Starting New Year Resolutions Early

Well, Now that the kids eat what we eat, I plan on cooking 3-4x a week. So, I'm back at it and no time to start like the present.

Monday - Easy Chicken With Potatoes

Tuesday - Chesapeake Bay Pork Chops

Thursday - Grilled Chicken Curry

Chesapeake Bay Pork Chops

"Boneless pork chops are marinated with seafood seasoning and apple cider vinegar and grilled to perfection! These turned out amazing"

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon seafood seasoning (such

as Old Bay®)

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1 lime, juiced

cracked black pepper to taste

8 boneless pork chops, 1/2 inch thick

DIRECTIONS:

1. Whisk together the vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, seafood seasoning, minced garlic, basil, lime juice, and black pepper in a bowl, and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add the pork chops, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours, flipping periodically.

2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate. Remove the pork chops from the bags. Discard excess marinade.

3. Grill until the pork is no longer pink in the center, 5 to 7 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

---I ended up baking them and they turned out great that way too.

Easy Chicken With Potatoes

Italian seasoned chicken with potatoes, cooked in the slow cooker.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1/2 cup Italian salad dressing

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or mix basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, and garlic powder to equal same)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

4 to 6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges or thick slices

Preparation:

Place chicken in bottom of Crock Pot. Sprinkle with half of the Italian dressing, spices, and the grated cheese. Put the potatoes on top or around the chicken. Sprinkle with the rest of the dressing, spices, and cheese.

Cook on low for about 6-8 hours, or until the chicken is done and potatoes are tender.

Grilled chicken curry:

Cooking spray

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, about 5 ounces each

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons curry powder

2 teaspoons turmeric powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

Olive oil, as needed to loosen

For peanut dipping sauce:

1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk

3 tablespoons peanut butter

1 lime, juiced

2 tablespoons brown sugar

For the chicken:

Directions

Heat a stove-top grill pan or griddle with cooking spray to medium-high heat.

Season both sides of chicken with salt and black pepper and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine lime juice, curry powder, turmeric, cumin and olive oil, as needed to loosen mixture.

Mix well with a spoon and brush mixture all over both sides of chicken.

Place chicken on hot pan and cook 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until cooked through.

Remove from heat and place on plate.

For the dipping sauce:

While the chicken is cooking, in a small saucepan, combine coconut milk, peanut butter,

lime juice, and sugar. Set pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Spinach, Meatballs, and Pastina Recipes

Baby's Souffle of Spinach
16 oz fresh or frozen spinach (if using frozen, please drain excess liquid prior to using.)
1/3 ricotta or cottage cheese
2 egg yolks (increase if mix is too runny)
pinch of garlic and basil

Combine all ingredients and spoon into a lightly oiled (we always use olive oil.) baking dish or muffin tray. I’m going to use a tiny muffin tray. It will be a great bite snack/finger food for the kids.
Bake at 375 F for 15 minutes or until golden and springy to the touch.
You may wish to insert a toothpick and then withdraw it to check that the insides are

Cheesy Beef Meatballs
Ground beef
Chopped onion
Chopped carrot
Canned Diced tomatoes
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Egg Yolk (1-2)
Breadcrumbs if needed

Saute Onion and carrots in butter. Heat tomatoes though. Puree sauted onions/carrots and tomatoes. Mix beef, cooled puree, yolks, and cheese together. Use small scoop and place on baking sheet. Bake 350F for 20 min.

Chicken Vegetable Pasta
Chopped Zucchini
Chopped Carrotsa
Pastina
Chicken/Ground Turkey
Garlic
Basil

Chop vegetables very small and sauté in butter until very soft, in butter. Cook Chicken/Turkey with Garlic and Basil. Cook Pastina of choice with NO SALT in the water. Combine all ingredients.

Tofu creamed spinach

A great healthy, protein packed creamed spinach!

Tofu Creamed Spinach

ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 small onion, minced 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 packaged frozen spinach chopped

1 (12 ounce) package silken tofu 1/2 (4oz) cream cheese – into chunks nutmeg salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.	Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic; cook until soft and translucent, but not brown. Add spinach; cook, stirring frequently. Melt cheese.
2.	Stir in tofu, nutmeg, salt, and pepper into spinach. Cook until warmed through.
3.	Adjust seasonings, if desired, and serve.

Chicken Devine

YUM!!

Chicken Devine

Baked Chicken Thighs
Onion
Mushroom
Broccoli
Butter

De-bone Baked chicken
Saute in butter: Onions and mushrooms
Add broccoli and cook until tender
Add Chicken and chop in the processor to a desired consistency.

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.
   

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.

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.

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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.