Why Didn't I Make This Sooner?

 

Every now and then I finally try a recipe that has been in my pile of recipes to try for years, and then I think, "Why in the world did I wait so long to try this recipe? It is awesome!" This is one of those recipes. It has been sitting in a pile of recipes, just waiting to be made. Not only is this recipe easy, but it is also absolutely delicious, and it is a great pantry recipe. I'll bet you already have all (or most) of the ingredients already on hand.

Be sure to read my notes because I made a few small changes (the biggest change being that I added lemon juice).

Chicken Breasts with Herb Basting Sauce

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 clove crushed garlic
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
4 bone-in chicken breast halves, with skin
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a bowl, prepare the basting sauce by combining olive oil, onion, garlic, thyme, rosemary, sage, marjoram, salt, pepper, and hot pepper sauce.

Turn chicken breasts in sauce to coat thoroughly. Place skin side up in a shallow baking dish. Cover.

Roast at 425 degrees F, basting occasionally with pan drippings, for about 35 to 56 minutes. Remove to warm platter, spoon pan juices over, and sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by CHRISTYJ. You can find it here.

Notes: I doubled the sauce ingredients (because my family likes a lot of sauce) and added lemon juice as well. So, since I doubled the olive oil from 3 tablespoons to 6 tablespoons, I also used 6 tablespoons of lemon juice (to have equal parts olive oil and lemon juice). I thought the lemon juice added a lot to this recipe. You can skip it and stick with the recipe as originally written, but I really liked the addition of the lemon juice. I also used boneless skinless chicken breasts rather than skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts. This was fantastic. Heads up though, this will stick with you and give you some dragon breath, but it's totally worth it!

 

Above: Some of us put the sauce in little bowls to dip the chicken in and some of us drizzled extra sauce on top of the chicken. So delicious!

Pantry Dinner

 

This is an easy, flavorful dinner that comes straight from the pantry. It's perfect for a snowy day when you just don't want to make a trip to the store.

 

Creamy Mushroom Pasta

Ingredients:

Kosher salt
8 ounces bow tie pasta
One 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika, plus more for sprinkling
Two 4.5-ounce jars sliced mushrooms, strained and rinsed
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
Dried dill, dried chives, or dried parsley, for sprinkling

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook according to package directions. Strain and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring the evaporated milk, chicken broth, oil, flour, mustard, garlic, 3/4 teaspoon salt, Worcestershire, and paprika to a boil in a large skillet. Reduce the heat and simmer, whisking constantly, until the sauce is just thicker than heavy cream, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms, vinegar, and several grinds of pepper, and simmer for 1 minute. Stir in the pasta. Divide among 4 shallow bowls, and sprinkle each with a little paprika, dill, and pepper.

Source: Food Network. You can find it here.

Notes: This was really satisfying. It was so quick and easy to throw together. Comfort food straight from the pantry!

Easy Soup

In the mood for Chinese food, but not in the mood to go out to eat, get take-out, or spend a ton of time in the kitchen? If that's the case, this recipe might be your best bet.

Restaurant Style Egg Drop Soup

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken broth, divided
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger (or to taste)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, optional
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk

Directions:

Reserve 3/4 cup of chicken broth, and pour the rest into a large saucepan. Stir the salt, ginger, and chives into the saucepan, and bring to a rolling boil. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the remaining broth and cornstarch until smooth. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolk together using a fork. Drizzle egg a little at a time from the fork into the boiling broth mixture. Egg should cook immediately. Once the eggs have been dropped, stir in the cornstarch mixture gradually until the soup is the desired consistency.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by W.J. Cory. You can find it here.

Notes: I added a little more ginger to suit my tastes and I skipped the chives since I didn't have any on hand. This is such an easy soup. It is so similar to the egg drop soup you can get in a restaurant.

Repeat!

 

Yes, this one has also been posted before, but it is such a great pantry dinner, and it is so quick and easy to throw together that I wanted to share it again.

Laurie's Lemon Linguine with Chicken

Ingredients:

Linguine:

8 ounces uncooked linguine
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Chicken:

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
1 tbsp canola oil
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup fat free milk
2 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp pepper
4 lemon slices

Directions:

Linguine:

In medium saucepan, cook linguine in boiling water for 8-10 minutes. In a measuring cup with a spout, combine melted butter, lemon juice, basil, garlic, and lemon pepper. Drain linguine and return to the pot. Add the butter mixture. Add Parmesan and toss until well coated.

Chicken:

Cook chicken in oil until browned. Meanwhile, in small saucepan, combine soup, milk, lemon juice, and pepper. Heat through. Serve over chicken. Top with slices of lemon and serve with linguine.

Source: I got this from my sister, Laurie. But I don't know where she got it.

Notes: You can also pour the sauce over the chicken while it is in the saute pan and cook the chicken in the sauce for a few minutes to incorporate the flavors prior to serving.

Pantry Dinner Winner!

I've said this before, but I plan some meals specifically, and some meals are basically luck of the draw based on what I have in my pantry, fridge, and freezer. This is one of those recipes.

Apricot-Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Cooking spray
1/3 cup apricot spread
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

Directions:

Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl; rub mixture over chicken.

Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Cook chicken 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan, and keep warm.

Add apricot spread, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons water to pan, stirring until smooth. Cook over medium heat 1 minute. Spoon sauce over chicken; sprinkle with lemon rind.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and about 1 1/2 tablespoons apricot-lemon sauce).

Nutrition information: 245 calories, 2 g fat, 39.4 g protein, 14.5 carbo, 0.3 g fiber, 99 mg cholesterol, 14 mg iron, 402 mg sodium, 24 mg calc.

Source: Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast cookbook. ISBN-10:0-8487-3264-2. You can find the recipe online here.

Notes: Well, I forgot the lemon zest/lemon peel garnish. Other than that, I made it as is, and it was great. I would increase the sauce in the future though. Good stuff!

So Continental...

That's not really a phrase that is used much these days. But if you watch movies from the 1930's or 1940's, it's actually used quite often. Saying "so continental" is referring to the continent of which Europe is a part. So, it's saying something like "that's so European" or calling something very up-scale or classy. Anyway, there's your fun fact for the day!

The following recipes have nothing in common with Europe. I'm pretty sure the recipes are American in origin. But they all contain the word "continental." In fact, they are all variations of basically the same recipe. The first is richer and a little more time-consuming to make while the second is easier and lighter. The third, and final, recipe is much more different than the first two...but it does have a few things in common.

The recipe with many variations of which I am speaking of is "Continental Chicken." Growing up, I always knew it as "Three Hour Chicken" because that's what my Mom always called it (even though I discovered just last year that it was always called "Continental Chicken" and "Three Hour Chicken" was just a name that she called it because we remembered it better that way when we were little).

I used to love this recipe and would request Three Hour Chicken for all of my birthday dinners. I still really enjoy it, but now that I'm older and have to watch my calories more, I don't make it as often. The last time my Mom made it, she halved the chicken breasts and I really think that was the perfect thing to do. It is such a rich dish that most likely you'll only want (or need) to eat half a chicken breast anyway.

The second version of this recipe is a slow cooker version I found on Allrecipes.com. It's a great, quick, satisfying, and lighter version. It is very similar, but it omits the bacon called for in the other recipe. However, if you can't do without the bacon, I would suggest making and crumbling some bacon separately and sprinkling it over the finished dish (if you put the bacon in the slow cooker it might just become mushy, but then again, I've never tested it, so I don't really know exactly what the result would be).

At any rate, you've got to love a main dish that incorporates three different types of meat! Chicken, beef, and pork all in one dish? It's crazy, but it works.

Serve the chicken along with a baked potato (or twice baked potato, if you have the time--I will post our recipe for twice baked potatoes at a later time) and a salad and you'll have a very nice meal indeed.

Also, maybe another reason my Mom called the first recipe "Three Hour Chicken" is because she had another recipe called "Continental Chicken" that was a little different. It helped us kids differentiate between the two so that we really knew what was for dinner. It didn't call for the bacon or dried beef and it added rice. It's an old favorite as well (my Mom loves her rice!), so I'll post that recipe at the bottom (though I don't have a picture of it).

I hope you like them.

Continental Chicken (aka Three Hour Chicken)

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

1 small jar of dried beef

8 slices of bacon

1 can cream of mushroom soup (cream of chicken soup can be used, if you prefer)

1 cup sour cream

Directions:

Wrap bacon around chicken and secure. Line a 9x13 baking pan with dried beef. Put chicken on top of beef. Mix sour cream and soup and pour over chicken. Bake at 375 degrees for 3 hours

Source: This came from an old cookbook that my Mom had. It was either a Pillsbury, Campbell's or Betty Crocker recipe, but I really can't remember which one exactly.

Notes: You can find jars of dried beef near the canned tuna fish. I prefer cream of mushroom soup in this recipe, but if that's not what you have in your cupboard, you can easily substitute cream of chicken soup.

This recipe isn't going to win any beauty contests any time soon, but it is soooo tasty!

Slow Cooker Chicken Continental

Ingredients:

2 (8 oz) jars of dried beef

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1 cup sour cream

1 (10.75 oz) can cream of mushroom soup

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

Lightly grease slow cooker and line with dried beef. Place 3 chicken breasts in the slow cooker. In a mixing bowl, stir together sour cream, soup, and flour; pour half of the mixture over the chicken. Layer with the dried beef and last 3 chicken breasts. Top with remaining sour cream mixture and finally the last of the dried beef.

Cook in a slow cooker on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by JTWCO. You can find it here.

Notes: I don't think you need two jars of dried beef. I personally think that 1 jar is enough (it's pretty salty stuff). But that is up to you!

Continental Chicken with Rice

Ingredients:

2 whole chicken breasts, split

1 can (4 oz) sliced mushrooms

2 tbsp butter or margarine

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 1/2 cups water

1 tbsp parsley

1 1/2 cups quick cooking rice

Directions:

In skillet, brown chicken and mushrooms in butter. Stir in soup, water, parsley, and pepper, to taste. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in rice. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Stir often.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: I don't know. My guess is that my Mom found this one in a recipe similar to the one where she found the other Chicken Continental recipe.

Notes: "Quick cooking rice" doesn't mean that you have to use minute rice. It just means that you won't be able to substitute something like brown rice (which takes 40-50 minutes to cook).

This is a very simple, pantry friendly, comfort food type of recipe. Nothing elaborate...but a good recipe to have on hand. It's great because you have the main dish and a side dish cooked all in one. So, just add some veggies and you're set!

Pantry Side Dishes

This is the last post regarding the pantry (well, at least for awhile). The thing about cooking meals from your pantry is that you can't just serve your family a piece of chicken for dinner. You need to serve something alongside the main dish. And what's the point of making a main dish from your pantry if you still have to go to the grocery store for the side dish?

That's where pastas, grains, baking mix, canned or frozen veggies, etc. come in handy. Potatoes, onions, and carrots are examples of fresh vegetables that keep for quite a long time. Plus, potatoes are really versatile so they can go with a lot of different main courses.

My last post about pantry meals included two side dish options (pasta with herbs and rice pilaf) that come straight from the pantry. But I thought I would include some more side dish options this time around. I hope they come in handy for you.

Honey Roasted Red Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 pound red potatoes, quartered
2 tablespoons diced onion
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat an 11x7 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Place potatoes in a single layer in prepared dish, and top with onion. In a small bowl, combine melted butter, honey, mustard, salt, and pepper; drizzle over potatoes and onion.

Bake in the preheated 375 degree oven for 35 minutes or until tender, stirring halfway through the cooking time.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by STEPHNDON

Notes: I ALWAYS check the potatoes before pulling them out of the oven. They always take longer for me to get to my desired degree of doneness/tenderness. I doubled the recipe and that might have had something to do with it, but I kept these potatoes in the oven for nearly an hour before they were soft enough for my tastes. But it was a good, basic recipe to have on hand.

Parmesan Garlic Rolls

Ingredients:

Frozen bread/roll dough, 1-2 rolls for each person (such as Rhodes Dough)
Grated or shredded Parmesan cheese, to taste
Garlic salt or powder, to taste
Melted butter (amount depends on how many rolls you are making. I would recommend 2 tbsp butter for 12 rolls)
Herbs/spices, if desired (fresh or dried may be used. Some favorites are: Italian seasoning, rosemary, oregano, basil, parsley, etc.)

Directions:

Let dough thaw and rise in desired baking dish/pan according to package directions.

Melt butter and brush over rolls. Sprinkle rolls with Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, and desired herbs/spices.

Bake according to package directions.

Source: We got this from a Rhodes Dough package or cookbook years ago. I couldn't find the exact recipe, so this is just the basic guideline that we usually follow.

Notes: Have fun with the size and shape of these rolls. You can make these into breadsticks, elongated rolls, regular rolls, foccacia bread, etc.
Mashed Parsley Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 pound unpeeled red potatoes (small-medium size)
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup fat-free milk
1 1/2 tablespoons reduced-calorie stick margarine (or butter can be used)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon dried parsley)
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Cut potatoes into quarters; place potato and water in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl. Cover tightly with heavy-duty plastic wrap; fold back a small edge of wrap to allow steam to escape. Microwave on high for 9 minutes or until tender, stirring after 4 minutes. Drain potato; return to bowl. Add milk and remaining ingredients. Mash with a potato masher or fork until potato is mashed and mixture is combined.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)

Source: Myrecipes.com

New Potatoes in Seasoned Butter

Ingredients:

1 pound unpeeled small red potatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon light butter
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or 3 teaspoons dried parsley)

Directions:

Steam potatoes, covered, 6 minutes or until tender. Transfer to a large serving bowl, and keep warm. Combine butter and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl; stir well. Add to potatoes, and toss gently. Sprinkle potatoes with parsley, and toss again. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 2/3 cup).

Nutrition information: 105 calories, 1.7 g fat, 2.8 g protein, 21.0 g carbohydrate, 2.0 g fiber, 5 mg cholesterol, 1.1 mg iron, 319 mg sodium, 13 mg calcium.

Source: Myrecipes.com

Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

4 cups cubed peeled Yukon gold potatoes
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/8 cup milk
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 minced garlic cloves

Directions:

Place 4 cups cubed peeled Yukon gold potatoes in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook 6 minutes or until tender. Drain. Return potatoes to pan. Add 1/ cup chicken broth, 1/8 cup milk, 2 1/2 tablespoons butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 3 minced garlic cloves, mash with a potato masher to desired consistency.

Source: Myrecipes.com

Herbed Basmati Rice

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons butter
1 cup uncooked Basmati or other long-grain rice
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion tops (optional)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Fresh thyme sprigs, optional

Directions:

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the rice; stir well. Add 2 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat; simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in remaining ingredients; garnish with thyme, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)

Nutrition information: 115 calories, 2.8 g fat, 2.8 g protein, 19.2 g carb, 0.3 g fiber, 2 mg chol, 1.5 mg iron, 217 mg sodium, 52 mg calc

Source: Myrecipes.com

Broccoli with Garlic and Lemon-Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:

1 pound broccoli
3 tablespoons light butter
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions:

Steam broccoli, covered, 7 minutes or until crisp-tender. Transfer to a serving bowl, and keep warm.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add garlic. Saute garlic 1 minute or until golden. Add lemon juice and remaining 4 ingredients; bring to a boil. Pour over broccoli; toss gently. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

Nutrition information: 86 calories, 5.2 g fat, 4.7 g protein, 8.9 g carbohydrate, 3.1 g fiber, 15 mg cholesterol, 1.3 mg iron, 372 mg sodium, 61 mg calcium.

Source: Myrecipes.com

Drop Biscuits

The dough for these biscuits is dropped into muffin tins instead of onto a baking sheet, but their final shape is still free-form like that of traditional drop biscuits.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chilled butter or stick margarine, cut into small pieces
1 cup fat-free milk
Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Add milk; stir just until moist.

Spoon the batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes or until golden. Remove biscuits from ban immediately, and place on a wire rack.

Yield: 1 dozen biscuits (serving size: 1 biscuit)

Nutrition information: 119 calories, 4.1 g fat, 2.9 g protein, 11 mg cholesterol, 97 mg calcium, 270 mg sodium, 0.6 g fiber, 1.1 mg iron, 17.6 g carbohydrate

Source: Myrecipes.com

Roasted Apples

Ingredients:

2 cups sliced Granny Smith apples
1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon melted butter
Cooking spray

Directions:

Combine 2 cups sliced Granny Smith apples, 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup, and 1 teaspoon melted butter in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until tender.

Source: Myrecipes.com

Salsa Corn with Cheese

Ingredients:

2 (11 ounce) cans corn (if possible, ones with red and green bell peppers such as Mexicorn)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chunky salsa

Directions:

Heat corn in a medium saucepan; remove from heat. Stir in cheese and salsa; toss gently until cheese melts.

Yield: 5 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)

Nutrition information: 108 calories, 1.5 g fat, 5.6 g protein, 21.6 g carb, 2.5 g fiber, 2 mg chol, 1.1 mg iron, 519 mg sodium, 57 mg calc

Source: Myrecipes.com

Parmesan Cheese Toasts

Ingredients:

4 slices Italian bread
Cooking spray (preferably olive oil flavored)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Coat 4 slices Italian bread with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Top each slice with 1 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese, and broil 3 1/2 inches from heat until lightly browned.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information: 93 calories, 1.0 g fat, 3. g protein, 17.1 g carbohydrate, 0.8 g fiber, 2 mg cholesterol, 207 mg sodium.

Source: Myrecipes.com

Pantry Dinners

We all have those days when we think to ourselves "what in the world am I going to make for dinner tonight?" I mean, we can't always be on top of it and have every meal planned a week in advance. I've discovered that with two little boys, I rely on what is already in the cupboards when it comes to dinner. These days I'm either too busy or too tired to go grocery shopping on a consistent weekly basis. So, I am often at the mercy of my freezer and cupboards when it comes to dinner.

So, to me, a pantry meal is a meal that I can throw together where I have either all or nearly all of the ingredients already in my house. If I have to buy more than two of the ingredients (ingredients that I can't keep on hand in my cupboards or freezer), then I don't consider it a pantry recipe.

A lot of your favorite recipes might work as pantry recipes. Keep an eye open for ingredients in your favorite recipes that can be stored in the freezer, fridge, or cupboard so that they will be on hand when you are in a bind and need to throw something together for dinner. Even some perishable ingredients (such as onions, garlic, cheese, favorite fresh herbs such as parsley and cilantro, etc.) can be kept on hand if you use them often enough in recipes (meaning, you use them up before they go bad, otherwise it's a waste of time and money to keep them on hand all the time).

At the very bottom of this post, I will include a list (with hyperlinks) of all of our previously posted recipes that can be considered pantry recipes too. Check it out!

So, if anyone is in the same predicament that I usually am, I hope you appreciate these pantry meals. And don't forget to keep certain ingredients on hand so that you can make your favorite recipes whenever you need to!

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients:

1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup Original Bisquick mix
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, cut in half and then sliced
1 jar (4.5 oz) Green Giant sliced mushrooms, drained
1 jar (12 oz) beef gravy

Directions:

In large bowl, mix beef, egg, 1/4 cup of the Bisquick mix and the pepper. With wet hands, shape beef mixture into 6 oval patties, about 1/2 inch thick. Lightly coat patties with remaining 1/4 cup Bisquick mix.

In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Arrange patties in single layer in skillet. Add onion slices around and on top of patties. Cook 12-16 minutes, turning patties once and stirring onions occasionally, until meat thermometer inserted in center of patties read 160°F.

If necessary, spoon fat from skillet and discard. Add mushrooms and gravy to skillet. Turn patties to coat with gravy. Heat to boiling.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition information: 250 calories, 14 g fat, 85 mg cholesterol, 600 mg sodium, 12 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 18 g protein.

Source: Betty Crocker website. You can find it here.

Notes: I served this with some instant mashed potatoes. I topped (smothered) the potatoes with the onions and mushrooms.

As for this being a great pantry recipe option...

I almost always have onions on hand (because you use them in almost everything), you can keep ground beef in the freezer, canned mushrooms, beef gravy, Bisquick, and instant potatoes in the pantry...and voila! Throw it all together and dinner is served. The only thing I changed is that I doubled the recipe and added more pepper than what the recipe called for. I also used more Bisquick than 1/4 cup to coat the beef patties with because I hate having to scrape the bottom in order to coat meat.

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, minced
4 (4 ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves
Vegetable cooking spray

Directions:

Combine first 4 ingredients in a shallow dish. Add chicken, turning to coat. Cover and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes, turning chicken occasionally.

Remove chicken from dish, and discard marinade. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil 5 minutes on each side or until done.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information: 157 calories, 26.2 g protein, 4.6 g fat, 1 g carb, 72 mg cholesterol, 66 mg sodium.

Source: Myrecipes.com

Notes: I didn't change a thing. Super easy!


Pasta with Herbs

Ingredients:

8 cups hot cooked pasta (preferably angel hair)
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 minced garlic cloves

Directions:

Combine 8 cups hot cooked pasta (preferably angel hair), 1 cup chopped fresh basil, 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, and 3 minced garlic cloves; toss well.

Source: Myrecipes.com

Notes: If you have fresh basil growing in your garden and you keep a supply of Parmesan cheese in your fridge, then you can have everything on hand without a trip to the grocery store. I used whole wheat angel hair pasta this time around. It was still great! I've used regular spaghetti too and it was fabulous. Sometimes, I like to add some Italian bread crumbs too.


Teriyaki Chicken

Ingredients:

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 3 pounds)
3/ cup sugar
3/4 cup soy sauce
6 tablespoons cider vinegar
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
4 1/2 teaspoons cold water
Hot cooked rice, optional

Directions:

Place chicken in a 4 quart slow cooker. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic, and pepper. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until chicken is tender.

Remove chicken to a serving platter; keep warm. Skim fat from cooking juices; transfer to a small saucepan. Bring liquid to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Gradually stir into the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with chicken and rice, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings.

Source: Taste of Home website.

Notes: I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs. Plus, I shredded the chicken rather than serving it whole. I also added the cornstarch to the slow cooker (another reason for shredding the chicken--because then I didn't have to remove it from the slow cooker. Plus, chicken breasts don't yield as much fat, so you don't have to skim the liquid)

Pan Glazed Chicken with Basil

Ingredients:

4 (4 ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or 2 teaspoons dried basil)

Directions:

Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn chicken, and cook 6 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in vinegar, honey, and basil; cook 1 additional minute.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information: 161 calories, 3.7 g fat, 26.2 g protein, 4.6 g carbohydrate, 0.0 g fiber, 66 mg cholesterol, 367 mg sodium.

Notes: Again, if you grow basil then you can keep everything on hand. Or, you can use dried basil.

Lemon Pepper Chicken

Ingredients:

Use lemon pepper seasoning or any other lemon-herb seasoning in this recipe. If sodium is a concern, check the ingredient list on the seasoning label. The closer salt is to the beginning of the list, the higher the sodium content. Serve with couscous and snow peas.

Ingredients:

Cooking spray
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 (4 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/4 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning

Directions:

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; add oil, and place over medium-high heat until hot. While pan heats, sprinkle both sides of chicken breasts evenly with lemon pepper seasoning. Add chicken to pan, and cook 4-5 minutes on each side or until chicken is done. Transfer chicken to a serving platter, and keep warm.

Add broth and vinegar to pan; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute or until slightly thickened.

Spoon sauce over chicken.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information: 138 calories, 2.7 g fat, 26.2 g protein, 0.3 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 55 mg cholesterol, 0.9 mg iron, 233 mg sodium, 13 mg calcium.

Source: Myrecipes.com

Notes: I didn't make the balsamic sauce. I had a bottle of balsamic glaze that I used instead to save time. My boys were going crazy and I knew that I just didn't have time to throw together the sauce. They needed to eat and they needed to eat NOW.

Rice Pilaf

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 cup chopped onion; saute 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in 1 cup uncooked long-grain rice; saute 1 minute.

Add 2 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Stir in 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley.

Source: Myrecipes.com

Notes: This is such a great recipe to have on hand. I usually use Rice-a-Roni or boxes of couscous. But honestly, this recipe takes about the same amount of time to make as some boxes of Rice-a-Roni. It's a good one to have in your repertoire.


Laurie's Lemon Linguine with Chicken

Ingredients:

Linguine:

8 ounces uncooked linguine
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Chicken:

4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
1 tbsp canola oil
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup fat free milk
2 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp pepper
4 lemon slices

Directions:

Linguine:

In saucepan, cook linguine in boiling water for 8-10 minutes. In another saucepan, combine butter, lemon juice, basil, garlic, and lemon pepper. Cook until butter is melted. Drain linguine. Add to butter mixture. Add Parmesan and toss.

Chicken:

Cook chicken in oil until browned. Drain. Combine soup, milk, lemon juice, and pepper. Pour over chicken. Cook a few minutes with chicken. Top with slices of lemon and serve with (preferably over) linguine.

Source: I got this from my sister, Laurie. But I don't know where she got it.

Notes: Here's the mistake I made this time. I made the lemon sauce in the same pan that I cooked the chicken in. That's fine...but make sure to wipe the pan first. I had too many browned bits in the bottom of my pan and it turned into more of a gravy rather than the delicate creamy lemon sauce that it was meant to be. Well, you live, you learn!

Above: And here's what the sauce looks like when you don't screw it up!  :)  Of course, this time I didn't have the lemon slices.  Oh well!

Here is a list of some of our past blog posts/recipes that can be considered as pantry recipes too if your pantry is stocked well and you keep the right ingredients on hand:

Chicken Parmigiana (stuffing mix, chicken, Parmesan, parsley, spices, pasta, marinara sauce)
Homemade Pizza (frozen roll dough, canned pizza sauce, canned olives, pepperoni, mozzarella)
Thai Style Pork Stew (pork, red bell pepper, peanut butter, teriyaki sauce, spices, rice)
Chicken Tenders (chicken tenders, spices, sauces for dipping)
Spanish Spaghetti with Olives (ground beef, spaghetti, marinara sauce, spices, onion, garlic)
Sloppy Joes and Sloppy Giuseppes (ground beef, onion, herbs, spices, marinara sauce, buns/bread--which can be kept in the freezer)
Lemon Horseradish Sole (fish--can be kept in the freezer, lemons, parsley, horseradish, Dijon mustard)
London Broil (steak--can be kept in the freezer, herbs and spices)
Apricot-Glazed Pork Tenderloin (pork--again, can be kept in the freezer, apricot jam, spicy brown mustard)
Linguine Arrabiata (linguine, canned tomatoes, spices, Parmesan cheese, chicken broth)
Easy Barbecue Crispy Chicken Melts (chicken, Bisquick, cheese, barbecue sauce)
Green Chile Chicken Casserole (chicken, tortillas, cheese, canned green chiles, cream of chicken soup, onion, sour cream, spices)
Weight Watcher's Layered Mexican Chicken (chicken, tortillas, sour cream, black beans, cheese, spices, salsa)
Baked Ziti (ziti/penne, ground beef, marinara sauce, onion, spices, mozzarella)
Garlic Basil Tortellini Soup (tortellini--can buy frozen, canned white beans, chicken broth, basil, Parmesan)
Mulligatawny Soup (chicken, chicken broth, onion, garlic, spices, rice, cilantro)
Many of the recipes in my College Eating blog post
Chicken Tortilla Soup (chicken, onion, garlic, chicken broth, canned tomatoes, spices, taco seasoning, frozen corn)
Tortilla Soup with Black Beans (canned black beans, tortilla chips, corn--frozen or canned, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, spices, lime juice)
Creamy Italian Chicken and Linguine (chicken, cream of chicken soup, linguine, dried Italian dressing packet, cream cheese)
Foccacia Bread (frozen roll dough, Parmesan, spices)
Mexican Pork (pork roast, rice, salsa, black beans, canned chopped green chiles, Monterey Jack cheese)
Buffalo Chicken Stromboli (puff pastry--keep it in your freezer, chicken, buffalo sauce, blue cheese)
Teriyaki Pulled Pork Sandwiches (buns--can be kept in the freezer, pork, Teriyaki sauce, canned pineapples)
Pepperoncini Beef Sandwiches (buns, beef, canned pepperoncini peppers, pepper jack cheese)
French Dip Sandwiches (buns, beef, canned soup)
Greek Meatballs (beef, mint--grow your own!, onion, garlic, bread crumbs)
Penne with Sausage and Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (penne, pork sausage--keep in the freezer, spaghetti sauce, jar of roasted red bell peppers)
Honey Chipotle Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches (buns, chicken, canned chipotle peppers in adobo, spices, canned tomato)
Pulled Chicken Sandwiches (buns, chicken, spices)
Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches (buns, chicken, buffalo sauce, blue cheese or ranch dressing)
Baked Ravioli (ravioli--buy frozen, marinara sauce, onion, garlic, spices, mozzarella cheese, canned tomatoes)
Tomato Sausage Lasagna (lasagna, sweet Italian sausage--keep frozen, spices, canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese)
Slow Cooker Southern Pulled Pork (pork, buns, onion, garlic, spices, BBQ sauce)
Meaty Calzones (ground beef, refrigerated pizza dough, spices, onion, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese)
Cheese Garlic Biscuits (Bisquick, cheese, garlic powder)
Washburn Flank Steak (flank steak--keep frozen, Kraft Light Zesty Italian Dressing, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, canned mushrooms, instant mashed potatoes)
Southwestern Strudel (puff pastry, chicken, canned corn, cheese, salsa)
Chicken Tamale Casserole (chicken, spices, canned creamed corn, corn muffin mix, canned chopped green chiles, red enchilada sauce, sour cream)
Chicken Chilaquiles (chicken, canned tomatoes, tortilla chips, feta cheese, cilantro, sour cream, canned chipotle chiles in adobo)
Easy Chicken Pot Pie (chicken, cream of chicken soup, frozen mixed vegetables, Bisquick)
Chicken Stuffing Bake (chicken cream of mushroom soup, frozen mixed vegetables, Stove Top)
Bacon Tomato Linguine (grape tomatoes--you can grow your own!, linguine, cooked bacon pieces, spices, onion, garlic)
Spaghetti Carbonara (spaghetti, bacon, milk, Parmesan, egg, salt, and pepper)

Back to Basics

Sometimes you just don't want to eat something that is really fancy. There's a conversation in
"My Best Friend's Wedding" when the despicable Julia Roberts character says to the sweet Cameron Diaz character that sometimes you don't want Creme Brulee; sometimes you just want Jello. Well, neither of these recipes are Jello. But you won't mistake either of them for Creme Brulee either!

Spicy Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:

1 c. original Bisquick Mix

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon red pepper (more if you want them really spicy, omit if desired)

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon celery salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1 egg

1/4 c. milk

14 - 16 oz. chicken tenders

2 to 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Ranch dressing for dipping, if desired

Barbecue sauce for dipping, if desired

Directions:

Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a pie plate, combine the Bisquick, onion powder, red pepper, chili powder, paprika, and celery salt. Stir together until well blended.

In medium bowl, mix egg and milk with whisk until well blended. Spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons egg mixture into the Bisquick mixture; stir until little clumps form.

Dip the chicken breast tenders into the egg mixture into the Bisquick mixture, then back into the egg mixture and finally back into the Bisquick mixture Place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining chicken. Drizzle butter over chicken.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes, turning halfway through baking time, until no longer pink in the center. Serve tenders with ranch dressing if desired.

This recipe was from Bettycrocker.com

It reheated really well.

Well, what could go better with chicken tenders than Banana Cream Pie. So here's an easy version with no rolling out pesky pastry!

Banana Cream Pie-in-a-Bowl

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. firm butter or margarine

1/2 c. peanuts

1 box (4 serving size) banana instant pudding and pie filling mix

2 c. cold milk

3 bananas, sliced

1 8 oz. container frozen whipped topping

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. In medium bowl, mix flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter, using pastry blender, until mixture is crumbly. Stir in peanuts. Press evenly on bottom of ungreased 9-inch square pan. Bake about 15 minutes or until light brown. Stir to break up. Cook completely, about 1 hour.

In large bowl, make pudding mix as directed on box, using 2 cups milk. In a 2 qt serving bowl, layer half of the crumb mixture, pudding, bananas and whipped topping; repeat layers. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Top with additional peanuts if desired. Store in refrigerator.

Notes: This may be made with almonds instead of bananas, but I think you would lose some of the uniqueness of the recipe. The peanuts gave it kind of a sweet/salty thing. This may be made in parfait glasses for a fancier touch.

This recipe was also from Bettycrocker.com Gotta love them!

More Pasta, Please!

Probably one of the foods I crave the most is pasta. It is comfort food at its finest. It is quick and easy to make, usually inexpensive, satisfying, and it makes great leftovers.

I'm sharing an old favorite (I tried this recipe for the first time over two years ago--it just took me forever to get a picture of it). It has an easy homemade pasta sauce made from three kinds of tomatoes.

The new discovery I made was for Spanish spaghetti. It uses bottled marinara sauce that is dressed up with all sorts of goodies. My two year old loved it (in fact, he loved both of these pasta recipes)! This made me happy because he is going through a super picky eating phase. He's funny because he's selective about being picky. There are very few foods that he doesn't like. But it's all in the timing. He doesn't like to have the same things too often and if he's not in the mood for something, there's no use trying to get him to eat it. It is maddening! So, it's always a nice break when he actually eats the dinner I prepared!

Oh, and might I add that both of these dinners are great pantry recipes. You can pretty much always have most (if not all) of the ingredients on hand. I love pantry recipes. I'll be doing another post dedicated purely to pantry recipes later!

So, boil some water and make some pasta for dinner tonight!

Spaghetti with Three-Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
1 pound spaghetti
1/2 cup oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped, oil reserved
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes
1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions:

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti until al dente according to the package diections. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water; return the pasta to the pot.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the canned tomatoes (with juice) and sun-dried tomatoes. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally and breaking up the canned tomatoes, until thick, about 15 minutes.

Add the cherry tomatoes; simmer until soft, about 10 minutes.

Add sauce to the pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Toss, adding pasta water as desired. Serve immediately.

Source: Martha Stewart Everyday Food: Great Food Fast cookbook (also found on the Everyday Food PBS TV show and the Martha Stewart website).

Notes: Kitchen shears are one of my best friends. I used the kitchen shears to cut up the sun-dried tomatoes while still in the jar and the whole peeled tomatoes while they were still in the can. It's just easier that way. You can control the size of the tomato pieces better that way than by breaking them up with a spoon.

Oh, and I used grape tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes because my grocery store didn't have any cherry tomatoes. Isn't that crazy? Are cherry tomatoes going out of style?

Also, the recipe says that it serves 4. If you have a side salad and perhaps some bread, a pound of pasta goes a lot farther and can serve 6-8, in my opinion.

 

Above: Here is an updated photo of this fantastic sauce, because I felt like the original picture I took didn't do it justice! This is one of the best meat sauces ever!

Above: The photo I originally took. Still tasty, but not as pretty of a picture as it should have been!

Spanish Spaghetti with Olives

Ingredients:

8 ounces thin spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed saffron threads (optional)
8 ounces extra-lean ground beef
1 2/3 cups marinara sauce
1/2 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed olives
1/4 cup dry sherry, optional
1 tablespoon capers
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; saute 4 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; saute 1 minute. Stir in oregano, celery salt, red pepper, black pepper, and saffron, if desired. Crumble beef into pan; cook 5 minutes or until beef is browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in marinara sauce, olives, sherry, capers, and 3 tablespoons parsley. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.

Add spaghetti to sauce mixture. Cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley.

Nutrition information: (Serving size: about 1 3/4 cups) 445 calories, 12.1 g fat, 21 mg cholesterol, 72 mg calcium, 60.6 g carbohydrate, 832 mg sodium, 22.3 g protein, 5.4 g fiber, 5.2 mg iron.

Source: Cooking Light, December 2009

Notes: I chose to make this recipe because I had all of the ingredients in my pantry and freezer. I thought I had marinara sauce and didn't realize that the only bottled pasta sauce I had was Barilla's Green and Black Olive Pasta Sauce. So, I decided to save my canned green olives for another day. I thought that the olives would be too strong if I added the olives called for in the recipe in addition to the olives that were already in the pasta sauce.

I also made a full pound of pasta instead of 8 ounces (I mean, come on, who is going to do that?). Additionally, I used a full pound of ground beef.

I used linguine instead of spaghetti because I had just used the last of my spaghetti the week before.

I omitted the celery salt because I was rushed and couldn't find mine and because I don't always like the flavor of celery salt anyway. I also omitted the saffron because saffron is super pricey and I'm not going to break the bank for saffron on a recipe that already has plenty of great flavors going for it. I forgot to add the parsley (as I always do), but it was still fantastic.

Finally, rather than tossing the pasta with the sauce, I topped the pasta with the sauce. It was really yummy. Oh, and I would recommend using sweet onions (such as Vidalia or Texas Sweet Onions). The sweetness from the onions paired with the saltiness of the olives and capers was soooo good.

With my changes and additions, rather than serving 4, I would say that this recipe could serve 6-8.

I know it sounds like I made so many changes that it's not even the same recipe, but it is, I promise! And it was really yummy! You should try it!

East Meets West....Sloppily!

Sloppy Joes are somewhat of a throwback to the 70's. Well it's time they made a comeback; especially in these economic tough times. It's a great way to make a little meat go a long way. The first recipe was served at a Ward Budget Dinner (a now obsolete tradition) and was published in a ward cookbook that I've had since I was a young bride. Thank you, Joyce Ashton, a most gentle and kind lady.



Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ground beef
1 1/2 onions, chopped
1 pint catsup
1 pint water
2 bay leaves
1 T. worshestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
3/4 tsp. sugar (See cook's note)
Hamburger buns

Directions:

Brown hamburger with onions. Drain. Combine meat with remaining ingredients and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Serve over hamburger buns. Serves 8 to 10.

Cook's note: I don't use the sugar because we don't like that sweet touch, but a lot of people like it to balance out the acidity of the catsup.

For convenience, this may be made in the morning and left to cook on low in the crockpot all day. Good option for busy mom's or active women.

Source: Ward Cookbook.

This next one was a recipe I stumbled over a few years ago. It's a nice variation and really fun to say...Sloppy Giuseppe's, Sloppy Giuseppe's, Sloppy Giuseppe's. This recipe was from Campbell's Kitchen.

Sloppy Giuseppe's

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lb. ground beef, pork, or veal mix (I use beef and pork)
3 cups Prego Flavored with Meat Italian Sauce
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 pkg. (10 oz. each) Pepperidge Farm Garlic Bread (see notes)
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (we use Mozarella)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. for the bread.

Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a 12" skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is tender. Remove from skillet.

Heat the remaining oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meat and cook until it's well-browned, stirring often to break up meat. Pour off any fat.

Return the onion and garlic to the skillet. Stir in the sauce and red pepper. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes, or until the meat mixture is cooked through.

Meanwhile, bake the bread according to the package directions.

Cut each bread loaf into thirds. Divide the meat mixture among the 6 bottom bread pieces.

Top each with 1/4 cup cheese and the remaining bread pieces.

Source: Campbell's Kitchen. You can find it here.

Notes: We thought that the Pepperidge Farm bread made the sandwiches a little too bready and difficult to eat. We made it again and used Texas Toast frozen garlic bread slices for the sandwiches and it worked perfectly. You can also buy regular Texas Toast and toast it with homemade garlic butter, if you prefer.

Cooking When You Have Young Kids

What do you cook and how do you cook it when you have little kids? Especially when you have to cook when your husband isn't available to help watch the kids?

My husband has night school in the evenings for his MBA and he is also serving in the Young Men's in our ward (which means that he has to go to youth activities once a week). On the nights my husband is gone in the evening, I have to have dinner ready early--which means I need to cook it before he even gets home from work. I'm sure my sister faces the same issue since her husband is completing his medical residency right now.

Cooking dinner without someone to watch the kids poses some challenges because I have a very active two-year-old and a 2 1/2 month old--both of whom require a lot of time and attention. That doesn't leave me with very much "free" time to prepare dinner.

So, I have to get creative. I have to do as much dinner preparation as possible while my kids are asleep. That means that some of my dinner preparations take place in the evening after everyone goes to bed or in the morning before everyone wakes up (ex. slow cooker meals), or during their afternoon naps (ex. casseroles). And as for preparing dinner in the evening, I have to keep it around 20-30 minutes. If my husband is home to watch the kids, I can take a little more time than that. But if I'm on my own, 30 minutes is the limit.

So, I thought I'd share some recipes that are very quick and easy to prepare and that allow you to still get a great meal on the table in a short amount of time. We've already got a lot of slow cooker and casserole recipes on our blog, so I thought I'd share some recipes with different types of preparation. This should help you get creative on how you can prepare different kinds of meals without taking time away from your kids.

Because even though I love cooking, it's much more important for me to spend time with my boys. I adore cooking but I love being with my boys more. These kinds of recipes allow me to provide for my family's physical needs, but still be available for them in other ways.

First, the microwave is sometimes an underutilized tool in cooking. So, I'm sharing a recipe for microwaved fish.

Second, marinating meat and then broiling it is a great way to get flavor but save time. So, I'm sharing a great recipe for steak.

Third, it's so easy to get dinner prepared during the day (afternoon nap time) and then just throw it in the oven 30-45 minutes before dinner time. So, I'm sharing a great pork recipe that follows that method of preparation.

Finally, you know me and pasta. I can't get enough of it. There are a great deal of pasta recipes that you can prepare in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta. So, I'm sharing an easy pasta recipe.

I hope these dinners help to make your evenings less hectic yet still provide for nutritious and satisfying meals!


Lemon-Horseradish Sole

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 tbsp butter, softened
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (preferably Italian parsley)
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp prepared white horseradish
3/4 tsp Dijon mustard
4 sole fillets (6 ounces each)
Coarse salt
Lemon wedges, for serving (optional)

Directions:

In a small bowl, stir together butter, parsley, lemon zest and juice, horseradish, and mustard.

Season both sides of fillets with salt; lay, flat side up, on a clean work surface. Reserve 2 tsp butter mixture; dividing evenly, spread remaining butter mixture on top of fillets. Fold fillets in half crosswise, enclosing butter mixture.

Place folded fillets in a 9 inch microwave-safe dish with a tight-fitting lid. Top with reserved butter mixture, dividing evenly. Cover; microwave on high until fish is just cooked through, about 5 minutes.

To serve, place fillets on plates, and spoon juices from dish over fillets; garnish with lemon wedges, if desired.

Nutrition information: 235 calories, 10.7 g fat, 32.3 g protein; 1 g carbohydrates; 0.3 g fiber.

Source: Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe.

Notes: This recipe works for all types of white fish. I frequently make it with tilapia. Fresh or frozen fish works well (as long as it is a high quality brand of frozen fish).

Cooking the fish in a microwave in a covered container allows the fish to be steamed by the butter mixture. It creates a flaky, yet tender and moist fish.

Side Dish: Make this into a rounded meal by pairing it with rice (quick and easy Rice-a-Roni works well and it is very inexpensive) or instant mashed potatoes (I like the Idahoan brand because all you do is add boiling water--so quick and easy). You can also add some frozen or canned veggies and some easy rolls or biscuits. I made some Bisquick drop biscuits.

With all of those side dishes, it took less than 30 minutes to make everything for dinner.

London Broil

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
4 lbs London Broil or Flank Steak

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together garlic, salt, soy sauce, ketchup, vegetable oil, black pepper, and oregano.

Score both sides of the meat, diamond cut, about 1/8 inch deep. Rub garlic mixture into both sides of the meat. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil, and refrigerate for 5-6 hours, or overnight. Flip meat every few hours.

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil grate.

Place meat on the prepared grill (or broil as shown in the notes below). Cook for 3-7 minutes per side, or to desired doneness.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Jill.

Notes: I made this recipe because my husband has been doing the grocery shopping for me since I had my baby. Bless his heart because he does a great job, but he often comes back with items that are either slightly or completely different than what I asked for. Then, I have to get creative to use the unexpected ingredients. I asked him to pick up two flank steaks for a beef and broccoli stir fry recipe (already featured on this site in the blog post about broccoli). He accidentally got a London Broil cut of beef instead. I was pretty sure that it wouldn't work for the stir fry, so I found this recipe to use. I wasn't a huge fan of the London Broil cut because it was pretty chewy (even though I cooked it medium-rare). Flank steak would be much more tender. But the marinade was AWESOME. It was so flavorful. In fact, I really didn't have high hopes for this recipe, so I didn't take any pictures. But I would definitely make it again and again. It was easy and yummy.

Side Dish: I paired the steak with some red potatoes that I diced about 1/2 inch thick. I heated about 1/4 cup oil to a pan and browned the potatoes until they were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside (about 20 minutes). I then added a yellow bell pepper cut into bite-size pieces. I seasoned it with salt and pepper and garlic salt to taste. Finally, I added a splash of soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. It turned out really yummy. I cut the potatoes and marinated the steak during my sons' nap time. When it came time to fix dinner, I popped the steak in the oven (see next paragraph) and cooked the potatoes.

One of the things I've discovered is that any recipe that calls to be grilled can be broiled on high if a grill isn't handy. So, I broiled the steak. The London broil was pretty thick, so it took about 10 minutes per side. If I had used flank steak, it would have only taken about 7 minutes per side. Just cook it less per side if you like it more pink and more per side if you prefer a more well-done steak. Mine turned out to be medium to medium-rare (the ends of the steak aren't as thick, so they got cooked more. The ends were medium and the middle was medium-rare).

The whole dinner took about 30 minutes to make.



Apricot-Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 pork tenderloins (about 12 ounces each), trimmed of excess fat
1 tbsp olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 jar (10-12 ounces) apricot jam, (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard

Directions:

Heat broiler; set rack 4 inches from heat. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Rub pork with oil; season with salt and pepper. broil 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, whisk together jam and mustard. Cook over medium heat until jam melts, 3-4 minutes; remove from heat. Transfer half to a small bowl for brushing. Cover pan to keep remaining sauce warm.

Remove pork from broiler; brush with reserved sauce. Continue broiling until pork is blackened in spots and registers 150 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 5-10 minutes more.

Cover pork loosely with foil; let rest 5 minutes before slicing. Serve drizzled with warm sauce.

Source: Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe. You can find it here.

Notes: I served this with the roasted asparagus that can be found in the post about asparagus. I prepared the asparagus and made the sauce for the pork during my sons' nap. I then broiled the pork. I have always found that (at least to my tastes), it takes longer to cook pork tenderloin than most of the recipes call for--at least when it is cooked in the oven. We have two ovens, so I roasted the asparagus in one and broiled the pork in another. I broiled the pork for 15 minutes and then sliced it. At that point, the inside of the pork was still very, very pink (almost raw). So, I placed the pork slices on the pan and broiled it for a few more minutes per side.

You could even slice the pork and marinate it in the sauce beforehand and then broil the sliced pork rather than the whole tenderloin. Pork tenderloin is such a moist and tender cut of meat that this preparation wouldn't compromise the quality of the finished product. It wouldn't be dry--it would still be moist and tender. Besides, it would cut down on the cooking time.

The asparagus cooks quickly too. So, I would say that if you sliced the pork prior to broiling it, the whole dinner would take between 15-25 minutes to prepare.


Linguine Arrabbiata

"Arrabbiata" means "angry." This is a reference to the red-pepper flakes which add a lot of kick to this pasta!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Coarse salt
2 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3/4 tsp red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving (optional)
1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes in juice, cut into chunks
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
1 pound linguine
Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add garlic and red-pepper flakes; cook until garlic is fragrant and beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, and wine/chicken broth. Simmer over medium, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 8-10 minutes.

Cook pasta in boiling salted water 2 minutes less than package instructions for al dente. Drain; add pasta to skillet. Cook, stirring, until pasta is tender, about 2 minutes. Season with salt. Serve, if desired, with Parmesan and red-pepper flakes.

Source: Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe (I sure like these! Can you tell?)

Notes: I didn't use the white wine/chicken broth. I felt that there was enough liquid already. I also added a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes because I like my sauce chunky with a lot of tomatoes. Add red-pepper flakes to your taste. If you like things spicy (which I do), I would add the full 3/4 tsp that the recipe calls for. If not, reduce the amount or add the red-pepper flakes gradually and check the sauce until it is to your taste.

This is such a fast meal. It literally only takes as long as it takes to boil water and cook pasta. So, this dinner can be done in 15-20 minutes.

I served mine with some easy foccacia bread made from frozen Rhodes Dough rolls. I thawed the rolls and let them rise in a plastic ziploc bag throughout the day. By dinner time, I simply stretched out the dough, seasoned it and cooked it while I made the pasta. The bread and pasta were done at the same time.