We Like Making Our Own Stuff

Since we have dipped our toes into raising and butchering our own chickens, there has been an abundance of leftover cooked chicken at our disposal.  And not wanting to literally dispose of the leftover chicken,  I have had to come up with some recipes to use it in. I have always loved the comforting taste of a rice casserole, so I checked the pantry to see what I had available to use with my leftover chicken, and the result was this casserole. I used my big cast iron pan to cook it in, since I can also use that pan in the oven--it saves on dishes.  Also, we had a handful of Cheez-Its sitting in the pantry, so that is what we opted to use for the topping. Chicken, Rice, and Broccoli Casserole 2 tablespoons butter 1 cup uncooked brown rice 2 cups chicken stock 2 to 3 cups cooked chicken, chopped 2 cups fresh broccoli, chopped 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream 1 10.5 ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup (about 1 1/4 cups) 1 1...

This is a fun dinner that the kids will love:  soup in a pumpkin!  I used beef wild rice soup to fill our pumpkin.  Other soups to try might include chicken and rice, navy bean, beef vegetable, or, of course, pumpkin soup. However, you don't have to limit yourself to soup.  I'm thinking casseroles, stews, or chili would cook up just fine in a pumpkin as well.  Any casserole that you would bake in a covered casserole dish should work fine in a pumpkin, though you will probably need to cook it longer than usual.  You also need a pumpkin large enough to hold your recipe--preferably a pie pumpkin (sugar pumpkin), but a regular pumpkin will work just fine too. Dinner in a Pumpkin Ingredients: 1 batch of your favorite soup, stew, or casserole, mixed and ready to be baked 1 large pumpkin 1.  Preheat over to 375 degrees F.  2.  Cut the top few inches of the pumpkin off.  Scoop out the pulp and seeds, being careful to leave the sh...

Whether you grow your own beans, or would just like to save money by buying dried beans, freezing cooked beans, legumes, and lentils is a great idea.  It is as convenient as having a can of beans in your pantry, only less expensive !  It's a bit more work to prepare, but the savings are worth it in my opinion. When I grow my own beans, such as black beans, I will allow the beans to stay on the plants in their pods until the pods have turned yellow and crumble easily.  I have learned the hard way not to wait too long to harvest the beans--if you leave them on the plant for too long, the pods will split open, and your precious beans will be on the ground.  Great if you want them to self-seed, but not so awesome if you were planning on storing them for food use! These black beans have a ways to go before they are ready to harvest . Purchasing Dried Beans If you are not growing your own beans, you can purchase dried beans from many sour...

I had a brilliant idea.  I was going to create my very own recipe from scratch for this blog.  It was going to be Soaked Multi-Grain Pumpkin-Cranberry Bread.  I was so excited... I was less excited when I tried to remove the bread from the pan, and it turned into a big pile of pumpkin bread crumbs.  So, it's back to the drawing board with that one!  But all is not lost, because I can simply re-purpose my pumpkin bread.  Hence, a recipe for Pumpkin Bread Stuffing! Put a new twist on stuffing this Thanksgiving by using pumpkin bread rather than the traditional plain bread cubes.  If you are a fan of cornbread stuffing, you are sure to like this version. Pumpkin Bread Stuffing Ingredients: 6 cups cubed pumpkin bread 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter 1/2 cup bacon grease or lard 1 cup chopped celery 2 cups diced red onion 2 cups sliced mushrooms 2 teaspoons dried rosemary or 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary 2 teaspoons dried tarragon or 2 Table...

I made up a recipe the other night to use up some leftovers.  I had cooked chicken from making chicken stock, leftover cooked rice from another meal, and some broccoli from the Farmer's Market.  So, I combined them in this Chinese-food inspired, stove-top casserole.  This is a one bowl meal, and it's delicious! Chinese Chicken Casserole Served my family of 4, with about a cup of leftovers. Ingredients: 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated ginger root 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 cloves pressed or minced garlic 2 cups shredded cooked chicken 5 tablespoons lard 2 cups chopped broccoli 2 shallots, minced 4 cups cooked brown rice, chilled 1/2 cup water 1.  Combine salt, sugar, ginger, cayenne, soy sauce, and garlic in a bowl; mix well. 2.  Add chicken; mix well and leave sit while preparing broccoli in Step 3. 3.  Heat 3 tablespoons of t...