Day 26: Taco Soup

Paul has said on more than one occasion that if he was stranded on a deserted island he could live on taco meat alone. I like tacos, but I don't love them. But given Paul's crazy love for tacos, we eat them about 2-3 times a month. Hence the reason Taco Soup landed on our menu for this week. It seemed right up Paul's alley and putting it in crock pot made it appealing to me especially since it only needed to be in the crock pot for 2-4 hours.

Taco Soup

1lb ground beef

1 can red kidney beans

1 can white corn

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 can pinto beans

1 envelope taco seasoning

1 envelope ranch dressing mix

Step 1: Brown meat and drain. Put in crock pot.

Step 2: Add all canned ingredients with juices and envelopes of seasonings

Step 3: Cook on low for 2-4 hours

Kitchen Play by Play: There is no kitchen play by play because there was only one play: open cans and cook meat. It was seriously the simplest thing I have ever done in the kitchen. It was even easier than the french dip recipe because I didn't need to cut any fat off of meat. I did leave out the pinto beans because I couldn't find them. To be honest, I only looked at Super Target. I used 93% lean meat and cooked the soup for about three and a half hours. I topped the soup with cheese and served cheese quesadillas on the side. Next time I'll top the soup with sour cream and tortilla strips to really make it more like a taco.

The Finished Product
The Verdict:
Nicole- I would call it more of a chili than a soup. It had very little liquid and adding water would take away the flavor. Truthfully, having it soupier would probably have grossed me out. I don't like the idea of ground beef floating around my bowl. I thought the taste was awesome and really enjoyed the crunch of the corn. I think I like this better than tacos. I did not have to chop and wash lettuce, tomatoes or olives; I did not have to put out dishes with sour cream, cheese, salsa; and I didn't have to turn on the oven to heat up shells(half of which are usually broken)*. I just threw it all in a crock pot and forgot about it for three hours and still felt like I was having tacos for dinner when it was all said and done. I give it a 4.

Paul-gives it a 4. "good, but not a replacement for tacos. Good flavor, but missed the fresh toppings. More like taco chili."

Austin-ate his whole bowl. He LOVES kidney beans, so I knew he'd like this dish better than others. He even said, "mmmm...tasty."

* I laughed out loud when Paul commented about missing the fresh ingredients. He did not know what I had already written about the fresh ingredient prep. Maybe he should take over the chopping of all the toppings next time we have tacos. :)

Day 25: Chicken Tetrazini

I actually have two recipes for this dish, both from Fraser ladies, and they are not at all similar. I had the ingredients in the house for both recipes, and they both sounded really good so I made my decision based on the one that seemed the easiest. This recipe had fewer ingredients and required less time in the kitchen.

When Paul got home today he asked what was on the menu for tonight. I told him chicken tetrazini as I started collecting the ingredients from around the kitchen and then quickly retracted that statement and replied with, " never mind, we are justing have tetrazini." NO chicken in the house!!!! How did that happen? Needless to say a trip to Jewel was necessary at 4:20pm when dinner is usually ready by 5:15pm. Good thing I'm so close to Jewel I could spit on it from my front yard. Forgetting the chicken was a blessing in disguise because when I got to the chicken aisle I discovered that all Perdue and Jewel Signature chicken is buy one package get one free until May 5th !!!!!!! I squealed a little, and I'm not even kidding. I bought two packages of tenders and two packages of breasts for $11.23. I also took 3 more coupons to use for next week. So I went from ticked off that I had to go to the store to elated that I had to go to the store. I couldn't wait to get home and share my news with Paul. I like to think that this type of news is as exciting to everyone else as it is to me :).

Chicken Tetrazini

1 pkg thin spaghetti

1/4 cup butter

4 chicken breasts

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 cups sour cream

2 chopped celery stalks

1 med chopped onion

mushrooms(I added these to the recipe)

Parmesan cheese

salt/pepper

garlic powder

Step 1: Break spaghetti into 1 inch pieces and boil; drain.

Step 2: Cut chicken into chunks and brown in butter. Season with salt/pepper and garlic powder.

Step 3: Add onion, celery, mushrooms and cook until crisp tender

Step 4: In large bowl, mix everything together except cheese and pour mixture into a buttered

9 x13 pan. Top with Parmesan cheese

Step 5: Bake for 30 minutes at 300 degrees.

Kitchen Play by Play: Worst yet. Dishes galore, messy and definitely took longer than 20 minutes total prep. I'm sure that it wasn't supposed to take as long as it did, but I was not on my game tonight. I was on the phone with Heather; I was cooking noodles, chopping veggies, measuring sour cream. Than I was browning chicken, adding veggies and trying to toss it all together. It was a mockery. The smell was great though. I did spill a few noodles on the floor and good thing as there is no way that I would have fit even one more noodle in the pan. It was filled to the brim. Nothing light about this meal except the sour cream.

The finished product: I forgot to take a pic until after we hacked into it...Sorry!

The Verdict:

Nicole- The whole process was enough to make me want to throw the finished product out the window even before tasting it, but I kept my cool and plated the noodle monstrosity for the three of us. It was good. It didn't knock my socks off, but it was tasty. I would like more garlic powder and would probably leave out the celery next time. The celery was still a little too crisp for me so it was a weird texture to encounter with noodles. I'm having a hard time with the rating though because I would like to give it a 3 based on taste, but it is difficult for me to say that it is worth another kitchen nightmare. So I guess, Taste 3. My kitchen experience 2.

Paul-gives it a 3. "looked good, expectations were high, but lacked a little flavor and maybe could have used some Gruyere cheese." " It would probably be really good with Gruyere."

Austin- wasn't feeling it which is shocking giving his strong liking for noodles. He wasn't digging the celery either. He kept finding the celery pieces and putting them to the side.

Day 24: Beef and Potato Bake

After watching Law and Order: SVU last week, I am amazed that I was able to put ground beef on the table, but Paul remembered this dish of his mom's being really good so I gave it a try.

It covers all the food groups: veggie, meat and starch. It is a one pot meal so easy clean up. But to be honest, the combo did not sound good to me, so I was a little hesitant taking the first bite tonight.

Beef and Potato Bake
1pkg southern style hash browns potatoes(thawed)
3 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 lb ground beef
1 pkg brown gravy mix
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 pkg frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can Durkee French Fried onions

Step 1: Combine potatoes, oil, and pepper in 9x13 glass pan. Firmly press mixture across bottom and up sides of the pan to form a shell. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Step 2: In skillet, brown beef;drain. Stir in gravy mix, water and garlic salt and bring to a boil.

Step 3: Add in mixed vegetables; reduce heat to medium and cook 5 minutes.

Step 4: Stir in half of the cheese and onions; place in potato shell.

Step 5: Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 15 minutes

Step 6: Sprinkle with remaining cheese and onions and bake 5 minutes longer.

Kitchen Play by Play: I only used one skillet the entire time. Huge bonus, only one dish to clean. The shell did not get brown which concerned me but they were mostly cooked after the first 15 minutes. The beef mixture was really easy to put together and actually smelled really good. I used low fat cheese and, much to my mother's disappoint, low fat meat(93%). I did not measure the cheese or onions. I used 3/4 of a large can of onions. It was a little difficult going in and out of the oven several times especially with the kids running around, but that really was the most difficult part of the whole process.

The finished product

The Verdict:
Nicole- As previously stated, I was not so excited about tasting this dish. I'm not big into ground beef at all and don't care for carrots or peas either. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the tastiness of the dish. It could have used a little more garlic salt, and I would have liked it a little hotter(temperature), but overall was pretty good. The best bites were of course the bites with the fried onions, so next time I'd use the entire can. I will make this again. I give it a 3.5.

Paul-gives it a 4. "Needs a little more seasoning that's its only fault really"

Austin- ate some but not a ton. He did eat all of the green beans out of the casserole though.

Day 23: Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

This Campbells' recipe has been taunting me in every magazine I read(Woman's Day, Family Circle, People, US Weekly, and Parents) for the last two months, so I finally decided to give it a whirl. It sounded really good and again the picture was very appealing.

Thanks to Dianna, I have discovered my new favorite thing in the whole world...Ziploc Steam Bags. Where have these been all my life? More importantly, why wasn't I told about them sooner? And Helloooo, 10 bags for $2.59 at the Super Target!!! Cheap and Easy...two of my favorite words(in regards to food, of course).

For the most part, my whole meal was made by these bags today. Two chicken breasts in the steam bag were cooked perfectly in 5 minutes and 30 seconds. I even reused the same bag for chicken breast #3 which only took 3 and 1/2 minutes to cook. I also steamed a full bag of broccoli in three minutes. I seriously cannot even begin to tell you how life changing this new found way of cooking is for me. I have no excuse now not to feed my family fresh veggies every night. You can even add seasoning to the bag. It came with four recipes. I will be trying one for next week's menu.

So basically, it didn't matter to me whether the actual meal tasted good or not. In my mind, everything about tonight was a VICTORY!!! Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas will always have a special place in my heart because they introduced me to the new(kitchen) love of my life!

Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

1 can Campbell's Cream Of Chicken Soup(Reg. Low fat, Fat free)
1 cup Pace Picante Sauce(Mild or Medium)
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar Jack cheese
6-8 6 inch flour tortillas (warmed)
tomato
green onion

Step 1: Cook and cut chicken. STEAM BAGS ARE WHERE IT'S AT!!!!

Step 2: Mix soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder. Seperate into two bowls.

Step 3: In one bowl, add the chicken and cheese. Mix well.

Step 4: Fill tortillas with chicken mixture and put in 9X13 glass dish seam side up.

Step 6: Top with remaining sauce(in other bowl). The sauce will help keep the tortillas closed.

Step 7: Bake COVERED at 350 degrees for 40 minutes

Step 8: Top with fresh chopped tomato and green onion.

Kitchen Play by Play: I've already told you the best part...STEAM BAGS!!! This meal was in the oven in 12 minutes when it would have taken me almost double that if I had to precook the chicken in the oven or in boiling water. I love cheese; so I didn't measure it. I just put a few handfuls in with the chicken mixture. Some cheese may have also found it's way to the top of the enchiladas. I used low fat cheese, soup, and sour cream. I filled 6 tortillas, but could have fit eight in the baking pan. I covered it with foil and stuck it in the oven. I also made broccoli in the steam bags and washed some delicious, crisp red grapes for the meal as well.

The Finished Product

I know it doesn't necessarily look pretty, but it does look cheesy and delicious, doesn't it?

The Verdict:

Nicole: This was like velvetta and salsa dip on a tortilla with chicken, so of course it gets a huge HELL YEAH!!! It was sooo tasty. I used medium Picante sauce, so it had a kick which made it even more delicious. I was worried that my pack of 20 tortillas would be thrown away, but now I know I'll end up using them this weekend to make this again for lunch. One enchilada was plenty for me, and I used low fat ingredients so I'm guessing that this recipe isn't too bad for me calorie wise either. This is definitley being copied for the recipe box. I give it a 4.5.

Paul-gives it a 5. "Cheesy, spicy chicken=A+"

Austin- Ate ALL of his enchilada even though it was a little spicy. At one point, he said, "too spicy," but I instructed him to eat some broccoli to help his mouth feel better. He replied, with a mouth full of broccoli, "it's not working. I need some grapes." He ate a lot tonight. Easily 25 grapes, a ton of broccoli and his enchilada. I would guess that Austin would give this meal a 5.

Day 22: Apple Stuffed Pork Chops

This is another pick from Bonnie and James. They got it from the Reynolds Wrap Cookbook. So in addition to being easy prep, it is also easy cleanup. SOLD!!!

I also was really intrigued by the this recipe because it sounded like dessert. Dried cranberries, apples, brown sugar...YUM!!! I felt guilty making it for Austin, but my sweet tooth made me do it.

Apple Stuffed Pork Chops

foil
4 pork chops(boneless)
1 pkg stuffing mix for pork
1/2 C chopped apples1/4 C dried cranberries
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp melted butter

Step 1: Cut pocket in each pork chop.
Step 2: Prepare stuffing mix according to directions. Stir in apples and cranberries.
Step 3: Place chops on foil, salt and pepper. Stuff with 1/2 of stuffing.
Step 4: Line baking pan with foil.Bake 18-20 minutes at 425 degrees.
Step 5: Remove and heat broiler. Mix brown sugar and butter, brush onto chops. Broil 3-4 inches from broiler for 5-8 minutes.

Kitchen Play by Play: It's a miracle I have two hands to type with after trying to prepare this recipe. I am a complete moron when it comes to using a knife, so needless to say, cutting the pocket in the pork...not so easy. I had a few close calls, but in the end walked away unscathed. The stuffing prep was a no brainer. I did not measure the apples or the cranberries. I used one small, peeled apple and a good handful of cranberries. I stuffed the chops to the gills and seasoned the top of the chops before putting them on the pan. I forgot to use Lawry's and used regular salt instead. Much to my surprise, the chops actually appeared cooked after 18 minutes so I chose not to add time and risk dry chops. I took them out while the broiler heated up. I slathered the brown sugar mixture onto the chops as this is the part I was most excited about. I envisioned a creme brulee like glaze sizzling on the top of the chops. There was some sizzling going on, but not on my chops. Instead, it was a sea of brown sugar deliciousness on the foil. My only explanation for this is that because my chops were stuffed so much, they created a ramp for the glaze, and it slid/rolled right off onto the pan. DANG IT!!!!!!! Also, FYI any exposed cranberries may burn a little under the broiler so try to shove them towards the inside.

The Finished Product
The Verdict:
Nicole- Chop alone...not much taste partly due to the fact that none of the glaze stayed on the chop :( The chop with the stuffing...VERY yummy. I think the Lawry's would have helped too. The pork was cooked almost perfectly. It could have been a little juicier, but it was definitely not overcooked. I really enjoyed these flavors together. I give it a 4.

Paul-gives it a 4."Little tough eating sweet pork chops, but they were cooked perfect, and I like the combination with the stuffing."

Austin-LOVED the stuffing especially the apples in it. He ate all the pork on his plate too, but said no to more.

Day 21: French Dip Sandwiches(Crock pot)

This is from my friend Bonnie and her husband James. They rank this recipe as one of their favorites, so of course I had to give it a try. And it really cannot get any simpler than brisket, beef broth, soup mix, crock pot. I'm actually kind of disappointed that I made this on a weekend when Paul is home and I actually can sit in the kitchen for 20 minutes and cook. I should have saved it for a week day when my kids are going nuts and require my full attention. But oh well.

One "complaint" off the bat for this recipe is the cost. I found beef brisket at Jewel, only 1.91lbs, and it cost $10.35. Add that to the soup mix, broth, and french rolls and the meal is about $17.00. And that is without any sides. I could have gotten the brisket from Costco like I do for Passover, but that would have been way too huge and still expensive. To be honest, if it tastes good, I'm not going to care at all about the cost so lets hope for a home run!

French Dip Sandwiches in the Crock Pot

3 lbs of beef brisket (not corned beef)
1 envelope of dry onion soup mix
2 cans of beef broth (you can use low sodium)

Step 1: Trim fat and place in slow cooker.
Step 2: In separate bowl, mix onion mix and broth, pour over meat.
Step 3: Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours.
Step 4: Shred or slice beef and serve on french bread. Dip in Au Jus.

Kitchen Play by Play: Hands down, without question, the EASIEST recipe I have ever encountered. Seriously, prepped and cooking in 2 1/2 minutes. I looked at the clock. To be fair, my brisket was pretty lean to begin with, so I didn't have to trim too much. I did leave some fat on to help make the meat more tender. It will disintegrate or slide off the top at the end anyway. I sliced my beef and toasted the rolls in the oven. Served it with french fries and green beans. Next time I'd have some horseradish sauce too.

The Finished Product
The Verdict:
Nicole- For me, it was WAY too salty. I did not use low sodium broth and regret it. I am not a salt person though. I never salt my food before eating, and I do not salt my pasta water either. My other concern about the dish is that it left very little au jus. We barely got enough for three sandwiches, so I would add another can of broth(low sodium of course) next time. The 1.91lb brisket shrunk like crazy and produced enough meat for 3 large sandwiches and a little on a plate for Austin. I did enjoy the tenderness of the meat and the crusty roll. And, truthfully, if I had just poured a little juice on the sandwich(Italian beef style) rather than dipping it in the juice, I would have enjoyed it far more. I'm not giving up on this recipe. I give it a 3 and another shot in the future,

Paul-gives it a 4. "Beef, marinated in beef(broth), topped with beef, dipped in beef(broth). Might be borderline too much beef, but tender and juicy and delicious."

Austin-The most beef I have seen my once Iron deficient son, eat in a LONG time. Reason enough to keep it in the rotation!

Day 20: Tomato Basil Chicken

This recipe was sent to me by my cousins, Christie and Dawn, shortly after I began this blog. Christie's exact words were, "we made this tonight, it was insanely easy, took about 20 min, and we already can't wait to have the leftovers, thought you might wanna try it out." I looked at the recipe on allrecipes.com and decided that it sounded right up my alley: tomato soup, garlic, basil. Yum!

Although, it does bring up one of my very weird food issues. I hate tomatoes, but I love tomato soup and tomato sauce. So, you could say that I only like tomatoes in pureed, cooked form except for the fact that I also enjoy brushetta. I think because it is really well disguised under a sea of garlic and olive oil. Who knows? But a raw tomato on a hamburger grosses me out. I cannot even pick them off because the seeds and juices have left remnants.

Paul loves tomatoes, but hates tomato soup. I cannot even entice him to eat it on a cold, rainy day with a toasty grilled cheese sandwich. I hoped that the other flavors in this recipe would hide the soup from him, but ultimately I decided that I had taken several hits for the team(feta, spinach, ricotta) and that it was time for him to man up and try tomato soup...in sauce form. He never complained about the soup being part of the recipe as he watched me make it which I was really happy about. But, would he enjoy it?

Tomato Basil Chicken
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Campbells-Kitchen-Tomato-Basil-Chicken/Detail.aspx

Kitchen Play by Play: This really is as easy as the directions sound. No major issues or screw ups. I did read some of the reviews though and many people said to add extra garlic powder. I did 1/2 teaspoon instead of 1/4. I also cooked the chicken in the sauce more than 5 minutes because I am crazy chicken girl. I think that the cooking time will vary anyway depending upon the size of your breasts. Hehe!! By cooking the chicken longer, the sauce also had more time to thicken which is a bonus in my book. I guess you could take the chicken out while the sauce simmers if you don't want overcooked chicken. I served mine over the noodles and topped it with freshly grated Parmesan. We had green beans on the side too. I should have made garlic bread, but I forgot.

The Finished ProductThe Verdict:
Nicole- This is a case of the dish tasting better than it looks. It looks kinda blah in my pic, but it tasted pretty yummy. For as easy as it was, I didn't expect much, but I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor. It is the perfect recipe for when time is limited. Super easy and super fast. Really cheap too. If you can get chicken on sale, this recipe costs under $10.00 and feeds 3-4 adults. I give it a 4. Welcome to the recipe box. Thanks, Christie and Dawn!

Paul-gives it a 3. " It had good flavor, and the chicken was moist. It was good, but there was no WOW factor."

Austin-ate the noodles covered in the sauce and a few bites of chicken. He ate almost all of his green beans too. He loves his veggies!!

Week 4 Menu

This Week's Menu. Still need help with 5 ingredients or less!

Dessert: Cake Balls(new)

Chicken: Campbell's Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas(new)

Crock pot: Taco Soup(new)

Meat: Apple Stuffed Pork Chops(new)

Pasta:Chicken Tetrazzini

5 ingredients:

Casserole:Beef and Potato Bake(new)

Childhood Favorite: Lasagna

Dessert Week 3: Angel Food Sweethearts

My mom cut this recipe out of a magazine for me. It had me at: cream cheese frosting, cake, and strawberries. Than the real deal breaker: low fat! Prepared correctly, they are 123 calories each. That's the story, as simple as that!

Austin and I made them for our play date today so we wouldn't have 36 cupcakes in the house just for us. They aren't low fat anymore if you eat 12 of them :)

Angel Food Sweethearts
1 16oz box angel food cake mix
1 tsp almond extract
1 8oz low fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup frozen fat free whipped topping, thawed
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2/3 cup strawberry jam, warmed
fresh strawberries, halved

Step 1: Prepare and bake cake mix(as cupcakes) according to package directions. Add almond extract to mix.

Step 2: Let cool completely.

Step 3: In electric mixer, beat cream cheese, whipped topping, and confectioners' sugar in bowl on low speed for 1 minute.

Step 4: Pipe frosting into a heart shape onto each cupcake.

Step 5: Fill center of hearts with warmed strawberry jam and top with a fresh strawberry.

Note: Because of the cream cheese frosting, the cupcakes must stay refrigerated until ready to serve.

Kitchen Play by Play: I don't know why I am surprised that a boxed cake mix recipe kicked my ass, but I am. There needed to be almond extract added to the cake mix??? Yeah...totally did not see that until I just typed out the recipe. That sucks.

I switched it up a bit and bought Funfetti Angel Food cake mix since the cupcakes were mainly for the kids. Austin did a really good job helping put the liners in the muffin pan :) I, however, did not do a good job filling them with batter. Batch one blew up like a balloon and some were burnt. They were huge and came together to form one giant cupcake. Learned my lesson for batch 2. I only filled the liners half way. Much better. Although, batch one still tasted damn good, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to prep. The frosting mixture was super easy to make, but trying to pipe a heart onto the cupcake...not so much. I just put all the frosting in a Ziploc bag and cut off the tip, so clearly I was not working with professional decorating supplies. But who am I kidding? The demise of the hearts had little to do with the apparatus and everything to do with the user. I am artistically challenged. I almost failed kindergarten because I couldn't cut straight. True story, ask my mother. So after about 4 attempts at hearts, I gave up and just plopped some frosting on each cupcake. Since there weren't any hearts adding the jam seemed pointless, so I just stuck a strawberry on top and called it a day. Done and Done.

The Finished Product The only one that even resembled a heart
(This was also a Batch 1 cupcake. Hence, the largeness of it and ripped edges from trying to tear it apart from the others)

The Verdict:
Nicole- Note: Burnt Angel Food Cake muffins taste like a toasted marshmallow. Needless to say, I was not too sad about "ruining" some of the cupcakes. I LOVED the frosting. It was very yummy and got very thick as it sat in the fridge. I did not miss the jam at all. Plus, my rational is that if the jam isn't on there than that brings the calorie count to more like 100 calories per cupcake which means I can have 2 or 3 more without too much guilt. Overall, I give it a 4. Though it was a hassle at first, I have learned from my mistakes and will be ready to roll next time around.

Paul- gives it a 3. He liked them but is not a huge cake person.

Austin- Big thumbs up. In 2 days, he's had 5 cupcakes. Three without frosting.

Dianna-"4 for the cupcakes...I like angel food cake (and I may or may not have eaten two more), but I rate the icing a 5. Give me a spoon, and I would be happy eating the icing with (or without) the strawberries."

Natalie and Cara- give the cupcakes a 5; anything in cupcake form will always be a hit.

Day 19: BBQ Chicken Salad

Those of you have been reading my blog already know what a fantastic cook my mother is and how much I love her cooking. But it is not just me, my family and our close friends ask my mother to cook/bake for them all the time. She bakes for the dentist(close friend) every time she or Dan visits him. In fact, my mom is such a great cook/baker that almost everything she makes is her " specialty." We basically define specialty as a dish that many people like and only that person can make "the best." Dan's sister, Cindy, took my mom's cream puff recipe and after getting lots of compliments on it from her husband's family, proudly called my mother and told her, " now cream puffs are my specialty." We still joke about it to this day.

Well, I have a specialty too. One that my mother actually requests from me. Are you ready for it? My specialty is BBQ Chicken Salad. It feels very silly and wrong to call this my specialty when several of my mother's specialties take hours of prep and lots of tender, love and care. Not mine...it's a salad. A "recipe" that I came up with all on my own because I was sick of paying $15.00 each time I ordered it at a restaurant. I have given this recipe to a friend of mine three times because her husband thinks she left out ingredients because it never tastes like mine. I'm not going to lie, I'm smiling as I type this. It's really nice to know that someone else, other than your family who is forced to eat it, likes your recipe. But that's just it, there isn't a recipe. It's veggies and dressing...done. So as much as I would really love to gloat over how LOVED my BBQ Chicken Salad is by others, it's hard to truly accept the victory when it is not really a recipe at all. There isn't any real cooking or baking, nothing is made from scratch, and all it requires are some knife skills which I really don't have. Actually, should this even count towards this challenge? Shit, I hope so or I just failed!

Today I made this for lunch not dinner. My friend Dianna and her daughters came over for our weekly play date. Lauren and AJ came too but had to leave before lunch. Dianna always makes remarkable lunches when we go to her house, so I wanted to dazzle her with my signature dish. She is one of my very best friends so I knew that she wouldn't judge me if I made mac n cheese or chicken nuggets like I normally do for our play dates, but still I wanted to make something a little more upscale for her today.

BBQ Chicken Salad(Serves 4)
4 Chicken breasts(grilled or baked, cut in chunks)
3 hearts of Romaine lettuce
1 head Iceberg lettuce
Cucumber
Avocado
Tomato(regular, cherry or plum)
Red Onion
Jicama
Can of black beans, strained and rinsed
Can of yellow sweet corn, strained and rinsed
Mexican Blend shredded cheese
Tortilla strips(Sante Fe or Original)
Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce
Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing

Step 1: Slather chicken breasts in bbq sauce and cook(I prefer to grill mine). Let cool and cut into chunks

Step 2: Tear and wash lettuce. Cut cucumber, avocado, and tomato into chunks. Dice red onion

Step 3: Strain and rinse corn and beans. Toss together

Step 4: Mix Ranch dressing with BBQ sauce to desired taste.

Step 5: Toss lettuce together in bowl. Top with veggies,chicken, bean mix, cheese and tortilla strips. Drizzle with BBQ sauce.

Step 6: Toss with dressing or serve dressing on the side.

Note: Adjust the amount of ingredients in this recipe according to your tastes and the number of people you're feeding. I like my chicken cold on the salad, but it could also be served with warm chicken.

Kitchen Play by Play: I did almost all the prep the night before except for the lettuce, bean mix and avocado. By the time the kids were asleep and Paul and I watched some TV, it was too late to use the grill so I cooked the chicken in the oven for 20 minutes. I missed the charred taste of the grilled chicken, but enjoyed how moist the chicken got in the oven. Doing the bean mix ahead of time will make the corn/beans soggy unless you dry them after rinsing. The lettuce can be done ahead of time and thrown in a garbage bag or large Ziploc with a few paper towels to suck up any moisture. I always save the avocado for the last second so it doesn't have time to get brown. I didn't deal with jicama for today's salad because I hate peeling it, and it is usually hard to find. I mixed the dressing(I use low fat ranch) the night before too, so it could meld overnight. The tortilla strips really make the salad. They are in the produce section at my Jewel. Overall, the whole salad prep takes about 15-20 minutes depending on how fast you can chop, wash, and toss.

The finished product
The Verdict:
Nicole- I am never disappointed by this salad. Whether it is a freezing day in January or a 90 degree day in July, it is always refreshing to me. It's crisp, crunchy and sweet. Plus, it has a week's worth of veggies in it. My only disappointment with today's salad is that I tossed the dressing before serving so I destroyed the leftovers. I don't do soggy salad. However, the two helpings I had at lunch today get a huge 5.

Paul-Wasn't home for lunch, but based on past experiences with the salad he gives it a 4.

Dianna-"Solid 5 on the salad...I could seriously live on that, and the addition of the tortilla strips was phenomenal"

The kids- Ate the cucumbers and the cheese. They dined on "make your own lunchables(crackers, ham, cheese)" instead.

Day 18: Stuffed Flank Steak

I have absolutely no idea why this recipe appealed to me. As previously mentioned, I don't like spinach or steak, and I really HATE feta cheese. So what the hell am I making this for? My only explanation is the Big Mac effect. You know when you see a commercial for a cheesy, saucy delicious Big Mac and you think," I haven't had a Big Mac in years, but that looks really good." You get in the car and go to the Mikey D's drive thru only to dive into the first bite of what is supposed to be shear deliciousness, and instead encounter luke warm meat with a piece of cheese laid on top and a stale bun. The picture always looks better than it tastes. Well, the picture of the stuffed flank steak in the Family Circle magazine looked fantastic. It was love at first sight. It just looked pretty, so I pushed my food fears aside and decided to give it a shot. Let's hope that it is not only a work of art, but also a palate pleaser.

Stuffed Flank Steak

1 1/2lb Flank steak
10 oz of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

4 oz herb-garlic flavored crumbled feta cheese

2 tablespoons seasoned bread crumbs

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 egg, lightly beaten

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Step 1: Lay steak on work surface. Starting at the long side, slice steak in half w/o going all the way through. Open like a book and flatten to even thickness

Step 2: Combine feta, spinach, breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon oil, and beaten egg in medium bowl

Step 3: Season steak with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Press spinach mixture onto steak leaving 1 inch borders. Begin on the short end and roll steak up to enclose filling. Tie steak with cotton string at 2 inch intervals

Step 4: Rub steak with remaining oil and season with remaining salt/pepper

Step 5: Brown meat on all sides in a hot skillet(about 5 minutes). Transfer to a greased(cooking spray) rack in pan.

Step 6: Roast for 35 minutes at 425 degrees. Internal temperature should read 135 degrees.

Step 7: Remove meat from oven, let rest, covered, for 10 minutes before slicing.

Note: Steps 1-4 can be done ahead of time and left, wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Kitchen Play by Play: I prepared the steak this afternoon while Austin was napping and Peyton was playing in her pack n play. I was not really sure what step 1 meant. I got the slicing just fine, but I have no idea what they mean about opening it like a book. I just sliced down the middle. And...totally went all the way through the meat in the middle section. Ooops. The rest of the prep was really easy and went very quickly. Make sure that the spinach is as dry as you can possibly get it or the mixture will get too watery. I did trim some of the larger pieces of fat off the meat because it grosses me out to think about eating it. At the time, I did not have cooking string so I just stuck a few toothpicks through the meat to hold it in place for the time being.

I probably should not even tell you what my mother's "genius" idea was on how to hold it in place. But I will. She wanted me to use HAIR TIES. When I told her that I didn't have any clean ones, she told me to rinse them. I'm not kidding. You can't make this shit up; she was dead serious. Don't you worry, I'll think twice before accepting a dinner invite at her house any time soon. I can't give her too much shit though, she went to the store to get the cooking string for me...thanks mom :)

I took the meat out of the fridge about 20 minutes before putting it in the oven so it wouldn't be as cold. After seasoning and browning, it was in the oven in 7 minutes. I kept my fingers crossed that it wouldn't fall apart; it was one fat roll of beef.
The Finished Product

The Damaged Steak
The complete meal

The Verdict:
Nicole- I was surprised. I was afraid that it would be too red for me because 35 minutes didn't seem like a lot of time. I eat my meat DEAD(well done); I don't want it "mooing" at me. When it came out it still looked a little red, but by the time it was ready to be cut every piece was medium to medium-well. I would have liked the meat to have been more tender, but I don't know anything about steak so maybe that is how flank steak is supposed to be. I thought the feta mixture was actually pretty good. There were enough components in the stuffing to mask the strong flavor of the feta cheese. I didn't eat the extra stuff that fell out, but I did eat some with a bite of steak. Overall, I'd give it a 3, but remember this had three ingredients I don't particularly care for. If you like feta, spinach, and meat than I think you'd really enjoy this dish!

Paul-gives it a 4.5. It had three things he really enjoys: steak, spinach, and feta.

Austin- Ate nothing. Not even the broccoli. He wasn't feeling dinner tonight. He was feeling the cupcakes that we made together before dinner. He ate 3 of them while we were cooking. Bad move on my part:) Look for that recipe tomorrow night.

Day 17: Pork Chop Casserole

This is Paul's childhood favorite, and I've never made it for him. I am a terrible wife. I am also a bad daughter in law. At my wedding shower, my mother in law gave me the special dish she uses to make the casserole so I would continue to make it for her son. I suck. This is another case of me feeling way too much pressure. What if it tasted like crap and I ruined pork chop casserole for Paul forever. I'd never forgive myself. So, for the last 6 years I have pretended the recipe didn't exist and watched him enjoy it when we ate dinner at my in laws' house instead.

Conveniently, Jane was over today playing with the kids, so I was able to get some last minute tips and a little pep talk. She even stayed long enough to okay my potato slices. As she left, I prayed that her last minute advise would be enough to take my pork chop casserole to the level Paul knows and expects.

Pork Chop Casserole

6-8 bone in pork chops
5 medium russet potatoes
Lipton onion soup mix(half an envelope)
milk

Step 1: Season pork chops with any or all of the following: garlic salt, Lawry's, onion salt.

Step 2: Brown pork chops in hot pan

Step 3: Peel and slice potatoes thin

Step 4: Grease 9x13 pan lightly with Crisco and spread potatoes in pan

Step 5: Sprinkle with onion soup mix and cover bottom of pan with milk

Step 6: Place pork chops on top

Step 7: Bake for 1 hour at 400 degrees

Kitchen Play by Play: SUPER EASY!!!! This recipe has less than five ingredients; it doesn't get much easier than that. I did not want leftovers, so I only made four pork chops and three potatoes. Since the pan was already hot, the pork chops were browned within 2 minutes. In the meantime, I was peeling the potatoes. I sliced the potato long ways twice and then sliced them short ways VERY thin. They must be thin in order to fully cook. Don't do the potatoes too early or they will start to turn brown. I sprinkled more like 3/4 of an envelope of Lipton onto the potatoes because Paul LOVES onion soup mix. I would definitely use this much if I had more potatoes/chops. Paul said that in college he used the whole envelope. That, I think, would have been too salty for me. The milk is tricky. No real measurement. Jane said to barely cover the potatoes and to possibly pour some liquid out half way through cooking if it looks a little watery. I looked at mine with 18 minutes left and couldn't get any liquid to pour out. Initially, I only coated the bottom of the pan with milk, so if you don't want to mess with the casserole during cook time a little less milk at the beginning may work. Just be careful not to add too little or the potatoes will be dry. I used my special Pampered Chef Stone Baking Dish, but a 9 x13 would work too. If you have several chops, they may overlap a little. Overall, though this explanation is very lengthy, the casserole was in the oven 9 minutes after I started prepping it.

The finished product Just out of the oven

The complete meal

The Verdict:
Nicole- Pork chop lovers everywhere listen up, THIS IS THE DISH FOR YOU! The chops were super juicy and tender. The potatoes were salty and perfectly cooked. It looked pretty on the plate. I'm really proud of myself, but at the same time feel really stupid that I have been afraid to try this recipe all these years. My husband will be happy to hear that pork chop casserole will no longer be the dish we don't speak of. Pork chop casserole will be making frequent appearances on our kitchen table until we are old and gray. I give it a 5.

Paul-gives it a 5. "Pork chops are one of my all time favorites. Mix them with Lipton potatoes and applesauce and you have one delicious combo."

Austin-ate an entire pork chop...before falling asleep at the table. Not a huge fan of the potatoes though.

Day 16: Pasta with Spicy Sausage and Spinach

This was supposed to be Sunday's meal. Tonight was supposed to be stuffed flank steak, but even though I have a Masters in Education and taught high school English for 6 years* I cannot read a recipe to save my life. I totally overlook the important words like, "thaw," "cook," "let stand." Well, when I read the flank steak recipe at 3:30 pm and saw that I needed cooking string and a pan with a rack, I had to rearrange my weekly menu. 1) I know I could have used toothpicks instead of string, but I was skeptical as to how well it would hold a 1 1/2lb stuffed steak. 2) My pan with rack is in the garage on a shelf above my car labeled "kitchen shit I've never used." No, it doesn't really say that, but it should. My $100 Calphalon pan got put in the garage about 2 years ago when we were cleaning all the junk around our house thinking we were going to put the house on the market. I hadn't used the pan yet and figured I wouldn't need to before we moved. Two years later and still had no need for the pan...until now. Paul got home at 4:00 and needed to be at a softball game by 6pm, so I knew there was no time to go digging for the pan tonight, but don't worry I will be christening my pan later this week.

So that explains why tonight was pasta night instead. This recipe came from my most recent issue of Woman's Day. I thought it sounded good and had a lot of the ingredients my family likes. If Austin can't have broccoli than he wants noodles.

Pasta with Spicy Sausage and Spinach
1lb pasta(it calls for gemelli, but I couldn't find it)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1lb spicy Italian Sausage,casings removed
1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
10 oz fresh baby spinach
Grated Parmesan

Step 1: Boil pasta as package directs

Step 2: Meanwhile, heat oil over med heat in skillet. Add onion and saute just before it begins to brown.

Step 3: Add sausage to skillet and crumble with a spoon until browned(cooked). About 4 minutes

Step 4: Add chicken broth, stirring to dissolve brown bits. Stir in cream and nutmeg. Simmer 1minute and remove from heat.

Step 5: Place spinach in colander;drain pasta over spinach(spinach will wilt).

Step 6: Return pasta and spinach to pot and pour sauce/sausage mixture over it. Toss and serve with Parmesan on top.

Kitchen Play by Play: I couldn't find gemelli pasta, so I bought rotini instead. Because pasta grows on your plate, and I knew we'd have a ton of leftovers, I cut the recipe in half(really just the sausage and the noodles). This was ridiculously easy. I actually delighted in removing the sausage from the casing. Does that make me sick?? It was really cool! I used mild sausage instead of hot because I'm weak and, it needed to be Austin friendly. It was also very cool to watch the spinach wilt before my eyes. It's amazing how little 10 oz is when cooked. Dinner was on the table in 15 minutes. And again, another all in one meal:veggie, meat, starch and a little dairy.

The finished product

The Verdict:
Nicole- I didn't like it. In fact, I had leftover pizza from Peyton's baptism instead. Don't get me wrong, it was edible. It just had little to no flavor. Though you add cream to the sauce, it doesn't thicken so nothing sticks to the noodles.This was not an error on my part, the picture shows watery sauce. I thought that maybe the noodles are what made the difference, but I would think that Rotini would accept sauce more not reject it. The only real flavor was the sausage. With a little tweaking, I'd probably give it a 2.

Paul-gives it a 2. Sauce was too thin, and it lacked a little flavor.

Austin- ate the noodles, but why wouldn't he? They were basically plain noodles.

* I cannot believe I just admitted to being an English teacher. Now I'm going to have to make sure I have perfect grammar and spelling. Nah, I'm retired(for now), so deal with the mistakes :)

Day 15: Chicken Broccoli Casserole

"ooooooohhhhh, we're half way there...."

This is a childhood favorite of mine, but my mother has never made it. Jane does. I have been with Paul for 12 years, so I have had many dinners with the Fraser family and this is by far my favorite. I love everything about it, except making it myself. I ALWAYS overcook the chicken, but that might have to do with what happened the first time I ever attempted to make it...


Laurie, Paul's sister, was down at ISU visiting us. I lived in a house at the time with 4 roommates, and we tried to cook every night. Since Laurie was coming I asked her to bring the recipe with her from home. I was super excited to share the recipe with all the girls. Laurie and I took out all the ingredients and got to work. Though she had had the dish close to 100 times, she had never made it before either. We were the blind leading the blind, but as we put the casserole in the oven we were pretty damn proud of ourselves. 45 minutes later that elation faded. The chicken was still raw and the salmonella juices were floating atop the broccoli mixture. We immediately called Jane and she asked us why we didn't cook the chicken first. Yet another case of being Mary Tyler Moored. Nowhere in the recipe did it say to cook the chicken prior to laying it in the casserole. We were bummed, but that's all I remember. I'm not sure if we fished out the chicken, cooked it and put it back in, though that doesn't seem very sanitary, or if we just dumped it all in the garbage and ordered pizza*. Either way, I've had a fear of undercooked chicken ever since.

I love this dish so much that it is what was waiting for me when I brought Austin home from the hospital. It was not waiting for me when I got home with Peyton because it made Austin very upset that first night which made me upset.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole
2 pkgs of Chicken Breast Tenders, cut in chunks
2 10 oz bags of Frozen Broccoli florets, cooked
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 cup mayo
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup dried stuffing(Stove top or Pepperidge Farm)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Step 1: COOK chicken and cut into chunks

Step 2: Cook broccoli. I buy the Jewel steam in the bag to save time

Step 3: Mix chicken soup, mayo, lemon juice, pepper, curry powder in small bowl.

Step 4: Put broccoli on bottom of 9 x13 pan. Than chicken. Than sauce

Step 5: top with cheese


Step 6: melt butter and mix with stuffing. top casserole with stuffing


Step 7: Bake casserole for 45 minutes at 350 degrees


Kitchen Play by Play: I boil the chicken probably too long. I use low fat soup, cheese, and mayo. The cheese doesn't melt as much as regular, but the taste is still there. Prep is under 20 minutes, but it does produce a few more dishes than I'd like. I do not measure the cheese or the stuffing. I like a lot of both. Plus, it's an all in one meal. Veggie...check. Protein...check. Starch...check. This is literally the only thing I put on the dinner table. I like not having to think about side dishes, etc.



The Finished Product

The Verdict:

Nicole- Surprise, surprise. I overcooked the chicken. However, the taste was still fantastic. I ate around the chicken. My broccoli casserole always gets about a 3. If Jane had brought it, it would be a strong 5.

Paul-gives it a 5. Chicken Gooooood, Broccoli Goooood, Soup Gooooood, Stuffing Goooood. Put it all together and it's Goooooooooooooooooood.

Austin- loves this. He ate everything on his plate. Why? Because it's good. Really why? one word...BROCCOLI!!!!

* I read this to Paul right before posting, and he said that we DID fish out the chicken, boil it and return it to the casserole. Sounds disgusting but explains my intense fear of raw chicken even more.

Day 14: Sunday Breakfast

As stated earlier in the week, due to Peyton's Baptism breakfast would be the topic of the blog tonight. We had Omelets in a Bag and French Toast Casserole. My Aunt Christine is responsible for omelets in a bag and my Aunt Caryn for the casserole. The casserole is a first time recipe for me and omelets in a bag are a an oldie, but a real goodie :)

Both recipes are great for a nice breakfast with company. The casserole is put together the night before and the omelets are a self serve buffet station. Really fun especially with young kids. Although my dad must have said 20 times how much he enjoys making his omelet this way.

The Baptism was at 1pm, and we were going to eat lunch shortly after, so we ate a later breakfast(about 9:15).

Omelets in a Bag
Freezer Quart Ziploc Bags

eggs

veggies of your choice, chopped but not cooked
meat of your choice
cheese, shredded
salt/pepper

Boiling water

Step 1: Label baggies with guests names; boil water in a LARGE pot
Step 2: add veggies, meat, cheese, salt/pepper

Step 3: Crack 2-3 eggs into bag
Step 4: Release all air from bag and close
Step 5: Using your fingers smush all ingredients together(with bag closed...dad wanted me to add that tidbit just in case)
Step 6: Drop into boiling water for 10-13 minutes( about 3-4 bags per pot)

Step 7: Take bag out of water using tongs. Using scissors, slice open the bag and slide the omelet onto your plate.

Kitchen Play by Play: Today we had spinach leaves, tomatoes, deli ham, pulled pork leftovers, mexican blend cheese and sharp chedder cheese as our omelet fixins. Austin made an omelet for everyone. We just cracked our own eggs. Dad and Angie used Egg Beaters and Paul put in 4 egg whites only. Dad's was MASSIVE, so his took more like 15 minutes, but the rest of the bags were ready to go in about 11 minutes. If you do take the omelet out and it is not done, you can finish it in the microwave.

The Finished Product:

The Real finished product(Dad's Gigantor)

Austin's Omelet Creation(Spinach, pork, tomato, cheese)

The omelet buffet

The Verdict:

Nicole-I didn't do omelets today. Look for my comments in the French Toast section.

Paul-gives it a 4. Made to order and always hot.

Austin- ate a few bites, but like his mommy prefered the sugary casserole.

Dad-gives it a 5. Best invention ever. Note: He used other words but since we were with God today, I censored him.

Angie- gives it a 4 because even though it is healthier this way(no oil), she enjoys the crispiness of the pan with olive oil.

French Toast Casserole

16 oz pkg of Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl Bread, Cut into cubes

6 eggs

3 cups half and half

2 teaspoon vanilla

Step 1: Place cubes in sprayed 9 x 13 pan

Step 2: Beat eggs, half and half and vanilla in Medium bowl

Step 3: Pour over bread cubes. Press the bread into the liquid to coat cubes.

Step 4: Refrigerate overnight

Step 5: Take out of fridge about 30 minutes before cooking, Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Step 6: Sprinkle wth powdered sugar and serve with syrup

Note: You can add raisins or dried cranberries

Kitchen Play by Play:Finished this prep in about 6 minutes. I did change it up a bit and do 2 cups half and half, one cup whole milk. You could do all whole milk as well. When it is finished, it is really poofy; but as soon as it goes on the counter, it deflates. It will be like a souffle texture. Serve in square pieces.

The Verdict:

Nicole-Yummy!!! I could eat half the pan by myself. I give it a strong 4.

Paul-gives it a 4. No comment.

Austin- LOVED it. Asked for more! He gives it a big 5.

Dad- gives it a 4.5. But a 5 with ice cream.( He had it for dessert tonight)

Angie- gives it a 4 because it's a dessert. If the omelets were not part of the meal, she said she could have taken down the whole thing, or at least my other half :)

Day 13: Pulled Pork with Rootbeer BBQ Sauce(Crockpot) & Low fat Carmel Apple Bread Pudding

The pork is from a crockpot recipe list that my mother in law emailed me along time ago, and I ignored. She resent the list to me once I began this challenge and this time I not only looked at it but marked some recipes as well. This one seemed easy enough and sounded really different.

Big step for me today...I left the crock pot home alone while we went to the zoo with my Dad and Angie. We were gone for five hours total. I stopped worrying around hour three after not hearing from the fire department.

I made the dessert toinight because there were people to share it with. Plus, my dad is a little cukoo when it comes to fat, calories, sugar, etc so I knew this would be right up his alley. Total fat per serving = 1 gram and only 180 calories. Crazy. Can it really be that good when it is virtually guilt free? This recipe comes from a monthly cookbook my mom used to get. This particular edition is from 1998. The pages were brittle and yellowed.

Pulled Pork with Rootbeer BBQ Sauce

http://www.50plusfriends.com/cookbook/crockpot/pulledpork.html

Note: Rootbeer Concentrate=impossible to find(it didn't need it); I used pork shoulder instead of roast.

Kitchen Play by Play: Most time consuming aspect is cutting the onions and garlic and trimming the fat off the pork, but it still only took about 10 minutes to do these steps. Browning the pork took about five minutes; so,all in all, the meal was in the crock pot in less than 20. I set mine for 8 hours because that is what fit with our plans for the day, but as the instructions state you could do less or more time. You really do forget about it until about 1/2 hour before it's done. At that time, you start the sauce. Really simple. The only issue is stirring it very often to keep the chili sauce from sticking to the bottom. I use Bennets Chili sauce. I couldn't find the Rootbeer extract so I didn't put it in, but I did put several drops of tabasco in the sauce during the last minutes of cooking. I served the pork sandwiches with lettuce, tomato, pickle and cheese. We also had broccoli and cantalope to round off the meal.

The Verdict:
Nicole- It was easy...bonus. The pork was super tender and flavorful on its own. The rootbeer sauce was a little too sweet for me, but it was still very edible. I would probably still make the pork as directed in the crock pot, but maybe look into a different BBQ sauce. I've never had pork as tender as this recipe. I give the pork a 4. I give the sauce a 3.

Paul-gives it a 3. Pork was TENDER and JUICY, but the sauce was a little sweeter than what he looks for in a pulled pork sandwich.

Austin-ate it but was far more focused on the broccoli and cantalope.

Dad- gives the pork a 4. The sauce a 2. No words just a hand waving gesture.

Angie- gives the pork a 4. Extremely tender. The sauce gets a 1. Lacked punch...too sweet.


Low Fat Carmel Apple Bread Pudding
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup skim milk
1/2 egg beaters
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 cups 1 inch cubed french bread( I used Jewel's Vienna loaf)
Fat Free carmel topping

Step 1: Mix all ingredients except bread and carmel in large bowl with wire whisk until smooth

Step 2: Fold in bread. Pour in greased 9 inch pie pan.

Step 3: Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes until golden brown

Step 4: Serve with carmel on top

Kitchen Play by Play: I had this prepped before Paul had the dinner dishes done...enough said. I put a generous amount of carmel on top before serving because we LOVE carmel.

The Verdict:
Nicole- It would have been great for 10 grams of fat per serving, but for 1 gram of fat per serving it is flippin phenomenal. I did add a little low fat vanilla ice cream to the hot bread pudding...YUM! I give it a strong 4.

Paul-gives it a 4. No comment...just good.

Austin-was already sleeping. I'm sure he would have given it a 5. He will enjoy it tomorrow.

Dad- gives it a 4. However, Mr. " I can't eat that. It still has a lot of sugar," still ate it with a huge scoop of Oberweiss Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream(not low fat) and crushed walnuts. He gives the combo a 10.

Angie-gives it a 4. " I love bread; I love carmel, so really you could have just dumped carmel on top of bread and I'd be happy."

Day 12: Beef Stew

As my brother would say, " Today is not a beef stew day." He says this in regards to the weather. On a hot day, he calls my mom and says, " today is a cold tuna noodle day." On a rainy, cold day he calls and says, " today is a beef stew day." Well, as of two days ago when I went grocery shopping, it was supposed to be a perfect beef stew day today. Instead it ended up being more like a cold tuna noodle day. However, since I had already bought the fresh ingredients and didn't freeze the meat, I was left with no choice but to make it a perfect beef stew day.

Though prep is quick(as the rules state it needs to be), the cooking process is not. In total it takes about 2 and 1/2 hours. So, I had plans to begin around 3pm. Plans changed when my aunt Robin from New York called and said she was in town last minute for business and was leaving for the airport at 6pm; Could we meet her and Nana for a quick visit? I hardly ever see my Aunt Robin so of course I was thrilled; but in the back of mind I was thinking about the challenge, and my possible failure at only day 12. So I decided to meet her around 2pm and stay out until 4pm at the latest. That would mean that dinner could still be on the table by 7pm. Turns out Peyton was overly crabby from some shots today, so we had to leave earlier than expected which got me home by 3:45. Paul was already browning the meat. What a great husband I have. Long story short, dinner was being served at 6:10pm.

Beef Stew(Mom's Recipe)

1 1/2 lbs stew meat
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
5 medium potatoes(quartered)
carrots(sliced)
onions(about 4 small, halved or use pearl onions)
1 can of peas

Step 1: Brown meat. Salt/pepper. Cut large chunks in half

Step 2: Add green peppers, 1 cup water and beef bouillons. Simmer on low 1 1/2 hrs

Step 3: Add potatoes, carrots, onion, 1 cup water, tablespoon salt. Cook on Medium heat until vegetables are softened 20-40 minutes.

Step 4: Add peas with juice. Bring to boil for 5-10 minutes.

Kitchen Play by Play: I cut the carrots and onions while the kids were napping. It took about 8 minutes. Then I just threw them in baggies and put them in the fridge. I peeled the potatoes right before putting them in so they wouldn't sweat. The whole recipe is pretty easy; just make sure that you don't cut your potatoes or carrots too big or they'll take longer to cook. However, too small and they'll turn to mush. My veggies only needed to cook for about 25 minutes today. Make sure you stir about every 20 minutes or so. I don't do dumplings, but you can add those right at the end. They take about 5 minutes. I serve Pillsbury Grands biscuits with it. Yum!

Too excited to eat. Forgot to take a picture. Sorry.

The Verdict:
Nicole- This is another one of my favs. Although, like my brother, I would have enjoyed it a little more if the weather would have cooperated and made it a "true" beef stew day. I added a little salt to my bowl and dove in for the first bite. A little meat, peas and carrots...delicious! I was pretty proud of myself. Though it is not my first beef stew rodeo, I'm never sure if I can replicate it every time. Nailed it!!! I give myself and the stew a 5.

Paul- gives it a 4. "Little hot for beef stew, but meat was tender, sauce was flavorful, overall beun trabajo ( "Good job" in Spanish. He learned it from Handy Manny and is very proud of himself). Note: I did not share my blog with Paul prior to asking for his comment, so he came up with the "too hot" comment all on his own. Clearly, we're all related and a little weird.

Austin- Ate it up. Enjoyed the strawberries I served with it as well. I think he ate 12...no exaggeration.

Day 11: Spaghetti and Meatballs

This is one of my top three favorite meals that my mom makes which is saying a lot because my mom is an ah-mazing cook and makes some damn good food. Though this is one of my fav's, I have never made it before for several reasons. First off, I was afraid that if I made it and it tasted as good as mom's I'd lose my dinner invite when she makes it. Secondly, it's an old family recipe so it a "little of this," " a lot of that" kinda thing which I do not do well with. I like measurements. Finally, I knew my mom would Mary Tyler Moore me, and it would end up not tasting like it should.

For those of you who are wondering what Mary Tyler Moore me means, to be honest, I'm not really even sure. I just grew up hearing and saying it in regards to leaving out a key ingredient/piece of information. I'm guessing it was a topic on the show, but who knows.

Cathi's Spaghetti and Meatballs
( a little sketchy, so I'll try to clarify using measurements)

2 Large can of whole tomatoes(28 oz each)

1 large can tomato puree(28 0z)

1 large can tomato sauce(28oz)

1 can tomato paste(sm or large is fine)

a lot of basil(I used like 1/4 of a McCormick spice jar)

2 Tablespoon Oregano

2 Tablespoon Parsley Flakes

a lot of garlic powder(same as above)

1 cup Romano cheese(depends who you talk to)

Crushed Red Pepper Flakes(if desired)

Step 1: Open all cans and dump in large pot. I usually squeeze the whole tomatoes to crush them

Step 2: "measure" all the spices and add to pot

Step 3: Simmer on low for 3 hours. Stirring often to prevent burning

Meatballs

3lbs 80/20 ground beef

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 cup Parmesan cheese

10 slices white bread, moistened slightly under water, tear into pieces

3 eggs

2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Step 1: Mix all together and let meld at least 2 hours

Kitchen Play by Play: My mother DID Mary Tyler Moore me!!!!!!!!! I was feeling pretty confident after dumping all the cans and spices in especially once the familiar smell started resonating throughout the kitchen, but when I decided to stir it 15 minutes later I realized it was starting to burn a little. I panicked and called my mother. Here was our conversation:

Nicole: " Mom, my sauce is burning already!"

Cathi: " Did you put the Romano cheese in?"

Nicole: "yes."

Cathi: "Oh, I never do."

Nicole:" What do you mean you never do? The recipe says 1 cup."

Cathi: " I stopped putting the cheese in years ago because I found that it made the sauce burn."

Nicole:( after a short silence while thinking WTF!!!)" You Mary Tyler Moored me!!!!"

Cathi:(quietly) " If it doesn't burn, it will probably taste better than mine because of the cheese"

Nicole: " Goodbye, mom."

My sauce didn't burn. I stirred about every 15-20 minutes careful not to scrape the bottom just in case the " not supposed to be in there" Romano cheese was collecting at the base of the pot. I tasted it about half way through and it didn't seem as spicy as mom's so I called her over to taste it too. Conversation #2:

Nicole: " Mom, what makes yours spicier."

Cathi: "red pepper flakes"

Nicole: " That's not on the recipe card you gave me"

Cathi: "oh"

Nicole: " Did you just Mary Tyler Moore me again?"

Cathi: (giggle) Note: she did not intentionally MTM me, she just thought it was comical.

As "punishment" I made her help watch the kids while I made the meatballs as well as talk me through her EXACT meatball making process. I was not going to be fooled again. I only used 2lbs of meat so we had to do a little math and only use 2/3 of the ingredients. I used 6 pieces of bread and 2 eggs and 4 cloves of garlic. It melded for about 2 hrs and 15 minutes. I rolled them into ping pong ball size meatballs and fried them in vegetable oil in a skillet , but mom uses an electric skillet. I rotated them often. They were done within 15 minutes. I lay them on paper towels to drain some of the grease. I make the meatballs right before serving.

The Finished Product

The Verdict:

Nicole- DAMN Tasty if I do say so myself. Even after being MTM'd more than once, it still came out very close to mom's sauce. My meatballs could have been a little more garlicky, but otherwise were tasty too. It made a shitload of sauce(seriously like enough for 10 people), so I'm sooo excited to have it in the freezer. 2lbs of meat made about 20 meatballs, but those will be eaten with sauce or by themselves. I don't freeze already cooked meat; it grosses me out. Really, though the actually cooking/melding processes are long, the preparation is super easy. The time is totally worth it though. The house smells fantastic, and it tastes so much better than Ragu. I give it my first 5.

Paul- gives it a 4. " good flavor, a little bit of spice, and the meatballs looked and tasted great."

Austin- liked it. It got another "mmm...I like it."