I am sure by now you have seen the Kraft Recipe maker kits. They have a bunch of different ones. You can usually get them for about a buck. They contain a simmer sauce and cooking sauce.
So I picked up the Chicken Cacciatore to try out. The easy step by step instructions are on the box. I usually follow directions pretty close, but add my own spin to it. So my recipe here is not exactly like the box. You can follow mine, or follow the box. Or add your own twist.
So first, I got the ingredients all together. The Kraft set, chicken, and mushroom. And onion. (Not shown) I sliced up a small onion.The box calls for chopped bell pepper. But our family doesn't like peppers. We love onions. So we swapped. You can use the bell pepper, or onion. Or both. Or use anything else. Green beans, or carrots. Find what you like. .
So it's so simple to make. Pull out your crock pot. You put in the simmer sauce. It's a lemon sauce. Smells so good! Add it to the crock pot. Throw in your chicken. Then veggies. (Mine are the mushrooms and onion.) Mix them up so the chicken is coated.
I used frozen chicken breast. You can use thighs or whatever you want. We like the breast. I forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer to thaw. You can used frozen or thawed. It doesn't matter. So, get your chicken and veggies all nice and coated with the simmer sauce.
After it's all coated, top with the cooking sauce. It's a marinara sauce. It tells you to pour on top. But I mixed it up a bit. Just gently so it covered the entire top, and maybe a little down the sides of the chicken.
Set it on low. It is going to cook on low for 6-8 hours. If you don't have that much time, you can cook it on high for 4-6 hours. But if you do have the time, slow and low is always best.
These kits are amazing. It allows you to make a delicious home cooked meal, with less hassle! They are genius! So now, I checked on it every 2 hours. Mixing it up just a bit. Not even lifting the chicken. Just moving it around a bit.
After about 4 or 5 hours, I added some spinach to the mix. The recipe on the box does not call for it. But I love sneaking spinach in anywhere I can. It is so healthy. Adds some color. And taste great! I bought the bagged fresh kind. I used half the bag. I should have used the whole bag. It really shrinks!
So around 6 hours, I cooked the pasta. I used spiral pasta. I cooked it on the stove in water. Drained and rinsed. I used a whole bag. You can use more or less. After I rinse it, I added it to the crock pot and mixed it all up.
By now, you are starving, and it smells REALLY good! Turn off the crock pot. Or turn it to warm. Let it sit for about 15 to 20 minutes. Mix it again before serving. Now there are no other directions. But that is too easy for me! lol. So I chopped up some tomato and added to the top. Along with some parmesan cheese. An that's it! You are done!
So good! So easy to make! Here is a close up... I am so proud of this meal!
The Kraft Recipe Makers have taken cooking to a whole new level. I think I found a new staple in my kitchen! Here is a photo of the other ones I bought. There were several others to chose from. But these looked the best to me! Watch for other blog recipes for when I try these others!
It's been about a week. A whole week since I found out my Aunt's Breast cancer has spread to her brain. The longest week on my life! What do you do when you find something like that out? What can you do? I live 500 miles away.
I haven't been able to tell my family how completely shattered I am. I am the strong one. I am the one who holds it together. I don't cry. Not in front of anyone. But crying is all I seem to do now. I really don't know how to cope.
I feel so selfish. Here I am thinking how much I will miss her. What about my poor Grandma. She lost one of her 3 daughters just a few short years ago. Now she is about to lose another. No Mother should have to watch her children die.
6 months. That is what we are told. She has 6 months to live. My Mom says it will be less. My Mother, the caregiver. She has been caring for people all her life. Not just because she is a nurse.
She has been taking care of my Grandma for as long as I can remember. My Grandma has one leg. She was hit by a car while pregnant. Lost her leg. My mom cares for her. Now she is caring for my Aunt. My Mom is in pain. She needs a hip replacement, and knee replacement. But she does it. Because that is her sister, and nobody should die alone in a strange place.
Here I am, no job, 500 miles away. And I feel like a jerk. I am not there to help. I should be. And this tears at me every day. There isn't much time left for my Aunt. I should be there. I should be helping. But I am not. Because I started a life here, 500 miles away from my family.
My heart aches. I love my family. I miss them so much. Why don't I go back home? I don't know. They need me. I know this. Am I scared? Yes!!! I don't want my Aunt to die. As little kids, we don't think about that. People live forever. In our tiny little minds, death does not exist.
Then we grow up. We get older. The elderly get older. The sick get sicker. And people die. We try to close our eyes to it. We try not to think about it. Until it happens. Then, it is all we can think about. We question our religion. We question humanity. We want to know why. Why do bad things happen?
We cannot live forever. But why does death have to be so ugly? Why does cancer exist? Why does any horrible death exist? Why can't we just go in our sleep? Peacefully, and quietly when it is our time? But death comes in cold, and violent. Collecting souls, and leaving the living with so many questions.
I go to see my Aunt in 3 weeks. I am scared. I want to be strong. But I am afraid that I am going to break down when I see her. I don't want to make everyone else cry. For once in my life, I don't know how to handle something,.
UPDATE: I NEVER GOT THE CHANCE TO SAY GOODBYE. DAYS AFTER WRITING THIS BLOG, MY AUNT LEFT THIS EARTH. WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A TIME TO SEE HER, AND SAY GOODBYE, WAS TIME USED FOR A FUNERAL. IT HURTS THAT I WENT TOO LATE!
These are great and fun to make.
Start with your pizza dough... I used a can, you can get it at any grocery store.
Pull pieces off, and flatten out a bit. Put 2 peperoni and some cheese and a slice of onion inside. Roll up the corners and seal into a ball. You can put anything inside. Be creative... olives... pineapple... mushroom.. whatever you like...
Finish rolling them all out and put on a cookie sheet
Beat an egg in a bowl, and brush on top of each ball. Sprinkle with garlic salt, itallian seasoning, and Parmesan cheese.
Bake for about 18 minutes....
And they are ready to go... serve with any side... I served with corn.
And don't forget the pizza sauce... YUMMMMM... Enjoy....
I had to recreate a recipe from someone famous. So I chose a recipe by Guy Fieri. Hot wieners Rhode Island Style. I actually changed it up a tiny bit.
Take an onion and cut it up. Toss it in a frying pan with some butter. Cook for about a minute. In a bowl, mix a tbsp of chili powder, a tbsp of paprika, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, a tsp of salt, and a tsp of celery salt. Put in frying pan with the onion. Then add a pound of ground beef.
cook until meat is done. Then cook your hot dogs. You can boil them or fry them. I like them better fried.
Put your hot dogs on the buns, then put your meat mixture on top.
Top with some cheese, a sprinkle of celery salt and some chopped onion.
And you are done! Enjoy!!!
Nothing is better than making something from scratch. And what's better than peanut butter cups... so... Here it is....
First I made the peanut butter. You don't have to do this. I just thought it would be fun. So I threw some peanuts into the magic bullet with a tiny bit of oil.
I used corn oil. But you can use any type of oil. It will be creamier with oil. I just used a few drops... just experiment until you get a texture you like. But not too runny. You can use the bullet or a food processor or a blender.
So then you want to take your peanut butter, about 1 3/4 cups and put into a bowl... add 4 cups of powdered sugar and 1/3 cup of soft butter or margarine. Blend together until a dough forms.
It may be a little crumbly. You can shape it to be whatever you want. Hearts.. eggs for easter... whatever. I just shaped them like cups. Put on a cookie sheet with wax paper and put into the freezer for an hour.
So after the hour, you want to melt 4 cups of chocolate chips, with a tablespoon of butter until it's creamy.
Dip your peanut butter batter into the chocolate, with a fork, and put onto wax paper.
Complete them all and put back in the freezer for about a half hour. Mine are a little messy, but yours do not have to be. Take out of the freezer, and viola! You are done... Enjoy.....
So as a member of Cooking club of America, I get to test products once in awhile through Stuffstuff. I got my first product to try, which is the Egg Perfect Egg Timer.
Can we say LOVE!!! What a great little gadget! And might I add... a staple needed for EVERY kitchen!
I always hated boiling eggs. I never new how long. I would always over boil them an the yolk would be dried out. But this makes it so easy.
I tried it all 3 ways, just to be able to say it does work all 3 ways. Soft boiled, medium boiled and hard boiled. Personally, I only do hard boiled. But for test sake, I tried all 3. And it works EXACTLY as the packaging says. It just turns a different color for the kind of egg you want. And it isn't a small change in color, where you are wondering, well, is it orage... red... what? You can tell!
I love it. It is going to be a great staple in our home.
On Valentine's Day, I got engaged!!! It was so amazing. Not only was it Valentine's day, it was our 1 year anniversary. Our Valentine's started on the 13th. We exchanged gifts. When we got up on Valentine's morning (Feb. 14, 2013) Andrew made me egg muffins. Then I was off to work for the day.
When I got home, he had a huge cupcake balloon that says love you. And an anniversary and Valentine's card on the bed. We then got ready to go out for the evening. He took me into San Fransisco to the Cupid's Allstar Comedy show. It was really funny. We had diner there. We sat right at the foot of the stage.
So we got out of there about 10ish.. and drove over the Golden Gate. We stopped at Vista Point. It's so pretty there. Overlooks the city and bay, with the bridge right there. We had never been there at night, and seen the city lights.
So, we walk around a bit, take some pics. And just kind of hanging out. It is super dark.
Andrew says to me, I need to ask you a question. I turned to look at him. He looked nervous. I got a little nervous. He says Julie Ann Mallett will you marry me. I said are you joking??? lol. He says no I am not joking and gets down on his knee and pulls out a box from his coat jacket. I said Are you serious? He said yes. Then I said yes. He got up and kissed and hugged me. Then put the ring on my finger.
We just kept kissing. He said can you even see the right. I said not really. So I had to pull my cell phone out to see the ring. I LOVED it! He could not have picked out a more perfect ring! So we stayed there a little longer, and it was like two giddy teenagers. Just smiling, and hugging and kissing.
We left and went home. When we were laying in bed that night, Andrew says I know you really love me. I thought how silly, he should always know that. I said ok, why. He says, you said yes even before you saw the ring. Lol. Of course I did! The ring is just an added bonus.
It's so much more special, because he KNOWS me so well. It's white gold, and pink. It's not traditional. Which makes me love it 10x more. It's better than I could ever ask for! Not that I would ask. Lol. So we are thinking May 10th 2014 or around there. We haven't started any planning yet..
