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Showing posts with label Cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cooking. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Meal prepping Sundays

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As I've noted in a few posts, on Sundays, I prep all of our meals for the incoming week. I've been doing this for a few years now and it is one of the best decisions I've made. Not only does it save time during the week but it also keeps me a bit more accountable about what I put into my body. I recall dreading coming home from a workout at the gym and a long day from work and then having to prepare a meal for dinner. Although some nights I would just forego the whole preparing of dinner and announce that cereal and milk was dinner that night. But honestly, there's only so many nights that one can rely on cereal and milk for real sustenance.

I plan out our weekly meals months in advance. I'm actually embarrassed to admit this but I have our meals planned out for the next 26 weeks, if more. I do switch up meals if Sean has a request for a particular meal that he is in the mood for that week. Basically, our meals aren't set in stone until I go grocery shopping which is every Tuesday.

I must say that Pinterest has been great in making meal prepping a much simpler process. It also has been an amazing source for me since I enjoy trying out new recipes at least once to twice per month.

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What about you? Do you meal prep? If not, would you consider?

Monday, April 14, 2014

{Recipe} Sweet & Spicy Bacon Chicken

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I'm usually a turkey bacon fan but to make this recipe I decided to go all out and have the real stuff and I'm glad I did (just don't tell Sean!). This is delicious! I cooked mine in the oven but I'm thinking that on the grill this would be even better so obviously I can't wait to try it on the grill next.
This would also be a perfect appetizer or an hors d'oeuvre to bring or have at a party.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts cut in thirds (12 pieces)

Bacon slices

Salt and pepper to taste

Garlic powder to taste

Chili powder to taste

brown sugar

2-3 tablespoons of olive oil or nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

Cut each breast into 3 pieces, season all the chicken with the spices, then wrap a bacon slice around each piece, roll in brown sugar and place into an oven proof dish. Pour olive oil or cooking spray in the dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and bacon is nice and brown and crispy. The person who I got the recipe from said the chicken is delicious served with mashed potatoes with some of the gravy from the chicken drizzled on top. I just did a simple brown rice with broccoli baked with EVOO, sea salt and pepper.

FYI: I did notice that the bacon created grease in the bottom of my pan so be aware of that if you do not want to be soaking and scrubbing grease out of your pan for several hours. Others suggested using a cooling rack in your pan if you have one or maybe using an aluminum pan that you can throw out after.

But yes, this recipe is so good and incredibly easy to throw together! Enjoy!

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

{Recipe} Cheesy Spinach Stuffed Shells

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Often I come up with a recipe that Sean and I both love. I'm not going to toot my own horn and act like this recipe was difficult to come up with because I'm sure if I do a quick google search I'll find a recipe close enough to it. But I had all those cheeses in my fridge one day and decided to throw them all in and now I can't eat stuffed shells any other way. Of course, you don't need to use so many different cheeses if you don't care to, so switch it up based on your preference. I also know that a lot of people use ricotta cheese but since I don't like ricotta I never use it when I cook.

OK, now a problem that I have had creating my own recipes and sharing them is that I'm just basing the amount of ingredients needed by my eyes and what I think the recipe needs by taste testing. When I made this recipe this time around I actually measured stuff that way I could be specific rather than saying something like, "give it seven shakes of black pepper". I was tempted but then decided against it. You're welcome ;).

Ingredients:

1 package jumbo pasta shells
Box of frozen spinach
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of Four Cheese
1 cup of Monterrey Jack cheese
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
homemade spaghetti sauce or you can purchase a jar of spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese (set aside)

Directions:

1. Cook shells according to package directions. Place in cold water to stop cooking. Drain.

2. Cook frozen spinach according to package directions (I do it a little differently than the package directions. I allow the spinach to thaw and then I cook it for half of the time that is noted on the package directions). Either way is fine though.

3. Mix together spinach, mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, four cheese and Monterrey Jack cheese, eggs, black pepper, sea salt, oregano, parsley and garlic powder. Stuff mixture into the shells.

4. Spread spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan (it should be a light layer of sauce covering the bottom). Place shells open side up and close together in pan. Spread as much sauce as you prefer on top of shells, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese that was set aside.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes or until bubbly and cheese melted.

6. Stuff your face! No really, do it.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

{Recipe} Herb Crusted Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce

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Kristen shared this recipe on her blog a few weeks ago. It sounded delicious so I decided that I would make it.

Y'all this meal is amazing! So, so good! Sean and I both licked our plate. Make it and if you don't like it, something is wrong with your taste buds. Serious!

Direct link to the recipe and the blogger who originally shared it.

Make it! That's an order.

P.S. Charles Ramsey you ARE a hero!

Thursday, March 7, 2013

{Recipe} Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

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One of my favorite meals to make is this Cajun Chicken Pasta. It is delicious! Probably not low in fat but all the "good" things aren't. Besides you aren't going to make this everyday, right?

Anyway, I whipped this up while I listened to "Stay" by Rihanna on repeat. I'm slightly obsessed with this song. So good.

Ingredients:

Pasta of your choice
4 boneless chicken breasts (you can cut into strips or cubes and use more or less chicken breasts depending on how many you are serving).
2 tablespoons of Cajun seasoning
1/4 cup of butter (I use I Can't believe It's Not Butter)
1 small green pepper
1 small red pepper
3 cups of heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
salt and pepper (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
Parmesan cheese (use as much or as little as you choose)
1 tomato diced

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to directions on box.
2. Place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl and toss chicken to coat with seasoning (I try to have the chicken seasoned for at least 30 minutes. Sometimes more depending on the day I make the recipe).
3. In a skillet over medium heat, add green and red bell peppers and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add chicken and saute in butter until no longer pink. About 5-7 minutes should be good. Add diced tomatoes.
4. Reduce heat and stir in heavy cream.
5. Season the sauce with basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper and heat through.
6. In a large bowl, toss the pasta with the sauce.
7. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and stuff your face.

Monday, December 20, 2010

{Dinner} Pineapple Glazed Pot Roast


I've been trying to branch out with what I cook. I gave myself this goal that on Sundays I would try to make something new. My favorite thing about doing this is that if I make something new that we both like, then it gets added to meals that I can cook. The more, the better.

I've never made a roast before and I suck at measuring so I don't even bother. I got the idea from somewhere but I have no idea where. I didn't do it exactly from where I got the idea because I never wrote the recipe down. Go figure. I just went with the flow and hoped that it would taste somewhat decent.

I bought a 2 lb boneless chuck roast. We don't need anything bigger because it is just the two of us. I preheated the oven at 350 degrees. Rubbed salt and pepper into the roast on both sides and pushed coriander seeds into the roast. I heated olive oil in the skillet. I then browned the roast, searing it on both sides.



While the chuck roast was browning, I put prunes, pineapple slices and pineapple juice in my roaster pan.

{Honestly, you can go without this step because I didn't even taste the sweetness & the pan had to be soaked for hours. Actually, it is still soaking. But maybe if I do it in the future without it, I might actually notice it ... ok, sorry about that, moving on}


After both sides of the chuck roast was browned, I placed the roast in the pan using the tent foil method to ensure that the meat was moist. And then threw onions in the same skillet. I cooked the onions a bit before placing it in the pan.





When the chuck roast had been in the oven for an hour and 15 minutes, I proceeded to make a pineapple glaze which consisted of pineapple juice, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. I should have added more pineapple juice though.


I mixed it all together and it looked like this:


I then took the chuck roast out of the oven and spread the glaze on the chuck roast and placed it back in the oven for another 15 minutes. I did that step three times.


{Also note that depending on how you like your meat cooked it could take shorter or longer. We like our meat, well done. Just ensure that your meat temperature is at 160-165 degrees before eating}
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{Red Roasted Potatoes}

I cut them and put them in water to boil for about 10-12 minutes. I then took the potatoes out and completely dried them. I put the potatoes in a bowl and put a little bit of olive oil, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper and mixed. I then placed the potatoes in the 350 degree oven to roast. I flipped it to the other side after 15 minutes in the oven.



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{Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower}

I decided to make roasted broccoli and cauliflower because it's freaking delicious and easy. I cut up the broccoli and cauliflower, put a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and placed in the oven at 450 degrees. I let that sit in the oven for about 25 minutes making sure it was browned.

Everything was soooo delish! It took a while and there is no way I could do this during the work week BUT on a lazy Sunday it is a perfect meal to cook!



The hubs liked it so much. He told me that I am Michael Jackson "Bad." You know it's not a good thing when your husband starts quoting Lil Wayne, but I took it as a compliment. :)

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

My Mom Would Not Be Proud.

I hate to tell you this but my husband likes microwave meals. You know those nasty meals that are pre-cooked and all you have to do is heat it up in the microwave. Not even the "healthy" ones like "Lean Cuisine" or "Healthy Choice" but "Banquet"!

This is his favorite one:


So gross. They are like $1 and I think know they have something to do with his bachelor days. He use to think that Hamburger Helper meals were fancy but I won't even get into that.

Anyway, he really likes them. When we got married his co-workers said, "You are married now; why in the world are you still bringing that crap to work?" Yes, very embarrassing. They probably think I am this horrible wife who doesn't cook and lets him eat that crap.

Everytime we go shopping I tell him not to put that crap in the cart. But somehow, someway, they end up in our darn cart! I am a great cook. At least I tell myself that so I know that is not the reason why he buys it.

Well, he started buying these Stouffers in the frozen section. He figured I won't complain so much about this "food" because you are kinda doing the whole cooking process. You know, heating the stove and using a skillet.

I still wasn't impressed until one day, he begged forced me to take a bite. I actually liked it. I was soooo upset. I like it so much that sometimes I crave it. Like right now when Sean is at rugby practice and I have no excuse to crave it. But I craved it so I "cooked" it.

Here is a picture of the culprit:


During the "cooking" process...


11 minutes later. Yum!


Oh well, I still will never understand his love for microwaved meals but you better believe that I won't be trying them any time soon. Just in case.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

.It's the simple things.

I love it when I get home from a long day and the hubby has dinner waiting for me.


(I had to take a quick picture to show my fabulous friends before stuffing my piehole. I think the hubby thinks I have lost my mind taking pictures of food & posting it, lol. He doesn't understand my blogging addiction yet. Just when I weaned myself off of wedding websites another addiction begins. It's never ending, I tell you.)

Monday, July 26, 2010

Thursday, June 24, 2010

.What's going on with you Faith?.

***(Since I never gave a weekend recap, I figured I could do it now since I am watching the hubs pack and honestly, I am pretty bored)***

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We are almost settled in. I still have some a lot of clothes hanging in our old apartment's closet and we have to clean it before we hand in our keys. It is a bit of a sad feeling because that apartment holds many memories for us but that sadness is nothing compared to how satisfying it is to have our own house to call home now.

We are still living out of boxes but I am hoping that this weekend I will be able to get a lot unpacked and organized. The hubs will be in Montreal for a bachelor party so I'll get to do things the way we I want. Yup, it will be Faithy time all weekend! :)

Sunday morning, Sean cooked for the first time in our house. It was actually kinda exciting. It was only eggs and turkey sausage but there was something different about it. Maybe it was because we used our fine china for the first time. Don't judge us, everything else was in boxes. Either way it was exciting and we haven't cooked since. I might change that this weekend and make myself a killer seafood meal since the hubs hates seafood.



I was also so excited to go out and buy a bunch of flowers to put into our vase. It's kinda corny the things I look forward to lately! :)


My little sister came to visit us and she and the hubs fought over the big chair. She won.


She loves to pretend she doesn't like the camera. Hmmm, maybe I wouldn't either if someone kept snapping pictures of me when I wasn't ready. Oh well. She has her pose right.


Yup, you're seeing things right. Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. That's our wheelchair accessible ramp that my little sista is standing on. This is going to be a big project soon. I can't wait to bring out cold lemonade for the hubs while he takes it down. It is going to turn our tiny backyard into a small backyard. Hey! Small is better than tiny!


Oh and we bought a brand new spanking car.


That was last weekend in a nutshell.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Dinner: Bowtie Pasta w/Meat Sauce and Garlic Bread

I am that person who doesn't look at recipes. I always say I am going to and then I just don't. I am that person who looks at a meal and I know how to make it. Well, maybe I don't but I think I can make it.

If you want to try it go at it. But let me warn you .. I don't measure, I just do the taste test. I am not an expert by any means so I might not really be doing this "correctly". But, it was so delicious and don't tell hubby I told you but he licked his plate clean. I mean this literally.

1.) Chop onions (Use as much as you like. Some people hate onions and some people love onions. I use a lot of onions).

2.) Spray cooking spray on your skillet & heat on medium - low (You can use cooking oil as well).

3.) Place onions in skillet when it has warmed up.

4.) Cut up green peppers, red peppers and tomatoes . Throw them all in skillet.

5.) You might have to throw a few shots of water to keep the onions from browning too quickly. I use a half full shot glass. I truly mean a shot glass.

6.) Let that cook for about 5-7 minutes.

7.) Take out your ground beef and place in skillet (You can use ground turkey or chicken) Put heat on medium.

8.) Season entire contents with Light Adobo Seasoning, Black Peppercorn, Basil and Italian Seasoning (To be honest, you can use your favorite seasoning)

9.) Watch meat brown and move meat around to ensure that all of it browns (You might have to sprinkle in another half shot glass of water. Just watch to be sure that you do or do not have to)


10.) Add mushrooms if you are a fan


11.) Take out Prego Sauce (any brand of sauce will do) and pour in skillet


12.) Make sure pasta is almost done by now and that oven has been pre-heated to put the garlic bread in. We LOVE Pepperidge Farms Five Cheese Garlic Bread. You can either make your own (which is very easy) or go the easier route.

13.) Drain pasta

14.) Have strong & sober hubby, bf or FI pour the meat sauce once it is completely cooked (I am sure there is an easier way but we have been doing this for so long that we don't really do it any other way) into the pasta


15.) Take out garlic bread from oven


16.) Mix the sauce & pasta and voila!


It is extremely easy to make and made us 4 meals! We have delicious lunches for tomorrow!