What’s Cooking in Cowtown

Follow the links below for new recipes at Howdy From the Kitchen.
Cheesy Corn Chowder
Chicken Spaghetti
Chocolate Chip Cake
Sweet and Tangy Salad
Brown Sugar Pecans
Now…go get your cook on!

Chicken Spaghetti

Chicken Spaghetti 

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken
• 5 ribs of celery, chopped
• 1 large bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms (optional because I don’t like them)
• 1 stick of butter or 1/2 cup
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 chicken bullions or 1 tbsp chicken base
• 16-24 oz spaghetti
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes
• 1 lb. Velveeta cheese

Directions:

Cook chicken in just enough lightly salted water to cover the chicken and cook on medium until done, remove chicken and reserve broth.  Take chicken off of the bones and set aside.  Add the bullion to the chicken broth and cook spaghetti in the broth just until al dente.  It will continue to cook after other ingredients are added.  Don’t discard broth (we will need it later).

Meanwhile, in a separate pot saute the vegetables in butter until tender, add in  soups, rotel , seasonings and cheese and simmer until cheese has melted.

Add spaghetti and chicken to the soup mixture and as much broth as needed to make sauce the desired thickness.  Simmer for a few minutes.  At this point it is ready to eat or you could put it in a casserole dish and sprinkle it with some breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and dot with butter and bake in oven at 350 until the breadcrumbs brown it you want to make it pretty.

Chocolate Chip Cake

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1/8 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix, instant pudding and sugar. Add the water, oil, eggs, and sour cream, mix until well blended. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips. Pour into the prepared Bundt pan.
3. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar before cutting and serving.

Cheesy Corn Chowder

Ingredients

• 3 slices bacon
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/2 bell pepper, diced
• 1 small carrot, finely diced (optional)
• 1 small celery stalk, diced (optional)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried parsley flakes
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups potato, chopped
• 3 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup sharp white cheddar, grated (can also use a mild cheese such as Monterrey Jack)
• 1 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
• 5 dashes Tobasco
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Cut bacon in small pieces and fry in large pot until crispy, remove bacon leaving the renderings  Add the onion, carrot, celery, and saute until onions are translucent.   Next add in garlic, salt, pepper, parsley and potatoes and cook for 2 minutes or so.  Add the flour and cook for a couple more minutes.   Add in chicken stock and deglaze pan then add corn.  Bring to a boil and then reduce and simmer until potatoes are done.
After potatoes are done and the soup has thickened add the cheese, cream, nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer just until cheese has melted then add the remaining butter, stirring until it melts.  Serve immediately.
Serve with crusty bread or crackers.
**variations—add ham or crab for your carnivores.

Ready for the Baby

It’s cold and cloudy here today and we are supposed to get freezing drizzle before noon.  Today is a perfect day to stay in and enjoy a fire, cuddle with Gus, watch a chic flick (he won’t mind) and have soup for lunch.  We had snow yesterday but no accumulation.  Hillbilly and I went to lunch and shopping so that we could get out and enjoy the flurries. 

The shower was a success and my house was completely full of family and friends and baby stuff.   She received SO many nice things.  I almost didn’t have enough food because I wasn’t expecting such a large turn out.  After all was said and done everything turned out fine and  Mini Me is ready for the new addition.  She will be induced on January 21st if she doesn’t go into labor before.

Rae’s face below says it all.  There was so much estrogen flowing within the room it was almost unbearable!

Y’all have a nice week and stay warm.

Baby Shower Shindig

I’m giving Mini Me a baby shower on Saturday so I have been busy with planning, shopping and cleaning.   It’s just another part of my personal hell (not really, yes really).   I don’t think it is traditionally the Mother that gives the shower but Mini Me needed someone to host for her and all of her friends are pregnant too (must be something in the water), so…Mom always comes through. 
These ugly little plastic babies are in the freezer frozen in ice cubes for the “My water broke game”.  Yay!  

I have made tissue paper pom poms to decorate with and bought some pretty pink boxes for a centerpiece.  Hurray!
I’ll be serving Cape Cod Salad, Cheddar Corn Chowder, mini quiches, brown sugar pecans and red velvet cupcakes with pink frosting.  Mini Me was not happy with this menu but that is too bad.  It seems the pregnant lady wasn’t craving any of this.  I say tough!!
I’m cleaning today and tomorrow will be making cupcakes.   My feet hurt and I’m tired and grumpy, can you tell?  I usually love to entertain but with it being this close after Christmas I'm really not in the mood.
Will it ever be over?????

Brown Sugar Pecans

Here is another simple recipe that you just can’t mess up.  These pecans are delicious as a sweet treat or a great addition to salads.  I can’t believe such simple ingredients can result in something so delicious.  Be sure to give this recipe a try soon. 

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces pecan halves
• 1/2 cup butter, unsalted
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Place pecans in a mixing bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add brown sugar, vanilla, salt.

Stir one minute and remove from heat when brown sugar has dissolved.

Pour over pecans, stirring to coat .  Place on foil lined baking sheet and bake at 325º for a total of 20 minutes; remove from oven and stir half way thru cooking time.

Remove from oven and spread on wax paper to cool and store in an airtight container.

Coarsely chop if using as a salad topper.