Come see what is on the menu this week! I work toward once a week grocery shopping and fast, easy cooking!!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Chicken and Apples

Yummm!!

I modified a recipe for the kids!

Apple Chicken

Ingredients

  • chicken
  • 2 chopped apple
  • 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1 tablespoon Italian-style dried bread crumbs
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions

  1. In food processor chop apples and set aside
  2. In food processor chop cheese
  3. In food processor chop chicken (already cooked), butter, parsley and water
  4. Combine all in big bowl
  5. spoon into icecube trays and freeze.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Yogurt - Crockpot

Ok, so YoBaby Yogurt is CRAZY EXPENSIVE!!! I am delving into the world of making my own yogurt in the crockpot. Not only will I save money, but I can control the sugar my kids are getting (ie NONE, except fruit I put in).

CrockPot Yogurt
The Ingredients.

--8 cups (half-gallon) of whole milk--pasteurized and homogenized is fine, but do NOT use ultra-pasteurized. (Debbie recommends starting with whole milk until you get the hang of yogurt-making)

--1/2 cup store-bought natural, live/active culture plain yogurt (you need to have a starter. Once you have made your own, you can use that as a starter)

--frozen/fresh fruit for flavoring

--thick bath towel

The Directions.

This takes a while. Make your yogurt on a weekend day when you are home to monitor.

I used a 6 quart crockpot.

Plug in your crockpot and turn to low. Add an entire half gallon of milk. Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours.

Unplug your crockpot. Leave the cover on, and let it sit for 3 hours.

When 3 hours have passed, scoop out 2 cups of the warmish milk and put it in a bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of store-bought live/active culture yogurt. Then dump the bowl contents back into the crockpot. Stir to combine. ---I also add 1/2 cup of powdered dry milk to "thinken" the yogourt! Or you can use 1 packet of unflavored gelatin

Put the lid back on your crockpot. Keep it unplugged, and wrap a heavy bath towel all the way around the crock for insulation.


Go to bed, or let it sit for 8 hours.

In the morning, the yogurt will have thickened---it's not as thick as store-bought yogurt, but has the consistency of low-fat plain yogurt.

Blend in batches with your favorite fruit. I did mango, strawberry, and blueberry. When you blend in the fruit, bubbles will form and might bother you. They aren't a big deal, and will settle eventually.

Chill in a plastic container(s) in the refrigerator. Your fresh yogurt will last 7-10 days. Save 1/2 cup as a starter to make a new batch.

You can achieve a Greek-style yogurt by lining a colander with a coffee liner and letting the liquid drip out of the left over plain yogurt. It comes out this as sour cream!

More information can be found: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-can-make-yogurt-in-your-crockpot.html

MONEY SAVINGS

One 6-pack of yo-baby is $6.50 (24 ounces)

One gallon of almost totally organic milk is $3.00 (128 ounces)

One gallon of yobaby would be $34.67 or 10 times what it cost you to make it, more or less.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Great Fathers Day Recipes

Slow Cooker Carnitas

2 pounds pork shoulder
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 large orange)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1 large lime)
7 cloves garlic (whole intact)
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 cup beef broth
corn tortillas
sour cream, salsa, sliced avocado (optional)

The Directions.

Use a 6 quart slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the salt and cumin. Rub mixture all over the pork, then plop into the slow cooker. Add whole garlic cloves. Squeeze on the citrus, and pour the beef broth evenly over the top.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until the pork shreds quite easily with a fork. If your meat is still fully intact after 8 hours, remove and cut into chunks, then return to the crock and flip to high for about an hour or two.
Shred meat fully and serve on warmed corn tortillas with desired toppings.


__________________________

Breakfast Casserole


Prep this the night before for an easy breakfast or brunch. Find turkey sausage in the freezer section of the supermarket with other breakfast meats.


Cooking spray
12 ounces turkey breakfast sausage
2 cups 1% low-fat milk
2 cups egg substitute
1 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
3 large eggs
16 (1-ounce) slices white bread
1 cup (4 ounces) finely shredded reduced-fat extrasharp cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon paprika


1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring and breaking sausage to crumble. Remove from heat; cool.

2. Combine milk and next 6 ingredients (through eggs) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.

3. Trim crusts from bread. Cut bread into 1-inch cubes. Add bread cubes, sausage, and cheddar cheese to milk mixture, stirring to combine. Pour bread mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking or 3-quart casserole dish coated with cooking spray, spreading egg mixture evenly in baking dish. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

4. Preheat oven to 350°.

5. Remove casserole from refrigerator; let stand 30 minutes. Sprinkle casserole evenly with paprika. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes.


All about the babies!

Well, I have been majorly slacking on the Adult Meals front. So I am going to focus on the Babies and their food, and secondary will be what I make for us...which soon will be the same!!!

My kids are fantastic eaters...here are a few of the dishes they have had.

Chicken with Leek, carrot and peas

2lb chicken thighs with bone
6-8 already purade carrot cubes
5 already purade greenbean (I didn't feel like making peas since i already had the greenbeans made)
and about 2/3 cup of diced leaks (white part only)

Pasta with Butternut Squash and Tomatoes

1 small butternut squash (8 ounces chopped) (so easy to roast - cut in half, place cut side down with a little bit of water on bottom of pan, bake 45-60 min @350)
1 1/2 Tbl tiny star pasta
1 Tbl unsalted butter (this sounds huge!! I will be cutting this back)
2 medium tomatoes (8oz) peeled, seeded and chopped (I will be using diced canned and then rinse through a strainer)
1/4 c graded cheddar cheese
2 Tbs milk

Chicken with Zucchini/Yellow Squash and Basil

I think you can figure that one out... :)

Today they will be having Sweet Potato Fries!!

I have sliced 3 Sweet Potatoes
In a zip lock back mix:
Olive Oil
Cinnamon
Ground Cloves
Black pepper

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes!