GROCERY LIST WILL BE POSTED SOON!

Chicken Pot Pie and Spinach-Strawberry Salad
20 oz or more of frozen veggies
1 cup chopped onion
2 cans cream of chicken soup
Milk
4 cups cubed, cooked chicken
4 potatoes, diced and boiled until almost tender
6-8 storebought pastry pie crusts
*In a saucepan, cook onions in margarine or butter until tender. Stir in frozen veggies, potatoes, and soup. Add a little milk. Divide and pour into three or four prepared crusts. Top with remaining crusts (crusts are easier to work with if they are room temperature). Flute edges of pastry and cut slits in teh top for steam to escape. Bake iom a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes

Green or Red Leaf lettuce, torn
Romaine lettuce, torn
Fresh spinach
Fresh sliced strawberries
Poppyseed Dressing

Taco Salad and Cafe Rio Rice
Corn tortilla chips
2 cans black beans
2 cans pinto beans
1 medium chopped white onion
1 bunch chopped green onions
4 diced tomatoes
1/2 bunch chopped cilantro
green or red leaf lettuce, torn
sour cream
salsa
guacamole
cheddar cheese

6 cups cooked white rice
8 whole tomatillos
1/2 cup cilantro
4 cloves minced garlic
1 serrano pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 Tbsp chicken broth
4 Tbsp olive oil
salt
*In a medium pan, just cover tomatillos with water. Bring to boil. Add serrano pepper. Boil until tomatillos turn yellowish. Save water. In blender, puree tomatillo, cilantro, garlic, 2/3 pepper, and onions. Add 4 TB of saved water. If available add 4 TB chicken broth. In pan, cook sauce in about 4 TB olive oil until heated through. Salt to taste. Mix with rice.

Chicken Pasta Salad and Whole Wheat Bread
Enough pasta to feed your family
2 or 3 chicken breasts, diced
2 cups diced raw carrots
2 cups frozen peas
Salad dressing (vinaigrettes or Italian dressings work nicely)
*Boil pasta until tender but firm, drain. Add frozen peas, carrots, and chicken. Stir. Pour enough dressing to coat. Stir again.

1/3 cup oil
1/3 c honey or 1 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp salt
2 3/4 c steaming hot tap water
1/4 cup gluten flour (optional)
1 1/2 Tbsp dough enhancer (optional)
3 3/4 tsp. instant yeast
7-8 cups whole wheat flour
*Mix together first four ingredients in mixer with a dough hook. Add 3 1/2 cups of flour adn pulse. Put in 1 1/2 more cups of flour, gluten flour, dough enhancer and yeast. Pulse again. With mixer on medium speed, add remaining flour just until dough pulls clean from the sides of bowl. Knead 10 minutes on medium-high speed. Preheat oven for 1 minute to lukewarm and turn oven off. Spray loaf pans with cooking oil spray. Pour dough out onto oiled counter, divide adn shape into loaves. Place into pans. Let loaves rise 35 minutes in warmed oven. Do not remove bread from oven. Turn oven to 350 degrees and let bake for 30 minutes.

Beef Stroganoff and Sugar Snap Peas with Orange Butter
1 1/2 lbs of browned, ground beef
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 chopped white onion
Milk
*Mix all ingredients and cook over medium heat. Add milk until sauce reaches desired consistency. Serve over rice.

6 cups fresh or frozen sugar snap peas
4 Tsp orange marmalade
1 tsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp ginger
2 Tbsp margarine or butter
*Remove strings and tips from peas. Cook fresh peas, covered in a samll amount of boiling salted water 2 to 4 minutes or till crisp-tender. (Or, cook frozen peas according to package directions.) Drain well. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan heat and stir orange marmalade just till melted. Stir in vinegar, ginger, and 1/8 tsp pepper. pour sauce over hot cooked sugar snap peas. Add margarine or butter, tossing lightly to coat.

Mexican Mix-Up served over Brown Rice
2 large cans red enchilada sauce
2 cans black beans
1 diced green bell pepper
3/4 diced white onion
2-4 cups frozen corn
*Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer until the corn is cooked through and warm. Serve over rice. Top with grated cheddar cheese.

Cook brown rice according to package directions.

Chicken Rolls and Parmesan Green Beans
3 diced or shredded cooked chicken breasts
A brick or two of cream cheese
A bunch of diced green onions
6 cans of refrigerated croissant/crescent dough
*Mix all ingredients except for dough. Place some of mixture in each crescent dough triangle and roll up and cook according to package directions.

Enough green beans to feed family
Sauteed with minced garlic in a tablespoon or two of olive oil
Then sprinkle liberally with fresh parmesan cheese

Mandarin Orange Chicken served over Brown Rice
3 diced chicken breasts
1 cup orange marmalade
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp dry mustard
2 cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 large green pepper, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 Tbsp olive oil
*Sautee pepper and onion in olive oil until tender. Set aside. Salt and Pepper chicken on both sides. Brown in olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients (except oranges and veggies) in small bowl to create a sauce. When chicken is browned, pour sauce into skillet. Stir until mixture thickens and boils. Reduce heat to medium low and cook 12-15 minutes. Stir in oranges and veggies just before serving.

Cook brown rice according to package directions.

Lentil-Barley Shepherd's Pie
4 cups water
1 cup uncooked lentils
1/2 cup uncooked barley
2 large carrot diced
2 medium onion chopped finely
16 oz. canned tomatoes diced
2 clove garlic crushed
2 tsp flour
2 tsp parsley
2 tsp herbes du Provence
salt and pepper
3 medium potatoes cooked and mashed
*Peel, cut up and boil potatoes until soft, then mash. Heat 2-1/2 cups water, add lentils and barley, simmer 30 min. Heat remaining water in a saucepan, add carrot, onion, garlic and cook until tender, then add tomatoes and spices. Mix the flour with a little water and add to sauce pan, stir and cook over low heat until thickened. Combine contents of saucepan with cooked lentils and barley, place in ovenproof baking dish, cover with mashed potatos.
Bake at 350 deg. F for 30 min. (or you can make it ahead of time and bake it for 45 min. with it starting from refrigerator temp.)

Whole Wheat Pizza and Crudite
6 c. whole wheat flour
3 pkg. or 3 tbsp. active dry yeast
2 1/4 tsp. salt
3 c. warm water
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 tsp. honey
*Pour flour into a large mixing bowl. Add yeast and salt. Mix well. Add water, oil and honey; mix well. Divide into thirds. Cover with a moist cloth and place in a warm spot for 10 minutes to rise. Punch down and press into 3 greased 14 inch pizza pans or 10 inch pans for a thicker crust. Spread sauce and other ingredients on pizza crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Chop cucumbers and carrots.


Chicken Enchilada Casserole with Brown Rice
2 cans cream of chicken soup
3 cooked chicken breasts, diced or shredded
bunch of torn corn tortillas (approx. 20)
bunch of sour cream (approx 1 1/2 cups)
bunch of cheddar cheese
2 cans diced green chiles
*Mix everything except cheese togetherand put it in a casserole dish at 375 until heated through. Before removing from oven, sprinkle with cheese.

Cook brown rice according to package directions.

Spanish Rice and Beans and Fruit Salad
3 pkgs Spanish Rice mix
2 cans black beans, drained
2 cans diced tomatoes
3 cups frozen corn
Cheddar cheese
*Cook rice according to package directions. If the directions do not call for diced tomatoes, add 2 cans. When the rice is finished cooking, stir in beans and corn. Serve topped with cheddar cheese.

Dice enough of your favorite fruits to feed family. We like raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, fresh peaches, fresh strawberries, fresh pineapple and apples. Stir in a few tablespoons of frozen Bacardi mixer (whichever flavor appeals). Serve.

Spaghetti w/Meat Sauce and Stir-Fry Snow Peas with Cilantro
Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Heat sauce in large sauce pan with 1 lb. browned ground beef. Serve with mozzarella or parmesan cheese.

4 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced green onions
2 cups snow peas
1 cup vegetable stock
4 tsp cornstarch
1 cup finely chopped cilantro
dash of soy sauce
pinch of sugar
*Heat oil in large skillet until very hot, almost smoking. Add green onions and snow peas, tossing or stirring quickly to coat them with oil. Add stock, cover the skillet, and cook for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water and the cilantro. Stir the cornstarch mixture quickly into the peas, stirring constantlyuntil th esauce thickens; season with soy saue and sugar. Serve immediately. The entire cooking time for the peas should not exceed 5 minutes.

link | posted by Real at 8:02 AM
0 comments

So two nights ago it was corn dogs. Definitely not my best mommy moment. And last night, my 11 year old finally suggested burritos to me after I had been wandering around for an hour trying to think up a meal.

Obviously, I need a plan. And this is it. Simple really, but still somehow difficult for me. I will figure out what we are eating ahead of time. Make sure I have those ingredients on hand and then I will know exactly what's for dinner. Eventually, I'd like to plan things out a month in advance. But I'll take it in little baby steps and just do next week.

I actually did this one time several years back. Our family decided that it was important to us to eat meat sparingly and so we decided that we would only eat meat once a week (pepperoni on Pizza for Friday night didn't really count!). Cooking vegetarian was very difficult for me and so I made a month long calendar where all the meals rotated. As I recall, it seemed to work okay.

Menu plan to come.

link | posted by Real at 5:32 AM
1 comments

Definitely famine. Pretty much no blog posts equals no real dinners for me. We had leftovers one night (the kids didn't even really like the Indian food the first time around, so I don't know what we were expecting). Last night, my husband made dinner. It was yummy. It's one of my favorites that he makes. He likes to experiment quite a bit. Doesn't like the same tastes repeated. So even if we strike up on a meal that he really just loves, he's always trying to tweak it to make it just a little different. The kids and I joke around about all the strange things he concocts and that they usually involve some plethora of beans or peanuts. But he really does have some hits. So be sure to check them out when I get them posted.

link | posted by Real at 6:07 PM
1 comments

I don't like the look/smell/feel/taste of dark meat and bones kind of gross me out. So I almost exclusively cook with boneless, skinless chicken breast. If there are recipes that use some of the cheaper cuts out there that don't make the meat inedible to me, I'd love to hear them. Because breasts are expensive.

Hawaiian Haystack
Diced, cooked chicken
Cream of chicken soup
Pineapples
Bell peppers
Cheddar cheese
Chow mein noodles
Served over cooked rice

Bruschetta Chicken Bake
2 pkgs stuffing mix
2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tsp dried basil leaves
Dash lemon juice
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Place tomatoes with their liquid in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix, 1 cup hot water, and garlic. Stir just intil stuffing mix is moistened. set aside. Place chicken in a 13x9 baking dish. Add dash or two of lemon juice. Sprinkle with the basil and cheese. Top with stuffing miscutre. Bakde 30 min (or until chicken is cooked through) in 400 oven.

Easy Chicken Bake
2 pkgs stuffing mix
2 cups hot water
3 chicken breasts, cut up into bite-sized pieces
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2/3 cup sour cream
2 bags (32 oz) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
Sprinkle 1 cup of dry stuffing mix evenly on bottom of a 13x9 pan. Set aside. Add hot water to remaining stuffing mix. Stir just until moistened. set aside. Place chicken over dry stuffing mix in baking dish. Mix soup, sour cream and veggies. Spoon over chicken. topwit prepared stuffing. Bake 30 min(or until chicken is cooked through) in 400 degree oven.

Chicken Salad
4 cooked chicken breasts
2 cups red grapes, halved
6 green onions
3 celery stalks
1 cup mayonnaise
1 large carrot
Lemon pepper
Finely chop chicken and sprinkle with lemon pepper. Finely chop celery, carrots and onions. Mix chicken, celery, carrots, onions, and grapes. Stir in mayonnaise. Pour over chicken mixture and stir evenly.

link | posted by Real at 11:44 AM
1 comments

Now that you've picked your entree, what do you serve with the meal? This is always completely baffling to me. Recipe books dedicate about 1% of their pages to side dishes which seem to always include potatoes. Surely there is more! What do you make?

Our standard side dishes are:

White rice (because it only takes 15 minutes)
Brown rice (because it's yummy and healthy, but it takes a while and I usually don't prepare ahead enough)
Mixed Vegetables
Corn
Steamed Broccoli
Garlic Toast

When the kitchen is clean and I have time and am in a good mood I might be prevailed upon to make:

(all recipes will be up soon)
Yummy Green Beans
As many whole, frozen green beans as will feed my family for that meal
Sauteed in butter or olive oil and garlic and salt until tender
Sprinkled with fresh parmesan
**My kids can't eat enough of these. They love them.

Fried potatoes
Diced potatoes
Fried in olive oil until tender
Sprinkled with salt, pepper and garlic powder

Mashed potatoes
Peeled, quartered potatoes
Boiled until tender
Add butter, milk, salt to taste
**Someday I'll have to measure out how I make it. But I usually just eyeball it. This is a big hit with my family.

Cafe Rio Rice
6 cups cooked rice
8 tomatillos, whole
1/2 cup cilantro
4 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 Serrano pepper, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 Tbsp chicken broth
4 Tbsp olive oil
Just cover tomatillos with water and boil in sauce pan. Add tomatillow and whole pepper to water adn boil until the tomatillos turn yellowish. Save water In blender, puree tomatillo, cilantro, garlic, pepper and onions. Add 4 Tbsp saved water. If available add 2 Tbsp chicken broth. In pan, cook sauce in olive oil until heated through. Mix with rice.
**It was a lot of work and kind of messy, but YUM! At least for me. As I recall the kids and husband didn't like it too much.

Funeral Potatoes

link | posted by Real at 1:58 PM
3 comments

Ever wish someone would wave a magic wand, and easy, nutritious dinners would appear on your kitchen table?

...So do we.

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