Creamy Chicken Biscuit Pies

Image by Bacon And Tofu via Flickr

Spring's here, but a lot of people are still seeing cold weather. This is a warm and filling meal that's also quick and easy. If you have some leftover turkey or ham from Easter dinner this weekend, you can use that instead of the chicken. Serve with a salad for a complete meal.

What You Need:

3/4 C of milk
4 t flour
1/4 t pepper
1 (10.75 oz.) can condensed minestrone soup
2 C cooked chicken, cubed
1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, cubed
1 (5 ct.) pkg. refrigerated country style biscuits

How to Make It:

Allow the oven to preheat to 375 degrees.
Pour the milk into a jar with a tight fitting screw top lid.
Add the flour and pepper to the milk.
Place the lid on the jar and shake until all the ingredients are combined.
Place the soup into a saucepan and place over medium heat.
Pour the milk mixture into the soup.
Cook the mixture stirring constantly until thick and bubbly.
Stir the chicken into the mixture.
Add the cream cheese and cook, stirring often, until the cheese has melted.
Pour the mixture into 4 ungreased 10 oz. baking cups.
Separate the biscuits and cut each biscuit into 5 pieces.
Place 5 pieces on top of the baking cup.
Place the cups in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until golden on top.

Makes 4 servings


Preparation Time: approximately 15 minutes
Cooking Time: approximately 15 minutes
Total Time: approximately 30 minutes

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Storing Homemade Sauces, Jams and More

Image by Patrick Q via Flickr

Making your own canned goods is good for the soul. There's something about putting your time and effort into making something for your friends and family that brings a sense of pride and accomplishment, and of course, the compliments don't hurt the ego either!

Once you have created the best sauce or jam and enjoyed the first batch over a warm plate of pasta or spread out on a steaming hot biscuit, you are left with one dilemma; how should you preserve your precious prize? One way would be to toss it in a zip-lock bag and hope that it tastes as good as when it was made. But really, there's no need to take chances with your marmalade in a snap-seal bag; canning is the way to go!

Canning is a great way to store your savory sauces and other tasty treats for later use. Canning works because it heats food to kill bacteria while sealing them in a glass or metal container, which prevents them from spoiling. Have canning supplies handy when you make your sauces or jams, and you can keep more of your food fresh for use during the off-season.

Let’s take a look at some of the common supplies needed to start canning:
• Boiling-water canner - Basically just a big pot, mainly used for canning jams, preserves, jellies and marmalades.
• Pressure canner - Similar to a pressure cooker, the lid locks down to keep steam in. This canner is great for thick sauces that are full of fresh vegetables.
• Canning jars - Commonly called Mason Jars, these are the glass jars that usually come with metal screw on lids. They create very tight seals and are perfect for canning just about anything.
• Lids and bands - Lids, sometimes known as "flats," should be new and never reused because they may not seal properly the second time. Bands are the screw on portions that go around the lids to help them stay locked in place.

Once you have all of those supplies, it is time to start making use of the vacuum effect that is so commonly used by large canned food distributors. When the jars are heated up in the canner, they become airtight and lock in the same flavor that was present before the canning took place. This is the best way to preserve your preserves and to store your sauces.

If there is usually not enough left to worry about going through the canning process, but you still want to save some for a use later in the week, just make sure that the container you are using can achieve an airtight lock. The best thing to do is to invest in a vacuum sealer. These gadgets will act the same way as a canner does, by extracting out all of the air, but can be used more efficiently on smaller amounts.

The most important thing, and this cannot be stressed enough, is to make sure that there is an airtight seal on whatever container you are using. This will keep the flavors of you goods locked in while keeping the flavors of all the other food in the fridge, locked out. Because the last thing you want is your grandmother's grape jam tasting like the fried catfish you made the day before. Practice Safe Storage!

Herb Coated Baked Fish

Image by jules:stonesoup via Flickr

So - you just walked in the door and realized you didn't take anything out of the freezer this morning. So what do you do, call for pizza.... again? Of course not - you can take fish right out the freezer for this quick and easy recipe that only has four ingredients - all kitchen staples.

What You Need:

1/2 C herb stuffing mix, crushed very fine
2 T of margarine, melted
4 frozen fish portions
2 t lemon juice
Lemon slice (optional)

How to Make It:
Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees.
Lightly oil a rectangular baking dish, or spray with non stick cooking spray.
Place the stuffing mix into a bowl.
Add the melted margarine and toss to coat the stuffing well.
Lay the fish into the prepared baking dish.
Drizzle the lemon juice evenly over the fish.
Spread the stuffing mix over the top.
Lay a thin slice of lemon on top of each piece of fish, if you'd like.
Bake for 18 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.


Makes 4 servings

Any type of frozen fish will work in this recipe. If you have a favorite stuffing mix other than herb, give it a try! You can also add a little grated Parmesan cheese to the stuffing mix before adding the melted butter, or just sprinkle it on top before baking.

If you have a rice cooker, you can cook the rice while the fish is baking - put some broccoli and cauliflower in the steamer tray of your rice cooker, and dinner will all be ready in less than 30 minutes.

Preparation Time: approximately 10 minutes
Cooking Time: approximately 18 minutes
Total Time: approximately 28 minutes

Nutritional Information: (approximate values per serving)

Calories 183; Fat 9g; Saturated Fat 4g; Carbohydrates 6g; Fiber 1g;
Protein 18g; Cholesterol 76 mg; Sodium 401 mg

Storing Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Image via Wikipedia

Nothing beats a well-developed strawberry, with all of the juices flowing and the sweet taste running down your chin. Or maybe you aren't a big fruit fan, but a bowl of bright green broccoli really gets you going. Either way, whether you like fruits, vegetables or a combination of both, there are different ways to store them so they retain their freshness. Here are a couple of ways to store your produce to help it retain it's freshness and vitamins:

Open Spaces
Some fruits and vegetables are not supposed to be chilled. Bananas, for instance, are best left to their own devices, on the counter. Avocados are another fruit that are usually left to ripen out in the open. The best way to judge is by seeing how the food is found in your local grocery store; whatever method they use is probably the best way to store them at your house.

Refrigerator
While some fruits and veggies are best left in the open air, others need to be refrigerated in order to maintain their vibrant color and great taste. Again, use the rule of thumb, wherever you find them in the store, keep them the same way at home. Leafy greens and vegetables with stalks or stems usually do best in the refrigerator, which slows down their ripening process.

Freezing
A great way to store fruits and vegetables for the long haul is by freezing them. This takes them at the peak of their flavor and color and puts a sudden halt to the ripening process.

Before freezing vegetables, they should be blanched for a few minutes. This allows the colors to come out and the flavors to develop. Once they have been blanched, they should be left to cool to room temperature and then frozen individually before being bagged up. Laying them out on a sheet pan and put into the freezer for three to five hours can do this. Once they have started to freeze, then and only then, should they be bagged together.

Fruits are a little different. Because of the sugar content in most fruits, the cells need to retain the sugar content, so it is advised to freeze the fruits in simple syrup or a sugar compound with a little ascorbic acid to slow down the oxidation process. When oxidation occurs, the fruit turns discolored and brown. This doesn't really harm the fruit itself, but it does lose a lot of its appeal. (hehe... bananas lose their apPEEL)

Drying
Another popular storage method for fruits and vegetables is to dry them in a food dehydrator. Dried foods can be stored in an air-tight container in your pantry for extended periods of time without worry of spoiling. Consult your dehydrator for the appropriate drying temperature and length of time for best results.

No matter how you store your fruits and vegetables, make sure you pick them at the peak of their ripeness and during the appropriate season. Once stored properly, you will be able to enjoy the best foods all year long and while others are digging through the grocery store, you can have the juices running down your chin.

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Twilight Cupcakes

I suppose you don't need me to tell you that Twilight is HUGE - especially if you have a pre-teen daughter. I have boys and don't even live in the US, and yet still see the effects of it's popularity here. So, if you have kids that are into Twilight you might be very interested in today's give-away - Twilight Cupcakes! Even if you aren't a Twilight fan, you'll love the recipes in this downloadable eBook. So check it out - if it doesn't make you a Twilight fan, it'll definitely make you a fan of cupcakes!

Unofficial Twilight Cupcake Book

Vegetable Fettuccine Dish

Image by Vincent Ma via Flickr

Ever have one of those night when you just don't feel like doing a lot of cooking? This is the side dish for you. It's so colorful, you can serve it with a very simple meat dish, and it'll look like you slaved for hours. Put boneless chicken breasts in the oven with a little olive oil, salt and pepper while the water boils for the pasta, and they'll be ready when you are.

What You Need:

1 (9 oz.) pkg. spinach fettuccine
1 T of olive oil
2 T green onion, chopped
2 C of tomatoes, chopped
1/2 C of carrots, chopped fine
1/4 C oil packed sun dried tomatoes, drained well
1/2 C feta cheese, crumbled

How to Make It:

Cook the pasta as directed on the package.
Drain well and return to the pan and keep warm.
Place the oil into a large skillet positioned over medium heat.
Stir in the green onions and cook for 1 minute, stirring often.
Add the fresh tomato, carrots and dried tomatoes.
Cover the skillet and cook for 5 minutes, stirring once.
Add the mixture to the pasta and stir to blend in well.
Sprinkle the cheese over the top just before serving.

Makes 4 servings

Place a serving of pasta on each plate, and lay the chicken breast (or other meat) on top. Give your dish a little extra color by using fresh yellow tomatoes instead of red. Feta cheese can be found in different flavors including garlic and herb or peppercorn. Try one of these to give your side dish an extra kick. If feta cheese isn’t one of your favorites substitute crumbled blue cheese instead.

Preparation Time: approximately 20 minutes
Cooking Time: approximately 10 minutes
Total Time: approximately 30 minutes

Nutritional Information: (approximate values per serving)
Calories 311; Fat 11g; Saturated Fat 4g; Carbohydrates 44g; Fiber 2g;
Protein 13g; Cholesterol 73 mg; Sodium 250 mg

Image by heathertea via Flickr

Between jobs, grocery shopping, cleaning and other household chores, busy mom's never seem to have enough time in the day to get it all done. Add in things like Little League and school meetings, and there simply aren't enough hours in the day! However, there are things you can do at home to make some of you jobs easier and save some of your precious time.

1. Make a weekly or monthly menu. Plan out meals and ways to use leftovers ahead of time. Plan in a couple nights a month for take-out or pizza. Once you have a weekly or monthly plan done, you can use it over and over. This will save you time when trying to think up 'what's for dinner tonight'.

2. Save time shopping by making a pre-printed shopping list. It's easy to know what you need to buy each week when you use your menu from the previous tip. It's also a good idea to keep the list hanging in the kitchen so you can make a note of anything you're running low on. Grocery shopping takes less time when you already know what you need to buy. And, no more late night trips to the convenience store to pick up milk for breakfast the next day!

3. Pay bills online. It's so much faster to do, and there's no worry about running out of stamps or last minute trips to the post office.

4. Use aluminum foil to cover baking pans and toaster oven trays to prevent stuck on messes and make clean up a breeze. And after dinner, just fold the foil up over the leftovers - no need for storage containers!

5. Are your mornings hectic? Get as much ready as you can the night before: Set out clothes for work or school, prepare school lunches, plug in your cell phone to charge.

6. No time to cook? Use Dutch ovens and slow cookers to save yourself some time. Serve healthy, hearty meals for your family that cook while you're doing other things. Chicken dishes, roasts or casseroles are among the dishes that are super easy to prepare all in one dish.

Want to learn more about using round French ovens to save time in the kitchen? Stop my Le Creuset Round French Oven site and find out more about their use.