DIY Bisquick

Ingredients
* 6 cups flour
* 3 tbsp baking powder
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 cup butter, cold and cut up

Directions
1. To a food processor, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
2. Add the cold butter to the food processor, and pulse a few times until crumbly and incorporated.
3. Store in the fridge.

Notes
I combined 5 cups of AP flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour.  I store it in 2 cup containers, because then it is so easy to whip up a batch of  the kids' favorite waffles.  This will stay quite a while (a few months) in the fridge, but for us it won't last that long!  We've already used it twice week and the kids have requested it again for the morning!  Feel free to halve the recipe, but I wouldn't double it or you will overflow your food processor bowl!

Chicken Fingers

Ingredients
* 1 lb chicken breasts, cut up
* 2 eggs
* 1/2 cup AP flour
* 2 cups panko  bread crumbs
* 1 tsp garlic powder
* 1 tsp lemon-pepper
* 1/2 tsp cayenne
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp pepper
 * oil for browning

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Beat the eggs in one shallow bowl or pie plate, and put the flour in a second shallow bowl or pie plate. Season the flour if desired with salt and pepper
3. In a third shallow bowl or pie plate combine the panko, garlic powder, lemon-pepper, cayenne, salt and pepper.
4. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.
5. Dredge the chicken in the flour, the eggs, and then the seasoned panko.
6. Brown the chicken on both sides until golden and crispy, then transfer to a wire rack on a cookie sheet.
7. Cook for 12-15 minutes until fully cooked through.

Notes
I sprayed my wire rack before putting it on the cookie sheet.  Placing the chicken on the rack elevated it and allowed the chicken to cook and not get soggy on either side.  The original recipe called for the chicken to be fully fried, but this method worked well for our family. Also, I only had lemon-pepper panko (always on hand since we love lemon pepper panko salmon), so I skipped the lemon-pepper seasoning and used the flavored panko.  The kids loved these even though they had a little kick!

May 31, 2013

Woohoo!  2 keepers this week! I love to cook with things on hand, and this new enchilada recipe fit the bill.  We have made a few enchilada recipes that we love over the years, and each has its own flavor.  This one has a homemade sauce that was wonderful, so it has earned keeper status.  It even reheated well the nextg day for lunch! 

The second keeper was a new chicken dinner that had a different flavor than most we've had.  The ingredient list wasn't radically different, but the addition of bread cubes (basically homemade croutons) in the sauce as a thickener was great.  I always keep heels of bread, left over rolls, and the like in the freezer, so I had the bread on hand for this dish as well.  And the chicken stayed very moist through cooking it in the sauce.  Pairing it with some blanched and seasoned green beans made for a great dinner!

This coming week is going to be busy and I'll be a solo-mom for most of it, so we will see what new recipes we try out in the kitchen!!!

Happy Cooking!!!


New Recipes
Pantry Staples Enchiladas
Chicken in Garlic-Almond Sauce

Chicken in Garlic-Almond Sauce

Ingredients
* 4 tbsp olive oil, divided
* 1/2 cup slivered almonds
* 2 cups cubed crustless white bread
* 4 garlic cloves
* 2 cups chicken broth
* 2/3 cup white wine
* 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
* kosher salt
* 1 lb chicken breasts, pounded to an even thickness
* 1 onion minced
* 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions
1. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add almonds and stir until golden brown, about 3 minutes, then transfer them to paper towels.  Place 1/3 cup of the almonds into a blender or food processor, and leave the rest for garnish.
2. Add the bread crumbs and garlic to the saute pan.  Cook and stir until the bread is crisp and golden, around 4-5 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon transfer them to the blender.  Add the broth, wine, pepper and a pinch of salt to the blender.  Process until smooth. Set aside.
3. Heat the last 1 tbsp of oil over medium high heat.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Brown the chicken in oil.  Remove the browned chicken to a plate.
4. Add the onion to the pan and cook for 6 minutes.  Add the sauce and chicken to the pan with the onions, ensuring the sauce covers the chicken.  Bring the sauce to a simmer, then cover.  Simmer the chicken in the sauce until cooked through, about 12 minutes.
5. Serve the chicken with the sauce.  Use the parsley and reserved almonds as garnish when serving.

Notes
We loved this!  The chicken was very moist from cooking in the sauce, and the flavor was so different from other chicken dishes we've made, which was a nice change of pace!

Pantry Staples Enchiladas

Ingredients for the sauce
* 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz), un-
drained
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
*1 tbsp chopped garlic
* 2 tbsp olive oil
* 1 tbsp AP flour
* 2 tbsp chili powder
* 2 tsp ground cumin
* 1 cup chicken broth
* salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for the filling
* 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
* 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz), drained
* 1/2 cup diced onion
* 2 cups shredded cheddar, divided
* 8 flour tortillas

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Puree the un-drained tomatoes, 1/2 cup chopped onion and garlic in a food processor.
3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
4. Stir in flour, chili powder, and cumin, and cook for 1 minute.  Whisk in the pureed tomato mixture and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Season the sauce with salt and pepper, and let cool.
5. Combine the chicken, drained tomatoes, diced onions and 1 cup of the cheese.  Add 1/2 cup of sauce to the filling mixture.
6. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.  For each enchilada, spread 1 tbsp of sauce on the tortilla, then flip so this is the outside of the enchilada.  Place 2-3 tbsp of chicken filling insde the tortilla, then wrap and place in the baking dish. 
7. Top the enchiladas with the remaining sauce and cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cheese melts and sauce is bubbling.

Notes
You probably have everything to make these in your pantry and freezer.  These were really good, especially given that no shopping had to be done in order to make this dish.  No real heat factor, so if you are looking for something spicy perhaps add some crushed red or cayenne pepper to the sauce.  Speaking of the sauce, that was definitely the best part.  I might make this same red sauce for other versions of enchiladas in the future!

May 24, 2013

Are you ready for Memorial Day?  The weather out here looks to be a bit chilly to hop in the pool, but there will definitely be some bike riding!  Our youngest has mastered his two-wheeler and now calls it his "awesome bike".  It is amazing to see him go, especially thinking about how far he has come in his short life!  Yay Liam!!!

Ryan was out of town for most of the week which means...we made sloppy joe's!  (Most of you may recall how much he absolutely loathes good ole sloppy joe's!)  But we did it with a twist because we used ground chicken instead of ground beef, and it was great!  We made pancakes two mornings in a row because they are easy to whip up, and the kids devour them.  I like to send them off to school with a good breakfast in their bellies though this usually means cereal or yogurt or oatmeal. Since I wasn't swimming before the day began I had a bit of extra time and knew pancakes would put a smile on the kids' faces!

We did try one new dinner recipe, a chicken dish, but it was nothing special.  Even though Ryan was out of town, Friday night we still made homemade pizza.  Each Friday I say the same thing = "I love homemade pizza night!"  It is so fun to see the kids create their own unique pizza, and everyone is happy to eat it.  Don't ask me to try Owen's (he uses Frank's, crushed red pepper and ground pepper on his), or Hannah's (she skips the cheese, skips the dough pre-bake, and puts on anything from taco meat to chicken to pepperoni, or all of those), or Liam's (he loves olives!  blech!).  So homemade pizza night is great - everyone is happy and no consensus needed!

Remember the great graham cracker experiment?  Two recipes yielded a massive amount of graham crackers!  The kids snacked on them, then I ground the rest up before they got soft.  We used them to make a graham cracker crust for a light n fruity pie, but it was a bit too hard. On Friday I used them in a s'mores cake.  The kids loved this cake, but I don't think I'd make it again,  It didn't have a great presentation, and I thought it only okay.  Ryan was out of town and didn't try it, though he isn't a sweets guy.  And you should have seen Liam - face covered in chocolate! 

Finally...I do have one new recipe for you.  I will admit the kids did not get a vote on this one.  I made homemade lemonade with hand crafted blueberry vodka!  Yes, this is a family friendly blog, and I am sure I am not the only one who at the end of the week, or certain days, likes to have a drink.  I discovered blueberry vodka when out with my sisters earlier this year - and it was amazing!  However, I don't need an entire bottle.  So, I filled a tiny wide mouth mason jar with fresh blueberries, muddled them just enough to break the skins, and then covered it with vodka and screwed on the cap.  I let it sit for two weeks.  Friday night I made lemonade (I always love a reason to use my kitchenaid citrus juicer - just ask those sames sisters of mine!), and added a shot of the blueberry vodka. Yum!  Super refreshing, and think of all those health benefits of the blueberries!

Happy cooking!

New Recipe
Homemade lemonade with blueberry vodka

Homemade Lemonade with Blueberry Vodka

Ingredients
* 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemonade
* 1/2 cup simple syrup
* 2-3 cups water (to your taste)
* 1 shot blueberry vodka

Directions
Add ice to glass.  Pour in one shot of blueberry vodka, fill glass with lemonade.  Stir, and enjoy!

Notes
The vodka was blue, but when diluted with the lemonade it turned a purpley-pink!  If you want to make the blueberry vodka, fill a jar (size of your choosing) halfway with blueberries, break the skins, and then cover to the top with vodka.  Let it sit a week to two weeks, and then strain out the blueberries.  When you feel it is ready, keep it in the jar and use as you see fit!  It was my first time trying to do anything like this, so I used the smallest mason jar possible and used a plastic screw top made to fit the jars.  Seems like the perfect container for this experiment!