Online Bake Sale- TODAY

Don't forget to go to Stephs Bite by Bite and check out all the goodies at the online bake sale. Proceeds will go to the Team in Training benefitting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. There is all kinds of great treats including some savory scones by yours truly.

Go check it out and BID!!!

Week 5 Plans - It's Gonna be GOOD

This week is seems to be another crazy one in the works. Living in a smaller town means that we don't have all the medical specialists needed at times. This week I will be making our semi-annual trek to the Pediatric Opthamologist for tiny miss to be checked out and fitted for bifocals. It's about an hour and half to two hour drive there, but it will give me a chance to visit a friend, eat at a restaurant we don't have here and maybe do a bit shopping. Plus, I get to spend a day hanging out with my tiny girl.

How can you resist this little face?

Needless to say that between this trip, normal family chaos and continuing Girl Scout cookie sales this is going to be a week of quick meals and dinners that can be made without my supervision.

Tonight we are cleaning all of last weeks yummy outs of the fridge.This is how the rest of the week will shape up.

Monday - Sticky chicken from the freezer, brown rice and steamed veggies.
Tuesday - Southwest chicken wraps with sweet black beans
Wednesday - Taco stuffed shells with refried beans and corn
Thursday - Apricot glazed pork loin from the freezer. This is a slow cooker dish that has been waiting to be cooked for awhile.
Friday - Lentil stew- I am STILL trying to get rid of this stuff!!!

So that's the plan. I will let you know how it goes.

BBQ and Beans- Korean Style

I decided to go a bit out of my comfort zone and try something new. That was one of my resolutions after all. Being from Texas, we love traditional bbq with all the trimming. In fact, the Poprik family bbq has become and annual affair. Nothing says home cooking like slow cooked meat with a big side of beans. Why not try it with a bit of a different flair? Last week I made Spicy Korean Pork bbq over sweet rice with Seasoned Spinach and Black Soy Beans.

The Spicy Korean BBq was made with thin slices of pork tenderloin, marinated and cooked in a spicy red sauce. This sauce had a bit of kick since it was made with sweet chili sauce, but it wasn't overpowering with spice. The thinly sliced pork tenderloin was marinated for about 8 hours and then cooked in the sauce.

The big surprise of this meal was the black soy beans. These protein packed little guys were hard to find, but definitely worth the effort. My son who NEVER eats beans loved them. He even asked for a second serving- that's totally unheard of for beans in this house. The season spinach was also a nice surprise. The spinach was only blanched for a few seconds, so it stayed a vibrant green and was just beautiful. I will definitely make this meal the next time we are searching for BBQ with a bit of flair!

Spicy Korean Pork Barbecue

Serves 6

1 ½ pounds pork tenderloin cut into ¼ inch slices

3 tbls brown sugar

3 tbls soy sauce

2 ¼ tbls Thai chili paste

¾ tsp ground ginger

1.5 tsp dark sesame oil

½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 tsp chopped garlic

Combine the pork with the remaining ingredients in a 1 gallon freezer bag and freeze.

Thaw and prepare grill. Place a grilling basket on a grill rack. Remove the pork from the bag and discard the marinade. Place the pork on the grilling baskets and grill for 5 minutes turning frequently or until you reach the desired doneness.

Korean Sweet Black Beans (Kongjaban) Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup black soy beans, washed

• 1 cup water

• 1/2 cup soy sauce

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 Tbsp sesame oil

• 1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

Preparation:

1. In a small pot, bring water and beans to a boil and cook for 15 minutes.

2. Turn down heat to medium-low and add soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil.

3. Stir to combine and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes.

4. If adding seeds, take pot off of heat and stir in sesame seeds.

Pork Loin    Superfoods

Scones for Cause- Online Bake Sale

Ok, I admit it. I am a sucker. Well not for everything, but I am totally a sucker for a great baked good and good cause.  Stephanie over at Steph's Bite by Bite, is holding an online bake sale fundraising event for her Team in Training  for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. 

This is a cause that is near and dear to my heart. My cousin's sweet 6 year old son Aidan has been battling Leukemia for 3 years and my father was diagnosed with Lymphoma 9 years ago. Thankfully, their fights have gone well, but others dealing with blood cancers aren't as lucky and could definitely use the help provided by LLS.

Stephanie's bake sale will be on January 31st. All of the yummy treats are being donated by over 40 food bloggers, including me! I am donating a batch of 12 savory scones like the ham and swiss one pictured above to the highest bidder. All the money goes to great cause so be sure to check it out at Steph's Bite By Bite Online Bake Sale.  Some of the baked goods sound just amazing and I can't wait to bid. Make sure to pass on the info to your friends! It's going to be a ton of fun!

Moroccan Rack of Lamb with Shiraz sauce

I made this one on my quest to try new ingredients and expose my children to different flavors. I very rarely cook with lamb, so this was a new and fun experience for me. I know it looks intimidating, but it was really easy and the flavor was amazing.

First I seasoned the lamb with salt and pepper and a home made "ras al hanout" Ras al hanout is just a moroccan spice blend that contains any number of spices. The recipes I found for it were very similiar to a Garam Masala blend I already had so I just tweaked it a bit with additional cinnamon and cardamom. It turned out to be the perfect flavor.

Make sure to get both sides.

Then I seared the rack on all sides in a hot pan.

Then I put the pan in the 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

I checked the lamb temp and it was 140 so I put it to the side on a plate while I made the pan sauce. It was a reduction of Shiraz, agave nectar and honey. I love the flavor of agave nectar, but I am unsure of how it does with heat, so I still added some honey.

After the lamb had rested for about 10 minutes I cut it into chops and drizzled with the sauce. I wish I had a picture of the finished product, but my hungry hoard came in and started devouring them before they made it to the plate.

The meat was tender and delicous and the sauce was a wonderful complement to the spices on the lamb. It really was great. Now would I make it again? Probably not. Rack of lamb is pretty expensive and not a cost effective way to feed my kids. Lamb chops are delicious, but they are tiny with about 3-4 bits each. With my crowd of big eaters it just didn't work. Now I just have to figure out how to get that wonderful flavor in a more practical protein, Hrm- pork? What do you think?

This Week's Special - Dinner is Done!

Menus, Meals & More

Economical meal solutions for people on the go

Dinner is Done!

Chicken, Artichoke and Sun Dried Tomato Bake- delicately flavored chicken layers with artichoke hearts in a Sun dried tomato mascarpone cheese sauce

Meatball sub casserole – Get your favorite sandwich in casserole form!

Herbed Lemon Chicken and Rice- Lemon scented chicken in a creamy sauce over white and wild rice

Chicken Chili Casserole- Full of black beans, corn, chicken, and flavor!

Creamy Italian Syle Chicken Stuffed Pepper – savory chicken, ricotta , ham and marinara in tender baked peppers



$25 each for full order $15 for a half pan

All meals serve 6 and can be split for an additional $2

Husband's Favorite Soup - Zuppa Toscana

The night before my husband's birthday I decided to surprise him with his favorite soup. I don't make this very often because it is really high in fat and cholesterol which neither of us need, but it is so SO good as an occasional meal. He absolutely loves the Zuppa Toscana at the Olive Garden and this recipe is about as close to it as I can come. Of course, I can never leave a recipe alone so I tend to tweak it a bit, but this is pretty close to the original.

First I sauteed the onions and garlic

While the onion and garlic cooked, I cut the hot links. Normally I use a locally made sausage, Slovacek, but this time I decided to use the Earl Campbell brand. Next time I am going back to my old favorite. Slovacek is spicier and just has a better flavor.

I added the sausage in with the onions and browned it in the pot.

Then I added the base and water and potatoes. After that cooked for around 15 minutes I added the cream and kale to cook for a few minutes. Don't put the kale in too soon or it will change into a brownish color and just not look appealing.

The end product was delicious and mildly spicy from the sausage. It is definitely still a favorite.

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

Published 3/13/96 in the Minneapolis Star Tribune Taste Section.

Servings: 5
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Sausage links, spicy; about 12 links
3/4 cup Diced onions
6 slices Bacon
1 1/4 teaspoons Minced garlic
2 tablespoons Chicken stock base
1 quart Water
2 medium Potatoes, cut in half and then into 1/4 slices
2 cups Kale, cut in half and then sliced
1/3 cup Heavy whipping cream



Directions:

Cut sausage into half lengthwise, then cut at an angle into 1/2 inch slices. Place onions and bacon in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear. Add garlic and cook an additional 1 minute. Add chicken base, water and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes. Add sausage, kale and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve.

Week 4- I am on a Roll!

Well Girl Scout Cookie sales are now in full swing and life is as hectic as ever. This week will be a mix of slow cooker dishes, frozen meals from the freezer and quick fix pasta dinners.

General Tsao Chicken with spring rolls- this is actually an old Weight Watchers recipe that we all love!
Slow cooker Chicken and Barley Stew- this is a new one that I am interested to try. It might even make it to a batch party menu
Pumpkin Pasta Surprise - this is from the Clean Eating Magazine website. It should be interesting!
Chicken enchiladas - from the freezer and so SO yummy.
Portabello Mushroom Stroganoff- new dish   I can't wait to see if the mushrooms are meaty enough to keep us from missing the meat.
Lentil Stew- from the freezer and not that yummy, but I want to get rid of it.

So that's the plan! I will keep you posted on the results.!

Blaze's return to Glory - Green Chili Pork

I don't know what was going on with Blaze, but maybe 2010 was just a bad year for her and 2011 is her comeback year. No matter what that crock pots deal was, she has been treating me right lately. On one of last week's crazy days I decided to trust her again with a delicious green chil pork roast I had in the freezer. This is one of the easiest dishes I know how to prepare and it is a major hit at batch parties.

I just pulled the already seasoned roast from the freezer and thawed it.

Then I poured the contents of the entire bag into the Blaze.

It cooked on low for 6 hours before I drained some of the liquid off and shredded the meat.

Normally I serve this with corn tortillas, but since we are doing the low carb thing we had it on salad greens with black beans, shredded cheese and sour cream. It was delicious! Seriously this is a no fail recipe. You have to try it.

Slow Cooker Green Chili Pork Roast


3 pound boneless pork loin
8 oz jar of salsa Verde
3 tablespoons of lime juice
Place all ingredients in a large freezer bag and freeze.

Thaw completely and place contents of bag in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours. Serve with corn tortillas and salsa of your choice.

Review of a local baker- AllyCakes Bakery

Listen up B/CS folks. Cupcakes are now all the rage and so is buying local. Combine the 2 for the best of both worlds and you have AllyCakes Bakery.  This weekend I had the pleasure of having two parties with AllyCakes amazing cupcakes. The first was my husband's birthday party where we had the Lotsa chocolate cupcakes with dark chocolate buttercream icing and the Lemon Cello with lemony cream cheese icing. All I can say about these cupcakes is that they were WONDERFUL. My husband said that they were the best cupcakes he had ever had. Not only do they taste great, but they are cute too!

This was my husband's birthday cupcake. They normally don't have the giant numbers on them :)

The next day I hosted a shower for a friend, so Ally set us up with a mix of sugar free Dr Pepper, sugar free Lotsa Chocolate and some Vanilla"oh my" cupcakes. She even let me borrow this cute cupcake tree and stand.

Ally makes a variety of sugar free and gluten-free cupcakes along with traditional favorites that are sure to please. Check out her website AllyCakes . I know I am looking forward to my next order!

Low carb Hors d'oeurves - BLT cukes

Some wonderful friends are expecting their third baby in a few weeks and I couldn't think of a better excuse to celebrate so there had to be party. I threw a "sprinkle" for Leigh and new baby Henry on the way with friends, goofy games and of course, yummy food.

Leigh is unfortunately one of the many women that has to deal with gestational diabetes and count carbs throughout her pregnancy. It wouldn't be any fun for her to watch us all eat great snacks that she couldn't enjoy, so it was a low carb finger food spread. I made rosemary scented nut mix, Asian chicken skewers with peanut sauce, creamsicle punch and BLT cukes. Allycakes even baked some sugar free Dr Pepper cupcakes for the mom to be that were wonderful. They were almost as good as the sugar free dark chocolate ones. I have to admit, I ate more than my share.

The BLT cukes were really something different that I had never tried before. I am wishing that I had known about them when I was dealing with gestational diabetes myself. Maybe I would have been less cranky, but I kind of doubt it.  I found a recipe in a Low Glycemic index cookbook and messed with it until I really liked it. How can you go wrong with bacon? Plus, I got to use this crazy tool that has been just sitting in the drawer.

This crazy contraption will scrape all of the seeds out of a cucumber evenly and quickly. It was pretty cool.

The scraped out cucumbers were cut into bite size slices and filled with an amazingly tasty mixture of shredded lettuce, red cabbage, finely diced tomato and crumbled bacon mixed with mayo, salt and pepper.

It was so simple and so good. Plus only 1 carb each! Can't beat that!! Everything looked great and tasted wonderful.

Leigh was one very happy mommy!

Turkey Swedish Meatballs- a South Beach Experiment

The other day I found a great deal at Sam's Club on the giant packs of ground turkey. Part of it was used in the turkey chili, but I was at a loss for what to do with the rest until I found this recipe in the South Beach Quick and Easy cookbook. I really enjoy a lot of the South Beach diet recipes and this one was low in fat as well so I was doubly excited.

 Swedish Meatballs- how could they go wrong? I mean they were a staple of the 1970's and an entire generation loved them so they have to be good right? Hrm well maybe not. That generation alos loved polyester leisure suits so that might have been my tip off that all thing 70's were not good.

First I mixed up the ground turkey with the allspice, salt and pepper.

Then I used my cool little cookie disher to scoop tons of one inch meatballs.

I tried to brown the meatballs in the saute pan, but they were so juicy that I had to drain the pan in order to get them to brown.

The sauce was made in the same pan. Honestly, the meatballs were just ok. I was expecting them to be fantastic and knock our socks off, but they were just ehhh alright. Next time I will look at other recipes to get some seasoning ideas that we might like better. This just tasted like a ball of allspice.


Turkey Swedish Meatballs
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground turkey breast
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup lower-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream 
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 

Mix together salt, allspice, and pepper in a medium mixing bowl. Add turkey and gently mix with hands to combine; shape into 24 (1-inch) balls.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs and cook until browned, about 3 minutes; lower heat to medium and cook 3 more minutes, gently shaking pan. Using a slotted spoon, transfer meatballs to a plate.

Add broth to the same skillet, increase heat to medium-high, and simmer until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes.

Whisk in sour cream and cook 1 minute more. Add meatballs. Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot.

*** Recipe from The South Beach Diet® Quick & Easy Cookbook.

Turkey Chili- a Healthy take on a Cold Weather Favorite

Living in Central Texas means mainly mild winters with highs in the 50's and 60's, occasional sleet and sometimes if we are lucky we might get as now flurry or two each year. This year has been pretty warm so we really haven't seen much of anything other than gray days and some rain. Last week we had our first real sustained cold streak of the year and it was definitely time for some warm comfort food.

This turkey chili really fit the bill. It was delicious and full of flavor, but still healthy and diet friendly. The kids loved it, especially after I convinced them that adding a bit of sour cream would help with the spicyness. In fact, I may have to make it again even if it isn't freezing outside.

First, the turkey and onion were browned in a little oil.Then I added the wine and scraped up all the browned bits from the pan and added the crushed tomato.Next, I added in the beans and spices and let the pot simmer for around half an hour.

I served it with shredded cheese and light sour cream. We actually ate the entire pot. This is definitely going to be made again soon.

Turkey Chili
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 cups water
1 (28 ounce) can canned crushed tomatoes
1 (16 ounce) can canned pinto beans - drained, rinsed, and slightly mashed
1 teaspoons garlic pwoder
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1.Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Place turkey in the pot, and cook until evenly brown. Stir in onion, and cook until tender.

2.Pour water and wine into the pot. Mix in tomatoes, and pinto beans.. Season with garlic, chili powder, paprika, Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes.

Week 3 Ideas and Running from the Cookie Girl

This is the time of year that my life gets turned upside down. After a couple of weeks in New Years Resolution healthy mode, I get derailed by my husbands birthday. Normally, this would just be a minor bump on the road except that it is followed immediately by most torturous time of the year- Girl Scout Cookie time.

That's right, on Wednesday prepare yourself for the throngs of little girls that will be out selling the most tempting diet wrecking cookies ever. While most of you can avoid this time by just locking your doors and averting your eyes as you run past the little peddlers outside the local megamart, I don't get this choice. I live with a cookie dealer. Oh and what a dealer she is! My daughter has very high ambitions when it comes to her cookie sales and tend to relentless in her drive to get them sold. Last year she sold 1146 boxes of cookies. That is a freaking insane amount of cookies and she is hoping to do it again.

Really, how can anyone say no to this face?

While I can personally try to dodge the cases upon cases of Thin Mints taunting me in my home, I do have to take her out to sell them. This means tons of crazy evenings full of quick dinners, homework then driving my little peddler out to various parts of town that may not have been hit up yet by the little girls in brown or green. Add in that this is the time of year with the worst weather in our part of Texas and you will understand my pain.

Anyway, in an effort to help our nights go quickly and smoothly, I will be making a bunch of quick fix and crockpot meals. Easy cleanup will be very important so that we can get out the door to start hocking the cookies as fast a possible. So this is how I am hoping our week will shape up:

Sunday - clean out the fridge and leftovers night- because every family has to have one of these.
Monday - Moroccan Lamb with rosemary potatoes and lemony asparagus
Tuesday - Bolivian spiced pork chops and lentils
Wednesday - French Dip sandwiches with sweet potato wedges and white bean salad
Thursday - Sweet and sour chicken with brown rice and steamed broccoli
Friday - Korean pork bbq with sweet black soy beans and seasoned spinach
Saturday -  in laws are coming for another celebration of the birth of my sweet husband- Who knows what we will eat.

So yeah, that is how my week will hopefully shape up. It looks healthy and should be quick enough to put together that we can be in and out in a hurry.

Oh and if your craving some peanut butter patties, I totally can hook you up.

And the Winner Is.....

The randomly picked comment from Random.org is number 14. Congratulations to PcMomPatty!!!  Send me your address and  I will get the cookbook in the mail to you. Congrats again!!

Why I have been MIA- Sorry

Yes, I know I announced a giveaway and then a yummy meal plan and then disappearred from the blogging world. What can I say? Life gets in the way sometimes.

But, look at this life

 This weeks has been full of teacher conferences, PTO meetings, baby shower and birthday party planning. I have also filled a half a dozen orders for breakfast items made several pans of yummy dishes for a gift certificate winner. So, don't worry, I have been cooking and eating and taking subpar pictures for your later enjoyment. 

Oh and don't forget to enter for the cookbook prize giveaway. The randomly chosen winner will be announced tonight!

Next week I will be back with lots of great recipes and tales of wonderful meals so be sure to check back then.

Batch Party Open House - January 26th

Have you ever wanted to attend a batch party, but were afraid to commit to hosting one first?  This is the opportunity for you!

 I will be hosting a batch party open house on January 26th  7pm at the Shenandoah Clubhouse in College Station.

Selections need to be to me by January 18th and buy-in will be due January 21st.


 Batch parties are a great way to fill your freezer with lots of great healthy dishes for rushed evenings and nights when you have other things to worry about than dinner. In my house that is almost every night!!! Most dishes are prepared by just thawing and popping in the oven or on the grill for about 30 minutes while you heat up a bagged of steamed veggies in the microwave. The recipes all serve 6 and most can be split into 2 or more containers for smaller families or lighter eaters.

How it works!

1. Choose a recipe from the selections list and let me know- this will be the recipe that you assemble the night of the party. You will make enough of your recipe for each person there.

2. On the closing date I will make a master grocery and estimate the total bill. It will be divided by the number of participants and a buy in amount will be determined. You will need to get the money to me by the buy-in date so that I can do all the shopping and prepping for the party. After all the shopping is finished I will add up the actual total and determine if more money is due or if you will receive a refund. Usually the estimate is really close and it is only a couple of dollars in either direction.

3. On the night of the party, show up with a box or large shopping bag to take your meals home in, measuring cups and measuring spoons if you have them and a cutting board. If there is any money due then you will need to bring that as well.

4. You will assemble one "batch" of your recipe for each person there. At the end you will get to take home one of everything! You will receive copies of all the recipes and cooking instructions.

The cost to you depends on the number of participants in the party. I normally like to keep the parties between 5-10 people with 7 being the optimal number. That way you have an entire week of meals in the freezer!!

The meals usually work out to between $10-15 each (usually closer to the $10 range). I shop for cases and do bulk buying so that really keeps the costs down. The more people that participate the lower the per meal cost is because of the bulk buys and cases. Typical coast for a party of 5 is $50-75 depending on the dishes chosen. Parties of 7 -$70-85 and parties of 10 are usually right around the 100-110 range for 10 meals.  Keep in mind that all meals can be split so smaller families get double this amount!!

Please let me know if you have any questions and what your selection is.

Beef:

Italian Meat Roll

California Thai Sirloin

Slow Cooker Winter Pot Roast

Flank Steak Roll

Marinated Rib eyes with Bleu Cheese Butter

Poultry

Chicken Margarita

Stuffed Basil Chicken

Pepper Lime Chicken

Italian Slow cooker Chicken

Orange ~Sesame Turkey Cutlets

Chicken and Blackberry Jam

Honey Sesame Chicken breasts

Pork:

Orange Chipotle Pork Chops

Lemon Herb Pork Tenderloins

Pork Chops with Maple Pecan Sauce

Honey Sesame Pork Chops

Pork Loin Roast with Brown Sugar Glaze

Keeping the Resolutions Going: Week 2 Meal Plan

Alright- Week one is done and we are on to the second week of the new year. This week I am trying out several new dishes. We are still  trying to be pretty low on carbs so this week has lots of new low-carb dishes.


Turkey Swedish Meatballs - this is a new one that I can't wait to try. Its a South Beach recipe that is also lower in fat because it uses ground turkey. This will be paired with cauliflower and spinach
Green Chili Pork - This is a batch party dish that I am pulling from  the freezer. It's usually served with corn tortillas, but we are having it over salad greens. YUM
Turkey Chili - Yum! I can't wait to try this on a very anticipated cold evening.
Chicken Sundried tomato and Artichoke bake - this is another new one that just sounds amazing!
Sausage and Lentils - this is a different take on a family favorite.
Teryaki Fish - Teryaki marinated tilapia- a kid and parent favorite.

So this is my plan for the week. Wish me luck!!!

Yet Another Freezer Meal: Asian Style Pork Chops!

Finishing off our week of planned meals was Asian Style Pork Chops. This is a family and batch party favorite.  This meal had been in my freezer since the last big sale on pork about a month ago. It is mildly sweet and full of flavor. One of daughters friends joined us for dinner. She is rather finicky about her food and she cleaned her plate. Her mother was quite impressed. I would definitely suggest trying it. Oh and don't forget to check out the Giveaway!!

I pulled it out of the freezer two days ago and let it defrost in the freezer.

I set it on the counter and let it warm a bit while I heated the pan. The chops were seared on each side.

and then they were put in the oven for 20 minutes.

Asian Style Pork Chops


6 center cut Pork loin chops
2/3 cup soy sauce
2 tbls sugar
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tbls sesame oils
1 tbls ground ginger
1 tbls minced garlic
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Place the chops in a large freezer bag. Combine other ingredients in bag with the pork.

Seal and Freeze.

Thaw. Grill until center of chop reaches 160.

Another one for the Freezer:Pepper Lime Chicken

Wednesday was a weird night for dinner for us. At about 5 o'clock, my kids decided that they wanted to make green eggs and ham.  We head read the book the night before and I guess it just struck them that we needed to try it out. Plus its hard to resist innocent faces standing there asking if they can make green eggs and ham, so they did.

Aren't they cute on the Cars and Princess plates?

Well after my 2 youngest had their green eggs, I had to feed the rest of us. We went with the Pepper Lime Chicken. This is another recipe like the Apple "Dump" Chicken that I am testing out for batch parties and it really was a great freezer recipe. I took it out of the freezer thawed it and decided to pan sear and then bake for 25 minutes at 350. It was so tender and the flavor was great. It really wasn't as peppery as I had expected and the taste was great. This is is a really easy dish that I am betting will be a hit!

Pepper-lime "DUMP" Chicken

1/2 Teaspoon Lime Peel

2 Cloves Garlic -- minced

1/4 cup Lime Juice

1 Teaspoon Pepper

1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil

1 Teaspoon Basil

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1 1/2 Pounds Chicken Pieces

For immediate cooking: Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Place all ingredients into a

large baking dish, turn chicken to coat. Bake until chicken juices run

clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30 minutes for chicken

breasts).

For freezing: Place all ingredients into a 1 Gallon freezer bag. Lay flat

in freezer.

To thaw and cook: Take the bag out of the freezer the night before, make

sure the baggie is completely closed. Place the Bag on a shelf furthest

from the freezer (It works best if the bag is laying flat, although this

may not be the best option with a side-by-side fridge/freezer). Preheat the

oven to 350 F. Empty the contents of the bag into a large baking dish and

bake until the juices run clear (45-60 minutes for chicken pieces, or 20-30

minutes for chicken breasts).

Beef Gone Spicy- California Thai Sirloin

This was the first time that I tried the California Thai Sirloin. The smells that came from preparing this dish were unreal. The meat was marinated in a flavor mix of aromatics that made my house smelled amazing.

This is the bowl of amazing smelling goodness.

It was mint, basil and red onion.

The liquid mix contains rice vinegar, sesame oil, lime juice and soy sauce.

The wet and dry ingredients were mixed together and crushed peanuts were added.

The recipe calls for 3 tablespoon of chili paste, but I am kind of a wimp and I was feeding this to my kids so all I could handle was about a teaspoon.

I marinated the meat for about 8 hours and it was so flavorful.

I put a large skillet on to heat up.

I poured the marinade into a saucepan and boiled it for 10 minutes to thicken and take care of any chance of bacteria. 

The meat was cooked on each side for 5 minutes.

I let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing it thinly and putting it over salad greens.

This was really good and definitely a family favorite. Next time I might even add for chili paste. Oh and this was a great one to make and freeze. Just make the marinade and freeze the meat in it!

California-Thai Sirloin

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup rice wine
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/2 small red onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
3 tablespoons sliced lemon grass
3 tablespoons crushed peanuts
3 tablespoons chile paste
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 pounds flank steak

In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, rice wine, lime juice and sesame oil. Stir in onion, basil, mint, lemon grass and crushed peanuts. Season with chile paste, coriander and garlic salt.

Layer steak with marinade. Refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.

Spray a large sheet of aluminum foil with non-stick cooking spray. Drain liquid from marinade. Layer meat on foil with the remaining non-liquid marinade ingredients. Fold edges of foil to seal

To Freeze: Freeze in freezer safe container.

To Reheat: Defrost. Preheat outdoor grill at medium-high heat, lightly oil grate. Cook foil packs for 20 minutes.