Use It Up... and Quick & Easy Chicken Soup Recipe

Our family will be eating a lot more chicken than normal over the next few weeks months thanks to Tops Friendly Markets and their $0.50 Per Pound sale on chicken from last week!

I couldn't resist.

When I first spied that sale I instantly had visions of rotisserie chicken dancing in my head... I was looking forward to putting one of those bad boys in that rotisserie... visualize with me... I could smell it... I could... see it turning a nice golden color as it spun around and around and basted itself in it's yummy chicken-y juices... except, my dreamy visions of juicy and golden brown chicken soon turned into a... well, vision of disappointment... it wouldn't fit.  The chicken was to large for the rotisserie... I ignored that little voice in my mind when I was buying the chicken... you know, the voice that said THERE'S NO WAY THOSE CHICKENS ARE GOING TO FIT IN THE ROTISSERIE... The smallest chickens I could find at our Tops store were 6 pounds or more and when I stuffed one into the rotisserie... it squatted and groaned...  just like the voice in my mind told me it would.  So, in the oven she went... rotisserie chicken rub all...

That night along side the oven roasted chicken I served mashed potatoes, gravy, corn & stove top stuffing to my family and I did it FOR LESS than $5...  YES, you read correctly...  LESS THAN $5! 

The following day, with leftovers from my rotisserie oven roasted chicken I made six sandwiches for Ron to take to work...  He ate 2 at home and took 3 with him... Apparently they were good and Ron wasn't feeling as spiteful as I was about that darn chicken not fitting into the rotisserie.

Today, I put the remainder of that chicken to good use for Aunt Robin who needs a good dish of homemade chicken noodle soup so she can hopefully start feeling better....  

My $3.00 Chicken fed our family of 3 dinner... my husband lunch and finally, it will hopefully work it's magic on what's ailing Aunt Robin...

Quick & Easy Chicken Soup

4 Cups Chicken Broth

1 Shallot, Diced
1 Carrot, Sliced
2 Stalks Celery, Sliced into half moons
1 1/2 Cups Leftover Chicken
1/4 Box Fettuccine, broke into thirds (used up what was left in a box)
1 Teaspoon Parsley
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a  2.5 Quart Sauce Pan.  Add the Shallot, Carrot, Celery & Fettuccine.  Return to a boil and cook 12 minutes longer; add Chicken and Parsley; Salt & Pepper to taste.

Cheesy Manicotti Recipe & Tops Sale on Most Ingredients

Cheesy Manicotti

Makes: 12 Servings

Adapted From: Cooking with Paula Deen Magazine, Volume 8 Issue 5 September/October 2012, Page 32

2 (8-ounce) Packages Manicotti

1 (2-pound) Container Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese

1 (10-ounce) Package Frozen Chopped Spinach, Thawed and Squeezed Dry

4 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1 (16-ounce) Package Sliced, Fresh Mozzarella

2 Cups Fresh Shredded Romano Cheese

2 Large Eggs, Beaten

2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley

2 Teaspoons Dried Italian Seasoning

2 (1-Pound) Jars Pasta Sauce

½ Cup Brown Sugar

Salt & Pepper to Taste

1.      Preheat oven to 350˚.  Spray 2-13x9 inch baking dishes with nonstick cooking spray.

2.    Cook Manicotti according to package directions; drain, rinse and set aside.  (I rinse the Manicotti with cold water to help prevent them from sticking together & tearing apart…)  Use a paper towel to wipe off water leftover from rinsing the Manicotti.

3.    In a large bowl, stir together Ricotta, Spinach, Shredded Mozzarella, Romano, Eggs, Parsley, Italian Seasoning and Salt & Pepper.  Fill a 1 Gallon Ziploc Bag with Cheese Mixture.  Snip off one corner of the bag & Pipe Cheese Mixture into Manicotti.  I pipe the mixture in from both ends to achieve a fuller Manicotti.

4.    Mix Brown Sugar & Pasta Sauce.  *Tip: Don’t dirty another bowl!  Add the Brown Sugar right into the jar of the Pasta Sauce and use the handle of a wooden spoon to mix… You won’t be able to fit ALL the Brown Sugar into the jars so you’ll need to pour a little sauce into the bottoms of the 13x9 inch baking dishes first…  After Brown Sugar & Pasta sauce is combined pour about 1 ½ Cups of Pasta Sauce into the bottoms of each of the 13x9 inch baking dishes.

5.    Place Stuffed Manicotti over sauce.  Pour remaining sauce over Manicotti and top with Fresh Mozzarella slices.

6.    Bake 30 to 45 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  Serve with Cheesy Garlic Bread and Tossed Salad.

Find some of the ingredients for this recipe on sale at Tops this week!

Galbani Fresh Mozzarella Balls 8 oz pkg B1G1

$1/1 Precious Galbani Cheese, exp. 11/30/12 (SS 08/12/12) If Included in Sale
$1/1 Precious Galbani Cheese, Printable If Included in Sale
Use with Tops $1 Doubler
Final Cost Unknown

Prego Pasta Sauce 3/$5 
$1/3 Prego Sauce, exp. 10/6/12 (SS 09/09/12 #2)
Use with Tops $1 Doubler
Final Cost as low as 3/$3 or $1 each

BelGioioso Grated Cheese $9.99 Pound 

Egglands Best Large Eggs 18 Pk 1/$3.29
$0.50/1 Eggland's Best Eggs, exp. 12/31/12 (SS 09/30/12) Doubles to $1
Final Cost 1/$2.29

The Ultimate Potato Gratin

The Ultimate Potato Gratin

Makes 6-8 Servings

Adapted From: Tyler Florence, Food Network

 

1 pound bacon

2 tablespoons butter

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 bunch fresh green onions, finely chopped to 1/4 cup

2 pounds baking potatoes, unpeeled and thinly sliced (about 1/8-inch), see Cook's note*

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 cups grated Parmesan

1.     Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2.    Cut the bacon into 1/2-inch chunks. Place a skillet over medium-low heat and fry the bacon, until crisp. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set aside.

3.    Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 2-quart ovenproof casserole dish.

4.    In a large bowl, combine the 2 ½ cups of cream, 1 cup of Parmesan, bacon, garlic, green onions, and the potatoes. Season with freshly ground black pepper.

5.    Using your hands, place a layer of potatoes in the casserole dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan and repeat with 2 more layers. Pour remaining contents over potatoes and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.  

Cover dish with a lid or aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour. Remove lid and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Leave for 10 minutes before serving. If desired, garnish with fresh chives.

*Cook's Note: Slice the potatoes immediately before using so they don't turn brown.

Triple Threat Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes 38 Cookies

Inspiration: Real Mom Kitchen Blog

1 ½ Sticks Imperial 53% Vegetable Oil Spread, Softened

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Peanut Butter

2 Large Eggs

2 Teaspoons Vanilla

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

½ Teaspoon Salt

2 ½ Cups Flour

25 mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Cut into 4 Pieces

75 mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Cut into 4 pieces

Optional: Salt to Taste

Sugar

1.     Pre-Heat Oven to 350˚

2.    Use a wooden spoon to mix the Butter, Sugar, Brown Sugar and Vanilla.

3.    Stir in Eggs one at a time.

4.    Sift together Baking Soda, Salt & Flour. 

5.    Incorporate Flour Mixture into Sugar Mixture.

6.    Add 25 of the quartered mini Reese’s and stir to combine.

7.    Optional: Lightly sprinkle the 75 mini Reese’s with salt.

8.    Scoop out 2 Tablespoons of Dough and Roll into a ball.  Roll each ball in sugar.  Use a glass to slightly flatten the balls.

9.    Bake on 350˚ for 12 Minutes.

10.  Remove cookies from oven and add 7-8 of the quartered mini Reese’s.  Return the cookies to the oven and bake an additional 5-7 minutes.   Let the cookies slightly cool on the baking sheet before moving to a wire rack.

This recipe was inspired by the Real Mom Kitchen’s recipe for Over the Top Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookies… I made a couple of slight changes and made it my own… I just couldn’t resist adding Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups to the dough instead of Chocolate Chips…  My girlfriend Laura helped me decide on the name Triple Threat Peanut Butter Cookies.  It seemed to fit because of the Peanut Butter IN the dough, the Peanut Butter in the mini Reese’s that went INTO the dough and the mini Reese’s the top the cookies! 

I hope you’ll enjoy them JUST AS MUCH AS WE DO!

Sweet and Salty Chocolate-Bacon Fudge

Recipe Source: Cooking with Paula Deen Magazine, January/February 2011 Page 584

Makes about 64 Pieces

4 (4-ounce) Semi-Sweet Chololate Baking Bars, Chopped
1 (14-ounce) Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/4 Cup Butter, Softened
1/4 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Pound Bacon, Cooked Until Crisp
2 Cups Chopped Pecans, Toasted

1. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil.  Spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine chocolate, condensed milk, butter, and cream.  Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth.  Remove from heat.
3. Crumble bacon, and reserve 1/4 cup.  Stir pecans and remaining bacon into chocolate mixture.  Spoon mixture into prepared pan; smooth top with a spatula.  Sprinkle reserved 1/4 cup crumbled bacon over chocolate mixture, pressing down gently.  Cover and chill 4 hours or until set.  Cut into squares to serve.

I'm not sure why the recipe says to wait 4-hours for the fudge to set... that's just impossible... arm yourself with a pair of stretchy pants and a spoon... you're going to need both!

Spaghettti alla Carbonara $0.63 Per Serving!

Spaghetti alla Carbonara is YUMMY!  I prefer lighter sauces over the heavier tomato sauces and the sauce in this recipe is NO EXCEPTION!  My food snob husband wasn't ecstatic about it but I attribute that to his love affair with tomato sauce.

A few years ago I read another blogger's post about her  Carbonara and it sounded wonderful but I was sure I'd scramble the eggs instead of turning them into a beautiful delicious sauce... today, as I worked I listed to Rachel Ray on Food Network ramble on about the Carbonara she was making... The deal was sealed... I recalled my blogger friend's Carbona post and decided it was time... time for me to give the dreaded but oh so yummy looking and sounding Carbona a whirl...

Once I decided that today was going to be the day I had to find a recipe.  A Rachel Ray recipe isn't an option for me... I think it's her style of cooking that I don't care for.  I'm sure she has some great recipes but I just can't seem to get on the Rachel Ray bandwagon.  My go to chef is ALWAYS Paula Deen... but, Tyler Florence has NEVER let me down either.... today, I went with a Tyler Florence recipe. 

There was one part of the recipe's directions that had me stumped it reads: "pour the egg mixture into the pasta, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken"... huh?  whisk spaghetti?  Who whisk's spaghetti?  I'm imagining the spaghetti getting all twisted up in the tines of the whisk and giving myself anxiety because I was already freaking out about possibly ending up with scrambled eggs in my pasta... The directions to whisk the spaghetti intensified my fears... at the last minute I just thought he's crazy I'm not using a whisk in the spaghetti... I'm going to utilize my trusty 'ol wooden spoon and stir like crazy!

I couldn't can't believe how inexpensive, QUICK and EASY Spaghetti alla Carbonara is to make!  This is one of those meals that when I heard the name I automatically thought it would be expensive... I digress.  This is one of the most inexpensive meal's I've ever prepared!

• Last Novemeber I found bacon for $2 a pound.  For this recipe I used 1/4 of a pound... The cost of the bacon I used in this recipe was $0.50.
• Fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano ~ 8 ounces $3.99 ~ 8 ounces yields about 2 1/2 cups when shredded.  This recipe calls for 1 cup.  The cost of the Parmigiano-Reggiano I used in this recipe was $1.60
• The eggs were $1.59 a dozen... in this recipe I used two eggs costing $0.27.
• The pasta was Mueller's that I was able to get for free...
• The remaining ingredients are minimal... for all intents and purposes I estimate their cost to be $0.13.

YES!  I MADE DINNER FOR 4-6 people for around $2.50 and it was a darn good dinner at that!

With the exception of my slight changes to the recipe and it's wording here it is... the wonderful Spaghetti alla Carbonara. 

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 0
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Level: Intermediate
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients
1 Pound Dry Spaghetti
2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil ~ I omitted the Olive Oil
4 Ounces Pancetta or Bacon, Cubed or Sliced into Small Strips ~ I used Bacon (reason for omitting olive oil)
4 Garlic Cloves, Finely Chopped
2 Large Eggs
1 Cup Freshly Grated parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving ~ I used 1 cup TOTAL
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Handful Fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley, Chopped ~ I omitted the Parsley

Directions
Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the spaghetti will be hot and ready when the sauce is finished; it is very important that the pasta is hot when adding the egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cookes the rew eggs in the sauce.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender yet firm.  Drain the pasta well, reserving 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce if you wish.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame.  Add the bacon and saute for about 3 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered.  Toss the garlic into the fat and saute for less than 1 minute to soften. 

Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss for 2 minutes **DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP** to coat the strands in the bacon fat.  Beat the eggs and Parmesan together in a mixing bowl, stirring well to prevent lumps.  Remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg and cheese mixture into the pasta, stirr vigorously with a wooden spoon until he eggs thicken, but DO NOT SCRAMBLE (this is done off the heat to ensure this does not happen).  Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches desired consistency.  Season the carbonara with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt.  Mound the Spaghetti alla Carbonara into warm serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley.  Serve with more cheese if desired.

**Stirring for 2 minutes not only coat's the spaghetti in the bacon fat but it allows time for everything to COOL a little so the eggs don't scramble.

I apologize for not having a picture... picture's make a post but I wasn't sure about this recipe... I wasn't sure how it would turn out or if I'd have any a desire to post about it.

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Food Network or Tyler Florence.  This post is just me giving my two cents about a recipe!

Milky Way Cake

Milky Way Cake with Milky Way Frosting

Makes 12 Servings
Source: Milky Way Cake ~ Telling Dad Blog
Source: Milky Way Frosting ~ Tasty Kitchen, The Pioneer Woman
Date Acquired: January 3, 2012

The blog author (for the Milky Way Frosting) noted that HER original recipe called for $0.05 cent Milky Way Candy Bars! I’m glad that she included that little piece of historical information… it dated the recipe for me because I remember Grandpa (born in 1928) telling me that when he was a kid Candy Bars were only $0.05 cents…

There’s been quite a mark-up on those Milky Way Candy Bars since then… a 1700% MARK-UP over a span of around 80 years. I found them for $0.90 each (regular price) at the Giant… at the Dollar General they were $0.75 each (regular price)… Of course I cringed about not being able to find a sale but luckily I had some of these…

(These coupons also include Milky Way and 3 Musketeers)

I didn’t get my cost down to what it was nearly 80 years ago but the coupon helped bring the cost down to a 7400% increase compared to when Grandpa was a kid!

Milky Way Cake
6 regular full-size Milky Way Bars (don’t use minis, even if it’s the same weight!)
1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 eggs

1. Pre-Heat the oven to 350˚.
2. Cut 1 stick (½ cup) butter and Milky Way Bars into 1” chunks and melt in a sauce pan over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth.
3. In a medium sized bowl, cream the remaining 1 stick (1/2 cup) softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs to the sugar mixture ONE AT A TIME thoroughly incorporate each egg into the mixture.
5. In a small bowl combine the flour and baking soda.
6. Alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the sugar mixture… i.e.; add 1/3 of the flour, 1/3 of the buttermilk & repeat until there isn’t any more left to add…
7. Slowly pour the melted candy bar mixture into the batter and mix well to combine.
8. Add vanilla and mix well to combine.
9. Lightly grease and flour a tube pan… use caution: Globs of flour and grease don’t make pretty cakes!
10. Pour batter into the greased and floured pan, bake for an hour at 350˚ for 60 minutes.
11. Check your cake for doneness by inserting a clean wooden toothpick into the center… if it comes out clean, it’s done!
12. WAIT UNTIL the cake is COMPLETELY COOLED before trying to remove it from the pan… if you don’t it’ll still be yummy however, it WILL fall apart! After the cake has COMPLETELY cooled slowly separate the cake from the pan by running a butter knife between the two. Turn the pan over onto a lipped serving platter (see Milky Way Frosting notes).

*Notes: The original blog author suggested that we start checking the cake for doneness (after 50 minutes… I found that my cake needed an extra 5 minutes… for a total baking time of 65 minutes… The differences in baking times are likely the differences in our oven’s or possibly the pans… (My pan is old and dilapidated).

Milky Way Frosting
1 Stick (1/2) Butter
4 full size Milky Way Candy Bars
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
½ Cup Milk
1 Cup Finely Chopped Pecans
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

1. Cut butter and Milky Way Bars into 1” chunks and melt in a sauce pan over VERY low heat, stirring constantly until smooth.
2. Add powdered sugar, milk, chopped pecans and vanilla.
3. Immediately, pour the frosting over the cooled cake.

*Notes: This recipe makes A LOT of frosting… you’ll want a lipped serving platter to catch the excess ~  we just spoon it onto the individual pieces once the cake was cut!

Root Beer Floats

Root Beer Floats
1 1/2 Cups Water
3/4 Cups Sugar
1 1/2 Teaspoon Root Beer Concentrate
1 Bottle (1 liter) Cold Soda Water, Seltzer or Club Soda
Vanilla Ice Cream

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Stir in sugar until dissolved.  Add concentrate; stir until well mixed. 

Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Slowly pour soda into root beer mixture until well blended. 

Scoop 2-3 scoops of ice cream into a glass... pour root beer mixture over ice cream and serve!