New Favorite Recipes

 New Favorite Recipes We've Discovered: 

I may not have found much time to post new recipes here on the blog recently, but that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking and trying new recipes.  I took exactly one picture, so this isn't as visual as usual, but I don't want to lose track of these, so you here you go!    Here are a few new favorites we've discovered recently...check back and I'll update it with new links as we try them:  

LUNCH/DINNER: 

Best Broccoli Cheese Soup:  WE loved this healthier version of broccoli cheese soup!  
https://www.averiecooks.com/best-broccoli-cheese-soup-better-panera-copycat/

Buddha Bowls (We loved this for dinner, but loved it even more as leftovers the next day for lunch.   I want to make a double batch of it at the beginning of the week and use it for healthy, easy to grab lunches later.   We used a mix of roasted brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes for the veggies, and used cauliflower rice instead of rice.  And I doubled the sauce, because I knew my family would eat more veggies if there was more sauce.  haha, my kids may be teens now, but I still use some of the same tricks to get them to eat their veggies ! )
https://www.delish.com/cooking/menus/recipes/a50768/buddha-bowls-recipe/

Cashew Chicken : we loved this easy one to make!
https://www.averiecooks.com/better-than-takeout-cashew-chicken/

Chicken Curry in a Hurry served over cauliflower rice (next time I'll make 1-1/2 batch)
https://www.melskitchencafe.com/chicken-curry-in-a-hurry/

Chili Lime Instapot Chicken--good basic overall mexican chicken recipe--love that it comes out perfectly in the Instapot!
https://ourbestbites.com/pressure-cooker-chili-lime-chicken/


Grilled Chicken and Avocado Pesto--served over cauliflower rice, cooked the chicken on cookie sheet at 400-degrees for 20 minutes, very low carb and very delicious! 
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/grilled-chicken-with-avocado-pesto-3796532

Korean Steak Bowls:  We went through a phase of eating this once  week or so and like it with chicken even better than steak.
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/korean-steak-bowls-with-sesame-cucumber-slaw/

Sesame Chicken Salad--Great flavors in a delicious healthy dinner.
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/sesame-chicken-salad/

Skillet Lasagna (used GF penne pasta)--SO good and so easy!
https://www.melskitchencafe.com/skillet-summer-vegetable-lasagna/

Thai Crunch Salad--  used shredded cabbage instead of salad kit and added sweet potatoes, comes together quickly  and oh so yummy! 
https://www.kelseynixon.com/thai-crunch-salad/


Thai Mango Chicken:   The leftovers are even better!  
https://www.melskitchencafe.com/thai-mango-chicken-red-curry/

BREAKFASTS/DESSERTS/SIDES

Baked Oatmeal:   a hearty and healthy way to start the day
https://joyfoodsunshine.com/peanut-butter-banana-baked-oatmeal/


Banana Oatmeal Pancakes--super easy and super good:
https://www.laurafuentes.com/banana-oatmeal-pancakes/


Favorite Chia Seed Pudding:  hearty and chocolatey, great with fresh fruit and a drizzle of nut butter over the top
https://minimalistbaker.com/overnight-chocolate-chia-seed-pudding/


Gluten Free / Low Carb Pancakes
https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/keto-almond-flour-pancakes/


Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies: Just make sure you use GF oats, but this is a good solid GF cookie recipe that's saved me many times!    I like to omit the flax, add a real egg, and increase the oat flour just a bit.  Perhaps one of these times, I'll write down what I do and add it here to the blog. 
https://mcarthurfamilyfavorites.blogspot.com/2018/01/gluten-free-chocolate-chip-cookies.html


Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls:We tried a bunch of recipes before landing on this one from Detoxinista.   It's as close as I've ever found to gluten-filled recipe!     https://detoxinista.com/gluten-free-cinnamon-rolls/

The BEST GF Lemon Bars: Nice and zesty--the way lemon bars should be!  
https://www.mamaknowsglutenfree.com/gluten-free-lemon-bars/

Gluten Free Rolls--calls for some weird/expensive ingredients, but are the BEST gluten free rolls I've ever had
https://gfjules.com/recipes/gluten-free-pull-apart-dinner-rolls/


Keto Tortillas: easy and good GF tortillas (we made them a little thicker to be more like naan bread)
https://elavegan.com/keto-almond-flour-tortillas/


Mashed Cauliflower--good basic recipe.  Added extra cream cheese and extra garlic.  
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/230816/garlic-mashed-cauliflower/

No Sugar Cranberry Sauce--Just the right amount of tartness.  Also excellent added to whipped cream cheese or served over goat cheese.  
https://cookieandkate.com/naturally-sweetened-cranberry-sauce-recipe/


Overnight Oats--We may be a little late to the game, but we have just discovered the joy of overnight oats for crazy mornings.  We usually use some PB powder in place of actual PB and love to change up the toppings with different fruits and nuts.
https://minimalistbaker.com/peanut-butter-overnight-oats/

Zucchini Fritters--https://thepaleodiet.com/recipe/crispy-paleo-zucchini-fritters/

Strawberry Salsa--https://thepaleodiet.com/recipe/strawberry-salsa/

So what should I try next?    Feel free to spam me with all your best links.  

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Creamy Pasta with Sausage

It's taking time, but I am slowly getting back into the cooking groove again.   I'm perusing my cookbooks again, trying new recipes, and even taking pictures.  Now if I could just get back into the blogging groove too...

This pasta dish was excellent and will definitely be making repeat appearances on our menu!  I made a double batch of this for my family and some visiting relatives and there was not a single bit of it left over afterward.  If you're looking for a fuss-free crowd pleaser, then look no further...

Recipe Source:  Mrs. Schwartz's Kitchen

Click here for printable recipe.

Posted by Lara.

The ingredients:


1 package (12-ounces) Italian Sausage (I loved this Niman Ranch brand--from Whole Foods)
1 lb penne pasta (or variety of your choice)
1/2 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
2 cups cream or half and half
1-1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese + additional for garnish
1 cup frozen peas

Directions:
Start by taking the casing off of the sausage, cut a long slit in the casing and pull out the meat.  Add this to a large skillet and cook as you would ground beef.  (OR if your sausage is fully cooked like ours was, then you can just slice into "coins" and brown it in the frying pan.)

Remove the sausage from the frying pan and set aside.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water. 

Add the onion to the frying pan and cook in the sausage grease for about 3 minutes.

  After 3 minutes, add the garlic.  Cook for an additional 2 minutes.  Add the red pepper to the pan and cook for about a minute.

Add the cream to the skillet and bring to a slight bubble on medium heat (but not a full boil). 

Add the cheese once it barely comes to a bubble.  Stir and bring back to a slight bubble and let it thicken.

Add the cooked pasta, sausage and peas to the pan.  Toss to coat in the sauce.

To serve, plate the pasta and top with additional Parmesan cheese and parsley, if desired.  Makes 5-6 servings. 

Enjoy!

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Welcome, News, and Links

Welcome to Recipe Shoebox!  My name is Lara and I started the Recipe Shoebox in 2008 after getting sick of trying to keep track of my recipes in a mess of binders, bookmarks, and a shoebox.  When I first got started I envisioned this blog being a family forum for me and my sisters to share recipes amongst each other.  It didn't take long to realize though, that I was a bit more excited about blogging than my sisters, so you'll find that the majority of the over 600 recipes here are mine. 

In 2011 I started to get a little overwhelmed with trying to keep up the blog and my five kids, so I took on a blogging partner, Jen, to help me.  She is a passionate cook who loves to create fun food for her three boys.  I've enjoyed her creative contributions to the blog  and  loved the fresh influx of recipes to the blog at a time when I was feeling a bit distracted from it.  Little did I know back when I invited her to join me in our cooking adventures that it wouldn't be long before I would appreciate her efforts more than ever. 

You see, in January my sixteen-year-old son was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and as a result this blog immediately took a back burner in my life.  My son is responding well to treatment so far, but has spent almost the entirety of the last two months in the hospital undergoing intensive chemo to treat the aggressive nature of his type of leukemia.  He is scheduled to undergo a bone marrow transplant about 6 weeks.  

With very little in the way of cooking happening in our house, Jen, my sisters, an aunt, a cousin, and my sisters-in-law have sacrificed their time and kept this blog flowing with new recipes.  It may sound like a little thing, but with how much time and effort I've put into the Recipe Shoebox over the years, it's meant a lot to me knowing that the recipe sharing is continuing onward in my absence. 

I hope you'll enjoy your stay here at the Recipe Shoebox.  Check out the menu bar on top for easy navigation.  The search bar on the right is helpful if you're looking for a specific recipe or a recipe that calls for a specific ingredient.   You can subscribe by following it via "Google Friend Connect",  by email with a form on the right, or you can add the blog address to your feed readers.  You can also check out the new social media (Facebook and Pinterest) buttons I've added to make it easier than ever to share your favorite recipes with friends!  

NEWS

Radio Show:  I'm going to be interviewed on a radio show on Monday morning!  Listen to it live at 10:00am EST  here:  http://www.wbcl.org/default.aspx.  If you already missed it, I will post an archived link when I receive it. 

Five Star Rating System:    The company that provided the five star rating system at the bottom of each blog post has discontinued offering that service and thus far I have been unable to find a replacement.  :(  I am sad that all the ratings have disappeared, but I will continue looking to find a replacement service.  If any of you bloggers know of any, please let me know. 

Indexes:  While I've done my best to keep the indexes up-to-date, current events in my life being what they are, I am a few months behind on them.    Use the search bar on the right to search for recipes by  name or specific ingredients. 

Pinterest:  I've added new "Pin It" buttons on the bottom of each post to make it easier than ever to pin your favorite recipes to Pinterest!  My user name is wawadehut....if you want to check out the recipes I've got bookmarked to try when life is normal again. 

Facebook:  Check out the new Facebook "Like" buttons on the bottom of each post and on the right to go along with Recipe Shoebox's revamped page on Facebook!     Check us out! 

LINKS

My Very Favorite Recipe: 

                                                           Chicken Pasta Salad

this healthy recipe is in the top-5 favorites for each one of my kids

Reader Favorites: 

                                                       Crockpot Chicken Parmesan

easy, cheesy and oh so good!

                                                 Garlic Chicken Pasta with Spinach

flavorful and healthy

                                                            Thai Chicken Pasta

this one is quick and easy and always a hit at our house

    Honey Lime Enchiladas
when I asked my Facebook friends which of my recipes was their favorite, this one got the most votes!

   Blueberry Spinach Smoothie
I'm always looking for a tasty way to sneak some superfoods into our diet and this one is my kids' favorite way to eat their spinach

                                                  Easy Chocolate Pretzel Bites

with only 3 ingredients, this is literally one of the easiest treats you can make and they taste as great as they look.  I just let my kids do the unwrapping and setting it up and it's done in no time!

Family Favorites:

                                                           Chicken Tortilla Soup

using leftover chicken and dried onions, this flavorful soup can be done in less than 10 minutes.  It's been on our menu for well over a decade and is still a staple in our menu.

                                                          French Peasant Bread

Back in the day when I was cooking regularly, we made this super easy homemade bread a couple times a week.  It's so easy I even trained my 11-year-old to make it. 

                                                        Makeover Chicken Crescents

This is one of my family's favorite meals ever!  I'll make it for dinner one night, then  freeze the leftovers and then I add them frozen to the kids' lunches.  They are thawed out perfectly by lunchtime and they love getting something other than PB&J's!

                                             Flourless Chocolate Cake

No one in our family needs to eat a gluten-free diet, but this totally flourless cake recipe (no strange flour concoctions to buy at a health food store) is still our favorite chocolate cake recipe ever.  They have a really normal cake texture (not dense like some gluten-free baked goods) and no one will ever guess in a million years that a can of garbanzo beans is the flour replacer.

Most Requested Recipes: 

                                                                  Perfect Pie Crust

This is my #1 requested recipe by a long-shot!

                                                               No-Fail Apple Pie

This recipe has won or placed in several bake-offs and there are certain people who know me as "apple pie lady".

                                               Mom's Streusel-Topped Breakfast Cake
Classic and easy, this recipe has been in our family for a couple of generations and is as well-loved now as it was then.   I've brought it to many brunches and breakfasts over the years and almost invariably I get asked for the recipe.  I usually make it with at least part whole -wheat flour and it still gets gobbled up!

                                                           Secret Buttermilk Syrup
This syrup was a culinary life-changing discovery for us and we simply don't buy regular maple syrup anymore, because this quick to make syrup is so darn good!  My 11-year-old usually whips it up whenever we have pancakes or waffles!  Try it and you won't go back! 

Blogposts about my son:

How We Found Out About Spencer's Leukemia
How We Told Spencer
Trusting in the Lord


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Favorite Index

This link will be placed in the menu bar above for your easy reference.

Favorite Main Dishes of all-time

Favorite Main Dishes of 2011

Favorite Soup Recipes of 2011

Favorite Slow Cooker Recipes

Favorite Desserts of 2011

Favorite Desserts of all-time (coming soon)

Favorite Breakfasts

Favorite Breads

Most Popular Recipes of 2011

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Most Popular Recipes of 2011

It was interesting to look back at our stats through the year to see which recipes were the most popular.  Some of them I knew about and expected, but others were a surprise to me.  All of them, however, are recipes we love at our house too, so I'm happy that they're getting out there in the blog world too! 

10.  Thai Chicken Pasta--this dish is also on my favorite meal list, so it didn't surprise me to find it on our top 10 most viewed recipes as well. 

9.  Blueberry and Spinach Smoothie--this recipe is one we have at least once or twice per week at our house

8.  Fresh Strawberry Frosting--this frosting isn't the prettiest if you're looking to make a cake look fancy, but if you're looking for fresh strawberry taste, this is the recipe for you!

7.  Easy Chocolate Pretzel Bites--super easy and tasty too, we love to keep the ingredients for these on hand during the holidays

6.  Potato Kielbasa Skillet--my husband loves this meat and potatoes meal

5.  French Peasant Bread--another favorite of ours, we make this one at least once a week at our house!

4. Chicken Pasta Salad--full of veggies and yet it's one of our family's very favorite meals of all time.  I find it humorous when my son puts "pasta salad" down as his favorite food on his star-of-the-week forms at school, while everyone else's say cookies or cake or something of the sort. 

3.  Chicken Parmesan in the Slow Cooker--easy, cheesy, and oh so good!  

2.  Garlic Chicken Pasta with Spinach--full of flavor and healthy, my daughter is always asking when I'm going to make this next

And the #1 most viewed recipe in 2011 was:

1.  Makeover Chicken Crescents--a 'healthified' version of an old favorite, this meal is one of my family's most requested meals of all time and this year has found a few more fans out there too! 

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Top 10 Referrers from 2011--
To fellow bloggers and facebookers--thank you for linking up to Recipe Shoebox. 
Here's a glimpse of our top referrers from the year. 

1.  Organizing Junkie
2.  Facebook--Someday I'll figure out how to better intertwine Facebooking with blogging, but in the meantime a big thanks to all of you who link up their favorite recipes from Recipe Shoebox onto their Facebook feed!
3.  Cookie Crazie
4.  Pinterest--check out all the recipes I've been eyeing!
5.  Finding Joy in My Kitchen
6.  Coleen's Recipes
7.  See Jane in the Kitchen
8.  Tried and True Cooking with Heidi
9.  Stumble Upon
10.  A Blog About Food

Thanks for visiting Recipe Shoebox this year! 
Happy new year! 

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Head on over to Finding Joy in my Kitchen for lots more Most Popular recipes of 2011.

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Best Soup Recipes of 2011

Today is Day 3 of Finding Joy in My Kitchen's countdown to 2012 and I must say that I'm completely enjoying going through all the recipes I've published this year and finding my favorites!  Today's spotlight is on the Soups and Stews category, which has got me drooling and menu planning already for next week.  :)

 Chicken Quinoa Stew--A new discovery this year, this hearty, healthy, and flavorful soup was perfect for keeping those post-holiday resolutions.

Cheese Crusted Lasagna Soup--this was one of those rare recipes (especially for a soup) that the whole family actually enjoyed. 

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup--this quick recipe is surprisingly delicious and  the very epitome of guiltless comfort food.

Chicken and Dumplings--comfort in a bowl! 

Meatball Curry Soup--spicy and different, my kids loved the meatballs and noodles, while I loved the Indian flair

Tomato-Basil-Parmesan Soup in the Crockpot--This soup is one I just discovered this year, but it has quickly become one of my favorite crockpot recipes.

Spinach and Zucchini Soup--For as healthy as this soup is, it's also surprisingly good, especially with a little squeeze of lemon juice. 

All-Time Favorite Soups (not from 2011)

Potato Soup--this is probably our favorite soup of all time. We've been serving it up for over ten years now and still no one complains when it's on the menu. 

Tortilla Soup--this soup is another one I've been making for over a decade now and still it's one of my go-to meals for a crazy night.  I can whip up a batch of this in about 15 minutes. 

Head on over to Finding Joy in my Kitchen for lots more Best Soup recipes today.

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Mommy's Macaroni and Cheese

If you ever ask my boys what their favorite thing is that I make for dinner, most likely they will answer "Mommy's macaroni and cheese". Why "Mommy's"? Well, that is to make the difference between mac and cheese from a box and mac and cheese home made by Mommy. Basically it's a cheese sauce with a different shaped noodle. We like to use the penne noodles because the sauce gets into the tubes and then when you bite into it, the cheese sauce squishes out into your mouth.

Click here for printable recipe. 

The Ingredients:
1/4 c butter
1/4 c flour
salt to taste
3 c milk (or more to desired thickness)
16 oz shredded cheddar cheese
package noodles of choice

(These are the amounts to serve a family of 5, and leaves leftovers. If you need more or less, just make sure that you have equal parts flour and butter and add or decrease the amount of milk as needed)

The Directions:

First thing to do is get your pot of water on the stove to get ready for the pasta. Turn on high so it reaches a boil for your pasta.

For Cheese sauce:
This is basically how you make any kind of white sauce. Your white sauce can turn into an Alfredo or Bechamel (cheese) sauce or even the beginnings of a great crab dip. First take equal parts butter and flour. Melt the butter in a non stick skillet.
Sprinkle the flour onto the melted butter. Let it cook together a little bit so as to get some of the flour taste out.Whisk the butter and flour together. I personally like these nonstick whisks because I know that I'm not going to scrape the bottom of my pan. When you have a bubbly mass, then add one cup of the milk. Turn up the heat to almost high. Whisk and whisk until you get a paste. (it reminds me of the white paste that smells like mint)Add another cup of milk and keep whisking. Make sure you try to get out the lumps.
Add more milk until you get the desired thickness of the sauce. For this cheese sauce you'll want it a little more runny because the cheese will help thicken it more.Add about half the shredded cheese and whisk until it's melted and smooth.Add more cheese and keep stirring until it's all melted in.Voilà...cheese sauce. This is great over potatoes, broccoli, or nachos. But today we're adding pasta. Add your cooked pasta and stir it in. Serve quickly.I hope you enjoy this as much as my family does. If you have leftovers, refer to Alton Brown's recipe for deep fried mac and cheese. It will only work with homemade mac & cheese, not the box stuff. Trust me, try it. Deep fried mac and cheese tastes as good as it sounds!
Enjoy! 

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