Gooseberry Patch Cookbook Give Away

It's give-away time...

The folks at Gooseberry Patch gave me two copies of Slow Cookers, Casseroles & Skillets. One from which to cook and one to give away.

 But, before I get to some of this cookbook's highlights, I thought I'd share with you my cooking tip o' the day:  Did you know your pasta water won't get hot if you forget to turn on the burner?
Yeah. It's been that kind of day, thank you.
Now, I'm recovering...

Back to my real topic of interest:
Here's a look at some of the recipes I've made over the last couple of months...
(For your cooking convenience, I put a * by some new family favorites)

Lemon Chicken & Bows  

Greek Fish  

*Slow Cooker Mac N Cheese  

*Pulled Beef Sandwiches  

Honey Chicken & Carrots 

*Cranberry Pork Chops  

*Creamy Mushroom Chicken 

Country-Style Cheesy Potatoes

Speedy Salmon Sauce  

Penne Rosa  

I'll pick a winner on Sunday, Nov. 27 from entries up to that point.

Here's how to enter (be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry): 

1. Leave a comment about which GP recipe you want to try.
2. Become a fan of Real Farmwives of American & Friends on Facebook and write a comment on the wall.
3. Follow Real Farmwives of America & Friends on Google Friend Connect.
4. Follow Gooseberry Patch on Google Friend Connect.

I'll randomly pick a winner from comment entries left by next Saturday.

Pasta Recipe from Gooseberry Patch

I really should have taken more pictures this evening.
I was actually off of work today, so I had the luxury of doing quite a bit of cooking for dinner.
I made some baked herbed chicken breasts, salad and snicker doodle cookies.
(Cookies during the week?!? My family is livin' large, huh?)
I added this Penne Rosa recipe to the mix, which was the perfect side with chicken.
And, it was super simple!

Denise's Penne Rosa

Basic ingredients:  butter, heavy cream, can of tomatoes, basil and garlic.

Plus the penne pasta, which you should start cooking first, as this goes together quickly.

When draining the canned tomatoes, be sure to reserve a quarter of a cup of the juice.

After melting the butter, and sauteing the garlic for just a minute or two, 

add the tomatoes, reserved juice and basil.

Cook on high until boiling. Cook long enough to reduce the liquid.

Add the 2/3 cup of heavy cream, stirring.

Lower the heat and cook long enough to warm through.

Toss in the pasta and garnish with some grated Parmesan cheese.

Stay tuned. In a few days I'll be giving away a copy of Gooseberry Patch's "Slow Cookers, Skillets & Casseroles".

Gooseberry Patch Recipe: Salmon

Another Gooseberry Patch recipe from "Slow Cookers, Casseroles & Skillets".

Speedy Salmon Sauce

This was an easy recipe.

Just a few ingredients.

NOTE:  The recipe called for cream of asparagus soup.

I looked everywhere and could not find it--not even an empty spot on the shelf.

So, I am convinced it doesn't exist anymore. So, I subbed cream of mushroom.

I also subbed in Miracle Whip for the mayo in the recipe. (We're a MW family.)

I bought a box of these pastry shells. 

These have to be pre-baked.

Then you basically combine all the sauce ingredients and stir, heating through. 

This meal wasn't my all-time favorite. But it was pretty good.

It was different, so that was a good thing... mix it up a little.

Another GP Recipe: Greek Fish

So I'm getting a little behind in my Gooseberry Patch blogging.

I've cooked a few things from Slow Cookers, Casseroles and Skillets. 

Here's one I really like for several reasons:

A.  Fish is so quick to make--it bakes in less than 20 minutes!

B.  This is a nice change-up from our regular food. (The Husband is supposed to be eating more fish every week, but everybody seems to get bored with it at our house.) and

C.  Did I say it was quick and easy???

Here's Greek Tilapia with Orzo

(I really, really have to switch cameras when I'm shooting the cookbook page... they always come out so orange.)

Start with your basic ingredients...
1.5 lbs of tilapia
cherry tomatoes
8 oz orzo pasta (don't you love this stuff?)

Put the fish in a 9 by 13 baking dish.
Pour the juice of one lemon and the zest over the fish.

Sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon of oregano.

Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and spread in the pan with the fish.

Cover with foil and pop it in the oven at 400 degrees for 16-18 minutes--until the fish is flaky
(or, more technically 140 degrees, which wasn't listed in the cookbook, but we all know it--don't we?).

While it's in the oven, cook the orzo in boiling water for 8-10 minutes, then drain and fluff with a fork.

Then, serve up a pile of orzo with some of the juices from the fish pan and the fish over the top.

I really, really liked this meal (with a fruit salad and a broccoli salad on the side).

In fact, I annoyed my coworkers with the smell of microwaved left-over fish at lunch time. (Although, honestly, I don't think Tilapia smells nearly as much as salmon. So there.)

If you want to see more Gooseberry Patch recipes, click over to the Real Farmwives of America blog to see what some of the other ladies are cookin' up.

Perfect Job for a Carhartt

The weather turned a little nippy over the last week. Which made me appreciate my new Carhartt jacket even more.

I needed to get some firewood stacked and some of it stowed for a fall camping trip (if we can ever manage to get a free weekend!). So, with the temps hovering in the upper 40s/low 50s, I donned my new work coat to do something about some of what's left of that beastly tree The Husband has been battling since an ice storm took it down this winter.

When the folks at Carhartt offered an item from their online catalog's Women's line to The Real Farmwives of America, I was excited about this jacket, because it has a hood. My existing jacket what was I thinking when I bought it? doesn't have a hood--which I hate in really cold weather or when it starts raining. Because, sometimes, you can't manage an umbrella. So, that was the main attraction.

 Can I just tell you, I love this jacket.
I think the sizing runs a little big, but it's made from a great, heavy-duty fabric.

The zipper, which can open from the bottom or top, is protected with a double snap flap--a feature that will be great when it's seriously cold and windy.

I love the pockets--inside and out. The inside pockets are big enough to keep a bottle of water handy.

The funniest feature--or so I thought initially--is what my girls are now referring to as the "Ninja sleeves." The sleeves have Spandex cuffs that can be worn tight around your wrists.

Or you can pull them down to cover most of your hands like fingerless gloves. At first, I wasn't so sure about them. But, after using them with work gloves I think this is a totally cool feature. It keeps any cold air or crud from working it's way up your sleeves.

You can check out this jacket and other nice stuff at the Carhartt web site.
I have to say, you can't beat genuine Carhartt for quality. I own a knock-off jacket that was issued to me at work quite a few years ago. After one washing, literally, it looks like it's about 6 years old. (What can you say? Low bidder... you get what you pay for.) Anyway, after the staff complained, the acquisition folks didn't buy them any more!

So, if you'd like a chance to win a Carhartt of your own, please visit www.realfarmwivesofamerica.com to sign up for their giveaway. 

Carhartt did provide me with this product to review but the thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

Gooseberry Patch Recipe 1--And It "was actually good"

So this is my first recipe from the Gooseberry Patch's Slow Cookers, Casseroles & Skillets.
This is part of the Real Farmwives of America "In the Kitchen with Gooseberry Patch" project.
Over the next couple of months, I'll be blogging 10 recipes from this book, then giving away a copy.




Now, I know that's a rather pathetic-sounding title for this blog. But, I felt like I had to quote The Husband's review of the "Hannah's Lemon Chicken & Bows" I made last night.
Actually, his full review went something like this:
The Husband:  "This was actually good."
Me:  "What's that supposed to mean?"
The Husband:  "Well, some of the stuff you come up with isn't... (thinking carefully now)  so great. Kinda weird, sometimes."
Thanks...

Yeah, I'm not afraid to try new recipes all the time now and then to liven up the boring meals around here... And (sniff) they aren't always appreciated by my chicken nugget-eating family...
Let me tell you, I don't see anybody losing weight at my house, so my culinary creations can't be that bad.
But, I digress... Let's get back to the recipe:

Hannah's Lemon Chicken & Bows

Most of the ingredients are pretty basic items, except, maybe the lemon.

I started with some basic ingredient preparations, which means...

Get your daughter to start zesting a lemon, chopping onions and cutting the chicken.

Saute the onion and garlic in a skillet with the olive oil.

When they've cooked a few minutes, add the cubed chicken breasts.

Now is the time to start the water boiling for the bow tie pasta.

Next add the basil and half the lemon juice

Meanwhile, get the lemon sauce started by melting a stick of butter.

Then add the flour to thicken.

Keep stirring that chicken and the sauce.

(This is where the kids come in really handy!)

When the sauce is thick and bubbly, add the chicken stock and the rest of the lemon juice.

Keep stirring.

Finally, when the chicken is cooked, the pasta is done and the sauce is ready,

combine them all and serve. 

With a couple of family members who are sauce-averse, I don't usually combine

these types of dishes until I they are a proven favorite.

(Yes, we're that family that eats mashed potatoes without even thinking about gravy.)

Ultimately, the lemony sauce was very good (even The Husband said so!).

But, there was an awful lot for us. Next time, I would cut the sauce recipe in half.

(Actually, I'm going to try to freeze the remaining half, so this dish will be even easier to whip up next time!)

I served it up with a side of steamed broccoli, on-sale cherries and sliced plums.

This meal is definitely a do-over.

Thanks for the fine folks at Gooseberry Patch, who provided two copies of this cookbook to me. Stay tuned, because after a cook a few, I'll be giving one away!