Baked Ziti

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This is another recipe from one of my beloved regional cookbooks.

 The medical clinic at the Air Force Base that we are stationed at decided to team up with each other and the public to produce a cookbook.  And what a cookbook it is too!  It is filled to the brim with recipes and dishes that the staff as well as some patients of the clinic submitted.  I came across it by surprise.  I went to take my kids to their routine well-baby check up and came home with 4 of these cookbooks (one for me and the rest as gifts for my family), as they were selling them everywhere in the clinic.  I decided to try this recipe because not only did we have all the ingredients, I also have not made a pasta dish in a while so this was just the recipe I was looking for.  It was a hit in our house!  I think it's the creamy parmesan filling that makes the dish super delicious. 

Cooking Light's Easy Banana Bread

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Continuing with my Fall Baking Series, I decided to make this today :)  It comes from the cookbook, The Best of Cooking Light:

I think I mentioned in a previous post that my hubby and I are really big fans of Cooking Light :) 

Libby's Homemade Chicken Soup

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For the past few days, everyone in my family has been sick. Either we have caught some kind of cold virus or we all decided to come down with sinus infections at the same time. In any event, this soup was on my list of things to make...so I made it lastnight...sore throat and all. I don't regret making it because the moment I started eating it, I felt 10 times better! There is something about homemade chicken soup that is so comforting and healing. My plan was to freeze the left overs but believe me when I say, there hardly aren't any left overs to freeze...lol. This is super easy and quick to make...and also very affordable :) I think I'm just going to make another batch of this and freeze it anyway for the upcoming winter season :)

Libby's Homemade Chicken Soup
Ingredients:
3-4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 cup of baby carrots or chopped regular carrots
Half a bag of frozen peas
1 whole onion, chopped
2 tbsp. of olive oil
A box and a half of chicken stock
2 cups of water
Half a cup of noodles (any kind of small shaped pasta will do..or even egg noodles), uncooked
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. Emeril's Essense (optional)
Half of a rotisserie chicken, shredded OR 3 cups of regular cooked chicken breasts, shredded

In a stock/soup pot, saute the onion, celery, and carrots in olive oil until soft. Throw in the rest of the ingredients, except the noodles, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  While it is simmering, cook noodles in a seperate pot.  Once the soup is finished, discard bay leaf. 

***Serve on top of the noodles with crackers, a nice sandwich, or with rice******Always cook noodles seperately so they won't absorb all the liquid from the soup while cooking and when storing***
***This soup freezes VERY well...so be sure to freeze any left overs***
***Money saving-short cut tip: Yesterday, I used left over veggies that I had been saving in my freezer. Anytime I have any left over "raw" vegetables, I chop them up and place them in a tupperware container. Then I place the container in the freezer...lid on. When it comes time make the soup, I have a container full of veggies that I can just dump into the pot along with the chicken. The results are the same as if you were chopping them fresh.***

This is also my first entry for Crockpot Wednesdays. Just follow the directions as stated above, cooking the soup in the crockpot on low for 1 to 2 hours.

This will also be my frist entry for Souper Sundays.   

Reuben Dip

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My husband LOVES making his *famous* Reuben sandwiches from time to time (check out his recipe HERE).  Usually, when he makes them just for us, we are left with an abundance of left over ingredients. 
This week, he made them and I decided to be adventurous and do some research into what I could make with all this left over food. 
I found a plethora of recipes for our special ingredients and picked this one to make and I have no regrets. It is surprisingly similar to how you would make a regular Reuben sandwich. The only difference is that you add mayonnaise into the mixture and bake it instead of placing it on a sandwich. These would be great to serve at a get together or as an appetizer before dinner. 
I am so excited because I no longer have to let Reuben ingredients go to waste! Within the same week, we can have this wonderful dip as an appetizer or to just snack on throughout the day :)

Reuben Dip(serves 5-8)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise 

1/2 cup Thousand Island dressing 

16 ounces sauerkraut, rinsed and squeezed dry 

8 ounces shredded corned beef 

16 ounces shredded Swiss cheese 

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and dressing. 

3.  Spread sauerkraut into a 9x13-inch baking dish. Layer corned beef, Swiss cheese, and the mayonnaise-dressing mixture on top of the sauerkraut. 

4.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. 

**Libby's Notes: Serve with toasted left over pumpernickel bread, wheat crackers, or regular crackers.


Recipe Source:  Allrecipes.com

My Girl Paula~Strawberry Pretzel Salad & Another Award!

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For this week's MGP, we made her Strawberry Pretzel Salad. This recipe is a great way to say goodbye to summer! It is similar to a recipe that I inherited from my mother for Strawberry Pie...minus the cream cheese and Cool Whip. Of course, I once again...made changes to this recipe.

The first change I made on purpose...the other change was a total accident. When I went shopping for the ingredients, I forgot to purchase both bags of strawberries and came home with just one. This was the accidental change. Funny thing is, even though I forgot the second bag of strawberries, I ended up purchasing 3 boxes of jello instead of 2! I had to figure out how I was going to make the recipe work with just one bag of strawberries...so I decided to make it in a smaller dish instead of a 9x13 one. It worked :) Another change I made, which was on purpose, was I omitted the pineapples...mainly because I don't like them :) All in all, it is a great recipe and I will certainly make this again. My husband is going to take the left overs to work tomorrow so we won't pack on the calories :) I'm sure his Airmen will love it!

To check out this recipe, click here: Strawberry Pretzel Salad
To join in on the fun of My Girl, Paula, click here: My Girl, Paula

Lastly, I had the honor of recieving the Kreativ Blog award from Kay with Cooking With Kay. I met Kay through the My Girl, Paula group and she has really awesome recipes. If some of you have time, you must check out her blog :) Thank you Kay!!

A few rules accompany the award:
1. Place the logo on the blog.
2. Link to the person who nominated the blog for this award.
3. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
4. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
5. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
6. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

What's Interesting About Me:
1. I was born an Army Brat and now I am an Air Force Wife.
2. I come from a multi-cultural family.
3. I know how to make 4 different kinds of lasagnas. My husband used to call me the *lasagna queen.*
4. I perfer a night indoors spent with my hubby and kids over a night out on the town (unless it's a date night).
5. When I was younger I wanted to be a famous singer.
6. I am an organizational freak :)
7. God, my kids, and my husband give me the strength to make it through the day...and that is all I need :)

The Nominees Are:
I know I'm only supposed to pick 7, but I nominate everyone who reads my blog and would like to participate! Leave me a comment and let me know if you do participate :)

Oatmeal Scotchies

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Fall is just around the corner over in my neck of the woods. The leaves are falling off the trees in our neighborhood and all the stores are dragging out their fall decor. Pretty soon I will have to start shopping for long sleeve shirts and pants for my kids due to the cooler weather we will be experiencing. I will eventually get to the clothes shopping, however, I decided to do something new for this blog. I have added a new category, Autumn Recipes and will be baking desserts all autumn long. Some of these recipes I have already made, others will be new.

I will kick things off with these oatmeal scotchie cookies. I originally had planned to make them last week, however my son has been sick with a yucky virus and all my attention, until now, has been focused on his health. He is feeling better though and took a long nap this afternoon, so I decided while he was napping that I would bake these with my 3 year old.

I am so glad we made these! My husband isn't a fan of butterscotch, so he recommended that I leave the butterscotch chips out the next time I make them...but other then that, he loved them also. To add a little *fall* touch to them, I ended up adding 1/8 tsp. of nutmeg to the recipe :) I baked a batch and then froze the rest of the cookie dough so I can bake them during Thanksgiving :)

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in small bowl.



Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl.



Gradually beat in flour mixture...don't you just love my daughter's finger in the pic? :)



Stir in oats and morsels.



Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.



Bake for 7 to 8 minutes for chewy cookies or 9 to 10 minutes for crisp cookies.
Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.



The result....a yummy cookie full of oatmeal and flavorful spices!



Eat them with a cup of Pumpkin Pie Spice Iced Coffee. I did :) The recipe for the iced coffee can be found here: Iced Coffee Mania . What a perfect way to start out the fall season!

Oatmeal Scotchies (adapted from VeryBestBaking.com)
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or grated peel of 1 orange
3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1 2/3 cups (11-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Butterscotch Flavored Morsels

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375° F.

Combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 7 to 8 minutes for chewy cookies or 9 to 10 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.