Menu 1/28 - 2/3--2011

Friday--I had big plans, but we ended up eating leftovers. I had a REALLY rough day at work!
Saturday--Kids and I are having Totino's Pizzas for dinner, but I am cooking a big brunch.
Sunday--Tuna Patties and Mac & Cheese
Monday--Shredded Pork Wraps
Tuesday--Chicken Alfredo
Wednesday--Steak Fingers
Thursday--Italian Crescent Casserole

National Pie Day?

I saw a post this morning on my Facebook wall that said, "Happy National Pie Day! What's your favorite pie?" After answering that my favorite is a toss-up between Peach and Kentucky Derby pies, I started really wanting some pie today! So when I ran to the store to get a rotisserie chicken for my Chicken & Gnocchi soup I'm making for dinner tonight, I grabbed a few other things as well. Here's what I did:
The Ingredients

1 3/4 cups milk
graham cracker pie crust (I got the minis)
1 package Instant Pudding and Pie Filling (any flavor). I bought a vanilla and then discovered I still had a Pumpkin Spice one in my cupboards!!

Whisk the milk and pie mix together for 2 minutes.

Pour into shells.

Refrigerate until set. Because I am an awesome Mom and he's so stinkin' cute, I made some Chocolate ones for my Clay-Clay.

Menu 1/21 - 1/27--2011

Wow! I thought my family blog was neglected! It's been 5 weeks since I posted a menu on here. We HAVE eaten in that time frame, I promise and swear! At least I have posted some recipes for you to look through. Well, here we go with my first posted menu for 2011. It's not much, but it's what's for dinner :)

Friday--We went super healthy (NOT!) and had Taquitos with Rotel dip and chips while we watched The Sorcerer's Apprentice on pay-per-view. That's Family Night in Chaosville!
Saturday--I'm going to make a big breakfast before Jayme leaves for work this afternoon and then the kids and I can have whatever we feel like eating later on.
Sunday--Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
Monday--Steak Fingers and "camping potatoes" with gravy
Tuesday--Taco Soup
Wednesday--Pork Fried Rice
Thursday--Raley Gravy

Cheesy Potato Soup

I was flipping through my cookbooks looking for a soup recipe the other day and came across one in my Taste of Home 2011 Annual Recipes book called "Cheddar Potato Soup". I changed a few things from that version to make it a little more Chaos-friendly and I am very happy with the results!!
The Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup butter
5 cups cubed, peeled potatoes
3 cups water
3 cups milk, divided
4 tsp chicken bouillon granules
  1/2 tsp salt
  1/2 tsp pepper
  1/4 cup all-purpose flour
(**I used 1/4 cup Kentucky Kernel Seasoned flour instead of the 3 above listed)
4 cups shredded colby-jack cheese
(recipe called for Cheddar, but I like co-jack better. THis is also one of the rare times I used LESS cheese than called for. I just didn't want the soup to be overly cheesy. I used about 2 cups and added more to my serving. It was perfect)
1/2 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled

In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, saute onion and celery in butter for about 5 minutes. While that is working, fry up your bacon.

Add potatoes and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

I like to run my masher around a potato soup pot a few times, even when the recipe doesn't call for it.

Stir in 2 cups of milk

and add the bouillon granules.

Mix the flour with the remaining milk until smooth.

Gradually stir into soup.

Bring to a boil; cook and stir for two minutes or until thickened.

Reduce the heat. Add the cheese

and the bacon.

Stir until cheese is melted. Ladle into serving dish of your choosing and enjoy. It is very yummy!!

Baked Onion Dip

I made this at my in-laws house during our holiday visit. Very yummy and lots of compliments and requests for the recipe! Since I was out of town though I did not take pictures; sorry! But it is very easy with few ingredients and no tricks so I think you can manage it;
The Ingredients

1 cup mayo (I used the Olive Oil mayo and it was yumm-o)
1 cup chopped sweet onion
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp garlic salt (I didn't have this so I used garlic powder and added a little salt)
minced fresh parsley optional
assorted crackers

In a bowl, combine mayo, onion, cheeses and garlic. Spoon into 1 qt baking dish. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley if desired. Serve with crackers. CAUTION: This stuff is MOLTEN LAVA hot when you first take it out. Several of us burned our mouths in our frenzy to try it first :)

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year from Chaosville to you! We are having black-eyed-peas for good luck and we hope you are too. If you don't have a good recipe for them, try this one on for size, it's a winner!!