Take Them a Meal - Like Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas!

We have a new baby in our church family and last night J and I delivered the new parents a meal. I've written about the importance of and tips for meal delivery before, but since having a child of our own, this has become a real passion for me. Y'all, look around yourself and search for the new parents and offer them a meal. I promise you, "it takes a village" means more than helping raise a baby, it means making sure the harried parents are actually eating and eating more than just Easy Mac. The same goes for families in mourning, dealing with extended illness, or otherwise in crisis. 

I don't know this family very well (yet?), so we're just bringing dinner and sides tonight, but meal delivery can be so much more, especially if it's someone you're close to. As I mentioned in my previous post, after the birth of my niece we provided a few dinners, some breakfast items, snacks and all the fixins to make my in-laws' lives easier. 

It doesn't have to be a great production. Feeding people, I believe is my love language; I take so much pleasure in knowing that my hands produced something that will nourish their bodies, and maybe their souls. But just thinking about a person or family in need can be the thing that helps them keep their head above water. And those little extras are especially useful. 

How does that proverb go? Bring a mom a casserole and she'll have dinner for a single night. But bring her a casserole, some frozen pizzas, a pint of ice cream, a tub of cookie dough, freezable muffins, and a Stouffers lasagna and she'll actually retain her sanity during the first newborn sleep regression or bout of colic or postpartum hell. 


Let's go over a couple really easy tips to make meal delivery better for everyone:

 
• Use recyclable or cheapo plastic containers. New mamas have zero time or brain cells to spend on remembering whose Pyrex is whose. 
• Include idiot-proof instructions for reheating etc. Again, the brains of folks in are almost worthless at this point. 
• Include all the working parts for your meal. If you're bringing bagged salad with your spaghetti, grab a bottle of dressing. If you're bringing frozen waffles, bring syrup, too. Who knows the last time they hit the store. 
• And if you know they're going through a particularly trying time, with lots of visitors and little time (or money) for shopping, consider including a pack of paper towels, plates or plastic cutlery. 
  
• If you're organizing repeated meals with a group, use a planning service like Take Them a Meal, where you can include specific instructions (address, preferred delivery time, dietary needs) and each volunteer picks their "shifts" and logs what they're bringing. Please don't bring 10 broccoli casseroles in a row. They aren't a sponsor of my blog, but I can't sing the praises of Take Them a Meal enough; it's a great help to the volunteers and the family expecting dinner. 

So we showered little Eli with some love and offered his parents a chance to sit down and eat a real meal. I'm used one of my favorite recipes, which is perfect for meal delivery and freezer friendly (so you could benefit, too!). 

For some reason, as a single twenty-something, I was subscribed to a Pillsbury mailing list for coupons and recipes (probably why I resemble the Doughboy a little more now). I found this chicken enchilada recipe way back when and realized, even when I was cooking for one, that it was a find. 

It's relatively inexpensive and the prep takes less than 20 minutes. It's so easy to prepare, I could probably stop pulling the recipe out. You make an enchilada sauce from the soup, sour cream, chilies and cumin; then mix in the chicken and cheese; roll your enchiladas and top with sauce. Since all of the ingredients are fully cooked, you only need to heat through and melt the cheese and it's done! 

I love this recipe because it allows me to be thrifty with my ingredients and really plan ahead. You know I love to pinch a penny and we try to be especially economical with meat. Your local supermarket deli likely reduces rotisserie chickens at the end of the day,  at our Walmart you can sometimes snag them for less than $3; or whenever you make "basic" chicken - like grilled or even fried chicken, without a lot of sauce or bold flavorings - you can shred/chop those leftovers and freeze in 2 cup portions. Having chicken on hand is perfect for soups, chicken salad, or enchiladas! 

And these enchiladas are HUGE and hearty. If I'm delivering a meal for 3+ family members, I usually buy the aluminum 8x8" pans with lids ($1 for two!) and it's a legit struggle to fit eight enchiladas in there. What I like to do at home is use my 8X4" narrow pans and make two packs of four enchiladas. This way, we have dinner tonight and a freezer pack for whenever we, or someone else, needs it. The small packs are perfect for little families, so having a couple of these waiting in the deep freeze is very convenient. And they do freeze beautifully. 

Since everything is fully cooked, you don't necessarily need to par-bake the dish (but you could, just for 15 minutes or so), then wrap thoroughly in foil. To prepare, thaw in the fridge the night before and then bake until hot (which does take a little bit longer than when everything's room temp). And for the love of Pete - WRITE THESE DIRECTIONS ON ALL YOUR FROZEN FOODS. 1. You'll know what the eff those stacked up aluminum pans are filled with and 2. you (or whomever you deliver them to; fresh or frozen) will know how to reheat. This is incredibly obvious and a total pain if you forget to do it...like I do ALL.THE.TIME. 

Courtesy of Pillsbury.com 

Even if you aren't planning a meal delivery and could care less about deep freeze meal prep, this is a great in-the-moment meal. The enchiladas feed a crowd, they're really flavorful - you really get the cumin and the chilies, and you can dress them up as much as you like with salsa, sour cream, guac etc. 

I like to serve mine with what my Venezuelan friend calls "Mexican salad" (now that's a sociology project for sure). It's greens and cucumbers topped with canned whole kernel corn, canned black beans (rinsed and drained), cheese, and crushed tortilla chips. For the dressing you mix a taco seasoning packet into ranch dressing. We're talking Taco Bell level of culinary accuracy, but it's so good. Who could turn down "fiesta ranch?" 

But in all seriousness, take a minute this week as you meal plan to see if anyone in your circle is hurting, stressed, totally drained or just in need of a night off from the stove. And offer to bring them a meal. Or a pie. Or a drop off a gift card to a local pizza joint. Your small amount of effort will make a huge impact on their life and show them how much you truly care. 

Life-saving Meals: Homemade Frozen Food for the Sick, Shut-in and Overwhelmed

Last week, we welcomed the newest member of our family to the world. Miss Zayleigh, our niece, was born on July 11 and both her and momma are feeling great.

Amanda, Zayleigh and Jordan

But despite her having all her fingers and toes and being quite possibly the calmest, quietest little bundle of joy I've ever seen, we knew her parents were in for a long, exhausting week. And as we discovered while planning our wedding, when you're stressed and tired, the first thing you feel like giving up on is cooking good meals. We certainly ate our fill of take-out, pre-packaged junk in the lead up to our wedding (six months ago, already!?!). So, J and I took a few hours and less than $30 to make a bundle of goodies for the family to eat.

Food gifts can be such a blessing to a family in need. As Deacons at our church, we're constantly asking folks undergoing surgery, loss or hardship if we can set up meal deliveries. And while any donation of food is a great gift, by saving money and time; home cooked meals that the recipients can eat on their own schedule, without guests, are so important.

Our menu for the new parents included:

• French toast sticks (with syrup)
• Mexican black bean casserole
• Spinach lasagna roll ups (with breadsticks)
• Homemade sloppy joe mix (with french fries)
• Millionaire pie 

All of these recipes were simple, relatively inexpensive (including the sides or "add ons") and will be delicious, wholesome meals for their family.

And a hidden benefit of delivering frozen meals, is that most recipes are for two whole portions or are easily doubled. So, if you know you'll have a need for some heat-and-eat meals in the future (for yourselves or others) you can easily make a dish for dinner and have the second portion frozen for later. This is great if you know of someone who will be having surgery soon, has a baby due in the near future or you're preparing for a busy back-to-school month or the beginning of sports season.

Because of the ease of making several portions to freeze at once, we love to cook freezer-friendly meals throughout the year and keep extra portions on hand. For ideas on other freezer meals, click here or visit the "freezer-friendly" label to the right. 

I'll be sharing more on the dishes we made this week (especially my mom's millionaire pie recipe) but for now, I want to share some food delivery tips and dish on the delicious french toast sticks.

Here are some tips for when you prepare and take meals to someone in need:

• All but the french toast sticks were self contained in aluminum foil pans with plastic wrap or foil. It's important to try to limit the dish washing for your recipients; and that age old argument of "Where's that casserole dish I loaned you? You never gave it back!" It's even thoughtful to include a pack of disposable plates, cutlery and napkins in your delivery. 
• All of the dishes we prepared take little more than refrigerator thawing and reheating (except for the pie; nothing to do but eat it!). I think bringing things they can cook on their own schedule is important. They won't feel like they have to eat with or in front of you while you visit and if they have a new baby, for example, their meal schedule may be all out of whack. Bring things that give them some ownership over their meals, and will help make their houses smell good - the French toast certainly does!
• Include precise directions, written on the package, if possible. I wrote any thawing and prep instructions on the pan lids or bags with permanent markers. 
• Plan ahead. For your sanity, and theirs, plan ahead. Make sure you know of any allergies and if you're part of a meal delivery group, communicate - so the family doesn't get five lasagnas in a row. I remember when we've had meals delivered to our family, usually after a death; it's a sweet, but monotonous train of casseroles. Talk with your fellow meal-makers and schedule some variety. 
• This may also be a veering away from one-pot casseroles, but think about the whole meal experience for the family. Try to include sides or add-ons that the family would enjoy with the meal but might not have on hand. And again, try to branch out - step away from bagged salad and cookie dough. 

Now on to the French toast.

I love French toast, but we rarely eat it at home because 1. we rarely have a lot of bread readily available, and 2. y'all already know that I hate mornings and I especially hate cooking in the morning. But this solves all of my problems.

First, French toast can be made with almost any bread and one of the tips of this recipe is to save your bread ends, leftover hot dog buns (why 10 buns but only 8 dogs?!?!) etc. in the freezer and then make French toast sticks when you've saved enough. Also, discount bread is pretty easy to find. Our Wal Mart has a "old bread" cart in the bakery for the discounted goodies that are a few days past their prime. I was able to score two huge loaves of fluffy French bread (so this is French French toast, thank you) for only 70 cents each! And a local bakery has a "happy hour" on their last work day where everything's half-priced. That's inexpensive, locally sourced bread! Win!

Secondly, these sticks don't require any thawing time and can be popped straight from the freezer into the oven and cooked in around 15 minutes. So, if you throw them in the oven, you'd have time to get ready while they cooked on their own. And, because I miscalculated my snooze button again (don't tell J), I was able to do a test; turns out they travel well too! I put them in a tupperware, drizzled on the syrup and ate them on the road - no more dangerous than a McMuffin (but more flavorful and budget friendly).

Too often, I think French toast can be soggy, flaccid sticks that soak up syrup like a sponge and aren't of a particularly pleasing texture. But with the crunchy cereal coating(and the crust of the bread I used), these sticks are crispy and stand up to the syrup. I used our Ninja food processor to pulse the cereal to get some very fine pieces and some larger chunks; you can customize your crunch-level with how finely you grind the coating.

The flavor is pretty classic, warm cinnamon and vanilla pair so well with fluffy bread and syrup. It reminds me of being a kid and waking up on a Saturday morning to someone already cooking. If only I could watch cartoons at work. And you could really go anywhere in customizing the flavor, too. Adding some pumpkin pie spice or cloves and nutmeg would make this even more autumnal. Or you can use different cereals. I ran out of cornflakes in my second batch, so I used crushed rice Chex and Special K honey and granola. I recommend straying away from the super-sweet cereals, or pairing them with a more simple flavor, since you're bound to douse this in syrup anyway.

I've really enjoyed these sticks for an elaborate-feeling, but utterly easy breakfast; and hope you do too! I know a little momma who claims they're a "life saver"!

Freezer-Friendly French Toast Sticks
Adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients: (Note: I did a recipe-and-a-half to do a whole loaf of French bread)

6 slices day old bread (ideally in thick slices)
4 eggs
1 c milk (any kind - I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
2 T sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 - 1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 c+ ground cornflakes (or other cereals), plus more as needed

Method:

Cut each piece of bread into thirds to make sticks.

In a large casserole dish, whisk eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon until well mixed. Place bread in the dish and allow to rest for 45-60 seconds. Flip the bread to coat other side.

Dip each piece into crushed cereal, coating all sides.

Place on large greased baking sheet. When completed, place baking sheet into the freezer for at least 45 minutes or until bread is firm and partially frozen. Transfer to a labeled freezer bag or airtight container in the freezer. (I would suggest using within 2-3 months to avoid freezer burn.)

To prepare frozen sticks:

Preheat oven to 425. Place desired amount of sticks on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for approximately 8 minutes, flip and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until golden brown and hot.

Serve with powdered sugar, syrup and/or sliced fruit.

Quarter-Cookout-Crisis

We both love sweets - especially ice cream and milkshakes - and we knew that Cookout coming to town would be a major hit! Last summer, Sonic tried some funky shakes (like peanut butter and bacon) that we reviewed but we knew their uniqueness would be short-lived when the Greensboro chain opened. And as we predicted, everyone's been blown away by their cheap prices, zippy service and delicious milkshakes.

I've heard so many people who have their favorite - the most popular fave in my crowd is the banana pudding shake - but I doubt everyone's trying a lot of them. I know that I can get stuck in a (delicious) rut where I find something I like and prefer to not try anything else, and J is certainly that way. He thinks he's really stepping outside the box when he changes up his peanut butter fudge shake to a Reese's cup order.

So looking at the mega list of shake options (too big for one screenshot), I was quite disappointed to realize that I'd tried less than a quarter of them!

Thus far, I've tried the banana pudding (due to excessive peer pressure), chocolate malt, mocha, pineapple, watermelon, peach cobbler, banana nut, banana fudge and sips of J's various, trusty peanut butter and chocolate combos. That leaves at least 20-odd shakes left to try! So by the last day of summer - exactly 26 weeks from now - I want to have tried all of them (except egg nog,I'll have to wait until Christmastime). I'm pretty sure I can handle the difficult undertaking of one milkshake a week for two seasons! 

I think I've got some good flavors in store for me. So far, in my limited shake research, I've only had one Cookout shake that didn't wow me. The peach cobbler one, was just... odd. Let me preface this by saying my one never-fail, signature dessert is scratch-made peach cobbler. I can throw one together in less than 15 minutes and it's delicious and beautiful. So to suck a deconstructed cobbler through a straw is nothing short of disorienting. The flavor was great, but having chunks of pie crust (the best part of a pie) in a shake is just weird. 

I'm a little leery of the chocolate chip mint shake - the only choco mint combo I've ever enjoyed is Andes mints, egg nog - which I think has the texture of mucus, and Hi-C - which is just weird; but I'm willing to bet they'll be delicious. I was terrified of the watermelon shake but it turned out to be a favorite!

 If you've never had it, be sure to get your tail to the nearest Cookout come July 1. Don't worry, it's not an artificially flavored watermelon shake because yes, that'd be disgusting and was what I was afraid of. Instead, like all their shakes (or so I like to think) there's some nutritional value because they use real fruit. Tiny chunks of watermelon are mixed into vanilla ice cream and it's the most fabulous flavor and texture. The watermelon pieces are so small and obviously so water-dense that the liquid within the cubes actually semi-freezes giving a great crunch and burst of sweet, cold watermelon juice. I look forward to watermelon milkshake season every year, but again, I am so blessed to be in love with a talented chef who's figured out how to duplicate the recipe. And yes, it was one of the many ways he wooed me, long ago. And I'm going to share the recipe with you here! 

But first, let me give you some extra suggestions for your milkshake fest:

• Give the chocolate malt a try - it's all the great flavor of Whoppers candy, without that horrible biting-on-styrofoam texture
• If it says "fudge" go for it, it's wonderful, thick hot fudge that goes with everything
• The pineapple shake is a winner - it's like a third of a sundae with finely crushed pineapple. A subtle flavor but with the signature sweet and tartness of a pineapple.
• It's not technically a milkshake but be sure to try the Cheerwine float. Cheerwine is a Southern-exclusive cherry soda which they pour over a soft-serve vanilla ice cream. It puts a Coke float to shame. 

I'll be sharing updates on my flavor-fest on our Facebook page. Follow us here!

Jordan's Cookout Fake-Out Watermelon Milkshake

Ingredients:

1 c milk

1 1/2 c frozen watermelon

1 1/2 t sugar

Method:

Beforehand, cut watermelon into manageable cubes (2"). Place on wax paper-lined baking sheet in freezer until just frozen firm. 

Mix all ingredients in blender. If wooing someone, garnish with a pretty watermelon chunk. 

Gold Medal Meal -- Traditional Russian Dishes

As a new challenge we decided to make a meal based around the winners of the Sochi Winter Olympics - most gold and most medals.

And that means we'd be making Russian and American meals. The rules were - in case the US was a finalist - we had to make dishes we'd never made before and that were, in some way, authentic - from either cookbooks or "native" food blogs. For our American meal we're planning on using my new cookbook, Martha's American Food and we'll make our patriotic feast after we return from our honeymoon, to fittingly, Washington, DC.

This past weekend, we made a huge Russian spread and had my parents over to share.I did a lot of research with food blogs, an exciting Olympic-themed Buzzfeed article and an article from NPR. The hardest part of the meal was that I seriously struggled picking just a few dishes to try! Through this, I learned about a few trends in Russian cooking:

• Sturdy, root vegetables - potatoes, beets, turnips, carrots, radishes - are a big part of their cuisine. Id' imagine they handle the cold winter weather much better than other, more tender veggies. 
• Pickling of these veggies is also very prevalent, and also related to extending their shelf life. 
• They love to use mayonnaise in creamy salads and sauces. Apparently, Russian mayo tastes differently than our American style (but I used our Southern classic, Dukes)
• Seeds, like poppy seeds and carroway seeds, are very popular and used in most breads and many cakes. 
• The Russians love their sweets! Desserts were the most popular types of dishes I could find and were all super sweet! They used sweetened condensed milk, lots of sugar and honey. I have bookmarked several other cakes I want to try soon! 
• The food - and there's a lot of it made for meals and parties - is relatively inexpensive. We made our huge meal that would have easily fed six adults (with leftovers) cost less than $30 to prepare. 

Each of the dishes originally seemed very exotic and were combinations we'd normally have never tried - but turned out beautifully! We made six dishes that covered a wide variety of flavors and textures. Sharing all of the recipes would result in the world's longest blog post ever, so I'll just give you links to each of them with descriptions and any suggestions.

Golubtsi (stuffed cabbage rolls)

This dish is exceptional but beyond time consuming. It may take forever, but is totally worth it. I worried that there wasn't enough flavor infused into the dish or it was lacking enough sauce (only 3/4 a cup!) but it was incredibly flavorful. The mix of meats made for a great flavor, the sauce added just enough bold tomato-ness and the texture was great. And while all of the dishes made ample portions, this one was extraordinarily huge - we fed four of us each four rolls and had leftovers for three lunch servings and three freezer portions! This is going in the "freezer friendly" portion of my recipe scrapbook and I hope to make it every so often to stock up.

Russian Cucumber and Radish Salad 

This dish was impossibly simple to make and full of fragrant flavors. The green onion, parsley and dill gave it a very herbaceous flavor that paired nicely with the sour cream. And I was surprised to see how flavorful cucumbers could be and how mild the radishes were - normally cucumbers are really delicate and radishes are overpoweringly spicy but these almost changed in the salad. Adding just enough salt really blooms the flavor, too - but be sure to serve it immediately or the salt will bring out the water in the cucumbers.

Carrot Salad with Walnuts and Garlic 

I thought this dish was the most out in left field. Carrots are often in salad, walnuts are often in salad and mayonnaise is often in salad dressing - however, to have a salad compromised of only these ingredients, plus garlic (WHAT?!) sounded like a sure fire "oh, that was a fun idea; glad it didn't cost too much" dish. But it was so good! The carrots were crisp and their sweetness paired nicely with the large garlic. It was fresh and springy and very lightly dressed. I will be making this again for sure.

Buttery Potatoes with Garlic and Herbs

Another trend in Russian food - lots of herbs and spices - these potatoes were simply made, boiled and then crisped up in butter and olive oil and tossed with a bunch of herbs and spices. I don't find these to taste all that foreign or exotic, and they would go with almost any meal. 

Sweet Piroshki

I'm terrified of working with dry yeast - so this was J's project. This recipe - like the golubtsi - made a TON. Piroshki is a stuffed roll, and you can make it in either a sweet variety with apples (as we did) or savory with a braised beef and cabbage filling. Again like the golubtsi, this dish took forever too but was delicious. The folding of the rolls is complicated but they could withstand more filling and I would change the apple filling to be sweeter or more flavorful - adding cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. Otherwise, when cooled they taste only like a yeast roll. 

Chocolate Salami 

This was my favorite dish of the entire night! Apparently this a staple in Slavic households and is always around for snacktime and I can see why. It was incredibly simple, only four ingredients and I could eat this for days. It is like a mix of fudge and cookie dough. J is really paranoid about cookie dough or cake batter or anything that delicious but also contains raw eggs, so this is a great alternative. It makes four salami and they're delicious in either the fridge or the freezer. My new goal is to make an entire chocolate charcuterie plate! 

I suggest you try some of these dishes and find your own new cuisines to explore! And stay tuned for our American feast. 

Super Bowl 48 Snack-o-rama

I can remember watching the Super Bowl with my parents - dad, mostly - and betting 25 cents since I was five years old. I was only be interested in my bet and the Oscar Meyer weinermobile commercials, but in addition to the commercials and coins, I now almost understand the game, can appreciate the adorableness of the Manning brothers and most importantly, enjoy and prepare delicious game day food with my family.

Tonight, we had a super flavorful spread with old favorites and new, luxurious recipes. As usual, our minds and eyes were bigger than our bellies and we didn't even bother to complete the full menu after the first quarter but it was all delicious.

Jordan and I each contributed a slider. Jordan made his Mamaw's meatballs and sandwiched them on garlic butter toasted sweet Kings Hawaiian rolls with colby cheese squares. These meatballs - which are made with a top-secret recipe that has not yet been declassified for the blog - are hearty but with a sweet, onion sauce.Unlike a traditional meatball sub made with marinara, these sliders are sweet and tender that just make you wanting more. He used to make these into giant, entree-sized meatballs that we'd eat with sides like mashed potatoes or carrots. But we've found they make the perfect sandwich and are incredibly freezer-friendly.

I love wings and in recent months have had an insatiable hunger for bleu cheese and my buffalo'd chicken panini was a great take on the bar classic of wings and dressing. This was a quick dish that would be great for any game day or weeknight dinner and could be made with leftover chicken (a single $5 rotisserie chicken can provide a number of meal options if you plan your week carefully). Also, you can take this dish to several levels of diy. Originally, I would buy a refrigerated bread dough (like Pillsbury's French crusty loaf), cut it into eight chunks and roll them into flat rectangles, I would then grill them on my Cuisinart grill/griddle which results in a great, crusty, crunchy panini. However, to save time and to tone down the spiciness of the buffalo sauce, I opted for Kings Hawaiian mini sub rolls. This sandwich brings the best flavors of buffalo wings but it a whole lot less messy - and you don't have to eat a dozen to be satisfied. Recipe below!

Dad made crowd pleasing mini pigs in a blanket - no Southern party is complete without lil' smokies or crescent dough - and improvised turkey and Italian cheese pinwheels (more crescent dough); a delicious layered salad - another timeless Southern potluck dish (recipe below)- and for a healthy respite, some crudite and a creamy riff on guacamole. 

He also surprised us with a decadent lobster mac 'n' cheese. We're all mac lovers and none of us frequently eats lobster (we are six to nine hours from an ocean) so this was a real treat. Dad said it best, by saying "it's no longer macaroni and cheese." It was undeniably delicious but didn't resemble the childhood favorite, but was do deeply infused with crustacean it had become a new dish entirely. We've enjoyed it and checked it off of our food bucket lists. 

Lobstah Mac in the small dish; Mom demanded her own crustacean-free dish, too

And Jordan finished off our smorgasbord with his super easy and even more delicious dessert that I simply call " Oreo fluff." Fluff is a layered whipped cream and chocolate wafer cookie dessert with only 3-4 ingredients but tastes as good as any homemade cake or pie. This is a great dish to have your kids help with, to make in bulk for potlucks or in ramekins for individual servings. Every time we take it to church, our fellow parishioners all but lick the bowl! Recipe below!

Maybe next year we'll try the Mario Batali strategy - making two themed dishes per team and alternating them during each quarter, then he serves a dessert he prepared based upon his guess of which team would win. This spaces out the snacks and adds a little more order to the food fest - but then again, it's not a Super Bowl party without copious quantities of classic "unaffiliated" tailgating food. Whatever the plan - we'll report to you here at Endlessly Delicious Life.

Preliminary conclusion (11:34 left in the 4th quarter): Check out the trio of recipes below - and I promise that they're more dynamic than tonight's game. Well, actually, they are runaway successes too. Obviously, I put my quarter on Seattle.

Buffalo'd Chicken Panini

Ingredients: 

2 c cooked shredded chicken (I boiled mine in salted water for 45 minutes)
1/2 c mild to medium buffalo sauce (add melted butter as needed to tone down, I added around 2 T)
4 buns or rolls (or grilled dough method from above)
1/4 small red onion, sliced
1/3 c bleu cheese crumbles

Method:

Heat buffalo sauce (and butter, if added) on low until hot. Stir in chicken, heat until hot.

Spoon chicken mixture onto buns, layer red onions and sprinkle with cheese.

Press on a hot grill until heated through and cheese is melted. Serve with extra ranch or bleu cheese dressing if desired.

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"Seven" Layer Salad - (technically, the toppings - cheeses/bacon - count as one item)

Ingredients*: *in "layer" quantities - they depend upon your bowl size

shredded iceberg lettuce
peeled, sliced cucumber
thinly sliced sweet onion (ex: Vidalia)
chopped boiled ham (or ham lunchmeat)
frozen baby peas
mayonnaise
grated Parmesan cheese
crumbled bacon
shredded cheddar cheese

Method:

Simple - layer the items (lettuce first) in your dish. Use a clear, deep bowl for a beautiful presentation.

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Oreo Fluff

Ingredients:

1 - 1 1/2 packs of chocolate wafer cookies (you can use double stuff, vanilla or chocolate cream), crumbled
32 oz. whipped cream, thawed
approx. 1/2 c milk
chocolate syrup (optional)

Method:

Cove the bottom of your dish with a layer of crumbled cookies - the thicker your cookie layer the more cake-like consistency you'll have. Carefully pour just enough milk on the cookies to dampen them slightly. For chocolate lovers - add a drizzle of chocolate syrup on top. Next, layer whipped cream. Repeat to finish with cookie crumbles on top. Chill at least a few hours. The longer you leave it in the fridge the softer it becomes - it just gets better!

Skinny Baked Potato Soup

This recipe combines (at least) two of my favorite things: full-flavor soups with a healthier twist and freezer-friendly meals.

Both of these themes tie in well with this week's events. We're getting married in seven days (!!) and thus have been so busy that finding time to cook has been nearly impossible; and yet, for our bodies' sakes we need to take it easy on the fast food and eating-on-the go.

I was originally drawn to this dish because I love cauliflower and experimenting with it. It has such a wonderful texture and such a mild flavor that you can dress it up with almost anything you'd like, and make it taste decadent without compromising your figure. And in this recipe, you do just that. This soup is creamy and thick with all the flavor and wonderfully smooth texture of a loaded baked potato soup - and yet there's almost equal parts cauliflower to potato and not a drop of cream. With the right toppings, this meal could be not just meatless, but vegan! And before toppings, this soup is only 137 calories per serving (of which it makes ten).

This six-ingredient recipe (not including oil)  is incredibly inexpensive considering it makes ten servings - even assuming you keep nothing on hand other than oil or salt, it'd be less than $1/serving. I usually make a big pot on the weekend and serve us each a bowl for dinner and then freeze around three quarts of it for later.

I love freezer meals because they theoretically allow you to spend time cooking when you have it and then merely have to reheat a meal later when you're short on time. Admittedly, some frozen meals aren't worth the trouble - you have to thaw them days in advance, cover with foil, cook at this temperature then rotate and do "finishing" steps with crusts etc. But this soup is truly a breeze. I usually pull it from the freezer the morning I intend to serve it for dinner and leave it in the fridge. That evening, all I have to do is dump it in a pot and reheat. I also include a quick re-blending in the food processor or with the immersion blender just to make sure all of the ice crystals are broken up uniformly.

And as for the toppings - add anything you'd normally put on a loaded baked potato or cream of potato soup. I usually opt for a generous swirl of Cholula hot sauce, green onions and cheddar cheese; and bacon crumbles if we have them on hand (duh!). It would also be delicious with a little chili on top and some corn chips or by itself, too. And any little crunchy add on - like croutons, creates a dynamic texture. It's truly a blank canvas - it has rich, simple flavors like mashed potatoes, but could be built upon in any direction you'd like to venture.

If you're looking for a comfort food that won't spoil your new year's resolutions, an awesome alternative appetizer for your Super Bowl party or a great time saver for the work-week dinners, give this recipe a try. It's a winner.

Skinny Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

1 large stalk celery with leaves, roughly chopped

1 large clove garlic, minced

1/2 large head of cauliflower (6-8 c), stem removed and roughly chopped 

6 c starchy potatoes (like russets) peeled, roughly chopped (same size as cauliflower chunks)

5 c vegetable or chicken stock

1 1/4 t salt (more to taste)

Method:

In a large pot heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and lower heat slightly. Saute 5-6 minutes or until softened, but not fully transparent. Add celery and continue to cook for a few minutes until celery is softened. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. 

Add the cauliflower, potatoes and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes until potatoes and cauliflower are fork-tender. 

Remove from heat and cool slightly if using a blender. Use blender or immersion blender to blend the soup until as smooth as possible. You can add water or stock to thin out your soup as needed. 

Serve hot with loaded potato toppings like chives, green onions, cheese or bacon crumbles. 

Freezer-Friendly Food Frenzy

We run around more than those people with kids you always hear about; you know, the ones who are members of the PTO, Rotary Club and the church deacon board and they have three kids who each play in at least two seasonal travel leagues and are learning piano from the old lady across town. Every weeknight has a plan - an exercise class, church small group, or family time. Which leaves very little time to prepare nutritious, not to mention tasty, meals at home.

I'm tired of eating out and so is my wallet. So I've decided to take on the challenge of freezing easily reheated or crock pot friendly dinners, desserts and sides. I know casseroles are a cinch to freeze and maintain their yumminess, so this weekend I made three mini chicken casseroles from an old family recipe. This recipe is tried and true, so I have very little worries about it being a successful project.

I did however, try a new freezer-friendly recipe for apple crumble adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties which I found on Pinterest (my foe!). I made two of the 8x8" square tin pans of it on Sunday and we just sampled it tonight. And it was delicious, I only want to make one minor change for our taste buds (I'll note the original and change) and I will share it below.

I know some families who do the once a month cooking thing (where you dedicate one weekend to shopping, cooking and freezing a month's worth of meals). I'm not sure we're there yet and I don't know that I want to be. However, I do want us to have a wide variety (maybe just not a month-wide) of quick foodstuffs at the ready for these hectic nights, but also when extra guests come over or we forget about a church function or potluck and don't have time to start from scratch.

With that being said, I'm looking for recipes that are easily frozen and reheated, but that maintain their deliciousness and the integrity of the dish. What good are frozen burritos if they have the texture of wet socks? So I'm wanting to know if you freeze your food and what are your favorite (and least favorite) items to freeze? We are certainly open to suggestions!

Now on to the apple crumble...

Ingredients
- 5 lbs of apples; cored, peeled and sliced into chunks (I used Gala apples but, McIntosh, Granny Smith    and Honeycrisp are great cooking apples too)
- grated zest of 1 orange (this was WAY too much for me, I'd drop it by 1/2)
- grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2 T fresh squeezed orange juice
- 2 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 c granulated sugar
- 2 t ground cinnamon
- 1 t ground nutmeg

For the topping:
- 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
- 3/4 c granulated sugar
- 3/4 c light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 t kosher salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter; cold and cut into cubes

Method

Preheat oven to 350 if you do not plan to freeze it. Butter dish(es).

Combine the apples, zests, sugar and spices into a large bowl. Toss to cover completely and spread the spices. Pour into dish(es).

To combine topping, combine flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (I used two standard, non-paddle beaters and it worked fine). Mix on low until mixture is crumbly and the butter is the size of peas (be patient this takes 5-7 minutes if your butter is really cold). Scatter evenly over apples. It will look like way too much crumble, but it's the best part after cooking, so load it up.

If eating right away: place crisp on sheet pan and bake for 1 hour until top is brown and apples are bubbly. If it begins to brown too much, cover with tin foil. Serve warm with ice cream.

If freezing: do not cook beforehand. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, label and date and freeze. When ready to cook, pull straight from freezer and follow traditional instructions.

Serves 10 (Can use 9x2x13 pan, two 8x8, or more smaller containers - I want more, smaller servings)