Chicken Pot Pie

2 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts at room temperature

1 cup of cut up cooked chicken (this is a great way to use leftover chicken)

2 carrots, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

1/2 cup onions, diced

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup of frozen hash browns

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

olive oil

Saute carrots, celery, and onions until almost tender until done. Mix everything together in a bowl. Unroll one pie crust and line a baking dish (pie pan, casserole, whatever you want). Add ingredients. Top with remaining pie crust. Cut a couple of slits in the top to vent. Bake at 350' until brown on top, about 30 minutes.

Some notes:

I don't always make it this way. This is a great recipe that you can take and make your own. You can use frozen vegetables, instead of frozen. You can use all fresh vegetables. Try par-boiling a chopped potato and adding. If you don't like mushrooms, use 2 cans of cream of chicken. If you like mushrooms, add fresh mushrooms. You could top with biscuits or crescent roll dough instead of another pie crust. The possibilities are endless.

Smothered Pork Chops

4 - 6 pork chops (any kind, with or without bones. I prefer bones, they seem to be juicier)

1 container of button mushrooms - sliced

1 large onion - sliced (not rings, just in strips)

1 cup of Sangria

1/2 cup of Vodka

1 TBL flour

1 box of chicken broth

olive oil

rice

Brown pork chops in about 1 TBL of olive oil. Remove from pan and set aside. Saute onions until browned, remove from pan. Saute mushrooms until brown (you may need to add some olive oil, if needed). Add Sangria and Vodka and deglaze pan. Reduce liquid. Add flour and cook for about 1 minute. Add about half of the chicken broth and stir well. Return pork chops and onions and cook until pork chops are tender, adding chicken broth as needed (about 30 minutes). Sauce should be thickened. Serve over rice.

Cilantro and Lime grilled shrimp

1 lb of shrimp, peeled and deveined
2/3 cup of cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno chopped
2 cloves of garlic
juice of 2 limes
1/3 cup of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, and lime juice. Whisk mixture as you slowly add the olive oil, continue to whisk until well incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the shrimp and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Soak wooden skewers in cold water for at least 30 minutes. Place shrimp on skewers and grill on medium heat until done.

Hot Wings

Chicken wings
Red Hot sauce
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp pepper flakes
1 stick of butter
Flour
1 egg, beaten with a little milk
Oil for frying
Blue Cheese
celery sticks

If wings are frozen, let defrost. Dredge wings in egg mixture, then flour. Set aside until oil is preheated to 375'. Fry wings until crispy and done. While wings are frying, melt butter in sauce pan, then add cayenne pepper, and pepper flakes. Mix well and remove from heat. When wings are done, place them in a plastic bowl with a lid and add the sauce. Close the lid and mix well. Be very careful, the hot food can cause the lid to pop off. Serve with blue cheese and celery sticks.

Ella's Surprise Cupcakes

1 Box of Swiss Chocolate cake mix
Pomegranate applesauce or raspberry applesauce
1/3 cup chocolate chip cookies
Chocolate frosting

Prepare cake mix according to directions on box, except substitute pomegranate applesauce for vegetable oil. After cake is mixed add chocolate chips. Pour cake mix into cupcakes and bake according to directions. After they have cooled, frost with chocolate icing.

Blueberry and Mascarpone Turnovers

This is not my recipe, this is from the Giada De Laurentiis on the FoodNetwork

1/2 cup Mascarpone Cheese, at room temperature
2 TBL sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1/3 cup fresh or frozen and thawed blueberries
2 (9 in) refrigerated pie crusts
1 egg, beaten
vegetable oil for frying

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the cheese, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and lemon zest until smooth. Stir in the blueberries.

Using a 3 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut the pie dough into 12 circles. Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the edges of the dough with the beaten egg. Place about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cheese mixture in the center of the dough. Fold the dough in half to enclose the filling and pinch the edges to seal. Using the tines of a fork, gently crimp the sealed edges. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
While the pastry is chilling: In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour enough oil to fill the pan about a third of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 375 degrees F. (If you don't have a thermometer a cube of bread will brown in about 3 minutes.) Fry the turnovers for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes until golden. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with sugar while still hot. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Tabbouleh

1 cup couscous
1 cup of cherry tomatoes cut into fourths
1 large English cucumber, peeled and chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp salt
3/4 cup of lemon juice
1/3 cup of olive oil

Make couscous according to package directions, set aside to cool. In a mixing bowl, combine cooled couscous, and remaining ingredients. Mix well and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Before serving mix well. Makes about 8 servings.

Superbowl

Superbowl party food is a tradition at our house. We don't usually have anyone over, it's only the family. My kids have come to look forward to the menu for Superbowl Sunday. They absolutely love "party food". This year since Brad is overseas, it will just be the four of us, but the menu will still be just as good as it always is. On the menu today; Tabbouleh, hot wings, nachos, grilled shrimp, cupcakes, mozzarella sticks, and blueberry and mascarpone turnovers. I can't wait to try the turnovers!