Stir Frying it! (yes, I make up my own words!)

Stir Fry - outside of quiche - I think it's one of the easiest meals that looks as though you put a tiny bit of thought into it!  And truly, it doesn't take much! Chop chop chop, throw it into a pan - dinner is ready!  So tonight for dinner we had Sesame Orange Chicken with Stir Fry Vegetables and Brown Rice.  Let me start by telling you, I had a recipe that I loosely followed.  But for stir fry, not too many directions are needed!  The recipe called for chicken breast.  I had split chicken breast (they were on sale recently).  Plus I prefer chicken cooked on the bone - it makes it juicier!   So I cooked the chicken earlier this morning.
Tip #1 - always cook more chicken than you need.  Extra can be chopped or quartered and frozen. Ready to use in chicken pie, chicken salad, chicken soups, chicken and pasta, get the picture?
Tip #2 - use chicken broth or stock in place of water to boil your rice.  Tons more flavor.  I save the broth from the cooked chicken this morning and cooked the brown rice.  Think of it as environmentally friendly as well - you saved water!
Tip #3 - stir fry is a great way to have your family eat their vegetables.  Especially if you have a dip!  And when we have stir fry, we have "Japanese Mayo".  This dipping sauce needs to be made a few hours ahead of time to give a chance for the flavors to blend and "harmonize".  This is the recipe I sort of use.  I mean sort of as after making it a time or two I recall the main ingredients and toss it together.  Trust me, you really can't mess it up.
http://www.japanese-steakhouse-white-sauce.com/white-sauce-recipe.htm

Sesame Orange Chicken (adapted by Emily!)

2tsp sesame seeds (if you don't have them don't worry, I didn't)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into chunks (I used already cooked and cooled chunks of 2 1/2 split chicken breasts)
1 Tbsp cornstarch (this makes the sauce)
2 1/2 tsp oil (I used EVOO as it was handy)
Veggies - I used cabbage, carrot, orange and green pepper, onion, zucchini, summer squash and broccoli
1/3 cup soy sauce,orange juice, and water

1 - Cook sesame seeds in large nonstick skillet over med heat until golden.  Set aside.  Put chicken and cornstarch in baggie and shake to coat.
2 - Heat 2 tsp oil in same skillet until hot.  Add chicken cooking until opaque in center (about 5 mins).  Remove to large plate.
3 - Heat remaining oil in skillet.  Add veggies - hardest to softest.  For instance, I added the carrots for about 2-3 min before adding cabbage, broccoli and onions.  Then after a min or so I added squash and zucchini.  I like my squash and zucchini to not be too soft.  Stir fry about 5-6 min.
4 - Add liquids.  Put chicken back into pan and stir.  Let it all cook together for about 5 min stirring frequently to cover with sauce.
5 - Plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds (see why I didn't even bother with the seeds).

Baby it's cold outside

OK - it's not truly COLD here in the South yet, but after a night of thunder showers, the temperature has finally dropped making it feel like AUTUMN!  And I LOVE Fall!  I love pumpkins and gourds and the leaves and the cool weather and sweaters and....well, I love Fall!  So cool weather means we can really start baking again (we I mean the teen and I).  She seems to love to bake.  Cook - eh, not so much!  And to touch raw meat - well, that's another story!  But she really enjoys baking.  Teen has baked chocolate chip banana bread, chocolate chip cookies, muffins, and many other yummy treats!  She has been drooling over these Chocolate Halloween Pretzels for days now.  So moments after her feet hit the floor this morning, she was asking to bake!  And this is what she created!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pillsburyrecipes/5042199506/in/photostream/

She even patiently let her little brothers add orange and yellow sprinkles and sugar crystals.  Definitely the perfect treat for Fall!

They taste as good as they look!

What a Wonderful Wednesday!

I do best in my world if I create mini projects.  For instance, I decided along with our normal activities for the day - school, haircuts, etc - I would steam clean the carpet downstairs in our den.  Our den is loving called the "Man Cave" as the Big Guy does his hobby/job of Ebay and train transformer business.  It does come complete with a pinball machine, a bird, and a man size tv!  Did I mention the bird???  (Mr Blue, Blue McCaw - go google them, not small kind of pet!) More on the bird at a later date.
So a fabulous wonderful day for me is when our "normal" schedule goes smoothly AND I accomplish the project of the day.  And this was a Fabulous Wonderful day!  The key to making this such a fabulous day was a quick and easy dinner.  And it was - Polish Kielbasa and Sauerkraut with leftover 4 Cheese and Bacon Macaroni.  How much easier can it get?  For the sausage, simply browned in a pan with a splash of apple juice.  If I drank beer (I do LOVE the smell of it!), I would have thrown some beer into the pan to heat the sausage.  Drained once sausage is browned, added sauerkraut till heated.  Macaroni heated in the microwave. Dinner is on the table!  Did I mention all that was required to clean up the kitchen was one pan?  How grand is that!
Did you have a quick and easy dinner?

Heat in the Kitchen Burnin' it up!

My thumb.  That's what I burned this morning as I flipped out a pancake onto a plate this morning for some very hungry boys.  Technically, it is the side of my thumb and it was not even on the hot griddle that scorched me.  Somehow, the burning hot steam from the pancake hit my thumb for several seconds as I was balancing this pancake from falling to the floor versus the plate.  Crazy I know!  So I am now sporting a super cool Toy Story band aid thanks to the kindness of youngest son.   (He just thinks it's neat Mom is wearing a band aid of his!)
But there is a moral to this story.  The key to fabulous pancakes is HEAT.  Yes, you need heat in the kitchen!  Crank up the heat on the pan or the griddle so that when you pour that batter, you can just hear the goodness begin to form.  I will admit, I do use a pancake mix that all I add is water.  Shame on me but as I am waiting for the coffee to brew, I need breakfast to appear as quick as possible!  The 3 year old wakes hungry as a bear and wants his breakfast 5 minutes ago!  Just this morning, the child ate 3 whole pancakes!  THREE!  And I don't make tiny pancakes.
Maybe he loves pancakes so much due to my eating them pretty much every day (and night!) for the last 2 months of my pregnancy with him!  Those last few months when you can't sleep, are waking at odd hours all night.  Well, I would wake around 3, 4ish hungry and first thought would be PANCAKES!  So I waddled into the kitchen 8 months pregnant and made them!  Yes, at 3 and 4 AM!  And they were so yummy!

Cheesy Pleasing Easy Dinner - 4 Cheese With Bacon Macaroni

Originally - as of 9 am this morning - I was planning to serve Sesame Orange Chicken with Vegetable Stir Fry.  That totally changed when the Big Guy requested Chinese the one day a week he is stuck in his office.  The kids and I bring him lunch (and with 4 kids, entertainment!) this one day that he can not leave the office.  All the agents in his office rotate this duty.  But it's a nice little perk for the kids to visit Daddy at the office.  So he requested Chinese (pick up of course!) for lunch.  So I just rearranged my planning and viola!  we had 4 Cheese With Bacon Macaroni.  This fell into our "meatless" meal night category.  Yes, I do understand BACON is from a pig thus makes it meat.  But in Big Guy's eyes, meat as flavoring or garnishment does not equal to having a steak or leg of lamb.  And as he sat down at the dinner table tonight, glancing at the dishes and announced "this must be our vegetarian night", I don't think a spinach quiche would go over so well tomorrow night! *grin*
Four Cheese with Bacon was featured on the cover of Family Circle Oct 2010.  And it just looked so scrumptious I HAD to rip it out as soon as I flipped through the magazine.  A big bowl of mac and cheese - what more could a girl want! (excluding the cleaning fairy and laundry fairy to show up on the same day!)  As I try to do each night, I had spooned a heaping serving on a plate to cool for the boys while the tween (wait, she's a teen now! *gulp*) set the table for dinner.  As she went by, she snuck a spoonful of the cooling pasta.  OH MY! escaped her lips!  That is GOOOOOD! (teen's have such a way with words, don't they!).  And yes, I will agree with her, it was so yummy!  I do believe the boys were quiet for 5 minutes as they devoured their dinner.  Big Guy gave it praise BUT it wasn't a steak.  Win some loose some.  On meatless night, that was a compliment from him! *wink*
To round out a plateful of creamy 4 Cheese with Bacon Macaroni, we had salads with Oil and Vinegar dressing and sauteed zucchini, summer squash, and onion tossed with parmesean cheese.  Super easy, and healthy dinner (well, minus the bacon!)
So what did YOU have for dinner tonight????

Here's the link for the recipe.  Enjoy!
http://www.familycircle.com/recipe/pasta/four-cheese-with-bacon-mac-/

And I had macaroni on hand versus cavatappi so that's what I used.  Didn't I tell you I never follow a recipe exactly!

You know you want it! Calzone!

The recipe silly!  Spinach, Chicken and Bacon Calzones of course!
Now I did not following the recipe exactly - I made my own dough.  ONLY because the grocery store  I was shopping was not likely to have pizza dough.  Plus, I had the yeast and it took like 5 min to whip up to let rise.  And I had split chicken breast that I was cooking for this recipe and another night's dinner (Orange Sesame Chicken).  I try to have cooked diced chicken bagged in the freezer to pull out for quick prep work.  I also had a partial bag of fresh spinach and needed to use it.
Here's the recipe!
Makes 8 calzones (2 per serving)

Spinach, Chicken, & Bacon Calzones
Prep time: 25 min plus thawing dough if using frozen
Bake time: about 20 min

Unbaked calzones freeze well up to 3 months.  Great for planning ahead!

2 lb frozen pizza or bread dough (2 1 lb rounds)
4 strips bacon
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 box (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
8 oz mozzarella cheese, cut in 1/2 in cubes
2 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 plum (Roma) tomatoes, finely diced
2 Tbsp oil

Oven 450 degrees.
1-Thaw dough as package directs.
2-Meanwhile, cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain well on paper towels, chop and place in a med bowl.
3-Reduce heat to low.  Add onion and cook till translucent.  Stir in spinach, salt and pepper.  Let cool. add to bowl with bacon.  Stir in cheese, chicken and tomatoes.
4-Cut each dough round in quarters, shape into 8 balls.  Place on floured surface, cover with cloth towel.
5-Roll out 1 ball of dough into a 7 in circle.  Mound 1/2 cup chicken mixture in center.  With wet fingers, moisten edge of dough, stretch and fold dough over filling to make a half moon. Pinch and roll up edges to seal.  Use kitchen scissors to snip a vent in top.
6-Place calzones on oiled large baking sheet, lightly brush tops with EVOO.
7-Bake 20 min or until crust is lightly brown and filling is bubbly.  Cool 5 min.  Enjoy!

Waste Not, Want Not

Dinner was delish tonight and really easy!  Spinach, Chicken and Bacon Calzones, Steamed Broccoli, Greek Salads and Lemon Pudding with Whipped Cream - 2 thumbs up by all family members!  The dessert was the perfect ending and it was the beginning of it all!  One of my grandmothers (I still have all 4 of my grandparents living) has a saying that she has lived by. 
Use it Up, Wear it Out!
Make it do, or do without!
A life lesson in such a short phrase so many of us should live.  But I digress, dessert!  That's where I started.  I had leftover whipped cream (the homemade kind remember?) in the fridge and could not in good faith let it go to waste.  So I ventured downstairs to my pantry to see what flavor of good 'ole Jello instant pudding sat on the shelf.  Lemon - yum!  And yes, instant is fine for my family.  I enjoy convenience.  Add the milk, whisk whisk whisk - and in a matter of minutes, pudding!
Now doesn't lemon pudding with a dollop of whipped cream sound lip smacking good!  Just ask the three year old - he did all but licked his bowl!  Literally!  And what better to go with a yummy dessert but calzones!