random thought :)

My go to song when i have and anxious heart is 'it is well with my soul' (specifically the shane & shane version from the passion cd)

Our joy, our peace, our burdens are all used to glorify God and His plan. This song for me is a declaration of this bigger purpose/picture. If i have to face brokenness...i still have hope in what God is doing in my life and the lives around me.

I love the line 'my sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!' there's something so sweet in understanding God's grace when applied specifically to our own lives. To see and feel my burdens lifted and understand I would be SO broken without this love and hope I have Christ...nothing tops that.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

cream cheese potato soup

this weeks recipe is inspired by good old panera....i LOVE the potato soup there...along with pretty much everything else they serve but it was high time that i find my own recipe. i tried a panera copy cat recipe once before and it was a disaster and tasted NOTHING like what i hoped. this recipe caught my eye though...it uses cream cheese instead of the shredded cheddar you usually find...so i though i would give it a whirl.

cream cheese potato soup
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups potatoes, cubed
1/4 cup minced onion
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

optional add ons: chopped green onion, bacon, shredded cheese

Mix broth, cubed potatoes, onion and spices. Bring to boil over medium heat. Cover with lid and boil until potatoes are tender. Once potatoes are cooked mash a few of the potatoes to release starch for thickening.

I also chopped up about 3-4 slices of bacon and cooked it in a skillet with some extra minced onion and added this to the soup mixture.

Reduce heat to low. Cube cream cheese and add to soup. Stir till cheese melts.

I served mine with a little shredded cheese and lots of chopped green onion on top (every serving since the first has been without the added cheese....it's not really necessary....but it looked pretty)

i'm just saying......once i get my sour dough recipe down (which i haven't even started yet...haha) i probably won't have an excuse to go to panera for potato soup anymore. this soup is delicious! i have made it three more times since. it's so simple and can be made on such a small budget. AND the second time i made it i used fat free cream cheese and still love it just as much!

i mean...don't worry panera....i'll still come back for your coffee:)

tomato sauce and roasted peppers

i have a whole list of foodie blogs i hit up when i want to be inspired. today i have to go to the store right after work and i forgot to pick out a recipe from one of my cookbooks before hand....so to the internets i go. my only inspiration were some beautiful red peppers i saw at the store the other day that i haven't stopped thinking about. i quickly decide that i want to make some roasted red peppers. i then came upon a recipe for a quick tomato sauce that used lemon zest...and since i am in love with adding lemon juice to pasta i feel like this will be a good one to try out. and it's also budget friendly so here we go.

roasted peppers

tomato sauce
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3 medium cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 28-ounce can crushed red tomatoes
zest of one lemon

Combine the olive oil, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and garlic in a cold saucepan. Stir while you heat the saucepan over medium-high heat, saute just 45 seconds or so until everything is fragrant - you don't want the garlic to brown. Stir in the tomatoes and heat to a gentle simmer, this takes just a couple minutes. Remove from heat and carefully take a taste (you don't want to burn your tongue)...If the sauce needs more salt add it now. Stir in the lemon zest reserving a bit to sprinkle on top of your pasta.

add ons
i also sauted some chicken with the roasted peppers (thank goodness i did this)

well....it looked pretty...and smelled good...but i'm not gonna lie....i SCREWED it up and couldn't eat more than a few bites! my guests were polite and ate much more...even though i begged them not to humor me. i couldn't even eat it...it was not going to hurt my feelings. the consensus was...there was too much lemon zest. i have never used lemon zest in a recipe before and did not use it sparingly in this particular recipe...so fault one perhaps? also i MUST add....there was a little confusion with ingredients and the whole "did you say tablespoon or teaspoon?" question arose after i mixed in 1 1/2 TABLESPOONS of crushed red pepper flakes. wrong wrong wrong. i tried to scoop out anything i could...to decrease the amount i had just dumped in....but it was too late...we were instore for some overspiced sauce.

meal saver: roasted red peppers and chicken. hah....that's what susie and katie kept saying...."well, the chicken and peppers are REALLY good."

will i try this sauce again? yes...someday. the blog i got the recipe from is simply amazing and she uses the sauce in a number of recipes...so it's got to be as good as they say....i just have to pay closer attention and use the "a little goes a long way" theory AND taste test throughout! lesson learned!

fiesta casserole

stuffed peppers

this recipe came from a high school friend, amber. she posted on her Facebook that she was making stuffed peppers for dinner...and i have been thinking about making them lately so quickly asked her for her recipe. i added some things i found on blogs here and there and this is what i cam up with:)

stuffed peppers
1 lb. lean ground beef
1/4 cup onion, peeled and chopped
1 package of Lipton Taco Rice
6 green bell peppers (green are cheaper than red...both work)
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Salt and Fresh ground pepper to taste

Brown hamburger meat and drain. At the same time cook the rice as directed.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cut the top off peppers and remove stem and seeds. Add a couple pinches of salt to boiling water, and then add peppers to boiling water till brilliant green and their flesh slightly softened. Drain, set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent. Remove from heat and add meat, rice, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning salt and pepper.

Arrange peppers in greased baking dish. I added a spoonful of monterrey jack cheese at the bottom of each pepper and then scooped in meat/rice mixture to fill the peppers. I topped with a little more shredded cheese.

Bake 1 hour at 350 or until peppers are tender.

I was a big fan! This recipe made six overstuffed peppers and i could only eat half at a time which meant i had lots of leftovers all week. add some tortilla chips and maybe some sour cream?!...and you've got yourself a nice little dinner!

creamy basil and tomato soup

so...only a few year ago...i developed my love for tomatoes. growing up all tomatoes were passed my dad's way...any burger i had... promptly lost its bun so i could dispose of the tomato immediately! over the years my oldest sister, anna, followed my dad's lead and was lost to tomato lovers....soon after my other sister katie jumped on the tomato train and my mom and i were left behind. i made it all the way through college before...on accident i'm sure....i started loving tomatoes as well. almost as soon as i realized they weren't so bad....i realized i LOVED them...and they've been by my side since...mmm...mmm...mmmmmm

now....CREAMY tomato soup....not so good for you...BUT i need to find the perfect recipe just to have on hand....so MAYBE once a year i'll let myself get away with making it.

creamy basil ad tomato soup
4 tomatoes - peeled, seeded and diced

4 cups of tomato juice

14 leaves of fresh basil - yeah right....i almost doubled this....basil is sooo yummy

1 cup of heavy whipping cream - i substituted fat free half and half

1/4 cup butter

salt and pepper to taste

i also topped the soup with some asiago croutons i made

Place tomatoes and juice in a stock pot over medium heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Puree the tomato mixture along with the basil leaves, and return the puree to the stock pot.

Place the pot over medium heat, and stir in the heavy cream and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Do not boil.

maybe it was cause i substituted the heavy cream....but...ehh...this wasn't amazing. first...the soup didn't have enough tomato chunks...so less pureeing next time. also...for me...it was missing something....maybe roasted red pepper? and i wasn't a fan of the butter either...

so the search is still on....but i'll have to give it a while.... perfecting this recipe is not the best option for my regular diet...but i'll definitely give it another shot or two or three eventually...so any tips would be appreciated!!

loaded mashed potatoes and parmesan crusted chicken

my kitchen aid came in!!! and it's beautiful. i picked the yellow one. since mike was WAY too good to me for Christmas...the first kitchen aid recipe goes out to him...and his FAVORITE is mashed potatoes

loaded mashed potatoes:
6 cups prepared mashed potatoes
1/2 cup milk
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons parsley flakes
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled

Mix first six ingredients in mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy.
Spoon into a greased 9x13-inch pan or casserole dish and sprinkle with cheese and bacon. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350.

parmesan crusted chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Whisk for Dipping Mixture:
2 egg whites
2 t. cornstarch
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Combine for Crusting Mixture:
1 cup coarse bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. ground black pepper

Cut chicken breast in half lengthwise, then pound between plastic until 1/2" thick.

Whisk egg whites and lemon juice in a shallow dish for the dipping mixture; set aside.

Combine ingredients for crusting mixture in a wide, shallow dish. Crust prepared chicken by dipping both sides first in the dipping mixture, then in the crusting mixture. Transfer the crusted chicken to a rack set over a baking sheet. Air-dry chicken 20 - 30 minutes to help set the crumbs.

You can saute the chicken first using 3T of olive oil over medium heat and cook till golden and crisp on both sides (about 3 minutes on each side)....BUT my kitchen was getting a bit crazy and i already had enough dishes to worry about...so i skipped the step and moved mine straight to the oven. Preheat oven to 450 and cook for 8-10 minutes to until chicken is cooked through.