A Week in the Kitchen with Carol

It’s hard to believe that another month has passed! It’s almost September and I decided to do my cooking for the fall this week. I had one cooking day already and I am planning on having another one later this week or early next week.

I found some great deals on chicken ($1.66 a pound), hamburger ($1.99 a pound), cheese ($1.66 per 8 ounce package), berries ($1 per pint for blue berries), and mushrooms ($1.00 for 8 oz. package of portabellas and .69 for 8 oz. package of white). This alone is a great reason to plan a cooking day!

Here’s how my cooking day went. Remember – this system is flexible so you can tailor it to meet your needs! My cooking day was quick and I used ingredients that I had on hand. Sometimes I’ll plan using the software but sometimes I just work off a handwritten list. How you choose to cook is totally up to you! The more you cook, the more comfortable you will become with the system.

The night before my official cooking day I decided to tackle the hamburger. I cooked 5 pounds of hamburger. I froze 4 pounds of the cooked hamburger in individual containers for Taco Salad. I made Mushroom, Beef and Brown Rice Soup. It’s my husband’s favorite soup. I also decided to brown a pound of turkey sausage and added it to two recipes of Spinach Lasagna (from the Big Book of Freezer Cooking). I also loaded the slow cooker up with the ingredients for my first batch of Shredded Chicken Sandwiches after the soup was done.

The next morning I shredded the chicken and then loaded up the slow cooker with my second batch of Shredded Chicken Sandwiches. Then I decided to tackle the recipes for the baked goods. I made two recipes of Banana Bread (from the Freezer Lunches to Go ebook), two Fruit and Oat Bars (with a homemade blueberry filling), and Breakfast Cookies (from the Big Book of Freezer Cooking). I also made some other breakfast recipes – Slow Cooker Oatmeal and Multi-Grain Waffles.

 

Next I worked on the chicken recipes. I started with marinade recipes first. I made two recipes of Mango Chicken Marinade, two Marinade for Grilled Chicken Salad, and three Smokey Chicken Marinade. Here’s everything I finished by noon.

 

I spent the afternoon finishing my two remaining recipes – two recipes of Grown Up Mac and Cheese and three recipes of Slow Cooker Chicken Chili.

 

Wow! Not too bad for a day’s work!

What are your cooking plans for this fall? I’ll probably have another quick cooking day next week. Pork loins and ground beef are on sale. I would also like to make some Muesli, Zucchini Carrot Muffins, and Pumpkin Bread. I also found a recipe for Pumpkin Waffles that I want to test. Yum!

Bonus Recipes

 

When I made the Fruit and Oat Bars, I decided to make my own filling instead of using fruit preserves. Blueberries have been on sale and we have been freezing some every week in one cup portions. Here’s a quick recipe that you can use to make fruit filling. I have made it using blueberries and cranberries, blueberries and black berries, and just blueberries. All the combinations have been wonderful.

Homemade Fruit Filling

1/4 C. water
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. lemon zest
2 t. lemon juice
1 T. corn starch
2 C. berries

Combine the water, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and corn starch in a medium sauce pan. Add the berries. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until thickened and bubbly – about 2 minutes. Cool.

Mango Chicken Marinade

Here is the final version of one of the test recipes that I published on Facebook. I have tested it using fresh pureed mangoes and with mango nectar. Both options taste great!

We use this chicken as a topping for our Berry Chicken Salad. I use a mix of different lettuces (the artisan mix works nice), sliced almonds, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and asiago cheese. I top it with a Pomegranate Vinaigrette.

 

 

 

Slow Cooker Oatmeal Mix

This is a great recipe to have on hand in your pantry! We can’t wait to eat it this winter.

Feel free to change this recipe. You might need to increase the amount of brown sugar if your family prefers your oatmeal a little sweeter. Sometimes we add 2 T. chopped pecans to the mix. It gives it a nice nutty flavor.

 

Closing Comments from Carol

Enjoy the recipes!

Do you have any recipes that you would like to share? I’d love to try and share them with everyone. You can post your recipes on the 30 Day Gourmet Facebook® fan page or click here to send me an email. Or do you have any other topics that you would like me to cover? Click here to send me an email. I enjoy hearing from you!

Have fun in your kitchen!

Carol

A Week in the Kitchen with Carol

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Wow! Have you ever had a month so full of activities that it was gone before you realized it? That’s what it has been like for us! Some of it was planned such as seeing Chicago in concert before the Fourth of July fireworks

but some of it was totally unexpected. A repair man we had doing some work for us broke the water line coming into the house. The water line was in the ceiling of our basement in the area that is finished. It’s been a mess. We’ve been drying out, patching, priming with stain blocker, and painting ceilings and walls. What an unexpected adventure! But I’ve been thankful that there was no major damage to our furnace, water heater, or freezer. Everything is still running and I was grateful to have my freezer meals on hand to make the burden a little lighter!

I’m trying to work my way through our meals that we have in the freezer before I make more meals for the fall. It’s great to be able to just go to the freezer on Sunday and pull out dinners for the week. Here’s what I pulled out two weeks this month:

Week 1:
Grilled Chicken Salad
Wedding Soup
Tilapia with Mango Salsa (one of our favorite recipes from the Big Book of Freezer Cooking)
Burgers for the 4th
Chicken with Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (recipe I’m testing)

Week 2:
Pork chops for Mango Lime Pork Chops (see the recipe in the Notes section on Facebook)
Marinade for Steak Salad
Broccoli and Ham Frittata
Jambalaya
Slow Cooker Beefy Burritos

My husband is already making requests for my next cooking day! So far he’s asked for Spinach Lasagna, Mango Lime Pork Chops, Mushroom, Beef and Brown Rice Soup, Fruit and Oat Bars made with fresh blueberries, and a new recipe for BBQ Pork that we have been testing.

It looks like I will be busy on my next cooking day at the end of August or early September! What are your cooking plans for this fall?

I’m looking for a recipe for a super thin pizza crust or a cracker crust. Does anyone have a recipe they would like to share with me? I want to duplicate one of our favorite pizzas. It’s a super thin crust pizza with portabella mushrooms, zucchini, red onions, and tomatoes.

Bonus Recipes

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Here’s my latest test recipe that I shared this month on Facebook in the Notes section so you can test it too. They were good. I’m also freezing them to see how well they reheat for breakfast.

Low-Fat Chocolate Muffins

1 C. plus 2 T. whole wheat  or white flour
3/4 C. brown sugar
3/4 C. unsweetened cocoa
1-1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/4 C. egg substitute
1 egg
2 t. vanilla
1/2 C. prune puree (I used baby food)
3/4 C. water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray. Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients to the flour mixture and stir to combine. Do not over-mix. Spoon into muffin tin and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Makes 12 muffins.

Enjoy!
Here are a couple of recipes that were a part of my summer recipe collection. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Chicken and Black Bean Pasta Bowl

This is a great recipe to have on hand for a quick meal on the weekend. It is a nice mix a flavors. If it’s too spicy for your family, you can leave out the cumin, replace the tomatoes with green chilies with plain diced tomatoes, and make sure you use a non spicy barbecue sauce. This recipe is also a great way to use up leftover grilled corn. Just remove it from the cob and add a cup of it to the mixture.

Multi-Grain Waffle Mix

We’ve been trying to eat more whole grains at our house. I always see the whole grain frozen waffles in the grocery store and I thought it would be fun to make them ourselves at home. This recipe is good and they reheat well after being frozen. We just pop a couple in the toaster when we want a quick breakfast. Top them with fresh fruit and vanilla yogurt for a change of pace.

Closing Comments from Carol

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Enjoy the recipes!

Do you have any recipes that you would like to share? I’d love to try and share them with everyone. You can post your recipes on the 30 Day Gourmet Facebook® fan page or click here to send me an email. Or do you have any other topics that you would like me to cover? Click here to send me an email. I enjoy hearing from you!

Have fun in your kitchen!

Carol