Crispy Oven Fries

Aside from 24/7 Jasper time, my favorite aspect of maternity leave has been the ability to cook a homemade meal every night. Having time to make food from scratch is pretty flippin awesome (just ask my husband. haha!) No more pre-made pizza crust or bagged frozen potatoes in this house.

In addition to my 'tried and true' dishes, I've tried out new things to add to my repertoire. One of our new 'family favorites' are these Crispy Oven Fries. Sure, they take a bit more work than frozen fries but that's to be expected. But the flavor?! Yeah, these are unbeatable. Since I made the first batch, we've had them with dinner every.single.Friday.

Meal Planning - Week 1

Are you a fan of weekly/monthly meal planning. I know it's a great way to stay organized during the week, ensure there are healthy meals on the table each night, and to keep the grocery budget in check. With the baby on the way, I'm trying to put more thought into every penny I spend. Meal planning seemed like a painless opportunity to make a dent in my ridiculous grocery bill.

After spending more time than I'd like to admit thinking about this, I have come to the conclusion that the best meal plans use items on hand and a few fresh ingredients that can be used between multiple recipes.

This is what I came up for this week:
(please visit the links individually before pinning!)

Monday - My French Bread Pizza with Salad & Ranch Dressing

Tuesday - Chef-in-Training's Baked Crispy Ranch Chicken with Rice and Corn on the Cob

Wednesday - The Country Cook's Spasagna (made with ground turkey) with Garlic Bread & Salad

Thursday - Tastes Nice's Taco Bake (made with ground turkey) with Seasoned Rice, Corn, Salsa, Sour Cream and Black Beans mixed in

Friday - Prevention Magazine's Salmon and Summer Vegetable Pockets (with Lemon & Herbs)

Saturday - Free! Going to a birthday party BBQ so we'll get full on goodies elsewhere

Sunday - Number 2 Pencil's Slow Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken with Roasted Potato Salad

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Harvest Meatloaf with Apple Dijon Gravy

Did you read that title? Harvest Meatloaf with Apple Dijon Gravy. The meatloaf is hearty, healthy and tastes like Fall. The gravy is tangy and sweet with a fabulous mustard undertone. It's all so very incredible if I do say so myself. If that didn't make you salivate, I don't know what will. 

Oh wait, maybe a picture... YUM!

5-Minute Weeknight Dinner - French Bread Pizza

Do you have a go to meal when you're in a time crunch? Ours used to be pasta until the Mr. dropped a bombshell revelation on me a couple of years ago... he hates pasta. GASP! I know. My new favorite is French bread pizza. It's such a breeze, can be customized to your liking, and let's face it, it's super flippin delicious.

My absolute favorite combo is a good ol' pepperoni and cheese! It really can't get any easier than that.

Meat Lovers' Turkey Lasagna

Is there anything quite like a delicious homemade Sunday supper? I doubt it. 

Last weekend our amazing next door neighbor stopped by with homemade tomato sauce. The Mr. likes spaghetti so that was my first instinct, but special sauce deserves a special meal. I went to the grocer and stocked up on everything I'd need for something that would definitely whet the Mr.'s appetite: Meat Lovers' Lasagna. To lighten it up, I went with three varieties of turkey (ground, sausage, and pepperoni). 

Semi-Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

One of the meals I remember most vividly from my childhood was my grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup. I can remember how the aroma would surround the house and you'd smell it before you even walked through the front door. The chunks of chicken breast, the fresh stock, and the tasty combination of stewed vegetables... Yum! Just the thought of it makes my tummy grumble. There are so many days where I find myself sitting at work craving that soup for dinner; too bad the recipe takes at least half a day to make.

Well, how about the authentic taste of a homemade chicken soup in a fraction of the time?! Sound too good to be true? Not so!

Want to know my secrets? Well, read on.

Monte Cristo Waffle Sandwiches

Do you like breakfast? Yes? Do you like breakfast for dinner? Double yes? Thought so! Me too!

One of my favorites is a Monte Cristo sandwich... you know the one: grilled cheese with ham/turkey that is prepared like French toast. What's not to like?! Now let's take it one step further and throw it all together in a waffle maker. What do you get? Ooey-gooey, cheesy, meaty, french-toasty waffles! Yum!

Pretzel Crusted Salmon with Creamy Dijon Sauce

People are always using crushed potato chips and saltines as a breadcrumb alternative, but what about their lonesome cousin, the pretzel? Well now they have a chance to shine as well. I present to you, Pretzel Crusted Salmon! The salty crunch lends a great contrast to the tender, flaky flesh of the salmon. The only way I could think to improve upon this coupling was adding a homemade dijon mustard sauce. Enjoy!

Ingredients: (for two 6-ounce portions)
2 salmon filets
1 cup of  pretzels, chopped
Seasoned flour: 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, pinch of fresh cracked pepper
Egg wash: 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk

For the sauce:
1 green onion, sliced in tiny pieces
1.5 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons cream cheese
1/4 cup milk
1.5 tablespoons dijon mustard


Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400

2. Set up your dipping station as shown below. As you can see, I used disposable plates because it makes clean-up that much easier.

3. Place filets on a greased cookie sheet (or use parchment paper) and put into oven

4. While salmon is cooking, start by melting the butter and adding the green onion over low heat. Add the cream cheese and stir until completely melted. Whisk in milk and dijon mustard. Keep stirring until fully combined.

5. Remove salmon from oven once cooked through (about 10-12 minutes) and serve over a side of baby asparagus. Spoon the sauce over the warm filet and you've got one heck of a presentation piece.

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Beer Marinade (for Chicken)

Want a secret for how to get the best grilled chicken ever? MARINADE. Seriously, it's the answer. This marinade recipe is perfect for that flat/warm beer that you took too long to drink (as if!) I serve mine along side homemade three-cheese mac and cheese for the perfect weeknight meal. Eat up!

BEER MARINADE FOR CHICKEN

Ingredients:

• 2lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breast or tenders
• 1 bottle beer (Stella Artois!)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons of EVOO
• pinch of salt and fresh cracked pepper

Directions:

1. Trim up meat as necessary/desired
2. Liberally salt and pepper each piece 
3. In a bowl, whisk together: beer, sugar, garlic and olive oil
4. Place chicken in a gallon sized freezer bag and pour the beer mixture carefully over the chicken
5. Seal the bag with as little air inside as possible
6. Let the bag sit in the fridge for at least 45 minutes, but preferably 6-8 hours
7. Remove chicken from bag and place on preheated grill (you want a good sear!)
8. Grill chicken over medium-high heat until done

Enjoy!

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Rustic Margherita Pizza

The weather has been increasingly stifling lately. Really, are temperatures hovering around 100 necessary? I think not. Seeing as I have a mind that constantly wanders, I go from "gosh darn it's hot outside!" to "why does it feel like Mexico in Pennsylvania?" to "I could really go for one of those margherita pizzas from the resort!" Yep, that's exactly how my mind works. You might wonder why we ate pizza while in Mexico, but geez louise, the folks at Pueblo Bonito could whip up a mean margherita pizza. It was all things a pizza should be: crispy crust, gooey mozzarella, and fresh ingredients. Now that I'm craving it, I figured it would make a nice summertime lunch.

Rustic Margherita Pizza

Ingredients

Pizza Dough (recipe link below) or Pre-made Crust

2 Tomatoes (on the vine, preferred)

10-15 Basil Leaves, depending on your preference

1 teaspoon of minced garlic

1 cup Shredded Mozzarella

1/2 ball of Fresh Mozzarella, sliced

Instructions:

• First you will need to blanch your tomatoes to remove the skin. Clean your tomatoes but don't remove the stems because it makes the process a bit easier in the end. Place the tomatoes in a pot of boiling water.

         

• After about a minute or two you will see the skin crack, at this point remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and immediately dunk in ice water. 
• This is where the stems come in handy: grasp each tomato by the stem and pull off the skins. They will easily peel off in your hands.
  
  
• I prefer to bake my crust first due to the moisture from the mozzarella and tomatoes. If using uncooked dough, preheat your oven to the instructions that your recipe mandates and cook until golden (this can vary depending on your recipe). If you are using a pre-made crust, this step is unnecessary.
• Roughly dice the cooked tomatoes
• Tear or chop the basil into small pieces (depends on the look you want)
• Combine tomatoes, basil, and diced garlic into a mixing bowl and toss gently
• Sprinkle shredded mozzarella and fresh mozzarella randomly around the crust
• Spoon the tomato/garlic/basil mixture over the cheese, being sure to leave as much of the liquid as possible in the bowl
• Put the pizza under a broiler for 5 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove from oven when cheese is bubbly and basil is slightly charred

PIZZA DOUGH:

I'm a big fan of Mario Batali so I recommend his pizza dough recipe. If his seal of approval wasn't enough, the crust has wine in it... yep, wine. I think the crust is extremely vital for a good pizza, but any recipe you like will do. Most grocery stores have fresh pizza dough available, but you could even use pre-made pizza crusts or flat bread / naan for a super easy meal.

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Chicken Cordon Bleu Fingers

I routinely try and create new recipes (sometimes to the Mr.'s dismay... oops). Tonight's creation was a success though: chicken fingers, cordon bleu style. Mmmm. One of the things I like most about my version is that it is 100% pre-cooked so there is no messy raw meat sitting around which keeps things so much more sanitary during the preparation.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb of sliced cooked chicken (deli meat)
• 1/2 lb of thinly sliced high quality swiss cheese
• 1 boneless ham steak
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup of milk
• 1 cup of flour (
• 1 tablespoon of Montreal chicken seasoning
• 1 1/2 cups of panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup of shredded asiago
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Mix the chicken seasoning into the flower in a shallow dish; blend milk and egg in another dish; mix garlic salt, asiago, and bread crumbs in another dish
3. Slice ham steak into 1/2 - 3/4 inch strips
4. Lay ham across one slice of swiss cheese and roll up
5. Layer two slices of chicken and lay the cheese/ham roll at one end
6. Roll the chicken layer around the ham/cheese section
7. Lightly dust the roll ups with the seasoned flour
8. Coat each with the egg mixture
9. Dip and coat the roll-ups in the breadcrumbs
10. Place on greased cookie sheet
11. Bake for 15 minutes (flip after 10 to cook evenly)

Enjoy while they're all warm and gooey! Mmm!

Makes 4 servings (2 each). Would also make great appetizers if you cut the finished product into quarters and skewered them with a toothpick!