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Hi Friends!! If there is anyone out there still reading my blog from time to time. I will be loading some recipes up this week (I promise this time!!). So come back tomorrow and see what I've uploaded.

I've got a couple of pins on pinterest if you are interested in following me. :)

New recipes coming soon!

I've got some recipes I'll be posting soon. Check back in a day or so :)

Basic Chicken Salad

Since I hope that this will still exist when my kids begin to cook, I'm going to add this quick recipe on here. This is a recipe that I learned from Mrs. Cheri Sutherland. A wonderful woman who can whip up a mean chicken salad in a hurry.  The quantities of the ingredients are solely up to the maker. If you have a crowd, use more. If making for one, just less. This is a sweeter chicken salad. The relish & pineapple give it a little sweeter taste than the typical chicken salad.

Chicken Salad

What you need: 
Shredded Chicken  (I usually make about 1-2 lb.)
2-3 Celery stalks, finely chopped
1 can of pineapple tidbits, drained & finely chopped  *The crushed pineapple has too much liquid, makes it too sweet*
Mayonnaise to taste
1 tsp Celery Salt or to taste
Salt & Pepper to taste
Sweet Relish
1/2-1c. Roasted chopped pecans (or nut of choice) 


How to make it:
-Boil or bake chicken until finished. Allow chicken to sit until it reaches room temperature. You can choose to let it sit overnight in the refrigerator. 
-Shred chicken or finely chop chicken and place in a large bowl. 
- Finely chop celery & pineapple. (This depends completely on the maker. If you want more of each or none as well as how large you like) Place into bowl with chicken.
- Add mayonnaise to taste. I start with 2 Tbsp and work up. Can always add more, can't take away. 
- Add salt & pepper & celery salt to taste. 
- Add relish. Again, I start with a Tbsp and add to liking. 
- Add roasted pecans to liking. 
- Stir it up. Taste and tweak to liking. 
- Serve on toasted wheat bread, crackers or on a bed of mixed greens. 


Enjoy!

Sloppy Joe's (BIG HIT @ Casa de Lamotta)

Who knew homemade sloppy joe's would be a big hit in my house. I made this recipe last week and my kids ate it up! Super simple and delicious.  Good way to get veggies in without kids knowing :)

*Another Rachel Ray recipe

Sloppy Joe's 

What you need: 

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 1 package, 1 1/3 pounds, ground turkey breast or lean ground turkey
• 1/2 red onion
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon grill seasoning blend 
•          (recommended: McCormick Montreal Grill Seasoning or Mrs. Dash seasoning for poultry)
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup tomato sauce,( 8- ounce) can
• Hamburger Buns or bread of choice
• 12 celery stick
• 12 carrot sticks

• 
  

How to make:

Place a big skillet over medium high heat for you. 
Add some extra-virgin olive oil.

Add the ground turkey to the pan. 
Break the turkey up with a big wooden spoon.

Chop up 1/2 of a red onion and 1/2 red bell pepper.

Mix in a small bowl: grill seasoning blend, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and the tomato sauce.  When all the ingredients are combined, pour the sauce evenly over the meat and stir everything together really well. Turn the heat down to simmer and cook the sloppy mixture for 10 minutes. 

Place meat on buns and server with celery & carrots. :) 

*I put some ketchup on top and it was delicious! 

Homemade Mac n' Cheese with Cauliflower

Thank you Rachel Ray for this deceptively delicious meal! If you have a hard time getting your kids to eat veggies (like mine) this might be just the recipe for you. :)

Homemade Mac N Cheese

Yummy! 

What you need:
2 TBsp butter
2 TBsp all purpose flour
1 c. chicken stock (or if you are vegetarian-use vegetable stock)
1 1/2 c. milk
2 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt & pepper
1 TBsp dijon mustard
1 lb. pasta (whole wheat or regular) *I used penne but you can use whatever you want
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets and steamed until tender  (I chopped it up pretty fine so my kids couldn't pick it out)

Your sauce will look like this

How to make it:
In a sauce pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat, add flour, cook for about a min. Whisk in chicken stock and milk.  Thicken the sauce for 5 mins. (BASIC ROUX recipe)
Stir in cheese and season with salt & pepper, then stir in mustard. (secret ingredient)
Toss the sauce with pasta & cauliflower. Sprinkle a little extra cheese on top for garnish.












DONE. Delicious!
Sira LOVED it!! Let me know if you try it. I'm sure you can add all kinds of combos to suite your family's likes. :)

BBQ Chicken Pizza & Fresh Tomato Pizza

BBQ Chicken Pizza

For those of you who read my other blog Leigh's Excellent Journey then this will be a repeat. But since I am posting recipes and fun tips on this blog.. I thought it needed to be added. :) Great pizza!! I have made it a couple of times and it's a big hit. 

What you need for pizza: 

-Pizza Dough (I cheat and get Trader Joe's but I have included a recipe below in case..) 

- BBQ Sauce (any kind will do, I like to use a Honey flavored sauce or you can make your own)

- 2-3 chicken breast (Bake chicken in BBQ sauce then cube into pizza appropriate pieces)

- 1 red onion, sliced into slivers

- 1 green pepper, sliced into slivers

- 1 package of fresh mozzarella cheese shredded

- 1 bunch of cilantro, wash and remove leaves

What you need to make pizza dough:

- 1 (.25 oz) package of dry yeast

- 1 tsp. of white sugar

- 1 c. warm water

- 2 1/2 c. bread flour

- 2 TBsp. olive oil

- 1 tsp. salt

How to make pizza dough: (Recipe from allrecipes.com)

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. Dissolve yeast & sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy (10 mins or so)

3. Stir in flour, salt & oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 mins.

4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into shape. 

5. Place dough on a lightly greased pizza pan.

6. Add toppings.. 

BBQ Chicken Pizza

How to make YUMMY BBQ Pizza:
*Preheat oven to 450

1. Place pizza crust in place on a lightly greased pizza pan. 

2. In a separate bowl, mix chicken and BBQ sauce to flavor. (Don't make too gooey, just a light coating)

3. Spread BBQ sauce over the pizza crust. (Again, to your liking- I don't use A LOT of sauce because I don't like a lot of sauce on my pizza, use your discretion here)

4. Sprinkle chicken throughout the pizza. Do the same with onions & peppers.

5. Then sprinkle cheese over the pizza until covered.
6. Bake at 450 for 8-10 mins or until golden bubbly.
7. Let sit for a few mins and garnish with cilantro.
8. ENJOY!!

Fresh Tomato & Mozzarella Pizza

I scored this dynamite recipe from Rachael Ray's magazine. I love Rachael's cooking for the most part so I gave this simple recipe a try and it was simply amazing! Give it a try!! 

What you need:

- Pizza Dough (again, I cheat with TJ's pizza dough but recipe is above for pizza dough)

- 1 package of cherry tomatoes (washed)

- 1 package of fresh mozzarella cheese
- 2 TBsp olive oil
- Garlic to taste
- S & P to taste
- 1 TBsp. dried oregano

How to make the FT&M Pizza:
1. Preheat oven to 450
2. Place pizza dough on a lightly greased pizza pan.
3. In a saucepan, spread oil oil and heat pan to medium heat.  Then add tomatoes and allow them to cook. They will bust open in the pan when a little pressure is applied. Only takes a couple of mins.
Once tomatoes are nice and soft, add garlic, S & P to taste. Add oregano also. Allow to cook for another minute and set aside to cool for just a couple of minutes.
4. Once tomatoes are slightly cooled, spread over the entire pizza crust. This will be used as your sauce but don't over do it. The middle can become soggy if too many tomatoes are in the middle of the pizza.
5. Sprinkle cheese over pizza covering completely.
6. Bake at 450 for 8-10 mins or until golden bubbly.
7. Enjoy!!

I hope you guys are enjoying this blog. It has been fun and motivating to me to cook cleaner and greener. I can't wait to use veggies from our garden to make some delicious meals this summer. :) 

Fresh Fruit Pie with Homemade Crust

Fresh Fruit Pie with Homemade Crust

I would like to thank my grandmother and aunt for this recipe combo. They both are dynamite women who can cook anything! Trust me friends, you won't be disappointed in this recipe. 

What you need: 

Crust: 

- 1 c. all purpose flour

- 1/2 tsp. salt

- 1/3 c. + 1 TBsp shortening 

- 3 TBsp ice cold water

*This yields 1 pie crust. 

Pie: 

What ever fruit you are wanting to use (Apples, Peaches, Blueberries, Blackberries, Cherries..) 

- 2 Heaping TBsp of self rising flour

- 1/4 tsp. (or a pinch) of salt

- 1 c. sugar

- a few "pats" of butter  so.. 2-3 1/2 tsp butter slices from butter stick

- Crust (if you like crust on top, then you need to make 2 pie crusts.

How to make the pie crust: 

Mix flour & salt. Cut in shortening to pea size lumps. Sprinkle in water a TBsp at a time.  Roll out onto a floured surface. Shape onto the pie pan. Cut around the edges to fit. 

How to make the pie:

Wash your fruit and cut into think slices (if making apple, peach, pear, strawberry..)

{If making a berry pie, just simple wash the fruit) 

Place clean fruit into pie crust. 

Combine flour, sugar & salt ("dry")  together in a separate bowl. Mix well. 

Sprinkle dry mixture (see above) over the fruit. Very lightly mix together. *just so the dry mixture is now wet. 

Take pats of butter and place onto of the fruit. 

Take the second pie crust (if you want pie crust on top) and break off around the ends of the crust. Take a fork and press down around the crust to seal it up. Punch a couple of small holes in the dough to allow pie to cook correctly. 

Bake at 350 for about an hour or until done. *Cooking times may vary depending on your oven* 

Enjoy with some vanilla bean ice cream or fresh whipped cream on top.  

Crazy DELICIOUS! 

*No photos for this recipe, I will make another pie soon and post on a later date. :)