If You Are What You Eat, Then I Am Fast, Cheap, and Easy...

It was an exhausting afternoon at SliderZone, and what to make for dinner? Something fast, cheap, and easy, of course! So, here's my latest pathetic attempt at dinner:

• Chicken breasts seasoned with Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning and grilled for about 8 minutes a side under the broiler until they reach an internal temperature of 180 degrees F.
• Steamed Broccoli
• Instant Mashed Potatoes

...and for dessert? Break and Bake Nestle Toll House Cookies!
(Note: all items are available for purchase at your local Super Target)

Deep-fried thoughts, by Amy H.

Easy Sunday Dinner

So - what did you have for Sunday dinner?

We had Swiss steak, mashed potatoes, biscuits and corn on the cob (with my super secret corn sauce.)

If you haven't tried Swiss steak on a Sunday, I'd love to recommend it. It's easy peasy lemon squeeze-y and when you are done, it looks something like this.

For this ridiculously simple meal, all you will need is a round steak large enough to suit your family (lately, I've preferred a small chuck roast for this since I am cooking it a long long time) and a few cans of pre-seasoned tomatoes.

There are fancier versions of this recipe, but the Amy-version goes like this:

Season the steak (I use garlic powder, salt and pepper.)  Coat it in flour and brown it well.  (If you have a cast iron skillet, that would be best and would make this a one pan entree.)

Once it is browned on both sides, remove the steak from the pan and drain the excess oil. 

If using cast iron, return the steak to the pan and just add a couple of cans of pre-seasoned tomatoes to the top of the meat.    It  will look about like this (looks gross - tastes good!)  For my family, usually one large can and then one smaller can of the tomatoes does it. If you aren't using cast iron, just put it all in a casserole dish.

Cover the skillet (or casserole dish, if you needed to use one) and I cook it at 250 from when I leave for church (usually 10:30 am) until whenever we are all home (usually 4:30 or so.)  

Growing up, I think my mom added mushrooms and onions to the mix, but you know Shawn's not going to touch that with a 10-foot pole.  But mushrooms and onions are great in it, if you ask me.

That picture isn't uber appealing, but I tell ya, it's pretty tasty. It'll fall apart to the touch of your fork and is one of those Southern comfort foods that lots of families enjoy.

Later, I'll reveal my super secret corn sauce recipe.  But you'll have to pinky swear to tell it to no one outside of our circle.  

Confessions of a Dinner-Making Slacker

A little over a year ago, when my 3rd son was born, my wonderful Mother-in-Law bought us a month's worth of meals at "Let's Eat Dinner!" (www.letseatdinner.com) and I was instantly hooked. The meals were tasty, easy to prepare (a quick heat up in the skillet or oven and done!), and fairly reasonably priced. Each meal feeds 4-6, and can be split into portions feeding 2-3 people. Add a side (hey, I can do rice or instant mashed potatoes!) and a vegetable (salad out of a pre-made salad bag? Sure!) and you're all set. Since my husband and I were the only ones eating the dinners, a month's worth of meals cost us under $200. There is an extra charge to have them prepare the meal for you, but there are often coupons online or in that Val-pak coupon thing you get in the mail that covers the price of preparation. I highly recommend Let's Eat! to anyone who has a stressful life, a new baby, or just needs a break. The customer service was fantastic -- the woman that owns the Waterford Lakes store was always so nice to us, and once when they forgot a part of one of our meals, they delivered the missing component to our front door with a free side thrown in! The best part of this whole deal was that I DID NOT HAVE TO COOK. Since I teach school two nights a week, dinner was a snap. I didn't have to plan meals, I only had to shop for the side items to go with the meal, and I didn't have to think about it. Beautiful.

Fast forward to now...even though the Let's Eat! meals are yummy, we've tried them all, and honestly, we've gotten a little bored with them. At the beginning of this month, we took a look at the menu, and we thought, "Been there, done that..." It was like eating at your favorite restaurant for a year, and after having tried everything on the menu TWICE, you're ready for a change. So now I'm in a panic. What do I make for dinner? Are we back to tacos/spaghetti/macaroni and cheese? Trying to plan menus for the week is a nightmare for me. I can't come up with interesting ideas on the fly! I'm totally out of shape from cooking and planning -- I've been lounging on the menu planning couch eating bonbons for over a year now, and my dinner making muscles are all flabby. Bertolli's is always a good standby. It's almost like a Let's Eat! meal -- you take it out of the freezer, heat it up in the pan, and presto! Pasta dinner.

So, here's my pathetic attempt at re-entry into the dinner making world. I have a cookbook called "Eating For Life" that has easy, low fat meals that are surprisingly tasty. Here's the recipe for Asian Chicken Salad (slightly modified by me to my own personal tastes):

4 portions cooked chicken (about 1 lb) cut into bite-sized pieces. I sautee' mine with a bit of garlic powder and ginger powder for flavor
1 bag (16 oz) coleslaw mix
4 green onions, chopped (optional: we are not onion-eaters at my house)
2 Tbsp sesame oil (olive oil works ok, but sesame oil has a much richer flavor)
1/3 rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup crisp chow mein noodles

In a large mixing bowl, combine cooked chicken, coleslaw mix, and green onions. In a small mixing bowl, combine sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and ginger. Drizzle over chicken mixture and toss to coat.

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes (Yeah baby! That's what I'm talking about! Fast prep!)

Talking to myself...

....OK - someone has to play with me soon and tell me what to make for dinner. Otherwise, I'll have to keep doing what I did tonight!  I just ordered Philly cheesesteaks from Brianto's.  They deliver, and Lorraine told me their turkey Philly's are great.  So - I'm going for it.

I'll report in if they are tasty or if Lorraine is a liar.  It will make me only too happy to call Lorraine a liar.  It's the little things in life that make me happy.....I'm a simple girl...

Jammin Tunes

Our player (featured at the bottom of the blog) is dying to spit out our favorite food-y tunes. Andrea and I got it started.  My favorite at the moment is "C is for cookie!"  

We take requests - so report in and we'll feature your recommendation!

(No penguins were harmed in the making of this blog picture...)

Tacos tonight!

Every mom wants to make something tasty for dinner that's relatively inexpensive that everyone in the family will enjoy. If it's also healthy, then the woman deserves an award for Mother of the Year!

This is a fun meal we enjoy a lot on Sundays.   I serve it as a buffet and everyone can either fill it all into a burrito or they can eat a pork taco with other "stuff" on the side.  I usually have all the typical taco fixings (sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, green chiles, etc.) and then rice and beans, and finally chips and salsa.

Here ya go!  If you have a variation or improvement, I'd love to see it!

SLOW-ROASTED PORK FOR TACOS

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

10 garlic cloves, peeled

2 pounds pork shoulder, preferably boneless and in 1 piece

1-2 teaspoons peppercorns

2-3 teaspoons oregano

2-3 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

To prepare pork: Sliver 4 garlic cloves. Using thin-bladed knife, poke holes all over pork. Insert garlic slivers into holes.

Rub the peppercorns, oregano, cumin and salt into the pork.  (Those spices are really "to taste" so add as little or much as you like.)  Put the roast in the crock pot and then pour the juices on it.

To cook pork: Set the crock pot on high for 6 hours or so.  It should be very tender and you can pull it apart with a fork when it's ready.  (If you notice the pork is getting dry, you could always add more juices, but I've never seen that happen.)