Meal Plan Monday

It's been a LONG time since I shared some meal plans with everyone. This weeks is a little interesting because I am trying to cook for only two since the girls are currently on vacation without the husband and I. We are trying to get out of the fast-food rut we let sneak up on us during our move, and taking advantage of the fresh fruits, veggies and grass fed meats available to us without blowing the budget. So here is it.

Bulgogi
Rice
Banana Pudding

Alice Springs Chicken
Green Beans
Crescent Rolls

Steak
Scaloped Potates
Cheesy Broccoli

 Hot Dogs
Baked Beans

 

“Pink” Pasta
Garlic Bread
Salad

 

Biscuits and Gravy
Fruit Salad

Grilled Chicken
Garlic Cheese Biscuits
Cheesy Baked Zucchini.

So there are some ideas. I'll be taking pictures to add to the post through the week and linking up to recipes too! Enjoy!

Meal Plan Monday - Fall is Finally Here

This week is all about easy to prepare, warm, comforting foods. However my goal is to make sure that it is healthy instead of starting to pre-pack on the holiday pounds. I attempted to start couponing this week. Well let me tell you, it was a failure. I managed to save $40 according to my receipt, however I spent twice as much as I have been spending per shopping trip, so I am thinking that maybe I need to just keep up what I am doing.

So here are the meals in no particular order, mostly. We have a busy weekend with 5 extras so those meals are specifically set aside for that day.

Chicken and Rice Casserole
Green Beans

Peppercorn crusted pork loin
Rice
Glazed Carrots

Whole Wheat Spaghetti
Marinara Sauce
Garlic Bread
Stuffed Quesadilla's
Salsa
Jicama

Chili Dogs
Sweet potato Fries

Grilled Cheese
Vegetable/Tomato Soup

What's on the menu at your house this week? What's your favorite fall meal?

Gingered Pork Tenderloin

My Mom made this pork tenderloin one year for Easter and I fell in love with it. It is an easy and very impressive recipe to prepare. My favorite way to serve it is with mixed roasted veggies on the side. I will usually put one 9x13 pan with the pork next to another 9x13 pan with the veggies. Tonights vegetable combo was cauliflower, broccoli, and sweet potato.

GINGERED PORK TENDERLOIN
2 1/2 lb. pork tenderloin
1/8 tsp. dry mustard
1/8 tsp. thyme
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 gloves garlic, minced
2 T. fresh ginger, minced

SAUCE
3/4 cup ginger preserves (I couldn't find these. used apricot instead)
2 T. dry sherry
1 T. soy sauce

Rub meat with mustard powder and thyme. Place in a non-reactive dish and add 1/2 c. sherry, 1/2 c. soy sauce, garlic and ginger. Coat the loin well. Cover; refrigerate overnight.

NEXT DAY: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place loin with liquid in oven uncovered. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes per pound, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Baste occasionally while cooking.

SAUCE: Meanwhile, heat preserves with sherry and soy sauce over medium heat until melted. Reduce heat to low and simmer. Pour over loin when it's done.

NOTES: I usually don't measure the mustard and thyme I just sprinkle it lightly over the outside.

Sometimes I don't remember to make the sauce. It's still amazing without it.

~DD

Tasty Thursday

Ahhhhh. Food. My love, my nutrition, my addiction. It is so funny that even though I love healthy food I cannot seem to break my addiction to junk. When I look at a bag of chips verses a plate of veggies I am more attracted to the veggies, I want the veggies, I know that they taste better and that I should be eating them. This isn't the problem. The problem is that I know all of that and then I reach for the chips. Smart huh? Yeah I know, not so much at all. It's sad really. I work so hard to break this habit, and I work so hard at being healthy and then I sabotage myself by eating junk food that I don't even like.

I don't have a recipe to share with you this week. I have been eating horribly the last few days. I don't want to share any of the recipes that I have used because they are so bad for you. It's sad really. I think I already said that, but it's true. It is sad because it is something that I know how to change and have to power to change and yet I still don't change it.

So where do I go from here? I WILL start to make better choices. I will choose to eat the food that is healthy for me. I will choose to eat the food that is more appealing to me. I will choose to stop finding ways to add junk into my diet. I feel better both physically and emotionally when I eat right, so now I just need to do it.

Wish me luck.

~DD

Pot Stickers, a healthy version.

This is another recipe from my new cookbook. I am loving all of the things that I have tried so far and I have a list of over 100 recipes from the book that I am wanting to try. So that should keep this section of the blog going for at least the rest of the year. Although I will keep throwing out some of my families favorite foods and some things that I find from other locations.

Today's recipe is for Chicken Pot Stickers. It is a really easy basic recipe that I can already see a million variations for. So here it goes. I realize that this isn't the healthiest that these can get, but I know that they are much better than the pork stuffed with a zillion extra calories and preservatives type that you buy in the freezer section.

Chicken Pot Stickers.

2 T chili sauce (I left this part out of the girls sauce)
1 T finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 T Teriyaki Sauce
1 t rice wine vinegar
1 t peeled fresh diced ginger
pinch cayenne (again I left this out of the girls)

1/2 lb ground skinless chicken breast (I used turkey because that was what I had)
1/2 c finely shredded napa cabbage (sometimes labeled chinese cabbage)
1 scallion minced
2 t soy sauce (I used Bragg's Liquid Amino's)
1 t cornstarch dissolved in 2 t water
1/4 t mustard powder
1/8 t ground black pepper
20 (3 in square) wonton skins

4 t peanut oil
1 c chicken stock
1 t all-purpose flour
1 T toasted sesame seeds

1) To prepare sauce, in a small bowel, combine the chili sauce, cilantro, teriyaki sauce, vinegar, ginger and cayenne.

2) To prepare the filling, in a medium bowel combine the chicken, cabbage, scallion, soy sauce, dissolved cornstarch, mustard and pepper.

3) Cover the wontons with plastic wrap; have a small bowel of water near your work area. Working with 1 wonton wrapper at a time, spoon 2 teaspoons of the filling into the center of each wonton skin. Moisten the edges with water; fold diagonally to form a triangle. Seal the edges, pressing out all the air. Repeat with the remaining wonton's and filling.

4) In a large non-stick skillet, heat the oil until it is almost smoking. Place the dumplings in a circle in the skillet; reduce the heat slightly and cook until the bottoms are golden brown 5-7 minutes.

5) Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the stock to a boil. Remove from the heat; sprinkle in the flour ans stir until dissolved. Pour the broth over the dumplings; cook, partially covered, until all of the liquid evaporates. Uncover and cook until the bottoms are crisp. Carefully loosen the dumplings with a spatula. Serve with sesame seeds sprinkled on top and sauce on the side.

DD's notes.

1) These are a pretty plain recipe, the flavor is in the sauce. The next time that I make them I think I will be mixing the ginger and cilantro into the meat mixture instead of just putting it in the sauce. I might also add some finely grated carrots.

2) This recipe is so easy to double it almost asks for it. Wonton wrappers are sold by the group of 50 in my grocery store, not 20, so I had plenty. I doubled this recipe and had enough filling to fill all 50 wrappers. I froze the second batch on a cookie sheet with parchment paper on top and then packaged into groups of 5-6. They cook from frozen exactly the same as fresh.

3) I made a lot more dipping sauce than it called for so that each person had their own mixture based on their individual taste.

4) While this is an easy recipe the wrapping of the dumplings takes a while. I spent roughly 30 minutes just on that part of the recipe. So make sure that you have the time to do that. I also folded the corners in so that the dumplings looked like an open envelope instead of leaving them in a triangle, I thought that they looked better that way, and that they took up less room in the pan.

5) The first time I made this I tried to use a pan that was too small and crowded them in. That was a BAD plan. They ended up all cooked into one huge mass. So when you cook them make sure that they aren't touching in the pan, it makes it a million times easier to get out at the end.

Microwave Meatloaf

I'm not kidding. I really do make my meatloaf in the microwave. I haven't actually ever made it in a oven. It is quick and easy and really moist this way so why would I change it? This is a modification of the recipe that I grew up eating, I have just taken out some of the stuff that DH won't eat. (horseradish) So without further ado.

Microwave Meatloaf
2 pieces dry bread (toast on light 3-4 times until it crumbles well, or just leave out all day on a cookie sheet)
1 packet onion soup mix
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk

4 large carrots finely grated

2 lbs lean ground beef

1/4 c ketchup
3 T mustard
1-2 T brown sugar (my family likes 2, I like 1)

1. In a large mixing bowl crumble the bread into small pieces. Add egg, milk, and onion soup mix. Stir and set aside to soak for a few minutes.

2. While it is soaking grate the carrots. Add the carrots and stir well.

3. Add the ground beef and thoroughly combine. I use my hands, just make sure that they are really clean, and wash afterwards.

4. Place in a microwave safe dish, you will want it in a low narrow loaf shape instead of a loaf pan shape to ensure even cooking.

5. Microwave in 5 minutes intervals for 10-15 min or until cooked (make a small slit in the middle to check doneness. While it is microwaving combine the ketchup, mustard and sugar for the topping.

6. Top Meatloaf with mixture and microwave for 2-3 more minutes. Remove from microwave oven and let sit 5-10 minutes to allow the juices to settle, otherwise they will all run out and dry out the meatloaf.

7. Serve and enjoy. Personally I love mine with broccoli and potatoes.

Real quick here is my recipe for roasted broccoli. It's quick and easy and really tasty.

Roasted Broccoli

Broccoli
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

1. Pre heat oven to 400. Clean and cut broccoli into bite sized florets. Place on a sheet pan. I'm using this one.

2. Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over the broccoli and sue your hands to mix and evenly coat all of the broccoli. Salt and Pepper then mix again. Spread broccoli evenly over the sheet pan.

3. Roast for 15-25 minutes until the broccoli is cooked and the edges are starting to brown. I personally like mine almost overdone with a lot of brown edges, but my girls hate it that way. If yo ulike the crispy edges you will need to roast it for closer to 35 minutes.

Enjoy!

~DD

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

This is another of my go-to meals that I usually have all the ingredients for on hand. Something I love for a substantial lunch or for a light dinner. Now DH and the girlies are not huge fans of this as a meal, mostly because it very obviously contains vegetables, which they all try to avoid as much as possible.

If you haven't tried Quinoa yet you really need to. It is an amazing little grain that tastes and feels somewhat like a nutty whole grain cous cous. It is a wonder grain that contains high amounts of protein and is gluten free, this makes it an excellent addition to both vegetarian and low-carb style diets.

Ingredients:
4 Bell Peppers, I prefer green, mostly because they are the cheapest, use whatever you like.
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 c chopped tomatoes. I use grape tomatoes, I think that they have the best flavor.
1 T Olive Oil
1 c. Quinoa (dry)
2 c vegetable stock (or any other stock or broth, just don't use plain water)
1 t oregano
1 t cumin
1-2 T tomato paste

Optional:
1/2 t chili flakes
Fresh lime wedges
Fresh Cilantro
Cheese
Meat


Ok, Start by cutting off the top 1/3 of the bell peppers. Clean out the insides from both the top and the bottom. Place all of the larger bottoms in a microwave safe dish. Then chop the top part of the peppers (leaving the stems out) the onion and the tomatoes.

Place the bottoms of the Peppers into the microwave for 5-7 min until just soft and starting to cook.

Put the olive oil, garlic, peppers, and onions into a sauce pan and saute until the onions start to turn clear. Add the tomatoes. Saute for another 2-3 min.

Add the dry quinoa, stock, spices, and tomato paste to the pan and stir well. Let boil for 15 minutes. If there isn't enough liquid to fully cook the quinoa you can add more stock or some water as you go. You can tell when the quinoa is done by looking at it. It should turn mostly clear looking with a little white germ visible around the side. There shouldn't be any white polka dots of opaqueness in the middle.

When it is done you can stuff the peppers and serve immediately. As you can see I only has 2 peppers so I had some leftover stuffing. Adding cheese or meat on top makes it a more filling meal, adding the lime and cilantro really brightens up the heaviness of the tomato. These freeze well, I usually eat 1 and then have the others for lunch later.

Enjoy!

~DD

A Husband Sort of a Meal

Tonight I made Country Fried Steak and Smashed Baked Potatoes with Gravy. It isn't the kind of meal that I made very often for a couple of reasons. First of all it isn't very healthy and second, well it isn't very healthy. I guess that's just one reason, but it's so important that it feels like it should be two.

I took a ton of pictures, mostly because this recipe isn't terribly exact when it comes to amounts. So here we go with the ingredients.

Smashed Baked Potatoes

3-4 Medium sized baked potatoes, these were baked 3 days ago.
1/3 c. Milk
1/3 c. Sour Cream
1/4 c. Butter
Sea Salt
Black Pepper

Country Fried Steak

4 cube steaks, roughly 1-1.25 lbs.
1.5 c + 4 T All-Purpose Flour
1/2 c Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
2 Large Eggs
3 T water
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
1/2 c Oil for cooking
6 T Bacon Grease, if you don't save this you can do it without, but it tastes so much better with.

2 c Milk

Preheat the oven to 350*. Cut the potatoes in half.

Scoop out or peel the potatoes and place them into an oven safe pan.

Use a fork to mash to potatoes, you aren't going for really smooth just mostly smashed up.

Add the milk, sour cream, salt and pepper. Mix well. Taste it while you are doing this, you will probably need more salt and pepper than you think.

Cut the butter into 1/4 in cubes and mix in.

Cover and bake for 15 min. Take out and stir in the melted butter bake uncovered for another 15 min. Shockingly enough this is the amount of time it takes to cook the Country Fried Steak. Isn't it cool how that works out.


In three separate container mix the following coating mixtures.



1) 1c. flour with 1t sea salt and a good amount of black pepper, don't under season there is nothing worse than a flavorless coating.

2) 2 large eggs and 3T water, whip up well it should be uniform in color and thickness.

3) 1/2 c flour and 1/2 c Italian bread crumbs

In a large skillet start heating the oil. Use about 2 T of bacon grease and enough oil to have about 1/8 - 1/4 inch in the bottom of the pan. Heat this over medium heat, not too hot or you will burn your steaks instead of having the gorgeous golden coating.

I cut the cube steaks in half so that I have 8 pieces that are 2-3 oz a piece. Then coat them in this order. Flour, egg, then breadcrumb mixture. Personally I like to only coat what will fit into the pan at one time, so I usually coat them 2 or 3 at a time.

Carefully place your coated steaks in the pan one at a time, if the oil is the correct temperature it should bubble gently around the edges as it goes in. If there is no bubbling your heat is too low, if it is snapping and popping then it is too hot.

Cook on one side until you can see the juices coming out the top and the bottom is a golden brown, 3-5 minutes.

Flip over and cook for 3-5 min or until done on both sides.

Remove pieces to a cooling rack with paper towel underneath to catch any excess grease, this will keep them crispy and avoid having them sit and re-absorb and grease that should drain off.

Cook all the pieces that you have.

Once all of the pieces are done you can either remove all of the grease from the pan, I pour mine into a can from the recycling box, then wipe out the pan with a paper towel. If you don't want to do that you can just get a clean pan.

Put 4 T of bacon grease into the pan, if you don't have the bacon grease you can use butter.

Once the grease is melted add 4 T of flour and stir together.

It should look roughly like this, but a little more uniform than mine does. Add a good amount of salt and pepper, again there is nothing worse than under seasoned gravy. Cook for 1 minute to help get rid of the taste of raw flour.

Slowly add milk with one hand while whisking quickly and thoroughly with the other. Gravy reaches it's thickest point when it comes to a boil so make sure that it is boiling before you stop cooking it. You won't have a good idea of how think it will be until it is heated through. Remember to add the milk slowly, you can always thin gravy but it is a huge ordeal to thicken it. I did not get a picture of this part of a process because I don't have three hands.

Plate your dish. I served mine with sweet peas and strawberry iced tea.

Enjoy!

Note 1: This gravy recipe is pretty much a general one that you can use for everything. The bacon grease gravy is what I like on biscuits, although DH like sausage gravy which is a little different. It's a tough process to learn but once you do it opens a ton of doors in the kitchen.

Note 2: I know a lot of people think that I am crazy for keeping bacon grease in my fridge, but it is amazingly flavorful and infinitely useful. I don't use it often or in large quantities because it is so high in fat, but I really do think that you should try it. I keep mine in the sugar bowl that came with my dishes.

Note 3: This meal fed 2 very hungry men, me, a tween, and 3 kids.

~DD