Valentines Day Cookies

My girls enjoyed cutting out heart shaped cookies. I used the pillsbury ready made cookie dough. Then they devoted the cookies with icing and sprinkles!

They had so much fun! :)

Hugs
Katey

Tasty Tuesday: Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

My husband the one who cooks in our family recently made Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese. He found this recipe on The Food Network's website. It was delicious and so I thought I would share the recipe with you for Tasty Tuesday. I am linking up with The New Modern Momma and her Tasty Tuesday #Recipeswap. So check her out to get more recipes to try. 

Buffalo-Chicken Macaroni and Cheese on the Food Network

Ingredients

• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
• Kosher salt
• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup hot sauce (preferably Frank's)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 2 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 1 pound yellow sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3 1/2 cups)
• 8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, melt 3 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken and garlic and cook 2 minutes, then add 1/2 cup hot sauce and simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 more minute.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and mustard with a wooden spoon until smooth. Whisk in the half-and-half, then add the remaining 1/4 cup hot sauce and stir until thick, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, then whisk in the sour creamuntil smooth.

Spread half of the macaroni in the prepared baking dish, then top with the chicken mixture and the remaining macaroni. Pour the cheese sauce evenly on top.

Put the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted. Stir in the panko, blue cheese and parsley. Sprinkle over the macaroni and bake until bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.


Hugs,

Katey

P.S. Please be sure and link up tomorrow on our blog to Project 52! 

Recipe: Panera Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Happy Friday!! It has been a bit chilly here lately, so I wanted the hubs to make a meatless soup to warm me up!  He is the cook in our house! :)

 He decided to try a recipe for Broccoli Cheese Soup he got from www.food.com. 

It was yummy! So I thought I would share the recipe with you, our faithful readers! 

Note: This is not vegetarian as it calls for chicken stock. 

Panera Broccoli and Cheese Soup 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 medium chopped onion
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups half-and-half cream
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 lb fresh broccoli
1 cup carrot, julienned
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Sauté onion in butter. Set aside.

2. Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and add the 

    half & half. 

3. Add the chicken stock. Simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat 20-25 minutes.

5. Add salt and pepper. Can be puréed in a blender but I don't. Return to heat and add cheese. Stir in nutmeg.

It doesn't taste exactly like the one from Panera Bread but it is pretty close! 

We had sour dough bread with it. Absolutely delicious! 

Try it this weekend! It is a great fall meal! 

Enjoy your weekend! 

Hugs,

Katey

Recipe share: Shrimp Scampi

Many of you already know my husband is the cook in our house. Last week we were stumped on what to make with some fresh zucchini and squash we had picked up from our local farm stand. 

He searched recipes on the internet for shrimp scampi. He found a yummy one on the food network. You can find the original recipe here.

 

Picture courtesty of pinterest

Ingredients:

• 1 pound linguini 
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 2 shallots, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leaves

He made a few changes to the recipe. He used whole wheat spaghetti instead of linguini, and he used frozen shrimp to save a few bucks instead of fresh. As I mentioned  before, he added the zucchini and squash. You could really add any fresh vegetables into this dish. 

Directions: 

For the pasta, put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. When it has come to the boil, add a couple of tablespoons of salt and the linguini. Stir to make sure the pasta separates; cover. When the water returns to a boil, cook for about 6 to 8 minutes or until the pasta is not quite done. Drain the pasta.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes (if using) until the shallots are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper; add them to the pan and cook until they have turned pink, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan; set aside and keep warm. Add wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons oil. When the butter has melted, return the shrimp to the pan along with the parsley and cooked pasta. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over a bit more olive oil and serve immediately.

It is a great light dish perfect for the summer! 

Hugs,

Katey

Mango Salsa by Matt

Hello, I hope y'all enjoyed your weekend! I hope you are lucky enough to have the Holiday off.

My husband, Matt, enjoys cooking and trying new recipes. Over the weekend he made a yummy mango salsa recipe from Simply Recipes . Today I am going to share this great recipe with you!

Chef Matt

Ingredients:

1 ripe mango, peeled.pitted, and diced ( about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 medium red onion ( if you do not like onion, subsitute with a red bell pepper), finely chopped
1 Jalapeno chile, minced ( don't worry its not spicy, unless you want to include the seeds and ribs)
1 small cucumber
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro leaves
3 Tbsp lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Below are the steps on how to cut a mango.

The Mango has a pit in the middle, so you have to cut along the sides of pit separating the flesh from the pit. When that is done proceed with the below steps

Take the mango and cut horizontally and vertically without cutting through the peel

You end up with block sized pieces of mango in the peel

Take your knife and slide under the blocks of mango to peel them from the skin
and whala you have diced mango!

Repeats steps for the other half of the mango

The recipe calls for 1 mango but you may need more like 1 1/2 mangos. We saved the other half of the second mango to use in our homemade baby food, or you can eat it of course!! :)

Next is finely chopping the red onion ( or if you prefer red bell pepper)





Dice one Jalepeno chile ( seeded and ribs taken out unless you would like a spicy salsa)

Matt had already cut it up before I got the chance to take the picture

Peel and Chop up one small cucumber 

Chop three tablespoons of Cilantro leaves ( you can really just eyeball this)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl 

Add lime juice 

For the lime juice you can roll one lime on cutting board and slice in half and squeeze into mixture

Add salt and pepper to taste

Mix ingredients together with lime juice and salt and pepper

This is what you get!

You can serve it with tortilla chips, or put it in tacos! Or eat it alone! 

It is refreshingly yummy!

Enjoy!

Have a recipe you would like to share with us? Please email us at simplymommies@gmail.com or comment below! We love trying new recipes! 

Happy cooking,

Katey