Probably the weirdest dish I've made yet.

Blast. I was going to post pics of Jamie's birthday party, but I must have uploaded them on the other computer...oh well.

First, I need to put in a good word for my friend Sam. She opened an Etsy shop where she sells amazing creations like these:




Since I first met Sam in middle school, I've been amazed with her artistic ability and creativity. Are these not gorgeous? Apparently they're going fast, so let anyone who you think might be interested know about them, and support a stay-at-home-mom in making a little extra moolah! Her shop is called AudryAndUlric. Enjoy!


In other news, tonight for dinner, I made Italian Stuffed Shells, with--are you ready for this?--TOFU and YOGURT CHEESE!

You're probably going, what in the--?

You make yogurt cheese by draining plain yogurt overnight, using coffee filters and a strainer. It thickens up and resembles ricotta or cream cheese. I discovered this in 101 Things to Do With Yogurt, which I picked up for $4 a few months ago.

And yes, I bought tofu for the first time in my life, though I've eaten it in stir fry before. It wasn't even expensive! Hurrah!

So those, plus some cheese, shredded carrot, garlic, and green onion made the filling, and I used regular ol' jumbo pasta shells and Ragu spaghetti sauce.

And you know what?

It tasted GOOD!
I wasn't even expecting it to! I was so happy!

Lol. I'm not bothering to put this one on the recipe blog, though. I have a feeling people already think I'm weird/annoying with how I push wheat pasta, yogurt in place of sour cream, etc. I wouldn't even blame people for thinking I'm weird with Tofu and yogurt cheese, for Pete's sake. It IS kind of weird. But it worked!

I guess, since I don't have birthday party pictures (not like they're too exciting anyway--I don't believe in knocking yourself out decorating for a party for a two-year-old), these will have to do:

(Sigh. That nose of mine goes on for days, doesn't it? I nearly cut this one, but Jamie's too cute not to show it.)

For some reason, when I talk to Sam on the phone, Jamie always gets quiet and cuddles with me. It's the weirdest thing. Today he fell asleep next to me. It was precious...obviously. :)

Oh, and one more thing that may make some of the moms with young kids out there hate me (as it already has with others I've told it to): on Monday, Jamie peed in the toilet THREE TIMES, after telling me he wanted to!

Silver lining to insanely hot temperatures

Okay, how cool is this?

I made my OWN YOGURT!

Yes, I am definitely over-excited about this. I'm a dork like that. But it was such a fun project, and so satisfying to see when it worked! (I get excited about seeing the first little sprout from a seed come up, too.)

Check it out over on my recipe blog!

And here's a picture of Jamie from today, because he's cute and I love 'im.

Shoutout to Sis. Morris

At our ward "Halloween" party last Saturday, they had a chili cookoff and lots of cornbread--and the cornbread was AMAZING! I went back for more--it was late, because we were late to the party and then I had to feed little Yoda before I could eat--and there was nothing but crumbs left. :'( I asked a couple people if they knew who made it; they didn't. And since I'm a primary teacher now, I feel rather cut off from adults in general on Sundays, so I didn't expect to find out.

Then today I was blog-hopping, and I looked at Sis. Morris' blog. She's always doing fun projects and posting delicious-looking recipes. Guess what I found?

Cornbread preparations for 150! (Entry from before the party.)

YESSS!!!

Really, I should have known she would be the one who made such deliciousness. She doesn't seem to have comments enabled, so I couldn't thank her there. So, if you see this, Sis. Morris, thanks for going to all the trouble to make that cornbread! And thanks for putting the recipe in cyberspace so I could find it and make that cornbread AGAIN and AGAIN!

On a totally unrelated note, I and about 50 other costume-makers--most way more talented than me--were featured on http://www.makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/, in my case for the Yoda headpiece! I sent in pics for the virtual costume parade she hosted. There are some really funny and creative costumes on there. Check it out! :)

Funnel Cake

See the recipe here.

I did like the commentors (?) suggested and added vanilla. Overall, it was tasty, but so greasy. I'm not a health nut, but sheesh, I just can't eat like that anymore! This will be a "once in a great while" treat. And, thanks to my parents' frying pan where all you had to do was plug it in and turn the knob to the temp you wanted, it was so easy!

I know we're all spoiled in the world of internet tutorials with pictures of each step. Sorry, I'm too lazy for that. Don't worry, it's not hard to figure out. :)

Stroganoff

Found this recipe on cooks.com and made it for us, my brother, and Christy and her hubby one night in California. Everyone really seemed to like it and it was really easy, so I thought I'd share.

Ground Beef Stroganoff
1 pound ground beef, lean
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
10 3/4 ounces (1 can) cream of mushroom soup, condensed
4 ounces mushroom stems and pieces, drained
3/4 cup sour cream, or yogurt

In medium skillet, brown ground beef and onion; drain excess fat. Stir in garlic salt, pepper, soup and mushrooms. Simmer covered, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in sour cream; heat through, but do not boil. Serve over rice, noodles or chow mein noodles.

Serving Size: 4

Christy and I doubled the recipe but only used 1 lb of beef (and didn't tell the guys, muah ha ha) and it worked fine. We also left out the 'shrooms, as Rob put it, 'cause they're icky. Next time I make it I want to try with ground turkey and the plain yogurt.

Homemade Chili

Made this tonight and thought I'd share. Such a good recipe; easy, cheap, really good. Suggestion: serve with Marie Calendar Cornbread mix (deliciousness by just adding water and baking--love it). If you're not an expert cook, the seasonings might look intimidating, but once I bought them, it's been easy to just pull them out to make this every once in awhile. I've always gotten good reviews for this recipe.

DIRECTIONS:
Brown 1 lb ground turkey or beef with dried minced onion and garlic powder to taste. Drain grease and add following:

28-oz can tomatoes, undrained
27-oz can kidney beans, drained
8 oz can tomato sauce
1 can corn (optional)
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp celery salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp worcester sauce

Simmer one hour.

***WARNING: may cause intolerance/disgust for the canned, storebought junk.***

Chicken Pot Pie

My mom made this for us while she was here, and it was so good. Jason and I usually aren't even fans of pot pies at all, so that's saying something! I made it again last night, and it's a bit of a pain to make, but not terrible, and so worth it. I've decided that every time I make it I'll double the recipe and freeze one so I only have to do the process half as often--and I love having meals in the freezer for when I don't feel like cooking.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 c carrots, sliced

1 c potatoes, cubed

1 c chicken broth

1 c half-and-half or canned (evaporated) milk

2 c chicken, cooked and cubed

1/8 tsp thyme

1/8 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic salt

4 Tbsp flour

4 Tbsp margarine

2 refrigerated pie crusts

Take pie crusts out of fridge 1/2 hour before using. In medium sauce pan, melt margarine. Stir in flour, add broth, half-and-half, and seasonings. Cook til thickened. Parboil fresh vegetables. Place veggies and chicken in pie shell in 9" pie pan. Pour sauce over. Add top crust, brush with milk and sugar. Bake at 425 F for 30-40 minutes when fresh, 1 hour when frozen.

Optional veggies: onion [I used about 1/4 c], broccoli, frozen peas.

Sorry I don't have a yummy-looking picture; you'll just have to use your imagination. But here are better pictures!

Turkey Dumplings--for using those leftovers

So I'm really trying to be innovative and thrifty, and since we got to keep all the leftovers from last week (HECK YEAH), I was looking up recipes for using leftover turkey, tried this one, and really, really liked it. The link, if you want to tweak the servings or see the nutrition facts, is http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Turkey-Dumplings/Detail.aspx?src=etaf.

Turkey Dumplings

INGREDIENTS
1 pound cooked, chopped turkey meat
3 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (12 ounce) package refrigerated biscuit dough

DIRECTIONS
Place the turkey, water, salt and pepper in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 to 40 minutes, or until a broth has formed.
Spread flour on a medium cutting board or other flat surface. Roll out biscuit dough and cut it into 1x2 inch pieces. Drop the pieces into the broth and cook over low heat approximately 15 minutes.

My modifications: I added a chicken boullion (however you spell it) cube to the water for extra flavor, as well as some garlic powder and dried minced onions. I had a box of Bisquick mix, so I just mixed up some of that (so easy, just add water) for the dumplings. The box had directions on the back--a good staple to have around. I made one-inch balls and rolled them in flour.

I was wary about this one because it's more labor-intensive than the turkey dogs or macaroni I've often been resorting to lately, but we both really liked it, and it wasn't hard. It's kind of pathetic how happy I am that it turned out well. Let me know if any of you try it, and I hope you like it if you do!

P.S. I have 18 work days left, or less than four work weeks!

P.S. Elizabeth had her baby last night! She was 7 lbs 1 oz and I think 19 in long.

Cranberry Chicken

1 can cranberry sauce
1 cup Russian dressing
1 packet onion soup mix
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Mix first three ingredients together in either crock pot or baking dish. Cut chicken into strips, add to sauce so the pieces are covered in the sauce. Crock pot: cook on low 4 hours, oven: cook for 30 min at 350. Suggestion: serve with instant mashed potatoes so you can spoon the leftover sauce over them.

So. Stinkin'. Easy. And good. Jason loved it. Doesn't taste particularly cranberry-ish, but still really good. Not too expensive either.

The recipe calls to cook it in the crock pot; I just improvised because I don't have time to come home in the middle of the day and do it. Or I do but don't want to. (You only get 40 minutes to eat and relax when it takes you 10 to get home and 10 back.)

Crock Pot Enchiladas

Discovered a really, reeeeeally good new recipe. Jason was practically raving, he loved it so much, and he said he wouldn't mind making it a weekly thing. And it was easy. That's a yay. Thought I'd put it on here, because, well, that's what other wives do. :)

Crock Pot Enchiladas

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (I'm sure turkey would taste great, too)

1 can cheddar cheese soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 (large) can enchilada sauce

1 small can chopped green chilies

tortilla chips

Brown meat in skillet and drain off grease; season to taste. (I used taco seasoning.)

Put meat and all other ingredients except chips in crock pot. Stir it up.

Cook on low about 5-6 hours, stirring occasionally.

About 30 minutes before serving, add chips (enough to be covered in sauce).

When they are softened, they are ready to eat.

It was spicy, but not so I couldn't handle it, and I'm a wuss, so there you go. Hope you like it!