What's for dinner?

I have been keeping a list of favorite new recipes that I've cooked recently.  And, today, I finally a few moments to share them.  (Actually, I'm sharing them with a selfish intent: I can find the recipes whenever I want if I post them.  Otherwise the list goes missing or my brain forgets which cookbook to find the recipe.)

One of my goals this year is to try and lower our food bill. Drew can live on chicken and rice, Callen on chicken nuggets and pasta.  But for me...I need variety.

Here is an example of one week's recipes.  I try to plan 3 home cooked meals (leftovers on other nights, some for lunches) and have at least one "desperate" meal ready in the freezer just in case life gets CRAZY (or for unexpected guests).

Enjoy!

(Like all my recipes, I semi-follow directions.  I've included the link to the original recipe, but have "my" edited version in this post.)  And keep in mind, I'm only sharing my successful recipes.  I've had plenty of "bombs" that we like to laugh about ;)  Sorry, no pictures to share...

In this post:
Wingless Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Chicken Tortilla Soup with Chipotle and Fire-Roasted Tomato
Mega Meat Pasta Stuffed Shells

Rum-Glazed Ribs

Unfortunately, there isn't a picture of this delicious goodness...but even without a picture you want to make this for your next social gathering.  Found the original recipe in a Taste of Home cookbook, but you can also find it here.  Plan ahead because before the ribs go on the grill, they need to cook in the oven for 1-1/2 hours.  But prep time is minimal :)

I copied the recipe and included it below, but I made a few changes.  My additions are in italics and strike through.  We served it with a left-over pasta dish, oven-roasted asparagus and green salad.

Rum-Glazed Ribs
6 pounds pork spareribs, cut into serving-size pieces
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
1 cup dark rum
1 cup honey
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 T. cornstarch

Place ribs in two ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pans, bone side down. Cover and bake at 350° for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until meat is tender.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until slightly thickened. After 15-20 minutes, add 1 T. cornstarch mixed with 3 T. cold water.  Boil until the consistency of BBQ sauce.

Drain ribs and discard cooking liquid. Moisten a paper towel with cooking oil; using long-handled tongs, lightly coat the grill rack.

Brush half of the sauce over ribs 1 cup of sauce over ribs. Grill ribs, covered, over medium heat (not over direct heat) for 15-25 minutes or until browned, turning and basting occasionally with remaining another cup of sauce.

Serve ribs with remaining sauce on the side.

Yield: 6 servings.

Breakfast Casserole and Easter

This year, Easter was a whirlwind of excitement.  Drew's family was in town visiting for the week (everyone but his sister) for his aunt's beach wedding.  Since we were going to be busy most of the day and week with his family, we invited my parents over for a quick Sunday brunch after church and before the wedding.

Late on Saturday night I discovered moldy ingredients for my typical make-ahead-breakfast-casserole.  So I frantically searched for another recipe with ingredients I had.

Enter STOVE TOP Easy Brunch Casserole.  I didn't follow the recipe (!), but I've included my changes below.  It was SO delicious I made it again later in the week for the guys before their soon-to-be-annual Frisbee golf Throwback Tournament.

Photo by Kraft 

Carlene's Version of STOVE TOP's Casserole
3 cups milk
9 eggs
1 lb cooked, crumbled bacon
1 lb cooked ground, Italian sausage
2+ cups of shredded cheese
3 cups stuffing mix

Combine milk and eggs.  Mix in bacon, sausage, and cheese. (Stop here and refrigerate if making it the night before eating.). Add stuffing.  Pour everything into a greased 9x13 pan.  Cook for 45-60 minutes at 350 F or until center is firm. Serves ~10.

Crockpot Freezer Meals

Friday (day 2 overdue) I had a burst of energy (or restlessness) and made 10 freezer crockpot meals.  Call me smart or crazy, but I did it!!  The recipes are from Pinterest, so I have no idea if they'll be good...but they looked good.  I cooked Part 1 and 2 of her crockpot series.

Picture, recipes and shopping list from baked in the south

Meatloaf with Rosemary Potatoes

Honey Sesame Chicken w/ Broccoli

White Chicken Chili

Beer & Beef Stew

Beef Stroganoff

Brunswick Stew

Italian Sausage with Peppers & Onions

Black Bean Chili

Chicken Fajitas

Fresh Spagetti Sauce

Each meal looks like it will serve at least 4 meals (some more).   

Total grocery bill for 10 meals: $110.

Assuming each meal makes 4 servings that's at least $2.75 a serving!!

And the best part is that the prep work is done.  All I need to do is take it out of the freezer a day or two ahead of time.

P.S. Don't assume that every day is this productive.  Friday was an UNUSUAL day.  Most days I'm scrambling to find something for dinner.

Good-bye, 2012...Hello, 2013!

We had a wonderful 2012, but look forward the adventures ahead in 2013.  In case you missed our 2012 recap, click here.

Dec 31, 2012 sunset

We didn't make it to midnight to ring in the new year, but Callen woke us up early enough at 5am.  "Happy New You, Mama!"

Mini Pancakes from Papa

"Happy New You" --Callen

Visiting college friends

Several years ago my dad joined the masses in running in the water at noon.  Since then, he has accumulated a small following.  Next year, I'm hoping the guys dress up in something silly.

Polar Bear Dippers

The masses running in the water at noon.
(Click the picture to enlarge to see all the people watching from the pier.)

After the dip, we enjoyed homemade clam chowder and the entertainment of Drew and Tim kayak surfing.

Kayak photos by Uncle Albino

Not good...

Hello, 2013! Beautiful day to start the year.

Cranberry Meringue Pie

If you like lemon meringue pie, then you'll enjoy this cranberry twist.  I followed the recipe exactly.  (That's two recipes in a row!)  And I really enjoyed the taste, but then again I have been craving "lemony like things" this pregnancy... and cranberry sauce is one of my favorites at Thanksgiving dinner.

I didn't want to cook this at first because of the homemade crust...but it was EASY and delicious.  Probably my new pie crust recipe.  No rolling! No mess!

Cranberry Meringue Pie from Eating Well

Tips that worked well:  1) Take the eggs out of the fridge 15-30 minutes before you are ready to use them.  2) After the pie cools slightly, refrigerate before serving (at least 2 hours).  It will help set the filling.

How hard:  I'm 7 months pregnant with a brain that is not always firing on all cylinders and a napping 2-year old.  If you can follow a recipe, you can make it!

Enjoy!

Chocolate Cake, anyone?

I don't usually bake cakes from scratch because box cakes are too easy and delicious...but I felt inspired for Super Nana's birthday.

WOW!!  Amazing cake recipe and I will be using it again.

Its hard to say how difficult the cake was to make because in the middle of measuring and mixing I realized my flour was infested with bugs.  (Yes, those little black/brown beetles.)  Cal was napping, so I was stuck.  Neighbor was out of flour but thankfully my mom made a quick flour delivery that saved the cake.

But you can assume that I made the cake (with a flour emergency) and washed the dishes while Callen was napping (~2 hours), and I frosted it after dinner while he was awake (and I'm 7 months pregnant with not much of a brain at times)...so it couldn't have been that stressful.

Special Occasion Chocolate Cake

I followed the recipe. (Yes, a shock to those who know how I cook!)  But I didn't add almonds.

I've never been successful at removing cakes from the pan in one piece.  Here is what I did this time, and it worked!

Grease and flour pan.  Cut piece of wax paper to cover inside-bottom of the pan.  Place paper inside and grease.  Pour in cake batter.  Invert cake on wire rake 10 minutes after done cooking.  Remove paper.  Voila!

Happy Birthday, Super Nana!

Crock-pot Apple Sauce

Remember my post about Cal eating the "not-so-good" apples from our tree?  Well, we decided to try one since Cal was enjoying them..daily.  And they were delicious.  Not the dry, mushy apples we tried 2 months ago.

So we made apple sauce.

I followed this recipe, but changed it for the second batch.

Here's the recipe I'll follow next time:

9 cups peeled, sliced apples (maybe 3 lbs)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup water
juice and pulp from 2 lemons

Peel, care and slice apples. (I used an apple peeler, corer, slicer.) 9 cups was the MAX capacity of my crock-pot.
Mix apples, cinnamon, water and lemon juice (with pulp).
Pour into crock-pot.
Cook for 6-8 hours on low heat or 3-4 on high heat, stirring occasionally.
When done, mash with potato masher or fork.

Yield 3-5 cups apple sauce (I didn't measure, so it's a guess.)

I froze the apple sauce in ice cube trays for easy and small servings.

Taste test: my picky eater, Callen loved the sugar-free, warm apple sauce!

Pumpkin Dessert

Fall is here, and in the Miller house that mean...start baking with PUMPKIN! Requirements this year for a new recipe: quick, easy and delicious.

I needed a quick dessert for a Sunday family dinner.  Here's the winner from allrecipes.  I adjusted the recipe, so I included my variation below.

1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin puree
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
1 (18.25 oz) package yellow cake mix (mine had pudding mixed in)
1 cup butter

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Grease 9 x 13 pan.
Combine first 5 ingredients.
Pour into baking pan.
Sprinkle cake mix over top.
Cut butter into thin slices and layer on top of cake mix.
Cook for an 1 hour or until a center poke comes out clean.

*make your own 2.5 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp allspice, and 1/2 tsp ginger

So good.  Enjoy warm with ice cream!

Costco Chicken Bakes

I've been trying to find delicious meals that are simple and freezable for Drew's lunches.  He is getting tired of eating ham and cheese sandwiches and its expensive to eat out...so enter Costco Chicken Bakes from Carlene's Kitchen!!

I've never had a Costco Chicken Bake because they are 900+ calories and 40+ grams of fat, but Drew loves them.  This past week I tried to make my own so that I wouldn't have to buy Costco's and try and cut down on the calories.  AMAZING...even Drew said they tasted like Costco's.

A little bit more labor intensive than I would have wanted, but it would be easy to make the meal in stages (ie: cook chicken and bacon, shred cheese, chop onion, etc. all on different days)  Assembly is easy!

For 1 Chicken Bake (these serve 2 people)
:6 oz pizza dough (Trader Joe dough cut into 3rds)
4 oz grilled sliced and seasoned chicken breast (about 1 cup)
1 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 oz cooked and chopped bacon
1/2 oz chopped green onion
1 oz Caesar salad dressing (I like light Newman's caesar, all profits to charity)
1/2 oz Parmesan cheese

Put a small amount of Caesar dressing in with sliced, cooked chicken to marinade.
Cut pizza dough into 6-oz piece.  Press into 7 x 5 inch regtangle.
Spread Caesar dressing on dough piece (~1 T.)
Add marinated chicken to dough piece along longest side.
Cover chicken with mozzarella, green onion and chopped bacon.
Pull the edges together over the ingredients.  Bake should be ~7 inches by 2 inches.
Brush top of bake with Caesar dressing and sprinkle with Parmesan.
Bake at 400 F for about 25 minutes (or until brown and  internal temp at 165 F).

Miller Modification:  For fewer calories cut the recipe in half, use low fat cheese and light Caesar dressing.  Don't season chicken before cooking since dressing is plenty flavorful and salty.

Peppermint Patties

My friend Katie gave up eating one of her favorite candies (York Peppermint Patties) because of Hershey's lack of policies protecting cocoa laborers from forced labor, human trafficking and child labor.  So for her birthday I was inspired to make my own patties with fair-trade chocolate.  They weren't as amazing as the Hershey brand, but they were delicious.

Enjoy!
Peppermint Patties From allrecipes (I used peppermint oil instead of extract.  Add a couple of drops and taste.)

My next experiment Thin Mint Cookies.

Blackened Salmon Fillets

I was feeling inspired, so I attempted to make Drew's favorite restaurant food: Blackened Salmon.  Surprisingly, it was really easy (less than 30 minutes from start to finish) and tasted delicious.  A little on the spicy side.  I didn't finish my fillet since I was scared that Callen wouldn't be able to handle the spice in my breast milk...only time will tell.  Enjoy!

Blackened Salmon Fillets

Bean Burgers

Typically I love sandwiches for lunch, but recently I've noticed a strong aversion to lunch meat.  I've found a few vegetarian patties that are flavorful and full of protein (Morning Star Spicy Black Bean), but they are expensive.  This week I found a solution: making my own!  Try them for yourself.  They are simple to make (a must for a mom), and the possibilities are endless.  Eventually I will get around to making a large batch and freezing for later consumption.  When I'm feeling more adventurous I might cook the beans myself or add protein powder.

Deliciousness

Delicious (adjective): highly pleasing to the senses, especially to taste or smell; palatable; savory; delectable

 Recently, I was going through our cookbooks looking for recipes to give at bridal shower.  I stumbled across a few of our favorites that Drew and I often fixed when we were dating.  Enjoy!

Definitely a winner!  First meal I fixed for Drew, and he still routinely asks for it. 

Great dessert for a party!

Not healthy, but delicious!

First meal from scratch that Drew made for me!

  
For printable copies, click the PDF link in the Recipes folder.

Chili's Restaurant Chicken Tortilla Soup

I had this soup for the first time when my mom took me out to lunch for my 25th birthday.  It was paired with a house salad and All-You-Can-Eat tortilla chips.  A few weeks later, I was craving it again; but not wanting to go out to dinner, Drew searched for the recipe on-line.  Low and behold, we found it!  Easy to make and very delicious.

We enjoyed the soup in the rain with Drew's Nana while playing rummy and watching the World Series.

Chili's Restaurant Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

Alice's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Not sure who Alice is, but her recipe for chocolate chip cookies is delicious.

While making the cookies we enjoyed watching another storm roll in over the valley, up to our house on the Mesa.  Once again we have exchanged 90+ degree weather during the week with scattered showers and occasional thunderstorms throughout the weekend.

Kitchen helper

Alice's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Gracefully Falling into Season

Setting: At the bottom of the stairs near our front door (sound of thunder and rain through the door)
Time: 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon
Characters: Drew holding his jacket and Carlene holding freshly baked Caramel Pecan Brownies

The house smelled with chocolate goodness as we gathered a few things before leaving for Santa Maria to have BBQ'd hamburgers with my parents.  With the uncovered dessert in hand, I headed down the stairs ahead of Drew.  Two steps from the bottom, my foot slipped.  I landed square on my bottom, flinging the dessert upside down and on top of my slippers.

Drew, watching the fall in slow motion from the top, ran down repeating, "Are you okay..."  I sat in shock.  Should I cry because I ruined an amazing treat and it was now laying upside down on the stairs.  Or should I laugh because the fall didn't hurt?


Thankfully the dessert was salvageable with only a slipper print on the top and missing over half the pecans, and I was uninjured.  We laughed the entire way to Santa Maria, very thankful that the fall hadn't been serious.

Other notable damage:  Chopped pecans and melted chocolate on the stairs, slippers and a few shoes

Recipe for Brownie Caramel Pecan Bars.