Pizza Club Bites

Here is an awesome way to use up those leftover bits after making homemade pizza.

I have to confess that this is NOT a GEM creation, this is a Mr. Gem creation, he came up with it years ago and it is great for an appetizer or after school snack for the kids.

All you need are some Club crackers, leftover pizza (or spaghetti) sauce, shredded mozzarella, and pizza toppings.

Lay your club crackers out single file on a baking sheet.  Spoon a small amount of pizza/marinara sauce on each cracker.

Add a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella to each cracker

Pile your leftover toppings on to each cracker (I only had pepperoni this time)

And stick them under the broiler (toaster oven FTW!!) for 8-10 minutes.

All done!

Make sure to spray your pan with cooking spray or you might end up with a pan looking like this (after I forgot the spray!!)

If you are in the South then you already KNOW to serve this with Ranch dipping sauce; if you aren't from the South; try it!! I promise, your life will be better!!  Ranch goes with everything!!!

Origins...

If you've read my last several posts since I've started my blog again, you've probably come to realize just how much my life has changed.

I'm busy right now trying to compile pics and notes of everything we have done in the past few years but I thought it important enough to first give you a brief backstory/ disclaimer.

I helped my parents build this house in 1993.  I grew up in it, graduated high school while living here, got married in the living room in front of the Christmas tree here!

Then my husband and I set about building our own life.
In 2009, my grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.  It didn't take long for the family to realize that he couldn't live on his own anymore but we wanted to keep him in his native environment for as long as possible.

Right after Christmas my parents made the decision to move into my grandfathers home but they didn't want their house sitting empty.

Mr. Gem and I had owned our first home for a few years at that point and we had two little ones.

My parents knew that we were planning on selling our starter home and getting something bigger so they asked if we would consider living in their home so it wouldn't sit vacant.

Fast forward a few years and we've all come to realize how terrible that situation truly was.

My grandfather constantly treated my parents as guests who had overstayed their welcome; he never realized they were living with him.  If they would have moved him to their home, I'm fairly certain the results would have been just as bad, if not worse.

We ALL realized that we would never want to go through that again if given the choice.

So, a decision was made; I would buy my childhood home from my parents (they didn't need so much space anymore as empty nesters) and build a mother in law quarters on the property for them.

That way we would be close, I could care for them and when the time comes that they need daily/constant care, it won't seem out of place to them for me to be there all the time.

There was just one problem with this.  My mother and I have almost polar opposite tastes.

She likes light woods, I like dark.  She likes to have tchotkes everywhere and I prefer a minimalist look.  She likes a country rustic look, I like more sleek and modern.

The biggest issue by far though was her kitchen.  The kitchen I grew up in.  Even as a teenager (who loved cooking) I HATED that kitchen.

I hated the way it looked, I hated the way it was laid out, I basically hated everything about it.

Since we were going to be building a new living space for her and my dad and she loved her kitchen, it only made sense to take her kitchen out, use it in her new space and spend the money we would have spent constructing a new kitchen for the MIL quarters to get the kitchen I want.

So started the cataclysm which resulted in not just a kitchen remodel but truly, a whole house remodel!

My own mother now says that this house looks nothing like "her" house (the original one built) because we have changed it so much.

Stay tuned for the reveal....

Dining Room

My amazing mother in law decided that, after spending two years remodeling our entire house, we couldn't just bring our old table and chairs back in, so as an early Christmas present, she bought us a new dining set.

Of course now that I have a new dining room and a new dining room set, I need new table decorations.  Hubby and I went shopping today and got the new fall decor for the table.

The milk glass pedestal bowl in the center is actually a piece I have had my eye on for two years at a local antique mall.

I told Mr. Gem that I'm lucky others don't have the same taste for vintage things as I do because this is the second time I've seen something, checked on it every time I'm there, and then bought it a year or two later.

Seriously though!!!  Isn't this an awesome bowl?!?!

A perfect end to a great birthday week.  

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

My birthday was a few days ago and I got a craving for these.

I came up with this recipe a few years ago.  I'll warn you, it's hard to stop eating and you WILL want to lick the pan clean!!

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

1 pound chicken breast

1 medium sweet onion

1 bell pepper

2 cloves garlic

3 Tb olive oil

2 Tb butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1-4 oz can green chilies

1 cup shredded Colby jack

8 flour tortillas

Heat up olive oil in a skillet and add chicken. Mince garlic over chicken. As chicken is cooking, chop up onion and bell pepper and add to the oil. Stirring and tossing until cooked. Remove chicken and chop or shred then return to pan and remove from heat.

In a small saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour (making a roux). Add chicken broth and stir constantly until it is boiling, boil for one minute and remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and green chilies.

Now time to assemble! Preheat oven to 350°F

Spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray. Take a flour tortilla, add some chicken mixture and shredded cheese and roll up. Place seam down in pan. When they are all rolled, pour your sour cream sauce over the top and sprinkle any remaining shredded cheese over it.

Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes.

Stick to your ribs delicious!!!

The effect of children...

Anyone who is older than I am and has already experienced parenthood is probably well aware of the profound effect your children can have on you.

Your parents, friends, spouse, etc could want you to make a life change (eat healthier, get in shape, quit smoking, less drinking, etc) and you listen with one ear.

Your child comes to you and says something and man; it REALLY makes you evaluate things.

What kind of example do you want to be?  They look up to you and look to you to be their guide and first clue as to how to act, behave, simply BE in this crazy world we call home.

When you become truly and profoundly aware of just how much your child looks to you as an example, you realize just how much you want to be THAT example for them.

Happy Fall Ya'll!!!

Yes, I was born and raised in Texas, no, I do not ever talk like that.
I used it as my title because temps have dropped and we finally have fall weather here so I decorated today, including hanging up this towel my mother made for me.

The last time I decorated for fall was in 2012.  We started our remodel in 2013 and I haven't decorated since then.  One thing we did in our remodel was to paint all the oak trim and mantle a glossy white.
Here is my newly painted mantle, decorated for fall.

I am getting a new dining set so I don't have my table decorated yet because I don't have my table!

After decorating, it was time to make some soup.

This is a recipe I came up with a few years ago and it is quite hearty.

First, you need to carmelize an onion or two.  I had small onions so I used two.

Heat up a skillet on medium low and add butter and oil.

While that is melting, take your onion/s and coarsely chop them.

When your oil/butter mixture starts foaming like this

Add your onions.

If you see immediate browning like this

Your heat is too high.

Turn it down and stir/toss the onions until they are separated and each piece is fully coated in the mixture.

Keep the onions at this temp, stirring occasionally.  Much like brisket, the key to carmelized onions is low and slow.

While they are cooking, go ahead and get out some russet potatoes and peel them.

Cut them up into small chunks and put them in a large stock pot.

Let's go check on those onions shall we?

It's been about 20 minutes and they have a nice color going, but the best way to check carmelized onions is by tasting them.

Feel free to grab a small piece and put it aside to cool for a minute before tasting.

Hmm, not bad, but I think they need a little more time.  Six minutes later...

Ahhh, perfect!!!  They are ready to use!  You weren't thinking of scooping them out were you?  No, of course not, because you KNOW you should always deglaze the pan and get all the tasty browned bits right?

Since we are using these onions in a soup which will need thickening, we are going to first make a roux.  Add a bit of flour to your onions...

Stir and toss until your onions and the pan are coated in a thick floury paste.

NOW we are going to deglaze the pan.  I used about a half cup of beef broth here.

Now we are going to take this tasty mixture from heaven and add it to our waiting potatoes.  Add chicken broth...

And your seasonings and cook over medium heat until your potatoes are soft.

Remove about half of your potatoes and mash them.

Return them to the pan.  Add half and half and stir over low heat until heated through.

Dish out and enjoy!!

French Potato Soup

1 large sweet onion

1 Tb butter

1 Tb vegetable oil

2 Tb flour

1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 cup beef broth

4 cups chicken broth

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1.5 tsp paprika

1.5 tsp garlic powder

1 cup half & half

Carmelize onion.  Add flour to onions and toss until well coated.  Use beef broth to deglaze pan.  Add onions to large stockpot with cubed potatoes.  Add chicken broth and spices and cook over medium heat until potatoes are done.  Remove half of potatoes and mash them.  Return to pot and stir in half and half.

Serve alone or with cheddar cheese, sour cream and French fried onions as garnish.

Doesn't that look delicious?

I should note that I never actually measure my ingredients when cooking, all measurements given are an approximate.  

Experiment!!  Enjoy cooking!!  Cook with your nose!!  Does it smell like something you want to eat?  If it doesn't, add other things or take away things you don't like!  Make it YOUR recipe!