Last night I made a great dish that the kid in you will love called Pepperoni Pizza Chicken. This recipe comes from Pillsbury‘s July 2009 issue entitled Best Ever Chicken that instructs readers to stuff a skinless, boneless chicken breast with pepperoni and mozzarella cheese. After cooking the stuffed chicken on either side to a golden brown, you then cook elbow pasta adding your favorite pasta sauce.

Photo from Pillsbury.com

As is my nature, I altered the recipe by adding sundried tomatoes to the interior of the chicken with the pepperoni and cheese. I chose Bertoli tomato and basil sauce from a jar. I finished the dish with freshly grated Parmesan and straight from the garden basil. Wow! For simple ingredients and 35 minutes I thought the dish was super yummy. I could see my little one asking for this dish again and again (once she is able to talk, of course). You should definitely go to pillsbury.com and check it out. CwB says YUMMY!

On Monday, I chose to make the Meaty Quesadillas and Perfect Guacamole from the May 2010 issue of Food Network magazine.  I made the 30-minute Meaty Quesadillas recipe with lean ground beef and only used a few alternative ingredients.  I didn’t have ancho chili powder so I just used the generic chili powder.  I also used the Mexican blend shredded cheese instead of muenster or Monterey jack cheese.  Zoey LOVED the taco meat mixture and shoveled it in as fast as possible. If the recipe can entice my picky 21 month old to eat, I’m sold! 

I wanted an all around Mexican meal so I also made the Perfect Guacamole recipe from the same issue of FNM.  I am a fan of spicy but my tummy is not so I left out the Serrano chiles.  I used roma tomatoes and fresh cilantro to finish out the recipe.  It turned out creamy and light with a little kick at the end.  I made store-bought cheese dip and refried beans from a can as sides.  I also made some of my own Mexican rice.  I brought 2 cups of water to a boil.  I added 1 cup of white rice, 3 tablespoons of my favorite salsa, a 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and a pinch of salt.  Cover and cook on low for 20 minutes and you have a tasty side dish for you favorite Mexican meal.

Both of these recipes were simple to make and wonderfully delicious.  The guacamole recipe has three additional recipes, Spicy Papaya Guacamole, Southwest Corn Guacamole and Creamy Tomatillo Guacamole.  I am looking forward to trying these later. 

The past few weeks my husband and I have been battling busy schedules, bad weather, common colds, an teething 18-month old not to mention pure laziness.  In the past I have made large meals such as lasagnas, pot pies, stir fry and other easy freeze meals so that we have them on hand for busy nights.  Unfortunately, we have munched through all of those meals and so I ventured through the freezer isle to try out some premade meals for our family.  I wanted to have some lunches and dinners that were healthy enough that we could take to the office or heat up for dinner when we are in a pinch.  This week was testament to that because we had Freezer Food almost every day this week.

Over the past two months we have tried a few different frozen pizzas.  DiGiorno’s was pretty tasty and so was California Pizza Kitchen but I must say that I didn’t mind the Wal-mart  version very much. I was surprised how well it was made and it was a couple of dollars cheaper than the other two brands.  And by the way, the Totinos pizza that I adored as a child, tastes pretty nasty as an adult. 

We have been trying out a bunch of frozen meals to take to the office for lunch.  We tried a bunch of the Hot Pockets products such as the HOT POCKETS SIDESHOTS – Mini Cheeseburgers 4 Pack, HOT POCKETS® Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizzeria – Pepperoni Pizza, HOT POCKETS® brand Bruschetta Chicken Panini, HOT POCKETS® brand Deli-Style Ham & Swiss Panini plus a bunch of the other hot pockets.  My personal favorite was the Chicken Panini.  The exterior was flaky and the interior was flavorful.  Not too bad.  We also tried the Boston Market® Beef Pot Roast which was pretty good and a more food than the typical meals.

For our “Little Bit” we bought a few of the Michelina’s products, in particular the Chicken Nuggets and Potato Fries which are shaped like smiley faces.  Her favorite freezer treats are Gorton’s fish sticks and Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage biscuits.  Of course, none of these items are particularly healthy, they do there duty when necessary.

Most at-home chefs search for  quick, easy and refreshing meals to make their families on week nights.  This recipe delivers a simple twist to your standard chicken that is both simplistic in execution but delivers huge in flavor.  This tangy dish is served best over rice or orzo pasta paired with your favorite vegetables such as the Bacon, Spinach, Carrot and Pecan Sauté.

• 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/4 cup of lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 2 teaspoons corn starch
• 1/2 cup of chicken broth or fresh chicken stock
• 1 green onion (scallion)
• 2 tbsp butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Place each chicken breast half between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound the chicken so the breasts are an even thickness.  Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken evenly. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the chicken breasts smooth side down but do not crowd the pan.  Cook the chicken for 4 to 5 minutes on the 1st side and then turn the chicken and cook an additional 4 to 5 minutes.

While chicken is cooking, grate the lemon zest to make at least 1 teaspoon.  Note: If you have additional lemon zest try adding it with a little dried dill to fresh sautéed vegetables such as asparagus or zucchini to form you vegetable side dish. Then juice the lemons and collect 1/4 cup of juice.  Be sure to strain the lemon juice to remove the pulp and/or seeds. Next pour the chicken broth or stock in a small bowl and add the corn starch whisking until it dissolves and the liquid thickens.  Add both the reserved lemon juice and zest to the corn starch mixture. Thinly slice the green onion.

Once the chicken is fully cooked, move it to a plate and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm.  Pour any remaining oil out of the pan.  Add the whisked cornstarch mixture to the pan as well as any juices that have accumulated with your resting chicken.  Whisk the mixture in the pan until the sauce looks thick and glossy, roughly two minutes.  Remove the skillet from the heat and add the 2 tablespoons of butter.  Lightly salt and pepper the mixture to taste.  If you have white pepper use that as it will keep your sauce looking opaque and glossy without the black speckles.  Lastly, spoon the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with the sliced green onion.

*This recipe is a variation I created over the years from a recipe found in Monday to Friday Chicken by Michele Urvater © 1998.

Chika-pot, chika-pot, chicka-pot-piiieee!  Yesterday, I came home from the office with the full intention of creating my own chicken pot pie recipe.  After checking the mail, I saw that I had my new Pillsbury magazine waiting for me.  Wouldn’t you know that this month the title of the magazine was Pot Pies & Casseroles.  I flipped through and realized I couldn’t make a single pot pie they had listed because I was missing one ingredient or another.  So I was back to the drawing board, or cutting board as it would have it.  Here was my yummy creation. 

I cut up one skinless, boneless chicken breast into 1”x1” bite sizes (that is all I had defrosted – two would have been better).  I salted and peppered the chicken and added it to a med-high skillet with a little vegetable oil.  I cooked the chicken for about 4 minutes and then pulled it out draining it on a paper towel.  I drained and rinsed a can of diced new potatoes and threw those in the hot skillet.  I cooked them for a minute or two to brown a little and then I added about 1 cup of frozen veggies.  For my veggies I had the carrots, peas, lima beans, green beans and corn mixture but any combination of a pea and carrot mix will work for this recipe.  I stirred those for a short minute.  Then in a bowl I whisked together one can of cream of chicken and herb soup with 1/2  cup of milk. When I thought the mixture looked thin enough, I added it to the skillet.   I returned the chicken to the skillet and added a tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley and 1 1/2 tablespoons of my Italian Seasoning (recipe on this site). I seasoned with salt and pepper. I let the mixture bubble slightly and then I divided it into 6 small ramekins.  I opened a can of Pillsbury flaky biscuits and tugged them each slightly so they would cover the majority of the ramekin. I then brushed the tops of the biscuits with a tiny bit of butter and sprinkled a little more Italian seasoning on top. I baked them in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. The biscuits came out high and crispy with a wonderful flavor.  I suppose you could leave all of the mixture in your skillet and put all the biscuits on top to bake and this could be a one-dish meal.  I would definitely make sure that the biscuits are cooked all the way through the sauce mixture and aren’t still raw in the middle. Also, please be sure to use a oven-safe skillet… plastic melts in a hot oven. 

As a new mother, I often crave dishes that I will never conceivably have the time to make.  Last night I wanted Chicken Parmesan and dog-gonnit, I was gonna make it.  This is a straight out the fridge recipe so bare with me.

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Preheat over to 350 degrees. I had three defrosted chicken breasts, so I had to make it work.  First, I pounded the chicken out to 1/2 inch thick.  I dipped them in seasoned flour then, egg (2 beaten eggs with a tablespoon of water), and then dredged them in Italian breadcrumbs mixed with Parmesan cheese.  I put them on  a cookie sheet that I had sprayed with cooking spray.  I baked them in 10 minute intervals until they reached 180 degrees.  It took about 25 minutes.

In the meantime, I made some spiral pasta.  When the chicken was done, I put 2 tablespoons of pre-made pasta sauce onto each chicken breast and then I covered them in shredded mozzarella cheese.  I put the three chicken breasts under the broiler on high for about 90 seconds until the cheese was melty and bubbly.  (Actually, I cooked mine a few seconds too long as you can see by the photos, but 90 seconds should be perfect). 

I poured more of the pasta sauce from a jar onto the pasta right after it was drained so that the pasta would soak up some of the flavor.  I dished out the pasta onto two plates for Adam and I and added a piece of chicken to each. I then grated some fresh parmesan cheese over the top and sprinkled the plates with fresh cut basil that I happened to have left over from yesterday’s meal. 

The meal took about 35-40 minutes in all and was absolutely delicious.  Today, I prepared the last chicken breast with the cheese and cut it in half to serve over pasta for lunch.  Adam and I were able to enjoy a smaller version a second time around.

Fast and easy and always pleasing, that’s New Mommy Chicken Parmesaney!

I love to cook and to collect cookbooks. When I was pregnant with Zoey, my sweet husband bought me a collection of cookbooks featuring recipes for babies and young children.  Now Zoey is almost six months old and loving life.  She has been eating the different Stage One baby foods for almost six weeks now.  I thought that since I am always in the kitchen anyway, I might try my hand at baby food. I used one of the books Adam gifted to me to research the foods that are healthy for a child eating Stage One foods.  The store offers a variety of stage one foods, but there is a limit. 

In the book “Naturally Delicious Meals for Baby”, I found that there are a variety of foods that are healthy for babies, but not provided by local supermarkets.  Some of the options listed in the book are the typical sweet potatoes, carrots and peas, but they also have recipes for broccoli, cauliflower, rutabaga, parsnip, fennel and beet purees and that is just the vegetables. My particular favorite is the avocado puree since I have been obsessed with them since pregnancy.  My daughter suffers from eczema and avocado is not only known for being packed full of monounsaturated fat, a good fat that provides energy, but they help with wound healing and a good complexion.

That being said, though I was excited that there were more options to explore when offering my little one — more than the typical 10 items sold commercially, I still wanted to take things slow.  Tonight, I made the carrot puree.  I purchased a bag of organic carrots for about two dollars.  After shredding, simmering for 10 minutes, pureeing and finally pushing through a fine strainer, I had a smooth dark orange perfection.  I offered it to Zoey for dinner and she loved it.  I used small plastic containers to freeze the remaining carrots.   I can just pull them out and defrost them as needed.  My recipe yielded about 15 ounces for the two dollars I spent.  That same quantity would cost about $3.50 for the organic brand at the supermarket. It isn’t really a cost savings but I did it more for the joy of feeding her something that Mommy made.

June 8th – 14th, 2008

Well, another wonderful week has passed.  Coupons clipped, groceries shopped, food prepped, and bellies bursting.  This week’s menu had quite the variety but enjoyed by many.  Most of the recipes are from cookbooks and other resources, but I threw in my “twist” when I could. From semi-homemade pizzas to slow-cooker recipes and on to luscious desserts, I recommend these dishes to the food lover in you. 

Sunday, June 8th: After venturing through my cookbooks and then visiting the local super market to pick up the ingredients for this week’s concoctions, I returned home to endulge my kitchen obsession for, sad to say, seven hours.  Sometimes, I get so caught up playing around in the kitchen, with my little tv tuned to the food network, that I lose track of time.  Baby Zoey was in my belly just dancing away and other than a little ache in my feet, I was tickled pink to be making these creations. 

June 1st – 7th, 2008

Each Sunday, I sit down and go through my cookbooks and decide the menu for the week.  I admit I’m a coupon clipper and after the Sunday paper gets here, I clip away and then venture out to the local grocery with my menu in hand.  I do use recipe books and magazines for most of my meal choices but I take creative license at every opportunity to make the dish my own.  This particular week, I let Adam influence the menu as he tends to go for more bold and hearty cuisine than I normally would prepare. 

Sunday, June 1st: Our wonderfully, dear friends Michael and Carol had just introduced little Baby Ben into the world and Adam and I indented to visit bareing gifts from the kitchen.  I wanted to put together a few menu items that would last them a couple of days and at the same time, prepare a meal for Adam and I to enjoy.

First, I put together a typical Italian Sausage Lasagna from Betty Crocker’s New Cookbook.  I doubled the batch so that I could take one pan to our friends and have the other for dinner when we returned.  I did add a little ground beef that I had remaining from an earlier recipe to the italian sausage meat.  I ran out of Mozarella Cheese after putting together their lasagna so I used the Chive and Bacon cheese from Beechwood Cheese Factory.  It is a monterey jack base so it was creamy like the mozarella but with a little something extra. 

In addition to the lasagna, I also put together the Ground Beef & Twice-Baked Potato Pie from Pillsbury’s Simply One Dish magazine (Feb/Mar 2008).  This was quite the crowd pleaser as Michael is definately a “meat and potatoes” kind of guy.  Instead of dried sage, I used fresh sage from my garden and instead of the refrigerated potatoes, I used instant garlic mashed potatoes with a little extra garlic powder added.  I carried the tomato, green onion, and bacon garnishes on the side to their home so that they wouldn’t turn to mush before they were able to enjoy it.  Check out my great tips for precooked bacon on this site.

Monday, June 2nd: It was a busy Monday morning for both of us at the office, so I am glad I had this fast receipe set aside for the evening.  Tandoori Tikka Chicken straight from the Tandoori sauce packet.  Add a little yogurt and marinate you chicken pieces until you are ready to grill.  For sides I put together Rachel Ray’s Curry Couscous from her 30-Minute Meals 2 book which I have made twice before and keep going back to because it is so fast and refreshing.  For a vegetable I just made a quick romaine salad with fresh strawberries and oranges along with some toasted almonds since I had those out for the curry.  My co-worker, Dorothy turned me on Ken’s Steakhouse’s Raspberry Walnut Vinegrette and I am addicted to it now.  Adam came in the kitchen and helped scewer the chicken and since he was heating up the grill I tried another quick grill recipe for dessert, Grilled Banana Boats.  This recipe comes from Pillsbury’s Potlucks magazine (June 2008) but I have seen my step-dad, Gary, make it before.  Bananas stuffed with chocolate pieces, marsmallows, pecans, wrapped in foil and thrown on the grill.  I know this seams like a lot for a “long” day at the office, but the chicken and the banana only took 8-10 minutes to cook at which time I made the couscous which takes about 10 minutes and the salad put together in a few minutes while the couscous was setting.  I tell you, Rachel would have been proud of me.  Not to mention, I had the leftovers for lunch and curry always tastes better the second day.  YUM!

Tuesday, June 3rd: Adam loves the Orange Peel Beef from PF Chang’s and so I did the dumbed down version of that on Tuesday night.  Beef Strips with Orange and Ginger from my Chinese: The Essence of Asian Cooking cokbook.  I didn’t really change anything in this recipe but I was rather upset that I ran out of white rice (my favorite food, really).  I searched the far depths of my pantry and came back with this ancient box of Instant Minute Rice.  I’ll admit, I don’t think I have ever had minute rice, but it worked for the meal.  Besides, you put crunchy rice noodles on anything, and I’ll eat it.

Wednesday, June 4th: I had originally intended to have th Fajita Chicken Wings from Pillsbury’s Potlucks magazine (June 2008) on Tuesday but I didn’t realize that the chicken needed to marinate for at least 4 hours. So while making dinner on Tuesday, I put together the marinade and vacuum sealed the chicken refrigerating it for the following night.  I really think the vacuum sealing helped concentrate the flavors of lime and cilantro into the meat.  Also, my co-worker Ted, had recently made the recipe and suggested that I definately add the lime zest that the recipe note recommends. (Thanks, Ted!)  I wasn’t really sure what to have with the wings, which, by the way, I did not split from the legs, nor did I remove the tips. They were just fine.  I decided to “use up” some little bits that were in the fridge so I came up with this hodge-podge of menu items.  There were a few frozen hush puppies that I threw in the oven with the chicken and then served with the little bit of Ranch dressing I had left in the jar.  I also cut up the last of the celery and carrots and served those as a vegetable with that ranch dressing.  I used a Mahatma packet of spanish rice but I put the last bit of leftover salsa and a dab of butter into the water as it boiled.  The salsa added the litle bits of onion and peppers that the yellow rice needed and complimented the fajita chicken very well.  For dessert, I had some leftover plain yogurt from Monday night’s Tandoori so I added a dolop of whipped cream, the last few strawberries (diced), some dried cherries, and a few chopped pecans.  I then took a Hershey’s kiss from the candy jar and shaved it on top.  It wasn’t the sweetest dessert by any means, but it was a fairly healthy end to the meal.

Thursday, June 5th: We had leftovers from the night before so I planned on just eating that but we needed a little something extra to round out the meal.  I put together the Bacon-Crab Dip from Pillsbury’s Summer Appetizers magazine to eat with crackers, celery and carrots.  It was very good; however, I did add some onion powder and garlic powder along with some smoked paprika to give it a little zip.  It was a quick fix, especially because I had my bacon precooked for the week.

Friday and Saturday we attended Geoffrey and Courtney’s rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception so I didn’t need any additional meals for the week.  The food catered was so delicious I am glad that I didn’t eat too much before heading over there.  Oh, we also tried McDonald’s new chicken biscuits on Saturday morning and my friend Kendall was right, they ain’t got nothing on Chik-Fil-A.

So… that was our eccentric week of food and of course, today, being Sunday, I started the whole process over again. I look forward to putting together this week’s choices: Lamb Tangine with Potatoes, Chickpeas, Pistachio Mousse Brownie Torte, Flank Steak Pinwheels and much, much more. Look for Last Week’s Menu, next Sunday.

Bon Appetit!