Baked Potato Soup

I hate being cold. But I do love Winter because of the following: Christmas, sweaters, and soup. There is just something ultra comforting about all three and it's a special treat when you can sit under the lights of the Christmas tree wrapped in a cozy sweater eating some warm and hearty soup. Ahhhh!



Baked Potato Soup
5 large baked  potatoes
1 small onion, diced
1 small bell pepper, diced
2 Tbsp butter 
3-4 pieces cooked bacon, crumbled
8 oz. sour cream
2 cups milk
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
shredded cheddar cheese
minced fresh parsley


In a 5 qt. Dutch Oven melt butter over medium-high heat. Add chopped vegetables and saute until tender-crisp and lightly browned. Add broth and milk and stir. Cut potatoes into large chunks and add to pot along with crumbled bacon. Fork mash the potatoes, leaving some good chunks still in tact. The more you mash, the thicker your soup will be.  Add salt, basil and ground black pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh parsley and some shredded cheese.

Stuffed Mushrooms

I almost never host Thanksgiving since I have a mother-in-law who shines in that department. I do, however, love to cook Thanksgiving dinner which means my husband usually gets to eat the meal twice over the holiday weekend. He doesn't complain...
This year we tried a new method of cooking turkey which was OUTSTANDING and really very simple. Here is the link that explains each and every step. We cooked ours in the oven instead of on the grill, but other than that the process was the same and our turkey turned out beautiful, moist, and delicious. My husband thinks that he needs to consult Meathead for every problem in life (well at least in the kitchen) and I have to admit I'm becoming a big fan myself!

Anyway, as my contribution to Thanksgiving at my mother-in-law's house, I was planning to bring some marinated mushrooms. I bought an entire 10 pound box of fresh mushrooms so I'd have plenty to eat at home as well.
To my surprise when I went to go pick them up I found that I'd ordered them JUMBO size... not exactly fitting for the appetizer I'd had in mind!
All was not lost though and I came up with this delicious alternative. And with these jumbo-sized mushrooms this could easily be turned into a meal by adding just a little ground beef or turkey in with the stuffing. I tried a couple different versions and if you love mushrooms you will love these!

 Stuffed Mushrooms
12-15 whole fresh mushrooms (or 6 giant ones!)
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
1 Tbsp butter
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning or Simon & Garfunkel Rub (I used S&G- another Meathead Favorite)
1/2 cup. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.

2. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Saute about three minutes until vegetables are tender-crisp. Add garlic and seasonings. Cook an additional two minutes.

3. Add bread crumbs and cheese and stir until completely combined. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

**As made, I thought these mushrooms were fabulous! But I love mushrooms. For my husband who only likes mushrooms he thought these were a bit too mushroomy and needed something extra. The following is a variation I made for him which I actually thought was a tie with the first but they taste quite a bit different. These are not quite so Thanksgiving'ish so would be a good appetizer for any occasion.


6-8 whole fresh mushrooms (or 2 giant ones!)
1/4 cup chives, chopped
1 Tbsp dry sherry
1 Tbsp butter
1 large clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon herbes de Provence or dried thyme
4 oz. cream cheese
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp walnuts


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.

2. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushroom stems and sherry to the skillet. Saute about two minutes. Add garlic and seasonings. Cook an additional one minute.


3. Add bread crumbs, cream cheese, chives and walnuts. Stir until completely combined. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

Crack N' Chili

I have a son who doesn't like tomatoes. I know it's a little unnatural and up until a year ago I kept hoping he'd grow out of it. He's sixteen now so I'm not so sure there's hope for tomatoes... Anyway, every once in a while I like to indulge my children and so I created this chili recipe without a single tomato on board. (Although if you're really missing them you can add some diced tomatoes on top when serving.) Sorry no pictures! I've made this recipe several times in the last few weeks and each time I've made it my camera has been out of batteries.

This stuff is so addicting we dubbed it Crack N' Chili. And yes, don't worry. It's perfectly legal.

Crack N' Chili

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped

2 Anaheim chilies, chopped*

1 cup onion, chopped

1 1/4 tsp. smoked paprika (regular will work too if you have it)

3/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp red chili powder

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp oregano

4 tbsp butter

3 tbsp cornstarch

3 1/3 cup milk

4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

4 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded

2 (15 oz.) cans red kidney beans

1 (15 oz.) can small red chili beans

1. Melt butter in a 5 qt. Dutch Oven over medium heat. 

2. Add vegetables and saute until tender-crisp. 

3. Add seasonings and cook 1 minute to extract flavor. 

4. Combine 1/3 cup milk with cornstarch and add to vegetables. Stir until vegetables are coated and quickly add remaining milk.

5. Stir constantly until mixture thickens, about the consistency of gravy. Slowly add shredded cheese and stir until completely melted. 

6. Add undrained beans and heat through. If you're like me and do most of your cooking during the day, at this point you can transfer everything to your slow cooker to keep it warm from afternoon to evening.

You can also add shredded pork or chicken if you like. Also top with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, a dollop of sour cream and some chives to dress this up.

*If you don't have fresh peppers you can substitute 2 (4 oz) cans of diced chilis when you add the beans

Tandoori Chicken Breasts with Mango-Mint Chutney

This recipe comes from my favorite grilling book, Weber's Way To Grill by Jamie Purviance. If you've ever wanted to learn to grill, get the book. It's fantastic!

Marinade
1 cup plain yogurt
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp chopped garlic
1 Tbsp fresh ginger
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp sweet paprika

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 6 ounces each


Chutney
2 firm ripe mangoes, sides cut from pit
1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Vegetable oil

1. In a food processor (or my Vita-Mix) blend the marinade ingredients until uniform in consistency, adding 1 or 2 Tbsp of water, if needed (which I didn't). Place the chicken in a large, resealable plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Press the air out of the bag and seal it tightly. Turn the bag several times to distribute the marinade and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, turning occasionally.

2. Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium heat.

3. Lightly brush the mango sides with the oil. Grill over direct medium heat, flat sides down, with the lid closed as much as possible, until they brown, about 2 minutes, without turning. Remove the mango from the grill, crosshatch the flesh in the skin, and scoop out the little pieces. In a small bowl combine the mango with the remaining chutney ingredients.

4. Remove the chicken from the bag and discard the marinade. Wipe off most the marinade clinging to the chicken and brush the chicken with oil. Grill over direct medium heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until the meat is firm to the touch and no longer pink in the center, 8-12 minutes, turning once. Serve warm with the chutney.

To cut a mango: 

First, cut around the pit by rotating the mango so that the pit runs parallel to the blade of your knife. Cut each mango lengthwise along each side of the pit.

 Crosshatch the flesh without cutting through the skin, and scoop out the little pieces with a spoon.

Even if you're just putting the mangoes into a smoothie (which is delicious, by the way), this is by far the easiest way to cut a mango. Although, if I'm pureeing the mango anyway, I don't crosshatch- I just scoop.

Pepperoni Chicken Involtini

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 8 ounces each

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. granulated garlic

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

8 oz. sliced pepperoni

4 thin slices munster cheese

8 large basil leaves

8-16 baby spinach leaves

First, flatten the chicken breasts, smooth side down between two layers of plastic wrap. For very thick pieces of chicken, it helps to cut partially into the meat and fold it out.

 I use the flat side of a meat tenderizer to flatten the meat. You could also use the bottom of a heavy pan.

 Mix seasonings and sprinkle generously over each piece of meat.

 Load each piece of chicken with spinach, basil, 1 slice cheese and about 4 slices pepperoni

 Roll chicken lengthwise. Keep it as tight as you can!

 Tie each piece of chicken with 2 pieces of butcher's twine and brush the surface of each with olive oil. I didn't have any twine, so I simply used thread which worked just fine.

 Grill over direct medium heat for about 12 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked and the cheese has melted. I turned my chicken every 2-3 minutes to keep it from burning.

 This would be great served with some good quality tomato sauce but we skipped the sauce so my girls would actually eat their dinner~ which the did. They loved it!

P.S. We sliced the leftover chicken and put it on sandwich rolls for some delicious sandwiches the next day. Yum!

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

Last week I came across some chicken thighs marked down to $.79/lb. Though I prefer boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I couldn't pass up savings like that! I used some mushrooms from my Bountiful Basket for this easy dinner:

Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole
2 slices bacon
3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lb chicken thighs, trimmed of excess skin (or remove skin completely)
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried sage
1 cup brown rice
1/2 cup wild rice
6 oz brown mushrooms, wiped clean and quartered or sliced
3 cups hot chicken broth, or enough to cover chicken
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp chopped parsley, for garnish

Microwave bacon on high (100% power) 1 minute. Chop and transfer to a 4 1/2 qt. slow cooker. Add olive oil and spread evenly on bottom. Place chicken in slow cooker, skin side down. Add remaining ingredients in order given except parsley. Cover, cook on LOW 4-5 hours or until rice is tender. Uncover and let stand 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper if desired. Remove skin from chicken before serving, if desired. Garnish with chopped parsley.

**I ended up cooking about 5 lbs of chicken so I added some to the top of all the ingredients as well. I chopped the extra cooked chicken and plan on using it throughout this week in other meals.

****You can make this as an EASY freezer meal!****

For best results use boneless, skinless chicken cut into 1-inch pieces. Microwave bacon on high (100% power) 1 minute. Transfer to Gallon sized freezer bag. Add olive oil and spread evenly on bottom. Place chicken in bag. Add remaining ingredients in order given, except parsley. Freeze up to 3 months.
To serve: defrost in refrigerator overnight and cook as above or run bag under hot water to loosen contents into slow cooker. Cook on LOW 6 to 7 hours, or until rice is tender.

Dairy-free Creamy Broccoli Soup

I am slightly lactose-intolerant and have a daughter who had milk allergies up until about 6 months ago so I try to limit our dairy as much as possible. The only problem is that I love cheese and cream and just about anything else dairy. It just makes things taste good! I love this soup because the cauliflower really gives it that creamy texture and it's simple and delicious to boot. It doesn't feel like I'm missing out on anything when I eat this and even my husband didn't notice there was no actual cream in this soup! He even went so far as to call it "tasty" which is high marks coming from him. Don't get me wrong, he is not particularly "picky"and will eat just about anything that I give him, but his preference is definitely rich and creamy.
I made a giant pot of this soup a few weeks ago when we received both broccoli and cauliflower in our Bountiful Basket. I packed the "leftovers" into freezer bags, labeled and froze it for later. It's a cold and windy Monday, so we will be having this for dinner tonight. I also started a batch of this easy bread to serve with it. Yum!

Dairy-free Creamy Broccoli Soup

1 head cauliflower
1 bunch broccoli (florets and stems)
5 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 small onion (about 1 cup, chopped)
1 large carrot
1 stalk celery
1 Tbsp chicken bouillon
1 1/2 tsp dried basil or 2 Tbsp fresh
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
water

Roughly chop broccoli and cauliflower and add to a 5qt stockpot. Add potatoes, onion, carrot and celery. Fill pot with water about 3/4 way to top of vegetables. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until broccoli is soft. Transfer all but about 2 cups vegetables to your Vita-mix or blender and blend until smooth. Add reserved broccoli mixture and pulse until desired consistency. (You can add all at once to blender if you don't want any chunks in your soup.) Add pepper and basil and pulse until combined. Serve hot with crusty bread.

On The GO "meals"

 

What do you think of when you think of dinner? Here are the things that come to my mind:

A properly set table complete with a fork spoon, knife and napkin.
A main course with at least two sides.
At least an hour of “slaving” in a hot kitchen…

Okay- so you got me. I like to cook so it’s never “slaving” for me, but I admit that I often spend an hour or more on a single meal. So what if I don’t have that kind of time? I anticipate this month being super busy for me. It’s the last month of school and there are plenty of class parties and activities to organize. Add that to beautiful Spring weather and a large garden to tend this year, not to mention home-schooling my oldest; and I don’t know if we will have even one slaved-over meal this month… 
I plan on using the crock-pot a lot and utilizing some of my pre-made meals from the freezer, but if those options fail me then I will just try to keep things simple. Dinner doesn’t have to be fancy, or traditional for that matter. As long as I’m covering the basics then I’m feeling pretty good.
So what are the basics?  Protein + starch + fruits and/or vegetables = dinner!
And really… if I’m being completely honest than if I cover even 2 of the 3 basics with each meal then I’m not beating myself up about it! Here are some things that I’ve found make some very quick “meals” when I’ve neglected to plan ahead with the crock-pot. These can also be very portable so you can easily grab and go if needed.

Proteins:
Hard boiled eggs. I usually even peel a few of them and keep them in an airtight container for ultimate convenience.
Thin-sliced lunch meats and pre-cooked bacon. I’m talking about real meat, not that ultra-processed kinda-resembles-sorta-tastes-like meat that you buy in those little plastic packages. eew!
Peanut/almond butter
Nuts
Lowfat cheese like mozzarella and cottage cheese.
Sliced and shredded cheese
Pre-cooked various beans (we use black beans, refried and kidney the most)
Yogurt, plain
Canned (or pouched) chicken and/or tuna
Protein  powder

Starches:
Whole wheat tortillas
Whole grain bread
Cooked brown rice (I usually throw some in my rice cooker at least once a week and keep it in the refrigerator for those crazy days)
Cooked pasta (Whenever we have a pasta dish I try to cook an extra couple cups of plain pasta to use as needed throughout the week.)
Whole grain crackers
Rolls, pita bread, muffins, biscuits, pizza crusts (All of these can be made ahead of time and kept in the freezer until needed.)
Granola, high fiber cereal
Whole grain chips

Produce:
Washed and peeled vegetables cut into bite-sized pieces such as: Carrots (or even buy the pre-washed baby carrots for more convenience), Celery, Peppers, Cucumbers, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Snow peas, asparagus
Also keep lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, and sprouts if desired
Cut-up fruit chunks such as: Pineapple, Melons, apples, oranges (mix the cut apples and oranges together to keep the apples from going brown)
Also keep on hand whole fruits like apples, bananas, oranges, berries and grapes

Extras:
Hummus, Ranch and Italian dressing, mayonnaise, mustard, honey, tomato sauce, seasonings, barbecue sauce, salsa, milk

At the end of the week mix all your pre-cut fruit together that didn’t get eaten yet and make a nice fruit salad. You can also mix the pre-cut veggies and cook them into a soup- or just blanch them and put them into the freezer for an easy soup, stew or crock-pot addition later.

Now what to do with all of this? Here are some ideas using the above ingredients for easy “meals” on the go.  Remember, just because you don’t have to sit down with a fork and plate to eat these, doesn’t mean it won’t fill you up.

Less than a minute:

    * Bag of carrots, tub of hummus, crackers
    * Brown rice and cheese (like string cheese) with asparagus and snow peas (raw)
    * Whole grain crackers and sliced lunch meat, your choice veggie
    * cottage cheese and berries with a muffin
    * Almonds and an apple and/or orange
    * Sliced apples with peanut butter
    * Tuna pouch and pita bread
    * Hard boiled eggs, veggies

A minute or so:

    * Cereal or granola and milk
    * Cooked rice, berries, honey and milk
    * Spread natural peanut butter on a whole wheat tortilla.  Place a banana in the middle.  Roll it it all up together.
    * Wash a handful of grapes and berries. Put them in a container. Pour yogurt on top with a teaspoon of honey and some granola (or keep it separate).
    * Make a sandwich with whole grain bread and whatever lean meat, low-fat cheese you have. Squirt some mustard on the bread, and add lettuce and a sliced tomato in there too if you can.
    * Put whole grain tortilla chips in a microwave-save container; sprinkle low-fat cheese on top; microwave for 30 seconds; top with salsa. Don't forget a napkin!
    * Blend together 1 ½ cup milk, a scoop of whey or soy protein powder, a dash of cinnamon, and a banana or handful of blueberries in a blender; pour in a portable mug.
    *Spread refried beans over  pizza crust. Top with shredded lettuce, tomato chunks and salsa. Add cheese if desired.
    *Combine cooked noodles or rice with a can of chicken and some barbecue sauce
    *Combine cooked noodles with chopped vegetables, Italian dressing and chopped mozzarella for a pasta salad. Add  some canned tuna or chicken if desired.
    *Combine lettuce, spinach, berries, and nuts with some Rasberry vinaigrette if you have some or just drizzle some lemon juice or add nothing but extra berries (that’s what I do!)
    * Egg, Tuna or Chicken Salad sandwiches- combine boiled eggs or meat with some mayonnaise (or substitute with plain yogurt) and mustard and serve on rolls or whole grain bread with lettuce and cheese
   * Combine brown rice, salsa and black beans with some taco seasoning and cheese. Serve on tortillas or just eat with a spoon.
   
Here are some other things that help:
   
    * Freeze serving-sized meals for use on hectic days.  Just microwave the meal in its container and go!
    * Have a portable cooler or decent-sized lunch bag on call at all times.
    * Keep a stash of napkins and plastic ware in your car, backpack, briefcase, or purse.
    * Pack your grab and go meal the day before when you know you'll be busy the next day.
    * Have transportable yet healthy foods handy, like some of the options mentioned in the above lists.

Sometimes our on-the-go destination is only our back yard.. Or even our kitchen table! But even then it’s SO nice to be able to have something quick, easy, and nutritious at our fingertips. The boys in my house would go completely bonkers if we ate this way all the time but when it’s necessary at least I can go to bed guilt-free that night.

Loaded Baked Potatoes

It's been almost one year since I started blogging. I've learned a lot over the past year and it's been fun- but looking through all my old posts I've realized I've also come a ways from what I started this for. It wasn't meant to be merely another recipe blog, but a way to share my thoughts and tips on cooking with a tight budget. I have to admit I haven't even been paying that much attention to my budget let alone blogging about it! Funny how necessity brings on those great habits, right? And you can so easily forget your frugal ways when it's not quite so important anymore...
But the thing is.. it's always important. Life can turn on a dime and you never know what may be in store for you and your family. Sure I feel like I'm prepared- my food storage is in order and more importantly I know how to use it. We have savings and we have survival skills if it came down to it but there's always something more that we can do. Food storage and frugal spending are not things you can ever really check off your list as being done. It's something that you need to constantly work at and improve upon and when I stop practicing for a few months I really start to feel it. It's always a little painful to get back into the routine.
Some of the things I've noticed that slip when I get away from my frugal habits are things you'd expect like less money into savings and food that's not as healthy but the other thing-more alarming- that suffers is quality family time together.
Like a lot of families, we tend to all have different things going on all day long. Meetings and sports, music lessons, school and work. When we all get together and forget about everything else on our "plate" is at mealtimes- specifically dinner. So of course, if dinner is leftovers (again) or some random pre-packaged thing from the freezer then we just don't spend as much time together. Dinner is what brings us all together!
So this last week I've been working very hard at bringing back all my old habits. My goal is to save enough from our grocery budget these next few months to help pay for Disneyland tickets at the end of the Summer. This means more home-cooked meals, healthier snacks, and better meal planning.
To kick things off this week, I've already made a menu and added 3 meals to my freezer (which had been empty of pre-made home-made meals for some time). [I've added lasagna, complete with home-made noodles, macaroni and cheese, and home-made pizza.] So far, so good... but it's only Wednesday!
One thing that I constantly struggle with is LEFTOVERS. We hate leftovers around here- it's a fact. Unless I can use them creatively and turn them into a new meal then they just take up room in my refrigerator until I finally throw them away. Which is sad... I hate to waste food! But I'm just as bad, or worse, as the rest of the family about eating them... I've found that if I plan a menu ahead of time it's a lot easier to think of ways to use our leftovers.

Last night I was finally successful with using some of the leftovers lurking in the fridge instead of throwing them out. We had loaded baked potatoes. I washed and baked several potatoes. We used leftover broccoli, leftover chili, leftover cheese sauce (from home-made macaroni and cheese), and even a few pieces of leftover bacon from breakfast. Add to that some sour cream, salt and pepper and more cheese and even my boys left the table satisfied!

Cream Cheese Chicken And Broccoli

This is a stand-by recipe at my house. It's one of the few things my six-year-old will eat without complaining about. Lucky for us we seem to get broccoli in our Bountiful Basket just often enough to keep her satisfied. When we get a plethora of broccoli, I always make a few extras to put into the freezer.

Cream Cheese Chicken With Broccoli
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package (1 ounce) Italian salad dressing mix
2 cups sliced mushrooms*
1 cup chopped onion
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed low-fat cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
1 package (8 ounces) low-fat cream cheese, cubed
1/4 cup dry cooking sherry
Hot cooked pastaDirections
Toss chicken with olive oil. Sprinkle with Italian salad dressing mix. Add to gallon sized freezer bag. Add mushrooms and onion. Combine soup, broccoli, cream cheese(cut into small chunks) and sherry and mix well. Add to bag & Freeze.
To serve:
Place in 5-quart slow cooker. Cover; cook on LOW 3 hours. Stir and continue to cook on LOW 1-2 hours more.
Serve chicken and sauce over pasta. **if using canned, don’t freeze; add to slow cooker after defrosted

Daikon Radish Stir-fry

 In our Bountiful Basket last Saturday we got some Daikon radishes. I was excited to cook them up a couple different ways tonight for dinner. For our main course I made stir-fry featuring the little beauties and then shredded another into an Asian coleslaw salad. 

I'm not a big meat eater and when I cook a dish like this I really prefer it with no meat to detract from the other flavors. To me this was a perfectly satisfying main course, especially served over a bed of brown rice, but for my carnivore husband I grilled some chicken and added it to his plate.

Daikon Radish Stir-fry

Servings Size

• 
  

• 1 large daikon radish
• 1 large carrot
• 1 small bell pepper
• 1 medium yellow crookneck squash
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 stalk celery 
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 crushed garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons miso
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon sherry  
• 2 tsp corn starch
• 2 tablespoons water

Directions:

Peel daikon and carrot and slice into 1/2 inch thick circles or half circles. Chop celery, pepper and onion. Slice squash into circles. Heat vegetable oil over high heat. Add vegetables and stiry-fry. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes. Allow vegetables to slightly brown around the edges as you stir-fry and then add the remaining ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring often. When the liquid has boiled down by about half, combine the corn-starch, water and sesame oil then stir it into the sauce.

Masaman Curry

Over the course of our marriage my husband and I have realized that some things go without saying which has really helped to cut unnecessary dialogue from our conversations. Which is good because we usually have to attempt a conversation with each other over the heads of 4 kids who are all competing for the next words out of our mouths to be directed at them and not to each other.

For example, when we are planning our date night all that needs to be said is: "Do you want to go out to eat?"

It's automatically understood that the answer to this question is. "Yes, let's go get Thai food!" 

One of my favorite things on the menu is Masaman curry- so much so that I had to learn a few tricks of my own to tide me over between dates which, let's face it, don't happen as often as they did 2-3 kids ago...

Masaman Curry

1 Tbsp soybean oil
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp salt   
1 cup potato, diced   
2-4 Tbsp masaman curry paste (use more for a stronger flavor)       
1 1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken   
1 tablespoon tamarind
1/4 cup peanuts (optional)   
2 pinches cardamom
2 bay leaves (optional)

Heat a wok over medium high heat. Stir-fry Masaman curry paste with oil then add 1 cup coconut milk. Break up the paste and mix well with coconut milk. Stir constantly to keep the mixture from sticking. When you see the red oil bubbling up (about 5 minutes), add the meat and another 1/2 cup coconut milk, stir to cover the meat with curry. Heat until boiling. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for potatoes, onion and cashew. Stew for 1/2 hour or until chicken is cooked. Add potatoes, onion and cashews. Let simmer for 20 minutes more. The liquid should be reduced and you should be able to see some chunks. But, if the liquid is very low, add some water.

Masaman tastes great if you let it sit overnight so that the spices penetrate the meat and potatoes. I find that the tastes just don't come together until the next day.

**I've also added Summer squash and bell peppers the last 5-10 minutes of cooking.

I usually make enough masaman to have for days.

Quavish- Portugese Kale Soup

I am so far behind on my recipe blogging! Life has a way of coming along all at once and knocking people right over. I promise I've still been cooking- but I've neglected to put myself out there and try anything new for a while. Mundane and routine sometimes is a great comfort for me...

This was something I cooked a few weeks ago when we got kale from our Bountiful Basket. While not the most photogenic soup, it is definitely one of the most flavorful! It combines the bold flavor of kale with creamy cooked potatoes and garlic infused Portuguese sausage called Linguiça. While substitutions may be made for this hard to get sausage (at least in my area) I wouldn't recommend it. And if you do substitute - do me a favor and just don't call it "Quavish", k?

Quavish Soup  

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

4 carrots, sliced

5 potatoes, cut into chunks

1 head cabbage, cut into large chunks

2 lbs Linguiça, sliced

1 bunch kale, chopped

2 large onions

6 cups beef stock 

1 heaping tsp. black pepper 

3 bay leaves 

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves 

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

I've also added: 

1/2 cup diced turnips or

3-4 sliced parsnips

In a large stock pot (very large), heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onions, turnips and carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Add the Linguiça, bay leaves, parsley and thyme and mix well. Add the beef stock and cook at a low boil for about 30 minutes. Add the cabbage, kale and potatoes. (Add water if necessary to cover all the vegetables.) Bring the soup to a low boil, and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.
Remove the bay leaves and serve hot. Serve with homemade bread or hard crusty rolls.

**This recipe makes enough soup for a large family gathering- you can always reduce it by half or just do what I do and freeze what you can't eat all at once and save it for later. Add cooled soup to a large zip-top freezer bag. To reheat simply run hot water over the bag to loosen it then slip contents into a large slow-cooker and cook on LOW until heated through.

***You can also combine ALL of the above ingredients into a large electric roaster pan. Simmer 2-3 hours stirring occasionally.

Lemon-Baked Chicken Breasts

Lemon-Baked Chicken Breasts

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 whole chicken breasts, each about 1 1/4 pounds, halved
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste

In a large heavy skillet, preferably cast-iron, heat the butter and oil over moderately high heat until the foam begins to subside, add the chicken, patted dry, skin side down, without crowding, and sauté it, turning it, until
it is golden. Transfer the chicken with tongs to a baking dish and pour off
the excess fat from the skillet. Add the wine and the thyme to the skillet, bring the liquid to a boil, scraping up the brown bits. And pour the pan
juices over the chicken. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, sprinkle
it with the lemon juice, and bake it in the lower third of a preheated 400-degree F oven for 30 minutes, or until juices run clear.

Reduced Fat Meatloaf

Okay, most people don't exactly think of meatloaf as a "healthy" food- but it is oh so comforting and delicious that we eat it anyway, right? Most of the deliciousness of the traditional meatloaf comes from the beef fat soaking the bread crumbs and combining with egg yolks, not to mention of course a heaping dose of extra salt and corn syrup in the form of ketchup... But really, people- It doesn't have to be this way! When it comes to cooking, I try to follow one simple rule: Substitute fat for flavor! Instead of relying on fat, salt and sugar to make things taste good, I try to add plenty of flavorful vegetables, fresh herbs and seasonings. Most people would never never guess that most of what I put out on my table is good for you... 
 
Reduced Fat Meatloaf

1-1/2 lbs. extra-lean ground beef, ground turkey breast, or extra-lean ground turkey
2 egg whites
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped onions
3/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup unsweetened tomato sauce
1 cup rolled oats
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 cup fresh parsley (or basil if you have it available!)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix together well with wooden spoons or hands. Place on board or waxed paper and shape into loaf, then place in loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour. Depending on the shape and thickness of the loaf, it may need to cook for slightly longer. Serves 6. If you need more "sauce" when serving, skip the ketchup and use unsweetened tomato sauce sprinkled with basil and oregano.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour


When I make this recipe I usually make at least double- one for now and one for later. To freeze for later, cook as above. Allow meatloaf to cool completely, remove from pan, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and heavy duty aluminum foil. Label and freeze up to 3 months. To serve: Allow to thaw in the refrigerator then cook covered in a 350 degree oven for 30-60 minutes or until fully heated.

Runzas

When I was growing up my dad used to take us to Cabella's in Nebraska once in a while. As a special treat we'd go across the street and grab some Runzas for lunch before the long drive home. Yum! I don't know if I would have appreciated them as much if I'd known how easy they were to cook..

I made these last week sometime (don't ask me to remember actual dates please). I didn't have cabbage, but I got two heads of salad savoy in my Bountiful Basket the week before so I used one of those instead. (A little bit milder tasting than cabbage but still excellent, in my opinion.)

Runzas

1 lb lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
4 cups chopped cabbage
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 recipe bread dough of your choice (also works fine with frozen/defrosted rolls)
8 slices Swiss, Mozzarella or Provolone cheese

Brown beef and onion in skillet. Add cabbage and cover. Cook 5 minutes until cabbage is tender crisp. Drain off liquid. Add salt and pepper and mix well. Cool in refrigerator while making dough.

Roll dough out to form two *12x14-inch rectangles. Cut the rectangles into 8 squares each. Place about 1/4-1/2 cup of meat-cabbage mixture in the middle of 8 of the squares. Moisten edges of squares with water. Top with sliced cheese and remaining squares of dough. Press dough firmly around the edges.

Place on greased baking sheets. Cover lightly with a clean dish towel. Let rise about 30 minutes or until light. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes.

* the dough will be thin- if you like a thicker bread taste, roll just one rectangle about twice as thick for half as many finished runzas. Also, unless you've got somebody with OCD in your family.. don't worry if your Runzas are oddly shaped. I didn't! ;)

Lemon Pepper Chicken (x2)

Last week boneless, skinless chicken was on sale for $1.39/lb here. Naturally, I stocked up... Last time I bought a bunch of chicken, I bottled most of it for easy casseroles and soups. This time, I decided to freeze it into meal size portions.

But why just freeze plain ol' chicken when you can freeze an entire meal?

So last week I made two different versions of Lemon Pepper Chicken. The first was made for dinner that night for my family. The second I put together as our dinner cooked. By the time dinner was ready to eat, I had three additional meals to put into the freezer for lazy days down the road.

Lemon Pepper Chicken

2 1/2 - 3lb boneless, skinless chicken
2 lemons
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper (or to taste)

With olive oil, gently oil an 8x11-in dish with a paper towel. Arrange chicken to tightly fill the dish in a single layer. In a small bowl or a liquid measuring cup, mix juice from one lemon, garlic, onion, vinegar, rosemary, salt and pepper to make a paste. Rub seasoning all over the top of each breast of chicken. Pour any remaining liquid from the cup evenly atop the chicken. Thinly slice remaining lemon and est a slice on top of each piece of chicken. Cover dish tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 minutes. Serve with seasoned wild rice or garlic herbed mashed potatoes.

*Leftover chicken is delicious diced cold and added to a green salad.

While the above recipe cooked, I had time to put together three additional meals for later. I chose to make all three the same since it's one of my favorite recipes. It lasts at least 3 months in the freezer so that gives me plenty of time to work through these!

Make-Ahead Lemon Pepper Chicken (for the oven or the Crock-Pot)

2 cups chopped onion
about 2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
1 lemon, thinly sliced and seeds removed
1 cup pitted green olives (optional)
1 tablespoon olive brine from jar or red wine vinegar
2 tsp herbes de Provence
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp dried minced parsley (about 1/2 cup fresh)

Place onion in gallon-sized freezer bag. Arrange chicken over onion. Place lemon slice on each piece of chicken. Add olives, brine, herbes de Provence, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Slowly pour in chicken broth. Freeze.
To serve from the Crock Pot: Defrost & add to 4 1/2 qt. slow cooker. Cover; cook on LOW 5-6 hours or on HIGH 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until chicken is tender. Stir in parsley before serving.
**If I didn't think ahead to allow time for defrosting, I simply run hot water over the bag to loosen it from the meal. I then plop the entire frozen blob into my Crock Pot and add about 30 minutes to the cooking time. Still comes out great!
To serve from the Oven: Defrost completely & place contents of bag into a 2qt. casserole dish. Cover tightly and cook at 350 degrees F. for 45 minutes.

Navajo Tacos

I've had a plethora of lettuce in my refrigerator the last couple of weeks (thanks Bountiful Baskets) but salads just don't seem to go over very well in my house in the dead of winter. So the only thing that we end up using our lettuce for is Tacos and Sandwiches. Which both get blah after a while. To mix things up, I decided to make Navajo tacos Monday night instead of the traditional at least once weekly taco. With most all the fixings already made up and frozen in my freezer, dinner went together in less than thirty minutes!

Navajo Tacos

12 frozen uncooked rolls
1 lb cooked ground meat mix
2 Tbsp Taco seasoning
1 can black beans (optional)
1 can refried beans, undrained
1/2 head lettuce, shredded
2 roma tomatoes, diced
8 oz. shredded cheese
8 oz. bottled salsa
3 cups oil for frying (I just used vegetable oil)

Fry Bread:

Set out rolls in a warm place 2-3 hours before dinner on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover loosely with a
cotton cloth or plastic wrap. 30 minutes prior to eating, heat oil in a large skillet to 350 degrees F. I've found a good way to test the oil temperature is by dropping a small piece of bread dough into the oil when you start heating. When the dough rises to the surface of the oil and is fully browned, it should be about ready to fry your bread. Work each roll into a thin flat circle about 1/8-inch thick. Drop slowly into hot oil. Wait for bread to puff up (about 30 seconds) then use metal tongs to flip over. Bread should be golden brown on each side. Place vertically in a paper towel lined casserole dish to allow oil to drain from bread.

Meanwhile, combine cooked ground beef with undrained black beans and Taco Seasoning. Warm refried beans (add a little more taco seasoning to the refried beans for extra flavor if desired), chop lettuce and tomatoes, shred cheese. Serve Navajo tacos by cutting open the puffy fry bread and filling with toppings of your choice. Or pile everything on top of the bread and eat with a fork.

Recipes for leftover Turkey

For Thanksgiving we fried a turkey... for the day after Thanksgiving we fried another one. Here are a few recipes that I use my leftover turkey in. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

Turkey Recipes

Spaghetti Squash

This isn't a recipe so much as it is an idea- and not even a new idea at that! To be completely honest with you, I'm posting this out of sheer excitement that my girls finally ate dinner last night without complaining... AND there was squash involved! SHHHHH! I told them it was spaghetti that we grew in our garden. Mike, my anti-health-food-nut told me it was a dirty trick but it worked. They all ate their food. They put their own sauce and cheese on their "spaghetti" and they even used some "green salt" (green salt is basil, but they like salt so that's the word I use...) And yes, notice that this was served on pink plates... whatever it takes, right?

Low-Carb Spaghetti

1 large spaghetti squash
4 cups spaghetti sauce with meat
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. To prepare squash, wash outside of squash and chop the top off as if you were carving a pumpkin. Remove seeds and discard (or save them for roasting) and discard stem. Place cut-side down onto a large square of aluminum foil. Fold foil up the sides of the squash and place up-right in the oven. Bake for about 1 hour or until outside skin looks darkened and wrinkly.
About 10-15 minutes prior to serving time, warm sauce on the stove. When squash is cooked, scoop the meat of the squash away from the skin with a metal spoon. Dish directly onto plates or into a serving bowl.

*For a lasagna-type dish, combine squash and spaghetti sauce with 2 cups small-curd cottage cheese in 2-qt casserole dish. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake at 375 degrees F until cheese is browned and bubbly.