Pasta with Grilled Chicken, Tomatoes, and Black Olives - Creative Cooking

I've been craving carbs like crazy. Sometimes a girl just wants her pasta.  We also had leftover grilled chicken.  What better way to get my carb fix than to whip up a tomatoey sauce for spaghetti along with the grilled chicken?  I can't think of much better than that! 

If we're having a busy week or, as in this week I've been sick, the hubster sometimes buys a giant pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and grills all of them at once so that we can store them in the fridge.  We warm them up, slice them up into sandwiches, or, as in this case, add them to other dishes.  I love combining them with other ingredients to make stir fry or toppings for pasta.  

These were ingredients I had in my pantry.  I made this because I wanted a sauce that was on the lighter side.  I also wasn't in the mood for a creamy sauce, so this is what I made.  It came out very well!

PASTA WITH CHICKEN, TOMATOES, AND BLACK OLIVES

1-2 grilled boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced

1 tablespoon cooking oil such as olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced 

1 medium onion, chopped 

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon basil 

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 can (14 oz?) Italian flavored diced tomatoes, drained (usually says flavored with basil, oregano, and onion)

sliced black olives

parmesan cheese to taste

 4-6 servings of spaghetti or other pasta, cooked

Place oil in large skillet and heat.  Add garlic, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes.  Stir for a few seconds to heat and saturate spices.  Add chicken breast and onion. Stir to coat, and allow chicken to heat through, 1-2 minutes.  Add tomatoes, stir, then allow any liquid from the tomatoes to reduce down.  Serve over spaghetti, top with black olives, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with crusty bread and salad.

Lemon Rosemary Chicken - Freezer to Crock Pot

This is the time of year where it seems like heavy meals abound.  There's the office party with prime rib or steak.  There's the blustery days with chili and stew.  Sometimes you're sick of heavy meals and just want something good, filling, but not too heavy.  Lemon Rosemary chicken is a wonderfully light meal that can easily be made in the crock pot.  The citrusy flavor is the perfect compliment to the rosemary.  This tastes great served with rice or served alongside a salad and crusty bread.  

I used chicken tenders in this recipe, but you can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or even a whole, cut up chicken to make this recipe.  If you use bone-in chicken, be sure to place it in the bottom of the crock pot, bone side up, so that the meat cooks through.  

Lemon Rosemary Chicken: 

1-1/2 to 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders

1/2 C lemon juice 

1 teaspoon rosemary

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil or olive oil 

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Lightly brown chicken in a nonstick pan or pan coated with nonstick cooking spray.  Place in bottom of 1 gallon zippered freezer bag.  Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken.  Remove air, seal, and then massage to distribute ingredients.  To cook in crock pot, either thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours or place entire frozen contents of zippered bag into crock pot.  Cook on low 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.  If cooking from frozen, increase cooking time by 1-2 hours. 

Egg Drop Soup - Broke Food

Today's installment of broke food is just in time for the cold weather!  It's simple, filling, delicious, and best of all, it's inexpensive.  Have it by itself for a meal that is satisfying, or pair it with last week's broke food fried rice recipe, and you'll have enough to feed several people or have leftovers.  

Someone recently told me that I could make these recipes "richer" or have more ingredients in them.  I could, but that's not the point.  The point is to be able to make a meal with what you have on hand by using simple ingredients with just enough spices, additions, and creativity to make it feel like you're not scraping the bottom of the cupboard.   Egg Drop Soup also has just enough protein, in the form of the egg, to give it some substance and flavor. 

On a side note, I LOVE this soup if I've been sick.  It's wonderful for an upset tummy, and it's also very soothing if you've had a cold or the flu.  It just hits the spot in a satisfying way. 

Egg Drop Soup

16 oz (2 cups) chicken broth or prepared chicken bouillon (2 cubes bouillon to 2 cups water)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

A dash of garlic powder

1 egg, beaten  

2-3 green onions/scallions ( or 1 tablespoon chopped onion or 1 teaspoon dried minced onion)

Wire whisk

Optional: 1 teaspoon corn starch mixed with cold water (to thicken soup)* 

In a medium saucepan, bring broth or bouillon to a rolling boil.   Add soy sauce and dash of garlic powder.  Allow to cook for 1 minute and return to rolling boil.  Begin whisking the broth rapidly while pouring beaten egg into broth.  Whisk rapidly until egg forms cooked "strings."  Stop whisking and allow soup to return to a boil.  Add in onions and allow to cook for another minute or so, to combine flavors.  Thicken with cornstarch, if desired.  Serve hot.  Sample and then salt to taste.  Other seasonings to try are ground black pepper, a bit of ground/fresh ginger, or red pepper flakes. 

*Remember, when adding cornstarch to hot liquids, you must first add cold water to the corn starch and stir it well until it is dissolved.  Then pour it into your hot soup. Stir continuously until soup is desired thickness. 

Homemade All Purpose Seasoning

Sometimes I start to cook, and I'm trying to figure out exactly what seasonings to put in a dish or to use for grilling, broiling or baking.  I finally discovered that I could make an all-purpose seasoning using the spices I like, make it in a batch, and have it at the ready. 

I found myself using the same basic ingredients, so I started with those four and then I created a second all-purpose seasoning that included additional spices we like.  You can make several different versions of this.  The basic all-purpose seasoning is great just as it is.  However, if you want something more in your spice mix, you can add Italian spices for a more Mediterranean flavor or add chili powder, red pepper flakes, cumin, and cilantro for a more Tex-Mex flavored seasoning. 

Basic All-Purpose Seasoning:

2 Tablespoons salt (may be cut significantly for a lower sodium version)

2 Tablespoons garlic powder

2 Tablespoons onion powder

2 Tablespoons ground black pepper

Mix and store in clean shaker container.  

For specialized all- purpose seasoning mix you will need:

1 batch of basic all-purpose seasoning mix (see above)

1 Tablespoon paprika

1 Tablespoon oregano

1 Tablespoon basil

1 Tablespoon Cilantro

1 Tablespoon Cumin

You may use thyme, rosemary, cinnamon, nutmeg, marjoram, red pepper, chili powder, or any other spice as a substitute for those listed in the specialized seasoning mix.  Adjust to your taste. 

Mix and store in clean container. 

I use these seasonings mostly for grilling or broiling, but I also use them in soups and sauces.  I use the dry specialized seasoning as a dry rub for grilling.  You can turn it into a marinade by mixing it with oil and vinegar.  

Both seasoning mixes are great sprinkled on pan-fried hamburger patties, in the batter for fried chicken, and added to soups to kick things up a notch.  I make homemade fried popcorn chicken, and I mix some of the specialized all-purpose seasoning in with my flour to make it extra spicy. 

By having your favorite spices premixed, you can have them at the ready and use them while cooking without having to decide which spices you'd like to try while in the middle of cooking. 

Kasie's Mom's Calzone Recipe - Guest Post

This is a guest post by my friend, Kasie Robinson.  Please check out her Artfire shop HERE.  She kindly wrote a guest post for me during a busy week.  I appreciate her input, and Kasie is quite a talented and funny writer.  

Here is her guest post and story. As she jokingly called it the title is:  Why I Can't Have Nice Things?  Enjoy!

I was asked by Michelle about writing a guest post and my first, immediate thought was nope, don’t know nothin’ ‘bout ‘nothing, got nothin’ to say, leave me be.  But then I thought of a recipe I could share.  Of course, in order to share the recipe, I have to tell a long, convoluted story about the drama surrounding that recipe in the last week.  People that know me know that all my stories are long and convoluted.  Unfortunately for them, they can’t skip ahead when I’m talking.  But you can.  Feel free to skip ahead.

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away….early 1980s in rural northwestern Kansas, I took classes and belonged to a school club called DECA.  Distributive Education Clubs of America.  I didn’t know if those still existed but I found a website today and they appear to be going strong.  Go DECA!    Each year we got a sales kit full of little items to demonstrate and sell.  I don’t remember what all they had.  I remember a little imitation wood picture frame, a candle holder, an address book, a notepad.  Just stuff.  One of the items was a little cookbook to write recipes in.  My mother got each of us (me and two brothers) a little cookbook and wrote various favorite recipes in them to take when we left home.  I admit there are some recipes in that book I never used and a few I have used over and over and over and over and over and over in the 30 years I’ve had it. 

Until last month when I “lost” it.  I say “lost” because while I can’t find it anywhere, I am still hoping against hope it is in this house somewhere.  It’s not where it’s supposed to be.  It’s not anywhere I can think to look.  It’s gone and my heart is broken.  I’m almost afraid I might have set it down somewhere wrong and a furry beast knocked it into a trash can.   That may sound like a long-shot, but stranger things have happened. 

I can’t recommend enough that parents make up something like this cookbook for their kids.  Yeah, you can get recipes anywhere.  But there is something about “Mom’s” cooking that can’t be beat.  It’s a little slice of love and home that you can take anywhere with you.  Unless you’re an ungrateful wretch who loses it 30 years later. 

I can probably find most all of the recipes in that book somewhere else.  But they won’t be the same as “my” recipes.  And they won’t be in my mommy’s handwriting.  I have asked my mom to put together another little cookbook for me.  She has agreed although she doesn’t remember what all is in it either.  I can name off half a dozen recipes off the top of my head.  A few of them are VERY, VERY important.  My husband says, nonchalantly “oh it’s here somewhere.”  What he doesn’t realize is:  that cookbook contains the summer sausage recipe.  I can’t make it without it and it’s almost summer sausage time.  He’ll be getting a little more uptight here in a few weeks. 

The other thing about this book is:  Basically, I don’t cook.  Oh, I have a shelf of cookbooks.  I love to read recipes.  But I don’t cook.  There are a few things I can make and make well, and almost all of them are in that book and I have been making them since I was a kid.  Which is why they are in the book in the first place. 

The reason I noticed it missing now is because it was time to think of what I wanted for my birthday dinner and that recipe, the recipe I am sharing today, was in the cookbook.  It’s a fairly simple recipe but it makes more than just the two of us can eat, so we usually only make it when there are several of us around.  It’s a “special occasion” recipe for us but it doesn’t have to be for anybody else.    I don’t know where my mom got it, and last time I asked her, she said she didn’t remember either.  Although I’m sure it’s a common recipe, I haven’t seen it anywhere else. 

It’s probably not a cheap recipe and it’s not a healthy recipe (fried bread!), although I’m sure someone who knows what they are doing could make it more cheaply and more healthier.  But this is the way I know to make it and it’s yummy.    

IF YOU SKIPPED AHEAD, this is where you start now.  Enjoy!

Calzones (Meat Pies)

1 pkg Pillsbury hot roll mix (uses oil, water and 1 egg to mix)

1/2 lb hamburger meat (we use 1 pound)

1 garlic clove, crushed OR 1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp crushed oregano

1 cup ricotta cheese OR cottage cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

3/4 tsp salt

1 egg

8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese (will use only half, maybe)

Vegetable oil

(Note:  If you have a good bread recipe, you can probably make that in place of using the roll mix.  Because we use double the hamburger meat the recipe calls for and the roll mix has shrunk over the years, we always end up with more meat mixture than roll mix.  I also sometimes bulk up, but not double, the other ingredients for a little more flavor.)

Prepare roll mix and directed and let rise 45 minutes until doubled.  While that is rising, cook hamburger, garlic and oregano until brown.  Spoon off fat.  Stir in ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese, salt and egg; set aside.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; cover with bowl and let rise 5 minutes.  Cut dough into pieces and roll into 4 inch circles.  Spread with a few teaspoons of meat mixture and top with mozzarella.   Moisten edges with water and seal.

Place pies on cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise 5 minutes.

In heavy skillet over medium heat, heat 1 inch of vegetable oil to 370 degrees.  Fry pies until golden.    These are best served piping hot, in my opinion. 

I can’t tell you how many this yields because we cut them out into any old shape and size we like.  We probably usually get about a dozen out of each batch, with leftover meat mixture my husband puts in sandwiches later. 

Broke Food - Lentil Chili

Lentil chili may be listed as a "broke food," but realistically it is very tasty, an excellent source of protein, and it's very filling and satisfying, especially on a cold and blustery day. 

I make this at least once a month, if not more, and each time I'm reminded how great it tastes.  Since lentils cook quickly, this is an easy chili to make when you're needing a large, hearty meal.  It's excellent with crusty bread, cornbread, toast, and is equally satisfying served over rice or with noodles.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!

Lentil Chili

1-1/4 Cups dry lentils (approximately 1/2 pound)

4 cups water

2 tablespoons oil or bacon grease

1-2 Tablespoons dried minced onions

3 beef bouillon cubes (use vegetable bouillon for a truly vegetarian meal)

15 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles like Ro-Tel

1 small can tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons chili powder

Dash of hot pepper flakes or Tabasco sauce

1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Another 2 cups of water (possibly)

In a large pot, heat lentils and water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover with lid slightly tipped to vent steam, and simmer.  Cook for 30 minutes.  Do not drain. If the lentils look dry as they cook, add water in 1/4 cup increments.  Lentils should still have some liquid after cooking time.  After lentils have cooked, add remaining ingredients. Assess thickness of chili and add water as needed.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes or more.  Serve with rice, cornbread, toast, or noodles. 

Freezer to Crock Pot - Margarita Chicken

Margarita Chicken is another yummy, spicy dish that can be made ahead of time by mixing the ingredients, then storing it in the freezer until it's time to cook.  Place this in the crock pot, and come home to a tasty meal. Despite its name, it does not have an overt citrus taste.  The flavors blend nicely to make this a terrific main dish.  

This would be a great meal to also add veggie packets.  See THIS POST for information on how to make foil packets for the crock pot. 

 

Crock Pot Margarita Chicken

4-5 frozen uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup dijon mustard

1/4 cup honey

1 T soy sauce

2 minced garlic cloves

3 T liquid margarita mix

Mix sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Place chicken in the bottom of the 1 gallon zippered freezer bag.  Cover with sauce.  Squeeze out air, seal, and freeze.  When ready to prepare, place frozen block in crock pot.  If using packets, prepare and then place on top of chicken and sauce, then cover with lid.  Cook on high for 7-9 hours.   

A little side trick:  When this comes out of the crock pot, the chicken may still look white.  If you would like a little bit of a bark/grilled effect, place the chicken on a foil covered cookie sheet and stick it under the broiler for a few minutes to brown.  Then slice and serve.  

 

Broke Food - Pasta with Garlic, Olive Oil, and Red Pepper Flakes

Simple dishes can often be some of the tastiest and most filling.  Spaghetti Aglio, Olio, e Peperoncino fits that bill.  Translated, that means spaghetti with garlic, oil, and red pepper flakes. Its rich flavors combined with pasta make this a decadent yet inexpensive dish to prepare.  

It can be eaten alone as a filling but light main dish.  It can also be be topped with grilled chicken, cooked Italian sausage, or other meat.  It also makes an excellent side dish to serve alongside other vegetables or meats.  

Sunday, when I was doing blog posts, this was my lunch!  It was tasty and filling but light enough that I did not feel like I had eaten a heavy meal.   

The recipe located HERE is similar to the method I was taught and as listed below. 

Spaghetti With Garlic, Oil, and Red Pepper Flakes

7 ounces of spaghetti
2 large or 3 small garlic cloves, minced (substitute garlic powder in a pinch)
1 1/2 teaspoons of chili pepper flakes
1/4 to 1/3 cup of extra-virgin olive oil (may use canola or other oil in a pinch)
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

Directions

The measurements in this recipe can be shifted depending on your taste preferences.

1. Cook spaghetti according to the directions on the package, until it is al dente.
2. Strain spaghetti and place in a large serving dish.
3. Add minced garlic, chili pepper flakes, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and mix together well.
4. Serve warm or at room temperature.

How to Get Rid of That Oniony Smell on Your Hands and on Your Breath

Onions make great and tasty additions to recipes.  A hamburger or hot dog loaded with onions is yummy!  Unfortunately, dealing with the onion odor is another story.  How many times have we avoided onions because we didn't want bad breath or didn't want the smell on our hands?

There's a trick to decreasing the smell, and it's as close as your kitchen sink.  Well, more like your kitchen faucet, especially if it's stainless steel. This works best if it's done immediately after working with onions.  It works for fish and garlic, too.  

Once you're finished handling these items, wet your hands rub them hands over the stainless steel of the kitchen faucet.  Voila!  The vast majority of the onion smell should be neutralized. 

It doesn't have to be the faucet.  Anything stainless steel will work such as a saucepan, the blade of a knife (watch out for cuts), and some places even make these blobs of stainless steel that look like a bar of soap to use for this.  

How do you get rid of onion breath?  Same concept, except use a stainless steel spoon. Place it in your mouth with the bowl of the spoon facing down so that your tongue cups into the bowl and the bottom of the spoon fits against the roof of your mouth.  Let it sit there for a bit, remove the spoon, then swish with water and spit.  I recommend brushing your teeth or chewing gum at this time to get any lingering food particles from inside your mouth. 

For both tricks, it may not take away all the oniony smell, especially onion breath, but it should reduce it significantly.  If you still have the odor, you can do it again.  It will at least make you easier to live with!

The cool thing is this works for garlic and fish, too!