Meal Plan: February 2013

Everyone has a hard time figuring out what to cook.  I was talking to a co-worker this weekend and she told me that, while she was going back to school, she asked her husband to cook dinner on Thursday nights as it was her busy day.  He replied that he would cook, but she needed to tell him what to make.  She exclaimed that that was the hardest part!

I completely agree.  I love to cook, but sometimes I just really don’t know what to make.  My husband is no help because he never has any ideas for me.  I asked him the same question each week.

What do you want for dinners this week?

He responds one of two ways:

Meatloaf. 

Or

I don’t care.  Whatever you make.

Ugh!  Finally, I got smart.  A few years ago I started meal planning.  I must say…when I do it and stick to the plan, it really makes a difference in my day!  I don’t have that dreaded feeling hanging over my head of what to make.  I typically am more prepared and have the ingredients on hand.  I don’t have to try to figure out how to pick up the ingredients I’m missing and still make it home in time to have dinner on the table by 6p (Jake’s dinner time).

I realize many of you feel the same way, which is why I’m hopefully starting a new series on this blog.  I’ve tried in the past to post menus and failed miserably, so take that as your warning.

Jake eats most anything we eat aside from fish, shellfish, and nuts of any kind (though I did slip and give him some peanuts with my Thai food the other day.  Whoops!).  Some of the dishes are spicy (like the Cajun Chicken Alfredo and the Spicy Chicken Tortilla Rollups).  I figure I’ll just make a couple without the spice or he will have leftovers that day.  In any case, this may help lots of you moms out there!

I also plan to lighten up some of the more calorie dense meals to make them more Weight Loss Goal friendly.  Stay tuned for more on that later.

Here’s the key to reading the calendar.  The light green recipes are from my Pinterest account.  The light blue ones are either from my blog or from my personal collection of recipes.  Here are the links to the recipes you can find online:

Burgers
Cajun Chicken Alfredo
Chicken Bacon Ranch Mac & Cheese
Chicken Cassoulet
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Chicken Taco Chili
Cilantro Lime Chicken
Cream Cheese Chicken
Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps
Forgotten Chicken
General Tso’s Chicken
Honey Garlic Pork Chops
Meatloaf
Mexican Lasagna
Mini Corn Dog Muffins
Mushrooms Pizza Bites
Pad Thai
Pizza Casserole
Pork Chops au Poivre
Proscuitto Panini
Quick Coq au Vin
Spaghetti with Chicken and Thai Peanut Sauce
Spicy Chicken Tortilla Rollups
TJ (Trader Joe)’s Chicken Satay with Coconut Rice
Ultimate Chicken Fingers

You probably notice there isn’t any room for leftovers.  Most of the time, we either eat the leftovers for lunches, or I try to make a single night’s portion instead of a whole family’s worth.  The food gets eaten, don’t you worry.

I hope you guys enjoy this post!  If this is something you enjoy seeing, please let me know by leaving me a comment on my blog.  You can also show your support by liking my Facebook page!  I’d love to hear from you!

Take Out Fake Out

Who doesn’t love take out?  It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s delicious!  Jeff and I love take out, especially when said take out is Chinese food.  YUM!  Our favorites include General Tao’s chicken and Sweet and Sour chicken.  Healthy…

I love stir fry, but more often than not, when I make my own it’s lacking.  Therefore, when I chose to make Chicken Stir Fry for my meal plan, I opted to seek out a recipe to follow.  In the past, I would head to allrecipes.com first, but now, I hit up Pinterest.  The pin with the most repins was this recipe.

It looked delicious, but I was skeptical because a lot of times the recipes I pin don’t taste as good as they look. That was not the case this time!  It was oh-my-gosh delicious.  You may notice there are some different ingredients in this recipe (like sesame oil and oyster sauce).  Don’t be scared.  If you like Chinese food, chances are you’ve eaten them before.

Take a chance and try this recipe.  You will love it, I promise.  I made it for dinner on Wednesday night and Jeff already asked me to make it again for dinner.  That’s a win in my book!

Chicken Stir Fry
(from blogchef.net)

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs (cut into 1” pieces)
¼ cup honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh ginger (minced)
2 tablespoons fresh garlic (minced)
½ teaspoon sesame oil
1 pinch ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons oyster sauce

Combine chicken, honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and black pepper in a large resealable bag.  Squish chicken around to ensure even coating.  Put in fridge and let marinate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

When you’re ready to cook, heat a wok (or large skillet) to high.  Add the oil and let it heat up.  The original recipe called for the entire bag’s contents to be poured into the wok, but I drained most of the liquid out.  It seemed like a LOT of sauce.  I also used more like 1 TBSP of oil, but that’s up to you.  It worked fine for me.

Stir fry your chicken until your chicken is thoroughly cooked and your sauce has reduced slightly.  It should take about 8 minutes.  After that, turn off the heat and add your oyster sauce.  Stir to coat.

I made a batch of jasmine rice to have with the chicken.  Normally I would add veggies in my stir fry, but in this case, I didn’t.  I will next time and use the excess liquid to cook my veggies in.  I think that would be yummy.  Speaking of liquid, the sauce you make is a little overpowering on it’s own.  I suggest making the rice because it helps balance the flavors and tone the dish down a bit.

I’m trying to resist making this again for dinner tonight.  The fight is not going well…

Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings

OK, so I’m a little over a week into my Pinterest challenge that was supposed to last for the entire month of March.  Well…I’ve cooked 4 out of the 5 recipes I picked already!  I made all the main dishes and by far my favorite of the four was the slow cooker chicken and dumplings.  Turns out two of my loved ones had already made the recipe!  Here’s what they said:

Mom:  You may not be able to wait until it’s finished slow cooking in the crock pot.  It smells so delicious.  I cooked my dumplings a little longer to make sure they were done all the way through.

Carolyn:  I thought it was quick and easy!  I made it on the stove top so it was ready faster.  I added frozen peas and carrots and it turned out great.  Very satisfying and tasty!

After I got that feedback, I knew I had to try it.  I made it for dinner on Friday night and prayed Jeff would like it.  I didn’t make anything else after all.  The verdict?  He cleaned his bowl!  I wondered if it would be filling enough for him since we usually have a relatively large meal for dinner, but it seemed just right.  A bowl of soup + a bowl of ice cream is the perfect amount I guess!

Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings
(adapted from polishthestars.com)

1 onion, diced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
salt & pepper and any other seasonings you’d like
2 tbsp butter, diced
2 cans 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
1 14 oz can chicken broth
1 container Grands Homestyle biscuits*, each cut into 9 pieces

Line your crock pot with a Reynolds Slow Cooker Liner (best invention ever!).  Place your diced onion in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Add your chicken to the pot and sprinkle with whatever seasonings you’d like.  I used my go to seasoning:  Dorothy Lane Market grill rub.  I seriously use it for EVERYTHING!  Over the chicken, add your butter, the two cans of cream of chicken soup, and the chicken broth.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8 hours.

After your soup is cooked, remove the chicken and add your biscuits.  Stir the biscuits so that they are all coated with the soup.  Cook on high for 1 hour or until the biscuits are cooked through.  Meanwhile, shred or chop your chicken into small bits.  After the biscuits are cooked, add the chicken back to the soup and stir to combine.  Serve piping hot!

*The original recipe called for just 4 of the 8 biscuits in the can, but I love dumplings so I added all 8.  My nutritional information is based on 8 biscuits.

Baked Penne with Chicken & Sundried Tomatoes

Say what you want about Martha Stewart, but you gotta give the woman credit.  Girl knows how to cook.  And bake.  And decorate.  A while back I was on her website looking at various one pot and slow cooker meals, when I found this little gem.

(source)

Penne pasta in a cream sauce mixed with chicken, mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes? Oh, and cheese?  Uh, YUM!  I immediately pinned it on one of my Pinterest boards to make later.

Later came and I found myself perusing my boards for cooking ideas.  I saw this picture and decided it was time to test it out!  I made a batch to freeze and a couple small ramekins for Jeff and I to try out. (BTW, these ramekins make a great holiday gift!  I have a set of two and I use them all. the. time.  They work perfectly in a toaster oven to sample dishes as I did here!)

The verdict?  Great same day meal!  Frozen, the noodles can get a bit mushy, so make sure you don’t overcook them as I did this time.  Using the correct noodle cooking time, I’m sure this recipe would freeze beautifully!

I also used a Garden Vegetable penne instead of a regular penne as it was the only thing I had on hand at the time.  I think the regular penne would be much better in this dish.  But you decide!  Get Martha’s recipe here!

 

Slow and Steady Risotto

Risotto is one of those dishes I rarely make because I don’t care to stand over a hot stove for 45 minutes stirring a stock pot.  It is, however, probably my favorite way to eat rice.  I love how creamy the texture is and how the flavors meld together in my mouth.

The other day, while visiting my dad and stepmom, Nan, in Florida, Nan and I got to talking about risotto.  I knew she really liked it.  More often than not, if risotto is offered on a menu, she will get whatever dish the risotto is featured with.  When she found out I liked it to, she got excited.  Apparently there was a recipe she had been wanting to try for a while and hadn’t gotten around to it.  When asked what the recipe was, she proclaimed, “crock pot risotto!”

She threw together the easy recipe quickly and let it bubble away in the crock pot for a few hours.  Dad grilled up some devilishly delicious filets that night as well.  Steaks, risotto, and salad.  What a perfect meal!  It was probably one of my favorite meals of the whole trip.

After we returned home, I took an hour and organized our pantry.  One of the items that has been staring at me in our pantry for a looooooong time now was Arborio rice.  It took me about 2.5 seconds to figure out exactly what I wanted to do with it.  I googled slow cooker risotto and found a recipe that sounded pretty close to the one Nan made.  Then of course I added it to Pinterest.  (Does anyone else love that website as much as I do??)

You know what one of my favorite things about risotto is?  I typically have everything I need on hand!

Crock Pot Risotto
(adapted from this recipe)

4 tbsp olive oil, divided
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
1/2 cup dry white wine (like Chardonnay)
1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
3 3/4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp butter
8 oz mushrooms (whatever variety you like) roughly chopped
3 tbsp half & half
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the onion in 3 tbsp of the olive oil until softened.  Add 1/4 cup of wine.  Cook onions and wine for a minute or two so the onion has a little time to absorb the wine.  Add the rice and stir to evenly coat the rice in the wine mixture. 

One thing I didn’t do that I wished I had was season this step.  I would add a pinch or two of salt (use your judgement) and maybe a bit of pepper.  I added salt and pepper at the end, but I think adding salt before slow cooking the dish would enhance the flavor much better.

Add rice to the slow cooker and return the pan, unwashed to the stove.  Add the chicken broth to the slow cooker as well and turn your slow cooker on high.  Cook rice mixture for 1.5 to 2.5 hours or until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice appears thick and rich.

Meanwhile, while your rice is cooking, prepare your mushrooms.  In the same pan we cooked the onions, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the butter.  Saute your mushrooms until they get nice and soft.  Add the other 1/4 cup of wine and, as with the onions, let the wine absorb into the mushrooms a little.  Season mushrooms with salt and pepper and set aside.

When your risotto is completely cooked, add the half & half, mushrooms, and Parmesan.  Check the salt and pepper one final time and serve.

To accompany the risotto, I also made Asian Style Hawaiian Luau chicken.  Yes, it’s a seasoning from McCormick Grill Mates, but honestly it was so yummy!  I followed the recipe for the “Asian marinade” and let the chicken soak the entire time the risotto was cooking.  Then I grilled the chicken to perfection.  It was an insanely delicious dinner.  You really should try this one.  It made me feel like I was back on vacation again!

 

Freezer Meals: Chicken Enchiladas Two Ways

You may remember when I did my Marathon Cooking session a few weeks ago.  Well, yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to discover I had been scheduled off for today!  Technically, I’m still on vacation.  So what does that mean?  Cooking, cleaning, and staying in my pjs all day of course!

I made several dishes during my Marathon Cooking session and unfortunately some of them did not turn out as delicious as I had hoped.  This taught me a valuable lesson:  only make bulk dishes to freeze out of meals you already know you like!

Learning this, I decided to make three meals in big batches:  “Cheater” Lasagna, Buffalo Chicken casserole, and Chicken Enchiladas.  I’ll post the lasagna and the buffalo chicken recipes at a later date, but today we are going to focus on the Chicken Enchiladas.  I came up with two different ways of making this dish.  The main recipe is the same, but the construction of the dishes are a little different.

Chicken Enchiladas
The Basic Recipe (makes enough for 2-3 people):

1 chicken breast, poached & diced
1 cup brown rice, cooked
1/2 can refried beans
1/3 can enchilada sauce
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup cheddar cheese

To start, bring a pot of water to a boil, season with salt and pepper, and poach your chicken in the liquid for 20-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.  Remove from liquid and let cool.  Once it’s cool enough to handle, dice it into small pieces.

While your chicken is cooking, make your rice.  I used my Cuisinart rice cooker to make this rice.  Typically when you make rice, you use a 1:2 ratio.  I used one cup of rice to two cups of water plus a pinch of salt for flavor.  With my rice cooker, I just add the ingredients and flip the switch to “cook”.  Once it’s done, it switches to “warm” and lets me continue what I’m doing until I need the rice.  Just follow the directions on your bag of rice to ensure it turns out perfectly.

Once the chicken and rice are cooked and ready to go, add them to a big bowl along with your salsa, beans, cheese, and enchilada sauce (just to help the beans incorporate into the dish).

This is where you can get creative!  Add whatever kinds of Mexican-y things you like!  Corn, black beans, cilantro, green chiles, you name it!  Jeff is a simple man and is not a big fan of veggies in his enchiladas so I left them out.  I figure I can make a nice little Mexican side salad the night we eat this so I get all the yummy veggie nutrients.

That’s your basic recipe.  Here are two ways to use this filling to create a couple yummy dishes:

Method One:
Mexican Rollups

1/3 cup enchilada sauce
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
5 burrito sized tortilla shells

Since I am freezing my meals, I opted to use foil 8×8 cake pans.  We are just two people, so typically I only want to make a small portion.  If you have a bigger family, you can double the above recipe and use a 13×9 dish.  It’s totally up to you.  I sprayed my pan to ensure no sticking and then started rolling.

Take a burrito sized tortilla shell, add about a 1/3 cup of filling towards the bottom of the shell, tuck the bottom of the shell over the filling, fold in the sides and roll the remaining of the way up.  (Yes, I realize I should have taken pictures of this, but I didn’t think I would be doing a blog post about these meals.  Hey, when inspiration strikes…)

Line your rolled enchiladas in the pan, top with enchilada sauce and the cheddar cheese.  Cover with foil and freeze.  I decided to turn up the collar of the pan just to provide a little extra holding power for the sauce.

Method Two:
Enchilada Lasagna

With this method, you just want to create layers in the dish.  I put one tortilla in the bottom of the pan, added 1/2 the filling,

topped with a second tortilla, some of the enchilada sauce, the remainder of the filling, a third tortilla, and the remainder of the sauce. Just use your judgement as to how much sauce you want to use.  Obviously you don’t want the sauce to be overflowing, but you want enough for the tortillas to soak up while cooking.  Finally, finish with the cheese.  Cover and freeze.

One thing I decided for my last tortilla layer was to cut the tortillas to fit.  I would have done this for the whole dish, but again I wasn’t thinking ahead.  To do this, just lay your tortillas in the pan and cut the excess off the sides like so:

When you are ready to serve either dish, you can preheat the oven to 400º and bake for about an hour (or until the meal is heated through) or you can thaw it overnight in the fridge and shorten the cooking time to about 30 minutes.  My husband is funny.  When he decides he’s hungry, he’s hungry now.  I think his hunger cues are off because it’s almost like when he realizes he’s hungry, he has to eat then or he’ll faint from starvation!  He also likes to eat around 6p (apparently he’s in his 60s), but I don’t get home until 5:30p at the earliest.  For this reason, I have to try to plan things well in advance.  This is why thawing the dish ahead of time is better for us.

So there you go.  Two freezer meals that are simple, delicious, and crowd pleasers!  Hope you like them!

 

Buffalo Wing Dip

If you read my post for Buffalo Chicken Casserole, you know Jeff and I love buffalo wings.  So, it’s no surprise one of my favorite (and most requested recipes) is for my Buffalo Wing Dip.

The first time I made this was for a party at our condo.  I had read about it online and thought it sounded pretty darn good, so I whipped up a batch.  Being a chronic over-preparer, I tend to have way too much food left after a party.  This dip, however, was the exception.  My friends gobbled it up so fast, I barely had time to try the dip myself!  OK, that’s an exaggeration, but it DID go quickly.

I promise you, you will be asked for this recipe.  Be prepared!

Buffalo Wing Dip
1 pound chicken breast
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup hot sauce (or more if you prefer)
1 package cheddar cheese, shredded

To begin, you will want to roast your chicken.  I preheat my oven to 400*, coat the chicken with a thin layer of olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  You can also take this time to add garlic powder, onion powder, etc if you prefer. (I used a spice rub from Dorothy Lane this time.) Bake for 20 minutes, or until the juices run clear and your chicken breast is no longer pink.

Remove from oven and diced up into a very small dice.  You don’t want to have huge chunks in your dip.  In a saucepan, combine chicken, cream cheese, ranch, hot sauce, and cheese.  Mix well.  Cook over medium heat until the mixture begins to boil.

Mr. Lobster likes it too!

To serve, transfer to a small crock pot set to low heat. You can serve whatever you like as dippers.  I prefer slicing a baguette into 1/4 inch slices and toasting them in the oven, but I have also used carrots and celery before.

Make it.  You won’t regret it.  Just remember to share!

Simple Roasted Chicken Breast

Roasted chicken is one of those comfort foods I associate with fall.  The smell reminds me of Thanksgiving and evokes visions of pumpkins, red, orange, and yellow leaves, and napping in front of the Browns game.

Roasted chicken is so versatile.  You can change it up however you like, use whatever herbs you have on hand, and add any vegetables to the dish to round out your meal.  It’s one of those things you can throw together after a busy day at work, add some sides, and badabing you’re done.  In a word, it’s perfect!

Simple Roasted Chicken Breast
1 whole chicken breast
olive oil
salt & pepper to taste (or other herbs*)

Preheat your oven to 400*.  Line a sheet pan with a Silpat or spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Put your chicken, top side down, on the sheet pan.  Spread with a little olive oil and rub to coat.  Sprinkle liberally with your desired seasoning.  Flip your breast and repeat on the opposite side.  If you like, you can slice some root vegetables (onion, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc), peppers, lemons, or any other produce you desire and create a “bed” for your chicken to sit on, but it is not required.

Bake at 400* for approximately 20 minutes, or until juices run clear.  Pair the chicken with some quick sides for a simple meal!

*One of my favorite seasonings to use on my meat is Dorothy Lane‘s steak rub.  It is a wonderful blend of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and many, many other herbs.  If you leave near Dayton, I suggest you try it!  It’s somewhat pricey, but it lasts forever!

(Yes, in case you were wondering, I was kind of a slacker with the camera during this recipe.  My sweetie was hungry and I was cooking as fast as I could!)

Buffalo Chicken Casserole

When I was in college, I did not like buffalo wings.  I tried them a couple times and I hated the way they made my lips sting and sucked all the taste buds out of my mouth (due to the heat).  Why would anyone want to eat something as an appetizer and then eat their meals when they couldn’t taste anything?!

My husband, on the other hand, was a buffalo wing lover pretty much since birth.  Well, that’s how it seems.  We would go out to eat and he would get the buffalo wing appetizer, the buffalo chicken sandwich, buffalo wing ice cream milkshake…  OK, OK, that might be an exaggeration.  It might….

One day, he convinced me to try them again. 
But I’ll burn my lips and I won’t be able to taste my entree! I whined.
You’ll be fine.  Just use a fork to get the meat off the bone.  He desperately wanted me to try them.  He likes to share.
OK, but if I don’t like it, you’re buying me a chocolate sundae with extra cherries to make my mouth feel better!

I pulled a small piece of the chicken off the bone and hesitantly brought the fork to my lips.  It smelled good…a bit tangy with a whiff of garlic…so I bit down, taking great care to avoid getting the wing sauce on my lips.

Oh. My. God.  Why have you never made me try these before?!
The smug guy just sat there, with a little smirk on his face, and watched as I demolished his plate of wings.

The rest, we shall say, is history.

To begin, I poached a pound of chicken in water seasoned with Herbes de Provence, whole peppercorns, and kosher salt.

While the chicken was poaching, my egg noodles took a hot soak in some water.

Then, I introduced the ranch dressing to the hot sauce.  Everyone got along famously.

When the chicken was nice and cooked, I pulled it from the water and shredded it with two forks.

Then I drained the egg noodles and combined them with the chicken.

I added the hot ranch and a cup of cheese and mixed well.

I deposited said mixture in a square glass baking dish I’d sprayed with Pam and topped with “bread crumbs” (or ground up pretzels, which is all I had) and sprayed them with cooking spray.  Note:  the next time I make this (and there WILL be a next time!), I am going to crush up whole wheat crackers and mix a little melted butter in them.  That way the crust will get nice and golden and there will be more crunch…something that was missing this time.

As I was not going to be home for dinner, I decided to leave my sweetie a little note to help him out.

Our verdict?  YUM!  This is going in the “make again” pile.  It’s great for freezing and would be wonderful for kids.  Just decrease the spice level a bit. Let me know what you think!
Buffalo Chicken Casserole
1 pound chicken
peppercorns, salt, & herbes de Provence for poaching
2 cups egg noodles
1 cup Ranch dressing
1/2 cup hot sauce
1 cup 2% milk sharp cheddar cheese

Topping:
1/2 cup Ritz crackers, crushed (subbed from my original recipe)
1 tbsp butter, melted (subbed from my original recipe)

*Unfortunately, as I did not use the Ritz crackers and the butter, I may have the measurements wrong.  Please use your discretion when making the topping.

Preheat your oven to 400* and set two pans of water to boil…one for your chicken and one for your egg noodles.

In the chicken pot, add your peppercorns, salt, and herbes.  Bring both pans to a boil.  Add your chicken to your chicken pot and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink.  Add your egg noodles to your pasta pot and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the noodles are al dente.

Meanwhile, combine your ranch and hot sauce.  I usually do this by taste without measuring.  Make sure you hold back on your hot sauce if you are not a spice fan.  Keep tasting it to see if the temperature is to your liking.

After the chicken is cooked, shred it apart with two forks.  You could also chop the chicken in a fine dice if you’d like.  Whatever suits your fancy.  Then, combine the chicken with the egg noodles and toss.

Sauce your chicken/pasta mixture well, then add in your cheese and toss to combine.  After everything is mixed, deposit it into your prepared baking dish.

Melt your butter and crush your crackers.  Then let them meet and mingle.  Spread the mixture over the casserole.  Bake at 400* for 30 minutes.

This dish would be great with a crunchy salad (simulating the celery they serve on the side) or with a roasted green vegetable of sorts.

**My bestie, Carolyn, is testing out vegetarianism, so I find myself thinking “What would Carolyn do to make this vegetarian friendly” a lot of the time.  In this recipe, I think you could either leave the chicken out completely and decrease the amount of sauce you used, or you could use cannellini beans you’ve rinsed.

What would you do to change this recipe?