Recipe: Au Gratin Potatoes

It is currently 8:30 pm and I still haven't written up a weekly post!  Oh well, I guess you'll have to settle with a quick recipe :).  This recipe is great as a side dish with hamburgers, tuna, or chicken.  Enjoy!


Au Gratin Potatoes

9 potatoes, sliced thin
1-2 onions, chopped
1 stick butter
Little over 1/2 cup flour
3 1/2 cups milk
3 1/3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions and butter.  Once onions are soft add flour as you stir.  Then slowly add milk, salt, and pepper.  Turn up to medium heat until mixture begins to bubble.  Add as much milk/flour as needed until you reach the right consistency.  Add cheese and stir.  Pour over thinly sliced potatoes.  Cook covered at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 1/2 hours.

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My mom, some siblings, and I competed in our first 5K this morning.  It was exhilerating!  I am not, repeat NOT, a gifted runner but I kept saying this verse to myself throughout the morning:
"But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint."
Isaiah 40:31
Although I definitely did not fly (I was hoping I would sprout wings or something ;-) the Lord still taught me that sometimes His strength is not given in exactly the way I want.  His ways are not our ways...they are so much higher!  What a great God we have!!

Learning to delight in Jesus,
Hannah

 

Recipe: Buttermilk Biscuits

These biscuits  complete a breakfast of Daddy's scrumptious only-he-can-cook-them eggs very nicely.  Maybe they'll become your favorite too!  Enjoy!

Plain Buttermilk Biscuits

Combine:
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 T. Mayonnaise

Mix together the following dry ingredients:
-3 1/2 cups of freshly ground whole wheat flour
-2 T. baking powder
-1 t. baking soda
-1/2 t. salt

Set out 2/3 cup of butter and let soften.  When soft, pour the dry ingredients in with the butter and cut together until the butter is pea sized.  Then pour in the buttermilk mixture.  Add flour if it looks too wet until it is able to hold its shape on your spoon.  Drop by tablespoon onto a greased pan (we use a stone).  Cook at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-15 minutes.

To add a different flavor, sprinkle some with cinnamon and sugar before cooking.
Learning to delight in Jesus,
Hannah

Recipe: Sugar and Spice Cookies

Fall has finally arrived (sort-of...VA weather always flips back and forth) and with it the changing of the leaves, hot tea/cocoa, and COOKIES!!  Sugar and Spice cookies is one of our family's favorite fall/winter-time cookie recipes...enjoy!

Sugar and Spice Cookies

Cream:
1 c. dark sucanat (or brown sugar)
1 c. sucanat with honey (or white sugar)
1 c. of butter (2 sticks)

Then add:
2 eggs (preferably fresh from the farm: non-GMO and pastured raised....see HERE for more info)
1 t. vanilla

In a separate bowl combine:
4-5 c. of freshly milled soft white wheat or 4 c. of white flour (until the dough doesn't stick too bad to your fingers)
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. allspice
Then add these ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg/vanilla mixture.  After mixing thoroughly pinch off little balls and roll in a bowl of sugar.  Cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-15 minutes.  Delicious hot and great leftover!

Learning to delight in Jesus,
Hannah    

Recipe: Easy Tuna Casserole

Most of our family loves this dish when we have leftover spaghetti and only a little bit of time to prepare dinner.  It's very creamy and simple.  Enjoy!

Tuna Casserole

1 16 oz. can of Cream of Mushroom
1 can of milk (use the Cream of Mushroom can)
1 large can of tuna, drained
1 box of spaghetti (cooked or leftover)
Cheddar Cheese or Velveeta for a creamier dish

Combine Cream of Mushroom, tuna, milk, and spaghetti (you can layer it if you like :).  Top with bountiful amounts of cheese!  Cook at 350 for 30-45 minutes (until hot).  Serve and enjoy!

Learning to delight in Jesus,
Hannah

Recipe: Chicken 'n Wine Sauce

No worries, this recipe does call for wine but we don't use it (mainly because we never have wine in the house).  This delicious dish feeds many a hardworking person and is extremely simple and conducive for large families.  (I just noticed that my last recipe was a chicken dish too!  Oh well! ;)  We get our chicken breasts from Quail Cove...naturally raised, no hormones = healthy.

Picture from online

Chicken 'n Wine Sauce

6-8 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1-2 cups of shredded cheese (Monterey Jack or Cheddar)
Croutons
Combine:
26 oz. Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup of Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt


After trimming excess fat off the breasts, lay them down evenly in a 9x13 pan.  Spread the cheese over the top of the breasts then spread the Cream of Chicken Soup/Sour Cream mixture evenly over the top.  Cover and cook at 350 degrees F. for about an hour. Then spread a couple handfuls of croutons over the top before cooking for another 30 minutes (might need longer depending on the size of the breasts).  Serve with cooked rice, a veggie, and freshly baked rolls (to dip up that creamy sauce!).  Enjoy!

Variations: Cut chicken into bite size pieces instead of leaving them in breasts.  It's much easier to serve and it cooks faster.  

Learning to delight in Jesus,
Hannah

Recipe: Chinese Chicken Stir-fry

I LOVE homemade Chinese chicken stir-fry and the good thing is that I also love making it!  Usually I can't eat most of the food at Chinese restaurants because they use a lot of peanuts/peanut butter/peanut oil, which I'm allergic to!  So, instead of paying way too much money for our family to eat Chinese out, we make it here at home along with some yummy egg rolls we get from a nearby store.  I hope you'll get a chance to try this yummy recipe and enjoy it!!

  Chinese Chicken Stir-fry

Sauce:
1 cup Chicken Broth
4 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
1 teaspoon Sugar

Chicken Stir-Fry:
3-4 Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breasts, sliced into small chunks
2 T. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup sliced Carrots
1 (8 ounces) can Water Chestnuts, drained & sliced
3 Garlic cloves, minced
1 Onion quartered
1/2 cup sliced Celery
1 (6 ounces) package of fresh Pea Pods (or a handful or two fresh from the garden J)

1 (8 oz.) can of baby corn

A couple sprigs of broccoli and/or cauliflower

Preparation:

1. In a medium bowl, combine chicken chunks, soy sauce, chicken broth, cornstarch, and sugar. Set aside and let sit for 15 minutes – 3 hours (depending on how much time you have).

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil to smoking hot in wok over high heat (you can also just use a large frying pan).

4. Add garlic and chicken (along with sauce).  Stir-fry until chicken is no longer pink.

6. Then add onions, celery, carrots, pea pods, broccoli, and cauliflower. Stir-fry 5 minutes.

8. Add water chestnuts and corn.  Stir fry 5 more minutes.  Serve hot over rice and with egg rolls.\

I've noticed that at times the stir-fry has less sauce then I like so I simply add 1/2 cup to 1 cup more chicken broth until the consistency suits me!

Leave a comment if you tried it and let me know how you like it!
Learning to delight in Jesus,
Hannah