Spicy Asian Chicken

inspired by Alli n Son
This has become one of our family favorites!  I love it because I can marinate the chicken the night before and dinner is a snap to put on the table the next night!  I think the chicken in marinade would freeze nicely too.  I hope you enjoy this one as much as my family does!

3-4 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
for the marinade:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp hot chili sesame oil
1/8 cup ketchup
1 clove garlic
1 tsp grated ginger

I package frozen asian style noodles
1 package asian style vegetables

Brown chicken in skillet.  Once brown, cover and let cook for 8-10 minutes until cooked through.   Add vegetables and cook until vegetable are heated through.  Cook noodles or rice according to directions.  Serve over asian noodles or rice.

Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce and Menu Plan

A couple months ago, I started making this recipe, and I use it often.  I make a big batch while I'm making pizza or another dish and freeze aprt of it in 1 1/2 portions so I can pull it out other nights.  After some experimenting, I decided I like the crushed tomatoes best because the sauce has more texture and flavor.  Its great as a pasta sauce, pizza sauce, and I even used it last week when I made sausage and pepper sandwiches.  A couple weeks ago, I boiled some pasta, added some panchetta, and voila!  a delicious, easy dinner.

2 large cans crushed tomatoes
4-6 large fresh basil leaves, chopped
4-6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp. fresh oregano leaves, chopped
1 tbsp crushed red pepper
1 tbsp fresh rosemary

Put tomatoes in large saucepan.  Cook on medium heat.  Add seasonings.  Simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes.  I find it doesn't need salt, but I often add a little bit of black pepper at the end.

Dinners:
Sunday: Pasta with steak, onions and spinach
Monday: Crunchy Garlic Chicken, Buttermilk Biscuits, caesar salad
Tuesday: Quinoa Pasta Taco Salad
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: I have Open House for work, so I'm eating there.  The boys are on their own!
Friday: Homemade Pizza with homemade sauce

Lunches:
Wraps with deli meat (ham and buffalo chicken this week)
sandwiches
leftovers

Breakfast:
waffles with peanut butter
cereal
homemade granola
yogurt
oatmeal

Snacks and treats:
fruit and yogurt popsicles (homemade)
celery and carrot sticks with hummus
cheese and crackers

I'll be linking to Menu Plan Monday, Mouthwathering Monday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday,  Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits, What's on the Menu Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, and What's for Dinner?

Raspberry Chipotle Steak Sandwiches

I can't believe its March already!  Where has the first 8 weeks of this year gone?

Before I get into our menu for the week, I thought I'd share a fun, easy recipe from last week.

1 bottle Raspberry Chipotle Marinade (I had a bottle from Pampered Chef that I bought a while back)
1 lb flank steak
1 herb sandwich loaf
2 cups spinach, washed and drained
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 4 oz package goat cheese
olive oil

Pour marinade over flank steak and marinade for 30 minutes (or up to 24 hours)  Grill flank steak to desired doneness (we like medium)  I grilled the steak on my panini press and it was perfect!
While the meat is cooking...
Slice bread long-wise and drizzle both halves lightly with olive oil.  Spread goat cheese on one side of sandwich loaf.  Top with spinach and onions.  When meat is cooked, allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.  Slice meat thinly and place warm meat on top of spinach and onions.  Allow sandwich to sit for another 5-10 minutes.  Slice and serve!  Enjoy!



Here's our plan for the week:

Dinners:

Sunday: Slow cooked pork loin with red potatoes and onions
Monday: Chicken and Leek Pie
Tuesday: Navajo Tacos with Slow-cooker chili
Navajo Taco Recipe
Wednesday: Leftovers for the boys, I have a meeting
Thursday:  Pasta Primavera with homemade Foccacia
Friday: Beer Battered Pizza Crust pizza

Lunches:

Turkey, ham sandwiches

wontons

spinach salad

leftovers

Snacks:

Cuties

celery

pears

cheese crackers

For more meal planning ideas, go to www.orgjunkie.com

I also linked to Mouthwatering Mondays, and Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays

Swedish Meatballs

This was a favorite when I was growing up. I remember my mom always cooked the meatballs in her electric frying pan.  Here's my recreation of my mom's recipe, as best as I can get it.   Its a great cold weather recipe!  You can use ground turkey too, I usually use what's in the freezer at the time.

For meatballs:
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 a large onion, chopped
1/2-2/3 c. milk
4 slices bread, broken into small pieces
pinch nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 seeds cardamom, removed from pods and crushed
2 colves garlic, crushed and chopped

For sauce:
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream (I use 0% greek yogurt instead, all the flavor, none of the fat!)

16 oz package egg noodles

1/2 cup cheddar cheese for garnish

Mix all ingredients for meatballs into a large bowl.  Mix ingredients together with your hands.  Mixture should be soft, but not too wet.

Place meatballs in a large skillet, brown each side on medium-high.  Add chicken broth and cook on low until meatballs are cooked through.

Meanwhile, boil water for noodles.

Once meatballs are cooked, add sour cream and stir.  I prefer a thinner sauce, but if you prefer a thicker one, you can make a roux out of 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp flour.  Melt butter in sauce pan, add flour until mixed together and thick.  add to chicken broth before you put in the meatballs and cook.

Serve meatballs over noodles and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

I know the cheese makes them very NOT swedish meatballs!  When my mom made this, she used the noodle roni cheddar noodles from the box.  The cheddar cheese brings back that memory for me!