Chicken Broth Success

Don't freeze your broth in Mason Jars. They break. I know. I tried.

I am so happy with the success of the Chef John's Roasted Chicken Broth. Easy. Though, with my three days on the task you might not know it. But, believe me, that's just life with a high school schedule.

It is so very delicious. Rich, full of body and ready for carrots and onions, celery and the chicken breast remaining. Here's his recipe. We're having soup for lunch and saving the rest for later (in the freezer, of course).

When you make it (and you should), just give yourself the space on a Saturday. The flavor is much different than a standard homemade stock, which I love, but the richness and depth of flavor makes it just perfect as a simple soup base. And, it's not labor intensive, it just needs the stretch of 3 hours to cook.

I'm planning to add red pepper, tomato and sausage soup to one of these, too.

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

Monday Meals

We're a few weeks into our CSA season here and the beautiful greens are taking center stage.  It's taken me a bit to get back on track with meal planning but I am getting back into the summer groove.  Looking back through the archives of taste a little summer has helped quite a bit.  Here's the plan for this week.

Saturday: Green pasta with homemade pesto and salad

Sunday: Stir-fried veggies, noodles, and spicy green beans

Monday:  Dinner with friends (my contribution: radishes with Hawaiian red salt, homemade lemon-blueberry frozen yogurt, and lemon-thyme shortbread)

Tuesday: BBQ tofu with kale chips and fennel crisps

Wednesday: Homemade pizza and salad

Thursday: Grilled chicken and salad with kefir "ranch" dressing

Friday:  Leftovers

What are you cooking this week?
What have you been seeing in your CSA box?

Looks good doesn't it?!

Raspberry-Rhubarb Crisp 

via Molly

I'm over at my home base for Monday Meals this week.

Monday Meals

Monday Meal Planning

It's been a long while since I've posted our meal plans and to be honest, it's been a while since I've done much planning.  For the next couple of weeks I'm working on cleaning up and cleaning out our chest freezer to make way for all of the fabulous treasures that will be coming our way when our CSA share starts in a few weeks.  I'm working on using up sauces and veggies that are hanging out in there.  Here's what I've come up with so far.

Monday: Pasta with shrimp, spinach, feta, and homemade tomato sauce

Tuesday: Grilled chicken sausages and mediterranean whole grain salad

Wednesday: Homemade pizza

Thursday: Green pasta

Friday: Grilled chicken and corn and zucchini casserole

Saturday: Eggplant cheese pie

Sunday: Salmon with potatoes and greens

Monday: Swimming lessons- out to dinner

Tuesday: Noodle salad with thai peanut sauce

Wednesday: Pasta with chicken and peppers

Sunday Dinner and Monday Meals

For Sunday Dinner tonight we had mini-turkey meat loaves, cooked in muffin tins.  We rounded things out with garlic mashers and steamed broccoli and carrots.  My kids LOVED this dinner.  Even the girl who usually only eats fruits and veggies.

The mini meat loaves were inspired by a recipe in this adorable cookbook.  Rae Grant of My Little Hen knows kids... she knows what they like to eat, what they like to cook, and even what they like to craft too.  I turned to her cookbook for inspiration and recipes for a few different items on our meal plan.

So here we are... some pretty basic stuff.  We have a lot of comfort food and soups on the menu as we slowly ease into spring.  The hubby will be out of town for a bit so I like to stick with things the kids will really like and stuff that is pretty easy to prepare.  I did a big bread bake yesterday and we are already through a loaf and a half.  Oops!  Here is my favorite honey whole wheat bread recipe.  (For a bigger view of the meal plan, just click on the photo.)

What is on your menu for the next week or two?

Meal Planning: I'm Fancy!

Here's the plan for meals at our house for the next two weeks.  I didn't do any power cooking this weekend, although the veggie egg bake I made for dinner was big enough to last through a few lunches and breakfasts as leftovers.  It's always nice to have a few things tucked away in the fridge for mid-week busy-ness.

Here is the recipe for the bounty rice dish and for a pizza similar to the one I have planned for Friday.  Our pizza this week will include caramelized onions... my new thing.  I'm fancy now you see... I figured out how to make caramelized onions.  Not too tricky at all I must admit.
Here's how I do it:
4-5 cups of thinly sliced onions
3-4 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp white wine
3 tsp white wine vinegar
4 tbsp water (plus more if needed to keep the onions from browning too much)
4 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp sea salt
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium low heat.  Add all ingredients and cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally and adding extra water if necessary (I sometimes add another tablespoon or two) to prevent the onions from burning.  The onions should be done after about 30-40 minutes.

after 5 minutes in the pan

after 30 minutes in the pan

They have a sweet tang to them that we usually enjoy on a flatbread or pizza.  I'm sure they would also be marvelous over a steak or maybe as an appetizer in a dip like this one.

A Power Cooking Night

I heartily agree with Kerry and everyone else who does a little power cooking. Sometimes I plan mine, ya know, its Saturday, the kiddo's schedules don't demand and I can take a couple of hours in the kitchen to prepare for the meals ahead.

There are times when a cooking night is driven by USE BY dates. And on occasion, the opportunity just presents itself! Last night my girlie's volleyball practice was canceled and my boy's guitar lesson could move, so we came home right after school/work. Ahhh.

I dived right in and the kitchen was suddenly filled with the fragrance of onions sweating in olive oil.
Here's what I prepared:

• the cut chicken version of Spatchcock Chicken
• a pot roast
• Layered Chicken Enchilada's a la my sister - kinda like this recipe (no canned soup here!)

I browned the pot roast and got it in the pan then popped the cut up chicken in a 400 degree oven all dressed up with olive oil, salt, garlic cloves and cherry tomatoes, then, over to the casserole. It took a little over ninety minutes and I'm set for a couple of days. The chicken yielded left-overs for lunch and a snack (I am all for a tasty cold chicken leg for a snack and am offering protein instead of simple carbs at my house.), I'm having some for lunch too. The pot roast will finish tonight when I do step two, placing it in a pan with baby onions, potatoes and carrots, a little beef stock and wine to finish the braise and warm the house. Left overs will be used on taco night. And the layered enchilada business is perfect for Friday night. Leftovers to the freezer!

There's power in the simple nights in the offing!

Ok, share. Do you do power cooking?

I know Kerry does.

Meal Planning: Takin' it easy

We've got a lot going on in these next few weeks.  I'm keeping things nice and easy when it comes to dinners.  By planning simple meals, cooking and prepping ahead, and making good use of leftovers, I hope to keep things in the kitchen under control.

One of my time-saving strategies is to work ahead.  This weekend was a big cooking weekend.  On Saturday afternoon I made cookie dough and bread dough.  I made a whole roast turkey on Sunday.  While the turkey was cooking I cut up all of the veggies I need for my turkey noodle soup and the veggie egg bake and stored them in the fridge in reusable containers.  After the turkey was out of the oven I baked cookies for the charity bake sale at my hubbie's work on Wednesday.  I scrubbed up a few potatoes, sprinkled them with kosher salt, and wrapped in aluminum foil into the bottom of the oven to bake at the same time as the dozens of cookies.  Those baked potatoes made for a quick and tasty dinner last night.  While I was working on the cookies, I took the turkey carcass and leftover roasting veggies and made stock for the soup.

A lot of my power cooking and prepping is done on weekend afternoons while my kiddos are napping or in the evening after they are settled in bed.  I find that listening to my favorite radio stations and sipping a cup of tea or a nice glass of wine makes for a relaxing time even though I'm getting things done.

How do you make cooking fun and relaxing?

Meal Planning and a Bonus Recipe

I doodle out a meal plan for my family every two weeks.  I find that a good amount of time for us to plan ahead.  No matter how well I plan though, things always get shifted and changed, but it's a routine now and it works.  Here's our plan from last week and this.

Now for the bonus recipe:
Easy Tex-Mex Frittata
I made this for breakfast using leftovers from the taco salad we had last week.  By my calculations, the whole thing topped out at less than 300 calories.  Not too shabby.
Heat a small, oven-proof, non-stick pan and coat with cooking spray.  Add 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes and 1/3 cup cooked black beans.  I also had about 2 tbsp of seasoned ground turkey leftover from the salad too.  (Who saves that amount?  It worked for this though!)  Heat the "filling" ingredients through, then whisk together 1 egg and 2 egg whites with about 1 tbsp of water.  Pour the eggs into the pan over the heated tomatoes and beans.  Cook until bottom is set.  Sprinkle about 2 tbsp of sharp cheddar cheese over the top and shake on hot sauce as desired.  Pop the pan into a 325 degree oven for about 5 minutes until the eggs have set.  This easy and filling breakfast can be made with a huge variety of leftovers.  Maybe next time you should save those two spears of asparagus, the few bites of ham, or the little bit of parmesan... it just might turn into a terrific breakfast.

Frugal Meal Planning and Perfect Timing

Sometimes we find ourselves exactly where we're supposed to be.
I just found myself on Ruth's blog and guess what her topic is?

Frugal Meal Planning

and she has great, great, great ideas.

Check it out.

Thank you, Ruth!