Pesto Cream Sauce

Don't forget to enter our giveaway here...

We love pesto in our family. The kids even love it. There is nothing better then a creamy pesto sauce...and it goes perfect with gnocci (which we will be posting the recipe for that on Thursday). It also works with any other pasta as well...and it is super easy! 

Start by making the regular pesto sauce.

2 cups basil

2 cups Parmesan cheese

1 medium garlic clove

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

1 1/2 -2 cups of olive oil

Mix all the dry ingredients in a food processor until finely chopped. Mix in the olive oil while blending on high speed until completely Incorporated and the consistency you like.

Then for the cream portion.

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup parmesan cheese

Pesto

Melt the butter, and then add flour. Once the roux is created, add the cream. Stir until warm. Add cheese. Once the parmesan cheese is all melted, add the pesto. Stir  and keep warm until ready to add to pasta.  

 

Italian Ham and Asparagus

Don't forget to enter the giveaway here...

A year ago we had the privilege of eating at a palace in Rome.  It belonged to one of the last princes left from the original Roman royal family.  The evening was fantastic.  The ball room was gorgeous but the food was the best part. We got home and had to try this appetizer.  Salty mortadella, sweet asparagus, it is so simple and so elegant, yet so delicious.

Ingredients:

1 bundle of fresh asparagus
6-8 slices of Mortadella, or Capicola (prosciutto will as well)

In a large pot, boil water with a good amount of salt.  Take the asparagus and snap off the ends.  (hint; if you just lightly bend them they will snap at the tough stuff you don't want to eat) Boil the asparagus for a couple of minutes until tender, and immediatley put them into an ice bath.  This will keep the green color.  Wrap the asparagus in the ham, and cut into 1 inch pieces.  It's that simple.  Buon appetito. 

Karen's Cookies-Review, Recipe and Giveaway

We are going to start our weekends by doing product reviews...and a giveaway here or there. So if you have a product that you think is awesome and would like to participate, or if you know of a product that my readers would like...email us at cucinafamiglia@gmail.com and let us know! We are going to be giving our honest opinions of the products and unbiased opinions of the products we review.

This weeks review is from Karen's Cookies . Her website has some great recipes and really great products. She has the best kits-that have EVERYTHING you need to decorate the perfect sugar cookie. Her cookie cutters are really unique and I think you would just love them! Just think-the Olympics are starting this week, and your kids would have fun decorating with these Olympic Rings... 
Or the perfect way to learn your ABC's with these...



Karen at Karen's Cookies  was kind enough to send us this Valentine Hearts Cookie Decorating Kit.



The frosting dye colors are the perfect red and pink...the colors you think of when you think of Valentine's Day. And the meringue powder is really unique for  the frosting-and there is plenty of the powder for more than one batch of cookies. The product seem super professional, but yet perfect for even my 4 and 6 year old to help decorate the cookies. I do love that I can make fancy looking cookies with the step by step tutorials.
These are the recipes I followed from her website to make the cookies.
The Basic Rolled Sugar Cookie Recipe
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup superfine sugar, or granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract or emulsion, optional
2 1/2 cups flour
Cream butter, sugar and salt until fluffy. Then add yolk. Beat well. Then add egg, vanilla and optional almond extract until all incorporated. Finally add flour. Refrigerate for at least an hour-and up to 2 days. Roll out dough, cut into shapes, and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for approximately 10 minutes.
Meringue Powder Buttercream
1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons powder
1/2 cup shortening
4 1/2 cups powder sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Place half of the powdered sugar and the meringue powder in the bowl of an electric mixer. Whisk together well. Turn on mixer  and slowly stream in the water. Mix until incorporated. Turn mixer to high speed and whip until stiff peaks form. Add flavorings and mix well. Add remaining powdered sugar and shortening and whip for about 2-3 minutes.


As for the giveaway...Karen will be providing a gift certificate for one lucky winner to use on something fun from her site. The giveaway will end on 2/12 at midnight, the winner will be chosen through random.org on 2/13 when we announce our new review and giveaway!

Good luck!
2 possible entries
1. head over to Karen's Cookies and tell me your favorite item.
2. become a follower of OUR FAMILY TREAT 

White Bread

There is just something about homemade bread that makes me smile. And I  just love my Momma's white bread recipe. It is super simple, doesn't require a lot of effort, and tastes awesome! Her original recipe makes SIX loaves...which really, I don't need, so I just cut the recipe in half. This is perfect to make when you are having soup...or any day really! 

2 cups milk-1 hot and 1 cold

1/4 cup shortening

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup warm water

2 tablespoons yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

10 cups flour-maybe a little more or a little less 

In a seperate bowl add yeast, sugar and water and let rise. Warm one cup milk in the microwave. Then add shortening to the milk and stir until mostly dissolved. Then in your mixing bowl add that milk, and the cold milk, sugar and salt. Mix, and then add yeast once risen. Then slowly add flour-a cup at a time. Keep adding until dough is no no longer sticky. Let dough rise for about an hour. Then in greased bread pans add your dough-I had three bread pans. Let rise for another 1 1/2 hours to two hours. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly brown. Remove, spread a little butter on the top and enjoy!

Crock Pot Pork Spare Ribs

Spare ribs are one of the easiest things to make in the crockpot. They remind me actually of when I first got married, I was new to cooking for someone all the time...and I would make these-or something similar for dinner often. Back in those days, I am pretty sure we ate the same meals every other week! Hopefully now I make a little more variety, but I still love these spare ribs! 

3 pounds boneless spare ribs

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 bottle of your favorite bbq sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons dried mustard

Put your ribs in the crockpot. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
Tip: I always put a little water in by bbq sauce bottle once I have dumped the bbq sauce in. Then I shake it up just so I can get as much of the sauce out of the bottle!

Cheap Chow Mein

Ok, this is an experiment of something I used to do in college.  Call it gourmet top ramen! It's easy, it's cheap, and most of all, it's delicious.

Ingredients

2 packages of the chicken flavored top ramen
1 cup each of your favorite stir fry vegetables chopped
     We used, Cabbage, Broccoli, Carrots and snap peas
1 tblsp corn starch
2 tblsp soy sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tblsp of vegetable oil
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stalk
1/2 package of Ramen flavoring


First off, get a large pot of water boiling. In a wok or frying pan, fry up the vegetables until they begin to soften.  Put the noodles in the boiling water for about 2 minutes only.  Remove and add to the vegetables and fry until they begin to brown.  Add the rest of the dry ingredients and the stalk and let cook until the sauce is thick.  Believe it or not, that is it.  Serve it with a little bit of sriracha on top for heat. It goes great with our sesame chicken.

I knew I learned something while in college for 8 years.  "Alot of people go to college for 8 years... they're called doctors!"

 

Sesame Chicken

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   When we were first married we frequented a Chinese restaurant and always ordered the sesame chicken.  Almost 8 years later we gave it a try, and it was fantastic.  The sweet and savory chicken can be done with chicken breasts, wings, drumsticks or however your little heart desires.... speaking of hearts, it probably works on chicken hearts as well :). 

Ingredients:

Chicken of your choice (We used drumsticks)

2 tblsp corn starch

1 cup flour

1 tsp salt and pepper

1 egg beaten

2 tblsp water

2 tblsp butter or margarine

2 tsps honey

1/2 teaspoon garlic chili paste

1 tblsp soy sauce

1 1/2 cups chicken stalk

2 tblsp sesame seed toasted

First beat the egg and add in the water in a shalow bowl.  Roll chicken in the egg and water  mixture.  In a plastic sealable freezer bag mix the flour, salt and pepper, and 1 tblsp of the corn starch.  Put the wet chicken into the bag and shake until chicken is coated.  In a large skillet on med-high heat, melt the butter, and fry the chicken on each side until golden brown.  Place chicken off to the side.  To the pan add the chicken stalk, chili paste, soy sauce, honey and corn starch. (Hint: in order to prevent clumping of the corn starch, mix it in the stalk cold, before adding to heat).  Stir often until begins to thicken.  Reduce heat and add the chicken back in.  Cook until the sauce is about the consistency of the honey and begins to coat the chicken. Sprinkle in the sesame seeds over the chicken.

Serve, and enjoy.  Goes well with fried rice, chow mein, or just plain. Key is to enjoy!  

     

Our New Sponsor...Burlap+blue

Burlap+blue is an etsy shop specializing in vintage-inspired goods for your home and family. Among the items available are handmade, upcycled dessert pedestals, coaster sets, and custom matching games. The creator, Linda, also has a shelter and craft blog of the same name-http://www.burlapandblue.blogspot.com/.


Seriously, Burlap+blue is one of my favorite spots on Etsy. Linda has some of the most beautiful dessert pedestals I have ever seen. They are absolutely perfect for entertaining, a baby or wedding shower (or wedding gift-I am thinking my sister needs one since she is newly engaged!!) or just for sitting out on your counter with some fruit on it. I can't decide which one I want to purchase for myself! Go take a look at her Etsy site, and I am sure that you will find something you love!

Thai Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce

I love lettuce wraps. I think they taste so fresh and delish. I always love getting them at restaurants, but I always thought they seemed so complex to actually make at home. My friend Rose gave me this seriously AWESOME recipe. It was so easy and fun to make. My kids loved putting these together and thought it was fun make a little bit of a mess. You will LOVE this recipe!   Keep in mind though that the Thai Chili Paste, makes it hot and spicy, so depending on your taste buds, and as much or as little as you would like. 

2 cups cooked rice

3 chicken breasts-finely chopped

1/2 onion-chopped

1 cup shredded cabbage

1 cup shredded carrots

1 tablespoon ginger

2 cloves garlic-minced

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon Thai Chili paste

1 head iceberg lettuce

Cook rice as directed on package. Saute onion in olive oil until soft. Add chicken until no longer pink. Add the carrots, cabbage, ginger and garlic. Add soy sauce and Thai chili paste. 

Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons soy sauce

4 garlic cloves-minced

1/3 cup and 2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup oil

2 teaspoons Thai Chili paste

Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Whisk until smooth.  

To assemble wraps, start with lettuce cup, then add rice, top with  chicken mixture and a little sauce. Enjoy! 

Spinach and Feta Turkey Burgers

We love to eat burgers without a bun...as long as there is enough flavor in the burger!  My friend told me awhile ago she had made the best turkey burgers with feta in them. I knew then that we had to come up with our own! These were so perfect, my six year old wanted seconds! 

1 pound ground turkey
4 oz crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach
2 garlic cloves-minced
1 egg
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper

Chop up the tomatoes and spinach. Mix all ingredients together and make your patties. Grill on an indoor grill-George Forman or grill pan, or on the grill outside. Yum!  

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

A lot of times when I think of what to post, I think about when I first got married. I didn't know what to cook or how to make certain foods. I adore my sister, but she doesn't really know how to cook at all! And I think that soon she will be getting married and will have no idea how to make this. These potatoes are a perfect side dish and alternative to the regular old mashed potatoes.

9 red potatoes-washed and partially skinned

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup butter

2 tablespoons parsley flakes

2 garlic cloves-minced

salt and pepper

Partially skin your potatoes and place in water-make sure to add about 2 tablespoons of salt to the water. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes become soft when poked with a fork. Drain water and add sour cream, butter, parsley flakes, garlic and salt and pepper. Mash and serve.

Milky Way Cake

This easy recipe comes from Brooks' Granny in Florida. She is such an amazing cook, and I always look forward to our trips to Florida because her cooking. I need to get some of her cooking tips, because everything is always delicious, though really not healthy.

This cake is super moist and flavorful. It is served warm with a scoop of Home Made Blue Bell Vanilla Ice Cream (or if you are not in the South and can't find Blue Bell, any vanilla ice cream will do!)
Tip: make sure that you temper the eggs, or the cake will fall. 

1 box Butter Flavored Cake Mix

2/3 cup Water

3 Eggs

6 Milky Way bars (2.6 oz size or equal to approximately 15 oz total)

1 cube butter

Melt the Milky Way bars and butter together. Make sure to remove after about a minute and stir. It might take another minute or two to get all the chocolate and butter to incorporate. Set aside.

Mix together cake, water and eggs. SLOWLY, while mixing add the butter, Milky Way mixture into the cake batter. Only mix a little at a time so the eggs don't scramble. Once mixed well. Pour into a lightly greased bundt cake pan. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.  

Tonno Rossa (Tuna Pink Sauce)

When in the city of Ascoli Piceno there was a surfer kid who served this to me for the first time.  I have added a few things to perfect it. Satley, this is for you buddy.

This is a good pasta dish that is easy, and very tasty.  Trick is, it only takes about as long to make as it takes to boil water and your pasta.  

Ingredients:

1 5oz can of Tuna

1 12 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes (pour into a bowl, and your hands to squish them up, it's fun!)

1/2 cup cream

1 tblsp capers

1 clove garlic chopped

1 tblsp olive oil

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1 box of penne pasta 

Start your water boiling (don't forget to salt the water, in fact it was in Ascoli that I learned both to salt the water, and that I didn't speak Italian as well as I thought. Ask me sometime that's a funny story).  In a saucepan, start the oil on medium heat.  Brown the garlic and the red pepper, being sure not to burn it.  Add the capers and tuna and simmer for about 2 minutes. When your water begins to boil add the pasta. To your sauce, add the tomatoes and cream.  Let cook on low heat for 8-10 minutes.  Take the pasta out of the water about 2 minutes shy of the suggested cook-time strain, then add to the saucepan with the sauce for the remaining 2 minutes.  (Hint: if the sauce looks to have fully or mostly absorbed into the pasta, you can add a ladle or two of the starchy pasta water into the sauce)

Serve it with some grated parmeggiano and eat up.  Buon Appetito, ci vorebbe!       

Vegetable Tortellini Soup

I just love soup. It is perfect on a cold day. It is perfect when you don't feel good. It is a perfect way to sneak in vegetables for your kids, and this one is loaded with veggies. My mom cooks this in a crock pot, which is a fabulous idea, though on the day I made this, I didn't. So just do whatever is easiest for you, but remember, to not add the pasta until you only have about 10 minutes of time left or the tortellini will be over done.    

1 pound Italian Sausage
1 cup onion-chopped
2 garlic cloves- minced
1 cup carrots-diced
1 cup zucchini-diced
1 green pepper- chopped
3 13 oz cans beef broth
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup dry red wine (optional)
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon parsley flakes

Brown sausage. Set aside and cook saute onions and garlic, until translucent. Then add broth, red wine, tomatoes, carrots, and spices. I used a potato masher and mashed the whole tomatoes a little bit. Stir and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Then add pepper and zucchini.  Cover and let simmer for another 20 minutes. Add tortellini for the last 10 minutes of simmering. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.      

Honey and Dijon Mustard Pork Tenderloin

Because I don't eat a lot of red meat, I always just resort to chicken. I forget that there is another white meat out there! This is one of those recipes that you put in the crock pot and forget about it. I love recipes like this...especially on a busy day. The pork came out absolutely perfect, and was so juicy. Loved it! 
Tip: If you don't use a crock pot liner, then just spray a little cooking spray on the pot to help with clean up.

1 pound pork tenderloin
2 garlic cloves-minced
4 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper


Sprinkle salt and pepper all over your pork tenderloin. Place in your crock pot. Mix together garlic, thyme, vinegar, honey and dijon mustard. Then pour over  meat. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Mine took only 6. Enjoy!

"Better Than Chili's Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie"

Remember my favorite blog, "Or So She Says?" Well I got this recipe from there. We never go to Chili's (do you see a trend here-we don't go to too many restaurants), it is a little over priced, the food is generic, and you can make just as good of food at home.   However, they have some seriously awesome desserts.  So, when I saw this recipe on my favorite blog, I had to give it a try. The only thing that made me sad was I didn't have any caramel. So use your imagination with the picture and picture it with caramel on top...and make sure when you go to make this, you have caramel!

1 1/2 cup melted butter
3 cups brown sugar
 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups flour
2 cups chopped walnuts - I only used 1 cup because my family doesn't love nuts
2 cups mini milk chocolate chips

Combine sugar and melted butter. Then add eggs and vanilla, mix well. Then add flour and baking powder. Once it is all incorporated, add nuts and chocolate chips. Spread onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 325 for approximately 40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm with ice cream and caramel sauce. Enjoy!

Pasta e Fagioli

So whenever I go to the Olive Garden (which isn't much any more-remember, my husband isn't a fan?!?), I have to get this soup. I absolutely LOVE this soup. The day I made this, I put the pasta in, thinking Brooks would be home in about 10 minutes...little did I know that it would be 25 minutes before he got home, so the pasta absorbed all the sauce. Sad...that is my favorite part! So just imagine that this soup has a little more liquid. Enjoy!


1 pound hamburger
1 onion-diced
2 celery stalks-chopped
2 garlic cloves-minced
1 cup of carrots (I always just have the baby carrots on hand)-slice them into thin strips
2 14.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes
1 15 ounce can of tomato sauce
1 15 ounce can kidney beans
1 15 ounce can great norther beans
2 cups of V-8 juice
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 pound of ditali pasta

Brown the hamburger, then drain. Saute with hamburger onion, carrots, celery, and garlic for about 10 minutes. Then add tomatoes, V-8, vinegar, and beans (in their juices). Let simmer for about an hour. In a seperate pot cook the pasta for only about 5 minutes-until still crunchy. Then add to the soup. It will cook the rest of the way in the soup-only about 10 minutes is needed. Serve and enjoy!

New Winner

Sad day for Jess...she never emailed me to claim her super awesome apron from Carolyn's Kitchen...so I had to pick a new winner. The new winner, chosen by random.org is....

Ally Cox

Will you please, pretty please, email me at cucinafamiglia@gmail.com  so that I can have your apron sent to you??

Cornbread and Honey Butter

This is a staple with beans and rice or any southern dish for that matter.  This recipe is really good, and very quick

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of Cornmeal

1 1/4 cups of flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup of milk

1 egg

1/4 cup of drippings (use the sausage drippings if you are making the beans and rice)

        *substitute vegetable oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt if no drippings*

Honey-butter:

2 tblsp softened butter

2 tblsp of honey

2 tsp cinnamon

(stir them all together)

In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients, and make a well.  Mix in the egg (pre-beaten) and the milk and drippings. Stir until the whole mixture is wet.  Put into a small, greased, bread pan. (round or square).  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes. You can check it to see if it is done, by putting in a toothpick and seeing if it comes out dry. Serve Hot! (HINT: You can put almost anything in cornbread and it works, bacon, cheese, jalapeno's.  Give it a try!)

Top the bread with the honey-butter and eat up.

Beans and Rice

Ok, don't judge the taste of this dish by the picture. How do you make beans, sausage and rice look appetizing?  Every time we head to Florida, my MIL makes us this. Being a Utah girl, and living in my bubble, I had never heard of this dish, until 7 years ago when I made my first trip to Florida to visit my in-laws. I was converted. This is so yummy, and so filling, not to mention, beans are so good for you. If you have beans in your food storage, this is a perfect meal to make!

I wasn't paying much attention when I opened my bag of beans, and I accidently poured black beans into my water, instead of red beans, but this still tasted great.

1 2 pound bag of dried beans-black or red
water
Keilbasa sausage
Breakfast sausage
1 tablespoon Cajun Seasoning
1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 tablespoon Minced Onions
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Pepper

What you will want to do is soak your beans in about 6 cups of water, for 6-12 hours. The longer the better. We try to do ours overnight.
Brown up your breakfast sausage, then drain. Slice up your keilbasa sausage. Rinse and drain your soaked beans. Then dump into your crockpot the beans and sausages. Add about  4 cups of water, and then all of your seasonings. Mix together and cook on low for 4-6 hours. As you are cooking your beans, if you notice that the beans are getting dry, add a little more water. Serve with rice, and a little hot sauce (if you like) and enjoy!

Winners

Ok everyone...today is the big drawing! Thanks for all that have entered both the Carolyn's Kitchen Giveaway and The Ciao Bella Boutique Giveaway!

The winner of the super cute apron from Carolyn's Kitchen is....

Jess

And the winner of the ring and clip from my etsy shop is...

Alisha and Braeden 


Please email me at cucinafamiglia@gmail.com to claim your prize (I will need your name and address). You will have 48 hours to email me, or I will have to pick a new winner!!

Chocolate Chip Vanilla Pudding Cookies

Don't forget, only two more days to enter our giveaway-here and here!

I have heard so many people talk about how good cookies are with vanilla pudding in them. I have never even seen a recipe that calls for pudding, so I thought it was a little strange, but I am always up for trying something new, especially because I LOVE cookies. It is my weakness. Though, I am weird, and I only like to eat them when they are right out of the oven. I love warm gooeyness, and the melted chocolate chips. Yum...so I searched the internet for a recipe, and there were 100's on http://allrecipes.com/ So I picked one and tried it out. They were pretty darn good and you could for sure taste that there was something different about these cookies!!

1 cup butter (the unsalted kind), softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 (3.5 ounce) box of instant vanilla pudding mix
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 cups flour
Semi-sweet chocolate chips (as much as you prefer)

Cream together the butter and the sugars. Then add pudding mix, eggs and vanilla. Once all combined, add the baking soda and flour. Mix well. Then add chocolate chips. Make sure to grease your baking sheets and bake at 375 for 11-12 minutes.  

Cream Cheese Vegetable Soup

Don't forget to enter our contests---here and here.

Last week I was sick-ya know the kind where your don't eat for a few days. Finally I was feeling up to eating. I wanted something creamy and warm. Something to make me feel better. I had been starving for days, and I didn't want the typical chicken noodle soup (ya know it is supposed to help you feel better-but I wasn't into that). So because cream cheese was on sale last month at the store, I had a ton of that plus a whole bunch of veggies in the fridge that were going to go bad if not used immediately! This soup was for sure thick, creamy and delish!

2 chicken breasts (shredded-I actually used some frozen chicken that I had cooked up in the crockpot with Italian dressing and it was so good!
4 potatoes-peeled and diced
1 cup of carrots-diced
1/2 cup of celery-chopped
1/2 of an onion-chopped
1/2 cup milk
4 cups chicken broth  
2 tablespoons flour
1 8 oz block of cream cheese-softened
salt and pepper

Tip: When it comes to chicken-I like to once or twice a month take a day and cook about 8 pieces in the crockpot in either chicken broth or italian dressing. Cook it on low for 4-6 hours, then shred and freeze for when you need it.

Shred cooked chicken and set aside. Saute onion in a little olive oil. Then add carrots and celery. Saute for about 5 minutes. Add chicken broth chicken, and potatoes.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low for about 30 minutes, or until potatoes are soft. In a bowl mix together flour and milk and then add to the soup. Then add cream cheese and salt and pepper. Let simmer for about 10 more minutes, or until cream cheese is all the way incorporated. Enjoy!

Panda Express Orange Chicken

Don't forget to enter our giveaways here and here.

If you have been to Costco lately, you will see them always giving out samples of orange chicken, using the Panda Express Orange Sauce. We broke down a few weeks ago and purchased it. Really, it tastes pretty darn similar. So if you have a Costco near you, next time you are there, pick up a bottle.

4 chicken breasts-thawed
2 eggs
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
salt and pepper
Panda Express Orange Sauce

Cut your chicken into bite size pieces. In a bowl whisk together your eggs. In a seperate bowl mix together flour with a little salt and pepper. Then dip your chicken into the flour, and then into the egg mixture. Put chicken into hot oil. I used just a regular frying pan filled 1/3 of the way up with oil (vegetable or canola-do not use Olive Oil). Make sure that your oil stays at a temperate of about 375 or your chicken won't be crispy on the outside. Cook on each side-about 3 minutes per side-or until browned. In a seperate pan add about 2 cups of sauce. Then add your cooked chicken. Let chicken simmer in the sauce for about 5 minutes. Serve with rice or noodles.

Good Things Utah

Today was our big day on Good Things Utah. Though, I didn't know how it was going to turn out. First our little man woke up at about 2 AM with a cough attack. He kicked me out of bed and seriously coughed all night. I didn't want to send him to preschool, so we decided we would have to take him with us to the show. Luckily my brother and SIL and two of my closest friends were there in the audience to help with him.
Brooks and I were able to cook the chicken wings he came up with, with Marti in the kitchen. Talk about nervous...I could barely speak. Luckily Brooks is such a good talker that he did a great job. Unfortunately the stove would not heat up, so we were not able to demonstrate actually cooking the wings. Darn. Hope they get that fixed!
The fun part was, a couple of my favorite guests were there today.
I have been part of a scrapbook membership for awhile now through A Page 4 All Seasons, and back in the All My Memories days I took classes from Shyloh. She has the best page kits. You should check them out.
Then, my favorite science/kid friendly site blog author, Lisa was there. Her site "Smmart Ideas" is full of ideas to do with your kids.
And while I am mentioning awesome blogs...check out Freebies2Deals. My good friend Melea has an awesome website that is full of money saving ideas. You will just love her.
We hope to be able to go back soon.

Carolyn's Kitchen Give Away!!! (CLOSED)

Vintage aprons are so hot right now! I found this awesome website Carolyn's Kitchen. She has some seriously awesome aprons that are pretty dang sexy too! Who wouldn't want to be cooking in the kitchen with this sassy apron on?

Her aprons have been featured in many magazines and television shows. Carolyn's Kitchen has been nice enough to provide this apron for one of my lucky readers!  Isn't is perfect for Valentine's Day? Or just to look good while cooking in the kitchen!

The rules: Two chances to win...
1. Head on over to Carolyn's Kitchen and tell me what other apron you would love to have. (1 Entry)
2. Become a follower of "Our Family Treat" (2 Entries)

Contest ends on January 16th at midnight. Winner will be chosen on the 17th through Random.org. You will then have  48 hours to respond to claim your prize!
Good luck!!

My Etsy Shop Give Away (The Ciao Bella Boutique) (CLOSED)

Today I am going to giveaway TWO items from my Etsy shop "The Ciao Bella Boutique" to one lucky reader.

I just made these super cute rings! They are the perfect cocktail ring and I have many colors. Can you believe they are only SIX bucks!?!?!


The second item is a purple chic flower clip (only THREE bucks!). Perfect to pull your hair to the side, or in a ponytail, or for your little girls headband!


There are three ways to enter!

First: Check out my etsy site and tell me something else you would love from there. (1 entry)
Second: Become a follower of "Our Family Treat" (2 entries)
Third: Add my etsy site to your favorites-or heart my etsy site (2 entries)

Good Luck! The contest ends on the 16th at midnight. The winner will be chosen on 17th through Random.org. You will then have 48 hours to respond to claim your prize.
Good luck!

White Chicken Lasagna

Some people (crazy people) don't like red sauce.. like my little brother.  Here is lasagna for them, and for us that just like good food.

Ingredients:

4 cups beschemella (melt 4 tblsps butter, 4 tblsp flour, make a rue, mix in 4 cups milk and 1 tsp nutmeg, heat till thick)   

4 cups shredded Mozzarella

3 tblsp pesto (either use ours or store bought)

2 cups ricotta cheese

2 packages of lasagna pasta

2 chicken breast grilled and thinly sliced

5-6 sun dried tomatoes chopped

In a bowl mix the ricotta with the pesto, and 2 tsp water. In the bottom of the lasagna dish put 1 cup of the beschemella, and cover with pasta. (Hint, try not to overlap the noodles, as the overlapped part wont cook as well).  Spread a thick layer of the ricotta cheese mixture on the pasta, and top with 1 cup of the mozzarella. Spread out a layer of the chicken.  Continue this process with beschemella, pasta, cheese and chicken, pasta, beschemella, 4 times or until out of room in dish. Once you have finished, put the remaining mozzarella on top of the dish, and dab the remaining ricotta all over.  Use the beschemella in the same manner and dab like the ricotta.  Top with the chicken, and sprinkle the sun dried tomatoes over the top.  Bake at 325 covered with foil for 20 minutes, and 10 minutes uncovered.  Make sure to serve hot, and eat fast cause it will disappear faster than you can say PESTO!    

Good Things Utah

For all you Utah Viewers, we got invited to be on Good Things Utah on Tuesday. I have actually had a recipe featured on their show a few years ago, but I have never actually been there to cook. We will be making the wings that we posted last week-perfect for the upcoming Super Bowl. I am so excited to be on the show-though for sure a little nervous (I am not a very good public speaker!)! So if you are around-check it out-or set your DVR for 10:00 AM on channel 4. Wish us luck:)

Tomato Basil Soup with Orzo

This soup just warms up your insides. I personally think I put a a little to much orzo in it. So next time I will only be adding 1/2 of a pound. But seriously...it is DELISH!

2 large cans crushed tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth

1 small onion-chopped

18 fresh basil leaves-chopped

1/2 cup butter

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound orzo

Chop onion and saute until onion is translucent. Then add tomatoes and chicken broth. Let boil for about 5 minutes. Then add butter, cream, sugar, salt and basil. Let simmer for about 20 minutes. In a seperate pot, cook 1/2 a pound of orzo, as directed on package. Remove from heat and drain when orzo is still a little crunchy (it will finish cooking in the soup). When there is about five minutes to go, add the orzo and let it finish cooking. Enjoy!