Savory Sundae of Garlic Potatoes, Peas, Chicken, and Lemon-Butter Cream Sauce

Missed me?

I'll try to update more often, but I really only want to update when I developed a new recipe because there are so many recipes out there, I'd like to create some that are unique. If you want to see which recipes I'm trying, just follow me on Pinterest.

Since before my mission, I've been creating a simple dish. Garlic potatoes and peas.

I made it for Jeff a while back and realized it's missing a few elements--namely, some freshness, a bite, something to make the flavors more interesting. After a couple weeks of mulling it over, this is what I came up with.

The best compliment I've received on my cooking came after this recipe:

"It looks and tastes like it came from a nice restaurant." ---The husband

Can't ask for anything better than that!

Lemon Chicken

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 6 chicken tenders (I actually found organic at a local store, which isn't common here)
• 1/4 flour
• 2 Tbsp lemon pepper
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• salt and pepper

Mix flour, lemon pepper, and salt and pepper together on a plate. Dredge the chicken tenders in the flour.

Confession Time: I have never been comfortable cooking chicken. Not to mention, it always turns out much too dry. Perhaps this is why I was relieved when my husband turned out to be a vegetarian. Well, now he's not, and I'm "eating for two"--one of which makes me crave protein quite often, so chicken was a must.

Now that you understand my feelings about chicken, let me say my mind has changed thanks to these wonderful directions to get perfect, tender, moist chicken. It really works. Try it. You'll be so happy you did. Just add the lemon juice, olive oil, and butter to the pan to add some citrus.

Garlic Potatoes

• 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
• 3 or 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• salt and pepper
• garlic salt, to taste

Place the diced potatoes in a pot of cold water with the cloves of garlic. Bring the potatoes to a boil and cook until tender. Drain. Remove the cloves, mince in a garlic press, add to the butter and milk. Melt over a stove or in a microwave. *I've learned that the best mashed potatoes come when the ingredients you add to it are not cold.

Place the cooked potatoes in a bowl. Mix with handmixers or potato masher. Sparingly add the buttery, milky garlic mixture until the consistency is right for you.

Lemon-Butter Cream Sauce

• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• zest of one lemon
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup cream (or skim milk)
• 3 tbsp parmesan or romano cheese, grated

Melt butter in a pan. Add lemon juice and zest. Bring to a boil and let it reduce. I let it reduce until it was very thin. Slowly whisk in cream and let it thicken. Add cheese at the end.

Peas

• 1/2 bag of frozen peas

Bring small pot of water to a boil. Add peas, but only for a few minutes. Overcooked peas are the worst!

Pile them beautifully on top of each other and enjoy!

just freeze it

Life has been a bit hectic lately, which explains the lack of posts. I'm not planning to stop this blog any time, but I am just going to update at my own pace for a while. Anyway, I discovered something awesome today that I had to share.

Because life has been a little hectic, I've been looking for ways to simplify meals. The last month has consisted of either eating out or eating a (gasp!) frozen dinner. Those little throw-on-the-skillet meals are great for busy life styles.

Anyway, I'm learning how to utilize the freezer to make my meals quick and easy when I just don't feel like spending a half an hour to an hour in front of a hot stove. I'll update as I think of new meals. I've seen a few blogs say you can freeze meals, but they rarely give details. Even Martha skimps on the details of how to freeze something well, so I'm going to try to help you out as I learn.

Tonight I froze my stuffed shells recipe. Here's how:

• Cook the shells
• Stuff the shells with cottage cheese mixture
• Place each one on a cookie sheet lined with freezer paper
• Flash freeze (place in the freezer, uncovered for at least thirty minutes)
• Once frozen, place in a freezer bag, label and date (it will last for two months)
• The day before cooking, remove from freezer and let it thaw in the fridge

For the sauce, you may either:

• Just open a new jar when it comes time to cook it
  {or}
• (if you already opened a jar) Spoon the marinara sauce into ice cube trays and freeze. When sufficiently frozen, place in a freezer bag, label and date

Pretty easy, huh? Who knew? I think this will be one of my answers when I'm preparing for a particularly difficult week.

Meal Planning

My first attempt at smart food shopping and budgeting... It's very, very difficult for me. I like quality ingredients and will usually pay for them, but when I start noticing the decline in my bank account, I realize something must change. Well, I did it tonight. I have planned and shopped for four meals for $24. Some of the ingredients are already on-hand, but here you go:

Meals

Carrot soup and salad

Baked Lemon Pasta

Cucumber sandwiches

Balsamic Brown Butter Veggies with Spaghetti Squash
(recipe to come this week--my own delicious creation)

Totals

carrot soup and salad ... $3.21 (many ingredients already on-hand)

1 lb carrots ... 1.69

3 red potatoes ... 1.00

1 onion ... .77

arugula ... 1.75 (halved the cost because we won't eat all of it in one sitting)

1 roma tomato ... .82

baked lemon pasta ... $2.64

sour cream ... 1.79

lemon ... .50

parsley ... .35 (halved the cost because half will be used for cucumber sandwiches)

cucumber sandwiches ... $3.66

english cucumber ... 2.49

parsley ... .35 (other half)

1 roma tomato ... .82

balsamic brown butter veggies with spaghetti squash ... $7.62

orange bell pepper ... 2.49

1 roma tomato ... .82

red onion ... .52

spaghetti squash ... 3.79

I don't know about you, but I've enjoyed this quick little exercise. It's kind of liberating to see how much I can save when I actually think about the meals I am preparing.

Try it; I dare you. Let me know how it works out for you.

browned butter spaghetti squash

Yum. This was fantastic and with low carbs, who can complain. The only semi-unhealthy thing in this dish is the butter. The rest is just veggies.

It looks long and difficult, but really the hardest thing is cutting the squash. Then besides dicing up a few vegetables and sautéing them, the oven does all the work. There's nothing better than curling up with a good book, knowing dinner will be done soon without me having to slave away. I plan to try this recipe again, but placing it in the oven so that it forms a crust--maybe even adding some parmesan cheese.

{ingredients}

• 1/2 stick butter
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 orange bell pepper (or red or green or yellow)
• 1/2 red onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• salt and pepper
• 1 5 lb. spaghetti squash

Cut the spaghetti squash in half (carefully. it may help to cut off a small section on one side so that it sits flat). Chop off the ends. Remove the seeds. Cover in olive oil. Add salt and pepper.

Place on a foil-covered cookie sheet, cut side down. Roast in 400 degree F oven for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven. Flip over over the squash, cover with foil (to stop it from burning). Cook for another 15 minutes or until very tender.

While that's cooking, dice the vegetables into small pieces. I removed the insides from the tomato because I didn't want the sauce to be to liquidy (I know that isn't a word). Mince the garlic.

When the squash has about five minutes left, place the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat and let it brown. Wait until it begins to smell nutty and little flecks of brown appear. Toss in the onions and bell pepper. Let it soften slightly. Add the garlic and let it cook until fragrant (30-45 seconds). Add the tomato and let the vegetables soften and cook into the butter over low heat while you prepare the squash.

Remove the squash and using a fork, scrape out the "spaghetti" strands into a large bowl. Once all the squash is removed, add all the strands to the large sauté pan. Stir. Let the flavors blend together. Plate and serve. It really is amazingly delightful and almost guilt free (you know, without the butter).

cucumber tomato sandwich

This recipe is a revamp of my previous cucumber sandwich which I felt needed to taste fresher.

These taste like spring.

{ingredients}

• 4 pieces whole wheat bread
• 1/2 pkg cream cheese (low-fat), room temperature
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• kosher salt, to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnishing
• 1 Roma tomato, sliced
• 1 English cucumber, sliced

{directions}

Combine the cream cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, and parsley. Mix it well until the cream cheese becomes a delicious paste.

Smear the cream cheese on the bread. Add tomato and cucumber slices. Top with a little extra salt, pepper, and parsley, if desired. Add a second slice of bread and enjoy!

eat like giada and look like her too

{image}

2 Thin Chefs

Staying at my in-laws to house sit is always a relaxing time, especially because we get a nice comfortable bed and I can watch all the Food Network I want (I don't have cable at my apartment).

As mentioned before, I adore Giada's food, her style, her everything. As I was watching her show this morning I marveled at how thin she is with all the cheese, pasta, chocolate, and sugar she devours. I started doing some research and this is what I found. Read the article. It is fascinating. I would love to not be on a diet, but to live in such a way that I didn't need one.

I plan to change my eating habits. I'm not going to give details just yet because who knows if I'll be successful or not and I think that giving all the details right away will actually delay my progress. Suffice it to say I will be following some of Giada's methods. I found it fascinating. I think food is to be enjoyed, but just in smaller portions.

I know I just said I wouldn't give away the details until I was doing it for a little while, but I will say this one thing: I want to become a food snob. In the last page of the article above, the columnist marvels at how instead of picking up those dry donuts from the vending machine, just wait until you get home to have a satisfying, delicious Giada recipe (in a small portion, of course).

I'm excited to reveal the results.

I'll let you know, so stay posted.

One quote from Giada (from Shape magazine): Food is not the enemy!” De Laurentiis says. “It’s not food; it’s how much you eat. I eat pasta, but a small portion, not a giant one, and I eat more greens than carbs.” Though she watches portions, she doesn’t bother with exact measurements. “A good gauge is to think in terms of an appetizer-sized plate rather than dinner-sized. Then tell yourself that you’ll savor every bite.”

“Morning workouts, every day, are the best thing for me. I do yoga, which I got into while I was pregnant, or a half hour on the elliptical and 20 minutes on the treadmill. Getting up and getting my blood going gives me energy for the whole day.”

fried rice and orange zucchini

I am obsessed with Panda Express's orange chicken, but I rarely get to eat there because it's a half hour away. Jeff loves it, but due to his recent vegetarian ways, he hasn't been able to eat there either. We found the perfect substitute. I told you about this awesome Panda Express product sold at most grocery stores. I love it. I know it's processed and probably not the healthiest, but it's quick, easy, and so delicious I think I could drink it from the bottle.

One of our new favorite meals is fried rice and orange zucchini. Here's how you do it:

Fried Rice

(adapted from here)

{ingredients}

• 3 cups cooked rice
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 3/4 cups diced carrots--very small so they cook faster
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 eggs
• olive oil
• cayenne, to taste
• thyme, 1/2 teaspoon
• Fresh cracked pepper
• 4 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water

{directions}

Warm up 1 Tbsp olive oil on a skillet. Add the onions and carrots. Sautee until the onions begin to soften. Add the garlic. Sautee until fragrant. Add 2 Tbsp soy sauce. Mix and let it cook for 4-5 minutes. If the carrots haven't softened up much yet, continue cooking until they do. Unless, of course, you don't mind a little crunch. My husband likes them very soft.

Next, move the vegetables to one side of the skillet. Crack two eggs and cook them on the other side of the pan. Scramble them slightly and let them cook until almost cooked through (2-3 minutes).

Mix the vegetables in with the scrambled eggs and then move to one side of the skillet.

Add the rice with 1 Tbsp soy sauce and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Flatten out the rice and let it fry. If it looks a little dry, add a little more soy sauce or olive oil, or both.

After three minutes, add the spices (pepper, cayenne, thyme). Turn the rice and vegetables occasionally to keep from burning. Add water if it becomes too dry.

Combine the rice and vegetables. Add the peas and 1/4 cup of water and a little more soy sauce if desired. Continue cooking until the water is absorbed.

It's so good!

Orange Zucchini

{ingredients}

• 2 zucchini, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 Tbsp Panda Express orange sauce

{directions}

While the fried rice is cooking, throw the above ingredients into a sautee pan. Let it cook down. It will take between ten and twelve minutes for the zucchini to become really soft and soak in the orange sauce. At first it seems like it won't. Just be patient because it takes time.

If you can't help yourself (I usually can't), add a little more orange sauce. I always have to remind myself that I can add more on top when the dish is finished cooking (I always do).

Finished

When both dishes are completed, you have a couple options.

1. Divide it on your plate and eat separately. (I don't recommend this, but to each his or her own.)
2. Pile the orange zucchini on top of the fried rice, add more orange sauce, and devour. (I highly recommend this option.)