Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - Vegetable Stir Fry

2 TB olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 small onion
1 red bell pepper
1 bunch broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups frozen whole kernel corn, defrosted
1 TB ground ginger

Saute the onion, bell pepper and broccoli in the olive oil and soy sauce until tender. Add the corn and continue to cook for about 3-5 minutes more. Sprinkle the mixture with ground ginger and stir.

Serve over brown rice.
*Other variations of this recipe add 2 zucchini, sliced and 1 small can of sliced water chestnuts.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Tonight dinner is on my own. The hubby and my oldest son went to a sports bar/restaurant to watch the BCS Championships and my youngest son requested a snack of pop tarts when he got home from school. He then requested a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a glass of milk later in the evening.

Dinner for me was simple but very tasty (and healthy). I grabbed a bag of frozen vegetable stew mix and put it in a pot with vegetable broth. I let it simmer for 35 minutes and ate it just like that. I have to tell you it was better than I thought. I even have some leftovers to go with a salad for lunch tomorrow. Yummy!!!!!

Sorry to be so boring the last few days but the boys' illnesses have really worn me out. Not to mention the fact that I think I may have caught some bug myself. :-(

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Today's dinner was a Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin and pasta. We bought a pre-seasoned pork tenderloin and rinsed it first (our last experience with one resulted in A LOT of teriyaki). We then placed it in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes (if I remember correctly--it is literally based on the weight of the tenderloin).

I adjusted the Herbed Butter Penne recipe from three days ago to accommodate rotini pasta and spinach (rather than penne and broccoli). It was still just as good. :-)

January 8, 2011 - Fish, Sweet Potato Fries, mini-cheesecakes

Tonight the hubby cooked. I was updating my blog and catching up on the news of the Arizona shooting (please pray for the victims, their families, the suspect, the city, state and nation) when I noticed my husband moving pots and pans around in the kitchen. He told me he was cooking dinner so I continued to surf the web.

He made a delicious baked fish entree with a side of sweet potato fries and topped everything off with miniature cheesecakes. I told him to remember what he did so I could type up the recipes. I will post them as I get them but do know that everything was great!

Have a great night!

UPDATE: The mini-cheesecakes were amazing!!!!!!!!!

Soup, soup, soup 1/7/11

Tonight both of my boys came home under the weather. I think the oldest is suffering from a stomach virus, while the younger seems to have a simple head cold. Regardless of the sickness, it seemed like a perfect time for good ol' chicken noodle soup.

I really wanted to make the soup from scratch but didn't want to wait for the chicken to cook first (both boys were exhausted and wanted to go bed, so the food had to be ready quickly). I had one can of Campbell's Homestyle Chicken Noodle soup. That, clearly, would not be enough for everyone.

I placed this can of soup in a pot and added a can of water. My husband and I then decided to add 2.5 cups of chicken broth (I hope that measurement is accurate; we really eyed it rather than measured.) and the noodles from 2 packs of ramen noodles. We served this with a side of crackers. It was quite comforting and the boys were warm and full when they went to bed shortly afterward.

Herbed Butter Penne, 1/6/11

I found a very simple recipe from Epicurious.com but it called for angel hair pasta, which I didn't have in the pantry (crazy, I know!). I decided to use penne instead. I will notate this in the ingredients list by inserting brackets.

Angel Hair Pasta with Broccoli and Herb Butter
courtesy of Epicurious.com

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted European-style butter*, room temperature	2 TB chopped fresh basil
2 TB chopped fresh Italian parsley	1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp olive oil	8 oz angel hair pasta [8 oz penne rigate pasta]
2 cups small broccoli florets	Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Mix first 4 ingredients in small bowl.

Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Add pasta and cook until almost tender, about 3 minutes. Add broccoli and boil until pasta is tender but still firm to bite and broccoli is crisp-tender, about 1 minute longer. Drain pasta and broccoli; transfer to large serving bowl. Add herb butter and toss well to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve, passing Parmesan cheese separately if desired.

*My butter did not say European-style on it and we thought the dish was perfect as it was. I also cooked the pasta for an additional 8 minutes after adding the broccoli. I didn't feel as though 4 minutes of cooking time was adequate for this type of pasta.

Sandwich kind of night, 1/5/11

Tonight I was exhausted. Instead of cooking we decided to have sandwiches. Nothing exciting to report here.....

I expect that there will be quite a few posts like this throughout the year. :-)

Chicken Oriental over brown rice, 1/4/11

Today was the first full day back in the office with most of the office working as well. Many people took the entire 10 days of the holiday as a break so there were quite a few meetings today and issues to handle. Needless to say, I was worn out when I got home. Thank God for a great husband! He made dinner tonight. :-)

He made a pot of brown rice by using chicken stock instead of water. It does make a difference.

He then defrosted and chunked some frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast and made a dish called Chicken Oriental. :-)

Chicken Oriental
(care of McCormick Bag n' Season; elements we added are in brackets)

1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts, cubed	1 cup green bell pepper pieces
1/3 cup water	[1 cup red bell pepper pieces]
1 cup onion, pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange opened Cooking Bag in 13x9-inch baking pan. Place chicken and seasoning blend in bag. Gently turn chicken in bag until evenly coated.
2. Add onion, green bell pepper, red bell pepper and water. Close bag loosely with nylon tie. Cut 4 small holes in top of bag to allow steam to escape.
3. Bake in lower half of oven 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut open bag. Stir well. Serve with cooked rice and additional soy sauce if desired.
This recipe will make 6 (1 cup) servings.

We loved it! This will definitely be added to the rotation of family meals. :-)

Last day off of work until January 17 (1/3/11)

Today was my last day of vacation until January 17. Our offices were closed today so I aspired to clean the house, do laundry, pick out recipes for the week and print coupons.

What did I end up doing? I watched The Next Iron Chef all day. I didn't realize how late in the day it was until my 12 year old walked in the door from school. Oops, a whole day lost!

While I did lose valuable time for errands, I did gain more inspiration to make up some of my own recipes in the kitchen. This is a new concept for me, the girl who still follows the instructions on the box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. :-)

Tonight's dinner: Fisherman's Quick Fish and String Beans in Cream of Mushroom soup with almonds and parmesan cheese topping.

Fisherman's Quick Fish
(courtesy of Allrecipes.com)

4 (6 oz) cod fillets	1 cup creamy-style Italian dressing
1/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese	1 cup crushed potato chips

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Coat a 9x13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, marinate the fish fillets in the salad dressing for a few minutes.
3. Toss the shredded cheese and crushed chips together. Place the marinated fish fillets in the prepared baking dish and top with the cheese/chip mixture. Discard the leftover marinade.
4. Bake, uncovered in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until the fish can be flaked with a fork.

Green Beans
(recipe created by me)

16 oz frozen green beans, defrosted	1 10.5 oz can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups slivered almonds	1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1. Mix the almonds and parmesan cheese together in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Spray a square casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Pour the defrosted green beans into the dish.
4. Pour the soup into the green beans and stir to coat all of the beans. Spread the beans until the top is flat.
5. Place the beans into the same 500 degree oven with the fish.
6. Cook the beans until the cream of mushroom begins to bubble.
7. Remove the dish and sprinkle the almond mixture over the beans.
8. Return the dish to the oven and cook until the almonds are toasted and the parmesan cheese is melted.

Sunday, January 2, 2010

Seeing as how we had so much food leftover from the New Year's feast, we ate leftovers tonight. I opted not to have neckbones, but rather a veggie and rice plate. I must say the black-eyed peas were even better today. I might have them for lunch tomorrow as well.

Time to start looking at recipes for this week. Money is light so I will attempt to find recipes that use items we already have.

Bon appetit!

New Year's Dinner, January 1, 2011

Today is the first day of the year. More ironically, it is 1/1/11.

There are a few New Year's traditions out there. One of them is to eat pork, greens and black-eyed peas. It is said that the pork brings good luck, the black-eyed peas represent coins and the greens represent money for the new year. Another tradition is to ensure that a man is the first person to walk through the doors of your house. We aren't, by any means, superstitious but we still participate in these traditions.

Unfortunately, I didn't prepare very well for our meal. I should have bought a ham and some collards but I didn't, so we will improvise. I am making pork neckbones, spinach and black-eyed peas. I will add rice and dinner rolls to make the meal complete.

Slow-Cooker Neckbones
(care of Allrecipes.com)

3 lb neckbones	1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced (or to taste)	1 tsp salt, optional
1 tsp dried thyme leaves	1 TB distilled white vinegar
3 cups water

Place the neck bones into a slow cooker. Sprinkle in the onion, garlic, salt, and thyme leaves. Pour in the vinegar and water. Cover and cook on High until the meat is tender, about 4 hours.

Black-eyed Peas
(care of Mama Dip's Kitchen, with my alterations in brackets)

1 lb dried black-eyed peas	1 TB finely chopped onion
4 oz salt pork	1 tsp salt
2 quarts water	1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

Soak the black-eyed peas in warm water for at least 2 hours [I let mine sit overnight]. While the peas are soaking, put the salt pork into a pot with the water and let come to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 45 minutes. Add the peas, onion, salt, and, if you like, crushed red pepper. [Cover] and let cook for about 45 minutes, adding water if needed, until the peas are to your liking in tenderness. This will serve 6 to 8 people.

For the spinach I took three cloves of garlic and minced it. I put two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat and cooked the garlic in it. I sauteed it until it was light brown. I then added frozen spinach, two teaspoons of sugar, a dash of salt and a dash of pepper in the pan. Simply cook the spinach until it is wilted and hot. You can grate some parmesan on top if you choose to do so.

Oh, and my husband was the first to enter the house after the new year. :-)