Again, our favorite pizza...

We made our favorite Ruben Pizza again the other night using the leftover corned beef we had from the weekend.

Recipe is on our blog already under pizza.

I recommend you try this!!

Mom's Orange Chicken

When I was young my mom used to make this reciep all the time - I don't know if it's from an actual recipe - or she made it up.

Either way I make it a lot and it's delicious and easy and a crowd pleaser.

I took this to my Habitat for Humanity Dinner Meeting last night and it was a crowd pleaser.

Orange Chicken

1 package of boneless skinless chicken thighs - about 3 or 4 pounds

1 gallon of orange juice

1 bunch of cilantro

5 cloves of garlic

1 large onion sliced

1 packet of taco seasoning mix

1 small can of mandarin oranges in water or pear juice, drained.

In a crock pot or large dutch oven...

Place the chicken, the OJ, cilantro, garlic, onion and taco seasoning. Let simmer all day until chicken is tender and you can shredd. Shredd the chicken and return to the pot. Then add the minced cilantro leaves and the drained can of mandarin oranges and turn off the heat and let sit for about 15 minutes.

Serve the shredded chicken in tortillas with sour cream, salsa, guac, whatever. You can also serve this over rice too!

Fish and Chips Kinda Night

I was really craving fish and chips or a good fish sammy.

So I used the recipe I use for Lemon Crumb Chicken - the idea of it - and used it to bread the fish and then bake it in the oven.

I served on big crusty rolls and with this great salad with a delicious homemade dressing.

For The Fish

In one dish place 1 cup of bread crumbs with the zest of 1 lemon and some dried dill

Remove the fish from the package and roll in the bread crumbs, pressing them in. Place in a greased baking dish and spray with some pam and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until fish is done.

Serve with some mayo mixed with lemon juice and dill for a sauce.

For the Salad

I made a big romaine salad with some chopped egg and tomato and corutons and this dressing from the weight watchers web site.

Buttermilk Dressing

1/3 cup buttermilk

3 T reduced calorie mayo

2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. dijon mustard

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 T fresh dill

When You Think You Have It, And You Don't....

Improvise.

I swore up and down I had cubed steaks in the freezer, but alas when this meal came to fruition, I did not. So I used a lean thin cut of beef that I usually use for fajitas or stir fry and sliced that up to make this meal and WOW it was just as good if not better.

So I'm posting this as I made it.

It is Cubed Steaks Paprika from the Better Homes and Garden Breast Cancer Awareness Cookbook.

So the recipe calls for taking the cube steaks and cooking them in butter over medium high heat until they are done and then making the sauce.

So I used the beef steaks instead. I cooked 1 lb. of lean beef slices in pam then removed from the pan.

Remove the meat from the pan and reserve the drippings. For the sauce, cook 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1 clove of garlic, 2 tsp. of paprika, and 1/3 tsp. black pepper in the skillet until mushrooms are tender.

Stir in 1 cup beef broth.

In a small dish mix together 1/2 cup dairy sour cream and 2 T flour.

Add the sour cream and flour mixture to the sauce and mix to combined and leat go until bubbly. Cook and stir. Return beef to skillet and heat it up. Serve with egg noodles.

An Interesting Flop

So I found this recipe and really wanted to try it out... and the idea of it is delicious, but none the less it didn't work out right - and i tried it twice two different ways and still got a curdley mess.

Bless my husband's heart for straining everything and picking out the curds. In the end we tossed the pasta and squash with olive oil, herbs and the sage.

If you can try this and get it to work can you let mke know??

Pasta with Butternut Squash and Sage

1 spray cooking spray

20 oz butternut squash peeled and diced

8 oz uncooked bow ties

1/8 tsp. table salt for cooking pasta

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

5 1/3 tbs grated parmesan cheese

3 T fresh sage.

Preheat oven to 375 and coat baking sheet. place squahs on sheet and roast for 25-35 minutes. I just did mine in the microwave

Bring pot of salted water to boil and after sqaush has been roasting for 15 minutes cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to pot.

Add squash, buttermilk, salt and pepper to pot. toss over low heat to warm through about one minute. Remove from heat and add 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and the sage and toss to coat.

1 1/2 cups serving.

A Side of Deliciousness

I don't usually pull out recipes for side dishes for meals, especially during the week. I'm more of a couscous, rice, noodle type girl. And as for veggies we're pretty much eat it as it comes, beans, broccoli, etc.

But I saw this recipe and wanted to try this out and it did not disappoint. The only difference I would make is that I wouldnt' put the chicken broth in - it made it way too runny, I expected more of a firm mash like a mashed potato.

Other than that this is REALLY good and well worth the make.

Garlic Mashed Root Vegetables

2 medium potatoes peeled and quartered

2 medium carrots peeled and quartered

8 oz. butternut sqash peeled and diced

1 medium turnip peeled and diced

5 medium garlic cloves peeled and diced

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 cup fat free sour cream

1/2 cup fat free chicken broth - again, i would omit this it didn't need it

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/8 tsp. salt to taste

Place all of the veggies and the garlic in a pot and cover with water and boil until tender for 10 - 12 minutes. Drain well and let dry out a bit. Then mash with a masher and stir in sour cream and broth. Season with salt and pepper.

I served this with the parmesan crusted tilapia recipe that is on the blog too!

Great Savory Corn Bread

I made this corn bread a few weeks ago to have with some chili. It's not a sweet corn bread but with a little honey it's even more sweet and delicious!

Weight Watchers Corn Bread Recipe

1 C uncooked cornmeal, yellow
1 C all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. table salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
14 oz can of cream sytle corn
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large egg whites
2 tsp. corn oil

Preheat oven to 400 and coat a square cake pan with cooking spray

Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl and mix well with fork. Make a well in the center.

In a 2nd bowl mix the buttermilk, the corn, the eggwhites and oil and mix to blend. fold into the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Pour batter into pan and smooth the top

Bake until a wooden pick comes out clean, about 20 minutes. (Our went almost closer to 30 minutes)

VERY good with the Beef and Black Bean Chili on the blog.