicken/beef/pork and use 1 cup cheese. Place 3/4 cup cheese on tortilla. Top with half the enchilada sauce. Roll up and prepare as above.

It's quick, easy, yummy, doesn't dirty many dishes, and best of all, doesn't need the oven. :)
Enjoy!

Yum!

Last night I tried a new recipe I received in my email. I get daily emails from Campbell's and pretty frequent ones from Kraft with recipe ideas. The one I tried was from Campbell's for "Skillet Chicken Parmesan." My mom gave me a chicken parmesan recipe for the crock pot, but I haven't had time to try it. Doing everything in one skillet sounded quick and easy. I did make one change--I breaded the chicken before I put on the sauce. We both really liked it!! So, here you go. :)

Campbell's Skillet Chicken Parmesan

Prep/Cook Time: 25 min.


Ingredients:

6 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups Prego® Traditional Italian Sauce (I used Publix brand)
Vegetable cooking spray (I skipped this and use EVOO instead... use the nonstick spray ;) )
6 small boneless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 lb.) (I used several tenderloins)
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (I used mozzarella slices)
**Bread crumbs


Directions:

STIR 4 tbsp. Parmesan cheese into pasta sauce.
SPRAY skillet with cooking spray and heat 1 min.
**Dredge chicken in bread crumbs.
Add chicken to skillet and cook until browned. Drain.
POUR pasta sauce over chicken; turn breasts over to coat both sides with sauce. Cover and cook over medium heat 10 min. or until done.
TOP with mozzarella cheese and remaining 2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese.
Let stand 5 min. or until cheese is melted. Serves 6.

Picture Update

Ta-da!!! TWO cars in the garage--and just in time for the tropical storm to blow through! :) Praise the LORD!

Our hydrangea and lily waiting to be planted. All the hydrangea in our neighborhood is blue, so we're expecting the soil composition will turn these blue as well. It will be fun to wait and see! And we can always add things to the soil to keep them pink if we like, because I'm not sure about BLUE hydrangea and ORANGE lilies... hmmm, that might get us into trouble (orange and blue being FL gator colors).

The flowers after Matt planted them. :)

Our very own plam tree complete with fern growing out of the trunk. :)

The fun paver stones Matt uncovered simply by sweeping. :)

The chicken pot pie I made for dinner one night this week, with a heart with an M in the middle of my honey. :)

The same portion of kitchen floor as photographed before. I still have some more to scrub, but more and more of it has clean grout!

The built in china cabinet. I want to give it all another coat of paint, but here's an idea of how it looks. I know the stoneware bowls in the middle are different from everything else in it, but they tie in the colors of a painting in the dining room and the colors in the living room.

One side of the kitchen

The other side of the kitchen (please excuse the dishes drying on one side of the sink). :)

Tomorrow I leave for FOUR days at the Walt Disney World resort with my best friend, Erin! :) Her mom is putting us up at a resort hotel in Disney's Animal Kingdom. E said we might see giraffes from our room!! The first night we are browsing Epcot and having a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant. The next morning we are going to a character breakfast. :) And later in the week we're going to one of the signature restaurants for an extra nice dinner. :) It's supposed to rain every day, because of the tropical storm. But it's projected to take a pretty northern track, so we should just have scattered bands by the end of the week, at least. Hopefully it will clear up. :) It is such a blessing to have the gift of time with my best friend, and at Disney World no less! It's especially great since we practically live on opposite sides of the country and I've been rather lonely since school got out. This is the first summer since some time in high school that I haven't been summer nannying or teaching in the summer. I'm used to being needed or taking care of something/someone. I'm a little at loose ends here, and without many friends. God is good. :) The freezer is all stocked up with easy meals for my honey (easy being "peel plastic off tray, place in microwave). :) He is an EXCELLENT cook, but I wanted him to have an easy, relaxed, dish-less week while I'm gone. :) He works hard and deserves a break.

I ought to go get ready for bed so I can finish packing in the morning. I can't wait to come back with Disney World pictures for you!!!! :) Stay tuned! :)

Love and blessings,
Becca

Hip Hip Hooray!

Dad and Mom are here!!! :)

They arrived on Friday afternoon, and we having a GREAT time! I can't believe I went two months without getting to see them. But I am thankful it's only 1 month until we go up to K-town for spring break. :) If I did 8 weeks, surely I can make it through a 5 week stretch, right?

On Friday night we had Matt's favorite dinner that I have discovered (from the Southern Living Easy Weeknight Favorites cookbook), chicken and biscuits. Then we mostly talked and hung around. We also walked around the mall; Dad hadn't seen it. We found a pair of pants for me (yea--more work clothes!) and a few little things for Mom and Dad to take to friends in Knoxville for us. :)

Yesterday we slept in some, and then met up with Grandma, Auntie Carole, and Uncle Randy. Uncle Randy came with us to a flea market in Waldo. The three guys really enjoyed it. Mom and I quickly had our fill. :) But Uncle Randy found a hitch for Travis' car, so that was cool. And we found a really fun thing to take to Kylan on our next trip to Knoxville. :) We also stopped by my school before Uncle Randy headed on, so he got to see my classroom along with Mom and Dad, of course. It was fun to show them my room and a little tour of the school. :) I've been waiting and waiting for Mom and Dad to see my classroom. :) Yesterday afternoon, Dad fixed the "clunk, clunk" of my passenger door from when the kid opened his door into my car. He ALSO helped us with taxes AND we get a great refund! Praise the Lord--more down payment money! :) I made a new recipe for dinner last night. It was sweet and sour chicken, and we decided it turned out quite well. :)

Mom, Matt, and I made a quick run to Walmart to get some new air filters for the house and a new toilet paper holder. They have a kind of lame one in our downstairs bathroom, and Dad already fixed it once. It broke again. So, we just got a new one. :)

This morning we are getting ready for church. It's a little bit cooler, but still definitely Florida. :)

I'll write more later this week, but my observation(s) went really well. Thank you so much for all your prayers! I definitely felt prayed for and appreciate the calm and good report that came with them. :) Thank you, thank you!

We hope you've had a good weekend, and that you're not too chilly with all the snow, if you're in Knoxville or some other snowy place. :) We love you and miss you and hope to see you soon!

Love,
Becca

Just Like Mom's Kitchen

I finally got my "friends and family pictures" corkboard hung in the kitchen. I am excited to have it up, and it makes me smile whenever I walk into the kitchen. :) As you can see, we have room to grow, so feel free to send us fun pictures. :)


I also have pictures of a yummy cake we had. Matt was busy and stressed with work, so on one of my days off the beginning of last week, I decided to make a cake. It was a lemon cake with strawberry frosting, and quite delicious if I do say so. :) I also got to use my uber-cool tupperware cake saver thing. :) I baked the batter in 2 round cake dishes and got to make it a double layer cake, too! It made a surprisingly tasty combination with the Andes mint ice cream Matt brought home one night. Lemon, strawberry, and mint--who knew?!


Tomorrow is my new teacher induction program orientation. So, I get to sleep in a tiny bit, but I also will get done later than usual. 8:30-3:30 instead of 7:24-2:45. Oh well. :) The only "errand" I really have tomorrow is grocery shopping, and I can wait until Tuesday if I'm exhausted from the thrill-a-minute meeting all day. ;)

We hope you had a good weekend! Matt went fishing yesterday and today, and he caught a stick yesterday and fed the pond 3 lures. :) We enjoyed the time outside. I'll have pictures of him and his stick when I get the roll developed (I took my film camera, because I was hoping to see cool wildlife, maybe even the alligator--some cool wildlife, no alligator).

Now we are emptying the dishwasher and running to my school so I can drop off their spelling in-class work that I forgot to number (long story) and their weekly reports home.

MUCH love,
The Kubos :)

Mmm Mmm Good!

Last night I tried a new recipe; not just one I personally have not previously made, but one no one I know has tried (to my knowledge). On Monday I perused my cookbooks and made a list of several recipes I wanted to incorporate into some of our "usual" meals. One that stuck out was from the Southern Living Easy Weeknight Favorites cookbook. I designated "Chicken and Biscuits" for Tuesday night.

Matt called to let me know he was on his way home, and since it was a little later than usual, we decided I'd go ahead and get dinner cooking (usually I prepare it, and then I actually cook it after he's been home a little while so we can relax and catch up on our days first). It was so easy! Fifteen minutes and 6 ingredients!!

First, cook 2 to 2.5 cups of chicken. Combine the cooked chicken with one can (~10 oz.) of cream of chicken soup, 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 cup milk on medium heat. Stir occasionally. Meanwhile, bake a package of buttermilk biscuits (so it remains an "easy" and "fast" recipe, they suggest the kind you get in the tube from the dairy section... one day I want to try it with homemade biscuits though) according to the package's directions.

When the biscuits and chicken are done (the chicken mixture takes ~15 minutes and the biscuits took ~11 minutes), you are ready! Split the biscuits in half and spoon the chicken mixture over the biscuits (1-2 biscuits/person). Matt LOOOOVED it! It was so sweet! He ranted and raved and made all those "MMMmmm!" sounds that delight a newlywed wife's heart, especially over new recipes. :)

As a side note, the recipe additionally calls for a can of vegetals mixed in (Veg-All would probably work). I don't like all the vegetables they put in Veg-All, so I decided to just serve veggies on the side. I told Matt that, and he wants it the same way I cooked it this time next time we have this dinner. So for us, veggies on the side worked best. We also thought the Veg-All would make the recipe a lot like our chicken pot pie recipe, and we wanted something a little different.

We highly recommend the meal, and hope you enjoy it too if you try it. :)

One more thing... I was heating up some left overs for lunch yesterday. I thought I was reheating sloppy joes (see earlier post about sloppy joes), but after the initial defrosting I realized it was porcupine meatballs. At that point, I didn't want to mess with cooking rice to go with the meatballs, so I decided to try the "porcupines" on a hamburger bun (as I would have had the sloppy joes). It was delicious! I told Matt we are having porcupine meatballs on hamburger buns next time we have them so he can try it to, and he is hoping that night is soon. ;)

That's the latest on our cooking adventures. :) We hope it makes you want to come visit us sometime and share a meal with us. :)

Love,
Becca & Matt

Easy to Please

I have to say, I have a wonderful husband. "Sure," you're all saying, "you've been married less than 2 weeks." But really! He's been so sweet and gentle and understanding as I'm adjusting to this strange state 8.5 hours away from my previous home. He even manages to be hungry for the easiest foods! I called him while at the grocery store and he inquired as to what items I was purchasing. I told him the meals I planned to make, and when I got to sloppy joes, he said, "Ooo! When are we having that??" I was thinking we'd have it for lunch sometime this weekend, but I asked him if he wanted to have it for dinner that night. His response? "Can we??" So, I made sloppy joes for dinner for Matt after my first full day living in Gainesville. It was an easy night, I must admit. :)