Preparing Our Home... and our Bellies!!

Hi Friends! Happy Monday... or something :-)

One thing we did during our wait to bring Hannah home was make double meals and freeze one of them for later. It was SO helpful in those first few weeks home with her to have yummy meals ready to go. I also found it easy to help out when a friend or family member needed a meal, too!

History is repeating itself in our wait to bring home our next baby(ies) and while our hearts are MORE than ready to bring home the rest of our family, we are making preparations in our home, too! The nursery is ready, the closet is full of diapers and clothes and now it's our freezers turn...

I'm working on a HUGE blog post that consists of (hopefully) dozens of meals that freeze well. My hope is that everyone who is waiting for their sweet baby (through adoption OR pregnancy!!) or maybe just needs freezeable meal ideas for a Meals for Mom's-type of program will have one stop to make (here :-)) to find lots and lots of easy ideas.

Here's where you come in :-)

Will you email me one favorite recipe that you know can freeze well? And while you're at it, if you have any tricks to keep meals fresh while frozen (great containers, labeling methods, etc), pass them along, too!

I'll collect recipes for the next 6 days and will post them all next Monday. We'll keep adding to it and eventually have the longest, most helpful blog post ever :-)

onloanfromheaven@yahoo.com

(Frozen meals meant that we got to spend much more time loving on and snuggling with this sweet baby-girl in her first few weeks home!) 

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken

Yeah, I know. Sounds disgusting.... just stay with me.

My dear friend and fellow adoptive Mom over at Sophie's Hope posted on her Facebook this morning that she was making something delicious for dinner in her crock pot. Since I'm addmittedly a stalker, I didn't leave a comment but read through the half dozen comments people made and found out that she got her recipe from a blog called CrockPot365... ChaChing! This is my dream-blog come true, people and I just have to share the wealth :-)

One commenter mentioned a Cream Cheese Chicken recipe she got off of this blog and it sounded SO gross that I had to see what was in it... and now it's in MY crock pot! It got RAVING reviews and looks so weird that I had to try it.... and let me tell you, my mouth has been watering ALL afternoon! I can't wait until dinner!!! (So the truth is, I haven't actually HAD this dish yet but if if it tastes anything close to how it smells, it will be FABULOUS!)

Now, I'm not a meal planner but I'm working on it (ok, not really). I'm the mom who runs to the store at 4pm because I only have half of the ingredients for the recipe I JUST decided to make (AMEN?!? Anyone?). Needless-to-say, I didn't find this gem of a recipe until 1pm today but I just happened to have EVERY INGREDIENT! It's a miracle! All that to say...here it is:

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken

* 2 cups cream of mushroom soup (i just used 2 cans)

* Frozen chicken breasts (enough to feed the people you are cooking for)

* 2 T. Italian Seasoning

* 1/2 tsp. celery seed

* 1/2 tsp. onion powder

* 1 T. sugar

* 1/4 tsp. pepper

* 1 tsp. salt

* 1 tsp. minced garlic

* 1 block of cream cheese (to add later)

~ Put all ingredients (except cream cheese) in the crock pot... even the frozen chicken

~ Cook on low for 6 hours (I started late today so I cooked it on high for 4 hours)

~ Shred chicken with a fork

~ Mix in softened cream cheese and cook on high for another 30 minutes.

~ Serve over pasta

That's it!! We're eating in about an hour so I'll let you know if it stinks... regardless, it smells SO good :-)

** Update: This was a HUGE hit with me, Joey, and Hannah! I'll definately make it again but next time I'll plan to use one can of cream of mushroom and maybe half or 3/4 of the cream cheese... and add canned mushrooms. Not sure why, it just sounds good :-)

Home-made Chicken Noodle Soup... I NEVER thought I'd see the day!!

It's been a while so I thought I would share what I'm making for dinner tonight. Believe me, I never imagined the day would come where I would attempt to make Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup... Pretty sure the better half of me didn't either :-) HA! My fabulous neighbor made this for us right after my Tonsillectomy last year (nope... I definately don't recommend that!) and it's hands down, way better than Campbells (which is pretty good, in my opinion).

Chicken Noodle Soup

(It looks intimidating but stick with me... it's super easy!)

* Pull chicken off bones and set aside.

Broth:

1- Rotisserie Chicken (well, that's what I used anyway 'cause it cut out a million steps)

3-1/5 quarts water

3- chicken bouillon cubes

1- peeled onion

2- tsp. Italian seasoning

1- tsp. lemon-pepper seasoning

3-tsp. minced garlic

4- bay leaves

* Add bouillon, onion, seasonings, garlic, bay leaves, and bouillon cubes to water and boil for 20 minutes.

* Remove leaves and onion and throw them away.

Ingredients:

2- cups sliced carrots

2- cups sliced celery, with leafy green tops

2- bags of Reames frozen egg noodles

3- Tbsp. minced fresh parsley

1/3- cup grated Parmesan cheese

3/4- half and half or heavy cream

Salt & pepper to taste

*Add carrots to boiling broth and cook for 3 minutes.

* Add celery and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes.

*Add egg noodles and cook according to package directions.

* When noodles are done, add shredded rotisserie chicken, parsley, cheese, cream (or half and half) and cook for another 2 minutes.

* EAT! :-) This makes LOTS of soup and it shares well or freezes well, too!

( If you're watching calories, you can leave out the cheese and cream)



Jambalaya

I'm actually making Chicken Tacos for dinner tonight but I have to share this recipe for Jambalaya with you! Here it is:

Vegetarian Jambalaya (keep reading if you're not Vegetarian... we aren't either and this is a FAMILY favorite!)

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

1 large chopped onion

1 medium chopped bell pepper

2 chopped garlic clove (I've used minced garlic and it worked fine)

1 cup uncooked long grain rice

1 can vegetable broth

1 frozen corn

2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 can drained and rinsed black eyed peas

1 can stewed tomatoes- drained

** Optional: 1-2 links cooked sausage

- Heat oil, cook onion, pepper, garlic for 3-5 minutes

- Stir in rice, cook 3-5 minutes until rice is brown

- Stir in broth. Boil and simmer 15 minutes

- Stir in all remaining ingredients, cover & simmer 5-10 minutes

** Stir in cooked sausage**

This dish has become a family favorite across states for us... colorful, filling, and so healthy. UH.MA.ZING! :-)

So! Try this and let me know what you think... I know you'll love it!

Beef Stroganoff

Did you have a favorite food growing up that you requested for birthdays or special occasions? This is mine; My Mom's Beef Stroganoff... Oh my goodness is this yummy!

1.5-2 Pounds Sirloin tip, sliced thinly
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 packet dry onion soup mix
Sliced muchrooms, canned or fresh (as much as you like)
1/2 cup water
16 ounces sour cream

* Saute meat in a little oil
* Add all but the sour cream and simmer one hour
* Fold in sour cream just before serving
* Serve over rice or egg noodles

I made this last night... it's always yummy but never tastes as good as when my Mom makes it :-)

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

I'm on a recipe roll... join in if you have one to share!

I got the recipe for Crock Pot Chicken Tacos from our previous pastor's wife and they have become a family-favorite!

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

3-4 frozen chicken breasts

1 can black beans

1 can corn

1 can Rotel (or 1 small jar of salsa)

1 packet taco seasoning

~Sometime in the morning, place all ingredients in the crock pot (yes, even the frozen chicken breasts). Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

~ Sometime in the afternoon, use a fork to shred chicken. Re-cover and continue cooking on low for a few more hours.

~ Serve taco mixture over flour or corn tortillas with garnish such as rice, cheese, sour cream, avacado, or salsa.

* For a quicker cooking time, cook on high for 4-6 hours.

ENJOY!