Spring is Coming!

The weather has been beautiful here today! I hope it was where you live. The great weather has gotten me started thinking about new recipes for the warmer weather. I am hosting a baby shower in May for my daughter who is expecting her first baby and my first grandchild. I'm thinking we will have a luncheon so I am trying to come up with some great ideas for it. I want really tasty but light food. You will find a recipe that I've included for a great pea salad that I will be serving at the shower that is packed with flavor and very light. We are going to have petits fours from my favorite bakery in Richmond, Westhampton Pastry Shop. If you have any great ideas for the shower, please send them to me. I would love to hear your ideas for food, decorations, games, etc. I want this shower to be very special for her and memorable!



I don't know how many of you that endure reading this blog know that my job/career is Food Service Director at a local church. My boss/administrator called me today letting me know that someone from the church had called him to tell him that the church kitchen was extremely dirty. He called me and in the discussion we figured out who was responsible. I explained to him that I left the kitchen spotless on Thursday afternoon. So, I went to the church kitchen myself and was absolutely appalled at the mess that was left behind by a certain group in the church that meets each Friday night. I was so disappointed and frankly, upset that adults would leave the kitchen in such disarray and leave behind such a mess. Now, on Monday, in addition to work I have already on my schedule, I have to add cleaning up this group's mess. It's so frustrating! I am really particular regarding cleanliness. I am trying to come up with checklists, signage, etc. that will help guide folks as they use the kitchen. I want it to be as simple as possible. Do you have any suggestions?



From time to time, you will hear about the perils of being a chuch food service director, mainly so I can vent, but, also, to get ideas and suggestions from others. I pray that you will not hesitate to give your opinions, suggestions, etc.



I want to share a recipe with you this week that reminds me of spring. It is great for a bridal or baby shower, ladies' tea or get together or a light luncheon. It is one of my favorites!

DILLED PEA SALAD
1-16 oz.package frozen English peas(In the south, we call these sweet peas or sugar peas.)
1/4 cup mayonnaise(I use only Duke's mayonnaise.)
1/4 cup light sour cream
1-1/2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1-1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons dried dill
1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper(I use a little more.)

Cook English peas according to package directions; drain and cool.
Stir together mayonnaise and next 5 ingredients; pour over peas, stirring mixture gently. Cover and chill at least 2 hours. Serving suggestions: place servings of peas in red cabbage leaves, serve in a beautiful cut glass bowl. Garnish with fresh dill springs, or a slice or two of red onion,

Busy Week

Ladies and Gentlemen, it has been a tough and busy week. Even though I don't consider myself to be much of a writer, I have discovered that this "blogging thing" is a great stress reliever. This week we had record numbers for our Wednesday Night Dinner at the church for which I work. We ran out of the pork tenderloin and had to go to the old standby--chicken nuggets! Friday night I cooked for our Celebrate Recovery ministry which was a lot of fun. We had Honey Mustard Pecan Chicken, Scalloped Potatoes and Maple Glazed Carrots, Rolls, Tossed Salad, Key Lime Bars and Honey Lime Fruit Toss. I had doctors' appointments, work, cooking, home stuff, washing machine broken, etc. Tonight I tried a new recipe in the slow cooker for dinner. It was wonderful and I want to share it with you. Please let me know how you like it if you decide to make for yourself or for your family. Also, please ask questions. I love to teach as well. I would love to hear from you.

Slow Cooker Italian Chicken

1/4 cup butter
1 (0.7 ounce) package Italian salad dressing mix
2 (10.75 ounce) cans golden mushroom soup
1 (8 ounce) container cream cheese with chive and onion
1 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Hot cooked angel hair pasta

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add dressing mix, stirring to combine. Stir in soup, cream cheese and wine or broth; cook stirring constantly until cream cheese is melted and smooth. In a 6 qt. electric slow cooker, add chicken. Pour soup mixture over chicken. Cook on low 4-6 hours or until chicken until tender. Serve over pasta. Garnish with parsley if desired.

New Recipe

Good Evening, fellow cooks! If you can believe it the weather know it alls here in Richmond, VA are calling for snow again tomorrow evening! This winter has been the worst on record in quite some time. So, with that in mind, I decided to try a new soup recipe for dinner today. It is pretty simple and quite tasty! Working at the church tomorrow making Roasted Garlic Pork Tenderloin, Cinnamon Buttered Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, Rolls, French Silk Pie. It's going to be a really busy day due to our reservations being up! (makes me very happy!) I look forward to Wednesdays each week. Here is the Italian Bean and Pasta Soup recipe from this evening. Let me know if you like it!

Italian Bean and Pasta Soup

2 ham hocks(if you're not from the south you may not know what these are!)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
12 cups water
2-16 oz. cans navy beans, drained
1-15.8 oz. can great Northern beans, drained
2-14.5 oz. cand diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
2 cups uncooked ditalini pasta(can be difficult to find. Any very small pasta will work.)

In a large Dutch oven,(at least 6qts.) combine ham hock, onion, celery, carrot and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered for 1 hour. Remove ham hocks and let cool. Remove meat from ham hocks; discard skin, bones and fat. Return meat to Dutch oven. Stir in beans, tomatoes, Italian seasoning and pasta. Bring soup to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until pasta is tender. Serve immediately.

Great served with garlic cheese bread and a salad!

Random Thoughts

This week has been really busy! I have been doing quite a bit of cooking at work this week and even more planning for upcoming events. Got booked to speak at a conference this summer so now I have to start planning that class. Just finished my kitchen policy and procedures and will be having a kitchen training class at 4 today. As I am writing my for my summer class at conference, I will share with you the process in several blogs. My topic is event planning how to's. This is a big topic! I am so tired right now I can barely think straight. Yesterday, I made muffins, scones, danishes for a continental breakfast. Then, I made lasagna, pasta marinara and chicken alfredo for a banquet. Watch this week for another post with some recipes for you to try. Will post a simple Chicken Piccata, my personal recipe for rice pilaf and my Aunt Ruby's pound cake recipe. All are absolutely spectacular and extremely easy. Watch for the blog!

New Recipe

I came home today so tired. I had planned on cooking a new recipe from Paula Deen. Being so tired I thought this recipe would be great because it was categorized "Quick and Easy". So many times that label does not live up to its name. It is usually NOT quick, NOT easy or is a very bland recipe. This recipe was absolutely QUICK, EASY and is definitely NOT bland. As working women, moms, etc., we all need to have in our repertoire recipes like this one. Try it! I'm sure you will love it! I will be trying some more new recipes later in the week and will blog my opinions and share the recipes if they are found worthy.

Chicken and Asparagus with Pesto Sauce

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
2 tablespoons olive oil(EVOO)
1 pound thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons prepared pesto

Cut chicken breasts in half crosswise to make 6 pieces. Pound to 1/4 inch thickness. Season with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chicken, in batches if necessary, and cook for 4-5 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Remove chicken from skillet; set aside and keep warm. Add cut asparagus to skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until just tender. Add cream and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until reduced by half. Stir in pesto. Return chicken to skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes longer, or until heated through and there are no pink juices from chicken. Serve immediately.

*I served this over linguine. It was absolutely a stunning dish! Enjoy!

Pantry Items

Here is the pantry items that I suggest you have on hand. I'm sure I forgot something, so ask questions if you need to do so.

I will be trying some new recipes this week so I will post one if I have found a spectacular one. Happy Cooking!


Pantry Lists

Items listed are for dry goods, cold foods and frozen foods.

Novice Cook
Salt (sea salt preferred- I use Real Salt.)
Ground Black Pepper
All Purpose flour
Sugar
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Your choice of cake mixes-at least 2 in stock
Granulated Garlic
Onion Powder
Olive Oil
Canola Oil
Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Chili powder
Dried basil
Dried parsley
Canned tomatoes
Cream of chicken soup (4)
Cream of mushroom soup (4)
White Rice
Shortening
White vinegar
Apple cider vinegar
Light brown sugar
Cinnamon
Popcorn
Tomato sauce
Tomato paste
Macaroni
Your choice of pasta
Jar of your choice of marinara
Plain Bread crumbs
Italian bread crumbs
Chicken broth
Beef broth
Ketchup
Mayonnaise (Duke’s ONLY)
Yellow mustard
Eggs
Butter (always unsalted)
Baking potatoes
Cheddar cheese
Bacon
Sour cream


Average Cook
Anything on the previous list adding the following:
Dried mustard powder
Italian seasoning
Chicken Stock
Beef Stock
Brown Mustard
Dijon Mustard
Bragg’s Amino Acids (use as Worcestershire sauce)
Your choice of honey (I use Sage or Tupelo, but prefer Sage.)
Bag salad
Onions
Fresh garlic head
Chicken breasts
Fresh carrots
Broccoli Florets or Spears (can be fresh or frozen)
Ranch dressing mix
Beefy onion or onion soup mix


Experienced cook
Anything on the previous list adding the following:
Mushrooms,
Green pepper
Red pepper
Balsamic Vinegar
Chipotle peppers in a can of adobo sauce
Cilantro
Fresh Thyme
Fresh flat leaf parsley
Heavy cream
Half and half
Kosher salt
Peppercorns (to be freshly ground)
Cheesecloth
Parchment paper
Extra virgin olive oil
Pecans
Panko bread crumbs
Orange Juice
Cumin
Coriander
Dill
Teriyaki Sauce
Soy Sauce
Fresh Garlic
Red Wine Vinegar
Champagne Vinegar
Rice Wine Vinegar
Sesame Oil
White Wine Vinegar
Truffle Oil (if you can afford it; it’s very expensive)
Saffron (also very expensive)

Pantry Items

Guess what? Weather people are predicting more SNOW!!! Ugh!!!!!!!!!! I sure hope we don't get anymore. I have just had enough of it. I have a men's breakfast to cook Saturday morning. Going to make these guys, maybe 25-30, ham and cheese omelettes, hash browns, pepper gravy and biscuits and scalloped apples. I told you I would let you know about the Citrus Pan Grilled Chicken that I made on Wednesday night for our family dinner. My family LOVED it! I just bought a Calphalon Unison grill pan and wanted to create an entree that would use the pan. Just let me say that I think the pan is AWESOME! I will list the recipe for the chicken at the end of this blog. I have had a question submitted to me by several of you via the blog or email that I will be answering soon. I am working on the answer right now and will post it as soon as possible. Some of you have asked me what I keep in my pantry. So, I am comprising a list of pantry items for the novice cook, the average cook and the advanced cook. Watch the blog for this coming soon. Please tell your friends and family about my blog!


Citrus Pan Grilled Chicken
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, well trimmed
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
4 tbsp. fresh orange juic
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbslp. lime juice

Mix the olive oil and the remaining 8 ingredients in a bowl. Pour the marinade into plastic ziplock bags or into a roasting pan. Pour the marinade into the bags or pan. Marinate a minimum of 2 hours to a maximum of 4 hours. Heat the pan with a slight amount of olive oil. When the oil is hot add the chicken and grill them until brown and flip to brown the other side. Usually , it will take about 3- 5 minutes on each side. When done browning the chicken place it in a prheated 350 degree oven to finish it for about 20 minutes. It should come out very moist and delicious. Let me know what you think.