Oven Chicken and Veggies

I'm on a roll just making stuff up so I tried again.... and it worked... AGAIN!

I usually make casseroles when I bake dinner which means I brown the beef...and then cook a casserole. Or I boil some chicken...and then cook a casserole. They are really good dinners but I'm feeling gipped. I want to put everything in the oven and be done. This took 10 minutes prep, 45 in the oven.

I added Risotto on the side for dinner (my first attempt - totally out of a box) that took 20 minutes of babysitting - so omit that and go for this Oven Chicken and Veggies and a piece of bread.

Bake 45 minutes or so at 350*

Raw chicken breast to feed the family and season with:

- squeeze lemon from the plastic fruit (4 tbsp-ish)

- cumin

- salt and pepper

- dry stuffing mix

Cut in medium to large cubes (pick your favorite 4)

Tomatoes (my garden gave me another harvest)

Sweet potatoes

Carrots

Apples

Squash

Kale

season/toss with:

- salt and pepper

- cumin

- cinnamon

- grape seed oil (enough to get everyone wet)

I figured chicken and veggies could live together in the a pan so the oil and chicken-dripping juices are shared but don't put the chicken on the veggies or they get too done and squishy. Cover with foil.

Half way thru cooking I sprinkled the chicken with two crushed handfuls of dry Stove Top Stuffing. Flip the chicken and sprinkle again with two more handfuls. Put it back in the oven to finish cooking with foil on top. I give the final 5 minutes without foil in the oven.

Pretty easy don't you think?! The apples turned into a little mini dessert in the dinner! That was fun!

And...is that what Stove Top is for?? Well I guess it's for stuffing (duh) but I use the recipe on the back of the box for a good chicken casserole. It has had that job alone for three years in my home. Maybe they figured you'd sprinkle it on chicken? I'm not really sure.

♥

Strawberry Asparagus Smoothie

Tim hates asparagus so we don't eat it much but I wanted to take it on in a smoothie. I google-looked for recipes of asparagus smoothies and they don't seem very popular. If you want to be daring try mine!

6 asparagus sticks

7 whole frozen strawberries

(I like to defrost, I feel like they have a little more flavor that way)

1 & 1/2 cups of plain greek yogurt

1 big squeeze of the honey bear

1 tsp vanilla

(or just get a sweeter vanilla yogurt)

5 ice cubes

(I always do this so it's nice and cold)

3/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup water

C baby and Tim(!) approved it. It has a good balance of flavors and a great consistency, just like a healthy milkshake.

Also try my original green smoothie recipes.

♥

Linguine and Shrimp

Somehow my business gets Parenting Magazine for free now. I didn't know it before but now I really like it! So here's a plug for them. Last week I made a dish based on this recipe by "The Cake Boss".

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

In a baking dish toss 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes

1 tsp chopped garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and peper to taste

Roast for 10 minutes

Sprinkle with bread crumbs

Roast another 5 minutes

Boil Linguine

Sautee

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp chopped garlic

add 1 lb peeled/devained shrimp

3 to 4 minutes until cooked

add 1/2 cup chicken broth

Combine pasta, roasted tomatoes, and 2 cups of baby spinach

Toss well and serve.

Here's how I killed/modified the recipe:

I didn't have Linguine so I used spaghetti

I don't use olive oil - I use grape seed

(I'll post more on that next)

I only had a few cherry tomatoes in the garden

so I cut a few medium tomatoes in 4's.

I also didn't have spinach but I always have kale!

I sauteed it soft and threw it in. You couldn't tell the difference!

And one last tweak.

I felt like this would be better if after it was mixed up

I threw it in a cast iron skillet and put mozzarella cheese on top.

I slid it in the over for 15 minutes.

ahhh. That's the stuff!

Try it this way or my way (if you aren't on a diet).

♥

My Chicken Strips

I'm sure there's a recipe out there for these but this is my version after a few years of making not as great chicken strips in a pan of oil or stuck to a baking sheet. I must thank Rachel Ray for teaching me about Panko crumbs and baking on a pan rack. She has a real nice baking rack-thing.... I don't know where to find it but it will be on my christmas list if she sells it. I made one from two $2.00 cooling racks I got at the grocery store.

They overlap and have larger slat sizes but work very well to get the chicken up off the pan and the hot air all around to crisp!

I used boneless, skinless thighs tonight

(they were on sale and we're broke...again)

Dip in Egg and Milk

Pat down in a bowl of

Panko Crumbs

Mashed up Croutons

Lawry's Seasoning Salt

Garlic Powder

and my new Parsley Flakes for fun

These will help make a giant caesar salad fabulous! The breading is a little work but they are really great chicken strips or nuggets.

I asked Tim if I should line the baking sheet with foil (he does the dishes). He promptly replied I should line EVERYTHING with foil....

Enjoy! ♥

Veggie Spaghetti

Having this blog is pushing me past sharing what I do in the kitchen to trying new things! A friend let me borrow Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook - you know sneaking vegetable purees in your kids food and.... surprise, surprise.... I didn't follow the recipe. Problem number 1: I don't have a food processor. GASP! I know. I'm admitting another thing. I have a food blog and I don't own a food processor. I do own the mini chopper from Tupperware so hopefully that helps your view of me.

So anyway, to get around this problem, I'm going to use my blender again! Here's what I did:

half a head of cauliflower

half a blender of Prego sauce

half a red pepper

But I gotta be honest, the pepper flavor wasn't my favorite. The Cauliflower on the other hand was completely hidden. And G boy (age 5) ate 2 bowls. He NEVER eats two bowls of anything! I'm probably most proud of my picture with the parsley flakes on top. I picked up four spice bottles, including the parsley, at Wal-Mart for $.50 each!

And I learned a new tip from my mom after talking about this recipe. Did you know you can freeze green and red peppers? She says you can! So I used half and sent the other cleaned half to the freezer. I'm not going to tell you to freeze everything (like my mom would) because I have about two shoe boxes of room in my tiny fridge/freezer but I do have the money and the freezer space for half a pepper.

♥

Red Beet Smoothies

Hey green smoothie people, have you ever gone red? Try a beet smoothie!

I've done it before, but this time I learned (from The Chew maybe) that you can use the beet leaves too. I didn't know! It all looks so gross I thought I was doing well just eating the beet! I bought these three for $1.50 a bunch.

Wash,

cut the top and bottom off the beet,

peel,

and quarter.

Toss in the raw cut beet and the greens.

I also added:

a cup of yogurt

5 ice cubes

1 table spoon of honey

4 table spoons of lime juice

1 apple cut in fours

(leave the seeds)

4 baby carrots

1+ cups of apple juice

This recipe doesn't hide the beet flavor so you need to like beets at least a little. When I asked G boy if he liked the green or the red better he couldn't tell me as he was gulping it down.

WARNING: Don't serve when the family is all wearing white! My blender makes extra froth on this one where a Vita-Mix would emulsify it better.

I found this website with some great healthy recipes, including a beet plum smoothie. The plum should help with the beet flavor if you need to mask it. I say if the kids can handle it the parents should too...

This website is great to find some nutritional info on your veggies.

Good luck!

♥

Roasted Carrots Save the Day

When I'm a "bad mom" and cook up chicken nuggets and tater tots for lunch I add baby carrots to the pan with a touch of grape seed oil and salt. These cook in the same amount of time as the frozen beige foods and helps this evil meal not be so evil. My kids don't really like hard carrots but will eat them soft-roasted all day. I just started being a roasted veggie fan last year after my friend Christina had her kids loving these carrots. Hope it helps you too!

♥

Cake Boss Shortcake

I love to sit down and watch Rachel Ray after I pick up G Boy from school. But do you think with a 1 year old and a 5 year old I get to watch the whole show? Not on your life. Another reason I don't follow recipes. But last week I caught the end of Cake Boss on Rachel making a fabulous shortcake cake. I was already 6 days late to make Tim's birthday cake so I figured this was a sign! Here's how I didn't follow the recipe:

Lemon cake mix made into 6 cup cakes and 1 circle layer cake

2 packs of raspberries sugared (raspberries were on sale, strawberries were not)

most of a large heavy whipping cream carton

maybe 1/4 cup of powdered sugar added to the cream

whip in a cold metal bowl

put in a ziplock and cut the tip for a pastry bag

I'm not a fabulous baker so when I make a cake for a birthday I have to borrow a circle pan (I only own one) and then I try to cut the tops off and stack them nicely but it turns into a giant cake (usually tilted) and I can't finish eating it without feeling guilty I ate it or guilty I didn't eat it. So this time I went with the single pan! I cut that one cake in half. I flipped the top upside down on a plate (the top bubble fit right into the plate's curve) added my own whipped cream and lots of berries and repeat. Oh yeah. That makes a cake people!

And maybe you know you're supposed to cut parchment paper in a circle to line the bottom of your cake pan, but I didn't have parchment (I really need to get some this is like the 5th time this has happened) so I used foil. It worked.

I know it's not so much summertime anymore but if you find some berries MAKE THIS.

♥

Teeny Tostadas & Left-over Burritos

My mom bought tostada pans a while back. I love a good tostada-opposite-salad (you know, mainly beans and meat with lettuce as the accessory). But guess what, I don't have the money or the space for more pans! So I started making mini flour tostadas in my muffin tin. Yes. I'm totally white. This is totally white Mexian food. It may sound crazy but putting the typical family burrito in a crispy little shell makes it taste richer! Try it!

Tonight's burrito filling wasn't great as I still need to go shopping and money is tight. A can of chicken breast (I scored this free from my mom), black beans, corn, and fajita seasoning. I'd rather use refried beans and beef or black beans and chicken not from a can plus burrito or taco seasoning. You know what your family likes; do that.

I'm sure somebody made these up before me, it's not rocket science, but this is what I figured out in my kitchen:

I cut my shell (large or small) in half with an "s" shape. Then I wrap it like a cone and fold the bottom over. It doesn't need to be perfect, just fold it up and mush it into the tin gently.

Then you want to spray it or brush it with some oil and bake it for a few minutes until the edges are brown and the shell keeps a crisp, nice form.

Fill them up and top them with veggies, cheese, and sour cream. Serve 2 large or 4 small tostadas per adult.

WARNING: Although these look beautiful, this is not a date food. It's a bit messy. Do not overfill.

_________________ wanna make another? ______________

When I make mexican these days I always make double filling because I can get a quick free dinner out of it in 5 minutes. I have two jobs and two kids, I'm not cooking every night!

My Aunt Renee taught me all about the baked burrito. Fill a shell and wrap - both sides in first, flap one side in, and roll over onto itself so the flap is sealed by the weight of the burrito. I line up three in a glass pan and throw red sauce and cheese on top. Now this goes in the freezer and comes out a few days later. Defrost and bake for a new Mexican arrangement! Add sour cream and fresh veggies after it comes out of the oven.

Have fun with this white-Mexican, non-recipe - and don't forget a sprinkle of lime juice!

♥

The Green Smoothie

You are going to see my eating habits here and they are not similar to Bob Harper's.

I eat cheese on everything, dip my veggies in ranch, and LOVE my burgers and chicken fingers! But I also play volleyball avidly, run 3 times a week with my gal pal, and feel emotionally and physically more fit than ever before in my life. I just hiked/ran Mt. Rose summit yesterday in 3 hours 40 minutes ( I know because we had to pick up G Boy from school by 3! ). The three things I do for my health and the health of my kids:

(1) little to no soda

(2) cooking 90% of our meals at home

and

(3) green smoothies!

I've been asked by a few of my friends how I make my green smoothies - mainly because my kids adore them and we all know how big of an asset that is! Guess what - I don't have a recipe! But for you I'm going to try my best. And the good news is you get to play with it until your family loves it as much as mine. You can be a hardcore raw-foodie in this or go my way and just make veggies taste good for the family.

The general concept is to keep some fruits and veggies in the house (frozen and fresh) and mix and match till your heart's content. You can also add protein power. I have a vanilla powder from Arbonne I like.

My favorites ingredients are kale, apples, carrots, tomatoes, & apple juice; I try to keep these around as much as possible and others like strawberries, spinach, yogurt, and peaches, I use on occasion.

I know some people need more direction that that, totally understandable! So here's two recipes you can feel free to follow or hack:

Today's smoothie with what I had on hand (I'll call it Super Green):

a cup of spinach

(I usually don't use spinach but stole some from dinner at my mom's last night)

3/4 my blender of (un-squished) kale leaves

4 large baby carrots

1 small tomato

1 cup of vanilla yogurt

5 ice cubes

1 cup of apple juice

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As you can see I didn't have any fruit on hand as it's time to go to the store soon and the apple tree in the backyard is past harvest for humans and on to the bird harvest. BUT the apple juice and yogurt will punch it up enough to get those veggies down - and you probably would have fed those items to your kid today anyway.

My more normal smoothie (I'll call it The Awesome Abby):

1 whole apple cut into 4's

4 baby carrots

5 frozen strawberries

3/4 a blender of fluffy kale leaves

5 ice cubes

1 cup of apple juice

1 big scoop of vanilla yogurt

And that's it! Well one more thing - if your blender sucks, your smoothie may too. Serious raw-foodies use a Vita-Mix. If you can afford it, go for it! My husband wasn't going to lay down $500 for a pregnant wife (at the time) who had a juice craving so we ended up buying a Breville from Bed Bath and Beyond. We even were blessed to pick up the floor model for 60% off! I suggest you start with what you have and after the kids drink 30 cups of kale your husband may just start to see the investment!

I'll try to get more green smoothie recipes to you approved by my kids G Boy and C Baby soon. I hoped this helped!

♥

Special Note on KALE: This green seems to last the longest in the fridge. I use a "FridgeSmart" system from Tupperware but my mom just washes and puts into a ziplock bag (wet-ish) accompanied by 3 paper towel sheets. It lasts at least two weeks, maybe three. And there's always a first time, if you don't know what kale looks like go here.

Spanish Style Ham and Eggs

I'm admitting it.... I can't do it.... I can't follow a recipe.

I can't help but think I can do it without going to the store. And plus, I usually add more cheese.

Enter my new blog: The Recipe Killer. Here you'll see my floundering knock offs of Rachel Ray, magazines, and more - creations by a mom that has little money, little time, and most of the time makes two dinners a night (because moms that don't eat all day and stay up until midnight need second dinner) (and so do dads who are in grave danger of weighing less then their wives).

Creation of the day: Spanish Style Ham and Eggs by Rachel Ray

(2nd dinner)

Rachel's Ingredients

• 2 starchy potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup chicken stock
• Salt and pepper
• A sprinkle of paprika
• 1 cup shredded young Manchego cheese
• A small handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 4 hand-cut pieces of country/peasant bread
• 1 tablespoon EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus some for drizzling
• 4 organic eggs
• 2 grapefruit or oranges, halved and sectioned
• A drizzle of honey
• A pinch of cinnamon
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 overly ripe tomato, cut in half
• 4 slices Serrano ham

My Ingredients

the rest of the potato flakes

• milk, butter, and salt to taste
• two pieces of sandwich sourdough bread
• two eggs
• onion flakes
• garlic powder
• shredded sharp cheddar for potatoes
• (no ham, because lunch meat was just not going to cut it!)
• 
  
• It took me 10 minutes because our toaster oven just blew its top burner today and I didn't put in the bread until last (I'm so not a line cook).

We've been in such a rut lately in the the kitchen (especially with our new tiny budget). What's for dinner?....burritos or pasta....pasta or burritos? I would have never thought of making something like this, and my knock off wasn't bad! Tim didn't leave a crumb and gave it an 8. I'll take it!

(sorry it's half eaten - I didn't know it was blog-worthy when I started)

♥