chicken fried rice

I had a couple of leftover BBQ chicken breasts from Sunday and couldn't decide what to make with them...usually I would make chicken salad with them but already made THAT the other day...thought about it all day and then came up with chicken fried rice...yummy...and everyone in the family loves this dish, except for hubby (and he will eat it, if there is nothing else to eat) and thank goodness for him there was leftover lasagna from last night and he was only more than happy to have leftovers tonight...(you should have seen how big a piece he had tonight too...)

so anyway here is how I make my fried rice...

cooked rice (duh...of course) for my family I use 6 cups of cooked Minute rice...
I add only a little bit of oil to the hot wok and fry rice in 2 batches...fry in the oil for a few minutes, then add some spashes of soy sauce...I like all of the rice coated...then I start adding all of my other
ingredients...
tonight?  frozen peas, shredded carrots, green onions, chicken (diced), some cooked bacon, some cashews, and seasonings of choice and I let warm for a little bit and I make a well in the rice and add 3 scrambled eggs and stir and cook till done...

I have me one happy family tonight...

mock lasagna (my recipe)

this used to be this family's all time favorite Fall meal, till chicken and wild rice casserole came into the picture...we all could barely wait till Fall and this dish would be first on the menu right after the last summer day...

I came upon this recipe a very long time ago and have been making it for at least 30 years...hubby loves this one, big time...

he was so excited today when he saw what was for dinner and he even helped me make dinner (ya me too, I was shocked...LOL)

here's what you do:

brown hamburger (& I add Italian sausage also) then add 4 cups of water, 2 cans of (1 lb 12 oz) of stewed tomatoes, 2 cans of (16 oz) tomato sauce and any seasonings you want to add...I use garlic salt, pepper, a little Italian seasonings and parsley...some people in my family do not like chunks of tomato and so I put the stewed tomatoes in a blender first...
you heat the sauce to boiling, and simmer for 15 minutes...this part is important...

then you layer starting with some sauce to cover the bottom of the baking pan (for this amount of sauce ingredients, I use a 13 x 9 pan...) then add 1 1/2 pkgs. UNCOOKED noodles (I use wide egg noodles)
and ending with the rest of the sauce and top with mozzarella cheese...cover with foil and bake at 350 for aprox. 45 minutes...

happy eating...you will love this as much as we do...deliciousness...OMGosh...

when you let this sit for a few minutes after it is done, it cuts very nice and resembles lasagna...

Sunday night dinner

taking advantage of the heat wave we are experiencing here, I decided to BBQ...

made BBQ chicken and since hubby is tired of chicken (he says) he bought a steak for me to BBQ also...
so with the chicken (& do not judge me) I made fried rice, Rice a Roni (hey the family likes it), mixed veggies and Texas Toast...

everyone seemed happy with dinner...

chicken waldorf salad...

today?  don't ask...it was 92 here today...oh my...it is supposed to be Fall already...

so, I did not want to use my oven or stove and right away thought of chicken salad sandwiches...
one of Tim's favorites...

for my recipe, I use:
cut up cooked chicken
cranberries, dried
celery, diced
granny smith apples, diced
walnuts
& mayo...

mix all together and today I meant to get potato roll, hamburger buns and instead I got hot dog buns...but we make do here and actually it was pretty good...the buns were so soft...so delicious...

corn chowder

Fall is suposed to be here, although it was pretty warm here today and the Santa Ana winds have also kicked up (watch out Zoe's asthma) and it is supposed to be warm here through Sunday...
but, I am still trying to cook every single night...I really wanted to eat out today, but made myself go to the store and cook...
I wanted something cost effective and something everyone likes and so I picked corn chowder...
and my recie could not be easier...

I melt 1 stick of butter in large pan and add 6 tbs flour, then stir in 1 large can of chicken broth, and 2 cans of evaporated milk to make a roux...once thickened I add 1 large bag of frozen corn, 1 can of sliced carrots, 1 can of whole potatoes (diced), seasonings of your choice (I add garlic salt, pepper and parsley...)  and I add some cooked and diced bacon...(I have added cooked diced chicken to this also and it was yummy...)

Tim likes this soup a little on the thick side and it works well this way...he was pretty happy with dinner tonight...
I had planned on making yeast rolls to go with it, but time got away from me tonight...

swedish meatballs

Tim is having sort of a bad time at work lately and I like to make him happy with having dinner done by the time he gets home and Swedish Meatballs is one of Tim's favorites...
he is on a health kick, watching what he is eating, portion control and also working out at the gym...he has lost 13 pounds since starting...I am happy he is doing this as heart disease runs rampant
in our family...

my Swedish Meatball recipe is no secret, I use the McCormick's seasoning mix...my family loves this
one and it makes it much easier too...for Tim's healthy eating I used whole wheat noodles and very lean ground beef...he also loves the petite baby mixed veggies I made...

when I make something like this for dinner I have to get out however many dishes for the number of people eating, for correct portion control or one or two people would take the most...everyone in the
family incl. the princess loves this dish...

twice baked potatoes with ham

yay for Fall...my oven ban has been lifted...I love oven meals so much...
tonight?
twice baked potatoes with ham and green beans...

they tasted so good and everyone was happy with dinner tonight...

for my recipe I bake the potatoes and let cool for a bit, then I cut them in 1/2 and scoop out the insides...mash well with 1 stick melted butter, cheddar cheese (to your liking) and diced ham...add
seasonings of your choice and scoop back into potato shell...top with more cheese...bake at 400 for
approx. 20-25 minutes...I want to try adding some sour cream next time too...

leftovers

since I did manage to cook for 5 days straight, we have plenty of leftovers...execially chicken pie...that is what I said we were having for dinner...
I sent hubby to store for one thing...one thing...and of course he comes home with bags full of whatever and a SUBWAY sandwich...he did not want leftovers...silly silly hubby...
then that got me to thinking maybe I didn't want leftovers either, and so I had something that I am so
addicted to...I could have it every day and not get sick of it...I love Stouffer's turkey breast and mashed potatoes so, that is what I had...
son (Tim) was the only one that had chicken pie...

tomorrow?  really want to make corn chowder, but Tim said he might take us out for dinner...

today?

today is world Egg Day and it is National Sausage Pizza Day

Sunday brunch

this is where we ate on Sunday...

http://www.pe.com/iguide/dining/dining-headlines/20121011-riverside-the-soup-shoppe-is-a-cozy-stop.ece

kielbasa & roasted potatoes

there is a reason that I made what I did for dinner tonight...Tim found kielbasa on sale at Target for only .58 (yes that is right 58 cents) and I normally do not cook kielbasa...so since he bought it, I have
been wondering how to prepare it...
I really wanted to make like a kielbasa, tortelleni, & spinach soup, but there are some really picky people who are eating my food lately and that soup would not have gone over very well at all...if I got a fight last night over using thin spaghetti noodles, well, you know what would've happened with spinach in a soup?  I think only 3 of us would've liked that...(& 3 would not have...)  LOL...

so while I was attempting to sleep last night (& not doing a good job of it) it came to me to make it with some roasted red potatoes and serve with some delicious veggies and some cheddar garlic biscuits...

so, that is exactly what I did and everyone in the kingdom, proclaimed it a dinner fit for a king...(ya right !!!)

did not get a picture of the biscuits...but they were very yummy...

told hubby he was to do the dishes...

today?

today is National TV dinner day...

spaghetti and meatballs

so we were at Disney for the morning, I babysat Cj and the last thing I wanted to think about was dinner...but, we have to eat...

made spaghetti and meatballs, but cheated with canned sauce (OMGosh, right?) frozen meatballs,
whole wheat pasta but I did add Italian sausage to the sauce...

tonight?  I have something much better in mind but it will take some time to get it all done...

stay tuned to see what I have up my sleeve...

my absolute favorite...

http://www.southernplate.com/2012/01/chicken-and-wild-rice-casserole-and-becoming-the-crazy-daffodil-lady.html

I am one happy girl tonight...happy happy happy...this is my absolute very favorite dinner ever...hands down...when I found this recipe I could not have known how much I would love it...
Tim came home and dinner was almost done, and he said, "oh that looks so good, I cannot wait for it."  hubby liked it, Sam came over for some and Zoe made her own little version in a little foil
pan (thoshe omitted the peas & almonds) and she too loved it...
dinner has been over for about 2 hours and I am really thinking of going for leftovers right about now...

you guys have got to make this at least once and I promise you will love it too...maybe not quite as
much as I do, but you will at least like it...I asked hubby how much he liked it and he said he likes it
but that he loves the chicken pie I made the other day a little better...

Christy in her original recipe uses green beans and I use peas...she said she doesn't always use the sour cream but I do...

yummy yummy yummy

today?

this week is National American Beer Week

and this day, today is National Frappe Day...

now you know, thanks for asking...

what is October known for?

National food days for October:

for the month:

Eat Better, Eat Healthier Month

Eat Country Ham Month

National Apple Month

National Applejack Month

National Caramel Month

National Chili Month

National Cookie Month

National Dessert Month

National Pickled Peppers Month

National Pizza Festival Month

National Popcorn Poppin' Month

National Pork Month

National Pretzel Month

National Seafood Month

Vegetarian Awareness Month

easy peasy meatball soup

the temps are so much better around here and I am thrilled to say the least...I just wish the humidity would play nice also...we have the a/c on and I am making soup...

did you guys know that at Ralph's bakery they sell a loaf of bread ready to put in your oven?  we picked a multigrain Italian loaf...you stick it in the oven at 400 for about 20 min. and your house smells divinely...so while the soup is simmering on the stove, your bread is baking it's little heart
out for you in the oven...

simple soup...I have tried this many different ways, tried potatoes instead of pasta...different kinds of
pasta, rice, and all different possibilities of veggies...
this basic one is the one my family loves the best...
so here we go...

8 cups of water
2 pkgs of McCormick beef stew seasoning mix
1/2 pkg of noodles (tonight we used whole wheat noodles)
1/2 pkg of frozen peas
frozen meatballs (how many you want to go in)

mix up the water, seasoning mix and add the meatballs, bring to a boil, add noodles (or what you are
using)...simmer till noodles are done...
I add the peas at the end as I like them to be still a little firm and nice and shiny...

son and hubby are so happy that this is supposedly soup weather...I wanted to make my chicken and
wild rice casserole tonight and hubby informed me that there is a law you cannot have chicken 2 nights in a row...(ya right...like I believe that...)

son (Tim) is on a diet (not really to lose weight) altho he has lost 12 pounds...he mostly is trying to eat better and hopefully keep heart disease at bay (which runs rampant in our house...)
so, if you are also trying to eat better, you could use turkey meatballs and whole wheat pasta...

chicken pot pie

the oven ban has been lifted, yay...the temps today are in high 80's (humidity is still up there) but I am so happy that I decided to chance it and turn the oven on...

so what had everyone in my family "chomping at the bits?"  bugging the heck out of me, till dinner
was done...

homemade chicken pot pie...

Tim's favorite and hubby and Samantha love it too...

it would be my favorite, but once I found the recipe for chicken and wild rice casserole it plays a close second in my book...

it is so easy too...

I use Pillsbury's ready pie crust in the biscuit section...

lay your crust down, add cooked diced chicken, 1 bag of frozen peas and carrots and 1 bag of frozen
corn (layer style)

sauce:
make roux with 8 tbs. butter, 6 tbs flour, 2 cans of evaporated milk and 2 cans of chicken broth...and I
must say that I make the best roux ever...for this recipe it always comes out perfectly...add seasonings
as desired (I add a small amt of garlic salt and pepper)...pour sauce over chicken and veggies, top
with another crust...make steam holes in top...I always like to cut out a heart shape with a cookie cutter...
bake at 400 for about 25 to 30 minutes...

enjoy...yummy
I am so so so so happy for fall temps...