Tag: #homemade

Posted in Cookbooks

The Complete Book of Smoothies: 115 Healthy Recipes to Nourish, Heal, and Energize

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Your complete guide to making simple, healthy smoothies

When you need a nutritious breakfast on the go or a midday snack, it doesn’t get any easier than a smoothie. This complete guide to creating smoothies offers more than 100 recipes packed with fresh flavors and nourishing ingredients. With helpful tips and tricks for making the most of your blends and nutritional information included with every recipe, you can add a nourishing routine into your daily life.

The Complete Book of Smoothies includes:

115 creative recipes—Sip on health-boosting blends, protein powerhouses, antioxidant-rich recipes, classic green smoothies, kid-friendly beverages, and drinkable desserts.

Prep and setup—Discover which smoothie staples to keep on hand, how to store ingredients to extend their shelf life, and how to swap for dietary needs or personal preference.

Smoothie anatomy—Learn how to build your smoothie from the base up, including pre-blending and layering ingredients for the perfect creamy texture.

Enjoy a fast, easy, and refreshing drink anytime with The Complete Book of Smoothies.

Posted in From My Kitchen

Outdoor Eats (Betty Crocker Cooking)

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Take the party outside with Betty Crocker!

Great get-togethers always start with good food. Now Betty Crocker gives you over twenty recipes to get the good times rolling—tasty appetizers, mini sandwiches, refreshing summer drinks, side dishes, salads, grilled food and delicious frozen treats. Whether you’re feeding your family or entertaining the entire block, these festive recipes are sure to please everyone.

For more great ideas visit bettycrocker.com

Rusty
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic cooking
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2016
Verified Purchase
The Caribbean chicken kabobs is fantastic and the summer herb steaks are out of this world. Thank you and enjoy your meal and enjoy your day.
One person found this helpful

Find more recipes like this on my companion blog, “Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let’s Eat!”

Posted in From My Kitchen

Blackberry-Peach Salad

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Packed with fresh fruits, cooling cucumber, and juicy tomatoes, this vibrant summer salad works as a colorful centerpiece to lunch or dinner, or as an accompaniment to fish or grilled meat. The combination of juicy peaches, tart blackberries, fresh herbs, and toasted walnuts piled over zesty honeyed ricotta packs an incredible punch. Read on for our best tips on how to make this salad.

Sweet & savory:
With the summertime sweetness of the fruit, savory notes are needed in this salad. Enter: juicy Castelvetrano olives, which lend a mild brininess, as well as the shavings of blue Stilton that are scattered on top of the salad before serving.

The dressing:
We love this salad on its own so much that there’s no real need for a fussy dressing. A generous drizzle of peppery olive oil and a big squeeze of lemon juice with some flaky salt is all that’s needed, but if desired, the addition of white balsamic vinegar would be lovely.

Substitutions:
The beauty of this salad lies in its versatility; you can change up many of the components with anything you love or want to use up. If you’re unable to get hold of fresh peaches, yellow mangos or nectarines work just as well. The Stilton can also be swapped for another blue cheese, feta, goat’s cheese, or cotija.

Serving:
The salad is best served fresh and at room temperature. Serve as is, or with some crusty bread to mop up any delicious leftover fruit juice and ricotta. It can also be piled up next to grilled chicken or lamb at a BBQ. Take out the cheese, and you have the perfect side to a beautiful piece of salmon or a seared tuna steak.

delish!

Find more recipes like this on my companion blog, “Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let’s Eat!”

Posted in From My Kitchen

Chicken and Dumplings

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Some recipes just remind you of traditional homestyle cooking. For me, chicken and dumplings is one of them. With juicy pieces of chicken, fresh vegetables and little clouds of dumpling dough, every spoonful of this soup takes me back to visits at my grandma’s house.

This classic version is, without a doubt, the best chicken and dumplings recipe. It’s chock-full of everything you want (and need) in a delicious homemade soup recipe and is made the old-fashioned way: low and slow. Busy weeknight? Opt for this quick  chicken and dumplings made with frozen biscuits. This recipe is for those slow, chilly weekends when you want something simmering away on the stovetop while you curl up in a blanket with your favorite book or movie.

What are chicken and dumplings?

Chicken and dumplings is a comforting chicken soup topped with uncooked dumplings that puff up as they cook in the simmering liquid. Depending on where you live, the chicken and dumpling soup base might be thin and brothy or have a thick, creamy consistency like gravy. The soup almost always contains chicken and vegetables, but the dumplings vary from fluffy, drop-style dumplings to thin, noodle-like or biscuity dumplings.

What are the different types of dumplings?

There are three main types of dumplings used in chicken and dumplings recipes:

  • Drop-style dumplings: These dumplings are made with a leavening agent like baking powder to help the dough puff up into soft, pillowy bites. The dough is scooped directly from the bowl and dropped onto the surface of the hot soup, where it steams to a somewhat spongey texture. This is the type of dumpling we use in this recipe.
  • Rolled dumplings: These dumplings are made with lard or shortening. The dough is rolled out and cut into strips or irregular pieces (as seen in Dolly Parton’s chicken and dumplings). They simmer in the soup, giving them a slight chew and the appearance of thick-cut noodles.
  • Biscuit-style dumplings: These dumplings are made with biscuit dough (like 2-ingredient biscuits or store-bought biscuits). The dough is rolled and cut into large or small biscuits, which steam like drop biscuits when placed onto the soup’s surface. Biscuit dumplings have more structure than drop dumplings, so they’re firmer and less airy.

Chicken and Dumplings Ingredients

  • Chicken: The best chicken and dumpling soup is made with whole chicken for a nice mix of white and dark meat. You can substitute bone-in chicken pieces, but we don’t recommend boneless chicken. The bones add a ton of flavor and ensure the chicken stays ultra-moist and juicy.
  • Flour: Dredging the chicken in flour helps it brown as it sears in the pan. Flour also thickens the soup while it simmers.
  • Chicken stock and heavy cream: This combination forms the flavorful base of chicken dumpling soup. The chicken stock is savory, and the cream adds richness and body. You can use your favorite store-bought brand of chicken stock or homemade chicken stock—your choice.
  • White wine: Wine adds depth to the soup. Choose a crisp white wine with nice acidity, like a pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc. To omit the wine, swap in apple cider instead (as we do in this apple cider chicken ‘n’ dumplings recipe).
  • Aromatics and seasonings: This easy chicken and dumpling soup uses a traditional mirepoix of carrots, celery and onions, plus a little garlic. Bay leaves and whole peppercorns season the broth, and fresh herbs like parsley and thyme finish the dish with a punch of color and freshness. Finally, sugar counters the acidity of the wine and balances the soup’s savory flavors.
  • Homemade drop dumplings: Like most recipes with drop dumplings, our dumpling dough consists of flour, baking powder, salt, melted butter and milk. The dough comes together in about a minute with very little mixing.

Taste of Home

Posted in From My Kitchen

52 Cheap & Easy Grilling Recipes That Won’t Break The Bank

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

When you think of planning a summer cookout, you might immediately think you’ll have to drop serious $$$. But we’re here to say that balling on a budget does not mean you have to skip out on any of the barbecues you plan or attend this season Hardly! With a few (quite delicious, might we add) swaps, you’ll have a full spread of barbecue sides, appetizers, and grilled favorites that more than deliver (without breaking the bank). Making a few of these 51 cheap & easy BBQ recipes might be the best budgeting has ever tasted, TBH.

Newsflash: Some of your favorite BBQ recipes are already pretty affordable! Pasta salads, potato salads, slaws, and pretty much everything with beans will not only save you a few bucks at the store, but also are always first to go at the cook-out. So do yourself a big favor and make a double batch of antipasto potato salad, Thai-style slaw, and Hawaiian macaroni salad. When in doubt, building a dish based around affordable summer produce (like watermelon, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini) will guarantee you won’t go too wild at the grocery store.

When it comes to grilling, there’s a ton of protein options that are budget-friendly, too. Chicken thighs and drumsticks, pork tenderloin, and grilled chuck roast are great cuts to consider for the carnivores on your invite list. And it’s just not a BBQ without hot dogs, so we love jazzing up regular franks with our Big Mac hot dog toppings. If you’re vegan or vegetarian, you probably know that going full meatless is the easiest way to eat well on a budget. Not gonna lie, we’ve even seen a few of our omnivore friends preferring our BBQ tempeh sandwiches and copycat Shake Shack shroom burger, so be sure to make a few extras!

Recipe here!