Just stopping by to share a love song...

This was posted on Mr. Kutcher's Facebook yesterday and I just couldn't not share here...watching the video you can see that these two have a special bond (stepdad & daughter) and you can see he is proud of her...I just love the whole thing...I hope you do too. Baby Girl is starting a blog...and makes me realize I miss it...but I am still conflicted...but never about coffee...cheers! Ta Ta....for now!

Din Din 1/18/11 - Chicken Tortilla Soup

I love allrecipes.com...don't you?  I have some leftover chicken from the other night so I went on a hunt to find out what I coud make with what I have on hand...so there are a few substituitions, but I am sure it will turn out great...I can't wait for 6:00!

Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup (4 1/2 stars on allrecipes.com)

"A quick, no-fuss version of chicken tortilla soup! All you do is put everything into the slow cooker, and turn it on. Then garnish with baked corn tortilla strips!"

Ingredients:
1 pound shredded, cooked chicken
1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed (I used 15 oz can of petite cut)
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
7 corn tortillas  (I used bagged tortilla chips)
vegetable oil
Avocado & Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese

Directions:
1. Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).(Skipped steps 2-4)
3. Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.
4. Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes.
To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup (I am going to serve OVER Torilla strips and put avocado & cheese on top).

Menu Plan Monday 11/18/2010

I can't believe it has been 4 months since I last posted a menu plan...well yes I can...but I need to get back in the saddle..so here goes...not too busy of a week, should be kind of quiet around here....

Breakfast

Oatmeal

Egg Sandwiches

Breakfast burritos

Swedish Pancakes

Lunch

Tuna Sandwiches (x2)

Leftovers

Ham Sandwiches

Chicken Quesadilla

Dinner

Chicken Pot Pie (Planned overs from Beer Butt Chicken)

     Pecan Crusted Tilapia

                                             Pot Roast (I can't wait to try this recipe)

Chicken Cacciatore

                                                      Vegetable Beef Soup & Grilled Cheese (planned overs)

PC's Beer Butt Chicken

He really wanted to try this recipe, and was o thrilled when he realized he had this little gadget in his barbecue drawer (the stand was a gift to him from Momma about three year ago)...he cleaned out the chicken. which was funny to watch, massaged the rub on the lucky little chick, shared a few drinks with her and then set her on fire...I was a little jealous. Anywhoo...this was a great treat for me, all I did was the salad and it was a fabby Din Din.

 Beer Butt Chicken - Beer Can Chicken - Drunken Chicken

 (3 1/2 to 4 pounds) whole chicken

1 (12-ounce) can beer (cut off top with a can opener)*  We used the stand

1 cup butter or olive oil

2 tablespoons garlic salt or 4 to 5 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons paprika

Pinch cayenne pepper or to taste

Emiril's Chicken Rub

Coarse salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste

* Fruit juice, soda (not diet) or wine can be used in place of beer, but beer is the tastiest option (the beer vaporizes and soaks into the meat making it very moist and very tasty).

Preheat barbecue grill (spray grill with vegetable-oil cooking spray). Drink (or pour out) 1/4 of the beer from the can.

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter or heat olive oil. Mix in garlic salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, herbs, salt, and pepper; set aside. NOTE: You can substitute any favorite chicken rub.

Cut off all the fat from the body and neck openings as you want the cavity free and clear; remove the giblets and discard. Rub the inside and outside of the chicken with butter/seasoning mixture (this seals the chicken and also ensures that the skin will be brown and crispy when done).

Slide the top of the beer can deep inside the chicken cavity (the head end). Lightly oil the exterior of the can with salad oil. If the opening is especially wide, a carrot or slice of potato can be slid in beside the can to seal off the cavity. Push until the can is almost fully inside the bird. The bottom of the can and the two legs bent slightly downward form a tripod which keeps the chicken upright on the grill.

Cover barbecue with lid, open any vents, and cook over low to medium heat for approximately 2 to 3 hours (depending on your heat source) or until a meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (juices will run clear when cut with the tip of a knife). Check the chicken every 20 minutes or so and brush on more of the butter/seasoning mixture or olive oil as needed. If the chicken is browning too fast, cover the chicken with aluminum foil.

This is the type of thermometer that I use in my cooking. I get many readers asking what cooking/meat thermometer that I prefer and use in my cooking and baking. I, personally, use the RT600C Thermometer (show in the photo on the right). To learn more about this inexpensive excellent thermometer and to also purchase one (if you desire), just click on the underlined: RT600C Thermometer.

When the chicken is done, remove from the grill and let the chicken cool for 15 minutes before cutting and serving (meat temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees after it is removed from the oven). NOTE: When removing the chicken from the grill, be especially careful as the aluminum can (and the liquid in it) will be very hot and you could burn yourself.

One chicken makes approximately 4 generous servings.

Isn't he handsome?

Menu Plan 6/21/10

CuzzyA is coming to visit this week, but we are picking her up in Vegas, so it's a short menu this week. But I have an exciting plan that I am starting this week...wanna know what it is?  Yeah! Well, I am going to have each family member, including myself, pick one recipe from one of the the Thousands of magazines I am hoarding to make my Menu Plan for the week. Then I will post the recipe and review the meals.  I am so excited about this plan, because I use the Magazines - I will be recycling them - cutting down on the clutter in my  pantry. Now what should I do the hundreds of cookbooks in there?

Hard Boiled Eggs

Cereal

Blueberry Crumble Cake

Breakfast Burritos

Big Breakfast Sunday My Turn - Swedish Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs, Maple Bacon)

Lunch:

Pasta Salad

Tuna Salad

Cheese & Crackers

Leftovers

Zucchini Boats - Corn on the Cob

Honey Glazed Chicken Kabobs

Veggie Burgers - Red Potato Salad

Linking with Menu Plan Monday!

Menu Plan Monday 06/07/10

Breakfast:

Hard Boiled Eggs

Cereal

Muffins

Egg Sandwiches (Made with Sandwich Thins)

Big Breakfast Sunday My Turn - Swedish Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs, Maple Bacon)

Lunch:

Pasta Salad

Tuna Salad

Cheese & Crackers

Leftovers

Grilled Tillapia - Brown Rice - Grilled Corn

Veggie Burgers - Red Potato Salad

Hawaiian Haystacks

Fillet Mignon - Grilled Veggie & Potato Pockets

Bacon-wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers, rice, Sesame Asparagus

Just Something I Whipped Up & Menu Plan Monday

Oh! I'm soooo excited! I just found a couple of cute little (wink) blogs called A Girl Creative & Skip to my Lou and I'm in blog love!  There are so many creative ideas all in one place - I hit the blog jackpot with that little stumble (which BTW happened at A Little Tipsy. Anywho!! A Girl Creative hosts a Linky Party called "Just Something I Whipped Up", & Skip to My Lou hosts Made by you Monday so I'd thought I'd join in.  PC made fun of me as I was taking my photos...we had a talk about how I could have worse hobbies...LOL.  So here ya go - this is one of my fav lunches - I just call it "Carol's Pasta Salad" (Carol is the owner of my fav Wine Store - Casa De Vino and she made this on one our Wine tasting trips - that's  her with the pasta bag).

The salad that Carol brought on the trip is not exactly the same as mine - I played with the recipe a little. I added the dressing & the sun dried tomatoes - but it is tasty without them too!

So, you cook the pasta, drain and rinse the pasta.

Then you stir in a splash of dressing, a pinch of red pepper flakes (more if you like heat), a handful of diced sun-dried tomatoes, the whole can (drained) of kidney beans and 8 oz of feta.

YUMMO!

On the Menu This Week:

Breakfast:

Hard Boiled Eggs

Cereal

Peanut Butter & Honey Toast

Egg Sandwhiches

Big Breakfast Sunday (PC's turn - Burritos)

Lunch:

Pasta Salad

Tuna Salad

Cheese & Crackers

Leftovers

Cincinnati Chili - Spaghetti- Hot Dogs

Veggie Burgers - Red Potato Salad

Hawaiian Haystacks

Fillet Mignon - Grilled Corn - Potato Pockets

Bacon-wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers, rice, Sesame Asparagus

Linking up with:

Something I Whipped Up

Made by Me Monday

Menu Plan Monday

Thanks for stopping by!

Menu Plan Monday - 3/22/10

It's Menu Plan Monday over at I'm a Organizing Junkie - she has a great post on saving money on groceries this week. Be sure to check her out!

Here's my plan:

Monday: Best Chicken Eva!, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli
Tuesday: Teppan Steak, Popcorn Shrimp, Baked Potato, Summer Squash
Wedsneday: Aromatic Swordfish ,Jasimine Rice, Sesame Asparagus
Thursday: Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas, Spanish Rice, Blackbeans
Friday: Leftovers or Soup & Grilled Cheese (Girls Night Out!)
Saturday: Date Night
Sunday: Calico Beans, Marie Calendar's Cornbread

I'll post pictures and recipes the day after I prepare each one!