Cajun Pasta

So the first dish on our month of home cooking meals is Cajun Pasta. It's a wonderful dish that is full of Cajun flavors. You can adjust the spice level by adding or reducing the amount of Cajun seasoning.

Makes: 4 - 6  servings

Ingredients:

2 chicken breast, cut into ¼ inch strips

½ lb Cajun smoked sausage, sliced

½ cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T olive oil

½ cup dry white wine

½ cup chicken broth

1 tsp all-purpose flour

1 cup whipping cream

1 T Cajun or Creole seasoning (more Tony's!!!)

2 T tomato paste

1 tsp cracked pepper (optional)

1 green onion, cut into thin strips

1 sweet red pepper, cut into thin strips

1 (16 oz) pkg. thin spaghetti, uncooked

Directions:

1. Cook chicken and next 3 ingredients in olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, until meat is lightly browned; remove chicken mixture from skillet and set aside.
2. Add wine to skillet. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes or until wine is reduced to ¼ cup.
3. Combine chicken broth and flour, stirring until smooth. Add chicken broth mixture, whipping cream, Cajun seasoning, tomato paste and if desired, cracked pepper to skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. While the sauce is simmering cook the thin spaghetti according to the package directions and drain.
5. Add chicken mixture and pepper strips; cook until thoroughly heated.
6. Combine thin spaghetti and chicken mixture; toss gently.

To complete the meal serve with some garlic bread and salad.

March Meal Plan

So here is my meal plan for March. I will post all the recipes a day ahead so you can prepare and I will show  you a list of ingredients to help prepare. If you already have a family favorite recipe then use it, you don't have to follow my exact recipes. Also if you don't want to do a 'from scratch' version you can easily substitute for store bought or box, for example a Stouffers Lasagna will work just as well and Zatarains makes a mean Jambalaya box mix that you just add cooked chicken, sausage and water to. The whole point is to put a meal on the table, Rome wasn't built in a day and the whole point is to simplify life a little not to add more pressure. Over time you might feel like ditching the box and trying it from scratch.

March Meal Plan

If you don't want to follow my exact plan I have included a blank one that you can print out and hand-write in your meals of choice. 

Blank March Meal Plan

If you want to go the whole way and start your own spreadsheet click on the link below. You can edit it in Google Documents or you can download it your computer. To download it, click on the link. When the spreadsheet opens click on FILE, then DOWNLOAD TO, then select Excel.

March Meal Plan Spreadsheet

Happy Home Cooking!!!

Yunnan Chitsu Pingcha

No I have not completely lost my mind and started blogging nonsense. My husband spent last week in China on a business trip. When he was leaving their contact and interpreter gave them a gift of this black tea - Yunnan Chitsu Pingcha. It is so beautifully packaged and is an extremely expensive tea that tastes better the longer you mature it. Isn't the box beautiful!!!

Now I grew up to Tetley tea bags, interest (or maybe not so) fact about tea bags, they used to wrap the tea leaves in muslin cloth as packaging. When people got home they just put the cloth wrapped tea in a pot and brewed it and thus the tea bag was invented. 

Over the last year or so I've found a new love for tea, I'm talking hot tea not ice tea, I still can't get into it even though I live in Ice Tea central. I have also started using loose tea leaves as well as bagged teas. So I was so excited to try this beautiful black tea.

So last night we brewed a pot and it was an awesome tea. It has a wonderful earthy taste and has a red color. I think I have a new favorite tea. Next time Ken goes to China I'll have to get him to bring back more. He said they prepared it on these carved stone trays that were beautiful and he almost bought one but decided not to, although I think he regrets it now. So I can see him getting one in the future. They really take their tea seriously in China.

Now as a food person and someone that adores Chinese food I was a little jealous that he was going to get to eat authentic food. However before he left one of his associates who is from Vancouver said the food was horrible. We thought perhaps he was exaggerating and that coming from Louisiana where they eat everything it would be fine. WRONG!!! My husband can eat pretty much anything but he couldn't handle the food. He said the smell was horrific and that they seemed to like cooking everything in fish oil. He had plenty of eel, octopus and other delightful sea creatures. Needless to say PF Changs has now reached a whole new level of appreciation. 

Valentine's Strawberry Patties

Happy Valentine's Day!

I don't normally make a big deal for Valentines and if we weren't all nursing colds I'd do more but I decided to give these little gems a go.

At Christmas time I made Peppermint Patties for the first time. Oh my goodness were they beyond delicious and didn't last too long either.

One of the things I miss the most about living in Britain is the candy or sweeties! Man the choice, the quality and the yummy yummy taste. There are a few things I can find here from time to time and Cadburys is readily available but I have to admit I'm more of a Galaxy girl, it's just so creamy. Talking about creamy I prefer milk chocolate. Dark gives me migraines and I really don't like bitter-sweet.

One of my favorite things is Roses chocolates, especially the strawberry and orange cream. And let's not forget my annual indulgence for Cadburys Creme Eggs - man those things are beyond addictive and several of the pounds I need to lose are pure Creme eggs.

Anyhow before I drive myself anymore crazy back to the recipe at hand. The Peppermint Patties were so good and creamy and I got to thinking about those Roses strawberry creams. So I thought what if I switched the peppermint essence for strawberry essence? Can you say DELICIOUS!!!! And there was a nice surprise that when I added the strawberry essence it changed the color to a pretty pink, perfect for the theme at hand!

Talking about theme, as its Valentines I took a small heart shaped cutter and made them into little chocolate covered hearts. I went and got the good stuff for the chocolate to cover them and splurged on Godiva milk chocolate.

I'm not very good at the dipping part and need alot of practice so mine didn't turn out as pretty as I would like but then that gives them that homemade look - well that's my theory and I'm running with it.

Strawberry Patties

Makes about 44 1-inch hearts

1 (32oz) bag confectioner/powdered sugar

4 Tablespoons softened butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp strawberry extract

3/4 cup cream

24 oz milk chocolate

1. Mix together sugar, butter, vanilla and strawberry extract in a large bowl. You may wish to use a whisk to combine it.

2. Stir in the cream, it will be stiff to mix but you want a smooth consistency and if you need be add a little more cream do. (As I was making it I was wondering why I didn't do this in my kitchenaid mixer, let it do all the hard work!)

3. Take a tablespoon size portion of the mix and roll into a ball. Place on a baking sheet that has been lined with wax paper and flatten. Repeat with all the mixture.

4. If you want to shape the patties with a cutter then place them in the freezer for 20 minutes. Remove and using the cutter cut out your hearts. Place back in the freezer for 20 minutes more.

5. If you didn't shape them place the round patties on the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 40 minutes.

6. Melt your chocolate in a bowl when you are almost ready to remove them from the freezer, you want a very runny consistency.

7. One by one dip the patties in the chocolate and place on clean wax paper sheet to set. You can speed it up by placing them back in the freezer for a few minutes.

8. Store them in the refrigerate.

Szechuan Noodle Toss

This is probably one of my top prized recipes that I have worked on and claimed as my own. It's one that I first made during my first year of marriage. Actually there's a story to this one.

I can't remember where I found the original recipe that this is adapted from and I actually believe it was supposed to be a cold dish, so you can see it's beyond adapted! Anyhow I learnt a valuable lesson, read the ingredients list CAREFULLY! The original called for a teaspoon and a half of CRUSHED red pepper well I didn't pay much attention to the 'crushed' part. I grabbed the GROUND red pepper it of the cupboard. As I measured it out I thought it looked a lot but I didn't put all but most of it in there. Fast forward to sitting down at the table with my poor, patient husband. One bite and well it was a shock how spicy it was! But he keep eating it and needless to say he was sweating and made a few trips to the bathroom.

After that the recipe nearly ended up in the trash pile but my husband talked me into trying it again, only not with such a generous helping of ground red pepper. I did try it with crushed red pepper but it was lacking. So from there and a little tweaking it became my recipe Szechuan Noodle Toss.

It's wonderful fast food. I can't emphasis enough how important it is that you do all the prep before you start cooking. You will probably spend more time prepping than cooking. When I was preparing for my post-delivery time after the birth of my second son I cut everything up and froze it. It worked well although I do like my red bell pepper to be crunchy and the freezing process had made it soggier. But under the circumstances it was wonderful to be able to put a meal on the table so quickly and easily and know that it was healthy.

Talking about healthy this is a wonderful way to get those great veggies in. I'm a huge fan of red bell peppers, I could remove the seeds and just eat them by themselves. They actually have more vitamin C than an orange. They also contain Vitamin A and K as well as lycopene.

Garlic is a huge favorite in my cooking. I know some people don't like the taste or the lingering effects to your breathe but we love it. It's health benefits are worth it. "Garlic is lipid-lowering, anti-thrombotic, anti-blood coagulation, anti-hypertensive, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, and anti-parasitic. Impressive enough for you? All of those benefits have been documented in the well over 1,200 (and counting) pharmacological studies done on garlic" from The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth by Jonny Bowden. Which by the way is an awesome book if you are looking at a diet overhaul. In the ever increasing Lipitor world garlic actually lowers cholesterol too, so these little potent gems not only add amazing flavor but they kick butt when it comes to your health.

Spinach is one of those vegetables that I know I should eat more of but really don't. I guess it's more I don't know what to do with it. I think this is one reason I like this dish so much. But Popeye was on to something with it, it's a packed with lots of nutrients and vitamins and is said to be the best source of vitamin K.

So anyhow I got a little carried away with all the healthy talk, perhaps my next post needs to be something sugary and loaded with calories!!!! Hey sometimes just simply being told something is good for you and actually knowing what the exact benefits are make the difference in choosing or not choosing to eat something. As a kid I remember being told that eating carrots would help my eye sight and I was so afraid of going blind that I would eat them like a crazy child. I still ended up wearing contacts so maybe it's a good thing I did eat them.

Anyhow finally recipe time. Again DO ALL YOUR PREP BEFORE YOU START COOKING!!!

Szechuan Noodle Toss

2 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1 Tablespoon peanut oil (refined good quality)

2 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 (16 oz) pkg thin spaghetti

1 large sweet red bell pepper, cut into very thin strips

4 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons sesame seed oil

1 (10oz) pkg fresh, trimmed spinach, torn into bite size pieces

3 Tablespoons sesame seed oil

1 T rice vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce (use reduced sodium if you are worried about sodium content)

1/4 tsp GROUND red pepper (reduce the amount if you don't like spicy food)

Directions:

1. Prep all your ingredients. 

2. In a measuring jar combine 2 T sesame oil, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1 T rice vinegar and 1/4 tsp red pepper, stir and set aside.

3. Cook spaghetti according to package directions: drain.

4. Heat wok and when hot, add peanut oil, allow the oil to heat for a minute then add the chicken and 2 T soy sauce and stir fry until cooked. 

5. Remove from the wok and set aside.

6. Add 2 T sesame seed oil to wok and allow to heat for a minute. Add the red bell pepper, scallions and garlic and stir constantly for 2 minutes.

7. Stir in spinach and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes or until the spinach wilts.

8. Add the chicken and the spaghetti to the wok.

9. Pour the mixture from step 1 over the pasta and toss gently to coat.

My Weekend Project

I had a special weekend project this weekend. It was inspired by one of my recipes that I will share with you soon, Peri Peri Chicken. It's a recipe that currently I'm using bottled sauce to make but really want to try to make it myself from scratch. 

The problem? Birdseye Chili!

So what on earth could be the issue, well apart from the main chili peppers it's really hard to get more 'exotic' types in Baton Rouge. So I found some seeds online and this weekend I started them.

I also decided to go ahead and plant seeds for the main herbs I use. Fresh herbs are not cheap and they are so wonderful to use. However, I am tired of buying them and only using a little and then having to throw the rest away. So I figure if I have them growing in the back yard then I can just go get what I need when I need it. 

So along side my Birdseye Chili, I planted Basil, Oregano and Italian Flat leaf parsley.

As you can see I had my little helpers!!

I'll keep you up-to-date on their progress. I'm very excited about the Birdseye Chili and how they will turn out!

Beef Stew

Okay before I start I need to post a disclaimer - THIS IS NOT AN IRISH STEW RECIPE.

I'm not a big fan of lamb and most traditional Irish Stew recipes involve lamb. My family always made it with beef. It was simply lean stewing steak, potatoes, turnip and carrots, throw it all in the pot and a few hours later you have a yummy dinner. To be honest after I left home it was kind of a comfort food for me. A pot went along way when I was living on my own.

Beef Stew is one of my husbands favorite dishes and he likes it to have a good gravy, of course me being the potato crazy person I am would just load it up with spuds and let them cook down until it's a sloppy pureed mess and I'd be happy. So this recipe has been a work in progress and as I'm writing this I am getting delicious whiffs of it from the kitchen.

I'm doing it in the slow-cooker today but you can very easily do in less time on the stove, which when you forget to go to the store and get the meat the day before or take the meat out of the freezer (which both happen a lot around here) is a quick solution. I don't know if one method is necessarily better than the other, I guess it all comes down to taste.

This is one of my E.T.T. dishes (Eat Tonight and Tomorrow). I don't recommend freezing it because potatoes and freezers don't go well together, it makes them gritty. And gritty potatoes doesn't fair well to an Northern Irish palette, remember potatoes are almost sacred in Ireland that's why a bad potato crop nearly wiped out the whole island in the late 17th century.

For all you wives who, like me, are married to an avid hunter, you can easily substitute deer meat for beef. I don't do anything special to the deer meat when I cook it, I know some people say there's a 'wild' taste to it but I don't taste it. I think deer meat is a beautiful meat so lean and tender. Plus talk about organic!!!! I don't think you get more organic. If you do have a thing about the 'wild' taste I would recommend you do what you normally do to it.

So let's get started.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 - 2 lbs lean stewing steak

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter (split)

Tony's Seasoning or other Cajun seasoning (I told you I can't get enough of the stuff!)

Mushrooms

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

4 cups beef stock

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

8 medium russet potatoes or red potatoes whatever your preference, cut into bite size cubes

2 large carrots sliced or 1 cup of baby carrots cut in half

1/2 cup frozen pearl onions

1/2 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

Directions:

1. Season stewing steak with a little seasoning (do it to your taste, it you don't do spicy then just do some black pepper). Melt 1 Tablespoon butter in frying pan or skillet on medium high heat, add half the stewing steak and brown. Remove to a bowl and repeat with remaining meat.

2. Melt another T butter and add a little water to the pan to scrape the pan. Add the mushrooms and saute them.

 4. Turn the heat down to medium and add tomato paste and stir constantly until mixed in.

 5. In a measuring jug add the flour to 1 cup of beef stock and add to the skillet. Stir constantly as you bring it to the boil. 

6. Transfer to the crock pot and add the remaining beef stock and season with Tony's. Turn the crock pot on high and leave to cook for 1 hour.

7. Add the potatoes, carrots, pearl onions and Worcestershire sauce and allow to cook for 5 more hours.

Enjoy and Happy Home Cooking!

Monthly Meal Planning - Introduction

It's seems that home cooking and family meals have taken a real hit over the past few decades, we got busier, we got lazier (if we're honest) and convenience got more convenient. Plus I think that as result of the liberation of women and in an attempt to get as far away from the kitchen as possible we have almost allowed the art of home cooking to become extinct.

But then as I've read blogs and talked with my friends I've noticed we all have this yearning for a simplier time when family was the centerpiece of our lives not the accessory. The experts are constantly telling us that for our children's mental and physical health and their safety we should have at least 2 family meals a week. We get told regularly how over-weight and obese our kids are getting and not to mention inactivity. And yet our lives seem to spin faster and faster. 

Growing up, my own family ended up in rarely having a family meal time, marital problems lead to avoidance of too much time together, I know that's the story for so many. But I remember the times around the big table in the kitchen that we ate around and I guess that I want that to be the norm, not the exception, in my family.

I got into couponing a few years ago, mainly because diapers cost a fortune and Pampers like to give out coupons, which I appreciate so much, plus an ever stricter budget. The money saving experts and Couponing bloggers say how when your budget is tight planning is the key to saving money. Monthly shopping trips instead of daily. So there's an added incentive to planning.

When we got married we were on a tight budget so eating out and take out wasn't really an option. This was the beginning of the journey I'm on exploring home cooking. Somewhere in the mix, as one of my dearest friends puts it, I started spoiling my husband and trying to make sure that we only had a dish once a month. Well I don't know about you but my memory is horrible and trying to remember what I cooked 3 weeks ago is not easy. So what does a girl do, well after years of working in finance and Excel being my best buddy I made a spreadsheet! And the spreadsheet has evolved into my monthly meal plan.

Now I know, because so many have said it, that they think monthly meal planning is a task but I want to show that it's not that huge a situation. Next month, March, I'm going to start the A Month of Home Cooking Dinners series, I'm inviting you to plan and cook with me for a month. As we get closer I'll give out more details. But I'm going to use February to get you prepared.

So as today is February 1st I want you to start a new spreadsheet or just simply stick a piece of paper on you refrigerator. Each day write down what you cook for dinner. You see the hardest part of a monthly meal plan is getting started. When I sat down 2 days ago to do my February plan I started by copying January's, editing the dates and within a few moments I have meal plan. I take into account any big events, birthdays, weddings, vacations, etc, adjust the plan for them and it's done. Printed and on the refrigerator. The first month is the hardest.

Then the shopping list, for me this time it turned into the exciting part. I went into my freezer, my pantry and refrigerator and did a stock take of what I had. Then I took my planner and worked out what ingredients I need for all the months meals. I took the items I already had off the list and made my 'produce' lists which I buy weekly because I like fresh. I went into my coupon folder and got online to find any more that I needed. 

I love to shop at Target, they are so much nicer than Walmart. Plus Target put out their own coupons which they will let you stack with a manufacturer coupon. Add in the Target Debit card 5% discount and it's wonderful to see how much you save. So yesterday I went and did my main grocery shop, at first the initial total was horrible. I gave Mrs Rhonda (sweetest lady you ever met!) my coupons and after swiping my debit card my total went down by $55, add in the savings from sale prices I saved almost $100 yesterday. Plus apart from milk, bread, produce and a few meat items I'm waiting to go on sale, I have everything I need. I tell you this so I can hopefully inspire you. I love watching TLC's Extreme Couponers but I know that in Louisiana we will never do a $1000 grocery shop for $1 but I saved 30% off my grocery bill which to me is huge. 

So go on try it for this month just write down what you cook each night, it will only take a minute. I've added the link below to a sheet you can simply print and stick on the refrigerator.

February Meals