Another roast beef...

Roast beef with mashed potatoes, salad and peaches

What you need:

1. Beef roast (I always use angus shoulder roast)

2. 1 cup water

3. 1 packet Lipton Onion soup mix

1. 3 baking potatoes

2. 1 teaspoon sour cream

3. 1/4 cup milk

4. 1 Tablespoon butter

1. 1 head lettuce

2. 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3. 1/2 cup bacon pieces

4. 1/4 cup ranch dressing (or any dressing, that's just my favorite)

Peaches were canned; open, drain, enjoy.

What you do:

1. Put roast into crock pot

2. Add water

3. Add soup mix

4. Set to low and cook for 6-8 hours

1. Cut potatoes in quarters

2. Boil potatoes until soft

3. Peel skin (or leave it on, but I don't eat it)

4. Mix with milk, sour cream, and butter

5. Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut up lettuce

2. Add other ingredients.

Healthy choices:

1. No sour cream, butter, or ranch dressing. Substitute it with milk, pepper, and vinaigrette dressings.

2. Eat extra salad instead of potatoes.

Grilled Chicken with corn and carrots

Long days for me means Nathan cooks dinner :)

On the menu: Grilled Chicken with corn and sweet carrots

What you need:

1. Chicken

2. 1 bottle Italian dressing

3. Lime

4. 3 Tablespoons of Honey

1. Mix all ingredients in bag and set for at least an hour (the longer the better)

2. Grill chicken and toss marinade.

3. Enjoy :)

Corn and carrots:

1. Remove from can

2. Heat on medium until hot

3. Enjoy :)

It's pretty healthy the way it is, but you could always sub the veggies for something green :)

Baked tastes-like-fried chicken

The only way to describe this chicken is delicious...if you have eaten at chic-fil-a, you already know what it taste like :)

What you need:

4 chicken breast (either whole, striped for tenders, or cubed for nuggets)

1 cup pickle juice 

2 eggs

1 cup flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon msg (Accent, leave it out if you prefer)

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1. Marinate your chicken in the pickle juice for one hour.
2. While you are waiting, in a separate bowl, mix flour with all spices
3. In a third bowl, beat both eggs together
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
5. Remove chicken from pickle juice and place in egg wash bath
6. One at a time, roll in flour-spice mixture and place in a greased casserole dish
7. Bake until golden brown (I like mine extra crispy so it will have a reddish look to it)
8. Enjoy with ketchup :)

Tonight I served the chicken with baked potatoes and cheddar broccoli wild rice  

Healthy options:

1. Instead of sugar, add 1 teaspoon of honey to egg wash bath

2. Forget the salt, the other seasonings will more than make up the flavor

3. Forget the flour. Mix the seasonings together and sprinkle it on the chicken in the casserole dish. 

And you can always fry it :) 

they use peanut oil, 

I use extra virgin olive oil 

My better-than-honeybaked- Ham Recipe

Crockpot and Oven...still just as good :)

What you need:

Ham roast (i bought one at kroger, pre wrapped, and they opened it and cut it in thin slices for me)

2 Tablespoons of soy sauce

2 Tablespoons of balsamic vinaigrette

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

Oven Version

1. Cook ham about half way through

2. Mix all other ingredients in bowl

3. Pour over ham and return to oven

4. Finish cooking

5. When removed from oven, spoon glaze from bottom of pan back on top of ham (glaze will be really thin but it will soak into the ham while it cools

Crockpot Version

1. Put ham in crockpot

2. Mix all ingredients in bowl

3. Pour over ham

4. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 8-9 hours

If you are short on time, the pre-cooked hams work just as good...its all in the glaze, I promise :) 

Just put your ham in a roaster and pour glaze over and heat in oven...maybe 15 minutes later its delicious :)

Ps... serve on rolls for parties, breakfast or get togethers! I like Kings Hawaiian Rolls personally :)

Healthy Options:

1. Instead of brown sugar, add 1/3 cup honey with 1 Tablespoon cornstarch

2. Use low sodium soy sauce

3. Brown spicy mustard works too, and gives it a different flavor (still just as good)

Per Nathan's Request...White Bean Chicken Chili

Yes, it's cold. And yes, I had a work dinner tonight I could not miss...so Nathan HAD to choose what he wanted for dinner.

White Bean Chicken Chili with sweet cornbread 

(and I have to make it all on my lunch, of course)

What you need:

1 large onion (or small if you don't like a lot of onion)

4 cloves garlic

2 T olive oil

2 lbs chicken breast (I went ahead and cut my into tender-like strips)

1 t salt

2 T cummin

1 T oregano

2 T chili powder

1/2 cup flour

30 oz white beans (I used great northern beans, drained and rinsed)

1 1/2 cup frozen corn

4 cup chicken stock (i used chicken broth)

What to do:

First, put your oil in a skillet on medium-high and add your onions. Cook for about 5 minutes and add your garlic (minced, chopped, smashed...however you like to do it. just not whole). After 1 minute, add your chicken and cook until mostly done. Add salt, cumin, oregano, and chili powder and shred chicken while mixing it all together. Then you have 2 choices:

A. Add flour, stock (broth) and corn to skillet and turn down to medium heat. Let simmer for 30-45 minutes or until it thickens.

B. Move everything from pot into crockpot and add flour, stock (broth) and corn. Turn on high for it to be ready in 3 hours, or low for 5-6 hours. 

And the sweet cornbread...

Open jiffy cornbread mix. Mix according to package. Add tablespoon of honey. Cook according to package. Enjoy with chili!

And this was all done during my lunch break today...which is about 30-35 minutes once I get home, and I ate lunch too!

Warning: Recipe makes enough to feed an army...I have extra at my house. First come, first serve. Just call before coming over. Our house is gun friendly and the door is for your protection...not ours :)

Aloooooha! Pizza

Let the healthy pizza...be eaten!

First, the crust:

2 1/2 c. flour
2 3/4 tsp. baking powder (if using baking soda use half and omit salt)
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. oil
3/4 to 1 c. water

Mix dry ingredients. add 3/4 cup water and oil. Stir until it forms a ball. If dough is stiff, add more water.The dough will be soft, not sticky. Knead on a floured surface for 3-4 minutes.

Add some toppings:

I put a few drops of extra virgin olive oil (the only kind of oil I use) on the crust, then layer it with thinly sliced roma tomatoes. Then I sprinkle oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder all over it. Then I put ham bits and pineapple tid bits and top with cheese. 

I've done this same recipe with pepperoni, chopped onions and peppers, mushrooms, sausage, bacon and margarita style (with tomato, basil, and mozzarella cheese). My next adventure with it is stuffed crust :)

Now throw it in the oven at 350 until edges of crust are golden brown...and cheese is ooey gooey melty deliciousness.

Ritz chicken

Ok, ok...I know I am starting to eat healthy BUT....tonight is a little different. It's cold, it's raining, and the state has declared a state of emergency (LOL). And, if it does get bad, my last meal will be delicious lol.

Yay for Ritz Chicken!

What you need:
1 lb chicken breast
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz sour cream
24 ritz cracker (crushed)
1/2 cup melted butter (optional)

What to do:
1. Boil chicken until done
2. Cut, shred, tear apart chicken and place in casserole dish
3. Mix soup and sour cream and pour over chicken
4. Top with crackers evenly
5. Add melted butter (if you want)
6. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until crackers are brown (darker lol)

Healthy options:
1. Cook chicken, roll in an egg/sour cream mixture (low fat sour cream) and then roll in crackers and bake
2. Add veggies like mushrooms, carrots, celery, or spinach (which is great in this, taste like a spinach dip with chicken!)

Enjoy!

It's cold...chicken and dumplins sound warm

Ok...so I didn't cook this weekend, but after cooking all week, I think I deserve a break. And family time lol.

Bring it on Monday...and Chicken and Dumplins

What you need:

1 lb chicken breast

1 large container chicken broth

2 T chicken boullion

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1 t onion powder

1 can honey butter flakey layer biscuits (8 biscuits)

1 can butter tastin' flakey layer biscuits (8 biscuits)

What to do:

1. Boil your chicken until fully cooked. Remove from pot and rinse. Set it to the side.

2. Pour in your broth, bouillon, pepper, onion powder (and sometimes I add a little butter or milk 

    depending on the flavor I want that night).

3. Open your biscuits and separate 3 from each pack. Pull them into 3 pieces (into what looks like 3 

    separate biscuits) and add into the pot with broth mixture.

4. Turn pot on high heat and bring to boil. Stir while boiling for 5 minutes.

5. Turn heat down to medium and pull remaining biscuits into 2 separate pieces.

6. Add to pot.

7. Pull chicken apart into shreds/ bite-sized pieces and add to pot.

8. Let cook for about 10 more minutes, or until dumplins aren't stringy when pulled apart.

Then enjoy :)

Healthy alternatives:

1. Don't add the bouillon to cut out some of the sodium

2. Instead of can biscuits, mix and add some gluten free biscuits (available in the organic section of 

     any grocery store)

3. Only use half or a quarter of the biscuits and add carrots, celery, mushrooms, green beans and 

    snap peas.

4. If not using any biscuits, add a little milk to the broth to make it thicker and coat your veggies 

Beef...it's what's for dinner

And carrots, potatoes, and okra...for something sweet, spicy and salty :)

So tonight's dinner does take a little more work than I normally like to do after work, but with Nate working all this overtime, he deserves it.  Menu tonight:

Roast beef

carrots

boiled okra

skillet potatoes

honey biscuits

First: The Beef

1 beef roast (i used an angus shoulder roast...it was on sale )

4 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons worcestershire sauce

a little salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, rosemary

A splash of balsamic vinegar

1. I always poke my beef as much as i can with a fork to tenderize it (I don't know if it really does but it helps the beef to soak up the moisture too)

2. Mix all ingredients from above and pour on top of beef

3. Soak for at least 30 minutes

4. Heat stove top pan to medium heat and sear both sides of beef for about 1 minute each while preheating your oven to 375 degrees (hold juices out for the oven side of the cooking)

5. Remove beef from stove top and put in clean pan with juices from marinade earlier and sprinkle with rosemary

6. Cook until desired (We like ours about medium which takes about 30 minutes in my oven)

7. Remove from oven when done and put in new dish (the heat from the other will continue to cook meat, which is good if the rest of your meal isn't ready and your meat still needs a little more heat)

8. Cut in thin strips and let soak in juices while waiting to be eaten

Carrots, Potatoes, and Okra

Carrots:

1. Open can

2. Heat on medium until simmering

3. Reduce heat to low

(Yes, I cheated I guess lol but they were still delicious...I did add a little honey to them :)  )

Potatoes:

1. Quarter potatoes

2. Heat pan on stove to medium heat, add potatoes with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil (or some butter). 

3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper

(I added garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and cayenne red pepper)

4. Cook for about 15 minutes until tender

Okra:

1. Add okra to a pan with a little water, butter, and piece of uncooked bacon

2. Bring it all to a boil

3. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes

4. Remove bacon and continue to simmer

5. Add salt, pepper, oregano and a pinch of sugar (doesn't make it sweet but helps pull the flavor out more)

And finally...honey biscuits

1. Buy pillsbury honey butter biscuits

2. Cook according to package 

Sweet, Salty, spicy and beefy all in one dinner...with a biscuit :)

Life doesn't get much better 

A little ORANGE CHICKEN to brighten your day

One of Nate's favorite recipes when he wants something "different"

What you need:

1 lb of chicken (I use the precut strips at the grocery store...saves time later)

1 can frozen orange juice concentrate

4 T (tablespoons) of ketchup

4 T soy sauce

1 cup brown sugar

Stove Top Directions:

1. Place chicken in a large skillet and put over medium high heat. (Sometimes I add 2 T of olive oil to   

    give the chicken a light toasted coloring

2. Cook for about 4 minutes and turn to other side

3. While cooking, cut chicken into bite size (or smaller) pieces in skillet

4. Add orange juice, ketchup, soy sauce, and brown sugar

5. Continue cooking on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Flavors will blend together and sauce will 

    thicken.

Crock-pot Directions:

1. Cut chicken into bite size pieces (or leave whole...it will shred easily later)

2. Add orange juice, ketchup, soy sauce, and brown sugar

3. Turn on: high for 4 hours

                   low for 6-7 hours

4. Cover and forget it.

Serve over rice, with veggies, or just eat it by itself (it's that good!)

Healthy Options:

1. Use a reduce-sodium soy sauce

2. Instead of brown sugar, mix a little flour (2-4 tablespoons) to thicken sauce

3. Add veggies when cooking chicken like peppers, carrots, corn or brocolli

4. Drain chicken of sauce (leave a little extra on it) and use it as protein/ dressing in a spinach salad 

Homemade Cheeseburger Hotpockets

So...new year, new ideas

I'm going to try and post all the recipes as I do them (most of the time I'll add things that sound good at the time but forget when I try to tell someone about it.) Starting with dinner from last night...

Introducing: Homemade Cheeseburger Hotpockets

And they taste better than they look...but they do look good :)

Things you need:

2 cans of crescent rolls

1 lb of hamburger meat

1 bag shredded Velveeta cheese

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch powder

1 T (tablespoon) worcestershire sauce

(I also used some salt and pepper and season-all to taste but they didn't need much)

1. Turn on oven to 375 degrees.

2. Brown your hamburger meat with the packet of Hidden Valley and the worcestershire sauce.

3. Drain the meat (no one likes soggy and greasy hot pockets)

4. Take one roll (uncooked) and press it out thinly and make it look bigger. It may stick to the surface so peel it up and then lay it back down

5. add some ground beef (i added enough so it came out the sides a little) and the velveeta cheese

6. Rolling them is the hardest part...easiest way i learned was peel the roll up from the big side and roll it towards the smaller end but tuck it under some of the filling. 

7. Continue to roll the pocket until its all rolled up

8. Lay them on a pan/ casserole dish and top with cheese. 

9. Cook until rolls are brown (took mine about 8-9 minutes but my oven may be different from your so just watch them)

Easy, not very healthy but I do have some alternatives:

1. Use ground turkey (I love it, Nathan hates it but he probably wouldn't know a difference in this recipe)

2. no salt/ season all

3. instead of cheese, add veggies like tomatoes or avocados (or even an egg for extra protein)

    they also have vegan friendly (soy cheese) in the natural section of the grocery store

4. instead of the rolls, use bell peppers and grill them :)

     I'll be making the peppers version during the spring when it's warm enough for me to stand outside and cook lol. 

Thanks for stopping by...now what can I get for you?

For the last few months, I have been pondering creating a cook book. I've made hand-written ones for friends, handed out several recipes and cooked many different things for friends and family. 

So this year, I'm doing it. 

Every paycheck, I budget out how much money Nathan and I are going to spend on food (which for him is most of the monthly budget after bills come out). I look at different sites like southernsavers.com and e-meals to see what i kind of food is going to be on sale. Plus, I cut a few coupons here and there (I am in no way an extremist with coupons, I use maybe 5 at a time and only buy things I am going to use, not stockpile items I will never need).  After figuring out if chicken is on sale, or Campbell's soup is having a special, I sit down and create a menu for our house for about 2 1/2 weeks. Nathan has exactly 1 day to tell me if he wants to change anything on the menu before I go to the grocery store (if not we argue about what's for dinner every single night lol). 

A lot of the recipes I am going to post I've found on Pinterest, recipe sites, or even my own creations and I've tweaked a little bit to make them taste even better. I'll try to put in ways to substitute different things to make them healthier/ low carb/ low calorie when I can (most of them I can thanks to a full year of living healthy and losing 37 lbs).  With all that said...good luck and welcome to dinner at the Beatty's :)

Happy Eating!