WFMW - Quick, Easy, Healthy and Yummy!

I don't do a lot of posts about meals and cooking, because it's not exactly my strong suit.  I am always juggling trying to find meals that are easy and quick to prepare, but also healthy and taste good, too.  So when I ran across this recipe (courtesy of e-mealz), I was excited.  When I served it up and EVERYONE in my family enjoyed it, I was thrilled!  It is now one of our top go-to recipes for dinner, lunch, or even a quick snack!

Our newest favorite meal is Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps!

Here are the ingredients required:

Yep, just three things - a Caesar Salad kit, chicken, and whole wheat tortillas!

(A few notes: My husband vastly prefers home-cooked cubed chicken breast to the canned stuff.  Sometimes I provide that for him, other times, when I am not so well prepared, we use the canned chicken breast instead. Also, if I knew how to make homemade tortillas, I would.  But I don't, so we go with store-bought.  Both of these choices also help to make the meal "quick", of course, but subtract slightly from the healthy aspect of it... but not too much!)

The prep is super, super simple.  As in, a child can easily do it for his siblings (hint, hint!).  Simply combine the salad kit (but not the croutons! Save those for a crunchy snack later!), add chicken breast (if using canned, be sure to drain it first, of course!), and combine well.  Serve into the center of the tortillas, roll up like a wrap, and cut in half.  For a little more fun, stick a toothpick into each half - for some reason, my kids love when I do that!

One large salad kit and two chicken breasts (or two cans of chicken), plus an 8-pack or tortillas is enough to satisfy my crew - but with no leftovers!  Which isn't necessarily a bad thing!

I have two children in my family are who particularly picky - as in, only eating a few select fruits or veggies... and even they gobble these wraps down!  That makes this a miracle meal in our house!  Add to it the fact that it is so easy to make, and healthy, too... Super Bonus Points!  Oh, and I also love that no cooking is necessary, which makes it an awesome choice for summer menus.  As you can tell, this is one of my favorite meals to serve!

So, for a quick, easy, healthy, and (best of all) yummy meal, these Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps work for me!  Check out other WFMW posts at We Are That Family!

A Recipe - Roasted Garlic Potatoes

I hope that everyone enjoyed a wonderfully blessed Thanksgiving! I have so much to be thankful for, but the biggest thing that fills my heart with gratitude (and sheer awe) is God's overwhelming, encompassing grace. There is not a day that goes by when I don't realize what a mess I am when left to my own devises, and am humbled before Him for His forgiveness and love. I am beyond thankful for Jesus' sacrifice in my place so that I can be a child of the Most High God!

I've confessed before that I don't have much when it comes to cooking skills, but here is one recipe that I've made for years, always turns out great, and I get repeat requests for at gatherings (such as Thanksgiving!), so I thought I'd share! Its easy and super yummy!

Ingredients:
4-5 pounds petite red potatoes - these can sometimes be difficult to find - you can't just use baby reds, they have to be "petite" as in, about the size of the "O" your pointer finger and thumb make when you put them together (I hope that makes sense).
1 head garlic
1 stick butter
1 TB salt
1 TB dried dillweed

Instructions:
Wash potatoes and pack (in a single layer) into the largest glass baking dish you have. Peel entire head of garlic and place cloves in between potatoes scattered randomly throughout dish. Slice stick of butter into 1/2 tablespoon slices, and place on top of potatoes, randomly throughout dish as well. Evenly sprinkle salt and dillweed over top of potatoes, garlic, and butter. Cover with tin foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 2 hours (longer is OK, too).

Try to stop salivating as the smell of delicious roasting garlic fills the house! The potatoes will come out looking blackish brown, but they're much better tasting than they look ;-) The skin will be crunchy, and the inside will be soft and delicious. The flavor can't be beat!

I'd say this recipe can feed 10-15 people.

Enjoy!

Thankfulness and a Recipe

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope all are enjoying a special time with their families and giving thanks to the One who is the giver of all good things. I'm thankful for many, many things, including the fact that I have been blessed with 30 years upon this earth! :-)

Here's a recipe that I'm making today, its a nice twist from the traditional mashed potatoes:

Roasted Garlic Potatoes

• 4-5 pounds of baby red potatoes - the smallest you can possibly find! I usually use Green Giant's Petite Red Potatoes - they're smaller than even the grocery store baby red potatoes. They can be hard to find, though (I get mine at Super Target, none of my traditional grocery stores carry them).
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 stick salted butter
• 1 TB salt
• 1 TB Dry dill weed

Wash, dry, and place baby red potatoes tightly packed into a large glass baking dish.

Peel head of garlic and place individual cloves randomly between potatoes, as evenly dispersed as possible.

Slice up stick of butter and place squares of butter on top of potatoes, also spread out as evenly as possible.

Evenly sprinkle 1 TB of salt on top, then evenly sprinkle 1 TB of dill weed on top.

Cover with tin foil, bake at 400 degrees for several hours - the longer, the better! Also, the bigger the potatoes, the longer you'll need to cook to achieve good tenderness. I usually do mine for 3-4 hours.

The smell of them cooking is unbeatable... and eating them is even better!!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Meatloaf and Mac N' Cheese

Yes, that's really what this post is about! I rarely ever share recipes - cooking is not my forte and is something I'm working on my attitude about. I tend to get overwhelmed over menu planning, grocery list making, grocery shopping, and food prep in general. However, I am a "work in progress" in this area and know that good food is not only a blessing to those whom I serve, but a necessity! So I need to get over my attitude and decide to find joy in it :-)

Here's a meal that we love, and is super, super easy to throw together.

Meatloaf:
2 lbs ground beef (I actually use ground turkey because its usually cheaper)
1.5 cups Stove Top Stuffing
2 eggs
1.5 tsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos (yummy!)
dried onion, garlic powder, and salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together, place in a greased loaf pan. Cook at 350 for an hour or until no longer pink. Some might like it topped with tomato sauce or ketchup, we don't. If you do, pour some on top before cooking.

Macaroni and Cheese:
(I found this recipe at A Year of Slowcooking, check it out for more great Crockpot recipes!)
1/2 lb uncooked macaroni noodles - I use whole wheat
4 cups milk
1 egg
4 cups shredded cheese (I use entirely sharp cheddar)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried mustard

Spray crock pot with cooking spray. In mixing bowl, whip egg and milk together. Stir in spices. Add cheese and noodles, stir well. Pour into crockpot, cook on high for 1-3 hours, or low for 2-5. It can get a little mushy, so check it on occasion. Delicious and so easy!!

We like to steam some broccoli or brussel sprouts to go along with it. It makes a yummy, easy-to-make meal! Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Bread Update

Last week I posted the recipe for whole wheat bread that my husband (and children) LOVE. The only problem I mentioned I had with it was the texture not being "formed" enough to make into rolls. Last night, I made the recipe again, and played around with it a bit until I got the right texture. The secret? 1 extra cup of flour! Nice and easy :-) So, for me, the recipe works better with 6 cups of flour rather than 5, especially since I knead by hand. Both amounts, however, produced excellent flavor and texture of finished bread!

Also, since I did add extra flour, instead of using flour to dust my hands and countertop while I kneaded, I used cold water to make sure the bread stayed moist instead of accidentally overdosing on four and drying out. Anytime I felt the dough getting stuck on the counter or my hands, I just ran my hands under cold water and the dough freed itself just fine.

One thing I love about kneading whole wheat bread by hand is how I can feel when the kneading is done. The dough stays stiff and heavy for what seems like the longest time, but when that magic moment is reached, it suddenly springs into something light and airy feeling. There's a total difference! It takes a bit of perseverance - I think yesterday it took me a little over 10 minutes of kneading, but it really is the neatest feeling!

Whole Wheat Bread Success

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I have finally found a recipe for whole wheat bread that Michael loves... I have tried for years and years to get the "right" recipe, with little success. But this is good enough to have Michael considering getting me a mixer so that I can make it all the time (which I would!), so it must be pretty good ;-) Heather and Manda asked for the recipe, so I am happy to share! I actually got it from another friend, Jennifer, and she says its from Bread Beckers. She used it to make rolls one night when we came to visit, and they were so yummy! So the recipe is versatile, it can be used to make bread loaves or rolls... I'll share both directions!

I will say, however, that I had difficulty making rolls with it. The dough wasn't "formed" enough for me to shape well, even after rising... so I just spooned it into the bread loaf pans instead... but the result was just as warm and yummy. Since I don't yet have a mixer and I had to knead it by hand, I don't know what affect that played on the consistency of the dough and how it might be different with a mixer. Either way, we loved it! We made it as basic as possible - we did not include the egg, lecithin or gluten... just water, yeast, honey, flour and salt. So simple!!

2 cups hot water

1/2 cup oil (1/3 cup if using egg)

1/2 cup honey

3 1/2 tsp. instant yeast

1 egg (optional)

5 cups freshly milled flour (I use King Arthur Whole Wheat flour)

2 tsp. salt

1-2 Tbsp. lecithin (optional)

1/2 tsp. gluten (optional)

Combine water, oil, and honey. Add 3 cups of flour, yeast, salt, lecithin, and gluten. Mix thoroughly. Add the remaining flour and knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 min.). Let rise until double. Shape into loaves or rolls, place in greased pans, and let rise again. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 min. Makes two 1 1/2 lb. loaves.

For dinner rolls: The dough for one loaf makes about 10 nice size rolls. To form: divide dough into balls and roll into ropes. Tie ropes into knots. Place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise about 45 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 9-10 minutes.

Perfect Gravy... or, Thank you, Jason!

Before I begin, let me say that I am a relative newby to making gravy. My dad is a health-concious YMCA director, and my mom is a former aerobics instructor, so we never had gravy growing up! I did not even taste gravy until after I was married and my mother-in-law made it. But it was love at first taste! However, it was still a few years after that when I tried actually making gravy. And it never turned out quite right. Thick and lumpy, usually. The flavor is always fine, but texture plays a big role in gravy!

My old method for making gravy was this - drain juices from chicken pan into skillet/frying pan. Heat to a simmer, then add flour, whisking the whole time. Add some water to even out the thickness, and lots of salt. The flour sometimes evened out nicely, or sometimes it turned into dumplings! So it was always a guess as to whether the gravy would be smooth or lumpy, and the majority of the time it was lumpy, or too thick, anyway.

Finally, a few years ago, my brother-in-law, Jason, newly graduated from Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Atlanta, taught me how to make perfect gravy. And now my gravy is perfect, every time. (Gasp!) If this is some big gravy secret that everyone knows, then just laugh at me and say "Duh, Erin!" but just in case there are those of you out there who struggle with gravy, I thought I'd share the "secret".

My brother-in-law explained to me that I was missing the most important step - making the roux (or rue). Before pouring the juices into the frying pan, first melt alot of butter on med-high, and stir in the flour. Whisk, whisk, whisk until the roux is the right color - for chicken, a light golden color is good, for beef, a darker roux. THEN add the drippings and juices from the pan, whisk a bunch more... and there it is! Perfect gravy! Obviously, add salt, pepper and any other seasonings you like while whisking, as well.

He explained that the way to tell when gravy texture was "right" was if you could lift up the whisk and have the gravy drip off, leaving a light coating or residue on the whisk. The first time I tried it, it came out perfectly, just like he promised. I even took pictures to show him, lol! It was a very exciting moment for me.

Anyway, as I was making gravy tonight (and yes, it came out just right!), it occurred to me that maybe I wasn't the only one missing out on this "secret" (or not-so-secret, perhaps), so I decided to post it. May it bring you and your family many lump-free gravies! :-)