Simple Chicken A La King

Every Friday, Gayle over at The Grocery Cart Challenge hosts a recipe swap for her readers. It's a great way to find new recipes, and hopefully it's bringing a few of you over here where you can learn more about using up those leftovers in new meals that your family will love! If you're here from the swap, welcome to my blog! It's fairly new, but there is a lot of information here. Please feel free to look around for awhile - I think I have lots of great recipes and ideas!! :-)

This will probably be my last swap for a few weeks, as I'm having major surgery next week and will be in recovery mode for quite awhile. I will get back to it as soon as I am able, but since I won't be cooking for 2-3 weeks, it won't be as easy to post recipes with leftovers!!! ;-)

Today I'm sharing a recipe my kids really like. I used to make a fancier version of Chicken A La King that they didn't like to eat and would only pick at it. Then I came up with this version and they gobble it up!! Another plus for the recipe is it's very simple and cheap! Here's how I make it:

Simple Chicken A La King

1-2 cups leftover cooked chicken (shredded or cubed)
1 bag frozen corn
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
1 T. cornstarch
2/3 c. evaporated milk
Salt and pepper

In saucepan, combine broth, chicken, and corn. Bring almost to a boil over medium high heat.

Meanwhile, stir cornstarch into evaporated milk until completely dissolved.

Pour milk mixture into hot chicken mixture and stir quickly. Continue stirring over medium heat until thickened (won't take long).

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve this over hot rice, over waffles (really good!) or even as a baked potato topping to further stretch it. You can also serve over toast. It's very versatile!

For more great recipes, be sure and visit The Grocery Cart Challenge. Happy cooking!!!!!

My First Blog Award(s)!!!

I feel just terrible! I was given this wonderful award earlier this month by three - yes, THREE, fantastic bloggers, and I haven't even acknowledged it until now! I'm so sorry, ladies....I've been all caught up in preparing for surgery next week and just didn't take the time to properly thank you!

So....a HUGE, hearty thanks to Kristen at Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker , Jennifer at Cooking Like a Frugalite, and Amy at Cutting Coupons in KC. I so completely appreciate you!!!

The Lemonade Award is given by a previous winner to 10 people who have shown a great attitude or gratitude this week. It’s a great way to show these people that you appreciate them. So.....I am bestowing the award on the following blogs, in blog alphabetical order:

Beth at $20 Challenge for Charity

Cynthiaa at Confessions of a Yummy Mummy

Ali at Divine Domesticity

JodieMo at Eatin' on the Cheap

Jessica at Finding the Joy in the Journey

Stephanie at Fun Foods on a Budget!

Minda at Minda Homemaker

Michelle at Momstoppable

Annie Jones at Real Life Living

and last but definitely not least.....

Jackie at Save a Dime in '09

In addition, I want to give a special honorable mention to the following blog, but I don't want her to feel obligated to pass along the award, as she is dealing with some personal issues right now and I don't want to add any stress:

CookinsforMe at Plain Ol' Food

Congratulations to all the above blogs - I enjoy keeping up with every one of them and they are run by truly remarkable individuals who are worthy of more than a simple award! Be sure to visit their blogs - I'm sure you will be hooked!!!

Please accept my apology for my delay in passing along the award. I really do appreciate it greatly - I just let life get in the way!

And if you're an award recipient, please read the following, which I did pilfer from Cooking Like a Frugalite! :-)

You won, now what?

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs, which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude! Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

3. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

4. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

Celebrating National Chocolate Cake Day!!!

I'm going to re-visit my use-up-those-leftover-bananas posting and wish everyone a Happy National Chocolate Cake Day at the same time!

Today I was doing some freezer reorganization and making room for pre-cooked meals for my family to eat next week while I'm in the hospital. In doing so, I uncovered a bag of over-ripe bananas (5 of them). I couldn't throw them out!!! I thawed them a bit, removed the peel, and let them finish thawing in a bowl. Then I had to figure out what to do with them. My husband had been reminding me all day that today is National Chocolate Cake day, so I figured I would try and make a nice compromise using the bananas.

I got a chocolate cake mix and dumped it into the bowl of my KitchenAid mixer. I dumped in the bowl full of bananas (wow...this just sounds scrumptious so far, doesn't it?? lol) and then added the 3 eggs called for by the cake mix instructions. I started mixing it and it seemed a bit dry, so I added 2/3 of a cup of water and beat it on medium-high for about 2 minutes. It looked pretty good.

Into my stoneware Bundt pan went the mixture and I popped it into the oven for about 50 minutes at 375°. It smelled heavenly!!!! The cake came right out of the pan and after it cooled for a bit, I put it on a platter. I happened to have some leftover chocolate Pillsbury icing in my refrigerator from a dessert a week or so ago. I put the container in the microwave for about 45 seconds until it was the consistency of a glaze and drizzled it all over the top of the cake, running a bit down the sides and into the center.

This cake was great!! It had just the right blend of chocolate and banana and was soooo moist!!!! Everyone loved it. And even with the glazing, it was still a fairly low-fat cake. It could probably be made better with egg whites or egg substitute, but it definitely could have been worse! :-) So....here is another use for leftover bananas - let me know if you try it!!!

Yes, We Have (Some) Bananas....

Bananas. They are quite a healthy snack, and even in today's difficult times, generally reasonably priced at your local grocery store. We often purchase them greenish, but they ripen quickly to a lovely yellow color, which is when they are at the peak of flavor for munching.

However, the quick ripening also leads to an equally quick over-ripening. I don't know about your house, but around here the "yuck" factor is directly proportionate to the amount of brown on the banana skins. So....once the brown starts showing, the poor bananas are left to sit on the counter, browning more every day. The good news is that the more brown the banana, the more perfect it is for baking.

So what do you do with leftover bananas?? I bet the first things that come to mind are banana bread, banana muffins, and maybe even banana cookies. Those are all very good uses, and most folks have their preferred recipes for these items. I've been known to make banana biscotti (Yum!), banana snack cake, and even banana pancakes!

In fact, this morning, I felt sorry for the pitiful brown bananas sitting on my kitchen counter, and decided to make a batch of those pancakes. I've made them before, and the recipe has evolved into my kids' very favorite pancakes - they ask for them frequently. Here's how I make my pancakes:

1 c. leftover oatmeal (or pour about a half-cup of very hot tap water over about 3/4 of a cup of quick oats and let sit for 3-4 minutes)
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
2 large eggs
2 c. milk
2 - 2 1/2 c. flour (I use whole wheat)
1/3 c. brown sugar
3 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

Mix first 4 ingredients well in bowl. Stir in the dry ingredients until well-incorporated. Cook pancakes on hot griddle, flipping when bubbles cover the top surface of the cake.

Sometimes as a special treat, after pouring out the batter onto the griddle, I will sprinkle the wet batter with flavored baking chips and cook as usual. I've used chocolate, white chocolate, and even butterscotch chips - the kids love this!!

Enjoy this unique way to use up your leftover bananas!

The Versatility of Pizza

Pizza is a favorite to many, and on almost every kid's top foods list. Just mention the idea of ordering pizza for dinner and the kids get quite excited. Even schools now have pizza nights, where the school receives a certain percentage of orders from a pizza parlor placed by parents on a specific evening. Pizza is just plain good!

I've reached the point in my pizza making that my kids actually prefer my homemade pizza to anything we order from a pizza place. I have finally perfected a couple of different crusts that I make in the bread machine that everyone absolutely loves. One is a whole wheat Weight Watchers recipe, and the other is made with my sourdough starter. A couple of weeks ago, I ran out of white flour and made about a third of the required flour whole wheat, and the kids deemed it "gourmet" crust. Who knew??

One of the best things about pizza is that you can put just about ANYTHING on it and it gets eaten up. What is it about a bready crust and melted mozzarella that makes everything taste great?? Years ago, we lived in the very college town of Springfield, MO. There was a pizza joint there which had all sorts of bizarre toppings, from artichokes to tuna to everything in between, and people just flocked to their locations! Lately, I've been experimenting a bit with my pizzas just to try a few things that were in my fridge waiting to be utilized. I haven't been disappointed yet!

Tonight I had chicken alfredo pizza on the menu. Earlier this week, we had grilled steak (YUM!) and beef tips in gravy the next night. I still had a small piece of steak left, AND I hadn't made sourdough yet this week, so I needed to use my starter. So....we had steak pizza on a sourdough crust. That doesn't sound so strange, does it?? Well, I also tossed on a couple of handfuls of fresh spinach leaves. The kids thought it was fantastic! I truly believe I could put just about anything on a pizza and it would be gobbled up in one sitting.

If you're used to ordering pizza and not sure you can tackle the task of making the crust (though I really recommend trying, as it isn't that difficult), you can start with one of those pre-baked crusts at the store (i.e. Boboli) and start experimenting from there. My pizza tonight was made of a piece of steak that was literally about 5 inches long and 2 inches wide at its widest point, and it was plenty of meat for it. It doesn't take much! You can also change your cheese if you don't have mozzarella. I've made one entirely with cheddar cheese before. As long as it's pizza, it's going to be good!

So, if you're needing to use up a bit of meat and some veggie toppings and nothing really sounds good, give a pizza a try! I bet you don't get any complaints, no matter what toppings you choose. And if you have any funky combinations you've tried and your family raved about them, please post a comment. Creativity is fascinating and very appreciated!!!

Stuffed French Toast

I mentioned this in my prior posting about the quiche. Believe it or not, stuffed french toast is amazingly easy, and soooooo good!! Here's what you'll need:

Day-old bread (not sliced as thickly as you might do for standard french toast)
Flavored cream cheese ** (very cheap at Aldi if you have one)
2 c. milk
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
1/4 c. sugar

**If you don't have flavored cream cheese, or you're just plain cheap like me, you can take regular cream cheese and soften it. Whip it together with either some chopped up fruit and a bit of powdered sugar, or mix in some fruit jam of your choice. Once combined, this will serve as flavored cream cheese - and this is how I usually do it.

In a shallow bowl, beat eggs. Blend in milk, vanilla, and sugar to make your french toast batter.
Cover half the slices of bread well with flavored cream cheese. Top with remaining slices to form a "sandwich."
Dip the ENTIRE sandwich in the batter, coating both sides well.
Place on hot griddle and cook until both sides are deep golden brown.

It's just like regular french toast, but you're making it in more of a sandwich form with the flavored cream cheese. It's sooooo good!! Serve it with fresh fruit and a fruit compote or syrup. Enjoy!!!

I also slather the flavored cream cheese on toast in the morning for an even quicker breakfast. I know it isn't super healthy, but it's very yummy!! I'm going to try making bagels one of these days - I really am!

Real Men Really DO Eat Quiche!

This week, let's turn those leftovers into a wonderful quiche!!! I posted this a few days ago, but it definitely works for me!! And for more amazing tips from all over the globe, visit Rocks in my Dryer all day today!!

Tonight for dinner I was really wanting quiche, which I haven't made in a very long time. As I was putting it together, it occurred to me what a wonderful way this would be to use up small bits of meat and veggies in the fridge. And who would ever guess that this fantastic meal was borne of leftovers???

I was questioning my crust earlier in the day and my friend Tammy (I am SO going to get her to guest post one of these days!) suggested a potato crust, since I have so many potatoes currently in the fridge (gotta love sales). So, I combined her instructions with the directions in a couple of recipes I found online and came up with an absolutely delicious hash-brown style crust.

First, I peeled 5 small potatoes, because that is what was in my bag. 2-3 larger ones would be just fine. I then put them in my salad shooter and shredded them into a colander. After I had them all shredded, I rinsed the shreds and then placed them on paper towels to dry. I pressed on top with other paper towels to get them as dry as I could. And then they looked like this:


Now, I got out my handy-dandy pie place and I pressed the shreds into the bottom and up the sides, like this:

I popped that into the oven at 425° for about 30 minutes, and when it came out, this is how tasty it looked:

Now, a word to the wise: There was some serious shrinkage that occurred here. Be aware of this when forming your crust. In my case, it was fine, but if you want a bigger quiche than I made, you will certainly want to allow for the shrinkage factor (real men deal with that, too - HA!).

Next came the filling. In my case, I put about a quarter-cup of cheddar cheese, maybe 1/3 cup of diced ham, and a few tablespoons of bacon bits onto the crust. In a bowl, I beat 4 eggs and poured in about 3/4 of a cup of milk and just a bit of salt and pepper. I whisked this well, then poured it over the meat, cheese, and crust. I put it back into the oven for another 30 minutes, and HERE is my result:

It was really good, and even my picky 6-year-old ate every bit of hers. Both the "men" ate quite a bit of it, too! I changed up my menu plan a bit and served it up alongside strawberry-cream-cheese-stuffed french toast, which is just so darn good! Wanna see THAT?

Yeah, it's that good and then some! Yum!!! It was a very tasty, VERY well-received dinner. Every bit was gobbled up, which is a rarity around here. And if you have kids (or a kid-like man in the house) who balk at the idea of a "quiche," maybe you could call it a scrambled egg hash brown pie?? Well, maybe not......

Potato Bread

This makes fantastic rolls, or a delicious stuffed bread! I tend to make this bread whenever we have just a bit of mashed potatoes leftover (see prior post about using mashed potatoes!).

This is a bread machine recipe, adapted from The Bread Machine Cookbook (can you tell I love that book???).

Potato Bread

1/2 c. leftover mashed potatoes
3/4 c. water (scant)
1 egg
2 T. sugar
1 t. salt
3 c. flour
2 t. yeast

Place all ingredients in the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Set on dough for hand-shaped rolls or stuffed bread, or just set it to bake - it's wonderful either way!

Stuffed Bread

This is an amazing way to use up little bits of leftover meat and fillings for sandwiches. I've even made stuffed bread out of remaining fast food hamburgers! You know how the kids will sometimes eat the fries and pick at the bun, leaving the burger intact? Well, refrigerate that burger and chop it up to make a cheeseburger stuffed bread! :)

Sometimes you might have just a cup or so of shredded beef, pork, chicken, etc, and not know what to do with it. Well, you can add a few other ingredients (mushroom, peppers, onion, chopped tomato, cheese....about anything you like in a sandwich that can be heated) and make a yummy hot meal. Combine it with some chips for a casual light dinner, or soup for something more hearty, or even regular sides like rice and a vegetable - the possibilities are endless, as are the combinations for your bread.

We start with your favorite bread recipe, or you can even use frozen bread dough to make it more simple. Make (or thaw) the dough, and then roll it out on a baking sheet or rectangular baking stone to the size of the sheet/stone. Here is the recipe I use most often for bread, adapted from The Bread Machine Cookbook II:

White Bread

1 1/4 c. water
2 T. olive oil
3 T. honey
3 1/2 c. flour
1 t. salt
2 t. yeast

Put in machine in order suggested by manufacturer and set on "dough" cycle.


Once you have your bread all rolled out, you're ready to "stuff" it. Right down the middle (about the middle third of the bread), stack whatever you want in your bread - spread out the leftover cooked meat, then top with the veggies or other items, and finally, whatever kind of cheese strikes your fancy.

Now, on either side of the filling, from the outside of the loaf in, cut the dough into slits about 1" wide. I usually go at an angle from the top corners and go about 1.5" from the filling. Once you've done this, simply braid the bread strips over the filling. Allow the bread to rise in a warm place for 30-60 minutes, then bake for about 30 minutes at 350°.

The result is a hot, fresh-baked "sandwich" of sorts. Cut it into slices and serve. My family LOVES these! This really makes soup more of a meal, too, if your family doesn't feel that soup is enough to fill them up.

In addition, you can make this a breakfast meal by filling your bread with scrambled eggs, cooked and crumbled bacon, chopped cooked sausage, etc. It's a wonderful and inexpensive breakfast meal that is very filling.

Pizza Rice Casserole

Welcome, Grocery Cart Challenge recipe-swappers!! I was torn between using this recipe or my Stuffed French Toast, but since I did a French Toast recipe last week, I thought I'd link up this one instead. Thanks for visiting, and for more wonderful recipes, be sure and visit the recipe swap at Grocery Cart Challenge! :-)

This is a wonderful recipe to use up leftovers of spaghetti sauce, rice, and/or beef. It's quite versatile and can be a very inexpensive dinner! This is based on a recipe that was printed in Country Woman magazine several years ago.

Pizza Rice Casserole

1/2 lb. ground beef (or a cup or two of leftover shredded beef)
2 c. tomato sauce (or leftover spaghetti sauce)
1 t. sugar
1 t. salt (if using tomato sauce)
1 t. Italian seasoning
2 c. cooked rice
1/2 c. cottage cheese
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella

If using ground beef, cook and drain the meat. If using already cooked, leftover beef, just put it in a skillet. Add the tomato/spaghetti sauce and seasonings. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes, covered.

Combine rice and cottage cheese. Layer half of this mixture in a greased casserole dish. Top with half of the meat mixture. Repeat layers. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 30 minutes or till heated thru and cheese is bubbly.