Alton's Peach Cakes

Simplified from original, and made for 2. (Just double if you have 4 ramekins.)

Looks pretty quick and easy, and all you have to buy at the store is peaches (1 for 2 people, 2 to feed 4 people) and a cup of buttermilk. (Plus whipped cream or ice cream if you want it.)

1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/8 cup brown sugar
1 peach, peeled and cut in slices or chunks
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/16 tsp baking soda
1/16 salt
1/2 Tbsp melted butter
1/6 cup sugar
1/4 cup buttermilk*, room temperature
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Place in each ramekin (recipe is for 2 ramekins): 1/2 Tbsp butter, half the brown sugar, half the peach pieces. Combine the dry goods in one bowl, the wetworks in another (this includes the sugar; start by melting butter in a little bowl), and then put them together but stir only enough to combine. Pour half into each ramekin over the peaches. Bake on middle rack 20-25 min.

Let cool 5 min, run a knife around the inside edge of the ramekin, cover with a plate and invert to release. Alton suggests whipped cream or ice cream!

*Emerils.com says: Buttermilk Substitute

If a recipe calls for buttermilk and all you have in your refrigerator is regular milk, you can make an acceptable substitute by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to 1 cup of milk. Let this stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes, or until you see the milk thicken to the consistency of buttermilk.

Crab Rangoons

My husband loves these little dudes, and I always have extra
potsticker wrappers left after potstickers. A speculative version,
based as always on someone else's real version (in this case the Cape
Cod Times):

4 oz. cream cheese
1lb can claw crab meat (pick out all the shell parts)
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

Fill and fry as quickly as you can (canola oil in bottom of deep wok,
30 sec each side). Too many at once lowers the oil temp. Drain on
rack.

Carrots and Yogurt Cheese Dip

Snack pack of carrots
32 ounces low-fat or non-fat yogurt that says "contains" "live" or "active"
Packet of ranch mix

Line a large sieve with 4 layers of damp cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl. Spoon the yogurt into the sieve, cover, and chill for at least 3 and up to 12 hours.

Stir with the ranch mix... or garlic/herb mix... or spread it on crackers with smoked salmon and capers...

Simple Lasagna

Untested, but doesn't seem too bad.

At fancy grocery:
1 cup ricotta
1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp basil
2 Tbsp Italian parsley
2 Tbsp thyme
2 Tbsp oregano

At regular grocery:
1/2 lb Italian sausage
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
garlic (3 cloves, minced)
2 14oz cans diced stewed tomatoes
6 lasagna pasta noodles

Cook the pasta noodles al dente.

Crumble, saute and drain the sausage. When it's kind of cool, mix with the ricotta and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella.

Clean out the pan and saute the garlic, herbs and spices in a little olive oil. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Set aside.

Layer: Tomato mix; 2 noodles; Sausage mix; noodles; tomato mix; sausage mix; noodles; tomato mix; extra mozzarella.

Bake 25 minutes at 350.

Cheat: Italian breaded pork chops

Just so I don't forget this option. Super-easy and juicy if I don't overcook.

Buy pork chops.
Dredge in Italian bread crumbs.
Fry.

easy, no? Recommendations include frying a 1-inch chop only 2-3 min per side, then setting on a wire rack/cookie sheet in 325 over for 4-6 minutes to drain and finish cooking without getting tough.

Experiment: Chicken Four Ways

Get yourself four chicken breasts and a lot of tinfoil.  Preheat the oven to 400. 

Make four packets with one breast each, put them in a baking dish and let 'em go for 25 minutes. Open packets, check them and then bake another 5 min.

(In my limited experience it takes taters longer than this so might pull out the chicken and let the veggies keep going, if a packet has veggies in it.)

Grocery store: 8oz-can pineapple chunks, can diced tomatoes, red bell pepper, ginger, green onions, garlic, carrots

Ginger-scallion steamed chicken

(marinating overnight first is a possibility, but increases the raw-chicken yuk factor. Also, the secret here may be oyster sauce.)

1 1/2 Tbsp soy, 1 Tbsp rice wine, 1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp sugar, 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp ginger

1 green onion, diced

Sweet teriyaki chicken

Layer: green onion, chicken, 8oz can drained pineapple, strips of red bell pepper; top with mix of teriyaki/ginger/brown sugar

Honey mustard chicken

Dijon mustard, honey, pepper, carrots

Italian chicken

Diced tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, Parmesan cheese to coat

Empanadas

It appears that Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry shells are an acceptable substitute for making your own empanada dough. I cheer this opinion. The basic idea appears to be:

Thaw the pastry
Cut in circles
Fill, fold and crimp, using egg mix as glue, and piercing the top with a fork
Brush with egg mix (1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water)
Refrigerate 30 min -- or freeze
Bake 25 min at 375 (or 30 min at 375 if frozen)

One idea for filling is a tomatillo salsa/garlic/queso fresco/shredded chicken combo. More abound.

Bacon, tomatoes and spinach

Alongside the chicken carbonara, one could and should (I feel) also use that tasty bacon for other purposes.

Warm Bacon Dressing
(adapted from Alton Brown)

Top a salad of spinach and thinly-sliced red onion with this dressing.

8 slices bacon
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

Fry the bacon and crumble it, reserving 3 Tbsp of the fat. Whisk the vinegar, sugar and mustard into the fat over low heat. Season with salt and pepper; add bacon and pour over salad.

BLT in a Bowl
(Alton again; he gives it the proper name of panzanella, a Tuscan salad)

4 cups cubes of French bread, left out to dry overnight
6 slices bacon
2 cups halved grape tomatoes
2 cups rough-chopped heirloom tomatoes or halved pear tomatoes
2 cups chopped romaine (spinach?)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp basil and/or mint chiffonade (leaves rolled together, then cut into long thin strips)

Cook and chop the bacon; pour drippings over the bread and toss. Sear the grape tomatoes, cut side down, 5 min until caramelized.

In a bowl, combine the vinegar, salt and pepper; slowly whisk in olive oil in a thin stream until emulsified.

Combine everything -- bread, maters, , bacon, lettuce, basil/mint and vinaigrette -- toss and serve.

Rosemary-cheese chicken bake

From this interesting-looking site, where I went looking for information on how to start rosemary cuttings:

Chicken Van Dam

3 chicken breasts
15g (half ounce) butter
220g (8 oz) cream cheese
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary.

Put the breasts in a baking dish.

Melt the butter and saute the garlic a bit; stir in cream cheese and rosemary.

Pour cheese mixture over the chicken and bake until chicken for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

To try: Chicken carbonara

As usual I'm going to take a recipe from a reputable source (Mario Batali) and hash it beyond recognition. For protein I plan to add a little chicken, and for repeatability's sake I'm going to cut this down to one serving (raw egg = no microwaving, or so I think).

(Thank you, Mario, for teaching me that carbonara means a coal miner's wife!)

1 helping pasta
2 oz pancetta or bacon, cut in 1/3" dice
1 egg, separated
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
black pepper
sliced cooked chicken

Render and brown the pancetta in a pan (leave in pan with the fat). Cook the pasta. Whisk the egg, Parmesan and pepper. Add the pasta and a tablespoon of pasta water to the pan and heat, shaking, 1 min. Add egg mixture and chicken and toss until fully incorporated. Plate and top with more Parmesan.

Sounds to me like about 15 minutes cooking time; I'm sure the idea of reheating is antithetical, but it's worth a try if this is tasty.

To try: Capellini pomodoro

Warning: You will get "Tu Vuo' Fa' L'Americano" stuck in your head.
At least I do.

Angel-hair pasta
Garlic
Can diced tomatoes
Fresh basil

Cook the pasta.
Chop the basil and drain the tomatoes.
Rough-chop the garlic and saute it in a little olive oil.
Add the tomatoes and basil to the pan and toss around long enough to
warm them up.

Serve over the pasta!

Emeril points out you can keep basil in a glass like flowers. Cut the
stems on a slant.

To try: Roasted garlic cream pasta

Had a marvelous version with rosemary at a good restaurant. Chicken
probably doesn't hurt.

Many similar recipes run thus:

Roast a LOT of garlic and squish it. Mix with a cup or two of heavy
cream, bring to boil. Simmer 5 min and add herbs and 1/2 cup grated
Parmesan.

Purchasing garlic already roasted at a fancy grocery = cheating, but
that's OK with me. In fact, the fancy grocery probably lets you
purchase penne and maybe even grated cheese in small amounts, too.

Cheat like you mean it

To pad out a week's menu with minimal effort and only one dirty saucepan, add:

Red beans and rice: Cook 1 box Zatarain's red beans and rice; add 1 package cooked chicken from cold cuts section of grocery store. 3-4 meals.

Doofer squares (my family's name for store-bought ravioli, because they're not Mom's ravioli but they'll do-fer now): Boil 1 package Buitoni or similar ravioli 10 min. Top with favorite pasta sauce. 3 meals.

Raspberry chipotle potstickers: Boil 1 box HEB pork potstickers (in the appetizers section of the frozen food aisle) 5-6 min. Drain and serve with Fischer & Wieser Raspberry Chipotle sauce as dipping sauce. 2 meals.

Cheat: Raspberry chipotle potstickers

Grocery store potstickers are a hit-and-miss affair, but when topped with Fischer & Wieser's Raspberry Chipotle Sauce it almost doesn't matter if they are bland. HEB's pork potsticker appetizers come about 10 to a box, cook up in 5 min, and when topped with sauce they are a reasonable substitute for the wild boar/berry sauce potstickers I miss from a local restaurant that closed a few years ago.

File this under "Cheat like you mean it": simple entrees that pad out a week's cooking with minimal effort.

1 box HEB pork potstickers
F&W Raspberry Chipotle sauce

Boil 2-3 cups water, add potstickers, cook on high 5-6 minutes, drain. Serve with sauce as a dipping complement. (Also a salad!)

3-2-1 margaritas

(Use the empty limeade can to measure the 2nd and 3rd ingredients)

Into the blender:

One 6oz can frozen limeade
2/3 can silver tequila
1/3 can orange liqueur
Fill blender with ice.

On the rocks:

3 oz limeade
2 oz silver tequila
1 oz orange liqueur
over ice.

I tend to like sweet margaritas, but not bad margaritas (though many people consider those two to be synonymous). This recipe, made with limeade instead of the usual frozen lime juice, came out yummy.

Definitely get the best tequila you can. Silver = tasty. We found Don Julio on sale. Patron is the Mercedes-Benz. An extremely noticeable difference from the cleaning-fluid-flavored stuff in plastic bottles.

Cream tacos, pecan chicken, rosemary chicken and potatoes

Yield: Good (12)
Labor: 3 hrs total -- not bad, but the raw chicken means you gotta
do it all in one night.
Flavor: High -- all these taste great.
Cost: Low (about $3.30 per)

Have on hand: Tinfoil, olive oil, large rosemary shrub growing outside

Store:
6-pack of chicken
red potatoes
garlic
lemon
salad greens
Can of chicken-and-mushroom soup
Can of diced green chilis
1 cup half-and-half
corn tortillas

Prep:
Crush pecans and stir with 1/2 cup breadcrumbs.
Salt and pepper some flour for dredging.
Set out two 12" squares tinfoil on a cookie sheet.
Get rosemary, clean and chop it.
Mince garlic.
Make salads.

Potatoes:
Preheat oven to 450. Put potatoes in oiled baking dish; sprinkle
with oil, and rosemary. Bake 25 min. Clean out the dish after.

Rosemary Chicken Packets:
Lower oven to 400.
Oil the foil. Put a chicken breast on each square; sprinkle garlic,
rosemary, zest and lemon juice. Seal packets and place on cookie sheet.
Bake 25 min (can do simultaneously with Pecan Chicken)

Pecan Chicken:
Trim up chicken. Coat thick parts in Caesar dressing, roll in pecan
mix and bake 25 min at 400.

Cream tacos:
Lower oven to 325.
Dredge thin chicken parts in flour and saute.
Mix soup, chilis, half-and-half. Tear tortillas into 4 or 5 pieces each.

Layer in pan: Soup mixture, tortillas, cheese, tortillas, soup,
chicken, gravy, cheese, tortillas, soup, cheese, tortillas, soup,
cheese.
Bake covered (tinfoil works in a pinch) at 325 for 1 hour. Uncover
and allow to brown on top.

Rosemary Chicken Packets

Need tinfoil and a baking dish, plus olive oil.

chicken breasts
red potatoes
garlic
rosemary
lemon

Chop the rosemary and garlic. Oil a 12" square of tinfoil; place a
chicken breast on it and sprinkle with some of the garlic, rosemary,
lemon zest, lemon juice. Repeat. Seal the packets (leaving air room
inside). Put the packets on a cookie sheet.

Chop the potatoes. Oil a baking dish. Toss in the taties and sprinkle
with garlic, rosemary and oil.

Bake the chicken and potatoes 25 min at 400. Potatoes might need
higher temp or more time to get brown and tender.

Mom's Salmon Patties

This is why my shortcuts don't give good results. I remember Mom's
salmon patties from when I was a kid and they were really good. She
doesn't skip steps.

Sayeth the Mom:

Here is my recipe for salmon patties. You have to season them pretty
highly to kill the canned salmon taste.

Salmon Patties

1 can sockeye red salmon, all skin and bones removed
(or I use 2 small cans salmon "fillets" that I get at Costco)

1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tsp Wasabi powder
1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
2 Tbsp dried onion flakes Adams brand
1 or 2 Tbsp instant potato flakes (or use bread crumbs)
1 egg
Some lemon juice
Panko bread crumbs to coat patties

Form patties, roll in bread crumbs, sauté til browned.

To try: Chicken in foil packet

The Parmesan recipe below is adapted from one in the Pittsburgh Post-
Gazette.

Possible combos:
Chicken tenders, marinated overnight in soy, oyster sauce, ginger
juice, sesame oil and rice wine, with green onions.
Also possible:
Chicken breast, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, red potatoes;
Layer: green onion, chicken, 8oz can drained pineapple, strips of red
bell pepper; top with mix of teriyaki/ginger/brown sugar

More ideas, great instructions here: http://www.lowfatlifestyle.com/

tip_archive/archive_nov03.htm
Tons of recipes: http://www.alcoa.com/reynoldskitchens/en/recipes/

recipe_search.asp

Parmesan Chicken Packet

4 tsp grated Parmesan
1 to 2 tsp garlic salt
1 chicken breast
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup sliced carrots
2 small red potatoes, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 400. Lay out a double-thickness of tin foil, 12"
square, on a cookie sheet.
Chop potatoes and carrots.
Combine Parmesan and garlic salt.
Rub olive oil on chicken, then press it into the cheese mix, both sides.
Put chicken on tin foil; surround with the veg (don't crowd). Drizzle
remaining oil on chicken; salt and pepper the veg.

Seal foil tightly and bake 25 min. Open packet carefully (watch out
for the steam) and bake 5 minutes longer.

This recipe feeds one person, but it can be doubled or tripled as
needed. Cooking time will vary according to the size of the chicken
breast. To speed things up, chicken tenders may be substituted. Or
the chicken breast can be cut in strips.

Mother Hubbard meals

AKA "Whatever's in the cupboard."

I noticed that Amy's Salmon Croquettes were made entirely from ingredients that could be kept in the pantry. That observation plus our recent ice storm made me think that starting a list of meals that could be made without going to the store at all would be a good idea. I'll add to it as I can.

Salmon croquettes
Spaghetti (if you skip the homemade meatballs, sniff)
Red beans and rice (if you skip the addition of the cooked chicken, which I do like)

Cream tacos, salmon croquettes, pecan chicken

Lots of baking this week. I wonder if that will cut down on labor?

Will probably have leftover cheese and eggs, so make tortilla soup and breakfast tacos the next week. Is fancy salmon better than pink?

Fancy store: 4 Tbsp wheat germ

Grocery: 6-pack chicken breasts; 14.75 oz can salmon, 2 eggs, can chicken/mushroom soup, can diced green chiles, grated cheddar/Jack, 1 cup half-and-half, corn tortillas.

Have on hand: Chicken broth, garlic breadcrumbs, pecans, garlic Caesar salad dressing, olive oil, flour.

Crush pecans and stir with 1/2 cup breadcrumbs. Salt and pepper some flour for dredging.
Moosh up salmon, 2 eggs, wheat germ, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs; make into patties and bake 8-15 min at 425. Lower heat to 400 and clean the baking dish.
Trim up chicken. Coat thick parts in Caesar dressing, roll in pecan mix and bake 25 min at 400.
Dredge thin parts in flour, saute til just brown.
Add 2 Tbsp flour to oil in pan, stir to brown flour, add chicken broth to deglaze pan, stir to thicken.
Mix soup, chilis, half-and-half. Tear tortillas into 4 or 5 pieces each.
Layer in pan: Soup mixture, tortillas, cheese, tortillas, soup, chicken, gravy, cheese, tortillas, soup, cheese, tortillas, soup, cheese.
Bake covered at 325 for 1 hour. Uncover and allow to brown on top.

To try: Tomato-Cheese Torta

6 oz goat cheese
4 oz cream cheese
8 cloves garlic, peeled, smushed and chopped
1/2 cup pesto (at least)
1/2 cup chopped up fine oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, including 1 - 2 tsp of the marinade
and/or roasted sweet peppers
crackers

Mix cheeses and garlic. Line a small bowl with plastic wrap and put 1/3 of cheese mix on bottom. Top with pesto. Add 1/3 cheese mix. Layer tomatoes/peppers. Add 1/3 cheese mix. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate from 2 hours to 4 days. Invert and remove wrap to serve with crackers.

Cream tacos

A family recipe. Serve with ranch-style beans, baked in oven alongside the tacos.

Chicken breasts, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp flour, plus more for dredging
Chicken broth
1 can chicken and mushroom soup
1 can diced green chilis
1 cup half-and-half
Shredded jack and cheddar cheese
Corn tortillas

Mix salt and pepper into dredging flour and coat the chicken pieces. Saute in olive oil just till browned.

Add 2 Tbsp flour to oil in pan, stir to brown flour, add chicken broth to deglaze pan, stir to thicken.

Mix soup, chilis, half-and-half. Tear tortillas into 4 or 5 pieces each.

Layer in pan: Soup mixture, tortillas, cheese, tortillas, soup, chicken, gravy, cheese, tortillas, soup, cheese, tortillas, soup, cheese.

Bake covered at 325 for 1 hour. Uncover and allow to brown on top.

Week: Tortellini soup, chicken piccata, lemon stirfry

Yield: Fantastic -- 16 meals.
Cost: $3.25 per meal -- pretty good.
Labor: Not too bad, call it 3 hours over 2 nights. (More if you toss in breakfast tacos)
Flavor: All tasty (see note below)

Ingredients plus eggs, sausage and tortillas cost about $60; estimate $52 for 16 dinners (4 piccata, 6 soup, 5 stirfry, plus extra tortellini and popcorn chicken) = $3.25 per meal, pretty good.

I found myself not looking forward to the soup (same as with King Ranch Chicken -- I felt like, oh well, I made this so I better eat it, but when I did I enjoyed it). Try a real Italian sausage, and maybe the onion, next time -- and remember that it actually tastes better after a day in the fridge.

Day Zero: Shopping

Fancy store: 1/2 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1 lb. Italian sausage

Regular store: cheese tortellini, thin chicken breasts, flank steak, 4-cup box beef broth, 2 cups diced tomatoes, 8 oz tomato sauce, angel hair pasta, lemon, garlic, ginger, snow peas, green pepper. (Add eggs, sausage and flour tortillas if doing breakfast tacos.)

Have on hand: butter, oil, flour, capers, chicken broth, 1/2 cup dry red wine

Day 1: (est 1 hr 30)

Reserve 2 cups tortellini and cook the rest (1 meal). Make and divide the angel-hair pasta for piccata.
Slice 2 garlic cloves, then mince some more for stirfry.
(Cook eggs and sausage now if making breakfasts.)
Brown and drain the sausage. Saute sliced garlic in drippings.
Put in big pot: sausage, garlic, tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, oregano, beef broth, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup wine.
Bring to a boil; simmer uncovered 30 min.
Meanwhile: Clean and chop the snow peas. Dice green pepper. Slice flank steak and marinate in fridge.
After pot has simmered 30 min, skim off fat. Add tortellini and green pepper; simmer another 30 min.

Day 2: (est 1 hr 15)

Get beef out of fridge. Put rice in to cook.
Grate ginger and lemon zest for stirfry; add to ginger. Make stirfry sauce mix.
Put in a cup: lemon juice, 1/2 cup chicken broth and capers.
Stirfry the snow peas. Stirfry beef, then aromatics, then return beef to pan with sauce mix, turning to coat and heat. Serve over rice and snow peas.
Flour the chicken; brown in 2 Tbsp butter plus 3 Tbsp oil. Pull chicken out, lower heat and add lemon/broth mix. Bring to boil; add chicken and simmer 5 min.
Put the chicken atop the pasta. Add 2 Tbsp. butter to the pan and whisk. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

Orange Stirfry Beef

I make this, like, every other week. It's also great made with lemons, and it's not bad without the citrus or with a little hot chili oil in place of the citrus, just depending on what you have on hand.

Good with brown rice and snow peas (stir-fried quickly till they turn bright green).

1 lb flank steak
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp black soy
1.5 tsp sweet or ground bean sauce (CAREFUL with the type of bean sauce.)
2 tsp rice wine

Slice the steak into thin pieces across the grain and marinate up to overnight.

AROMATICS:
Zest of 1 or 2 oranges or lemons
1 tsp minced ginger
2 tsp minced garlic
3 diced green onions

RESERVE:
2 tsp rice wine

SAUCE:
2 tsp sugar
0.5 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp black soy
1 or 2 tsp orange or lemon juice

Take your marinated beef out of the fridge. (Make rice and snow peas now.) Stir-fry beef quick and hot (you're almost searing the beef into little caramelized steaklets). Pull beef out into plate or bowl. Put aromatics in pan and sizzle 'em around a little bit. Return the beef to the pan with 2 tsp rice wine, then add the sauce mixture and stir-fry till it thickens up.

Green Beans with Slivered Almonds

Fresh green beans
Garlic salt
Slivered almonds
Olive oil

Wash and trim the green beans; toss with a little garlic salt. Stirfry them quick and hot, till they turn bright green (and I actually like to push it until they start to wrinkle and brown). Pull the beans out, toss the almonds into the pan and stir them until they barely toast (this time, don't push it).

Top the green beans with the almonds and perhaps a little more garlic salt. I find they reheat quite well.

Chicken Fried Steak

Serve with mashed potatoes, corn and a green salad.
This is my method incorporating tips from Stephan Pyles who based his on the Hill Top Cafe.

1 to 1.5 lb. good chuck steak (better than the traditional round steak, Pyles says)
milk
cup or two of flour
salt
black pepper
oil

(Make the corn and potatoes first.)
Trim the meat to within an inch of its life.* Pound the bejabbers out of it till it's pretty flat; soak it in milk overnight in the fridge.
Mix salt and pepper into the flour; coat the meat. Get at least a half-inch of oil pretty hot in the pan (else the meat won't be tender). You might want to try a small piece first to make sure it's good and hot. Fry the pieces a minute or two each side till golden-brown and crispy, then pull them out onto a plate and keep frying more pieces. A fork is actually best for flipping the pieces as it disturbs the flour coating less than tongs, etc. Also the fork can be used to defend your steak pieces from passing family members.


* Unusual tradition in my family is to trim the meat very carefully, resulting in lots of smaller weird-shaped pieces. Looks strange, but also actually allows a lot of control in the frying (and allows for the second tradition, which is family members swooping by and snitching a piece before the whole batch is done; my dad and I are quick with a stealthily wielded fork and can manage a whole meal before Mom even has it all on the table).

Spaghetti and homemade meatballs

Serve with a green salad and Garlic Bread Alla Mom.

(To simplify even further, I'm toying with the idea of making the meatballs out of Owen's Sage Sausage, but I haven't tried it yet to see how that would taste. I like mine a whole lot anyway. They're a simplified version of my mom's; she makes hers with eggs the real way.)

1 lb ground beef
Italian bread crumbs
As much ground fennel as you can stand to grind
Garlic salt

Combine, form into tiny meatballs and brown in olive oil. Cook pasta, top with Newman's Garlic & Basil, sprinkle with tiny meatballs. Yay!

2 weeks of breakfasts

This plan makes 16 take-with-you breakfasts for procrastinating picky
eaters who can't manage to eat breakfast in the house before they
leave for work, but do have access to a microwave, a vending machine
that sells milk and a water fountain at work and aren't glared at if
they eat at their desk. i.e. me.

You do have to remember to grab one out of the fridge as you're
leaving each morning, though!

* Breakfast Tacos with Salsa
* Bowl of Peaches with sugar
* Vanilla Yogurt and Blueberries
* Bowl of Oatmeal, plus a Banana for Later

Keep on hand: sugar packets, tupperware, oatmeal, lunch sacks.

Grocery list:

thin flour tortillas
1 lb sausage
Jar of salsa
Packet of 4 active vanilla yogurts
3-5 eggs
Blueberries
Bananas
Jar of peaches

5 min:
Whatever day you're cooking dinners anyway, use the pan briefly to
scramble the eggs and cook up the sausage. Store in fridge.

20 min:
Measure .75 cups oatmeal each into 4 plastic bowls. Store with a
sugar packet.
Make 8 breakfast tacos and store 2 to a container, each with a Saran-
wrap pouch of salsa.
Measure 4 portions blueberries into baggies and store with the yogurt.
Measure 5-6 peach slices each into 4 containers and store with a
sugar packet.

For the next 16 days, rotate between the four meals. Need to record:
actual assembly time; cost; and whether I really eat all these dang
things.

Possible future (or lazy) additions: Waldorf salad (only keeps 2 days
though); Small bowl with milk + baggie of healthy cereal; Snausages +
a paper towel (not the dog food, but rather our name for those
sausage-biscuit frozen sandwiches); Cheese n' apples (drizzled with a
tsp of lemon juice?); ham n' mustard rolls?; fruit cups with mandarin
oranges?

To try: Simple Salmon Croquettes a la Amy

My nutritionist buddy says this is a good way to get brain-food fish
into kids' diet. I (of course) modified her healthy recipe, subbing
store-bought garlic breadcrumbs for the plain crumbs, herbs and
spices she included, but I did leave her wheat germ in so I don't
think I'm being too evil. Now if I only knew where to buy wheat germ
(leaping feet-first into health isn't easy!)

She also says Spanish olive oil is healthier than others, I'm
guessing something to do with the way it's produced.

14.75 oz canned salmon
4 Tbsp wheat germ
1/2 cup garlic breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp oil
2 eggs

Mash all ingredients up with a fork. Form into patties or small
balls. Cook over medium heat 5-7 min (depending on size), or bake at
425 for 8-15 min.

Black-Eyed Peas: Texas Caviar

Best way I've found to get your lucky black-eyed peas. A friend made
this from a great recipe on Allrecipes: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/

Texas-Caviar-I/Detail.aspx

1/2 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 jalapeño peppers, chopped
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
8-oz zesty Italian dressing
15-oz can black beans, drained
15-oz can black-eyed peas, drained
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 bunch chopped fresh cilantro

Toss all but the cilantro together; chill in fridge 2 hours. Toss
with cilantro to serve.

Chicken Piccata

Make alongside Waldorf salad, lemon stirfry or another recipe that uses the other half of the lemon!

No fooling around, though: Don't mess with the whole complex butter, oil, butter, oil instructions or you won't get good sauce. Do it like it says (and it is possible to overdo the lemon.)

2 chicken breasts, sliced thin
brown rice or angel hair pasta
flour
6 Tbsp butter, divided
5 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup capers

Make the pasta or rice.

Flour the chicken; brown half the chicken in 2 Tbsp butter plus 3 Tbsp oil, then add 2 Tbsp butter plus 2 Tbsp oil and brown the other half.
Remove chicken, lower heat and add lemon juice, stock and capers. Bring to boil; add chicken and simmer 5 min.

Put the chicken atop the pasta or rice. Add the rest of the butter to the pan and whisk. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

To try: Amy's Waldorf Salad

My buddy Amy made the recipe at bottom for a party and I liked it; I think I could get two fruity lunches out of it. It's supposed to store in the fridge 2 days; here's my attempt at a quarter-recipe with simplified ingredients (i.e., stuff I have on hand; if this works, I should be able to make two lunches by buying only two apples and a small bunch of grapes). The full recipe is given below. (Lemon juice is sometimes added.)

1 red Delicious apple, coarsely chopped
1 yellow Delicious apple, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup seedless grapes, red or green
1/8 cup raisins
1/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup Miracle Whip
1 1/3 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp melted butter
1 Tbsp sugar

Mix the last 4 ingredients; toss with the fruit and nuts.

Full recipe (serves 8 to 10):

4 red Delicious apples, coarsely chopped
4 yellow Delicious apples, coarsely chopped
1 cup seedless grapes, red or green
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup Miracle Whip
1/3 cup half and half
3 Tbsp sugar

Mix the last 3 ingredients; toss with the fruit and nuts.

To try: Braciole

Aka rouladen if you're a good ol' German boy. Meatloaf version is Rachael Ray; steak version is haphazardly adapted from Alton Brown recipe which reviewers said was "like my Nonna's" and impressed "my seriously Italian girlfriend."

Alton advises on how to flatten flank steak, how to wrap n' roll and how to pitch a tinfoil tent here.

I loooove Alton, but after all that, Rachael's looks so much simpler it's probably what I'll try first!

1 1/2 pounds ground beef, pork and veal mix from the butcher's counter (meatloaf mix)
(or
(3 cups tomato or spaghetti sauce plus
(1 pound flank steak: get butcher to butterfly it, then pound it 1/4-inch thick)

For braciole mix:

Salt and pepper
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 small white onion, grated
2 tablespoons golden or dark raisins, chopped
3 tablespoons pine nuts, chopped
3 tablespoons grated cheese, Parmigiano or Romano
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley (rosemary, oregano)

For layering (skip for steak):
1 cup arugula leaves or baby spinach
6 slices prosciutto di Parma
6 slices deli sliced provolone

For drizzling:
Extra-virgin olive oil


Meatloaf version:
---Preheat oven to 450. Mix meat and next 10 ingredients. Flatten meat out on a waxed paper lined cookie sheet into a thin layer: 1/2-inch thick, 12 inches long by 6 to 8 inches wide.
---Layer on spinach, prosciutto and cheese, then roll the meat, using the waxed paper to help roll up into a large log, rolling up the short side to get a 12-inch long log.
---Drizzle the log with olive oil to coat lightly. Roast meatroll 20 minutes. Cut into 1-inch slices, 3 pieces per portion, and serve.

Thin steak version:

---Preheat oven to 350.
---Pound steak flat under plastic. Mix next 10 ingredients into a paste.
---Brush steak with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread the filling evenly over the meat. Roll tightly and tie with butcher's twine.
---Put spaghetti sauce in 9-by-13 baking dish and place in the oven to heat. Make a tinfoil tent for the dish that won't touch the meatroll once placed inside.
---In a large saute pan, sear all sides of the rolled meat.
---Put meatroll in the sauce; cover with tinfoil tent so that the foil is not touching the meat. Braise for 35 minutes or up to 3 hours. (Reviewers say 35-45 min results in very rare beef and an hour ten or an hour 25 is more like it.)

To try: Sopapilla Cheese Cake

From the same round robin. And doesn't this look good too:

3 8 oz. cream cheese
2 cups of sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
2 cans of small crescent rolls
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 stick of butter

Set oven at 350 degrees. Grease bottom of pan (13x9). Mix cream cheese and only 1 1/2 cups of sugar, add vanilla, mix until creamy. Unroll 1 can of the crescent rolls and lay on bottom of greased pan. Spread cream mix on top. Top with the other can of crescent rolls. Melt butter and pour over top. Mix 1/2 cup of sugar with 1 tsp. cinnamon and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 mins.

To try: Italian Sausage & Tortellini Soup

From a friend's big sister, in an e-mail round robin!

1 lb. Italian sausage
1 c. coarsely chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, sliced
5 c. beef broth (3 cans)
1/2 c.water
1/2 c. dry red wine
2 c. (4 med) chopped, seeded, peeled tomatoes
1 c. thinly sliced carrots
1/2 tsp. basil leaves
1/2 tsp. oregano leaves
8 oz. can tomato sauce
11/2 c. sliced zucchini
8 oz. (weight) or (or two cups) meat or cheese tortellini
3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 med. green pepper cut into 1/2 in. squares
Grated Parmesan cheese


Remove casings from sausage if present. In 5 qt. Dutch oven brown sausage, reserving 1 tbsp drippings in oven. Saute onions and garlic in reserved drippings until onions are tender. Add beef broth, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce and sausage. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 min. Skim fat from soup. Stir in zucchini, tortellini, parsley and green pepper. Simmer covered an additional 30 min. or until tortellini are tender. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over each serving. Yields eight 1½ c. servings.

'Tis the season: Saline solution

This is not glamorous, but it's a much-needed recipe. Since I began periodically using a nasal saline wash, my seasonal allergy symptoms are much better and consumption of yucky medicines down.

1 teaspoon table salt
1 pinch baking soda
1 quart tap water

Stir in a microwavable container (a glass quart jar works well). Boil for 5 minutes in the microwave. Let cool until warm to the touch.

Fill a bulb syringe with saline solution (about 10 cc), put the tip of the syringe in one nostril, aiming straight back. Lean over sink, and slowly squeeze until syringe is emptied. Repeat in other nostril. Store unused solution covered in refrigerator and warm before using.

Ginger Pork Potstickers

Lots of steps but the steps aren't hard. Also, fairly forgiving -- mess with the proportions and ingredients and you will still probably get a tasty dinner. This is my recipe, melded from a survey of many recipes and about ten years of practice. I regularly get rave reviews.

Potsticker wrappers
3/4 lb pork, trimmed into little cubes
6-10 spinach leaves
6-8 cloves garlic
1 tbsp grated ginger
1-2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice wine
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 or 3 cans chicken broth

Cube up the pork, mince the spinach leaves and garlic, grate the ginger. Stir up with the soy, rice wine and sesame oil. Let mixture marinate up to 1 day.

Lay out 6 potsticker wrappers, paint a thin circle of water around the rim of each, scoop a small spoonful of pork mix into center, fold in half and pinch-pleat the edge shut. Repeat till you have a small army of little potstickers awaiting your command.

Fry each dumpling a little bit on each side and bottom to crisp up the wrapper. I put several in a pan at once and fry one side, then flip, then stand 'em all up to fry the bottoms. Tongs are great for this.

With all the potstickers you can fit in a pan standing upright on their bottoms, pour in enough chicken broth to mostly cover the little guys. Simmer until most of the broth cooks away (maybe 20-30 minutes). Start eating.

For dipping sauce, mix soy with a bit of rice wine and sesame oil (plus a little garlic salt).

A nice presentation is to stir-fry some snow peas (just until they are bright green), layer those on a dish and place the potstickers on top.

Makes about 30, depending on how much you fill each wrapper (the wrappers are available at Asian or chi-chi groceries). I have yet to figure out a good healthy side dish for this because I simply start wolfing them down until I'm not hungry anymore, but the snow peas are a start!

Pecan Chicken

Needs a little refinement but YUM. Adapted from this salad recipe, which looks scrumptious.

The area where it needs refinement is that the breading did not stay evenly on the chicken pieces. I may find the trick to this eventually, but for now it's only a cosmetic flaw -- i.e. I will readily eat this myself, but not make it for company till I get the breading worked out!


2 cups or more crushed pecans
3 or more chicken breasts
Garlic salad dressing

Dredge chicken in dressing, then in pecans. Bake in 9x13 pan at 400 for 25 min.

Quick chicken: Lemon-herb, pecan, popcorn

One of those big packs of 6 chicken breasts adds up to nearly a full work-week of eating this way.

Difficulty: Low. Flavor: High. Yield: 8 entrees, all with sides. (Because difficulty was so low, I actually made the sides!)
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.italic.gif
Trim chicken. Cut about 4/5 into fairly regular medallion-size pieces (for even frying and to increase coating area). Trim the last 1/5 into smaller chunks and toss in bag with Italian breadcrumbs.

Take half the medallions and coat with garlic salad dressing and pecans for Pecan Chicken. Bake in 9x13 pan at 400 for 25 min.

While that's baking, fry the Italian breadcrumb pieces in olive oil (this is Popcorn Chicken).

Rinse out pan and make Lemon Chicken with Carrots.

While lemon chicken is simmering, make the rice, cook some corn and make some small salads.

Nicole's Bread Pudding

My friend Nicole's recipe. Simple, lovely and comforting to have on hand for warm breakfasts or snacks.

Might also travel well to brunches, etc. (It bakes up pretty, especially with the raisins -- I left them out, but if you want them, sprinkle some in when you layer the toast pieces.)

12 slices white bread
1 stick melted butter

Toast and tear the bread. Arrange pieces in 9x13 baking dish. Pour butter over.

4 cups milk
8 eggs
1.5 cups sugar
cinnamon
vanilla extract

Beat together and pour over toast pieces. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Sausage-Egg Casserole

Great for overnight guests because the meat part can be done a day ahead. Modified a bit from the original on Epicurious.

1 pound Owens sage sausage
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes or roasted peppers

5 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 pint half and half
2 cups grated mozzarella
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cook and crumble the sausage. Drain and place in 9x13 baking dish. Saute the garlic 3 min, then add tomatoes and stir 1 min. Add garlic and tomatoes to baking dish and mix up with the sausage. (Can do this part up to 1 day ahead and store in fridge, or, possibly, freeze for a week but I did not test this. Shallots, parsley added in
original.)

Combine eggs, egg yolks, half-and-half, 1.5 cups of the cheese and salt in a bowl; pour over sausage mix. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Bake at 375 about 30 min till top is golden-brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean. (Note: Sausage and tomatoes magically bubble up and distribute themselves evenly!)

Let it rest 5 min before serving.

Time: about 40 min. prep plus 30 min. baking and 5 min rest.
Difficulty: Very easy! Serves: probably 6-8, or reheats well for
second day serving 4 : )

Spiced cider

Smells lovely and, in a slow-cooker, doesn't get in the way of your other holiday preparations.

Two quarts, it turns out, is not an awful lot; if numerous people are sipping (or a few people really like it), have another jug of cider handy and prepare a second bag of spices.

The ingredient list looks like a giant pain, but if you have a fancy store like Central Market in your area that sells loose spices, you can scoop and buy a teaspoon of each for pennies -- I got all of these for a total of about 53 cents. (Nothing else in the store is cheap!)

(From Allrecipes.com, where they offer instructions for brewing in your coffeepot.)

1/2 tsp whole allspice
1 tsp whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp salt
1 pinch ground nutmeg
2 qts apple cider
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 large orange, cut into wedges with peel

Wrap spices in muslin, tie with kitchen twine.
Put apple cider in slow-cooker, stir in brown sugar, add orange wedges and spice bag.
Heat for 20 min, then remove spice bag (this step optional).

Lazy Thanksgiving

This requires three solid hours of labor (not including doing the dishes after), plus some prep work on the two nights before T-day. So I'm not sure it qualifies as a "lazy" Thanksgiving, but it's about as simple as I can make it and still supply turkey with three sides plus dessert!

The method used for cooking the turkey breast is Gourmet Magazine's high-heat "simplest turkey" method from Nov. 2005. A 6-8lb turkey breast should provide 8-10 servings -- enough for two, but not so much we get tired of leftovers!

Le Menu: Simple Turkey Breast with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce, Rosemary Potatoes, Buttered Corn, Spinach Salad and Pumpkin Pie

Several days before: Get groceries before the stores sell out of everything!
Make sure you have:
---salad dressing, at least 1 tsp black pepper, at least 2 tsp salt, olive oil, butter, rosemary (ours is growing out back so it's not on grocery list)
---9x13 glass baking dish; large flameproof roasting pan; V-rack; instant-read thermometer; serving dishes for sauce, corn, potatoes and salad; saucepan

Grocery list:
V-rack
Raspberry-chipotle sauce
6- to 8-pound turkey breast (with skin and bone)
2 lb. new potatoes
bag o' salad greens
garlic
2 pkg frozen corn
2 frozen pumpkin pies: Sara Lee ChefPierre or Marie Callender's
Whipped cream
Milk


T-minus 2: (Tuesday)

• About 8 p.m., place turkey breast in refrigerator, if planning to eat dinner at 1 p.m. (thaw 24 hours per 5lb of turkey).

T-minus 1: (Wednesday)

• Bake pumpkin pie (can take 90 min and needs to firm up afterwards). Refrigerate.

• Mince garlic, clean & chop rosemary

• Make seasoning mixes.

TURKEY SEASONING:
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoons black pepper
(a little garlic, olive oil & rosemary?)
POTATO SEASONING:
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. snipped fresh rosemary, crushed
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

T-day:

• 10:30 a.m.

Pull out one oven rack and keep it outside oven.
Put oven rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 450°F.
Rinse turkey and pat dry; rub or sprinkle turkey seasoning mix in cavities and all over skin.
Put turkey on V-rack in roasting pan.
Set table and make iced tea.

• 11 a.m.

Put turkey in oven.
Wash salad greens.
Get saucepan out and ready to cook corn.
Get pumpkin pie out and let it warm.

• 11:40

Rotate turkey pan 180 degrees.
Scrub & quarter the new potatoes; arrange in glass dish, pour on potato seasoning mix and toss to coat.
Cook frozen corn, put in serving dish and stir with butter.

• 12:10

Check turkey; keep roasting up to another 20 minutes until thermometer inserted in thickest part of each breast half (close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, about 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 1/2 hours.

• WHEN TURKEY IS DONE:

Remove turkey and let stand 30 minutes (temperature in breast will rise to between 175°F and 180°F).
Put in spare oven rack; switch oven to bake (also at 450); bake potatoes uncovered about 25 minutes or until brown and tender.

• Around 1 p.m.

Slice turkey and serve with raspberry-chipotle sauce, corn, potatoes and salad.
After dinner have some pumpkin pie with whipped cream and milk.
Lay about and watch football!

To try: Berry Compote

At a very cozy, uspcale cafe the other day we had "French-toast casserole" and some kind of berry mixture. This is my best guess at how to do it:

Strawberry-Raspberry Compote

from http://www.driscolls.com/recipes/poundcake.html

1 tbsp. sugar 1/4 cup dry red wine 2 tbsp. water 2 strips lemon peel 2 whole cloves 1 cup strawberries 1/2 cup raspberries

• In small non-aluminum sauce pan, combine sugar, wine, water, lemon peel and cloves. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes. Cool.
• In medium bowl, place strawberries and raspberries. Strain cooled liquid over berries. Allow to stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or refrigerate several hours or over night.

Baked French Toast Casserole

modified from a Paula Deen recipe

Similar to Nicole's wonderful bread pudding recipe, which uses slices of toasted white bread, which I bet would work here too. Also I like that this version mentions you can make it the night before -- I once made a Christmas-Eve-morning ever so much less enjoyable by trying to assemble the bread pudding with family sitting around trying to enjoy each others' company.

20" loaf French bread (or 16 pc toasted white bread?)

8 eggs

2 cups half-and-half

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Dash salt

Maple syrup to top

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. Arrange slices in buttered 9-by-13-inch baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake 40 min until puffed and slightly golden.

Eh: Tacos, Lemon chicken, salmon week

Not too difficult, but also not necessarily worth repeating, flavor-
wise. Either my allergies are sapping my appetite or these tacos
simply aren't as good as the last time. Perhaps sub in a roast and/
or cream tacos.

Cook up 1lb ground beef and make tacos: 30 min, yield 5 meals
Chop garlic, ginger, carrots while simmering rice: 1 hour
Marinate salmon
Trim chicken, flour and brown it, then simmer with sauce mix: 1 hour,
yield 4-5 meals
Glaze and bake salmon; trim and stirfry green beans: 1 hour, yield 4
meals

$50 total; 3.5 hours cooking; 13 meals @ $3.80 each

To try: Green chili chicken; Poblano chicken; Date/bacon bites

Poblano chicken: Combine this with the green chili chicken to do all your roastin' at
once?

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/106892

Parmesan-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon: Apparently an old traditional favorite, and the reviewers all say it is easy to make and gets rave reviews at parties:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/232778

Green Chili with Chicken

8 mild New Mexico or poblano chiles
2 jalapeño chiles, optional
1/4 cup olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
11/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 cans (14 oz. each) chicken broth
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup whipping cream or half-and-half
2 Tbsp. cornmeal

Garnishes: Chopped chiles, crumbled Mexican cheese, chopped onion, minced
cilantro, salsa

Heat the broiler; roast the chiles, turning, until blackened on all sides, about 8 minutes. Set in paper bag to cool and then peel off the really black parts, seed and chop chiles.

Cube the chicken.

Saute garlic, onions, cumin.
Add chicken and cook, stirring, till chicken is opaque (8 min).
Add chicken broth, tomatoes, oregano and reserved chiles. Bring to boil, cover and simmer 50 min. Stir occasionally.
Stir in cream and cornmeal; cook 10 minutes.

To try: Spicy recipes

Allspice Beef -- a pot roast that might go well with the wonderful
rosemary potatoes

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/232969
---------------
Apricot Almond Chicken -- it just uses ingredients I like to keep on
hand!!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/231356

4 chicken breasts
5/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp whole-grain mustard (or ground ginger)
1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Lightly
oil a 13- by 9-inch flameproof baking dish (not glass).

Bake chicken 10 min, seasoned w/ salt & pepper. Toast almonds in
small baking pan beside it -- stir twice, pull out before chicken.
Combine apricot, soy, mustard, butter, dash salt, 2 dash pepper. Stir
in small pan till preserves melt. Pour over chicken and bake 10 min
more.

Turn on broiler and broil chicken 4 to 5 inches from heat, basting
once, until chicken is glazed and browned in spots, about 3 minutes.
Serve sprinkled with almonds.

---------------
Lamb Chops with Cumin, Cardamom and Lime
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/107353

8 (1/2- to 3/4-inch-thick) rib lamb chops (2 lb)

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp plus 2 teaspoons olive oil

Marinate lamb 15 min (or longer) in bag with garlic, cumin, cardamom,
lime juice, salt, pepper, and 2 teaspoons oil.

Use 1 Tbsp oil over moderate/high heat to cook half the lamb (3-4 min
per side); wipe pan & repeat with rest of lamb.
---------------
Steaks with Orange-Fennel Crust
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/232971

Try when making meatballs (grinding fennel anyway!) and orange beef
stir-fry.

4 7-oz beef tenderloin steaks

1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 tsp ground fennel
1/2 tsp orange zest
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 tsp Dijon mustard

Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 500°F.

Stir together bread crumbs, fennel, zest, 1 Tbsp oil and half the
salt and pepper.

Salt and pepper the steaks, heat an oven-safe pan with remaining oil,
and sear 3-4 min till steaks are brown on bottom. Take pan off heat;
flip steaks over; spread tops with mustard and then top evenly with
breadcrumb mix.

Move skillet to oven; roast 5 min.
---------------
Chik Nug-et
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/106361

With the hot sauce, sounds like Buffalo stuff that my husband
likes. Without, it might tastily mimic a certain restaurant whose
offerings I am addicted to.

4 chicken breasts
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon bottled hot sauce plus additional for serving
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups fresh bread crumbs (from 6 slices firm white sandwich bread)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup vegetable oil for frying

Pound chicken to 1/3 inch thick and cut into chunks. Coat in bag
with buttermilk, hot sauce, salt and pepper -- let stand 15 min.
Press pieces gently into mixture of bread crumbs, cayenne and 1/2 tsp
salt.

Fry in veggie oil.
---------------

Honey Hoisin Salmon

Easy, flavorful, pretty -- good for guests!

(much modified from original version on http://www.recipezaar.com/411426">recipezaar)

6-oz. salmon fillets

Marinade for salmon
1 Tbsp fresh ginger
2 Tbsp garlic (do not overdo)
2 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp rice vinegar

Glaze
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
salt

Put the marinade in a plastic bag, set the salmon flesh-down in it and refrigerate 1 day (notes: Salmon only keeps a couple days in the fridge so don't dawdle. Might want to score the flesh for better absorption).

Preheat over to 350. Put fillets flesh-side up in an oiled baking dish. Coat with at least half the honey-hoisin glaze. Bake 15-20 minutes, stopping halfway through to glaze again.

Orrrrr --
To use frozen salmon fillets WITHOUT thawing them, which is not only a Lazy Chef ultimate goal but also a fairly amazing way to keep a very healthy food on hand without going to the grocery store every five minutes....

--Preheat oven to 400
--Rinse frozen fillets in cold water to remove "ice glaze" and pat dry with paper towels
--Put fillets on a greased baking sheet or foil-lined sheet
--Brush with marinade, or a low-smoke-point oil such as avocado plus seasonings
-- Bake 30-45 minutes.

One source recommends 5 minutes per oz of fillet, ie 30 min for 6-oz, 40 min for 8-oz; all sources pretty much say you can tell it's done properly when it flakes easily on the tines of a fork.

Tortilla soup, chipotle flautas, lemon-herb chicken

Kitty's Tortilla Soup (6 srv), Chipotle Chicken Flautas (3 srv) and Lemon-Herb Chicken (4 srv)

Yield: 13 meals, not bad
Cost:
Flavor:
Labor: Somewhat heavy: about 2.5 hours.

Grocery: 6pack chicken breasts, corn tortillas, pico de gallo or salsa to top flautas, rice, 40 or more oz chicken broth, 16 oz RoTel Fiesta, 11 oz sweet corn, lemons, carrots, garlic, lime, small yellow onion, grated cheese

Have on hand: cumin, paprika, chipotle seasoning, oregano

Day 1 (est: 1.5 hr)

Trim chicken; put half (the thick pieces) in broth to simmer 20 min. Shred cooked chicken and save a third for flautas. (save any extra broth for lemon mix) Refrigerate thin chicken pieces.

Chop carrots for lemon chicken. Refrigerate.
Chop garlic and onion (plenty for soup; a little onion/garlic for flautas and a lot of garlic for lemon mix).

Combine the flauta chicken with a little onion and garlic, plus whichever seasonings you can find: chile powder, garlic powder, lime, cumin, paprika, oregano, cayenne.

Finish soup: Toss in garlic, onions, Ro-Tel, corn, lime juice, shredded chicken. Heat.

Make flautas: Warm several tortillas in a little oil. Fill each with chicken mixture; spear with toothpick; fry. Top with cheese and pico or salsa.

Cut several tortillas into strips; fry in fairly deep hot oil. Serve soup with strips and cheese.

Day 2 (est: 1 hr)

Pull thin chicken pieces out of fridge and flour them. Cook rice.
Make lemon mix: Broth, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, rosemary, sugar.
Brown floured chicken in butter. Add lemon mix and carrots and simmer 20 min.
Pull chicken out and put atop rice. Add 2 Tbsp butter to sauce and whisk, then pour over chicken.

Week: Potstickers, Cajun shepherd's pie, ravioli

Ginger beef potstickers, Cajun shepherd's pie, store-bought ravioli.
With spinach salads and mandarin orange slices.

This is vastly streamlined from an earlier menu that left me utterly exhausted. Also new to this version: You get to eat food every single night!!

If the estimated time for this is right (3 hr 20 min) and the yield is 12 meals, that's the equivalent of 16 minutes per meal, which I suppose is not horrible. And it's all pretty tasty.
Still need: Price estimate _____

Day Zero: Shoppin' (est: 20 min prep)

Fancy store: Potsticker wrappers, cayenne, white pepper, garlic powder, thyme
Regular store: 1 lb ground beef; garlic, ginger, green pepper, carrots, potatoes, snow peas; spinach; 2 eggs; ravioli and sauce, jar of orange slices

Cook the ravioli and assemble the spinach salads (leaving some spinach for potstickers).

Day 1: Choppin' (est: 1 hour)

Chop/grate the ginger and garlic for the potstickers (and garlic for the shepherd's pie).
Chop spinach for potstickers; carrots and green pepper for shepherd's pie.
Trim and wash the snow peas.
Chop potatoes, boil, mash, refrigerate. (Make a lot.)

Assemble:
---Shepherd's Seasoning: Butter, tabasco, green pepper, cayenne, cumin, salt, pepper, thyme, garlic.
---Potsticker Stuffing: Ginger, garlic, spinach, sauces, beef.

Day 2: Cookin' (est: 1 hour)

Make Shepherd's meatloaf:
--Mix 2 eggs, breadcrumbs and ground beef.
--Saute Shepherd's Seasoning 5 min, scraping often. Let cool, add 1/4 c milk and mix with the meat.
--Make meat into 12x8 "patty," center in ungreased 13x9 pan, bake at 450 for 30 min. Save drippings.

(Build the potstickers while this is cooking, and refrigerate them.)

Pour meat drippings into pan with carrots, salt, garlic powder, pepper and cayenne. Saute 1 1/2 min on high, stirring.

Put the carrots on top of the meat, not around the edges. Layer the mashed potatoes over carrots and meat. (Try putting some potatoes in first so the carrots don't fall)

Bake at 525 until brown on top, about 8-10 minutes. Have dinner and parcel up the rest.

Day 3: More Cookin' (est: 1 hour)

Take the postickers out of the fridge.
Stirfry the snow peas until bright green.
Cook potstickers a dozen or so at a time: fry quickly on all three sides, then fill pan 2/3 full with chicken broth and simmer a half-hour or so till most of the liquid has cooked off.

Cajun Shepherd's Pie

An unbelievably oversimplified version of K-Paul's Cajun Shepherd's
pie (full version http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/americas/cajun/shepherds-pie-paul-
prudhomme1.html">here).


Flavor's pretty good. You need quite a bit of mashed potatoes and not very many carrots at all.

The original, as made by my Mom, is a sovereign cure for colds, flu, allergies or a bad mood, but it takes two days to make (no joke). Oversimplified, it's still more steps than I like to take (note the title of this blog) but it produces some of the same soothing effects, even if it does not actually have the power to heal.

In terms of cooking for a week, it makes at least six portions which do not reheat super-well (perhaps better if you break up the chunk of meatloaf when you package up the portions). That plus the labor involved make it generally unsuitable for a full-week plan, but it's still worth keeping the recipe around.

------------------------------------

Mix 2 eggs, breadcrumbs and ground beef.

In saucepan, combine butter, tabasco, green pepper, cayenne, cumin, salt, pepper, thyme, garlic. Saute 5 min, scraping often.

Let cool, add 1/4 c milk and mix with the meat. Make meat into 12x8 "patty," center in ungreased 13x9 pan, bake at 450 for 30 min; save drippings.

Boil & mash the potatoes.

Combine meat drippings with carrots, salt, garlic powder, pepper and cayenne. Saute 1 1/2 min on high, stirring.

Put the carrots on top of the meat, not around the edges; layer the mashed potatoes over everything.

Queen Elizabeth II's Scone Recipe

Note: These apparently turn out rather a lot like pancakes a there is an excellent exploration of this recipe and how to bake them from an American-measurement-and-equipment perspective here: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/queen_elizabeths_drop_scones/


Got this from a November 2005 Washington Post story. 

Caster or castor sugar is apparently a superfine sugar; my best guess so far is that a "teacup" is equal to 1/3 of a pint of a liquid; some sources have it as equivalent to 1/2 cup and 4/5 cup. Golden syrup is corn syrup.

(Below Liz's original, I wrote out my best guess at what modern equivalents would work out to.)

----------------------------------------

From the Washpost story:

Here’s a royal postscript to the recent visit of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, from the just-released collection called "Dear Mr. President : Letters to the Oval Office From the Files of the National Archives."

Charles’ mum was a baker.

In 1960, Queen Elizabeth II saw a newspaper photo that showed President Eisenhower barbecuing quail at the Albany, Ga., home of W. Alton Jones, who was described as a friend and wealthy oilman. It reminded her that she had promised during Eisenhower’s visit to Balmoral to send him the recipe for her drop scones. She jotted it down and sent it to him Jan. 24, 1960 :

... Though quantities are for 16 people, when there are fewer, I generally put in less flour and milk.... I have also tried using golden syrup or Treacle instead of only sugar and that can be very good, too....

Yours sincerely,

Elizabeth R

To make 16 scones, she called for “4 teacups flour, 4 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar, 2 teacups milk, 2 whole eggs, 2 teaspoons bi-carbonate soda, 3 teaspoons cream of tartar and 2 tablespoons melted butter.”

Directions : “Beat eggs, sugar and about half the milk together, add flour, and mix well together adding remainder of milk as required, also bi-carbonate and cream of tartar, fold in the melted butter.” (No information on baking time and temperature given.)

----------------------------------------

My translation:

WET ingredients

2 eggs
4 or 5 Tbsp superfine sugar (Grind granulated sugar with a mortar and pestle?)
1 1/3 cup milk

DRY ingredients

2 cups to 3.2 cups flour (Err on the side of less, I think)
2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cream of tartar

2 Tbsp melted butter

Beat together wet ingredients -- eggs, sugar and about half the milk
Add dry ingredients and mix, using rest of milk as required (Err on the side of less milk)
Fold in the melted butter.

My guess at cooking time: 425 degrees, 12-15 minutes.

Makes 16 scones, says Elizabeth R.

Easy French Toast Sticks

Pretty simple.... taste-wise, I'd be just as happy with a piece of regular toast and honey, but if you want to make something sweet for a loved one or to bring to a brunch, this produces a nice effect and flavor for comparatively little effort.

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 tablespoon butter
* 3 eggs
* 3/4 cup milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 4 slices bread, each cut, lengthwise, into 4 pieces

To serve:
* Sugar
* Cinnamon
* Maple syrup

PREPARATION:
Melt butter in skillet. Mix eggs, milk and vanilla in bowl; beat well.
Soak slices of bread. Brown the soaked bread in skillet. Sprinkle with
a little sugar and cinnamon and serve with maple syrup.

Notes on King Ranch Chicken

Made it with the cream of poblano soup and a litle extra Hatch
enchilada sauce stirred in. Flavor is good (even a little hot) but I
find myself looking askance at the corn and green coloring that came in
the soup. Might be worth trying again with cream of chicken but more
Hatch sauce.

Chop the onion TINY because it is noticeable chunks in this recipe. Or
could try skipping it.

Made a full-size casserole so probably 6 to 8 portions. I gave some
away (to good reception) because I had a strange reaction to the dish
-- I did not look forward to eating it when I brought it to work for
lunch, but once I was chowing down it was tasty and I raced through it.
Probably due to the poblano/corn and the suburban associations. Might
be more appealing once refined.

Pricewise, I made an entire pot of tortilla soup (6 portions), a King
Ranch casserole (6-8 portions) and an undetermined number of
CFS/corn/mashed potato servings for $50, which I will ballpark at 17
meals = $3 apiece, so not bad. If I looked forward to the KR chicken
the way I do the others, I'd call it a success all round.

Mom tips on pizza

Mom says:

I smoosh the pizza crust into the pan and put it in a hot (about 400 or
450) oven for 6 or 8 min, til it starts to look dry and firm (but not
brown).

Then I take it out and top it with whatever. Then bake at 400 or 450
til the topping looks hot and bubbly. That will be about 15 or 20
minutes, depending on how thick the toppings you put on. More meat and
cheese, etc, more time to cook.

Everything we use for toppings are already cooked, so it just needs to
get hot and the cheese needs to melt and bubble. Low in the oven is
good to crisp up the crust on the bottom, about 1/3 from the bottom.

Chicken-Fried Steak and King Ranch Chicken

It ain't healthy, but you'll be happy. Soak good meat overnight in
milk, dip small pieces in flour with a dash of salt and pepper, and fry
in pretty hot oil; serve with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob.

Haven't tried this King Ranch Chicken, but it looks OK:

10 oz cream of chicken soup
10 oz cream of mushroom soup (or replace both these with 20 oz poblano
cream of chicken soup)
2 cups chicken broth
10 oz can of RoTel
16 corn tortillas, cut in pieces
1 whole cooked chicken (or cook chicken breasts in the broth)
1 large chopped onion
4 cups grated cheddar cheese

Cook chicken breasts in broth, cool and shred.
Grease a 3-qt casserole
Add soup and Rotel to broth
Layer: 1/2 of the tortillas, chicken, onion and cheese
Pour half the broth over
Layer again, and pour rest of broth on.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes.

Week 1: Garlic pork loin, pot roast, salmon

OK, it's crunch time. I'm under a tight budget for the next 6 weeks and it's time to really give this a run. Here's the plan for Week 1:

Garlic Pork Loin with raspberry chipotle sauce and wild rice
Bobbie's Pot Roast
Ginger Soy Salmon
lots of almond haricots verts

Grocery list

from HEB: frozen haricots verts

4 salmon fillets
Chuck roast, 3 lb
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pound boned pork loin

2 lemons
3-4 carrots
2-3 russet potatoes
2 lb new potatoes

Can of mushroom soup
Packet of onion soup mix
Can Ortega diced green chiles
Uncle Ben's wild rice
garlic (2 cloves for potatoes, a few for pot roast, 8 for pork)
ginger (4 tsp for salmon)
dried thyme
sliced turkey breast
wheat bread

have on hand: butter, olive oil, fresh rosemary, salt, pepper, soy sauce, sugar, garlic salt, sliced almonds, F&W raspberry chipotle sauce, Miracle Whip

Plan of attack: Pick up the haricots verts Friday on way home. Shop for the rest Saturday, chop the garlic and make the rosemary potatoes, eat a turkey sandwich and go to Kelly's party. Sunday, start the pot roast, chop veggies, make the salmon, wild rice and haricots verts. Monday night after work, roast the pork loin.

Rosemary Potatoes

2 lb. new potatoes, scrubbed & quartered
1 tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. snipped fresh rosemary or 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
2 tsp. snipped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Roasting directions: In a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish arrange raw potatoes. In a bowl stir together oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. Pour over potatoes; toss to coat. Bake, uncovered, in a 450 degree oven about 25 minutes or until brown and tender.

one to try: Ginger Soy Salmon

(double recipe)

6 pats melted butter
4 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp soy
juice of 2 lemons
4 tsp sugar
4 salmon fillets

Mix first 5 ingredients (if lemon juice is warm, it will blend with butter easily)
Sear the fillets in a buttered pan, then add lemon-butter-soy mixture
Cook on high heat, turning to coat, until ginger-colored.
Turn down heat and simmer 5 min each side.
Pour sauce over to serve.

Bobbie's Pot Roast

With love to my lifelong friend Bobbie, who knew me when I was young and even more annoying than I am now (I think). May have evolved from original slightly.

Chuck roast, 3 lb
Can of mushroom soup
Packet of onion soup mix
Can Ortega diced green chiles
dash garlic salt (try also garlic cloves?)
1/2 can of water
Carrots, diced
Potatoes, cubed

Preheat oven to 450. (Sear roast in pan?)
Mix together mushroom soup, onion soup mix, chiles, garlic salt (garlic cloves?)
Place roast in a stock pot, pour mixture over, and cover. (I pour a little on bottom first)
Place roast in oven and turn heat down to 250 for 6 hours.
Toss the carrots and potatoes in halfway through.

semi-quick: Pizza alla Mom

Mom makes killer homemade pizzas. She uses Brick Oven pizza sauce from the grocery store (may need to squish it through a strainer so it's not too watery first). Her signature toppings are garlic, mozzarella, ground sirloin and fresh jalapeños. The dough she makes with Fleischmann's yeast (comes in packets or jar) according to the Mario Batali recipe appended below.

The dough is pretty quick, but all the chopping could slow the project down. I might try to roast some garlic and pay homage to the "Bela Lugosi," a pizza from Frank & Angie's that is studded with garlic cloves every square inch, I swear.

Notes from the Mom herself:

I slice garlic cloves very thinly with my ceramic knife and I used to lay them around on top of the tomato sauce, but last night I just stirred them into the sauce and spread the sauce on the pizza. They were distributed evenly and it was quicker. This only works if everyone wants garlic. Then, for one kind of pizza I use fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced, and chopped fresh jalapeno. For the other kind, I use shredded Stella d'Oro mozzarella from Sam's, good lean ground sirloin (cooked and crumbled), pepperoni, and chopped fresh jalapeno.

I am very complimented that you like the pizza.

Pizza dough (from Mario Batali)

1 cup tepid water
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Stir the water, oil, sugar, and salt in a liquid measuring cup until the sugar dissolves. Whisk the flour and yeast in a large bowl, make a well in the center and add the liquid mixture. With a wooden spoon or your hand, gradually stir the flour into the liquid to make a rough dough. Pull the dough together into a ball (if there is a bit of flour left, don't fret).

Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface dusted with flour. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes, using more flour if necessary to keep from sticking. Divide into 4 equal portions, form into balls, and put on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush the tops of the dough with oil, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to rise at room temperature until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Yield: 1 (12-inch) pizza dough
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 45 minutes

Baking:

Place oven rack pretty low, about 1/3 from the bottom, and preheat to 400 or 450. Smoosh the pizza crust into the pan and bake 6 or 8 min, til it starts to look dry and firm (but not brown).

Then take it out and top it with whatever. Bake at 400 or 450 til the topping looks hot and bubbly. That will be about 15 or 20 minutes, depending on how thick the toppings you put on. Since all toppings are precooked, it just needs to get hot and the cheese needs to melt and bubble.

Garlic toast alla Mom

A day or two before (if you want), soften some butter and stir in minced garlic and dried parsley. Stick it back in the fridge.

When it's spaghetti time, re-soften the butter/herb mix, slice the bread (baguette, etc.), spread it thickly and warm up in the oven. Snarf!

something to try: Garlic Pork Loin

adapted (i.e. simplified beyond recognition) from an Emeril TV recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/
0,,FOOD_9936_20527,00.html

Uncle Ben's wild rice, F&W raspberry chipotle sauce, and garlic green
beans (haricots verts in big frozen package from HEB recommended by
Kitty?)

Garlic Roasted Pork Loin
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pound boned pork loin
8 large cloves garlic
1 Tbsp rosemary
1 Tbsp sage
1 Tbsp thyme
Olive oil
2 Tbsp salt
2 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 500.
Cream the garlic, rosemary, sage and thyme into a paste (add olive oil,
salt, pepper if needed)
Put large roasting pan over 2 burners and add a little oil.
Season pork with salt & pepper and sear all sides, 2-3 min per side.
Rub garlic-herb paste over the pork (which will be hot -- careful).
Roast pork 40-45 min until center is 140 degrees. Make the rice.
5 min before taking roast out, glaze with some of the raspberry sauce.
Let it rest 10-15 minutes. Stir-fry the green beans with garlic salt
and almond slivers.

Slice the pork loin, set atop rice and drizzle some more sauce on it.

Kitty's tortilla soup

This is actually modified from Kitty's original.

1 lb chicken breasts
32 or more oz (giant can plus a little one) chicken broth
16 oz diced tomatoes/green peppers/cilantro (RoTel Fiesta)
11 oz sweet corn
1 med to small yellow onion, chopped
At least half a head of garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lime

8-10 corn tortillas
Grated cheese to garnish

Tortilla strips: 

Fold 2 tortillas in half and snip into strips with kitchen scissors -- very quick.

Heat a quarter-inch or so of oil (less, and they burn instead of frying). Oil should be warm enough that they fry briskly -- stir 'em around a minute or two and pull them out fast with tongs. If it's not hot enough, the strips just sit there and soak up oil -- pull them out, turn heat up a little and return them to the pan. Drain them on a paper towel.

Soup: 

Toss the chicken breasts in the broth in a big pot, bring to boil and simmer 20 minutes or so till cooked.

Chop the garlic and onions.
When cooked, pull the chicken breasts out to cool.
Toss the garlic, onion, Ro-Tel, corn and lime juice into the broth.
Trim and shred the chicken and add to broth.

To serve, spoon out a portion, stir in some tortilla strips and shake a little cheese over it.

Notes:

Buddy's organic chicken breasts have so little fat you barely have to trim at all, which almost eliminates my least favorite part of this operation!

Yield: High -- 6-7 meals
Flavor: High
Cost: Low -- about $17 for 6 meals = $2.80 apiece
Difficulty: Pretty low. About 1 hour, especially if you get the Buddy's chicken; 15 min chopping, 15 min frying, 10 min shredding chicken.

Meals and Yields -- a plan for a month

Nine meals will get me through a work week (throw in a sandwich here
and there); 12 is for overachieving weeks.

Meals and Yields

Quick Hatch Enchiladas: 5 meals
Doofer Squares: 3 meals
Kitty's Tortilla Soup: 6 meals
Red Beans and Rice with Chicken: 5 meals
Lemon Herb Chicken/Popcorn Chicken: 7 meals
Bobbie's Pot Roast: 5 meals
CFS with green beans and mashed potatoes: 4 meals
Potstickers/Spaghetti with Meatballs: 9 meals
Lemon Stir-Fry Beef with snow peas: 3 meals

One month's worth of possible combinations: No thinking, all eating!

Week 1 (light): Bobbie's Pot Roast: 5 meals; Honey Soy Salmon and
rosemary potatoes, 4 meals
Week 2 (light): Lemon Stir-Fry Beef with snow peas: 3 meals; Kitty's
Tortilla Soup: 6 meals
Week 3 (more work, more food): Lemon Herb Chicken and Popcorn Chicken:
7 meals; Quick Hatch Enchiladas: 5 meals
Week 4 (light): Red Beans and Rice with Chicken: 5 meals; CFS with
green beans and mashed potatoes: 4 meals
Week 1: (more work, more food) Potstickers and Spaghetti with
Meatballs: 9 meals; Doofer Squares: 3 meals

Notes on Quick Enchiladas

Yield from 1.25 lb ground beef = 9 enchiladas, or 4.5 servings (could
be stretched to 5 full servings easily, though). The Taco Bell
seasoning packet, if I can say this without being evicted from my home
state, was actually pretty good, so I'd use it again.

Made the rice and the beef simultaneously and completed all cooking and
assembly in about 30 minutes. Nice!

The Uncle Ben's Mexican rice is great and makes 4.5 servings. It's not
like rice in a Tex-Mex restaurant but it has a good, different flavor
of its own.

Super-quick: Hatch Enchiladas, Red Beans & Rice, Beef Ravioli

Super quick, low-cost and high-yield:

Hatch Enchiladas Verdes

1.25 lb ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
small package grated Mexican cheeses
1 can Hatch green chile enchilada sauce
12 flour tortillas

Brown and season the beef per packet instructions. Store beef in
plastic container, or assemble enchiladas and store them. Spoon beef
into a tortilla, sprinkle cheese, roll and press to flatten; pour sauce
on top, sprinkle with cheese and microwave 1 minute to warm filling and
melt cheese.

Testing: Uncle Ben's Mexican Rice mix -- haven't cooked it yet, but it
was the only one not cut with pasta products.

Cost: LOW -- $15 ($3 each per meal)
Yield: GOOD -- 4-5 meals
Difficulty: LOW.
Flavor: GREAT.

Possibly even easier is the trick of adding precooked seasoned/chopped
chicken to Zatarain's red beans and rice mix. A box makes a big pot of
food, maybe 4-5 servings, and the chicken plus mix can't cost more than
$9, or about $2 per meal.

Prepared ravioli and pasta sauce are a 10-minute substitute for any
week when ground beef is not on the shopping list but plain spaghetti
does not sound appealing. Cost is probably about $7 total if you don't
use the whole jar of sauce, and for 3 meals = $2.30 each.

(I include these latter two not as recipes per se, but as a reminder to
myself that they can mix easily into any week's plan. They should all
be paired with salads though.)

Notes on Short & Fruity Chicken; add Pot Roast?

Cost: $30 for 8 meals including orange-spinach salads = $3.75 each --
not bad
Yield: 8 meals.... a little more than half a week
Taste: High
Difficulty: Average. Probably spent 45 min chopping veggies/garlic and
half an hour trimming/breading chicken. Cook time is about 7 minutes
for the Popcorn Chicken and 30 for the Lemon-Herb Chicken.

Egg seemed to help bond the chicken coating and the sauce; I also
tossed in a little cornstarch which seemed to help thicken a bit.
However, do NOT go nuts and dump in enough broth to fill a huge pan.
Doesn't cook down fast enough. Be moderate.

Keep lots of butter handy -- it takes plenty to brown the pieces, and
if you do it in waves you will need to toss more butter each time.

This might be a good match with Bobbie's Pot Roast, since you are
already chopping carrots and would just add potatoes? Can brown the
roast in the pan before simmering the chicken. Yum!

------------------------
Next half-week plan: CFS with mashed potatoes and green beans

Short & Fruity Chicken Week

Lemon Herb Chicken (with an egg) plus carrots and rice
Popcorn Chicken and spinach/orange/walnut salads
Apples & bananas for snacks

Make tea. Trim chicken breasts for Popcorn Chicken and toss with bread
crumbs.
-----------
Trim and pound chicken breasts. Chop a snack pack of baby carrots and
cook a bowl of brown rice.

Fill a large glass with:

Zest and juice of 2 lemons
2 long sprigs rosemary, washed and chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp sugar
Most of a can of chicken broth
(possibly some tarragon or thyme?)

Egg, flour and brown the chicken breasts, then dump the stirred
contents of the glass (and the chopped carrots) into the pan with them.
Bring to boil, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Pull out the chicken and
simmer the sauce to thicken. Serve over the rice.
-----------
Peel orange and assemble salads.

Beef enchiladas, ginger potstickers, spaghetti

This makes: beef enchiladas verdes (6 meals), ginger beef potstickers (6 meals), meatballs and spaghetti (3 meals), with sides of spinach-pecan salad, Waldorf salad and apple-cheddar snacks.

(Could make after Cream tacos, thereby utilizing the extra half-and-half and shredded cheese)

Cost: Low
Flavor: High.... everything here is good.
Labor: High
Yield: Good; 15 meals

Fancy store: Potsticker wrappers

Regular store: 2.5 lb ground beef, red & yellow apples, orange, ginger, garlic, green onions, spinach, corn tortillas, Newman pasta sauce, Hatch green enchilada sauce or Herdez salsa verde, taco seasoning packet, whipping cream, cheddar, grated jack/cheddar mix

Have on hand: lots of chicken broth; spaghetti; soy, rice wine, sesame oil; fennel, garlic salt and Italian bread crumbs; pecans and salad dressing.

Day 1 (est. 1 hr)

Chop spinach, green onions, garlic, and grate ginger for potstickers; add 2T soy, 2t rice wine, 1t sesame.
Grind fennel for meatballs and blend with garlic salt and Italian breadcrumbs.

Divide the ground beef and season it:
--- 1 lb into the spinach mix for potstickers
--- 1 lb into the frying pan, then cook with taco seasoning mix
--- 0.5 lb into the fennel/breadcrumbs for meatballs.

When done cooking the taco meat, store in plastic container, then fry the meatballs.

Cook the spaghetti and divide up with the meatballs and sauce.

Day 2 (est 1.5 hr)

Assemble potstickers. Cook a dozen or so at a time: fry quickly on all three sides, then fill pan 2/3 full with chicken broth and simmer a half-hour or so till most of the liquid has cooked off.

Assemble the spinach salads.
Slice apples and toss with pecans in a little cream/sugar/lemon juice/mayo.

Assemble enchiladas: Spoon some taco meat into a tortilla, roll, press flat, top with sauce and cheese. (Microwave 1 min to reheat.)

Nutritional trivia -- This works out, surprisingly consistently, to about 2.6 oz. beef per serving, which is even less than the recommended 3 oz. servings (RDA is two 3oz. servings per day).

Mom's Crisp Oat Cookies

The best cookies ever, bar none.

Mix together:
1 1/2 cups flour
3 cups quick oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Pinch of mace, ginger; 2 of cinnamon
(Mom says "Only a tiny bit, if any; this is not a spice cookie")

Cream in bowl:
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar

Add:
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Stir in flour mixture. Divide into 2 or 3 rolls; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. To bake, cut in 1/2 inch slices, bake on ungreased sheet 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.