3-Family Fast Meal

3- Family Fast Meal

We needed dinner for three families and fast last night. My menu plan got all changed around when meat prices were even higher than the last time we shopped!

I have been planning out each night’s meal in the mornings and I much prefer having a printed plan. Going with the flow of things is also called for so we’ve been doing that around here!

Anyway, last night was loved by all three families so I thought I’d share. It isn’t often I set about my kitchen without a recipe close by to follow or use as a starting point!

I divided approximately 3 pounds of lean ground beef in two cast iron skillets and let them brown while I put on two pots of water. While the meat was browning and the water boiling (with a clove of garlic and sprinkle of Kosher salt in each pot) … some garlic was chopped and previously grated parmesan cheese came out of the fridge.

I :

· Kept breaking the meat up until it was done and added chopped garlic a few minutes before that
· Added the pasta to boiling water pots for about 8 minutes and drained it
· Added a jar of Paul Newman’s Marinara sauce to each skillet of browned beef and heated thoroughly
· Added noodles to meat mixtures and
· Topped with grated parmesan

The only seasonings I add was salt and ground pepper!
So good and EASY!

Last Night of Fall Break: Dinner

Last Night of Fall Break: Dinner

Menu:

Garlic Chicken
Mashed Potatoes (cheated with the instant flakes bec/ that is what we had!)
Skillet Fried Corn
Pumpkin Casserole

A quick note: I have always tried to use everything up in my baking/cooking with as little to no waste as possible. With finances being tight now, I am challenging myself to use up every drop, pinch, spoon, and scrape!
I base my meals on using up even small amounts of dishes or ingredients. The example tonight was using up frozen corn from the freezer and making use of evaporated milk left from a recipe.


Garlic Chicken
Submitted by: Carol
Rated: 5 out of 5 by 2343 members Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 35 Minutes Ready In: 55 Minutes
Yields: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
cheese
4 skinless, boneless chicken
breast halves

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Warm the garlic and olive oil to blend the flavors. In a separate dish, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Dip the chicken breasts in the olive oil and garlic mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture. Place in a shallow baking dish.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2008 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 10/14/2008

Skillet Fried Corn

I just tossed some frozen corn kernels in a skillet with some melted butter. I let this cook until the corn was cooked all the way through and then drizzled some honey on top. I stirred this in and after a few minutes… added some leftover canned milk. Sprinkled some salt in and ground some black pepper over and it was loved!

Pumpkin Casserole
Submitted by: Lori DeLosh
Rated: 5 out of 5 by 51 members
Yields: 11 servings

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups pumpkin puree (I used a can of pumpkin)
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup white sugar (I used ½ cup of sucanat and ½ cup of brown sugar)
1/2 cup self-rising flour (made my own. Took freshly milled soft wheat berries …the flour from them… and added 1 ½ t. baking powder and ½ t. salt)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter
2 pinches ground cinnamon (I sprinkled more)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Combine the pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, flour, eggs, vanilla, melted butter and ground cinnamon to taste. Spoon into a casserole dish.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2008 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 10/14/2008

I just wanted something to go with what we had. This went quite well with the chicken, corn, and mashed potatoes!
It has a very “Autumny” comforting kind of tastes! It reminds me of the crust-less pumpkin pie you see recipes for during this season.

My 14 year old daughter and I decided it would be a delightful dessert with a dollop of whipped cream on top or vanilla bean ice cream. Even a drizzle of heavy cream would be nice. We had some half-n-half and it was even good with that but I would prefer something less milk like.

Oven Roasted Squash

Butternut and Acorn Squash

Slice in half and spoon out all seeds.

Put in pan with 1/2 cup or so of water added.

Bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes or as long as needed to be easily pierced through with a fork.

Take out of oven, add butter and brown sugar to the scooped out parts and bake until butter and sugar are syrupy. The squash is already cooked at this point so just heating to desired look is all that is left.

Even my oldest son who doesn't like squash loved these!

We ate them as desserts:)

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd’s Pie (Making 2 at one time)

1 ½ lbs. ground beef, browned (I browned 3 lbs. together and then measured it evenly into the two pie pans)
15 – oz. can tomato sauce per pie
2 cups frozen peas per pie
6 serving batch of dried potato flakes per pie (made according to box directions and then added more potato flakes, more butter, and more milk until they looked just like homemade)
Butter
Paprika

Combine each pie’s worth of ground beef with a can of tomato sauce and pour each in the bottom of two pie pans.
Sprinkle frozen peas over the meat mixtures and cover with mashed potatoes. Press pats of butter into the top of the potatoes and sprinkle generously with paprika. Slide in the oven and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

These two generous pies fed three families and there wasn’t a bite left! Some of the kids were coming back for second and third servings!

Based on this lovely recipe from Gooseberry Patch’s “Recipes for Comfort”:

Shepherd’s Pie (one pan worth)

1 ½ lbs. ground beef, browned
15 oz. can tomato sauce
15 ¼ oz. can peas
4 c. potatoes, peeled, cooked and mashed
2 T. butter, sliced
1 T. paprika

Combine ground beef with tomato sauce. Place in a 2-quart casserole dish. Layer on peas, then top with potatoes. Dot with butter and sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 325 degrees F. for 30 to 45 minutes or until heated through. Makes 4 servings.

From my Cooking Notes:

I made chicken and dumplings!
I’ve made these before but had forgotten .
I made two pots!

I just made up a biscuit mix while the two pots of chicken broth (made on a previous day with cooking water from simmering chickens) reached a boiling point.
Stirred into the biscuit mix was shredded sharp cheddar and parsley!
I rolled out the biscuit dough as in between thick and thin as I could manage and slid each dumpling … one at a time into the boiling broth. I made sure to not overcrowd and let them simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
One pot, I whisked flour in after reading in an older cookbook to do that and people seemed more enamored with that batch. Two families loved these!

Our Lovely Lunch

Brandy, Emily, and Caden came over today and we had a lovely lunch together!

"Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast."William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Our Menu:

Chicken Salad on Whole Grain Bread
Roasted Garlic for Sides of Sandwich Bread
Marinated Asparagus (gift from my mother)
Sautéed Mushrooms to serve on top of our chicken salad
Organic Spring Salad Mix
Chocolate Cobbler topped with scoops of vanilla bean ice cream
Coffee

Chicken Salad
In “The Good Housekeeping Cookbook) … I saw a recipe for Gourmet Chicken Salad. I altered it according to tastes of all involved and it was SO delicious!

Gourmet Chicken Salad
½ cup of mayonnaise (I used more of this and all ingredients bec/ I used a whole food processor bowl of cubed chicken breasts)
1 T. lemon juice
¼ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 T. heavy cream
1/8 tsp. dried marjoram
4 large thick pieces of cold cooked chicken or turkey
Tomato slices (had not tomatoes)
Cucumber slices (had none)
Snipped parsley (forgot it)

Mix mayonnaise with lemon juice, salt, pepper, cream and marjoram. Use to coat pieces of chicken. Serve on greens, garnished with tomato and cucumber slices and snipped parsley. Makes 2 to 4 servings, depending on size of chicken pieces.

HOW I DID IT:
Filled food processor with cold, cubed, cooked chicken breasts. Drizzled heavy cream over it, added mayonnaise, salt, pepper, lemon juice, marjoram and mustard. Pulsed it until desired consistency. All ages loved it!

Roasted Garlic

I have a clay garlic roaster I’ve had and used for many years. I got it for under $10 when a Montgomery Wards store was going out of business! I’ve read you can use pie tins, baking dishes, and so on as long as they are oven safe!

I take a big knife and slice the very tips/tops of five or so heads of garlic and place cut side up in dish. I drizzle olive oil over the tops and sprinkle kosher salt and grind pepper over all. Roast at 350 degrees F. for 40 to 50 minutes.

My five year old eats this spread on his sandwiches!

Sautéed Mushrooms
I do my portabella and other fresh mushrooms the same.
I drizzle olive oil in a big cast iron skillet and put one to a few pats of butter depending on how many I’m making. I add sliced mushrooms to the skillet and sprinkle kosher and freshly ground pepper over them. Turn on high and either cook all the way through or cook to a certain point and change heat to medium.
Even my little grandgirl adores these!
Chocolate Cobbler
Rated: 4 out of 5 by 155 members Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes Ready In: 45 Minutes
Yields: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS:
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons
unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
powder
1 1/2 cups boiling water

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Melt butter in an 8x8 inch baking dish while the oven preheats.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, 3/4 cup sugar, and 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa. Stir in milk and vanilla until smooth. Spoon this batter over the melted butter in the baking dish.
3. Stir together the remaining cup of sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa powder. Sprinkle over the batter. Slowly pour boiling water over the top of the mixture.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until set. Serve slightly warm with ice cream.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2008 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 10/9/2008

Whole Chickens & Chicken Broth

I made two whole chickens this evening while two ovens baked pans of Turkish seasoned chicken breasts and Spicy Seasoned chicken breasts.

After that, I let the broth simmer on a back burner while dinner was eaten and cleaned up, the other chicken was put up and fresh coffee was made for my husband. He came in late tonight with a bad headache and needed the caffeine and something hot!

Boiling Whole Chickens and Making Broth

There is probably not a hard way to boil a whole chicken but I didn’t know how to do it for years. I’m sharing this for anyone… young , old and in between… who would like an easy way of it.
If I’m feeling creative, I’ll go to my cookbooks or online sites to find an actual recipe to follow but every other time, I:
Wash the whole chicken, place breast side down in a stock pot, fill with water until about half way up the chicken OR cover with water. I do it both ways just depending on what I want that day. It works either way. Sometimes, I like a little less water than covering because it seems there is more flavor left for the broth but if I’m desiring more broth in general, I start with more water.
That is it. I just bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer and let it do that until the meat is so tender it almost falls off the bones. This seems to be anywhere from 1 ½ hours to 2 ½ depending on stove.

Chicken Broth:

Easy!
I just put my drainer over a bowl or small pot and carefully pour the chicken and liquid in it. I grab all the meat and put it in containers safe for fridge or freezer and keep adding until one or more are full. Lately, I’ve been fitting two whole chickens in my glass Pyrex or Anchor Hocking storage bowl with lid.
All the leftover liquid, all the skin, bones, and anything other than the meat goes into one pot and back to the stove top. I added just carrots tonight bec/ I am out of some other wonderful add ins.
Typically, it is cut up celery, carrots, onions, garlic, and just ANY left over vegetable including clean skins, stems, and so on.
Simmer for approximately four or five hours , then strain and put in containers. I freeze mine in 1-cup , 2-cup and/or 1-quart portions and neatly stack in freezer until I need them.