Week of January 28, 2011

Black bean burgers
Spinach, Bacon, & Mushroom Quiche 
Potatoes and peas in red curry sauce (crockpot)
Taco soup (crockpot)
Chicken soft tacos
Spaghetti with spaghetti sauce (crockpot)

Week of January 21, 2011

Shaun makes lasagna
Sriracha honey buffalo wings
Sloppy joes (crockpot)
Cowboy beans (crockpot)

Chocolate chip cookies

Nutritious chicken nuggets

 

These are such a hit in our household. Our preschooler calls them "nutritious chicken nuggets," to differentiate them from McD's chicken nuggests. I would guess she probably prefers McD's. If I were four, I probably would too.

This is an easy meal to make that only requires about 30 minutes from start to finish. The only reason I don't make this meal more often is because chicken breast gets expensive. And because I don't really like to handle raw meat. 

Here is the original recipe. I found it because I was looking for dairy and soy-free breadcrumbs. I do like the taste and texture of Panko. I would probably start using it even if I weren't dairy and soy-free.

Here is my lazy adaptation of the recipe:

• Heat the oven to broil. Close bedroom doors so the smoke alarm doesn't get all uppity. 
• Cut the chicken breast into bite-sized pieces
• Mix 3 big globs (~ 1 cup) of mayonnaise with a glob (~1/3 cup) of dijon mustard. Pour in a fair amount of agave syrup (~1/3 cup). Shake in several shakes of hot sauce (~2-3 TB). 
• Pour the panko into a second bowl
• Dip chicken into mayo into panko and place on a cookie sheet
• Broil ~8-10 minutes on each side. I monitor them chicken closely and flip and/or remove when browned. I want the chicken to be well cooked but I don't want to burn

Serve with baked potatoes and frozen veggies for a well-rounded meal.

Note: I have run out of agave syrup and don't want to make a special grocery trip for it. I now use maple syrup, which I also like.

ETA: I should have also said that I really like this meal a lot. The chicken is juicy with a crunch (if that makes sense) and there is a wonderful sweet and sassy taste.

Chocolate pancakes. Or, chocolate cake in pancake form

I woke up with the intention of making healthy oatmeal pancakes and decided on a whim to make chocolate pancakes. After all, cocoa powder has some nutritive value ... right ...?

Here is the recipe I used. I suppose adding fruit would be nutritious, but I did not have any on hand.

Essentially, you mix

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups buttermilk. I used two cups of coconut milk. 
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil. I used canola. 

Place 1/4 cup on a hot griddle. Flip after 3-5 minutes, or when the underside is firm. Cook an additional 3-5 minutes.

Yup. That's cake. In pancake form.  It was pretty good. 

Week of January 15, 2001

Artichoke pasta (crockpot)
Sweet pork barbacoa (crockpot)
Pumpkin chili (crockpot)
Roasted veggie pizza
Pasta with black kale, caramelized onions and parsnips
Farfalle with kale, bacon and mint

Shaun lunch:
Barbacoa pork leftovers in a wrap
BLTs


Pecan crunch pumpkin muffins

Inside-out stuffed peppers

We really, really liked this meal. I have always been a fan of stuffed peppers but it always seems like so much work. On the evening of this meal,  our groceries were delivered at 6 pm and I wanted to get supper on the table. This is what I did:

• Brown 1-1.5 lbs of ground beef. Drain fat
• Add one diced onion, a diced green pepper and 8 ounces frozen corn kernels and cook until soft
• I added a couple of handfuls of cooked navy and garbanzo beans because they were sitting in the fridge. I think they added some nice texture and substance, but I wouldn't go out of my way to add them
• Stir in 1-2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning and oregano
• When the onions and corn are soft, add a can of diced tomatoes. It's a plus if they are seasoned as well. I used a 14 oz can, but a 28 oz can will do nicely if you like tomatoes
• Stir occasionally and serve when heated through

This is an easy, hearty dish. We ate them with baked potato slices. I told S that next time I will add more frozen vegetables and he gave me the stink eye. I may keep this as a primarily beef meal but I think it would be good with more veggies.

Homemade falafel and pita bread

I originally did not to post these recipes because I did not alter them to make them my own. They were easy, solid, nutritious, cheap recipes but definitely Budget Bytes's recipe. However, I decided to share them because they truly are wonderful to have in the recipe repertoire. 

Here a recipe for homemade falafel. Here is a recipe for homemade pita. Aside from the tomato and cucumber, the rest of the ingredients were in my pantry. It was truly a cheap meal.

I baked navy and garbanzo beans in the crockpot overnight on low for 8 hours. Look at the steam!

Edited to add: I used dried beans and cooked them first. You can certainly use canned beans, but I like the lower price and lower salt content of dried beans.

 

 I did not have oil to fry or cumin. I baked the falafel balls on a cookie sheet, omitting the cumin. They were OK. I think next time I will shape smaller patties and definitely make sure I have all the ingredients.

The pita was a cinch to make. I rose the dough in the morning and then stored it in the fridge until supper time. I did not even try to cut the pita in half.I just folded it over tomato and cucumber. Drizzling the pita with tahini sauce was just perfect!

See the camera cord?

This is definitely on my list of cheap and nutritious eats.