Spaghetti Squash

OK, So I took a little break from blogging.

First, I've been busy and blogging takes time. 

And second, I don't really have a huge following and 

I didn't really think anyone would miss me:)

Also - my friend Chantel made my lentil stew and 

said it didn't turn out good.  So then I got scared 

and thought - what if other people are making 

my stuff and it's awful too!?!?!  Oh No!!!

But, then my loyal friend and faithful follower Renee

said she missed my blog.  So, here I am.

*

So, I'm trying to eat a lot more vegetables.  

And try some new ones.

Last year, I discovered avocados and they're my 

favorite thing.  I probably eat 3 a week.

A few weeks ago, I made my first spaghetti squash.

It's good.  It's different.  It's kinda fun.

This is my spaghetti squash.

I put it in the oven for an hour at 400.

You should take the sticker off first.

I think I forgot to do that :)

I turned it a few times while it was in there.

I let it cool just a bit.  Then cut it in half.

It's got guts inside that look like a pumpkin.

You want to scoop all that out and throw it away.

This is the fun part.

Just lightly scrape the inside with a fork,

and these wonderful "spaghetti" like 

strands start to appear.

I scraped down to the skin.

And got a ton of meat out of it.

This is from just the first half.

Then I added all of these things.

Salt, pepper, parsley, parmesan, and a little olive oil.

I gently tossed it together and put a little

more parmesan on top.

 

Russell became a hunter a few months ago

and killed his first deer.

He made these venison steaks tonight and

was so proud of them he wanted me to take a picture.

They do look good.

But I have trouble eating deer meat.

*

Here's how I made it:

Spaghetti Squash 

 1 medium spaghetti squash

1 tsp salt

pepper

1 tbsp parsley (I used dried)

olive oil

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Heat your oven to 400.  Pull your sticker off your squash :)  Place your squash on a baking pan and roast for about an hour.  Let it cool for a few minutes, then cut it in half.  Scoop out all the seeds and stuff in the middle.  Gently scrape the insides with a fork.  Add salt, pepper and parsley.  Drizzle on some olive oil.  Add most of the the parmesan.  Gently toss it all together.  Sprinkle the rest of the parmesan on top.  

Chicken Soup

Sorry ya'll, but I'm about to get gross.

If you can't handle gross, then stop now.

But, if what I said got you curious,

then read on!!

I had to make chicken soup today

and this is why...

It has been a barf-fest at my house all week!!

Told ya I was gonna be gross :P

My 6 year old started on Sunday.

Got sick 7 or 8 times all day long.

I kept her home from school on Monday and

she was fine.  Sent her to school on Tuesday

and she threw up in her lunchbox!! 

Yuck

So, I had to go get her.  She stayed home

on Wednesday and was fine all day.

Then my 10 year old started getting sick

around 9:00 and it went on till 4am.

He got sick like 17 times.

ALL night long.

Then - the same night - the 6 year old

threw up again!!  UGH

So, I had them both home with me on Thursday.

I sent the little one to school today.

She probably failed all her tests because

she was home doing nothing on the couch

all week.  Oh well.  It's first grade.

So, then, wouldn't you know it,

I got a call to come get the 8 year old today

because she just threw up all over her desk!! 

Unbelievable.

And to make it better - my husband

left the country on Tuesday for 2 weeks. 

But, I'm glad he's not here for this.

You thought this was a cooking blog, right?

Well, I needed to vent a little frustration.

I'm done now.

I wish I had made soup earlier in the week.

But, I wasn't able to get out of the house and 

go to the store to get everything until today.

This is what I started with.

I boiled my 2 little chicken breasts

for about 20 minutes.

Then, took them out and let them 

cool and shredded it up.

I cut up my carrots and celery.

Then I put them in my hot pan with a little

olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

Then, I added a can of cream of chicken.

Hey - I never claimed to cook everything

healthy and from scratch.  So, I'm sorry if you 

don't like this.  I think it adds good flavor.

Mmmmmm

Just look at that glob of soup.

Then I poured in a box of chicken broth

which was about 4 cups.

I also kept the broth from boiling my 2 

little chicken breasts.  But, it's not very

brothy because chicken breasts taste 

like nothing.  But, I kept in anyway.

I needed 2 more cups of liquid and I 

figured that chicken flavored water was

better than just water.

And, I did this because I had no more

broth in a box!!

But, I did have this.

It's sort of like boullion.

But, not.

It's kinda gooey and thick and weird.

And it has lots of flavor.

I use this if I don't have chicken broth.

I took my shredded chicken 

and added it back into the pot. 

 I mixed it all up and let it simmer

for about 30-40 minutes on low.

Then, I turned off the heat and threw 

in a big hand full of spinach.

All my kids like spinach.

Weird, huh?

So, it's basically done now.

In another pot, I was cooking some orzo.

It's kinda like rice pasta.

I don't like to put it in my soup because

it keeps cooking and then gets mushy.

So, I cook it on the side and then

add it in when I'm ready to eat.

Here's my cooked orzo.  I drizzled a 

little olive oil on it to keep it from sticking

together in one huge clump.

I like to add stuff to my soup.

So, for my bowl - I started with some orzo.

Then, added the soup.

And threw in a few jalepenos

because I like it spicy!!

If my avocados were ripe, I would 

have added some of that too.

For my kids - I might just serve the soup.

They may or may not want the orzo.

Some crusty bread or crackers would be good too.

So, if I get sick (I'm NOT gonna get sick),

but if I do - this will be ready for me :)

Chicken Soup

2-3 small chicken breasts or

about 1 1/2 cups shredded chicken

6 cups chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup

carrots

celery

1 clove garlic - chopped

salt and pepper

orzo or another small pasta (optional)

spinach (optional)

Boil chicken until for about 20 minutes or until done.  Cool and shred.  Cut up a few carrots and celery.  Heat up a little olive oil in a pot and add the carrots and celery and garlic.  Add salt and pepper.  Turn heat to low.  Add can of soup and slowly add the broth.  Put the shredded chicken back into the pot.  Turn the heat up and simmer for about 30 minutes until vegetables are soft.  Turn the heat off and add a big hand full of spinach. Make pasta in another pot and add to soup bowl just before serving. 

Applesauce

Yes, it's another apple recipe.

And another crock pot recipe.

But it's super fun and easy.

Homemade applesauce in the crock pot. 

So, on Friday, I went to the school 

to help make applesauce. 

I have never done this, so I 

had no idea what to expect.

I walked in, and the whole room smelled

like apple pie.  I was excited!

 There were 2 crock pots full of apples.

My job was to help the kids turn 

them into applesauce.

So, I did my job, and I couldn't

wait to get home so I could make 

my own applesauce for my family!!

I had bought some apples last week

and they didn't get eaten as fast as I 

would like.  So, I thought this would be 

the perfect thing to do with them.

I took all that I had and washed them 

and quartered them.

I had 3 different kinds here.

I don't think it matters.

I sprayed my pot with non stick spray.

And threw all the apples into the crock pot 

seeds, stems, peels and all!!

Set on high.

It wasn't until after I had rushed home

and quickly done all this that I thought - 

this would have been a really fun 

thing to do with the kids!!

So, I made sure they were home to 

help me with the rest of it.

This is after 2 hours.

Smelling good already.

2 more hours (4 total)

done

I borrowed this from Mo's teacher.

I think it's a food mill.

I think you could also use a potato ricer

or something like that if you have one.

Basically, you fill this thing up

and squish all the good stuff through

the little holes with the wooden thing.

And all the stuff you don't want stays inside.

You'll need a helper.

Mo was my helper.

This is the part that I helped the kids at school with.

They each got to come and turn the handle

around a few times to squish the apples out.

See it squishing out?

It didn't make a whole lot.

My crock was almost half full of 

apples when I started, and

I only got a small bowl of sauce.

This is what's left in the food mill.

Seeds, stems, peels and cores.

Let's just throw this in the trash.

Here's a tiny cup of applesauce.

Here's Kailey and Mo enjoying their applesauce.

It all disappeared in about 5 minutes!!

Remember - there's only apples in this!!

No water, sugar or juice added.

*

Here's the recipe:

Easy Crock Pot Applesauce

apples

Take whatever apples you have.  (They can 

be different varieties). Wash and 

quarter them and put them in your crock pot.

Set on high for 4-6 hours.  

Pass through a food mill.  

Let them cool and enjoy :)

 

Crock Pot Apple Dessert

It's the season for apples.

And apple pie,

and apple crumble,

and apple strudel,

and baked apples,

and apple brown betty,

and every other kind of yummy apple dessert :)

I found an apple dessert for the 

crock pot that I wanted to try.

Aren't these pretty?!?
 

Apples and butter and sugar.

You can't really go wrong.

First, I sliced up about 6 medium

granny smith apples.

Then I melted some butter and added flour,

brown sugar, cinnamon, regular sugar

and a little ground ginger and nutmeg.

I mixed it up good.

This seemed really thick.  I expected it to 

be a little runnier because the recipe said to 

pour this on top of the apples.

But, instead, I had to spoon it on.

I set it on low for about 4 1/2 hours.

And this is what I got.

The top was cooked and a little crusty.

And absolutely delicious!!

We put vanilla ice cream on top and 

ate a whole bunch.

The apples were a little too soft.  

Next time (there will be a next time for this one),

I will add 3 or 4 more apples and cut them

in bigger chunks so they won't be as mushy.

Here's the recipe:

Crock Pot Apple Crisp

  4-5 cups apples, sliced

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup regular sugar

3 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger (optional)

1/4 tsp. nutmeg (optional)

3/4 cup butter 

Grease crock pot.  Line with apples.  Melt butter.

In medium bowl, combine melted butter with all remaining 

ingredients.  Pour over apples.  Cook on low 4-6 hours.