Couscous Recipe

Are you ever falling behind in your daily activities, and in need of a quick fix for dinner?
Yeah, me too!
Couscous is a tasty and very quick side dish that can be whipped up in less than 15 minutes. It pairs nicely with chicken, so on those busy evenings, you can grab some leftovers or one of those rotisserie chickens from the grocery store, a quick salad or frozen veggie, and the couscous, and dinner is on the table in less than a half hour!
Nice, right?

Surprise Recipe Swap: Couponing and Cooking

I can't tell you how much fun I have been having so far with the Hungry Little Girl's Surprise Recipe Swap!

Garlic Bread Sticks

Who doesn't love the smell of freshly baked bread? Add the hint of garlic in the mix, and it's even better. These garlic bread sticks are perfect accompaniment to a pasta dinner or a nice soup.

Kid Snack: Chocolate Graham Cracker Dessert

When my seven year old daughter grows up, she wants to be a chef and a veterinarian.
Her veterinarian aspirations are on hold for now because we don't have any pets yet.
Her cooking aspirations, however, are coming along.
We recently celebrated a birthday.  When one of our kids have a birthday, I make up little goodie bags of snacks for the other kids. This time they happened to include graham crackers and Hershey's Miniatures.
The other day, my seven year old asked to use the microwave because she had "a really yummy snack" that she wanted to try.
Now, to you and I, this is an old idea. Sort of a take on a microwavable S'more. Something we've all seen before. But to her, this is something new and exciting. 

I love it when this happens!
Here is her creation:
Something that she created. 
An idea that she came up with on her own.

I want Potato Soup, but ... (recipe)

...I used all of my potatoes to make mashed potatoes with dinner last night!
Hey! I do have leftovers... let's see what I can come up with!

After raiding the fridge, here is what I found:

I sure wish I had celery. Oh well. If you have it, I recommend slicing some thin and adding them with the carrots & bell pepper.
Speaking of the bell pepper,  I wish mine was red instead of green, but it isn't, so green will have to do. Honestly, I don't know if I even need a bell pepper for potato soup, but I have it, so I will use it. Logical, right? So, yeah, use whatever veggies you have on hand, if you think it will taste good.

Here's what I used:
about 1 TB butter or oil or bacon fat or whatever you want to use here
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1/8 cup finely diced bell pepper
1/3 cup finely chopped onion (I used a red one, but any color will do)
1 clove of fresh, minced garlic
1/2 cup diced, cooked ham
4 TB flour
4TB fat (butter or bacon fat would be awesome. I usually use a combo of bacon fat and Smart Balance. I seriously need to go to the grocery store, so this time I just used canola oil.)
2 cups milk (plus extra if you want a thinner soup. I like a thick potato soup, myself.)
2 cups water
1 TB chicken bouillon granules (yes. I love using this stuff. please don't judge me.)
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp pepper (or to taste)
1/2 tsp dried parsley flakes (optional)
2 cups mashed potatoes (thought I forgot about them, didn't you?)

Here's what I did:
I  heated 1 TB butter (again, you can use oil or bacon fat... mmmmm... bacon fat...) in a large saucepan on medium- medium high heat. Once it was melted, I added the carrot and bell pepper. Cook, stirring for about 2 minutes.

Now, add the onion and cook, stirring, for another minute.

Add the ham and garlic, and cook another minute or two.

Remove the ham and veggie mixture from the pan and set it aside. Turn the pan down to medium-low heat, and add the 4 TB of fat of your choice. once it is melted (if need be), add the flour. Stir this until it is well combined, and let it cook for a minute so that the flour doesn't have that "raw flour" flavor.

Here's the tricky part... well, not really. It's quite simple, actually... if you do it right.
Pour a little bit of the milk at a time into the flour/fat mixture, while whisking constantly.
You need to make sure you just use a little milk at a time AND whisk constantly (yes, I know I just said that), so that you don't get lumps. You can use a whisk or a fork (I just use a spatula.. you can do that too, but if this is your first time making a roux, I recommend a whisk) to stir in little bits of milk, until the mixture is smooth. Just keep stirring and adding milk until you have used all 2 cups of milk and your mixture is smooth.

Next, stir in the water and bouillon granules.

Now, add the salt, pepper, and dried parsley flakes.

Stir in the mashed potatoes until they are worked into the soup.

Add the ham/veggie mixture.

Let it cook for a few minutes, until the soup is heated through.

If you want a thinner soup, add a little more milk.

That's it. Quick and Easy, right?

Here's what I got:

YUM!