Cooking dinner - it's a winner!

Someone needs to stop me from these cheesey post titles...seriously.

Upon request, I'm going to try to post more of my "quickie" dinner ideas. My biggest hesitation is that I rarely use a recipe, but I will give it a try. I know time is an issue for just about every parent out there, especially when trying to keep it healthy.

Last night I made angel hair with chicken and green beans. Now before anyone calls me out on it...yes, I should have used whole wheat pasta. It would have obviously been the healthier choice, but I don't care for whole wheat angel hair. Personal hang up! We eat enough whole grains that I'm ok with sliding in a dreaded "white" once in a while, but I certainly would challenge everyone else to do better than me. :)

Ingredients (to feed 2 adults, 2 children)
-1.5 lbs boneless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
-lemon juice (to taste)
-onion powder, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano (to taste)
-1 can petite diced tomatoes (or fresh, if good ones are available)
-reduced fat feta cheese

Saute the chicken in the lemon juice and seasonings until lightly browned. Add diced tomatoes and simmer. In the meantime, get the water boiling for the pasta. Angel hair takes 3 minutes, so don't cook it until the very last minute. I use the frozen microwavable bags of veggies, which take about 5 minutes. When chicken is done, add a little more lemon juice. I also add lemon juice to the cooked noodles after draining. Top the dish with feta cheese. (Did that make any sense? I'm horrible at trying to write out something I am normally just making up as I go.)

It is easy to make tons of variations to this dish. I've added olives, chick peas, artichokes, etc...depending on what I've got on hand.

All in all, this dinner takes about 20 minutes to prepare, start to finish! 

Dinner time!

I'm bad about posting dinner meals, and I'm sorry. Because the early evenings are the busiest part of my day, I simply forget most nights to take pictures!

Last night, I made chicken tacos/fajitas...not sure if they fit either mold exactly. I used my Rachel Ray grill pan to grill up some chicken tenders quickly tossed in taco sauce, lime juice, onion powder, chili powder, salt, and pepper. They take about 10-15 minutes to cook.

For a side dish, I just mixed together corn and black beans with the same marinade I used on the chicken and simmered while the chicken was cooking. Super easy! 

I completely forgot to take a picture of the finished product...of course. I served these with whole wheat tortillas, guacamole, tomatoes, and light cheese. Light sour cream would have been good, but I was out! :(

Another fast, cheap, and healthy dinner on the fly!

Love Soup

A church friend of ours gave us a lovely gift for Christmas - a jar of homemade soup mix called Love Soup. It had everything I needed to make a pot of homemade soup...all I had to do was add one pound of ground beef and water.

I forgot to take a picture before I opened it - you had to take out the pasta on top before preparing. 

It took one hour to cook, but virtually no preparation time, so it was an easy weeknight dinner. It made more than enough for dinner, and I had leftovers (which would have been packed for next day lunches, but we have missed school a lot this week for winter weather). Plus, it was chocked full of good stuff!

Thick, hearty soup tastes best in a Dora bowl.

I really appreciated getting a healthy and yummy treat for Christmas gift. It was a nice step outside of the candy and cookie treats that we normally get. Now that I have the recipe, I plan on making this for gifts next year.

Making the most of it

Times are tough in our household right now, and we are doing our best to stretch every dollar. One way I do this is to buy cheaper cuts of meat and prepare them creatively. Slow cookers are a great way to save time and money - cheap cuts of meat can be cooked all day long, meaning you will have dinner ready when you get home and the evening AND you didn't have to spend much to get it there!

Another way to make a cheaper cut of meat delicious is to marinade it for a long time. I bought a London Broil on sale at the grocery store for $3. Normally they are pretty tough, but I scored the meat and marinated it in orange juice, lime juice, and spices all day long before grilling on the George Foreman.

I cooked this for about 10-12 minutes on the GF...yum!

Something about the scoring and citrus juices really tenderizes this lean cut of meat, and gives it a wonderful flavor. Plus, there was enough leftover for my lunch the next day - BONUS!

Quick, cheap dinner time!

As most of you can relate to, I want to make a quick, healthy, inexpensive homemade dinner for my family each night. After working all day and having to do the normal evening stuff, I don't have the time or energy for an elaborate meal, so I do my best to get dinner on the table in 20-30 minutes.

Tonight I made a black beans and rice dish that was a big hit!
Ingredients:
1 pack chicken tenderloins
1 can black beans, drained
1 small can tomato sauce
1/4-1/2 cup taco sauce
1 steam bag of brown rice (cooked)
chili powder, onion powder, salt, & pepper to taste

After cutting into small pieces, I sauteed the chicken until done in a touch of canola oil, then added the rest of the ingredients and let simmer for about 10 minutes to combine flavors.

The whole meal cost about $6 to feed a family of four (chicken - $3, black beans - $1, tomato sauce - $0.50, brown rice - $1). The kids loved it! Oh, and I only used one pot!

Grilling time!

I had high hopes of posting lots of blogs about all of the yummy food we've grilled this summer. Far too many 100+ degrees days has severely gotten in the way of those dreams, and cooking in the air conditioning has taken priority. Today, our high was a brisk 94 degrees, so we fired up the grill.

On the menu for tonight:
-Sirloin filets (completely lean - very similar to filet mignon, but a fraction of the cost especially when on sale)
-Baked beans (Vegetarian Bush's Baked Beans with a little "this & that" added)
-Boiled red potatoes with light butter
-Leftover green beans from last night

This meal took no time at all, but was VERY delicious, for the grown ups and the kids!

Adult plate

Kid plate

Cheating

One day I'm going to post a recipe and pics from an elaborate meal I've prepared for my family, I promise. I honestly do know how to make "nice" food, and I wish I had more time to do more "real" cooking, but for now I will continue to post what I actually do most - the quick stuff.

My kids love spaghetti sauce with angel hair pasta. I don't argue with noodles that cook in 3 minutes. I will admit, I cheat with my sauce. I'm not ashamed because we think it tastes really good. My secret? Prego Marinara. It doesn't have anything funky in it, no added sugar, and is reasonably priced.

I brown one pound of lean ground beef with diced onion, drain and rinse it, then mix it one jar of sauce and add a little extra Italian seasoning and let that simmer while I make the noodles. Add a side steamed vegetables, and you can have a nice dinner on the table in 15 minute flat.

So yes, I cheat, and I'm proud of it. :)

Grayson's favorite - beans & biscuits

Almost anytime I ask Grayson what he wants for dinner, he will answer beans & biscuits. I'm sure this recipe was invented by someone else long ago, but I still consider it a Kelly original. The measurements given below are my best guest...I'm an eyeballer.

Recipe:
1 lb ground beef - browned, drained, and rinsed
1/2 diced onion
1 large can Bush's Baked Beans (I get vegetarian)
3 tablespoons bbq sauce
Chili powder, salt, and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded light cheddar cheese
2 cups biscuit dough, whatever recipe you would normally use, but add enough milk to pour (I use Jiffy mix and add milk)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all but last 2 ingredients together and pour in a 8x8 casserole dish. Add a layer of cheese then poor biscuit mixture on top and spread evenly. Bake until brown on top. I won't declare this to be the healthiest meal I make, but it is a hit, and there is plenty of room for variations.

A kid favorite - chicken nuggets

My friend Stephanie has made some healthy changes in her family's diet, with excellent results! Her son has lost a little weight, has calmed down in his behavior, and is eating new foods. I love to hear these stories! Stephanie just shared a recipe with me, and I wanted to share it with you.

From Stephanie:
Cole loves chicken tenders, so I tried this recipe and it is AWESOME. He eats them up as if they were bad for him. LOL! 

I think all kids (and most grown ups too!) love chicken nuggets/fingers/tenders, so if you can find a way to make them healthier than the traditional breaded and fried, you are most certainly going to have a winner! The recipe Stephanie shared is great because it uses almonds (healthy fats, protein, and fiber!) as well as whole wheat flour, and they are baked.  Plus, you're avoiding the processed junk you get with frozen nuggets.

I bet this recipe would work well to bake a big batch and then freeze to heat up as needed.

P.S. This Web site looks like it has tons of great meal ideas. Thanks for sharing Stephanie!!!