Choice Morsels

Hubby always orders extra-onions on sandwiches or salads at fast-food places or restaurants and,one of his friends he often eats lunch with knows this, so on Hubby's birthday that friend celebrated his love for onions by giving him a gift bag full of assorted onion things: 3 kinds of fresh large onions (red, yellow, white); a package of pearl onions, a bag of green onions, a 2.8 oz can of French's Fried Onions, a box of Lipton onion soup mix and a bottle of dried minced onions plus a pack of Peppermint Tic-Tacs. Since, then I've been working on using all that up. So, that's how I came to try this  Crunchy Onion & Pepper Steak Topping since it calls for fried onions. I found the recipe on French's website. The topping is really goodand super simple---just sauteed fresh mushrooms, red bell pepper and a 2.8 oz can of French's Fried Onions! Just grill up a steak the way you like and top it with this quick  crunchy saute! You might want to add a ...

This dish is a bloggers recipe from Pinterest: Bacon, Cabbage & Noodles!  It's a easy, tasty and an excellent side dish! It's basically a style of Haluski, which is the Slavic/Polish name for this dish, though they don't usually use bacon, but the bacon adds extra flavor!   Just cook up some wide noodles, drain, fry up a little bacon, then saute everything else together in a skillet and done. (I use Real Bacon Bits instead of frying up bacon, because it's less messy, so you can do that as well.) I think if you wanted it to be a meal, just thin slice in your favorite style of Kielbasa and add at the same time as onions to skillet. (The photo is mine of my bacon, cabbage & noddles in my iron skillet.) Serves 4. Bacon, Cabbage & Noodles Ingredients About 2 cups uncooked Wide Egg Noodles (I used about half a bag) 1/4 teaspoon Paprika 1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder 1/4 teaspoon dried Oregano 1/4 teaspoon Salt 2 pinches of Black Peppe...

Today's recipe is something I make often for myself:  Cabbage Stir-fry.  I used "home" in the title because it's home-made. The beauty of stir-fry is it's like soup: you can add whatever you like that's on hand. It can be meatless or you can add meat. I often use sliced hot-dogs, but you can use anything you prefer. Cabbage is the bulk of the recipe. One quarter wedge is what I use for Hubby and myself. For just me, I use just half a quarter wedge.  A half wedge of cabbage with lots of other veggies mixed in should suffice for 4. For the rice, I like to use the Minute Rice single serving cups of Jasmine Rice. It's the perfect amount. The first photo is a veggie batch I made for myself for lunch and the next shot has some of my purple bush beans in the skillet with matchstick carrots. (They turn green when cooked.) This recipe as is for about two servings, though actual quantities are really up to you. Cabbage Home Stir-Fry Base...

I happened to have a can of coconut milk in the pantry, which is what inspired me to try this recipe for Miso Coconut Chicken Soup!  Not to mention I like Ramen in about anything. It's good. Rich and garlicky filled with rotisserie chicken meat, veggies and Ramen noodles. The recipe calls for green onions, onions, mushrooms and greens, such as spinach or really anything of your choice. You make the broth, add the veggies, then cook up some Ramen, drain the noodles, put about half in a bowl, then top it with the soup. Yum. Soups are always flexible. If you don't like onions or mushrooms, just make the basic coconut/miso/garlic/chicken broth and add what veggies you prefer: frozen peas, pea pods, spinach, broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash and so on.  This is a great recipe for leftover grilled meat, whether chicken, pork or steak--that's what makes it recipe "easy." The picture, here, is my bowl. I used leftover rotisserie chicken, baby Portabellas,...

Today's recipe is Pinterest slow cooker recipe for soup I tried around the end of March when weather was still cool. The recipe is "Slow Cooker Sausage Spinach & White Bean Soup." It's pretty good actually. Simple to make, but like all soups you can add or subject ingredients as you like! I don't use celery in recipes simply because I use two stalks for the recipe and the rest goes to waste in my frig. I had spinach in the garden, so that's what inspired me to try the recipe. Romaine or even finely sliced cabbage can be substituted for Spinach, use use your favorite color bean and add other vegetables you like. Using a spicy sausage or kielbasa does boost the over-all flavor of this soup! At the bottom I have some seasoning suggestions if you choose a non-spicy meat. (photos are mine) Slow Cooker Sausage Spinach & White Bean Soup Ingredients: 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 package (12.8 oz) smoked Andouille Sausage, thinly sliced...

I couldn't post this until today (Tuesday), because on Monday we were in the process of replacing our 18 year old router that finally gave up the ghost and quit. We ultimately had to have our friend, Hedrick come over and help us with it, since the first thing a guy at Walmart thought would do the job, didn't do the job and Hedrick, after he got off work, helped us get the right router for the job and get us back on the internet! though, by that time, it was 10 pm, so too late for posting anything. So, today's Good Eating recipe is Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bread. I actually made the recipe twice: once to find out the original recipe was too dry, then again to test my fix. Oatmeal is very absorbent, so a recipe has to have enough fluid in it to compensate so it comes out moist. The first try didn't and was so crumbly, it fairly fell apart when I tried to slice it. I added a little applesauce to the next try. That fixed the problem and made the bread moist and ...

Today's recipe is for Chicken Lombardy, something I first sampled at my Mother's assisted living facility when it was served for lunch. It was so delicious I decided I had to make it for myself!  It's named after the "Lombard" region of Northern Italy. It's a very easy dish to make and not many ingredients. It's thin cut, lightly breaded chicken breast with lots of mushrooms and gooey Mozzarella cheese. Yum! It's important to cook the ingredients in the order specified: mushrooms first, breaded chicken next, then heat the broth in the pan, so the breading bits will help thicken it. I used  thin sliced chicken breasts  for the recipe. I just used one package, because there are only two of us, but the recipe works for 2 packages of thin sliced chicken breast. I'm still experimenting with whether it works best using the slices individually or doubling them, since they range in size from large to small. I've kind of concluded to do the ...

Today's recipe is from a Taste of Home magazine featuring slow cooker recipes:   Slow-Cooked Sirloin. Delicious!  Sirloin steak is cooked in a richly seasoned broth-Worcestershire mix with bell peppers & onions for 4 hours on high, then just thicken broth into gravy and serve sliced over rice or mashed potatoes!   It's simple and easy.  I bought a tray of 2-sirloin steaks from the meat department, because I wanted enough for two meals for us, so we could each have half a steak, about 5, maybe 6 oz.  (I mean, really, who wants to eat just 3 oz of steak?) The double-pack was cheaper then buying them singly. They were each 4 inches by 8 inches--not super big. For a family of 4, I believe you'd need at least two steaks. (photo is my own plate from dinner ) Slow-Cooked Sirloin Ingredients 1 Beef top Sirloin Steak (or even two) 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 medium onion, cut into 1 inch chunks 1 medium green bell pepper, ...

I like trying Slow-Cooker sides, like these potatoes.  I also have a bunch of new pasta salad Pinterest pins to try over the next couple months, since we're starting to get into grilling weather. (I did get the oven clean, if you want to scroll down to the previous post) Today's Good Eating Recipe is Slow Cooker Garlicky Baby Potatoes! Unfortunately, I forgot to take my own photo, so I'm using the Pin photo, but they look exactly like this. I cutsome Kielbasa cut into chunks to throw in with the baby potatoes for a meal, but these garlicky potatoes would make a great side for any meal. The leftovers are also delicious mixed with scrambled egg and sauteed together to breakfast. (I had Kielbasa in mine and that was even yummier for brunch.) This recipe is a keeper. Slow Cooker Garlicky Baby Potatoes: Ingredients: 2 lbs baby potatoes (that's 1 pack of them) 1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano 1/2 teaspoon dried Dill 1/2 teaspoon dried Basil 2 teaspoons mi...

Today's recipe is a Pinterest recipe for a moist yummy Pineapple Coconut Quick Bread that I recently tried. This bread gets more flavorful over time, so I'd recommend baking it a couple days ahead of when you want to serve it and just wrap and store it in the refrigerator.  I also think it should have nuts. My friends who tried it agreed, so I added pecans to the recipe as an option, since pecan are a sweeter nut. (photo is my own) Pineapple Coconut Quick Bread Ingredients 1 stick butter (8 tablespoons or 1/2 cup, softened) 1 cup sugar 3 eggs 1 teaspoon almond extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 cup milk 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained (save 1/4 cup of the juice) 1 cup shredded or flaked coconut Optiona l: 1/2 cup Pecan pieces Glaze 2/3 cup powdered sugar 3 tablespoons pineapple juice 1 teaspoon almond extract (optional Whisk together and drizzle over cooled cake. Other Options Besides Gl...

Today's recipe is from the "Taste of Home" Magazine of skinny Slow Cooker recipes: Tangy Bean Soup with Cheesy Cornbread Dumplings I tried this last Friday and it's a very good warm chili-flavored bean soup topped with delicious little cheesy cornbread dumplings.  Having tried the recipe, I found the liquid ratio for making the dumplings needed adjustment, so I researched what was common in other recipes and corrected that here. I find it useful to saute onions til transparent with a little olive oil before adding them to the soup because it softens their flavor so it's not sharp. The photo is mine taken at lunch the next day, so the dumplings had absorbed all the broth.  Tangy Bean Soup w/ Cheesy Cornbread Dumplings Ingredients 2 (14 1/2 oz) cans of chicken broth  1 (16oz) package frozen mixed vegetables 1 (15oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained 1 (15oz) can pinto or kidney beans, rinsed and drained 1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, ...

Today's delicious recipe comes from the "Taste Of Home" Skinny Slow Cooker Magazine edition I picked up at the grocery. I was tired of so many recent Pinterest recipe fails (which I don't publish).  Taste of Home recipes are tested and more of a sure thing. So, today's I'm serving up Slow Cooker "Country French Pork with Prunes & Apples." This pork loin came out perfectly seasoned and so tender! It calls for " herbes de Provence ," which is a mix of summer herbs representing that region France. Lavender is a big ingredient in it among a dozen others.  It's unique and not one you can substitute for. I discovered I love it, though and use it in tuna salad and salmon salad or any meat or vegetable dish! McCormick makes it and I found it readily available where I shop. I didn't peel my apples and used instant chicken bouillon broth and it came out tasting fabulous.  It does take a 5 or 6 quart slow-cooker for this s...

Several recent Pinterest recipes I've tried were total wash outs, but this one for " Slow Cooker Bread Pudding ," was quite yummy. It makes a simple, yet fancy dessert. My guests gobbled it down and had seconds! No soaking is required. Just mix everything together, stir in bread cubes, then pour into slow cooker and cook! (Photo is my own of this bread pudding. I'm not much a food photographer, but I put effort into making this one look nice.)  Having tried it, I make the following recommendations. * Don't use a slow cooker liner. The dessert sticks to it, making it hard to dish out. * You'll need a total amount of 1 1/3 cups Heavy Cream . Make sure you get at least a 16 oz carton.  Anything smaller, won't be enough. *   I thought the original Glaze too sweet. It called for a full cup of sugar. So I consulted other Glaze recipes for Bread Pudding and found that   1/2 cup of sugar is enough for a good Glaze and so adjusted the Glaze re...

I don't have a recipe today, but I do have a funny story that's food related. We were driving through our small town last weekend, on our way to our Air Force Commissary and had to stop at a major intersection because the traffic light had turned red. Despite it being a small town, the roadway through it is six lanes; three going West and three going East.  (The road was widened to  ease tourist traffic prior to the construction of the by-pass.) Anyway, we were in the middle lane when we came to a stop at the light and there were a couple cars in the left lane beside us, but the right lane was clear of any traffic---until out of no where, a big black Cadillac suddenly zoomed past us, running the red light I sort of held my breath watching, because that's a risky thing to do, but, lucky, no one waiting to turn left had moved. About a block past the intersection is a Taco Bell and we stared in wonderment as that speeding Caddy abruptly turned into Taco Bell. ...

Today's recipe is "Eggnog Crumb Loaf" It's this month's new quick bread Pinterest recipe I tried. It's a good Christmas Holiday bread, because when else are you going to have Eggnog around? Actually, it was posted as a muffin recipe, but I just put it in a loaf pan because that was easier. So now it's a Quick Bread recipe here. This is a little baking trick to remember: You can turn any muffin recipe for 12 muffins into a loaf or any recipe for a single quick bread loaf into 12 muffins.  Baking time changes though: short for muffins; longer for a loaf. I think getting enough flavor in a Eggnog quick bread is a trick, because it depends more on the spices for flavor then the Eggnog. Just a bit of nutmeg isn't enough. This Eggnog Crumb Loaf recipe has cinnamon & nutmeg in the mix and in the crumb topping! So plenty of flavor! Having made it, I think it would benefit from having pecan pieces added to the mix. (photo is my Eggnog Cr...