Happy New Year!

Well, I haven't made any new recipes during the holidays. However, I did make cheesy potatoes for Christmas brunch and we're having the slow cooker Italian beef tonight for dinner with a (store bought) spaghetti salad and red wine.

Looking forward to 52 new recipes in 2012! Happy New Year to you and yours!

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Week 15, Recipe 16: Bacon-Wrapped Apple BBQ Chicken

Woke up to no planned dinner food in the house after holiday date night with the husband. It's cold outside I had zero motivation to go out there. Want the husband to have a nice warm dinner when he gets home from work in retail-during-the-holidays hell. Started bouncing around The Crockin' Girls website and found a receipe I could make with ingredients already in the house! SO EXCITED!

Bacon-Wrapped Apple BBQ Chicken

3-4 chicken breasts
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1-2 apples, peeled and grated
1 lemon, juiced
6-8 slices bacon

Directions:
1. In small bowl, combine BBQ sauce with grated apple and lemon juice.
2. Place chicken breasts in base of crock pot, pour BBQ/apple mixture over the chicken. Wrap 2 pieces of bacon around each chicken breast. Set to low and cook for 8 hours.

Start

After

This one was good. I think it overcooked. My slow cooker doesn't need more than 7 hours, even putting the chicken in frozen. Served it with bacon and cheddar mashed potatoes, which I did make from scratch but is not a new recipe. Glad I was able to get dinner started this morning as snow started to fall shortly after.



Week 14, Recipe 15 - The Crockin' Girls Teriyaki Chicken

I'm on a roll! However, perhaps I should change the title of my blog to "Cooking With The Crockin' Girls." :-)

Today's bonus Week 14 recipe is The Crockin' Girls Teriyaki Chicken.

Super easy throw-in-the-crock recipe. It's been in there about an hour and is already smelling good.

Had to refrain from dumping more teriyaki sauce in there. Normally, I would use Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki or the Trader Joe's version. However, I didn't have quick access to the stores that carry them so I am trying a new-to-me brand - kikkoman Teriyaki Takumi Collection - Original. Looks and smells just as good so I'm excited to have an easier-to-find brand. This stuff is so good you could almost drink it right from the bottle. Well, you'll want to, anyway. Can't wait for dinner tonight!

Week 14, Recipe 14: The Crockin' Girls Apple Crisp

Laura's Gold Stars: 2 Recipes in 2 Days & New Recipe During Cleaning and Christmas Decorations Day

Husband's Gold Stars: Helping with the recipe AND cleaning AND putting up with Christmas Decoration Day in parallel with Football Day.

This weeks recipe is The Crockin' Girls Apple Crisp and it was absolutely delicious.

A bit more prep than  your typical slow cooker recipes - have to peel, core, and dice apples (the husband helped with this) and make two separate sugar mixtures to add to the crock. However, the results make it worth it, especially on the tail-end of Michigan apple season. Yum.

The only change I might make if we try it again is to use pecans instead of walnuts as we both prefer pecans.

Week 13, Recipe 13 - Mexican Night!

For this week's recipe ... Yes, sneaking it in at the end of the week here ... I made a comparison tortilla pie recipe that involved black beans and beer. I got this recipe from marthastewart.com in 2006.

In all honesty, I'm pretty sure I made it before and this is why I have the mysterious springform pan. However, I'm sure it has been at least four or five years since I made it and I did some recipe modifications, so I'm counting it as a new recipe.

Tortilla and Black Bean Pie

4 (10-inch) flour tortillas
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 jalapeno chile, minced (remove seeds and ribs for less heat)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Coarse salt and ground  pepper
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, drained and rinsed
12 ounces beer, or 1 1/2 cups water
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn
4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (8 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a paring knife, trim tortillas to fit a 9-inch springform pan, using the bottom of the pan as a guide.
2. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeno, garlic, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Add beans and beer to skillet, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in corn and scallions, and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Fit a trimmed tortilla in bottom of springform pan; layer with 1/4 of the beans and 1/2 cup of cheese. Repeat three times, using 1 cup cheese on top layer. Bake until hot and cheese is melted, 20 to 25 minutes. Unmold pie; sprinkle with scallions. To serve, slice into wedges.

Laura's Recipe Edits:

• To try and up the healthy factor, I used high fiber low calorie tortillas, reduced sodium beans, reduced fat cheese, and light beer.
• I used a small can of green chiles instead of jalapeno.
• I used one can of beans and one pound of lean ground sirloin (the husband doesn't prefer 100% vegetarian recipes).

Issues:

• The liquid never really evaporated. I don't know if this was due to the addition of ground sirloin or a temperature issue or both. I ended up having to strain it before adding the corn and scallions.
• As with the other tortilla pie, filling wasn't overly flavorful. I ended putting some taco sauce into it before assembling the pie.

Issues aside, we liked this pie better than the one I made last week. I don't need spinach in my mexican food and preferred the beans. So ...

Next Time:

• I will try cooking the beans and beef separately and then combine. So, in step 3, I'll add one can of beans and the beer, reducing to get the liquid to evaporate. I may also need to reduce the amount of beer since it is less beans? In a separate pan, I will brown the beef with taco seasoning. Then, I will combine the beef with the beans and add the corn and scallions.

I guess this means I'm learning something here. Or at least have the confidence to try something different to make a recipe better. How knew?

I have to slow cooker recipes - an apple crisp and teryaki chicken - lined up for this week just in time for the snow that is apparently on it's way. Sounds like a good day for a warm dessert ...

Week 12, Recipe 12: Tortilla Pie

This recipe is from an old Everyday Foods magazine. I tore it out so I don't have the date but I haven't gotten this magazine in a good five years ... cancelled because I didn't really cook back then, despite the subscription.

Tortilla Pie
Serves 4, Prep Time: 30 Minutes, Total Time: 1 Hour

4 flour tortillas (10-inch)
1 Tablespoon olive oil, plus more for pan
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 pound ground beef sirloin
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels
3 packed cups loose baby spinach (about 5 ounces), torn into pieces
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
fresh cilantro sprigs, for garnish (optional)
sour cream (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a paring knife, trim tortillas to fit a 9-inch springform pan (use the removable bottom of the pan as a guide). Assemble pan with the bottom upside down (makes it easier to remove the pie after baking); lightly oil bottom and sides. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add onion, cumin, and red-pepper flakes; seasons with salt and pepper. Cook until onion has softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste. Raise heat to medium-high; add beef and garlic. Cook, breaking up meat with a spoon until no longer pink;  4 to 6 minutes. Add corn and spinach; stir until spinach has wilted, about 2 minutes
3. Place one tortillla in the preapared pan. Spreading evenly, top with 1 1/2 packed cups of beef mixture, then 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat with two more layers. Top with last tortilla, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.
4. Bake pie until top is lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Run knife around edge of pan; remove sides. Using two wide metal spatulas, lift pie from bottom of pan, and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into wedges. If desired, serve with cilantro and sour cream.

Yes, I have a springform pan. I have no idea why. Probably one of those wedding gifts I didn't register for but someone thought I would need some day, which I did, 8 1/2 years later. The 10-inch tortillas fit in my springform pan just fine, so no trimming needed here. However, flipping the bottom of the pan just made the beef juices leak all over the oven. I had to take it out and put it on a cookie sheet, and it still made a big mess. Therefore, I would not recommend flipping the bottom. I don't think it make that big of a difference with getting the pie out.

The browning of the meat went fine but did not end up very flavorful in the end - unless this is because a lot of the juices leaked out. Maybe add taco seasoning? Or at least more cumin, red-pepper flakes, and garlic. Also, 5 ounces is A LOT of spinach and eating the pie fresh from the oven, all I could taste was spinach. I would cut it back next time. In my opinion, this pie tasted better the second night after the flavors had more time to mesh.

I like this recipe because it clarifies "until softened," "until no longer pink," and "has wilted" with approximate times. A still novice cook like me really needs those clarifications. I didn't set a timer this time but I felt more in control of the process.

I have a similar recipe that uses black beans instead of beef and no spinach. May make it soon for a comparison. Also considering modifying it to combine beans and beef, as my husband is not usually a fan of vegetarian recipes.

Week 12 Recipe 11

The Crockin' Girls Bacon Ranch Chicken



Super easy and super fast. Perfect for what will be a 10+ hour work day with plenty leftover for lunch munch during the week. Good flavor - better than your average tuna noodle casserole. Needs a vege side or maybe add some green beans in the last few minutes? Overall, hit the spot for tonight/this week but may not end up in the regular rotation.

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Week 12 Plan

Week 11 got away from me ... book club recovery day, super busy work week, and the husband away at deer camp, making it highly unlikely I would actually cook just for myself.

However, just got back from the grocery store and have three - yes, a very ambitious three - new recipes planned for this week. Two of these recipes are essential to our dinner plans, so at the very least I will get caught up to Week 12 Recipe 12.

Here's are the planned recipes:

1. Dinner #1: The Crockin' Girls Bacon Ranch Chicken
2. Dinner #2: Tortilla Pie from an old Everyday Foods magazine (recipe to follow)
3. Dessert: The Crockin'Girls Crockpot Apple Brown Betty

I'm also making cheesy potatoes for Thanksgiving (not a new recipe).

It's a holiday week and another busy work week, so this is a very ambitious plan. Let's see how it goes ...

Week 10, Recipe 10 - The Ingredients

Here's the recipe for last week's dish. This one is from my mother and was a favorite of mine growing up.

Week 10, Recipe 10 - Preview

Feels like home to me ...







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Italian Beef Update

First, I must say this was delicious and is already a favorite.

A few notes ...
In addition to checking for sticks, trim the roast. The recipe didn't say to so I didn't and it was way too fatty. I may also splurge for the sirloin next time.
The amount of peppers was fine and left plenty uncooked to add later, if desired. We ate them as open-faced sandwiches with provolone cheese. My mouth is watering as I type this ...
I did not add the salt and pepper to the crock and next time I will look for low sodium versions of the other ingredients, both for health reasons and because it was really salty. I would also go with the lesser amount of beef broth.

Can't wait to make it again!


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Week 9, Recipe 9: Crock Pot Girls Slow Cooker Italian Beef

Gold Stars for Laura - 4: 

I've made two new recipes in one week, 

two new recipes in two days, 

five recipes in four straight weeks, and 

have gotten caught up to an even week and recipe count!

Keeping in mind the goal of this challenge is to get me cooking at home instead of eating out the majority of the week, one should not judge the difficulty level of my recipes as ... today we are back to the slow cooker! I chose another slow cooker meal today for three reasons: in general, the recipes are easy, they provide several meals for the two of us throughout the week, and this will be a ready-to-eat meal between trick-or-treaters.

Today's recipe is Crock Pot Girls Slow Cooker Italian Beef

3 lb. Beef Chuck Roast or Sirloin
1 Onion, quartered
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 - 10 to 14.5 oz. can Beef Broth
1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian salad dressing
1 envelope dry Aus Jus mix
1/2 (16 oz.) jar Pepperoncini Peppers and juice

Place meat and the onion in a 5-quart slow cooker.
Mix up the next 5 ingredients in a small bowl; then pour over meat.
Add peppers and juice.
Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours.
Remove meat from cooker and slice or shred.
Have juice and peppers available to put on sandwiches or on the side.
Serve on rolls or buns.

Adventure #1:

Apparently your roast may have sticks in it, which I would not have discovered had I not had to mold the roast into my slow cooker. So, Step 1 in the instructions should be "Check roast for sticks."

Adventure #2:

I found the "1/2 (16 oz.) jar Pepperoncini Peppers and juice" open to interpretation. Does this mean 1/2 of your jar will be 16 oz. or 1/2 of a 16 oz. jar? Asked husband and both sets of parents this question. Consensus seemed to be 1/2 of a 16 oz. jar. Then, one set of parents further misinterpreted the instructions to mean the peppers were only served on the side so the amount was not critical. However, the (current) Step 3 says to "Add peppers and juice" before covering and cooking. So, I went with 1/2 of a 16 oz. jar (8 oz. total) placed in the slow cooker while cooking.

Stay tuned ...

Week 9, Recipe 8: Baked Spaghetti from SparkRecipes.com

Tonight's meal is one I'm pretty sure I can handle. Hoping this will an easy lasagna alternative. We'll see how it goes!


Also, there will be a second recipe this week, probably going in the slow cooker tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Baked Spaghetti from SparkRecipes.com

8 oz whole wheat thin spaghetti
2 cups marinara sauce
24 oz fat free cottage cheese
2 oz fresh parmesan
4 oz mozzarella cheese

Cook spaghetti in boiling water according to package directions to 'al dente'. Drain. Place in 9X13" oiled pan. Spread cottage cheese over spaghetti, top with marinara sauce, then parmesan cheese, then mozzarella. Cover tightly with foil & bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Remove foil & return to over for 10 more minutes to brown top.


Number of Servings: 8


Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user SCRYBIL.


UPDATE:


Better than your average spaghetti night. I accidently bought the 16 oz cottage cheese and it was still super cheesy. I have a feeling this will be our new go-to spaghetti recipe.

Coney Dog Modifications = Surprisingly Lo-Cal Meal

This doesn't really qualify as cooking but I accidently created a relatively lo-cal alternative to a Detroit favorite. When made at home, you can have coney dogs & fries for under 600 calories! Who knew? I didn't until I put it in my SparkPeople Diet & Food Tracker app out of curiosity.  Actually, it came out to 527 calories ...

Lo-Cal Coney Dogs & Fries
1 reduced-calorie hot dog bun
2 fat-free Oscar Mayer Wieners
1 cup Hormel Chili, No Beans
3 oz. Ore-Ida Zesties Fries (approx. 12 pieces)

Place hot dog bun open-faced on plate. Put one hot dog on each bun "half." Cover with chili (and onions and mustard, which are not technically in this calorie count but would still not put it over 600) and serve with fries.

There should be enough chili to cover your fries too. You can reduce the calories even further if you can give up some of the chili. However, at under 600 calories, I say treat yourself and indulge. I bet this is probably a third or less of the calories this meal would be at the local Coney restaurant where you would get two full-calorie buns, two full-fat hot dogs, and three times as many deep-fried fries. I will still frequent our awesome Coney joints occasionally but can kill a craving with this easy at-home switcheroo!

Week 8, Recipe 7: Original Ranch Roasted Potatoes

Hidden Valley - Recipe Page

The husband is grilling ribeye steaks for football day. This side dish will be my contribution to the meal.

As for the chicken paprikash, the leftovers have not been touched by either of us, so I'm considering that recipe a bust.

UPDATE:
Delicious but totally stuck to the pan. This is why I post even the simplest of recipes because if I'm involved something usually goes wrong ...

Chicken Paprikash Report

The Family Circle Chicken Paprikash recipe went together very easily.

It looks suspiciously the same when done.

Better in the bowl.

Overall, I liked the idea of the recipe. However, it fell a little short on flavor. If I were to make it again, I would either use the called-for chicken thighs to see how much that impacts the flavor or try a different version of the recipe. Unless, of course it is delicious tomorrow, as some recipes often are better the next day.

Also, this was my first time using the slow cooker liners. It's the only way to go in terms of clean up. Hooked.

Week 7 Recipe 6: Family Circle Chicken Paprikash

Saw this in an issue of Family Circle and it's going in the slow cooker tomorrow! I'm going to use chicken breasts instead of thighs because I already had them in the house and frozen green beans because the fresh ones didn't look too great at the market tonight. Big risks for me on a first time recipe! Stay tuned!

Chicken Paprikash

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed
• 2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• Cooked egg noodles, for serving

Directions

1. Coat slow cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray. In medium-size bowl, toss the chicken thighs with flour. Combine in slow cooker with green beans, onions, tomato sauce and 1 cup water. Stir to blend, then add 1 tablespoon of the paprika, the salt and pepper.

2. Cover slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on HIGH or 6 1/2 hours on LOW.

3. In a small bowl, whisk sour cream with remaining 2 tablespoons paprika. Scoop 1/2 cup sauce from slow cooker and gradually whisk into sour cream. Slowly stir sour cream mixture into slow cooker. Serve paprikash over noodles.

Week 6 Recipe 5: Crock Pot Corned Beef

This was A-MAZ-ING! We are huge corned beef fans but usually boil it on the stove. I don't think I'll ever do it that way again. Tender, flavorful - what's not to love. Debating adding one dark beer next time but it probably doesn't need it. Happy tummy for sure!

And yes, I know I'm cheating on the challenge count, but it's my blog and I'll cheat if I want to. :-)

The Crock Pot Challenge: Week 12 : Corned Beef and Sauerkraut

Can't wait to make this tomorrow! And super excited I found this crock pot blog. I may have to follow suit ... :-)

The Crock Pot Challenge: Week 12 : Corned Beef and Sauerkraut: 1 corned beef brisket 1 large jar of sauerkraut several small red potatoes Spread sauerkraut along the bottom of your slow cooker. Pla...

Week 5 Recipe 4 - Catching Up!

Made a second recipe this week to try and catch up. Needs a few refinements - mainly due to my cooking skills - but I think it will make it into the rotation. My chicken never really browned and I think the spinach should thaw a bit first even though it doesn't say to. Maybe that is a known thing cooks leave out of recipes? I would also add more garlic and maybe lemon juice to add more flavor. Otherwise, we liked it and it was super filling with plenty of leftovers.

Spinach Chicken Piccata
(on the healthier side; from the Detroit Free Press a few months back)
Serves: 4/Preparation time: 10 minutes/Total time: 30 minutes

1 to 1 1/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon chopped garlic or to taste
1 package (12 ounces) frozen leaf spinach
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
2 cups grated zucchini, optional
1 cup fat-free milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
4 cups cooked whole wheat penne pasta
1 tablespoon capers, drained, rinsed well
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Cut chicken into 1-inch cubes. Set aside.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the chicken cubes and cook until lightly browned and no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle flour over the chicken, stir it in and cook about 1 minute. Add the garlic, spinach, mushrooms, and, if using, the zucchini.
Continue cooking until the spinach is wilted and mushrooms are partially cooked. Add the milk and simmer until the sauce thickens, stirring periodically. Stir in the lemon juice and simmer about 5 minutes.
Place 1 cup cooked penne pasta in a serving dish and top with the chicken mixture. Sprinkle each serving with a few capers and top each with about 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese.

From Elaine Stewart, Wixom.
Tested by Susan M. Selasky in the Free Press Test Kitchen.
579 calories (18% from fat), 12 grams fat (3 grams sat. fat), 65 grams carbohydrates, 54 grams protein, 560 mg sodium, 103 mg cholesterol, 9 grams fiber.

Week 5 Recipe 3

Wasabi Chicken With Gingered Spinach-Apple Slaw

Made this new recipe for dinner tonight! That's right - on a Monday! However, I'm week five recipe three. Not so good. I'll get with this self-imposed challenge eventually. In my defense, it's been 85+ degrees out most days and our AC is broken, so cooking meals that aren't super quick hasn't been too appealing. But I digress ...

Interesting coating for chicken. The wasabi peas we bought weren't overly spicy - may buy a hotter version next time. Otherwise, it is pretty plain. I ended up putting Bull-Dog Vegetable & Fruit Tonkatsu Sauce on it and mixing it with the Zataran's fried rice I made for the side.

Didn't like the dressing for the slaw, although this may be because I had to use white wine vinegar instead of rice wine vinegar. May just look for a pre-made ginger dressing.

Sounds like I'm giving a bad review but I will try it one more time with some changes as it was super easy and different.

Coming This Week - Two New Recipes!

The ingredients for two new recipes - a wasabi pea coated chicken and a healthy chicken piccata - are in the refrigerator. Now I just need the temp to drop a bit so I can stand over the stove!


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Lemon-Chipotle Chicken Skewers

This recipe was delicious too! Marinated overnight. No too spicy. Super easy. Served with Spanish rice and chips/salsa.

Two new recipes in one week! Off to a great (re)start!


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Week 1 Bonus Recipe 2

After cooking a simple dinner last night, I also prepped the marinade and chicken for this lemon-chipotle chicken skewers recipe. So I get two gold stars for the week for trying a second new recipe and for prepping it on a night that had already included cooking. Yeah!

Lemon-Chipotle Chicken Skewers

Week 1 Recipe 1 (yes starting over) - Smothered Steak Sandwiches

Serves 4
Ingredients

• Olive oil cooking spray
• 2 green bell peppers, sliced
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
• Black pepper and sea salt to taste
• 1 pound flank steak
• 1 whole-wheat baguette, cut crosswise into four pieces

Directions
Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium high. Place bell peppers in skillet and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often; add onion, cooking for 5 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add tomatoes, bring to a simmer and cook 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; remove from heat.
Coat another skillet with spray; heat on medium high. Season steak on both sides with salt and pepper. Place in skillet and cook until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn and cook other side 4 to 5 minutes for medium rare. Remove from skilled and rest on cutting board 5 to 10 minutes.
Slice thinly against the grain. Cut each baguette horizontally and fill with steak, then with vegetable mixture.

Approximate values per serving: 330 calories, 10 g fat, 24 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 240 mg sodium.

From the Detroit News and Free Press.

Comments:
Delicious! The flavor was good but could handle tomatoes with salt and/or flavoring. The steak was a little too rare for me even cooked an extra couple of minutes but this could have been a pan heat issue. I added provolone cheese but it would've been just as good without it.

Back From Outer Space

I'm back! Recent life changes have required us to do more cooking at home, so here it goes! I am reinstating the one new recipe a week challenge. AND with the current groceries, we may just make it to two recipes this week. Let's get started!

Side Dishes Count!

From "Fix It In Foil" by G&R Publishing:

Asian Asparagus
2 T olive oil or sesame oil
Dash of cayenne pepper
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp soy sauce
1 lb. Fresh asparagus

For full instructions, buy the cookbook. Essentially, mix the first four ingredients, toss with asparagus, wrap in foil, grill for 15-20 minutes.

We love the "Fix It In Foil" cookbook. Easy, delicious recipes with oven, grill, and campfire directions. Genius!


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When the Husband Cooks ...

Magic happens!

Modified Recipe Madness

Had fixings for the potsticker salad in the house and Soyaki-marinaded chicken that needed to be cooked. Skipped the potstickers and added the chicken. Just as yummy. Getting crazy with the cooking up in here! Ok, not so much ... But baby steps to stepping outside the recipe box!


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Groceries & Cooking

I'm happy to report I went to two grocery stores last week - Meijer and Trader Joe's - and have enough food in the house for a couple of weeks! Not to shabby.

Yesterday we made pancakes and chicken apple sausages for breakfast and had the mexican crockpot chicken on taco salads for dinner.

Lot's of cooking lined up but only one new recipe - the pasta carbonara I never made from a few weeks ago.

Can't wait for grilling weather, even though it snowed today. :-(

Recipe #6, Week ... Well, who's counting, really -...

Tonight we made Roasted Turkey with Cheddar-Stuffed Potatoes from the March issue of Real Simple magazine. Super delicious. We don't usually eat roasted turkey outside of Thanksgiving, so it was nice to smell it cooking in the house, especially on this wintery mix storm night.

I must admit, I couldn't find a boneless skinless turkey breast half at the grocery store that wasn't already in a ready-to-cook oven bag. All the other choices either had skin or flavors or both. So, we went with the Jennie-O Oven Ready Boneless Skinless Turkey Breast. Which means we didn't use the recipe for this part but it was delicious.

The real star of this one is the Cheddar-Stuffed Potatoes. YUM! I've never made twice-baked potatoes. These were simple and delicious. I added paprika and garlic. So good.

Of course, this cooking adventure was not without Laura-drama. The husband started the turkey while I was at work and we had 53 minutes to go when I got home. Luckily I started reviewing the recipe and realized the potatoes needed to be ready for the last 20-25 minutes in the oven with the turkey, so it was a scramble to get them prepped and in on time. In the end, the Jennie-O turkey has to sit for 10 minutes after it comes out, so the potatoes had plenty of time to finish.

A successful dinner night and pretty impressive for me for a Tuesday, even if we cheated and the husband helped.

Next up: pasta carbonara with spicey sausage from the same magazine. This issue also contains several slow cooker recipes that look delicious too.

Always an adventure!

Two New Recipes and Other Groceries

Went to the grocery store today and got supplies for the week. In the line up are two new recipes from Real Simple magazine: roasted turkey with Cheddar-stuffed potatoes and pasta carbonara with spicy sausage.

I also have supplies in the house for three other dinners that are in the usual rotation. Hoping having a plan for food and daylight savings time will lead to a easier, brighter, more active week.

Actually Cooking Tonight

After a bad case of the winter blues, I'm back to my kitchen adventures.

Tonight I am actually cooking, although nothing new or complex. We are having ...

Original Ranch Broiled Chicken
1 packet (1 oz.) Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dressing Mix
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. red wine vineager
1 pound boneless/skinless chicken breasts or thighs

Combine dressing mix, oil and vineager in a plastic bag.
Add chicken; shake, working mixture into meat.
Marianate 1 hour.
Broil chicken approx. 10-14 minutes total, turning once.
Makes 4 servings.

Paired with green beans and au gratin potatoes. Yes from a box. Sometimes I just crave them.

Where Have I Been?

While I can't honestly say I've made a new recipe lately, I can say I have been making easy meals and old recipes at home more than we have been eating out. Again, this is a huge plus for me and I must consider it a success in itself.

Also, another success is that I had a completely stress free, although hurried, trip to the grocery store on Sunday that resulted lunches for the week and fixings for four dinners.

I think I'm starting to get the hang of this and need to get back to the 1 new recipe per week challenge!

I may start with a recipe just sent to me by a friend. Sounds easy and yummy, by Better Homes and Garden - Hummus-Crusted Chicken.

King's Hawaiian Cinnamon Nutmeg French Toast

This stuff is the bomb! Milk, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, and King's Hawaiian sweet bread. Chill the bread in the fridge overnight so it doesn't break apart when you slice it. YUM!!!




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Snow Day Super-Simple Beef Stew

Threw this in the crockpot this morning. Gotta love a work-at-home snow day that will end in Super-Simple Beef Stew!

12 ounces small red potatoes, quartered (about 2 cups)
4 medium carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (2 cups)
1 small red onion, cut into wedges (1/2 cup)
1 pound beef stew meat
1 10 3/4-ounce can condensed cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup
1 cup beef broth
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram or thyme, crushed
1 9-ounce package frozen cut green beans, thawed

1. In a 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker, place potatoes, carrots, onion, meat, condensed soup, broth, and marjoram or thyme. Stir to combine.
2. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 9 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 4 1/2 hours. If using low-heat setting, turn to high-heat setting. Stir in thawed green beans. Cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes more.

This is from a crockpot cookbook I cannot seem to locate. I had copied the page out and thought it sounded perfect for Snowpocalyse 2011!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikki Masala

Saw this via Borders Kitchen Blog Cookbook of the Week: "The Indian Slow Cooker" by Anupy Singla. The recipe is in the blog post so follow the link.

Sounds like a lot of work for a slow cooker recipe. However, I'm told this particular Indian dish is yummy and being able to make it at home in my beloved crock pot is intriguing. I'd have to dedicate most of the weekend to this, though, so it should count as at least two new recipes.

Mexican Crock Pot Chicken

FYI - If you accidentally put the crock pot on high and your husband notices it is boiling before it burns, dinner will be done in 4 hours instead of 7. :-)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Actually Cooking

Upon giving some more thought to this challenge, and my apparent inability to rise to it, I have decided I must work on actually cooking before I worry about one new recipe per week. I barely cook and hate the grocery store, so the pressure of having to find one new recipe a week, find all the ingredients, and follow through with making it seems a bit much.

We ate out every night this week that we were together. This is a problem.

So, this morning we went to the grocery store and meat market and food for dinners for the week plus breakfast and lunch staples. Dinner choices include:

1. Mexican crock pot chicken (meat base for any of your mexican favorites)
2. Boboli pizza (premade crust) and caesar salad (in a bag)
3. Beef tortellini (frozen) and marinara (jar)
4. Pork tenderloin with the sage cornbread crust

Not new recipes or all from scratch but four more dinners than we made last week, so I need to consider this a success.

I will think of a new goal structure and post soon.

Nothing New

Since I used the kitchen three times last week and was flustered by the chowder recipe, I've decided to take a week off. That's my excuse, anyway!

Today for dinner I will be making the posticker salad again and serving with hawaiian sweetbread rolls and fortune cookies.

Next week I have book club, so I will choose a new party food recipe for that and then do a new dinner recipe on Sunday.

Happy New Year!