Chicken Stock

I love chicken stock. I mean seriously, I think there is something healing about it. It's just plain old yummy!

And the best part is, it's super easy to make. I mean, crazy easy. I take my bones, leftover from a chicken roaster or the $5 rotisserie chickens, toss them in the slow cooker, cover with water, turn on low, and let it sit for a day or 2. Strain, add more water and repeat. Seriously, I find that I can get about 4-5 slow cooker's worth of stock out of 1 set of bones. 

Talk about getting bang for your dollar. I freeze it in yogurt containers, then thaw when I'm ready to use. Our favorite application (other than soup) is for rice or Polenta....mmmmm.....Yep good stuff, and like no work.

Sometimes I even add my vegetable scraps to the slow cooker as time goes and I prep food at home. Onion ends, carrot peels and tops, celery pieces....the sky's the limit and it just adds to the flavor. This is one of my husband's favorite uses of the slow cooker. When we run out of stock he instantly asks when the next time we are having chicken it :) 

Pancakes...

Bubba has a love of pancakes. Not just any pancakes...chocolate chip pancakes. I mean seriously. He LOVES them.

I wish I could say that he loves them because he love my recipe (I gave up pancake mix 5 years ago), but no. I know the truth. He's a chocoholic, just like his momma. Yep....Here is what happens when you go to change a diaper and turn your back for 5 minutes...okay 10, it was a pretty messy diaper.

Happy Monday friends. Hope you got a nice smile.

My pancake recipe. Mix each ingredient in the order listed then rest the pancake batter for 5-10 minutes (if you can wait that long):

1 cup sour milk or buttermilk
1 egg
1 T oil
1 c flour (1/3 wheat, 2/3 white)
1 T sugar
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt

Freezer Meals

     This coming week I have the pleasure of going to a freezer meal exchange. Tonight was prep night. Funny that I made dinner to freeze and the family enjoyed leftovers. Guess who still got stuck cooking and cleaning up after cooking...yep...this girl. But let me tell you how seriously awesome this is. IT ROCKS! Why? Because I do the work for 1 meal, double...errr...quadruple the recipe, and I come home with totally different meals, that I didn't have to prep. Plus I can buy all my supplies in bulk. And as the holidays are coming on us that is one less meal a week that I have to stress about, and I think we all could use a little less stress around the holidays.
     So how does this freezer meal exchange work? Well, My group takes a count of how many individuals want to participate, and then you make that many meals, freeze in 1 gallon Ziplock bags, and meet for some well deserved mommy time out while you exchange your meals. Easy-peasy. There are other ways of doing it, but this works for us and our group number.
     I believe the toughest part is deciding what you would like to make and can afford to make for a group. Last time my meals worked out to about $10 a meal. Not too bad. And the seriously great part is that you get to try out all sorts of different recipes without having to do much of the work. Some are home runs for the entire family, some are not. And that's part of the fun.

 So here are some tips I have for you:

1. When making a large quantity (in other words multiplying your recipe by 8-10) try to do your mixing in the bag of each individual portion. Less dishes, and lets be honest, I do not have a bowl big enough to mix 20 cups of rice, nor a spoon strong/long enough.

 2. Make something that you know your family will like. That way you know you have at least 1 meal that your kids will eat.

 3. Freeze your bags flat or folded in half. It takes up less freezer space that way, and folded in half is easier to put into the crockpot when the meal is frozen. Also freeze with cloth between the bags so that they don't stick together.

 4. Make sure that you can read your label. Either print the directions onto stickers or double bag and slide the instructions in between the bags if your food is dark (I learned this lesson the hard way when I made Mexican chicken rice bowls and just wrote on the bag with brown sharpie...oops). It's okay to write with sharpie, just make sure that it will be easy to read with the color of your food. And on that note, label before you fill the bags. Trust me on this one.

 5. Don't be afraid to try something new. It's good for you and good for your family.

 6. Make an extra if you can. That way you are set and prepared for when you are taking a meal to a friend after surgery or having a baby or whatever hardship may befall someone in your life.

Oh and on a side note: A rotisserie chicken from Costco yields about 4-5 cups of chicken...yep...my family will be eating a ton of chicken in the future. Praise God it freezes!

Are you inspired to try this out with your friends?

Deceptively Delicious

As a hostess gift my mother brought me a cookbook (she spent Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend with us). She knows my love of cookbooks! Actually she bought it as a Christmas gift, but has this uncanny habit of hiding gifts so well that when it comes time to give them she can't find them. Yes, I did inherit this trait, drive Hubs nuts!

Well, I've had the chance to try the French Toast, and I'll say, it's good. I used some baby food I'd made Bubba (it's a puree right?) and I couldn't even tell there were sweet potatoes in it! Bubba liked it too...though it's rare for him to try a new food and not like it.

We were so inspired by this that for dinner Hubs made our Oven "Fried" Eggplant using some pesto I had stored in the fridge! It was awesome (and Bubba liked this as well).

Oven "Fried" Eggplant:

Cut 1 Eggplant into 1 cm wide disks

Put Pesto on plate or in bowl

Put seasoned Breadcrumbs in other dishToss Eggplant disks in pesto then in breadcrumbs.

Place on foil lined and sprayed baking sheet then spray the tops with more cooking spray (a tip I learned from Sandra Lee).

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until soft to touch. Serve with Marinara sauce.

Oh...and there is nothing better than a man who cooks for his wife!

Resolution Foods, #1 Quinoa

Remember how I said that for the New Year I wanted to try a new food a month? Well, I've done it. My new food for the month of January was QUINOA! What is it you say? Well, that's a good question. Quinoa is a grain. Actually it's the seeds from a grain, cooked much the same way as rice. It's full of fiber, protein, amino acids, and other good for you stuff. And the best part? The family LOVED it. Hubs stated it was a "repeatable" dish, which in our house where we try new recipes like you change your undies, is high praise!

It's cooked in boiling water or stock for about 15 minutes. The liquid absorbs into the grain and it becomes almost translucent. The germ separates from the seed and looks like little worms, unappetizing I know, but I tell you this so you don't freak out. When I made it I almost threw out what I had thinking it had gone bad, but the germ looks like little spiral-y worms in with the grain. It's okay. I promise.

Quinoa salad:

Diced Veggies sauteed in EVOO

1 T Vinegar (Red Wine or Balsamic)

1 T EVOO

1 -2 C. cooked Quinoa

Toss and serve. Top with leftover chicken if you like (yet one more use for my Rotisserie Chicken).

And if you have a little man in your life who likes to eat what mommy and daddy are, it's good for them too! I mixed his in with some baby food (great way to get a baby who eats solids to finish up some of the purees you have for him).

Bubba loved it!

Dinner is Served

Today was quite a day. We woke up to white out conditions and many accidents on the road. Truly putting a damper on our plans of hitting up the Commissary in the morning (before Bubba's nap..still trying sooo hard to get him to nap in his crib). Hubs was persistent on going grocery shopping with me (can you tell we don't get to go out together too much). I caved. Bubba fell asleep in his carrier (which was better than the fussy alternative) and we spent way too much. But we're prepping for his Birthday Party which is a week away!

Because of this change of plans, I was not in the mood for a complicated dinner. We had a meal that I truly made all of in the microwave, without dirtying a single pan. Does it get any better than this? The rice is one of the heat and go bags and the green beans are the steam bag freezer ones. The chicken was heated in the plastic container it came in! So easy. It was nice to have a night off and not have a big clean up...other than Bubba (how one baby seems to make such a big mess is still more than I can comprehend at times).

Can I just say how much I love Rotisserie Chicken! It is so versatile! Not to mention is is scrumptious and tender! I also love that most of the time it cost the same as it's uncooked brother, making my job that much easier. Bubba even enjoyed it! So, here are some ideas of how to use up the leftovers (if you have anything):

1. Makes a yummy sandwich, just add bread and mayo.
2. Turn into chicken salad (use the food processor for a smoother texture)
3. Make stock: Put the bones in your Crock pot and cover with water. Set on low and leave it alone for the day or over night.
4. Make soup (you can even use your homemade stock): Add chicken and frozen veggies and a grain/potato. It's even healthy!
5. Casserole. Need I say much more? We are big one pot/pan people, less mess = less clean up.
6. Puree and make baby food: warning though...I have yet to figure out how to maintain a texture that Bubba will eat...and he actually is moving away from purees.

I'm sure I could think of more if I really put my brain to it, but it's fried at the moment. So what are your uses of leftover chicken?

Cut the Cheese

Ever wondered how to get perfectly sliced cubes of cheese quickly (I know you didn't think I meant anything else from the above mentioned title)? I have a solution for you...string! Every time I go to make a cheese platter for anything I struggle with my knife getting gunked up from cutting cheese. Even when I was pregnant and would slice up cheese for one of my snacks I struggled with this, and I sure wish I had discovered this solution before. Now I'm sure many of you are saying "duh," but seriously I just discovered this, and I spend quite a few hours in the kitchen. And I'm sure not all of you knew this...if you did, just humor me. All you need is your cheese and some string.

Loop the string around your fingers, like you are flossing.

And pull through...presto, instant cut and no gunky knife. I know, slightly silly tutorial, but I can't be the only person who didn't know this. Now when you are making up a nice cheese and cracker tray for your New Year's party you won't be fighting with your knife...heck, your kids can help you with it, and you don't have to worry about them with a knife!

Christmas Leftovers...Day 1

What do you do when 5/6 of your guests don't show up? You eat leftovers...lots of them. It can get quite frustrating and boring though, as I quite honestly am not a big fan of eating the same meal 2 days in a row. I actually purposely schedule a leftover day for 2 days later so that I don't have to do that. My taste buds easily bore.

My dilemma as I cooked for 10 extra adults and only had myself and my husband to eat what was made is how to deal with the leftovers and still have them fresh. Yes, there is always the freezer, but really...who wants to relive the same leftovers for over a month...because, yes, I do have that many leftovers (and I still have Thanksgiving Turkey in my freezer)!

Tonight I tackled the beef and cheese that were actually eaten on Christmas. I added to it a baguette and sugar peas that were to be eaten on Christmas, but I ended up not cooking them (that way they would be fresh later on when we would eat them). So steamed peas, my favorite, and really better fresh anyhow and open faced sammies :)

I toasted up the baguette that I sliced on the bias with a little EVOO (I'm a huge Rachael Ray fan if you can't tell). I then rubbed the toast with a clove of garlic, which gives you an amazing garlic bread if you've never tried it, and topped it with some freshly grated Gruyere cheese (I made these as an appetizer/side roll, and they were amazing!!!). Melted that for about 10 minutes and put some shaved beef on top of the cheese. Then we could top as we liked, though I am a big fan of plain.

Let me just say that these were so yummy that I'm tempted to freeze the rest of the beef and bring it out again for my son's birthday party in this form...seriously...that good!

This method would work with any of your Christmas leftovers (though if you eat ham I would probably leave off the garlic...just trust me on this one, garlic + ham is not a happy mouth combo).

The rest of my roasted veggies were frozen and will probably be making a re-appearance in the very near future...

A Feast and Celebration

Our morning started with mimosas, as any truly good morning should (it was followed by gallons of coffee as Christmas Eve was filled with teething and not a lot of sleep). It was followed by presents, and a little boy who didn't know if he wanted to see the new things he had gotten or play with his old standbys.

Then came time to prepare the dinner. I was suppose to have about 10 extra guests to share the meal with (Marines who were stuck on base), but they were all a no-show :(

It was their loss, however.

As the beast (beef) and veggies were wonderful. And we have enough leftovers to last us the rest of 2010.

And dessert was wonderful...Apple Pie...mmm...

I do think Hubs and I ate half the pie and a good portion of the meat...now...what to do with the leftovers?

Self-Feeding

Recently, Bubba has shunned traditional baby food. In other words "No more purees mommy!" So I've been racking my brain for ideas on how I can get him to eat the purees along with some of my table solid foods. Then it occurred to me. This summer I found some Gerber self-feeders at a discount store when visiting Pennsylvania for $0.99. What a bargain, how could I not get them? So I dug them out (I had tried a few times before, but never with much success as all Bubba wanted to do was throw them on the floor, creating quite the mess).

He was intrigued! Didn't fully grasp the concept of dipping the 'food' end into the bowl, but totally understood the putting it in his mouth! When I received my Baby Center newsletter for the month, little did I realize that when they said meal times are going to get messier they meant it!


Then again they never said I needed to give him the bowl...or the spoon.
But in the end he was quite proud of himself (I promise, he was much happier than this picture looks...he was clapping and tired of me snapping photos).