Made From Scratch Pasta Dish

What shall I call my creation?  "Garlic Bow Tie Chicken Alfredo" How does that sound?

I have to say it turned out delicious and it could easily rival any dish at the Olive Garden!

My entire life as a homemaker I have shopped the grocery ads weekly and then I plan meals around what I have on hand. This practice has always served us well and we have eaten very well over the years on a modest grocery budget. This night was no exception. I wanted to find another way to fix chicken. So, looking through my pantry and in my produce drawers I came up with this combination and it really worked well. Three of us ate at home and we had leftovers the next. That was six meals  for probably under five or six dollars. ( a $90 dollar value at Olive Garden.)

Because it was my first time and from scratch I don't have an exact recipe to share. I can only tell you my process and ingredients. I cooked my 1 pound box of bow tie pasta as directed. I cut up zuchinni, red pepper, carrots, spinach and three boneless skinless chicken breasts. I sauteed the vegetables (except spinach) in a small amount of olive oil just until tender crisp. I then added the chicken strips, stirring and turning for a quick cook. I then added the spinach and cooked until just a bit wilted. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Sauce: One stick butter, minced garlic, flour, and four cups milk to make a garlic white sauce. Once thickened season with a tablespoon of chicken bouillon, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and lots of parmesan cheese (I used canned).

The first night I put the drained hot pasta on the plate, topped with the chicken vegetable mix, then topped with the sauce and sprinkled it with more parmesan cheese. It was a beautiful presentation!

For leftovers the next night, I combined it all together in a skillet and heated it through. It was just as good but not quite as pretty. 

The photo is of the leftovers the second night. I didn't know yet on the first night that it was photo and blog worthy until we had all cleaned our plates!

Star Christmas Cupcakes 2008

Decorating star cupcakes is a tradition at our Grandkid's Day Camp. This year I supplied each child with two pre-baked chocolate cupcakes, a small dish of bright yellow icing and a baggie filled with marshmallows in the shapes of green Christmas trees, and pink stars. I also gave them red and green M&M's.

I had made up some sample cupcakes for them to see. They each showed their own creativity in the fun and colorful designs they created. Each child had a paper towel on the kitchen counter with their name on it. When they were done decorating their cupcakes they placed them on their paper towel.

They eat one of their cupcakes after dinner and the other is saved to take home.

Yummy Fall Dessert Recipe

I got this super easy recipe from a friend a few years ago. I have served them at some very large functions and the request for the recipe is huge after people try it. It is a really good Fall recipe and it competes very well with those difficult pumpkin rolls.

The texture and the flavor of these carrot bars is just delicious. I think the secret is the "baby food". My grandchildren love, love, love these carrot bars!

Carrot Bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, prepare large cookie sheet baking pan, spray with Pam

Mix together in a large bowl:
4 eggs
2 Cups Sugar
1 -1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
4 - 4 oz. bottles of strained baby food carrots
2-1/2 Cups Flour
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Cinnamon

Spread batter evenly in baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool then put in freezer. Make Frosting.

Frosting
3-1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/3 Cup Margarine
1 tsp. Vanilla
8 oz. Cream Cheese (softened)

Whip until smooth and creamy. Frost frozen carrot bars.

These bars can be made ahead of time if you like. They freeze very well. Cover the frozen bars with foil and keep in freezer until you are ready to use them. This makes a huge pan which is great for a large group. If you are making them for your family they freeze well after being frosted and cut too if you want to save some for later. They are also great to have in the freezer for unexpected holiday guests or to add to the plate of holiday goodies you make for your neighbors.

I will post a picture of these yummy treats when I make my next batch.

Roasting S'Mores

A really fun and delicious activity can be created with a box of graham crackers, chocolate bars, marshmallows, some roasting sticks, and your outdoor grill. It is a tradition for us to make s'mores when we return from our night hike at the grandkid's camp out.

Roasting the marshmallows is serious business as you can see in the photo above. Eating the gooey sweet snacks always leaves undeniable evidence of participation. Sticky fingers and gooey faces are all part of the fun.

Grandkid's Foil Dinners

Do it yourself foil dinners are a tradition each year at the Grandkid's Camp Out. The kids put together their own meals with a selection of pre-cut vegetables, pats of butter, seasonings, and meat. While the dinners are baking in the indoor oven the kids are working up an appetite setting up camp.

I add a side of applesauce and a loaf of french bread to the hungry little campers menu!

Ice Cream Balls

This is a really easy recipe that is delicious and fun to make. I created the recipe myself and it has become a family favorite. It is a good dessert to follow mexican food. 

Recipe:  Ice Cream Balls     yields 3 dozen

8 Cups Frosted Flakes, 4 Cups Honey Bunches of Oats with almonds, 1/2 C. brown sugar, 3 tsp. cinnamon, 14 oz. sweeted coconut, 1 & 1/2 gallons vanilla ice cream.

In a large mixing bowl place cereals, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Crush mixture with hands to a rough crumble and mix ingredients well. Add coconut and toss to blend.

Line 2 cookie sheets with wax paper and make room in the freezer for them to sit flat.

Allow Ice Cream to slightly soften.  Make scoops (rough scoops okay) of ice cream and set 3 or 4 in the bowl of cereal mixture. Use your hands to pat coating onto the scoops and round the scoops with your hands. Place on cookies sheets. Repeat working quickly until first pan is filled. Place in freezer to freeze. Fill the second sheet the same way.

Allow to freeze at least 3 hours before serving. 

To serve:  Place the ice cream ball in a bowl. Top with a nice drizzle of honey, top with whipped cream and sliced almonds. You can garnish with a triangle of deep fried flour tortilla coated in cinnamon sugar.

Once the balls are frozen hard you can store them in  plastic ice cream buckets or any other freezer safe container. They keep for about 6 weeks in the freezer.

It is hard to mess this recipe up. You can easily make any size batch you would like.

Enjoy!