The best things you've ever tasted!

Roasted Chicken

bettyc912 — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 05:27:11 +0000

I have decided to post some of my favorite “budget meals”. These recipes are cheap and go along way. Roasted chicken is one of my “budget meals”. I can get a whole chicken, 3-4 pounds, for less than 5 dollars. This will feed my family for two nights and I save the bones for chicken and rice.

1 3-4 pound roasting chicken

1/4 cup butter or margarine, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon ground thyme

salt and pepper to taste

1/2-1 cup chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 350.

Rinse the chicken. Make sure you remove the neck and any other things in the cavity. This is the worst part, it’s easy after this, I promise. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.

Mix the butter, thyme, salt and pepper. Spread the butter over the chicken. Make sure you shove some butter under the skin and inside the cavity.

Place the chicken in a roasting pan. Add enough stock to cover the bottom of the pan.

Cook for 1 hour 15 minutes- 1 hour 30 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with foil. Let rest for 10 minutes. I save the drippings from the pan for gravy. I will post this recipe soon. Enjoy!

Swedish Meatballs

bettyc912 — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:57:30 +0000

This recipe is so easy and so good. I enjoy cooking this. I wish I was the kind of mom who cooks everything from scratch. I’m not. I don’t have the time to. Instead, I use shortcuts. These meatballs are delicious and no one will care that you cheated. I promise. This recipe can easily be doubled. After cooking the meatballs freeze the extras. Now you are halfway to another meal! I think these meatballs would be good with other sauces too.

1 pound ground beef
1 egg, beaten
1 cup of herb flavored stuffing mix (Stove Top in the canister is the easiest to use)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup beef broth
1 cup sour cream

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, stuffing, egg, milk, salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the nutmeg. Don’t over mix. Shape into 1 inch balls.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the meatballs till they are brown on all sides. Remove them from the pan and cover to keep warm.
Add the flour to the drippings left in the pan. Stir until well blended. Cook for one minute. Add the beef broth and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream. Add meatballs back to the pan. Stir to warm and coat them with the sauce. Serve with rice or egg noodles. Enjoy!

Meatloaf

bettyc912 — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 04:59:32 +0000

We had meatloaf for dinner tonight. I was suprised, again, at how good this is. I do use some short cuts in this recipe. I also make it my own. This can be made with ground turkey if you want to healthy it up a bit.

2lbs ground beef
1/2 onion chopped fine
1 clove of garlic chopped
3/4 cup chicken or beef broth
1 package of Williams meatloaf seasoning
1 egg
1 small can of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon A1 steak sauce
Salt and Pepper

Preheat your oven to 350. Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray.
In a small bowl combine meatloaf seasoning, the egg, the broth, and 3 tablespoons of the tomato sauce. Mix well.
In a larger bowl combine the ground beef, the onion and garlic, and the liquid mixture. It’s going to look like there is too much liquid. Keep mixing.
Form into a loaf in the baking dish.
Mix the remaining tomato sauce, steak sauce and brown sugar.
Spoon 1/2 of the tomato mixture onto the meatloaf.
Bake for 30 minutes. Spoon the remaining tomato sauce onto the meatloaf. Bake for another 30 minutes or until done. Enjoy!

My Mother Of The Year Award

bettyc912 — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:42:41 +0000

I’ll be recieving my mother of the year award now. I feed my son corndogs and french fries, not once but twice, for dinner this week. He was thrilled. He doesn’t consider fat content when feeding himself. Lucky kid.

My baby is sick. Her first ear infection. The doctor we saw, not her doctor, said the ear infection virus is also causing inflamation in her foot/leg. I’m not happy with this diagnosis. I feel like more should’ve been done. Perhaps this is a normal mommy feeling. She does seem better today though. Between getting this house, a constant work in progress, ready for her birthday party Saturday, and the never ending comfort nursing I’m lucky to shower these days.

Although I intended to be the mom that cooks everyday, I’m learning that’s not always possible. Sometimes life does give you a little more than you can handle. I’m learning to improvise. And survive.

Lemon Cookies

bettyc912 — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 02:49:54 +0000

These cookies are my boyfriends favorite. He asked for these instead of a cake for his birthday. He likes them with lemon frosting on top because, as he says, they taste like little lemon cakes. They are very good with coffee.

1 box of lemon cake mix
1 8oz container of Cool Whip
1 egg
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a cookie sheet.
Mix all ingredients, except the sugar. Drop teaspoonful balls in the powdered sugar. Roll to coat. Place on cookie sheet. These don’t spread too much. I can get 12 on a pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or untill golden brown on the bottoms. Cool before removing from the cookie sheet.

Lemon Thyme Chicken Cutlets

bettyc912 — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 01:30:59 +0000

This is what was for dinner tonight. My son and boyfriend both deemed this recipe “blog-able”. So here goes. This made 6 pieces of chicken.

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Flour for coating
1 1/2 half teaspoons of dried thyme
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon of butter

Cut the chicken in half through the flat side. Think butterflying the chicken but cut it into two pieces. This will make pounding it thin easier.

Place a slice of chicken between two pieces if plastic wrap. Pound thin. I don’t have a mallet so I used the bottom of a heavy pan. Worked great.

Mix the flour, I used about a cup, salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon of thyme. Save the rest for the sauce. Make sure the flour is well seasoned. This will be the only seasoning the chicken will get.
Coat the chicken pieces in flour and shake off the excess.

Add olive oil to a large skillet and heat to med high. The pan should be nice and hot. Add the chicken. This stuff cooks fast! Maybe 2-3 minutes a side. Make sure the flour coating gets browned.
I could only cook 2 at a time, so when the pieces were done cooking I placed them in a warm oven, 250 degrees.

When the chicken pieces are done, turn the heat to high, add the chicken broth, salt and pepper to taste, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of thyme. Use a wisk to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the lemon juice. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Wisk in the butter. Pour over the chicken and enjoy!

Cheese Stuffed Chicken

bettyc912 — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 01:19:48 +0000

I made this recipe up. I believe it was one of “those” nights. The guys were hungry and expecting dinner but were unable or unwilling to tell me what they wanted. This happens all too often. So, I worked with what I had on hand. I hope you like it!

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 slices of your favorite cheese- a strong flavored cheese is best, Gouda, Swiss or a sharp cheddar
Seasoned bread crumbs for coating-I never measure I just dump enough out on a plate.
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Salt and Pepper

Cut pockets in the chicken. It’s easiest to hold the chicken down flat with one hand, slice into the flat side of the chicken, making a pocket in the thickest part of the meat. Season the chicken, inside and out, with salt and pepper. Put one cheese slice in each piece of chicken. Break the cheese into pieces. It’s easier. You can use a couple toothpicks or a piece of a bamboo skewer to secure the pocket closed.
Beat the egg and the water till well mixed.
Dip each chicken breast in egg, then roll in bread crumbs till well coated.
Place in a baking dish that has been sprayed with non stick spray. Cover with foil.
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

Grilled Zucchini

bettyc912 — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 00:20:59 +0000

I love vegetables. Zucchini is my favorite. Grilling or roasting zucchini brings out a sweetness I never squash had. Try this next time you grill, or roast them in the oven.

2-3 small zucchini, yellow squash works too. Pick the small ones, they have all the flavor
Salt and pepper
2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Slice the zucchini into rounds. I cut mine at an angle for more surface space.
Place the zucchini in a large bowl. Add olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to cover all the slices in oil.
Grilling: use tongs to place slices on the grill. Use indirect heat. Cook for 5-7 minutes turning a couple times. They are done when they start to turn brown.
Roasting: heat oven to 450. Place zucchini slices in a shallow baking dish or a cookie sheet. Roast 10 minutes, turning once. They should be golden brown when done.
Enjoy!

Chicken Salad, Betty style

bettyc912 — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:07:11 +0000

Although this is not a “traditional” chicken salad, it’s what I think of when I want chicken salad. I created this years ago by mixing things I had on hand that sounded good together. I create my tastiest or worst recipes this way. Luckily this one is delicious!

2 boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked (boil it, bake it, grill it, whatever. This is a perfect way to use leftovers)
1/4 bell pepper
1 Roma tomato
2 tablespoons mayo (fat free is best)
Salt and pepper

Chop the chicken, bell pepper, and tomato into small pieces. They should all be about the same size. Add mayo, salt, and pepper. Mix. Eat. This is good on bread, crackers or just out of the bowl!
***as I was typing this I thought of a few other things that might work really well in this: a bit of sliced green onion, chopped black olives, cucumber, or maybe some green chili.

Garlic Toast

bettyc912 — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:41:30 +0000

We grilled last night. Not a lot of recipes to share, as my boyfriend does the grilling. I did make my garlic toast and cooked it on the grill. It was delicious!

4 tablespoons butter or low fat spread
2 small cloves of garlic
Dash of salt
A few turns of the pepper grinder
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated
Half loaf of French bread

Peel and chop the garlic. Fine. I use the flat side of a big knife to smash the garlic, chop some more and mash till the garlic becomes a paste. Mix the butter, garlic, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper. Cut the French bread in half through the center lengthwise. Spread the butter mixture over both cut sides of the bread. Put the loaf back together, wrap in foil and place in a 375 degree oven till crusty, about 10 minutes. You can also place the bread, without foil, cut and buttered side up, on a cookie sheet and bake.