This week has been a pretty off-week as far as cooking. We haven't cooked much. Friday night we had friends over and had sauteed spinach, BBQ chicken (no chicken for me since it was Friday during Lent), baked beans, corn on the cobb that we froze last summer from our garden, and potatoes that were diced with the Lipton onion soup and baked.
We had a LOT of leftovers. So I decided to dice the chicken up, cut the corn off the cobb, add the potatoes and make a Chicken, Corn, Potato chowder! I combined the corn and potatoes first and added a cup of chicken broth. Then I took 1 cup of that out and put it in my food processor. I added a tablespoon of flour to a cup of cold milk and added that to the food processor and processed that until it was a thick paste. Then I added chicken, salt and pepper to the corn and potatoes that were still in the pot. Once that began simmering, I added the paste mixture, stirred frequently and viola. It's soup. LOL
One night this week we also had Chicken Helper, the whole grain, lemon chicken kind. I got the box for 50 cent while couponing last time. It was pretty good. George really liked it, John and I didn't LOVE it. But for that price, we'll probably have it again. I used one large chicken breast, the box of helper and we had a can of green beans with it. In total the meal cost around $3 for the whole family, maybe even less. And it was easy enough that George made it all!
Other than that we really haven't cooked this week. Hopefully I'll have more to post next week!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Sauteed Spinach
I LOVE spinach. I really love that you can buy a large container of organic spinach for $4 at Sam's club.
Sauteed Spinach
1 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves diced
Spinach (I'll have to look and see what size the container is!)
Heat olive oil and garlic in a skillet. I love to use a cast iron skillet for this. Also, you're going to think it's a LOT of spinach, but it cooks down. I also have a small cup of water on hand to add to it a tsp at a time.
Add spinach, one handful at a time and stir it around until it wilts. Also, I like to add sea salt and fresh ground pepper as I'm cooking this. If it appears to be getting too dry, add water, one teaspoon at a time. Keep adding spinach slowly until it is all cooked down and dark green in color.
Sauteed Spinach
1 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves diced
Spinach (I'll have to look and see what size the container is!)
Heat olive oil and garlic in a skillet. I love to use a cast iron skillet for this. Also, you're going to think it's a LOT of spinach, but it cooks down. I also have a small cup of water on hand to add to it a tsp at a time.
Add spinach, one handful at a time and stir it around until it wilts. Also, I like to add sea salt and fresh ground pepper as I'm cooking this. If it appears to be getting too dry, add water, one teaspoon at a time. Keep adding spinach slowly until it is all cooked down and dark green in color.
Roasted Onion Potatoes
Onion Roasted Potatoes
Red potatoes (2 per person eating), I usually do about 10 medium sized potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 package Lipton's Onion Soup Mix (I got several packs free a while back while couponing and needed to use them)
1 tsp garlic salt
Heat oven to 350. Dice potatoes and put them in a large bowl. Add olive oil and onion soup mix and stir until evenly coated. Spread onto a baking sheet (one layer of potatoes). Sprinkle the top of potatoes with garlic salt. Bake 20 min, take out and stir. Bake an additional 10 minutes.
Red potatoes (2 per person eating), I usually do about 10 medium sized potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 package Lipton's Onion Soup Mix (I got several packs free a while back while couponing and needed to use them)
1 tsp garlic salt
Heat oven to 350. Dice potatoes and put them in a large bowl. Add olive oil and onion soup mix and stir until evenly coated. Spread onto a baking sheet (one layer of potatoes). Sprinkle the top of potatoes with garlic salt. Bake 20 min, take out and stir. Bake an additional 10 minutes.
Rotini Turkey Tomato Pasta
I think buy now, most people know I'm cheap, no scratch that, I'm THRIFTY. LOL So I rarely make any recipe the same every time, there's usually something added or missing. And I'm ALWAYS on a hunt to find a way to add veggies to food, mostly to reduce calories but add volume.
Rotini Turkey Pasta
16 ounces whole wheat rotini
1 lb lean ground turkey
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp italian herbs (I use a blend shaker)
salt/pepper to taste
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 onion diced
4 minced garlic cloves
1 package frozen spinach
2 cups sliced mushrooms
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until tender and translucent. Stir in garlic, and saute until garlic is soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground turkey and cook through until browned. Add italian herbs. Stir in tomato sauce and paste. Add tomatoes. Add spinach and mushrooms. Let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes.
Serve sprinkled with cheese.
Rotini Turkey Pasta
16 ounces whole wheat rotini
1 lb lean ground turkey
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp italian herbs (I use a blend shaker)
salt/pepper to taste
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 onion diced
4 minced garlic cloves
1 package frozen spinach
2 cups sliced mushrooms
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until tender and translucent. Stir in garlic, and saute until garlic is soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground turkey and cook through until browned. Add italian herbs. Stir in tomato sauce and paste. Add tomatoes. Add spinach and mushrooms. Let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes.
Serve sprinkled with cheese.
Creamy Pesto Pasta
I'm going to try to post some of my recipes on my blog, as I make them throughout the week.
I have a few from this week. I'll start with this one. Inspired by a friend's facebook post :)
One day this week, I forgot to thaw out meat for supper, so this was vegetarian.
Variations in vegetable could include asparagus or peas. Chicken or shrimp (or anything you like) would also be a good protein to add!
Creamy Pesto Pasta
16 ounces whole wheat thin spaghetti
2 Tbs olive oil
1 tbs butter
1 small onion, chopped
5 minced garlic cloves
2 Tbs All-purpose flour
2 cups fat free milk
salt/pepper to taste
3/4 cup parmesean cheese (I used Kraft from the shaker, but you can use any variety, you could also use romano cheese instead)
1 cup prepared pesto (I used Tastefully Simple tomato basil pesto)
1 pound meat (shrimp or chicken, IF you want)
2 cups sliced mushrooms (i used canned)
2 tomatoes diced
4 cups broccoli steamed
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until tender and translucent. Stir in garlic and butter, and saute until garlic is soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Dissolve flour in milk, then stir in. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add cheese, and stir until melted. Stir in pesto. Add shrimp, mushrooms and tomatoes and broccoli. Cook 4 minutes, or until heated through. Toss with pasta until evenly coated.
I have a few from this week. I'll start with this one. Inspired by a friend's facebook post :)
One day this week, I forgot to thaw out meat for supper, so this was vegetarian.
Variations in vegetable could include asparagus or peas. Chicken or shrimp (or anything you like) would also be a good protein to add!
Creamy Pesto Pasta
16 ounces whole wheat thin spaghetti
2 Tbs olive oil
1 tbs butter
1 small onion, chopped
5 minced garlic cloves
2 Tbs All-purpose flour
2 cups fat free milk
salt/pepper to taste
3/4 cup parmesean cheese (I used Kraft from the shaker, but you can use any variety, you could also use romano cheese instead)
1 cup prepared pesto (I used Tastefully Simple tomato basil pesto)
1 pound meat (shrimp or chicken, IF you want)
2 cups sliced mushrooms (i used canned)
2 tomatoes diced
4 cups broccoli steamed
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until tender and translucent. Stir in garlic and butter, and saute until garlic is soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Dissolve flour in milk, then stir in. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add cheese, and stir until melted. Stir in pesto. Add shrimp, mushrooms and tomatoes and broccoli. Cook 4 minutes, or until heated through. Toss with pasta until evenly coated.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Here I go
It's been a while since I've blogged. A lot has gone on in the last year. I finished grad school in July and we had another baby in November. All this while we both worked and took care of our precious son. I'm not sure what kind of direction or theme I want to take with this blog. I thought craft, life, parenting, etc. I think I'll just write about whatever inspires me at the moment, perhaps it's a dress tutorial, or maybe it's me on my soapbox about something I've heard. In any case, you can be sure that you'll read a lot of opinions. And that's all they are, MY opinions, please don't let them offend you as that is not what they are meant to do. I'm sure that someone will take offense to my ideas about breastfeeding and parenting. Someone always does. I do want to say that I know that every child, woman and family is different. What works for us, may not work for you. I do not consider myself any better or worse for any of my choices. I guess that's my intro for now.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Terrific Tuesday
Going to try to pick this up now!
Well, Tuesday wasn't exactly spectacular here, but it was enjoyable as always. John and I spent a lazy day hanging out and snuggling. He isn't quite feeling himself after having shots yesterday and another ear infection. That makes 7 in exactly 5 months!!! YIKES!! Luckily we had a consult with the ENT last week and John is getting tubes on June 18th. I am very grateful that he will not be suffering anymore but the whole idea is very scary!
John had his 15 month well child yesterday. He is 21 pounds (8th percentile), 30.25 inches (24th percentile), and his big ol' noggin was in the 74th percentile. Poor kid! The doc was not concerned at all, she said as long as he's eating well it's no big deal, that he probably shot up in height this time, next time it's likely to be opposite! She also said that we were okay with not drinking whole milk. John drink about a cup of 2% milk with about 1/3 cup strawberry pediasure once a day and he nurses 2-4 times a day. She said as long as he is getting calcium then he is fine (he also eats yogurt daily). We're also watching his teeth for a top lip frenulum issue, it appears that the large gap in his teeth is due to a shirt frenulum that wraps around his top gum, which it shouldn't do. If you lift up your top lip you'll see that a normal frenulum stops before the teeth. This would likely only cause cosmetic issues with his permanent teeth, which could be quite costly for mom and dad in the future. We are going to watch it for a few more months and talk about it further at the 18 month check up. So we'll see. Other than that she said he's pretty much perfect, but we already knew that!!! He did great with his shots, he didn't cry at all for the shots or the finger prick, he only cried when they tried to hold him still to stop the bleeding in his finger, that was fixed easily by letting him nurse while they messed with him. He could care less about what anyone is doing as long as he can nurse.
John has also started talking a lot more and doing a ton of new stuff! But that's a whole 'nother post!
We also had an ultrasound and baby checkup last week. The baby is doing GREAT! I am still feeling rather pregnant, but that's par for the course I suppose! We go back to the doctor on June 28th for our anatomy ultrasound and checkup. One thing I can say about this pregnancy in comparison to John is that it flies by when you are preoccupied with a toddler!!!
Hope to update more soon!!! ~Emily
Well, Tuesday wasn't exactly spectacular here, but it was enjoyable as always. John and I spent a lazy day hanging out and snuggling. He isn't quite feeling himself after having shots yesterday and another ear infection. That makes 7 in exactly 5 months!!! YIKES!! Luckily we had a consult with the ENT last week and John is getting tubes on June 18th. I am very grateful that he will not be suffering anymore but the whole idea is very scary!
John had his 15 month well child yesterday. He is 21 pounds (8th percentile), 30.25 inches (24th percentile), and his big ol' noggin was in the 74th percentile. Poor kid! The doc was not concerned at all, she said as long as he's eating well it's no big deal, that he probably shot up in height this time, next time it's likely to be opposite! She also said that we were okay with not drinking whole milk. John drink about a cup of 2% milk with about 1/3 cup strawberry pediasure once a day and he nurses 2-4 times a day. She said as long as he is getting calcium then he is fine (he also eats yogurt daily). We're also watching his teeth for a top lip frenulum issue, it appears that the large gap in his teeth is due to a shirt frenulum that wraps around his top gum, which it shouldn't do. If you lift up your top lip you'll see that a normal frenulum stops before the teeth. This would likely only cause cosmetic issues with his permanent teeth, which could be quite costly for mom and dad in the future. We are going to watch it for a few more months and talk about it further at the 18 month check up. So we'll see. Other than that she said he's pretty much perfect, but we already knew that!!! He did great with his shots, he didn't cry at all for the shots or the finger prick, he only cried when they tried to hold him still to stop the bleeding in his finger, that was fixed easily by letting him nurse while they messed with him. He could care less about what anyone is doing as long as he can nurse.
John has also started talking a lot more and doing a ton of new stuff! But that's a whole 'nother post!
We also had an ultrasound and baby checkup last week. The baby is doing GREAT! I am still feeling rather pregnant, but that's par for the course I suppose! We go back to the doctor on June 28th for our anatomy ultrasound and checkup. One thing I can say about this pregnancy in comparison to John is that it flies by when you are preoccupied with a toddler!!!
Hope to update more soon!!! ~Emily
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