Crock pot potato soup

Happy late Thanksgiving! I 'm a little late I know. Since we traveled to Arizona to celebrate Thanksgiving  this year, I didn't make anything for dinner. Last year I made a pecan pie and brought it but this year I had too many things going on. I did however buy three, 10 pound bags of potatoes. They were on sale for 99cents each. The question now is what to do with them all. So, I decided to try one of the many crock pot soup recipes I've been looking at. I tried this recipe from Hannah.  It was so easy and delicious. It does make a lot of leftovers though. I would recommend cutting the recipe in half if you are making it for two.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:
5 pounds russet potatoes, diced, NOT Peeled
5 Tbsp TS Garlic Garlic  (I don't have garlic garlic so I used 2 Tbsp Garlic salt and 1 Tbsp garlic powder)
1 large onion, chopped
64 oz chicken broth or stock
16 oz cream cheese
bacon, sour cream, chives, or shredded cheese for toppings

Directions:
Combine first 4 ingredients in your crock pot, cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5. Purée soup in food processor with cream cheese. (I don't have a food processor and I didn't want to use a blender so I just put the cream cheese into the crock pot and used a hand mixer. It worked great. It left a few chunks but I thought it tasted really good that way.) Serve warm topped with bacon, sour cream, shredded cheese & chives.

This recipe is pretty easy and it tastes really yummy. I was happy to find a way to use 5 of the 30 pounds of potatoes I bought.

Extreme Couponing

Have any of you seen the show Extreme Couponing? Well, lets just say I loved it and I watched every episode there was to see on Netflix and now I want to be an extreme couponer. Not seriously, but I thought that I would probably save a lot more money if I would look at the sales for the week and compare it to the coupons I have. I usually just use a few random coupons every time I go to the store. But, I decided to go to the grocery store with a plan. So, here is what I did. If any of you live in Southern California, I go to Ralphs, which I believe is a Kroger grocery store.

They have a deal, buy 5 items, get $5.00 off at the register.
So, I went to coupons.com where you can print out coupons and found the items that were part of the 10 items that are already on sale.

1. marshmallows- on sale for $0.69- use coupon .50 off two bags of Kraft marshmallows
only $0.44 a bag after coupon

2. stovetop- on sale for $0.88 each- use coupon $1.00 off any 2
only $0.38 each after coupon

3. cream of chicken or mushroom soup- on sale for $0.69- use coupon save $1.00 on any 4
only $0.44 each after coupon

With some of these coupons, they say "Walmart" on them. They are manufacturer's coupons, when they print, they will not say Walmart on them and you can use them anywhere you want. Don't let it dissuade you from printing it.

One thing I learned while trying to be an "extreme couponer"... is that you can use "manufacturer's coupons anywhere. If you look at the top left corner of your coupons, they will either say manufacturer's coupon or store coupon. Sometimes coupons will print at the register when I'm at Albertson's for example and as long as they say "manufacturer's coupon at the top, I can use it at any grocery store I want. It's also nice because I get coupons in the mail from Ralph's all the time and most of them say manufacturer's coupon on the top, so they are accepted at any grocery store. One lady at the register looked at me yesterday when I handed her a coupon that said Ralph's at the bottom, but I told her it was a manufacturer's coupon and it should work so she scanned it and it worked.  YAY!!!


I don't think I'll ever have the courage to ring up a grocery bill any where near what they do on Extreme Couponing but I hope to start shopping a little smarter.

PF Chang's Mongolian Beef

I absolutely love PF Chang's. I love their lettuce wraps and especially their Mongolian Beef. I decided to try a copy cat recipe. It was delicious! Leftovers were gone by Monday afternoon. This recipe was also very easy, which makes me love it even more. It didn't have any of those questionable ingredients either. You know, those ones where you wonder if you will ever use it again for anything else. So, overall it was a great recipe and I made it in just 45 minutes. I got the recipe from Six Sister's Stuff

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup water
¾ cup dark brown sugar
vegetable oil , for frying (about 1 cup)
1 lb flank steak
¼ cup cornstarch
2 large green onions, chopped

Directions: 

Sauce:
Heat 2 tsp. of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat.  Don't get the oil too hot.
Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches.
Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, then increase the heat to medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove it from the heat.

Beef:
Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4" thick bite-size slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a forty five degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts.  Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef.  Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.  As the beef sits, heat up one cup of oil in a wok (you may also use a skillet for this step as long as the beef will be mostly covered with oil). Heat the oil over medium heat until it's nice and hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and sauté until brown. Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly.  After a couple minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels.  Dab excess oil off meat with a paper towel and add to medium saucepan with the sauce in it.  Put the pan back on the oven over medium/low heat.  Add chopped green onions and let sauce simmer until warm. Serve over rice.

I also steamed broccoli and added it on the side. You can put it into the sauce with the beef as well if you want to give it more flavor. 

Bow Tie Themed Baby Shower

 

I helped throw my first baby shower a couple of weeks ago. It was awesome. There were about 5 girls that all pitched in to help throw it. I think it turned out adorable. We had a bow tie theme. My friend Wendi made the invitations that were so darling. I meant to take a picture of my invitation but I forgot. But, you can order them here if you would like. I made baby bow tie onesies to match the gray, blue and red invitation color scheme and my friend Alicia pinned them and turned them into a banner to hang over the mantle. I made small bowties out of felt. I just used a hot glue gun. Then I sewed one snap onto the onesie and hot glued the other snap onto the bow. That way, you can unsnap the bowtie and throw the onesie in the wash. They were really simple and easy to  make. I think I might try to make more using cute fabric next time. I'll let you know how that goes.

For the food, Wendi made the food labels with the same bow tie scheme. We had, blue frothy punch, pineapple and strawberry mini skewers with fruit dip, vegetables with hummus, blue and red cupcakes and water bottles with cute bow tie paper around them. My friend Christi also made the bow tie back drop behind the table. Sorry the pictures aren't very good. There was a lot of light coming through that window. I made the fruit skewers and the fruit dip as well as the blue frothy punch. I had bought white ducks to float in the punch and I had made mini bow ties and hot glued it on their necks, but they fell off. I should have used super glue. So, we had a duckless punch. 

Here is the recipe: 

 1 pkg berry blue unsweetened Kool-Aid

 1-2 liter Sprite

 1-64 oz white cranberry juice

 8 scoops vanilla ice cream

 1 c sugar, or to taste 

 In a large punch bowl, stir together the Kool-Aid, Sprite and cranberry juice. Stir in sugar to taste. (I used the full cup) Float scoops of ice cream on the top. The ice cream melts somewhat and turns the punch a beautiful baby blue color with frothy white clouds floating on the top.

The night before the baby shower I was lying in bed and I thought,  I should probably stick the sprite and cranberry juice in the refrigerator. I would recommend this. The ice cream still made the punch frothy with the liquids already cold. 

The fruit dip for the pineapple and strawberries was to die for! A friend of mine gave me the recipe in a text. That's how easy it is. She said that it is best with pineapples and strawberries so that's what I got but I also tried bananas and it was good with that as well. 

Ingredients: 

Mother's macaroons

2 cups greek yogurt or sour cream

2 cups brown sugar

I made mine with greek yogurt and it was really yummy. Mix two cups of the greek yogurt or sour cream with two cups of brown sugar. Add crumbled cookie pieces. Chill and serve. I doubled my recipe and still only used half of the macaroons. It's up to you how much macaroons you would like to put in. And viola! 

 

I think it was a successful baby shower. It's always fun to buy or make cute baby things. They are so precious. I wish Crystal and John the best of luck with their new baby Thor.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

 

I've really been wanting to make chicken lettuce wraps lately but I remember making them in college and it was so much work. I found an awesome kitchen tool that is a complete life saver though! I used a pampered chef chopper that my sister in law gave to me for my wedding. It worked great to chop up the mushrooms, water chestnuts and the bamboo shoots. That's the part that's time consuming. Other than that, its a pretty simple recipe. It feels so healthy too with the lettuce. Yum! The ingredients can be pretty unique and expensive if you are not used to Asian foods but, its totally worth it. Sometimes I'm skeptical to buy expensive ingredients because I'm not sure if the recipe will turn out and then I'll be stuck with this expensive ingredient with nothing to put it in. But, this recipe is totally worth all of its ingredients! The first bite my husband took he said, "This tastes just like the Chang's." Yes, my lettuce wraps compared to P.F. Changs. I am truly honored.

I got the recipe from Spoon Fork Bacon

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced

cooking sauce:
2 ½ tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
2 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon sesame oil

6 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ginger, peeled and minced
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed and diced
½ cup bamboo shoots, drained and diced
½ cup water chestnuts, drained and diced
2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 head butter lettuce or iceberg lettuce, washed and leaves separated

garnish:
1 green onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

1. Place the first five ingredients into a small bowl and whisk together. Pour mixture over the chicken and stir together. Set aside and allow chicken to marinate for 10 minutes.
2. Place all ingredients for cooking sauce into a small bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
3. Place 2 tablespoons oil into a large skillet over high heat. Sauté chicken for 6 to 8 minutes or until half cooked. Remove from skillet and set aside.

4. Pour remaining oil into the same skillet and place over high heat. Sauté the ginger, garlic and shiitake mushrooms for about 5 minutes. Add the bamboo shoots and water chestnuts and sauté for an additional 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add chicken back into the skillet; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Pour the cooking sauce over the mixture and stir together. Lower the heat to medium and allow the mixture to thicken, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in the green onions. Adjust seasonings.

6. Remove from heat and allow chicken mixture to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Top with a sprinkle of green onions and sesame seed and serve warm with crisp lettuce cups.

 

Chicken Avocado Quinoa salad

I have been wanting to use quinoa for a while now but I just couldn't find the right recipe. But, I finally came across this one and it was delicious! I love quinoa! It is a great substitute for rice and it is one of the only grains that is a complete protein. Quinoa does have a high fat content and so it is advised to keep it in the refrigerator or freezer instead of on the shelf to keep it from going rancid. But, the fat is "good fat," not unsaturaded or trans fat. Now that I've basically given you a lesson on quinoa, lets get to the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, cooked and cooled
½ onion, chopped
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 ears of corn, grilled and removed from cob (or 1 small can niblets)
1 cup shredded chicken
1 large avocado
4 limes
¾ cup fresh cilantro
2 ½ Tbsp agave (sugar works ok too)

I like to cook quinoa in chicken broth. It gives it a little bit more flavor. When cooking quinoa, some people suggest to rinse it, I don't. It usually comes pre-rinsed but some people like to soak it anyway. When cooking quinoa it's good to know that 1 cup raw quinoa makes about 3 cups of cooked quinoa. To make three cups of cooked quinoa, place one cup raw quinoa and 1.5 cups cold water or chicken broth. Bring the quiona to a boil. Cover with a tight fitting lid, and turn down to a simmer. Let cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Let quinoa sit for 5 minutes with the lid on. Fluff gently with a fork and it's ready to go.


Directions:
1) In a large bowl, mix onion, black beans, corn, chicken and quinoa together.
2) In a blender, combine the lime juice, cilantro and agave to make the dressing.
3) Cut the avocado in small pieces and toss in dressing. Add avocado to quinoa mixture.
4) Pour dressing over quinoa mixture and toss to combine. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Pretzel bites

My sister flew into town this week and I was asking her what she wanted to do besides go to the beach and get a tan. She told me that she wanted to do some cooking. I was a little shocked but also excited because there are so many recipes that I want to try but I know that there is a lot of work involved so I keep pushing them aside. So, the first thing we attempted were pretzel bites. I did not expect them to turn out this good but let me tell you, they were amazing! This recipe is more for a party of people though. We are going to have pretzel bites for months. When my neighbors came home I met them on their doorstop and offered them some pretzel bites. It was kind of weird, I know, but they loved them and they took some more off of my hands. 

I got this recipe from Smells Like Home

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• Pretzel or Kosher salt

Directions:
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the water, sugar, yeast, and salt on low speed for 10 seconds.  Switch to the dough hook and add the flour and butter.  Mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl and transfer it to a well-oiled bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

 

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

3. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an wide 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan

4. In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Slice each rope into 1-inch pieces.  Place a lightly damp towel over the pretzel pieces to prevent them from drying out while you roll and cut the other pieces.

 

5. Using a slotted spoon lower a handful of the pretzel pieces into the boiling water and boil them for 30 seconds, flipping them around in the water with the spoon a couple of times. Remove the pretzel pieces from the water using the spoon, drain as best you can, and place them on the baking sheets. Brush the top of each pretzel with the melted butter and sprinkle with the pretzel/Kosher salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 10 – 12 minutes. Brush with remaining melted butter before serving. Serve warm

 Instead of brushing the pretzels with melted butter, I used "I can't believe its not butter" spray. It was a lot quicker and easier.