Parmesan Orzo

I am always on the search for side dishes besides our usual corn or green beans.

This orzo was simple and delicious which made it perfect to add to out list of sides.

Source:

Loves to Eat

3 tbs butter

1-1/2 cups uncooked orzo pasta

1-1/2 cans (14.5 ounce) chicken broth

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup and 2 tablesoons chopped fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

3 tbs chopped fresh basil

Directions:

Melt butter in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in orzo and saute until lightly browned.

Stir in chicken stock and bring to boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes.

Mix in parmesan cheese and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Transfew to shallow bowl. Garnish with basil sprigs.

Strawberrry Jam

A few weeks ago some friends and I got together to make jam! My friend Liz had made it in the past and was willing to show us how it's done. I am so excited I now know how to do this. I feel like it's something I can now cross off my cooking to-do list!

I'll admit before we made this jam I didn't actually really eat much jam or jelly. I mean I kept a jar of grape jelly in the fridge to use at times but that's about it. Well let me tell you in the 3 weeks since we've made this I am almost through my first jar. I have been looking for ideas on how to use it besides pb&j and toast.

I would encourage you to try this sometime it was so easy!

I don't have a recipe for this. We just followed the directions on the pectin package.

Here is my version of the steps.

Mash your strawberries- We used a potato maser and pastry cutter, it would be much easier to use a food processer just don't puree the strawberries.

Add the pectin to the strawberries.

Boil the strawberries.

Once it reaches a rolling boil add the sugar and stir on the stove for one minute.

Remove from the stove and funnel the jam into jars.

*You will probably want to skim the foam off

Close the jars and place in boiling water for 10 minutes and TA-Da you have jam!

Chewy Chocolate Cookies

Another baby was recently born so I took a meal to the family. For their meal I made stuffed shells, green beans, strawberry salad and these cookies.

I made enough to keep a couple for Chad. I don't care for chocolate but I thought it would be yummy treat for him. To my surprise they were!! He actually commented how much he liked these cookies! They were just as easy as any chocolate chip cookie.

The recipe came from a cookie cookbook my SIL gave me for Christmas. I have many other cookies bookmarked to try!

Chewy Chocolate Cookies
Source: 500 Cookies

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) sweet butter
1/3 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of Salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups superfine sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped coarse

Preheat over to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.

Melt the bittersweet chocolate and butter. Allow to cool slightly. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. In another bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract until thick and pale. Stir in the melted chocolate into the eggs and sugar, followed by the flour and semeisweet chocolate chunks.

Drop tablespoons of mixture onto baking sheets and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Slide the parchment onto wire racks.

When completely cool, store in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.

Blueberry Pancakes

This summer has been great so far. I'm not committed to anything and I have just been taking it easy. One thing I did decide to do is preparing myself for next school year. I love to cook and most nights I have no problem making dinner but there are times when I'm stumped on what to have or I'm just too tired to make anything.
We were given a freezer recently so I am doing my best to make meals this summer and freeze them so we can have more wholesome meals on those tiresome nights rather than frozen pizza.

Along with dinner I get sick of deciding what to have for breakfast. I also give myself barely anytime to whip anything up in the mornings. I decided to make these pancakes for breakfast today and then freeze the rest for the school year. All I will have to do in the mornings is pop them in the microwave! My kind of breakfast :)


Blueberry Pancakes
Source: Joelen's Culinary Adventures

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
1-2 teaspoons vegetable oil


In a medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda). Use a whisk to blend together. In a 4 cup measuring cup or another medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except the blueberries and vegetable oil (buttermilk, sour cream, eggs and melted butter) with a whisk. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir the wet mixture in gently with the dry ingredients just until it starts to fully combine. The batter will be a bit lumpy. If you see streaks of flour, it's okay, but just don't overmix! Let the lumpy batter sit aside for about 10 minutes before you start cooking.

To prepare for cooking, use a 10- or 12- inch nonstick skillet and heat 1 teaspoon of oil or spray with cooking spray.


Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray enough to coat the bottom. Once the pan gets hot, carefully wipe some off the cooking spray from the pan with a pape towel. I like using a large scoop or even a small soup ladle to measure my pancake batter. You can also use a 1/4 cup measure if you prefer. Take a scoop/ladle or 1/4 cup full of batter and pour into your hot skillet. You should be able to fit 4 small pancakes in a pan, but fit whatever works for you. Top the pancakes with a sprinkle of blueberries once you pour them into the pan.

Cook the pancakes until the edges start to bubble, which means it's starting to set. Take a peek at the bottom of the pancake to see if it's golden brown and that the pancakes start to form bubbles that break on the top of the pancake. At this point, you can flip the pancakes with a spatula. Continue to cook the second side until golden brown.

Serve the pancakes immediately or to keep warm, transfer them onto a wire rack set in a 200 degree oven.

Spaghetti Sauce

I am loving my summer vacation so far. I have a list of new recipes to try and a list of things to make to stock up my freezer!
Tonight I decided to try a new spaghetti sauce recipe. I had this recipe starred in my google reader and the picture is what drew me to trying this. I was really impressed with this sauce. It was delicious and so easy. It does not take much time except for chopping up your veggies which you could always do ahead of time. I hope you take the time to make this it is so much better than a jar of sauce.

Spaghetti Sauce
Source: Carrie's Sweet Life

•1 lb. Hamburger
•1 large onion diced
•1 green pepper diced
•dash of cyan pepper
•1 lg. Can of sliced tomato
•1 med. can of tomato sauce
•1 sm. can of tomato paste
•Thin with tomato juice
•Bay leaves
•Sweet Basil
•Oregano
•Hot Sauce
Brown the hamburger, onion and green peper together in a pan, drain off excess fat. In large pot add meat and veggies, tomato products and seasonings to taste. Simmer on very low heat for around 10 hours(I let mine simmer four about 30 minutes and it still tasted great) Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lemonade Pie

I recently took dinner to a family who just welcomed a new baby boy! For their dessert I chose this pie. Here in Indy our temps went from cold to HOT! I thought this dessert would be perfect to help stay cool!

Lemonade Pie
Source: There's No Place Like Home

Mix 1 tub of cool whip
1 can of Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
and 6 oz of frozen lemonade (or you can use limeade too)
After it is mixed together, put it in a baked pie shell( I used a frozen pie crust) and freeze it overnight.

Like suggested on There's No Place Like home. I made two pies as well so we could enjoy our own pie!

Taco Pie

Summer break is finally here! I have not cooked in my kitchen in two weeks. The last three weeks of school I had something to do each night! I am so happy for summer to be here and the busyness to be done! I have a list of recipes to try and old favorites to get to as well.
For dinner tonight I chose this taco pie. Super easy and super delicious! I found this recipe from Meal Planning Mommies and as their site shows it is also a very inexpensive meal for your family. I hope you enjoy!


Taco Pie
Source: Meal Planning Mommies

Here is what you need:

1 tube crescent rolls
1 pound hamburger
1 package taco seasoning
1/2 cup water
2 cups sour cream
1 cup cheddar cheese
2 cups crushed taco chips(Fritos)

Step 1: Brown hamburger, drain fat and then add taco seasoning and 1/2 cup of water. Cook until most of the water has evaporated.
Step 2: Put crescent rolls along the bottom and up the sides of a 9x9 dish. Sealing around the edges. (Instead of buying crescent rolls I bought "crescent creations", it is basically the crescent dough in a sheet instead of triangles)
Step 3: Place 1 cup taco chips on crescent rolls
Step 4: Put meat on top of crushed chips
Step 5: Put 2 cups of sour cream on top of meat and spread around.
Step 6: Place 1 cup cheddar cheese on top of sour cream
Step 7: BAKE AT 350 DEGREES FOR 20 MINUTES.
Step 8: Take out and add 1 cup of crushed taco chips, then bake for 5 more minutes.