I've been cooking this past week, and below are the recipes I tried and liked!
Slow Cooker Creamy Tuscan Chicken
You will need the following ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
2 (15-ounce) jars Alfredo sauce with roasted garlic
2 (3-ounce) packages slivered sun-dried tomatoes (NOT packaged in oil)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (5-ounce) bag baby spinach leaves
1. Melt butter over medium-high heat in a nonstick pan. Season chicken with salt and peppers. Add chicken to pan and cook until browned on both sides.
2. Place chicken in a lightly greased 6-quart slow cooker.
3. In a medium bowl mix together Alfredo sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes.
4. Pour mixture over chicken. Cover slow cooker and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours.
5. Open slow cooker, mix in spinach. Cover and cook 5 more minutes. Serve.
NOTE FROM ENCHANTING BELINDA - The next time I make this, I will use 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes. The heat is okay for adults, but if you are feeding children, it is a little too hot.
Georgia Peach Cobbler
You will need the following ingredients:
3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup, plus 1/4 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 can (28 ounces) sliced peaches, undrained
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8" x 11" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, coarsely mix 3/4 cup of the sugar, flour and 1/4 cup melted butter together. Sprinkle about one-third of this mixture on the bottom of the baking dish.
3. Add the peaches and juice. (If the juice from the peaches does not cover the peaches, add a small amount of water just to cover the peaches. Too little liquid will make the cobbler dry. Too much liquid will make it soupy.)
4. Top the peaches with the remaining sugar/flour mixture. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and the remaining 1/4 cup butter.
5. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until brown and bubbly. Serve hot!
NOTE - Fresh peaches can be used. When using fresh peaches, peel and slice them, sprinkling the slices with an additional 1/2 cup sugar. Refrigerate them for 2 to 3 hours before using.
NOTE FROM ENCHANTING BELINDA - I have used several different cobbler recipes over the years, and Mike declared this one to be outstanding. For whatever reason, this is now my cobbler recipe of choice.
RANDOMNESS #1 - Pinterest Stuff and St. Patrick's Day - I just checked my St. Patrick's Day Pinterest Board, and I want you to know I have several "activities/things" I am going to be trying with the Grand-Tots some time in the next ten or so days.
I think last year I baked Minty Shamrock Brownie Bites, and while they were very good, I'm thinking maybe something a little more fun for the four-and-under crowd this year.
For some unknown reason I cannot remember, I pinned a kabob skewer recipe...
One pickled brussels sprout
One folded up slice of pastrami
One "mini" whole pickle
Two squares of white cheddar cheese (one on each end of the skewer)
Honestly, it must have struck me as funny at the time because no one who has ever been in my house would willingly eat a pickled brussels sprout.
NOTE FROM ENCHANTING BELINDA - Yeah.
Don't bother me next week.
I'm gonna be pickling!
RANDOMNESS #2 - Camping Story #5 - One Fish, Red Fish, Two Fish, Dead Fish
Ahh, Guntersville. Our favorite campground. Familiar, familiar, familiar. We even got in our regular Section... close enough to see the lake and enjoy the benefits thereof, but even closer to the bathhouse!
We had gone camping with other families from our church, and we were busy just watching kids on bikes, kids on scooters, kids playing ball, kids walking along the lake borders, kids getting really, really dirty... you get the picture. Kids having a ball!
As always, our attention was mainly on the now five year-olds as they went hither and yon. (Have you noticed the more familiar a child becomes with a place, the more courageous they are exploring said place? That's what we were having to really watch. We had been to Guntersville several times now, and the familiarity was almost against us... almost like being in our own backyard, but not child-proof in any way, shape or form.)
We could see their little heads as they picked up rocks and threw them into the water. We were pleased they were obeying and no wading was taking place... but we knew not to take our eyes off them.
There they went. They were bending over. I wondered what on earth... Between the two friends they carried something large and cumbersome. They would bend over and put it down and then get a new grip on it before hoisting it up between them again. They were walking toward us, and we waited to see what they had discovered!
Into the campsite they marched, red-cheeked and breathless, holding onto their prize. It was a huge (and I mean bigger than the pigeon that landed on my head) fish. And the problem they had carrying it had nothing to do with the fact it was fighting them or wiggling or anything normal like that. It was a huge dead fish. Ugh!
"Look what we caught!" they excitedly said.
"Well, I don't know if 'caught' is the right word," I said.
"We did catch it," they claimed indignantly.
Uh-oh. I had offended them. "Well, that is certainly one big, dead fish," I said smiling.
"We want to cook it and eat it," they demanded.
"Uh, I don't think so. I think there's a rule about eating a fish that's dead when you catch it," I said, hoping they would buy that one.
"Oh," they replied looking at their catch.
One of the dads came up at that point and walked back to the side of the lake with them to dispose of the giant dead fish. (But not before I got a picture of the two boys with their "catch" of the day.)
"Well, that was pretty gross," the moms all agreed.
We settled back into our positions of watching the kids all around us, and special attention was given to the five year-olds once again walking along the lake. There they went. They were bending over. They held something huge between them and started walking toward us. I didn't have to wonder what it was.
If possible, this dead fish was bigger than the first. "Guys, what did we say about picking up dead fish?" I asked.
"We're pretty sure this one was alive when we picked it up. Can we cook it and eat it?" was the sly reply.
"I'm no expert, boys, but that fish has been dead for quite a while. No, we will not cook it and eat it! Take it back, wash your hands UP TO YOUR ELBOWS and stop picking up dead fish!"
Now I was getting worried as to why so many dead fish were showing up on the banks of Lake Guntersville. That couldn't be good. (One more picture to remember the "Year of the Dead Fish" and off they went.)
Again, we settled down. I was staring a hole into the back of the five year-olds' heads. Hands on hips, they were in deep discussion. Glances over their shoulders to see if we were indeed watching them. More discussion. And then I guess it was more than their five year-old little bodies could take.
There they were. They were bending over. This time they came up easily and started the walk toward the camp... each holding one small dead fish. For them to be so forthcoming about turning themselves in, I knew the discussions had brought forth what they thought was a reasonable explanation as to why they had disobeyed us for a third time.
They stopped in front of me. I went ahead and took the picture before they started talking, because when you punish a child, it kind of takes away from it if you start posing them right after you lower the boom.
"We just wanted to know what the difference is in catching the fish with our hands, and taking a fishing pole and catching them with that? The fish are going to die right after we get them out of the water anyway, right?"
Good one. "Yes. That's right. But for fish to be floating on top of the water at the edge of the lake means something is wrong with them. They could be sick or something, because a normal fish does not float on top of the water at the edge of the lake." Could I make myself more clear!
"So you're saying we can't eat these fish because they were sick before they died?" one of them asked.
"Yes! Yes! These are not healthy fish! This is not a healthy hobby! This is not like fishing with a pole from the dock! This is bad!" They were finally getting it.
They dropped the fish like they were poison. Since I thought the point had been made, I didn't want them to pick them back up and take them back to the lake. (I'd get Mikie to do that!) But I did tell them once again to wash their hands UP TO THEIR ELBOWS and never touch another dead fish again.
Communication is so important in parenting, isn't it? However, when I got the pictures back, I gave a set to each one. They were pretty proud of the giant fish they had "caught." I think they were much bigger than they remembered.
And after years and years of fishing, Josh has never "caught" one as big as the one he picked up with his buddy those many years ago. It's kind of sad really.
Maybe I should have had them mounted!
RANDOMNESS #3 - Cousin Day and the Refrigerator Box - Seriously, is there anything more fun than a free, big, empty refrigerator box given to you by a friend?
Is there?
No.
No, there isn't.
After an hour or so of playing in the box, racing cars, building towers and running obstacle courses, they wanted to relax and watch a little PJ Masks before naptime.
And I was okay with that!
RANDOMNESS #4 - A Little Update - Just wanted to let you know what some of the adults in the family are up to these days...
These two just celebrated their third anniversary and are expecting Baby Eden any day now.
These two are on fancy date (without Little Man) as we speak.
This one is packing for a Spring Break trip to San Diego (leaving tomorrow).
And this guy just celebrated 31 years of wedded bliss with his beloved wife.
That would be me!
I will be back in a few days with more useful stuff for family and home. Until that time, I remain...
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
"We don't really rise and shine. We caffeinate and hope for the best." @veryjane
"My kids can't remember where they put their other shoe, yet they can remember that on January 25, 2015 at 2:30 I promised them candy and forgot to give it to them."
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