Meal Planning Monday 2/20

Yum! I am making a few new recipes this week:

Monday: Easy Peasy Spaghetti and Salad
Tuesday: Crockpot Refried Beans (without the refry), and Chicken and Rice (we're making burritos!)
Wednesday: We are eating out with Austine's co-workers, I finally get to put some faces to names! It's also a no-meat day for us, so we get to see what the no-meat menu is like at Lazy Dog Cafe.
Thursday: Crockpot Beef Pot Roast
Friday: Skinny Macaroni and Spinach- I didn't make this last week so I just carried it over.
Saturday: Whole Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Mixed Veggies
Sunday: Either Chicken Soup, or some other variety of chicken something.

Crockpot/Skillet Chicken Enchiladas

These are really awesome, but totally the lazy white person way of doing this! I took the recipe off a can of enchilada sauce, and tweaked it a bit for my own purposes.

What you will need:

1 can enchilada sauce
2 or 3 chicken breasts
12-16 corn tortillas
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

I used my crockpot for this, and it turned out great. First, I put the breasts in my crockpot and poured the enchilada sauce over it. I added tomato sauce too to reduce the amount of seasoning because my husband has a sensitive stomach.

Let it cook on high 5 hours, or low 8 hours. Once it's done, shred the chicken in the sauce (I just press the chicken breasts against the side and they shred so easily!). Tear up the corn tortillas into bite size pieces. Heat up a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet (you can reduce it a little if you wish), add the tortilla pieces and coat with oil.

 Cook until they are floppy. Add to crockpot and mix in, sprinkle a layer of cheese on top. Cover and let sit about 5 minutes (so cheese is melted). Enjoy!

Valentine's Day

So, I'm not really into it, which surprises a lot of people. Austine and I don't really exchange gifts. It really makes it easier in the long run- there's no frantic searching (cus really, isn't Christmas bad enough?!), no expectations, and no money spent (my favorite part). This year I did make a decent meal though. I figure if we were going to celebrate something, we would celebrate our relationship and spend some decent time together. I think I may have succumbed to going out, except I never want to pay for a babysitter. This probably explains why Austine and I haven't been out by ourselves in like 10 months. I digress, I made a really wonderful meal.

It was pretty darn simple, but pretty darn good too! We had New York Strip, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and Salad, along with some wine. I marinated the strips in Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and wine overnight. Then I added our all time favorite Porterhouse seasoning on it before I broiled it (I overcooked it a little, it was medium well instead of medium rare). The garlic mashed potatoes were super easy too! I just crushed a clove into cooked potatoes, added whole milk and sour cream and mashed. They turned out great! I'm really glad I put some time into a meal for this. Rarely do we sit down at the table and eat...and I think we should make it more of a tradition. Especially once Ethan gets older, I feel it's very important for us to share our meals as a family, like I did when I was growing up.

What's for dinner? 2/13

Monday: Chicken Soup with Dumplings
Tuesday: New York Strip, Salad, Potatoes (Lava cake as dessert)
Wednesday: Chicken Enchilada Skillet
Thursday: Beef Stir Fry
Friday: Macaroni & Cheese with Spinach
Saturday: Crockpot Chicken Thighs
Sunday: Chef Salad

I'm actually planning on doing a walkthrough on the dumplings, and skillet (which is super good and super easy!). Stay tuned!

 

Menu Planning Monday 1/23

Monday: Steak and Cheese Sandwiches
Tuesday: Fajitas and Frijoles
Wednesday: Asian Turkey Meatballs and Rice (which reminds me I need to get sesame oil!)
Thursday: Spaghetti and Salad
Friday: Vegetarian Chili
Saturday: Roast Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Veggies
Sunday: Pea Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Mmmmmm!

Thanksgiving Stuffing!

So my family has about the best Thanksgiving stuffing recipe out there ever. I may be a slight bit biased, but I have tried looking for it online- and I can't find it anywhere! I really should post pictures of it, but since we really only make it during Thanksgiving I can't justify making it without a turkey! Our recipe has always been verbal, so writing it down will just make it last longer in my opinion.  It truly is original.

Nila's Family Stuffing:

What you will need:
1 lb sausage (breakfast kind)
2 cans of unpitted olives (these can be hard to find, we use Graber olives here), drained
Seasoned cornbread dressing according to size of turkey
Celery according to dressing package, minced (leaves included)
Onions according to package, minced
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 carton of chicken broth
1-2 eggs

Instructions:
Cook sausage, set aside and leave the drippings in the pan. Saute the minced onions and celery in the drippings, then drain. In a large bowl, add cornbread according to the size of your turkey, the cooked minced onions and celery, cooked sausage, 1-2 eggs (start with one, if it is not enough to spread evenly, add another), butter. Mix together, then add drained olives. Lastly, add chicken broth- but only enough to lightly (very lightly) moisten the stuffing. Adding too much broth will make it gooey. This recipe gets better with experience- my first attempt at it made it way too gooey, I will know better next time. Stuff the turkey with the dressing, making sure NOT to pack it. Packed dressing doesn't cook thoroughly, increasing risk of Salmonella (YUCK).

If you have leftover stuffing, you can put it in a casserole dish and place the turkey neck on it; then cook to the directions on the back of the stuffing.

If you attempt this, let me know! I'm excited to see other's results.

Menu Monday! 10/3/11

Mmm, I have some good things planned this week, mostly because it is due to rain tomorrow and Wednesday. I am so, incredibly excited. I really love the rain, and the cold. I'm hoping it'll last a while.

Monday- Tonight we had a delicious round eye steak stir fried with veggies and brown rice.
Tuesday- Pot Roast- in our crockpot. It's super easy. Add some beef broth, and veggies. 6 hours later...delish.
Wednesday- Split Pea Soup with Grilled Cheese Sammiches. My favorite dish of the season!
Thursday- Yet again we are having Roast Chicken. It just lasts so long it's really crazy!
Friday- Homemade Macaroni and Cheese with Spinach. It's delish.
Saturday- Chicken seasons with Adobo and Sazon flavoring, with homemade pinto beans and corn.
Sunday- Chicken Soup from scratch. I will be saving the white meat for another meal later on. I just use the bones and the dark meat for soup, but it still tastes excellent! Homemade biscuits are also planned.

How to save a burnt chicken dinner...

My loss of smell also seems to mean that I have lost all cooking ability. The other day I made roast chicken (which is normally awesome and delicious). I calculated the cooking time to 2 hours for a 6 lb chicken, and it really really really overcooked. It was burning and I couldn't smell it.








The skin was delicious at least! So the inside was really dry, and I had no other option but to make chicken gravy biscuit sandwiches. If you have any drippings I'd recommend using those to make your gravy, but since I burnt my bird to a crisp there was none to be had. I had to use packet gravy.

Mmmm partially hydrogenated oils, preservatives and chicken flavoring!

The chicken is really easy to shred when it's overcooked. Just stir with a fork. I'm not kidding.

Just add gravy to shredded chicken and pile onto biscuits! The gravy covers up the dry chicken and make it a lot more palatable.

I made homemade biscuits to go with this because they are so easy! I used butter instead of shortening, because my shortening had gone rancid. It looked pink but I couldn't smell it, so I asked A to. He about gagged. So glad I couldn't smell.

Meal Planning Monday 9/19

I know it's late but here is what we are having this week!

Monday: Pork Tenderloin, Green Beans, Bicuits
Tuesday: Whole Roast Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli
Wednesday: Chicken in White Wine Sauce, with Mushrooms and Brown Rice
Thursday: Chicken Pot Pie (weather permitting, I make my own pie crust; much cheaper!)
Friday: Dinner at Casey's Pub in Los Angeles, time for my brother in-laws birthday!
Saturday: Pineapple Pork Chops, Brown Rice, Peas
Sunday: Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells, Salad

Mmm, I can't wait to eat!

Ramen- Nila Style!

So I originally was going to post about fall decoration ideas, or perhaps about being sick and making things still work at home. However, since I have been making copious amounts of homemade ramen, I decided this would be a more entertaining (and useful) subject.

Really Easy Delicious Ramen

You will need

A few cans of chicken broth
Stir-fry vegetables (frozen)
Green onions (chopped)
Ramen noodles (find the baked kind if you can)
Ground Ginger
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Chicken Buillion Cubes

Add ins-
Soy Sauce
Sriracha
Teriyaki Sauce
Beaten Egg

I don't have exact measurements because I really just make it to the size of the group I am serving (the pictures are for a group of 8, mostly men). Cook the noodles first according to the package directions (fried noodles take less time).





Then pour the chicken broth into a 4 quart pan. Add a few buillion cubes, about half a cube for a can of broth. Add a couple teaspoons of ginger, garlic powder, and onion powder. Bring to a boil. Add stir-fry vegetables (in any amount you wish), and chopped green onion.



Spoon broth and veggies into a bowl. Add noodles! You can now add sriracha, soy, teriyaki to your liking. My advice is to choose one and stick with it! If you want to add egg make sure the broth is really hot, so it cooks completely.

There you go, amazing ramen! You can add even more variety by adding shredded chicken, pork, beef, or frozen shrimp. The possibilities are endless! Enjoy!

Noms!

I've been on a sugar kick recently (ok, when am I not?), and I found a great recipe that another blogger had on her page. If you've never heard of Puppy Chow, you are about to be blown away! Here is the recipe:



Ingredients:

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
9 cups Rice Chex cereal
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions:
1. Combine peanut butter, butter and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl.
2. Microwave for one minute then stir to blend all ingredients thoroughly. Add 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Stir well.
3. Place the 9 cups of Chex cereal in a very large bowl. (I only had 5 cups, tasted just as good!)
4. Pour the peanut butter-chocolate mixture over the cereal and toss evenly, making sure all the cereal gets a good covering.
5. Coat with powdered sugar, sprinkling evenly over the cereal and tossing as you sprinkle to cover each piece well.

*drool*

Holy moly, it's ridiculous how easy and delicious this was. You really have to try it for yourself.

Credit goes to Michelle for introducing me to this recipe!