Currently Browsing: Side dish
Aug 13, 2011
Posted by Jennifer on Aug 13, 2011 in chicken, Dinner Idea, general ideas, party food!, pasta, potluck, Side dish | 2 comments
Last weekend I used McCormick’s chipotle marinade to make grilled potatoes. which turned out great.
I didn’t really plan my dinners that much this week, I knew I just had things on hand to put something together. One night this week as soon as I walked in the door, my kids ran up to me and said like they normally do “What’s for dinner?”
I said “something with chicken!” I took 3 chicken breasts out of the freezer, defrosted them and cut them into chunks.
In a large skillet coated with a little olive oil, I started browning the chicken. I was looking in my pantry and saw the chipotle seasoning mix and decided to add that to the chicken.
I was thinking about what to make as a side dish, when I saw I had spiral pasta and was thinking if I could make a sauce, add the chicken and cooked pasta?
Once the chicken was almost cooked through, I added 1 cup of chicken stock and 1 cup of skim milk mixed with 1/4 cup of flour to thicken the sauce. Cook for a few minutes and then add the cooked pasta – reserving some of the pasta water if you want to thin out the sauce.
The result? YUM! No leftovers of this meal, which I always consider a success! Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese if you want.
If I had green onions, I think adding some chopped green onions on top and maybe a little bit of crumbled bacon would have made this even more deluxe! 
Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts, trimmed of all fat and cut into chunks
1 tb. olive oil
1 packet McCormick seasoning (chipotle)
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup flour
1 box spiral pasta
cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top
salt and pepper to taste
The seasoning is spicy – but it is less spicy making the sauce. My kids liked the heat, but it wasn’t too much where they couldn’t eat it.
Who loves watermelon? It’s my favorite summer fruit. Look at how pretty this melon was when I opened it up!
Have a great weekend? What are your plans?
*I just found a new blog – meet Rachel – she’s lost 85 pounds – check out her weight loss story and before and after pics here!! Great job Rachel!!
Apr 10, 2011
Posted by Jennifer on Apr 10, 2011 in pasta, sauces, Side dish, stir fry, vegetables | 8 comments
I love peanut sauce, and usually I just buy it. My favorite brand is House of Tsang thai peanut sauce. I’ve seen recipes before for making it myself, I’ve just never gotten around to make it. I’m sorry I waited so long because this recipe tasted amazing. It comes from the 2000 Cooking Light Cookbook.
When I read the ingredients, it turned out I had everything I needed.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon chili paste with garlic (available in the Asian aisle).
4 cloves of garlic, minced
Combine all the ingredients and that’s it!
For 2 tablespoons the calories are 139 6.2 fat, 4.4 grams protein, 19 carbs.
It’s really peanut-y, any yummy. So much better than the store bought stuff, I think I’ll use this one from now on instead of buying it.
So, of course I had to make a stir fry with it.
The only veggies I had left were carrots, celery, cauliflower and edamame. And I also made 1 serving of angel hair pasta.
I actually only used 1 tablespoon of the peanut sauce in my dish and that was plenty. If you want to thin it out some, add a few tablespoons of the pasta water if you wish.
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Over the weekend, I watched a great show on The Cooking Channel. It’s called the Four Coursemen. It’s 6 friends from Athens, Georgia. They all have their strengths in the kitchen. They began by cooking dinner parties for friends and families. Then word got out about these fantastic dinner parties and so now that’s what they do. They cook out of a small house.
The show took them all over Georgia, looking for locally grown food from farmers. They said every time they host a party, they cook something different. Check out this link to past dinner parties they hosted. I envied them for the lengths they went to to find the best ingredients.
Hope everyone had a great weekend. After 30/40 degree weather last week, we now are enjoying 80 degrees today – isn’t that insane? Last week I was wearing hat and gloves and today I had to pull out my summer clothes!
Mar 21, 2011
Posted by Jennifer on Mar 21, 2011 in bread, breakfast, holiday foods, Side dish | 9 comments
This was my first try making soda bread for St. Patrick’s day – and it is SUPER easy to make, even if you’ve never made any kind of bread before. There is no kneading involved and no yeast! My mother-in-law always made this for St. Patrick’s day growing up and since she recently passed away, I wanted to make a loaf in her honor. She had the daunting task of cooking for 11 kids and her husband every night, so I should never complain about cooking for my family of 5
This recipe isn’t her recipe – but it comes from a very good source – America’s Test Kitchen
Makes 1 loaf
4 cups all purpose flour
1.5 tsp. baking soda
1.5 tsp. cream of tartar
1.5 tsp. salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1.5 cups low-fat buttermilk
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place the flour, soda, cream of tartar, salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour using your fingers until it is completely incorporated and the mixture resembles course crumbs.
3. Make a well in the center and add the buttermilk. Work the liquid into the flour mixture using a fork until the dough comes together in large clumps. Turn the dough onto a work surface and knead briefly until the loose flour is just moistened. The dough will be scrappy and uneven.
4. Form the dough into a round about 6-7 inches in diameter and place in a cast iron skillet. (I put a little oil in the bottom of the skillet so the bread wouldn’t stick). Score a deep cross on top of the loaf and place in the pre-heated oven. Bake until nicely browned and a tester comes out clean inserted into the center of the loaf, about 40-45 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter, if desired. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting.
My whole family loved the bread! Of course since my husband always had it growing up, I was happy to make it for him. And it’s great the next day toasted in the toaster with a little drizzle of honey.
Have you made soda bread before?
And I huge thanks for all the birthday wishes – the party is still going, on Tuesday, my sister Biz, her daughter Hannah and my Mom are doing lunch and shopping – so still more celebrating to do (which I love!)
Have a super day everyone!
Feb 17, 2011
Posted by Jennifer on Feb 17, 2011 in breakfast, dieting, eggs, recipe make over, Side dish, stir fry, vegetables | 8 comments
Thanks to those of you who left comments the last two days for a chance to win a prize from Mom’s Best Natural Cereals.
The winner is…..Dave from Year on the Grill!!!
I’ll e-mail you Dave to get your address!
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Ok, I made this kind of crazy breakfast the last 2 days, but I loved it and it involved…pearl barley! I just posted about how I had never tried it before and I’ve had it 4 days in a row.
Here is what I made:
This version had 1 cup of cooked barley, 1 carrot, a tablespoon of diced poblano pepper, and chopped garlic. Then I cooked 1 egg + 1 egg white like a fried egg, cut that into strips, and added few shavings of fresh parmesan cheese.
I seasoned it with salt and pepper. I didn’t even need to put a sauce on it. It was creamy and amazing. This huge bowl is only 365 calories too!
Since I liked it so much, here is version #2:
This version again started with 1 cup cooked barley, 1 carrot, 1 parsnip, 1/2 jalapeno, diced, 2 cloves of garlic, chopped, 1 green onion, chopped, 2 slices deli salami + .25 oz. fresh parmesan cheese + 1 fried egg, chopped.
It took me like an hour to eat this! Do you think that’s a weird breakfast?
Hope everyone had a great day, I’m off to read a gift I got in the mail today:
My Bon Appetit!
Also, I’d like to share some new blogs to me which I really like:
Strawberries in Paris
The Chubby Cook
Cupcakes and Crablegs
Cooking for One
Feb 15, 2011
Posted by Jennifer on Feb 15, 2011 in breakfast, diabetic, dieting, general ideas, product review, Side dish, soup, stir fry | 13 comments
This is another first for me. I’ve never tried pearl barley before, but ended up picking some up from the store over the weekend. You don’t have to buy this brand, any grocery store sells this near the rice, dried beans, lentils. And the best part is? It’s super cheap!
It does take a long time to cook. 45 minutes, so you need to either make a batch ahead of time, or plan accordingly if you are going to make this. I wasn’t sure what the texture would be like, but once it was cooked and I tasted it, I LOVED it! It’s kind of chewy, but soft at the same time.
Since it was the first time making it, I just added a diced green onion, carrots, red pepper and a little stir fry sauce as a snack.
For a one cup cooked serving, it’s only 193 calories. It has 12% of your iron for the day as well as 24% of the fiber you need. It’s low in fat, and is known to help lower cholesterol, maintain blood sugar levels, so its helpful for diabetics, as well as it helps keep you fuller longer.
You can use it in stir fries, in soups, stews, casseroles, etc…
I plan to make like a breakfast dish with it tomorrow, with a little cheese and chopped up egg + veggies!
Have you had pearl barley before? What do you make with it?
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Also, I wanted to tell you about Mom’s Best Naturals Cereals. I was sent 2 of their cereals, as well as a box of Kashi and Kellogg’s to compare the taste and see if I saw a difference(as part of their Mom’s Best Natural’s Better Breakfast Challenge). I actually don’t buy cereal that often because of the price factor. I’m not willing to fork over $5.00 + for a box of sugary cereal that my kids will devour in two seconds. However, one thing about Mom’s Best Naturals is that its 20-50% less than other brands. (I like that!)
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