One of my favorites!

This is an absolute favorite of mine. Anyone who has ever had a meal brought to them from me, has probably received this. Not only does it taste wonderful, it is also easy to make and freeze! Kids even love it! It is great paired with a green veggie and maybe some cranberry sauce...

The picture doesn't do it any justice!!!! Delicious!!!!!!!
Savory Chicken Crescents
1 can crescent rolls
3 oz. cream cheese, softened and divided
3 tablespoons butter, softened
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup crushed seasoned croutons
1 tablespoon chopped onion
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend cream cheese and 2 T. butter until smooth. Add chicken, milk, salt, pepper and onions. Mix well. Separate can of crescent dough into 4 rectangles, pressing perforations to seal. Spoon 1/2 cup meat mix onto center of each rectangle. Pull 4 corners to top and twist slightly and seal tightly. Brush tops with reserved melted butter and sprinkle with croutons. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet until golden brown. 20-25 minutes.

I promise you won't be disappointed!

Cooking Vacation...

Even people who love to cook occassionally need a break. This has been an odd 2 weeks. People who know us, know that my hubby works very odd hours. Last week and part of this week he is working evenings. It means I am with him all day and the kids don't see him at all! Ughhh! It also means that I cook things like hotdogs and mac and cheese. I will admit that last night we had scallops and shrimp, and while we enjoyed it, it wasn't anything real exciting.
So I promise that next week life is supposed to get back to normal! I will make some more wonderful meals and share them with you all! Anyone have any recipes that they want to share with me???? Keep cooking and sharing!!!!

Happy Fat Tuesday!!!!

It's been a while since I last posted anything. Somehow, weekends seem to get in my way... I cook all weekend, but don't seem to have time to blog. This weekend was special in many ways. Saturday was the 9th anniversary of my dad's death and Sunday was Valentine's Day.
Saturday was a rough day for me. Some years are easier than others... Cooking or baking usually has a calming effect on me, but this year I'm not sure that anything was going to help! I made my dad's favorite cake on Saturday just to celebrate him a bit. It is a chocolate cake with caramel icing! The richest thing on earth!!!!! This recipe comes from my paternal grandma and my cousin and I both love making it for special occassions.
You can use any box chocolate cake mix, just bake according to the instructions for a 13"x9" pan. After it is cooled quickly pour the icing over the cake in the pan. This is best made a day or two ahead...
Caramel Brown Sugar Icing
1/2 Cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup milk
2 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
Melt butter in a skillet and add brown sugar and vanilla. Add milk and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Add confectioners sugar and remove from heat. Mix all together then quickly ice cake. You just pour it over the whole cake and use a spatula to make sure all is covered.
If you like it rich, make sure you get a corner piece. They are my favorite!!!

The second event of the weekend was Valentine's Day. We had 13 school friends over to celebrate. There were crafts, running like crazed lunatics and tons of food. The girls quietly sat and made the crafts and the boys ran around like lunatics... It was wonderful! I forgot to take any pics of the food, but I can tell you that they really liked the fruit skewers and punch. There were cupcakes to eat and cupcakes to decorate, but I think they enjoyed the fruit more! I love it!
Happy Day to all!

Award winning meal!

I guess I should have know that I loved cooking at a very early age... The recipe that I am going to share with you today is an award winning recipe. I won the Brownie No Bake award way way back at the great age of 7! That was a year before my mom threatened to pay the judges to not let me win. It was the longest most boring contest!!!! Today though, I am happy to say that I have won awards for my cooking! HeeHee!

Anyway, Scott is working evenings this week, so meals are very simple. He does eat when he gets home in the early morning, so I have do have to fix something. Today the kids had a snow day, and we spent the afternoon sledding with good friends. Dinner was a simple but delicious affair. I got this recipe from my Auntie Gretch, her kids say I make it wrong... I say they make it wrong... We'll never know, but it is good anyway you make it!

Sidewalk Sandwiches

Pita bread

roast beef or italian roast beef, from the deli

Iceberg lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces

radishes, sliced thinly

green olives, sliced thinly

cream cheese, around 8 oz.

Italian salad dressing, I like to make my own with Good Seasonings Zesty... but you can do whatever you want.

I have not given you any real amounts because it depends on how many you are making.

In a medium bowl mix lettuce, radishes, green olives and salad dressing. Toss all together. Slice each whole pita bread in half. Spread one side of the pocket with cream cheese. Put a small layer of roast beef in each one and then fill with salad mixture. YUM!

I will say that my cousins chop everything including the roast beef and fill the pitas that way. I will give you permission to decide for yourself! LOL! I promise though that you will enjoy my way more! Hahaha!

When playing in the snow calls your name!

The snow is flying and if you didn't have to go out, you didn't! I love these kind of days. The kids did have school, but not too much homework. As soon as snack was over and homework was done we headed outside to play. 5 neighborhood kids came to play and everyone had a good time for a couple of hours! It was great! The moms and I were all amazed at the little things that kept all these kids busy for so long!!!
I was lucky that I had had dinner simmering all afternoon. A very simple dinner of Swiss Steak and mashed potatoes. Yummo!!!! Great dinner that uses things that most have in either their fridge or pantry. Try it, you'll like it!!!!
Swiss Steak

Round steak, thin cut. However much you need to feed your family!
3 Carrots, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 small onion, diced
2-3 cans tomato soup
I use an electric skillet for this recipe, but you could easily put this in a dutch oven in a very low oven. Place steak in electric skillet, top with carrots, celery and onions. Then spread the tomato soup over the top and allow to simmer for several hours. Yum!!!!!
I serve this over mashed potatoes and my family loves it!!!

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL????

Sunday was Superbowl!!! I couldn't have cared less, but I did have some fun with the food. Our menu consisted of Buffalo Chicken Dip, Jalapeno Popper Dip, Football Sub, Wings, Polish Sausage Skewers, Veggie Tray, Cheesecake and Peanut Butter Kit Kat Cookies. Give me a Y- Give me a U- Give me an M! What's that spell??? YUM! I pulled out some old stand bys, new recipes from other's blogs and just new ones I found! They were all terrific and tonight we are loving the leftovers!

My daughter was a huge helper. She did the veggie tray and helped bake the cookies. The Peanut Butter Kit Kat cookies are a favorite of mine from a dear college friend. (Kim, I hope you are reading this and don't care that I am sharing!) I remember when she brought a batch to the dorm... I think I ate the whole bag!!!!

PEANUT BUTTER KIT KAT COOKIES

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

2 1/2 cups flour

approximately 6 Kit Kat bars, chopped

Cream together butter, sugars, eggs, peanut butter and baking soda. Add flour and baking soda and combine well. Stir in Kit Kats. Drop by spoonful on cookie sheet and flatten with fork dipped in sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

These cookies are the bomb and you can't go wrong with them!!! Now I am also including some pics of our other fun items! Maybe I'll share the recipes later!!! Enjoy and get cookin'!!!!

A night on the town with the kiddos...

I know... 2 nights in a row I haven't let you in on what we are eating. What am I up to???? Hmmmm. Last night was a very simple dinner of cheddar brats, pasta salad and baked beans. Tonight, my brave friend and I are taking our 4 children out... We are outnumbered by 2... This will probably not end well. Our husbands are going out for a "guy's night". You know what I am talking about! Dinner, lots of beer and sports. UGH! I would rather take all the kids by myself! Haha!
Speaking of sports. Sunday there is some big football game on. I'm trying to remember what it is called... Oh yea, the Superbowl. Of course there is a party at the Sergeant's. Stay tuned for the fun menu that I am planning!

Ultimate comfort food

It's been cold outside... The snow is flying... and I love it!!! It's been a few days since I posted anything, but that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking. It just means I've been busy doing other things! It was a fun weekend, filled with friends. Friday night we tried a new (to us) pizza place. Volcano's Pizza on the westside! It was very good. My son says that it is so good cause they put their toppings on top of the cheese. Saturday morning started with friends over for breakfast. The meal was a joint effort, and I love to cook with others! Dinner at Bonefish Grill! Yum!!!! (along with excellent apple martinis!!!!) Sunday night, we had friends over for a simple dinner of chicken fajitas, homemade guacamole, Chi Chi's corncake and mexican rice. One of my favorite meals, so good that we had the leftovers last night! So onward to Tuesday!!!

So, today I was in the mood for comfort food. Freezer was full of things to defrost and enjoy. I pulled out a pot roast, and decided to make beef and noodles. Very simple and loved by my whole family. I will share with you how I make mine. Feel free to make it as simple or difficult as you want!

Kate's Beef and Noodles

1 pot roast

3 big cans beef broth, I used canned. Feel free to make your own!

1 pound egg noodles, recipe to follow... feel free to use store bought!

Put pot roast in a dutch oven and pour 2 1/2 large cans beef broth over top, reserve remaining broth in fridge. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until fork tender and falling apart. This will take a couple of hours. Remove roast and let cool. Meanwhile cook noodles in the broth until tender. Shread meat with 2 forks and then add back into the noodles. If you need to thicken the mixture, and this is purely up to you. Mix in a cup some of the reserved broth with 1/4 cup flour. Slowly add to noodle mix, until you get your desired consistency. I serve this over mashed potatoes with a nice green salad. Yum!!!!!!!!

Egg noodles are actually very simple to make. If you get a chance do this, it will make a huge difference!

1 1/2 cups flour

dash salt

1 tablespoon cold butter, cut up

2 whole eggs

2 egg yolks

In a large bowl combine flour, salt and butter. Make a well in the center and add eggs and yolks. Mix all together with a pastry blender or 2 forks, until thoroughly mixed. Divide into 4 small balls. Roll out paper thin on a floured board. Roll up each sheet. Cut to desired width, unroll and let dry. When I make these I always make a double batch to have an extra batch to freeze. The whole process doesn't take longer than a 1/2 hour. So worth it!!!!