Cooking at Home 101

Last week, Steve and I finally confessed the obvious: we love to go out to eat.  Both of us have had busy work schedules since we got married, so cooking at home was almost an afterthought for the last three years.  In an effort to clean up my own eating, and also to reign in the food allocation in our budget, I decided to finally give actual meal prep a try.  And I am happy to say that it was quite the success!  In an effort to keep myself accountable (and to also share some easy recipes for other ladies on the go who are looking to cook more), I'm going to document my cooking-at-home efforts here.

I work pretty late these days and Steve's evenings are booked with networking events and bible study, so the top priority for our household is easy meals that can be reheated and used for leftovers.

recipe: chicken jambalaya

Between my job, social commitments and (now) my running regimen, it's hard to find time to make dinner every night of the week.  So lately I've been trying to make one or two dinners during the week, with enough leftovers to last an additional meal or two.  I've had a couple of successes lately that the hubby has asked me to put into the regular meal rotation - a request that a wife always loves to hear! 

This jambalaya is one of those meals.  I modified a recipe from this health-conscious cookbook to whip up this Cajun-inspired dish that is super easy to make.  Not to mention, it is healthy! 
Double win.   

Chicken Jambalaya

(makes ~6 servings)

recipe: chicken & rice casserole

This delicious family recipe comes from my grandma and is the perfect comfort food!  I made it last week for friends of ours who just adopted a baby.  The casserole is surprisingly simple to make and re-heats well.  I made enough to give our friends several meals worth, while also saving some for myself.  Yum!

Chicken & Rice Casserole (makes 6 generous servings)

What you'll need:
 - 1/4 cup butter
 - 1/4 cup flour
 - 1 3 oz. can sliced mushrooms
 - 1 14 oz. can evaporated milk
 - 1 cup chicken broth
 - 3 cups rice (I use 5-minute white rice)
 - 2 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken (I used 3 small frozen chicken breasts)
 - 1 small can pimentos
 - 1 1/2 tsp. salt

What to do:
 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
 - Cook rice per box directions; set aside.
 - Cook chicken (I cooked them covered in the microwave for about 12 minutes on HIGH); cut into cubes.
 - Melt butter in saucepan.
 - Add flour and salt; blend.
 - Add evaporated milk and chicken broth; stir constantly until mixture thickens slightly.
 - Add chicken, rice, mushrooms and pimentos.; stir.
 - Pour mixture into greased 2 qt. casserole dish.
 - Bake uncovered for 40 minutes or until heated thoroughly.

Happy cooking!

recipe: roasted vegetables

It finally happened.  I'm twenty-seven years old and finally learned how to roast vegetables.  And turns out, it's a lot simpler than I thought!  Believe me, anyone can make these.  

Roasted Vegetables (serves 4)

What you need:
 - 1 zucchini
 - 1 yellow squash
 - 1 sweet potato
 - 3 small red potatoes
 - 1/2 red onion
 - olive oil
 - salt & pepper, to taste
 - cajun seasoning

What to do:

 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 - Chop all veggies as desired and place in a large bowl.

 - Add enough olive oil to lightly coat the veggies; toss until all are coated.

 - Add cajun seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.

 - Cover baking pan with aluminum foil and spread veggies in pan.

 - Cook for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.  Add additional seasoning, if desired, after 30 minutes.

Happy cooking!

chicken enchilada chili

I'm not a great cook.  It's not that I don't enjoy cooking, but by the time I get home from work in the evening, it's usually too late to begin prepping an extravagant meal for us.  I'm also pretty simple when it comes to food, so I just haven't really developed any serious cooking skills.  I'd like to become a better cook, though, and have decided to try to expand my cooking repertoire.  In order to keep track of what works (and what doesn't), I'll be posting some recipes here.  Feel free to try them out yourself!  If I can make them, so can you.  I promise.

So without further ado - I made a surprisingly easy chicken enchilada chili in my crockpot for small group this week.  This receipe comes from that lovely lady, Ms. Betty Crocker, and my slightly-modified version was a huge hit at small group.  I also reheated a small amount for lunch today and found that it reheats very well. 

 

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Chili (serves 6)

What you need:

• 1 1/4 lb chicken thighs (recipe calls for boneless, skinless but I didn't have those on hand.  If yours have bones, it's very easy to shred the meat off the bones once you're done cooking)
• 1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1 medium yellow pepper, chopped
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium red pepper, chopped
• 2 cans (14.5oz each) stewed tomatoes with garlic and onion, undrained
• 2 cans (15oz each) chili beans in sauce, undrained
• 1 can (10oz) enchilada sauce
• 1 can (10oz) hot enchilada sauce

What to do:

• Spray 4- to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Mix all ingredients except sour cream and cilantro in cooker.
• Cover and cook on Low heat setting 7 to 8 hours.  (I doubled the recipe and cooked for 10 hrs)
• Stir mixture to break up chicken.
• Top each serving with sour cream and Mexican cheese

Happy cooking!