Day 40: Bleu Burgers, Sweet Potato Fries, Steamed Broccoli

I wrote briefly about this recipe on my facebook page before I started this blog and had a good response.  So I guess it's time to turn it into a blog recipe!  I've said before that we LOVE burgers.  And it's so true.  On my second burger recipe by day 40, and there would definitely be more if I wasn't trying so hard to have recipe variation.  The first burger I featured was the breakfast burger.  That post also includes a list of things I think are "must-haves" for a really good burger.  Tonight, we're doing bleu burgers.  There's a different recipe for bleu burgers in almost every one of my recipe books.  The one I am most partial to comes from Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman.  (You'll be seeing another recipe of hers tomorrow night, too!)

To make these burgers, I start with 1 lb of meat and add about 1 TB of sour cream, 1-2 TB of dried parsley, 1-2 TB hot sauce (depending on your taste), 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper.  (The sour cream serves 2 purposes: to keep the meat juicy, and add a little "coolness" so the burger won't be so spicy with the hot sauce, but will still maintain the hot sauce flavoring.)

I then mix a couple tablespoons of mayonnaise with some hot sauce, for a burger dressing.

Slice up some red onions and caramelize them with 1 TB of brown sugar.  (You can easily caramelize onions without brown sugar, but the added sweetness helps offset the heat of the burger and the tartness of the bleu cheese.  Plus, why would you WANT to do it without the sugar?!)  :)

For someone without access to a grill in winter, I use the broiler for burgers.  Stick the patties under the broiler for a couple of minutes.  Then pull them out and top them with bleu cheese and the caramelized onions.  Stick them back under the broiler for 2 more minutes.

Meanwhile, butter and grill the burger buns on the stovetop.  (I use Kaiser rolls--better than those 99 cent wimpy burger buns.)  When the burgers are done, spread the spicy mayo on the buns, add the burger patty, and top with lettuce.

Fast food chains have trained us to think that burgers need to be served with fries and coke.  It makes the idea of having burgers often seem like such an unhealthy habit.  But it doesn't have to be!  I like to mix up my sides for burgers.  Serving a burger with sweet potato fries and broccoli is delicious and healthy!  It makes me WANT to make Abby finish her fries.

For the sweet potato fries, I'm still experimenting to find my perfect recipe.  I usually bread the sweet potatoes in vegetable oil, then in a mixture of flour, cornmeal, and garlic powder.  (Seasoned with salt and pepper.)  They usually come out great and crispy.  Tonight, I thought I'd try something different.  I dipped them in an eggwash and then just in flour, salt, and pepper.  They certainly weren't as crispy, but they were still good.  Randy likes a more crispy sweet potato fry, so I think I'll stick to my original recipe.  Sometimes I quickly fry them in vegetable oil, or I drizzle oil over them and bake them in the oven.  When they're cooked, we like to dip them in barbeque sauce! 

Day 39: 5 Tips for Taco Night

Noah had his 9-month check-up this afternoon, both kids have had pink-eye this week, and I had lifegroup tonight.  Taco night!!!  Fast, easy, and fun!  Auntie Christy and Uncle Eric both came over to hang with the kiddos, and of course, I always want family over for food!  So we all piled our plates high and enjoyed!  Here's how we do taco night, how about you?

1. I don't waste my money (I know, only $0.79) on those taco seasoning packets.  I have plenty of "taco" seasoning in my pantry!  Mix some spices (cumin, paprika, chili powder, etc), sprinkle on the beef.  Add some beef broth for extra juiciness.

2. Randy makes these great cheesy taco shells: he sprinkles cheese on the soft taco and microwaves it.  Then folds it around the hard taco shell.  It may not be an original idea (Taco Bell, anyone?) but it is sooo good!  I make him do it every time!

3.  Serve Spanish rice.  Whether it's a side dish to the taco, or put in the taco itself, it's a great additive!

4. We love avocado, and it's so good for you!  Everyone gets a little plate with cubed avocado.  Drizzle Italian dressing over it and it's very yummy and easier than guacamole!

5.  Cholula Hot Sauce is THE BEST HOT SAUCE. Get some. Try it. You'll see. The end.

Day 38: Chicken Florentine Penne

Things have been a little crazy around here, lately.  Two sick children, and a tickle in my throat--uh-oh.   Having any kind of illness obviously does not make one thrilled with the idea of cooking.  So I guess we'll see how the next couple of days go.  Tonight I am still feeling good, and I had a great night in the kitchen!  I seldom use recipes when making dinner, I think I've said before.  I usually just skim a recipe I think I want to make, get the gist, then go at it.  The result is usually my "version" of someone's recipe.  When it comes to certain classics, though, I tend to not use a recipe at all.  I know the basics of most traditional dishes, so I can usually just make them myself without a reference.  Things like pot roast, chicken parmesan, roasted chicken, chicken & broccoli alfredo, (& more) I make often and have "perfected" my recipe for them.  Tonight was the first night in a long time that I made a classic dish that I've never made before.  And I added a twist!

Chicken Florentine is traditionally lightly breaded chicken breasts served in a spinach cream sauce.  I was going to make this tonight and serve it with herb-roasted potatoes.  At the last minute, though, I changed my mind and decided I wanted a pasta dish.  So I turned it into Chicken Florentine Penne.  I've never made Chicken Florentine before, so it was fun for me to just create.  I tried to pay attention to the amounts of ingredients I used, too.  I rarely measure when cooking dinner.  However, if I were to ever actually write and publish any of my recipes, I would want to use exact measurements.  That would require working in a test kitchen of some sort to practice and make sure everything is just right.  For this blog, though, I'm trying just to carefully eyeball what I use and write approximate measurements.  While tonight's dish was very tasty, I didn't like my pasta/chicken ratio, so I'm going to write this recipe with a little more chicken and spinach than what I used tonight. 

Chicken Florentine Penne
1 lb penne
2 lg chicken breasts, sliced through the middle, forming 4 thinner breast-halves
flour, egg, breadcrumbs, grated parmesan cheese (for breading chicken)
1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 shallot, finely diced
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 TB butter
2 TB flour
1 cup white wine
2 cups half and half
extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper

Get a large pot of water boiling on the stove.  Set up 3 bowls/plates for breading the chicken.  1 bowl with flour, 1 with a beaten egg + water, 1 with breadcrumbs + parmesan cheese.  Season each bowl with salt and pepper.  Place an oven safe skillet over medium-high heat with olive oil in it.  Turn the oven on to 350*.  Dip the chicken in the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs and cheese.  Place in the skillet and brown on one side before flipping.  Once flipped, turn off the burner and place in the oven to finish cooking.
Salt the boiling water liberally.  Pour in the pasta and cook according to package directions.  Add the butter to a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the shallots and cook 1 minute.  Add the garlic.  Once fragrant, add the flour and cook another minute.  Add the white wine, spinach, and tomatoes.  Cook 1-2 minutes until the wine is reduced and the sauce starts to thicken.  Pour in the half and half and continue stirring.  Season with salt and pepper.  Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce.
When the chicken is cooked through, slice the breasts into thin strips and add them to the pasta.  Serve hot.

Day 37: Stuffed Shells Outta the Freezer

When I can't be home for dinner, I still like my family to eat a home-cooked meal.  That's why I love my freezer meals!  Plus, this one was in a disposable pan, so clean up was minimal. :)

I defrosted the shells throughout the day, and stuck them in the oven at 375* before I left for the gym.  Randy pulled them out about a half hour later and served up!  I ate when I got home.  For the recipe, see Day 6.

Day 36: Cheddar Corn Chowder w/ Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits

Cheddar Corn Chowder
This could almost be a vegetarian meal, if vegetable broth was used instead of chicken stock, and if you leave out the bacon.  But no one in this house ever wants to leave out the bacon (myself included)!  This is a very smooth, creamy chowder that is very simple to make.  The original recipe is from Ina Garten, but I adjusted the amounts and other details to suit our needs (I'm writing out the quantities I use).  I also don't cook up all the bacon, only what we'll need for 1 dinner and leftovers.  I'll freeze half of the soup, so there's no point in chopping and cooking all that bacon.

8 oz bacon, chopped (less if you want to freeze half the soup)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 - 1 large onion
4 TB butter
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
10-12 cups chicken stock
6 medium potatoes, medium-diced (bite-size)
1 lb frozen corn (1 small bag or 1/2 large bag)
2 cups half and half
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook the bacon in the oil in a large pot over medium heat.  When the bacon is crisp, remove it with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Cook the onions in the leftover grease and oil and add salt, pepper, turmeric, and butter.  When the onions are translucent, add the flour.  Cook 1 minute.  Add the chicken stock and potatoes and bring to a boil.  Cook over medium for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.  Add the corn and half and half.  Add the cheese and cook for about 5 more minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve with a little extra cheese on top and bacon for garnish.

Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits
I think this is another Ina Garten recipe.  It's been in my own family recipe book for so long--we love it!  You can make the dough up ahead of time and keep it refrigerated, but there have been nights when I've made it all at once right before dinner.  If you make the dough in a food processor, it's so easy and quick.  One thing I love about biscuits is that shape doesn't matter.  You can literally just plop a handful of dough down on the baking sheet and move on--no need to roll it or shape it or fuss with it at all.  After the egg wash, I sprinkle some extra cheddar cheese on top and some sea salt.  Randy likes to break these apart and add to his soup.

2 cups flour
1 TB baking powder
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
12 TB cold butter
1/2 cup cold buttermilk
1 cold egg
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg + water for an egg wash

Preheat oven to 425*.  Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt with the butter either in a food processor or an electric stand mixer.  Mix until the butter is the size of peas.  Mix together the buttermilk and egg.  Add to the flour/butter mixture and pulse just until the dough comes together.  Add the cheddar cheese and pulse a few more times.  When the dough has come together, break into 8 pieces and place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Brush with the egg wash.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Day 35: Another Roasted Chicken, Roasted Carrots, Rice, and Pecan Shortbread!

WARNING: I am channeling Ina Garten for the next couple of days!  I made her pecan shortbread squares today, and plan to make her soup and biscuit recipes tomorrow.  Because I need more chicken stock for the soup, I made another roasted chicken for Sunday dinner today.  And rather than make chicken salad with the leftover meat, I'm simply doing to shred it for salad toppings for lunches this week.

For my recipe for roasted chicken and gravy, see Day 21.  Today I served it with garlic & herb rice, and roasted carrots.  To roast the carrots, I cut them small and placed them on a baking sheet.  I drizzled extra virgin olive oil on top and sprinkled with fresh thyme and rosemary, salt, pepper, and minced onion.  I baked them at 400* for about 20-25 minutes.

Chicken Stock
Place the chicken carcass in a pot and cover completely with water.  Add 1 onion, quartered, and 2 cloves of garlic, halved.  Add 1 or 2 stalks of celery AND carrot sticks, roughly chopped.  Season liberally with salt and pepper.  Bring water to a boil, then simmer for a few hours.  Cool, then strain the liquid into storage containers.  Cool completely, and skim off the far that settles on top.  Now you may freeze or refrigerate your stock.  If you don't have celery or carrots on hand, that's okay, the stock just may not be as flavorful.  You will still get the benefits of a good homemade stock by using just the chicken bones, onion, garlic, and seasoning.  

I used some red onions just because I had them!

First drain: just getting the big scraps out.

I always strain my stock twice, the second time with a fine strainer just to get all the little bits out.  Once it cools more, I'll be able to scrape that fat off the top.

Pecan Shortbread
Randy LOVE shortbread!  When I was making this today, he had pulled a chair into the kitchen to watch me and talk.  He loves to eat the dough.  I even asked him if he wanted the pecans in, just to make sure.  Many times when I make something sweet, he may eat a little, but it's mostly for me.  This is one dessert that I know I'm making mostly for him!
3/4 lb unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350*.  Cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the vanilla and almond extracts.  Sift together the flour and salt.  Add them to the creamed mixture and mix well.  Stir in the pecans.  Bring the dough together, wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thick and cut into bars, circles, or different shapes and place on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Allow to cool and serve.

Day 34: Tequila Lime Chicken, Mango Salsa, Rice, Steamed Broccoli, & Classic Margaritas

This is definitely a summer meal.  It is easy to prepare and delicious!  The chicken recipe idea itself comes from Ina Garten (I am giving you my variation).  Tonight was my first time making it.  I served it with wild rice, steam broccoli, and a mango salsa I make frequently in the summer.  Paired with a classic margarita, it totally brought me to a warm, sunny, happy place!

Tequila Lime Chicken
2-4 chicken breasts, skin on
1/2 cup tequila
juice of 3-4 limes (*limes are probably the peskiest fruit to juice--I pop them in the microwave for about 10 seconds and then use a fork to help juice them.  Using the fork creates a lot of pulp, so I am sure to strain the juice afterwards.)
juice of 1 orange
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 jalapeno, minced OR 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (my jalapeno withered before I was able to use it, so I substituted the flakes)
1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper
1 TB fresh cilantro, chopped

Combine all of the ingredients except the cilantro and chicken in a medium bowl.  Add the chicken, and marinate overnight.  (I wasn't able to do it overnight, so the chicken soaked for about 6 hours during the day, and it was still flavorful!)  When ready, you can grill the chicken (skin side down, first) on the grill, or on a grill pan.  I like to do mine on a grill pan that is oven-safe so I can finish it off in the oven at about 400* until cooked through. 

Mango Salsa 

(I think I first got this recipe from Rachael Ray, but I've just made it on my own for so long that I can't remember if it's exactly like hers still.)
1 mango, diced (Tonight I used previously frozen (now thawed) mango chunks from the store.  The rest of the chunks I saved for Noah.)
2 plum tomatoes, diced
quarter of 1 red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
juice and zest of 1 lime
drizzle of hot sauce (depending on how hot you like your salsa)
salt, pepper (to taste)

Combine all the ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Taste for seasonings such as salt, pepper, and hot sauce.




Classic Margarita--Easy as 1, 2, 3!!!
(makes 1--doubled, it's as easy as 2, 4, 6!)

1 oz Triple Sec
2 oz lime juice
3 oz tequila
ice
salt

Run a lime wedge around a glass rim and coat with kosher salt.  Fill the glass with ice.  Shake the Triple Sec, lime juice, and tequila together and pour over ice.

Day 33: No Pressure

Today marks the last day of vacation (kind of).  I don't really count Saturday and Sunday because we always get the weekend off.  I started getting sad around Wednesday afternoon.  I absolutely love being home with my kids.  Not just for being around them, but believe it or not, I love housework.  I love home-making, laundry, cooking, cleaning, and planning fun things to do with my children.  I feel like this is what my life should be like all the time.  One of the best things about this "vacation" though, has been the wonderful conversations I've had with other mothers.  Yes, Abby had 3 playdates in a row (and then took a 2 hour nap today from which I actually had to wake her up!) but I had 3 very meaningful times of friendship, fellowship, and renewal this week.  After each, I had a renewed sense of self and felt refreshed in a unique way.  It's nice, and so important, to just converse with other real moms, in person.

THAT IS REAL.

THIS IS NOT REAL.

Sure, conversing and catching up can be done over email and social media, but it's not genuine.  Even this blog is fake, to an extent.  Oh, my recipes are very real.  The pictures I take of my food are real, but they're edited.  On facebook, we tend to only see highlights of people's lives (or in some cases, lowlights).  We "share" a million things and ideas that we want to do but probably never will--but other people think we are doing them.  The result?  A tremendous amount of pressure being felt by moms and other people all over to "keep up" or to do what that other mom/person is doing.  I peruse facebook (try to avoid pinterest) all the while thinking, "maybe I should do that, try this... like that other mom over there who seems to be such a better mother than I..."  Based on what?  A couple of facebook posts?  But that's how I feel.  And I'm guessing (hoping?) that I'm not alone.

You may wonder why I'm rambling on so much on what is supposed to be a recipe blog--NOT a journal of my random thoughts.  Well, trust me when I say, I don't want this to be a journal of my ramblings, I do want it to remain focused on food.  But I don't have a recipe tonight.  Tonight, everything went wrong.  I had intended to make a meal that will be saved for tomorrow night because in the middle of the day, we decided to go out tonight.  You see, we had an appointment to get our taxes done late this afternoon, and I thought it would just be easier to go out since Randy has to leave for work at 7:00--I didn't think I'd have enough time to make the meal I originally planned.  But we didn't even have enough time to go out.  And while I was getting upset about our night being ruined, I realized I was really upset that my post for tonight would be ruined.  Then I thought, "Why am I putting so much pressure on myself?"  After that I thought, "I really hope no one else feels pressured about their own dinners because of my blog!"  I want this blog to be as real as possible, and I certainly don't want to pressure anyone, only to inspire.  But I know on facebook, that's a fine line. 

I love to cook, the way other people love to do other things that I don't find as enjoyable.  But there are nights when dinner is a disaster, when I don't know what to do, and I'm so fed up that I just don't want to eat at all (in stubborn protest, NOT for lack of hunger).  For reasons I won't get into, tonight, Randy and I went back and forth so much about dinner that it was ridiculous.  We even drove around the block just to come back home.  He made Abby eggs and some for himself, but he didn't eat his.  I started an order from Chili's online, but then didn't actually place it.  We drove to the Chili's restaurant, I went in, checked for a wait (there wasn't one) and we left anyway.  In the end, Abby had her eggs and a junior frosty from Wendy's and a couple of fries.  Randy and I were both so hungry by the time we pulled through the Wendy's drive-thru that the first picture we saw we said in unison "I'll have that."  Then laughed hysterically at each other in love, joy, and frustration.  Sometimes that's the best way to get the tension out. 

So I'm posting this tonight to tell all the mothers (and fathers), please don't feel pressured.  Don't be ashamed about the burnt toast you throw at the table in frustration for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  Don't worry about the occasional fast-food, open cereal box, or ice cream you put down in front of your child.  My pictures won't be cropped or edited tonight because my dining room table looked a mess.  And I wanted you to see it that way.  It's okay.  There's no pressure.  We're all in this together.

Day 32: Mini Corn Dog Muffins for Lunch, Spaghetti & Meatballs for Dinner

I realized that I forgot to include my recipe for homemade croutons in yesterday's post.  Luckily, I made them again tonight!  Along with spaghetti and meatballs tonight, we had salad with homemade croutons and my garlic/basil bread.  But first, let's talk about lunch...

Another playdate today--we've been busy this week in the best way possible!  For a fun lunch, I made my batter for "skillet" cornbread.  I then placed mini hot dogs in my mini muffin tray and poured the batter in.   I had some extra hot dogs, so I used my regular muffin tin for that and made "double dog" corn muffins in those trays.  (Thanks, Erica, for the "double dog" phrase!)  I baked the muffins at 375* for 10-12 minutes.  (*Make sure you grease the muffin trays.  Because there's a whole stick of melted butter in the corn bread batter, I thought I could do without greasing the trays--I paid the price for that one.  I'll definitely spray them good next time!)

These were a huge success with the kids AND adults!  What a great lunch for all!

Dinner recipe "extras":

Homemade Croutons
5-6 slices day-old bread, cubed (you may remove the crusts if you want)
2 TB dried basil leaves

1 TB dried oregano leaves
1 TB dried parsley
2 tsp garlic powder
1-2 TB grated parmesan
salt, pepper
1/2 cup olive oil + more if necessary

Start with the olive oil and add the herbs and spices plus the parmesan cheese.  Mix together.  Add the cubed bread and mix by hand to ensure that all the bread is coated but it doesn't break.  Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet so the cubes will be elevated.  Place the bread cubes on the cooling rack.  Bake at 350* for 15-10 minutes or until golden brown.
These are best made the day-of.  They will keep for a few days in a airtight container, but start losing their crisp after the first day.  

Garlic Basil butter

Use 1 stick of butter at room temperature or softened.
I start with 2 gloves of garlic, finely minced.  I then add a pinch of kosher salt and use my wooden pestle (or the back of a spoon) to smash the garlic and salt, bringing out the juices.  Add the softened butter, and about 2-3 tsp chopped, fresh basil.  Mix together.  Spread a thick layer of the butter over bread, and place under the broiler until melted and the sides of the bread start to brown.  Roll the remaining butter into a log with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator or freezer for a later date.

Day 31: Shrimp Scampi w/ Linguine & Ceasar Salad

After a few bites of dinner, Randy sits back and says, "I can officially say that this is the best shrimp scampi I've ever had."  I guess after several tries over the years, I finally got it right.  It's not that I want to boast about myself in the kitchen, but rather encourage you that this is a great recipe!  Again, it comes from trial and error, and a bit of research.
My biggest problem with shrimp is the work that goes into it.  As a rule, I don't like spending extra money on pre-packaged stuff that has been prepared for me when I can easily do it myself.  The operative word in that sentence is "easily."  Before I had 2 kids and before my husband worked 2 jobs, I didn't mind peeling and deveining the shrimp on my own.  But now, it's a different story.  I did peel and devein the shrimp myself tonight, but thought it was pretty much the last time I would ever do that.  I now think the extra money it costs to buy peeled and deveined shrimp is totally worth it.  Perhaps someday I'll go back, when the kids are older and maybe moved out of the house...

Shrimp Scampi w/ Linguine
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lb linguine
3 TB butter
2 TB olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 TB red pepper flakes
1/2 cup white wine
juice and zest of 1 lemon
3 TB chopped fresh parsley flakes
salt, pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Salt it liberally, add about 1 TB olive oil and the linguine.  Meanwhile, melt 2 TB butter and 1 TB olive oil in a large skillet.  Add the garlic and cook about 1 minute over medium-low, being careful not to let it burn.  Add the shrimp.  Cook until opaque and pink.   Add the red pepper flakes and white wine.  Add the lemon juice, zest, parsley, and salt and pepper.  When the linguine is ready, add it to the skillet.  Finish off with the remaining 1 TB of butter.  Toss together.

My recipe for homemade ceasar dressing can be found in Day 5.

Day 30: Mom's Chicken Casserole

In continuation with the February vacation celebration, here is both lunch and dinner for today!  We had a playdate for lunch, today, which is always a fun way to spend time off from work. :)  And what better way for kids to be cozy inside, with the snow outside, than to have grilled cheese?  My special grilled cheese "recipe" or idea comes from Giada De Laurentis.  I saw her do a kid-special episode of "Giada at Home" and got this idea...

I started with our homemade bread.  (It makes any ordinary sandwich so much better!)  In the food processor, I combine 2 cups of shredded mild cheddar cheese (or Monterey Jack cheese), 1 stick of softened butter, and about 1-2 cups of fresh spinach leaves.  Pulse until a thick "paste" forms.  Spread this between the 2 slices of bread and grill as usual.  I roll the remaining cheese mixture into cling wrap and refrigerate until the next grilled cheese lunch!  Add fruit (grapes, today), chips or pretzels, yogurt, and a special dessert brought to us by Abby's friend, Elena, and you've got quite a hearty lunch!

Abby has another playdate scheduled for tomorrow, and for that, we prepared some rice krispie treats with M&Ms on top!  It's fun having a kitchen helper!

Tonight's dinner was supposed to be an easy make-ahead meal so I could go to group ride at 5:30.  But with the snow, I was unable to escape.  We still had our planned meal, though.  It's a very easy recipe, with mild (but good!) flavor.  It's perfect comfort food and well-liked by even the pickiest eaters.  Believe it or not, I consider my childhood self to have been a picky eater.  But I remember always being pleased when Mom piled chicken casserole on our plates.  I'm pretty sure I serve the same sides as she did--it just brings back memories.  My mother's recipe calls for 1 lb of chicken breast, boiled with salt, pepper, and parsley.  Instead, I just use 2-3 breasts with the skin on and bake them at 400* with oil, salt, and pepper.  And rather than make one big casserole, I tend to divide it into two--one for the freezer.  Our family is small enough still that we really only need half a casserole for dinner.  Here's the recipe:

Chicken Casserole
2 chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on (baked at 400* with salt and pepper for 25-30 minutes)
2 TB butter

2 TB flour
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 pkg Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing
1/2 stick melted butter

Shred the chicken and set aside.  Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the flour and cook 1 minute.  Add the stock, milk, and soup and mix.  Add the chicken and turn off the heat.  Season with salt and pepper, and pour into a casserole dish.  Top with dry stuffing, and then the melted butter.  Bake at 350* for 1 hour.  (I bake mine for 30 minutes when I only do a half of casserole.)  Tonight it was served with rice pilaf and corn.  

"Mm, another comfort food meal!" ~ Randy

Day 29: Spinach & Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken, Rice, Balsamic Broccolini

It's February vacation!!!

As a way to "ring it in", today's post will include recipes for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner! With the homemade bread I made too, I basically didn't leave the kitchen all day.  My kind of vacation... :)

This week is partially dedicated to my daughter, Abigail.  I love being home with her and making fun breakfasts and lunches when we're home together.  We also do some baking together, too.  She's a

Couch cuddle time!

great helper in the kitchen!  She's used to it, too, because last night when my parents were over, we told her that she could go with Grampy to pick up the pizza.  But she misunderstood and asked for her stool because she thought she and Grampy were going to make the pizza. :)

I say it's only partially dedicated to Abby because making kid-friendly and fun lunches isn't the only thing I do in the kitchen when on vacation.  This is also my chance to try some new recipes, or some old ones that just take a little longer to prepare.  By starting this blog, I've also set some culinary goals for myself.  A week off from work is the perfect time to start trying to reach some of them.

Tonight's dinner recipe is not a new one, nor does it take that long to prepare.  However, today I did spend some time practicing de-boning chicken breasts in the kitchen.  Chicken breasts are used so often in many recipes but can be pretty expensive.  Buying them with bones-in and skins-on can be a way to save money--you're doing the work yourself.  Plus, if you have a recipe that would allow you to cook the chicken before you use it, cook it in the oven with skin still on and on the bone--the chicken will be much more flavorful that way.

I wanted to make stuffed chicken tonight, and there are a couple different ways I could do it.  As with the chicken cordon bleu I made for Valentine's Day, I could use a boneless, skinless breast pounded out, sprinkle the stuffing on top, and then roll it up.  I've done this several times before.  The second option is to use a boneless breast with the skin on, and stuff the stuffing between the skin and meat.  This is the option I wanted to use tonight.  That meant buying breasts with the skin and bones, and de-boning them myself.  I'd say I didn't do too bad a job for a first-timer, with no de-boning knife (which Randy says he wants to get me soon--he's so supportive of all the things I do in the kitchen!).  I used 2 breasts for tonight's dinner, froze the rest, made stock with the bones, and used the tenderloins for chicken tenders for Abby's lunch today.

My starting point...

My first one!  Looks pretty good, I think!

Here are today's recipes:

Breakfast: Ricotta Pancakes (Tyler Florence)

 2 cups ricotta

4 large eggs, separated

1 cup buttermilk

1 TBSP lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 TBSP sugar

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch salt

Butter, for cooking

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting, optional

1 cup maple syrup, warmed on stove-top

Combine the ricotta, egg yolks, buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Sift the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together into the ricotta mixture and stir until fully combined. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form and then gently fold into the batter.

Heat a large nonstick pan over medium heat and add a little butter. Cook 2 to 3 pancakes at a time using a 6-ounce ladle or measuring cup to pour the batter into the pan. The trick to perfect round pancakes to carefully pour all the batter in the same spot and let it roll out to a complete circle. Cook the pancakes on 1 side until they set. When small bubbles appear on the uncooked surface, flip the pancakes and cook until golden on both sides, about 6 minutes. Keep the pancakes on a plate set at the back of the stove under a dry towel to keep warm while you make the rest.

To serve, lay the pancakes on a plate and dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve with roasted apples, crispy prosciutto strips and warm maple syrup on top (if desired).

Lunch: Chicken Tenders w/ Marinara, Mac & Cheese, Mixed Vegetables, Fruit/Yogurt

 When I make lunch for my daughter, I like her to always have vegetables and a fruit or yogurt or both.  The easiest way for me to do this is to keep a bag of frozen vegetables in the freezer.  Because she's still young, it's hard for her to eat carrot sticks or other raw vegetables.  (She's always asking to try a carrot, but always ends up spitting it out.)  So I pour some frozen veggies in a bowl, add water, and microwave for 1 minute.  Then I drain the water and add a little bit of butter.  She's always been good about eating her vegetables!  I always keep a variety of fresh fruit in the house, too.  She always has fruit with breakfast (strawberries or blueberries in cereal, or a banana or orange alongside).  Her snacks usually consist of fruit and cheese or graham crackers, and she has a piece of fruit with lunch, too.  (Or she can have a yogurt--or both if she's still hungry.)  For her lunch today, I breaded the tenderloins from the chicken breasts I cut up.  

My breading standard goes something like this:

1) dip in flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

2) dip in egg wash (egg/water combo, beaten)

3) dip in Italian breadcrumbs mixed with FRESHLY grated parmesan cheese

I then browned the chicken in a skillet with some oil, and finished them in a 300* oven.  (I kept the temperature low because they were small pieces, and I knew they'd be in there a while so I could prepare the macaroni and cheese.  For marinara, I used the leftover pizza sauce I bought for Saturday night's dinner and added some dried herbs and grated parmesan cheese to it.

I served the chicken with the sauce, some macaroni and cheese, and vegetables.  Today she didn't make it to the fruit/yogurt part--it was a big lunch for a little girl as it was! :)

Dinner: Spinach & Goat Cheese-Stuffed Chicken, Rice, Balsamic Broccolini 

When I first started making this dish, it was when Randy and I were engaged, and I heard someone (I can't remember who) was using goat cheese and chicken for dinner that night, so I started experimenting.  At first, I used plain goat cheese, and extra garlic.  Then I found the garlic and herb goat cheese in the store and used that instead.  No going back for us!  Next time, I may try the same recipe with some basil either instead of the spinach or in addition to.

2 boneless chicken breasts with the skin on

1 garlic clove, minced

10 spinach leaves, stems removed

2-3 oz garlic & herb goat cheese

extra virgin olive oil

salt, pepper

Preheat the oven to 400*.  Mince the garlic, crumble the goat cheese between your fingers, and remove the stems from the spinach.  (Have all of your stuffing ingredients ready and separated from the packages they came from--since you'll be handling raw chicken, make sure all the ingredients you touch will be either stuffed into the chicken or discarded.)

Slip your fingers between the skin and meat of the chicken and make a pocket to stuff into, being careful not to pull the skin totally off (keep it attached on the sides).  Stuff half the spinach and goat cheese into each chicken breast and most of the garlic.  The rest of the minced garlic and be rubbed onto the skin of the chicken.  Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.   

Broccolini--different from broccoli, sweeter, and a bit more expensive

Day 28: Another Sunday Dinner: Pot Roast

I've mentioned before how much I love the idea of Sunday dinners with a big family.  Here's another regular Sunday dinner meal for the Dattolos during the fall/winter: pot roast.  My recipe comes from a combination of research and my own trial and error.  This recipe is fantastic!  The combination of flavors and a nice, tender cut of meat are essential for making this a Sunday dinner keeper!

Sunday Dinner Pot Roast
3-5 lb roasting meat
5-6 carrots + 1 more (depending on size and desired meat/vegetable ratio)
3-4 large potatoes
14 oz beef broth
1/2 cup red wine
1-2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
10 sprigs of thyme (leaves only)
5-6 sprigs of rosemary (leaves only, roughly chopped)
3 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 TB onion flakes
salt, pepper
extra virgin olive oil
3 TB butter
2 TB flour

Peel and quarter the onion and place in a slow-cooker.   Add the garlic.  Peel and roughly chop 1 carrot and add it with the onion and garlic.  Drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil, 1 TB butter, and season with salt and pepper.  Add the leaves of 5 thyme sprigs, 3 sprigs of rosemary, and about 1 tsp of the dried oregano.  Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat until it's piping hot.  Season the meat with salt and pepper.  Add oil to the skillet and sear all sides of the meat.  Once seared, add it to the slow-cooker on top of the vegetables.  Drizzle in the Worcestershire sauce, red wine, and beef broth.  Cook on high 2 hours or low 4 hours or until medium-rare.

About 45 minutes before the meat is done, start the vegetables.  Peel and chop the remaining carrots and chop the potatoes.  Put all the vegetables on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil, and add the remaining rosemary and thyme.  Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion flakes.  Bake at 400* for about 20-30 minutes.

When the meat is ready, remove it from the slow-cooker onto a cutting board to rest.  While it's resting, whisk 2 TB butter and 2 TB flour into the sauce and vegetables in the slow-cooker.  Pour all of the contents into a blender and blend until smooth and thick.  (*It helps to do this in batches to avoid a blender explosion!)  Pour back into the slow cooker.  Cut up the meat and add it to the sauce.  Remove the vegetables from the oven and add them to the meat and sauce.  Mix everything together and serve in bowls with bread.