Dinner Time-Part 2

I have not decided to shift my focus to cooking. This is probably my last cooking post for awhile. I just wanted to finish with more of my staple menu items. I couldn't have a part 1 without a part 2. I will probably have a part 3 one day. Who knows? Keep reading, I will finish this post with my whole chicken update.

I enjoyed sharing some of our staple menu items. Here is the continued list:


Roast
(our newest staple)

What to do: Heat the roast for a few minutes on all 4 sides with olive oil and put it in the crock pot. Add one can of beef broth and half an envelope of onion soup mix. I also put rosemary twigs in with it and cook on low for 4 or so hours. Throw in some potatoes and carrots while cooking.

The next night, I chuck up the leftovers and mix with barbecue seasoning or sauce. Serve with fresh corn. Yum.


Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

diced cooked chicken
mixed veggies
cream of chicken soup
cream of mushroom
sour cream
dashes of marjoram, parsley, creole seasoning, oregano, and garlic salt
2 pie crusts

What to do:

Place on of the pie crusts in bottom of pan. Mix ingredients. Dump on crust. Top with other crust. Slit middle of pie. Bake for 30-40 minutes.


Taco Soup

Who doesn't know this one by now? Lots of ways to cook this. Here is ours.

Ingredients:

1 1b cooked ground beef or diced chicken
black beans
light and dark kidney beans
hominy
1 packet ranch seasoning
1 packet taco seasoning
2 cans rotel tomatoes and green chilies
1 to 2 cans water.

Directions:

So easy! Dump and simmer. Usually a winter dish, but we eat it year around. Top it with shredded cheese and sour cream. Serve with tortilla chips.


Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:

2 chicken breast
whole wheat thin spaghetti noodles
spaghetti sauce
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg mixed with water
Mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Dredge chicken in egg mixture. Them mix with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Bake. Add cheese at the end.

Serve over noodles with sauce.


Lemon Garlic Fish

Ingredients:

A couple of your fave fish fillets
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1-2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp parley
Parmesan cheese
creole seasoning

Directions:

Saute the garlic, lemon juice, and parsley in the butter. Sprinkle fillets with creole and salt and pepper. Pace in dish. Pour mixture on top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake.

Well, those are a bunch of our staple meals. By staple, I mean I cook them lots. The rest of our menu choices are those rarely cooked meals-usually because they are expensive. Of course, every week or so I like to try something new. After a new meal, the Hubs and I decide if it should go in our little white menu book. This means we will eat it again. It doesn't mean it is a staple. If it is cooked ten times or so, it might be considered a staple.

Please feel free to share with me your staples!

So, I cooked the chicken. It was so much easier than I thought. I know people do this all the time, but this is one of those things that seemed so hard to me.

I cleaned the chicken by removing the insides. Very easy. I rinsed the inside and outside with water. I then placed it into my Pam sprayed slow cooker.



I then sprinkled the chicken with paprika and garlic salt. I added a little water and some fresh parsley.



It cooked on low for 5 hours or so. We ate it with red potatoes and squash. It was yum. I diced up the remainder of chicken. I used some of it in a pot pie that we ate the next night. Even after two meals, I had this much left:



Hudson ate some of the rest. I also added it into a soup we are eating tomorrow.
Three meals for a 6 dollar chicken. Not bad!

After the meat was off the chicken, I took all the bones and skins and put them back in the crock pot. I added the juice from when the chicken cooked and covered the rest of the carcass with cold water. I added 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. This is supposed to pull the calcium off the bones of the chicken. It is really good for you and helps heal your stomach! I also threw in some onion and carrots. I cooked on low for around 15 hours. I think you are supposed to cook for 24 to 48 hours, but it was boiling and I was scared to leave it! I have issues with anything plugged in for too long!

Anyway, our house smelled so yummy this morning. Our chicken made so much stock. I used 4 cups of the stock in my soup for tomorrow and still had this much to freeze:




I will do this again soon!

Dinner Time-Part 1

I thought I would share some of our staple menu items. These are tried and true! I usually include at least one of these meals in our menu plan each week. They are easy when you can't think of something!

Greek Chicken

Our friend Nikki shared this recipe with me, and I love it! You can substitute the chicken for fish.

Ingredients:

boneless chicken breast or fish fillets
red potatoes-quartered
lettuce--We use spinach leaves.
Cavendar's Greek seasoning
oregano
feta cheese
olive oil
lemon juice
salad toppings--olives, tomatoes, etc..
salt and pepper


What to do:

Greek dressing: Combine olive oil with lemon juice, oregano, and feta until it tastes right. Shake and refrigerate for an hour. Shake before serving.

I season the potatoes and chicken with olive oil, feta, oregano, Greek Seasoning, and salt and pepper. I bake for about 30 minutes and serve it over the lettuce. I pour the dressing over all of it. I usually serve with hummus and pita bread on the side.



Pizza Pasta

Ingredients:

whole grain penne regatta noodles
1 cup of ricotta cheese
2 cups of mozzarella cheese
1 jar of marinara sauce
pizza toppings--pepperoni, olives, mushrooms, etc

What to do:

Cook pasta and drain. While hot, mix with ricotta cheese. Layer it in a casserole dish. I use a 9 by 13 pan. I never use all the noodles. Pour the sauce over the noodles. Then layer your toppings. Pour cheese over all. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.



Poppy Seed Chicken

Our friend April gave me this recipe. Will requests it weekly.
Ingredients:

2 cream of chicken or 1 cream of chicken and 1 cream of mushroom (I do 2 chicken soups)
shredded chicken
poppy seeds
sour cream
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers
butter
rice


Directions:

Mix soups with chicken and some sour cream. I usually do a little more than half a cup of sour cream. Add in poppy seeds. Pour into dish. Sprinkle Ritz. Pour melted butter over all and add more poppy seeds. Cook for 20 min on 350. Serve over rice.

PS--Use real butter! It is good for you. Who knew?



Ritz Chicken
My roommate Rebecca taught me how to make this in college, and I have been making it ever since.

Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breast
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers
1 cup of Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of parsley
melted butter

What to do:

mix the crackers, Parmesan, and parsley together. Dip the chicken in the butter and then dredge in the mixture. Bake. So easy! I usually serve with this red potato recipe:

Quarter red potatoes. Boil. While boiling, saute garlic, parley, and butter. Pour over drained potatoes.



Tuna Noodle Casserole

Oh the wonders of tuna! I often serve this casserole or tuna melts. We also have made tuna patties over lettuce.

Ingredients:

2 cans tuna
1 can cream of chicken soup
crushed Ritz crackers
peas
cooked whole grain noodles
shredded cheese

What to do:

mix tuna, soup, peas, and noodles together. Place in dish and pour crackers over. Pour melted butter over all. Sprinkle cheese. Cook for 15-20 on 350




Easy Peasy Lasagna

From my friend Jennifer.

Ingredients:

2 cups of mozzarella cheese
2 cups of shredded
1 big jar of spaghetti sauce
ground beef--cooked and drained
6 lasagna noodles-cooked
Directions:

layer sauce, beef, cheese, noodles, sauce, beef, cheese, noodles, and then a final layer of sauce, beef, and cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

I also serve breakfast for dinner at least once every other week. We do bacon, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, omelets, pancakes, fried red potatoes, hash browns, yummy oatmeal, etc.. Breakfast for dinner has endless possibilities.


Like I said, these are just a few of our go to recipes! I will add my pot roast next time and maybe some of our breakfast and lunch items.

On a related side note:
I am trying to learn to make healthy decisions for our family. So far, this has meant using whole grains, free range eggs, organic yogurts and milk, and fresh fruits and veggies. I also am trying to steer clear of boxed foods. We have been eating lots of real potatoes, and I have been buying dry rice and beans. I know it is best to buy organic meats due to the hormones, and the way they are fed, but we are not there yet! I also have been researching pesticide exposure in fruits and veggies, and it sounds scary! Again, not there yet-I usually buy fresh but not organic. So, anyway, I have some really close friends that eat healthy and answer all my questions in a very encouraging way! I really want to grow in knowledge here and provide healthy meals for my family.

Next week, I am tackling a whole chicken. I am usually a frozen chicken breast kind of girl, but I am excited! I am going to use it for two meals, and I plan on making my own chicken stock. It will be the highlight of my week. Just call me Betty Homemaker.

Sweet Christmas Time

We had a wonderful Christmas as a family of three. So many memories...

We started our celebration on Christmas Eve. We made ice cream for our Happy Birthday Jesus party. It was surprisingly easy to make.

Ingredients:
5 egg yolks
1 pint milk
1/2 pint Heavy Whipping cream
2 oz sugar
6 oz milk chocolate cut in small squares

Directions:
Create a custard base and when you remove it from heat, drop in the chocolate and mix well. Cool the custard in the fridge for 30-45 minutes. Next, mix in the cream and stir well. Place in freezer for 30 minutes or until edges freeze. Take out and mix well. Repeat 3 times. After third time, leave it in the freezer for 1 or more hours until you get desired consistency to eat.

Custard base:
Mix and whisk egg yolks and sugar.
Pour milk into small saucepan and bring to small boil.
Pour hot milk into egg and sugar mix and stir constantly.
Pour entire mixture into pan and heat gently, stirring until it thickens. Don't boil.
When a film forms over spoon, remove from heat and let cool.









Of course, Huds could not take part in the ice cream tasting this year, but he still had a blast staring at the advent candle while we worked.



On Christmas Eve night, we had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner at Ge and Pops. The menu: prime rib, green beans, salad, bread, and mashed potatoes. Yummy!


Here is Huds with his first crown from the Christmas popper: (a Patridge family tradition)




On Christmas morning, we woke up early to have some family time. Will read the Christmas story from the Bible and we lit all of our advent candles.

Huds didn't really understand all of our excitement. He was still tired from our late night:



He wasn't sure what we wanted him to do with his gifts:



He sure was excited when he figured it all out:



Afterwards, we loaded up and headed back to Ge and Pops for our traditional Christmas breakfast. Unfortunately, the Patridge clan had an early visitor. The stomach bug that had already been to our house arrived on Chablis Way on Christmas Eve. We still managed to have a fun time despite the sickness!

Huds with Santa Pops:



Huds and Nana:



Enjoying presents with Uncle Wes:



Annual family photo:



Yes, Laker is giving a full frontal!!

We loaded up to have dinner with the Gordon family in Alex City.

Needless to say Huds had a few gifts waiting for him:



We may have to set a gift limit next year so that a greedy Grinch is created.

After dinner, we enjoyed a white Christmas:







We ended the day by relaxing in front of a movie with Maw Maw and Paw Paw.

But Christmas wasn't over:

The next day, we visited the Caldwell family:



As well as having the annual Taylor family Christmas complete with two intense games of Dirty Santa.

Huds enjoyed more family time and MORE gifts:






Needless to say, we are beyond blessed. Our family had a wonderful time reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas: our Savior took on flesh to save us from our sins. How beautiful! No gift compares to His gift to us. We pray as the years go on that Hudson would look back on Christmas and remember Christ! To Him be the glory forever.