How My Blogging Came To Be & Today's Menu!

Hello All! I am totally new to this blogging thing...sure I'm following several blogs, including some of my families, but never really thought about doing my own. So, after much prodding from my cousin J, (who has her own blog! Check it out here: http://cleveringfamily.blogspot.com/ ) I decided to set up this blog! As you can see from the title it would mostly be about food dishes I'm making...she urged me to do this after I had been posting all the YUMMY foods I've been making on my Facebook page! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to cook and bake! My mother tells me that she has no idea where I got this knack from, since she is not really that excited about cooking or baking...hmmm has to be in the genes somewhere I would think?!? Anyway, that is how this blogging came about. I'm going to attempt to keep you all up-to-date on my favorite recipes.

The Menu for 02/11/2011 is: CURLY CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP & PINEAPPLE CHEESECAKE BARS!

These are some of the items you will need for the Curly Chicken Noodle Soup:

INGREDIENTS:
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 lb. Chicken Breasts; cut into 1/2" cubes
1 large Onion; chopped
4 Celery Ribs; sliced
2 Medium Carrots; sliced (I use a few more)
4 Garlic Cloves; minced (I use minced garlic from the jar about 1/2 tsp.)
1/4 C. Flour
1 tsp. Basil
1/2 tsp. Oregano
1/8 tsp. Pepper
3-14 oz. Chicken Broth
14 1/2 oz. Diced Tomatoes; undrained
6 oz. Tri-Color Rotini Pasta

Saute Olive Oil and Butter with Chicken, Onion, Celery, Carrots, and Garlic in pan until chicken is no longer pink. Stir in Flour, Basil, Oregano, and pepper. Gradually add in Chicken Broth and Tomatoes in their juices. Stir together well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer COVERED for 1 hour. Return to a boil and add Pasta and cook according to package directions.
***NOTE***
Once the pasta is added it soaks up a lot of the broth. It is okay when first made, but with leftovers you will want to add more broth, otherwise it resembles goulash and tastes great that way as well. But, if you prefer it to be more of a soup the 2nd go around, you will want to add more broth!

Here is what is looks like when it's cooking on the stovetop!

Doesn't that look YUMMY?

DESSERT:
Pineapple Cheesecake Bars:

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup sliced almonds

2/3 cup butter

 

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2/3 cup unsweetened pineapple juice

 

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup white sugar

1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained with juice reserved

1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, combine 2 cups flour, confectioners' sugar, and almonds. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
2. While the crust is baking, prepare the cream cheese layer. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in 2/3 cup unsweetened pineapple juice. Pour over hot crust and bake for about 20 minutes more in preheated oven. Allow to cool completely.
3. Make the topping: In a saucepan, combine 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 cup reserved pineapple juice. Bring to a boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in crushed pineapple. Cool completely. When cool, fold in whipped cream. Spread topping over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. (The flour, sugar and juice will resemble more of a paste once boiled. It thins out after you add the crushed pineapple)

This looks so good to me:

I made these two recipes today, as I will be sharing it, and brining it over to a family from church's house as they are fighting the nasty sickness that has been going around. This way the Momma there doesn't have to worry about cooking dinner tonight! I hope that they enjoy this as much as we do here!

I also hope that all of you enjoy these as well! Let me know what you think! They are both so simple and easy to make. The total time in the kitchen for both is about 1 hour, that doesn't include the time that the soup is on the stove simmering, just your prep time. Not bad in my book!