Roasted Chicken

Oh my heavens, this was fantastic! I wished I'd made two or three at once so we'd have all that yummy roasted chicken meat.

Roasted Chicken
3-4 lb. roasting chicken
2 tablespoons fresh herbs (I used a container from the produce section at Wal-Mart that was called "Poultry Seasoning" and contained rosemary, sage, and thyme. It was perfect for one chicken.)
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper (I only used a 1/2 tablespoon because I don't love pepper.)
2-3 tablespoons vegetable and/or olive oil (The recipe called for canola, but I didn't have canola oil.)
1 lemon
1/2 an onion
3-4 cloves of garlic

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Rinse and dry the chicken. (Make sure you check the insides in case you forgot to buy the chicken without neck and giblets. Blech!) Chop the lemon in half and stuff it in the chicken along with the onion and garlic. You won't be eating these so they don't have to be chopped. Mix the herbs, salt, pepper, and oil in a bowl and rub all over the chicken. Be sure to get in all the little nooks and crannies. Place on a cookie sheet breast side up. (I always have to ask Brad which side is the breast side because I can't tell on a chicken. He told me to look for the tail part on the backside and that should go down on the pan. The tail is the little flap on the back and I think it's easier to identify.) Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. (It'll start spitting and browning pretty early, but that's normal so don't freak out. Also, this makes a mess in your oven! I wonder if putting in a roasting pan would work, thus keeping it from splattering all over the oven, but I'm worried it wouldn't brown up all nice and pretty with that crispy, yummy crust.) Let sit for 15 minutes before slicing. This is very important! It will make your chicken uber moist and delicious! DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP! Slice the chicken and try not to make it look like you cut it up with a lawnmower.

Family Rating:
Brad: *****
Jordan: *****
Eli: *****
Phoebe: *****
Overall Family Rating: 20/20

Beef Stroganoff

I *love* me some beef stroganoff. And this isn't the fancy beef stroganoff. It's the one with three ingredients. I grew up eating it and it's one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. Yummy.

Beef Stroganoff
1 lb. ground beef
1-2 cans cream of mushroom soup (I've done both. I usually use 8 oz. sour cream if using two cans and only 4 oz. if using 1 can.)
4-8oz. sour cream
cooked egg noodles

Prepare noodles according to package directions. Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Add cream of mushroom soup and simmer until noodles are ready. Just before ready to serve, stir in sour cream. Taste to adjust seasonings (it usually needs a little salt and pepper). Serve over noodles.

Family Rating:
Brad: ***
Jordan: *****
Eli: ****
Phoebe: ***
Overall Family Rating: 16/20

Crockpot Carnitas

Despite the weird ingredients, this is soooo yummy! We usually freeze half after it's cooked because it makes so much. It makes really good tacos or quesadillas.

Crockpot Carnitas
3 pounds Boneless Pork Shoulder, Cut Into Cubes
¾ cups Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
½ whole Lime, Juiced
7 cloves Garlic
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon Cumin
¼ cups Cilantro, Chopped
¼ cups Chicken Or Beef Stock

In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients and stir. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-10 hours. Shred with a fork and serve in hot tortillas with cheese, sour cream, and fresh cilantro.

Adapted from TASTY KITCHEN

Family Rating:
Brad: *****
Jordan: ****
Eli: ***
Phoebe: ***
Overall Family Rating: 15/20

Cheesy Polenta with Sausage Gravy

This was a recipe from my mom that looked interesting since Brad and I both really like polenta.  Her original recipe called for the polenta to be cooked in a crockpot, but I forgot to put it on so I just made it the traditional way in a stockpot on the stove.  


Cheesy Polenta with Sausage Gravy
1 lb. pound Italian sausages
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 large garlic clove, peeled and chopped
2 1/2 cups canned peeled Italian plum tomatoes, crushed by squeezing with your hands over a bowl to catch the juice (I just used one big can)
Pinch or two of dried red-pepper flakes
A good palmful of dried Italian seasonings
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooked polenta

Cook the sausages in the simmering water in a large, heavy skillet over
medium heat until dry. Prick the sausages with a fork and let them
brown on all sides in their own juices. When browned, remove sausages,cut into slices,
and set aside. Add the olive oil. When the oil is hot,
but not smoking, add the chopped onion and cook until soft and brown. Stir in sausage and brown all the way through. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Raise the heat to high and add the crushed tomatoes and the reserved juice. Stir and bring to a simmer. Add all seasonings and simmer while polenta cooks. Serve the sausages in the sauce over the polenta.

Cheesy Polenta
(I used some real polenta I found at the store, but it "set up" too firmly so I would use the PIONEER WOMAN'S polenta recipe next time. That's what you'll find here.)
4 1/2 cups water
1 cup Yellow Cornmeal
1 teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 cup (or more) grated Parmesan cheese

Bring 4 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add cornmeal to the water in a thin stream, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes, adding salt and extra tablespoons of water as needed. When polenta is done, stir in butter and Parmesan cheese. Check seasonings, and add salt to taste.

Family Rating:
Brad: ****
Jordan: ****
Eli: ***
Phoebe: **
Overall Family Rating: 13/20

Skillet Lasagna

This was quick and easy. I had thought about using RADIATORI pasta, but I'm glad I didn't because I liked the flat-ness of the big lasagna noodles all broken up.

Skillet Lasagna
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. ground Italian sausage
2 (14.5 oz) cans Italian diced tomatoes, drained
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
Italian seasoning
coarse salt
sugar
fresh ground pepper
1/2-1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2-1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/4-1/2 half cup Parmesan cheese
About 6 ounces lasagna noodles, broken into thirds & fully cooked

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage, onions, and mushrooms and cook until browned/softened. Add in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, Italian seasonings, salt, sugar, and pepper. Cook mixture until it thickens up a bit, around 5 minutes. Taste to adjust seasonings. Add noodles to skillet and stir into the mixture well. Add scoops of ricotta cheese over the noodles; add in mozzarella and Parmesan. Stir loosely and cover pan. Cook about 2 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Adapted from THE REALISTIC NUTRITIONIST

Family Rating:
Brad: ****
Jordan: ****
Eli: *****
Phoebe: *****
Overall Family Rating: 18/20

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

I didn't really care for this quick, throw-together soup (I thought it tasted a lot like the canned tomato soup used in the recipe), but the kids and Brad did. Since I'm trying to be genuine about my successes and failures on this recipe blog, I've got to include them all. And, who knows, this might be your very favorite soup!

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup
1 package (9 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini (I used whole wheat)
2 cans condensed tomato soup
2 cups water
2 cups milk
2 cups half-and-half
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
3 teaspoons (3 cubes) chicken bouillon
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
salt & pepper
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Additional shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a stockpot, combine the soup, water, milk, cream, tomatoes and seasonings. Heat through, stirring frequently. Taste to adjust seasoning (I ended up adding a lot of coarse salt!) Drain tortellini; carefully add to soup. Stir in cheese and basil. Sprinkle each serving with additional cheese if desired.

Adapted from TASTE OF HOME

Family Rating:
Brad: ***
Jordan: **
Eli: *****
Phoebe: *****
Overall Family Rating: 15/20

Oven Baked "Fried" Chicken

I know it seems like I haven't posted in for-ev-er, but I haven't been cooking much and if I have, it's been stuff I've already posted. I also know that there are 583 recipes for Oven "Fried" Chicken, but I don't usually try them because they seem all the same. This one was on the Today show a few weeks ago and looked kind of different. I just had to try it!

Oven Baked "Fried" Chicken
1 cup no-fat mayo (I used full-fat mayo because that's all I had. I'll go with no-fat next time because I think it made the chicken not crisp up enough and it seemed like there was a lot of grease that ran off the chicken as it cooked.)
1/4 teaspoon tabasco
1-2 teaspoon coarse ground mustard
4-8 oz. Italian style panko break crumbs
6 each boneless skinless chicken thighs

Mix mayo, mustard, tabasco. Place chicken in mixture to coat. Remove chicken and dredge into breadcrumbs, covering in breadcrumbs on both sides place coated chicken on non-stick cookie sheet bake in 350 degree F oven for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Recipe from JOHN BESH

Family Rating:
Brad: ****
Jordan: ***
Eli: *****
Phoebe: ***** (She especially loved the "crust")
Overall Family Rating: 17/20