Something New Sunday - Slurpin' Up Some Soup

I was in the mood for soup and since I've never made a soup before what better than to give it a try on 'Something New Sunday'.  It has been a while since I've tried something new and was wanting to cook a meal in my crock-pot (I love cooking with my crock-pot).  After searching Pinterest (my 'go-to' for new meal ideas), I came across this yummy sounding recipe. 

 

 

Bacon Cheeseburger Soup - Crockpot Style

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 small onions, diced
1/2 cup of bacon, crumbled (approx. 7 strips)

1 1/2 cups carrots, chopped
2 cups potatoes, cubed
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
8 oz cream cheese, cubed
2 cans of chicken broth

4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp pepper

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk

Directions:

Cook the first three ingredients (ground beef, bacon & onions) in a skillet before putting into crock-pot.  <Make sure meats are fully cooked and onions are opaque in color>

Combine all the veggies, cream cheese and broth together and combine into crock-pot, with the meats.

Add seasonings.

Cook for 7 hours on LOW.

When you are almost ready to serve, dissolve flour into milk and pour into the soup to thicken.  Mix in the cheese and serve when cheese is melted.

ENJOY!!

My Thoughts:
  I'm not going to lie, at first I thought this recipe was going to be a complete FAIL!  When you first put all the ingredients together in the crockpot, it looks like a hot mess of food.  The veggies look odd and really don't have much to do with "cheeseburger" taste and the chicken broth almost watered everything down.  You honestly have let this dish cook for the full 7 hours to get it to look appetizing and for the potatoes to get soft enough to eat.  When I was almost ready to serve the dish, I was debating if it needed to be thicken but Aaron said he thought it still looked 'runny' so I went ahead and did it.  He was right, it most certainly helped make the soup look more like a chowder and the cheese is always an important ingredient in our house.

When it was time to eat, this soup taste just like it's name and boy, was it DELICOUS!  Full of flavor (which I say in almost all my food post), and very, very filling.  We invited my parents over to join us, because it does make a lot of soup.  My dad only had to take one bite and was already raving about it.  My mom had request a small bowl, but had gone back for seconds.  The only change I might make for next time (cause Aaron has already said, I will be making this again), is try it with beef broth. 

Pair it with a pickle spear and you'll feel like your really eating a cheeseburger! :)

~Kellie Anne

Something New Sunday - BLOG ALL DAY!

It's been weeks since I've blogged and I have been meaning to do cause I've got so much to share! I've been crazy, crazy busy; I've had a birthday, a friend got married, work trip and I've mad a lot of delicious food. Today, Aaron is off to a friends house to watch football (sooo glad it's not on in my house!), so I can spend today catching up on shows and BLOGGING! Alright... I'm off!

Something New Sunday - Dressed in my Sunday best!

When I started this blog, I said I would put some fashion tips and pictures to inspire your own inner fashionista.  I thought today would be a great day to have my first post, since not only is it Sunday (and I could use my Something New Sunday tag) but also I looked super cute for church today (my nephew had his First Communion and it's kind of a big deal). 


Don't mind Aaron's camouflage phone case 

I kind of have this love for pairing hot pink & black together, and what better way to do that then with some coloring blocking.  The weather was finally nice enough to wear this new skirt, that is   short in the front and gets longer as you get to the back.  I wore a classic white tank from the Buckle (God, I love their tanks!) and placed it with this fitted blazer.  The fuchsia blazer came from Forever 21, which I no longer shop at since their clothes are so poorly made (sorry, this is  my blog so I can say what I want about the place).  I paired it with some small diamond studs, my favorite pendant necklace and simple silver bangle. 
 

I also have a love for shopping the sale/clearance racks at stores.  I guess I got that from my momma, cause she also taught me to search on the sales racks first when you walk into a store (cause there ain't nothing better then getting new clothes and saving some money).  The black skirt was purchased this past March at Target for $14 on the sales rack (and I got the same one in teal too).  The skirts were originally like $36 each, and I know I'll get lots of use out of them this spring/summer.

Oh and no girl is complete without her best accessory, her favorite lil' puppy! Oscar just had to photo-bomb my picture.

 

 

 

~Kellie Anne

Something New Sunday - Sour Patch Grapes

I have been dying to try these spring/summer snacks, since I first saw them on Pinterest a few months ago.  I had volunteered to bring some snack items to our family Easter and I thought this would be something my niece & nephews might like since they aren't a fan of my Rotel wraps.  Boy, was I right! :) They ate them up like candy (which they kind of are) but I was happy to seem them eat them up vs. the chocolate bunnies. 

Also, this has got to be one of the easiest recipes out there, with only two ingredients.  I think next time I make this I will have some of the little ones help me, cause they all like to help out especially in the kitchen. 

All you need is some grapes and your favorite Jello packet. You can use red or green grapes and any flavor of Jello that you like.  Wash the grapes and while they are still damp roll, cover and coat them in the unprepared Jello powder.  Once grapes are covered, placed them in a bowl and continue with clean grapes.  Once you have used up all the grapes (or Jello, whichever one comes first), place grapes in fridge, uncovered, for at least an hour to set coating.  Snack on these yummy grapes!!

 

  Tips:  I started with just a little Jello powder at a time and added more to the bowl as I went through the pile of grapes.  Some of grapes were a little two wet and caused the powder to start to change color and consistency.  Another tip I will give: when your not serving these, keep them cold (whether its a fridge or cooler).  As the grapes start to warm up, the coating starts to get soggy. 

I now can't wait till warmer weather, cause these will definitely be in my cooler on different outings!

~Kellie Anne


P.S - I didn't have my camera, so I had to use Aaron's phone to snap shots and that is why the pictures look so much cooler then my usual blog post.  And since I'm liking the way they look, this may just become a regular occurrence. Hmm.. I wonder what Aaron would say to that ;)

Winter Storm - Triton

When it's March 10th and you live in Iowa, you have to except the weird weather. Yesterday it rained from about 3 a.m till the middle of the afternoon, accumulating about an inch. Which I'm not complaining about the rain, since we desperately need moisture in the ground with spring right around the corner. What I am complaining about is after all that rain, what do we get today to add to it...SNOW!

It has been snowing all day and it doesn't help that the wind has been blowing it around at about 30 mph. Aaron and I decided to have a lazy day, since we couldn't go anywhere (I accomplished nothing but read about half of the book I just started and he got a nap in). At about 5 o'clock, I thought it was time we actually got up and did something, so we decided to go out and play in the snow. And when I mean play, I mean with Aaron's new truck and doing donuts with it.  Oscar loved being outside and couldn't sit still while we made circles in the snow.

~KA
*Oh, and since when did we start naming winter storms?! I've vaguely understood why we do it for hurricanes, but is it really necessary to do it to a for a snow storm.  Don't worry, this is just me ranting...
 


View of my backyard from my living room.  If you look closely, you
might be able to see my parents house behind the trees

This is from the middle of the driveway, looking across the
road to where my brother was working in the cattle pens



Oscar and Aaron looking outside as drive around
testing out the roads before we start spinning out of control



Something New Sunday - Tuna Noodle Casserole

   I feel awful for not doing a 'Something New Sunday' last week.  Not that I have a lot of followers, but I was doing a really good job of doing a new recipe every Sunday since I had started this blog.  Oh well, today is a new day (and a new week for that matter) so it's time for a new recipe. 
   I have been craving tuna lately and missed the good-ole tuna casserole that I use to have in grade school.  I went to a small town school growing up with really nice lunch ladies, who actually took the time to make good meals for all the kids.  One of my favorite things that we had was the homemade buns. Oh. My. God. Just typing that made me want to go back in time to have some of those biscuits.  Focus Kellie, I'm talking about the tuna casserole that the lunch ladies made, not the delicious biscuits! The casserole was creamy with the noodles and tuna, yet crunchy cause they would top it with potato chips. 
  So, I wanted to try and duplicate the recipe but to add a little more flavor since my taste buds have grown-up since I was a little kid.  Here is my adult, yet kid friendly take on tuna noodle casserole.

 

Tuna Noodle Casserole: 

Ingredients:
8 oz cooked angel hair pasta (you could use spaghetti, linguine or any long pasta of your choice)
2 cans of tuna
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of corn (drained)
1 cup milk
3 tsp. butter
your choice of seasonings
bread crumbs
fried onions

Directions:
  Mix cooked noodles with tuna, soup and corn; I seasoned my dish today with black pepper and garlic salt. Pour into greased 9x13 casserole dish and cover with bread crumbs and french onions.  Drizzle milk and butter over top; cover with tin foil.  Place in preheated 400 degree and cook for 15 minutes. Stir mixture to make sure edges don't burn.  Recover and cook for another 15 minutes, during the last 5 minutes cover casserole with more bread crumbs and fried onions.  This dish is ready to eat once the bread crumbs and fried onions are a nice golden brown. Serve and enjoy this Lent-friendly meal! :)

Review: 
  Well I think I may have found my new calling as a school lunch lady! ;)
 
  No, but seriously this might give the Titonka School District lunch ladies a run for their money.  The noodles are soft, the sauce is creamy and the topping is uber crunchy!  The corn is a nice little touch, since most tuna dishes call for peas (which I would have loved to add, but Aaron doesn't like peas).  The dish makes probably 8 small portion servings, which is nice to have leftovers for both of us to take to work.  This dish is quite tasty and doesn't need a lot of seasonings, but Aaron suggested maybe some Old Bay seasonings next time.

  The next time I do make this recipe, I will add a little more milk and shorten the cooking time by 5 minutes or so.  Aaron thought it was fine between the mouthful of bites that he kept shoveling in.  Though he might have enjoyed it, I thought it was still dry and as the cook I like to make sure my recipes are perfect no matter who's eating it. 

Please let me know what you think! :)

~Kellie Anne


Close up of the yummy-goodness :)

Something New Sunday - Mexican Pot Pie

Today's 'Something New Sunday' truly is something new; in fact, I kind of just made it as I went.  It's a rainy, miserable day here in north central Iowa, so I got busy cleaning and one of the place I cleaned was my pantry & fridge.  As I'm cleaning I notice that I've got some Mexican infused ingredients that were tucked all the way to the back.  I instantly got hungry for tacos but while I kept digging/cleaning, I couldn't find any so I had to think of something else to make. So I decided to just go with the flow and add ingredients as I felt necessary. I had given my boyfriend, Aaron, a  heads up while I was cooking that this was just going to be a hodge-podge of foods thrown together.  Luckily, he's not picky and is always willing to try a new recipe.

Mexican Pot Pie
(an original by Kellie Anne)

Ingredients:
  1# - ground beef
  1 - small yellow onion; chopped
  2 - cans of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
  1 - jar of Tostitos Monetery Jack Queso dip
  1 - 10 oz can of enchilada sauce
  1/2 - cup of taco sauce (optional)
  2 - cups shredded cheddar cheese
  1 - tablespoon black pepper
  1 - teaspoon crushed red pepper
  jalapeno chili peppers (optional)

Directions:
  Brown ground beef and chopped onion until meat is no longer pink and onions are tender; drain off fat.  Add the taco sauce, enchilada sauce and peppers to meat & onions and simmer for 10 minutes (depending on how spicy you like your food, the taco sauce can be omitted since the enchilada sauce is pretty hot on it's own). 
  Grease a 9x13 baking dish and spread one can of the rolls to cover the bottom of the dish.  Cover the dough with the shredded cheese and then the meat sauce mixture.  Take the queso cheese dip and lightly cover the meat sauce mix.  I'm not a fan of jalapeno chili peppers, but Aaron is; so on half of the pan I coated the queso with the sliced peppers to give it a little more kick.  Carefully roll out the second can of crescent rolls and place over everything.  If you still have some queso cheese dip, spread a light layer on the top of the crescents.
  Cover pan with tin foil and place into preheated oven at 350.  Cook for 15 minutes covered and then another 15 minutes uncovered (or until crescents are lightly browned).  Slice and serve!

Review:
   I need to make-up new recipes more often! This recipe has a variety of flavors and textures with ever bite and as you see from the photo above, screams yumminess.  The crescents on both the top and the bottom of the dish, add a nice crunch and almost 'sandwich' in everything. The queso not only adds creamy-ness but lots of spicy kick.  We like our food spicy, but even for me I thought that meat sauce could have been tamed down so I think I'll opt out the taco sauce next time. I had used both the taco sauce and enchilada sauce, cause I didn't think the can of enchilada would be enough.  I didn't eat the half with the chili peppers, but Aaron loved the added goodness; he said they added a hint of sweet before the spice kicked in (you can see I added some more on top so I knew which side was his).  
 
  I hope you enjoy this dish that I came up with all on the fly. I can see this being made with shredded chicken and when red & green peppers get in season, I'll slice some up and add that too it. If you're not a fan of the queso dip, you could probably substitute more shredded cheese.

  We did have a fun time trying to name this dish; we came up with everything from Taco Mix-up to Spicy Mexican Sandwich.  When Aaron said that the corner piece was the best cause you got the buttery-flakiness of the crescents, Mexican Pot Pie just had to be the name of this new dish.  He loved it so much that he even broke his New Years Resolution of not taking any seconds with this dish.  That's when I know I have made a good dish! :)

Well, I'm super full from eating and blogging all about my creation, so I'm off to bed!

Enjoy!
~ Kellie Anne

Something New Sunday - Garlic Skinless Chicken (for one)

I wish I would have know about this website in college - www.101cookingfortwo.com; it is FABULOUS!! :) There is a large variety of main dishes, desserts, beverages and even doggie treats (for my little Oscar).  I found it through Pinterest (of course) about a year ago, but haven't really had a chance to do anything from the site yet. This blog is also great cause they show step-by-step photos.  Well, my boyfriend is off to a Super Bowl party and I'm home alone so why not give it a try.

I had thawed chicken breast in the fridge and after picking from the over 15+ recipes (just in Chicken-Skinless Breast category alone), I selected this tongue-tied name of dish: Pan Seared Oven Roasted Garlic Skinless Chicken Breast.  I had to shorten the title not only for the blog but to remember it in my head for future reference. 
 

Garlic Skinless Chicken (for one)


Ingredients: 
   1 Skinless boneless chicken breast (well trimmed)
   1 T olive oil
   2 cloves garlic minced
   salt
   pepper

Instructions:

   Simmer olive oil in pan (I used a my cast iron skillet for this dish) over medium heat. Add garlic and "bloom" for 1 minute. (I had to look up what that meant and basically it means to start to brown). Remove from heat, tilt pan and remove as much of the garlic as possible to a small cup; leaving the oil and place back over the medium heat. Salt and pepper to taste then place in pan smooth side down and sear till brown.  Remove from heat and flip chicken. Spread bloomed garlic over the breasts evenly. Take pan from stove top and place in preheated 350 degree oven and roast until internal temp of 165. This will be about 20-25 minutes depending on the size of the breast (my chicken breast only took about 15 minutes to cook).  Remove from oven and pan. Let rest for 5-10 minutes prior to serving.

  Chicken was really moist (as it should be I guess since it's cooked in oil) and the garlic added some great flavor.  I can see this ate alone (like I did today) or on top of pasta, rice or maybe even cut in slices on top of a salad. 
Enjoy!

~ Kellie Anne

Something New Sunday - "Crack" Chicken

I am a Pinterest-addict and my boyfriend doesn't object to me trying to new recipes that I have found. I came across this recipe on Pinterest and the caption was titled "Crack" Chicken, which instantly got my attention.  Surprisingly, this was one of the first recipes that I have found off Pinterest where I actually had all the ingredients in my house.  I want to give credit where credit is due, so here is the original link where I found the recipe: http://www.mytimepassages.com/blogs/pinterest/2012/01/pinterst-winfail-bourbon-crack-chicken-crockpot-style/

“Crack” Chicken – Crock-pot Style

Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless (uncooked) chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove crushed
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup light apple juice
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons chili sauce (you can use ketchup depending on your spice level)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

Coat chicken with cornstarch.

 

Whisk all ingredients into crock-pot and add chicken.

 

Cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4.

 My "Non-Professional" Review: 
      I can see why they call it "Crack" Chicken cause it's highly addictive and I ate WAY to much of it (but that was fine, cause like I said, it was delicious).  It's also highly addictive because of how easy it is to make and if you are a looking for a easy-peasy recipe, this is it!! Literally, when everything can be mixed in the crockpot and you can walk away, it doesn't get much easier than that.
      I love spicy food and for me, this dish has the perfect amount (but you can always cut back the amount of red pepper that you use and use ketchup instead of chili sauce if you don't like spice). The raw chicken was fully cooked during the four hours and was really moist too.  The sauce does need something to soak-up all the yummy sauce and I thought that rice would be a perfect. Welp, I didn't have any so I did pour the chicken and sauce over penne pasta (but I do know next time I make it, I will have some rice to eat with it).


I'm gunna leave you with one last photo of my almost 'finished' product

Enjoy!!

~Kellie Anne

Something New Sunday - Lasagna w/ White Sauce

 "The trouble with eating Italian food is that 5 or 6 days later you're hungry again." George Miller, British writer

 

This is EXACTLY how I felt after I got done eating this new crock-pot recipe and the breadsticks I made to go with it were the perfect "Italian" touch.

Lasagna with White Sauce

Ingredients:
 1 - 8 oz box of lasagna noodles; cooked & drained
 1 - pound ground beef
 1 - chopped onion
 1 - 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
 1 - can of tomato sauce
 1 - beef bouillon cube (I used beef bouillon granules since I didn't have cubes)
 1 1/2 teaspoons - Italian seasoning
 1 1/2 teaspoons - black pepper
 1 teaspoon - salt
 1/2 teaspoons - red pepper
White Sauce:
 2 tablespoons - melted butter or margarine
 3 tablespoons - all purpose flour
 2 cups - milk
 1 cup - mozzarella cheese
 1 teaspoon - black pepper
 1 teaspoon - garlic powder

Directions:
   Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain. (I used the non-boiling, ready to use lasagna noodles and it still turned out yummy).  Brown ground beef and onion together, until onion is tender and beef is no longer pink in center; drain.  Mix in tomatoes, tomato sauce, bouillon and seasonings (I opted out the salt, since I'm trying to cut back salt in all my cooking recipes). Pour in bottom of crock-pot and layer lasagna noodles on top (I had to break the noodles to cover the meat).
   Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together melted butter, flour, milk, cheese, pepper and garlic powder.  Cover the white sauce over top the noodles.
   Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours or on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours.  In the last 30 minutes, turn crock-pot to HIGH (if cooking on LOW) and top with more mozzarella cheese.  Serve when cheese is melted.  Serves 10 to 12

Well, I just finished up cleaning up the dishes and let me tell you, this meal was delicious! The meat sauce was delicious (and a lot healthier then using processed spaghetti sauce) and surprisingly the white sauce was really great (and might be seen in more recipes).  I was worried during the whole time the dish was cooking that the noodles wouldn't cook properly, but I was so wrong; they were soft but crunchy on the edges like my mom's lasagna was growing up.  Mine was cooked on LOW for about 4 hours and then on KEEP WARM mode for about 45 minutes, cause the edges were starting to brown.  30 minutes before serving, I turned it back to LOW and topped it with cheese; so total cooking time for me was little less then 5.5 hours.  My parents joined my boyfriend and I for the meal and they both agreed it was superb and my dad even went back for 'thirds'.  This will definitely be a repeat dish.

Today was actually a two recipe Something New Sunday, as I made Pesto Breadsticks (seen in picture above), but it's getting late so I will try post that recipe tomorrow. 

Goodnight Folks and Enjoy!!

~Kellie Anne

Something New Sunday - Biscuits & Gravy

So, I am already failing at this whole daily blogging thing since it's been four days since my last post. Sorry peeps, thou I'm not sure if there is anybody really out there reading this (haha). #epicfailing if you ask me

Anywho, I wanted to start something new in 2013 (besides this blog). I have tons of cooking books in my house and have found tons of recipes on Pinterest that I want to recreate. And what better way then to start off the new week then with a new recipe; hence the title 'Something New Sunday'. My goal is to post a new recipe that I've never made with pictures from my non-professional looking kitchen and reviews from whomever eats the meal.

'Somewhat Homemade' Biscuits & Gravy

 

 

It was Christmas Day and I was over at my boyfriend's parents place and I randomly got the craving for biscuits and gravy. When I let everyone else know about my craving, I was told about this great little 'cheater' method of getting that great biscuits and gravy taste but without all the work. Sounds like my kind of recipe. :)

 

Two simple items to make the gravy.  Like I said, it's kind of a 'homemade' ;)



Both items can be found at your local grocery store
 

Start with a package of Bear Creek Creamy Potato soup mix.  Yes, I know its a soup mix but when you add less water then the soup recipe calls for, you get a thicker, gravy like mixture.  Instead of 8 cups of water like the soup would need, I only did 7 cups.  Bring water to a bowl, add soup mix and let simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.  Remember to stir occasionally, so the soup don't stick to the bottom of the pot.

 


The soup does have little pieces of potato in it (which I thought it was a nice added touch)

You also need to brown 1# of pork sausage in a skillet.  I used Farmland Pork Sausage without any added MSG (so it's kind of healthy).  If you wouldn't want all the calories of pork, you could definitely use turkey sausage or a substitute of your choice.

 

Obviously you can't have biscuits & gravy without the biscuits.  Well, I thought I had canned biscuits in my fridge but I didn't so I improvised with Pillsbury crescent rolls.  Bake as direceted.



Once the soup/gravy is cooked and at desired thickness and the sausage is no longer pink in the center and fat has been drained, add the two together.

Cook for about 5-7 minutes to make sure that the sausage gravy is throughly mixed and hot. 

Take a couple of hot biscuits and smother (and I mean smother cause this stuff is GOOOOD) the biscuits in the sausage gravy that you have made. 

Overall review is that this stuff makes a pretty hearty breakfast.  I didn't add a whole lot of seasoning to the sausage and just a little pepper to the soup/gravy while it was cooking.  Please feel free to add comments/questions and I will try my best to answer as soon as possible.  Also, since this is my first recipe post, I'd like to have some tips on how I can make it easier for others to follow my steps.

Enjoy!!
~ Kellie Anne