Aloha Chicken and Rice Pilaf

Aloha Chicken
6 boneless, skinless chicken pieces
¼ C soy sauce
¼ C sherry
1/8 C red wine vinegar
1 C pineapple juice
¼ C sugar
1 tsp. garlic powder

Place chicken in a resealable plastic bag. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Marinate overnight. Grill or broil until cooked though.

Rice Pilaf
8 Tbsp. butter
7 oz. vermicelli
2 C. long grain white rice
4 C. water
2 tsp. granulated chicken bouillon
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 Tbsp. dried onion flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Ina large pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the vermicelli and brown until golden about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir until coated with butter about 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. Bring to a boil then turn heat to low. Cover and let cook until all the liquid is absorbed about 25 minutes, stirring once and a while. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup

1 C. dry kidney beans, soaked overnight
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
½ lb. green beans
½ head cabbage, chopped up
6 tomatoes, diced
1 C. frozen peas, defrosted
2 qts. beef broth
2 C. macaroni
Parmesan cheese for garnish if desired.

Place beans, broth and all the vegetables except peas in a large pot. Bring to a boil then turn to low and simmer for 2 hours. Stir occasionally, adding water if needed. Add peas and macaroni and cook for 20 more minutes or until pasta is cooked through.

For more wonderful things check out Finer Things Friday

Crockpot Creamy Bratwurst Stew and Honey Cornbread Muffins

Crockpot Creamy Bratwurst Stew
4 medium potatoes, cubed
2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 C chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
2 lbs bratwurst, casings removed and cut into bite sized pieces
½ C chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Italian seasoning to taste
2 C half and half
3 Tbsp cornstarch

In a crockpot, combine the potatoes, carrots, celery, onion and green pepper. Top with bratwurst slices. Combine the broth, salt, Italian seasoning and pepper; pour over top. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until vegetables are tender and sausage is no longer pink. Stir in half and half. Combine cornstarch with some of the hot liquid from the crockpot until smooth and stir into stew. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes more or until the gravy is thickened.


Honey Cornbread Muffins
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the whole milk, eggs, butter, and honey. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed. Place muffin paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Evenly divide the cornbread mixture into the papers. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

Crockpot Chinese Pork over Rice

Crockpot Chinese Pork over Rice

2 lbs pork, cut into bite size pieces

¼ C brown sugar

1 tsp ground ginger

½ C soy sauce

¼ C ketchup

pepper, to taste

Place pork in crockpot. In a bowl combine the remaining ingredients. Pour over the meat and stir to mix. Cook on low for 6 hours or until done. Serve over hot cooked rice.

For more wonderful recipes check out Tuesdays at the Table

Salisbury Steak

Salisbury Steak

2 lbs. ground beef
½ C bread crumbs
1 tsp seasoning salt
2 eggs
3 C prepared chicken or beef gravy mix

Combine meat, bread crumbs, seasoning salt and eggs in a large bowl. Form into 6 patties and lay in a 9 x 13 inch bakingdish. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, drain off any fat. Pour prepared gravy over the top and bake for another 20 minutes.

Foe more wonderful recipes check out Tasty Tuesday

Make Your Own- Chicken or Beef Gravy Mix

Chicken or Beef Gravy Mix

2 2/3 C powdered milk
1 ½ C whole wheat pastry flour
6 cubes of chicken or beef bouillon, crushed or 6 T granulated




Mix all ingredients together and store until needed.

To make 1 cup of gravy:

In a sauce pan add ½ cup of the mix with 1 cup of water and 1 ½ Tbsp of
butter. Bring to a boil and stir over medium heat until thickened.

Recipes to use this mix with:
Salisbury Steak 

Chicken Broccoli Bake 

Blueberry Crumble

Blueberry Crumble

Crust:

2 C oats

1/2 C. brown sugar

1/4 C. flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 C. butter, melted

Filling:

2 C. blueberries, frozen, not defrosted

1/2 C. sugar

1/4 C. flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Topping:

1 C. flour

1/2 C. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 C. butter

In a large mixing bowl for the crust, combine oats, brown sugar, flour, baking soda and cinnamon. Pour in melted butter and stir to combine well. Press into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Next make the filling in the same bowl, toss blueberries with sugar, and vanilla extract. Spread evenly over crust. In the same bowl combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in

butter with a pastry blender until crumbly. Sprinkle over the blueberries. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, until set and browned on top.

For more wonderful recipes visit Sweet Tooth Friday

Happy Homemaker Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods:

46 degrees right now-high of 61 today.

Things that make me happy: Not having to run the ac night and day, being home again after a road trip

Book I'm reading:Nothing right now


What's on my TV today:  

Nothing

On the menu for dinner:
Crockpot Chinese Pork and Veggies over Rice with a salad


On my To Do List:

Homeschooling

Clean the bathrooms

Put stuff away from our trip

Switch out Halloween decorations for Fall/Thanksgiving ones

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Make Your Own Hamburger Helper

In the craft basket:

My mom's lapblanket.....still

Looking forward to this week:

Getting back into the routine of being back at home

Tips and Tricks:

none

My favorite blog post this week: none

Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):none

No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

I didn't take any pics :(

Lesson learned the past few days:

It's always nice to come home

On my mind:

getting my home in order

To join in Happy Homemaker Monday visit Sandra

Creamed Tuna and Peas

Creamed Tuna and Peas

1/4 cup margarine

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

15 oz can peas

6 oz can tuna

Toast

Melting the margarine in a saucepan.  Use a fork or a whisk to stir in the flour making sure it is smooth.  Gradually stir in the milk.  When the mixture is smooth stir in the sugar, salt and pepper.  Cook and stir the sauce until it begins to boil.  Allow it to boil for a minute.  Remove the sauce from the heat. Drain the peas and the tuna.  Stir into mixture gently and reheat only until boiling again.  Do not overcook or the peas will get mushy. Serve over buttered toast.

For more frugal recipes check out $5.00 Dinner Challenge

Menu Plan Monday

Monday-

Crockpot Chinese Pork over Rice
Salad

Tuesday-

Take Out Pizza

Wednesday-
Chicken and Broccoli Bake
Corn

Thursday-
Crab Alfredo over Pasta
Peas

Friday-

Mexican Buffet

Saturday-
Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken Legs
Baked Potatoes
Coleslaw

Sunday-
Take Out from Bob's Big Boy





For more wonderful menu ideas visit Menu Plan Monday

Make Your Own Hamburger Helper Mix and Recipes to Use it With

Hamburger Helper Mix

2 C powdered milk
1 C corn starch
¼ C chicken bouillon powder
2 T dried minced onion
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp dried parsley
1 Tbsp garlic powder

Combine all ingredients and store until needed.

Chili Mac

1 lb. ground beef
1 C water plus more as needed
1 1/2 C elbow noodles
2 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 C homemade hamburger helper mix

Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for about 20 minutes or until noodles are cooked though.. Add additional water if needed.