A (fairly new) Family Favorite: Stuffed Chicken Breasts

As Kelly Kapoor would say, these are "a-MAZ-ing!" This is one of our favorite meals... it seems very gourmet and combines some different-than-normal (for us at least) flavors, and gives us some variety while still using fairly basic and easy-to-find ingredients.

STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS

1. Pound out and flatten chicken breasts.
2. Combine the following: 4 oz. goat cheese (or other flavorful soft white cheese), 4 oz. cream cheese, chopped garlic cloves (as many as you like-- it calls for one but I usually do 2 or 3 fat cloves), 1-2 Tbsp Rosemary or Thyme (depending on how much you like those flavors), and salt and pepper (about 1/4 tsp. each).
3. Roll into log rolls and roll the chicken breasts around the rolls, and place in greased dish, seam down.
4. In same bowl as remaining filling, add and mix in the following: 3/4 c. mayo, 2-3 Tbsp honey mustard or dijon mustard, and 1 Tbsp. lemon juice. Spoon this mixture over the chicken breasts.
5. If desired, top with breadcrumbs. (My recipe calls for this, but we rarely do it. It's good either way).

Bake @ 425 for 30 minutes.

It's delicious over rice.

I also like putting baked potatoes in, setting the timer for one hour, and getting started making these. About the time the timer is at 30-35 minutes, I have the whole dish ready to go in (that's with little ones interrupting), and can add it in on a rack above of the already-hot baked potatoes, and it all bakes up beautifully.

The sauce is extra delicious as another flavor with baked potatoes or rice. This tastes like a really fancy meal, but is very easy to do. We have it about once a month now. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

From Scratch BBQ Sauce

Just found this recipe, called "Kathryn Dupuee's BBQ Sauce", given to me by a friend who also lives overseas. This should be particularly helpful for those of us who live abroad and can't just run down to the grocery store and grab any variety of BBQ Sauce we want.

1/4 c. vegetable oil
3/4 c. chopped onion

Saute slowly until onions are transparent, not brown.

3/4 c. ketchup
3/4 c. water
3 Tbsp. worchestershire sauce
3 Tbsp. of brown sugar (fyi, I use the same amount of sugar and tint it with molasses to substitute for brown sugar since we can't get it here, and it works great!)
2 Tbsp. mustard (American-style, prepared-- not the spice)
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4-1/3 c. lemon juice (fresh is best)

Saute over low heat until thickened.


My friend says this is absolutely delicious, and it sounds easy-peasy. I hope to make it soon. Enjoy!

Maple Granola

After trying this recipe for the first time a few days ago, this is already a big hit around here, and I'm making it again. We'll store it in an airtight cookie jar and make it probably a few times a month to sub in for expensive cold cereals for breakfast. It's DELICIOUS!!! Enjoy~~~


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Dump into a big bowl, and stir until the oats are evenly coated:

• 10 cups rolled oats
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cup real maple syrup (you can use the fake stuff... we did and it was tasty!)
  

As with the other granolas I posted about, spread it all out on a large cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes, taking it out every five minutes to stir it around, and keep it in an airtight container shortly after taking it out of the oven, so it stays very crunchy.

If you're reading this and thinking "that sounds too sweet for cereal", well, think of it as a snack then -- it's very crispy and when you're crunching it up in your mouth it really does taste like you're eating some kind of fancy maple cookie.

Aunt Pearl's Coffee Cake

Preheat @ 350 degrees


SPICE SWIRL INGREDIENTS:
4 T. Brown sugar
1 T. Cinnamon
1 C. finely chopped nuts (optional)

CAKE INGREDIENTS:
2 Sticks of oleo/margarine
2 Eggs
2 Cups of Sugar
1 cup of Sour Cream
1 t. vanilla
2 Cups of Flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

1. Cream the butter and sugar.
2. Add the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add gently to creamed mixture.
4. Generously grease a tube/bundt pan and dust with 1/2 of the spice mixture. Put 1/3 of the dough in the pan.
5. Sprinkle the remainder of the spice mixture over the dough before adding the other 2/3 of the dough.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes.

DELICIOUS! My sister-in-law Jill made this tasty cake for us the last time I was in Texas. It's a great coffee cake, swirl cake, dessert, or breakfast! ENJOY!!!

Planning & Preparation-- my thoughts-- please add yours!

I have shared on Making Home how having a four-week rotating meal plan helps me so much. Crystal's online course "Supermarket Savings" (which it appears is no longer available) helped me SO much in this area. Other things I do to save time/money include:

* making double or triple batches of things and freezing things so that I can use them to reduce cook time later.

* bending my "plan" to fit reality (for example, if we are having people over Tuesday night, but Tuesday's "planned" meal is something boring, I'll switch it out with something else planned that week so that I'll for sure have all the ingredients but have something more savory to serve to guests)

* cooking from scratch a lot (while still buying store-bought in some areas to keep things simple)


What ideas do you have for saving money/time, particularly on the planning/preparation end of things in the kitchen?

Lunch Ideas for Busy Moms

Here are some ideas for lunches:

PB & J sandwiches
Tuna sandwiches
Lunchmeat/cheese sandwiches
Grilled cheeses
~Any and all of these can be served with fruit, pretzels, chips, or yogurt~


Other ideas:

Cheese Quesidillas
Oatmeal w/ cinnamon and sugar swirled in
Homemade breaded chicken strips/nuggets/thighs, warmed up from the freezer
Baked potatoes (w/ cheese, ranch dressing, butter, salt, etc.)
Maple Granola
Fried eggs with french bread (bakeries here are just a quick walk away)
Salad (yes, my kids eat salad- it's seen as big people's food and we do cover it in ranch, so it's coveted.)
Tortillas or bagels with cream cheese
Pasta w/ homemade white sauce
Omelets (egg & cheese with some tomatoes if desired)
Rice w/ warmed up cream of chicken soup (it's delicious, I'm telling you!)
Applesauce
Plain rice (eaten the world over)
Rice with grated cheese on top (don't knock it till you try it)
Carrot slices ~Boiled, with butter and molasses stirred in. yum!
Broccoli florets ~Steamed with garlic
Green beans {Seriously, what's so wrong with serving a whole meal out of vegetables? Try it... after you do this a handful of times, it will be "normal" and they won't know that you're asking them to do something abnormal.}
Pancakes- I use the classic Better Homes & Gardens pancake recipe- easy and quick (and best of all, tasty)!
Dutch Puff
Ikea meatballs with rice or french fries (a good variation is covered in BBQ sauce)


LEFTOVERS (the great secret!)-
~ extra pancakes, lasagne, spaghetti, tacos, egg rolls, whatever from the night before! This is a BIGGIE in our home. It's easy-peasy to make extra of whatever you're making the night before, and then you can just heat it up the next day for lunch~


AND THE EVER-WONDERFUL "FUN LUNCH"
Take all your leftovers, the half-eaten bag of pretzels, the muffins that will go bad in a couple days if no one eats them, whatever fruit is in your fruit basket, etc... and put them on the counter. Give everyone one small portion of everything, make it look pretty, and serve it in a splashy way.
They'll think it's neat, *AND* you get a clean fridge and pantry. NICE!

These are just the ideas that work for our family. Please feel free to share anything that I didn't mention that you like to do for lunches... and I hope this helps!

Meatless Meals: Save Some Serious "Dough"!

This is our biggest "do without"... instead of always including meat in our meals, several times a week now, we eat meatless meals... variations:

* Rice with cream of chicken sauce.
* Pasta with white sauce
* Cheese quesadillas with salsa (or guac)
* egg spaghetti
* Make-our-own cheese pizzas (I often mix ranch into the pizza sauce for a little pizazz!)
* Homemade pancakes and/or waffles with homemade syrup
* Rice w/ leftover chicken teriyaki sauce (sans chicken, since that's usually eaten up in the first meal )
* Cornbread and milk
* Peanut butter/PBJ sandwiches w/ chips of our choice
* Homemade biscuits with jelly or honey
* Buy one really good fresh veggie and eat a ton of that (buttery carrots or garlic-y green beans fried up in a wok)
* Oatmeal or Cream of wheat (made with non-name-brand semolina, rather than buying the expensive box)
* Egg & Cheese breakfast burritos (or egg & cheese biscuits)


All of these meals cost significantly less than a meal with meat, and are still very tasty and filling. I try to rotate in at least 3 of these into our lunch/evening meals on any given week.

(If you have a question about recipes for any of these, lemme know and I'll post it.)