Tag: BLOG 365

COOKING THURSDAY ~ CREAMY TUSCAN TORTELLINI SOUP ~ 2026 BLOG 365.15B

Creamy Tuscan garlic tortellini soup is so easy to make and one of the best soups that you will make! This soup is loaded with cheesy tortellini, diced tomatoes, healthy spinach, and hearty white beans. It is the most creamy and delicious soup that I know your family will love!

CREAMY TUSCAN TORTELLINI SOUP serves 8

2 cups cooked shredded rotisserie chicken
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup FRESH chopped Italian Parsley
1 cup FRESH chopped spinach
2 cups homemade chicken broth
1 (14-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup FRESH grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
10 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini

  • Melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in a large pot over medium heat.
  • Add 1 small diced onion, cooking 1-2 minutes until tender.
  • Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds more until fragrant.
  • 
Stir in chicken broth, diced tomatoes, navy beans, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and bring to a simmer.

  • Stir in rotisserie chicken pieces, cheese tortellini, parsley and spinach.
  • Simmer for 10 minutes to thicken, and allow the tortellini to cook.
  • Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Enjoy!

COOKING THURSDAY ~ COPYCAT APPLEBEE’S ORIENTAL CHICKEN SALAD DRESSING ~ 2026 BLOG 365.15A

The best part of APPLEBEE”S oriental chicken salad is dressing! The salad components can be changed up to anyone’s liking, but are second to the tasty dressing. This is my version of their tasty dressing. I reserev the right to keep tweaking it to perfection 🙂

COPYCAT APPLEBEE’S ORIENTAL CHICKEN SALAD DRESSING ~ serves 4 ~ adapted from Sweet Basil 

CHICKEN
4 Frozen Chicken Strips, baked **

  • Cook the chicken according to taste.
4 Frozen Chicken Strips
  • Set aside.

DRESSING
1/4 cup Duke’s mayonnaise
2 tablespoons QUALITY apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons QUALITY honey
1-2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
scant 1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
Pinch ground ginger
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper

  • In a blender, add all ingredients and blending until smooth.
  • Store in a mason jar Store in the refrigerator until serving.

SALAD
2 cups rotisserie chicken pieces or fried chicken pieces
2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup chopped iceburg lettuce
1/2 cup matchstick carrots
1 cup chopped Napa cabbage
1 cup chopped red cabbage
1 small bunch green onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons Sliced Almonds
1/4 cup Chow Mein Noodles, optional

ASSEMBLY

  • In a large bowl, toss the lettuces, cabbages, onions and carrots.

  • Slice chicken into thin strips.
  • Top with almonds and chow mein noodles, then the chicken pieces.
  • Drizzle with dressing.
  • Serve immediately.

NOTES: **OR scratch made fried chicken strips or grilled chicken strips

BLOG 365.12 ~ HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY ~ week 2 of 2026 ~ with MENUS & RECIPE LINKS

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

The first part of the week was full of errands and trying to get back on track with a routine. My girlfriend and I ventured to the BIG (ha 😂 ha) city on Wednesday to go shopping at the mall and have a nice lunch. Then we stopped at the Chef’s store (Cash & Carry, Smart & Final) to get the food for our Friday dinner and the rest of the month’s shopping for the Eagle’s kitchen. YAY my last time shopping for the kitchen, but at least I was able to set them up for success, now it’s on them to find the wherewithal to follow thru and keep it going “correctly” without getting lazy and short cutting everything which unfortunately is the tendancy. Thursday was the shopping for the Eagle’s bar, my girlfriend’s bar & grill and some food prep for Friday’s meal.

I cannot believe the first full week of January flew by that quickly! I NEED things to slow down a bit so I can catch up!

We’re NOT really college football watchers other than the Rose Bowl, but we live in a small town only an hour or so away from the Oregon University Ducks, so they are a BIG deal around here. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, they played Friday evening during the Auxiliary charity dinner that my girl friend and I were preparing so we ended up twice as busy as we’ve been in recent months. The unfortunate part is that we didn’t plan for that many people, but, the fortunate part is that we SOLD OUT and didn’t have leftovers 🙂

Saturday I was finally able to get my own shopping and errands accomplished and picked up some fried chicken for lunch on the way back so hubby and I could watch WILD CARD NFL games. 4 of the 5 times we rooted for won 🙂 Sunday was more football with friends and then some relaxing before the week started all over again. I did get some meal planning done and a few odd organizational tasks accomplished.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

Last Friday we finally woke to the first snow of the winter, NOT on the valley floor, but absolutely beautiful none the less on the hills around us. Our rain is gone for the next week or so, but it’s not full sun either. All week should be highs in the 40’s with lows in the low 30’s. Lots of layering still going on here.

TO DO, APPOINTMENTS, DVR/TV & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS, APPOINTMENTS & DVR/TV
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING Laundry is done and I’m hoping to finish the holiday clean-up today 🙂
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS Up to date on my personal shopping. I just have the business shopping to do. I have 2 meetings today, but may skip them both under the current political climate. I was going to skip the 2nd one anyway to go and support my friend’s new “Trivia Night” at the bar and grill she manages. But… ??????
  • PROJECTS & TRAVELS Need to make reservations for the trip next month.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m working on a couple of new and unusual recipes to combat winter doldrums of the same old soup and stew flavor profile.
  • DVR/TV We watched BEST MEDICINE last week and will give it another try this week, but so far it isn’t as good as the original, DOC MARTIN. Also have a few cooking shows to catch up on as well as the regular season shows that have started again.
  • THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY A rainy Sunday in yoga pants, fuzzy socks and Football… brunch with good friends and Football… puppy kisses… clean sheets and cozy quilt…
  • ON MY MIND I’m not technically an officer at the Eagles, but I do have many responsibilities and am the “back up” secretary for my friend. She asked me to go to the officer’s meeting today in her place and I’m a bit concerned about saying the wrong thing to the wrong person. From a business standpoint there are some really poor choices being made and as the saying goes, you can read the writing on the wall if they follow down this path. But, as the other saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink…Que sera…

READING TIME

Book club was kind of a wash I guess and they haven’t picked a new book ::SIGH:: so I’ve just bee reading whatever strikes my fancy. Right now I’m reading WHY I HOLD YOUR HAND by Augusta Reily.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
1/12
MONDAY
 1/13
TUESDAY
 1/14
WEDNESDAY
 1/15
THURSDAY
1/16
FRIDAY
1/17
SATURDAY
1/18
SUNDAY
DINNER
CORN/YOYO
BEST MEATBALLS and PASTA
MARRY ME CHICKEN & NOODLES
ASIAN POT PIE and SALAD
CORN/YOYO
CHICKEN FETTUCCINE CARBONARA
ORICIETTE with BROWN BUTTER WALNUT SAUCE
DESSERT
 
PUMPKIN APPLE POKE CAKE
 

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

Incredible sunsets over the pond again this past weekend!!!

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

COOKING THURSDAY RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

  • CREAMY TUSCAN TORTELLINI SOUP
  • APPLEBEE’S COPY CAT ORIENTAL CHICKEN SALAD DRESSING

COOKING THURSDAY RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

COOKING THURSDAY ~ CRANBERRY COFFEE CAKE aka NANTUCKET PIE meets BOSTON CREAM PIE for a CRANBERRY UPSIDE DOWN CAKE ~ 2026 BLOG 365.8B

From the crunch of the sugar crust on the bottom to the juicy cranberries to the flaky cake layer on top; Nantucket Christmas Cranberry Pie is cranberry dessert heaven.

This sweet and lip puckering tart combination is completely irresistible! My whole family LOVES this coffeecake as a Christmas morning treat. If you can’t decide whether to make cake or pie for your holiday celebration, this recipe right here is your answer!

I originally heard about Nantucket Pie on PINTEREST and then it kept appearing on Facebook, so I finally broke down and made some. The first batch was horrible – too dry and chalky! I then altered the recipe to keep the cranberry layer from the original recipe, but used the cake recipe of a Boston Cream Pie for the cake portion.

You just simply pour the cranberry filling into a pie pan and top it with the batter. The magic happens when you invert it after baking. And don’t forget to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or FRESH whipped cream.

CHRISTMAS CRANBERRY COFFEECAKE aka NANTUCKET PIE serves 6-8
This recipe yields enough batter for a layered 8 or 9 inch layer cake, 24 cupcakes or a 9 x 13 inch cake. Recipe can be easily halved.

Prep time 20 minutes
Cooking time 25 minutes
= Total time 45 minutes

FILLING
2 cups FRESH cranberries
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon dried orange peel

½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

  • Preheat the oven to 350°.
  • Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pan. Set aside.
  • Combine the filling ingredients and stir to combine making sure cranberries are well coated in sugar.
  • Pour into two generously buttered 9 or 10 inch cake pans.

3 cups sited AP purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup neutral oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 LARGE eggs
3 teaspoons PURE vanilla extract
1 cup WHOLE milk

  • In a bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt until well combined.
  • In a separate mixing bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla and sugar, whisking for 1-2 minutes on medium speed until the mixture has slightly thickened and lightened in color. 
  • Whisk in the oil.
  • Add the flour mix and milk to the eggs and sugar mix in alternating batches, starting and ending with flour mix. DO NOT over mix.
  • Divide batter evenly between cake pans over the cranberries and bake at for 25 – 28 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. DO NOT over bake.
  • Cool completely in an airtight container.
  • Serve warm with FRESH whipped cream, vanilla ice cream and/or a dollop of FRESH cranberry sauce.
  • Enjoy!


NOTES:
FRESH cranberries are best, but frozen work also.
If you do not have a 10″ pan, a 9″ pan will work, but it will need to bake 5-10 minutes more.