Moroccan Style Meatballs and Couscous

Let me first say that I have no idea if Moroccans eat meatballs and that this is not authentic at all. I just love this Moroccan Place we like to eat at and can't afford to eat there often, so this is my way of having some of those flavors at home. Also, we are trying to eat less red meat, so I made them with ground turkey but I think these would taste great with ground beef also. Something to note, this is very very flavorful, it has a lot more spices in it than most people are accustomed too, at least in the US. It's not a familiar flavor unless you've had Moroccan food before, but we absolutely loved it. If you're unsure about it you could halve the spice ingredients the first time you make this dish.

Here's the recipe:

Meatballs
1 pack of ground turkey, around a 1-1 1/2 lbs
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 C or more of quick cooking oats or crushed crackers or breadcrumbs ( I used a combo of oats and crushed wheat ritz because we ran out of oats)
1 large onion very finely chopped or grated or substitute dry onions
1T paprika
1T cumin
1T turmeric (I actually used some McCormick's Curry blend because it has turmeric and that's all I had)
1T cinnamon
1t ginger
1/4C dry parsley or 1/2C fresh parsley

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Make small meatballs by using a tablespoon to get your meat out so that it stays a uniform size. Put on baking stone for best results, but you may also use a greased cookie sheet or a cookie sheet with parchment paper on it. Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes. It will take about 2 batches.

Sauce
1C tomato paste
5-6 cloves chopped garlic
1 can chopped tomato
1 red pepper (I didn't have this but it still turned out great)
1T paprika
1T turmeric
1T cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste

Make sauce while meatballs are in the oven. Saute garlic and add the rest of the ingredients to the pot. Add water to make a slightly thick consistency. Bring to boil and simmer, adding more water if needed.

While the sauce is simmering up you can start your couscous. I just bought the quick boxed kind from the store. The chicken flavored kind is good with this. If you don't have couscous you can serve over pasta.

Serve the meatballs over the couscous and top with some sauce. Add a side of veggies for a balanced meal.

Red Beans and Rice

1lb. bag of dry red beans (I used light red) that have been sorted, rinsed, and soaked overnight and then drained and rinsed.
1 quart chicken stock (4 cups)
2 cups hot water
2 bay leaves
1 onion
2 stalks celery
1 green bell pepper
chopped up garlic to taste (I used about 6 cloves)
2T oil
1 package of smoked turkey sausage
2t cumin
2t paprika
cayenne pepper to taste (I used about 1t)
Dash of hot sauce
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Dash of liquid smoke(you can leave this out if you don't have it, but it's a nice flavor)
Dash of thyme
1/4 C or so of parsely
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooked rice, I made about 5 cups and just added in as much of it as looked right for consistency.

Put your beans in a big pot(I used an 8qt stockpot) as this recipe makes about 4 quarts of food, you'll want room to stir. Add your bay leaves, half your diced onion, chicken stock, and hot water. Stir it up. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours with lid tipped and stir often.

While your beans are cooking, chop the rest of your veggies and the sausage. You can also cook up your rice. Saute your veggies and garlic in oil. Add that to your pot after the beans have been cooking about an hour. Cook sausage up so it's browned a bit and then add it to the pot. Remember to keep stirring. Add in all the spices now. Cook till beans and veggies are soft. When that's done you can add in the rice.

This can be served as a main dish or side dish.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Nom! is all that needs to be said about pumpkin pancakes. There were no leftovers.

I got the recipe from here.
PS I left out the ginger because I am not a fan.

Sweet and Spicy Stir Fry

Cut some poultry into bite sized pieces. (I used 2 turkey breasts that were moderately sized)

Dump about a 1/2C or so of cornstarch into a bowl and coat all the meat in it.

In a small bowl mix about a 1/3C of honey, a few tablespoons hot sauce, and a few tablespoons of soy sauce, set aside.

Heat a pan or wok with oil in it.

Add meat and brown it up then add the rest of your stir fry veggies and cook till all the veggies are tender and the meat is cooked through, about ten minutes. Before your stir fry is done add in the sauce, stir to coat everything and let it thicken up.

Serve over rice. Squeeze some juice from an orange over the top to give it a pop of flavor and you could throw some chopped nuts on top. Slivered almonds worked really nicely.

Spaghetti Squash and Turkey Meatballs

Set oven temp to 350 degrees.

Wash and then cut your spaghetti squash in half. Bake cut side down for 45 minutes @ 350 degrees.

While that is cooking you can assemble your meatballs. In a medium/large bowl put:

1/4-1/2 C breadcrumbs or instant oatmeal or crushed crackers (you get the idea)
1 egg
1 small onion grated
3 cloves minced garlic
3T ketchup
1/4C fresh parsley (I just threw in some dried parsley and guessed at how much)
1/4C parmesan & 1/4C ramano (I just used 1/2C parm)
1t salt
1/4t pepper
Mrs. Dash Italian seasoning to taste
1 lb turkey meat


Mix well and make in to smallish balls, I used a table spoon to grab up the meat each time to try and get a uniform size. Bake @ 350 degrees for 20 minutes or so and check to be sure the middle isn't pink.

Flip squash and then bake an additional 15 minutes or until flesh is tender. Use a fork to scrape out "spaghetti."


Top spaghetti squash with desired sauce. (tomato sauce, alfredo, or a simple olive oil and basil toss) Then put meat balls on top. Serve about 8 meatballs per person. Should serve about 4 people.

(I heated olive oil and garlic in a pan and cooked the spaghetti for about 5 more minutes, then I added basil and parsley. Once plated I sprinkled parm on top and then added the meatballs.)

Pumpkin spice bars

Oh my god, so yummy.

Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen - FoodNetwork






Ingredients
Bars:

* 4 eggs
* 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 15-ounce can pumpkin
* 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:

* 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
* 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
* 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

Chicken Artichoke and Spinach Casserole.

Recipe courtesy of Reciple Zaar.com


SERVES 6 Preheat oven to 350*
Ingredients

* 1/2 cup butter
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 shallots, minced
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 1 cup heavy cream

* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

* 1 (5 ounce) package parmesan cheese, grated (I used shredded)
* 2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I used pre-packaged Purdue grilled chicken strips)

* 1 (14 ounce) can quartered artichokes, drained and chopped

* 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 2 cups French bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
* 3 tablespoons butter, melted


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F Lightly grease a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat.
3. Add garlic and shallots, cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in wine and cook 3 minutes.
5. Stir in cream and simmer 5 minutes.
6. Add cream cheese and Parmesan cheese, stir until combined.
7. Stir in chicken, artichokes, spinach, salt and pepper.
8. Remove from heat and spoon into prepared casserole dish.
9. In a small bowl, combine the French bread cubes with the melted butter and toss until coated.
10. Sprinkle evenly over casserole.
11. Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

Smush Crackers

I made a variation on some crackers I made for Cameron a while back. I substituted 1 cup of oatmeal baby cereal for the called for 1 cup of all purpose flour. I also thinned out the dough. I did this because the last crackers, while good, didn't have the texture I wanted. They were the kind of teething biscuit that a baby can gnaw on forever and not get a bite off. That's great when you're afraid they'll choke but now I want crackers he can actually eat. These turned out puffy and crispy and good. I even had a few.

Set oven to 425

1 Cup Rice Cereal (the baby kind)
1 Cup Oatmeal Cereal (the baby kind)
3 Tablespoons of oil
Ice Water.

I put the cereal and oil in a sandwich bag and mixed up. Then I added water a little at a time till I got the consistency I wanted. The dough could hold shapes but didn't need to be rolled out. Then I cut the corner off the baggie and squeezed out dollops of dough on to my baking stone. Then I just smushed each dollop till it was pretty thin and baked for 10-12 minutes until golden.

Chex Mix

Katie`s Signature Recipe: Spiced Nuts `n Chex Mix

Start to Finish: 15 Minutes

1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 cups Corn Chex cereal
2 cups Rice Chex cereal
2 cups Wheat Chex cereal
1 can (11.5 ounces) mixed nuts

1. In small bowl, mix sugar, chili powder and red pepper; set aside.
2. In large microwavable bowl, microwave butter uncovered on High about 40
seconds or until melted. Stir in cereals and nuts until evenly coated. Stir in
sugar mixture until evenly coated.
3. Microwave uncovered on High 5 to 6 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes, until
mixture just begins to turn brown. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in
airtight container.

** I substituted a tasty bbq seasoning mix for the chili powder because I am not a chili powder fan. I also subbed part plain peanuts part honey roasted for the mixed nuts and it was really good.**

Something to note: I started to microwave it at the first 2 minute increment and by the time that was done it was burned in the middle. I scooped out the five or six pieces of charcoal and nuked it another 30 seconds before I decided that was good enough. It's plenty tasty w/out microwaving it for 6 minutes. My microwave is insane.

Shish-ka-bobs

Easy, Fun, Fast.


The prep time can be consuming, but cook time and eating time are quick and fun!

Now I don't really have any directions or ingredients to share other than:

Skewer sticks, Meat, Peppers, Onion, Pineapple, Marinades.

Soak skewers before use

Cut food in square shapes, stick on skewer and cook

Texas Brownies

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Brownies:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup strong brewed coffee or water
1/4 cup dark, unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup buttermilk (tip: if you don't have any, 2 tsp vinegar or lemon juice, pour milk until it hits 1/2 cup mark)
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 tbsp dark cocoa
1/4 cup milk
3 1/2 cup unsifted powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla


Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and sugar
2. In heavy saucepan, combine butter, shortening, coffee or water, and cocoa. Stir and heat to bowling.
3. Pour bowling mixture over the flour and sugar in the bowl. Add the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla.
4. Mix well, using a wooden spoon or high speed on electric mixer.
5. Pour into a well buttered pan (17 1/2in x 11in)
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until brownies test done in the center.
7. While brownies bake, prepare the frosting. In saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa, and milk. Heat to bowling, stirring.
8. Mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla until frosting is smooth.
9. Pour warm frosting over brownings as soon as you take te out of the oven. Cool.

Chocolate Lovers Cake

Sorry pictures aren't the best. However it was delicious.




Cake Recipe courtesy of Food Network.com

Ingredients

* 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
* 2 cups sugar
* 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
* 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup milk
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 cup boiling water

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by rubbing with butter, sprinkling with flour and tapping out extra. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix together with a wooden spoon then set aside. In small bowl combine eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat well with hand mixer. Slowly add boiling water and mix. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and fold and stir until smooth. Pour batter into pans, dividing evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove cake from pans and cool on racks.

Frosting Recipe courtesy of Cooks.com


BUTTER CREAM FROSTING

3 tbsp. softened butter
1 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
2-3 tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

In small bowl, beat butter. Add powdered sugar and cocoa alternately with milk; beat until smooth until a smooth spreading consistency is achieved. Blend in vanilla.

Simply fantastic

Sorry the pic isn't more glamorous. :)

This is thin spaghetti with olive oil, garlic, parsley, basil, and grape tomatoes. It's very simple and easy, but also tasty. Cameron had some too and he loved it and made lots of yummy noises. I'm not gonna lie, that makes me feel really good.

Make pasta according to box directions or to al dente. I salt the water and add a splash of olive oil so it doesn't stick together. Right before your pasta is done get a small pot and cover the bottom with olive oil. Put in a heaping teaspoon or two of garlic. Toast the garlic a little till it's a smidge of brown color and is aromatic. After you drain your pasta put it back in the hot pot and pour desired amount of oil and garlic over top. Toss. Add your tomatoes. It's better if they are sliced so you get the juices in there. Then add basil and parsley. I just put a layer over the top and toss again. After you plate it up make sure you add Parmesan, that really makes it super good. The tomatoes are a choking hazard for smaller babies, so I didn't give Cam any of those.

Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1 cup water
2 lb lean ground beef
1 pkg stove top stuffing
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup bbq/ketchup


Directions for prep:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Pour stuffing into bowl

Measure 1 cup water into plastic 4 cup measuring cup (do not pour out)

Add 1/2 cup bbq sauce/ketchup into water (watch water level go to 1 1/2 cups)

Add 2 eggs to water/sauce mix (break into glass 1st in case egg shells fall in-then pour into measuring glass)

Stir measuring cup well

Pour mix over stuffing & mix well with lg fork (stuffing should be moist)

Add meat to bowl & mix well (if you have laytex gloves you may want to use them but rinse them off before)

Divide meat into half put 1/2 into each baking dish 8x8x2.5

Bake for 30-35min at 375.

Again not dinner, but hopefully a recipe that is helpful

Teething crackers

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

1 Cup flour
1 Cup infant rice cereal (instant kind)
3 Tablespoons cooking oil
ice water (start with 1/4 Cup)

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Slowly stir in oil. Add ice water starting with 1/4 Cup until you form a ball of dough. Roll out on floured surface to thickness of a cracker. Cut into shapes and bake for 10-12 minutes or until browned on tops.

I got this recipe from WIC. I made them this morning because now Cameron just loves to eat those baby mum mum crackers and they cost money when I get lots of free cereal from WIC. I don't have as much rice cereal as I do other varieties so I will try out another kind of cereal next and see how that comes out.

The Perfect Pizza

DJ and I thought it would be fun to bake pizzas together.

He got the recipe from Food Network.com

After waiting 45min for it to set

Omgosh rolling and needing it out, such hard work!

I put some cheese in my crust :D



All done!


I copy and pasted the ingredients and directions below:

Don't preheat the oven right away, read the whole recipe before beginning.


Ingredients

* 1 3/4 cup warm water
* 1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast (recommended: RapidRise)
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 4 1/2 to 5 cups bread flour
* 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for bowl
* Cornmeal, for pan

Directions

Preheat oven at 450 degrees F.

Measure out 1 3/4 cups warm water (it should be pleasantly warm on your wrist). Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water and allow it to activate, about 10 minutes.

Put the salt and 2 cups of the flour into a food processor. Pulse 5 times to blend. Pour in the yeast and water and pulse 5 times. Add the olive oil. Add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time, pulsing and scraping the sides of the bowl until well blended. As soon as the mixture is combined, dump it out onto a well-floured board and knead for 15 turns, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and turn to coat all sides. Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, until doubled in size, then punch it down. Divide it in half; each half will make 1 (12-inch) pizza.

Place on a cornmeal-dusted pizza stone, pizza pan, or cookie sheet. Roll up edge slightly to create a ridge around the pizza. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until crust is light brown.

Cook's Note: If using only half dough, freeze the other half. Place the dough in a resealable freezer bag. To thaw, remove the bag from the freezer and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Roll the dough out while cold then allow it to come to room temperature before adding toppings.

A healthier way

So tonight we had a great dinner. Sorry I didn't wait for pics as we ate at 10 pm! Whew it took us a while to get our stuff together and when it was we were hungry!

What we had was salmon burgers with lumpia. The burgers were from Costco. The cooking method is very straight forward. Cook from frozen on george forman grill for 10 minutes on med. Put on a nice bun. We added Lipton's seasame ginger marinade sauce and it rocked. The lumpia posed a problem for me. The kind we usually buy has oven directiions but this new pack didn't. I don't like to fry them for health reasons. I couldn't remember how to do it in the oven and I couldn't find out how online. So I just decided to try to cook them on the george forman too. They came out fabulous. They wre golden and crunchy on the outside and heated all the way through even though I put them on frozen. What would I do differently next time? Make sure the grill doesn't smash them. I might put a thick slice of onion on the grill to hold the weight of the top piece so the rolls stay round. That's it though, they were way better than oven cooked lumpia. All you need to do is put them on the george forman for 10 minutes on high. Just watch for them to crisp up and turn golden. No need to add any oil or butter. Serve with sweet and sour sauce. Cameron even had some of the salmon burger. I don't really know if he liked it, but he sure did make some cute faces.

Super Simple Sickie Soup

Shon's sick and I wanted to make him something to eat but we didn't have any soup. He really can't eat anything else right now. So what's more comforting than homemade chicken noodle soup when you're sick? Only problem was we didn't have the right noodles and I didn't want to use spaghetti. So I made my own pasta. I found a million different ways to make it and so I decided to wing it.

Pasta:
2cups all purpose flour (works best if sifted, but I skipped that part as it was 5 am and I was not into doing extras)
1/2 t salt
2 eggs
2 T olive oil

Mix dry and make a well inside a bowl.
Mix wet ingredients till its all the same color.
Dump wet into the well in the dry ingredients.
SLOWLY mix and stay in the center of the bowl. Use a fork. Work your way to the outside of bowl and get rid of the fork when it's too thick to use it. Squash it around until it's the right doughy consistency. I had lots of leftover flour which I used to flour my board and stuff. Knead for 10 minutes then cover and let rest for at least 30 min.

While you wait you can cut your veggies for the soup.

Cut dough in half and roll it out on floured board till it's as thin as possible. Cut into desired shape and make sure they are well separated so they don't stick together.

Soup:
As much carrots, celery, and onion as you want. I used about 1.5 carrots, 2 celery stalks, and half a med onion. Chop it all small. Cook in olive oil for at least 5 min till all is tender. Add your broth. I used 3 cans. Boil for a bit then add your pasta and cook for 3 minutes then test a noodle. I also added some salt and pepper, original mrs dash, garlic, parsely, and a few bay leaves.

No Name Dessert

Crust:
1 Cup Flour
3/4 Cup Butter
1 Cup Walnuts, chopped

Mix together thoroughly. Press into bottom of a 9"x 9" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until browned. Let cool.



Filling:
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 8oz pkg Cream Cheese
1/2 of 12oz Cool Whip

Mix thoroughly, dollop onto crust and spread gently to not disturb the crust.



Pudding:
Mix together 3oz pkg of vanilla instant pudding and a 3 oz pkg of chocolate instant pudding with 3 Cups of milk. Dollop onto cream cheese layer and spread gently to not disturb the cream cheese layer.



Top with the rest of the 12oz Cool Whip, again dolloping as to not disturb the pudding layer.

Crockpot Beef Stew

Ingredients:

2lb beef cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cup beef broth
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp paprika
4 carrots sliced
3 potatoes diced
1 onion chopped
1 stalk celery sliced


Directions:

Put meat in crockpot. Mix flour, salt, and pepper, and pour over meat; stir to coat meat with flour. Add remaining ingredients and stir to mix well. Cover; cook on low for 10-12 hrs (high 4-6 hrs). Stir stew thoroughly before serving. 6 servings.

Simple Chicken and Alfredo Noodles

Just BBQ'd some chicken up after spicing it up with with; garlic salt, lemon pepper, and Johnny's seasoning.





We bought some Tortellini's filled with cheese from Costco and added Alfredo sauce.





and I mixed them together.

Bananacado and a Turkey Wrap

This is a mommy and me meal. First you make the bananacado for baby and then the wrap for you. I did not invent the term bananacado, I got it from my WTE friend Angie. Cam loves this and eats it often. There are never any leftovers.

Bananacado

1/2 banana mushed well, w/out lumps- just use a fork (mommy gets to eat the other half)
1/4 avocado mushed well, w/out lumps - just use a fork (mommy gets the rest!)
A squirt of lemon juice

I usually cut the avocado in half, cover the seed half with lemon juice and cover with plastic wrap to save for later. I then mush the other half. Microwave the banana for 30 seconds if you wish, that way it's nice and warm. Mix the banana and avocado mush, add the lemon juice. Make sure it's well mixed so it doesn't brown.

Turkey Wrap

Take some flat bread (we love Flat Out from Cosco) and spread the rest of the mushed avocado. This replaces mayo and is even creamier and better in my opinion. I add some mustard on top of that. Salt and pepper to taste. I put Tillamook medium cheddar on next, then halved grape tomatos, spring mix lettuce, and a big slice of turkey. Wrap up tight.

None of this is rocket science but I wanted to share this quick and easy combo because we love it and it's a good way to use up the avocado and to make sort of the same thing for both of us.

Garlic & Herb Hamburgers and Bacon Cheese Potato Skins

Garlic & Herb Hamburgers

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
Green onion
Garlic salt
Mrs Dash/Red Robin spice
Cheese

Directions:

Mix ingredients to taste into ground beef
Make into patties
Grill for best flavor


Bacon & Cheese Potato Skins

Ingredients:

4 Lg baking potatoes
1 tbs + 1 tsp butter buds divided
2 cups cheddar cheese
1 1.3 oz pkg bacon crumbles
sour cream

Directions:

Pierce potatoes with a fork in several places.
Microwave on high for 9 minutes per potato until tender.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Line baking pan with foil and spray with non stick cooking spray.
Cut cooked potatoes in half lengthwise.
Scoop out most of the pulp, leaving about 1/4in in skins.
Sprinkle potato skins on both sides with butter buds (about 1 tsp per half)& arrange on baking sheet.
Sprinkle each half with about 1/4 cup cheese and 1 1/2 tsp bacon crumbles.
Bake until cheese is melted.
Serve with sour cream if desired.

Apple Glazed BBQ Chicken w/ Baked Sliced Potatoes.

Apple Glazed BBQ Chicken

Serving : 6
Prep time : 45min
Cook time : 25min

Ingredients:

1 can frozen apple juice concentrate; thawed
1/4 cup ketchup
4 tbs packaged packed brown sugar
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp red hot cock sauce (red bottle with rooster on it)
6 chicken breast fillets

Directions :

In a small saucepan, combine the juice, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, thyme, and cock sauce. Cook until the sugar dissolves. Cool to room temperature.

Place the chicken in a zip lock plastic bag and add half the sauce. Cover, refrigerate both the chicken and the remaining sauce for 4-24 hours.

Coat a grill rack with nonstick spray. Remove the cicken from the marinade. Coat the chicken pieces with nonstick spray and brush them with some of the remaining marinade.

Grill, uncovered, 6-8 minutes. Turn the chicken over and brush with the remaining marinade. Grill 6 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Discard any remaining marinade.


_________________________________________________________________

Baked Sliced Potatoes

Serving : 4
Prep time : 10min
Bake time : 25-30 min
Preheat oven : 400 degrees

Ingredients :

4 Lg baking potatoes
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup salad oil (we used olive oil)
2 cloves of garlic minced or pressed
1/2 - 1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves

Preparation:

Cut unpared potatoes into 1/4 inch-thick slices. Place overlapping slices in buttered oven-to-table 13x9in baking dish.

Mix butter and oil. Brush slices with mixture. Pour remaining over potatoes. Sprinkle with garlic, salt, and thyme.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30min or until potatoes are done and browned at the edges. Serve immediately.

Well we didn't have this for dinner, but you could!

We had it for a 1 am snack. You can count on me for interesting combinations due to our distaste for grocery shopping. I frequently throw odds and ends together. Shon and I think it was a success today. I give you....

*drum roll*

Italian Scrambled Eggs with Crab Meat
Serves 2 hungry adults, could be stretched to 3.

1 small can crab meat (of course you can substitute imitation crab or chicken or turkey)
5 or 6 eggs
Small amount of water
Sun dried tomatoes in Italian herbs and olive oil (about 6)
2 squirts mustard (Dijon would be fantastic but all we had was French's yellow and it was good)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Italian herb mix (Mr's Dash Italian is great)
2T Onion (I would have preferred green onions, all we had was dried onion and it was good.)
2 slices Muenster Cheese (That's what we had, swiss, jack, mozzerella would all be yummy.)

Put eggs in bowl add small amount of water and beat. Set aside.
Open and drain can of crab meat. Set aside.
Pull tomatoes out of jar and drain on a paper towel. Dice them. Set aside.
Put some of the oil from the tomato jar in the pan. Use pastry brush to coat whole pan with thin layer of oil and herbs.
Salt and pepper the eggs, add some Italian herbs and stir. Add onion to eggs. Put eggs in hot pan. Have slices of cheese ready to top hot eggs so they melt nicely. Add in the crab and tomatoes and stir up the eggs. When the eggs are almost done squirt in a bit of mustard and stir again. Finish cooking. Plate eggs and top with cheese.

Curry Anything.

So tonight we realized we needed to go to the store for some veggies and other foods. Unfortunately, we realized this when there wasn't enough time to get ready and get there with any time to shop.

I looked high and low in my cupboards and fridge to see what I could scrounge together. I thought maybe I could make a curry. I wished I had some canned tomatoes...oh wait I had salsa! That's got tomatoes! I had a can of garbanzo beans, brown minute rice, plain yogurt, lemon juice, hot sauce, chicken, and lots of spices. So I found a great site that gave overal curry basics. It said:

So, there you have it — a typical "curry" sauce is just (1) onion, garlic, ginger and chiles that have been chopped and fried (2) with spices mixed in and then (3) some mushed tomatoes added.

Indian food is delicious, but don't let it intimidate you — from Rogan Josh (some cardamom) to Madras (lots of chile) to Vindaloo (vinegar and lots of chile) to Tikka Masala (lemon juice and more turmeric), most Indian dishes you're familiar with are just nuanced variants on the above.

This is the site

So I decided the jalapenos in the salsa would work for chilis and my hot sauce was made from chilis, so that would work. I had dry onions also. I told Shon dinner would either be really good or gross and prayed it would be good.

I thawed 2 chicken breasts. Cut them in small pieces. Stir fried them in some oil. Added 6T dry onions. That equals one onion. Then I added my spices. Garlic, curry, paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin, cayenne pepper, ground coriander, salt, and a pinch of ginger powder. I didn't measure these, I just added what looked good. I mostly just dusted some over everything except the ginger, I really don't like it and I just added a smidge, but you could really taste and smell it. Go easy on the hot ones unless you really like it hot. I added the rinsed can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas). I opened a can of chicken broth and added some till it was wet but not soupy in there. Stir every so often till the chicken is done. Add 1T lemon juice. Add salsa. I probably added at least a cup, but maybe more. I just added till it looked like the right ratio for my taste. Once it's all mixed and heated through you are done. Serve over rice. Top with a dollop of yogurt. Sprinkle parsely over the top. I added a little squirt of Sriratcha which is the hot sauce with the rooster on it. Shon and I both liked it. I would make it again. We served it with mixed veggies on the side.

Please forgive my terrible plate job. We both were starving and hadn't eaten all day.

No Chili Chili

Ingredients:

(will need large pot)

1 lb ground beef
1 cup onion, chopped (we used 1 whole onion)
1 large can diced tomatoes
2 cans pinto beans (we used dried beans)
Cayan pepper (shake it over the pot then taste test to see if you need to add more)
1 tsp salt
2 tbl sugar
2 tbl vinegar
2 tbl garlic

Extras ideas:
crackers to put in soup
ketchup
cheese
dipping bread
hot sauce


Cook beef, onion, and spices.
Add rinsed beans.
Add tomatoes with the juice.

Simmer uncovered about 20 minutes

Mash some beans, taste and adjust spices as needed.

Hamburger Pie with Corn Bread Topping.

Believe me, it tastes better than it looks.


Here is the book picture



Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients:

1 lb extra-lean ground beef
1 cup frozen diced onions (we used fresh whole onion)
1 cup frozen diced green bell peppers
1 cup tomato sauce (we substituted for prego pasta sauce)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. chunky-style salsa
1 14/12 oz pkg fat-free honey corn bread mix

Optional and very tasty,
1 cup corn kernels or 2 tablespoons chopped green chilies to corn bread mix.


Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat.
Add beef, onions, and bell pepper; cook, stirring frequently, until beef is browned and crumbled and vegetables are tender; drain well.
Return beef mixture to skillet; stir in tomato sauce, water, and salsa.
Spray baking dish with cooking spray; spoon beef mixture into baking dish.

Prepare corn bread according to package directions; let batter sit 5 minutes to thicken up.
Drop batter by tablespoons onto beef mixture and spread carefully to cover.

Bake 15-20 minutes until corn bread is lightly browned and cooked through.

Mexican Casserole

Ingredients:

Casserole dish (pictured is 13x9)
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 (10oz can) cream of mushroom soup
1 (10oz can) cream of chicken soup
1 (10oz can) hot enchilada sauce (we substituted with 1 16oz salsa and 1 16oz queso)
2 cups doritos, crushed (reserve some for top)
2 cups shredded cheddar or jack cheese

In large skillet cook meat, onion, garlic, salt and pepper until done. Drain meat; stir in soups and enchilada sauce. Put a layer of meat in casserole dish; top with crushed doritos and cheese; repeat layers ending with doritos and cheese. Bake about 20 minutes or until cheese has had time to melt.

Chicken Curry Casserole.

Ingredients:

Casserole dish (pictured is 13x9)
3-4 pieces of chicken breast
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 pkg of chopped broccoli
2 cups cooked rice
1 cup mayonnaise
1-1/2 tsp curry powder
1-1/2 tsp lemon juice
cheddar cheese (shredded)
bread crumbs (can substitute with corn flakes or anything similar)


Mix soups with mayonnaise, curry powder, and lemon juice.

Layer rice, broccoli, and chicken. Top with cream mixture. Sprinkle with grated cheese and bread crumbs.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.
Cheese should be golden brown.

What is this about?

Recently I have taken it upon myself to cook dinner for my family. My goal is to make dinner every night and to make and try new dinner ideas. I grew up in a home where we pretty much had the same meals all the time. Verity is good, and along with sharing the yummy looking pictures I am also going to spread the yummyness to you =)