When...

When ... you are rather late in getting supper started and you discover that you are actually more like Old Mother Hubbard whose cupboards were bare. We had food, but for every recipe considered we were out of something. So dd17 and I came up with this concoction.


We boiled water and got some pasta cooking. We cut up 4 boneless chicken breasts and cooked it in a pan on the stove with a little olive oil. We put about 6C of the above pictured frozen vegetables in a large pyrex bowl and got them heating in the microwave. When the chicken was cooked, we added it to the vegetables along with 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, 2C sour cream, and 2C shredded cheddar cheese. Stirred. We returned it to the microwave to heat through (about 15 min). We drained the pasta and supper was ready!
Everyone loved it and said that we have to make it again. The leftovers today for lunch were scooped up quickly and those that had to eat something else complained. The term 'concoction' has now been replaced with a new 'recipe'!

I am so thankful that the Old Mother Hubbard affliction led to this invention. We have a hit!

Cravin' Chips

Due to food allergies, our daughter has created her own little recipe. When the craving strikes she can have a treat to nibble and chew on!

She thinly slices potatoes and lays them out a Pamered Chef clay baker. She then puts a drop of whipping cream with a syringe (washed up from a previous Amoxicillin prescription) on each chip. Then she sprinkles an assortment of spices on the chips. Baking at 350 for about 20 minutes produces an enjoyable, crunchy, healthy snack. Once again, necessity breeds creativity!

Like Mother, Like Son.

Our son, K, came to me with a glass in hand, "Here, Mom, taste this!" I did. It was good. He said, "I was thinking of vanilla coke and then I thought, 'I wonder what pina colada and coke would taste like'."

Want to indulge? Pour about 1/4" of pina colada mix in the bottom of your glass and then pour in your coke. Enjoy!

Chocolate Gingersnaps

I have created a recipe! With my daughter's allergies finding things for her to eat is quite the task. She loves this recipe from "Kids' Cake Mix Magic" (Publications International, Ltd.) but cannot eat it.

Chocolate Gingersnaps
¾ cup sugar
1 package (18 ¼ ounces) chocolate cake mix without pudding in the mix
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick spray pour sugar into shallow bowl.Combine cake mix and ginger in large bowl. Add eggs and oil; stir until well blended. Shape dough into 1 inch balls, using about 1 tablespoon dough for each cookie. Roll in sugar to coat. Bake 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Necessity breeds creativity!

Beccy's Chocolate Gingersnaps

Mix together:
9T cocoa
1 1/2C sugar
2C whole wheat flour
3/4t baking soda
3/4t salt
1 heaping T ground ginger
Then add:
1/2C oil
4 eggs.
Mix well. Roll into 1" balls, flatten slightly on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 350. Take out of oven and let cool for 2 minutes on cookie sheet.Then dip the top face of the cookie in white sugar in a shallow bowl or plate. Place on cooling rack to cool completely.

And the vote in our house, is that the newly invented recipe is better than the original. And it makes more too! You'll have to try it and see for yourself!

Mexican Dip

1 1/2 lb velveeta cheese, cubed
1 lb sharp cheddar, cubed
3 jalapeno peppers,chopped
1 can (28oz)delmonte stewed tomato
6 cloves of garlic
4 green onions,chopped fine

Layer cheese in a casserole. Pour other ingredients over. Bake at 250°F for 2 hours. It helps to chop the tomatoes a bit before mixing. This also freezes well. Serve with potato chips, naco or tortilla chips for dipping.