OUR GOODBYE GIRL AND BEEF STROGANOFF!

Well, Christmas vacation finally came to an end for our college sophomore; time to fly back to California! Abbie actually left a little bit early this year, because she has a boy toy who lives in San Diego, and his parents kindly invited her to come and stay for the week before they have to fly back up to Berkeley for spring semester. I want my kid's life: she's hitting Disneyland tomorrow, then taking in the Tonite Show (with Jay Leno-waaaay past my bedtime, but I might make an exception this Thursday), where she and her boyfriend have front row seats! I think Cameron Diaz is the guest that night. She also just texted me a photo from Coronado Island, where they were taking a brisk swim in the Pacific Ocean. Sigh.

Anyways, we took Abbie to the Syracuse Airport, where she flew to JFK, then to CA. These photos are pretty funny, because she gets soooo mad when she knows I'm snapping photos for my blawwwg. Here she is, trying to be sweet:

                                         
And here's Abbie, changing out of her UGG boots (SO snowy here) and into her strappy new sandals (Big Daddy E. and I cracked up at the socks, but her feet get cold on da plane):

Here she is, starting to get pretty miffed, waiting to go through security (and doesn't every college girl travel with a Ukelele?????):

Goodbye, Sweet Abbie! We love you MORE!!!

Before Abbie left, she begged me to make her most favorite dinner, ever: Beef Stroganoff! Hey wait--wasn't she a vegetarian JUST last summer? Me so confused. Well, my recipe is based on an old Paula Deen recipe that I've changed up a little bit. Super yummy and super easy! See--I told you I'd give you something besides chicken recipes! To start with, you need to mix flour and water (think you can handle that, Carrie?):

Then you're going to heat some butter in a large skillet, and brown your pre-sliced beef:

                                        (Doesn't this photo look kind of nassssssty??)

Once browned, remove the beef and keep warm. Add to pan drippings your condensed cream of mushroom soup and condensed beef broth, some water and your fancy flour mixture:

Stir until thickened, then add back the beef. Simmer for 45 minutes or until desired thickness. Serve over cooked egg noodles. A wonderful and hearty wintertime suppah! It'll warm the cockles of your heart, that's for sure:

Here's the recipe, and don't forget to check out the counting of my blessings, below!

BEEF STROGANOFF

Serves 4 to 6

6 tblsp. all purpose flou

2/3 cup water

1/2 stick butter

2 lbs. round steak ( or any inexpensive piece of steak you can find)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 10 3/4 oz. can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 10 3/4 oz. can condensed beef broth (also in the soup aisle)

1 soup can water

1 cup sour cream (low fat is fine here)

Fresh chopped parsley

Mix flour and water and set aside. Heat butter in a large, heavy skillet. Cut steak into thin strips and toss with seasoning. Cook steak in butter until brown on all sides. Remove from pan and keep warm. Add to pan drippings cream of mushroom soup, condensed beef broth, 1 soup can water and flour mixture. Simmer and stir constantly until thickened. Add back steak and simmer for 45 minutes or until desired thickness is achieved. Turn off heat and stir in sour cream. Serve over cooked noodles. Garnish with fresh parsley.

TOP 3 THINGS I'M GRATEFUL FOR TODAY:

1. I'm grateful for my friend Shelley, who came over on a freezing cold and snowy day and ate soup and drank coffee with me for hours....so fun to catch up!

2. I'm grateful that my daughter had a safe trip with no delays yesterday, despite lake effect snow in Syracuse.

3. I'm grateful for my silly dog Wee Willie, who makes me smile every single day.

EASY BAKED MANICOTTI AND THANKFULNESS

I want to start today's post by adding something new: Each and every post, from here on out, I will list, at the very end of the post, 3 things that I am most grateful for that day. Because I'm a firm believer in being thankful; I think it was Ben Franklin who said that the happiest people are not those who have what they want, but those who want what they HAVE! And since I'm really, really trying hard to "bloom where I'm planted", well, I need to count my blessings more often, don't you think? Don't we all?

Now onto the Manicotti. World's Easiest Baked Manicotti, to be exact. You are going to love, love, love this recipe! What makes it so easy? Well, the fact that you don't have to cook the manicotti before you stuff it makes it super easy, in my book. And the delicious (relatively low fat) cream sauce comes together like that! Here's what the dish looks like when it's just out of the oven, to whet your little appetite:

Yumm! Your family will just love this.

Here's some of the ingredients that you're gonna need to get started:

You'll also need some pre-cooked chicken. I know I know, I've been on a chicken kick since starting this blog--I promise, I'll move onto other meats! Anyways, if you read my newspaper column, you already know that I'm big on pre-roasting bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, then shredding them. I find this to be the most economical way to have pre-cooked chicken for the dishes that call for such, AND the chicken is so much more moist and flavorful than say, a poached boneless, skinless breast. Some of my girlfriends swear by the deli counter's already roasted chickens, so you could always do that, too. Whatever floats your boat. Here are how the roasted breasts look when they first come out of the oven:

Soooo hard not to nibble on that chicken skin! This 8 dollar package of breasts provided enough cooked chicken for this manicotti recipe AND enough for a whole 'nuther meal--I just keep it in a ziploc bag in my freezer until the next time I need it:

So, the first thing you'll want to do is drain your thawed and chopped spinach in a colander. Then you need to squeeeeeeze the daylights out of it--you don't want it to be full of water:

Next you can shred your 2 cups of Monterey Jack cheese, and combine 1 cup of that with your spinach and 3 cups of cooked chicken:

(I cheated a little here--added a little cheddar to my cheese mix, because it's my blog and I can do what I want--hah!)

Onto the sauce. First you'll make a Roux--fancy French for your cream sauce base--just combine butter and flour until smooth. Gradually add your chicken broth and milk, then your tomato sauce and spices:

Now the real fun begins! Stuff your uncooked manicotti shells with your chicken mixture--the easiest way to do this is with your fat little fingers, like so:

(your fingers probably aren't as fat as mine, in case you were insulted!)

Spread 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce in your greased baking dish, then arrange stuffed manicotti over sauce. Top with remaining sauce:

Note: I had extra filling left over, so I just stuffed it between the shells--waste not, want not!

Cover and bake for 45 minutes, then uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer, let sit a bit, then serve:

I served mine with some steamed broccoli, because I'm just salad-ed out! Fabulous and easy supper!

EASY BAKED SPINACH AND CHICKEN MANICOTTI

Serves 5-6 (terrific leftover!)

1 10oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

3 cups cooked chicken breast, choppped

3 tblsp. butter

3 tblsp. flour

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup milk

28 oz. can tomato puree

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. brown sugar

12 UNCOOKED manicotti shells

2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, divided

Squeeze spinach dry; place in bowl. Add diced chicken and 1 cup Jack cheese. Set aside. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually add broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in tomato sauce, spices and brown sugar; cook over low heat for 4-5 minutes or until heated through. Stuff uncooked manicotti shells with chicken/spinach mixture. Spread 1/2 cup sauce into greased 11x13 baking dish. Arrange stuffed manicotti over sauce; top with remaining sauce (making sure all noodles are covered). Cover and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, or until bubbly. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 10-15 more minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

TOP 3 THINGS I'M GRATEFUL FOR TODAY:

1. I'm grateful for the wonderful time we've spent with our daughter while she's been home on her winter break. She's flying back to sunny California tomorrow, weather permitting!

2. I'm grateful that I've lost 10 lbs. over the past few weeks, and feel very very energetic, thanks to my fabulous doctors at Johns Hopkins Medical Center, who tweaked my medications to my benefit.

3. I'm grateful for this blog and my newspaper column, and for all of my amazing readers who make my day, each and every day! MMMMMWWWAHHHH (that's an air kiss, blown in your general direction)

FRESHENING UP

For some reason, the couple of weeks after Christmas and New Year's always leaves me feeling a little, well, bleeeeck! My house just feels so plain after all of the lights and trees have come down, inside and outside. And where we live, here in the great Northwoods of America, it can be pretty dark and cold for a long, long time; why, just this morning it was NEGATIVE 5 degrees. But you know what? Wee Willie doesn't care at alllll--he still needs his walk! I mean really, could you turn down this face?:

I sure can't! By the time we returned, he was limping because his little paws got so cold, and I totally couldn't feel my face. I'm telling you, I fantasize about living somewhere like, say, Georgia, on a day like this! But for now, I'm continuing to bloom where I've been planted. Freshened up our centerpiece on our kitchen table--out came the cute red pomegranites and Christmas ornaments, and in went some faux Lily of the Valley that I picked up at Wally World for about 2 bucks:

Sort of fresh and woodsy looking, doncha think?

I also changed up the decorative basket on our front door, using fresh greens (they freeze solid here all winter long, so they stay green) and more little delicate white flowers:

I also collect snowmen, and don't put them away until spring--I find them quite cheery, welcoming us home on our front porch. My girlfriend gave me this cute little snowman sign (that I also hang outside), that says, "I'd melt for you". Sorry about the glare:

I've also been busy up in my new craft area (photos to come soon, I promise), making these darling little white felt stars. They are sooooo easy to make! In fact, I'll be making lots of little Valentine hearts out of felt soon, so I'll show you how then. But for now, I hang these little stars evvvvverywhere:

I found the cutest buttons and ribbons at Michael's. I have a serious problem when I go into any craft store--it's like my version of crack cocaine!

Come back very soon for my super Easy Chicken Manicotti recipe!!

BECKY'S ENCHILADAS SUIZAS

I prepared Becky Wendler's FANTASTIC Enchiladas Suizas for dinner last night. As time goes on, you will probably notice that I LOVE LOVE LOVE good Mexican food, being a California native girl. So does MY little California native girl; just look at how happy she looks, digging in:

Don't be intimidated by the huge amount of ingredients--they are very easy to find, and the dish comes together, lickity split. Here's pretty much what you'll need:

As always, the recipe will be at the end of this post. First thing you want to do is simmer your chicken breasts for about 15-20 minutes:

While these are cooking, you can be chopping up your onion and bell peppers, and then saute them in some butter:

(Check out my newest gadget, a chef's scoop--makes it soooo much easier to get your ingredients into the pan, without spilling anything on the floor!)

I just LOVE my Calphalon pans--nothing sticks, and you can use less oil, which equals fewer calories!

Next you're going to chop up your chipotle chiles--don't skip these, as they add a very nice smoky heat to the enchiladas. You can find them, packed in adobo sauce, in most Mexican food sections:

You will also want to chop up about a 1/2 cup of Cilantro, unless you loathe it, as I used to. I can take it in small amounts now, and my fambly loves it!:

After you shred your chilled cooked chicken, you're going to mix a lot of stuff together in a big bowl, then fill your tortillas, like so:

Place the filled tortillas, seam side down, in a greased baking dish. Sprinkle some Monterey Jack over enchiladas, then pour over the cream and chicken broth:

(Big Daddy had to do this for me, as I'm uncoordinated and can't take a photo AND pour at the same time..)

Bake as directed, then serve, maybe with a nice salad, to some very appreciative people:

YUMMMMMMMM!!! Thanks, Becky, for the "keeper" recipe!

BECKY'S CHICKEN ENCHILADAS SUIZAS

Serves 8

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 lb., total)

1 tblsp. butter

1 cup chopped onion

1 green and 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped

8 oz. grated cheddar cheese

1 4oz. can diced green chiles

1 cup purchased fresh cilantro

4 tsp. ground cumin

2-3 canned Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (optional)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 to 15 7inch flour tortillas

10 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, grated

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup chicken broth

Garnish:

chopped avocada

chopped tomato

chopped fresh cilantro

(we garnished with sour cream)

Place chicken in pan of rapidly boiling water to cover, and simmer 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, cool and shred chicken. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion and bell peppers until just soft, about 5-8 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Add chicken, cheddar cheese, green chiles, salsa, cilantro, cumin, and chipotle chiles, if desired. Season with salt and pepper to taste and mix well.

Greast 10x15x2 inch baking pan or two smaller pans. Place 1 flour tortilla on flat surface and place about 1/3 cup chicken mixture along 1 edge. Roll up from filling side, and place, seam side down, in prepared pan. Repeat process with remaining chicken mixture. Sprinkle Monterey Jack over enchiladas. (May be prepared to this point up to 1 day in advance. Cover and chill)

Combine cream and chicken broth and pour over enchiladas. Cover pan with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Place 1 or 2 enchiladas on individual serving plates and garnish with avocado, tomato and additonal cilantro, if desired.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I would like to take this chance to wish you and the rest of my little blog's followers a very Happy 2011!! I am so very grateful to you all. AND, I wanted to show off this amazing clock I found yesterday, HALF OFF, at Hobby Lobby! Very rustic barn red, very my house. Of course, finding wall space big enough for this bad boy (over 3' wide!) necessitated moving around a bunch of stuff on my living room wall, but that's okay--my living room needed a freshening up, anyways.

Speaking of freshening up, I put ALL Christmas decor away today, and rearranged a lot of things in my kitchen, living room and entry way. Photos to come soon.......next up this week, Becky's Enchiladas Suizas.