Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Broccoli Chicken Cups Recipe


Broccoli Chicken Cups



  • Prep: 15 min. Bake: 25 min.
  • Yield: 12 Servings
  • 15 25 40 Ingredients 

    2 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken

    1 can (10 3/4 oz) Cream of Chicken soup

    1 cup frozen chopped broccoli (thawed and drained)

    2 small plum tomatoes (seeded and chopped)

    1 small carrot, grated

    1 TBS Dijon Mustard

    1 chopped garlic clove

    1/4 teaspoon pepper
    1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
    1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese


    Directions

    • In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry into a 12-in. x 9-in. rectangle. Cut lengthwise into four strips and widthwise into three strips. Gently press puff pastry squares into muffin cups coated with cooking spray.
    • Spoon chicken mixture into pastry cups. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. 
    • Yield: 1 dozen.

    I thought these looked neat--let me know if you try them!?

    Friday, March 22, 2013

    Taco Bake Recipe


     
     
     
    Taco Bake

    Ingredients:
    1 pound ground beef
    1 packet taco seasoning
    * water as called for on back of seasoning packet
    3 large flour tortillas (8-inch size)
    ... 1/2 cup Salsa Con Queso
    1 1/2-2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend

    Directions:
    Brown and crumble ground beef. Drain excess grease.
    Add in taco seasoning and water (following directions on back of seasoning packet).
    Once the taco meat is ready, turn off heat and add in 1/2 cup salsa con queso.
    Give it a good stir until thoroughly combined.
    Preheat oven to 350F degrees.Spray an 8-inch round baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
    Layer the bottom of the pan with a flour tortilla.
    Now add about 1/3 of the ground beef taco filling on the the first layer.
    Then add 1/3 of the shredded cheese.
    Continue until you are done with all the layers: another tortilla, more taco mixture, more cheese.
    Bake at 350F degrees for about 15-20 minutes.Until cheese is melted and edges are slightly golden brown.
    Allow to cool for a couple of minutes.
    Then slice and serve.
    Serve with some sour cream and diced tomatoes on top.
     
    *You could easily tweek this to make it healthy by using your own "homegrown" salsa and tomatoes--and mixing your own taco seasoning  :)
     
    This sounds like a fun "Family Night" meal doesn't it!?

    Thursday, March 7, 2013

    Longwood February 2013 Part 2

    More random examples of God's awesome, amazing handiwork!











    And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
    12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

    I'll post more in another post :)

    Wednesday, March 6, 2013

    Longwood February 2013

    Briana and I snapped up a deal on Groupon to go to Longwood Gardens...
    We knew our time was limited because she will be going away for 2 weeks during
    the short time the groupon was good, so we were quite thrilled to have a "Spring-like" day
    crop us for us to go! It's a lovely Mother/Daughter trip!
    We started out doing the grounds on one side of the gardens...


    And then we moved into the Conservatories for awhile--I can't tell you how gorgeous it is here,
    and what a boost it gives your spirit to be in the lushness of these flowers in the dead of winter!

    God's creation is evident everywhere you look!
    The main feature this time of year are the Orchids.
    Amazing how many varieties God made of this lovely flower!


    The colors on the one below aren't flashy, but I find something so appealing about them!

    The one below always reminds me of ladies in fancy dresses :)


    Everything is such a feast for the eyes...and the camera!
    I really had a chance to "break" my new camera in that the
    kids and Phil gave me for Christmas!

    If you look left on the above picture, you can see a grapefruit tree :)

    I just picked some random interesting shots to post


    You can see below that Bri was in her "picture taking glory"!







    The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; Song of Solomon 2:12
    I will post some in a separate post so I don't "overload" you!

    Tuesday, March 5, 2013

    Spinach Gnocchi Recipe

    Hope today finds you happy and healthy!
    I am getting sooo many pins on this recipe on my pinterest, I thought I'd share it here too :)

    Spinach Gnocchi

    Recipe Courtesy of Catherine McCord and Weelicious: One Family, One Meal

    makes 40 small gnocchi balls

    One 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
    1 cup full-fat ricotta cheese
    2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling
    1 large egg yolk
    2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting your hands while rolling

    Squeeze all of the water out of the spinach using your hands (do it in small handfuls over a bowl to make sure you don’t lose any spinach) and then again in a clean dish towel to remove as much liquid as possible (see Note).
    Place the spinach, ricotta cheese, 2/3 cup of the parmesan cheese, the egg yolk, and 2 tablespoons flour in a food processor and pulse until the spinach is in tiny pieces and the mixture is thoroughly combined.
    Dust your hands with a little flour so the mixture doesn’t stick to your hands.
    Take 1 teaspoon of the spinach mixture and roll it into a tiny ball. Place it on a plate covered with parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.
    Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the gnocchi in small batches - no more than several at a time - and cook for 3 minutes, or until they rise to the surface.
    Using a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi to a plate or bowl.
    Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.

    Note: This recipe will not succeed unless you remove all the water from the spinach so that it’s as dry as possible. If you do not drain the spinach well, the gnocchi will fall apart while cooking in the water.

    To Freeze: After step 4, place the gnocchi on a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes. Transfer to a zip-top bag, label, and freeze for up to 4 months. When ready to cook, thaw at room temperature and start at step 5. 
    Enjoy!
    And, let me know if you try this!? :)

    Friday, March 1, 2013

    Almost Spring....



    Well ladies, I did indeed start my Spring Housecleaning!
    It kind of happened by accident :)



    My son went on a road trip to visit a friend, so I took the opportunity to tear his room apart and
    clean and organize it!
    That led to more cleaning of other rooms, and before I knew it, I had officially begun my
    Spring Housecleaning!
    My focus while cleaning this year is to remember to be thankful for my home.
    I think of the ones in NJ who have been out of their homes for so long because of Hurricane Sandy and
    my heart goes out to them.
    I am very thankful to have a home to clean--and family members to clean for!
    I'm also thankful to God that He has allowed me to get well enough to clean!
    Oh, and  I'm so thankful for being able to stay at home to clean!
    I am blessed!