Guest chef: Oven Fried Chicken Fingers

Today I had a fabulous guest chef make dinner from beginning to end:

And she did an awesome job. Here's the fancy recipe.

A few months ago, she went to a Saturday morning kids' cooking class at Williams Sonoma and has been bugging me ever since to let her make the "fancy chicken fingers" for dinner that she did there. Today was finally her day.

Rave reviews from everyone (except Camden, who stuffs his face at breakfast and lunch daily, but isn't much a dinner fan lately...).

Programming note: lots of tried and true reruns planned for the upcoming week but I'll post if I try anything new.

Baked Chicken Stuffed with Pesto and Cheese

I tried another new recipe tonight, Baked Chicken Stuffed with Pesto and Cheese. I started out by also using this blog's recipe for homemade basil pesto:

I doubled the pesto recipe and made a lot more than I needed for the chicken... I froze the rest in single servings for future fast use.

Here's the chicken (tripled that recipe since it was for just 2 breasts, but even with 3 adults and a ravenous Gigi, we still have two large servings for the freezer):

The breasts were big to begin with, so after I pounded them flat, they were HUGE. This was half a serving! All in all it was more work than my usual weeknight meal but most of us really liked it (Steve, Mom, me, and Gigi -- who had two big servings). The boys were less enthusiastic but that's nothing new. Camden continues his streak of shoveling in any food at breakfast and lunch but doesn't eat much dinner. And Owen, well, I put "green stuff" in the chicken. I'll definitely make it again but it's more of a weekend meal.

Guest cook: Vegetable and Quinoa Soup

Mom cooked part of dinner again tonight, she brought her Vegetable and Quinoa Soup recipe with her (I will post a scan of the recipe below).

I loved it, and I hear Camden did too (I was in a meeting when the troops were eating dinner). It made a big pot and will be great for lunches and the freezer too. Owen and Gigi politely tried it but weren't fans. Steve is still all Atkinsy so he passed on it and had brats for dinner. I also made the house favorite, Skillet Mac n Cheese which the kids devoured.

Guest cook: Chicken Thighs with 2-Mustard Sauce

My mom is out here for the next week or two and she made dinner last night, Chicken Thighs with 2-Mustard Sauce:

(Is that not the biggest artichoke you've ever seen? All 4 of us -- mom, Steve, Gigi, me -- each ate a whole one.)

Steve and I really liked the chicken. Gigi declared it "ok". Owen was not a happy camper but ate some. Camden sided with Owen.

Here's the recipe:

8 bone-in (but we used boneless last night) skinless chicken thighs
4 T. Dijon mustard
4 T. Stone ground mustard
3 T. maple syrup
1 t. thyme
2 minced garlic cloves
salt/pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375.

Spray 9x13 pan with olive oil spray.

Season thighs with s&p.

Mix the two mustards, maple syrup, thyme, and minced garlic.

Coat the thighs with the mustard mixture on both sides. Put a little on each thigh bottom and place in pan. Then put mixture on top.

Bake 40-45 mins depending on size of chicken thighs.

Parmesan Broiled Tilapia

Tonight we tried out Parmesan Broiled Tilapia.

I used dried dill instead of fresh, and added some basil too. Otherwise it was the recipe as written. Steve and I both really liked it, and it was so easy I'll definitely be making it again. The kids had to try it before eating their kid meal substitute (hot dogs)... after one hot dog, Gigi decided she really liked the fish and also had her own filet. The boys... no comment.

Not-Corned Beef Brisket

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I used to love to get those corned beef briskets that come with a spice packet, which you could slow cook all day and were so delicious. I can't eat those anymore because the sodium content is sky high... so this year for St. P's Day I tried a not-salty imitation.

I got a beef brisket from the grocery store. NOT a corned one -- I read up, and apparently you can't avoid the salt and still have it corned... that's part of the brining process. But a few months ago, I found a salt-free corned beef spice combo at Penzey's and today seemed like the perfect day to try it out. I poured a dark beer in the crock pot along with some water, mixed in the spices, then squashed the brisket in -- it was a fairly large cut (over 5 lbs!) but that was the smallest they had at the store. I sliced some onions and laid them on top, then I cooked it on high for a few hours before turning it down to low.

I will note that the spice container does say to use the spices "along with a salt brine". I skipped that.

Survey says... It was ok. Spice flavor was good but not like "real" corned beef. Not as tender either. Both big kids ate it; Gigi compared it to tenderloin (?) and said it was ok. Owen was not a fan but ate it so he could have a St Patty's Day cookie. Camden is on an eating strike and just had a toddler pouch. Steve is working late, we will see what he thinks later.

Chili

Today I made a regular staple for the Newton house... Chili. Everyone eats it. Even Mr. Camden, though we crush up a bunch of saltines in his to make it more mortar-like and it sticks to his spoon more easily. Even Owen eats it! It freezes really well in individual servings, too.

There isn't really a recipe per se but I'll write out what I usually do. You can let it simmer all day in the crockpot or cook for 45 min on the stovetop in the evening.

1. Sauté 1/2 of a large onion (chopped) and 5-6 cloves of garlic (minced) in some olive oil.

2. Add in 1.5-2 lbs ground meat -- turkey, beef, or a combo of both. Chop it up and brown it.

3. While that's browning, throw the following into the crockpot or stockpot:

-2-3 cans tomato sauce (no salt added)

-2 cans diced tomatoes (no salt)

-3 cans beans (no salt). Today I used black beans, chili beans in sauce, and kidney beans

-1/3 bag frozen corn 

-2-3 T. "homemade" low sodium chili seasoning (I just omit the salt... I could also use my fake salt I guess)

4. Add the meat/onions to the pot and stir it all up! Cook, stirring occasionally. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, and crackers.

The Pioneer Woman's Spicy Dr. Pepper Ribs

Today we had a bunch of landscape people coming in and out all day, giving quotes for our backyard (which is currently a mud pit) so since we were sort of tied to home, it was a good day to try a recipe that had a long bake time in the oven (and with a lot of in and out to get re-marinated). I tried out the Pioneer Woman's Spicy Dr. Pepper Ribs.

Not bad, not bad at all! Steve seemed to REALLY like them... I thought they were good. Pretty HOT and spicy. Kids all sampled, but this was way off the Spice Meter for them.

Pan Roasted Lemon Chicken

So tonight we tried Pan Roasted Lemon Chicken.

...And it was decent. Very moist and fragrant (in a lemon-y way). Genevieve (who I think is going through a growth spurt lately) was the biggest fan and had 3 servings. Owen muddled his way through an acceptable amount to eat. I thought it was good but nothing to write home about, I think Steve felt the same -- he is suddenly having "lemon in my chicken issues" but really liked the skin, of all things. It was another one of those recipes where, once you get past the skin, the meat inside doesn't knock you over with flavor (which is perfect for the kids, but kind of meh for us).

Crustless Spinach Quiche

 

 

Tonight I dug out a recipe I haven't made since the last time Steve went on his Atkins bender, Crustless Spinach Quiche. I make it just as the recipe is outlined, except tonight I used fresh spinach instead of frozen (why does frozen have so much sodium??) and added about a cup of chopped mushrooms as well. It turned out good again, Steve and I liked it and I didn't even miss the crust you usually get with quiche. Genevieve thought it was "not bad" and Camden ate a bit too (he loves eggs for breakfast in the morning). Owen on the other hand, has always declared "quiche as the #1 thing on my list of least favorite foods -- which is an extensive list" so he basically died when he had to have his one taste bite. So all three kids had grilled cheese too.

Mozzerella Stuffed Turkey Meatballs

I made this recipe once a while back and it was a pretty big hit for all five Newtons, so it was time for a rerun (plus the leftovers in the freezer are long gone!). Easy enough for the Atkins among us to skip the pasta and just have his balls with vegetables ;)

Salmon Baked in Foil

I didn't realize it when I pinned it, but tonight's recipe came from yet another Food Network personality (Giada De Laurentiis).

And it was really good. My only complaint was that it took a LOT longer to bake than the 25 minutes stated in the recipe. I think this was because I had one large and thick (1.25 lb) filet instead of the 4 smaller ones listed in the recipe. Plus I had a greater tomato topping-to-salmon ratio than I think was intended, so the heat took a while to get in there. Once fully cooked though, it was delicious, super moist and a lot of flavor from the tomatoes -- surprising since this isn't exactly tomato season.

I liked it, Steve (now all Atkins-y so minus the rice) also really liked it. The kids had to try it and then... had fish sticks with their broccoli and rice.

Homemade Chicken Taquitos, Alton Brown Guacamole, and Restaurant Style Salsa

So I tried out this homemade chicken taquitos recipe (which included cilantro, pepper jack cheese and cream cheese -- how could it be bad, right?). It definitely makes a TON of taquitos... I totally should have frozen half of them prior to baking (per the recipe -- these are actually a freezer meal) but we over-thought our hungriness and didn't realize how filling they'd actually be. They were DELICIOUS.

As you can see, I had a bit of an issue with the taquitos cracking which happened both before and while I baked them. So they aren't very pretty but they sure tasted good. I tried to prevent the cracking, per some complaints in that blog's comments section, by draping them with a wet paper towel but that didn't help much. Maybe because I used white corn tortillas (which are almost zero sodium) they cracked more than flour ones (which are 3 million mg sodium) would have. Not sure.

And for the sides, I made Alton Brown's guacamole recipe (how can you go wrong with Alton) and it was indeed delicious. This was actually my first time making homemade salsa. Prior to now, I was able to get low-sodium salsa at Trader Joe's, but alas, we have no TJs yet here in Colorado Springs. Hopefully someday soon, since they just opened stores in Denver and Ft. Collins. This salsa recipe was really good, but not the prettiest -- more of a red-brown color. It made a TON too. I may freeze a lot of it in small containers, because no way can I eat that trough of salsa mostly by myself (as mentioned before, Steve isn't a huge salsa person... Gigi had a bit tonight but it was on the spicy side for her.)

Definitely will be revisiting these recipes again some time.

Just to add a new wrinkle to my meal planning, now that we're past holidays and birthday seasons, Steve is going back on his hard-core low carb/Atkins diet starting tomorrow (but first... tonight... we have shamrock shakes a-waiting). I'll still be making pasta dishes for the kids and me on occasion, and he'll have to thaw leftover Atkins friendly meals on those nights. He goes on this diet hard core for about 6-9 months every year or two... fun times. I challenge you to find lots of meals that will satisfy the restrictions of: ultra low-carb, ultra low-sodium, ultra picky 10yr old, and a toddler whose tastes shift with the wind.