thanksgiving 2011 menu

Here is my current menu for Thanksgiving this year. This is my 2nd time hosting and I’m really excited. My first year was a hit but I decided to experiment and try some new dishes. Here is what I have on the menu.

Turkey –German Turkey OR The Pioneer Woman’s Turkey. (note: before roasting add butter and rosemary under skin of turkey)

Sweet Potato Casserole - (note: roast potatoes, add cloves and cinnamon and use 1 tsp of vanilla and add marshmallows!).
Stuffing - a combo of Picky Palate Stuffing and Emeril’s Stuffing

Dessert – Picky Palate’s Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Vanilla Cake and Frozen Fruit Salad 
Veggie - Orange Glazed Carrots

Rolls - store bought

Zuppa Toscana and Breadsticks

Kris and I love the soup, salad and breadsticks at Olive Garden. So with this chilly (and oh so cozy) Fall weather, I decided to make my own version. Wow was it good! I am for sure adding this to my regular dinner list.

I found the recipe here - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/super-delicious-zuppa-toscana/detail.aspx.

Ingredients

• 1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage (I used hot Italian)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (I used previously cooked bacon from our Sunday breakfast, definitely was more than 4 slices)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 5 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth (I used half vegetable broth and half chicken)
• 6 potatoes, thinly sliced (I sliced them into coins (hamburger ways) and then cut each “coin” into quarters)
• 1 cup heavy cream (I actually didn’t use the cream, I forgot it. It was so good without it!)
• 1/4 bunch fresh spinach, tough stems removed (I used Kale, that’s what Olive Garden uses)

Directions

1. Cook the sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

3. Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.

I decided we had to have breadsticks so I whipped these puppies up – I’m pretty sure I ate half the pan!

I used the recipe found here - http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/04/breadsticks-and-pizza-dough/

cake batter rice krispies

Do you like rice krispie treats? Do you like cake? I mean those are probably silly questions! I made this recipe a couple days ago and let me just say there were NONE left after a day. They are soooo good. And so easy to make… literally did it while I was making dinner and chasing Finley around the house.

Recipe can be found here: http://gimmesomeoven.com/cake-batter-rice-crispy-treats/

 

Enjoy!

no bake deliciousness!

Last night I made these cookies because we were craving something sweet. Not only did I have all of the ingredients but they were super duper easy to make. And hello can I say AMAZING! Melt in your mouth yumminess. Only problem is that I can’t stop eating them. So, go make these and let me know what you think!

Here’s the link… love the Pioneer Woman’s Tasty Kitchen site!

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/no-bake-cookies-5/

Only changes to the recipe I made were that I did 3 HEAPING TBLs of cocoa powder (so was probably really like 4… I like my chocolate!) and I add an extra 1/2 tsp of vanilla.

zucchini muffins

I love to bake (except for the part where I have to wash the dishes) and I’ve had a lot of fun trying different recipes that Finley AND Kris will eat. They both love muffins and I decided to find a recipe where I could pack a bunch of healthy stuff in and get them to eat it. The result was a huge success! The entire batch was gone after two days. This recipe does not have any butter or sugar in it (WHAT?!?!) and it still tastes decliciuosly moist and sweet.

I got the inspiration and the base of my recipe from a this blog that I recently came across and can’t stop reading, wwww.weelicious.com. She creates fabulous, healthy foods for her kiddos and has really inspired me with new ideas. Here is her version of the zucchini muffins http://weelicious.com/2010/03/10/zucchini-muffins/.

Here is the version I made, not much different from hers. Although next time I think I’ll reduce the oil because the yogurt really makes it moist and also throw in some wheat germ.

1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Eggs, whisked
1 Tsp Vanilla
1/3 Cup Vegetable or Canola Oil (*if you add the yogurt you could probably cut this in half)
2/3 Cup Agave Nectar (yummy!)
1 1/2 Cups Zucchini, shredded (I used 1 1/2 large zucchinis)
1 carrot, grated

raisins (I think I threw in about 1/3 cup)
large dollop of plain yogurt (I used greek yogurt and it was probably about 1 1/2 tbl’s worth… as you can see I don’t measure).

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Place the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk to combine.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir just until the ingredients are combined.
5. Pour the zucchini mixture into large or small muffins cups (I used large and used paper liners to ensure the muffins didn’t burn).
6. Bake 20-30 minutes checking often after 20 minutes to ensure they don’t burn. I think I ended up cooking for about 25 minutes and had to check the temp of the muffins because they were so moist, yummm!

7. Cool and serve.
I put the extras in the fridge but you could also freeze them.

finley’s smoothie

I made Finley a smoothie this morning just curious to see if she’d like it. She did! Here’s how I made it.

• handful of spinach
• 3 cubes of frozen mangos (thank you Trader  Joes)
• half of a banana
• a big spoon scoop of plain greek yogurt
• some water

Blended it right up and it was delicious!

easiest enchiladas ever

Kris and I love Mexican food and I try to make it once a week. One of our favorites and my most requested is chicken enchiladas – and seriously they are the easiest thing to make! Not to mention they are cheap cheap cheap. No wonder I love making them. I would say I made up this recipe but I’m sure it’s similar to many recipes out there.


Ingredients

• 6-8 flour tortillas (we don’t like corn so use flour instead. I also use the “raw” tortillas from Costco which adds time to the recipe since you have to cook them first but they are so yummy)
• 2 cans of enchilada sauce
• 1 can of fire roasted green chilis
• 2 cooked chicken breasts cubed or shredded
• 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Bake chicken breasts at 350 for 60 minutes (or until cooked through). Cut up the chicken into cubes or shred with a fork.
2. Pour one can of the enchilada sauce into a pan and add the chicken, a couple handfuls of cheese (about 1 cup) and fire roasted chilis. Cook over medium until warm and cheese is melted.
3. Turn on oven to 350 and pour 1/3 of the remaining can of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a baking dish (I use a 9x13 glass dish). Scoop about 1/3 cup of chicken mixture into each tortilla, wrap it up and place in the baking dish.
4. Pour remaining sauce over the wrapped tortillas and top with the remaining cheese.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and enchiladas are warmed. If the cheese is getting burned and you need to bake longer then place foil over the pan.
6. I served this with Spanish rice and it was oh so yummy! Makes great leftovers too – and would be a great dish to freeze!

muffins

I’m trying to find more and more foods for Finley to try and I came across this muffin recipe. I made it for the second time yesterday and it’s a huge hit with her. She gobbles these up and can’t seem to get enough. The great part is they are packed with healthy stuff I want her to be eating! Now, if you’ve had muffins before you may not rave about their dryer texture and healthy flavor… but it’s the only muffin she’s ever had and thinks they are just great. I actually like them a lot too.

I got the recipe from the Wholesome Baby Food Blog.

Golden Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup golden flax meal
• 3/4 cup farina (this is just Cream of Wheat)
• 1 1/4 cup of flour
• 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup raw-turbinado sugar (I used 1/4 cup and they tasted great)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk (you can use soy milk)
• 1/4 cup oil (or 1/4 applesauce but the texture will be more springy instead of dense)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of blueberries (I used frozen blueberries)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F
2. Toss all ingredients together and mix until all is moist.
3. Lightly oil muffin tins or use inserts
4. Spoon into muffin tins, filling 1/2 way
5. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes

Yield – 12-18 muffins depending on size of muffin cups

Alergy Alert:  Eggs, Milk, Wheat

what Finley does like to eat

*I realize this post won’t interest most people – it’s more for me to record and for others who have babies at this stage and need some ideas. So if baby food doesn’t interest you then I won’t blame you for stopping here. If you are at this stage and have some more ideas for me, please please please share!

Finley is not much of a formula eater, never really has been and she doesn’t really like pureed or baby foods. But she does love finger foods. Here are some of the things I make for her on a regular basis that she loves. I have tried making her “dishes” like combining rice with veggies and a sauce but she really seems to prefer everything separated. She wants to be able to each each individual item on their own.

• Sweet Potatoes – I cut them up into wedges (like fries) and rub olive oil on them and bake at 400 for 20 minutes. She LOVES these and so do I! (to cut them I first cut off the ends, then cut all the sides and then slice the middle into pieces. I use the sides as well, but by doing this you get better looking fries :-)
• Meat – she loves meat. I give her shredded chicken, ground turkey and ground beef. I usually cover the chicken with cheese, the turkey and beef with tomato sauce, cottage cheese or pasta. If you combine the meat with cottage cheese, sauce and pasta (you can leave the pasta out too) then it tastes like lasagna, so good! She loves it.
• Cheese – cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, jack cheese, cream cheese – it doesn’t matter what kind, she just loves cheese. I either shred it or buy cheese sticks and break them up into pieces.
• Tofu – I usually cut it up into cubes and then cook it on the stove in some olive oil until the sides browned/crisp (aka “fried”). This is probably her favorite finger food, she never leaves any left over. I also have served it to her without cooking it – but she likes the crunchy texture and she certainly could use the fat :-) Plus I like to eat a few pieces too!
• Toast smeared with cream cheese.
• Peas – the girl loves peas. I just zap some frozen peas on the microwave with a little water and then she goes to town picking them up and eating them.
• Broccoli – I usually keep frozen broccoli on hand and just microwave it with some water and then cut it up. I also steam fresh broccoli.
• Pasta – I think she just likes that she can pick it up and eat it on her own. I’ve found that macaroni noodles are the easiest for her.
• Avocado – She’s always loved avocado and it’s still one of her favorites! I freeze any left over wedges and it lasts much longer!
• Pears – she LOVES pears, probably her favorite fruit. I buy them fresh or canned (occasionally). Pears actually freeze pretty well if they are in larger pieces.
• Banana – she loves banana pieces and usually has this with breakfast.
• Cooked Carrots and Broccoli.
• Jury is still out on Butternut Squash but I still offer it to her, usually mashed up in rice.
• Cheerios – they are fun to eat and play with!
• Mum Mums – this is more of a tool I use to keep her entertained if I need to (i.e. story time, restaurants, while I’m making her food), but she ALWAYS wants a Mum Mum so I can rely on them.
• Applesauce and Yogurt are about the only “spoon fed” foods she will eat on a regular basis.
• Egg yolk – I usually fry the egg yolk and she will eat it right up. A great way to get her some protein.
• Water – I know this isn’t a food, but she has an obsession with water so I had to include it. If I put formula in a sippy cup she throws it, but if there is water she will drink until I take it away from her!
• Black beans – Finley likes black beans and I’m working with her on Lentils, so far she’s not a fan. She’ll eat rice, but mostly plays with it. So these are foods we just keep introducing and maybe one day she’ll like it. I also want to try Quinoa but haven’t done that one yet.

february meal plan

January’s meal plan was a hit! We ended up eating a lot more leftovers than I had planned on so many of the recipes could carry over into February. I also have a bunch listed in the “notes” section that I want to try so they can always be back ups. For the most part I stuck to the meal plan last month. There were a couple times that I just didn’t feel like what I had scheduled for that day, so I just made something else with things I had on hand. It definitely removed the what-are-we-having-for-dinner-tonight anxiety and I always knew exactly what I needed at the grocery store. I have fallen in love with frozen fruits and veggies (although they do not completely replace fresh by any means) and my crock pot. Many people have asked me how I plan out my grocery shopping and the key is to have some ingredients always on hand – I get most of these staples at Costco. Then, I get my regular produce either at Albertsons or Trader Joes, just depending on where I go that week. Most of my meals use some of the following staple items that I get at Costco.

 

Costco List:

• Chicken Broth (cans)
• Stewed Tomatoes (cans)
• Tomato Sauce (cans)
• Applesauce (this is for me and Finley :-)
• Chicken (this is a Costo MUST)
• Ground Turkey
• Chicken Thighs or Drumsticks
• Frozen Peas
• Frozen Corn
• They also have great frozen fruit (I get some of the frozen stuff at the grocery store because the Costco bulk items take up a lot of space)
• Taco Seasoning
• Tortillas (I get the uncooked tortillas in the fridge section, near the cheeses, it lasts much longer than the other kind and taste so much better!)
• Bread (I freeze one loaf and use the other)

Here is my Feb meal plan calendar. We’ll probably end up substituting the Coconut Curry Stir Fry for some of these because it’s Kris’s new favorite :-)

banana bread

Three new posts in one night! I should probably spread these out a little better but I had some extra time tonight which seems to be rare these days so I decided to take advantage. This is my favorite banana bread and it’s fairly healthy and really easy to make. I got the recipe from Cooking Light so I can’t really take any of the credit. I’m actually thinking about making it for Finley’s first birthday cake… with frosting of course!

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3... I always usually throw in an extra)
• 1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla
  

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
3. Place sugar and butter in large bowl and beat with mixer (about 1 minute). Add eggs, stir. Add banana, yogurt, vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Mix.
4. Spoon into 8/12 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan coated with spray.
5. Bake for 1 hour (sometimes I have to bake a little longer but be sure to check at an hour).
6. You can also add cloves (1/8 tsp), cinnamon (1/2 tsp) and nutmeg (1/4 tsp) - if you want to mix it up. I sometimes throw in chocolate chips because chocolate makes everything better!
   
   

coconut curry stir fry

Last night we had Coconut Curry Stir Fry and it was SOOOO good! I made two batches thinking I would freeze some for later. Well Kris loved it so much that he finished off the leftovers, which of course made me feel great. I used the sauce recipe from my new “The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook” and mixed fresh veggies with frozen veggies which was a good way to get lots of veggies for half the price. If you try this recipe leave a comment and tell me how you like it (you know you want to :-)!

I’ll list the amount for a single batch… I just doubled it last night.

Stir Fry Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, cut up into strips.
• 1 package of frozen stir fry veggies
• 1 large red bell pepper
• half an onion (you could use a whole)
• 5 carrots (I just used that many because they were going to go bad)
• 3 celery stalks
• any other veggies you want to add would be great!

 

Coconut Curry Sauce Ingredients

• 2/3 cup light coconut milk
• 6 tbl chicken broth
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
  

1. Heat some canola oil in pan and cook chicken pieces all the way through. Put chicken aside.
2. Heat a little more oil and add the fresh veggies to the pan and cook until soft. Add the frozen veggies and cook until all veggies are warmed.
3. Add chicken to the veggies.
4. Whisk the sauce ingredients together and add to pan.
5. Simmer stir fry while making rice.
6. Serve and enjoy!

today and taco recipe

Finley and I had a great day today. This morning we went to our first MOPs meeting at church and Finley joined the kiddos in the nursery for the first time. I was definitely nervous leaving her in there, being with a bunch of little ones without me and in the care of adults I don’t know, and the germs… it all gave me a bit of anxiety. But as soon as she saw the other babies playing she got so excited and started making her “bubbles” (aka spitting) sound. She seemed to have a lot of fun and was so tired that she passed out in the car and went on to sleep for TWO hours when we got home. Naps have been a big struggle for us lately so that was amazing. All the action made her tired! I met some great moms and there was an awesome guest speaker who talked about meal planning, preparing freezer meals and maximizing food at Costco… stay tuned for posts on what I learned.

After her nap we bundled up (it was freeezing today) and headed out to the grocery store. Here’s my little shopper (hamming it up for all of the people oooing and awwing at her as they walked by… you’d think she was a celebrity. Guess that what happens when you’re this cute :-).

Now for my Taco recipe that we had for dinner. This one is so easy and delicious, it always gets gobbled right up (who doesn’t like Taco Tuesday?!)!

Kristen’s Yummy Taco Creation (catchy isn’t it?!)

Ingredients

• 1 can of El Pato Hot Tomato Sauce (this stuff is the magic ingredient, you can find it next to the salsas and enchilada sauces in a yellow/red can)
• 1 lb ground meat (I used turkey tonight but you can use beef too)
• taco seasoning (either the packet or about 4 tbl if you buy in bulk)
• 1 1/2 cups water or chicken broth
• refried beans
• box of Spanish rice (I used the rice a roni version. fancy, I know :-)
• stewed tomatoes (to add to the Spanish rice)
• tortillas
• grated cheese

Instructions

1. Brown meat. Add taco seasoning and liquid and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn down heat and simmer until liquid reduces (about 5 minutes). Add El Pato sauce and stir well. That’s it for the meat!
2. Heat the beans… easy peasy.
3. Make the rice according to box instructions.
4. Grate cheese.
5. Heat tortillas by lightly wetting them with water and microwaving them for 15-20 seconds. 
6. Put beans, rice and meat in the tortilla and top with cheese. If you have really good taste (like me) you’ll also top it with Catalina dressing or even better some Ketchup (don’t judge).
   
   Happy Cooking!
   

january meal planning

A major way we have slimmed down our budget is by meal planning. It also reduces my “oh crap what am I going to make for dinner” anxiety at 5:00 every night :-) It also reduces the number of trips to the grocery store each week which is a HUGE way to save money. I usually do week by week meal planning but the other day I decided to try and do a menu plan for the month and it was surprisingly easy. Each week I’ll go the store and get what I need for the meals and I will know each day that I have ingredients on hand to make any of those meals. I don’t always stick exactly to what I have slated for a particular day, but I’m usually not too far off. I mean if Kris says “hey want pizza tonight” I’m NEVER going to say no! Anyways, here is a glimpse of what I have slated for January.

And I’ve got tonight’s teriyaki tenderloin in the crock pot as we speak, yummm. 

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

We had this for dinner last night and it was delicious! I served it with corn on the cob. I made a few modifications to the original recipe from eatingwell.com… found here: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/quick_chicken_cordon_bleu.html. My changes are in bold below.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 1/4-1 1/2 pounds), trimmed and tenders removed -  I used 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs.
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese – I used mozzarella cheese and about doubled the amount.
• 2 tablespoons reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1/4 cup coarse dry whole-wheat breadcrumbs – I used regular plain breadcrumbs.
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or thyme
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/4 cup chopped ham  - I used deli ham and didn’t measure, probably about 7 slices.

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon pepper and salt. Combine cheese and cream cheese in a bowl. Combine the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper with breadcrumbs, parsley (or thyme) and 2 teaspoons oil in another bowl.
3. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large, ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken until browned on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Move the chicken to the center so all pieces are touching. Spread with the cheese mixture, sprinkle with ham, then top with the breadcrumb mixture.
4. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and an instant-read thermometer registers 165°F, 5 to 7 minutes.
1. I baked mine for 30 minutes and covered with foil for part of the time to prevent burning. I just wanted to be sure it was cooked through.

It was delicious!

Chicken Cacciatore – Slow Cooker

This is hands down Kris’s favorite dish, and I just happen to love it too! I can’t seem to remember where I got the recipe from… I think it is a rendition of an Emeril recipe (I tend to combine multiple different recipes to make my own and then make my own adjustments). This is definitely a regular meal at our house and it is sure to please any crowd. The bonus is that it’s also a slow cooker recipe!

• 6 chicken thighs
• salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme
• flour
• olive oil
• 1 cup onion, chopped (approx. 1/2 onion)
• red pepper flakes
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 c. dry white wine
• bell pepper, chunky chopped (I use whatever color I have on hand)
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1 small can tomato sauce
• 1 cup chicken broth (I tend to add a bit more)
• egg noodles
• parm

1. Coat chicken w/salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano and thyme. Dredge in flour. Heat oil in dutch oven and cook chicken 3-5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to the slow cooker.
2. In dutch oven add red pepper flakes, onion, garlic and bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper.  Sauté about 5 minutes and then stir in 2 tbl. of flour.
3. Add wine, tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth and salt.
4. Add sauce to the crock pot. Cook for 6 hours on high.
5. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Serve chicken/sauce over the noodles and top with Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Enjoy!

Tikki Masala

This was a big hit tonight. I got the recipe from the Pioneer Woman’s Tasty Kitchen blog, here. I made a few changes to the recipe which I noted below.

• 4 chicken breasts
• kosher salt (make sure it’s kosher salt, otherwise the dish may turn out too salty. if you only have table salt then significantly reduce the amount used)
• ground coriander
• cumin, to taste
• ½ cups plain yogurt (I used closer to 1 cup) 
• 6 Tablespoons Butter (I significantly cut the amount of butter)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 piece (approximately 2 inches) chunk fresh ginger
• garam masala
• 1 can (28 ounce) diced tomatoes (I used stewed tomatoes)
• sugar
• 1-½ cup heavy cream (I used 1 cup and added chicken broth, just to make it a little lighter)
• 2 cups basmati rice
• 1 can of chicken broth (I put half in the masala sauce and the other half in the rice) 

OPTIONAL:

• fresh cilantro
• chili peppers (I used dried red pepper flakes) 
• turmeric
• frozen peas

1. Season both sides of the chicken breasts with kosher salt, coriander, and cumin. Then coat the chicken breasts completely with the plain yogurt. Set the chicken on a metal cooling rack over a foil-lined baking sheet and place it about 10-12 inches below a broiler for 5-7 minutes per side. Watch carefully so as not to totally char the chicken. It should have slightly blackened edges. (make sure the chicken is cooked through) Remove from oven.
2. Dice the onion. In a large skillet melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat and sauté the onions until they are slightly browned. Mince the garlic and cut off the outer skin and mince or grate the chunk of fresh ginger. Add the garlic and ginger to the onions. Also throw in about 1 tsp of salt. (the recipe calls for 1 tbl of salt, but I thought that was too much).
3. Add about 3 tablespoons Garam Masala spice to the pan. If you like it hot, add the chili peppers. Add the can diced tomatoes with juice. Continue cooking and stirring, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. Add about 1 tablespoon sugar. Let this mixture simmer on medium for about 5 minutes.
4. To cook the rice add 2 cups Basmati rice, 4 tablespoons butter (I thought this was too much butter so I cut it in half), 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon Ground Turmeric and 4 cups water (my rice package said to use 3 cups of water for 2 cups of rice, but I recommend using more. I ended up adding the broth to the rice b/c it was starting to burn). Boil rice for 20 minutes.
5. After the Tikka Masala sauce has had a chance to simmer, add in the 1 ½ cups of heavy cream (I added the chicken chunks before adding the cream and let it cook a little longer and soak in the flavor of the sauce). Chop up the chicken breasts into chunks and stir them into the Tikka Masala sauce. A handful of chopped fresh cilantro is a nice addition if you like cilantro. You can also throw some frozen peas into the cooked rice, give them a stir, and allow the heat of the rice to cook the peas. Serve the rice with the Chicken Tikka Masala over top. Make sure to have some Nann bread handy, too.

It was delicious!

Menu Plan

In my quest to cut our grocery budget, I’ve been working on my menu planning. In case you need inspiration like me, below I’ve posted recipes I’ll be including in my menu plans coming up. If the recipes turn out to be good then I’ll post those too. I don’t always stick straight to my plan – I mean if I’m not craving chicken on Thursday and that’s what I have slated, then I’ll move it to another day. But it still helps me ensure I have ingredients on hand for meals and I’m not left wondering what in the world to make for dinner.

Upcoming Recipes:

• Burritos
• Philly Cheese Steak
• Franks Chicken and Caesar Salad
• Zucchini Parm
• Broccoli and Beef
• Orange Chicken
• Mongolian Chicken
• Coconut Red Beans and Rice with Coconut Chicken
• Honey Hoison Chicken (that’s what is cookin for tonight)

Happy Tuesday!

Gourmet on the Cheap

Okay, maybe I’m only calling it gourmet because I used a fresh herb… but it smelled gourmet! With trying to save money on groceries (literally cutting the budget in half!), I’ve been trying to get creative with what I have on hand. I always have certain things stocked in the kitchen like stewed tomatoes, carrots, zucchini (rarely will you see my fridge without zucchini!), potatoes, rice, chicken broth, green chilies, cream of something soup, pasta, eggs, spaghetti sauce, chicken, etc. You get the picture.

So tonight, I decided I was going to make chicken and rice. But chicken and rice can be so boring so I decided to mix it up a bit. Here’s what I came up with: baked lemon rosemary chicken with creamy mushroom rice and herb and white wine veggies. Cheap, fast and yummy. Here’s how I made it.

Chicken

• 2 chicken breasts
• fresh rosemary, chopped
• half lemon
• 1/4 can of chicken broth
• salt/pepper
• paprika
• flour
• olive oil
• little bit of butter

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Heat pan with butter and olive oil and add chicken breasts. Sprinkle with flour, salt, pepper and paprika (I sprinkle instead of dredge b/c it’s faster and less messy). Just cook each side until lightly browned (not cooked through)…. and season the other side when you flip the chicken. Set aside the pan and drippings to cook the veggies.
3. Place the chicken in a greased, glass pan and squeeze the lemon juice over the tops. Then top with the fresh rosemary. Pour the chicken broth all around the chicken to coat the pan.
4. Cook in the over for appox. 40 minutes (until chicken is cooked completely).

Rice

• 1 1/2 cups white rice
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup

1. Combine the broth and soup in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
2. Add the rice and lower the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for approx 15 minutes, stirring occasionally (if you don’t stir, the rice will stick to the bottom of the pan). If you are using instant rice, then remove the pan from the heat as soon as you bring the rice to a boil and let it sit for approx. 5 minutes.

Veggies

• 2 cups sliced fingerling potatoes (I sliced into little bits – a little bigger than a thumbnail).
• 1 1/2 cups of cut carrots (I sliced baby carrots into fours).
• 1 zucchini cut into bit sized pieces.
• white wine (approx. 1/4 cup).
• dash of olive oil.
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Essence seasoning (I use this a lot – it’s basically garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and paprika).
• rosemary

1. Heat up the drippings from the chicken and add the potatoes. Add the garlic and carrots and stir to get the drippings mixed in well. Sauté for a couple minutes before adding the zucchini. Sprinkle with a little bit of olive oil and add some of the wine.
2. Add the zucchini and the seasonings (Essence, salt, pepper) and the remaining rosemary from the chicken. Add the rest of the wine.
3. Stir well and cook for approx. 10 minutes over medium heat.

Enjoy!

Favorite Soup

I can’t really take the credit for this recipe as it is my mom’s original creation. But I make variations of it depending on what I have on hand. The magic is really in the secret ingredient which my mom brilliantly came up with…. V8 juice. Don’t worry if you’re not a fan, you will probably still love this healthy soup. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t.

Original Version

• 1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage
• 1/2 lb. hot and spicy sausage
• 1 head of cabbage, chopped
• 1 tsp. chopped garlic
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3-4 sliced carrots
• 1 can red kidney beans, drained
• 1 can chopped tomatoes w/juice
• 1 large can/bottle V8 juice
• 1 tsp. beef bullion 1 – 1 1/2 cups water
• 2-3 tsp hot chili sauce
• brown sugar to taste
• pepper to taste

1. Brown sausage, garlic and onion in large skillet.
2. Transfer to large pot and mix in cabbage and carrots.
3. After cabbage has wilted and steamed down add the rest of the ingredients.
4. Simmer at least 30 minutes, you can simmer as long as an hour if you’d like.
5. While simmering add the sugar and pepper to taste.

The Version I made this Week I have many different ways of making this, it’s all dependent on what I have on hand or what we’re craving. You really can’t mess this one up.

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces (y0u can use any meat you’d like, ground beef would be good too)
• 1 can white kidney beans
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 can carrots, drained
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can stewed tomatoes w/juice
• 1 large can/jar V8 juice, reduced sodium
• 1 beef bullion cube dissolved in 1 cup water
• 7 fingerling potatoes cut up into cubes (these potatoes are pretty small)
• 3/4 box of pasta shells, cooked.
• brown sugar to taste
• hot sauce to taste
• salt/pepper to taste
• Essence seasoning (basically is garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, paprika)

1. Cook chicken pieces in skillet (or you can cook straight in the Dutch Oven or Pot) with a little bit of olive oil. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and Essence seasonings.
2. Cook pasta according to directions.
3. Cook the garlic and onion in the chicken drippings and put in a Dutch Oven or Pot. Add the chicken and remaining ingredients.
4. Simmer for at least 30 minutes or up to an hour.
5. It’s so easy and delicious!

Side – this would be really yummy with the beer bread that I posted earlier but we had it with Hawaiian rolls. Also roasted carrots, potatoes and zucchini with olive oil, salt and rosemary or the Essence seasonings would be delicious (roast at 400 for 15-20 minutes).

Enjoy!