Sunday, March 21, 2010

Jen's Spaghetti Sauce

Like forever ago, my friend Jen commented on this blog with her recipe for spaghetti sauce. The only problem is since it is in the comments, I can never find it! Since the point of this blog is to keep track of recipes, here it is in its own post with its own title.

When I made it, I used onions, too. I also chopped things up a bit with an immersion blender at the end, thought the kids would prefer it that way. We didn't do the spaghetti squash although that sounds delicious. It tasted better the day after I made it.

Oh, and weird but here the Senter Rd. Costco has the tomatoes, but not the Almaden one.

Buy a #10 can of diced tomatoes from Costco. Chop a couple carrots, celery stalks and zucchini. Sautee them in a little olive oil in a large pot and add a bit of garlic toward the end. When they are done, dump in the tomatoes and sprinkle some italian seasoning. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for a couple hours until the liquid has cooked off. Serve over spaghetti squash instead of pasta. I cook the spaghetti squash in the microwave by piercing it with a fork and cooking for about 8-10 minutes. Then you can cut it open and scoop out the inside. This is a big hit in our house and makes lots of leftovers.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Chicken Pot Pie

I'm sure there are a million variations of this. I haven't even made it in forever since things with a cream sauce aren't very healthy. But I needed a dinner, hadn't planned ahead so had to make due with what I had around, and this is what happened. My husband said, and I quote, "This is great!" 7-yo asked to taste it, and then announced, "MMmm, I like this." 5-yo asked for some, surprisingly enough, but didn't eat it. 3-yo mostly just ate the biscuits off the top, but not too bad for something that I had to throw together.

I usually make this with cornbread on top, but I was out of cornmeal. Actually this cooked better because there were spaces in between the biscuits. Maybe I can try doing blobs of cornbread next time, see if that works.

1-16oz. bag frozen mixed vegetables, cooked and drained
1 chopped onion
1/4 c butter or Smart Balance
1/3 c flour
1/2 t salt
1 t sage
1 t marjoram (or at least what I think is marjoram from my herb garden, I'm not sure though)
pepper
2 c chicken broth
3/4 c milk
3 c. cooked chicken or turkey, cut into bite size pieces.
1/4 c parsley, chopped

Biscuit topping:
2 c flour (I used part whole wheat)
1 T baking powder
2 t sugar
1/2 t cream of tartar
1/4 t salt
1/2 c canola oil (or make it authentic with butter)
1 c milk

In a saucepan, melt butter and saute onions until tender. Stir in flour, salt, sage, marjoram, and pepper. Add chicken broth and milk all at once, and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in vegetables, chicken, and parsley. Pour mixture into a 9x13 pan.

Mix the dry ingredients for the biscuits. Then add oil and milk, and stir as little as possible. (We are cheating with the oil here, so you don't want to push your luck by beating the batter.) Spoon mounds of batter on top of HOT chicken mixture.

Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes, or until biscuits are golden and chicken mixture is very bubbly.

Tomato Soup

This isn't really a dinner. But when 5-yo asks for peas and rice, you drop all dinner plans and make it. This actually started as an act of desperation. Many many years ago, in the mtc cafeteria, I was forced to get creative. The entrees offered were just not good. Usually some kind of frozen breaded thing accompanied with overcooked vegetables and gravy. But, if the choices were bleak, there were many. I would explore the sides and the salad bar and see if I could come up with something I could stomach. One day, I scooped some rice and peas into my bowl and then filled it up with tomato soup. Top it off with some pepper and it was definitely the best thing I ever ate there. So every once in awhile, just for fun, I make some. (Usually for lunch.) It has probably been a year or two since I've made it, I'm surprised she even remembers, but for some reason she got a hankering for the peas and rice (sans soup). AND......drumroll, please......she cleaned her plate. There were peas on that plate!

Now here is one last tip, you can of course get tomato soup from a box, or can, or whatever. When I don't have one of those readily available, in a four cup measure, I mix a can of tomato paste with a can of chicken broth, then fill it up to four cups with milk. Heat in the microwave.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Chicken and Broccoli Salad/Braid

I generally do not use mayonnaise because of its obvious unhealthiness. But last weekend I was making food for a baby shower, and someone else had come up with the menu and the recipes (thank goodness since I'm not good at that). I made a chicken and broccoli salad which was very tasty, but of course had tons of mayo. I often substitute plain yogurt for mayonnaise, but in a salad like this it would probably get watery. When I make it again I will play around with it a little--like I've heard of draining yogurt in cheesecloth overnight in the fridge, or half yogurt/half mayo, maybe substituting cottage cheese, or just using less. Or some combination. But not for a baby shower, when cooking for special occasions I'll pull out the real deal!

Eating the chicken broccoli salad reminded me of a recipe I used to make years ago with a recipe from pampered chef. Loaded with mayo and cheese, I eventually stopped making it. But when I ate the salad I then had a craving for the old recipe. I googled "pampered chef chicken broccoli braid" and found it all over the place. I made some adjustments (because this wasn't for a baby shower) and actually was surprised that besides me, both my husband and 3-yo enjoyed it. I cooked the chicken in soy sauce like I had for the salad because I thought it added great flavor. And the braid is a fun presentation that would work for any filling.

Chicken Broccoli Salad (from Paula Deen via Stephanie)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1½ pounds)
2 c water
2 T soy sauce
2 cloves garlic minced
1 red onion, diced
1 cup crushed peanuts
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons orange marmalade (I had apricot preserves on hand so that is what I used)
4 cups broccoli florets

In a large skillet place, place chicken breasts in a single layer. Pour water and soy sauce over chicken; sprinkle with garlic. Cover, and cook, over medium-high heat, for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove chicken from pan; let cool for 20 minutes. Cut into 1½-inch pieces. In large bowl combine chicken, broccoli, onion, peanuts, and cranberries. In a small bowl whisk together mayonnaise and marmalade. Pour over chicken mixture, tossing gently to combine. Cover, refrigerate for at least 4 hours. (This of course softened the peanuts, which I thought would not be good, but it was. The salad had a nice texture.)

Chicken and Broccoli Braid

2 c chicken, cooked and diced
2 c broccoli, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 c sharp cheddar, shredded
1/2 c mayonnaise
2 t dill (or more to taste)
1/4 t salt
1/2 c onion, diced
1 recipe pizza dough (my recipe is here--I used all white whole wheat this time)

Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, toss together chicken, broccoli, bell pepper, garlic, cheese, mayo, dill, salt, and onion. Roll out pizza dough very thin, in a large rectangle, the length being the same size as your cookie sheet, the width being 4 inches wider than your cookie sheet. Spray your cookie sheet with nonstick spray, and carefully pull your pizza dough on, with a couple inches hanging over on each (long) side. Using scissors or a knife, cut strips about 1 inch wide, 3 inches long in towards the center down each of the long sides. Make sure you do the same number on each side. (There should be a solid piece of dough down the center, with the cut strips forming a fringe down the long sides.) Spread the chicken mixture down the center. Take one strip from each side, give them both a half twist, and pinch the ends together. Continue twisting and pinching all of the strips. Bake 25-28 minutes, or until golden brown.