Colorful Mugs

Are these not the cutest things ever?  I came across them today on a blog and thought they would be perfect for my someday colorful kitchen! 

Check them out here

Checking in

Hey folks!

I know I haven't posted anything lately....

It's midterm week and the week before spring break; and I just haven't had the time or ingredients to cook anything lately!

I am headed home in 2 days, so you may not hear from me for a while!

Hope you have a blessed Wednesday. (We are halfway through the week!)

See you after Spring Break!

Hamburger Soup

When I went home one weekend this month, my mom found a few easy crock pot recipes for me to try.  She was so sweet and sent me back with the majority of the ingredients that I needed to make a few fantastic meals! Hamburger soup was one of them!

I was going to take a picture of the ingredients I used but everyone was still sleeping so I basically put this together in the dark.  We had put the ingredients in individual bags while I was hope so everything was measured out and I just had to pour it in. Minus the water, tomato sauce and the soy sauce.

 I was a little hesitant when I first put this together, not understanding how there would be enough liquid to cook the noodles- but after searching around online, we realized that a different recipe added between 1-3 cups of water.  Since my crock pot is small, I only added one.  You could totally add more water to make a thinner soup.  I added soy sauce instead of Worcestershire because that is what I had.  I also added salt and pepper because I felt like it needed it. I cooked this on high for 4-5 hours.


I would recommend this recipe. I very much enjoyed it. 

Hamburger Soup
D. Wachsmuth

1 pound ground beef

1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp. seasoned salt
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce OR soy sauce
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1-3 cups water
1 cup macaroni, cooked (see note)
Crumble the beef into a slow cooker. Add the pepper, oregano, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, soup mix, Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce and 1-3 cups water. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours. Add the macaroni. Turn heat to high and cook for 15 minutes.

Note: You can also use 1/2 cup uncooked macaroni and add it during the last hour of cooking. Then there is no need for the last 15 minutes.

My crock pot wouldn't hold more than a cup of water, but the noodles cooked perfectly in about 45 minutes.

And:

The finished product.  I added a little cheese to mine. I am sure that it would be delicious with a little sour cream for creaminess but I didn't have any.

Without the cheese. Very,very good!

Another successful college dorm room recipe. Give it a try and let me know if you like it!

Mexican Chicken

Mexican Chicken
Ellen Ondrick

1 cup long-grain rice
1 cup salsa
2 (114+1/2 ounce) cans chicken broth
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

In a slow cooker, mix all ingredients together.  Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 4 hours.

Jenna's modified version:
- I only wanted to make enough for me so I just modified the recipe a little bit. It turned out great!

 The salsa I used is Chili's mock salsa that I made when I was home last.  Check out the link below for the recipe for the salsa.

Mexican Chicken
1 cup water plus 1 teaspoon (or one cube) chicken bouillon
1 chicken breast, cubed
1/4 cup salsa
1/4 cup rice

Mix together and cook on low for 3-4 hours.

-Ok. So, this turned out beautifully! I threw everything in the crockpot around 11.  And it was ready about 3! I turned it on keep warm for about 30 minutes until I was ready to eat it.  Very good and REALLY easy.  It isn't very spicy at all, but very moist and delicious.  Give it a try!
The finished product. I am sure it would taste delicious with cheese or sour cream on top of it!

Pierogies

 Day 3 of the "snow storm" called for some Pierogies!

I whipped out George and made some! I added the Pierogies frozen and brushed a little olive oil over the top.  I let them cook for about 3 minutes and then flipped them and brushed a little more oil over them and cooked for another 3-4 minutes. 

Voila! They were delicious.  I let them go about 7 minutes. I wanted them crunchy.  They turned out excellent!

Guacamole

                                                                         Guacamole

Avocados

Salsa

Cumin

Onion

Garlic Salt

Pepper

Lime Juice

Mash avocados and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir and serve with tortilla chips.

This has been a favorite in the dorm room! Its so easy to make and we can get avocados for 49 cents at Aldi!

Asian Chicken

So, after being "snowed in" for two days, I decided to make food! I bought already cooked chicken breast strips. I did marinate them though and it worked great!  I used all the ingredients except the crushed red pepper flakes.  I added black pepper to the marinade.

I put the chicken in the fridge for 3-4 hours. Mainly becasue I forgot about it!

I also added a cup of water and a tsp. of chicken boullin for the chicken broth.

Turned out very good. A little tangy yet sweet and tasted a little like caramel!

Asian Grilled Chicken

Marinating time: 1 hour
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 can (14 oz.) Chicken Broth,
(1 3/4 cups)
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. crushed red Pepper
4 boneless chicken breast
halves

Directions:

MIX broth, soy, vinegar, sugar, garlic and
red pepper in shallow non-metallic dish.
Add chicken and turn to coat. Cover and
refrigerate 1 hour.

Grease and preheat grill.

Remove chicken from marinade.
Grill chicken 5-7 minutes or until done,
turning once and brushing with marinade.
Heat remaining marinade to a boil and
serve with chicken.

- I didn't cook the remaining marinade (bring to a boil) and serve with it, because I really don't have any way to boil it.  I brushed some more on the chicken about half way through the cooking time.  I let the chicken cook for about 5 minutes just to warm it through.

Loaded Baked Potato Dip

Ok, I am not even sure where to start.  This dip is amazing! Sorry for the strange picture, this was the only bowl I have and I was too anxious to eat it and forgot to wipe down the edges! haha..

Loaded Baked Potato Dip

Bake frozen waffle fries extra-crispy for our dippers

Yield:  Makes about 4 cups

1 (2.1-oz.) package fully cooked bacon slices
1 (16-oz.) container sour cream
2 cups (8 oz.) freshly shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup sliced fresh chives
2 teaspoons hot sauce

Garnishes: cooked, crumbled bacon; sliced fresh chives; freshly cracked pepper

Serve with: waffle fries

Microwave bacon according to package directions until crisp; drain on paper towels. Cool 10 minutes; crumble. Stir together bacon and next 4 ingredients. Cover and chill 1 to 24 hours before serving. Garnish, if desired. Serve with crispy, warm waffle fries. Store leftovers in refrigerator up to 7 days.


Jenna's Notes:
I did not have chives so I left them out.  I also only bought an 8 oz. container of sour cream so I modified everything a little bit, just to taste.  I used this for the hot sauce:

(Salsa from Sonic- Since this was all I had!)

I added fresh cracked pepper:

And instead of serving with waffle fries, I used Walmart brand ridged potato chips.

Oh, and an important note....I did not wait for this dip to chill and I already went and bought more ingredients to make it again. Because it did NOT last for 7 days.

try it!

Grammy's Easy Grilled Delights

Here are the ingredients that I used.  For the jam, I used packets of grape jam that I got from Chick-fil-a.

Grammy's Easy Grilled Delights

1 can biscuits

fruit preserves or jam

butter

sugar-optional

Grease and preheat indoor grill.

(good in a sandwich machine too).

Roll each biscuit out to about a 3-4 inch circle.

Put jam, preserves, or pie filling in the middle

of the circle (not too much-about a teaspoonful).

Brush a little milk around the outside of the circles.

Fold one side over the other and, using a fork,

press the edges together. You want this to look

like a thin fried pie.

 Brush the pie with butter and

grill until golden brown and done in the center.

 (I brushed the whole pie in butter and then rolled it in white sugar- Then I grilled it.  I don't have any powered sugar.  The white sugar gave the pies a caramel taste. Very good!)

Roll the pie in powdered sugar as soon as it

comes out of the grill. This is great fun to make

with your grandchildren; they love to help.

I was not expecting them to look like this.  I was pleasantly surprised! They turned out almost like pancakes!

My friend Jen had some syrup so we tried that inside a few.  It was runnier than the jam so it was a little sticky, but still tasted good.  It reminded me of a McGriddle from McDonald's!

Sweet Tea

For my birthday, I received an iced tea maker!  I LOVE sweet tea so I was so excited! This works great because you just add water, and Lipton tea bags, and the machine steeps the tea--- you don't have to add sugar (but I do) and place the pitcher under the spout and before you know it you have tea! When it is finished brewing, just fill with ice up to the line and voila!

Recently, I have been making 3 quarts, so I add 1.5 cups of sugar.  I like my tea pretty strong and after experimenting quite a big, I find it works best when I use 7-8 tea bags for 3 qts.  When I drink it, I add a splash of lemon juice (I have lemon juice from the potato recipe) to my glass.

I haven't tried flavored tea bags but I am sure it would be good.  Our old neighbor would add a few lemon or raspberry tea bags along with some regular ones.  I used to love it to visit her house for the tea- and other reasons too :D