Chicken Spaghetti and Fresh Green Beans

Chicken spaghetti is a great stand by, stick to your ribs, everyone loves it food.  Totally simple to make and very inexpensive.  Here we go:
1 whole chicken, cut up
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups water (can just use 8 cups of water instead of combination of chicken stock and water)
4 or 5 ribs celery, chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbls herbs de provence
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
3/4 box whole wheat fettuccine noodles (can use regular noodles)

Saute onions, celery, carrots, and garlic until onions carmelize.  Add everything else except the noodles.  Boil on medium high until chicken comes off of the bone.  Take out chicken but leave the broth boiling - add the noodles to this broth and cook until al dente.  While that is cooking take the meat off the bone, dice and when the noodles reach the al dente stage, add in the chicken, cover and turn the heat off the burner.  Let sit about 20 minutes for the broth to absorb into the noodles.  Meanwhile, cook the green beans - just cover them with water, add a little diced onion, a turn of olive oil, salt and pepper and cook for about 20 minutes, drain and re-season if necessary.  Serve the chicken spaghetti with fresh basil.

Makes enough for about 8 people or 3 people with left overs.  Also, this is a really good dish to take for a covered dish supper as it travels well (not sloshy).  It's kid friendly and for those who are lactose intolerant, a great meal that does not miss the cheese.  You can top it with parmesan cheese if you have to have cheese - it will be a little saltier.

Let me know what you think :)

Veggie Tray

Ok, so who hasn't bought one of those pre-made trays at the grocery store?  It's a total crap shoot as to how fresh the vegetables are and if the dip is edible.  Making one on your own is MUCH better, cheaper, and guaranteed to impress.  Did I mention that it tastes better?  Plus, you can customize the veggies to what your family likes.  Starting with the cherry tomatoes (that were grown in my home garden!) going clockwise - 1 english cucumber sliced, baby carrots, celery sticks, marinated button mushrooms, pepper slices (red, orange, and yellow) and baby corn.  The dip is home made ranch dip - just sour cream, a ranch packet, and some extra dill to taste.

Remember, we eat with our eyes first then our mouths, so presentation does make a difference.  Showing up with this tray at any meal will have everyone loving veggies!

Rum-Lime Cocktail

One of my absolute favorite drinks in the summer is this rum/lime cocktail. 

Here is the recipe:

Use a 4oz glass...

1/2 glass good rum (such as Captain Morgan's Private Selection)

1/2 glass Perrier or other sparkling unsweetened water

2 lime slices

ice

Throw it all together and stir - ready to go.  If you want to make a pitcher of these just increase the quantities to fit the pitcher.

Excellent end to a Monday!

Savannah Seafood Gumbo

Savannah Seafood Gumbo is Paula Deen's dish that I modified to fit our family.  It takes a long time to make, but it's SOOOO worth the work.  I would also advise doing all the chopping and getting all the ingredients together before starting.  The original recipe can be found on foodnetwork.com - my modifications included using a full pound of lump crab meat, only 4 andouille sausage links rather than 8, and instead of the green peppers I use mixture of anaheim peppers and jalepenos.  I also cut the red pepper back to 1/4 tsp since I did add jalepenos.  The house seasoning was replaced with Cooper's BBQ seasoning (can be purchased at http://www.coopersbbq.com/) - no, its not a BBQ rub, but a salt/pepper/spices mixture that could actually make a shoe delicious.  I used olive oil rather than vegetable oil in the roux as well.

This makes a ton and can feed about 12 people.  Of course, being gumbo, rice is essential.  I love making this dish because of the rave reviews of the family.  It tastes better the second day as the flavors will come together nicely.  Let me know your thoughts if you make it!