Sami's chicken corn chowder

This one was seriously a good one. SO good.

4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 savory rotisserie chicken(we used lemon pepper)
3 medium sized Idaho potatoes
3 medium sized carrots
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves
2 cans chicken broth
1 tsp dried thyme
4 Tbsp. butter
1/2 c. flour
1 qt. container half and half
3-4 c. fresh corn(cut off the cob)
salt and pepper to taste

Chop up the onion into relatively small bite size pieces. Place in a large pot on medium high heat with the olive oil and saute. Chop up carrots into about 1/4 inch pieces and add to the pot. Continue sauteing for about 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. About the last minute add the garlic and stir so it doesn't burn. Pour in the all of the chicken broth. Dice the potatoes into 1/4 inch pieces and add to the pot. Add salt to taste. Bring the stock to a boil. At some point while it is boiling add the thyme. Boil for about 10 minutes or until the carrots and potatoes are tender to the fork.

While the pot is boiling in a separate sauce pan melt the butter. Once the butter is melted add add the flour to make a roux. Whisk for a bout a minute and add the half and half. Stir until the half and half gets warm and then pour into the pot. The chowder should now look really creamy. If you haven't already remove the corn from the cob(probably about 6 ears of corn) and add to the pot. Remove the meat from the breast of the rotisserie chicken, shred and add to the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let the chicken and corn heat through with the rest of the contents for about 10-15 more minutes. Serve immediately. This would be good with some crusty french bread.

Because this was inspired by two recipes I found on the food network I'm going to go ahead and rate this. You can find those inspiration here and here. I love that I added chicken to the recipe. I think it is great. I really haven't had corn chowder before this but I was completely in love with this dish. I think I'd give it a 9.9. I hesitate to give anything a 10 unless it is absolutely the BEST thing I ever ate of that particular dish but I don't think there is to much I could personally do to improve this. I loved it.

Oven roasted potatoes(one variation)

1 pound of potatoes scrubbed and diced(bite size)
extra virgin olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic
oregano
red pepper flakes
salt

Blanch diced potatoes til less firm but not completely done. Drain and place in a 9X13 pan. Cover generously with olive oil. Sprinkle with all the above ingredients to desired taste(go sparingly with the red pepper flakes, trust me). Mix well and bake on 350 for 30-45 minutes. Goes well with this chicken recipe

Simple Roasted garlic chicken

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
about 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
about 1/4 c. white wine vinegar
salt and pepper
honey
about 2 tsp. oregano
a pinch or two of red pepper flakes
8 cloves garlic minced

Place all your halved chicken breasts in a 9X9 pan. Salt and pepper. Drizzle with honey then olive oil and then white wine vinegar. Sprinkle with minced garlic, then oregano then red pepper flakes. If you want you can divide the seasonings and flip the chicken to season both sides. Bake on 350 for 30-40 minutes. Serve with oven roasted potatoes and a veggie like green beans.

Homemade baby food

If people realized how simple making your own baby food is we'd probably do it rather then waste all our money on pre-packaged baby food. It's not quite as convenient and involves more effort but isn't that worth saving money and feeding your child healthier more nutritious food? I want to start with the basic rice cereal. Did you know that you do NOT need to purchase the pre-packaged stuff? Let me tell you how simple it is to make your own.

1 cup brown rice
2-2 1/2 cups water
about 6 oz of breast milk or formula(depending on how thick or thin your baby requires)

Bring the water to a boil. Add the rice, stir and return to a boil. Turn heat down, cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes. When the rice is done put it in a blender with the breast milk/formula and blend until smooth. You can make more or less following these basic guidelines. If you want to make more and freeze it just make the initial mixture a little thicker, place it in ice cube trays, flash freeze for 1 hour and place in a ziploc bag. When you are ready to serve it defrost the cubes, add milk or formula and serve, just remember that the consistency may change a little more rubbery. You can also use basmati or jasmine rice.

Alternately you can actually grind the dry rice grains to a powder using a blender or a food processor. You can grind as much as you want and store in an airtight container. When you want to serve just get 1 cup of water, bring it to a boil, add 1/4 c. of the rice powder, stirring constantly, and simmer for about 10 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat, cool, add breast milk or formula to reach desired consistency and serve. Veggies/fruits can also be added at this point. Store the rest in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Wanna make oatmeal cereal? Using the previously mentioned method just grind rolled oats to a powder and use the ratio of 1/4 c. oatmeal powder and 3/4 c. water. Proceed as directed above.

Packaging freezer meals

Ziploc bags are probably the most frugal thing to use. They work great for stuff like soups and sauces, marinating meats, shredded meats, potstickers and roll dough. They are money savers as well as space savers. For things like sauces, soups and shredded meats make sure all the air is out of the bag and flatten like bricks and stack.

Make sure to label everything...you don't want to get stuck with something that you have no idea what it is or how long it's been in there. Label with the date and/or the expiration date, the cooking time and the temperature ie: cook at 350 for 60 minutes.

For casserole dishes we just use foil pans. They are inexpensive, they can go in the dishwasher and they usually come in packages of 4 or more

Buy the costco size plastic wrap. It's good for wrapping the foil pans or pizza crusts or doughs.

Supplies that will be useful:

-permanent markers
-ziploc freezer bags, quart and gallon sized
-plastic wrap
-a large bulk pot
-a large bowl

A personal discovery

I have found that when freezing individual portion sizes of a meal that the cheap ziploc tupperware are not a good idea. If dropped they often shatter and more often then not when trying to open the lid it will also break or shatter. Look for tupperware especially made for the freezer like the ones used for freezer jam or more heavy duty ones. For things like soups and sauces using a freezer ziploc bag placed inside of another ziploc bag works really well and stacks nice and flat in the freezer. Always use a second ziploc bag for added leakage protection.

What freezes well and what doesn't?

What freezes well?

Cooked rice, bread dough, pie crusts, cookie doughs, rolls, burritos/taquitos, waffles, shredded cheese(it needs to be shredded), soups, pastas sauces and other sauces, cooked ground beef(of course raw ground beef too), fish, grapes, broccoli(any veggies that you can buy in the frozen section at the grocery store), nuts, potstickers, marinated raw meats(you can put them directly in the freezer but if you are just going to marinate them later then why not freeze them in their marinade, they will become more tender and pack more flavor and it will save you time when you want to cook them up), shredded pork or beef or chicken with some of it's flavor juices...

What does NOT freeze well?

Water based fruits and veggies like lettuce, celery and watermelon, cheeses unless they are shredded, mayonnaise, custard based pies/tarts and frostings do not freeze well, fully cooked noodles will become soggy when defrosted. If you do desire to freeze noodle based dishes only cook the noodles about 50-70% of the way(depending on the dish) or for dishes like a lasagna it is not necessary to cook the noodle at all(though bear in mind it will be a firmer noodles but if that is what you like then it is great. If you are going to freeze pan fried food like chicken tenders just remember that if you don't want them to be soggy then you will need to reheat them in the oven.

Utilizing YOUR freezer for meals while saving money, time and reducing waste

I have crossed quite a few people lately who have been interested or semi-interesting in freezer meals and I am more then happy to share what I know with people but often talking about it isn't enough. So I've decided to write what I know down here so I can send people here to get info on what I can share about utilizing your freezer for dinners. And if I forget I can always come back here and look too.

Here are some reason's why freezer meals is a good idea:

-you can save money each month by shopping in bulk and wasting less and with meals in the freezer you are less likely to eat out.
-cooking your own freezer meals is healthier then buying stuff like tv dinners or other packaged and preserved meals
-It is very nifty for when you have sick or pregnant friends or friends that are just unable to make meals for themselves or their families.

Sounds great right? Well with my experience this isn't quite as easy as it sounds. It does take a lot of discipline and effort. Are you disciplined enough to spend the amount of time needed to cook in bulk in order to save money and make the time spent to freeze to meal worth it? Are you disciplined enough to eat what you have and not necessarily what you want or are craving at the time? Do you have enough freezer space? How good is your knowledge of what freezes well and what doesn't? These are potential stumbling blocks that if you can overcome it will open up a world of frugality with your time and your money.

So how long do things last in the freezer? Because we aren't using preservatives to make stuff have a longer shelf life we are limited in how long things last in the freezer and retain their nutrition. This sounds disappointing but things actually last for a good 2-6 months depending on what it is. Here are some general guidelines:

Breads and doughs- 2 months
Frozen desserts and drinks- 2 months
Main Dishes- 3-6 months
Salads(not water based), sides and soups- 3-6 months

Stuff will last longer in a freezer compartment that isn't exposed when the freezer door opens. Stuff stored in the door wont last as long.

So what freezes well? What doesn't? Find out in the post entitled What freezes well and what doesn't? Or click the link.

p.s. I'm by no means an expert in this stuff. What I know is what I have experienced and learned along the way. If you want to learn more from a person who has been educated in this check out this website. This woman is a native Utahn and has made appearances on Good Things Utah, Studio 5 and KJAZZ. She also does classes at Thanksgiving Point. For recipe's designed just for freezing I would purchase one of her books.

Broccoli Cheddar Mac and Cheese

If you couldn't already tell I have an obsession with Mac and Cheese. I pretty much love it a lot. This version was meant to mimic Broccoli Cheese Soup. I think it was quite successful :)

1 small-medium onion
2 Tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil
1 large head broccoli
2 cups or 1 lb of any hollow pasta
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4 c. water or chicken stock/broth
salt and pepper

Start by finely chopping the onion. Saute with the oil over medium heat. While the onions are cooking chop all the ends off the broccoli(unless you like them) and then chop up the broccoli into relatively bit size pieces. And really don't make the effort to cut them nicely and in their tree shapes, just give it a nice rough chop. Add the broccoli in with the onions. At this point the broccoli will start to soak up the rest of the oil so somewhat quickly mince your garlic and add it to the pan and salt and pepper the broccoli to taste. Mix it around so the flavor really start to incorporate and then pour in the water or chicken stock(more if you think it needs it) and proceed to steam the broccoli until it reaches a nice tender but not soggy state(unless you like soggy). For this particular meal I think the flavor is better if it is taken farther then the tender crisp state like in broccoli cheese soup. But do what you prefer. At this point go ahead and start your pasta to the manufacturers instructions.

3 Tbsp butter
3 somewhat heaping Tbsp. flour
3 cups whole milk
Salt and pepper to taste
a pinch or more or cayenne pepper
3 cups sharp cheddar cheese

After the broccoli mix is done steaming dump it into a bowl(it's ok if some of the onions and the flavor/oil from the onions and broccoli is left in the pan, it will be good for more flavor). In the same skillet melt the butter and mix with the flour to create a roux. Let some of the flour flavor cook out(about a minute or less) and slowly start adding the milk stirring constantly. Add the salt and pepper and cayenne pepper and stir constantly until the gravy becomes thick. Once thickened but before starts to bubble add the broccoli and onion in and let the flavors blend. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Stir until the cheese has entirely blended with the gravy and it is completely smooth. At this point add in the noodles that you cooked til just shy of al dente and continue to heat over a simmer until the noodles have soaked up a little of that gravy and have reached your desired tenderness. This stuff was good. For a more nutritionally complete meal feel free to add some pre-cooked(store bought or done yourself doesn't matter) diced or shredded chicken.

Fiesta Macaroni and Cheese

This was a recipe that we had a lot growing up. It's ALWAYS been one of my favorites. It's actually a quite simple meal and very tasty. Growing up it was always a can of this and a can of that. Well I decided to make it more homemade and healthier. I found SUCCESS! It is creamier and cheesier and more fresh tasting. I love it!






1 lb. of ground beef(opt.)
1 red pepper, diced finely
1 green pepper, diced finely
1 medium-small onion chopped super fine(or dried chopped onion works too)
2 Tbsp oil

If using meat cook that in the pan now, drain excess fat. After the beef is cooked add the rest of the ingredients and saute for about a minute or two. If you don't use the meat quickly saute the last four ingredients in a pan and remove the chunks(it's ok to leave the oil in)

3 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
3 c. whole milk
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
3 c. sharp cheddar cheese
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 1/2 c. elbow noodles cooked til slightly shy of al dente

In the pan used to brown meat and/or saute the peppers add the butter and melt. Add the flour to make the roux. Mix well for about 30 seconds to a minute. Slowly add milk stirring constantly. Add all the spices and keep stirring until thickened. Remove from heat and add the cheese and stir until it's all melted and incorporated. Add the sauted peppers and return to heat to mesh the flavors.Add the tomato sauce and the peppers and ground beef. Return to the heat and stir until well mixed and has a creamy orange consistency. Add the noodles and simmer until the noodles have soaked in the sauce and reached your desired firmness. This meal is a nice twist on macaroni and cheese and will create a fiesta for your taste buds!

Mini pepper and onion frittatas

1/2 red pepper
1/2 green pepper
1/2 medium-small onion
1/2 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
7 eggs
1/4 c. milk
fresh basil, chiffonade(optional)
salt

Finely dice peppers and onion. Grate the cheese. In a bowl whisk together eggs really well. Add milk and whisk some more. Pour the eggs into a large measuring cup and from the cup pour the egg mixture into a super greased muffin tin, filling about halfway-2/3 of the way full. Take some of the onion and peppers and place in muffin cup. Proceed to fill the rest of the cups with the peppers and onions. If you want to add the fresh basil chiffonade it and do it now. Top with some salt and a sprinkle of cheese. Bake in the oven at 325 for about 25 minutes. Immediately upon taking it out of the oven place a cookie sheet or a cutting board on top and flip the mini frittatas over onto the tray to cool for 5 minutes.

Banana Waffles

This one's simple

1 banana
1/2 c.(or more if you want) chocolate chips
1 recipe of waffles

Mash the banana in the bottom of the bowl. Pour on all the ingredients to make waffles, we just use bisquick cuz we are lame, maybe some day I'll find a better homemade recipe but until then I'm ok with being lame. Mix it together. Add chocolate chips and mix again. Cook on the waffle iron. Serve with syrup or nutella of whatever you like to top your waffles with.

Tomatillo Soup

I found this recipe on a website that I happened across that focuses on healthy dinners. I've tried a few of the recipe's and this one is by FAR my favorite. I think tomatillos are so under-appreciated. They are so delicious and I really enjoyed this recipe. You can find the recipe here. It is suggested to serve with avocado which we did not use because I hate them and Mark is mildly allergic to them. But we did serve with pico and instead of tortilla strips we used tortilla chips because we like the crunch. We also gave it a nice dollop of sour cream which really goes well with the tanginess of the soup. I would rate this soup a 9.5. I don't give it a 10 because I think it is possible that I could make some improvements to it.

Grilled Balsamic Chicken with Honey Balsamic Glaze

This is a fairly healthy and low calorie meal, it's good for those days where you just feel like something light but tasty

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup balsamic vinegar separated
1 bunch asparagus
1 small head of broccoli
1 carton cherry tomatoes
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. honey
2-3 T. brown sugar
1 garlic clove
salt and pepper

About 4 hours previous to when you prepare the chicken marinate the chicken(in the fridge) in 1/2 c. balsamic vinegar and the oil. When the chicken is done marinating pull it out of the bag and pat dry(toss the remaining marinade). If you are grilling on the grill make sure to get it nice and hot before you prepare the chicken or if you are using a george foreman like we did plug that in like 5 minutes before you are ready to cook the chicken. Salt and pepper the chicken and grill until reaching a minimum internal temperature of 165*. While the chicken is grilling put the remaining balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan. Add the honey, brown sugar, garlic clove and a pinch or two of pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. While that's simmering and chicken is grilling steam the broccoli and asparagus to a tender-crisp state. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half length wise. When the balsamic glaze is done remove from heat and add the tomatoes. Let that sit for about 5 minutes. To serve place the chicken and veggies on the plate and pour the glaze and tomatoes over top of all of it. If you aren't so concerned about low cal then you can serve the chicken over angel hair pasta(or a similar thin pasta).

Cinnamon, banana and nutella panini

Any sort of bread that you would use to make toast
nutella
bananas
butter
cinnamon

Mix a few tablespoons of softened butter with some cinnamon. Spread this on one side of one slice of bread. Place this side down on your panini maker/grill. Spread the side facing up with a generous amount of nutella. Place desired amount of sliced bananas on top of the nutella. Spread nutella on one side of another slice of bread. Place that side down over the bananas. On the side facing up spread more of your cinnamon butter. Proceed to grill your panini until it reaches your desired crispiness.

Turkey, apple and brie panini's

Sliced loaf of artisan bread
1 granny smith apple thinly sliced
Deli turkey meat sliced to your desired thickness
Brie cheese
Dijon mustard
Mayo
Butter

A while back I was watching Studio 5 and they were having a panini segment and this is one that I remember them doing. This was actually a pretty tasty and filling meal. I am unsure how I feel about the brie...I'm really not a cheese lover. I love cheeses like cheddar but beyond that I am quite picky. Next time I may try a different cheese besides brie. I may even try just spreading one of the insides of the bread with some mascarpone cheese...or maybe try some white cheddar. I dunno.

So basically you will butter one side of two slices of bread. Lay one slice butter side down on your panini maker or stove top grill(we used our george foreman because that's what we have). On the side facing up spread the mixture of mayo and dijon mustard(equal parts) and place your meat on that. Then place your sliced apples on, top it with the brie and put the other piece of bread on top butter side facing up. If in a panini maker or george foreman press the top down. If on a stove top grill put foil over the top slice and place a heavy pan on top. After one side is browned flip it and do the same. Cook until cheese is melted and bread reaches desired crisp-ness. We served this with fresh carrots and a cinnamon banana and nutella panini.

BBQ burgers

2 lbs. of ground beef
1 yellow onion, separated
BBQ sauce, separated
salt and pepper
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/2 c. flour
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk(I did half yogurt and half regular milk)
peanut oil
kaiser rolls or hamburger buns(I prefer the rolls toasted on the grill)

In a medium sized bowl combine the ground beef, about 1/4 of the onion(cut the onion off the direction that leaves rings b/c we'll be making onion rings with the rest) chopped up real fine, about a tsp of salt, a tsp of pepper and a Tbsp or two of BBQ sauce. Dig in and combine together well. Score the beef into 8 equal chunks. Form the burgers making the middle curve in(concave) so when the burgers cook they have the opportunity to cook through in the middle(when they cook they will plump and no longer be curved in). Either in a skillet or on the grill cook the burgers over a medium heat(maybe about 4-6 minutes on each side) until they are cooked through. While the burgers are cooking it's time to prepare the onion rings. Slice the onions about 1/4-1/2 inch wide making rings. Mix together all the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another. Dip the onion in the wet, then dip in the dry and fry in oil until they are a nice dark golden brown. To assemble the burgers place a burger on the bun then top that with bbq sauce, a couple onion rings and the top of the bun. Enjoy!

Macaroni and Cheese hotdogs

Pretty much it's just what it sounds like. Macaroni and cheese on top of a hot dog. I'm not a fan of hotdogs really so I figured if we are going to do them we are going to do them right. Here's what you'll need:

homemade mac and cheese omit the ham, ground mustard and add cheeses like swiss, extra sharp cheddar and gruyere. We added sharp cheddar and gruyere. When melting the butter saute some chopped green onions. We also shook it up by using some gemelli pasta. Cavatappi is also fun but for money's sake elbow noodles are just fine
hot sauce
hot dogs
hot dog buns

Make the mac and cheese(you'll have a lot left over for leftovers!! this is a good thing!). Cook the hot dogs how you desire(we grilled on the george foreman). Toast the buns on the grill as well. Assemble hot dog by placing the hot dog in the bun putting the hot sauce over top and then placing the mac and cheese on top of that. This was pretty bearable to eat considering I hate hot dogs :)

Green Chicken Curry

Because this recipe isn't mine and I didn't alter it to be my own at all I will just link you to the recipe here.

I thought I would also take the opportunity to rate all the new recipes I try on a scale from 1-10 with a little explanation as to why.

Ok, so I have never actually tried real Indian food before so this was a first. I have nothing to compare it to so I am rating this with my immature(Indian) pallet. I was actually pretty unsure looking at the list of ingredients as to how this recipe would turn out but I was pleasantly surprised with how well everything worked together. Every ingredient in the green curry was there to compliment the other ingredients. None of the flavors overpowered the others with maybe the exception of the cilantro being the most noticeable flavor. That being said the spices were a little strong. Eating to much of this at one time would probably be to much for me and make me sick. So did I like the meal? Yes. Will I make this meal again anytime soon? Probably not. Mark and I agreed that if this were to be served over basmati rice it would probably be an 8 but we had it with flatbread(naan) so we are giving it a 8 1/2.

Chili!!!

I need to preface this recipe with the fact that it is not a precise art. All these measurements are estimates and are adjusted according to my constantly taste testing through the process of making the chili.

1 lb. of ground beef
1 medium onion
4-6 cloves garlic
1/2 c. cranberry juice
1 can beef broth or 2 c. beef stock
a dash of allspice
1 whole fresh bay leaf or 1 tsp. dried bay leaves*note if a whole fresh leaf is used it should be removed after it fulfills it's purpose in flavoring the chili
1, 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1, 15 oz. can tomato sauce(more may be needed depending on how thick or not thick you want your chili to be)
1 can of black beans
1 can red beans(this is just my prefer combination of beans, it can be whatever beans you want) add more beans if you feel it needs it
2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp. pepper(more if you prefer)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. chipotle pepper seasoning(opt)

This all happens in one pot so make sure it is large enough. Brown ground beef adding chopped onion at the end. Continue sauteing the onion and beef until the onion become a little translucent. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Pour in the cranberry juice, 1/2 of the beef broth, bay leaf and allspice and bring to a boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes. If the bayleaf is whole at this point you'll remove it. Add the tomatoes, sauce, rest of beef broth and bean and stir together. Now go to town with your creative juices and use your taste buds as your best recipe. Add in all the spices, taste, and adjust accordingly. Bring to a boil and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Feel free to experiment. I have been wanting to experiment with maybe some chili de arbol or chili in adobo and other various chili spices or chili's in sauces.

Chili Corn Casserole

Growing up, when my dad was in charge of making dinner a lot of times this is what he would make. I think I was the only one that liked it because non of my siblings liked chili(I think a lot of their pallets have changed now though). For me this is just a quick throw together meal that tastes good especially when done with homemade chili. I think it's just one of those comfort foods for me.

If you are making this with homemade chili here's the recipe:

2-4 cups(or more, doesn't really matter) of leftover chili
1-2 c. corn(again depending on how many leftovers you have)
tortilla chips
cheese(opt)
sour cream or plain yogurt(I prefer plain yogurt for this particular meal, I feel the tangy-ness of the yogurt compliments the chili well) but just use whatever you have

It's that simple! Spray the bottom of a pan(what size of pan will depend on how much leftovers you have) and cover with a layer of tortilla chips. Mix corn in with chili and scoop over the chips. At this point you can put cheese over the chili if you so desire. Then put another layer of chips on top and stick in the oven on 350 for about 30-45 minutes until the chili is bubbling. If you put cheese on it you may wanna cover with foil for half of the cooking time so as not to burn it. Serve with sour cream or yogurt.

If you are just making it with cans of chili like what my dad did growing up here's the recipe:

4 cans of your favorite canned chili con carne
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
1-2 c. corn(to your taste preference)
tortilla chips
cheese(opt)
sour cream or plain yogurt

Mix together chili, onion, tomatoes and corn. Assemble the rest of the dish as explained above.

Chicken Ceasar Salad Sandwiches

This recipe is really as easy as it sounds

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
chicken seasoning and/or salt and pepper
1 caesar salad kit
a loaf of focaccia or some other Italian herbed bread

Season thawed chicken breasts. Fry them up in a skillet with some evoo until it reaches an internal temperature of 165. While those are frying assemble your ceasar salad minus the croutons. Cut the bread like a sandwich. When chicken is done slice it up and place it on the bottom of the bread. Pile ceasar salad on top. Place the top back on, slice up and serve immediately.

Macaroni ham and cheese

2-3 cups elbow noodles(really you can use any noodle you want) half wheat, cooked to slightly before al dente
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
1 c. chicken stock
2 c. whole milk or half and half
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
a pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
a couple shots of hot sauce or a pinch of cayenne pepper
3 c. sharp cheddar
leftover ham or deli ham cut into small pieces

Cook noodles to slightly before al dente. In a large skillet melt butter. Add flour and whisk together to make roux. After about 30 seconds add chicken stock and stir well. Slowly add the milk or half and half and continue stirring. Add all the seasonings. Continue to stir until thickened. Remove from heat and add cheese. Stir until melted. Add the ham. When noodles are ready, drain, add to the skillet. Place the skillet back over the heat and simmer until the noodles have reached your desired tenderness. Enjoy the creamy comfort food.