Instapot stir-fry

I found this recipe for instapot ramen stir-fry online. It is a great basic recipe. I want to continue to tweak it. 

Ingredients:

Choice of veggies. We used onions, carrots, and peas.

2 packs of ramen

1 cup of water or chicken stock

4 Tbsp soy sauce (1 for chicken, 3 for end sauce)

1 tsp sesame oil

Optional toppings: Fried egg, sliced green onions, sriracha sauce.

I sautéed the vegetables for a couple of minutes and then deglazed the pan with the chicken stock.  I threw in some precooked chicken and the broken chunks of noodles.  I cooked it on high for one minute and then did a quick pressure release. I added the sesame oil and soy sauce and gave it a gentle stir. After letting it rest for five minutes it was dished into bowls. Grown-ups got a fried egg and some sliced green onions. 

Stovetop Granola

I like to make a double batch of this. The recipe is simple, delicious, and makes me happy.  

2 c. oatmeal (I've tried kamut and instant oats, but I think regular oatmeal is the best fit.)

2 Tb butter

1 Tb honey

2 Tb brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

Desired additions (raisins, pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds, dried fruit)

Toast oats on cookie sheet under broiler. Combine butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a pan over low heat on the stove. Cook mixture for one minute then add in toasted oats.  Cook and stir mixture for 3-4 minutes. Add 1/3 cup of desired fixings and cook for one more minute. Spread end mixture on cookie sheet and return to warmed oven for 15-30 minutes. (The oven should be warm from broiling, but not on.) This helps the granola crisp up. Keep in an air tight container. 

I love my granola sprinkled over yogurt. Sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, and raisins are my favorite combo. What would you add to your granola?

Quick Gumbo

Recipe from Amanda Adams:

1/3 c. oil
1/3 c. flour
14 oz Hilshire Farm Sausage cut into half moons
1 bag of frozen peppers and onions
1 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 bag frozen okra
32 oz chicken stock

1/3 cup oil and flour in dutch oven or stock pot. Cook over medium heat until it starts to turn golden. (5-10 minutes) Stir continuously. Add sausage, peppers and onions, Cajun seasoning, and garlic powder. Cook for another 7-10 minutes. Add chicken stock and okra, bring mixture to a boil, turn down to simmer for 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

Drop Sugar Cookies

Recipe from Carolyn Nielson

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream together 2 minutes:

2 c. sugar

1 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. shortening

Add:

3 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix in:

1 1/2 tsp. each baking soda, baking powder, salt

5 c. flour

Scoop or roll dough into 1.5 inch balls, then roll balls in sugar. Regular sugar works, but I like coarse sugar better. 

Smash them flat. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-11 minutes. 

Notes:

These freeze well. I put them in a small container with wax paper between.

The key to making these cookies taste fantastic is to underbake them a decent amount--no hint of brown except maybe on the very bottom. If they get fully baked, they're crumbly and dry and sad. Pull them out while they still look puffy and a little doughy and you think they're not done yet. Move them to a rack after a few minutes, then let them cool into chewy, buttery, yummy cookies.

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash/Pumpkin Soup from Sheryl Beckham - Whangarei, NZ

1 cube butter

1 large, sliced onion

1 large peeled & sliced potato

1 small peeled & chopped pumpkin (or butternut squash)

1 tsp ginger

4 cups chicken stock

2 tomatoes

Salt & pepper to taste

½ tsp ground nutmeg

Melt butter in pot. Add onion, potato, ginger, tomatoes and bullion dissolved in hot

water. Then add salt, pepper & nutmeg. Bring to boil. Add pumpkin/squash and simmer 30

minutes. When soft, put in blender until smooth (or use an immersion blender). Serve with a little cream and fresh ground nutmeg.

Italian Creamy Cheese Chicken

A quick crockpot meal. Just combine and heat on low for four hours.

2 chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken
1 packet of dry Italian seasoning
8 oz of cream cheese
Water to correct consistency

Serve over rice.

Menu Plan Ideas

I recently saw a menu planning idea on Pinterest where you write a list of all the meals you make and number them. (I can't find the pin. Anyone know where I saw this awesome idea?)  You then plug those numbers into your calendar.  It's easy to move things around, and you have a great list to choose from depending on what you have on hand and what is on sale that week.  This is the start of my list.

1. Broccoli Beef
2. Burgers
3. Crockpot Lasagna
4. French Dip
5. Grandma's Chili
6. Pot Roast
7. Shepards Pie
8. Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce
9. Taco Pasta
10. Taco Rice
11. Tri Tip
12. Baked Italian Lemon Chicken
13. Chicken and Avocado Salad
14. Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
15. Chicken Cordon Bleu
16. Chicken and Dumplings
17. Chicken Pot Pie
18. Chicken Satay
19. Chicken Taco Meat
20. Coconut Chicken Curry
21. Creamy Chicken Noodle Skillet
22. Enchiladas
23. Fajitas
24. Fettuccine Alfredo
25. Honey Sesame Crockpot Chicken
26. Japanese Curry
27. Orange Chicken
28. Rotisserie Chicken
29. Stir Fry
30. Yellow Curry
31. BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches
32. Fried Rice
33. Ginga Rosu
34. Gyoza
35. Italian Pulled Pork Sandwiches
36. Mabo Tofu
37. Parmesan and Panko Pork chops
38. Pork chops, apple sauce, and cheese
39. Snitzel and Spetzla
40. Tonkatsu
41. Cheese Loaded Meatloaf
42. Lettuce Wraps
43. Polska Kielbasa and Mac N Cheese
44. Calzones
45. Pizza Sauce
46. Vegan Mexican Bowl
47. Broccoli Cheddar Soup
48. Lionhouse Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
49. Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
50. Mom's Potato Corn Chowder
51. Tomato Soup So Good, You Will Never Go Back
52. White Bean Chicken Chili
53. Crockpot Zupa Toscana
54. Aebleskivers
55. Crepes
56. Eggs in a Basket
57. German Pancakes
58. Liege Waffles
59. Pancakes
60. Waffles
61. Quiche

Sides:

1. Parmesan Baked Tomatoes
2. Spinach Pesto
3. Spaghetti Squash
4. Parmesan Baked Tomatoes
5. Roasted Red Salsa
6. Italian Herb and Cheese Bread

Dessert:

1. Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
2. Cheater Cake Mix Cookies
3. Pineapple Orange Cake
4. Pretty Pistachio Pie
5. Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
6. Strawberries and Cream Poke Cake
7. Sugar Cookies
8. Taiyaki

Taiyaki

Since living in Japan for a couple of years I have been craving taiyaki.  It's also been on my 99 goal list.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about I'm going to let you in on a simple secret.  Taiyaki are fish shaped waffles with delicious fillings.  My favorite is an (a sweet bean paste.)  But my husband's new favorite is Nutella and banana.

We got a great recipe online here. You can get your own pan online here. 

Look at how delicious they turned out:

We will definitely be making these again. Some of our favorite fillings are chocolate pudding, Nutella and banana, an, and cookie butter. Mmm. We need to make them again soon.

Fruit Leather - Apricot

This last week apricots went on sale at my favorite produce market.  I bought close to two pounds and waited impatiently for them to ripen.  Once they did I pulled out my dehydrator for the first time.  I've had it for a while.  But using it just seemed so scary I kept putting it off.  After my first experience I can't wait to try using it again.  My husband is requesting jerky.  So I guess that is next on my list of things to try.

Apricot Fruit Leather

• Wash 2 lb. of apricots
• Remove pits, slice into quarters, throw in blender
• Add a dash of lemon juice
• Blend until smooth
• Pour mixture into two fruit leather sleeves in your dehydrator
• Cook on 135* for 5-8 hours
• Remove from dehydrator when there are no wet or sticky spots
• Place on wax paper
• Roll up and cut with kitchen shears
• Store in an airtight container
• Enjoy

I can't wait for more fruit to go on sale so I can try different combinations. My house smelled amazing all day long.  I was in heaven.  Next time I might try some pineapple or banana.  My leather took close to 8 hours, but I poured one batch slightly fuller than the other.  My son loved when I cut him off small pieces and my husband ate a whole roll by himself. 

 One more goal off my list.  I need to step it up if I want to finish all 99 before February 25, 2016.  Next up is goal 94.  I'm so excited to go on a cruise.  You can check out why I'm working on 99 goals and my progress here.

Pork Chops and Applesauce

I love simple and delicious meals. They make me happy on tough days when all I want to do is eat ice-cream straight from the carton. Having a go to list of recipes you can make in a snap help me eat healthier. I'm working on building my list here.

Last week I found a pork chop recipe on allrecipes and tweaked it a little to make it my own. I loved these with a simple salad and some mashed potatoes. Next time I will try and get a picture. :)

Pork Chops and Apple Sauce
2-4 pork chops (Tenderize them to make the pork melt in your mouth.)
Dash of seasoning salt (A dash of salt makes everything taste a little better.)
1. 5 cup of applesauce (Allrecipes has a recipe to make your own applesauce. I cheated and used two cups of apple sauce from the store to save on time.)
1/2 cup of cheddar cheese
Grill

Tenderize the pork chop, add a dash of seasoning salt, and throw on a hot grill. I used my George Foreman. Cook for 5-10 minutes per side depending on the thickness of your pork chop. Top with applesauce and grated cheese. Continue grilling until cheese is just melted.  Enjoy!

Cheese Loaded Turkey Meatloaf

One of my new favorite things is to sneak ground turkey in the place of hamburger. My husband can't tell the difference and I feel like we are eating healthier** and spending less money.  A win-win in my book. Plus I love his shocked face when I tell him he just ate turkey.

While I get most of my recipes from Pinterest, occasionally I venture into allrecipes.com. I love that there are hundreds of reviews and different ways of preparing a particular dish. I ALWAYS read the comments because they tell you a lot.

I started off with this recipe and changed it to fit my needs and the advice of the commenters.

Cheese Loaded Turkey Meatloaf:

• 1 c. milk
• 1 c. italian bread crumbs ***
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1/2 an onion diced
• 2 lbs. ground turkey
• 2 dashes of worchestcheir sauce
• 1/2 lb. colby jack cheese in small cubes
• Ketchup/BBQ sauce for the top

Pour the milk over the breadcrumbs. Let it sit for a minute. This helps your breadcrumbs stay moist and tender.

Preheat oven to 400*

Place everything but the cheese in a large mixing bowl. Mix well with your hands. 

Fold in the cheese and shape the mixture into 2 loaf pans.

Pour BBQ or ketchup on top. I tried both and found the BBQ tasted better. 

Place in oven for an hour. 

Make sure your loaf reaches an internal temperature of 165*.

Enjoy.

** The large amount of cheese in this recipe doesn't exactly make it healthy. But we are a work in progress.

*** I did not have italian breadcrumbs on hand so I found this recipe online to make them at home. Super easy and delicious.  

Italian Bread Crumbs:

• 1 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder I didn't have this either. The onions in the meatloaf seemed adequate for flavor.
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil      

Mix all ingredients together.

 

Italian Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I've been reading several books and articles about food recently. As I read I can't help but change how I feel about the food I feed my family. I want my boys to eat things that are healthy, delicious, and easy to prepare. Not an easy feat.

Yesterday I made some amazing sandwiches. It was easy, fast, and nutritious. I loved them so much I had to share.

I picked up a simple pork roast at the store, placed it in the crockpot, and poured italian dressing over the top. I let that simmer on low for 4-5 hours. And then I threw it all in the mixer. Did you know if you place cooked meat in the mixer on low it shreds into small delicious pieces? Easiest dinner ever.

While the meat was cooking I started on the bread. It was surprisingly pretty easy. I used this recipe for Italian Herb and Cheese Bread. I haven't had a lot experience with bread, but it turned out. Look at how pretty it is:

I sliced up the bread, avocados, tomatoes, and lettuce. Add some delicious shredded pork and dinner was set. We will definitely be making this again. 

Vegetable Adventures

I did not grow up a huge vegetable fan. It took years of home canned green beans to convert me to eating them willingly. (Thank you grandma!) I considered myself healthy because I ate corn, potatoes, and tomatoes willingly. (Yes someone has informed me that those are starches and fruits.)

It appears my lifelong avoidance of vegetables needed to be changed because I was sent to a foreign country and expected to eat what they ate. Anyone who has visited Japan knows that they love three things. Fish, vegetables, and rice. (No wonder they are all so skinny.)  I did not like fish or vegetables. But I knew that vegetables and rice were a lot easier for me to swallow.

Source

I started trying new vegetables and I became converted. I fell in love with spinach, bell pepper, carrots, pumpkin, zucchini, peas, and brocoli. I only tolerated eggplant, asparagus, and artichokes. I became a veggie lover. Some of my family still can't believe it.

Source

I'm still on the beginning end of this spectrum. I am learning how to eat vegetables. I generally like them cooked with some sort of seasoning. My husband is more hard core and can eat things raw. This last week I took a giant step in my vegetable preparation and consumption. I made pesto. Not only that, I ate it. I was so proud of myself.

I even added it to another recipe intended to increase my vegetable and fruit consumption. Delicious homemade tomato and red pepper soup. It is delicious! And it made a giant batch so I was able to free some to break out on a lazy day. Points! This soup is perfect with grilled cheese or with added whole grain pasta. I highly recommend you try it out. But be aware it is A LOT of work.

Chicken Taco Meat

I am a well intentioned blogger. That doesn't always mean I am a disciplined blogger. I have also discovered that if I take photos on my real camera, I am likely to leave said camera in the car. (For weeks on end.) Which means that my photos never get uploaded, which means you never get the recipes I promise. And so, I've decided you will just have to cope with less than stellar photos.

I learned this recipe from a good friend, who terrifies me in the kitchen. You know the kind, the one who can make something delicious out of anything? She used to own and run her own Mexican restaurant. She could probably go on Iron Chef and win. Me? I'm still trying to figure out spices. Being able to use them without measuring (and still have it turn out delicious) is way beyond me. So I'm sorry that I don't have precise measurements/times. When I asked her for more details she just gave me a funny look.

You need: a couple of chicken breasts, a diced onion, a diced bell pepper, a clove of garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, canned tomatoes, oregano, salt, pepper, water, and two pans.

First you bring the chicken breasts, 1/4 of a diced onion, salt, pepper, and water to a boil. Cook until the chicken looks cooked all the way through. Drain the water. Shred the chicken. (My favorite trick for shredding chicken is to throw the hot chicken into your mixer. It literally falls to pieces and it is super quick.)

In a seperate pan add the diced bell pepper, 1/2 diced onion, and a clove of garlic in some olive oil to brown. When everything looks and smells delicious add 28 oz. of canned tomatoes with 1/2 tsp. of oregano and a dash of salt and pepper. Let it simmer for a while then add the shredded chicken to the mix. Let everything simmer for a couple of minutes until the chicken soaks up all the flavor. Turn off the heat. Combine chicken meat with your favorite taco mixings and make lots of people's stomaches happy. (My favorite part of the meal.)

Do you still have that 1/4 of an onion left? Want to use it to make something to add to the meal? Heat up one can of rinsed black beans. Add the 1/4 of a diced onion and a clove of garlic. Simmer for a couple of minutes. When the onions looked cooked pour everything into a blender. Blend it all together for your own refried beans. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This chicken is easy to make, it freezes well, and is very versatile. You can use it in tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, and more. You will be super glad you tried it. I promise.

White Bean Chicken Chili

I'm sure this recipe has been around for a while, but I was only introduced to it last year. Since then I have made it pretty regularly. Mr. WB doesn't mind as long as I keep it to soup once a week. I personally could live off soup every day. He can not. A small fact I learned rather quickly in our marriage.

The reason I love this soup? It is super easy. Trust me! The hardest part is getting all cans open. Especially if you have one of those "safe" can openers that make you go around 3 times.

What you need:

2 chicken breasts, cooked & cubed (missing from my picture, but included)

2 cans of northern white beans, rinsed

1 can of corn, drained

1 can of green chilis

1 can of chicken broth

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 c. sour cream (I substituted greek yogurt)

1/2 c. heavy cream * 

Open all the cans; rinse the beans, drain the corn, and add everything (minus the creams) into your pot. Let the mixture simmer for a couple of minutes so the flavors soak together. Lower the heat and add the two creams. Keep the heat on low until the whole pot is nice and warm. Do not boil this soup. (Cream is not meant to be boiled.) Dish up and enjoy!

It makes enough to feed 3-4 adults, so it is perfect for inviting over another couple for dinner. I love to serve this soup with bread and a side salad. If I am feeling very adventurous they get dessert too. Tonight we settled for oreos and milk because Oreos just turned 100 and you know we had to celebrate. 

* I used a substitute recipe since I almost never have heavy cream on hand. For one cup of heavy cream combine a 3/4 cup of milk with 1/3 cup of melted butter. Since this recipe only calls for a half cup of heavy cream I halved that. I used about little less than a 1/2 cup of milk and about 3 T of melted butter. (This could possibly be terribly wrong, because fractions were never my best subject and I have pregnancy brain. But my soup still tasted delicious.) Do not let your mixture sit for too long or it will start to separate like you can see in my lovely photo.

Weekly Menu Post - 9/17

Last week's favorite meal was Taco Rice. It was perfect after a day of running around. We also scrapped one of our dinner's and made pizza instead. Life get's busy. That's why I buy the frozen pizza's when they are on sale. We like Digiorno best but aren't too picky.

This Week's Menu Plan

Monday: Penne with Spinach and Feta
I am always looking for new recipes to try out and add to our rotation. This one has high ratings on allrecipes.com so I am giving it a shot.

Tuesday: Rotisserie Chicken with stuffing and mashed potatoes
I love getting a good chicken from the market. Whip up some stuffing and some mashed potatoes and you have one happy husband.

Wednesday: Chicken, brocoli, cheese, and stuffing casserole
Tastiest way to cook leftover chicken and stuffing. Lay down a layer of chicken, broccoli, cheese and top with stuffing. Bake in the oven until the cheese melts and everything tastes divine.

Thursday: Eggies in a basket, muffins, juice
The Office Season Premiere is tonight. What better way to celebrate then freshly baked Dunder Muffins and bacon cooked on my George Foreman? 

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Mom's Birthday Dinner
I love it when we all go out to eat to celebrate a birthday. 

Sunday: Family Dinner

Want to find more ideas for a weekly menu plan? Look at some of my past posts by clicking on Menu to the left or visit the orgjunkie.

Bacon Hater

My husband loves bacon! He could probably eat it every day and be perfectly content.

Source:

I hate bacon! I really do. But I love my husband. So I buy it and cook it every once in a while. When I cook it for my husband I close all the doors in our tiny home to keep the fumes as contained as possible. I also have to change my clothes if I smell of bacon. I know. I'm weird. But my husband doesn't mind too much because it means he gets my bacon as well as his.

I can eat bacon. But only if it is nice and crispy. Mr. WB doesn't understand this, but since he loves me he puts up with it. If the bacon is not up to my crispy standards he puts it out of it's misery for me.

I've discovered the best way to cook bacon is in the oven. It's easier to clean up and you don't get bacon fat burns nearly as often. To cook bacon in your oven line a baking sheet with foil, lay the bacon strips down on it, place it in your oven, and turn the oven on to 400*. Let the bacon cook for 17-20 min. (Shorter or longer depending on how quickly your oven heats up and how crispy you like your bacon.) For more tips or pictures click here.

All this talk of bacon has your stomach rumbling. I'm sorry. I promise I have a purpose. Thank you for your patience. It will pay off.

Introducing Mom's Chowder

Ingredients: 6 - 8 potatoes, 1/2 lb. bacon (cooked), 1 c. frozen corn, 1.5 - 2 c. milk, salt and pepper.

I love this recipe because it is super easy to make, delicious, and budget friendly. I usually make this chowder when I have potatoes that need to be used quickly, there is bacon in my house, or I just want to make a quick hearty meal.

Directions:
Peel the potatoes, dice them into small wedges, add them to a pot of boiling water.
The smaller you dice them, the faster they cook. Add them gently because boiling water hurts when it splashes your skin.

Cook the potatoes until they are perfect for mashing. Drain the potatoes in a colander.
Potatoes are usually ready for mashing when you poke them with a fork and they break apart. But you don't want them to be too mushy or it can make draining them difficult. 

Pour the potatoes back into the pot. Mash them.
This job is usually given to my husband. :)

Add the corn. Gently stir in the milk.
The frozen corn should cook perfectly in the hot potatoes. Add the milk in slowly. I like my chowder nice and thick so I use less milk. Think loaded mashed potatoes. When my husband makes this recipe he adds a little more milk for a creamier soup texture. Find what works for you and your family.

Cut or tear the bacon into bite sized pieces. Throw them in the pot.
I always use kitchen scissors for this. (But then again I hate bacon.) Put as much bacon as you'd like in the pot. I usually cut off all the crispy parts and leave the wobblier parts of the bacon for my husband to snack on.

Add salt and pepper to taste.
You will need to add quite a bit of seasoning to counteract the potatoes. Please taste as you go along. There is nothing worse than an over seasoned meal.

Give it one last stir and serve.
Some people like to add cheese or green onions. But I love this chowder just as it is.

Tried my recipe? Have a tip to share? Let me know in the comments below. Thank you and enjoy!

For those of you that don't know I also blog about teaching at Life with Mrs. L. One of my teacher blogger friends is hosting a recipe linky party and I just had to contribute. See what else teachers are cooking up in the kitchen HERE.

Pretty Pistachio Pie

I love finding new recipes online and trying them at home. Thank you Pinterest! My husband usually doesn't complain because it means more yummy food for him. Recently he started bugging me about making a recipe from one of our mutual friends. She is an amazing woman who is famous in our friends circle as making delicious food for huge groups. 

I got the recipe! And it took me 3 months to make it. Not bad considering my husband has been asking me to make this since we got married.  In my defense it was not online. So finding it was not an easy task. Especially if you consider the fact that we just moved. Any ways. I decided to put it online so that you could make this delicious Pretty Pistachio Pie for your husband and make him smile. Enjoy!

You will need flour, butter, sliced almonds, cream cheese, powdered sugar, cool whip, milk, and pistachio pudding mix.

Pretty Pistachio Pie

1 c. flour

1/2 c. butter

1/4 c. sliced almonds (and extras for the top)

8 oz cream cheese

1 c.  powder sugar

1/2 c. cool whip (and extra for the top)

3 c. milk

2 small packages of pistachio pudding

Instructions:

The Crust

Mix the flour, butter, and sliced almonds together. Press into a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350* for 15 min. Let it cool completely.

Cream Filling

Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and cool whip together. Spread evenly on the cooled crust.

Pudding Layer

Mix 3 c. cold milk with two small pudding packages. Spread over crust and cream layers. Place in fridge until pudding is set.

Add a layer of cool whip and almonds on top before serving. Enjoy!