Happy 2010

Happy New Year to you! I am spending it with the Hubbie's side of the family in Texas. I took my first flight where I had to transfer planes half way through. I didn't get sick so that was a major plus.

I've been going over may recipes that I want to try out for the new year so keep coming back and checking out what's new. Thanks to those who follow my blog and to those who come in from time to time!

Happy 2010, be safe, and happy.

Christmas Vacation

It is time for my well deserved 3 week long Christmas Vacation. We got out on Friday and Saturday the little family and I headed up to PISMO , CA! It's a beautiful little beach town. We have an ocean front hotel room that accepts dogs, so it's lovely.

Sammy and I just got back from a nice long walk on the beach. Sammy is a "water dog" but doesn't like water. So my hubby and I bought water shoes so we could walk along the shore line and not have to worry about getting our shoes wet when trying to assist our dog in liking the water.

Here are some picture we took!

Let the baking begin.

It's Christmas time and the holiday baking will soon begin. I've got a few people and parties to bake for. I'm excited!

What's on the menu? Wait and see....

Easy Chicken Fajita Soup

INGREDIENTS


(From Allrecipes.com)

* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
* 1 (1.27 ounce) packet fajita seasoning
* 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
* 1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
* 1 poblano pepper, cut into thin strips
* 1 large onion, cut into thin strips
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
* 1 (15 ounce) can seasoned black beans
* 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
* 1 dash hot sauce
* salt and pepper to taste

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DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Place chicken in the hot oil; cook, stirring only occasionally, until brown, about 10 minutes.



Sprinkle fajita seasoning over the browned chicken and stir well to coat. Add the red and green bell pepper, poblano pepper, and onion to the seasoned chicken. Stir and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.



2. Pour the fire roasted tomatoes, black beans, and chicken broth into the pot with the chicken and vegetables. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.



3. Season the soup with if you want hot sauce) salt, and pepper to taste before serving.

***I also added Kidney Beans, Corn and Cilantro to the mix in the pot. Then I added some cheese and sour cream after along with crushed tortilla chips. I also doubled the chicken stalk to make it a little more stewy/soup like.

Mac and Cheese Pie

From Betty Crocker



Ingredients:

1 C uncooked elbow Macaroni
2 C shredded Cheddar Cheese (I used a blend)
1/2 C Bisquick mix (I used the heart smart kind)
1 1/2 C milk
2 Eggs

(Things I added to it)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Paprika
Greek Seasoning (making everything taste better)


1.Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. Place uncooked macaroni in pie plate.


Sprinkle with 1 3/4 cups of the cheese.



2. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients until blended.


Pour into pie plate.


3. Spray sheet of foil with cooking spray; place sprayed side down over pie plate. Bake 20 minutes.



Uncover and bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.



Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.



Bake 1 to 2 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Check em out

StaceyBug Creations just posted some REALLY cute Halloween cards. Here's a sample, go check out the rest!

NEW CARDS

StaceyBug Creations has some GREAT new cards up on their website. You should check it out!

EASY Salsa Chicken

This is a GREAT recipe to create and build on and add your own spin. Here is the basic recipe! Enjoy my friends.


INGREDIENTS



2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1/2 lb)
2 teaspoons Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix (from 1-oz package)
1/2 cup Old El Paso® Thick 'n Chunky salsa
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz)
1 tablespoon sour cream, if desired

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Sprinkle both sides of chicken breasts with taco seasoning mix;
place in ungreased 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish.


Pour salsa over chicken.


2. Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until chicken is fork-tender and juices run clear. Sprinkle cheese evenly over chicken;


bake 3 to 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.



Serve with sour cream.

Easy Greek Pastichio Recipe

**Making Greek food takes A LOT of time and hard work. My mom came up with this recipe to make it easier on me as her authentic recipe she has "all in her head".

Easy Greek Pastitsio



l package Greek noodles (it really does make all the difference)
l lb. lean ground beef
l onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
l can (15oz.) tomato sauce
3 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup plus Tbs. grated Romano cheese, divided
5 eggs, at room temperature
l jar (16oz.)Alfredo sauce
olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet

Cook noodles according to package directions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In skillet over medium heat cook beef, onion and garlic in olive oil until browned, 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low.


Stir in next 5 ingredients; cook 5 minutes.



Spread half of pasta in ungreased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle 1/4 cup Romano cheese. Top with even layer of beef mixture, then the remaining pasta.


In bowl with mixer at medium-high speed beat eggs until very thick and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. If using hand mixer, beat about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to low, gradually beat in Alfredo sauce. Sauce will thin slightly, but be care not to over beat the mixture.



Immediately pour sauce mixture over pasta, sprinkle with remaining Romano cheese. Bake until top is slightly puffed and browned, about one hour.


Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Creamy Spinach Ricotta Pasta (from family circle)

Makes: 8 Prep: 20min.
Bake: 425 for 25 min.

Ingredients:



1 lb. Rigatoni
1 can (15oz)diced tomatoes with basil, onion and garlic
1 cup fresh chopped onions
1 box (10oz) frozen chopped spinach (drained)
2 1/2 c. jarred Alfredo sauce
1 1/2 cups of ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs (I used Panko)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1. Hear oven to 425 and coat 13X9 in. baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta following package directions. Drain; return to pot.



Stir in tomatoes and chopped onions.
3. Cook spinach in microwave following package directions. Squeeze out moisture. Transfer to a bowl. Add Alfredo sauce, ricotta, garlic salt and pepper; stir to combine.



4. Transfer spinach mixture to pasta pot; toss to combine.

Transfer pasta mixture to prepared baking dish.


5. Mix together bread crumbs, Parmesan and oil. Sprinkle over pasta.



Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Gliders

So, one thing I know is a must have when having a baby, is a glider in the baby's room. It makes life so much easier to sooth a crying baby, feed, and get the little one to sleep?

Any mommies out there want/need one? Go check out Two of a Kind Working on a Full House's blog.

They are giving away an AWESOME Glider from Stork Craft

A Bridal Shower Activity.

Ok so I haven't shared any of the games with you that will be played at the shower on Saturday (at least not that I can remember). Here is an activity that just popped into my head today and I had the supplies so....

I created a journal. Everyone at the shower will have a page to write to the Bride-to-be. They can write words of wisdom and advice, sweet memories, blessings etc. That way the bride can always come back to this journal in times of need or every now and again, read the advice and words on encouragement her friends once gave her. Since there are several pages the bride can also come back to this journal and record her own thoughts, tips and advice about marriage that she may want to remember as she experiences them.

Here's the journal:

Front Cover:


Each inside page:


The back cover:

Gift List

Ok so I used some scrapbooking paper I used for the tags in my earlier post today and made a cute little Gift Giver List for my friend's Bridal Shower on Saturday.

Bridal Shower

So as I may or may not have told you before, I am hosting a Bridal Shower for one of my Best Friends on Saturday. There are 2 little girls coming... one 3mo. and the other a little over a year. I made favors for the grown ups that will be there, and I thought it would be cute to get them a little favor as well! Here's what I bought for them. I just made a cute little tag with their names on them.

Spinach and Feta Pita Bake

YUMMY,YUMMY, YUMMY is all I can say... It was quick and SUPER EASY to make!

I altered the recipe because I couldn't find regular sized pitas. However.... here is the full recipe. Thank you allrecipes.com .


INGREDIENTS


* 6 (6 inch) whole wheat pita breads
* 1 (6 ounce) tub sun-dried tomato pesto
* 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
* 1 bunch spinach, rinsed and chopped
* 4 fresh mushrooms, sliced
* 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
* 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 pinch ground black pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Spread tomato pesto onto one side of each pita bread, and place them pesto side up on a baking sheet.


Top with tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, feta cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and season with pepper.




3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven or until pita breads are crisp. Cut into quarters and serve.