It Comes With an EKG

Hot Jeff and I have decided, along with 75% of other Americans, that we are going to lose a few pounds come January One. We're going the Weight Watchers route which means we'll be shying away from all things deep fried and cheesy.

Before I continue, I just have to say, I understand that no one is leaving comments because you're trying to teach me a lesson for going on such a long hiatus. However, if one person leaves a comment even implying the question, "Why does Hot Jeff need to lose weight?", I will hunt you down and kill you. And trust me, it won't be anything fun like death-by-chocolate. Are we clear?

So before we do the January-One-Weight-Watchers bit we have decided to go on an eating binge and eat whatever, whenever we want. It's been fabulous. Melissa's tacos, Jana's pizza quiche, holiday beer, donuts, mochas, butter, bacon, candy, even candy wrapped in bacon.

A couple of nights ago we were laying in bed watching 'Man vs. Food' and the host went to Springfield, Ill and tried a bunch of different restaurants. One of the places he ate at was D'Arcy's Pint, famous all over Springfield for the Horseshoe.

The Horseshoe originated in Springfield and was named because it had a large piece of ham on it that was shaped like a horseshoe. It is served on two thick slices of toasted bread, then french fries are added to it and then topped with a cheese sauce. It is pretty much insanity on a plate. It is a cardiologist's worst nightmare.

Modern Horseshoes often have a hamburger patty replacing the ham and Horseshoe cheese sauce recipes are all over the internet.

Over Christmas dinner I told my mother-in-law about it and horror crept across her very thin face. Her appropriate disapproval helped me decide that I just had to make it before the end of the week.

I decided to make it for dinner tonight. Today was our last day of Stay-cation and we had a rough day of shopping with the kids so comfort food was definitely in order. I pattied hamburger, heated oil for fries and went to work on my cheese sauce. The recipe for it follows:

2T butter
2T AP Flour
Make a roux and then add 1 C. of shredded white cheddar and 1 C. of milk. Stir thoroughly and quickly so you don't have any lumps. Then add 1/8 t. of white pepper and 1/4 t. salt. A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce finishes it off. Add more milk if the sauce is too thick; it should be the consistency of gravy. (Mmmm gravy, I need to make something with gravy before Saturday!)

To put the Horseshoe together, toast a piece of Texas toast. Put it on a plate and add your cooked hamburger patty (seasoned the way you like it). On top of that, add crinkle cut french fries. In my research of Horseshoes I found that most bloggers wrote the crinkle cut is the fry of choice as the crinkles add more "divets" for the cheese sauce. Finally, top the heap with the cheese sauce.

I'll be honest, I was disappointed with the Horseshoe. At least my version. Everything I read said the secret to an awesome Horseshoe is the cheese sauce and I didn't think mine was all that great. It was missing something and I'm not quite sure what it was. Hot Jeff on the other hand thought the Horseshoe was pretty much why God made Lipitor. He ate his right up and used the last bite of bread, burger & fry to mop up the remaining cheese sauce on his plate. And just in case you eat like my mother-in-law and don't know, mopping up sauce with bread is the highest compliment you can give Gigi or any other fat girl who has just prepared you a meal.

Kara's Schweddy Balls

2 cups raisins
1 cup chopped almonds
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 t. salt
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
1t. cinnamon
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
3 cup coconut flakes

In a food processor, blend raisins, almonds and peanut butter.

Place in a gallon size ziploc bag with all the other ingredients. Mix until everything is combined.

With a tablespoon, pull out a bit of the mixture and roll in a ball. Repeat until the mixture is gone. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and serve as a delicious, protein packed snack for your kids!

*Thanks Bestie Kara for this great snack!
If you have never seen the classic SNL skit for which I named these balls. Click here.

Green Bean Stir-Fry

I'm fairly certain my friend Rachel never thought she would see her picture under the heading "Green Bean Stir-Fry". Sometimes we just never know what is going to make us famous.

This is my friend Rachel Thurman and her husband Glen. And I'll be quite honest with you, I'm not exactly sure Rachel's husband's name is Glen or if he spells it with one N or two because he's a Greek Orthodox minister and always goes by Father Matthew. Don't you love that? It always strikes me funny that Rachel is married to a minister because she's really irreverent (one of my favorite qualities in a person) so I think Glen, or Fr. Matthew, must be a pretty cool guy. I've never met Rachel's husband, as you may have gathered because they live in Ohio. Rachel is a pediatric nurse and gives fabulous advice over Facebook; you should friend her for her really great pediatric medical advice and Mennonite recipes.

Here's a fab picture of Rachel and I being all cute and cheeky in our college days at Montana State. Neither of us can recall what we were doing in this picture but firmly believe that it must have been fabulous since Elvis was involved.

Alas, the Green Bean Stir-Fry recipe. A picture of this recipe on her Facebook page had me drooling for days (her picture was a lot better than mine). With the exception of canned, I've never met a green bean I didn't like however my family would positively sell me to gypsies if I didn't add carrots to the mixture because they aren't nearly as keen on the green bean as I am. I served it over steamed rice and topped it with toasted sesame seeds. It was Awe.Some. Hats of to Rachel for her dee-lish recipe!

Stir Fried Green Beans

Combine in small bowl and set aside:

1 t. salt

2 t. sugar

2 t. corn starch

2 T. soy sauce

1 c. water or soup stock

Heat in a skillet:

2 T cooking oil

Add:1 lb meat (beef or chicken, cut stir-fry style)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c. onion, diced

Stir-fry over high heat until beef begins to change color. Remove beef, onions, and garlic from skillet and set aside.

If necessary, add more oil and reheat skillet.

Add:1 lb. long green beans (fresh or frozen works)

Stir until beans become bright green. At once add reserved soy sauce mixture and cook, stirring until clear. Cover skillet and cook over medium heat until beans are just crisp-tender. Return beef to skillet, stir well and remove from heat. Serve with rice (I mix white and brown rice, cooked with stock or with some bouillon added).

So I was talking to Cary on the phone today while making myself a delicious little lunch. And the first thing you should know about Cary, besides that she doesn't eat "man food" is that she's always super curious about what others eat. Mainly so she can judge them but also because she finds herself in a black bean rut quite often.

So anyway, she asked me what I was making and I said, "a little sandwich spread with some leftover pot roast I have" and she said, "what"? And the 'what' was in this high pitched tone like I had just told her I was eating a baby.

I guess I just thought everyone made sandwich spread with leftover pot roast. Kind of like how my Mom thinks everyone eats corn with spaghetti.

In case Gigi has never sat you down and showed you how to make a really yummy sandwich spread with leftover pot roast--here you go.

You take some left over pot roast and throw it in a Cuisinart or some other food chopping apparatus and toss in some pickles. And onions if you like onions, which I don't. And you blend it up until it is like tuna fish spread. Only it isn't tuna fish spread; its way better. Because it isn't tuna fish, it is yummy left over pot roast. Then you mix in some mayo and maybe a fuzz of mustard. Dash of salt and pepper and boom, Bob's you're uncle and you have a delicious sandwich spread. Although wheat bread is my bread of choice, you just have to have this on really soft white bread. And it is so good with sour cream and onion chips and crunchy carrots. Mmm, and don't forget the diet cherry coke. It is also good on crackers. Or a spoon.

An alternative to this is chicken breast and I think most people just call that chicken salad but whatever.

Things That Make You Go "Hmm"

If you're reading this in the morning before or during breakfast like Bestie Kim I just apologize right now because I am about to ASSAULT YOUR SENSES with my latest attempt to put my kids in therapy.

Warning: The following pictures may be offensive to some. I give you Hot Dog Octopuses (or is the plural octopusi?):


Facebook friend Margaret posted these pictures on Rachel's Facebook page because Rachel is always making fun things for her kids to eat. I was so intrigued by them I had to make them for my kids. They gobbled them right up and were totally enamored by "sgetti" coming out of hotdogs. Can you blame them??

Here's how you make them: quarter a hotdog and with a toothpick poke holes all the way through the dog. Insert uncooked noodle. Boil until noodle is tender.

Tip: I only inserted 4 noodles per hotdog and thought they came out looking a little wimpy. Next time I will use more noodles even though it will make my octopus anatomically incorrect.

NOT Pork Chop Slop

I've learned a valuable lesson in crock pot cooking: if you're using cream of chicken soup it doesn't really matter what else you're putting in it, its going to taste the same. Go ahead and send me you volatile emails telling me about your favorite cream-of-chicken-crock-pot-recipe that is sooooo good and doesn't taste like Pork Chop Slop but I doubt its going to change my mind.

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and it is exactly the same as Pork Chop Slop except there is some dijon mustard and lemon juice in it. Oh yeah, and you use chicken instead of pork chops. I omitted the carrots it called for because I didn't have any and served with noodles and steamed vegetables: zucchini straight from my not-a-square-foot garden. Rock on.

NOT Pork Chop Slop
Mix 2 cans of cream of chicken soup with 2T of lemon juice and 2T of dijon mustard. Add 2 T of minced garlic. Toss in 4 chicken breasts and 4 chopped carrots; stir to coat. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 4-5. Serve over egg noodles.

Submissive Chicken Update
Many of you wrote me telling me how much you and your families loved Submissive Chicken. Some of you did as I recommended and blackmailed your husbands with the recipe and for that, I applaud you.

Montana BFF, Traci, fed her family Submissive Chicken and got rave reviews from her 6 year old son, Jonah. Below is the email I received from her the day following Submissive Chicken.

Okay, you are going to think I'm making this up and/or coerced him into doing this, but I swear to you that I didn't. I was making chicken fajitas for dinner tonight, and Jonah heard me say "chicken" and he got really excited and said "The good chicken we had last night?!" and I said "No, it's a different chicken." So he went on and on about the chicken we had last night, and then he collected some paper and wrote a book. It's called "My Chicken Book". And it is basically a love letter to Submissive Chicken.

I took a couple pics because I didn't think you'd believe me. Man, this kid is funny. And he loves your chicken.

My Chicken Book
This is my family eating chicken.
This is my chicken.
Eating chicken is my favorite.
I really like chicken.
I really, really like chicken.
I like chicken.
I really, really like chicken.
Chicken is my favorite.
I like chicken.

The kid has a way with words.

Summer Lasagna

Love lasagna but don't want to heat the oven up on a hot, summer night? I made this for the fussy H-clan tonight and it was 8 thumbs up all around!

1 lb. lean ground beef or ground turkey
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 26 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce
1 2/3 c. water
1/4 c. Italian dressing
12 oven-ready lasagna noodles, broken into quarters
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Brown meat in a large saucepan, drain. Stir in garlic, sauce, water and dressing. Bring to a boil. Add noodles, stir and cover.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10-15 minutes or until noodles are al-dente. Stir occasionally.

Remove from heat. Stir in cheese; cover. Let stand for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

FYI, I used more than a cup of cheese because we're a cheese lovin' family and like our dishes gooey. Second, I found as I "stirred occasionally" my noodles were sticking so I had to separate them a bit as they cooked.

If Wishes Were Quiches,
I Mean Kisses

On the back end (haha) of the Mexican Swine flu, Samuel didn't have much of an appetite so I decided to make an old favorite: Crustless Quiche in a mini muffin tray. I've never made a crustless quiche in anything other than a Demarle pan so if you don't have one you're on your own for figuring this recipe out (maybe lots of non-stick spray?).

• 8 eggs
• 1/2 c. of heavy cream (I use nonfat milk though)
• 1 c. shredded cheese (nonfat cheese works but it does make the quiche just a tinge rubbery)
• 1 c. of breakfast meat (sausage, bacon, ham, etc. I use turkey bacon.)
• Chopped veggies like spinach, tomatoes, zucchini (this is a great recipe for slipping in your pureed secrets like squash, carrots, etc)
  
  

Whip the eggs and milk. Fold in meat and veggies. Pour into your pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until a toothpick come out clean. If not baking in a muffin pan but a regular casserole dish, bake for 35-40 minutes or until your toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy with hashbrowns, fresh fruit and a big cup of coffee!

I'll Be the Judge About That
Not that I'm in the habit of not opening email from BFF Traci in Montana but she sent me one yesterday that said in the subject line, "The Best Cake You'll Ever Eat". Let me just say, had my computer scanned that message and found it to be fraudulent and packed with vicious viruses and then sent it to cyber-hell I would have still tracked it down and opened it with the hopes that it really did have the recipe in it to the best cake I had ever eaten. I heart cake.

Here's the recipe exactly the way Traci typed it out to me (which makes it even more delicious I'm sure): Get a mix for a white cake, and take out 3 T. of whatever liquid they call for and replace with 3 T. of creme d'menthe (or however the crap you spell that). You can get the green kind to make the cake green. Bake the cake. (Duh.) Buy some hot fudge topping, microwave it until you can pour it, then put the fudge sauce on top of the cake. Let it cool. Put a little more of the creme d'menthe in some Cool Whip and spread on top of the cake. This is chocolately and minty and sooo yummy.

I really like chocolate and mint and am wondering how it would taste with a choco cake instead of white? Any comments? Oh wait, you guys NEVER comment; why would you start now?

Submissive Chicken
This is my sister in law Jodi's recipe but she calls it Yummy Chicken. After making it the first time I changed the name because I saw amazing things in Hot Jeff: little things like oh I don't know...total submission. :) This chicken is so amazing a friend of mine made this dish to reconcile with his wife--true story.

I made this chicken tonight with no alterior motives yet while I was upstairs bathing the kids (see the picture below), Hot Jeff cleaned up dinner, loaded the dishwasher and vacuumed. LOVE it!

Below is the recipe that will change your life forever. I like to serve it with mashed taters and some sort of steamed veggie. I have written the recipe with Weight Watcher ingredients making a serving only 5 points. If you make your taters with nonfat milk and dijon mustard instead of butter you bring those points way down also. If you want Submissive Chicken to be full strength then replace all the fat free stuff with regular stuff of the same kind.

Preheat oven to 315.

In a baking dish place 4 trimmed chicken breasts. Pour over the chicken one can of 99% fat free cream of chicken soup. Dab a few pats of Brommel & Brown yogurt butter spread over each breast and soup. Sprinkle a layer of fat free cheddar cheese over the gooey love. Cover that layer with Pepperidge Farm herbed stuffing mix.

Bake uncovered for 75 minutes. Serve with taters and steamed veggies (preferably steamed green beans sauteed in garlic). Then...watch your family's eyes glaze over with adoration and prepare to have your husband do your bidding.

Seriously? Does anyone ever get tired of looking at Roo with food all over her face? How cute is she? And while I do recommend mashed taters...I don't recommend eating them with your fingers and I don't recommend peek-a-boo if you do.

*by popular demand, I give you the crockpot beef stew recipe I made on Monday and spoke about on Facebook. This is the post I wrote my guest spot on Bug's blog.

Oh my gosh...how much do I love Dancing with the Stars? There are really not enough words nor adjectives to describe my love for Dancing with the Stars. Monday was Season Eight's electrifying premiere and it did not disappoint. There were Tom Bergeron's witty one liners, lovable Bruno's sexy accent, spray tanned bodies and the perfect blend of great and awful dances.

When I woke up Monday morning my first thought was that I needed to have dinner ready to go right on time so there would be no excuse for chilrens' late baths and postponed bed times. I settled on a crock pot meal that I could make early in the day and then have my afternoon free to get any necessary chores out of the way so that after the babes went to bed I would be a woman free to indulge in her dancing fantasies. My friend Rochelle recently posted on Facebook her recipe for Crockpot Beef Stew and I give you the recipe now. However, it will from here on out be known as "Dancing with the Stars Premiere Night Crockpot Beef Stew" (I would imagine this recipe will be a good one to repeat for the equally anticipated DWTS finale.)

Dancing with the Stars Premiere Night Crockpot Beef Stew

In your crockpot, mix a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes with one envelope of onion soup mix and 1T of "Minute" tapioca. Mix in 1t. of sugar, 1T of salt and 1/2t of pepper. Toss in 2-3 pounds of stew meat along with one chopped onion. Add 3-4 pounds of chopped potatoes and 6 chopped carrots. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. Serve with a tossed salad and buttermilk biscuits. Mmm.

Tuesdays With Traci

Meal Swap – One of the best things I did this year

First, this is not for everyone. If you are a picky eater or have family members with severe allergies you can stop reading here, this post is probably not for you. On the other hand, if you like to have home-cooked meals, eat a wide variety of foods, and like the ease of having dinner ready in the freezer, you may want to give this a shot.

What the meal swap entails:
*4-6 ladies
*Each lady makes 1 meal for the number of ladies in the swap
*On a set day of the month everyone gets together to swap meals. If there are 6 ladies each person will leave with 6 different meals.
*There is a money cap per meal; ours is $6.
*Most meals can be stored in Ziploc bags. This not only saves room in the freezer but money because you aren't buying aluminum containers every month. (To the right is a picture of 6 freezer meals stored vertically in my freezer.)
*Menus, dietary restrictions, meal sizes, and other issues are agreed upon by the ladies in the swap.

Here are some great websites to get freezer meals: http://freezerchicks.blogspot.com/ ,
http://www.30daygourmet.com,/ http://www.once-a-month-cookingworld.com/ , http://www.recipezaar.com/.

There are several books at the library about freezer meals/once-a-month cooking. Another book that I just found and fell in love with is Fix-It and Forget-It, 5-Ingredient Favorites.

We’ve been doing the meal swap for a year now and our group has ebbed and flowed. There are only two of the original ladies me being one of them. But our group actually birthed a new group last month so the idea is catching on.

Finally, I want to leave you with one of our meal swap favorites:

Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole
½ cup onion, chopped
1 box wild rice, prepared
1 c mayo
1 c cheddar cheese
1 can green beans
1 can cream of celery
3 shredded chicken breasts

1. Sauté onions in butter.
2. Add everything else in mixing bowl.
3. Put mixture in 11 x 13 dish.
4. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes (or until bubbly).

For freezing: Prepare as directed in steps 1 and 2. Then put in a Ziploc bag and freeze flat. For eating: Thaw in bag. Continue with steps 3 and 4.

Pan Fried Steak. Yumm-O

It was "Ranch" night at my house tonight so we went out and butchered one of our prized heifers and fried us up some steaks (too rainy to grill). My Gigi lived on a ranch for years and years so I called her up to get her expert advice on pan fryin' a steak. A good, marbled steak will have a lot of flavor and you can cut the big chunks off afterwards. Note, this isn't a "low fat" dinner. It isn't for you faint of heart women who get all weak in the knees when you're talkin' butcherin' and meat fat!

Start with a nice hot skillet with about a tablespoon of olive oil in it. After it gets nice and bubbly, kick in another tablespoon of butter ("everythin's better with butta"). I don't know why you mix the two, I just do what Gigi tells me to. Gigi knows all things pan frying.

Salt and pepper both sides of your steaks with some good, fresh pepper and sea salt.

A yummy side dish with your pan fried steaks are fried potatoes. Boil a heap of red taters and when they are just a bit softened drain them and let cool. Slice them up and then throw them in a hot pan also oiled up with olive oil. Add a good dose of salt, pepper and either onions or onion seasoning. Get them good and brown and serve them with your steaks and choice of steamed veggies (you gotta get some healthy food in there and we like carrots or green beans).

Ok, now back to the steaks...

You want to "sear" them on a good high heat; about 2-3 minutes on each side. Reduce the heat down to a medium low and cover. Cook to your preference. Jeff likes them Medium and I'm a girl who likes it good and done so I have to let mine cook a good 10 minutes longer than his. I would love to give you some cooking times because that's what a really good recipe would do but truthfully it all depends on the thickness of your steaks. If you're going to pin me down on a cooking time I would say to do it the same amount of time you would if you were grilling it. If you are really are clueless, give me a call or shoot me an email and we'll talk thickness and times and I'll give you my best guesstimate.

A few things to remember before you serve those babies up:

1) Searing it locks in the juice

2) The less you mess with it, i.e. flipping it, the better for the steak

3) Always let your steak "rest" a good 5 minutes before serving.

A good red wine, we chose a Merlot, always goes great with Ranch night. Mmm. Go ahead and get started on the bottle even before dinner; its been a long day. Ooh, I almost forgot: what Gigi is famous for...her pan fried steak pan gravy. Get out good! After you pull your steaks off and you're letting them rest, throw a can of evaporated milk in the hot pan. Stir up all those yummy bits, juice and milk until just barely boiling. Pull it off and serve it up (remember if it boils too hot or long it will curdle). The gravy is yummy over the steaks and taters.

So now you can have Ranch night at your house. Even if you're a little squeamish talkin' beef your husband will just love you for Ranch night. Hot Jeff is a carnivore and loves Ranch night; he gives me those sweet bedroom eyes and shouts out a "yeehaw" with his steak knife high in the air; he's an ol' cowpoke at heart.

My cousin Annie sent this email to me and I just loved it. Ultimately I believe that what brings the most peace to a life is knowing Jehovah-Shalom intimately and walking in relationship with Him. With that said, these are some wonderful things to try to do daily.

Great recipe for a peace-filled life
1. Take a 10 to 30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God about what is going on in your life. Buy a lock if you have to.
3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement,'My purpose is to __________ today. I am thankful for______________'
4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years,will this matter?'
17. Forgive everyone for everything.
18. What other people think of you is none of your business.
19. God heals everything - but you have to ask.
20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will stay in touch.
22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.
24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it.

Tuesdays With Traci

This recipe is not one I created. I got it from a coworker when I was living in Turkey. Since that time, however, I have become known for these cookies. They are amazing. I thought I'd share the recipe with all of you since you live far from me and can't invade my territory. *wink, wink*

The story behind the name: I gave this recipe to a friend who was getting married. Her husband, as it turned out, had a great love of oatmeal cookies. The next Sunday he came to me at church and thanked me profusely for giving his new bride this recipe. I hope you enjoy them too!

"Your Husband Will Thank Me” Oatmeal Cookies

¾ c vegetable oil
1 c brown sugar
½ c sugar
1 egg
¼ c water
1 t vanilla
1 c flour
1 t salt
1 t cinnamon
½ t baking soda
3 c quick oats
Nuts or raisins (if preferred, I don’t)

Mix all ingredients together and drop by teaspoonfuls to cookie sheet. Bake 350 F for 5-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Yield: 3 dozen (The most I've ever cooked at one time was 18 dozen.)

Note on cook-time: If you want soft cookies, cook 8 minutes, this is how I prefer them. Some people like their oatmeal cookies harder. If so, cook them 10 minutes. They get hard quick so be careful not to overcook.

Grandma Emily's Caramel Corn -- WW points : 5 bazillion
6 quarts popped popcorn (yes, quarts!)
1 c butter or margarine (I even get by using Brummel & Brown whipped yogurt)
2 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c corn syrup
1 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 t vanilla

Find something big enough to put your popcorn in; a roasting pan works great

Melt butter, stir in brown sugar, corn syrup & salt. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly. As soon as it comes to a rolling boil, stop stirring and let boil for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in baking soda & vanilla.

Pour over popcorn and mix well.

Call Gigi and tell her it's no where near as good as her's...

Pork Chop Slop
I had this at Hot Jeff's mom and dad's house this weekend. She had been given the recipe by Hot Jeff's sister, Jodi. I don't know what the name is and there is a lot of dumping involved so I named it "Pork Chop Slop".

In a crock pot, over 4 trimmed pork chops, dump in a can of cream of mushroom soup. Dump in another can of cream of chicken soup. Dump in 1/4 cup of chicken stock or broth. Dump in some minced garlic and salt and pepper. Cook on high for 6 hours. Right before serving shred the pork and give it a good stir. Serve over bowtie pasta.

I served it with steamed green beans and sauteed some garlic and pine nuts in a little olive oil to put on top of the beans. Mmm. I also made it with fat free cream of mushroom and chicken soups to bring down the ol' weight watcher points!

The perfect recipe for a cold winter's night!

Reindeer Food, of course

Samuel and I were writing a letter to Santa today which naturally led to a discussion about leaving cookies out for Santa on Christmas Eve. Samuel then asked what "reindeers eats" to which I replied what Christmas lore has told us for centuries: "reindeer food". Duh. After the little boy wonder went to bed tonight I hit the internet in search of what Santa's reindeer really do eat and I've decided this will be a tasty treat that Santa, his reindeer and Samuel will all enjoy.

Puppy Chow (now aptly renamed to "Reindeer Food")

9 cups Corn Chex®, Rice Chex®, Wheat Chex® or Chocolate Chex® cereal (or combination)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS
Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.
In 1-quart microwavable bowl, stir together chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Microwave uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

No Soup For You

I'm not a soup fan but had this soup last week at the home of Barb Burge...it was so yummy I got her permission to post the recipe. Its a great soup for Autumn and if it makes too much cut the recipe in half...

BUTTERNUT SQUASH & BARLEY SOUP

5-6 boneless chicken breasts or thighs (I use a 3lb bag of frozen chicken from Winco)
1 big butternut squash, peeled, and cut in 2" chunks
4 each carrots & celery stalks, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 onion cut into 1/2" wedges
1 T parsley
16 cups water (can be partial chicken broth)
Add above ingredients to soup pot and boil, then simmer for 45 minutes.

Add: 1 1/2 cups barley
Cook 45 minutes longer.

Add:
curry powder to taste
2 T kosher salt (or more, to taste)
1 t pepper
chicken bouillon to taste, if needed

Mash some of the squash for thickening. Remove chicken, cut into bite-size pieces, and return to the pot. Enjoy!