Tag: Sunday dinner

Sunday dinner & what intimidates me in the kitchen

2 Comments

If you were to ask me what I would have my mom make me if she could only make me one meal, I would answer without a blink of an eye: Roast chicken with all the fixin’s… “fixin’s” being mashed potato casserole (pretty much the best thing ever), steamed veggies, and loaded stuffing. Really quite simple if you ask me! Just kidding… a roast chicken dinner is a very labor intensive meal, but it is worth every ounce of time put into it.

IMG_5394

With that said, when I looked at the garden care package from my dad and brainstormed what I could do to use up the veggies before the went bad, it came to me: make a roast chicken meal!

IMG_5330

I made my meal just as my mom would, except I bought a roast chicken from Market Basket that was already roasted. I know, I know. Totally a cop-out move, but the truth is, I’m scared to cook a whole roast chicken on my own! Has anyone done that before? They are so big and there are so many “gizzards” that have to come out and how do you know it’s fully cooked?! I could go on and on, but bottom line is that I realized I need to face this silly cooking fear and make a stupid roast chicken start to finish all on my own. I will do it, but maybe when I’m home and can have my parents walk me through it 😉 Baby steps!

Anyway, as I talked with my mom for nearly an hour on Monday, I puttered in the kitchen chopping veggies, peeling and boiling potatoes and preparing the stuffing. The kitchen was an absolute disaster by the time I finished (and I used about every pot, pan and Tupperware container by the end of the night), but it was so worth it once I tried everything!

IMG_5406

IMG_5392

I didn’t measure anything, but here’s a quick run down of what I made and what ingredients I used.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

  • 5 small red potatoes, peeled and boiled until soft
  • about a 1/2 cup of 1% milk (They were out of skim, which is what I usually buy, but 1% has been a nice treat!)
  • 1 tbsp. minced garlic
  • salt, pepper, garlic salt
  • 1 tbsp. margarine

Maple Glazed Steamed Carrots and Parsnips

  • cut carrots and parsnips, steam until soft (or whatever consistency you like your cooked veggies to have)
  • 1 tbsp. butter
  • 2-3 tbsp. maple syrup- I used a pecan maple syrup that my sister brought me back after one of her site visits which was perfect!

Loaded Stuffing

  • 1 package of stuffing mix- cook according to the instructions on the box
  • green peppers & onions- maybe 1/2 cup of each? sautĂ©ed so that they are already cooked when you add them to the boiling water with the dry stuffing mix.
  • 1/4 cup of craisins to add in with the peppers, onions and stuffing mix. Let everything set for 5 minutes.

Serve everything with gravy, because gravy makes everything better 😉

IMG_5396

It’s a shame I live alone because I still have so many leftovers, 3 days later. I have issues with cooking smaller portions sometimes!

Questions for you: What’s a food or meal that intimidates you or makes you nervous to try? If you could have your parents (or anyone) make you one meal, what would it be?

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

6 Comments

So, I teased you yesterday when I posted a picture of the meal I made on Tuesday night, so I figured it was only fair for me to share it with you now! We are in the midst of getting ready to host Amy’s sister, and our dear friend, Sara’s baby shower, so things are likely a bit hectic in our household!

I bought a spaghetti squash last week, but never got around to making anything with it (I made this meal instead.), so I figured this was a great week to use it before it went bad.  Plus, after I’ve been away on a little trip where I’ve eaten out and eaten more indulgent foods and desserts than normal, I always like to “detox” a bit upon my return by eating loads of veggies.  This meal certainly helped to get me back on the right track! Loaded with veggies, chicken breast and some light cheese, you can enjoy a generous portion, guilt-free.

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

051

Ingredients:

  • 1 small-medium spaghetti squash
  • 1/2 cup onion
  • 1/2 cup green pepper
  • 1/2 cup zucchini
  • 1/2 cup summer squash
  • 3/4 cup broccoli
  • 1-2 tsp minced garlic
  • 2-3 thinly sliced chicken breasts, cut up into small cubes
  • 2 tbsp reduced fat cream cheese
  • 2 tbsp goat cheese
  • 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
  • 2 tbsp Italian bread crumbs
  • Oregano
  • Basil
  • Italian Herbs & Seasoning
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 1-2 cups of pasta sauce
  • Little bit of shredded cheese

040

Directions

1. Start a pot for the spaghetti squash (refer to this post for better instructions!) and begin to cut up your veggies. Heat a pan with a little bit of EVOO and add in the onions and minced garlic. Let those soften and cook for about 5 minutes. Next, add in the green peppers and let those cook with the onions for another 2 minutes or so.  Finally, add in the remainder of the veggies. Add in your spices of choice. I like to add in a couple heavy dashes of wine, because well, “wine not” (as my mom says).

0412. When the water is boiling for the spaghetti squash, place it in the pot and boil for 15-30 mins (depending on the size of the spaghetti squash that you get).

3. When the veggies are cooked, remove from the pan and set aside. Cut up your chicken and cook it in the same pan you cooked the veggies in.

0444. Once the spaghetti squash is cooked, remove, let cool and use a fork to get the “spaghetti” out. Once the chicken is cooked, add it to the veggies and mix together. Add in the cheeses, bread crumbs, 1 tbsp or oregano and 1 tbsp of Italian Herbs & Seasoning and a few dashes of basil. Stir well to ensure that the cream cheese and goat cheese melt. Add in 1-2 cups of sauce and place mixture into a baking dish. Top with cheese and bake for 20 mins at 375*. I broiled mine at the end to get that nice, crispy topping.

045

046Get a bowl, serve yourself a nice heaping of this, and add some extra sauce on the side if you need more (I always need more sauce).

049Voila! here you go. This meal did take some time, but it was worth it. My sister came home from travel and had some and was raving about it! I think this would also freeze well, so if you made a big batch, you could have some for later.

Questions for you: Do you feel like you need a “detox” when you get home from a trip? What’s your favorite healthy meal to make or eat? I love Life Alive if I’m not cooking:)

Boston Has My Heart.

3 Comments

**edited to add- As I posted on Facebook yesterday, I had this post all ready to go up yesterday, but after Monday’s horrific events in Boston, I just couldn’t do it. I wasn’t sure what to say or how to say it, so I ended up doing my best to avoid social media all together. I realize for most people, this was a source of comfort and way to express emotions and connect, but I really just had to step away for some time. To all my readers out there, I hope everyone is safe and that your friends and family are safe as well. The texts, emails and phone calls I received to make sure I was safe were overwhelming. I was, and am, safe and am fortunate that all of my friends who were at the marathon are safe as well. Boston is the strongest city around, so I know we will overcome this.

marathon

————————————-

I’m not the best with words or transitions, and am not even really sure how to segway into my original post, but here goes nothing…

Hey everyone! How’s it going? I swear the birthday talk and posts are almost done:) Even though I nursed an awful headache all morning, I pulled myself together to go out for a birthday lunch. I had really wanted to go to Local 149 in Southie, but since I knew my patience was low, I opted to avoid the parking and probable lines and suggested that we go to Not Your Average Joe’s right near us in Medford. The greasy food and fountain soda did the trick. I felt a million times better not long after we got there!

036

Yes, all 3 of those drinks are mine. I needed a lot of liquid and wasn’t sure what was going to do the trick so I went for a variety: booze, soda, water. The Diet Pepsi did the trick! My sister’s recent hangover cure is a milkshake, so we swung through McDonald’s after lunch and I just had to get myself a sundae! I’ll tell ya, I felt human again after these! So much so, that I was able to come home, pick up around the house and clean my room! boom! Take that, hangover;)

I got a pleasant interruption midway through the afternoon. MORE birthday flowers… AND chocolate covered strawberries. I am a lucky girl!

037

Rachel stopped by a little while later and it was fun catching up, hashing & rehashing, and playing with Millie (her sweet pup!).

After Rachel left, I started to make a healthy dinner to try to redeem my not so healthy lunch (I don’t regret any of it, though! It was just what the doctor ordered.). I stocked up on a bunch of veggies at the grocery store because I was not sure what I was going to be in the mood to make on Sunday night. I took my mom’s tip and sautĂ©ed up a huge batch of veggies (EVOO, wine, garlic, seasonings) to have handy for the week. I also had a few chicken sausage links leftover from when I made my Chicken Sausage & Veggie Sauce Spaghetti Meal, so I also cooked up some of those. To accompany the chicken sausage and veggies, I made a batch of quinoa/brown rice blend (love this stuff!).

I probably cooked about 3/4 cup of each veggie, few dashes of wine and garlic, and a few shakes of different herbs/seasonings and let everything simmer for about 30 minutes on med/low heat.

038

039When the veggies were about halfway done, I started my quinoa and chicken sausage.

040

041Once everything was cooked, I placed some veggies in a bowl, topped with chicken sausage and goat cheese and gave myself a serving of quinoa. I wasn’t sure what to use for a sauce for the veggies and chicken sausage, but out of sheer laziness, I settled on using a little marinara sauce which was actually a pretty good idea!

043

045Yum! This meal was so warm and comforting. And it was really very easy! I packed up all the leftovers and am excited to have a bunch of nice veggies and quinoa handy for meals throughout the week. If any of you have any ideas/suggestions for how I can use these in a meal this week, please share! I also have a sweet potato that I want to do something with, too, as well as a spaghetti squash. So many options!

Questions for you: What was a memorable meal from the weekend? Do you like to “stock up” on foods so you can have quick and easy meals during the week?