Archive | Cooking RSS feed for this section

Sesame Chicken

24 Sep

I found this recipe in a healthier eating cookbook a while back and it was an instant hit in our house.  I have made it so often that I have the recipe memorized!  It is a lot lighter than sesame chicken you find at restaurants; this doesn’t have the heavy breading and the chicken is cooked in a small amount of oil, not deep-fried.  I actually prefer this a lot more to restaurant sesame chicken.

Sesame Chicken

1/4 cup unbleached flour or all-purpose flour
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 2″-4″ strips
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp dark sesame oil
2 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
Veggies of your choice
Cooked rice

Place flour and chicken in a gallon size zipper bag.  Shake to coat chicken in flour.  Heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet in batches and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes, or until white and no longer pink. Transfer to a plate.
Reduce the heat to medium. Combine the soy sauce and sugar in the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the sesame oil and sesame seeds.

Add the chicken and stir to coat.

Add in any chopped veggies you want.  For this batch, I used just broccoli.  Other times I have used different combinations of broccoli, onion, green, yellow, and red peppers, shredded carrots, bean sprouts, snow peas, water chestnuts, and mushrooms.  Cover your skillet and cook until veggies have softened.  I tend to leave the veggies a little crispy still because my husband likes them still crispy.

 Serve over cooked rice.

Note: You can buy toasted sesame seeds, usually with in the section with other Asian grocery items.  If you can’t find them, to toast sesame seeds, place in a dry skillet and toast, shaking the pan, over medium high heat for a minute or so, or until fragrant and lightly browned. Do this first and cook the chicken in the same skillet to pick up more sesame flavor.  Also, if you are using a lot of veggies, you may want to double the ingredients for the sesame coating so there is some for the veggies.

Tags: , , ,

Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

21 Sep

I still had a 1/2 lb of spinach left after making Spanakopita and Spinach Manicotti, so I decided to make another of our favorite spinach dishes, Hot Artichoke Spinach Dip.  It’s really easy to make, and it’s also something I like to make to take to a potluck or party.

Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 lb fresh spinach, chopped
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, chopped
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 8 oz pkg sour cream
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese divided

Melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in spinach, artichokes, cream cheese, sour cream, 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, and 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Stir until well blended and heated through.

Pour mixture into a casserole dish and top with remaining cheeses. Bake in 350 F oven until cheese starts to brown, about 15-20 minutes.  Serve with your favorite veggies or chips.  We had tortillas chips with this batch.

Tags: , , , ,

Basket Breakdown 9/17/2011 – Update

20 Sep

I got a food scale over the weekend, and have now finally made it to 3 local grocery stores that sell produce to compare prices.  The 3 stores I chose to compare are Wal-Mart, Safeway, and Fry’s.  We also have a commissary and Food City here, but I figured that 3 stores was enough to give a general idea.  I was able to find prices for everything except for figs, which I could not find at any stores here.  They weighed half a pound, so I estimated them to be about $5/lb, which would be $2.50 total for the amount I got.  If anyone has a better price for figs, let me know.  Here is the breakdown.

Item

Qty

WM Price

WM Total

SW Price

SW Total

Fry’s Price

Fry’s Total
Broccoli (lb)

2.81

$1.28

$3.60

$1.49

$4.19

$0.96

$2.70
Yellow onion (lb)

2.13

$1.16

$2.47

$0.96

$2.04

$0.78

$1.66
Yams (lb)

2.41

$0.98

$2.36

$1.49

$3.59

$1.29

$3.11
Cucumbers (ea)

2.00

$0.64

$1.28

$0.99

$1.98

$0.59

$1.18
Avocado (ea)

3.00

$0.98

$2.94

$0.99

$2.97

$1.25

$3.75
Bananas (lb)

2.20

$0.56

$1.23

$0.57

$1.25

$0.69

$1.52
Figs (lb)

0.50

$5.00

$2.50

$5.00

$2.50

$5.00

$2.50
Grapes (lb)

2.12

$1.88

$3.99

$2.49

$5.28

$1.98

$4.20
Bartlett Pears (lb)

1.71

$1.17

$2.00

$1.49

$2.55

$1.00

$1.71
Gala Apples (lb)

2.14

$1.57

$3.36

$1.69

$3.62

$1.79

$3.83
Plums (lb)

2.00

$1.25

$2.50

$2.49

$4.98

$1.98

$3.96
Apple Pears (ea)

2.00

$1.47

$2.94

$1.00

$2.00

$1.49

$2.98

$31.17

$36.95

$33.09

The average of the 3 totals is $33.74.  Sales tax on food in AZ is 1.75%, so after tax my total at the store would be $34.33.  I paid $15 plus $1.50 handling fee, so $16.50 altogether.  That makes my savings $17.83, or 52%.  I am very happy with that number!  This is the first time that I have actually gotten all the numbers, so now I am curious to see how it will compare throughout the year.

Note: Prices are from stores in southeastern AZ, prices may vary in other locations.  Also, please know that I volunteered this week and did get 1 extra item, which was 2 apples.  The weight of food may vary from another basket because of volunteering and because of variances in how the ends of produce cases are distributed after everything has been distributed evenly.

Tags:

Basket Breakdown 9/17/2011

17 Sep

This week I contributed $15 for the conventional basket, plus the $1.50 handling fee, so $16.50 total.  Here is what I got at Bountiful Baskets this morning.

I got broccoli, onions, avocados, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, bananas, grapes, figs, pears, Gala apples, Asian pears, and plums.  We’ll be eating up the apples and plums pretty quickly, I’m sure.  Once the avocados are a little more ripe, I will make guacamole or perhaps fish tacos.  Still working on a plan for the rest of it, so we’ll see how this week goes with cooking.  I am also hoping to get a scale today to weight the produce and compare with grocery store prices to finally get a good comparison on how much I’m saving with this each week.

Tags:

Sandwich “Sushi Rolls”

16 Sep

I’ve been admiring pictures of school lunch bentos for a while now.  My girls aren’t in a full day program that would require a lunch of some kind yet.  However, I do try to be creative with some of their meals I make at home.  We have a dinosaur sandwich cutter that we use on occasion, but I recently came across a new idea –  sandwich “sushi rolls”.  I know that really it’s only sushi if it includes rice, so maybe these would be more like pinwheels.  But, my kids love sushi and since this resembles sushi, that’s what we call it.

I got the original idea on allrecipes.com here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/peanut-butter-and-jelly-sushi-rolls/detail.aspx.  You start by cutting the crusts off the bread, then use a rolling pin to roll the bread out.  Then, you decide what you want the filling, peanut butter and jelly, turkey and cheese, turkey and lettuce, lots of possibilities.  So far, we have done peanut butter and jelly and chicken lunch meat.

Rolled out bread, peanut butter and jelly spread on

Rolled out bread with chicken lunch meat

Next, you roll it up, then cut into 3 or 4 pieces.  The bread I am using here is on the small side, it is the organic multi grain bread from Bountiful Baskets, so I cut mine into 3 sections.  I do this twice for each of my kids, so they get 6 rolls each.  I like to arrange the 6 rolls into a flower for my girls.

This does require a little more effort than just a regular sandwich, but my girls get so excited to see something a little different on the plate.  Plus, I’ve found that they will finish off all the rolls, but as a sandwich, they normally don’t finish it all.  I had shared the peanut butter and jelly rolls with my Facebook friends a while back, and one of my friends told me the other day her son wasn’t finishing his sandwich at lunch, so she tried this out and he thought it was great and ate all the rolls.  In fact, some of the other kids wanted the rolls too!

Tags: ,

Spinach Manicotti

15 Sep

I still had some spinach left, and I had intended to make spinach artichoke dip, but used some of the ingredients I had on hand for that to make last night’s Radish Dip.  I had wanted to make Stuffed Shells, but the store only had 1 box of shells that was beat up.  The manicotti was right next to it on the shelf, so I decided to make it inside.  The process and end result is pretty much the same, plus, my family really likes manicotti.  Here is how I made it tonight.

Manicotti

1 box manicotti noodles
2 eggs
1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb fresh spinach, chopped
1 1/2 tsp basil
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 jar of pasta sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cook manicotti according to directions on box.  Drain and cool on a piece of aluminum foil.  Meanwhile, beat eggs in a medium bowl.  Stir in the ricotta, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, garlic, spinach, basil, and oregano.  Pour 1 cup of the pasta sauce into a 13 x 9 baking dish, or enough to make sure to cover the entire bottom of the dish.  Fill manicotti with the mixture and place in the dish.  Pour the remaining sauce over the filled manicotti, then sprinkle the remaining Parmesan and mozzarella.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove foil, and bake for another 5-10 minutes, or until sides are bubbling and the cheese is melted.

This didn’t last long in my house tonight!

Tags: , , ,

Radish Dip

14 Sep

My husband loves radishes, and since they were 2 for $1, I bought some on my last trip to the grocery store.  He usually eats them raw, but this time suggested I make the radish dip I had made once before.  Last time it was actually more like a spread, so this time I changed it a little to make it more like a dip.

Radish Dip

What you need:
2 cloves garlic (You may add more or less depending on your taste level.  I actually used 4 cloves tonight and it was a bit much for me)
2 bunches radishes, quartered
8 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz sour cream*

How to Make it:

Peel the garlic cloves and mince in a food processor.  Add the radishes and mince them as well.  Add in the cream cheese and sour cream, pulse until well blended.  Serve with chips or your favorite veggies.

*Note that if you want this to be more of a spread than a dip, omit the 8 oz sour cream and add another 8 oz of cream cheese.

Tags: , ,

Frikadellen and Oven Baked Parmesan Sweet Potato Fries

13 Sep

A dear friend of mine (we used to be next door neighbors) introduced me to the Maggi Hackbraten mix packets when we used to trade off nights making dinner.  The packets are really easy, add 1/2 cup water and 1 lb ground beef.  Add 1 Tbsp oil to a skillet, form small patties, and cook until no longer pink in the middle. She would serve them with gravy, with mashed potatoes as a side.  Tonight, I learned from another friend that although the packet shows the patties and says hackbraten, they actually call the patties frikadellen.

I haven’t made these for a while, so I decided it was what we would have for dinner.  We had mashed potatoes recently and I had sweet potatoes from 9/10 Bountiful Baskets, so I decided to make sweet potato fries as a side.  I have a recipe that I have used a couple of times to make these, but decided to try something new tonight.  I had recently seen a recipe for oven baked Parmesan fries, so I decided to try something similar with my sweet potatoes.  Here is how I made them.

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

2 lbs sweet potatoes, washed, peeled
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp Italian blend seasoning
4 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Mix together the Italian blend seasoning and Parmesan cheese, set aside.  Cut sweet potatoes into 1/2″ strips, making them all as close to the same size as possible.  Add to a separate bowl.  Pour olive oil over sweet potatoes and toss to coat.  Pour the seasoning mix over the potatoes and again toss to coat.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray or olive oil.  Pour sweet potatoes into a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.  Cook for 30-45 minutes, turning halfway through, until fries are crispy on the outside (as shown below).

Tags: , , ,

Spanakopita (Spinach Pie)

12 Sep

My mom’s side of the family is Greek, and growing up, we lived in the same town as my grandparents.  And no, not next door like in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  We did get to see them often, though, and I did get a chance to learn some Greek traditions, attend some services at the Greek Orthodox church, and learn how to cook some traditional Greek dishes.  This also means that most of the dishes I learned how to make, I make from memory or sight, add a handful of this, a little of this, a little of that, until it looks right.  However, I have measured out the way I make spanakopita to my taste, and when I got all the spinach from Bountiful Baskets over the last 2 weeks, I knew I wanted to make this to be able to share how I make it since I get asked a lot.  So, here we go!

Spanakopita

1 roll phyllo dough (You can find this in your grocery’s freezer section with the pies and baked goods)
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted

Filling for spanakopita:
2 lb fresh spinach, chopped, or 3-10oz pkgs frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 lb feta cheese, crumbled
4 eggs
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp dried dill weed

How to put it together:

Preheat oven to 325 F.  Combine the ingredients for the filling and set aside.  Brush bottom and sides of 12″ X 18″ jelly roll pan with melted butter.   Lay phyllo dough in bottom of pan, and brush completely with butter. (Note: Depending on the size of your pan and the size of dough you find, you may need multiple pieces of phyllo dough to cover the bottom of the pan) Repeat the process of laying dough and buttering to create 5-6 layers of dough.  Pour filling over phyllo dough and spread evenly.

Spreading the filling on the phyllo dough

Place a layer of phyllo dough over the filling, again, brushing it completely with butter. Repeat the process of laying dough and buttering until you have 3-4 layers.

Score through top layers of the pastry with a sharp knife. I cut mine in straight lines to make squares, then add diagonal cuts to make triangles.  Pour remaining butter over.

Bake for 1 hour or until pastry is golden brown (see picture at top). Remove to rack and cool for 5 minutes.  Cut and serve!

 

You can find the cheese version of this, Tiropita, in this post.

Tags: , , , ,

Salmon, Rice, and Roasted Cauliflower

12 Sep

I decided to try something new with my cauliflower from 9/10 Bountiful Baskets.  I had seen a post about roasted cauliflower on the Bountiful Baskets Facebook page, so I went to my go-to site for recipes, allrecipes.com, to get ideas on how to season and roast the cauliflower.  I decided I would serve it as a side to salmon, along with a box of long grain and wild rice.

For the roasted cauliflower, cut the head of cauliflower into even sized florets and preheated the oven to 400 degrees F.  I added 3 Tbsp of olive oil and 1 Tbsp of minced garlic to a gallon size bag. Then, I added the cauliflower florets to the bag and shook to coat them.  I added them to a baking pan I had sprayed with cooking spray, then sprinkled on some rosemary, about 1 tsp worth. I put the pan in the preheated oven.  After 10 minutes, I stirred the cauliflower.  I returned it to the oven for another 10 minutes, and the cauliflower had started to brown.  I removed from the oven and set my broiler to low. I then sprinkled 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese and 1 1/2 tsp parsley.  I put the pan under the broiler for another 5 minutes until the Parmesan cheese had started to melt and the cauliflower was golden brown.

While the cauliflower was in the oven, I started on rice and the salmon.  The rice was a boxed mix, so I just followed the directions on the box.  The salmon I had on hand was frozen individually, and I thawed by putting in a sink of cold water for about 20 minutes.  While it was thawing, I started heating my George Foreman grill.  I cut open the packages and dried using paper towels.  I brushed olive oil on both sides, this salmon did not have scales on one side like it sometimes does.  If there are scales, I brush the olive oil only on the non-scale side.  I seasoned it with lemon pepper seasoning, then put them on the grill.  In just under 10 minutes, the salmon is done when it flakes easily.

In about 45 minutes, I had a filling meal.  Salmon is one of K’s favorites, so I try to make it 1-2 times a month.

Tags: ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →