Easy Chicken Caesar Macaroni and Cheese

Hey there,

So last night I found myself trying to figure out what to make for supper...yet again. I wanted something different than our normal every day meals but it was so warm in our house I didn't want anything to complex or time consuming. I am told this happens to everyone but I find it is happening so much more while I am pregnant. I kind of wanted Fettuccine Alfredo but I didn't have all of the ingredients so I figured you know what I will wing it tonight and hope it turns out well. Fortunately it did. My husband was in love with this meal he took a heaping helping in his lunch today. Our son just could not get enough of it, but for a 3 year old even that isn't a whole lot. I really hope you enjoy this recipe I know we did.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups uncooked pasta
• 4 raw chicken breasts
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 2 oz cream cheese
• 3 tbsp Caesar salad dressing
• 1 cup chopped spinach
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 2 cups milk
• 1/4 c + 1/4 c butter or margarine plus (keep separate)
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 onion chopped

Instructions:

1. Melt 1/4 c butter in a large frying pan. 
2. While the butter is melting chop your chicken into small chunks.
3. Cook your noodles until they are "al dente" or just soft.
4. When your chicken is cooked place it into a large bowl and set aside.
5. When your noodles are done strain them and put them in the bowl with your chicken.
6. In a pot (you can use the same pot you cooked your noodles in) melt your butter with your milk.
7. Add in the salt, pepper, onion and spinach and stir. Let this cook until it starts to boil hard (it will start to foam). 
8. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in your cheese, cream cheese and salad dressing. Stir until it is all combined.
9. Pour the sauce over your chicken and noodles and enjoy.

Fast and Simple Nap Time Blanket

Hi there, I don't know about you but my son loves having a special item from home for nap-time at his daycare. Occasionally however things get forgotten or ... messy. So I decided that we would make him a special nap-time blanket that could be left at his daycare unless it needed to be washed so that it would not be forgotten anymore. He was in love with this project and it didn't take long enough that he got bored before it was completed. This is just a simple tie blanket that takes about an hour to make from start to finish. I have also made scaled up versions as well as versions that are a little more work because they are made up of squares but this one is just perfect for a little one.

Materials:

• Scissors
• 2 pieces of fleece 1 meter in length (make sure they are the same width for a twin bed get 1 1/2 meters).

Instructions:

1. Lay out your fabric and meet up the corners, try to lay it flat so that your edges stay together nicely. 
2. Cut a 4 inch square out of each of the corners. 
3. Cut 4 inch lines all around the outside of the blanket approximately 1 inch apart (to make strips along the outside). 
4. Tie the strips together all around the outside using your knot of choice. 
5. Stretch the material to get your nice rectangular shape. 
6. Enjoy your new blanket.

Please use caution when using sharp objects.

Canned Plum Sauce

Like many others the boys in my house love plum sauce with their chicken. I thought I would try my hand at it this year and it turned out to be really easy, just a little time consuming. With plum season starting I will definitely be making a second batch.

Ingredients: about 10 jam jars

• 2 cups brown sugar (lightly packed)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp mustard seed
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger root finely chopped
• 1 cup of cider vinegar
• 10 cups chopped and pitted plums

Instructions:

1. Combine all of your dry ingredients in your pot. 
2. Mix in your onion, garlic and ginger root.
3. Pour in your cider vinegar and heat on medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. 
4. Add your plums and return the mixture to a boil. 
5. When the mixture starts to boil turn down the heat and let it cook down until the sauce thickens this can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 1/2 hours. 
6. Put the sauce into hot jars and process in a hot water bath. For me this took about 25 minutes but check based on your altitude. 
7. Leave the jars to cool undisturbed for 12 - 24 hours.

Enjoy your plum sauce but please use caution when handling hot tools and ingredients. Please follow USDA guidelines for canning.

Fan Page Reminder

Hey everyone just a reminder that there is a fan page set up on Facebook where you can find out about new posts before they come up.

Strawberry Pie Fill

Well strawberry season is upon us and I don't know about you but I am loving it. I have already made a triple batch of my strawberry jam recipe I shared with you last year. Wow it is hard to believe I started this blog almost a year ago, where has the time? But I digress. Strawberries are huge right now and perfect for canning, what a great to the start of canning season. Something new I tried this year by request is canning strawberry pie fill. It turned out amazingly well, we LOVE it and it really wasn't as hard as I had worried it would be.

One note though before we start is to make sure you have at least an inch of water above the jars when you are processing, I didn't have quite that much and the top inch of my pie fill is a little more pink than red. Nothing wrong with it just the water ran low for a little bit near the end.

Ingredients: for about 2 quarts

• 7 cups of chopped strawberries
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup Clear Gel (spelled Clear Jel in the United States) not any other version or thickener
• 2 cups cold water
• 7 tsp lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Blanche your strawberries for 1 minute. This involves putting your strawberries in boiling water for 1 minute than straining them.  Put them in a covered bowl.
2. Mix your Clear Gel and sugar in a large stock pot or canning pot. (Clear Jel/Gel is the only approved thickener by the USDA). Add your cold water and whisk the ingredients together. Add heat and stir often until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble, this does not take long so be sure to keep a close eye on it. 
3. Add your lemon juice and stir constantly until it starts to bubble again.
4. Remove from heat and gently fold in the strawberries, stir gently. 
5. Put the pie fill into your hot jars and tighten until hand tight.
6. Seal the jars with a hot water bath, this took me 40 minutes. Again make sure the jars are completely covered in water for the entire processing time. 

As you can see the top is a little pink as opposed to red there is nothing wrong with it just the water ran a little low near the end. 

Please follow USDA guidelines for canning and use caution when handling hot dishes and ingredients. 

Pumpkin Banana Muffins

Hi there, sorry about the delay I meant to get this post up last night but our internet went down. This recipe is tasty as well as somewhat healthy. My partner and son love it with my canned apple butter. This recipe is simple and only uses 1 bowl which is a bonus for doing dishes after. This is also a good way to use up some of the canned or frozen pumpkin that is taking up room in your house.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour ( I used whole wheat but you can use whichever flour you prefer)
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 cup oil of your choice ( I have used vegetable, sunflower and olive in the past all have worked well)
• 1 banana mashed
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup maple syrup (1 cup if you like sweet muffins)
• 2 cups pumpkin puree

Directions

1. Oil or spray your muffin pans (this recipe makes 24 muffins or 2 9" x 5" loaves) and preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large bowl combine all of your dry ingredients, mix thoroughly so there are no chunks of any one ingredient.
3. Mix in your wet ingredients and mix until smooth. 
4. Pour into your pans and bake. Muffins take approximately 20 minutes loaves take about 45 minutes.

Please use caution when handling hot pans.

Crescent Roll Pizza Pockets

Hi there,
So I don't know about you guys but my little guy loves pizza and I just can't bring myself to order pizza every time someone gets a craving. So I tried this recipe one day and my family just loved it. The extras can be reheated without drying out completely... although there are rarely left overs. This recipe is simple and delicious, a perfect meal for a busy week night without a whole lot of prep.

Ingredients:
2 cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Pizza Sauce
Cheese
Assorted pizza toppings of choice

Procedure:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your pan with parchment paper.
Lay out one of your cans of crescent rolls and apply your pizza sauce to all but a small border around the outside edge.
Add your toppings and your cheese within this border as well.
Put another crescent roll over top of your toppings and cheese and press down the edges with a fork to seal the pocket.
Bake on the middle rack for about 30 minutes or until the pockets are golden brown.

Enjoy and please use caution when handling hot ingredients and utensils.