Tasty Tuesday

This week's recipe is an oldie but goodie!!

Saucy Chicken & Asparagus

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs fresh asparagus spears

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt & Pepper

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup mayo

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp curry powder

1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

Place asparagus in a square baking dish.

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and brown chicken.

Arrange the chicken over the asparagus.

In a small bowl, mix soup, mayo, lemon juice and curry powder; pour over the chicken.

Cover and bake at 400 degrees for around 40 minutes.

Remove foil and sprinkle with cheese. Place the dish back in the oven until the cheese melts.

Enjoy!

Rabbit Hole

It's not often that I come across a really great movie. Movies today are mostly garbage if you ask me. They have so much flash and cash and contain so little depth. So when I do come across a really good movie I like to share it!

Rabbit Hole is one of those movies. It tells the story of a young couple whose little boy was killed, and the aftermath the parents experienced. This story was profoundly poignant, and beautifully written. It deals with such a taboo subject that so very few people are willing to venture into. Yet it is bluntly honest and painfully accurate. It is truly one of a kind, and one I highly recommend.

"We're collections of chemicals … bundles of bone and blood and breath. Parsed, we're nothing, our distilled elements worth pocket change. We're neither scarce nor special—a marvel of engineering made commonplace through mass replication. People outnumber pigs and pigeons and Ping-Pong paddles and fill the earth like grains of sand. The planet keeps turning when one of us dies, the Milky Way remains unmoved. If one of us disappears, there are 7 billion more to fill the gap.

And yet it doesn't fill. We leave, and a hole remains … an emptiness echoing of grief unimagined. In death we see the truth: We are priceless … and irreplaceable."

Taken from the Plugged In review by Paul Asay

PS - Scroll to the bottom of the page to pause the music whilst you watch the trailer.

Tasty Tuesday

This weeks recipe is a Southern favorite…

Banana Pudding

14oz sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups cold water

1 (4 serving size) instant vanilla pudding

Vanilla Extract

2 cups whipping cream

Vanilla Wafers

3-4 bananas

Pineapple Juice

Directions:

Whip whipping cream on high until soft peaks form. Place in fridge.

In small bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, water, vanilla pudding mix, and vanilla extract. Beat until well blended and chill for 5 minutes.

Slice bananas and cover with pineapple juice.

Fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream.

Place 1 cup of pudding mixture into a glass trifle bowl. Spoon 1/3 drained bananas over pudding, and 1/3 of the wafers. Repeat layers until ingredients are used.

Garnish as desired.

Enjoy!

It's The End of the World

So I've had this REM song stuck in my head the past couple of days. You know, the one that goes...

"It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine"…..

Yeah, that one! I guess it's hardly a surprise with all this end of the world talk all over the place.

So I realized something this evening as I was listening to it. They reference earthquakes and 6 o'clock in this song!! That one gave me a good chuckle.

Maybe Harold Camping was listening to some REM when he made up his end of the world prediction!

Tasty Tuesday

Everybody likes comfort food right? That dish that invokes pleasant feelings, brings back good memories, or just plain makes us feel happy!

This week I'm sharing one of my very favorite comfort food dishes. It's basic and simple, but I think most comfort foods probably are.

For me, this dish is comforting not only because it is delicious, but because it reminds me of the love and care from a sweet friend who made it for my husband and I after my c-section. I will always think of her, and the love she showed me when I make this.

Deep Dish Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed

Italian dressing

4 oz cream cheese

2 tbsp flour

1/2 cup chicken broth

10 oz carrots, peas, and broccoli

Deep dish pie crust

A couple of side notes…you can switch up the veggies to your liking. If you use raw vegetables, cook them first until they are tender. If doing frozen, let them defrost a bit prior to adding them. Also, you can use a frozen pie crust, or make your own. I use the frozen Pillsbury crusts. Gasp! I know, my Mother is ashamed! It comes two to a package. I pop the crust out of one and use it for the top crust.

Directions:

Marinate your chicken in the Italian dressing. Time is just a preference. I don't do mine long, 15 minutes or so.

Preheat oven to 375.

Cook chicken in a large skillet over medium heat, using a little dressing as your oil.

Add cream cheese and cook until melted. Stir in flour, then add broth and vegetables and simmer for several minutes.

Pour mixture into pie crust, and top with second crust.

Cut slits for steam venting, and bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday

I've been so sidetracked with Rooms To Go and the delivery on Tuesday that I completely forgot about posting a recipe for Tasty Tuesday!!

So here it is, better late than never!

Balsamic Pork Scaloppini

1 lb thin sliced boneless pork chops

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup diced pimientos, drained

2 tbsp canola oil

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Preheat oil in large saute pan on medium high heat. Place flour, salt, and pepper in ziploc bag, or bowl. Coat pork chops with flour mixture. Cook pork chops 1-2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.

Add peppers, pimientos, and onions to pan, cook until soft and lightly browned. Add vinegar and broth, cook 2-3 minutes or until reduced to half.

Return pork to pan and cook until pork reaches 160 degrees.

Tomato Buttered Noodles

1 oz fresh basil, coarsely chopped

8 oz medium egg noodles

4 oz sun dried tomato finishing butter

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cook pasta according to box directions. Drain, return to pan and reduce heat to low.

Stir in butter, salt and pepper; toss until butter melts. Stir in basil and finish with Parmesan.

Serve pork chops over noodles. You can also chop the pork into bite size pieces if you prefer.

Enjoy!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mommy's whose arms are empty today, and every day.

What Makes A Mother?

~Author Unknown~

I thought of you and closed my eyes
And prayed to God today
I asked "What makes a Mother?"
And I know I heard him say
A Mother has a baby
This we know is true
But, God, can you be a mother
When your baby's not with you?

Yes, you can he replied
With confidence in his voice
I give many women babies
When they leave it is not their choice
Some I send for a lifetime
And others for the day
And some I send to feel your womb
But there's no need to stay.

I just don't understand this God
I want my baby here

He took a breath
and cleared his throat
And then I saw a tear
I wish I could show you
What your child is doing today
If you could see your child smile
With other children and say
"We go to earth to learn our lessons
of love and life and fear
My mommy loved me so much
I got to come straight here
I feel so lucky to have a Mom who had so much love for me
I learned my lessons very quickly
My Mommy set me free.

I miss my Mommy oh so much
But I visit her each day
When she goes to sleep
On her pillows where I lay
I stroke her hair and kiss her cheek
And whisper in her ear
Mommy don't be sad today
I'm your baby and I am here"

So you see my dear sweet one
Your children are okay
Your babies are here in My home
And this is where they'll stay
They'll wait for you with Me
Until your lessons are through
And on the day you come home
they'll be at the gates for you

So now you see
What makes a Mother
It's the feeling in your heart
It's the love you had so much of
Right from the very start
Though some on earth
May not realize
Until their time is done
Remember all the love you have
And know that you are
A Special Mom.

Tasty Tuesday

This week's recipe is a side dish. Creamed Spinach with Cipollini Onions. I first had this at a friend's Thanksgiving dinner. It was so delicious and stuck with me.

If you've never heard of cipollini onions, don't worry! I had never heard of them either. They are small, flat onions and are sweeter in taste. I found them in my local Publix produce section. They sold them in a small bag.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds cipollini onions
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 (12-ounce) bags fresh spinach, stemmed and washed
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups panko breadcrumbs

Directions:

Place the unpeeled onions in a bowl and cover with very hot water. Set aside for 15 minutes to soften the skins. Drain the onions, then peel and pat dry. Heat a large skillet over high heat and add a 2-count of oil. Add the onions and saute until they are golden brown all over, about 10 minutes.

Add the vinegar and honey, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the mixture has reduced to a syrup and the onions are soft, about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

Heat a large pot over medium heat. Drizzle with a 2-count of oil, add the butter, and stir it around until it melts. Add the onions and garlic and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach in batches, pushing it down into the pan with a wooden spoon to help it wilt and adding more spinach as soon as there is room in the pot.

Cook the spinach until it is dry, then reduce the heat and add the cream and nutmeg. Stir and cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the creamed spinach into a baking dish and top it with the onions and the panko. Bake until the breadcrumbs are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Clogged Drain

The other evening I was cleaning up dinner when my sink clogged up. I was running the garbage disposal, and it just started gurgling and filling up with water.

Naturally I freaked out. I had the whole "why me, I've already spent loads of money on other appliances in this dang house now something else" pity party! I also knew Richard would be none too happy at me "breaking" the garbage disposal! So I didn't tell him! Haha.

Anyways, I decided to deal with it the way I deal with things best…by going and painting my bathroom.

The next day I decided I had better figure something out before Richard used the sink and noticed. Plus, only being able to use one side of your sink isn't really the most desirable.

I was having visions of me on the floor, head under the sink, with a large wrench of some sort in hand, covered in nasty sludge. Not cool.

So I plopped on the couch, headed over to Google, and typed in "sink with garbage disposal won't drain". I came across a lot of different options, calling a plumber kept popping up. No thank you, no $200 service for me. Getting Draino or some other sort came up also. I don't really like the idea of paying too much money for hazardous chemicals that you dump down your drain, and probably won't work anyway! One that I also kept seeing was a trick with vinegar and baking soda. Cheap, safe, I have them in my pantry…let's try it!

I abandoned the called for measurements and dumped a box of baking soda down the drain, followed by a large amount of vinegar. Aside from any unclogging benefits, that alone was pretty cool! There's your science experiment for next week.

I let that concoction sit for a few minutes, ran some really hot water, then gave it a plunge. Voile! I have never seen a clog drain so fast!

I may just have to tell Richard how fabulous I was at unclogging the sink! Haha.

By the way, my bathroom looks great!

Craigslist

Have I ever mentioned just how much I hate Craigslist??? Well here it is.

I HATE Craigslist.

It drives me bonkers. I don't know if it's just me, but I have a terrible time trying to sell anything on there. I can't even give stuff away! In all this moving process we've had quite a few things that we needed to sell. I've had a brand new gas range that I've listed on there three times. It sells for well over $400 at Home Depot, I'm only asking $300. I had an offer today for $250. It's brand new, it's still in packaging! I understand bartering, I do it myself. Okay, I have Richard do it for me. Haha. He's much better at it. However, I think there's a huge difference between bartering and just being ridiculously cheap!

My husband listed a free landscaping rail. It's beautiful, but he hates it. I had tons of people call, so I started setting up pickup times, and they wouldn't show. This happened over and over and over.

Seriously, what do you have to do to get rid of your stuff without a massive headache?

Anyone know of another way to sell your items aside from a garage sale? Those I loathe even more than Craigslist!