Guest Cook Connor prepares BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

My grandson Connor made these at home yesterday. The Original Recipe is here.

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (Connor used ground chicken, which he had to cook)
• 6 hamburger buns, split and toasted

Directions

• In a large saucepan, saute the onion, celery and garlic in butter until tender.

• Stir in the salsa, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, salt and pepper.

• Stir in chicken. Bring to a boil.

• Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve about 1/3 cup chicken mixture on each bun. Yield: 6 servings.

Chicken Noodle Soup (Crockpot)

Chicken Noodle Soup (Crockpot)

Chicken
Amish style noodles (Or wide egg noodles)
"Better Than Bullion Chicken Soup Base"
Onion, chopped
Garlic, minced
Celery, chopped (I used frozen celery tops and leaves saved from making celery sticks)
Peas and Carrots (I use frozen)
turmeric
sage (Or poultry seasoning)
bay leaf

Fill the crockpot just over half full of hot water.
Make sure the crockpot is plugged in! (How many times have I forgotten to do this?!!!)
Turn to "High"
Add your chicken. Mine was frozen, and in whole pieces. I used three breast halves.
Add the chopped onions, garlic, celery, bay leaf, sage, turmeric.
Cover. Allow to cook several hours.
After about 2 1/2 hours, we removed the chicken from the broth and chopped it up. Remove the bones if you used bone-in chicken.
Return the chicken to the broth.
Add the frozen peas and carrots. (I used about a cup and a half of frozen mixed peas and carrots)
Turn crock pot down to low, if it is going to be awhile until you eat.
Cover, allow to continue to cook.
Depending on the noodles, you will want to turn the crock pot back up and add the noodles 1/2 to 1 1/2 hours before you plan to serve. (I added two good handfuls of noodles, about 1 1/4 cups of the wide Amish style noodles. These are thick and hearty, and take quite awhile to cook.)

Thanks to my mother in law Arlene, Tom was raised believing that you have mashed potatoes  when you have chicken noodle soup. My kids love it their noodle soup served over the top of mashed potatoes... which is why I don't add potatoes to the soup. As starch heavy as this manner of serving the soup is, it is completely delicious.

Spinach and Mushroom Salad

This salad is a wonderful winter salad, when fresh salad vegetables are scarce. It is also VERY simple!  My friend Angie Brown taught me how to make this salad. It has been one of my favorites from my first bite!

Spinach and Mushroom Salad

Fresh Spinach, cleaned and torn into bite sized pieces

Sweet Onion, diced (purple/red onion also works well)

Mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

Bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

Toss together in a large bowl. (Hold the bacon until just before serving.)

Cover and refrigerate undressed leftover salad.

Dressing:

3/4 Cup REAL mayonnaise (NOT miracle whip)

1/4 Cup milk

1 tablespoon bacon drippings (fat from cooking bacon)

2 Tablespoons bacon crumbles

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Make ahead and refrigerate. Stir before serving, thin with additional milk if necessary. Dress salad just prior to serving. Will keep in refrigerator 3 or 4 days.

One really nice way to brighten this salad is with a can of drained mandarin orange sections. Add a teaspoon of the orange juice packing to the dressing!



"Lewis and Clark" Hominy

A couple of years ago, we did a unit study of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with the boys in our homeschool. We checked out a book from the library that had recipes of the types of foods eaten on this expedition to explore a great expanse of the uncharted western area that was to become part of the United States. This recipe is one we added to our family favorites!

Lewis and Clark Hominy

Hominy (I use canned, drained)

Bacon, chopped

Onion, chopped

Cayenne pepper (ground red pepper)

Fry bacon crisp in a heavy skillet. Remove from skillet.

Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease.

Add chopped onion and saute until soft.

Add the drained hominy, and the cooked bacon. Cook until hominy is heated through.

Sprinkle with cayenne pepper.

 Serve!

Fiesta Corn

Fiesta Corn

Frozen whole kernel corn

Roasted peppers

Butter

I dressed up our common vegetable side dish of corn by simply adding some chopped roasted peppers (The roasted peppers were one of the first recipes on this blog.)

Pour the amount of (frozen) corn you wish to use into a microwave safe bowl. add a bit of butter, and a few chopped roasted peppers.

Cover loosely (wax paper works well) and microwave until the corn is hot, stirring one or more times.

You can also use drained canned corn in this recipe. You could make it on the stove top as well, adding a small amount of water to the corn as you heat it over medium low heat. (Do not drain all the liquid from the corn if you are using canned corn on the stove top.)

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches (French Dip)

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches (French Dip)

Roast beef, sliced as you like
Hard rolls (I like a whole wheat bolilio)

dry Onion Soup mix

Swiss cheese
Onion, halved then sliced into thin slices (I prefer sweet onions)
Portobello mushrooms, if desired, (Sliced)
Olive Oil

(I usually use the Crock Pot for the meat/ broth, but it is easily done in any pot.)

Place the  sliced roast beef into a pot. (a covered one is nice but not essential.)

Sprinkle with one envelope of dry onion soup mix.

Add hot water... half  to 3/4 the amount the onion soup directions call for.

Simmer over low heat.

In a heavy skillet, cook the onion slices in a small amount of olive oil, separating them as you go. I like to cook them until they are brown and caramelized.

(You may add the mushrooms a few moments before the onions are done. I like to drizzle them in olive oil and let them soak it up before cooking them!)

Slide the onions (and mushrooms!) to one side of the skillet, and grill the bread halves in the olive oil.

Place the bottom half of the grilled bread on the plate, top with steaming hot roast beef, onions,  (mushrooms if you made them!) and cheese. I like to pour a few spoonfuls of the onion soup broth over all of this.The grilled bread "top" comes next, of course.  I have a small bowl of the onion soup broth on the side for dipping the sandwich into.

Easy Baked Italian Chicken

Baked Italian Chicken

Chicken, cut up, or your favorite cuts (can be Boneless, skinless, or neither)

 Italian salad dressing (NOT creamy!) (Your favorite brand. I like Marzetti.)

Place the chicken in a casserole dish.

Pour bottled Italian dressing over the chicken. You want the chicken well coated, as well as some in the casserole dish. Be generous.

Cover (with foil if you do not have a lid)

Bake at 350* for 25 minutes.

Remove foil, turn chicken. Return to oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes (or longer). You want the chicken to be done, but not dry. The cooking uncovered allows chicken with skin on it to crisp up a bit. Allow to sit for just a few moments before serving.

I like to serve this with a green salad, or even cut up IN a green salad. Also great served over cooked rice.