Peanut Butter Gravy

Take 1 teaspoon of your favorite brand of peanut butter and mix with 2 teaspoons hot water. Mix well. Pour over 1 cup of dry DOG FOOD. Sure to make your doggy smile! I know my doggy loves it.

You didn't think it was going to be for human consumption, did you? I guess instead of pouring it over dog food, you could dip crackers in it if you like! (barf)

Courtney's Crumpet Sandwich

1 egg

1 diced mushroom

1 tbsp diced tomato

dash of Louisiana Hot Sauce

1 tbsp diced red onion

1 tbsp mozzarella cheese

dash of garlic salt

dash of cracked black pepper

2 crumpets

Saute mushroom, tomato and onion until soft. Beat egg, add sauteed mixture, Louisiana Hot Sauce, cheese, garlic salt and pepper. Cook in greased skillet until cooked through, turning once (kind of like a pancake). Toast crumpets and create sandwich. If you like, serve with hashbrowns (My Irish, potato-loving husband and I prefer Betty Crocker's Seasoned Skillets).

Jessica Simpson's Chicken & Dumplings

I found this on another blog. Supposedly, this is a recipe by Jessica Simpson. I have made it, and it is delicious!

3 rolls of reduced-fat croissant rolls
1 small rotisserie chicken, skin discarded and meat removed from bones
1 can of reduced fat cream of chicken soup
1 can of reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
1 cup of low-sodium chicken broth
salt
pepper
*I added a small can of peas and carrots

Preheat oven to 400F. Roll out the cans of croissant sheets and separate into diamond shaped sections. Place a small handful of chicken on each diamond, fold dough over and press ends together to create dumplings. Cut up any excess dough into strips. Line a 9x13" baking dish with one layer of dumplings. Pour can of cream of chicken soup over the dumplings, followed by the can of cream of mushroom soup, and chicken broth (and peas and carrots). Place strips in a crisscross pattern on the top of the dumplings and soup mixture, season dish with salt and ground black pepper and bake until the dumplings are tender and cooked through, and the top is bubbly and brown. Approximately 30 minutes.

Annie's Salad & Dressing

My friend, Annie, made this salad and dressing at one of our play dates and I just HAD to get the recipe from her. Since receiving it, I have gotten creative with the salad and make it a little different every time.

Salad Dressing Recipe:

1/4 cup Grey Poupon Mustard
3 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 table spoon sugar
1 tea spoon pepper
1 1/2 tea spoon salt
1 1/2 tea spoon garlic powder
1 tea spoon Italian seasoning

If too bitter, add more sugar.

Salad:
I usually buy a bag of baby greens (I love spinach in a salad, but you could whatever you like)
chopped Strawberries
diced Green Apple
crushed Pecans and/or walnuts
Croutons
Blue Cheese and/or Gorgonzola and/or Feta

I made this when Angela was down and Jennifer came over to visit. Angela suggested adding avocado, which I did the other night, and it was AWESOME! Jennifer suggested replacing the apple with pear. I intend to make it that way one day when it's just for me, Joe's not a big fan of pears. I have also added red onion, carrots, bell pepper, it's all good! Make it, be creative, and enjoy it!

Sorry, no pics of this one either!

Chicken Salad

2 cans white meat chicken
2 chopped celery stalks
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/8 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp onion powder
mayo (I just add until it's the consistency I want - and, yes, "When you bring out the Hellman's, you bring out the best!")
1/4 cup dried cranberries
handful of pecans, walnuts or both
ground pepper
tbsp chopped cilantro
dash of garlic salt

Shred chicken and add mayo, then add all other ingredients. Serve in a whole wheat pita pocket, on sliced bread, with crackers, or even atop a fresh spinach salad. Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!

Chicken Saag with Homemade Roti

That's right, Indian food! Mmm..... This one's sure to knock you Zoners' socks off! LOL

Chicken Saag (out of Cookie magazine)

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (diced and seasoned with salt and pepper)

salt and pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1 chopped onion

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 lbs fresh spinach or 1 lb thawed frozen spinach

2 tbsp garam masala spice (yes, I was able to find it at Wal Mart)

1 cup half and half

jasmine rice, cooked (as much as you like)

Heat olive oil in large pan over medium heat. Add chicken and brown on all sides until cooked through. Remove chicken and set aside. In the same pan, saute onion until translucent. Stir in tomato paste. Add spinach and stir until wilted (or warm if using thawed frozen spinach). Add garam masala, stir and saute 8 minutes. Stir in half and half, add chicken and cook until warmed through. Season with more salt and pepper. Serve over jasmine rice.

Roti (makes 8) (from bellaonline.com)

4 cups of whole wheat flour

1/4 cups of water

Butter

Keep aside a little flour for dusting.

In large bowl, gradually add water to flour and mix well until you have stiff dough. The easiest way to do this is by using clean hands. Knead the dough until it yields a smooth texture and consistency. Cover with damp cloth and let dough rest 10-15 minutes. Knead dough again and divide into 8 equal portions. Roll the individual portions into round golf ball-size balls. Take 1 round ball at a time and flatten it into a round disk using palms. Dust your work area and rolling pin with a little bit of flour to prevent sticking. Gently roll the flattened ball into a circle, making sure the roti is even in thickness. Keep rolling until you have created a thin round roti approximately 8 inches in diameter. Heat a large frying pan on medium heat, add a little butter (or cooking spray) and carefully place the roti in the pan. After a minute or so, turn the roti. Both sides should be golden brown. Brush with butter and serve hot.

***Use the roti like a tortilla to eat the chicken saag. Enjoy!

Easy Peasy Week of Recipes

We're trying to get our rental house, well, rented, so my wonderful husband will be busy showing the house in the evenings this week. His suggestion for quick dinners? Sandwich week! What a great idea! It's so easy, the grocery list isn't very long and I can get as creative as I want. Here's our menu for the week:

Monday: Chicken salad pita with side salad
Tuesday: Grilled cheese with potato soup
Wednesday: Ham salad with potato chips
Thursday: Ham & Turkey Hoagies with jalapeno chips
Friday: Bologna with (leftover) Mock Shirshank Dip & chips...I made more Mock Shirshank Dip over the weekend for the guys during that crappy Mavs game. Boy, were they robbed! If I were Mark Cuban, I would've shoved that camera man too! "Get out of my face! I'm mad! We were robbed!!!" I feel better now...

Bon Apetite!