*Food Friday* Cluck Cluck Chicken

I miss living in the same city as a Costco. I miss everything about Costco. The samples. The copious quantities of items. The liters of alcohol. Mainly, though, I miss the cheap rotisserie chickens. The big juicy rotisserie chickens. Who knew that the ocean would drive the cost up three dollars and drive the size down? It's pretty much a conspiracy to get you to eat more seafood. Conspiracy I tell you.

It's pretty easy for me to sit here and extol the virtues of the rotisserie chicken. Fully cooked and ready to go, what isn't there to love about them? A meal in themselves, they are right up there with the fish that Jesus used to feed the five thousand in that you can usually stretch them out over the week. Chop some up add some mayo, BAM! Chicken salad. I use it in recipes to cheat. Anything that calls for cooked chicken. Call me lazy, just don't call me late for dinner.  I made this recipe as a way to get dinner on the table quickly for Monkey. And yes there's spinach again. I like to think of spinach as the tofu of the leafy green world. Plus, my baby's iron levels were way up at his one year appointment, so don't expect the spinach to be going anywhere. It's good for you! Eat it!

Chicken Baked Ziti

Printable Version

1 jar spaghetti sauce

1 cup frozen chopped spinach

1 cup cooked chicken

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 box whole wheat penne pasta

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare penne according to package directions. Cook spinach on medium heat in a small saucepan. Once heated through, add cooked chicken and spaghetti sauce. Combine with penne pasta and cheese. Place in ungreased 9x9 glass pan. Bake for 10-15 minute or until bubbling.

It's all going to end up on the floor anyway...

Easiest way to get a toddler to eat? Cover it in sauce. And cheese. Oh man, Monkey goes bananas (see what I did there?) when the parmesan cheese container comes out. He also really loves the tube noodles for the same reasons his father loves Bugles.

Eat This

I almost didn't sit down to write this post. Monkey has been sick for a while and today he not only woke up cranky and not feeling well, but one eye was almost swollen shut. Today is my Saturday, so I'm home with crankypants. An upset one year old is akin to a sixteen year old girl with PMS. We went from playing happily to screaming to reading quietly to screaming. If I close my eyes, I can still feel him pulling on my legs to be picked up and hear him yelling in my ear to be put down. You better believe that the second I'm done here I'm pouring myself a very very very tall glass of wine. Very tall.

One of the things that has been super challenging since becoming a domestically challenged mommy is preparing meals. Any meal. Even snacks. I've had to rely on ready made options more often than not and you know what? We're all alive and nourished. In fact, I was able to throw together a really scrumptious dinner thanks to my Ergo carrier and stuff I already had on hand. Never underestimate the power of your pantry.

  Kinda Sorta Chicken Spinach Alfredo

Printable Version

1 package precooked chicken strips

1 cup frozen chopped spinach

1 jar Alfredo sauce

1 regular package spaghetti

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Salt and Pepper to taste

**This is not a particularly sauce-y recipe. Have you cleaned Alfredo out of a toddler's hair lately. If you prefer more sauce, add an extra jar.**

Prepare spaghetti according to package directions. Cook spinach on medium heat in a small saucepan. Once heated through, add garlic. Add precooked chicken strips and jarred Alfredo sauce. Heat through. Combine with spaghetti.

The really epic thing about this? I got to eat this meal hot. 

Mommy made. Monkey approved.

Get used to seeing spinach in just about every recipe I make. Monkey had low iron at his nine month check up and one of the ways we're trying to up his levels is through his diet. Leafy greens are iron rich and spinach blends in to just about everything. It's like tofu. Just not. Now, where's that wine?

No Time to Say Hello Goodbye

The past week has been out of control crazy and this week isn't looking much better. A couple of updates:

 

1) Mandie is doing much better. I check her urine twice a day (she just loves peeing on a paper towel)and haven't noticed anymore red since day two of the antibiotics our fabuloso vet put her on (big shout out to Dr. Malter at Oceanlake Veterinary).

 

2) The biggest change for our family this week came in the form of getting rid of our non-family friendly car. Yes, that's right folks, Husband bought this undomestic diva a very domestic vehicle. A Subaru! Happy early Valentine's Day to me.

 

I've wanted a Subaru since I was in high school and it's all I ever talk about owning (besides a Lamborghini, dream big girls, dream big). The Mustang was supposed to be a Subaru but sometimes I let Husband have his way when he shouldn't. Either way, we are now the super stoked owners of a 2010 Subaru Impreza. Pictures as soon as she gets a bath. Oh and suggestions for names welcome.

 

That's it in the the what's new here category. Didn't manage to get out and walk the dogs as much as I would've like because the weather finally remembered that this is the Oregon Coast and it started to rain again. I'm aiming for five out of seven days this week. Still no running on the horizon but believe me when I do, I'm looking at all hill work.

 

I can't believe the amount of stuff that I need to accomplish. Between paying bills, cleaning, laundry, getting Melodie's nails cut, grocery shopping and the list that never ends, I should not be writing; however, my sanity requires me to take a moment and breath. So here I sit.

 

It's amazing that I even had time to cook at all. We did break our no eating out rule big time, so this week's menu isn't nearly as exciting as last week's. However, now that I have Husband on board with eating at home more (he saw how much we really did save and rather enjoyed having something for lunch too), the menus should go back to being rather complete. Here are this week's:

 

 



 

Kathy's Delicious Slow Cooker Chicken

Literally fall off the bone fantastic. A little prep work with getting the skin off and I didn't use a whole chicken. I used bone in chicken breast halves and they worked perfectly. Perfect Sunday dinner. 

 

Johnsonville Chipotle Monterey Jack Cheese Chicken Sausage Mexican Market Soup

(I'll say it here: this recipe has the dumbest name)

This was a really great soup, even if it was spicier than I would've like it. This also made a ton, so I have a big container of it in the freezer for one of those "I don't want to cook and you can't make me" days. 

 

Quick Tuna Casserole

This is my favorite meal to make. Super easy and I realize that it sounds like it would gross from just the ingredients, but give it a try (the recipe is below). Husband and I both love it and we know how rare that is.

 

Master Pizza Dough

I use this recipe for my dough when I'm in a hurry. I think I may have been trying to hurry a little too much this time, though, and didn't allow it to rise properly. Next time, Master Pizza Dough, next time.

 

 

Quick Tuna Casserole
(Adapted from Allrecipes.com, originally posted by Tresa Raymer)
Printable Version

2 packages macaroni and cheese mix

2 pouches of tuna, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 Tbl seasoned breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare macaroni and cheese according to directions. Stir in tuna and cream of mushroom soup. Pour mixture into greased 9x9 baking dish. Top lightly with breadcrumbs. Bake 10 to 15 minutes until bubbly. Take out of oven and try not to consume entire dish by yourself (sharing is caring).


Yes I left out the peas. Yes I doubled the recipe. Yes I want my butt to grow three sizes. Don't judge.

Well that's it for now. Off to find some motivation a.k.a. caffeine.

How do you keep sane in the midst of the hurricanes of life??

Just When You Think It's Safe to Get Back in the Water

We're already into the second month of the new year. How did that happen? It feels like just yesterday Husband was putting away the Christmas decorations (and if I had my way, it would've been yesterday).

 

This past week was definitely different. It was the first official week of being completely in our new home. I even meal planned for the week. We were finally settling into a routine when I noticed that something was quite right.

 

Our Mandie is a creature of habit and prefers sleeping in her "chair" over just about anything else (except food; girl loves her Taste of the Wild). However, the past few nights have seen me getting up in the middle of the night to let her drink and go out potty. I haven't gotten up this many times since Melodie was a puppy.

 

While on our walks (which I have been trying to get better about since Mandie was referred to as roly poly at her last check up), Mandie will pee every two feet. Now for dog owners, we know-this is not unusual. It's all about being top dog and peeing on someone else's territory. However, when I say every two feet, I mean literally every two feet. Waddle waddle waddle squat. Waddle waddle waddle squat (hey she's four inches off the ground, not exactly Giselle like). Today was waddle waddle waddle squat and pee blood. HOLY HECK IN A HAND BASKET!

 

Frantic call was made to Husband via my personal electronic leash, which of course he didn't answer. Then it was home as fast as possible, still with the waddling and the squatting. Got home called the vet, made an emergency appointment and was told we could come in early, though, to see if she could be seen. We showed up early.

 

Of course, Mandie was all peed out, so now she's at the vet being waited on hand and foot while this puppy momma is at home FREAKING out and trying to snuggle Melodie who just wants to play outside. The novelty of a front yard has not worn off for that one.

 

Instances like this make me feel like I'm going to be a terrible mother some day. I had every worse case scenario running through my head and was thinking about the horrible invasive procedures they were going to have to perform. When Mandie was taken to the back, it's quite possible I almost started crying. Worst feeling coming home without her. If we don't hear anything by two, I'm supposed to call them but I don't think I'll be able to wait until then.

 

So while this week showed great potential, I'm calling it as a bust. There was much cooking going on in the kitchen, though. I signed up for Allrecipes.com Pro Membership which includes a super cool meal planner. You just choose the meal you want to cook from your recipe box (which is akin to my Pinterest board in the overwhelming amount of recipes it contains) and drag it onto the menu. It automatically generates a grocery list, which I love, because without a list, I blow my grocery budget every time. Here are pictures of the recipes I made this week:

 

Lasagna Alfredo Roll Ups.

 I was really expecting these to be time consuming. They were not. AND even though they were overwhelmingly vegetarian, Husband ate it with no complaints (when in doubt smother it in Alfredo sauce). Keep in mind when using frozen spinach that you want to rinse it and squeeze out any extra liquid, otherwise interesting is the nicest way to describe the way it tastes. I also sauteed some garlic in with my spinach because, well, I heart garlic.

 





 

Taco Pie.

 Again, another super easy recipe but I had to make quite a few modifications which I'll list below.

 



 

A-Maize-Ing Corn Chowder

Surprisingly, while Husband enjoys corn, he doesn't care for soup, so this wasn't a huge hit, except for the bacon on top. I, however, thoroughly enjoyed it and can't think of any changes that I made to it.



 

Baked Chicken

This was quite easily the yummiest meal of the week. Full of flavor and fat, I would totally make it again, but only after a really really really long run.

 



 

Crescent Pizza Pockets

Meh, not sure I'd made these again. Great idea but the proportions of ingredients to the directions was off. Tasty, but a bit aggravating.

 

 

Taco Pie
(Adapted from Allrecipes.com, originally posted by Stephanie)
Printable Version

1 package refrigerated crescent rolls

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 large onion minced

1 package taco seasoning mix

1 minced clove garlic

8 oz. sour cream
1/2 can refried beans

8 oz colby jack cheese

1 cup crushed tortilla chips
 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lay crescent dough flat on the bottom of a square cake pan and bake according to package directions. DO NOT UNDER BAKE. Meanwhile, brown the ground turkey and saute onions together in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the taco seasoning and stir together well. In separate bowl, mix sour cream and refried beans together. When dough is done, remove from oven and place meat mixture on top, then layer with sour cream and refried beans and cheese, and then top off with the crushed nacho chips. Return to oven and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted.

Well that's what's happening around these parts. I want to hear from you now. How did your week go?

 

**Food Friday!!** Fried Chicken, Take 2!

Sometimes I just get the urge for one of those meals my Maternal Unit would make. Perfectly put together, an edible balance of stuff you didn't want to eat and stuff you couldn't get enough of so you ate it all. Usually those meals mean added sessions with a Jillian Michaels DVD, but they're so worth it. I found this recipe for Chicken Fried Chicken over at My Name is Snickerdoodle, probably via Pinterest, the mecca for everything yummy. I knew it would be worth the sweat and tears, so I decided to conquer my frying fears.

 

 

I've always scoffed at recipes that had you pound your chicken flat, mainly because I'm lazy. Had I not done that for this recipe, though, I think the chicken would have taken too long too cook and the breading would've gotten burnt. And yes, it really was a good way to let my aggressions out. All two of them.

 

 

Making the best use of a small space. I've recently reconfigured my kitchen counters to give me a little more room but learning to work with what you have is part of being undomestic.

 

 

Dressed and ready for a night out!

 

 

My what sizzling (EXTREMELY hot!) oil you have.

 

 

Brown and sure to make your blood pressure rise (just like me).

 

 

The beginnings of the gravy. Unfortunately, I ended up scorching the drippings a bit, so my gravy was not so great. Should've just made it in a fresh pan like I normally do. That's what I get for stepping out onto the ice.

 

I had half a breast left over the next day and after reheating it in my handy dandy toaster oven, I slapped it on two pieces of toast with mayo, provolone and romaine lettuce and it was by far my favorite leftover meal to date. Make sure to head over to My Name is Snickerdoodle and check out Amy's other amazing recipes!

 

Food, er, Saturday

This week passed in a blur. Most of the time I was asleep. Melodie went to the vet and we learned she has a heart murmur. Dealt with cranky people. Am constantly hungry. This post is already late and I don't know what to write. I'll just get to the good part.

Mac & Cheese

 Tried a new, slightly healthier version of mac and cheese. Also, used whole grain pasta which was surprisingly tasty. Even more surprising was the fact that Husband had a second helping.

I've been really bad at remembering to take the picture BEFORE I start eating, but in my defense, I make a tasty tasty ham sandwich.

Mexican Cornbread Casserole

 

Close up of the yummy goodness.

Mmmm corn bread.

 I love all things corn bread. Husband doesn't really, but last time I checked it was I who made culinary decisions in this house.

Crockpot Chicken Ragu

Served with whole grain pasta again. I made this mistake of adding a little water from trying to get the last of the sauce out of the spaghetti sauce jar, so my sauce was thing. Will note for next time.

Hope this post wasn't too boring for you. I'll try to do better next week (try being the operative word).

PS Anyone else think cornbread should be it's own food group?

Food Friday

Not gonna lie. Sometimes it's difficult to get full when eating between 1200 and 1500 calories. But...I sure as hell tried. AND I'm down three pounds. *Insert applause here* Even more difficult than actually counting the calories, though, was trying to make food Husband would still eat. He's been very supportive, which I appreciate, even when I needed a few more calories to make my day and he suggested Pop-tarts. Something about fruit filling.

Anywho, I did manage to find some great recipes once again on Sparkpeople.com and I think they'll make great additions to future menus.

Enchiladas

I think from now on I will always make enchiladas use corn tortillas. I will not, however, be rolling them again. This recipe reminded me of why I stopped doing that; mainly, because I suck at it. I did make Husband a couple in flour tortillas and I also added some fresh cilantro to my enchilada sauce. My cilantro obsession continues.

Crock Pot Sour Cream and Onion Chicken

If you don't try another recipe from this post, try this one. Super easy and the sauce made my super bland brown rice phe-nom-e-nal. One note: Even with still partially frozen chicken breasts, this recipe cooked in 4 hours on low. I think I must have the world's most impatient slow cooker.

Johnsonville 3-Cheese Chicken Sausage and Noodles

*Sigh* Just looking at this makes me hungry. Alas, I did not eat this. This is what I made for Husband after I heated up a sausage and brown rice for myself. I had leftover Lipton side dish noodles from his dinner yesterday, so I mixed the two together. It smelled so good. He ate it all. What a good man, eliminating temptation for his wife.

I'm rather impressed that I was able to sit down and write this entire post without having to run to the bathroom. Since starting to regularly drink 8 glasses of water a day, I've gone thru two entire rolls of toilet paper by myself. Interestingly enough, I think I've gotten to the point where if I were stranded in the wilderness, I would be okay drinking my own pee. TMI??

So, what did was your splurge for the week? Perhaps a slice of New York-style cheesecake? Hmm? Perhaps?

Food Friday

In February, I signed up for my work's Biggest Loser Challenge. I would say it was to embrace a more healthy way of living, but in reality the grand prize is a $100 gift card once a month for a year. Since Husband has to pay for his own gas for work and I like to eat, I became highly motivated.

Except I wasn't. For the first month, I did okay, but that isn't cutting it as this is a company wide competition and after last week's weigh in, I dropped way below where I wanted to be on the leader board (as in nowhere near being a leader at all). So I've decided it's time to kick it into high gear. With the help of the sparkpeople.com website (find me at coconut85) and my biggest loser buddy, Mrs. Next Door Neighbor, I'm looking to lose 25 pounds by May and bring home the gas.

In doing so, I've had to adjust my eating habits. Part of the SparkPeople process is tracking what you eat and since I'm kinda kickstarting my (overly large) behind into gear, I picked recipes from their sister website, SparkRecipes.com to make. Eventually, I'll figure out how to incorporate recipes from other sources but for now, as I stare down that 25 pounds with my hand hovering above my metaphorical fat blasting gun, I'll stick to what works. Feel free to ask me how I'm doing, what I've eaten or how many times I've gone to the bathroom (eight glasses of water goes right thru me).

Baked Lemon Chicken

 I'm kind of into all things lemon right now. Lemon water, lemon chicken, lemon chiffon cookies....mmm cookies...

Cilantro Chicken Tacos

Added brown rice because apparently I'm a lemming and that's what everyone says to do.

 I promise these tacos were nothing special. Just add taco seasoning, garlic and cilantro to the chicken and voila! Taco. Must remember to put cilantro in EVERYTHING.

Ranch Cheddar Turkey Burgers

That's right baby! The UDG has conquered the grill!

Remember this post? I do. Like it was yesterday, which made tonight's dinner taste that much better. Take that flimsy ignition wires.

So there you have it. Hey that's two posts in one week. I'm doing pretty good for coming off an unexpected sabbatical. But I have decided since I'm now a full time Night Auditor at the Hotel (read: graveyard slave), two times a week is all I can handle. That means I'm scratching the Meatless Monday posts. I promise I'll try to make it up in the other two. Well maybe not promise, more like gesture grandly.

Oh and let me know if you have any tasty, healthy recipes. Emphasis on tasty.

**Crazy Cooking Challenge!!** Some things go together like chicken and noodles...

My very first attempt at homemade chicken noodle soup

 I did it! I finished way before the deadline! The task handed down to us this month by Tina at Mom's Crazy Cooking was find and make a chicken noodle soup recipe. I totally owned this one. After consulting my Chicken Noodle Soup board on Pinterest (feel free to check it out here), I chose to make the recipe that Laura from Real Mom Kitchen posted. Now Husband is always raving about the chicken noodle soup his granny makes and let's face it, I've barely scratched the surface of what I can cook. I will say that this was edible and passed the seconds test (as in Mr. Ridiculously Picky had seconds).

I just love how pretty all the veggies look and how not pretty my pot looks (it's clean I promise, just well loved).

 

Now this particular recipe calls for the inclusion of chicken gravy, which I have never used before, but thickens the soup up just enough to make it hearty.

So there it is. This recipe was exactly as the name suggested, easy, especially when using rotisserie chicken. And with the cute bow tie pasta, I made it my own. Make sure to take a moment at check out Real Mom Kitchen and the other fantastic recipes listed there. Oh and don't forget to vote!

PS Voting this month is a little different. Voting will be done simply by clicking on the recipe below in the linky party; so if you found this post via Facebook or a reader and would like for your visit to count, please take a moment and click on my link. Thank you!

Food Friday

Oh man this has to be the first Food Friday post I've done in a while that was actually done without duress. I hope it shows.

Homemade bread

I started baking bread my sophomore year of college, after I received my bread machine from Middle Child and wife. I would say it's safe to say I've made close to a hundred plus loaves of bread since and while my machine still does most of the heavy lifting, I really like to bake the loaves off in the oven. A 1 1/2 lb loaf splits into two nicely, that way I can fulfill my carb cravings and give one away.

Grilled Stuffed Burritos

I will most likely never have a deep yearning for Taco Bell (or Taco S#@! as Husband calls it) since I know how to make these now. Kelly at Semi Homemade Mom has come up with a spot on recipe that makes a TON (be prepared for leftovers). However, these were so good, Husband ate...seconds. In all actuality, he ate fourths. Any time Husband eats more than one helping, I know I'm onto something. I was ready to give up my George Foreman, but I guess it now serves a purpose.

Cook chicken boobs, cook.

Original Recipe for chicken and good ol' Pasta Roni.

 So once a week, I do a slow cooker chicken recipe, usually on the day I know that I have absolutely no time because I need to sleep. What I've started to do, is take marinade recipes, throw my frozen chicken breasts in, turn the crock pot on, set my alarm and forget about it. For this week, I slightly modified the recipe I found because 1) I didn't need to marinade 18 chickens and 2) I didn't have all the ingredients. Also, when I put four chicken breasts, frozen, in my slow cooker, they're done in four hours. A minute more and they turn into dust balls. So make sure when making any of my slow cooker recipes in your slow cooker, you adjust for that. Apparently, mine thinks it's a microwave.

Marinade For Chicken

(adapted from recipe on Allrecipes.com posted by JILLYPOOH)

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

seasoning salt, to taste

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup Italian Dressing

1 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Rub chicken breasts with seasoning salt. Mix remaining ingredients together. Put in slow cooker with chicken. In a normal slow cooker, will most likely be 6-8 hours on low and 3-4 hours on high.

Food Friday (barely)

At least this post made it on Friday, so neener neener neener.

Chicken tacos with homemade tortilla chips. Best way to use up corn tortillas.

Roast chicken. Please excuse the immodest exposure of the boob area.

Maternal Unit's Potato Soup, my all time favorite comfort food.

The UDG's Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

10 baby carrots

4 potatoes, peeled and cubed

3 celery stalks, chopped into large pieces

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small onion, diced

  2 tsp rosemary

  2 tsp marjoram

  2 tsp thyme

 1 3lb whole chicken

2 Tbl butter, cubed

1 bay leaf

1 tsp seasoning salt

salt and pepper to taste

In slow cooker, layer carrots, potatoes, celery, garlic, and 1 tsp each of the rosemary, marjoram, and thyme.

Clean chicken and rub with remaining rosemary, marjoram, thyme, and seasoning salt. Place bay leaf in cavity of chicken and place butter under the skin of the chicken. Add salt and pepper as needed. Place chicken on top of veggies and cook 6-8 hours on low (mine cooked for 8 but was done at six). Remove bay leaf before serving. 

Maternal Unit's Potato Soup

Ingredients:

3 to 4 cups chicken broth

6 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small onion, diced

4 Tbl butter

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup potato flakes

1/2 tsp seasoning salt

salt and pepper to taste

Place potatoes, butter, onions and celery in 3 qt pot with enough chicken broth to just cover them. Add a little salt and bring to boil. Once boiling, add heavy cream, potato flakes and seasoning salt. Salt and pepper as needed. Let simmer at least fifteen minutes (I keep reading about not letting milk boil or it will curdle but Maternal Unit and I have been making this FOR YEARS and never once have I had this happen). For a nummy addition, add a handful of garlic-onion croutons.

What was on your plate or in your bowl this week??

PS Have you voted in the Crazy Cooking Challenge yet? You have until Wednesday, December 14th!

**Tantalizing Tuesday** (Alliteration Never Gets Old)

Photo dump! This is what I was up to when I was on my break. Enjoy!

I love the color golden brown...and not just because it's my skin tone.

Check out this recipe at Cooking Nibbles.

Vegetarian chili. I recommend making this in a very large pot. Very. Large.

Believe it or not, I use a crust shield. That's right, I'm Betty Crocker old school.

Chicken Pot Pie

The beginnings of my leftover turkey casserole. It's become a tradition. A tasty tradition.

Here are the cranberries making a reappearance.

With the addition of the cranberry sauce, this meal tastes like Thanksgiving dinner all over again. The bread crumbs on top are spot on for stuffing.