Cut 'n Paste

Recipes from Pinterest

Source: asmallsnippet.blogspot.com via Carolyn on Pinterest

This past week I have made two dishes which I found via Pinterest and both were super yummy. The first, was the Spicy Thai Noodles pictured above. We added grilled chicken and served it hot instead of cold and it won raves from Rick. The cool thing is that you can adjust the amount of crushed red peppers to control the level of spiciness. But for those who like the heat, after the ingredients are tossed together, you can add more seasoning to individual servings to get it rip-roaring hot.

The second thing I made was this Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bar with Strudel Topping:

Source: melskitchencafe.com via Carolyn on Pinterest

This desert was delicious. (And surprisingly not too heavy even though it has the cheesecake layer.)

If you decide to make either one of these, let me know how you like them!

Sweet & Spicy Chicken

Today, over at the Melissa Frances blog, we are hosting our first ever recipe exchange.  While I have been recovering, I have spent more than a few hours looking at food blogs and recipes online.

A few days ago, I tried one of the recipies I discovered during my web wanderings. Rick and I both really liked it, so it will be added to our rotation here at home. Here, is the Sweet & Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken recipe:
 
• 4 Chicken breasts (although I suppose you really could use any part of a chicken, thighs/legs would also work)
• 1 - 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes in juice
• 2/3 cup of brown sugar - could use less if you don't want it too sweet.
• 3/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes - once again, could use more if you want it a tad spicier.
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Put all ingredients into a crock pot, cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 4-6 hours. With about 1-2 hours left in cook time, remove chicken and shred it. Then, remove some of the diced tomatoes leaving the juice in the crock pot (You could leave the tomatoes in if you'd like. We planned to use fresh tomatoes in the finished meal, so I removed about 90% of them). Add chicken back to the crock pot, stir, cover and continue to cook. When ready to serve, use a draining (or slotted) spoon to dish up the chicken as the sauce is very thin and runny.
Suggested use for this dish: sandwiches, tacos, salads, burritos, etc.

Rick and I used this chicken dish in tacos and it was really quite yummy. We used the recipe as written above. I think next time I will reduce the sugar by a slight bit and increase the red pepper flakes as this dish was very, very mild. I originally found this recipe on the Mel's Kitchen Cafe website.

Do you have a recipe to share? If so, link it up with the Melissa Frances link party!
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Fall is in the air!

Today it's a little overcast and there is a little nip in the air. It's finally the end of summer and fall is here!

One of the things I enjoy about fall is that I resume making homemade soup after taking a break for the spring and summer. Yummy, warm, hearty soup.  Rick and I had my parents over this past weekend and made my first soup of the fall season. It's one of those fun recipes where you throw whatever you want (within reason) into the pot and let it stew all day. It's a tomato based, hamburger/veggie soup. My dad and hubby love it, so I thought I'd share the recipe here.  One of the great things about this meal is that it freezes fabulously. So I always make a HUGE stockpot full and then freeze a bunch.  So my recipe is rather large. If you want to make a smaller amount, just fiddle with the quantities you add. Also, I'm sure there are tons of variations of this recipe, by no means am I trying to claim ownership of the concept!

Yummy Hamburger soup

·       2 - 28oz. cans of diced tomatoes

·       2 - 680 mL tomato sauce

·       1- 500g bag of pot or pearl barley

·       36 cups of water

·       4.5 pounds of extra lean ground beef

·       2 onions

·       2 cloves of garlic

·       Potatoes

·       Carrots

·       salt

·       pepper

1.   In a large stockpot, stir together diced tomato, tomato sauce and water.

2.   Turn stovetop burner on using medium heat setting.

3.   Brown beef in a saucepan. You will probably have to brown beef in several small batches. As cooked, add to soup.

4.   Dice onion and crush garlic then add to stockpot.

5.   Peel potatoes. Dice them into small pieces and add to soup.

6.   Peel carrots. Thinly slice them by hand or using a food processor. Add to soup.

7.   Add pot or pearl barley to soup.

8.   Add salt and pepper to taste.

9.   Once soup has reached a gentle boil, allow it to continue to boil for approximately 15-20 minutes. Stir frequently so that it doesn't burn.

10. Reduce heat to low and let it cook for the rest of the day. Stir it from time to time so that it doesn't settle to the bottom of the pot and burn.

You can enhance this recipe by adding hot sauce or steak/bbq sauce to the pot for a more robust flavor. You could also change it up by adding more/different vegetables, or replacing the beef with ground turkey.

Enjoy!