What Happens When You Don't Pay Attention?

This happens

Totally out of control burned pizza

Those round things are eggplant slices if you can believe it!

But definitely an opportunity to call the pizza guy!

We hadn't had a Pizza Hut pizza in so long....

and it was delicious!

All those yummy veggies...

and pineapple!

Heaven in a cardboard box

~ sharing on AlphabeThursday for the letter W

♥♥

Chicken Marengo aka I Actually Cooked!

It's been so long since I made Chicken Marengo, I'd almost forgotten about it! It used to be a staple meal when the kids were young (they loved it!) but since they've grown up and away, and I have turned in my apron (leaving most food preparation to the hubby), I rarely fix those long ago favorite dishes. But, I'm thinking I'll have to go through my favorite cookbooks and resurrect some of those meals!

Anyway, as hubby had gone grocery shopping (yep, he does that too!) and brought back a package of bone-in chicken thighs -- which I think he was planning to barbeque -- I thought about Chicken Marengo. I looked in the pantry for the all important ingredient.... Golden Mushroom soup.... and lo and behold, it was there!!

Along with tomato soup, garlic and onions -- easy ingredients! Mushrooms are good to put in too, but unfortunately I was out of those. The mushroom soup would have to suffice.

First things first -- brown that chicken!

Sizzle sizzle

Chop up the onions and garlic

Mushrooms would be here if I'd had them

Mix the soups together and pour over the chicken

Add the onions, etc.

Enjoy! Yum yum!

This is really good with brown rice, but I was out so we used a packaged cheesy broccoli rice mix that was good too! Served it with green beans, but any veggie would be good. I was going to saute zucchini but ran out of the desire to cook, so green beans was it! A salad and a nice wine would be good go-withs too!

Next time I'll have to plan better (read 'actually plan' there) but this was just off the cuff because of that package of chick thighs!!

Here's the recipe. I know there are other, more complicated recipes, but the simplicity of this one is what I like! I think the original had crawfish and fried eggs served on top and had something to do with Napoleon, but I'll just keep this one simple! I imagine I copied it from some magazine.

Chicken Marengo

3 lbs cut up chicken
olive or salad oil to brown
1 can Golden Mushroom soup
1 can Tomato soup
1 medium clove garlic or to taste, minced (I use 3 or 4 cloves)
1 lb small whole white onions (about 16) or 2-3 medium onions, quartered

In large skillet, brown chicken in oil; pour off fat
Stir soups together and add to chicken
Stir in garlic and onions; stir in mushrooms if using

Cover, simmer 45 minutes or until tender
Stir occasionally
Uncover, cook until desired consistency

Serve with rice and a green vegetable (It's really good with brown rice)
Of course, the onion, garlic and mushrooms are to taste; even the amount of chicken doesn't really matter!

If you decide to make this, enjoy! It's super easy!!
Make that souper easy, heh heh!


~sharing on AlphabeThursday where we are studying the letter M


♥♥

Quirky Sandwiches!!

Have you ever eaten a pineapple sandwich?  

How about a banana sandwich?

Those are two of my most favorite sandwiches to eat for lunch (and they are very quick to fix when you suddenly get the hungries, LOL!)

The secret to a pineapple sandwich is chilled pineapples. I just put the can in the fridge when I unpack the grocery bags -- then they're ready to go when I crave one of these yummy sandwiches!

 First you smear the bread (whole wheat for me) with a liberal amount of mayonnaise (actually, I use salad dressing like Miracle Whip, but I call it all mayonnaise -- kinda like Kleenex even when you use the store brand ... but I digress)

Anyway, then you get a pineapple slice out of the can, wiggle it a bit to get off excess liquid, tear it so it's not a circle anymore and put it on one of the slices. Repeat with another slice, fitting it into the first slice. (There's an art to this, you see ...)

Now you're ready to go .... unless .....

Like me, you like FOUR slices of pineapple!! 

If two are good, four are better!

Add some corn chips (there's something about the sweet and salty combo) and a glass of milk

Hint:  "diaper" it with a paper towel 'cause there's no way all the juice wiggled off!!

(Yeah, that's a bite taken out -- I couldn't wait!!)

Now, a banana sandwich is made the same way as a pineapple sandwich except, of course, you use a banana rather than pineapple. (This said because some might think they should use both pineapple and banana on the same sandwich, and that might be a bit of sandwich overload ...)

Slice the peeled (again, for those people, certainly not you) banana in half across its mid-section, slice those lengthwise into four or so pieces, and layer on the mayonnaised (Miracle Whipped) bread. Stack as high as you please!! 

Here's one Noli made up!  Chex sandwiches!! 

Peanut butter between Chex cereal!

Noli doesn't like pineapple or banana sandwiches, but she can eat these things all day!!

(original blog post here)

And if those bits of quirkiness between two slices of bread (or Chex) aren't enough for you, check this out!!

a Peanut Butter and JellyFish Sandwich!!

Is that priceless or what?!!! 

It's from the Etsy shop Sappy Moose Tree and, although this has been sold, she's got lots of other quirky goodies in her shop!

♥♥♥  I'm linking my Quirky Sandwiches over at Miss Jenny's for Alphabe-Thursday where we are studying the letter Q.

I know, I know, it's kind of a stretch -- but I didn't feel like lugging out the Quilts and snapping pics! 

Another time, I promise!

♥♥

Yummy Cantaloupe

Do you like cantaloupe? I do! I love it at breakfast, as a snack, as dessert cut in half on the round and filled with vanilla ice cream. Totally decadent!

I had the most delicious cantaloupe recently -- its official name is Mag-Melon and is a product of Costa Rica. I had stopped by my local Farmer's Market and they had these beautiful melons displayed -- and a taste treat at the counter. I sampled..... and I bought!

So sweet and delicious, I went back for another one before they ran out! And took pictures this time! 

I can tell you I have NEVER had a cantaloupe as fantastic as this one. 

It's sweet and juicy and incredibly delicious.

Did I mention that it was delicious? I'm spoiled now. I don't know if I can love another cantaloupe quite as much.....


♥♥

Chex Sandwiches

Yesterday's conversation from the backseat as I pick up Noli from preschool.....

Noli ~ What day is tomorrow?

Me ~  Tomorrow is Saturday.

Noli ~ Yay! No school! Nobody has school on Saturday.

Me ~  Well, no, except if you're in college. Some college students have school on Saturday.

Noli ~ When's college?

Me ~  After high school.

Noli ~ I guess you have to be 8 or 12 to go to college.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

When we got home, we made Chex sandwiches.

I highly recommend them! A bit labor intensive but worth it!

Noli put her OK on them! 

We used Corn Chex, but they would be equally as good with Wheat or Rice, whatever you like!

 ♥♥♥ She is such a kick! ♥♥♥

♥♥♥

Be sure to go over to Little Andalucia for some fun linkies!! 

A Most Excellent Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

This is my family's favorite whole wheat bread recipe -- for a bread machine. It's from "The Bread Machine Cookbook II" published by Nitty Gritty Cookbooks/Bristol Publishing. There are five in this series, as far as I know, and I have all of them. Great little books! I got mine at a used book store.

All the ingredients gathered.

This recipe is for a large loaf made in a machine taking a 4 cup flour measure. (Mine is an older model Zojirushi)

Put into machine in this order (or as your machine instructs)

1 1/2 cups water
1 1/3 tbs. vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey (raw honey is especially good but regular clover is fine)

1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups whole wheat flour (see note below)
6 tbs gluten

yeast 1 packet (or 3 tsp. if you use the jar kind)

Note: you may also use whole wheat bread flour (4 cups) but leave out the gluten. Gluten, when combined with the yeast, helps to give a higher rise so is used with flours with low gluten content.

Bake on a regular white cycle according to your machine instructions. (If you have a whole grain setting, use that. I use the white cycle and it comes out perfect!)

And approximately 4 hours later:

Mmmmm -- enjoy! Nothing better than freshly baked bread!

Scrambled Eggs

My hubbie makes the best scrambled eggs. They are light and fluffy and buttery and cheesy. Yumminess.

These are the ingredients -- you gotta use REAL butter! No substitutes for us.


Here's all that yummy butteriness melting in our (his) new skillet. ("free" from the grocery store :)

OK, confession: he's chief cook; I'm chief bottle
washer (and kitchenhand, in charge of chopping and peeling!)






Next, mix it all up and add MORE butter.

Add the cheese (that's the dreaded sausages in the little skillet -- a love of my hubbies and not at all of mine.)

Just about ready to enjoy!

Oh, the buttery, cheesy goodness! Perfect with hash browns and an English muffin.

Definitely not for the dieters, but marvelous on a Sunday morning!