Chicken Nuggets

This is a recipe from the book Once A Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg.  I currently owe about $3.00 in library fines for this book.  I maybe should consider just buying it for myself. 

I have about four bags of these in my freezer.  I love the way they taste.  The original recipe uses dried, Italian-style breadcrumbs.  I used Panko breadcrumbs and added some Italian seasoning.  Makes 'em crunchy!  These aren't quite as "ready to go" as the nuggets in a bag, but they are healthier.

makes 4 to 6 servings

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1-2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (I prefer Penzey's)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan (I just use the stuff from the green can)

Cut the chicken into 1-inch chunks.  Combine chicken, melted butter, and Worcestershire in a 1-quart freezer bag to make a marinade.  Combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a second freezer bag.  Tape the bags together; label and freeze.

TO PREPARE:

Thaw and remove the chicken chunks from the marinade.  Put them in the bread crumb bag (a few at a time) and shake to coat. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Arrange chicken on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until no longer pink in the middle.

Bulk Cooking

So, I kind of started a new group at church.

Accidentally.

See, my friend Rachel and I would get together every six weeks or so and cook together.  We'd figure out what we wanted to cook, plan a grocery list, go shopping, and then meet at her house to cook.  We'd leave with enough food in our freezer to make our weekly meal planning much easier.  We started planning a new cooking session when our freezers were close to empty.

Over the months as we did it, we had several friends say they would like to be a part of our cooking sessions.  It never worked out for anyone to join us, so I didn't think too many people were really interested.  Plus, Rachel and I weren't too sure about adding a lot of people to the kitchen.  It could end up crowded, messy, and just really ugly :)

Then I found a website by a supper swap group in Minnesota.  And the way it was set up sounded pretty genius to me.  So I started a Facebook group for those friends that had expressed interest to meet and see about setting up a similar group.

And this Thursday, we'll meet to discuss the group and splitting up the TWENTY-TWO people that signed up to join into smaller groups!

I'm in way over my head.

And some of the other ladies feel that way.  So, I'll post a few of the recipes I've found that are for this type of cooking (label: OAMC) to provide a bit of a starting point.  And the supper swap website linked above contains all of their recipes.

Some of the recipes already posted on this blog freeze well.  The ones listed below are the ones I've tried myself and know for certain they do well as freezer meals.

Skinner Lasagna
Chicken and Macaroni Casserole

Chicken and Macaroni Casserole

This is from Grandma Steele. I'm lazy so I just scanned in her handwritten copy of the recipe.  :)

This is easy to make and also freezes well.  I left out the peppers and pimentos for a long time, but then decided to get adventurous and give it a try.  Uh, leave them in.  They make it taste good!  Ha!!

Thanks, Grandma!

Cheeseburger Macaroni

One of my more embarrassing memories is of returning home from college one summer and excitedly telling my mom that I had found this great "new" thing at the grocery store ... Hamburger Helper.  She very graciously didn't laugh in my face and even pretended to be excited when I made it for dinner that night.

Meat, cheese and noodles.  What's not to love? 

I got this recipe from Home Ec 101.  I was mainly interested because it was one of the first cheese sauces that I've seen that didn't start with a roux.  Being a total snob, I fully expected it to taste really nasty.  It didn't.  I did cut the recipe in half and it was plenty for the three of us.  


(For the record, Dax scarfed it and Julia wouldn't even touch it when she saw the tomatoes in it.  My friend Amanda thinks it would be great with peas.  I disagree, but if you like peas, give it a try.)

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 lb elbow macaroni
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 4 TBSP butter
• 5oz evaporated milk or 1/2 cup half and half
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• 10 oz sharp cheddar, shredded

In a large skillet, brown the meat over medium low until nearly done and then drain off the grease. Return to the skillet and add the diced onion and minced garlic. Continue cooking over low heat until the meat has browned and the onions are soft.  Stir in the tomatoes to heat them up.

While the meat is browning, in a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente. While the noodles are cooking, whisk together the eggs, evaporated milk OR half and half, hot sauce, dry mustard, and salt / pepper.

Drain. While the noodles are draining melt the 4 TBSP of butter in the pan, then return the pasta to the pot. Stir to make sure all of the pasta is coated evenly. (The burner should be off). Add the sauce and turn the burner to low, stir the macaroni until it is evenly coated in the sauce mixture. Then stir in the shredded cheddar cheese and stir until everything is melted and wonderful.

Dump the contents of the pot into the skillet with the ground beef. Stir to combine and serve.

Caramel Corn

My friend Amanda and I made this on Thursday. It won't last through the weekend. Yummy.

2 cups light brown sugar

1/2 pound butter

1/2 cup white syrup

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

6 quarts popped corn, lightly salted (about 1 cup unpopped)

Bring sugar, butter and syrup to a boil; remove from heat.


Add baking soda and cream of tartar.


Stir well with a wire whisk until foamy.


Pour over popped corn in a large roaster and stir until well coated.


Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes with a wooden spoon.


Remove from oven and turn out onto waxed paper to cool.


Store in tightly sealed container.

Smitten Kitchen tomato sauce - my version

So, in the blogging world, there is no better tomato sauce than Smitten Kitchen's. Everyone loves it, including us!

But, I came across a different recipe that added in a can of pureed tomatoes in addition to the whole tomatoes, and really liked that one, too. I've been in a real "let's prepare for baby" mode lately, and inspired by the recent purchase of a gently used small standalone chest freezer from my boss, have decided to start stocking up on some healthy basics that will save me some time once late October/early November rolls around and the newest addition to the family arrives, and my free time goes bye-bye.

So I played around today and came up with a hybrid recipe that I really liked. I made a ton of it to freeze in two-cup servings, but this recipe is easily halved.

Jamie's Version of Smitten Kitchen Tomato Sauce

2 28 oz cans San Marzano style whole plum tomatoes (Kroger has a nice store version of these)
2 28 oz cans pureed tomatoes (again, generic Kroger has been just fine for me)
1 stick butter (we use unsalted sweet cream butter around here)
1 onion, peeled and quartered

Dump it all into a big saucepan. Bring to a simmer and let simmer on very low heat for about an hour. Take the onion out and salt to taste.

Depending on how chunky you like your sauce, either break up the tomatoes with a spoon while it's cooking, or do what I did and do a quick runthrough with an immersion blender.

This made somewhere in the neighborhood of ten cups of sauce - I divided it up into four heavy-duty freezer bags and then put some in the fridge for my immediate gratification.

Menu helper and a good tilapia recipe

I've recently subscribed to a service called "You've Got Supper." It's based out of Richmond, Virgina, and is free, free, free. My kind of menu! They send me an email once a week with five recipes, and you can choose which ones you want to make and it generates a document with all the recipes, plus a grocery list. With Chris out of town a lot, I don't cook as many full meals as I normally would, and I eat a lot of leftovers, so choosing three or four dinner recipes for a whole week is plenty for us at this time.

I made YGS' Sear-Roasted Tilapia and Tomatoes last night, and it was really, really good, so I thought I'd share.

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp capers, drained
2 tsp oregano tsp balsamic vinegar
4 tilapia fillets, 4 oz each
1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl, toss together tomatoes, capers, oregano, and balsamic vinegar. Set aside. Dredge each fillet in flour. Heat olive oil in an oven-proof skillet over high heat. Add the fish and cook until it browns (about 2 - 3 minutes per side). Add the garlic and then the tomato mixture around the fish and transfer the skillet to the oven. Cook for 4 - 5 more minutes or until the fish flakes with a fork. Serve with the tomato mixture on top.

This version obviously makes four fillets. I cut it in half and made two just for little ol' me :)

Spinach for breakfast

A friend of mine from college also has a cooking blog (Nothing Special, But It Sure Is Good) and she posted a recipe for a spinach and banana smoothie the other day.

Now, I love raw spinach. We currently have a bag and a half of it sitting in the fridge that I fully know will be gone in the next week or so. But spinach for breakfast? ... Is awesome :)

Basic Green Monster Smoothie (via Stephanie's blog and greenmonstermovement.com)

2 cups raw spinach
1 to 1.25 cups low fat or fat free milk
1 Tbsp flaxseed (optional) - I actually used wheat germ -J
1 banana
ice

Place the ingredients into the blender in the following order: 1) Flax, 2) spinach, 3) banana, 4) milk. The reason for this order is so the heavier ingredients weigh down the flax and spinach and keep it from flying up around the blender and sticking to the side. Blend everything on the highest setting for 1 minute or so. Finally, add ice and blend on the ice setting.

Smoked Gouda Macaroni and Cheese

I make this macaroni and cheese for family or special occassions. The cheeses can be expensive so it's not something I tend to make just because, but everyone always really loves it so I make it for things like family gatherings or work potlucks. Gotta share the love of gouda.

Smoked Gouda Macaroni and Cheese

1 slice whole wheat bread
1 tablespoon butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 c. milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 c. shredded smoked Gouda
3/4 c. grated fresh Parmesan
5 c. coarsely chopped fresh spinach
4 c. hot cooked elbow macaroni (about 2 c. uncooked)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread in food processor to make coarse crumbs. Melt butter in a large saucepan and add garlic. Cook for a minute or two. Add flour and cook another minute or two, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, salt and pepper, stirring constantly with a whisk until blended. Bring to a boil, cook until thick (just a few minutes). Add Gouda and Parmesan cheeses, stir until melted. Add spinach and cooked macaroni, stirring until well-blended. Put into a greased 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake 15 minutes or until bubbly.

The key to this recipe is to be generous with cheese - I've actually doubled the cheeses from the original recipe because it just didn't taste right. I usually just eyeball the cheeses until the sauce is good and thick and cheesy. I've also omitted green onions because it didn't taste good with the rest of the ingredients.

You can also mix everything up ahead of time and refrigerate it until you're ready to bake it. Enjoy!

Another easy pasta lunch

As I've mentioned before on here, I'm big on pasta dishes for lunch that I can put together easily, either to take with me to work or when I come home for my lunch break.

Rather than do my traditional mix, I opted for a more vegetable rich take and really liked the end result!

Penne pasta (my go-to brand is Barilla Whole Grain - costs the same but it's half whole grains)
Yellow, red and/or orange bell peppers
Feta cheese (I like the feta that has some basil and sun-dried tomato in it)
Raw spinach
Olive oil
Kosher salt

Put two good handfuls of spinach in your bowl. Top with two good ladlefulls of pasta, sliced or chopped bell peppers and feta. Drizzle some olive oil on top, and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Microwave for about 30 seconds to a minute - just enough to warm the oil, melt the cheese a bit, and wilt the spinach. Stir and enjoy!