Cooking once a week...

The following is an article I read from familyfun.go.com that I thought I would pass along. How nice would it be to cook once a week?!?

At the end of every busy day, the question was always the same: "What's for dinner?"
Dinner? Not only was I running out of meal ideas, my husband, Aaron, and I also seemed to run out of time each night. With school, jobs, activities, and homework, my family already had too few precious minutes to spend together. Who wanted to spend most of them standing over the stove? Worse, when I did find time to cook, the kids often grumbled about the menu.
I fantasized about having a batch of favorite meals ready to go, so we could just pluck a dish out of the fridge, heat it, and serve it. Sure, the meal prep would still have to happen. But what if we tackled the bulk of the work all at once, together -- and maybe even made it fun? This sounded like a plan.
So one Sunday afternoon last year, when my older kids were especially bored and begging to watch television and play video games, I told them we were going to cook instead.
"Cook what?" asked Lauren, then age 7.
Opening the fridge and staring at two giant packets of chicken breasts, and several packages of beef and sliced pork, I declared: "Everything!"
I took out the meat, and we tracked down as many baking pans as we could find. (It turned out I had five.) Lauren and Nicole, then age 4, coated the pans with cooking spray. I dumped the chicken into two pans, filled two more with beef (sliced in one and cubed in the other), and put the pork in the last. Nicole washed peppers and mushrooms, and Lauren carefully sliced an onion. Their 1-year-old brother, Brendan, watched it all with curiosity. The girls picked their favorite marinades and spices, which we added to the dishes, along with the veggies. We slid the pans into the oven. Next, we tackled the mess. Truthfully, it wasn't half as bad as you'd expect after prepping a week's worth of food. Most of the utensils would have gotten dirty anyhow when we made our Sunday night dinner. And then, as the food cooked, we found ourselves with free time! Here we were, all in the same room with nothing on our agenda. So we talked. First we discussed how we could turn these meats into meals: chicken sandwiches, stir-fry, and fajitas.
But perhaps inspired by our cozy togetherness in the kitchen and the relaxed sense of accomplishment we felt, our conversation before long grew more personal. We chatted about school, sports teams, problems with friends, and an upcoming birthday party. I was amazed by how easily the discussion flowed and how much detail the girls shared with me and with each other. Even Brendan seemed to love this unexpected together time.
Too soon, the oven timer sounded. We set aside some of the chicken to make sandwiches for that evening's meal, then we cooled and stored everything else in labeled containers. We ended up with seven of them -- altogether -- the beginnings of seven meals to be served through the week. The only chore we had left was to wash the extra pans -- and because we'd used cooking spray, they cleaned up easily.
The rest of that week went as smoothly as I'd hoped. Each morning, I put one of the frozen entrees into the refrigerator to thaw. In the evening, it usually took 15 minutes or less to make a side of veggies, salad, or rice.
Now, we spend an hour or two cooking on Sunday as often as we can. Every once in a while, we make batches of cookie dough to freeze. Everyone looks forward to our time in the kitchen. Sometimes, the kids pretend we're restaurant owners, and they create fancy meal ideas and a menu for the week. The children love that I'm not stuck for an hour in the kitchen every night. And because they've helped plan the meals, there's much less griping and much more eating and enjoying!

90 Minute Cinnamon Rolls

Okay, so it's not a dinner recipe, but I've made them several times lately and they're really good! I just do them in a greased 9x13 pan and they come out great every time.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup margarine, softened
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1/2 cup raisins (optional) (I leave them out)

DIRECTIONS
Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in margarine; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.
In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt; mix well. Add water, egg and the milk mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.
Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, softened margarine.
Roll out dough into a 12x9 inch rectangle. Spread dough with margarine/sugar mixture. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Roll up dough and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place cut side up in 12 lightly greased muffin cups. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until browned. Remove from muffin cups to cool. Serve warm

Spiced Pork Chops

Here's what we had for dinner tonight. I did make a few adjustments....instead of dredging the chops in the herb mixture I just mixed everything (except the flour) together and poured it over the chops after browning them with just salt and pepper. I did add in some Worcestershire sauce and red pepper flakes to the sauce. At the end I added a little cornstarch to the sauce to thicken it and we at it over rice. Yummy!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 pinch pepper
4 (3/4 inch thick) pork loin chops
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 cup ketchup
1 cup water
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

DIRECTIONS
In a shallow dish, combine the first 10 ingredients; dredge pork chops on both sides. In a skillet, brown chops in oil on both sides. Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Combine ketchup, water and brown sugar; pour over chops. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until tender.

Feast or Famine?

Ok...so there are some great recipes on this blog and yet not one of them could I make right now as I don't have all of the ingredients for a single recipe posted. That said it is painfully obvious that I need to go to the grocery store! I think it will be take-out tonight. Definately not a good way to start out the month. I hope the rest of you are better prepared!

Oh So Tender BBQ Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. vinegar
1/4 c. worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. water
6 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. dry mustard
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. chili powder

Mix ingredients pour over your chicken and cook at 300 degrees for 2 hours.
We like to serve it over rice. :)

Spaghetti Pie

I made this last night for dinner. Fast and easy. Seth loved it so much he asked for it for dinner again tomorrow night! :)

4 ounces dried spaghetti
1 tbsp butter or margarine
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces ground beef (I used closer to a pound)
1/2c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped green pepper (I omitted this)
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp fennel seeds crushed
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 tsp dried oregano crushed
1 c low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 c shredded mozzarella (I used a little cheddar too for color)

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain. Return to warm saucepan stir in butter until melted. Stir in egg and Parmesan cheese; set aside.

Meanwhile in a medium skillet cook ground beef, onion, sweet pepper, garlic and fennel seeds until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain. Stir in tomato sauce and oregano. Heat through.

Coat a 9-inch pie pan with non-stick cooking spray. Press spaghetti mixture onto bottom and up sides of pie plate, forming a crust. Spread cottage cheese on the top and up the sides of pasta crust. Spread meat mixture over cottage cheese. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella over the top.

Bake in a 350 oven for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. To serve, cut into wedges.

Gingerbread Waffles

Okay girls this is what I made for dinner tonight (balanced I know!) and they were SO GOOD! If you liked the pumpkin pancakes you'll surely like these. They did make a HUGE batch, so beware. We'll have them for breakfast for the next two mornings too.

3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, eyeball it
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter, plus some to butter the iron
Syrup, whipped cream or fresh fruits for topping, to pass at table

Preheat waffles iron.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. In a medium bowl, beat eggs and brown sugar until fluffy, then beat in pumpkin, milk, molasses and melted butter. Stir the wet into dry until just moist. Do not overstir the waffle batter. Brush the iron with a little melted butter and cook 4 waffles, 4 sections each. Serve with toppings of choice.

Not-Sagna Pasta Toss

This is what we had for dinner last night. (Another Rachael Ray recipe) It was SO GOOD! I suggest cutting the amount of pasta in half unless you want tons of leftovers, but I would make the sauce the same way. (I like lots of sauce.) I omitted the onion and allspice because I didn't have them and substituted dried basil in the recipe for fresh on top and beef stock for the red wine. That said it was still really good and fast to make!

Ingredients
1 pound curly short cut pasta (recommended: campanelle by Barilla, fusilli or cavatappi
Coarse salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
1 pound ground sirloin
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, eyeball it in your palm
Black pepper
1/2 teaspoon allspice, eyeball it in your palm
1 teaspoon, several drops, Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup dry red wine (or stock)
1/2 cup beef stock
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup fresh basil, about 20 leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, a couple of handfuls, plus some to pass at table

Directions
Heat a large pot of water to boil for pasta. Salt water and cook pasta to al dente. Heads up: you will need a ladle of the starchy cooking water to help form sauce before draining.
Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. Add the meat and break it up into small bits as it caramelizes. Once meat has good color to it, 4 to 5 minutes, add garlic, onions and red pepper flakes and season with salt, pepper, allspice and Worcestershire sauce. Cook another 5 minutes, deglaze the meat and onions with red wine, cook off a minute, then combine about 1/2 cup of stock into the meat. Stir in the tomatoes and bring to a bubble. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 5 minutes.

Place ricotta cheese in the bottom of a shallow bowl. Add a ladleful of boiling, starchy pasta water to the ricotta and stir to combine. Add a couple of handfuls of grated Parmesan to the ricotta and mix it in.

Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with cheeses. Add half the thick meat sauce to the pasta bowl and combine. Tear or shred the basil and add to the meat and pasta, toss again. Taste to adjust salt and pepper. Serve bowlfuls of Not-sagna with extra sauce on top and more grated Parmesan to pass at the table.

Mom's Candied Steak & Porcupine Meatballs

Candied Steak

1 1/2 lbs round steak cut into 1"x3" pieces
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tbs worcestershire sauce
1 cup of water

Season your meat. I use a steak rub, you can use whatever you normally use on steak. If you don't have a normal, use salt and pepper. Brown steak pieces in approx 1 tbs of... I use olive oil, but you can use shortening or veggy oil. Mix ketchup, water, worsestershire and sugar. Pour over steak and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes. Here's the tought part for me... don't let the liquid cook away. Add water if necessary. Serve over your choice of carbs. I prefer rice, but potatoes, pasta would also work. Enjoy!

Porcupine Meatballs

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
3/4 cup uncooked rice
1/4 cup milk or water
2 tbs chopped onion
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp garlic salt
Dash of oregano

sauce
8 oz can tomatoe sauce
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce

Mix beef rice, milk, onion and seasonings. Form into 8 balls (I don't like them this big, so we make like 20 meatballs with this amount.) Fry meatballs in shortening, olive oil, whatever until brown, but not crusty. Mix sauce in bowl and pour over meatballs and cover. (I like lots of sauce, so I multiply the sauce by 3. I also really like it made with Hunts garlic, basil and oregano sauce.) Simmer for 45 minutes on low.

Brownies

Oh my goodness girls, you have to try these!!!

1 12-ounce bag chocolate chips (use the kind you prefer)
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter and chocolate chips. Stir constantly and remove from heat when chips are fully melted. In the same pot, blend in the sugar. Then add eggs, blending fully one at a time. Add flour and beat until air bubbles form in the batter. Pour into a greased 9 X 13-inch pan (this recipe works great doubled and poured into a large 11 X 17-inch rimmed baking sheet). Bake for 20 minutes. Turn heat down to 325 degrees and bake for 10 more minutes.