Try It Tuesday

I started a new thing with my weekly menu for the last three weeks.

I instituted "Try It Tuesday".

The kids don't know what we're eating (and neither do I until I scan my Pinterest recipes I want to try or whip something up), but we all get to "try it".

It kind of brings the surprise back into cooking and gives me a chance to experiment a little bit.  I can't say every experiment has been good, but they all tried it.

Last night we had nachos.  I had to make sure it was something good after the last two Tuesday dishes flopped.  I combined a can of black refried beans, velvetta cheese, some salsa, and taco seasoning in a saucepan on the stove on low and served the dip with chips.
It was a quick meal that I didn't have to work hard on, maybe not the most balanced meal, but everyone liked it (except for my five year old who doesn't like beans-too bad!)

What's the newest meal you've tried?  

Did it work?

What should I made for the next Try It Tuesday?

BEST Asparagus

I finally discovered the BEST way to keep asparagus fresh.  Actually I think I read it somewhere, but I can't find it in my google reader (I searched!) or in the magazines I read last week (without rereading the whole thing...)  Anyway, I FINALLY learned it.
Normally, I buy asparagus because we all (except Andy) really like it.  Then I decide to make it wait a few days and it's yucky and I throw it away.  What a waste!  Friday I bought two bunches of asparagus and put them in my pantry cupboard and later that night I read that the best way to store them to keep them fresh so the ends don't fall apart and they taste good is this:

 If you put it in a cup with water and cover loosely with plastic, it stays fresh.  We ate one bunch Monday night and one on Wednesday and they were still in excellent shape!  I just used a wide cup and filled it with water and then used a fold down sandwich bag to cover it.  I didn't have to refill the water or anything.  I just scooted it back behind the milk.
Here is how I cook asparagus.  It's super easy and delicious.  (I actually learned this from my father in law a year or two ago.)  First you obviously wash it and then cut or snap off the rough ends.
Then I put it in my glass pie plate because it's just the right size for them to lay down in.

 I put about half a cup of water in so the asparagus is mostly steamed and not covered all the way.  Then I shake on the salt and pepper.  A lot of the salt and pepper stays in the bottom of the dish at the end, but it's just enough to season it well.  Here's what it looks like before cooking.

 I put it in the microwave (covered with plastic wrap) for FIVE MINUTES on high and then it's perfect!

 Beautifully steamed and delicious.  ALL of my kids like asparagus just as much as I do.  I hardly ever have leftovers.

I started a little celery plant with the end of the celery in a mug next to my sink.  See the middle there? It's already starting to sprout up a little.  Super exciting!

I'm loving fresh produce right now and can hardly wait until I get to plant my garden (very soon!)

Also, I'm working on losing some weight this year, so I hope to post some healthy recipes and little tips.  I'm walking way more than ever and counting calories and fat and avoiding sugar and junk and all that.  I'm on My Fitness Pal and would love more friends.  My user name is NaDellR.  Any great weight loss tips???

Homemade Filled Pasta

Tonight I used my new Ravioli maker that Abby gave me for Christmas (obviously it was something I bought for myself-it was filler to get the super saver discount on Amazon...;) to make homemade pasta. It was easier than I expected. I had hardly ever thought about making my own noodles until Halloween when a friend invited a bunch of people to come by her house for homemade chicken noodle soup that was actually homemade! Amazing gal. Then I saw this ravioli maker and a few blogs that I follow posted about homemade pasta and it was done. I was doing it! I had everything except for the semolina flour already in my kitchen and I found that in the bulk section at our local Winco and it's cheap!

Recipe from here. She has a great tutorial on how to make the dough if my directions are confusing. Elizabeth (my almost nine year old) took most of the pictures.

Pasta Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Flour (and more to roll)

1 1/2 cups Semolina Flour

1/2 teaspoon Salt

4 Large Eggs

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Water (this was just the right amount, but you may need to add a tiny bit more.)

To mix the dough you can use the counter or a bowl. I chose a big bowl. I mixed the two flours with the salt and then added four eggs. I mixed it all together with my hands until the egg was combined with the dry stuff and then added 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil and 2 Tablespoons Water and mixed it until it looked like this:
Divide the dough into four sections and cover with a wet smooth towel for 20 minutes. You can make the filling then and put it in the fridge until you need it.

After 20 minutes, roll out one section of pasta dough with your rolling pin (or a pasta roller if you are fancy.) Use a little flour so it doesn't stick to the pin. (I think this picture has a little too much...)

And then roll, baby, roll! Flip the dough over and go both directions until it is thin enough. I like thick pasta (and my wrists were starting to hurt a little. And yes, you can see my poor wintery hands in these pictures. I'm keeping it real.)
I stopped when the pasta was about this thin. Can you tell how thin it is? It's thicker than tissue paper and thinner than cardboard. I hope that helps.

You could slice this pasta up to make regular pasta or continue on to make ravioli.
This is where I used the ravioli press. I made my pasta twice as large as the press so I could flip it over when they are filled. You just lay the pasta over it, use the plastic egg carton type thing that came with it that I didn't get a picture of and then the little indents are ready for filling.Here they are all full of the filling. The filling I used was from this site.

Filling ingredients:

1 cup Ricotta Cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese (I used the real shredded stuff this time and it was great.)

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/4 teaspoon Pepper

1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (I added that in.)

Optional: Spinach, shredded carrots, meat, etc.

Here is the pasta all filled up. (If you aren't using the fancy ravioli maker, just spread them out and seal them with a little brush of water around the edges and then cut them apart.)

And then you flip the extra dough over to cover it. I didn't make it quite big enough on the corners here, but I borrowed some extra that was hanging over the top and rolled it into this when it was still on my big cutting board. (Do you see the scraggly edge on the bottom left?)
Then with this ravioli maker, just use your rolling pin to seal the edges and cut the excess. I did have to use my fingers here to divide the dough a little. I think my rolling pin might be getting worn out or warped. I did use the extra dough on the edges to make another ball and put it under the towel with the other balls.
Then carefully peel the edge of the ravioli out of the metal tray and place to the side. They aren't super delicate, but be careful.
I put all 56 raviolis on my cutting boards (still raw) and covered them with a wet towel (just like the dough) until I was ready to cook them. (I needed to wait just a little while until Andy was home from work and with the snow and ice I wasn't sure exactly when that would be.)
When it was time, I put them into boiling water 14 at a time for 4-5 minutes. They sink to the bottom first like this.
And when they are all at the top, scoop them out with a slotted spoon onto plates.
We enjoyed ours with some meaty spaghetti sauce. (Andy's mom made sloppy joe's a few Sundays ago and had extra of the sloppy, so she gave it to me and I mixed it with four little cans of tomato sauce and froze it in two gallon ziplocks.)
Abby ate her ravioli like this:

I now wonder why and how I ever bought frozen raviolis filled with the stuff it says on the side of the bag for $2-3. These are so easy to make (although a little time-consuming) and worth it! You should have seen and heard how impressed my kids (and husband) were with this dinner!

General Tso's Chicken

I can't take credit for this recipe, but I did make it and I substituted a little, so here's what I did and it was a success. This is a recipe that is great to make because who doesn't like General Tso's Chicken, but this is even better than the stuff at buffets because you eat it as soon as it's made and it hasn't been under heat lamps. Andy said to me several weeks ago that General Tso's chicken is his favorite and that I should make it, so I found a recipe and gathered all the ingredients (it was hard to find Hoisin sauce-WINCO!) and made it for our family.
I should warn you that this meal used several bowls and pans to make. This is a little time consuming, but so worth it and you'll feel awesome knowing you can do this. And if you clean up while it fries up, you'll be ahead of the game.

The things that you might not have in your stocked kitchen are:
*Red chili (or pepper) flakes
*Chinese rice wine (or rice vinegar)
*Hoisin Sauce (I finally found this at Winco for $3. A little pricey, but I plan on making this a lot with that $3 bottle.)
*Chili paste (This is in the aisle with the other Asian food. It's red and usually has garlic with it. It's SPICY!)
*Sesame oil (also in the Asian aisle.)

You just need a little of each of these things, so if you know someone who likes to cook with them, see if you can borrow a little before you invest in them. However, if you do buy them, you can use them often.
I bought some Oyster Sauce for a trial dinner once and it was DISGUSTING (to us....we don't like seafood and I could hardly even taste it after smelling Oyster Sauce.) I gave all the sauces I bought for that meal and the recipe to my friend and borrowed back the rice vinegar and sesame oil from her to make this.

Serves 4 adults as part of a multi-course meal, 2 to 3 adults as a main entree.
It served our family with two adults and three kids (maybe 2 1/2 is more like it) for TWO MEALS! I think next time I will double the sauce that goes on the fried chicken so it would flavor the rice a little more.

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used 3 slightly defrosted large chicken breasts), sliced into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups vegetable oil for frying, plus 1 tablespoon for stir-frying
8 dried whole red chilis, or substitute 1/4 teaspoon dried red chili flakes (I used red pepper flakes)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I like the little bottle of it you can buy in the produce section for a buck and it's ready anytime.)
1 teaspoon white sesame seeds, for garnish
Scallions, green parts thinly sliced, for garnish

Marinade:
1 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine (I used rice vinegar)
2 egg whites

Sauce:
1/4 cup chicken stock, or substitute water (I used water and it was YUMMY!)
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon chili paste
1 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Instructions:
1. Prepare the marinade: In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, and egg whites (save the yolks to make fried rice with the leftover rice later). Coat the chicken in the marinade mixture and let sit for 10 minutes (or longer).

2. Prepare the sauce: In a small bowl, combine the chicken stock, tomato paste, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, chili paste, sesame oil, sugar, and the 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. Stir until the sugar and cornstarch are dissolved. Set the sauce aside.

3. In a large bowl or deep plate, toss the 1 1/2 cups cornstarch with the salt and pepper. Coat the marinated chicken in the cornstarch and shake off any excess before frying.

4. Heat the 3 cups of peanut or vegetable oil in your wok (or large frying pan) until it registers 350°F on an instant-read oil thermometer (or just set the temperature to medium-high and wait a minute or two). Working in 2 or 3 batches, add the first batch of chicken cubes and fry until golden brown on the outside and cooked through, about 5-6 minutes. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.

5. Drain the oil into a heatproof container and save for discarding. Wipe the wok with a paper towel to remove any brown bits, but don’t wash. Make sure to wipe the outside edge of the pan so it doesn't cause a fire.

6. Reheat the wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add another 1 tablespoon of oil and swirl to coat the base and sides. Add the dried chilis and garlic to the wok and stir-fry until just fragrant (such a great smell!), about 20 seconds. Pour in the sauce mixture and stir until thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes.

7. Return the chicken to the wok and stir well to coat with sauce. (Again the next time I make this, I'm doubling the sauce.) Transfer the chicken to a serving dish. Garnish with white sesame seeds and scallions. Serve with white rice and vegetables. I add the sesame seeds at the table because Andy doesn't like them and I didn't have scallions. It was still delicious and our 8 1/2 and 6 year old daughters gave it many thumbs up.

Let me know if you try this.

Spicy Squash Saute

This morning I went to a friend's house who had an overabundance of squash and took some off of his hands for him. (My garden is failing miserably, but I planted late and didn't water that much, so it's really my own fault.) I was happy to help him out and I'm excited to share the way I make my zucchini and summer squash (the yellow one) recipe.I use a large, deep frying pan (it's 10 inches at the top, about 5 inches deep and has a lid-I got it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond with a coupon and it was close to $10-well worth it!)
Here's what you need:
*Zucchini
*Summer Squash*Green Onions (or real ones if you'd like and you have them)
*2 Tablespoons EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil-or butter if you like it more)
*Salt and Pepper
*Garlic Powder (or real garlic if you have it)
*Red Pepper Powder

*Italian Seasoning Spice
Instructions:
Heat up the EVOO in your pan and add in the green onions (I used my kitchen scissors to cut them). Wash off the squash on the outside before slicing and quartering them. Enjoy the smell of the onions in your pan (I love that smell!) Add in the two different kinds of squash and use a spatula or spoon to cover everything with the EVOO. Add spices-however much you normally like). I added a little too much red pepper this time, but it had great flavor and I liked it, even though it made my eyes water.
Put lid on top and let it steam on low for 10 minutes or so. Just until the squash are a little tender. I waited 15 minutes because I was feeding a cute baby and getting her to sleep and they were still yummy, but a little more mushy than I like.
Eat and enjoy.
Look for a few more zucchini recipes soon. I have more to use.

Homemade Tortillas

A few weeks ago I decided to make tacos for dinner and after starting realized that I didn't have enough tortillas and instead of calling Andy to stop at the store on his way home, I decided to use a recipe my mom had that I added to my cookbook that I typed up for our family years ago and hadn't tried.
Ingredients:
4 cups Flour
1 tsp Salt
½ cup Shortening
1 cup Hot Water

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients in order. Knead, roll, and cook on griddle. I could cook two or three on my big griddle at a time.
I just did this by hand because it didn't take much effort to make the dough. Here is some of the dough.
Here are some tortillas that I rolled out while waiting for the others to brown. One side browned. They take about three minutes to cook each side at the 300 degree temperature I had my griddle set on.The recipe said that it makes 36, but for me it actually made about 16 tortillas. Maybe I should have rolled them out thinner... I would just make what you plan on eating because theses didn't work well reheated. They were great for dinner though and cheap because of the ingredients. The kids loved these. Next on the list: Pitas!

Chicken Sauce

This is for Hawaiian Haystacks (which are rice with chicken gravy and all the toppings you like). You could use cream of chicken soup with milk added to it, but this tastes better, we think. Again I found this on a Mel's Kitchen Cafe Blog I like to read to get great ideas from for delicious food. They were trying to figure out a good way to replace the cream of chicken soup to make it healthier. Personally, I don't really have a problem with cream of chicken soup. I love it, but this was great!
And once again, we ate way too fast to take a picture. If you want to see what it looks like follow the link above.

Chicken Sauce for Hawaiian Haystacks
*Makes about 4 cups chicken sauce (enough to serve 4-6 for Hawaiian Haystacks. I should have doubled this because if I did, I wouldn't have to make dinner tomorrow.)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size chunks (or leftover cooked chicken, cubed)
3 Tablespoons Butter
½ Onion (about ½ cup), finely chopped (I just used 1 teaspoon or less of onion powder because some people in my household don't like the texture of onions, but do like the flavor.)
3 cloves Garlic, finely minced (I used 1 teaspoon of the crushed garlic that is all ready to use that you buy at the store.)
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Pepper
¼ cup Flour
2 cups Milk
1 cup Chicken Broth

In a large skillet (really use a big skillet. I used a small saucepan first and had to switch over.) melt the butter over medium heat and add the onion and raw chicken (if using leftover cooked chicken, don’t add it to the skillet now, you’ll add it later). Saute the onion and chicken, if using, until the onions are soft and translucent and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about one minute, stirring, until fragrant.

Sprinkle the flour over the onions and chicken and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for one minute – this helps get rid of the starchy, flour taste. Slowly whisk in the milk and chicken broth. Cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, and bring the sauce to a simmer over medium to medium-high heat. Add the salt and pepper. If you are using leftover cooked chicken, add it now. Continue simmering, stirring the sauce frequently, until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. It took mine a long time to thicken, so I ended up adding a Tablespoon of Cornstarch to help it along for maybe 10 minutes or so instead of 5.

Serve the chicken sauce over rice with your toppings of choice. I asked some friends what they like on their Hawaiian Haystacks and here is what they added to the basics.
Basics: Cheddar Cheese, Green Onions, Sliced Olives, Chow Mien Noodles
Extras: Olives, Tomatoes, Green Onions, Mandarin Oranges, coconut, pineapple, raisins, peas, sliced steamed Carrots, Broccoli or Cauliflower, Sunflower Seeds, Celery, Cut up Boiled Eggs, Bean Sprouts, and someone even said Mustard.

What do you like on yours? I love almost everything, so my plate piles very high!

Sesame Chicken

I read this on a food blog I LOVE and tried it back in February or March. I made it again Monday night and fed it to my husband, my own three kids, and a friend's three kids. They all loved it (except for the two youngest boys who didn't even try the chicken and just ate rice and chow mien noodles.)
I didn't get a good picture of it because we ate it too fast and because when I fry things it kind of all falls apart and doesn't look great like their picture did. Just believe me that the sauce was delicious. One of the kids visiting had two pieces of the chicken.

Ingredients:

Chicken of your choice (breast, drumstick, thigh, etc.)

1 Egg, beaten

2 Tablespoons Water

1 cup Flour

1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper

2 Tablespoons Corn Starch, divided

2 Tablespoons Butter or Margarine

2 Tablespoons Honey

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Chili Paste (find this in the Asian section by the soy sauce)

1 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

1 1/2 cups Chicken Stalk

2 Tablespoons Sesame Seed, toasted

Instructions:

First beat the egg and add in the water in a shallow bowl.
Roll chicken pieces in the egg and water mixture.
In a quart size ziplock bag mix the flour, salt and pepper, and 1 Tablespoon of the corn starch. Put the wet chicken into the bag and shake until chicken is coated.
In a large skillet on med-high heat, melt the butter, and fry the chicken on each side until golden brown. Place chicken off to the side if you want to use the same pan for the next step.
To the pan (or start a small saucepan) add the chicken stalk, chili paste, soy sauce, honey and remaining 1 Tablespoon corn starch. (Hint: in order to prevent clumping of the corn starch, mix it in the stalk cold, before adding to heat). Stir often until begins to thicken.
Reduce heat and add the chicken back in. Cook until the sauce is about the consistency of the honey and begins to coat the chicken. Sprinkle in the sesame seeds over the chicken.
We served this with plain old white rice and chow mien noodles. The next time I make it, I'm going to try to just bake the chicken breasts in the sauce in the oven and save on time and frying.

Serve, and enjoy. Goes well with fried rice, chow mein, or just plain. Key is to enjoy!

Baked Chimichangas

My husband's cousin passed on this recipe to me last week and I was dying to try it out. We love Mexican food, and especially the kind that is easy to put together, uses ingredients we already have all the time, and is DELICIOUS!This plate includes Spanish Rice and Tortilla chips as well. The chimichanga is under the sour cream, salsa, and cheese in the middle. You can see the gooey goodness on the middle right side.

This recipe makes 6 chimichangas, so if you are feeding a large family, double or triple it.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Cooked Chicken (I boiled three chicken breasts in water with garlic and onion powder and then tore them up after they cooled.)
1/2 cup Salsa (whatever your favorite kind is)
1 cup. Shredded Cheese (I used Cheddar, but I think just about any cheese would be delicious.)
1 teaspoon Cumin (I wouldn't think that missing this one ingredient would matter that much.)
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano

6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
2 Tablespoons Butter, melted
Salsa, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, etc....for garnishing

Combine chicken, salsa, cheese, and spices in a bowl. (I did this step during naptime so I could pull it out right when my husband got home from work.) Divide mixture evenly among center of tortillas or about 3/4 cup for each tortilla. Fold opposite sides of tortillas over filling, then roll up from the bottom and place, seam side down, onto a baking sheet. Brush with melted butter.

Bake at 400 until golden, approximately 25 minutes. Garnish as you wish.
I would expect these to freeze well, so if you wanted to have an easy freezer meal later, you could make a big batch and then freeze them in a ziplock bag to pull out on one of those exceptionally busy nights when no one eats at the same time and you don't have much time.
Recipes for Black Beans and Spanish Rice to come soon. As soon as I've perfected it.

Dinner Planning

One of my cousins requested more information on how I plan my meals out.
I really just started having a more planned written out menu at the beginning of the year. Previous to that, I would just buy more things if I was getting low on them of all of my basic things I use in my regular recipes.
I made a week of written out ideas, including days for leftovers. After I did that for a few weeks, I made a separate list of all the meals my family likes to eat so when I make my menu I don't have to remember what else we like. The meals range from 30 minute meals, like baked potatoes with chili to my chicken pot pie, which took more than two hours to prepare.
I use a 10x14 dry erase board that I hang in the kitchen to display the menu. I think my husband likes to see what is coming. He really does check it and when I have to move things around if my day gets crazy and I don't have the time to prepare the meal in the middle of the day, he notices and asks about it (not in a controlling way, just in a funny way). I like to get all meal prep done during my baby's naptime so I don't have him underfoot in the kitchen and so I can help my daughter with homework after school without being frantic. Instead of being frantic, an hour or so before my husband comes home I pull the pan out of the fridge and put it right into the cold oven to heat up while the oven heats up and cooks it. It is then ready to eat when it's dinnertime.
Each week when I make a new menu I just pick something from my list that we haven't had in a few weeks or I try out a new recipe. I normally don't try more than one new recipe a week because of time and possibly purchases of special ingredients.

Weekly Menu Example:
Sunday-Dinner with in-laws (take rolls)
Monday-Enchiladas
Tuesday-Leftovers
Wednesday-Baked Potatoes and Chili
Thursday-Tatertot Casserole
Friday-Leftovers
Saturday-Pizza

Up next: (I do this in case I don't feel like making one of the things on the menu. It also makes the next week a lot easier.)
Chicken Alfredo, Taco Soup, Velvetta Cheesy Noodles, Sloppy Joes

Here is a list of the dinners my family enjoys:
Easy (30 minutes Prep Time)-
Tacos
Baked Potatoes with Chili
Velvetta Cheesy Noodles
BBQ Chicken or Beef on a Bun
French Dips
Pizza Spaghetti

Medium (1 hour Prep Time)-
Pizza (some extra time is the dough rising)
Enchiladas and Mexican Rice
Chicken and Rice
Cheesy Manicotti
Tater Tot Casserole
Chicken Alfredo
Chicken Stir-fry with Veggies and Rice
Spaghetti and Meatballs


Harder (2+ hour Prep Time)-
Lasagna and French Bread
Sesame Chicken with Chow Mien
Chicken Pot Pie

I have 17 dishes listed here that I normally have the ingredients for.
I try to make my weekly meals include a chicken dish, a beef dish, cheesy dish, and meatless dish, but that is mostly so we don't get tired of chicken every night.
I also don't normally do all the easy dishes in one week because I like one night a week to be easy for me.

Fried Ravioli

This recipe came from this blog.
We gave my husband a deep fat fryer for Christmas, so we are trying more than just tater tots now. We do love our tater tots on a weekend evening.

Ingredients:
1 package Cheese Ravioli (WalMart brand has a bag for less than $3)
Marinara Sauce
2 cups Bread Crumbs (I used the Italian Seasoned kind so I didn't have to use the basil and oregano or salt and pepper.)
2 Eggs
1 Tablespoon Dried Basil
1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
Pinch of Salt and Pepper
Oil for frying

Instructions:
Mix all dry ingredients in a shallow dish (works well with a fork or you can shake them up in a baggie and then put them in a shallow dish, like a pie pan). In another dish beat the eggs with a teaspoon of water. Take the ravioli and put them in the egg, then bread crumbs. Fry them at 375 degrees for about 3 minutes per batch. Put them on a baking sheet in a 250 degree oven until they are all done. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce (heated up) for dipping.

Result: Everyone enjoyed these. Elizabeth even broke her strike with eating spaghetti sauce and said that she liked it to dip in. Next time Andy wants to try making them with meat raviolis.
The best part about using the deep fat fryer to make dinner, is that Andy cleans it up.

Pizza Spaghetti

This recipe was from the site Organize and Decorate Everything. The author of that blog is a mother of eight, so the recipe HAS to be good. She said this recipe is their favorite.
Here it is.

Ingredients:

4 ounce package Sliced Pepperoni

1/3 cup Margarine, melted

12 ounces Thin Spaghetti (cooked) I used Penne because I ran out of spaghetti an didn't put it on the list.

4 ounces Grated Swiss Cheese

16 ounces Grated Mozzarella Cheese

2 cans Tomato Sauce- I used Spaghetti Sauce.

1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano

1/2 teaspoon Dried Basil

Instructions:

Boil pepperoni for a few minutes to remove excess fat.

Pour margarine into a 11×7 baking dish.

Toss cooked spaghetti in margarine. (You could use a small amount of oil instead of the margarine).

Cover spaghetti with one can of tomato sauce. Take it to the edges of the baking dish.

Layer in the order listed:

1/2 of the grated Swiss cheese

1/2 of the pepperoni

1/2 of the mozzarella

Sprinkle with oregano and basil.

Pour on second can of tomato sauce and spread to edges.

Top with the remainder of the Swiss cheese, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese in that order.

Optional add-ins:

mushrooms, sausage, olives, ground hamburger, peppers, onions

Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Result: Everyone enjoyed it a lot! This one will be used again.

Kung Pao Chicken

I got this recipe from Shape magazine. I found a free subscription someplace and am trying a few ideas out. I bought all the ingredients at WalMart, so they should be available anywhere. They did cost about $10 to buy the four bottles, but hopefully we really want to make this recipe many more times.I baked my chicken. I wasn't sure about the sauce, so I didn't pour it all over the chicken. Grilled Chicken with Kung Pao Sauce
Ingredients:
6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, thawed
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Black or Red Rice Vinegar (or Red Wine Vinegar)
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Water, divided
1/4 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 cup Oyster Sauce (this part sounds gross to me, but I'll give it a try. I'm not a seafood lover.)
1/8 teaspoon Sesame Oil
1/2 teaspoon Cornstarch
1/4 cup Unsalted Peanuts, optional
1 Scallion, Slivered

Instructions:
Grill Chicken (you can use a BBQ or a 10 inch grill pan) over medium heat for about 7 minutes on one side and 3 on the other or until cooked through.
In a medium saucepan, mix soy sauce, vinegar, 1 Tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon water, sugar, oyster sauce, and oil. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and remaining water (1/2 teaspoon). Drizzle the cornstarch/water mixture into the sauce. Return sauce to a boil and simmer for about 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.
Using a pastry brush, coat each chicken breast with sauce (or dump it on). Garnish with peanuts and scallions and serve immediately.
Tastes great served with rice (regular, brown, or wild) and a side of broccoli or other vegetables.
Shape includes the nutrition score per serving (1 Chicken Breast with 2 Tablespoons Sauce):
173 calories
5 grams fat <1>
29 grams protein
1 gram fiber
24 mg calcium
1 mg iron
971 mg sodium
It also added that a normal take out serving of this dish would be 510 calories and 36 grams of fat instead of their 173 calories and 5 grams of fat for a 4 ounce serving.

One of my husband's favorite Chinese dishes is Kung Pao Chicken. His top choice is still General Tso's Chicken or Beef followed by Beef and Broccoli, but Kung Pao may overtake that if this recipe turns out.

Result:
I really disliked it. My husband thought it was pretty good. I only had one bite. He cleaned his plate and dumped the sauce all over the rice too. I could only taste the nasty oyster sauce. If you like seafood, this is for you.

Anyone want a freshly opened jar of oyster sauce?

Best Ever Pizza Dough

I went to a cooking class through church last year sometime on cooking pizza, even though I thought I had a pretty good recipe for the pizza dough already, and discovered THE BEST RECIPE for crust there. It is super good and soft and I feel like I can throw it in the air after I roll it out. I don't because I'm afraid I'll drop it on the floor, but I love this recipe!
It makes two twelve inch pizzas or three really really thin pizzas. I have doubled this recipe in my big KitchenAid.

Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups Flour
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
2 cups Warm Water
2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Yeast

Instructions:
Measure all ingredients and place in mixer or large bowl. Mix together and knead until smooth. Make sure to incorporate all the flour at the bottom of the mixer/bowl.
Cover and let rise until double. It can take 2 1/2 hours to rise. If you want it to rise more quickly, preheat your oven and place bowl on top of stove to get all the warmth of the oven.
The lady who taught the class swore by the pizza stones and special paddle that you slide the pizza from to the stone. I have a stone and rarely use it because I'd rather have two cheap silver pans that I can cut on and don't care if they get marks on them because they cost $3 each.
I spray my pans with cooking spray and then sprinkle cornmeal (my husband prefers the gritty kind rather than the floury kind) on top of that to make the crust not be mushy in the middle.
Separate dough into two and roll out with flour into a circle. Place pizza dough onto pizza pan with cornmeal. Repeat with second section of dough.

Now you are ready to add pizza sauce (WalMart has a really good brand for $1 a jar), about 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese, toppings of your choice, and another 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese.
Some options are:
Pepperoni (with Sliced Olives)
Chicken (with BBQ Sauce or Alfredo Sauce and Green Onions and Bacon)
Veggie (with Green and Red Peppers, Olives, Artichokes, Onions, Mushrooms, Tomato, etc.)
Canadian Bacon and Pineapple
All Meat (Sausage, Bacon, Pepperoni, Chicken, etc.)
Cheese (mozzarella)

To make dessert pizza, use same crust.
Add your favorite canned fruit or fruit pie filling and then the following topping.
Dessert Pizza Topping:
4 Tablespoons Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Flour
Mix until crumbly and then spread over fruit filling.

Bake either pizza at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until melted all the way through and bubbly.

What do you like to eat on your pizza? Our favorite is Pepperoni with olives.

Red Sauce Chicken Enchiladas

This is NOT from scratch. At least not the sauce. I use the cans of red enchilada sauce. It is very yummy though and it has made it to Andy's top five meals that I make. He likes everything I make (because I know what he doesn't like and don't add those things).
You could make this ahead of time or even the night before. It throws together fairly quickly. I made mine this morning and then put it in the fridge until we got back from after-school activities. Otherwise, dinnertime would be harder and I'd want to break my goal of only going out to eat once a month. Now dinner's in the oven.

Ingredients:
2-3 Chicken Breasts
1 large or 2 small cans Red Enchilada Sauce (brand doesn't really matter. We actually tried the more expensive one when I had a coupon and liked the WinCo brand Hytop more.)
13-15 Corn Tortillas (works with regular flour tortillas too in a pinch. Guess why I know?)
2 cups Shredded Cheese (Mexican is good. Cheddar works fine)

Instructions:
I just boiled two chicken breasts (with the spices I like-garlic, parsley, red pepper, and chili pepper, use what you like) and cut them up.
Spray 9x13 pan. If you want to, you could pour half a can of sauce in. Heat up 6 tortillas at a time with a paper towel around them, then put some chicken across tortilla with some cheese and roll it up. Place it in a 9x13 pan and repeat until the pan is full. Dump sauce on top and some cheese. Cover with tin foil and let it soak in all the juices from the sauce. You can cook it right away too. Cook for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. If your pan is coming straight from the fridge, you can put it in before the oven is heated.
Either way, this is a great filling meal. The kids like it too. It's so good!
You could serve it with sour cream or guacamole if you want to. We like it just the way it comes out. It also works to tear up the tortillas if you don't have time to fill each one and make an enchilada casserole. Make some Spanish rice to go with it or some corn if you want.