Turkey Broth

A few years ago, I would have never guessed I would be the person making my own turkey broth although being as cheap as I am, I should have known better. So, with our leftover turkey bones and my trusty crock pot, I attempted the task, which was surprisingly easy.

I put all the bones, etc. left from our 12 pound turkey into the crock pot, I added two diced carrots, and one cubed onion (a lot of recipes I saw called for celery too, but we didn't have any in the house, so I omitted it), and some parsley (or what I think was parsley, it was green and not labelled). I filled the crock pot close to the top with water and cooked it on low for about 12 hours. I strained the bones out and then put the liquid in freezer bags for later use.

I'm not a broth connoisseur but it smelled pretty good, and since it's just flavoured water, I'm going to say it turned out just fine.

Monday Meal - Carrot Zucchini Curry Soup

Now, I'm not a soup person, I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've actually enjoyed eating soup. It started with a really good butternut squash (we think) soup at the wedding we attended on Friday, which led to my rethinking my soup hatred. I came across a Zucchini Soup recipe that was cooked in the crock pot (my favourite machine), so I decided to give it a go, until of course I realized I only had one zucchini left while the recipe was calling for two pounds of it. So, needless to say, I made a few substitutions here and there, and the soup turned out FANTASTIC. We'll definitely be making this one again.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of butter
1 Zucchini, thickly sliced
3 Carrots, sliced
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 cups of water
4 tsp of chicken broth mix
1 1/2 tsp curry
1 tsp sea salt (approximate)

Directions:

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter, then cook the shallots, onion, zucchini and carrots for a few minutes, to soften and coat the vegetables with butter. Place in the slow cooked and add the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours.

2. Transfer to a blender and puree.

Nectarine Oatmeal

This was another delicious oatmeal made during my not getting groceries quest. The caramelized nectarines on the top were definitely what made this recipe fantabulous! The original recipe can be found here.

I did make a few substitutions based on what was in the house, so here's what our recipe looked like.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup milk
1 nectarine
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Caramelized Nectarines

Five slices of nectarine
1 tsp. butter
1/8 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

Mix all oatmeal ingredients in a small pan on medium-high heat, stir frequently until you get a thicker consistency or whatever your personal preference is. Place oatmeal in bowl and rinse out the small pan and reuse for caramelizing. Put butter in pan and spread around the entire flat surface, place slices down and sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Flip over after 1-2 minutes and sprinkle some more cinnamon on them, cook until tender then place on oatmeal.

Monday Meal - Ground Turkey Zucchini Boats

We first starting using this recipe after a visit with my parents and watching Steven and Chris. We've made numerous changes since seeing the original thought on the show and the meal has now been added to the monthly rotation.

Ingredients:
2 large zucchini
1 carrot, grated
1 pepper (any colour)
1 clove of garlic
1 onion
1 lb ground turkey
spinach
cheese

Directions:
In a frying pan cook ground turkey with garlic and onion. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop a good portion of the center out. Add remaining vegetables including some of the scooped zucchini (or any others you have on hand) and cook until just tender. Add the mixture to the scooped out zucchini, top with cheese and bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

We do so many variations on this meal based on what is in the fridge and we've never had a bad experience. So, get using those zucchini, it's delicious!

Baked Banana Oatmeal

In my quest to put off going to the grocery store, we've been eating a lot of whole foods this week, i.e. no cheerios. I'm not a huge oatmeal fan, but this was one of two recipes that were surprisingly delicious that we tried this week. I found the recipe here, but had to make a few variations based on the ingredients in our house.

Ingredients:

2 bananas
2 cups rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 egg, beaten
1 banana, mashed
1/2 cup milk
1 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slightly grease a 8 inch baking dish. Slice one banana on the bottom of baking dish. Mix the dry ingredients. Mix the remaining ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the mixture to the baking dish and cover with the remaining sliced banana. Bake for approximately 26 minutes and then sprinkle with brown sugar. Broil for approximately three minutes.

I think the caramelized brown sugar on the top really did it for me, so DO NOT skip that step!

Meal Planning

I'm not much of a meal planner, more of an it's 4pm and dinner needs to get ready what the heck should we have type of person. But, in order to start the prepping for my return to work and to make sure we can get to next Saturday without having to go to the grocery store, I've attempted to put together a meal plan for the week. It's nothing too fancy, but hopefully it works out. Wish us luck! If there's any good recipes we try, I'll be sure to put them up.

Monday Meal - Mushroom, Spinach, Lentil, and Quinoa Salad

I came across this blog post one day while I was searching for a spinach side dish to serve with our chicken dinner. It seemed simple enough, and the biggest selling points, I had enough of the ingredients on hand to make it work. I had to make a few changes from the original post, so here's what we had.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup lentils
1/2 cup of chopped mushrooms
1/4 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups of spinach
1 clove garlic
1/2 small onion
1/2 cup chicken broth
olive oil
salt
pepper

Directions:
Add oil to pan and brown mushrooms. Remove mushrooms, add garlic and onion. Cook for two minutes. Add lentils, quinoa and chicken broth and let simmer for about ten minutes. Add spinach and mushrooms back to pan and cook for another couple of minutes. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

This was a pretty delicious side salad for a mushroom lover (R), I found it not to bad considering I'm not a huge mushroom fan. Both the kids picked at the salad and ate a bit of it. All in all, we'll add it into our repitoire.

Monday Meal - Jalapeno Refried Black Beans

I found this recipe while day while searching for something to serve as a side dish with our salsa chicken, but it didn't have very good reviews. So, I made quite a few changes, and the dish turned out delicious enough we've decided it can be added into our regular meal rotation.

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil (or so)
16 oz. black beans, rinsed and drained

2 hot chili peppers
2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preparation:

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Cook the garlic, onions and jalapenos until slightly wilted. Sprinkle in the cumin. Add in beans and cheese and roughly stir, mashing some of it together. I didn't do too much mashing because I actually don't like the look of "refried" beans, so this is more just jalapeno black beans.

Monday Meal - Quinoa and Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I came across this recipe the other day while searching for things to do with my quinoa.

These chicken breasts were super tasty, and although we had to vary on the recipe slightly by using mozzarella as opposed to Gouda as our cheese, and I have a feeling would have been more delicious had we used the Gouda, but it definitely wasn't worth trudging two kids to the store for.

So, I won't bother to post the recipe, since I think it's delicious as is, so pop on over and check it out. We served our meal with some baked broccoli and it was the best meal of the week. We'll be adding this into our regular rotation.

Monday Meal - Vegetable Quinoa Salad

I made this salad for my mom's birthday party, and I thought it was pretty good. Having only cooked with Quinoa once before, I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I enjoyed the salad. I'm not sure my farmer brother thought the same, although I can't say for sure if he tried it, or just the look of it turned him away? I combined a few different recipes so here's what I did:

Ingredients:
1 cup Quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 cups cold water
1 tomato
1/4 cucumber, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lime
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, bring quinoa and water to a boil. Reduce heat, and boil gently for 10 to 15 minutes or until the white germ separates from the seed. Cover, remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Remove lid, let cool and fluff with a fork.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine tomatoes, cucumber and pepper. Stir in cooled quinoa.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper.

4. Pour over salad and toss to coat.

I sized down the recipe a little bit so I probably didn't need to cook quite so much quinoa, but we'll use it for another meal today so, it won't go to waste.

Lunch Time Madness

Every day around 11am, I start wondering what the heck we are going to have for lunch as I can feel the kids getting crankier by the minute. Then, I open the fridge and hope and pray there are leftovers from the night before, which is the case about 50% of the time, thank goodness. It's funny that I actually have to look because it seems in the 18 hours that passes between supper and lunch I have completely forgotten what we had the night before and whether or not I put anything in the fridge.

But, the other day, I came across a package of frozen sliders in the grocery store with cute little buns, and thought, that they would taste delicious. It wasn't until I brought them home and looked at them a little longer and realized, hey, sliders are just toddler sized hamburgers, duh! So, now once a week we have awesome hamburgers for lunch. Some day when I feel ambitious, I think I'll make our own sliders out of ground turkey or chicken, but for now, the store bought ones are DELICIOUS! With a little mayo and spinach, a side of cucumbers and apples, it's a healthy enough meal for me and the kids. P.S. They are soooo good. R gets mad when he finds out we ate them all without him. The other plus is that the ones we bought comes in a pack of 18, and since we only eat 2 or 3 at a time, they will easily last for a month or two.

Monday Meal - Lemon, Spinach and Chickpea Salad

To continue on our summer cooking journey, I stumbled across this recipe and did some adapting to fit our family. It was a super simple summer salad that took minutes to prepare but came up tasting pretty delicious.

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 lemon
2 cups spinach, chopped

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Monday Meal - Chicken and Balsamic Peppers

R believes he may have a gluten intolerance, so while reading up on what we would have to do I stumbled upon the gluten-free goddess and decided to try this recipe and found it quite delicious. I'm not sure R loved it, but he ate his portion without complaining and that's sometimes all we can ask of him. I did have to alter it slightly to fit our needs, but this is what we came up with.

Ingredients:
1/2 large red bell pepper, sliced
1/2 large green bell pepper, sliced
1 onion
1/6 cup organic balsamic vinegar (I'm sure 1/6 of a cup equals some form of tbsp, but, I just did approximately half of 1/3 cup since I was only feeding two people)
1 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup chicken broth
1 fresh clove of garlic, minced
1 Italian seasoning
2 chicken breasts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Toss the pepper and onion slices in a large bowl. In a large measuring cup, fork-stir your sauce using: balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire, olive oil, broth, chopped garlic, and herbs. Pour the sauce over the sliced peppers and onions and toss well to coat.

Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of a baking pan sprayed with olive oil. Pour the balsamic pepper mixture over the chicken and arrange them evenly. Use every last drop of sauce.

Loosely cover the pan with a piece of foil and place in the center of a pre-heated oven. Bake for 45 minutes.

We served this with a spinach salad and it made for a very nice light meal.

Monday Meal - Broccoli, Lentil and Red Pepper Salad

Can you tell we are big into summer salads? This was a salad made up from a few different recipes combined, so I'll just post what I actually did.

Ingredients:
1 bunch of broccoli
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 can lentils (original recipe called for chick peas, but Big N ate all my chick peas on me)
1/2 red pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Steam broccoli for about five minutes. In a bowl, mix mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Add chickpeas, red pepper, and broccoli. Toss to combine dressing. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

R commented that my salads keep getting better, so this one is definitely a keeper. We served this with a side of chicken because we are big into protein, but you could definitely make it hearty enough for a meal.

Monday Meal - Cesar Salad

I have no idea why I've never attempted to make a Cesar salad dressing from scratch before, I always thought it was super difficult. But, it seems, it isn't hard at all. I found this recipe and worked from it.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove minced garlic
1 egg
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp white vinegar

Directions:
Mix ingredients and lightly drizzle over bowl of romaine lettuce. Add croutons and Parmesan cheese to taste.

I wouldn't say I'm a fine diner by any means, but this turned out pretty darn good, and was way less money than buying a bottle of salad dressing, using it once and then throwing it out 6 months later when it was expired.

We served this with some pre-packaged chicken burgers on one of those nights that I didn't want to cook, and it turned out great.

Oatmeal Banana Bread Pancakes

Every once in awhile, I break away from the Cheerios for breakfast and make something real. This usually only happens if I sleep in increments longer than two hours, who knew that after 3 years of not sleeping your body would still have problems with it?

I came across this recipe and since I had some rotting bananas on my counter begging to be used, I figured we'd give it a shot. Keep in mind, that I'm not a huge fan of pancakes, or any breakfast food for that matter, hence the daily Cheerio regime.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup large-flake rolled oats
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas
3 tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
In large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. In separate bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, bananas, butter and vanilla; pour over flour mixture and stir until almost smooth. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Heat nonstick skillet or griddle to medium heat; brush lightly with some of the oil. Pour in about 1/3 cup batter for each pancake; cook for about 3 minutes or until underside is golden and bubbles break on top but do not fill in. Turn and cook until underside is golden brown, about 1 minute.

Repeat with remaining batter, brushing skillet with more oil as necessary.

These pancakes were like eating warm banana bread, so I definitely enjoyed it. I also found them to be filling enough that I only ate one, so we ended up freezing about two days worth for another day. All in all, give it a shot on the day you feel like something more than cereal.

Monday Meal - Tuna Salad with Olives and Pickles

We made this salad because we had the ingredients on hand. I wasn't too sure about it prior to tasting, as it was full of black peppers, and pickles, what a combination? But, it turned out pretty tasty. We decided that it was actually even better after sitting for a little while, so go ahead, make it for dinner now, and it'll be delicious when it's time to eat.

Ingredients:
3 cups shredded lettuce
1/2 cup sliced olives
1/4 cup coarsely chopped sweet pickles
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 cans tuna, drained
1/4 tsp. coarsely ground pepper
1 cup chick peas

Directions:
In a large bowl, stir together all salad ingredients. Cover, refrigerate.

Monday Meal - Brocolli Salad

It's funny how taste buds change over time, I remember when I was young, I wouldn't even touch a salad unless it was a regular garden or Caesar salad, so recently, I've been testing out new salad recipes as it seems I don't mind changes these days. I've eaten a few broccoli salads in my day, but had never attempted one until we had a party on May 24 weekend. The salad is super easy to put together, and can be made a little bit in advance, and still turns out delicious. There's a million recipes out there, but this is what I did.



Ingredients:

1 head of fresh broccoli
1 red onion
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup white sugar (scant)
2 tablespoons white vinegar


Directions:

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the mayonnaise, white sugar and white vinegar together then mix into the dry ingredients. Chill and serve.


Next time I make this salad I will likely decrease the sauce just a little bit more, since it doesn't really need to be quite as saucy as I made it this time. Also, if you are making this for a party, don't mix it in the glass bowl you plan to serve in, it's a royal PITA to wipe down the edges of the bowl.


I served this for dinner with some sausages as we were having a BBQ, it was a simple meal to prepare while watching the kids.

Monday Meal - Quick Tortellini Supper

I LOVE this meal, like could eat it every. single. day. At 650 calories per serving, I suggest not doing that, since I'm also sure I eat about three servings per sitting. It has taken about seven years for me to finally get the recipe from my mom, although that might not be a good thing for my waistline.

Ingredients:
2 packages of fresh tortellini
1/4 cup of butter
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 (10 ounce) package of frozen peas, thawed
1 1/2 cups shredder cheddar cheese

Directions:
Cook tortellini according to package directions, drain. In ten inch skillet melt butter, add mushrooms. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender (3-5 minutes). Stir in tortellini and peas; continue cooking until heated through (3-5 minutes). Stir in 1 cup of cheese; salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Monday Meal - Simple Chicken Parmesan

We haven't actually used this recipe for awhile, since we've reduced our pasta intake. But, with young children, it's simple to make, and since they will usually eat pasta, something everyone enjoys.

We've done a variation based on this recipe from Kraft.

Ingredients:

1 jar of pasta sauce
Parmesan cheese
2 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
spaghetti
shredded cheese

Throw the chicken breasts in a baking dish, cover in pasta sauce and two types of cheeses, bake for about an hour at 375 degrees. Serve with cooked spaghetti noodles (or whatever pasta you have on hand). Simple, easy, and pretty delicious. Now, if you want to get a few more vegetables in there, I've been known to throw some cauliflower, squash, and/or spinach puree into the veggie packed pasta sauce, just watch the taste as you are adding if you have veggie averse eaters, if you get too much they may be unlikely to try the meal.