Chicken Lazone

I found this recipe on Pinterest and made it for the whole family a few Sunday's ago.  It was quite a hit, and it only takes about 20 minutes to make--start to finish.

Ingredients:

1 tsp salt
3 tsp chili powder
3 tsp onion powder
4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper (I used red pepper flakes, but the original recipe calls for cayenne pepper.)
1/4 cup olive oil
4 large chicken breasts
1/4 cup butter
2 cups heavy cream
1 box linguini pasta

Directions:

1.  Put your pasta in a pot to cook.  While it is boiling, continue with the following steps.

2. Slice your chicken breasts into strips or halves.  Place them in a foil-lined baking dish and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Turn your oven on to broil.

3.  Broil chicken strips for 4 minutes.  Take the pan out of the oven and flip them over.  Put them back in the oven to broil for another 4-5 minutes, or until done.

4.  In a skillet, melt your butter and add the heavy cream.  Combine salt, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper in a small bowl.  Then whisk the seasoning mixture into the butter and heavy cream.  Allow the sauce to simmer for 3-5 minutes.  When the chicken is cooked through, add the chicken to the sauce and allow to simmer an additional 1-3 minutes.

5.  Serve chicken and sauce over noodles.  Adding parmesan cheese helps to cut the spiciness down a bit--it's got a bit of a kick!

*I only used half a box of pasta, but was too lazy to do the measurements to halve the sauce, so it looks really soupy.

Pasta Carbonara

I have been watching a new cooking show--America's Test Kitchen.  I feel a bit nerdy watching it, but I love it.  They had this recipe demonstrated a few weeks ago and I tried it last night.  It was delicious, and even Jake loved it :)  I also loved that it is fairly simple, inexpensive, and uses normal ingredients that I often have on hand.

Ingredients:

bacon (I used the whole box even though the original recipe calls for only 8 slices--can't go wrong with lots of bacon)
3 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup water

1/2 lb pasta (I used linguini)
4 cups water
1 tsp salt

2 eggs, 1 egg yolk (so 3 eggs total)
1.5 cups cheese (I used an italian blend...mozzarella, parmesan, etc--all white cheeses)
1 tsp pepper

Directions:

1.  Chop the bacon into 1/2 inch pieces.  Pour 1/2 cup water into a large skillet and add the chopped bacon.  Cook on medium/high heat until the bacon is lightly brown.  (You don't want it too crispy.)  Add the minced garlic, stir, and remove from heat.

2.  Boil pasta in only 1 quart (4 cups) water and add salt.  When tender, drain the excess water, but reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta cooking water.  This starchy water will be used in the pasta sauce.

3.  Use a sieve to remove excess grease from the bacon, but reserve 1 tbsp for the pasta sauce.  The sieve (rather than a strainer) preserves the minced garlic.

4.  In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk.  Add in the cheese, pepper, and bacon grease.  Slowly whisk in the starchy pasta cooking water.

5.  Pour sauce over the pasta noodles and stir for 2-3 minutes until the pasta is well-coated.  Allow it to rest for 3-5 minutes until the sauce has thickened.  The pasta must still be very hot to help cook the egg in the sauce, so if it has cooled, you may want to turn the stove back on for a couple of minutes to get it hot enough.

I sprinkled a touch of parsley on top for color.  Very tasty :)

Chicken Pot Pie

I started this post at the beginning of this month and then forgot to finish it and publish it! I remembered because, again, I'm making chicken pot pie tonight and needed to find the recipe - and not digging through my spiral notebook to find my scribbled recipe.

I'm making chicken pot pie tonight and I took pictures ages ago to post it, but life got busy. Every time I make chicken pot pie, I look for it in my cookbook binders. Not there. Then, I try to look it up here. Not here either. Drat! That means it still hasn't made it out of my spiral notebook of recipe attempts. (Some copied down from online, some altered beyond memory, and some creations based on multiple recipes. And every once in a while, a creation of my own. That one is rare.)

Anyways...on to the recipe. You don't have time for my babbling. I don't have time for my babbling. I've got 5 kids who are supposed to be cleaning assigned rooms right now and no one is cleaning this one...so I'm going to guess the rest are being ignored too.

Warning: This recipe is not a throw it together kind if you want it from scratch, but I have some "cheater" options included, so don't skip it.

Chicken Pot Pie
This is FAMILY size (meaning it serves 7-8 of us) If you only have 4 eating, you'll want to cut this in half.

The abbreviated list:

• 1 1/2 lbs cooked chicken (with onion, salt, and pepper)
• 2 crusts - Pie dough
• 6 T Butter
• 6 T cornstarch 
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 3 cups water
• 1 lb frozen bag peas/carrots mix
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups milk

The list with commentary:

• Chicken  (I use 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast - I cook the entire 3 lb bag in the crockpot with salt, pepper, and onion. Then, I shred it all. Use half for this and set half aside for another casserole or two) - you can also use more or less - or leftover cooked chicken you froze and haven't used yet and it's collecting frostbite and needs to go NOW - or canned chicken - I'd go with 2 cans.
• Pie Dough - I have a recipe - there are a million more online - but half the time, I just buy the refrigerated package kind
• 6 T Butter
• 6 T cornstarch  (tonight it was flour b/c the cornstarch is empty)
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes (Instead of cubes + water, you can use chicken bouillon or broth instead - 2 average cans)
• 3 cups water
• 1 lb bag peas/carrots mix (you can use canned too, but they'll be more mushy than frozen)
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups milk (I use skim a lot b/c it's what I drink, but I prefer 2% or fatter for cooking)

Directions:
If you are starting with raw chicken, cook it in the oven, in the crock pot, or boil it stovetop until it's not pink. It's best to throw in onion to keep it from drying out too much. The crock pot on high (for the entire 3 lb bag frozen) took about 4-5 hours today. It could have gone longer before drying out, but no shorter.

Shred the chicken (I like to use the kitchenaid method b/c I want it done fast, but it is a little inconsistent - I get shreds and chunks mixed) - you can't beat 30-45 seconds though!

Melt the butter on low heat.

Whisk in cornstarch, salt, and pepper.

Add chicken bouillon cubes and water.

Whisk and stir over medium heat until thickened.   (See how the whisk leaves tracks? it's thickened)

[Tonight I didn't feel very homemade-ish, so I did this step in the microwave - just keep putting it in for 2-3 minutes at a time until it thickens. At the end, drop it to 1 minute increments and whisk after each time.]


Usually, I'll poke some holes in the bag of veggies and toss it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes just to give it a headstart on thawing/cooking. I like mine soft. But this isn't necessary and you could skip it.
[Another idea is to cook completely soft and puree and mix in with the rest - then your kids won't know they're there.]

Mix your chicken, white sauce (you just made), another cup (or so) of milk, and peas/carrots.

Pour into large casserole dish. It will completely FILL at 9x13, so I use my slightly bigger 12x15 (now that I have one) :) - or my pampered chef 9x13 because it's deeper.

If you halved this recipe, a 9x13 will be perfect. Another option, is to put it in smaller dishes for single serve size pot pies. That's what we did the night I took these pictures. And we made homemade pie crust. (I was really Homemaker-ish that night!)

Cover it with pie crusts.

 Note - these were NOT big enough to satisfy our appetites. :) But they were really cute. A corel bowl (white plain bowls from walmart) worked well too and was better for serving size.

(Oh, you can put pie crusts under it too, but my family is divided on their love of/hate for pie crust, so 1 on top only is a good compromise. And it makes me feel less guilty...I could eat half the pie crust....mmmm...but then my calories would be through the roof!) :)

Brush the pie crust with milk (or egg) to help it brown a little (or egg white to keep it light but shiny). Bake.
400 F takes about 40-50 minutes plus cool time.

This is a "Three Bears Meal" - you're going to want to bake it and take a walk or something! It retains its heat forever! If you bake it in the same dish you plan to serve & eat it out of, you'll need to let it cool even longer since the container will keep it warm as you eat - and you don't want to burn your hands on the bowl.

[Tonight I'm upping it to 450 to see if I can get it done in half an hour!]

Actually, I forgot about them and nearly burned it. Nevertheless, the kids ate almost ALL of it while my husband and I were meeting with someone in our home, and after 3 bites each (all that was left!) we got take out after the kids were in bed. sheesh.

Ravioli

As a child, I ate more than my fair share of canned ravioli.  I loved the stuff.  However, after attempting to consume a can of it a couple of months ago, I realized that either my taste has matured or they've changed their recipe.  Jake claims that he used to eat the stuff in college, and it was edible, so maybe they really did change the way they make it.  Anyways, when I found this recipe on Pinterest, I was excited to try it.

Thomas was not a fan (the only pasta we've been able to convince him to eat is the boxed mac n'cheese, so I didn't take it too personally).  However, Jake loved it and went back for seconds and thirds.  It was super easy to make--like ridiculously easy--like 10 minutes prep-time, and I was going slowly and taking pictures.

Ingredients:

1 bag of frozen ravioli
1 can marinara sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a casserole dish to prevent sticking.  Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce over the bottom of the casserole dish.

2.  In a single layer, place ravioli along the bottom of the dish.  Cover the noodles with half of your remaining sauce and half of your mozzarella cheese.

3.  Repeat step 2 with a second layer of ravioli.  Finish off the dish with the remaining sauce and cheese.

4.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Super easy and absolutely delicious with a generous amount of parmesan cheese sprinkled (heaped) on top.  I think I may even attempt to grate in some carrots or zucchini next time I make this dish...we'll see if I can hide the veggies from my picky-eater hubby :)

*I halved the amount of noodles used, because there were only 2 of us eating it.  I used the entire can of marinara sauce, because really, what are you going to do with a half a can of leftover marinara sauce?  And I probably used the entire 2 cups of cheese because I really love cheese.  Overall, I would say that half the recipe would comfortably serve 3-4 and the entire recipe would serve 6-8.

Single Serve Macaroni and Cheese (in the microwave)

 I wanted something for when my 1 child left at home wanted macaroni and cheese without the other 2/3 of the box would being stiff and cold by the time other box-mac-and-cheese eaters got home from school....but those single serve microwave cups are a little pricey. 

 I'm not saying I would never buy them, but they're not something I buy typically or would have on hand at request. (It's bad enough I'm buying those expensive little squeezy applesauce things she likes for when we need a snack on the go.)

Full recipe below...my ramblings first...

Anyways, use 6 T macaroni noodles. For water, I have tried different amounts, and I think somewhere between 3/4 c and 1 cup is just right. It's a little stiff with only 3/4 cup (definitely don't go less!), at 1 cup it's a little "soupy" which most of my kids like, but more than 1 cup and you need to drain it. (I was trying to avoid the need for draining water at the end.)

Do not try to add milk (or even the orange puree) to the microwave part - it's just a mess. Let me be the guinea pig and save you the trouble of experimenting with that.

It needs a big bowl because the water actually (bubbles) boils in the microwave and will spill over a normal eating bowl.

 My microwave took 10-11 minutes. (Yeah, it's probably faster boiling stovetop, but this is less mess for 1 kid.)

When it comes out, stir (or poke at it) with a spoon to break up any clumps.

You can add the milk first and give a little stir before adding in the rest.

I don't actually measure the butter.

 Or the orange puree (this is a mixture of carrots and sweet potato cooked and pureed (with a little water) and then stored in the freezer to add to things like this. You can use 1-2 tsp without noticing the flavor. Up to the 3 tsp (=1 Tbsp) is the most I would add in (I liked it, but could taste the veggie flavor), unless you actually want to have that flavor in your macaroni....which I doubt your kids do!

 Anyways, mix it all up - it'll look like it's clumping, but just keep stirring another minute. It'll be fine. 

Done.

Recipe:

Single Serve Macaroni and Cheese

6 T (dry) macaroni noodles

3/4 - 1 cup water

           {Mix these in a medium microwave safe bowl and microwave for 10-12 minutes}

3 Tbsp milk (or more if you feel it's too dry still

1-2 (or up to 3 if your kids are flavor-oblivious!) tsp orange puree*

2 tsp butter (I used tub butter, but any kind is fine)

1 Tbsp cheese blend powder (food storage kind)

salt/pepper - just a sprinkle

           {Add all of these things - all at once or wet first then cheese powder- and stir until it's smooth}

*The orange puree isn't necessary, but I think it actually helps it all smooth out a little and adds some healthy in. (I got the idea from The Sneaky Chef cookbook I got for my birthday. I've tried a few recipes and some have been great, others fine, and one I won't make again, but overall, I like the ideas to stick in my regular recipes.)

If you happen to be counting calories this is 260 calories (that doesn't include the veggie puree b/c when I could calories, I don't count vegetables. Otherwise, I wouldn't eat them, which is kind of contrary to the point of being healthier, you know?) :)

new recipe coming soon.. taste testing in progress

No, I haven't quit... I haven't been overwhelmed by life... I have just gotten better at my priorities. Sadly for you, the readers of the blog did not make my priority list lately.
I have however found new ways to get healthier food into my family and me (yes, I'm almost as picky as they are), I have been working on eating better and less (with a little success in my health & physical fitness goals), and my menu board is so easy to add new meals to (once I make time to blog it, I'll share that project with you!), that we have also tried many new things.

One of my new cookbooks is The Sneaky Chef. I have had meals they loved (chicken tenders) and meals no one liked (meatloaf), but my favorite thing is just get idea - pureeing vegetables and hiding just a little in normal foods.

So the recipe coming up soon (my little minions have been taste testing this afternoon to help me get it just right) is a kids favorite with hidden vegetable ... and sized down so it can be done single serve in the microwave. Single serve Mac and cheese!  (Yes, the national brand has one you can buy, but it's expensive.) Mine uses cheese blend powder I bought online from sam's club in a #10 can. A little food storage thrown in too for you!

So one more trial run this week and I'll post it for you!
(I'll also post the full size recipe for when you have more than 1 kid to feed.)

Cheesy Broccoli Rice (Casserole)

I'm not sure why I'm even bothering to put this one up since the only people that look at the blog are all women married to my broccoli-hating men family.

It's a good recipe for leftover rice.