sautéed zucchini, yellow squash & onion

This hardly qualifies as a recipe, but I want to remember it for future reference. It was really yummy! I stole the idea from Brittney, who served it as a side to grilled chicken when we stayed with them recently. Because we eat too much meat (and were lazy), we decided to serve it as our main entree with a side of (Cal Rose) rice. It was surprisingly satisfying! And budget friendly! We intend to make this again!

RECIPE: Sautéed Zucchini, Yellow Squash and Onion

Ingredients:

4 small zucchini squash 

2 small yellow squash

2 med onions

Olive oil (EVOO)

Mrs. Dash

S&P 

Directions:

Julienne/slice onion. Wash and slice (in little rounds) the squash(es?). In a wok or large skillet, heat the oil over med-high heat. Add onions, then squash. Season to taste. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until veggies are soft. Serve (over or just with) rice. And enjoy!!

chicken tikka masala

Possibly my favorite food in the whole wide world is Lamb Tikka Masala, especially from the little hole-in-the-wall place here in town. Swoon. Seriously, so good. Unfortunately, lamb is crazy-expensive, so I'm probably never going to make that at home. 

Luckily, Chicken Tikka Masala is a very close second. And Pinterest (or Mattawa Mum,  rather) came to the rescue with an amazingly delicious recipe. 

This is the recipe I ended up using, mostly Mattawa Mum's, with a few great tips and tweaks from my bro-in-law Jon... and a dash of my own two cents. It's spectacular and was a major hit with the whole family. We will definitely be making this again!!

Notes:  Don't skip on the heavy cream.  Less fattening stuff won't work as well.  Also, the fresh cilantro is critical.  Don't skip that either.  And finally, if you don't have cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes also work in the marinade.  Random, but FYI.

RECIPE: Chicken Tikka Masala

Yield: 6
Calories: 476

Ingredients:
[For Chicken + Marinade]
1 or 1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs, chopped into bite-size pieces
1 (6oz) tub plain greek yogurt
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger


[For Sauce]
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño (seeds removed), minced
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp salt
2 small cans (8 oz) tomato sauce {or one regular}
1-2 cups heavy whipping cream
Cilantro, fresh, for topping

Directions:
Chop up your chicken thighs and make up the marinade.  Mix together well in a dish (8x8 worked great), cover, and refrigerate at least 2 hrs.  When you're ready to make up the sauce, skewer the chicken pieces and grill them until cooked-through (no longer pink).

For the sauce, melt the butter in a (large) heavy skillet over medium-heat.  Add garlic and jalapeño and let cook for 1 minute.  Add all of the spices + salt and mix until incorporated. Add the tomato sauce.  Stir well, and let simmer until thickened (10-15 minutes maybe). Add the cream {1 c for spicy, 2 c for mild with just a teensy kick} and mix well to incorporate. Let simmer for a while longer, developing both the color and the flavor of the sauce.  Add the chicken (removed from skewers, of course).  Simmer.  Top with fresh cilantro and serve!

Serve warm over basmati rice, with a side of naan!  Mmmm.... So good.

salisbury steak

My mom and her friend got together last week and made a whole slew of Salisbury Steak.  They had a group of friends over for dinner that night, froze some, and brought some to us!  We ate it for Sunday dinner, and it was spectacular.  Then on Wednesday, after James' tball game, Mom invited us all over for dinner- saying she had more Salisbury Steak to share.  We accepted, and it was (again) delicious.  And THEN yesterday, I was planning to bring dinner to my friend Missy who just had a baby, and I thought that Salisbury Steak with mashed potatoes would be the perfect comfort food.  So I used the ingredients Mom had told me about and sort of created my own version (hoping it was hers as well) .... and we ate that same dinner AGAIN- third time in a week!  Haha.  Derek told me the only thing he was worried about was that I would decide that I'd had it too much and have a pregnancy aversion to it that lasted years.  So far, so good.  Though I think this week, we'll try to steer clear of it just to be sure. But it will seriously be hard, because it is super duper delish!

RECIPE: Salisbury Steak

Ingredients:
[For the patties]
1 lb ground beef {I used 85%}
1/2 onion, diced finely
1/2 c. breadcrumbs
1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 egg

[For the gravy]
1 Lipton onion soup mix
1 brown gravy mix
1 can (Campbell's) Golden Mushroom soup
2 1/2 c. water

Directions:
Mix the patty ingredients together in a large bowl, incorporating well.  Form into smallish patties (3 inches in diameter, maybe?).  Cook until well done {we used our George Foreman for this, as our stove top was busy and it would do lots at a time}.

Meanwhile, add all gravy ingredients together in a large (and deep) skillet.  Whisk to combine.  Bring to a boil and reduce to medium.  Continually whisk- to avoid burning and to help it uniformly thicken.  When the gravy is adequately gravy-esque, reduce heat to low.

Once your patties are fully cooked, place them (carefully; they fall apart easily) into the gravy pan.  Let them completely submerge in the gravy.  Let this simmer on low for a while.  Then dish up and enjoy!

Note: The excess gravy will double as gravy for your mashed potatoes!  Serve with mashed potatoes for sure and maybe a salad to keep things fresh.  Mmmm... enjoy!

cheesy garlic biscuits

I made jambalaya the other day and wanted something yummy to go with it.  I already planned to serve it with green beans (somehow that is a logical side dish to me, not sure why), but I wanted something more.  I saw a picture of jambalaya served with what looked like a cheesy biscuit and knew that's what I wanted to make.  I googled a recipe for cheesy biscuits and ended up combining several that looked promising to create my own.  Here's what I came up with.



RECIPE: Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

Yield: 12 large biscuits
Calories: 227

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. flour
3/4 tsp salt
5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder*
3/4 c butter
1 c milk
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
(opt) dash of dill

Directions:
Mix the dry ingredients (flour down to garlic powder) in a medium bowl.  Cut in butter.  Add milk, adjusting if necessary (if it's too wet, add more flour- just a tbsp or so at a time).  Stir in the cheddar cheese (and dill, if you want it).  Drop onto a baking stone/sheet in 12 large mounds.  Bake at 400F for 18-20 minutes.

*Would also be good with actual minced garlic in it.  Mmm.

vegan chili

I needed to bring a meal to my friend who just had surgery, and it needed to be vegan. It was crazy-hard to come up with something doable and delicious (who knew I ate so much meat and dairy?), but I finally settled on this. It turned out well, I think. I served it with baked potatoes. Turns out cornbread has both eggs and milk. Sheesh!

RECIPE: Vegan Chili

Serves: 8

Calories: 203

Ingredients:

2 15-oz cans Fat-Free Vegetarian Chili

1 can petite diced tomatoes (undrained)

1 can red beans (undrained)

1 can black beans (undrained)

Celery stalk, finely diced

Garlic powder 

Minced onions

Chili powder (easy unless you want heat)

Dried oregano

Salt/Pepper

^^ (spices to taste)

Directions:

Dump it all in a med-lg pot and stir well. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 20+ minutes. Serve warm.

Yummy when paired with corn bread, salad, and/or baked potatoes! Also, if you want to scrap the vegan aspect of it, it'd be pretty delicious (and better looking) topped with cheese/sour cream! 

lasagna

What happens if you aren't patient enough to let it set
up before dishing... less pretty but soooo good!

This recipe is courtesy of my amazing friend (and next-door neighbor) Shaughnessy. She is seriously the best! A few days ago, I wasn't feeling great and was stumped as to what to make for dinner. And SHE BROUGHT OVER HERS!!! It was ridiculously generous and unnecessary, but it also looked and smelled sooo good. So I gobbled it up with a thank you. :) I haven't stopped thinking about it since, so I figured I'd make some myself. This is her recipe, how I used it.

** This makes TWO full 8x8 pans of lasagna. One was paaalllenty for our family. We baked one and froze the other.  Just put cling-wrap on top (do all steps except baking), followed by the dish's lid, then place it in the freezer. Two dinners in one! Score! :)

RECIPE: Lasagna

Yield: 2 8x8 pans, 9 BIG servings each

Calories: 336 ea

Ingredients:

1 box lasagna noodles

2 (24oz) cans/jars spaghetti sauce {Hunts Garden Veggies is best}

1 (48oz) tub cottage cheese

1 (32oz) bag shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions: 
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. 

Preheat oven to 375F.

Layer (in each 8x8 baking dish) a bit of sauce first, then noodles (3 is about right...use a pizza cutter to trim the noodles to size), then cottage cheese, then mozzarella, then sauce. Repeat 2-3 times. Have cheese be your last/top layer. 

Bake, uncovered, at 375F for 45 minutes. Let rest (so it will set up) a few minutes before dishing up.  Serve warm... and enjoy!

itty bitty corn dog muffins

I saw this on Pinterest and thought it was a brilliant idea! Totally up my kids' alley and super easy to boot! So I snagged some Jiffy mixes at the store the other day and filed the idea away. Today for lunch, we tried it out. The verdict: major success! Fool proof, easy, quick meal that the kids were excited about. Hooray! I even let them push the hot dogs into the batter, so they felt especially invested and excited about it. Wins all around. Hoo-rah. :)



RECIPE: Itty Bitty Corn Dog Muffins

Ingredients:
1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
Egg
Milk
3 hotdogs, cut into 8 small pieces each

Directions:
Mix corn muffin mix according to box directions. Spoon into (very well greased) mini muffin tins. Then push a little hot dog pieces into the batter (one in each mini muffin...Note: this is a perfect lil job for little hands!

And that's it! Easy peasy!

chocolate pudding

If you're craving a quick, easy, and satisfying treat...



RECIPE: Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:
Chocolate pudding mix (instant)
2 c cold milk, as per instructions
Brick of chocolate (opt)

Directions:
Make pudding according to box directions. Pour into ramekins. Shave a little chocolate on top. Refrigerate until ready to eat (at least 5 minutes). Enjoy!

chili colorado

This recipe will always make me think of my dad.  When my parents were getting a divorce (sad), I was quite worried about my dad starving to death- as he had literally cooked nothing his entire marriage, to my knowledge (besides the corn dog he once exploded, thus ruining both a microwave and his chances in the kitchen in the same kaboom).  Luckily, he learned a few good Mexican dishes he could make that were simple, cheap and filling.  Mexican bachelor food.  This was among them, and when he visited, he taught me how to make it.  Derek and I really love it, and the kids seem to as well.  Very simple, very flavorful, very seemingly-authentic and very delicious.



RECIPE: Chili Colorado

Ingredients:
1 lb stew meat (or chuck roast), thinly sliced/diced
1 onion, thinly sliced/diced
4 potatoes, thinly sliced/diced
1 can enchilada sauce
garlic powder and pepper, to taste

Directions:**
Cook the meat, onion and potatoes in a pot over medium to medium-high heat.  Season with garlic powder and/or pepper if desired.  Once meat is cooked through, add the enchilada sauce.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are soft.  Serve with warm tortillas.

**Note: My sister Tori discovered that you can throw all the ingredients in the crock pot and then BAM! Dinner! I tried it, and it was awesome! The meat was so tender and perfect! I will be doing it that way from now on. The moisture from the meat/veggies made the sauce soupy, though. So maybe remove the lid for the last 20 minutes to let some moisture evaporate?? Also, add a dollop of sour cream when dishing up! Mmm, mmm, delicious!

from scratch pancakes

My friend Brittney makes the best pancakes! Every time we sleep over, we wake up to the smell and taste of pancakes with homemade maple syrup. Mmm. So yummy! Her pancakes are always so fluffy and perfect. I finally asked her for the recipe, and she told me it was basically a dairy-free rendition of one found in the classic Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. This is the easy and amazingly delicious recipe.



RECIPE: From Scratch Pancakes

Yield: 10 pancakes
Calories: 100 each

Ingredients:
1 3/4 c flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 1/2 c vanilla almond/coconut milk**
** soy or cow milk would also work

Directions:
Whisk together all ingredients until combined. Cook pancakes (use about 1/4-1/3 c batter for each) on a skillet over medium (to medium high) heat, flipping half way, until golden and cooked through. Serve with butter (opt) and homemade maple syrup! Eat up!