I have plans for this chicken...

Brandon and I are trying to save money and my personal area of weakness (as you can probably guess) is baking/food. It is almost like I walk into the grocery store with 5 things on my list, and it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to walk out with anything less than 10 things... okay let's be real, more like 20 things. I usually shop at HyVee since it is close, I started working there, and I think they have a lot of good products and selection. It seems like there is always some kind of good deal going on as well, and I am a huge fan of their Fuel Buster program. Pretty much you sign up for this card that they swipe on your checkout and it keeps track of the money you earn. For instance I bought a certain pizza last week and since I bought it, I get 10 cents off per gallon of gas the next time I fill up my car. The money keeps accumulating until you use it (or it expires after a month if you don't use it). The last time I filled up, I ended up paying $2.29 per gallon for gas! But anyway... I am getting off track of my original point. I see good deals, fuel savers, food that just looks good that I don't really "need", and I know I buy way too many groceries for just the 2 of us. Granted most of the things I buy that we don't need at the moment are on a good sale. I simply put it in the freezer, or it has a long shelf life or something like that so we can use it later. Butter was an example... usually it is somewhere around $3-$3.50 for a pound, but one particular day it was $1 a pound. The ad said "limit 2 please", so Brandon and I paid separately and we each got our limit. (We may or may not have stopped back later in the day and do the same thing...) I know we didn't really need 8 pounds of butter, but it keeps well in the freezer and I know we would use it eventually, so why not get it when it is on sale? Sorry, I'm rambling again, I will stay on topic now...

So one strategy we are trying for saving money when it comes to groceries is planning out a menu for the week based on the ads/sales, figuring out the ingredients for the recipes, and then go shopping and ONLY GET WHAT IS ON THE LIST. (I realize this it NOT rocket science and a pretty basic concept, but it is hard for me). I think what helps the most is planning what we are going to have for lunch/supper  each day so I don't have to come up with something last minute.

So to finally get to the title of this blog, I bought a rotisserie chicken and will be using it for a few meals. Tonight I cleaned it all up, took the skin off, and got all the good meat off the bones and chopped it up. I ended up with a pretty big bowl full too. Tonight I used some of the meat to make chicken quesadillas. Tomorrow I was planning BBQ chicken sandwiches, and the next meal could be chicken salad sandwiches. When I stop and think about it, by planning out three meals from this one chicken (that was $4.99) it is pretty darn good.
I will have to let you know how the rest of my menu planning goes :)

Valentine's Baking

Since I had to stay up all night (in transition to work night shifts the next two nights) I decided to do a little baking for Valentine's Day.

My first project was to make something that I could take to work. I wanted it to be something to do with Valentines day without being all pink and having hearts all over. So... my inspiration was a chocolate covered strawberry. I started by mixing up a chocolate cake batter in one bowl, and then a strawberry cake batter in another bowl. I then used 3, 9-inch round pans and poured the batter in alternating rings so when the layers are stacked together it will look like a checkerboard pattern. It sounds confusing and I wish I would have remembered to take a picture, but really I just used a plastic separator/divider to create the circles of batter, and lifted them out once all the rings were filled. The chocolate recipe was just a basic one I have done before... I am pretty sure I have already posted at one time. The strawberry cake was a new recipe which I can say I really do like (I will post recipe later). Once I had the three layers assembled, I frosted them in chocolate frosting, and melted chocolate chips and butter to make a chocolate glaze that I poured over top (and later became a hard shell). I then made some chocolate covered strawberries, placed them on top, and sifted a touch of powdered sugar over the whole thing. Here is the end result:

The next cake that I tackled was a red velvet cake for Brandon to take to work. I have never made a red velvet cake before, so this was a new recipe too (obviously). It looked good, but I didn't try any of it, so hopefully it turned out ok. It felt a little dense, but oh well. The recipe for the frosting however, is probably my new favorite icing and I will definitely be using it again. It started with a milk and flour base that is heated and thickened on the stove top, and then combined with creamed butter, sugar, and vanilla. I have never made a frosting that way (and yes, it takes a little more time) but I think it tastes so much better than the normal powdered sugar/milk/butter combo that I knew as a kid. I will post the recipes for both of the cakes and frosting another day, but I just wanted to show off my pictures :) Hopefully I will get to take a pic of the insides of the cakes to se the layers... we shall see

I did have some leftover batter, so I made a few cupcakes. I frosted them with a little of the leftover frosting, put red tinted sugar on top, and then made piped/hardened chocolate hearts to decorate as well.

Peanut Butter Crunch French Toast

Here is one of my favorite breakfast recipes that I don't make nearly enough, but I always love it when I do.

1- Take 2 sliced of bread and spread peanut butter on each side, essentially makeing a peanut butter sandwich. Set asside
2- Next, crack a couple eggs in a shallow bowl and whisk. I like to add a touch of milk and cinnamon.
3- Take another bowl and crush up some type of "flaked" cereal. This can be something like Corn Flakes, Oat Bran Flakes, etc. I used a Whole Wheat Bran Flakes that we had on hand.
3- Dip the peanut butter sandwich in the  egg mixture, making sure to coat all sides. Then dip the sandwich in the crushed up cereal to coat with the "crunchy topping".
4- Put sandwich in a pan on the stove over medium heat and cook until nice and golden brown (or done).
5- The peanut butter will be nice and melty, and the crushed cereal will make a nice crunchy texture. I put a small drizzle of maple syrup on as well and drink with a cold glass of milk. Yum!!

Brandon's Birthday Dinner

Once again for Brandon's birthday, I let him pick out anything for supper and I made it for him/us. On the menu was Cajun/chipotle pork loin chops, steamed green beans, Southern fried cabbage, and a roasted garlic dinner roll. For dessert was angel food cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

 

And now for the recipes....

Cajun/Chipotle Crusted Pork Lion Chop

INGREDIENTS:
2 butterfly pork loin chops
4 T brown sugar
2 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp garlic powder
3 T Cajun seasoning
1 T ground chipotle chili pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1- Place all ingredients in a large ziplock bag and shake to coat meat. Let sit in bag for 20-30 minutes.
2-  If seasoning is too thick, brush some off before cooking, otherwise the flavor can get a little overpowering.
3- Cook on grill, bake in over, or saute in skillet. (I did it in the skillet just because it was too cold to grill)
4- Let stand for 5 minutes to let meat "rest" before cutting.


Southern Fried Cabbage

INGREDIENTS:
4 strips of bacon
2 T vegetable or olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 head o f cabbage - chopped
1 heaping T minced garlic
1 onion - chopped
1 T sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1- heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until cripsy, and break into bite-sized chunks
2- Add cabbage, garlic, onion, and season with salt, pepper, and sugar.
3- Saute until veggies are tender.


Green Beans
I washed and cut the ends off some fresh green beans, then put them in a steamer bag in the microwave for about 6 minutes. Served with a little butter. Done :)

Angel Food Cake
I cheated on dessert because Brandon originally said he wanted to be healthy and not have anything... I couldn't NOT have something sweet, so I just bought an Angel Food cake from HyVee and sliced strawberries with it and topped with whipped cream.

PS- The roasted garlic dinner rolls were also bought from HyVee. They have an awesome selection of homemade Baking Stone breads in the bakery. 

Spinach Souffle

Tonight's supper was spinach souffle, I got this recipe from my good friend Emily. The base recipe is below, and my notes/variations to follow.

 

INGREDIENTS:
1 T olive oil
5 oz baby spinach leaves (about 8 loosely packed cups)
6 eggs
6 T flour
2 cups cottage cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or whatever kind you like)
2 T melted butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2- Grease a glass baking dish (I used a 8 in square Pyrex dish)
3- Heat oil in a large skillet and add spinach. Saute just long enough for spinach to wilt, about 20-30 seconds. Set aside.
4- Lightly beat eggs in a large bowl. Add flour one tablespoon at a time, mixing between each addition.
5- Add remaining ingredients, mix well. Add spinach.
6- Pour into baking dish and bake for 1 hour, or until set and lightly browned.
7- Makes about 8 servings, easy to double the recipe and then use a 9x13 pan.

**AMY'S NOTES**
**For the seasonings, the recipe just calls for salt and pepper. I like to add a lot more pepper than what the original calls for (more like 1 tsp). I also omit the salt and use 3/4 to 1 tsp garlic salt instead. I also sprinkle dill weed on top before baking (did not mix in).

**When wilting the spinach, I did it in batches since my saute pan wasn't the biggest. This prevents the leaves at the bottom from getting over cooked and the ones on top from being undercooked. By only putting a thin layer in the pan at a time, it makes the spinach easier to stir and cooks more evenly. It really doesn't take that long anyways!

**The thing that I love about this recipe is that it is great as is, but there are so many variations you could do also. It would be great adding some sauteed veggies like bell peppers, mushrooms, onions etc. I think it would also be good with a 1/2 pound of cooked sausage... or bacon (gasp!)

**My point being: you can do a lot of different things with this recipe... come to think of it, you can do a lot with most recipes! Maybe that is one reason I love about cooking... you can tweak, add, subtract, substitute, EXPERIMENT and make food they way you/your family likes it. Make it your own! Obviously some things are more exact and can't be changed too drastically (think baking... that is more of a science) but I believe there is always a LITTLE wiggle room with any recipe. Enjoy and happy cooking :)