Author Archives: Windy Looney

About Windy Looney

Windy Looney is a Pastor's wife and a working, homeschooling mom to 3 dynamic daughters. She does the bookkeeping for her husband's music store and leads the "Tenderhearts" of an American Heritage Girls Troop. Windy is very involved in the praise and worship team at church. She is a classically trained flutist and Board Certified Music Therapist. She has used her gift of music for 20 years to teach and minister to people both young and old, but mostly to children. Here in East Texas it gets a little hot and steamy, so Windy and her family often vacation at their log cabin in Colorado, where friends and loved ones have an open invitation.

Windy’s Comfort Chili

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Comfort-Chili

Friday Night Fellowship at church- a once a month gathering for families to eat, play games and get to know each other a little better.  And when the weather was cool, it was a great time to have a chili cook off!  What an opportunity to test my chili recipe and find out if friends loved it as much as my family did.  I think I remember there being about 12 different pots of chili that night.  Some were very good and shall I say…exotic tasting, with unusual spices and venison giving the unique flavor.  My chili was perfect for kids.  Not too spicy, nothing weird or bizarre about it.  Just enough flavor to make your kids say, “Mmm!  This is GOOD!”

My husband has always bragged about my chili, referring to it as “Comfort Chili.”  In fact, he is the one who encouraged me to enter the chili cook off.  So, I did.  And, I was pleased to come in 2nd place 🙂  The vote was so close too…close enough that just one vote could have put me in a tie for 1st place.  Too bad I didn’t have my husband’s vote that night.  You see, even though he raved about my chili, he decided to vote for “Venison Five Alarm Chili!” (He likes things spicy) Poor guy, he still apologizes to me 5 years later for his “lapse of domestic judgement!”

Winner of the chili cook off or not, this recipe is still my family’s favorite!  My mother in law says it’s the best chili she’s ever tasted.  We like to serve it with Fritos and shredded cheddar cheese, otherwise known as Frito Pie.  I’m actually not a huge fan of chili, but mine is some seriously good comfort food.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we have!

 

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Windy’s Comfort Chili

Windy’s Comfort Chili

Ingredients

  • 1 T. olive oil
  • 1 T. all spice
  • 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 1 T. chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1/2 lb. ground sage sausage
  • 1 family size jar of Prego Traditional Sauce
  • 15 oz. ranch style beans
  • 15 oz. jalapeno navy beans
  • 15 oz. black beans
  • 14.5 oz. chili style diced tomatos
  • 10.5 oz. cream of chicken soup
  • 3 Roma tomatos, diced
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions

  1. In a medium stew pot heat olive oil on high heat for 1 minute.
  2. Add tomatos, onion, garlic and cook for 3 minutes.
  3. Add meat/sausage and stir thoroughly for 7 minutes or until brown.
  4. Reduce heat to medium and pour cans of beans, chili tomatos and jar of Prego.
  5. Now, here comes the weird part: Add a can of cream of chicken soup. Trust me- it will be awesome!
  6. Add all spice, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and salt. Cook for 10 minutes.
  7. Reduce heat to low and let simmer until you are ready to serve.
https://heidistjohn.com/blog/recipes/windys-comfort-chili

Creamy Shrimp ‘n Shells

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creamy-shrimp-shells-thebusymom

A fully stocked kitchen…complete with all the ingredients to prepare a delicious and healthy meal.  A perfectly, delightful hour at 5pm, with no hungry children who ask every 5 minutes, “Is dinner ready yet?”  A kitchen that is sparkling clean when you come home, giving you the motivation to pull out all your pots and pans needed to make dinner.  A dishwasher, empty and ready to receive the evening’s dinner dishes.  Whoa!!  Hold on just a minute!  Whose kitchen am I in?  Not mine!

Well, maybe every once in a while I find myself living this dreamy evening 🙂  But, being a busy mom with an artist’s mentality (lack of organizational skills), I don’t always have a fully stocked kitchen.  And, when I hear my children’s favorite question, “Mama, what’s for dinner?” I often don’t have a clue!  Sometimes I don’t know what’s for dinner until I see what’s in the fridge and pantry.  You know that dreaded feeling, when you realize, “If only I had… (fill in the blank with desired ingredient)”…it’s 5pm and you are not wanting to load everyone in the car for a quick trip to the store?

Hopefully, I’m not alone in saying that this happens to me on a regular basis, but I found myself in this predicament just last week.  I came home with the girls after a busy day of homeschooling and working at our family owned music store.  No plan for dinner.  What was in the freezer?  A handful of cooked shrimp and half a bag of frozen corn.  In the fridge?  One left over grilled sausage link, broccoli, carrots, some different kinds of cheese, and a little bit of cream.  Fortunately, I did have some pasta shells and a can of chicken broth in the pantry.  Do you see a yummy meal unfolding with these ingredients?  Are you catching the vision?  Here are the ingredients for Creamy Shrimp ‘n Shells!

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Creamy Shrimp 'n' Shells

Creamy Shrimp 'n' Shells

Ingredients

  • 2 TB butter
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic salt
  • 1 link of sliced sausage
  • 10 large cooked shrimp (thawed)
  • 1 cup of shell pasta
  • For Creamy Sauce:
  • 2 TB butter
  • 2 TB flour
  • 1 14 oz. can of chicken broth
  • 3 TB cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup of cream

Instructions

  1. Boil shell pasta on high heat until pasta is tender. 
  2. While pasta is boiling, melt 2 TB butter in a medium skillet. 
  3. Add shrimp, sausage and spices to skillet and cook on med-high heat for 3-5 minutes.  
  4. Drain your pasta and add it to the skillet. 
  5. Remove skillet from heat.
  6. Next, you need to make your creamy sauce.  This is what makes the meal extra special 🙂 
  7. In a medium sauce pan, melt 2 TB butter on high heat. 
  8. Add 2 TB flour and stir until you have a thick paste. 
  9. While still cooking on high, slowly add chicken broth and stir for 3 minutes. 
  10. Reduce to low heat and stir in cream cheese and cream.  Your sauce will thicken over the next 5-10 minutes. 
  11. Pour creamy sauce in skillet with shrimp/sausage/pasta and stir the yummy goodness on low heat. 
  12. Top with shredded Asiago cheese. 
  13. Serve with your choice of vegetables. 
https://heidistjohn.com/blog/recipes/creamy-shrimp-n-shells

Simply Fantabulous Chicken Pot-Pie

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chicken-pot-pie

When I was first married, I could hardly cook an egg.  Of course, there wasn’t much motivation to learn more since I didn’t have a kitchen!  It’s true.  We spent the first year and a half as newlyweds in a 400 sq. foot historic 1830’s log cabin… very romantic for a gal who loves “Little House on the Prairie.”  But, with no kitchen, I learned to cook with an electric hot plate and microwave.  I washed dishes in our claw foot tub.

After buying our first home (with a kitchen) I realized that I should probably learn a few recipes, so I did what every young wife does… called MOM  🙂   She lovingly gave me her secrets to all my favorite meals.  And, guess what?  I can cook way more than an egg now!  Somewhere between calling Mom and giving birth to my three daughters, I gained even more inspiration for cooking by watching the Food Network. They made it seem so easy and maybe even fun.

Now I make up my own recipes quite often and I’ve learned that cooking doesn’t have to be hard.  However, writing this blog post ABOUT cooking is a bit of a challenge since most of my recipes aren’t written down.  As a result of not measuring and recording original recipes, my dinners are often slightly different every single time!

One of my family’s favorite meals is chicken pot-pie.  Who doesn’t love a good chicken pot-pie, right?  This is a recipe my mom gave me, but over the years I have altered a few ingredients to make it my own.

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Simply Fantabulous Chicken Pot-Pie

Simply Fantabulous Chicken Pot-Pie

Ingredients

  • 6 cups of water
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 small heads of broccoli
  • 3 whole carrots
  • 2 small red potatoes
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen corn
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. sage
  • 1 tsp. ground pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. onion salt or powder
  • 3 slices of Velveeta cheese
  • 2 boxes of Pillsbury pie crust
  • 6 Tbs. flour
  • a splash of cream

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  Put the chicken breasts in a medium sized stew pot with 6 cups of water.  Season the water with salt, sage, pepper, and onion salt.  Cover the pot and boil on high for about 20 minutes.  While the chicken is boiling, prepare your veggies by chopping them into bite size pieces.
  2. After the chicken is cooked , remove it from the pot.  Put your potatoes and carrots in the pot and boil for 3-4 minutes, then add broccoli and corn, continuing to boil another 5 minutes or until veggies are tender (but not too soft).  While veggies are boiling you can cut your chicken into pieces, returning it to the pot.
  3. Now it's time to transform the chicken and veggies into a creamy goodness.   Stir in 6 Tbs. of flour to the pot, while cooking on high for about 2 minutes.  Then, add a splash of cream and reduce heat to low.  Tear the cheese slices into pieces and add to the mixture.  Stir until cheese is melted and creamy goodness begins to thicken.  Turn off the stove and let the pot sit for a couple minutes.
  4. Next, butter your 9 x 13 glass baking dish and lay 2 (room temp) Pillsbury pie crusts on the bottom.  The crusts will overlap but that's okay!  And, if you would rather google a homemade pie crust recipe and use that instead of store bought, then go right ahead and be Super Mom!  (I am a very busy mom and find the store bought crust to be much easier.)  After laying your pie crusts down, pour in the creamy goodness.  Cover with the remaining 2 pie crusts and pinch the edges so it makes a pretty wavy pattern all around.  Cut 4-6 slits in the top crust and then put the pot pie in the oven.
  5. Bake for 20 minutes or until the crust is golden.
https://heidistjohn.com/blog/recipes/simply-fantabulous-chicken-pot-pie

And there you have it!  A simply FANTABULOUS Chicken Pot-Pie.  A meal even your 7 yr. old will eat and won’t even complain when it’s time for leftovers.