I went grocery shopping today and I had a random assortment of menu items that I bought for. I'm not sure anything really goes together but all sound quite tasty.
I got it in my head that I was going to make homemade granola for Tim for cereal. He didn't seem all that enthusiastic about the venture but I was sure that he was going to love it. I made it and unfortunately I think I wasted money on all of the ingredients. It was horrible so I'm not even going to post the recipe. I'm going to have to find a different recipe and try again. In the meantime, he'll have to keep on his Raisin Bran kick.
Here are the other items on my list...
Granola Yum Yums
2 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a large bowl, stir together the rice cereal and oats. Set aside. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Combine the brown sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat just until boiling, then remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Pour over the cereal and oat mixture, and mix well.
Press into the prepared pan using the back of a large spoon. Allow to cool, then cut into squares.
NOTE: I made these and they are delicious and super easy to make. I can't stop eating them. They are chewy peanut butter granola bars. I modified the recipe a little. I only used 2 cups of rice crispies and i didn't add the raisins b/c I don't like them.
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Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi with steamed green beans and garlic mashed potatoes
Tim requested fish so I thought I would try this new Mahi Mahi recipe.
Unfortunately I can't find Mahi Mahi anywhere. I don't understand how I
can live not even an hour from the Gulf of Mexico and I can't get good
seafood. I'm heading to the Vietnamese grocery store tomorrow in hopes
that they will have Mahi Mahi.
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, crushed or to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 (6 ounce) mahi mahi fillets
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
In a shallow glass dish, stir together the honey, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, ginger, garlic and olive oil. Season fish fillets with salt and pepper, and place them into the dish. If the fillets have skin on them, place them skin side down. Cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes to marinate.
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove fish from the dish, and reserve marinade. Fry fish for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, turning only once, until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove fillets to a serving platter and keep warm.
Pour reserved marinade into the skillet, and heat over medium heat until the mixture reduces to a glaze consistently. Spoon glaze over fish, and serve immediately.
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Quiche in a bag - {using all leftovers}
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Cream of Tomato Soup
Parmesan Couscous with Ham & Peas
The Cream of Tomato Soup and the Couscous are recipes out of my toddler
cookbook. Lex has turned into a totally picky eater so I'm trying to
find something he likes. He loves ketchup so I'm thinking maybe he will
like the Tomato Soup and I can hide some other veggies in there. I
tried the couscous tonight and it was fantastic. However, when I looked over
at Lex he had dumped his bowl out and was picking all of the ham and
peas out of it and leaving the couscous - so much for new recipes. I
guess we're going to be sticking with chicken nuggets and cheese.
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Southwestern Salad
We had the Southwestern Chicken Salad last night and it was very good. A few notes for next time though... I had
water chestnuts so I used them but I would definitely use the jicama
next time. The chicken would definitely be better if marinated and grilled then sliced. I sprinkled the tortillas with paprika and a little cayenne after spraying them.
2 (6 inch) flour tortillas, cut into 1/2 inch strips
Butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 teaspoon olive oil
6 cups ready-to-serve salad greens
1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups chopped tomatoes, divided
1 medium green pepper, diced
1/2 cup cubed peeled jicama or sliced water chestnuts
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
2/3 cup fat-free ranch salad dressing
4 teaspoons barbecue sauce
Place tortilla strips on a baking sheet; spritz both sides of strips with butter-flavored cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 4-5 minutes or until crisp. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, cook chicken in oil over medium heat until no longer pink; set aside.
Combine the salad greens, corn, beans, 1 cup tomatoes, green pepper, jicama and onions; arrange on a serving platter. Place chicken in center of salad; sprinkle with cheese and remaining tomatoes. Arrange tortilla strips around chicken. In a small bowl, combine the ranch dressing and barbecue sauce; serve with salad.
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Tandoori Chicken with mashed sweet potatoes
This is my attempt at making us step out of our comfort zone and try something new. We both hate Indian food so hopefully this will go well. ;)
This is the recipe I had planned to use. However, when looking through the Indian section of our grocery store I found a prepackaged spice mix for Tandoori Chicken that I decided to try. Hopefully it won't taste prepackaged. I'm kind of a sucker for nice packaging and I thought this design was very nice.
2 pounds chicken, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1 lemon, juiced
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon yellow food coloring
1 teaspoon red food coloring
2 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Remove skin from chicken pieces, and cut slits into them lengthwise. Place in a shallow dish. sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt and lemon juice. Set aside 20 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, onion, garlic, ginger, garam masala, and cayenne pepper. Mix until smooth. Stir in yellow and red food coloring. Spread yogurt mixture over chicken. Cover, and refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours (the longer the better).
Preheat an outdoor grill for medium high heat, and lightly oil grate.
Cook chicken on grill until no longer pink and juices run clear. Garnish with cilantro and lemon wedges.
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Baked Potato Bread
Almond Poppy Bread
My grandmother gave me a new cookbook for my bread machine a while back and I haven't tried any of the recipes yet. These two sounded delicious.
Baked Potato Bread
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 Tbsp. Bacon Bits
2 Cups White Bread Flour
1 Tbsp. Dry Milk
1 Tbsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. Potato Flakes
1 1/2 Tbsp. Dried Chives
1 tsp Fast Rise Yeast
Mix water and sour cream together and place in bread machine. Add all dry ingredients on top. Bake with Basic White Light cycle.
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Slow Cooker Lentils & Sausage
This is my new crockpot recipe. I have no idea if we like Lentils, but really How bad can they be? I'm already thinking these could use some spices though. The ingredients seem a little bland.
1 (16 ounce) package dry lentils
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth
3 cups water
1 carrot, chopped
2 pounds kielbasa (Polish) sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 stalk celery, chopped
Rinse and drain lentils, but do not soak. In a slow cooker, stir together the lentils, tomatoes, broth, water, carrot, sausage, and celery.
Cover, and cook on High for 3 hours, or Low for 6 to 7 hours. Stir well before serving.
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Cheesy Ham & Hashbrown Bake
I think I need to eat a more substantial breakfast now that I'm pregnant and running around chasing an 18 month old so I'm making this casserole for a breakfast option but I made these in individual serving sizes. I used fat free soup and sour cream and added a palm full of dried chives. I also sprinkled the tops with a little paprika.
1 (32 ounce) package frozen hash brown potatoes
8 ounces cooked, diced ham
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, mix hash browns, ham, cream of potato soup, sour cream, and Cheddar cheese. Spread evenly into prepared dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly brown. Allow to cool. Cover with foil and freeze. On serving day, reheat until bubbly in oven.
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Lemon Chicken
Sweet & Spicy Chicken
These are both Dump Chicken recipes. {Take the ingredients for the recipe, place in a one-gallon freezer bag, then add your chicken and freeze. Then thaw before you cook. You can use 4-8 pieces of chicken, pieces or breasts and we always chose to use boneless and skinless. When cooking using boneless and skinless, only cook for 25-35 minutes or until no longer pink. When using full chicken pieces your cooking time will be around one hour. We always take the sauce and reduce it in a pan after the chicken is done, making some of the most DELICIOUS sauces!!! Enjoy!!}
Lemon Chicken
2/3 cup Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
2 Tablespoons Minced Onion
Sweet & Spicy Chicken
1 Package Taco Seasoning
8 oz Apricot Jam
12 oz Salsa
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On another note, I have a super cute new paper pack in the store for Halloween. Hope you'll stop by and pick it up.
