Chicken Caesar Lasagna

Brian and I tried a new recipe and it was okay. Not Brian's cup of tea but I liked it. It wasn't really quick but it was easy. I am posting it because if Brian liked Alfredo sauces as much as I do we would probably make this a lot more often.

Chicken Caesar Lasagna

Ingredients:

-9 dried whole wheat or regular lasagna noodles (we used oven ready but boiled them anyway and it worked fine)

-2 10 oz containers of refrigerated light Alfredo sauce (we used 2 15 oz jars, non refrigerated, regularr Alfredo I dont think it made a difference)

-3 tablespoons lemon juice

-1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

-3 cups chopped cooked, chicken breast (I would use more chicken next time)

-1 10oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

-1 cup bottled roasted red sweet peppers, drained and chopped, (we used the whole jar)

Non stick cooking spray

-1/4 cup shredded italian blend cheeses (we used the whole two cup bag, we like cheese)

Directions:

1) Cook the noodles according to package directions and drain

2) Rinse noodles with cold water, drain again

3) Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine Alfredo sauce, lemon juice, and black pepper

4) Stir in chicken, spinach, and roasted peppers

5) Lightly coat a 3 quart rectangular baking dish with cooking spray

6) Arrange three cooked noodles in bottom of dish

7) Top with 1/3rd mixture

8) Repeat layers of noodles and chicken mixture twice

9) Cover and bake at 325 for 45-55 minutes or until heated through

10) Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and bake uncovered for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly

11) Let stand 15 minutes before serving

Prep: 35 minutes, Bake: 50 minutes, Stand: 15 minutes

Scalloped Potatoes

This is the recipe I made to go with the lamb. Brian loved it and I liked it. I just dont think I like scalloped potatoes for some odd reason. I love potatoes and I love cheese and I like cheese on baked potatoes but I don't LOVE scalloped potatoes as I would have thought. I did think this recipe was a bit salty. I didnt really add salt, I think it came with the cheese. I also didn't really measure the cheese. I figured there is no such thing as too much cheese but maybe there is?

Anyway definitely making it again, will probably measure the cheese this time and maybe add more cream. I did think it could be creamier.

Four Cheese Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for brushing

½ clove of garlic

1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup shredded asiago cheese

1/3 cup shredded raclette or comte cheese

2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick

Kosher sat and freshly ground pepper

2 cups heavy cream

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

4 fresh bay leaves

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1) Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425

2) Generously brush a large skillet with butter, then rub with the garlic

3) Combine the mozzarella, asiago and raclette in a bowl

4) Heat the skillet over medium-high heat

5) Add half of the potatoes, spreading them out

6) Sprinkle with ¾ teaspoon salt, half of the cut up butter, half of the shredded cheese blend and pepper to taste

7) Arrange the remaining potatoes on top

8) Sprinkle with ¾ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste

9) Pour the cream over the potatoes, then add the nutmeg and bay leaves; simmer 3 minutes

10) Dot the potatoes with the remaining cut up butter

11) Generously brush a shallow baking dish with butter, slide the potatoes into the dish; arrange with a fork if desired (if skillet is oven proof bake the potatoes in the skillet)

12) Sprinkle the potatoes with the parmesan cheese and the remaining shredded cheese blend

13) Bake until golden, about 25 minutes

14) Let rest 5 minutes before serving and discard the bay leaves

~Food Network Magazine, April 2011, page 127

Fried Chicken and Artichokes with Salsa Brava

This was last nights dinner. It wasn't hard though you do have to do the marinade and salsa ahead of time. I started the marinade for the chicken and made the salsa last night. Salsa only needed 2 hours but I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time because of the meeting with the Bankerman who we ended up not seeing that night.

This is also came from Food Network Magazine:

Fried Chicken and Artichokes with Salsa Brava

Ingredients:

For the Chicken:

1 cup beer (I ended up using Woodchuck not realizing it was more like cider then beer until it was too late)

1/3 cup sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar (used regular Sherry)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

5 cloves garlic, smashed

1 tablespoon coriander seeds, crushed

3 bay leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

18 chicken wing drumettes*

Extra virgin olive oil for frying**

1 cup all purpose flour

1 8.5 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and halved

Lemon wedges for serving

*We used chicken breasts. I didn't want to spend money on drumettes when we had breasts. I meant to cut them to make them cook easier/faster/have leftovers but I was lazy and hungry so I didnt

**Don't use EVOO. EVOO and OO do not get up to 350 degrees without  A LOT of smoking. Brian didnt tell me this until I had poured the whole bottle in to pot so we did and it turned out fine but Canola Oil works better and is cheaper.

For the Salsa:

1 6 ounce jar piquillo or pimiento peppers drained***

¼ red onion, coarsely chopped

1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped

¼ evoo

½ teaspoon ground coriander

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon dried thyme

Pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons dry white wine

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar (just used regular Sherr)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

***Don't know what these are, couldnt find them, used pepperocini...salsa tasted good. Only other thought was to add crushed tomatoes but we don't think the type of pepper affected that. We think pimento might have made it less spicy?

1) Mix the beer, vinegar, oregano, garlic, coriander, bay leaves, 2 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper in a large bowl

2) Add the chicken, cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight

3) For the salsa, puree the peppers, onion, garlic, olive oil, coriander, paprika, cumin, thyme, cayenne, wine and vinegar in a food processor until smooth

4) Season with salt and black pepper, cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours

5) Heat 1 inch of olive oil in a large pot in a deep fry thermometer registers 350 degrees

6) Meanwhile, season the flour with salt and pepper in a bowl

7) Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry

8) Dredge the chicken in the flour and fry in batches, turning as needed until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes

9) Drain on paper towels

10) Return the oil to 350 and dredge the artichoke hearts in the remaining flour and fry until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes

11) Drain on paper towels and squeeze a few lemon wedges on top

12) Serve the chicken and artichokes with the salsa and more lemon

~Food Network Magazine, May 2010, page 95

Very good. Doesn't make leftovers unless you use drumettes or cut your chicken into pieces. The artichokes were interesting. Definitely make them, they went well with the meal but fried artichokes is interesting. And other then time, everything was really easy. Definitely would make this again. 

Oh and an update on the other meals: I am stuck eating everything. I was stuck eating the beef with egg noodles because the broth wasn't thick enough for Brian. I am stuck eating the chili because it is too hard for Brian to eat at work. I am stuck eating the beef stir fry because this batch is too spicy and is giving Brian tummy troubles. He says he likes the chili and stir fry but yet I am stuck eating the left overs. And he wonders why I don't make things again when he has had 2 servings and I have had the rest.

Beef Stir Fry

Here is another recipe Brian and I like from this month's menu. I got it from Jenna's Journey and she mentions that she based this on Pioneer Woman's Beef and Peppers recipe. I have used a couple recipes from Jenna's Journey and Brian has really liked or loved all of them enough to ask to have it again. I have even reposted some and have a Roast and Carrots recipe and Banana Bread recipe waiting for me to cook.

Here is the recipe, I have included our suggestions.

Beef and Stir Fry

2 lb flank steak sliced 1/4" strips, against the grain  (we would cut them into bite sized pieces, quicker cooking, easier eating)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion sliced (I literally sliced it, Brian says it should be halved then sliced)
1 package udon noodles, dry kind (we couldnt find it so we used rice. Probably won't look for udon noodles in the future)

Make two batches, in two separate bowls, of the following. One batch is for the marinade, the other is the sauce.

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup sherry
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ginger powder
3 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon sriacha (hot chili sauce, I forgot this in the marinade batch)

1) Mix marinade ingredients and toss beef to coat
2) Let marinade for 2 hours (due to scheduling, ours marinaded for 11-12 hours and was fine)
3) Mix sauce ingredients and set aside
4) Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat
5) Cook onions until just beginning to soften, about 4-5 minutes and remove them to a plate (I took the opportunity and added some carrots to the onion)
6) In batches, cook the meat adding additional oil if needed (I didn't)
7) Make sure to distribute the meat evenly in one layer
8) Cook about 1 minute per side (cooking took longer then expected)
9) Once all the meat is cooked, add meat and onions back to the skillet and turn down stove to low
10) Add the sauce and cook until thickened
11) Meanwhile, cook udon noodles according to package directions. Once cooked add to stir fry and toss to combine. (We used previously made white rice, so I zapped in the fridge for 1 minute, added it to pan and let it heat up the rest of the way there)
12) Serve while hot

Forgive the picture...forgot to take one until I was putting it away.

This recipe is spicy. I was fine but definitely needed a drink. If you are not one for spicy it is easy to fix, either take out the hot chili sauce, chili pepper in marinade or chili pepper in sauce or take out all three. I will probably keep the spicyness for next time...some say it speeds up your metabolism and I could always stand to drink more water ;)

Japanese-Style Crispy Pork

My father is amazing and got us a subscription to Food Network Magazine. We love it and are keeping every edition.

A lot of our new recipes we are trying this month are from it and this is a good variation of pork chops.

I wouldn't really call it "Japanese style". The only things that make it Japanese is the panko,  and ginger and using those products don't make it "Japanese".

Besides that, it is a good recipe and easy to make:

Japanese-Style Crispy Pork

Ingredients:

1 lb thin cut boneless pork chops or cutlets, trimmed

Kosher salt

2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine, sake or sherry

1 ½ teaspoons finely grated peeled ginger

2 medium cucumbers

½ to 1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar

1 ½ teaspoons red pepper flakes

3 large eggs

2 cups panko

¾ cup cornstarch

Peanut Oil, for frying

Directions:

1) Season the pork with salt

2) Mix the rice wine and 1 teaspoon ginger and spread on the pork

3) Stack the pork and set aside

4) Peel, quarter and seed the cucumbers; cut into 4 inch spears

5) Toss with the sugar and vinegar

6) Toast the pepper flakes with 1 tablespoon salt in a skillet over medium heat, about 4 minutes, set aside

7) Beat the eggs with ½ cup water in a shallow bowl

8) Put the panko and cornstarch in 2 separate shallow bowls

9) Dredge each piece of pork in cornstarch, dip in egg, then coat with the panko

10) Heat ¼ inch of peanut oil in a large skillet over high heat

11) Fry the pork in batches until golden, 3 to 4 minutes per side

12) Drain on paper-towel-lined plate

13) Sprinkle the cucumbers with some of the spiced salt

14) Mix the tonkatsu sauce and the remaining ½ teaspoon ginger in a bowl

15) Serve the pork with the cucumbers and sauce

~Food Network Magazine, May 2010, page 78

The same page gave a recipe for a possible side sauce: 

2 tablespoons each: Ketchup, Worcester, Sugar and 1 tablespoon of water mixed together. The sauce definitely went with the meal and is very easy.

Notice Brian's expert plating abilities. The cucumbers were a nice touch, nice and light and not too spicy due to the red pepper. We would definitely make this recipe again.

Beer Braised Chicken

This is similar to my Mom's chicken Dijon in some ways. Instead of wine, it uses beer. Instead of Dijon it uses ground mustard (we used Gulden's). This is VERY easy and good.

Beer Braised Chicken

Ingredients:

¼ lb slab or thick cut bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 2 1/2lbs) (I used 2 chicken breasts cut up)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (I used regular salt as I didn't realize it was supposed to be Kosher until now)

All purpose flour, for dredging

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 12 ounce bottle beer (preferably brown ale)

1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed (if you can't find them frozen, skip. NOT worth trying to peel fresh ones)

½ lb small red-skinned new potatoes, halved (cooking will take less time if you quarter them)

2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

2 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar

4 sprigs fresh thyme

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1) Heat large pot over medium high heat

2) Add the bacon and cook until browned, about 5 minutes

3) Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate

4) Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour, shaking off the excess

5)Add the olive oil to the drippings in the pot

6) Add the chicken in batches and cook over medium high heat until golden on the bottom, 6 to 7 minutes, then flip and sear the other side, about 1 minute

7) Add the beer, onions, potatoes, mustard, sugar, thyme and 1 cup water to the pot and stir, making sure the chicken is fully submerged

8) Simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes (we halved the potatoes so while the chicken was done in 15, the potatoes weren't. It probably took 30 minutes total)

9) Discard the thyme and stir in the bacon and parsley

~Food Network Magazine, April 2010, page 82

New good recipes

September as I have said before is full of recipes that are new to us. We were so excited about trying them. So far they have all been  a bust. Not horrible but not worth the effort. We finally found two meals (we liked the fried pickles though they take  awhile but that isn't a meal) that we like so hopefully our luck has turned the corner.

I am going to post one today and the other tomorrow.

 This recipe needs a preface. I am not a huge fan of chili. I can handle about one bowl and that is it. Brian ends up eating all of the left overs and I can go for awhile without eating it. I understand the attraction to it and sometimes forget that I don't like it but am quickly reminded that I don't.

That being said....I did like this recipe and will actually share the leftovers with Brian.

Chili Pot Pie with Polenta Crust

Recipe says it take 2 hours to make....I would budget for 3. Chili is VERY similar to tomato sauce, cooking it longer never hurts and well I was having a hard time with the timing of it. I started it around 7 and we weren't eating until about 9:15.

Ingredients:

Chili:
-2 teaspoons olive oil
-1 1/2 lbs well trimmed boneless beef chuck cut into bite sized chunks (ours started out at over 3 lbs but after trimming it was just about right. I actually think we could have gotten a bigger piece of meat and be fine)
-Salt
-1 medium chopped onion
-1 medium red pepper (I had green so I used green..it was fine)
-3 cloves crushed garlic
-1 serrano or jalapeno chile (recipe says seeded, so that's what I did and mine was pretty big. Not very spicy so if you like your chili spicy you may want to keep the seeds in)
-2 tablespoons tomato paste
-3 tablespoons chili powder
-1 tablespoons ground cumin
-1 (28ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice
-2 cans (15-19 ounce) red kidney beans rinsed and drained

Polenta Crust (what ended up being the hardest part)
-2 cups low fat (1%) milk (we used soy as that is all we have)
-1 1/2 cups cornmeal
-4 1/2 cups boiling water
Salt

Directions:

To prepare chili:

1) In 12 inch skillet, with a broiler safe handle* (if not broiler safe wrap handle in double thickness of foil for broiling in oven late), heat oil on medium-high heat until hot

*All the food would fit precariously in a 12 inch skillet. I used my stock pot and then transferred it to a dutch oven to put in the oven since messes and I normally are best friends, I don't need anything that makes making a mess any easier.

2) Sprinkle beef with 1/4 teaspoon salt
3) Add beef to skillet in 2 batches and cook 4 to 5 minutes per batch or until beef is browned on all sides stirring occasionally and adding more oil if necessary
4) Transfer beef to bowl once it is browned
5) After all beef is browned, add onion, pepper, garlic, and serrano chile to same skillet and cook on medium 8 minutes or until all vegetables are lightly browned and tender, stirring occassionally
6) Stir in tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, cook 1 minute, stirring constantly
7) Return beef and any juices in bowl to skillet
8) Add tomatoes with their juice stirring and breaking up tomatoes with the side of spoon, heat to boiling on medium high
9) Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer an 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally
10) Add beans and cook chili uncovered for 15 minutes longer or until meat is tender
11) After adding beans to chili prepare the polenta

To prepare the polenta (this should be easy, I don't know why it was hard)

1) In a microwaveable safe deep 4 quart bowl or casserole, combine milk, cornmeal and 3/4 teaspoon salt until blended.
2) Whisk in boiling water
3) Cook in microwave on high 12 to 15 minutes (be careful it doesnt bubble over)
4) After first 5 minutes of cooking, whisk vigorously until smooth (mixture will be lumpy at first)
5) Stir 2 more times during cooking

Putting everything together:

1) While polenta is cooking, preheat broiler
2) When chili is done skim off the fat (there wasn't any when ours was done)
3) Spread polenta evenly over chili in skillet (chili was in a dutch oven at this point)
4) Place skillet in broiler 6 to 8 inches away from source of heat and broil polenta 3 to 4 minutes or lightly browned, rotating skillet if necessary for even browning. (Ours never really browned and I left it in for about 15 minutes)
5) Let pot pie stand 10 minutes for easier serving, makes about 9 cups

~Good Housekeeping

Very good, Brian isn't sure why it is "pot pie". I told him about the polenta but it had melted into the chili when I took it out of the dutch oven. Will definitely make this again but won't do it when I am running late and starving :)

Busy Saturday :)

We have had a very busy and productive Saturday and it is only 1pm!

We had to be up at 8 because we got free breakfast at Chik Fil-A. Well our entrees were free and we chose to get hash browns and drinks on the side so we ended up paying a total of $6 for the both of us.

Before breakfast I managed to finish stuffing the Save the Date cards and get them out in the mail. So people should be on the look out for those. I was only 4 days late :)

After breakfast we went to the bank to deposit the rest of the house down payment (did I mention we decided to buy the house? well we did :) ) and went to meet the house sales lady. We are meeting with the bank on Monday and if everything goes well we will finalize the banks paper work then and finalize house paperwork on Wednesday. We should know if everything went through and when the house will be finished by the 19th.

After that we went to Walmart. We were going to Walmart because I wanted a new hot/cold water bottle and groceries and I didn't want to have to stop at two stores. Well....I couldn't find a water bottle that could do both hot and cold water and the larger coffee cup/mug/thermos was only 24 ounces and I need a bigger one then that because I can't just refill it whenever I want. Brian asked why I couldn't just bring two and well, A) I shouldn't have to, B) more for me to carry and drop and C) more likely that it could spill at my desk and get all over the place. I think we are going to look on Amazon for it. The Walmart trip ended up costing about $50 dollars or so but this trip did contain pantry items that we had run out of. I only mention it so I can look up and see how much this month has cost in food.

We have also gone through the most recent Food Network Magazine and of course Brian has found about 10 more recipes I apparently have to make for him. I love the magazine but our recipes of "must try" is getting out of hand.

Brian is going to go play his game for the rest of the day and I will watch Ally McBeal and knit which I haven't gotten to do a lot this week. I should be able to finish the current square and get a good start on another one before tomorrow.

Update on June Meals

Here is what the menu ended up being for June. As with everything, life happens and schedules changed so things got shifted. This is going to be boring for you all but I think it is important for me to keep record of this.

June's Meal List

Thursday, June 9^th: Out

Friday, June 10^th: BLT

Saturday, June 11^th: Chicken Dijon

Sunday, June 12^th: RAH @ Carolines, BMC fend

Monday, June 13^th: Mexican Lasagna

Tuesday, June 14^th: Dixie

Wednesday, June 15^th: Sausage and Zucchini

Thursday, June 16^th:  Tuna w/ lime and pepper crust

Friday, June 17^th:  Spaghettie Carbonara

Saturday, June 18^th: Out

Sunday, June 19^th: RAH @ Carolines, BMC fend

Monday, June 20^th: Greek Style Chicken Skillet Recipe

Tuesday, June 21^st: Chicken with Gnocchi

Wednesday, June 22^nd: Fend

Thursday, June 23^rd: Emeril's tuna melts

Friday, June 24^th: Shephards Pie

Saturday, June 25^th: Poppy Seed Chicken

Sunday, June 26^th: RAH @ Caroline's, BMC fend

Monday, June 27^th: Slow-Cooked Brisket in Onion Gravy

Tuesday, June 28^th:  Fend

Wednesday, June 29^th: Brisket Slippy Joes

Thursday, June 30^th:  Spaghetti

On the Saturday's we ate dinner here it was because we ate lunch out. I did have to add a meal completely (Spaghetti). On top of the $187 we paid originally I paid another $10 to replace a few things that had gone bad or I had forgotten.

I am so far thinking this plan is a success. We are not eating out as much, I am enjoying cooking more, we appear to be saving money (this month is the real test), and the kitchen is being kept clean easier.

Spaghetti Carbonara

This has got to be the simplest recipe ever and it tastes SO good. Brian and I have made this once ourselves and liked it but we made it for our friends (and one of them is a picky eater) on Friday and the four of us ate the whole thing!

Ingredients:

1 lb spaghetti (one of the RARE times we actually use spaghetti)
8 slices (or more) bacon sliced into bite sized pieces
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
3 large eggs
3/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cups half and half

1) Set a large pot of water to boil for pasta.
2) Salt water generously so it tastes like the sea, add olive oil so the pasta doesn't stick together
3) In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat stirring occasionally, until crisp, and transfer to a paper towel lined plate
4) Add pasta and cook until al dente
5) Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together eggs, Parmesan and half and half
6) Set aside until needed
7) Drain pasta leaving some water clinging to it
8) Working quickly, add hot pasta to egg mixture
9) Add bacon, season with salt and pepper and toss to combine (the heat from pasta will cook the eggs)
10) Serve immediately, sprinkled with additional Parmesan cheese

Yum!

The hardest part of the recipe for us is having half and half and bacon on hand. This past Friday we also cooked some chicken to go into it as well. We also used 4 eggs so I used 1 cup of cheese and 3/4 cup of half and half which worked out really well. Not very healthy but sooooo good!

Update on Meal Plan experiment

It hasn't been long enough to know whether we are saving any money but I am noticing a few new things.

1) I am a lot less stressed about dinner. It gets a little wobbly when we have friends come over all of a sudden and I have either planned a meal for 2 people (i.e. no leftovers) or a meal that our guests may not like. Brian and I tend to be a bit more..adventurous? Fancy? in our cooking and our friends not so much (which is totally fine). I can find out that a friend is coming over for dinner that day so a tweak and move around in the meals can be a bit tough in that sense.

However, that situation is a lot better then what we were facing. We were facing, at first, not knowing what we were going to do for dinner. We would start asking "what are we doing for dinner" at about 4 pm or so, start looking for what we could put together with what we had and all of a sudden it is 8pm and we have come up with nothing. We weren't being all that smart with how we decided what we were going to get at the grocery store. We started out in the beginning just writing a list of things as we ran out. That was fine except that lead to us having some of the ingredients for one meal but not everything. It also lead to us not having enough food with left overs or eating the same thing over and over again.

We finally got sick of that and so I tried to create weekly menu's. That worked..and it didn't work. Towards the beginning of that experiment I was picking recipes that we had been collecting but never tried. That was really yummy but got expensive depending on the recipe. I won't call that a failure as some of our favorite repeat recipes are from that time frame. I then figured out that the issue wasn't trying new recipes but that the recipes were of things where we had nothing already in the house to make them except for maybe spices. So we started trying to pick recipes by what we had in the house so that when we did go to the grocery store we were getting the small things rather then EVERYTHING for 5 recipes. We would still find a random recipe that included ingredients we didn't have and make it but it wasn't an every recipe or even once a week thing. Another struggle with this technique is that, at the time, Brian's and my schedules kept changing so recipes kept getting bumped. And at the very end I was making recipes that made too many leftovers. I say this worked because we did find some great recipes and figured out we were on the right path and it didn't work because we couldn't stick to it and our process needed tweaking some more.

Now we are trying this. So far so good. We are still having to tweak what meal gets eaten when but so far everything is evening itself out. I don't have to wonder what we are doing for dinner or if we even have enough ingredients to make a meal for that night with enough for left overs.

2) Because that stress is not there, I am enjoying cooking more. Because I enjoy cooking more, Brian is not doing much cooking. The dishes are being done a lot faster and easier. And we are so far, having just the right amount of left overs. It is no longer a chore which is very nice.

Hopefully this system makes sense monetarily wise as well. I am realizing that in terms of produce, we will need to do that every 2 weeks. The first shopping trip with include the meats, dry items, dairy and half the produce and then 2 weeks later I will get the rest of the produce for the month. My zucchini got wet and so two of them were so bad that I couldn't save them. Oh well, live and learn right? :)

Mexcan Lasagna, Part 2

Don't  skip the rice. It still taste good but it is very soupy and not very lasagna-ey. Adding the diced tomatoes was a good idea :)

Mexican Lasagna

This is Brian's famous Mexican Lasagna recipe. It is also, however, a dish that doesn't really have a recipe.

What you will need:

An Old El Paso Gordita Dinner Kit
1 can Hunt's Manwich Bold Sloppy Joe sauce
1 can Hormel chili with NO beans
1 lb either ground beef or ground turkey
2 lbs of shredded cheese (Chedder, mexican blend, taco blend, etc)
9X13 pyrex baking pan
Mexican Spices (garlic powder, paprika, etc)
1 box of Spanish rice mix cooked
Ranch dressing

1) Cook ground beef/turkey in a large pot with Mexican spices that you have lying around the house
2) While that is cooking, cut the tortillas from the box kit into triangles and line the bottom of the 9X13 pan with half of them so that you cant see the bottom glass
3) Spread half of the ranch sauce on top
4) Cover ranch sauce and tortillas with half the cheese
5) After turkey/beef is cooked, drain and put back in the pot
6) Mix in the rice, Hormel and Manwhich and keep on the stove until hot
7) After it is hot, pour on top of the tortillas, ranch and cheese in the pan
8) Pour some more of the ranch sauce on top of the meat sauce
9) Cover the top of the ranch/meat sauce with the rest tortillas so you can not see the meat below
10) Pour the rest of the ranch (if you don't have enough use the ranch salad dressing) over the top of the tortillas
11) Cover that with the rest of the cheese.
12) Bake in an oven at 350 for about 30 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly

This is not a meal for side dishes...it is very filling. I would make a salad and that is probably about it. I also wouldn't serve it in large portions. We first cut 9 slices out of it and then cut each slice in half and we are fine. Sometimes we do go back for more later. When we were each eating 1/9th of it we were eating WAY too much. It makes a LOT!

Right now we have substituted the rice for 15 ounces of drained diced tomatoes so we will see how that is. Also if you have some cheese you haven't used, feel free to dump it in this dish. We used 1 full bag of Mexican blend but had 1/4 bag of Cheddar that we used as well to use it up. We also had Brian's chili sauce left over from taco night last week which we layered in as well. This is definitely a recipe that can be tweaked and added to based on what you have on hand.

Buying the Gordita Box so far is the cheapest way of getting all the ingredients. Technically you can buy all the ingredients separately but so far it is cheaper to just buy the Gordita box. Also, the Gordita Box's are kind of hard to find so we buy three at a time and always keep 3 Hormel Chili cans and 3 Manwich cans so we can make this in a pinch if need be. All we are ever missing is cheese and the turkey.

Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Lasagna

Apparently people can't leave comments...I am not sure why it is not working but I did catch wind that I should post the Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Lasagna and the Mexican Lasagna recipes :). The Mexican Lasagna is one of Brian's recipes so I have to wait till he makes it to write that one down. In the mean time here is the Sausage and Zucchini Skillet Lasagna

Ingredients:

3/4 lbs Italian pork sausage (casings removed)
2 (8 ounce) zucchini sliced into "chip" form
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb part-skim ricotta cheese
White from 1 large egg
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 cups jarred tomato sauce
8 no boil lasagna noodles
1/3 cups fresh basil leaves

Directions

1) Heat oven to 400F
2) Saute sausage and zucchini in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes or until sausage is lightly browned and zucchini tender
3) Remove skillet from heat, cool slightly
4) Combine ricotta, egg white, mozzarella, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, salt, and pepper
5) Spread 3/4 cup of the tomato sauce on bottom of a 10 inch oven proof skillet, preferably cast iron or nonstick (I use my red enamel "pot" I would use for Mac and Cheese or Turkey Tetrazzini)
6) Top with 2 noodles, long sides touching
7) Spoon 1/3 each of sausage mixture, cheese mixture and basil leaves over noodles
8) Assemble 2 more layers, beginning with 2 noodles, then 3/4 of sauce, 1/3 of the sausage mixture, 1/3 of the cheese mixture, and 1/3 of the basil leaves, ending top layer with the last 2 noodles
9) Spread the remaining 3/4 cup sauce over top and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
10) Cover tightly with foil
11) Bake 35 minutes
12) Let rest 10 minutes before cutting into wedges

Serves: 6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 42 minutes
Total time: 1 hr 2 minutes

Calories: 535
Total fat: 29
Total carbs: 40
Protein: 29

Mackerel for dinnner=Yummy!

Tonight Brian and I had fresh caught Mackerel. How?

1) Smile nicely at guest
2) Give guest directions to a fishing charter
3) Guest gets too much fish and gives you extra's
4) Take out all of your lunch from your cooler and put fishy in there covered with ice and prays it stays good until you get home

Here is the recipe we used:

Spanish Mackerel Fillets, Baked
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

2lbs Florida Spanish Mackerel fillets (any Mackerel fillets will do)
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated Florida onion
1/8 teaspoon Paprika

1) Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper
2) Place in a single layer on a well-oiled baking pan
3) Combine margarine, lemon juice, paprika and onion
4) Cover fillets with the sauce
5) Bake at 350F for 20 to 25 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork

We didn't know what a Florida onion was so we used a Vidalia onion and finely chopped it. I also had a lot more fish then the recipe called for so I doubled the sauce ingredients. I think that was the right choice.  We served it with some Uncle Ben's Long Grained Wild Rice.

It was very good :)