Simple Goodness

I made this for dinner last night.  It was nothing special.  In fact, it is something I have made variations of a million times before.  But this version on this night was a hit.  Kids had seconds, which is unheard of in our house.  Ella even assured me that this meal was better than mac and cheese, and if that isn't an endorsement, I don't know what is. 

Chicken and broccoli and noodles

Ingredients:
2 T flour
salt and pepper
1t paprika
1/2 t granulated garlic
2 chicken breasts, pounded and cut into thin strips
2 T olive oil
2 cups chicken broth, divided
broccoli (I also used some sliced purple pepper, red, orange or yellow would also be good)
another 1-2 T flour
zest and juice of 1 lemon

Combine the first 4 ingredients; toss chicken strips in mixture.  Coat your pan with olive oil and brown the chicken.  Remove the chicken from pan, add 1 cup of chicken broth and scrape up all the good browned bits from the bottom. 

Add broccoli to pan and steam for a minute or two (depending on how soft you like your broccoli).  In the meantime, combine the other cup of broth and the remaining flour.  Add to the pan and bring to a simmer.  Add the chicken, lemon zest and half the lemon juice.

I served this with De Bolles Spinach Fettucini.  That is some good stuff.  Once the pasta was cooked, I coated it with a tiny drizzle of olive oil and the rest of the lemon juice.  I served the chicken mixture over the noodles.  It was tasty.

Sangria

Recently I've been trying to rid my freezer of many things before our move to TX. After going through my shelf of frozen fruit and berries, I was reminded of my absolute favorite sangria recipe. It's cool and fruity, a great way to use up leftover bits of fruit around the kitchen, or from the freezer, and a great item to take along to a potluck or dinner party. It's a real crowd pleaser that can be easily halved or doubled.

It is also a fantastic way to use up red wine that might not be delicious enough to drink straight up, but is still not bad enough to pour down the drain.

Sangria

1.5 L red wine (sweet is good, cheap is fine, any will work)

10 oz grenadine

16 oz cranberry juice

12 oz sweet vermouth

10 oz sugar water (simple syrup-equal ratios sugar to water)

Combine in a large pitcher, glass is best so you can see the fruit floating. Refrigerate until cold.

Add slices of whatever fruit you have on hand. Some of my faves are tart apples, orange rings, peaches and berries. Frozen grapes and strawberries will keep their shape, and help keep it chilled. Store covered up to 48 hours, serve over ice.

saving money

I like to save money on things.  I have joined a ridiculous number of money saving "deal" websites.  You have to be careful, because you can get suckered into buying things you would otherwise never buy, but you can also get great deals on restaurants, diapers, and other good stuff that you would regularly spend money on.  So, in this post, I will post links to some of the deal sites I belong to.  Check them out (and yes, if you use my links for most of these, I get benefits, but mostly I just want to share my fun shopping sites!).

Groupon: one local deal each day (you choose your city).  This one is, by far, my favorite.  They really like restaurants and yoga. http://www.groupon.com/r/uu3696926

Eversave: like groupon, just not quite as big.  http://eversave.com/share/pLn7


Jasmere: online, not local; one deal a day.  Some of these are great.  http://www.jasmere.com/r/77778761?l
 
Living Social: one local deal each day; this is where I get the Smiling Moose deals!  https://livingsocial.com/redeem_invite/2025383-hippo_?ref=lnk
 
Plum District: I just found this one today, but it was a diaper deal so I TOTALLY joined.  https://www.plumdistrict.com/?ref=uffa892a6b09
 
Woot: one deal each day.  Check out woot.com, kids.woot.com, wine.woot.com, and shirt.woot.com.  These guys give you the added benefit of being hilarious.
 
MotherofaSale.com: one online deal for moms each day. 
 
And then one final money saver, check out http://tns.tellapal.com/a/clk/gNqDt for 10$ off a $25 purchase at TheNaturalStore.com.

Phew!  Happy shopping!

Canning

This is my new favorite website: Pick Your Own

'nuff said.

Pretzels

1 C milk

2 tbsp water

1 tbsp cooking oil

3 C bread flour

2 tbsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1-1/4 tsp active dry yeast or bread machine yeast

1 slightly beaten egg white

1 tbsp water

Sesame seeds or coarse salt

1. Add the 1st 7 ingredients to the machine according to the manufacturer's directions. Select dough cycle. When cycle is complete, remove dough, punch down, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into 12" x 8" rectangle. Cut into 16 12" x 1/2" strips. Gently pull the strips into 16" long ropes. Shape each pretzel by crossing one end over the other to form a circle, overlapping about 4" from each end. Take one end of the dough in each hand and twist once at the point where the dough overlaps. Carefully lift each end across to the edge of the circle opposite it. Tuck ends under edges to make a pretzel shape; moisten ends and press to seal. Place on 2 greased large baking sheets.
3. Bake in a 475º oven for 4 minutes (for crispier pretzels, bake in upper half of over 4-5" from the top). Remove from oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 350º. Meanwhile, in a large pot bring 8 cups water and 2 tbsp salt to boiling. Add pretzels, 3 or 4 at a time, and boil gently for 2 minutes, turning once. Using a slotted spoon, remove pretzels from water and drain on paper towels. Let stand for a few seconds. Place pretzels about 1/2" apart on 2 well greased, large baking sheets.
4. In a small bowl combine egg white and 1 tbsp water; brush over pretzels. Sprinkle with sesame seeds or coarse salt. Bake in the 350º oven for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheets; cool on wire rack.

Pumpkin Soup with Chili Cran-Apple Relish

While I am sure that you all think it is abnormal, I don't like pumpkin but this soup is great. I add a little extra hot sauce (I actually use cayenne pepper) to give it a little more flavor.

Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 2 ribs celery with greens, finely chopped (save time and purchase celery already washed, trimmed and cut into sticks, this makes chopping fast work)
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning or 2 teaspoons ground thyme
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 (28-ounce) can cooked pumpkin puree
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
•
Relish:
• 1 crisp apple, such as McIntosh or Granny Smith, finely chopped
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
Heat a medium soup pot over medium to medium high heat. Add the oil and melt the butter. Add bay, celery, and onion. Season the veggies with salt and pepper. Cook 6 or 7 minutes, until tender. Add flour, poultry seasoning and hot sauce, to taste, then cook flour a minute. Whisk in chicken stock and bring liquid to a bubble. Whisk in pumpkin in large spoonfuls to incorporate it into the broth. Simmer soup 10 minutes to thicken a bit then add in cream and nutmeg. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.

While soup cooks, assemble the relish: combine apple, onion, lemon juice, cranberries, chili powder, honey and cinnamon.

Adjust seasonings in soup and relish and serve soup in shallow bowls with a few spoonfuls of relish.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/pumpkin-soup-with-chili-cran-apple-relish-recipe/index.html

Molten Chocolate Cake

Maybe September's theme should be "saving $$ by making it yourself". The latte was a good start. Another item I hate spending $6 or $7 on is the "Lava" cake at certain restaurants. I always thought it was labor intensive to make, or expensive. Certainly something that looks so fancy can't be EASY. Wrong! Here goes...

1-1/4 C sugar, divided

1 C flour

7 Tbsp cocoa, divided ( I like the special dark)

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c milk

1/3 C melted butter

1-1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 C packed light brown sugar

1-1/4 C hot water

Preheat oven to 350.

In medium mixing bowl combine 3/4 C sugar, flour, 3 tbsp cocoa, baking powder and salt. Blend in milk, butter and vanilla; beat until smooth. Pour batter into 9x9x2 pan. In small bowl combine remaining 1/2 c sugar, brown sugar, and remaining 4 tbsp cocoa; sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Pour hot water over top, DO NOT STIR. Bake 40 min, or until center is almost set. Let stand for 15 min before serving.

Goes great with the simple vanilla ice cream recipe!

Curb your Pumpkin Spice Latte fever for less

I can't keep spending $4 for a coffee. I LOVE Pumpkin Spice Lattes, but I have to find a way to get through this fall without personally keeping my Starbucks in business. So I experimented today. What I found? Yum.

Pumpkin Spice Coffee

16 oz brewed coffee
1 BIG tablespoon of pureed pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Sweetener to taste (I used two packets of pure Stevia)
Milk to taste (I used a tablespoon of powdered milk; I like powdered milk for coffee because you can get fat free powder, but because you mix it directly into your coffee instead of into water, it makes the coffee rich and creamy like you used half and half, but doesn't add the fat or take up the space)

Mix it all up and enjoy. Not only is it totally tasty, it is actually GOOD for you. Coffee has antioxidents, milk has calcium, and pumpkin is a super food. You can't go wrong!