Skillet Cornbread

Also last week, happy to use my cast iron skillet, we tried Skillet Cornbread. I haven't made normal cornbread or the good old cornbread souffle in years because those blue Jiffy boxes are loaded with sodium unfortunately :( So this low-sodium-friendly recipe was very exciting to find (just omit the salt and use no-sodium baking powder).

I loved it. Steve and all three kids were not fans. I couldn't believe it! It turns out, they all prefer northern style cornbread which is essentially cake -- much thicker and sweeter. I did add a couple T of sugar to this, anticipating this reaction, but even still, thumbs down from all of them. The kids in particular didn't like the "tanned" part -- where it browns on the edges thanks to the skillet time on the stove. I thought it was the best part.

Honey Lemon Pork Chops with Healthy Salt Alternative

Last week we tried Honey Lemon Pork Chops with Healthy Salt Alternative. Unfortunately, no picture because I forgot. I used thick bone-in chops instead of boneless because they always seem more moist and flavorful. These weren't bad at all. I made the marinade in the morning and next time would be even better if I remember to do it the night before.

Baked Peanut Butter Oatmeal

Just this morning I threw this in the oven (Baked Peanut Butter Oatmeal):

I've been looking for a change from our favorite PB Energy Bites and although this is pretty similar in the ingredient list, it does get baked so there's that. I also threw in a banana and some chocolate chips. It turned out... ok. Nice and sweet, more dessert-like than breakfasty. Also a bit on the cakey side but not terrible. The kids haven't had a chance to try it yet -- will be interesting to see what they think.

Lemon Butter Chicken

I have been seeking out recipes that make use of my new cast iron skillet so this week we tried Lemon Butter Chicken:

Although it tastes somewhat similar to at least one other chicken recipe I used to make all the time, this was different enough and we did like it. The sauce is especially rich and flavorful and the chicken stays very moist bathing in it. 

Baked Broccoli Tots

This week, among several new recipes we tried Baked Broccoli Tots:

(That picture is before they went in the oven... they came out slightly toasted looking).

They were similar in texture in normal old tater tots but had a distinct broccoli flavor (obvs) and should be much healthier. All in all, Steve and I loved them and look forward to having them again. He thinks we should add crab meat to them but I think I'll leave that to regular crab cakes and have these unadulterated. Genevieve liked them a lot too, though opted to dip hers in her tarter sauce we had out for the fish main dish instead of ketchup which I think is much better. They boys gave the tots a thumbs-down.

Heirloom Tomato, Summer Peach, and Fresh Herb Gazpacho Salad

Heirloom Tomato, Summer Peach, and Fresh Herb Gazpacho Salad:

Delicious.

Peach glazed chicken kabobs

Over the summer, we all enjoyed Peach Glazed Chicken Kabobs.

Turns out, I never took a picture any of the times I made them, BUT I snapped this pic of one of the ingredients:

I totally took some shortcuts with this recipe and bought already-kabobbed chicken/pepper/onion skewers. Then I cut up fresh peaches and threaded them onto their own kabobs. All got the glaze on the grill, but this way I could start the chicken ones first and not burn the peaches.

Crispy Oven-Fried Cod

Resurrecting the blog so I have a few recent recipes stored in one place for future use...

Last night we tried Crispy Oven-Fried Cod:

This went over much, much better than previous attempts at "homemade fish & chips". I even bought my first cast iron skillet for the occasion... something I plan to use quite often moving forward for lots of other recipes! All 5 Newtons liked this one; adding to the rotation.

Cilantro Garlic Lime Chicken with Zucchini Noodles

A week or so ago, we tried Cilantro Garlic Lime Chicken with Zucchini Noodles (sorry, no picture once again). It was really just meh. I am really liking the zoodles (zucchini noodles) but need to keep digging to find a good recipe with decent sauces to go with them.

Black Bean Lentil Salad with Cumin-Lime Dressing

The other day I made a big batch of Black Bean Lentil Salad with Cumin-Lime Dressing to have in the fridge for (my) lunches:

Delicious! A nice new salad to add to my rotation.

Grilled Bison Burgers

I forgot to take a picture of this one but wanted to put it in the blog so I remember it. Costco recently started selling (or at least, I recently discovered there) buffalo meat. I thought we'd give it a try, as a break from our usual turkey burgers. I used this recipe and it was great!

Basil Cucumber Salad

For lunch the other day I made a huge trough of this Basil Cucumber Salad:

Overall, it's just ok. Definitely edible but nothing to write home about. I made a bigger mess in the kitchen chopping the cauliflower in the food processor than was really necessary. The dressing was different from my other recent trials, so that was good. Not rushing to make the salad again anytime again soon, though.

Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Somewhat similar to some other recipes I've tried lately, we recently had Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken:

I followed the recipe exactly, though with a bit more "stuffing" in each chicken piece, and added a bit of panko to the ground flaxseed for the outside. I also used the thin-sliced chicken breasts instead of having to pound anything -- a big time saver. I love those things. Overall this was a big hit. Steve, Gigi, Camden, and our 11-year-old neighbor all liked it a lot. Owen feigned a stomach ache. Gigi and Steve insisted they needed some soy sauce to dip it in. Slightly strange, but it worked. I will be making this again.

Brain Power Salad

A few days ago I made a big bowl of Brain Power Salad for our dinner and a few lunches:

Kind of a lame picture because you can't see all the walnuts, blueberries, goat cheese and avocado that fell to the bottom. But they're there, and this was really good. I baked a salmon filet instead of using smoked, due to the salt. Also subbed goat cheese for the feta. This is almost a non-recipe but I'm adding it to the blog to save for posterity so I remember it myself. Definitely one I will make again. The dressing in particular, with the chia seeds, was very good.

Romesco Garlic Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles

So I had a bunch of free money to spend at Kohl's the other day, and I hit their kitchen section where I rarely go (I don't even think to shop there for BB&B type stuff). Among other random stuff, I came away with an "as seen on tv" handheld veggie spiralizer, the Vegetti:

I tried it out tonight with a recipe for Romesco Garlic Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles.

All in all, we (Steve and I) liked it a lot. It was easy to spiralize the zucchinis -- took no time at all even though this is a handheld cheapie thing. The recipe called for 4-6 zucchinis which seemed excessive so I only used two. I'd probably do at least three next time; they were pretty small too. I'd rather have a good leftover lunch for the next day, too. I've never made (or eaten) romanesco sauce, which has a good heap of almonds in it as its base. It was delicious! Steve thought maybe we kick it up a bit with extra red pepper flakes -- I went light on the chili powder and paprika the recipe called for, thinking it'd be too much, but it could definitely use more kick.

Would really recommend! Zucchini-as-pasta is a decent substitute. Not the real deal for sure... but a healthier knock off.

The kids, well, they had traditional spaghetti.

Wild & Brown Rice Salad with Edamame

I found a really delicious new salad-ish thing today, Wild & Brown Rice Salad with Edamame:

I actually had trouble finding a brown/wild rice blend (either frozen or dry) so I went with a brown rice/seed medley from Trader Joe's and it worked out great. Will definitely make this again.Just be sure to buy already shelled edemame... that was kind of a time consuming mistake on my part.

Asian Lemon Chicken Tenders

Last night we had Asian Lemon Chicken Tenders:

 Hmm... that photo is upside down. Well, anyway... I wasn't sure about this one, but it turned out pretty decent. I thought it was better than expected though not my absolute favorite ever. Steve loved it and said it was the best new recipe in a long time so I suppose I'll make it again at some point if he's lucky. A nice thing about this one was, the flavor all came from a glaze, which I poured over our (Steve's and my) pieces, but left in a bowl for the kids to use as a dip. Which they all hated and just ate the plain chicken. Kind of surprising because there was no spice factor whatsoever, it was very sweet, but to each his own. Also, there are like 3 foods that Steve absolutely hates, and one is pineapple. I didn't tell him initially that pineapple juice is the base of the glaze -- he had no idea!

Panko Crusted Honey Mustard Salmon

The other night we tried out Panko Crusted Honey Mustard Salmon:

It looked a lot better in real life than it does in this picture! And it was FABULOUS. I've been Panko-ing tilapia and chicken for a long time but never thought to do it to salmon. This recipe was a real winner, and very easy to make. Steve and I both really loved it and it'll become a regular (the kids are still anti-salmon and plead the 5th).

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Energy Bites

Have you tried these Peanut Butter Oatmeal Energy Bites?

If not, you really should. A-mazing. They make a great afterschool snack or late night snack or morning snack... Genevieve and I absolutely love them. Steve thinks they're pretty good the two boys are kind of "meh" but I'll be making them regularly nonetheless.

Turkey burgers

Did it really take me over a year to try a basic turkey burger recipe? I guess so:

(The photo shows them before I grilled them.)

I stuck to the basic recipe linked above, but used Panko and my own seasonings to avoid all that salt. I also followed some reviewers advice and used whole eggs, not just whites, and dredged them in flour before grilling. Really good! And all 5 Newtons enjoyed them. A new one to add to the rotation.

Skinny Oven Fried Chicken

Similar to the Oven Fried Chicken Drumsticks that we tried a few weeks ago, this "fried" chicken was also baked in the oven:

A bit healthier than the drumsticks since I used thinly sliced chicken breasts. Also, they had a better kick with the seasonings the recipe called for. Everyone in the house really liked this recipe. The sodium content of the Cornflake crumbs is sort of ridiculous, so I definitely was only able to eat one slice. That issue aside, this recipe was a winner.

Veal Scallopini

Hey look, I'm back already for Year 2 of the blog. Last night we tried Veal Scallopini, after I bought some already thinly-sliced veal on a whim at the grocery store. Results:

Definitely a good change of pace from our usual fare. If I make this again, it will need some more seasoning than the recipe calls for, I also will try cooking the veal at a higher temp so it's more crispy and less mushy on the outside. Otherwise, it was pretty decent!

Almond & Basil Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Two more days and it'll be the one-year anniversary of this blog! Happy to say I made it 365 days as promised, and the following recipe will be the 98th for the year. Moving forward, I'll continue to post recipes -- maybe just the REALLY good ones.

So the other night we tried Almond & Basil Chicken Lettuce Wraps:

All in all, Steve and I both really liked them. I went light on the saltier components of the sauce (soy sauce, hoisin sauce) and in the end only needed half the sauce to cook the chicken in. I put the leftovers on the side for Steve to use. When I make it again, since the kids won't eat it anyway, I'd throw in a bit more spice -- maybe some red pepper flakes. Definitely a keeper!

Chicken with Mushrooms in a Light Balsamic Cream Sauce

A couple nights ago, we tried Chicken with Mushrooms in a Light Balsamic Cream Sauce:

The kids did not care for it at all. Steve said it was "good, not great". I definitely liked it better than he did ;)

Oven Fried Chicken Drumsticks

Last week we tried Oven Fried Chicken Drumsticks:

And overall, they were really good. Thumbs up from all 3 kids. They had the perfect amount of moisture and weren't dried out at all. The only complaint Steve and I had was they were somewhat bland. I made a blend of spices to substitute for the poultry seasoning since it's too high in sodium for me, but even with that having cayenne in it, the legs were still pretty bland. I might kick it up a notch next time I make them.