Getting Ready

All of my weeks are busy, but this one will be a little more than the usual. I start working on the school play. I help with the choreography and I have to incorporate two practices this week into the schedule. I am getting ready by making some meals today and prepping for meals that can be put into the crock pot in the morning.

First is marinara sauce. I used some canned tomatoes, onions, garlic, and basil. This sauce will be a "go to" for the kids if needed, used in the Italian sausage soup, and the sauce for chicken cacciatore.

I made Italian sausage soup using a recipe I received on a flyer enclosed with our wine club selection for the month. Since we have some time to sit and eat in a relaxed manner tonight, I will serve the soup with the wine. Salad and good bread equals a good dinner.

It has been extremely cold the past few days which is probably why I am making soup and chili. I have used this Gameday Chili recipe for years. It is a reliable recipe and the product freezes well. I will keep half for dinner this week and freeze half.

Another recipe that I have collected is sweet and sour meatballs. I haven't make them in a long time. I cook the meatballs in the oven, thus reducing fat, and freeze them separately from the sauce. When I am ready to serve them, I defrost and heat both and combine over rice.

I would also like to make a dessert, but I'm not sure if I have the time. Keep posted.

Pasta and Broccoli

My kids love pasta and broccoli. My oldest asks for it once a week. As you can tell from the blog, I haven't made it in a long time.

It is very simple. I par cook some broccoli in the microwave. I begin to boil water to cook a pound of pasta. For this recipe, I like penne and I usually get the whole wheat. In a frying pan, I heat some olive oil and saute garlic (I like a lot.) Add the broccoli. Stir and add breadcrumbs. I then drain the pasta and mix it with the broccoli. If I need to, I add a little more olive oil. Top with Parmesan.

Just go out!

Monday was an exhausting day and night and Tuesday was also busy. My daughter had a violin concert in the evening and my husband was working late. I was going to cook. Truly, I was.

Instead, I decided to take the kids out for Mexican. I had coupons and it was kids eat free. Inexpensive, fast, and no clean up. Perfect.

Leftovers on Monday?

Leftovers on Monday? Sort of. I teach a foods course and every other week this semester, we have a lab. I work later on lab days so there is not a lot of time to cook. I had good things in the frig and then I bring leftovers home from the lab, if any. Today was a Caribbean theme. Black bean soup, chicken and sausage paella, black bean salad, and sesame dip came home with me today. If that was not appetizing, any of the foods I made yesterday were also fair game.

Speaking of yesterday, I made Toasted Orzo Chicken Soup, Layered Mexican Salad, and a shrimp and basil pasta. The layered salad is simply iceberg lettuce, cornbread, black beans, corn, scallions, and tomatoes layered into a serving dish. I make a southwest ranch dressing by adding a little chili powder and cumin to bottled ranch dressing.

TGIF

Two kids home sick, one violin concert in the evening, and one long week. Pizza delivery. I really would have put more effort into dinner, but I was tired. The kids, sick ones and all, were happy.

Fiesta Pork and Cheesy Polenta

This recipe is great for a two reasons: 1) it really is finished in 20 minutes and 2) it looks exactly like the picture! I served it on my purple plates and it looked so good that my daughter took a picture of it. Now, I make a lot of dishes that look great on the plate, but this one moved her.

My one complaint: not enough leftovers!

As promised, I posted the Pork Chops with Pepper Jelly Sauce from a few weeks ago. As a reader pointed out, the sauce will also be great with chicken. When I made the recipe, I used Harry and David's pepper and onion relish.

Clean the Refrigerator

Do you ever get to the point that the refrigerator is crammed? I have four kids and it usually does not happen, but right now, there is too much in there. Tonight's dinner is an attempt to clean out the excess food before it spoils!

Tonight's dinner specials will be:

Cheeseburgers
Black Bean and Steak Stew
Linguine with Meat Sauce
Roast chicken

I have a cream cheese spread that will be great on some French bread. I can cook some extra veggies, and a salad. Dinner is done!

Roasted Chicken with Fiery Lemon Glaze

Mondays are usually less busy than the rest of the weeknights so I can take a little more time with dinner. Roasted chicken with steamed broccoli and roasted potatoes. What is great is that there are leftovers for chicken salad or just to heat up. The lemon glaze made with honey was a hit with the kids.

Once the chicken was cut, I used the carcass to make a stock. To make the stock, I put the carcass with cold water in a stock pot and cooked slowly for a two hours. The less a stock is disturbed while it is cooking, the clearer the stock will be. I did not add any celery or seasoning this time. I think the lemon, garlic, and honey from the glaze will provide an interesting flavor to the stock. The stock is in the freezer for use later.

Sunday cooking

I love to cook on Sunday's. Today's dinner is already made: Sauce on Sunday. The sauce is defrosting and the linguine will get cooked later. I did take time to get some other cooking done.

Next week I volunteered to make two cakes for a fundraiser. One is in the over as I write and I will make the next when that one in done. Into the freezer they will go until next week when I will only need to make the ganache frosting. I am using one of my favorite cake recipes: Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake. The recipe is in the "Easy Weeknight Favorites" cookbook published by Oxmoor House. If you search this recipe online, there are a lot of imposters. I could not find the real recipe. I get complements on this cake everytime I make it and friends ask me to make it for get togethers. I usually keep one in the freezer because it freezes so well and never loses moistness.

I also took the time to fix the black bean stew (see the Monday Scurry entree) that needed help. It was too thin and bland. I had it in the freezer, so I defrosted and added seasoned beef cubes and half a can of refried beans to thicken it. Seasoning also needed to be added: a large dash of hot sauce, chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder did the trick. Served over rice it will be great.

Make your own pizza

Friday nights are either crazy busy or home relaxing. This week was everyone at home after a busy week. Make your own pizza for the kids. This week I used 12" pizza shells, a jarred sauce and cheese. I was taking a break.

For the grown-ups, I made a sausage and spinach calzone. I got the recipe from a book and really did my own thing with it. I used a refrigerated pizza dough. I browned some sausage, added fresh spinach and a little water, covered the pan and let the spinach cook down. Once the water was evaporated, I mixed in mozzarella cheese and sauce. I put the mixture into a refrigerate pizza dough and baked until it was golden brown. It I were ambitious, I would have seasoned the dough, but it was just fine without.

On to the couch to watch a movie.

Buffalo Chicken

Wednesdays are very busy for us and it is hard to figure out when we are going to eat. Usually, it is a snack before activities and the "real" food when everyone gets home. Sometimes I make the "real" food early, everyone eats as ready, and dessert (sometimes healthy, sometimes not) is when everyone gets home.

Tonight, we snacked first and then ate the real meal later. One reason is because I went for a late lunch with girlfriends and since I was not hungry, I didn't want to cook as early.

I made buffalo chicken with bonless chicken breasts (chicken tenders will work well, as will chicken wings, and shrimp). It is my original recipe for the buffalo sauce. Here it is:

6 ounces hot sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup dark brown sugar (light brown will also work)
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon each of garlic powder, cumin, paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you like)

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan until the flavors blend. Once finished, pour over the almost baked chicken and heat through so that the sauce becomes part of the chicken.

I usually dredge the chicken in flour seasoned with salt and pepper and bake it for about 15 minutes before putting on the sauce to complete cooking. Once, I tried this part in the crock pot and it worked. I set the chicken and sauce on low for about two hours. Make sure to check so that the chicken does not dry out.

Sometimes I make fries to accompany this meal, but tonight, just carrots and celery. And bleu cheese of course.

No Idea

I had an appointment to get my car fixed this afternoon, and as it worked out, this evening. I knew that the appointment may take a long time so I gave my husband the following instructions: There are things to eat in the frig, freezer, and cabinets. At this point, bedtime, I have no idea what they ate. No one is complaining that they are hungry. I guess that's good.

Breakfast for Dinner

Breakfast for dinner is also called Upside Down Day in our house. The kids love it. My husband, not so much. Tonight he had to work late so, breakfast for dinner it was. It's quick, cleans up fast,and everyone gets what they want.

Sauce on Sunday

I think meat sauce and pasta on Sunday is the best meal. It's great on other nights also, but on Sunday it is best. I was out of sauce in the freezer, so I made a batch this morning. It had a lot of pork in it.

For an extra special treat, I made fresh pasta. Simple: 2 cups flour to 4 eggs. That is a process I enjoy, so I made plain pasta, lemon pepper pasta (which will be good with a shrimp sauce), and red pepper pasta (which goes well with a light alfredo sauce). Yum.

The plain pasta was served with the sauce. What a treat. It was so good that I left my pasta maker out so I can make more and freeze it. It really doesn't take long and it was a relaxing Sunday activity on a cold day.

Wednesday

Our schedules today were very busy and I am being lazy. I just heated some chicken tenders for the kids with leftover mashed potatoes. Of course, once they all come home from practices and games, they will want sandwiches. They make their own and I can continue to be lazy.

Speaking of lazy... the black bean soup that half was used as a sauce was sitting in the frig. I wanted to add some spice to it, but just did not want to put in the effort. Instead, I put it into the freezer and can fix it when I am inspired (which may be in the spring when my bones thaw out.)

I did make something though. Lemony Chicken Soup is still in the crockpot. I had most of the ingredients in the freezer, so I just needed to combine.

Freezer Solutions

1. When chicken breast are on sale, I buy a few pounds, season and roast, then take the meat off the bone and freeze in one pound portions. Anytime I need cooked chicken, it is ready.

2. I also buy celery and chop it when I get home. I freeze the celery in 1 cup portions. It is perfect for soups.

Pork Chops with Pepper Jelly Sauce

Well, after last night's scurry, I made it to the grocery store for the pork chops I needed. And, it was well worth it!! I made Pork Chops with Pepper Jelly Sauce from Southern Living January 2010 issue (could not find the link). I will be happy to post when I do.

Yum! There was sweet and savory and spicy all in one dish. I think this will be a great dish to grill and make the sauce separately. I served it with carrots and mashed potatoes (like any other side dish would do with pork chops?).

Monday Scurry

It was not that our schedules were crazy, it was because I had not been to the grocery store. On a whim Sunday night I made a black bean stew. I can't say it came out wonderful, it was kind of more like soup. So, ok, I went with it.

I refused to miss yoga on Monday, but did not have my planned meal ingredients. A brainstorm... Cook pasta and mix with the black bean stew/soup and reduce a little. Yes, black bean sauce was created. Mind you, this recipe needs some tweaking before I can post it. But it did hit the spot.