Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Sauce:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 clove garlic, minced

In a small saucepan combine brown sugar and cornstarch. Stir in chicken broth, vinegar, corn syrup, soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for two minutes more. Serve warm. Makes about 1 1/3 cups sauce. I added a third more of each ingredient to make about 2 cups sauce for 30 meatballs.

Frozen:
2 cups Sweet and Sour Sauce and 30 meatballs. Heat in crockpot for 2-3 hours or in a saucepan on the stove. Serve with rice.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Sausage, Mushroom and Cannellini Pesto Pizza

1 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 TBSP prepared basil pesto
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP water
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
8 oz mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 12 oz pkg chicken sausage, casings removed, meat crumbled
2 12-inch premade pizza crusts
2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1) Place the beans, pesto, lemon juice, and water in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and creamy.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
2) Preheat the oven to 450F (or the temp indicated on the pizza pkg)
3) Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 7 min.  Add the crumbled sausage and cook until fully cooked, about 5 min (the time may vary depending on whether the sausage was precooked or not).
4)Spread the bean puree evenly over the 2 pizza crusts.  top each with the mushroom and sausage mixture.  top evenly with the cheese (1 cup per pizza crust).
5) Bake according to pizza crust pkg directions and until the cheese melts.
 
From the cookbook, No Whine with Dinner by the Meal Makeover Moms
I'm a regular listener to their podcast check them out at http://www.mealmakeovermoms.com/

Frozen Mamas
Bag 1: bean/pesto mixture
Bag 2: cooked sausage
Bag 3: cooked mushrooms
Bag 4: cheese
Bag 5: mini pizza shells
Thaw and assemble according to steps 4 and 5 above

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Creamy Chicken

  • 5 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
  • 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup(can use cream of mushroom), undiluted
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
  • 4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled or 4 tablespoons real bacon bits
Place chicken in a crockpot. Combine soup and sour cream in a bowl; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until chicken is tender. Sprinkle with bacon. Serve over rice or noodles

I gave you each two cups of rice to make in rice cooker or on the stove top.

*If you are cooking the chicken from frozen you may have to cook longer then 4-5 hours. I usually cook all day-(at least 6-7) on low when I cook from frozen. Also depends on your crockpot.

White bean and bacon soup

3T butter
1/2 lb bacon
3 large onion
1 clove minced garlic
2 c white beans
4 sprigs fresh parsley
1/2 t dried thyme
1/2 t dried tarragon
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
8 cup water
6 chicken bullion cubes

Cook bacon in melted butter until crispy. Add onions and cook for 5 min. Add remaining ingredients, cover and cook for 15 min. Remove bay leaf and sprigs of parsley.

Frozen mamas: thaw and reheat, could be reheated in crock pot on low. Watch for bay leaf and parsley sprigs and remove. (I got most of them)

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