A friend has challenged a bunch of us to a have 'loving and happy' month, in essence to put a positive spin on the craptastic events in our lives. I said I'd participate, then started thinking about the challenge. I pretty much live my whole life that way. I'm totally a glass 1/2 full, look at the bright, we can figure this out, kind of person. Changes and obstacles used to freak me out as a kid and young adult. I can remember my mom trying to convince me that I'd be ok when some event in my life changed, amist me freaking out hysterically crying and screaming thinking my life was ruined and nothing would ever be right again. (drama much, lol the joys of being a teenage girl) My life was forever changed over a three year span where I lost two babies, had to watch my dad's health decline before my eyes, had a baby and `then lost my dad. I got to see what was at the bottom of that 1/2 empty glass, saw the dark side and had absolutally zero control over any of the events happening in my life. I wrote in my first post that I was starting to come out of that dark place finally, and that I was excited for the future. It's true, I'm thankful for every day, thankful for the loving people in my life. I learned 3 Februarys ago that our time together is limited, why waste a moment being angry? Why let the nasty person in front of me in line ruin my day? I know my life isn't perfect, but I know how much worse it could be. If you need to be in my lane so badly that you will jepordize your life then let me slow down so you can get in and not put my family in the hospital.
Examining my life and outlook for this challenge has made me ridiculously happy, because I have changed, come out of the black cloud funk. I am a happy Momma. February will forever be a month of reminders, reminding me to love everyday, reminding to not take others for granted, reminding me what loss feels like, and what it feels like to be reborn....reminding me that I was right as a teenage girl....all we need is love.
BBQ chicken casserole w/ Cornbread topping (because who doesn't love BBQ?)
1 cup of cooked chicken shredded or cubed in the crock pot
1 bottle of your fave bbq sauce
1/4 cup of water
1 cubed sweet potato
1 cup of frozen corn
on top of the bbq chicken mixture pour on a cornbread mix ( like a box of Jiffy, or I love Martha White's cornbread so that's what I use) Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hrs.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
My way...or the highway?! Chicken Picata my way!
Perhaps it's the fact that I grew up in a house where my mom ruled the roost, I had very little say in anything. It was her way or the highway. As an adult I'm bent on doing things my way for the simple fact that I can. I read lots and lots of recipes and reviews, but hardly ever follow one to a T. I like to make my own way and cook the way I like with ingredients that are tasty to me. That is what draws me to cooking, being able to take ingredients and flavors that I like and put them together to make a delish meal. We (hubs and kidos) are going to spend Saturday out at my mom's. Hubs will work around the house and mom and I will play with the kidos and cook, we are making hamburger sliders and sweet potato fries for lunch and Chicken Picata my way for dinner. Here's the Chicken Picata my way recipe
Dredge 8 chicken cutlets in flour, in a non-nonstick skillet heat about 1/4 cup of evoo over med high heat. Brown the chicken on both sides and remove from the pan. Reduce the heat to low and add in about 2 cups of chicken broth and whisk the bottom of the pan to get all the good browned bits up. I use the zest from 2 lemons and the juice from about 4 lemons into the pan, with a palm full of capers and a bunch of sliced mushrooms. Put the chicken boobs back in the pan, cover and let simmer for 25 mins while you mash the taters. Before I serve I pull the chicken boobs out and give the sauce a stir and taste. I adjust the lemon, broth, salt content and if I'm feeling like it I'll throw in some chopped basil. I ALWAYS finsh any sacue with a Tablespoon or two of butter. It just completes it.
I cut red potatoes in half and boil until they are fork tender, then I drain and add a nice spoonful of chopped garlic (as much or as little as you like) butter and milk, salt and pepper.
I also usually steam some asparagus, and season with Everglades seasoning.
This is a dish you can proudly serve to guests, the leftovers are even better the next day and the chicken and sauce are ridiculous over pasta too. When heating the leftovers the next day add 1-2 Tablespoons of broth to loosen the sauce back up.
I'll try to take a picture to post of our dinner tomorrow night. Enjoy
Dredge 8 chicken cutlets in flour, in a non-nonstick skillet heat about 1/4 cup of evoo over med high heat. Brown the chicken on both sides and remove from the pan. Reduce the heat to low and add in about 2 cups of chicken broth and whisk the bottom of the pan to get all the good browned bits up. I use the zest from 2 lemons and the juice from about 4 lemons into the pan, with a palm full of capers and a bunch of sliced mushrooms. Put the chicken boobs back in the pan, cover and let simmer for 25 mins while you mash the taters. Before I serve I pull the chicken boobs out and give the sauce a stir and taste. I adjust the lemon, broth, salt content and if I'm feeling like it I'll throw in some chopped basil. I ALWAYS finsh any sacue with a Tablespoon or two of butter. It just completes it.
I cut red potatoes in half and boil until they are fork tender, then I drain and add a nice spoonful of chopped garlic (as much or as little as you like) butter and milk, salt and pepper.
I also usually steam some asparagus, and season with Everglades seasoning.
This is a dish you can proudly serve to guests, the leftovers are even better the next day and the chicken and sauce are ridiculous over pasta too. When heating the leftovers the next day add 1-2 Tablespoons of broth to loosen the sauce back up.
I'll try to take a picture to post of our dinner tomorrow night. Enjoy
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Oatmeal Epiphany and a Tuna casserole mishaps...oh my!
As a breastfeeding mom I know that oatmeal is good for me, and in more ways than one. But I've NEVER been a fan, and I've never been able to get Robbie to eat it either so that was that. My mom started making oatmeal the old fashioned way...you know on the stove top, and we would add our favorite ingredients to make it our own. Robbie started flying by for bites and Timmy was super interested too. So I decided to get some and try it at our house, I bought some Irish cut oats, not the rolled kind. At first I made them with water and just added some almond milk to cool them off and sort of loosen them up some for the kids. We loved them. Timmy was lurching for the spoon and Robbie was eating a bowl each morning. I love the flavor and consistency of cut oats so much more than rolled oats. They chaned my life. LOL In an effort to eat better I joined weight watchers and was researching breakfast recipes...then I had my 'oatmeal epiphany' I had apple cider in the fridge so instead of making our morning oatmeal with plain water I used apple cider, threw in some cranberries and chopped Georgia pecans and Oh heavens...that made my day. How yummy!!! I thought we liked oatmeal before, now I have to make a HUGE bowl because everyone wants some. I'm super proud of myself for making a flavored oatmeal naturally at home. Yay Me!!!!
Last night the kitchen was piled high with dished and I hadn't had time to really address the issue until JR got home. I know I wanted to make something for dinner because the lasagna leftovers in the fridge had been determined to have too much dairy in it for Robbie. I decided on a tuna casserole....a box of boiled elbow pasta a can of cream of mushroom soup, a can of cheddar cheese soup, 1/2 bag of frozen mixed veggies and 4 small cans of tuna..mix together and top with crushed potato chips. Sounded marvelous....except I made too many noodles so the end result was very bland and not saucy at all. What could have been a problem actually turned into a pretty good idea...I added some hot sauce to my bowl, making mine a bowl of buffalo tuna casserole. JR added some garlic powder and parmesan cheese to his making his an italian tuna casserole, and we added a squirt of BBQ sauce to Robbie's and viola! He had BBQ tuna casserole. The best part was that we all scarffed it right down! I love meals that we can make our own by adding one or two more ingredients. So for lunch today I'm going to sprinkle in some ground cumin and a little lowfat cheddar cheese and black olives to make it a mexican tuna casserole. he he he I think I'll actually make this again because 1. it's cheap 2. we'll actually eat it until it's gone 3. it's a healthy blank canvas for flavor.
Last night the kitchen was piled high with dished and I hadn't had time to really address the issue until JR got home. I know I wanted to make something for dinner because the lasagna leftovers in the fridge had been determined to have too much dairy in it for Robbie. I decided on a tuna casserole....a box of boiled elbow pasta a can of cream of mushroom soup, a can of cheddar cheese soup, 1/2 bag of frozen mixed veggies and 4 small cans of tuna..mix together and top with crushed potato chips. Sounded marvelous....except I made too many noodles so the end result was very bland and not saucy at all. What could have been a problem actually turned into a pretty good idea...I added some hot sauce to my bowl, making mine a bowl of buffalo tuna casserole. JR added some garlic powder and parmesan cheese to his making his an italian tuna casserole, and we added a squirt of BBQ sauce to Robbie's and viola! He had BBQ tuna casserole. The best part was that we all scarffed it right down! I love meals that we can make our own by adding one or two more ingredients. So for lunch today I'm going to sprinkle in some ground cumin and a little lowfat cheddar cheese and black olives to make it a mexican tuna casserole. he he he I think I'll actually make this again because 1. it's cheap 2. we'll actually eat it until it's gone 3. it's a healthy blank canvas for flavor.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Momma's
My mom and I have been through a lot together in the past three years. She's been my support and my rock as I've entered motherhood, and I like to think I've been there to help her a lot after loosing my dad. My mom was the kind of mom that always had a square meal on the table everynight. Meat, starch, green veg and a yellow veg! A lot of my recipes come from her simply because her cooking is what I grew up with and it's comfort food. One of my faves, and one she made for us after Timmy was born is her Italian chicken. I have no idea where she got the recipe, but it's good. It's on the menu for tomorrow night, so I thought I'd share it with all of you.
4 boneless skinless chicken boobs pounded out to an even thickness
1/2 Cup of italian bread crumbs mixed with 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of olive oil heating in a large skillet over medium hot(ish) heat
Dredge chicken boobs in the mix of bread crumb and cheese. Fry in the skillet until both sides are a nice crispy brown. Remove and put on a baking sheet. I finish them in the oven 300 for about 20 mins.
1 box of multi colored linguini noodles~ boil them until they are al dente
then toss with some evoo to coat and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and parsley
I like to use fresh green beans with this meal. I snap the ends off and steam them on the stove top until they are just cooked but still crispy. In a serving bowl I toss them with some evoo and garlic powder and top with sliced almonds.
Of course to make this truly my mother's meal it must be served with freshly made sweet tea. :)
Lots of love with this recipe!!!!
4 boneless skinless chicken boobs pounded out to an even thickness
1/2 Cup of italian bread crumbs mixed with 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of olive oil heating in a large skillet over medium hot(ish) heat
Dredge chicken boobs in the mix of bread crumb and cheese. Fry in the skillet until both sides are a nice crispy brown. Remove and put on a baking sheet. I finish them in the oven 300 for about 20 mins.
1 box of multi colored linguini noodles~ boil them until they are al dente
then toss with some evoo to coat and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and parsley
I like to use fresh green beans with this meal. I snap the ends off and steam them on the stove top until they are just cooked but still crispy. In a serving bowl I toss them with some evoo and garlic powder and top with sliced almonds.
Of course to make this truly my mother's meal it must be served with freshly made sweet tea. :)
Lots of love with this recipe!!!!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The hard, soft and stinky goodness of Cheese
Just remember now, I never promised this was a diet kind of blog. This post is dedicated to my love affair with cheese. I blame this affair on my dear dad, who also loved cheese. Together we'd eat the stinkiest cheese possible and love every bite of it. The last cheese we ate together was on New Year's Day, it was a chipolte cheddar. Cheddar was his favorite, so I start with a favorite cheddar recipe (but I'll walk you through some yummy variations too)
Baked Mac N Cheese
Boil one large box of elbow pasta or penne or ziti or ditalini or whatever you have in the pantry
In a medium sauce pan melt 2 Tablespoons of butter
Then add 2 Tablespoons of flour and cook in the butter for a couple mins over a med/low heat.
Next add 4 cups of whole milk. * I add 1 teaspoon of onion powder and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder along with 1/4 teaspoon of dry mustard powder to the milk. Working over a medium heat stir the milk frequently as you warm the milk to just under a boil. As soon as you see bubbles stop, remove from heat and let it sit for just a min. (You don't want to scald the milk or add the cheese to milk that's too hot or everything will seperate, blech) Finally stir in 4 cups of shredded cheddar.
Pour the mixture into a 3 1/2 quart corning ware dish. In a seperate bowl combine 1/4 cup of bread crumbs and 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar, sprinkle over the top and pop the dish into a preheated 350 oven.
Bake for 45mins - 1 hr.
**Modifications: Use Mozzerella chesse in place of Cheddar and Italian bread crumbs instead of plain for an Italian twist. Add a Tablespoon of taco seasoning to the milk mixture and some pepper jack cheese for a Mexican version. Add a can of diced tomatoes to the pot when mixing the cheese and noodles, and top with links of sausage for another twist.
Soft cheese, not the best for you, but ummmm so so good tasting.
Baked Brie (We don't celebrate anything with out this on the table)
Take a puffed pastry square from the freezer and defrost, roll out on a cutting board with a little bit of flour. Place a wheel of Brie in the center and top with half a jar of apricot preserves. Fold sides of the pastry up and seal by pressing with your fingers. In a seperate bowl whip one egg with 1 tablespoon of water, using a pastry brush brush the top of the pastry dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with sliced almonds.
Bake in the oven according to the pastry dough box. Let it sit for about 15 mins so the cheese can firm back up some. We enjoy this on crackers, sliced green apples, and with grapes and strawberries....pretty much anything.
Grape and blue cheese truffles
I ate these at a new friends house. They were scrumptious so I had to make them for Christmas. No one else liked them, but they reminded me of my dad because he'd have gobbled them up in all their strong, stinky glory! First, you need a bunch of BIG green grapes. 1 block of cream cheese and 4 oz of blue cheese (or gargonzola) and 8 oz of chopped pistachios. Mix the two cheeses together really well, then using your fingers wrap the cheese around a grape and roll it in the nuts. OMG! It's that easy, and they are ridiculously good!
I could go on and on, but I'll save some more for a later date. Can't give away all my secrets at once.
Baked Mac N Cheese
Boil one large box of elbow pasta or penne or ziti or ditalini or whatever you have in the pantry
In a medium sauce pan melt 2 Tablespoons of butter
Then add 2 Tablespoons of flour and cook in the butter for a couple mins over a med/low heat.
Next add 4 cups of whole milk. * I add 1 teaspoon of onion powder and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder along with 1/4 teaspoon of dry mustard powder to the milk. Working over a medium heat stir the milk frequently as you warm the milk to just under a boil. As soon as you see bubbles stop, remove from heat and let it sit for just a min. (You don't want to scald the milk or add the cheese to milk that's too hot or everything will seperate, blech) Finally stir in 4 cups of shredded cheddar.
Pour the mixture into a 3 1/2 quart corning ware dish. In a seperate bowl combine 1/4 cup of bread crumbs and 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar, sprinkle over the top and pop the dish into a preheated 350 oven.
Bake for 45mins - 1 hr.
**Modifications: Use Mozzerella chesse in place of Cheddar and Italian bread crumbs instead of plain for an Italian twist. Add a Tablespoon of taco seasoning to the milk mixture and some pepper jack cheese for a Mexican version. Add a can of diced tomatoes to the pot when mixing the cheese and noodles, and top with links of sausage for another twist.
Soft cheese, not the best for you, but ummmm so so good tasting.
Baked Brie (We don't celebrate anything with out this on the table)
Take a puffed pastry square from the freezer and defrost, roll out on a cutting board with a little bit of flour. Place a wheel of Brie in the center and top with half a jar of apricot preserves. Fold sides of the pastry up and seal by pressing with your fingers. In a seperate bowl whip one egg with 1 tablespoon of water, using a pastry brush brush the top of the pastry dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with sliced almonds.
Bake in the oven according to the pastry dough box. Let it sit for about 15 mins so the cheese can firm back up some. We enjoy this on crackers, sliced green apples, and with grapes and strawberries....pretty much anything.
Grape and blue cheese truffles
I ate these at a new friends house. They were scrumptious so I had to make them for Christmas. No one else liked them, but they reminded me of my dad because he'd have gobbled them up in all their strong, stinky glory! First, you need a bunch of BIG green grapes. 1 block of cream cheese and 4 oz of blue cheese (or gargonzola) and 8 oz of chopped pistachios. Mix the two cheeses together really well, then using your fingers wrap the cheese around a grape and roll it in the nuts. OMG! It's that easy, and they are ridiculously good!
I could go on and on, but I'll save some more for a later date. Can't give away all my secrets at once.
Monday, January 10, 2011
You don't want to miss this post
So, most people know that I cook for a family of 6 as a little side joby. I love to cook, obviously, but this family doesn't always eat things that MY family typically enjoys. However, I kinda stumbled on this when preparing for Robbie's party and I carried it over to the meals I prepared today, and I'm excited to share the literally endless possibilities!!!! Those that know me know that I rarely eat leftovers as the same meal as the first I prepared. I like a meal once, but I don't want to eat it all week. This is the perfect way to make chicken last for several different meals! The best part is because you cook it in a crockpot it's moist and tender. No more roasting a chicken for leftovers for me. I'll just toss some frozen boobs in the crock pot to cook in their own loverly juices. So, if you have a busy week COOK ONCE!!! Not kidding! I used my 2 qt crock pot and filled it up with chicken cutlets, turned it on low and walked away. From that pot of chicken I've made 10 buffalo chicken wraps and 10 chicken quesadillas. I have a ton leftover! So, for dinner tomorrow night I'm going to toss some shredded chicken with our fave bbq sauce and cook up some black eyed peas and cornbread. I have leftover buffalo sauced chicken so that will make a great salad for me for lunch. I'll make a couple more chicken quesadillas for Robbie's lunch this week and stick them in the fridge. I think I'll add a handful to some yellow rice and top with black beans for dinner one night, those leftovers can be wrapped up into a burrito with the addition of your favorite salsa and some sour cream. Don't care for yellow rice? Try my mom's favorite cilantro lime rice. Just add some chopped cilantro and lime juice to any white rice. Oh, and while you are making rice, make a little extra because with all the chicken, rice and veggies you've made fried rice is just some sauce away (soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and red pepper flakes) I can take some shredded chicken and add a handful or two to some chicken stock and add some leftover veggies and noodles for a soup, or make a homemade chicken salad with chopped onion, celery, crasins and a little mayo. Or I can take some chicken and toss with a bit of salsa and roll up in corn tortillas and cook on 350 until crispy for homemade taquitos. The possibilities are truly endless. The shredded chicken can even be frozen for use later! I highly reccoment adding a few of these easy recipes to your weekly menu. Save some time by cooking your chicken all at once.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Robbie's Birthday
Oh what a wonderful day today was. Everyone woke up bright and early...5:30 a.m.! Someone was excited!!! We finished cleaning up the house (re cleaning really) and I got started fixing all the yumminess. All of our friends came over and we played outside and ate while enjoying the beautiful day. Robbie had a blast with his friends, some of his pals from MyGym came, and he really ejoyed them. He ran around outside, nonstop, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. When we finally made him come inside he found the pile of toys. My favorite part of the day was watching him lay on the floor and play with his trucks, making little boy truck sounds. It just melts my heart to see what a sweet boy he is. He played with everyone and really had a ball. He passed out in bed with Daddy for a couple hours and was right back up to play with his toys. For what it's worth the AquaDoodle is really cool. It's a special mat that you draw on with a pen filled with water! No mess! After nap time we spent a couple hours putting toys together. I had to download a bunch of stuff for his Leapfrog toys, but he has a leap pad and the tag jr to play with now. Timmy was right in the mix on the floor seeing what was going on. Robbie let him play with some of his new trucks and Timmy just loved that. Robbie refused to eat anything other than chips for dinner! Who cares, he'll eat better tomorrow. :)
It was a wonderful day! And we are truly blessed to have so many wonderful, caring friends. Our menu for the party was a taco bar. Below are a few recipes.
Shredded Chicken tacos
1. 5 lbs of chicken breasts
2 packets of taco seasoning
1 Cup of water
Put all the ingredients in a crock pot (reserve 1 pkt of seasoning) set at low and cook for 4 hrs. Remove lid and shred chicken, if there is too much liquid pour some off and then add the second pack of seasoning. Place lid back on and let it cook for another couple hours. You want the chicken to be moist, but not soupy.
Beef tacos
3 pounds of ground beef
2 packets of taco seasoning
1 cup of water
Put all ingreients in a crockpot, set to low for 5 hrs. Use a potato masher to mash meet up. Stir it every now and then and make sure it doesn't cook dry.
Melissa's salsa
1/2 white onion
3 ripe plum tomatoes
small handful of fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1 lime
chop onion, plum and cilantro finely and add to a bowl. Add salt and lime juice and let it sit in the fridge for a couple hrs before serving.
Queso Dip
1 can of canned chili
6 oz of can/jar cheese or velveta cheese
Combine in a dish and mix together, pop in a 350 oven for 15 mins until it's heated through.
Guacamole
1 ripe avacado (big green ones)
1/2 cup of salsa
mash avacado and mix in salsa.
It was a wonderful day! And we are truly blessed to have so many wonderful, caring friends. Our menu for the party was a taco bar. Below are a few recipes.
Shredded Chicken tacos
1. 5 lbs of chicken breasts
2 packets of taco seasoning
1 Cup of water
Put all the ingredients in a crock pot (reserve 1 pkt of seasoning) set at low and cook for 4 hrs. Remove lid and shred chicken, if there is too much liquid pour some off and then add the second pack of seasoning. Place lid back on and let it cook for another couple hours. You want the chicken to be moist, but not soupy.
Beef tacos
3 pounds of ground beef
2 packets of taco seasoning
1 cup of water
Put all ingreients in a crockpot, set to low for 5 hrs. Use a potato masher to mash meet up. Stir it every now and then and make sure it doesn't cook dry.
Melissa's salsa
1/2 white onion
3 ripe plum tomatoes
small handful of fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1 lime
chop onion, plum and cilantro finely and add to a bowl. Add salt and lime juice and let it sit in the fridge for a couple hrs before serving.
Queso Dip
1 can of canned chili
6 oz of can/jar cheese or velveta cheese
Combine in a dish and mix together, pop in a 350 oven for 15 mins until it's heated through.
Guacamole
1 ripe avacado (big green ones)
1/2 cup of salsa
mash avacado and mix in salsa.
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