Some Recipes

Whiskey Crab Soup (Also called East Coast Tomato Soup)

I've had this recipe for quite a few years. The Cliffhouse in Bellingham WA serves a soup similar to this which is why we call this Whiskey Crab Soup because that is the name of their soup. It is really yummy and rich and I usually just serve it with bread and it's a good meal.

3 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 1/2 cups half and half
2 cups tomato juice (I usually add more)
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp ground savory (you can omit)
dash of hot pepper sauce
2 cans (6 oz each) lump crabmeat, rinsed and drained (fresh crab would be even better!)

in a 2 qt saucepan saute the onion and garlic in butter until onion is tender. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper until bubbly. Gradually add the cream, tomato juice, worcestershire, savory and hot pepper sauce; bring to boil, stirring constantly. Add crab; heat through.



Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders Salad

This is a great light meal. I got it out of a Rachael Ray cookbook. It's one of our favorites.

Chicken:
Vegetable oil for frying
1 1/3 to 2 lbs chicken tenders
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 cup pecans, finely chopped in a food processor
1/2 tsp nutmeg
The zest of one orange

Dressing:
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 barbecue sauce
The juice of one naval orange
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salad:

Romaine lettuce (I buy the bagged kind)
6 radishes, thinly sliced
6 scallions, trimmed and chopped

Heat 1-2 inches oil over medium heat in a skillet

Season chicken tenders with salt and pepper. Set out 3 shallow dishes. Place flour in one, eggs beaten with water or milk in a second and in the third combine bread crumbs with ground pecans, nutmeg, and orange zest. Coat tenders in flour, then egg, then bread crumb mixture. Fry tenders 6-7 minutes and drain on paper towels.

For dressing, combine maple syrup, BBQ sauce and orange juice in a bowl. Whisk in oil and set aside.

Combine romaine, radishes, and scallions in a large salad bowl. Top with chicken tenders and drizzle with dressing.



Enjoy!!

Organization and A New Menu!

So I posted before we moved my concern over the cupboard space. We have this little closet that had no shelves, just a little closet across the hallway from the coat closet. So I went to Home Depot and bought these shelves for $8. I was able to fit my crock pot and bread machine, all of my cookbooks and my canning jars. I also slide my vacuum in there too. I am feeling good about the storage space now. The kitchen is a little weird, things don't seem to be "in their place" but I will get used to it. And yes, as you can see there is paint on the walls. That is a little sneak peek at the color of the living room. I am very excited, I got the living room and our bedroom painted. They aren't all put together so I won't show you yet, but the living room is almost done.

Now onto the menu. I am feeling quite a bit better so I put a few meals that I'm making this weekend on the menu. I will try to post the recipes for Whiskey Crab Soup and the Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad, so stay tuned!

Yum! Brings me back...

This is my recipe for Chocolate Covered Cherries. When I was in Kindergarten, my teacher made a cookbook at the end of the year with a recipe from each child in it. I remember my recipe was for Chocolate No Bake cookies. Well one of the girls in my class put in the recipe for chocolate covered cherries. I asked my mom to make them and she did. They were so yummy. I don't know how many times she made them, but not often because they were kind of spendy to make, you know with the maraschino cherries and all. Not to mention a little time consuming. Well about a year ago I started thinking about that recipe. I went out to my dads and searched around for that little homemade cookbook but couldn't find it. So I did a search on recipezaar and found a recipe that sounded quite a bit like it. I made them and they were delightful! So now I am craving them, and so of course I made them. Here is the recipe...it says to let them refrigerate for 1-2 weeks before serving, but REALLY, who does that?? I put them in the freezer just long enough for the chocolate to harden and then I usually dig in to them. And why not??

Chocolate Covered Cherries

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 (8oz) jars maraschino cherries, with stems, well drained
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (12 oz)
2 Tbsp shortening

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, butter, milk and extract; mix well. Knead into a large ball. Roll into 1 inch balls and flatten each into a 2 inch circle. Wrap around cherries and lightly roll in hands. Place with stems up on waxed paper lined baking sheet. Cover loosely and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight (or if your impatient like me just pop them in the freezer for a while)

Melt the chocolate chips and shortening in microwave safe bowl. Holding on to stem, dip cherries into chocolate; set on waxed paper to harden. Store in a covered container. Makes about 3 dozen.






YUM! Once Lane goes to bed, I am going to make myself a cup of tea and eat a couple/few of these! By the way thanks for all the prayers that our move would go well and that I would feel good. I have totally felt better in the last couple weeks and everything went quite smoothly!

My Favorite Thing.....

about this new house is that my table and hutch are reunited. After 8 long months of "room separation", one in the dining room and one in the living room, they are back together! Yippee! I am so excited about that. Just wait until there is some delicious color on the walls and the chocolate brown curtains are up! Oh I can hardly wait. Another simple thing that I love is the paper whites blooming on my table. Just delightful!











The move went well for the most part, nothing went horribly wrong and it went quickly. Can't wait to show you all my painting and other decorating ideas I have up my sleeve.

Oh! I must share new blog I stumbled upon! The link is in my blog list and it's called Daisy Cottage. Wonderful decorating ideas!

Moving Update

I really wanted to update this before we actually move. And since I don't like to post without a picture, this is Lane's new CARS bike. He is getting too big!!

Moving day is tomorrow. It was supposed to start tomorrow morning at 8:30 am. But...things have changed. When I went to sign the lease on Monday, they told me that my Power of Attorney didn't include the signing of a lease. Translation: Our power of attorney was written up by an actual lawyer not by the military, therefore they've never seen such a document, got all flustered and told me I couldn't use it. So I said to them in a nice way (I know some of you are surprised) that I was able to sell a house in my husbands name but I can't sign a 6 month lease?? Well to make a long story short we now have to wait until Reese gets home tomorrow afternoon to go in and sign the lease, then we will be able to pick up the keys. I know it's really not much of a delay, but enough to throw off my schedule and annoy me. Now that I have that off my chest!!!!

What else....oh yeah I just went over to my friends this morning. She has a 3 bedroom that is exactly how ours will be. I went to check out the cabinet space a bit more. Oh my what will I ever do?? I don't have a good silverware drawer! The nice new silverware tray that Reese got me for Christmas won't fit in any of the drawers. I believe a man designed this kitchen and had no idea what the makings of a "real" kitchen involve. (Now I know your pain Elaina) One more thing, I won't have room for all of my many appliances in the cupboards! Your know the really necessary ones like a waffle cone maker, food processor, mini food processor, veggie steamer, bread machine, deep fat fryer, regular waffle maker, crockpot, blender. I will need to post my very clever and imaginative ways I will be storing these puppies. At least I hope I can come up with some ways that is! I am not complaining. I look at these as challenges that I must conquer, these are the types of things I live for. Oh and have I told you that I will be painting in this new house? Oh yeah, no more sterile white walls....I am so excited! Oh so many future posts to look forward to.

In case you all were wondering, I am getting things accomplished finally. I decided in order to do that, I should pack up my scrapbooking room first. So that's what I did and there are no more stamp sets, paper and ink pads screaming my name, they are all boxed up. AMAZING!

Ms. On The Go

Ms. On The Go is the name of the stamp set I used on these cards. I LOVE this set! This is what I do when I have a week before I move and a ton of things to do. I suddenly feel inspired to make cards with the new stamp set I got!! Oh and look at blogs and watch TV, I work better at the last minute and under pressure OKAY!! Anyway, the lady with the mixing bowl....perfect for recipe cards! And I absolutely love that the lady pushing the stroller is wearing a dress and heels, because you know that's what I would do :) I had to add some little rhinestone "earrings" to her ears because it was only fitting. I used the paper piecing technique for their clothes and the stroller. I also used the waterbrush and ink for coloring in the rest of them. A couple of you ladies out there will be getting these cards sent to you. Oh yeah and by the way for the month of February when you spend $25 on Close To My Heart stamp sets you get a free stamp set worth $13.95. It's adorable and has a cupcake on it (big highlight for me). Click Here to see a picture of it. Also if you want the rest of the recipe for the Nanaimo Bars on the recipe card here you go...they are AWESOME (and only require a little butter)!!

Heat butter, sugar, and cocoa in a double boiler (or just melt it carefully on the stove) Stir until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. Remove from heat. Add graham cracker crumbs and coconut. Spread in buttered 8x12 inch pan and refrigerate.

Mix topping ingredients. Spread over previous layer and refrigerate again.

Melt chocolate squares and butter together to make glaze. Spread over topping layer. Refrigerate or freeze until firm.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. If I have a lapse in posts, it means that I am actually packing and getting things accomplished, or....I am making more cards :)

Waffle Cones

Something that has been sounding especially delish to me lately is coffee ice cream! Now...coffee ice cream in a waffle cone, even better! Now this may surprise some, but I have a waffle cone maker :) They are so yummy. WAY better than any waffle cone you can buy in a store or get at the ice cream shop! So, if you ever run across a waffle cone maker (it looks a bit like a waffle iron just without the deep waffle grooves) snatch it up!!! I have a Rival and I don't know that they make them anymore. I found mine at Big Lots like probably 5 years ago. Anyway here is a wonderful recipe for them that I found.

Waffle Cones(makes about 8 cones):

1 whole egg
1 egg white
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup flour
2 Tbsp butter, melted and slightly cooled

Preheat waffle cone maker. Beat the egg and egg white and salt in a small bowl until well blended. Beat in the sugar until it is incorporated and the egg has lightened in color slightly, about 1 minute. Add flour and beat another 15 seconds or until all lumps are gone. Add the melted butter and stir.

Spoon 2 Tbsp of batter in the center of the iron. Bake for 1 minute then check for proper color. Cook and additional 5-10 seconds if necessary.

Quickly remove the waffle from the maker on to a clean cloth towel. Roll around the cone form (it comes with the maker) Hold the cone for few seconds and press down on the bottom to seal the hole in the bottom. After a few seconds it will harden enough to hold it's shape.


If you can't find a waffle cone maker, come down to visit and request that I make them. I can always use an excuse to pig out on something totally unhealthy :)