Mmmmmm, food!

I think about food a LOT. It's pretty ridiculous how much I think about food - cooking it, creating new dishes or variations on recipes, baking, the melding of all the flavors in my mouth. Mmmmmm! Like tonight, I'm thinking about making a pizza with a pesto alfredo sauce base, mushrooms, sliced tomato, torn baby spinach leaves, chopped garlic, chopped artichoke hearts, and of course mozzarella (and probably some crushed red pepper - gotta have some kick to it). The problem I run into is that I like to cook but always end up with more than I can eat. Thankfully, a lot of it freezes really well, so I can freeze it in serving sizes and pull stuff out and heat it up whenever. This method works especially well with the Altendorf mac & cheese recipe, and my friend Caran's chili recipe. And also, a lot of times I'll bring in some of the leftovers to share with co-workers.

I also get easily sucked into looking at recipe websites. Several of my favorites are Kraftfoods.com, BHG.com (Better Homes & Gardens), FoodNetwork.com, AllRecipes.com, and most recently and most addictive is ThePioneerWoman.com. This last website has to be my favorite by far, even though the others have LOADS more recipes and I use them more often. The Pioneer Woman website gives step by step instructions with excellent pictures to guide you through the process, and her comments with the instructions are hilarious. I've already noticed several recipes I am eager to test - one which even includes shrimp (Penne a la Betsy), and I'm not that big a fan of seafood!

Since I love coming across new recipes on other friends' blogs, here is a recipe I made earlier this week for a potluck:

Velvet Chicken with Mushroom Wine Sauce

• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup, condensed
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 1 package onion soup mix
• 6 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
• 6 tbs butter
• sliced baby portabello mushrooms
• salt and pepper to taste
• grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation

In a large bowl, mix the cream of mushroom soup, milk, wine, rice, and onion soup mix. Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the stoneware. Place one tablespoon of butter on each chicken breast. Sprinkle mushroom slices over the chicken. Pour the soup mixture over the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cook on Low for 8-10 hours, or on High for 4-6 hours.

I got this recipe off the side of my Rival slow-cooker's box! I brought the leftovers into the office on Tuesday, and my co-workers who tried it loved it. I've only made it one other time for the girls who regularly came over to watch "24," and they enjoyed it, as well. Definitely an easy and hearty recipe to keep in one's repertoire.