Play Dough

What a cool thing to be able to make your own play dough for the kids. As much as my kids play with play dough and then leave it out so it gets dried up this makes it easy on the pocketbook. At Kate's preschool a parent is in charge of making a new batch each month. We've signed up for February. Here's the recipe the preschool is having us use.

2 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1 cup salt
2TB of vegetable oil
1 TB cream of tarter

10-15 drops of food coloring

Mix all ingredients except the food coloring into a pan. Cook them on a low heat until the mixture thickens and pulls away from the sides of the pan. If it is too sticky let it cook longer. Remove from the pan and cool.

Divide into balls, make divots in the top and add coloring in the middle. Mix by kneading.

food coloring will stain your hands before it has mixed into the dough. You can use plastic wrap on hands or around dough to protect your hands.

Cajun Shrimp and Andouille with Alfredo Sauce

This recipe comes from Southern Living. I've made it several times now and it's so yummy but the cream does make it a bit on the heavy side. I have only one printed copy of the recipe and I keep losing it and every time I wanted to make this I had to hunt for this one copy. I recently found it but I'm not allowed to make it until I get it typed up here in case the recipe goes missing again. This recipe is a bit more on the time consuming time and has a few more ingredients than I like to use but it's worth it. Also it can be made with chicken instead of shrimp, and I usually get that sausage that looks like a big hot dog shaped like a U. The recipe says to serve on pasta but I'm sure it would be great on rice as well which is probably a bit more Cajun.

• 1 pound unpeeled, medium-size fresh shrimp

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• 1 (12-ounce) package fettuccine
• 1/2 pound Andouille sausage, chopped
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small green bell pepper, chopped
• 4 celery ribs, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt-free Cajun seasoning
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 6 ounces pasteurized prepared cheese product, cubed (this means velvetta I've always used shredded Monterrey Jack cheese)
• 3/4 cup chopped green onions

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• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or I've used dried)

Preparation

1. Peel shrimp, and devein, if desired. Set aside.
2. Prepare fettuccine according to package directions; drain pasta, and set aside.
3. Cook sausage in a large Dutch oven over medium heat 10 minutes or until browned; remove sausage, and drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in Dutch oven. Set sausage aside.
4. Melt butter in drippings in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shrimp, and cook 5 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink. Remove shrimp, and keep warm.
5. Add onion and next 3 ingredients; cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat 10 minutes. Stir in Cajun seasoning and flour. Cook over medium heat, 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in chicken broth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Boil 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low, and stir in heavy cream; cook over medium-low heat 8 minutes or until mixture simmers. Add pasteurized cheese cubes, sausage, and shrimp, stirring until cheese melts.
6. Stir in chopped green onions, Parmesan cheese, and chopped fresh parsley. Serve over hot cooked fettuccine.
7. Note from Sourthern Living: For testing purposes only, we used Velveeta for pasteurized prepared cheese product. Freeze shrimp and andouille pasta in 3 (8 1/4- x 5 1/4- x 1-inch) disposable foil pans covered with aluminum foil. Place in zip-top plastic freezer bags. Freeze up to 1 month, if desired. Remove from freezer bag, and bake, covered, at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Or thaw in refrigerator overnight, and bake, covered, at 350° for 45 minutes. Each pan contains about two servings.

Note:

Substitute 3 cups chopped cooked chicken for shrimp. While the fettuccine cooks, start the sausage.

Chicken Florentine Style

This is a great chicken recipe. A friend made this for dinner one night for a girl's night out and I was amazed with how great it turned out, I couldn't wait to make it for my family. The recipe comes from Giada De Laurentiis. It tastes like something you would order at a restaurant, but the great thing about it is you probably have most of the stuff in your pantry, you might have to grab a few things from the grocery store but overall there aren't a lot of ingredients. I made a few changes from the original. Oh and the funny thing about this is I don't include spinach at all in the recipe, which is what makes chicken Florentine..well chicken Florentine. You are welcomed to do what the original recipe calls for and serve it on a bed of buttered up spinach or like me just serve it with a veggie, you'll also want to serve mashed potatoes or rice because you have enough sauce left over it makes a yummy gravy.

4 boneless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
all-purpose flour, for dredging
4 TBSP butter
2TBSP shallot, sliced
1 TBSP garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups dry white wine (or I used chicken broth)
1 cup whipping/heavy cream
1 TBSP fresh Italian parsley, chopped (or I used dried)

Directions:
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in flour to coat lightly. Shake off any excess flour. Melt 2 TBSP butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until brown, about 5 minutes each side. Transfer chicken to a plate and cover with foil to keep it warm.

Melt 2 TBSP of butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and saute until the shallots are translucent, stirring to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet, about 1 minute. Add the wine. Increase the heat to medium-high and boil until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the cream and boil until the sauce reduces by half, stirring often. Stir in the parsley. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and any accumulated juices to the sauce, and turn the chicken to coat in the sauce.

Serve immediately.