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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Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Two months ago today my life was consumed with busy mom stuff.  What should I make for dinner tonight?  How many  places do I have to go tonight?   Then on the evening of January 10th we got the phone call that turned our world upside down and in a single instant our priorities shifted in a big way.     After 51 nights in the hospital with my son (and many more to go), I certainly haven't done much in the way of cooking or experimenting with recipes lately, but then I remembered that I do have a bunch of recipes I'd made and hadn't blogged about yet.  I'm taking advantage of a quiet moment tonight and posting about one of those stand-out recipes from BL (Before Leukemia).    

It's been a while since I made this slow cooker meal, but I remember it being super easy--a dump it and forget it type of meal!   I also remember us all enjoying it and thinking that I would definitely make it again.   
Thank you to friends and family who've been taking care of the blog in my absence!    Hopefully you'll see me pop in from time-to-time with some more of these forgotten recipes. :)
Enjoy! 

Adapted from:  All Recipes

Click here for printable recipe. 

Posted by Lara. 

The ingredients: 

(oops!  The black beans didn't make it into the picture) 

1 pound raw chicken breasts, cubed
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14.5 ounce each) cans chicken broth
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
1 can (15-ounce) black beans, drained
1 Tbs. chopped cilantro
7 corn tortillas
vegetable oil

Directions: 
For soup:  Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in chicken broth,  cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn, black beans, and cilantro.

Cover, and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.  Serve hot with sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, and tortilla strips. 

For tortilla strips:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly brush both sides of corn tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.

Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup.

Enjoy!

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Five things to do with Chicken Nuggets

I often eat lunch with a three year old who loves chicken nuggets. Needless to say, I'm sick of chicken nuggets. Plus, there are some nights that are just really busy and it's easy to heat up nuggets for dinner. But what adult wants to eat chicken nuggets for dinner?! So, I've gotten a little bit experimental with chicken nuggets. This is not necessarily a 'how to' post, but rather ideas for you to use when your children beg for chicken nuggets for dinner.

Ingredients:

Cooked Chicken nuggets

imagination

1. Chicken nugget sandwich.

I often eat this for lunch with my toddler because it's easy and I feel a little more full. It's a bit more complete with wheat bread, cheese, and lettuce.2. Chicken nugget quesadilla.

I chopped up the cooked chicken nugget and put it in between two tortillas with cheese and salsa. My kids really liked this.

3. Chicken nugget wrap sandwich.

I have to admit that the inspiration for this came from McDonalds wrap sandwiches. You can wrap whatever you want and use whatever dressing you want to add. Make it like a ranch club with chicken, bacon, cheese, lettuce, and ranch dressing. Make it Buffalo style with buffalo wing hot sauce, lettuce, and blue cheese dressing. Make it whatever you want! Just make sure to wrap it securely at the bottom so nuggets don't fall out.

4. Chicken nugget curry.

I just cooked the nuggets and added them to heated curry sauce. I did add raisins to my curry sauce to give it a little sweetness and a bit of chopped zucchini for nutrition. Serve over rice.

5. Sweet and sour chicken nuggets.

It seems to me that most stir fry recipes involving cooked chicken would also work with chicken nuggets. Check out this recipe for easy sweet and sour sauce. Or this recipe for Orange chicken.

Stay tuned later for even more ideas of ways to use your kid's chicken nuggets!

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Taco Pizza

A long time ago (in a galaxy far far away...in the midwest) I remember Pizza Hut serving taco pizza. It was one of my favorites. Granted, now I can no longer find it at Pizza Hut but I can make it in my own home. I love this pizza because you can put just about anything you would put on a taco, on top of a pizza. What a great combination! I recently came across a recipe that put some corn meal in the pizza dough and I thought I'd try it out. After the first bite, my husband exclaimed, "This tastes like a Chalupa!". And once again the culinary wheels in my head started turning. Anyway, Chalupas are for later, right now it's time for taco pizza.

Posted by Jen

Printable Recipe

The Ingredients:
For the dough:

1 c warm water
1/4 c oil (I like Olive oil)
2 1/2 c flour
3/4 c corn meal
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp (or 1 package) yeast

For the taco toppings:
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 c tomato sauce (not pictured, oops)
1 taco seasoning packet OR 2 tsp taco seasoning (or more to taste)
1 4 oz can diced chilies (optional)
2 c shredded cheese (cheddar, Monterey jack, pepper jack, etc)
1 c shredded lettuce
1/2 c (or more) salsa
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c sliced olives
1 chopped avocado (optional)

OR anything else you like on tacos (refried beans would be great, but my family doesn't like them.

The Directions:
Make your pizza dough as you normally would either in a Kitchenaid, by hand, or by machine. (I used a bread machine on the dough cycle).

While the dough is resting/rising, cook your hamburger with the onion, and spices. (and green chilies if desired) Then add the tomato sauce. (I actually didn't have any tomato sauce so I added some red enchilada sauce!). I also used this opportunity to add in some pureed carrots and spinach so I can sneak more veggies into my family. When the dough is ready roll it out thin and place on your pizza pan. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Poke pizza dough all over with a fork so that it doesn't puff up while baking. (sorry I forgot to take a picture at this point) Bake in oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly brown. Remove and add meat and cheese toppings. (If your family likes refried beans, heat some up and spread it thinly on the bottom of the meat mixture)
When the cheese is melted, remove from oven. Working quickly add the lettuce, salsa, avocados, olives (if you'd like), and sour cream. Serve immediately while still warm. Yum. It looks like a giant taco!

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Chocolate Tart

If you're looking for a rich, smooth, chocolaty dessert, then look no further. A chocolate tart (tarte au chocolat) is just what you've ordered. Plus it's super easy, especially with Lara's Perfect Pie Crust recipe. I chose to use the chocolate filling recipe from French food at About.com. It looked like the easiest to do! You can make it to impress your friends, or to just savor the deep chocolate taste all by yourself. Serve it with whipped cream, top it with powdered sugar, chocolate curls, or your favorite fruit. It's so versatile.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

For Pie Crust:

1 c butter flavored Crisco

2 1/2 c flour

1 tsp salt

1 egg + enough ice water to equal 1/2 c liquid

For the Chocolate filling

1 1/4 c heavy cream

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs, beaten

First, follow Lara's recipe for the Perfect Pie Crust. This really is the best pie crust recipe I've come across and I have NEVER had a problem with pies since I discovered it. I have to tell you that I avoided making pies for nearly 10 years because I hated the pie crust process. (I once nearly threw pie dough at the wall in frustration). But not any more! If you don't want to link back to her recipe then here are her instructions: (but I highly recommend checking out the step by step tutorial for how to make it)

1. With a pastry blender (or fork) cut shortening into flour and salt, crisscrossing across the shortening pieces until mostly the size of peas

2. Make the egg/water mixture by placing an egg in a half cup measuring cup, beat the egg slightly with a fork, and add ice water to the top.

3. Make a slight well in the flour/salt/shortening mixture, then add the egg/ice water mixture and stir with fork until just barely clinging together (10-15 seconds at most).

4. Knead with hands for 15-20 seconds just bringing in some of the loose crumbs. Only do this until the dough is just holding together.

5. Refrigerate for a little bit if desired. Roll out onto a floured surface to the size needed for your pan.

I have a removable bottom tart pan. You do not need to have one of these to make this. You can use a regular pie pan if desired. Because a pie pan is deeper than a tart pan you may need to increase the amount of cream to 1 1/2 cups, and use 12 oz of chocolate (ie the entire bag of chocolate chips...minus a few that accidentally fall onto the counter and end up in your mouth)

Place your rolled out dough onto the tart pan.

Take your rolling pin and roll it over the top of the pan while pressing a little, thus cutting off the dough to fit the pan. (Skip this if using a pie pan. Just crimp the edges to make it look nice)

Prick the crust all over with a fork. Cut a square of tin foil slightly larger than the bottom of the pie plate. Form it into a slight bowl shape. Carefully fit it into the bottom of the crust. Place pie weights or dried beans into the foil 'bowl'. Bake for 10-12 minutes in a 425 degree oven.

After the crust comes out of the oven, lower the temperature to 375 degrees.

Meanwhile, prepare your chocolate filling. Heat the cream in a medium pan over medium heat just until simmering. Stir occasionally so the cream doesn't burn or stick on the bottom.

Remove from heat and stir in chocolate. Stir until smooth. Add the vanilla and mix well.

Time to temper the eggs. If you add the beaten eggs to the hot chocolate mixture, your eggs will become scrambled and we don't want that. So you need to bring the beaten eggs up to the chocolate temperature a little at a time. Scoop spoonfuls of the chocolate mixture into the eggs and incorporate well. Keep adding the chocolate and mixing it into the eggs until the eggs reach a temperature that is like the chocolate mixture.

Pour the tempered eggs into the chocolate mixture beating it so it is smooth.

Pour into the baked crust. (I placed mine on a cookie sheet just in case there were spills and to make it easier to transfer to the oven)

Carefully place tart into the 375 degree oven and bake for 18-25 minutes or just until the center is a little jiggly. I personally took mine out at 18 minutes.

Cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Make sure that you can remove the tart ring. Remove the outer ring if desired and place in refrigerator. Decorate as desired and serve chilled.

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Rocky Road brownies

Lara’s Aunt Debra here. Just to keep the wonderful chocolate recipes going for the month of February, here is a recipe that my kids love. They are huge brownie fiends but their favorite ice cream is rocky road. That sent me on a path to find a recipe I liked for brownies with the wonderfulness of marshmallows and nuts. After a few misses, I found a combination that worked well.

Rocky Road Brownies

(Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 1/2 bags (18 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 tsp salt

4 large eggs

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cup mini marshmallows

2 cup chopped walnuts, almonds, peanuts or whatever nut you choose (my kids go for the

peanuts)

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan

- In a heatproof bowl, combine butter and 2 cups chocolate chips. Melt in the microwave on high >power for 3 to 5 five minutes, stirring occasionally.

- Into the chocolate/butter mixture, stir in sugars and salt. Once combined, stir in the eggs and then the flour, stirring just until combined. Mix in 1 cup of the walnuts.

- Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.

- Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes.

- Remove from oven. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, remaining chocolate chips and marshmallows. Bake until the marshmallows are puffed and beginning to brown and the chocolate turns shiny, roughly 5 to 7 minutes. (If you like your marshmallows extra toasty, turn on the boiler of your oven and use that for the last few minutes. Be sure to turn the pan every minute or so to ensure even browning.)

- Remove from oven and cool completely in pan. Cut and enjoy!

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Easy Gourmet Chocolate Bark

Lara's sister-in-law Karey here! I'm on a mostly sugar-free diet, but I am a huge sucker for holidays! One simply cannot celebrate Valentine's Day without chocolate, right? When I saw a recipe on Mama's Minutia for a simple chocolate bark calling for only three ingredients, that sealed the deal! This is a super easy recipe for a delicious grown-up treat.

Click here for printable recipe.

Ingredients
1 bag dark chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli 60% Cacao)
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup chopped almonds

Melt chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave until smooth. Pour half of the chocolate into 1 9x9 pan, lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle almonds and cherries over the chocolate, and press down if desired. Pour remaining chocolate over the top. Chill in the fridge, or at room temperature until the chocolate hardens. If you want bars, score the chocolate when it's partially set, so you can break it apart more easily once fully hardened.

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