What's For Dinner?

We've had more snow the last few days so being inside has made me want to cook a little more. For lack of something better to post, I thought I'd post the recipes for this weeks dinners. I make up my dinner list on Sundays and do my grocery shopping for the things I'm missing on Monday. It makes my life so much easier already knowing what I am going to cook each night. Of course I always have those weeks that I don't feel like cooking or things come up. Hope you find something worth trying.

I got this recipe off a recipe blog. This is only the second time we have made it but it is YUM!

Zucchini Soup

3 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. margarine
Melt in pot
Add:
1 medium clove garlic (1/2 tsp.)
2 medium onions, chopped
6-8 zucchini (chunks)
Saute till onions are clear.
Add pre-cooked ground sausage (1 lb.)
Cook 10 minutes.
Add:
2 (8oz) can tomato sauce
2 ( 15 oz) can of diced tomatoes
Simmer 15 minutes
Add:
4 oz. Monterey Jack cheese
4 oz. Longhorn cheese, grated
Simmer, covered, 10 minutes.
I use Monterey Jack cheese b/c Longhorn isn't something I keep on hand. Also, leave half to sprinkle in each bowl just before serving.
salt and pepper to taste

Italian Crock Pot Chicken
(I thought everyone owned this Utah classic recipe until a couple people asked me for it recently)

1 lb chicken ( I like to use the tenders but chicken breasts are fine)
1/4 c. water
1 pkg. dry Italian dressing mix

Put chicken in crock pot. Mix water and dressing together, then pour over chicken. Cook on Low for 3 hours.

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can mushrooms

Mix together, then add to chicken. Cook 1 more hour.

(I always use the slower cooker liners and it saves a ton of work on clean up!)

Baked Potato Soup
Dont' be afraid to try the garnishes, its what makes this soup so good!

3 T butter
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 T flour
1 (14 ½ oz) can chicken broth
4 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into ½” cubes
½ t. salt
¼ t. white pepper
¼ t. black pepper
1 t. dried basil
½ t. garlic salt
1 cup half and half

Garnish with
Grated cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Crumbled bacon
Chopped green onions

Melt butter in a 2 qt saucepan on medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the onions and cook about 5 minutes, stirring often. Gradually add chicken broth. Add potatoes, salt, pepper, basil and garlic salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Stir in half and half; heat through. Serve with garnishes. Serves 4, but easily doubles.

(I do not use the white pepper and I also use the frozen cubed potatoes about 1 generous cup per potato)

Spinach Manicotti

I love, love, love this recipe because you don't have to cook the manicotti shells ahead of time.

1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, divided
1 egg
2 teaspoons minced parsley
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 28-ounce jar spaghetti sauce with meat
1 cup water
1 20-ounce package manicotti shells

In a large bowl combine ricotta, spinach, 1 c. mozzarella, 1/4 c. Parmesan, egg, parsley, onion powder, pepper and garlic powder. Combine spaghetti sauce and water. Spread 1 cup of sauce in an ungreased 9 x 13 baking dish. Stuff uncooked manicotti with spinach mixture and arrange over sauce. Pour remaining sauce over manicotti. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake uncovered at 350 for 40-5 minutes or until heated through. Do not have to refrigerate overnight.

For ANY pasta recipe that calls for a red sauce, I use my homemade sauce recipe that I got from my mother in law (I think its tweaked a little). It makes a ton, so after we use it for spaghetti night, I freeze the leftovers to use in lasagna, manicotti, etc.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 28-ounce cans petite diced tomatoes
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 bay leaf
3-4 mild italian sausage links
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute garlic and onion in olive oil. Add tomatoes, brown sugar, basil and bay leaf. Cut open casing on sausage and break into sauce in small pieces to cook. Or add 1 pound of raw ground pork and let cook in the sauce. Simmer and serve with noodles.

Friday night is always homemade pizza and family movie night at our house. We've been doing this tradition for over a year now and we still haven't gotten sick of pizza once a week. This is my favorite dough recipe:

Pizza Dough

1 cup warm water
1 T. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 T. oil
1/2 t. salt
2-3 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in water and sugar. Add oil, salt and flour. Knead it well and let rise for 10-15 minutes. Roll out and add toppings. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes.

I have the type of yeast that you can add with the flour and doesn't have to be dissolved, so I just dump everything in my Bosch mixer and let it mix up real good. I add more like 2 1/2 cups flour when I want to use it for 2 pizzas (the kids is usually quite smaller). For only one pizza don't use more than 2 cups flour. If you like a thinner crust, I would cut this recipe in half. I also seem to have had good luck when I roll my dough out and let it cook in the oven for 5 minutes before loading it up with toppings.

4 Day Getaway

Last week my parents took my three sisters and I on a 4 day getaway to Florida! My grandparents live there and we haven't seen them for a little while, so we got to spend 4 days with them. It was the best. On the plane ride there I was able to start a book, listen uninterrupted to my ipod (without having to be on some piece of exercise equipment), hold my sisters CUTE babies that came along, and eat candy without sharing! The weather was a little cold for Florida, but it felt great coming from the 30 degree weather we have been having here. My grandparents took us to some great restaurants and we stayed up late talking or reading and slept in! One afternoon after lunch, the four of us spent almost 3 hours in Target! I mean, how often with kids can you do that?? We got some awesome deals on sweaters and winter clothes they were clearancing for $3 and $4. I had to buy another suitcase to bring it all home! I finished Confessions of a Shopaholic on the plane ride home. Now I won't be cramming to finish it before the movie comes out in February. AND to make the trip even better I came home to a clean house, loaded dishwasher, laundry done and a beautiful bouquet of flowers! I need to go out of town more often!!

I'm A Blog Slacker

Okay, I admit it. I'm a blog slacker. But my life had to officially get back in order come 7am Monday morning when the kids were due back at school. It was bittersweet. I was excited for them to go back but not looking forward to early mornings again. And snow. I was glad for the first snowfall we got, but now it just hasn't stopped. I actually got stuck trying to get out of my own driveway one day after I'd been at home for 3 days. When they forecast that the "bench" is going to get more snow, they aren't kidding. Oh well. At least it looks pretty.

We had such a great Christmas. Our good friends brought us the movie The Nativity on Christmas Eve so we decided to watch it that night. I cried through almost the entire thing. It was SO good. I highly recommend it. The kids woke up at 6am on Christmas morning and we made them wait until 7 because "Santa and Mrs. Claus" had been up very late the night before. They were so excited and fun to watch. I love how they forget everything they asked for on their list (and didn't get) because they are so excited about the stuff they never thought to ask for. Jason ROYALLY spoiled me this year with a beautiful necklace from Tiffany & Co. and a new digital camcorder. I must have been a very good girl this year!

Elf Kit

I've been making the Martha Stewart Elf Kits for a few years now and have always found my own kit to be such a lifesaver! Last year I gave one to each of my siblings on Christmas Eve. I found a cute box at the craft store and included the following inside...

scissors
batteries
small ziploc baggies
large trash bags
pocket knife
screwdrivers
small notepad
pen

You could also include an extra memory card or camera battery. And almost all of this can be found at the dollar store.

Having all these necessities on hand Christmas morning is so great. When Christmas is all said and done, refill the things you used and you'll be ready for next year!

Snow Finally!

It seems like last winter we couldn't get the snow to stop and this year I have to say I have been wondering when it was finally going to come! Well we got a nice snowfall on Sunday. Luckily we had bought a snow blower on Saturday. I actually had to talk my husband into getting it. What man doesn't want an excuse to spend $600+ on a machine that only he can operate?? He fired it up on Sunday afternoon. After 25 minutes he came inside and I asked him what happened? He said nothing, I'm done! Good purchase, very good purchase. We might actually stayed married through the winter.

Baby Anna

My sister was being induced with her 4th child last Friday and invited me to come. I have always lived in another state when my sister has had her babies and I've never actually watched the birth of one of my own children. The fear of fainting or throwing up at the site of them coming into the world has always deterred me from watching. But I decided this was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I spent the day with her in the hospital while she labored and finally that evening I got to witness the coolest thing ever...her birth! I was overwhelmed by the feeling of this miraculous event that we as women get to be a part of. Baby Anna is beautiful! And I even got to cut the cord (thanks, Scott!). This day will definitely be remembered as one of my favorites that I am sure I will remind Anna of in years to come. Thanks to my sister and her husband for letting me be a part of this day with them.

Strep x 5

So I haven't posted in a while because we have been overtaken by the Strep Throat monster at our house. Nathan got it right before Thanksgiving, gave it to me right after Thanksgiving, then I gave it to Lauren who then gave it to Jason and now Nathan has it for the second time! Little Luke has endured a bunch of grumpy people for the last couple weeks and hasn't gotten it...YET. I guess we were all just feeling the spirit of giving this holiday season in a slightly different way. I'm done with giving (of strep throat at least).

On a lighter note we had my entire family to our house for Thanksgiving. We deep fried a turkey for the first time and it was SO delicious. We had such a wonderful time with everyone here. The girls all spent the night and headed out at 5 am for Black Friday shopping. That was a blast as usual and I ended up with some pretty good deals. Being with my sisters and mom (and my friend Megan) was really the best part. AND my dad came along this year to be our personal buggy attendant/line holder. How cool is that??

Last Friday we hosted a White Elephant Party at our house. It was so fun! Jason and I couldn't stop talking about how much fun we had and how blessed we feel to have such wonderful friends and neighbors around us. We had some great gifts and some even better food (I feel the need for a recipe exchange!). I can't wait to do it again next year.