We just had our fourth child and I am realizing more and more how great it is to have my meals planned out. When I take all of my children shopping and I follow the outline of the grocery lists from my book, I am still in and out of the grocery store in 30 minutes. My 5 year old counts the groceries as they go in to the cart and it keeps him from grabbing things that don’t belong (one time we came home with a bag of dried chili mix and some donuts). while I’m running them to and from their activites, I don’t have to call my husband to meet us out because dinner is either already prepared and in the crock pot, or it is thawed and the vegetables are cut and all are ready to be assembled. Dinner time then is peaceful.
Comfort food – Good ‘Ol Chicken Pot Pie October 20, 2009
When it is raining and cold outside, I often make comfort food for my family. This recipe is easy and start to on the table takes about an hour.
Chicken Pot Pie
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
First make the crust:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 cup butter chilled and chopped
You’ll want to cut the butter in to the flour mixture until is is pea sizec then add 3 Tbsp water or vodka or vinegar, one Tbsp at a time. Form into a ball and let chill while you get your filling ready.
Filling:
4 small red potatoes cubed
2 medium sized carrots sliced
1/4 cup diced onion
2 stalks celery
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 T butter
3 chicken brests grilled and cubed
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large skillet, combine onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, and butter and saute’ until onions are opaque. Add corn, peas and chicken. Add soup and refill can of water. let simmer while you form your crust. I put the crust only on the top of my pie, so you’ll have left over dough. Divide your dough in half and roll flat to fit your 9″ deep dish pie plate. Fill pie dish and cover with your crust. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Serve in bowls
Fall is finally here!! October 18, 2009
If I haven’t mentioned it before, I love Fall. The crisp air, the crunchy leaves, the cool beezes. I love Fall. Here are a couple of my favorite recipes for fall:
Baked Apples;
Core out the apples and stuff them with cinnamon, brown sugar, and red hot candies and butter. Place them in a 350 degree oven and bake for 45 minutes. Take them out and let them cool so you can touch them. Sever with Vanilla ice cream and drizzle with carmel ice cream topping. MMM so Good
this next one sounds so good but I haven’t tried it. I’d love to get feed back on it.
Baked pumpkins
Using small pie pumpkins, cut off the top with handle and set aside. hollow out the inside. Combine 2 T butter, 1/2 t ginger, 1/4 t salt, 1/4 t pepper, 1/4 t cinnamon, 1/4 t onion powder and 1/4 t garlic. stuff the combination into the inside of the pumpkin. Replace the lid to the top of the pumpkin and Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve the whole pumpkin and eat like a baked potato.
The introduction to Come to the Table, my family meal planner/cookbook! October 5, 2009
Hi everyone.
Here is the introduction video for “Come to the Table.” I talk about the purpose behind the meal planner and why it is great for busy moms and families that still appreciate dinner time together. It serves a family of 3 to 6 for 7 weeks with no repeated recipes! Some of the proceeds go to needy families and you can check it out, see a grocery list (they are included for every week) and at least one family recipe at any time.
Video introducing Come to the Table – the family meal planner and cookbook that is designed to get your family to “come to the table:”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktsJqOj2LPk
http://busymomsguidetogreateats.com/
Recipes for newest post Fall Recipes September 8, 2009
Vegetable beef pot roast
1 pkg turkey bacon
2 lbs chuck roast
4 long carrots cut and peeled into 2 inch pieces
1/2 medium sized Walla Walla sweet onion
4 Garden fresh tomatoes (campari tomatoes are great if you didn’t grow your own)
1 orange juiced and peels sliced
2 cups red wine
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 clove garlic minced
salt and pepper
1 cup beef broth
Yukon Gold potatoes or Whole Wheat Pasta
Cube the beef and marinate in a mixture of orange juice, wine, thyme, bayleaf, and garlic for about two hours. In dutch oven or heavy 3 quart pan brown the bacon, letting the juices sit. Remove the bacon. Sautee’ the carrots and onions in the juice until the onions are opaque. Add the beef, sprinkle with salt and pepper and brown on all sides. Strain the marinade and add it to the beef. Add 1 cup of beef broth. Cut the tomatoes in quarters and mix them in with the beef. Cover the pot and put in the oven at 350 dregrees for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Check the liquid periodically to be sure the beef isn’t getting dry. Serve over potatoes or noodles. We use Whole wheat pasta.
This recipe is modified from a great recipe found in Cuisine at Home magazine
Fall Recipes September 8, 2009
I love the Fall, the smell in the air, the cool evenings, and all of the produce from the harvest. This week we are using some of that great produce to round out our meals.
1. Vegetable beef pot roast
2. Stuffed zucchini
3. Crockpot beef and potatoes
4. Sweet Chili Flank Steak salad (from the Come to the Table cookbook)
5. Spaghetti and meatballs (from the Come to the Table cookbook)
6. Stuffed chicken breast (from the Come to the Table cookbook)
See the recipes category for the recipes for the first three entries
Enjoy the harvest. If you haven’t harvested your own, the farmer’s markets are a great way to support your local growers and still get the fresh ingredients you enjoy. Most of the ones around here go unto the end of September.
The meals planned for this week August 18, 2009
Being that it is the last week before school starts for many of us, I wanted to make the most of the last days for Summer vacation for my family. We have been in the garden and recieved vegetables from others so we are using them up. Oh how we love the fresh veggies.
1. Chicken Tacos (lettuce and tomatoes from the garden)
2. Grilled vegetable salad with steak – mix it all together with teriyaki and serve over rice
3. Hamburgers and hot dogs over the camp fire. Homemade marshmallows always go with this treat
4. BBQ chicken pizza
5. leftover night
6. Stuffed grilled zucchini (ground beef, green chilis, cheddar cheese, sourcream)
7. Dutch oven apricot chicken. My family loved this a couple weeks ago and it was easy.
Enjoy your week!
New trick for flakey Pie Crust August 11, 2009
Recently my husband was talking with a client who makes fabulous pie. When asked how she does it, she replied “vodka” instead of water in the crust. We tried it and WoW did that make a difference. The science is that the alcohol evaporated off while baking and the result is a flakey texture. Here is the recipe I use.
2 1/2 c flour
1 cup cold or frozen butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3-6 Tbsp vodka
I mix it all in a food processor, blending until it forms a ball. Then refrigerate the dough for about an hour. When you are ready to use it, split it in half and roll it out like normal.
We loved it, I hope you will too. It is great on Pot pie as well as dessert pies
Family grilling ideas – What our family is eating this week. August 8, 2009
I love when I start the week knowing what I am having for dinner each night. It takes the guess work and pressure off the day. This week our family is using the grill because it is hot. We are having:
1. Whole chicken brined in coke and garlic (chopped and grilled)
2. Grilled vegetable stirfry. (pampered chef makes a great grill basket)
3. Grilled BBQ pizza (I prepare the dough on tin foil and put it on the grill
4. Zucchini Fajita pasta. (we have been given so much zucchinin this year)
5. Leftover night
6. Hamburgers (if there are any grilled vegetables left, I like to put these on the burgers with grilled pineapple)
7. Chili dogs ( chop any unused hamburgers and put it in the chili and let the kids roast the hotdogs)
Summer’s great for the ease of meal planning without the fuss.
Great Recipe for Banana Smoothies August 8, 2009
Why not a banana smoothie? They are healthy, nutritious, and I know my kids would think it a treat if they got it for breakfast. The best one I found is;
2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cap full of orange extact
1 measure of protein powder
1 cup milk
mix it all and blend. You could even add malt extract or heavy cream for a creamier taste and texture.
