Crockpot Lasagna

I've been a little blog absent lately, but I feel like all I'm doing is raising my kids and working - and I'm not sure how to translate that into blog posts without overwhelming you all with posts about family life or droning on about how to write *good* content for websites that's also searchable. I'll work on some balance, but I think it's time for me to accept that my life is not all sewing and cooking and small DIY projects in the hours of free time I used to have between work and going to bed at night. 
But, with that being said, I'm on a health kick - I decided on Nell's 3 month birthday that I needed to get my butt in gear and ditch the last 10 pounds I had laying around, which has translated to cooking every night for our family. So I've been cooking up a storm - mostly tried and true recipes that I've shared in the past, but some new ones, too. Last night's crockpot lasagna was a hit, and you all know that I'm new to the lasagna game. What was I missing all those years??? Also, just because I'm on a health kick doesn't mean this is diet food - I'm all about moderation. Just had to put that caveat in there.
This took me about 20 minutes of prep, and 4 - 5 hours in the crockpot on low. So much faster than any lasagna I've ever made in the hands-on time. The only thing I'd caution is not to go over 5 hours in the crockpot - ours was great, but if you left it longer, I think it would get mushy. So maybe a good crockpot meal for days when you're around but don't have time to be prepping dinner. Which is pretty much everyday for me - around, but not available.
Crockpot Lasagna (recipe via The Girl Who Ate Everything)

- 1 lb ground beef - 1/2 white onion, diced - 2 cloves garlic, minced - 1 jar spaghetti sauce - 1/2 cup water - 15 oz. container of Ricotta Cheese - 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese - 1/4 cup grated paremsan cheese - 1 egg - 2 tsps dried parsley - 6 uncooked lasagna noodles.
Make a meat sauce by browning the beef and onion, then adding garlic. Add spaghetti sauce and water and simmer about five minutes. Meanwhile, mix ricotta, 1 cup of mozarella, 2 Tablespoons of paremsan cheese, the egg and parsley together (I let Thomas do this). Then pour 1 cup of meat sauce in the bottom of the slow cooker, layer with 3 lasagna noodles (broken if necessary), half the ricotta mixture, 2 cups of meat sauce, the  remaining three noodles, the rest of the ricotta mixture and the rest of the meat sauce. Cook on low no more than 5 hours until the noodles are soft, and top with remaining mozarella and parmesan cheese, replace lid for  a few minutes, cut into 10 servings and eat!

So delicious, so easy and so going to be a Mckevitt family staple this winter. Thomas even ate it. Granted I had to bribe him by spelling words for him after every bite, but whatever works.

Our Favorite Summer Recipes Roundup

Here are some of the recipes (and non-recipes) we've been loving this summer:  

• Grilled Bruschetta Chicken - This is such an easy and fresh chicken dish, and we love using tomatoes and basil from our garden.

• Salmon with soy sauce - My mom brought this over for dinner right after Nell was born and it was so easy and so tasty. Just drizzle a little bit of soy sauce on top of salmon filets, throw them in the oven in a glass dish (at about 350 degrees) and dinner's ready in about 12 minutes.

• Chipotle Hamburgers with Chipotle Lime yogurt - Derived from this recipe, I just chop up 1 1/2 chipotle peppers and add 1 Tablespoon adobo sauce (that the chipotles come in) to ground beef. Mix it all together, grill and serve with the yogurt: a single serving plain greek yogurt container, 1 tablespoon adobo sauce, and the juice of one lime. It's such a fun and fresh take on burgers. (PS - we've followed the linked recipe with ground turkey too, and it's delicious as well).

• Chicken Caesar Salads - So easy to make and a light (depending on how you dress it) option. We had this a few times when it was over 100 degrees here in June and July and the thought of cooking was too much - just buy a rotisserie chicken and call it good!

• Pizza Quesadillas - Thomas and I had these several nights this summer Mr. B was at class and it was too hot (and too hectic) to really cook.  So good, so easy. 

• Caprese Paninis - I like these on sourdough bread, but any good bread will be great. We just buy a hunk of fresh mozzarella, use tomatoes and basil out of the garden, layer the ingredients and grill them on a skillet, pressing them down with a pot lid to make them panini like. Mr. B likes his drizzled with olive oil, I like balsamic on mine.

• Pesto Pasta - Another summer staple because of my basil supply. I use my mom's pesto recipe. This is one of my favorite foods.

• And of course, pizzas on the grill. 

What have been your go-to recipes this summer? We've still got some warm days left (and if the Colorado weather forecasters are correct - that would be new - we're looking at 80-90 degree days until the end of October).

Quinoa Stuffed Eggplant

I've never been great at cooking with vegetables, but I've always wanted to do a better job about keeping up with what our garden produces and fixing healthy, more vegetable based meals for our family. I've also recently jumped on the quinoa bandwagon...you know me, always late to a trend. Love me some quinoa. This year we planted lots of tomatoes, an eggplant, lots of basil, and rosemary in our garden. And jalapeños that haven't done anything yet. I was planning to do more, but got sidetracked by having a baby. Happens.    Last year, we were overwhelmed by eggplant. Eggplant Parmesan and roasted eggplant were all I did with it, and that got old fast.  So when Mr. B decided he wanted eggplant again this year, I wasn't excited.  In an effort to put together a meatless meal for our family this week, I decided to make an eggplant quinoa dish. After a quick Google search, I settled on Quinoa Stuffed Eggplant, and adapted this recipe to maximize what I had available, and eliminate dairy (so technically, this might be vegan. But that's a trend I'm pretty sure I'm never jumping on).  Everything but the corn, garlic, onion and quinoa came from our garden. That's fun and new for me! And it was so delicious and filling.

Here's what you need (for two servings with some leftover stuffing, which is an excellent lunch the next day, or you could probably use two eggplants and keep the rest of the amounts the same if you wanted to serve 4).
Quinoa Stuffed Eggplant (adapted from Mother Earth News)
1/2 cup quinoa 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil 1 eggplant 1 red onion 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 cup tomatoes chopped 1 cup corn 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped Fresh or dried oregano to taste Salt and Pepper
Cook quinoa according to package instructions, and when the liquid has all evaporated, stir and let stand for 5 minutes, then mix in about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.  Set this aside for later. Meanwhile, slice the eggplant in half lengthwise, and scoop out the innards. I scored the eggplant innards and scooped them out of the skin with a spoon, keeping the skin intact, then cut the innards (I'm sure there's a better name for this) into small chunks and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350, and season the eggplant shells with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake 12 - 15 minutes.
While the shells are baking, sauté the onion and garlic in the remaining olive oil 3 - 5 minutes. Add eggplant chunks and cook another 3 minutes, Next add the quinoa, corn and tomatoes, sauté another 3 minutes or so, and finally add basil and oregano. It's so colorful and smells so good:

Fill the shells with the quinoa mixture and bake for 25 - 30 minutes at 350. I prepped this during naptime, then just put the final product in the oven for the 25 minutes before dinner. It was delicious, and I was pretty proud of my almost all-from-the-garden meal. How very Boulder of me. I had to provide research to back-up my claim that you can eat the eggplant skin for Mr. B to believe me, but you can, indeed eat the skin. 

Now, I know better than to expect picky, 2 year old Thomas to eat an eggplant shell stuffed with quinoa. But B and I like to try different foods that probably don't appeal to most kids, and we want to expose our kids to lots of food so that one day, they won't be annoying picky eaters (hopefully!). So, the rule at our house is you eat what's served to you, you try everything, but you don't have to finish it. But quinoa and eggplant's a bit exotic for my veggie hating carbivore. So, when I cook something that I know will be a battle to get him to eat, I make his plate up of 2 - 3 tried and true foods (simple stuff I can throw together while our main food is cooking, I'm not taking orders or anything) he loves and a little bit of the new food. That way, we still eat together as a family, I'm not cooking totally different meals for him and we have success with the family rule (he's served the sandwich, instead of refusing to eat what I put on his plate and then me making a sandwich after the fact), and dinner is enjoyable instead of a food battle - which I would never win. Sometimes he loves it, most of the time he doesn't...but he tries it. That's good enough for me for now.

Thomas's rendition of our dinner: Quinoa & Eggplant, Almond Butter Sandwich and Strawberries.

Meals for New Moms [Asian Turkey Meatballs]

We were amazed by the meal giving generosity of our friends after Nell was born. Neighbors we'd only talked to a few times were dropping dinners off, and when Nell was one week old my sorority sisters descended on us with bottles of wine and freezer meals. And can I say? I'm pretty unimaginative when it comes to meals for new moms - I always want to steer clear of the traditional lasagna, but I don't know what will freeze well if its not going to be eaten immediately, so I usually end up giving yet another traditional lasagna. But we didn't receive one lasagna. I took notes so that I can step up my game.
Our neighbor brought us Asian Turkey Meatballs, and I didn't even have to ask for the recipe because I recognized it from one I'd earmarked to try on Pinterest. It hales from my go-to recipe blog The Girl Who Ate Everything, and it was such an unexpected meal to receive post baby - an Asian flair, turkey instead of chicken or ground beef, relatively healthy for my postpartum calorie counting self, and pretty much a combination of my favorite flavors ever. I made it again for our family last night, and thought I'd share with you all. As far as freezable goes, this probably isn't the best - you could definitely freeze the meatballs, but the sauce is a key part of the meal, so this is probably best for someone who's going to eat it that night.

Asian Turkey Meatballs via The Girl Who Ate Everything
Ingredients:
[Meatballs] 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used regular breadcrumbs, recipe calls for Panko) 1 1/4 lb lean ground turkey 1 egg 1 tablespoon minced ginger 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped 3 scallions, chopped 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 teaspoons sesame oil
[Lime Dipping Sauce] 4 Tablespoons soy sauce 1 teaspoon sesame oil 2 Tablespoons lime juice (I used fresh) 2 Tablespoons Water 1 scallion, chopped

Preheat the oven to 500°F. Mix all meatball ingredients together. Form large meatballs and place on a greased baking sheet (after soaking and spending a good 10 minutes scrubbing up my greased baking sheet last night, I'd also recommend foil).  Place meatballs on baking sheet, bake at 500°F until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Place meatballs in serving dish over rice, spoon a few tablespoons of dipping sauce over top. Place remainder of dipping sauce on table for delicious, sodium filled dipping. Love every second of it.

Recipe Review: Buffalo Turkey Lettuce Wraps

I realize it's been recipe central over here - I really do have rooms to share, I'm just waiting on finishing touches to arrive. I've been wanting very summery foods lately - chicken salad lettuce wraps,  keylime pie, strawberry shortcake - basically the girl who loves chocolate wants only fruity desserts. Who knows what that means. But B and I always love all things buffalo wing-like, too. So when I saw this recipe for Buffalo Turkey Lettuce Wraps on The Girl Who Ate Everything, I knew they'd be a hit all around. And they were. Light, delicious and satisfying - if you like wings, you'll like these, I believe.

Buffalo Wing Turkey Lettuce Wraps via The Girl Who Ate Everything

1 lb lean ground turkey
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3/4 cup carrot shavings
1 cup celery, diced
1 head iceberg lettuce, leaves removed for wraps
salt and pepper
1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot Buffalo wing sauce
Blue cheese crumbles or blue cheese dressing to drizzle over the top (I used a tiny bit of both)


1. In a skillet, saute the onions over medium heat until soft, add garlic and cook for another minute. Add grown turkey and salt and pepper to taste, cook until cooked through and drain grease.

2. Return meat to pan and stir in the wing sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer for a couple of minutes.

3. Place buffalo wing turkey meat into lettuce cups, top with a few carrot shavings and chopped celery. Sprinkle with some blue cheese crumbles and/or dressing.

Mr. B loved these - and he's stingy with his food love declarations.

 



Easy Mini Cheesecakes

I can't believe I haven't shared this recipe before, but I was making these for my book club yesterday and couldn't find the recipe on the ol' blog, so I figured it was well past time I shared it.  These are delicious, easy to make, and semi-not terrible for you if you practice moderation and use fat-free cream cheese (okay, they're probably not great for you, but I justify that they're still better than eating a slice of legit cheesecake).

You'll need:

1 Box Vanilla wafers (You could substitute graham cracker crust here, but I'm lazy and honestly, the vanilla wafers do the same thing in about 1/16th the time).
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature (I buy fat-free blocks of cream cheese, you can go whole hog and buy real cream cheese, just don't tell me, I suffer from metabolism envy.)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
Pie Filling, Pastry Filling, Preserves - sky's the limit (my preference is raspberry pastry filling, but whatever floats your boat will work - blueberry, cherry, chocolate, caramel).

Place a vanilla wafer in the bottom of foil muffin liners. Mix cream cheese (make sure it's at room temperature or you'll get a lumpy mess), sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Add eggs and beat mixture together. Spoon into cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Let cool and top with pie filling. Chill before serving. They're delicious.

Random Ramblings

I have so much happening house-wise right now, but no pictures to share yet...so let's ramble today, okay?

• You may have heard that the Broncos signed Peyton Manning. Or you may have missed that news...maybe it wasn't shoved down the throats of America as much as it was the throats of Colorado residents? I'm not thrilled. Not that I dislike Peyton Manning - I always liked the Colts because of him, but I just don't understand why we'd pay 96 Million over 5 years for a 36 year old quarterback who just missed an entire season due to injury and multiple neck surgeries. Especially when we have a young quarterback with potential who led us to the playoffs for the first time in 6 years after being named starter partway through the season.  And now Tebow will likely be traded, and after he named his dog Bronco and everything. Mr. B tells me this is why I'm not making business decisions for professional sports teams, because I'd keep everyone who named a pet after the team. Sure, honey, that's why I'm not making business decisions for the Denver Broncos. But anyway, John Elway and I are fighting...I'm sure he cares.

• Thomas's new room is truly almost done. The big things are done - I finished the Roman Shades over the weekend, the furniture's in, all I need is the decorative touches - then I'll share pictures of the whole room. I love it.


• McKiddle #2's room is a work in progress - in my head, since I refuse to make it a new baby's room until Thomas is officially and happily in his new, bigger room. I had originally thought I'd just tweak the room when the baby's born if it's a girl and leave it as is if we have another sweet boy (I have absolutely no inkling one way or the other this time), but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to redecorate, so that reasonable plan's out the window and we'll start working on the nursery in April after Thomas is officially moved.


• All of our cooler weather seeds are planted - Mr. B ended up building up the garden into a raised bed this year. I'm excited to see what grows, because I know that it's not all going to.


• I made these Pizza Rolls for a neighborhood get together on Saturday, and they were a huge hit - with adults and kids alike. I'm always hunting for good appetizers that aren't chips and dip to take to parties or have out when we have friends over, and these will happen again.        

Source: the-girl-who-ate-everything.com via Emily on Pinterest

• I also made OMG Chicken last week (using 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt in lieu of mayo) and it was so dang good and so easy. I love simple, basic meals that taste good.

Source: theenchantedcook.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

• I loved all of your envelope system budget questions last week - I tried to answer all the questions in the comments, and when I had a chance click over to answer them specifically on your blog if they were linked. So if you asked a question, check the comments from last week's post, and let me know if you have any other questions. I'm far from a budget expert (and fall off the wagon, too!), but with that disclaimer out there, I'm a budget nerd and love talking about it. 

Lenten Menu Planning (Meatless Meals)

Lent begins on Wednesday, which means meatless Fridays for the next 7 weeks in our Catholic family. I try to prepare meatless dinners year-round, but don't think about it very carefully for lunch. So for Lent, I require extra planning...and will actually make Mr. B a lunch on Fridays because he specifically requested my help reminding him not to eat meat on Fridays this year. 
Breakfast:We don't usually eat meat at breakfast, so I don't see this one being a big deal, but we'll opt for:Spinach SmoothiesOatmealToast or Bagels 
Lunches:Salads (my favorites are Spring Greens topped with Cottage Cheese, Red Bell Pepper, Red Onion, Avocado and Red Wine Vinegar...yum!)Grilled Cheese SandwichesAlmond Butter and Jelly Sandwiches
And on the plan for this year's Lenten Dinners:

Baked Maple SalmonPesto PastaClam Pizza NightShrimp ScampiChuck's Favorite Mac & CheeseLemon and Butter Tilapia
Other Options for Meatless Meals:

• Pizza Night's always a favorite. Our very favorite is a Mediterranean Homemade Pizza: Pesto, feta cheese, artichoke hearts, roma tomatoes, oregano and mozzarella. 
• Salmon Salad
• Meatless Spaghetti, Garlic Bread and Caesar Salad
• Any spinach or vegetarian Ravioli or Lasagna

Any other favorite meatless meals you want to share? I'm always on the lookout for new options - Lent or not.

Lazy Girl's Chicken Enchiladas

I love me some Mexican food - especially enchiladas. But, I don't like the prep time that cooking chicken and rolling enchiladas involves - especially since mine usually cook together and turn out to be a gooey mess of delicious tortilla, chicken and cheese mixture anyway.

But yesterday I was hankering for some enchiladas - my first food hankering in months. I googled around and combined a bunch of different recipes to create the least amount of work enchilada recipe this lazy bum could find.  And it was delish, so I thought I should share.

Semi-Crockpot Lazy Girl's Cottage Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

For the Chicken Mixture:
4 chicken breasts (I just chuck frozen chicken breasts from the freezer straight into the crockpot)
1/2 Beer (or 1/2 cup of chicken broth or water should you abstain from alcohol).
1/2 pkg Taco Seasoning (fell free to use a whole if you're not worried about sodium. My high school biology teacher once told our class, "Sodium will make you explodium", which scarred me for life and curbed my goldfish cracker habit. And she thought I wasn't paying attention in class.)
4oz can of green chiles (Mr. B would like me to add that, if you desire, you can add these after the crockpot cooking when you mix the chicken and cheese together so that you get more green chile bite. If you like that kind of thing.)
Garlic powder

Mix all ingredients and cook on low for 4 - 5 hours in a crockpot. Shred the chicken. Because I'm lazy - and also because I like my chicken in my enchiladas to be in small pieces - I throw them in my Ninja food processor/blender and speak sweet nothings to my very favorite appliance for the 25 seconds it takes to shred my chicken. But you could use a fork and just shred away, too. Crockpot chicken is easy to shred.Then add the chicken mixture to a bowl with:

1/2 cup fat free sour cream
2 cups low fat cottage cheese (I love cottage cheese in enchiladas - so creamy and delicious. Try it. B doesn't like cottage cheese or sour cream, but loves these enchiladas).
Salt and Pepper to taste

Assembly:
You're gonna need a package of corn tortillas. Lay them out on the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan (cut a couple in half if you want perfect coverage). Layer your chicken/cheese mixture on top of the enchiladas, then add some shredded cheddar cheese.

Follow up with another layer of corn tortillas and red or green (our choice) enchilada sauce from a can...this is the lazy girl's chicken enchilada recipe. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 30 minutes. Cut into squares, rectangles or triangles...whatever makes your skirt fly up...and serve.

Enchiladas without the laborious prep work? Done.

*Note: This makes more than a 9x13 inch pan for me in casserole form - you could make a really thick enchilada, or you can make more modest layers and spread them out over two dishes, one for dinner now and one to freeze. If freezing one, keep the enchilada sauce off until you're ready to bake.

Dare to Eat Cookies: Family Swedish Spritz Christmas Cookies

It's Week 3 of Kim's Dare to DIY Challenge, and in week 3 we throw our food diaries out the window and eat cookies! I mean, how could I say no to that?

Being a girl who was born with a Mc last name and married a Mc (I took my maiden name as my middle name when we got married so I'm a double Mc kinda girl), I usually claim my Irish heritage. Because it's just in your face like that. But there's a significant Norwegian and Swedish contingent to both sides of my family, too (just ask my ribs...they're very Norwegian). And that half of me really loves Scandinavian Christmas cookies.

I didn't actually bake the cookies this year - my aunt made her grandmother's (my great-grandmother Emma for whom I was named) Swedish Spritz cookies for our weekend in the mountains for Thanksgiving this year. But I would have made them for this week if my aunt hadn't done all the work for me :). And we actually have two family recipes - Grandma Emma's cookies and Grandma Stella's cookies. Pictured are Emma's cookies, the recipe is Stella's...they're very similar. Just trying to keep you on your toes, friends.

Grandma Stella's Swedish Spritz (Detroit Lakes, Minnesota)
Cream together:
1 1/2 cups Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons almond extract

Sift together:
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Add the flour and baking powder to the creamed together mixture and force through a cookie press.

Bake at 400 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes

We love cookies. Swedish Spritz, Norwegian Krumkake, the secret McD family Christmas cookie cutouts. It's no wonder I'm always dieting come January. Head on over to Kim's blog to get even more great cookie recipes!

Delicious Buffalo Chicken Dip

It's been awhile since I posted a recipe around here. It's been awhile since I cooked around here. I start slacking around the mention of the first snowfall. But, I do have a recipe to share. And it's amazing. The perfect appetizer - for football games, Christmas parties, whatever floats your boat.

It's pretty much just the Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Chicken - nothing new or different, but I hadn't tried it before so I thought I'd share it with you all.

Source: allrecipes.com via Emily on Pinterest

You'll need:
1- 8 oz Package Fat Free Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup blue cheese salad dressing
1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce (this is a staple in the McKevitt household.)
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (or shredded mozzarella cheese if you're not too much of a blue cheese fan)
2 chicken breasts boiled and shredded. (The Frank's recipe calls for canned chicken. I'm scared of canned chicken, so I go with the real deal).
Cheddar cheese for topping (optional, but when in doubt I always add more cheese).

Mix the cream cheese in a deep pyrex dish with a fork until it's smooth - stir in the dressing, Frank's, blue cheese crumbles and shredded chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Serve with tortilla chips, crackers and celery. It's so good.

Cashew Chicken

I've been on the lookout for new recipes lately - I've been in a bit of a menu rut and want fresh options, and last week I found one.  Ready for a yummy, easy stir-fry?

Cashew Chicken, adapted from Martha Stewart.

 

For 4 servings you'll need:

1 turn of the pan cooking oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

About 1 pound of chicken breasts

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Salt and Pepper

8 scallions chopped (separate the white parts)

2 Tablespoons rice vinegar

3/4 cup roasted cashews

For the sauce* you'll need:

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

A squeeze of honey

1 teaspoon chili paste

1 Tablespoon white vinegar

Dash of five spice seasoning (or red pepper flakes will do)

1/4 cup water

*Martha's recipe calls for 3 Tablespoons hoisin sauce and 1/4 cup water, but I make this instead - it's really good and peanut free (hoisin sauce is iffy on peanuty-ness). But you can hoisin it up if peanuts aren't an issue for you.

Directions:

Saute the garlic in the oil until brown. Meanwhile, coat chicken in cornstarch, salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan and cook until it starts to brown. Add white parts of scallions and vinegar and cook until it evaporates (30 seconds). Add the sauce and cook for 1 - 2 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat, add green scallions and cashews. Serve immediately over rice. So yummy.

Lenten Recipes: Sun Dried Tomato and Clam Pizza

In the Catholic Church, we abstain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent.  I love this - for spiritual reasons that I don't usually delve into in public - and also because it expands my vegetarian and seafood recipe repertoire.  Generally, Fridays during Lent mean pizza night here at imperfect.  I'm currently on a make my own pizza rather than order out kick.  I like knowing exactly what's in our food.

Why yes, I am considering job offers for professional food plating and photography.  I mean, look at this masterpiece.  I'm fighting off food presentation job offers everywhere I go.  But for reals, this pizza's delicious.  Anyone want to come clean my cooktop?



And you guys? Making pizza dough? SO easy. My mom's Pizza on the Grill dough recipe is a good recipe - but when I don't have time to let the dough rise, or when I want a thinner crust for oven purposes, I go with this recipe:

Quick Pizza Crust (via AllRecipes)
3 cups flour (I use whole wheat flour)
1 package active dry yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tablespoons oil

I mix the dry ingredients together, then dump in the water and oil - mix it around and spread it out on a cookie sheat.  No need to knead the dough or let it rise.

At this point you could top your pizza with whatever you want - tomato sauce, pesto - the sky's the limit, friends.  But, because I was going with a clam pizza, I thought I'd keep it simple and spread some olive oil on the unbaked dough, sprinkled a little garlic powder over the top, and baked the dough at 375 for 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix together:
2 Tablespoons olive oil (plus some for spreading)
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cans minced clams, drained
Sun-dried tomatoes (your call on the amount - I used about 1/4 cup)

You'll also need:
Mozzarella cheese
Oregano and Basil (or Italian seasonings)

When your crust is done semi-pre-baking, top with mozzarella cheese and spread the clam and sun dried tomato mixture over the top.  Sprinkle with seasonings.  Bake (still at 375) for another 20 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and crust is done.  Delicious.

PS - after much procrastionation, I finally categorized my Recipes tab up top.  So you don't have to read every post I've ever written to find a pesto recipe.  I'll try to stay on top of it, but no promises.  This is imperfect, afterall.

Not Even Semi-Homemade Chili Taco Casserole

Need a quick, easy, cheap and yummy dinner idea? That's pretty much the name of the game around here.  I was craving tacos last week but didn't want to go to the store for the ingredients.  But I did have:

half a bag of cheddar cheese
a can of turkey chili (you'll want 2 cans, but I wasn't going to the grocery store)
a can of green chiles
taco seasoning
tortilla chips
lettuce
tomatoes
sour cream
salsa

Now, you're going to want to get out your notepads for this mindblowingly complicated process.

Dump the chili, chiles and half of the taco seasoning into a baking dish.  Top with cheese.  Crumple tortilla chips on top. Put in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes until it looks like this (feel free to spread your chips and cheese more evenly across the top of your really fancy homemade meal if you are more into perfection than I am):



Serve alone or over more chips (at which point this becomes a glorified nacho recipe) and top with whatever you desire - salsa, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream.  Add a salad and pretend you made dinner. 

Now, let's be honest.  Presentation wise, this probably isn't going to be a knock-your-socks-off meal that you want to serve to guests.  But it's yummy and perfect for your own family.  I'm picturing it as a meal for one of those "What do you mean I have to take four kids to four different soccer practices, have a meeting with a client and have a meal on the table by 7?" kind of nights that I hope my future entails.  And, it would make an awesome dip for a party. And you probably have what you need in the pantry right now. 

Meal Planning (and a Shrimp Scampi Recipe)

Since there was so much interest in our $250 a month grocery budget, I thought I'd share my meal plan for this week.  You can check out my personal grocery shopping rules here and my meal planning technique and last week's meal plan here. 

Wednesday - Leftovers

Thursday - Chicken Pot Pie

Friday -Spinach Lasagna (new recipe, I'm giving Lasagna another go)

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Shrimp Scampi (shrimp is on sale this week).  I use a recipe from the Joy of Cooking that I love because it calls for ZERO butter.  And because it's delish.  Here it is:

• 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 2 T minced garlic
• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/4 cup minced parsley
• 1 T fresh lemon juice

In a big skillet heat olive oil and cook garlic over very low heat until garlic is golden - 10 minutes.  Don't skimp on the time here, it's important.  Toss your shrimpys in the skillet and cook until they are pink on the bottom, turn over and add parsley.  Cook about 5 minutes.  Serve over rice pilaf or pasta and top with lemon juice.

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday -  Homemade Chicken Fingers and sweet potato fries

So that's what we'll be eating over the next week.  The spinach lasagna's a new recipe, everything else is tried, tested and Mr. B approved.  Is this something you guys want me to post every Wednesday for a couple weeks, or are two weeks worth of meals enough to give you an idea of what we do? Thoughts?

The $250 Grocery Budget - Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping

Okay, here's how I meal plan and grocery shop.  Let's start with the meal plan - I've tried a lot of different ways to do this, but the way that works for me best is a week at a time.  I used to plan out a month but realized I needed more flexibility than that - commitment scares me.

Here's our meal plan for the last week (Wednesday to Today):

Wednesday: Mac & Cheese (already in pantry)
Thursday: Beans and Rice
Friday: Sesame Chicken
Saturday: Chicken Parmesan, Pasta, Salad, Bread (Friends for dinner, feed 5)
Sunday: Enchiladas, Rice, Salad (Friends for dinner, feed 7)
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Creamy Chicken and Pasta

We normally eat leftovers at least one other night a week, but because we were having friends over both weekend nights, the normal routine got thrown off a bit.  On that menu, Beans and Rice and the Enchiladas were new recipes (both great, btw).  Sesame Chicken, Chicken Parmesan and Creamy Chicken and Pasta are tried and true - I have all of the spices for those already in my cabinet, so shopping for those meals means just buying the food items - chicken breasts, a few canned goods, some produce, etc.

Once I know what I'm making for the week, I take a piece of paper and fold it into sixths, In the top left hand column I write Meals and then I list the meals for the week under that, folding accordingly.  For the remaining five columns, I list grocery departments - in the order that they are in my grocery store.  Dairy, Grains, Canned Goods, Meats and Produce.  Then I list everything I need for the recipes in the appropriate section.  This keeps me on track - when I get to the grocery store, I start in dairy and just go down the list.  It keeps me from moving off into the Oreo aisle.  Because when Emily's in the Oreo aisle, the budget and the diet fall apart.  If something's not on the list, it doesn't go in the cart, that's the rule.

B will occasionally make a small grocery store trip on the weekends if he needs more oatmeal for work, or lunch meat, but the bulk of our shopping is done on Wednesdays.  And last Wednesday, I spent under $36 for a week of meals, and then we ran to the grocery store for a few last minute for freshness items - like bread to go with the Chicken Parm on the day of the meal.  All told, we spent $45 this week - more than normal, but only because we scheduled two friend dinners in the same weekend.

And that's how we think we keep to $250 or less a month on groceries.  The month is coming to a close at we've only spent $160 so far (though we were out of town for 4 days).  I loved hearing all of your grocery saving tips yesterday, so if you have more, keep 'em coming.  Any meal plan tips you want to share?

The $250 Grocery Budget

Until recently, I didn't realize that we had a low grocery budget compared to most households.  I'd mention our monthly budget to people and they'd say "We spend that each week".  And then, I posted the number here a few weeks ago and wasn't expecting the main question in the comments to be "How do you spend $250 a month on groceries?".  Honestly, I don't know...we just do it.  But, I'm going to try to walk you through our grocery budget.

But first, a few disclaimers:

• B and I are not "foodies".  We love and appreciate good, fancy meals, but we can do without them, too.  My philosophy on feeding the family is to put nutritious, good food on the table and not beat myself up about presentation, how frequently we eat it, etc.  If we cared a lot about different cuisines and unique side dishes, we'd exceed our budget. 
• I'm not hung up on organic food.  We can find organic produce for a decent price at our local natural foods store and so I buy it.  But, if I wanted only organic meats, we'd need a larger grocery budget.

So, here's how we feed our family (well, two eaters and a pint sized 7 month old) on $250 a month.

1) Meal planning.  On Wednesdays (grocery ad day), I plan out the meals for a week.  I don't get hung up on planning meals around sale items, but I take them into account.  I cook 3 - 4 times a week, and we eat leftovers the rest of the week.  We eat leftovers or Turkey Sandwiches for lunch, and we both eat oatmeal (cooked on the stove for me, generic instant for B, iron fortified for Thomas) for breakfast.  Breakfast works out to about $5 a month.

2) I shop the perimeter of the grocery store.  I make the occasional foray into the canned goods aisle and pasta aisle, but otherwise I try to avoid packaged foods.

3) I don't buy chicken breasts (our main meat) unless they're $1.99 a pound or less.  I buy chicken breasts in bulk when they're on sale and keep them individually bagged in the freezer.

4) I improvise.  Let's say a recipe calls for mayonnaise, which we usually don't have in our house, and therefore wouldn't use except for in this recipe.  I just switch it out for something that we already have or would use - like plain yogurt or sour cream.

5) I choose recipes that have relatively simple and few ingredients. 

6) We empty the refrigerator every week.  Seriously.  When we have no food in the house, we literally have no food in the house.  We don't stock the pantry, we don't stock the refrigerator.  We buy enough for the meals planned, eat those meals for a week, and then do the whole thing over again.

7) Thomas is on the home brew and now that he's eating solids I keep costs low by making my own baby food.  I buy organic produce and puree it myself.  Saves money, takes about an hour a week, and I feel better knowing that I know exactly what went into the food Thomas is eating, anyway.
And, in an effort not to have the longest blog post ever, we'll continue with the meal plan and actual grocery shopping tomorrow.  Anyone else have any tricks for keeping their grocery spending in check?

Delicious Baked Chicken Parmesan and other Yumminess

I made super easy, super yummy Baked Chicken Parmesan.  This recipe I adapted from lots of places so here's the gist:

For 4 servings:
2 chicken breasts cut in half. 
1/4 cup breadcrumbs.
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
2 T olive oil.
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese.
1/2 cup Marinara sauce (plus more for topping at the end)

I beat the daylights out of the chicken breasts to flatten them out with a meat mallet (this is a fantastic recipe for days when you're frustrated), rubbed each piece with a little olive oil and tossed the breadcrumbs and parmesan and seasoning in a bowl and coated each chicken breast half with the mixture.  Now, you toss the chicken breast halves in a glass baking dish (or on a baking sheet, whatever makes your skirt fly up) and bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes.  Take the dish out, turn those beautiful babies over and bake about 5 more minutes.  Take them out again, pour marinara and mozzarella on each and put them back in the oven until the cheese melts. 

I served it with pasta just to prove I'm capable of putting more than one thing on a dinner plate.  You could go super luxe and throw a bagged ceasar salad in the mix too.  Italian tonight? Yes, please!

I also made Chicken and Dumplings (via Cooking on Clover Lane) recently. I loved it, B thought it could use more chicken and less dumpling and he's probably right. But all in all, fabulous.


In non-crockpot news, I bought a bag of frozen Tilapia with a coupon. I think it's the first coupon I ever used at a grocery store. We're trying to eat more fish around here - I'm sick of getting all of my Omega 3s is capsule form. My first attempt at a Mango Salsa Tilapia was, how should we put this? One big, fat failure. But my next attempt at Lemon Garlic Tilapia? Um, possibly the most delicious thing I've eaten in months. And so flipping easy.

Family Friendly Recipes

I've been trying a lot of new recipes lately...three on the menu for this week alone.  And most of them aren't turning out.  So for every recipe that I declare a failure, I turn to Cooking on Clover Lane.  I swear, I have never made one of her recipes when Mr. B hasn't said "This is definitely a do again".

So, in Mr. B's order of preference, here are four recipes you should try:

Clover Lane's Feta Dip (We've made it three times in the last week - partly because we had a lot of Feta and a lot of parties to attend, partly because Mr. B is in love).

Clover Lane's Crockpot Chicken Fettucine


Chuck's Favorite Mac and Cheese (suggested by Meredith - I doubled this and delivered one batch to our neighbors who just had their 3rd kid and had my cousin and her family over for dinner with the second batch).  Delish.

Clover Lane's Crockpot Mexican Torte

I'll let you know next week how the new ones for this week go (provided they're worth sharing)...and I have an awesome dessert recipe for you, too. 

Easy Christmas Cookies

I made cookie dough, cut out and frosted sixty of my family's secret family Christmas Cookies last week for our Caroling party on Friday night.  And the 13 kids we had in our house devoured 57 of them in 2.5 hours.  Which is exactly what they were made for.

But, I wasn't feeling mixing, rolling, cutting and frosting more cookies for a neighborhood cookie decorating party two days later (I figured since my hands would be full of six month old I probably should just take the cookies decorated).  So I cheated.  I bought pre-cut Pillsbury sugar cookies, chocolate chips and candy canes.  I baked the cookies, melted the chocolate and did a mediocre job of crushing the candy canes.  Then, I dipped the cookies and sprinkled crushed candy cane on top.

The result? Cookies adults loved while they watched their kids pile spit laden frosting onto sugar cookies.  If I'd had a little more time I would have made the dough myself, but Pillsbury was the name of the game on Sunday (it's Finals week in the McKevitt household.  Which could also be called "Thank God I'm not a Single Mom for real week").  Total time? 20 minutes. From package to plate.  Easy.