Dinners, Week of August 23

Orange Chicken (Crockpot)
Baked Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Style (Vegetarian, vegan without cheese)
Bulgur Wheat Salad with Avocado, Raisins, and Almonds (Vegan) (NOT wheat-free)
Taco Dip or Salad (can be vegetarian or vegan)
Lazy Shepard's Upside-down Casserole (Crockpot)

Shopping list tomorrow!  Eventually!  :-D


Orange Chicken (Crockpot)

The Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, cut in 2-inch chunks
1/2 cup flour (I used Pamela's Baking Mix)
olive oil, for browning the chicken
1 tablespoon kosher salt
6 ounces (1/2 can) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed (I'd opt for little-to-no pulp. The pulp can taste a bit bitter when cooked)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup

The Directions
Use a 4 quart slow cooker for best results. Dredge the chicken pieces with the flour, and shake off the excess. Go ahead and throw away any remaining flour, we won't need it. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on the stove and brown the chicken on all sides. There is no need to fully cook it, just sear it enough for the flour to stick and get a nice coating.

Plop the chicken pieces into your slow cooker. In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Taste. If you'd like the chicken to be a bit sweeter, add a touch more sugar. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken, and toss gingerly to coat.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Serve over white or brown rice.



This is one of Tony's favorite meals.  He's been asking me to put it on the docket for weeks.  He doesn't know yet that he's trading me for the bulgur meal, one I'm particularly fond of but he's not.  I'd be more excited about this if I was getting cheese on my portion.  :)  Don't forget to save the seeds to cook 'em up like pumpkin seeds.

Baked Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Style (Vegetarian)
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/baked-spaghetti-squash-lasagna-style/Detail.aspx   

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 (14 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 cube vegetable bouillon
black pepper to taste
1 (15 ounce) can black olives, chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with a thin layer of cooking spray. Place squash halves cut side down on the baking sheet.
2. Bake squash 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife can be easily inserted. Remove from oven, and cool.
3. Meanwhile, spray a non-stick saucepan with cooking spray. Over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic until golden brown. Stir in tomatoes, basil, bouillon cube, and black pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until you have a medium thick sauce.
4. Remove squash strands with a fork, reserving the shells. Layer each half with a spoonful of the sauce, a layer of spaghetti squash strands, olives, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers until shells are full, or until all of the ingredients are used. Top with Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until Parmesan cheese melts.



 
The first time I made this, I searched the grains section of every store in town, and several out of town to find bulgur.  After picking it up at a store an hour away, I found it at our Save Mart, in the baking aisle, with the specialty flours and grains (apparently).  I believe it's Bob's Mill brand.  I bought an extra when I found it.  I remember making a yummy bulgur pilaf in the past; I'll have to dig up the recipe.  (I skip the spreading it out part, FYI.)


Bulgur Wheat Salad with Avocado, Raisins, and Almonds (Vegan) (NOT wheat-free)
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/01/healthy-delicious-bulgur-wheat-salad-with-avo.html

Adapted from Fine Cooking.
Ingredients
    * 1 cup bulgur wheat
    * 2 tablespoons golden raisins
    * 2 tablespoons regular raisins
    * 1 large lemon
    * 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    * 1/4 teaspoon cround coriander
    * 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
    * 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
    * 1 firm but ripe avocado, diced
    * 2 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
    * 3 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
    * Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Procedures
   1.  Cook bulgur wheat as directed. When finished, spread out on a cool surface and let it come to room temperature.
   2.  In a small bowl, combine raisins with enough hot water to cover them. Drain after 5 minutes.
   3.  In a medium bowl, zest the lemon. To it, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice, olive oil, coriander, cumin, paprika, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Whisk it all together.
   4.  In a large bowl, combine bulgur wheat, dressing, raisins, avocado, scallions, and almonds. Stir to combine. Salt and pepper to taste. (Don't skip that part.) Serve.


This is more of a meal idea than a recipe.  You get the general idea, and can adjust the ingredients to your family's tastes.


Taco Dip or Salad (can be vegetarian or vegan)
Ingredients
  Refried beans
  lettuce
  olives
  mushrooms
  salsa
  avocado/guacamole
  onions
  ground beef/turkey
  cheese
  sour cream
  tortilla chips

Directions
This is an easily customizable meal.  Chop your desired ingredients (brown ground beef if using, of course) and layer them in a 9x9 or 9x13 casserole dish.  I prefer beans on the bottom and salsa on the top.  Eat as a salad or a dip with tortilla chips.


I cribbed part of this recipe from Stephanie over at A Year of Slow Cooking.   Her original ecipe was for a meatloaf, but since I had to cut the egg, I thought it would be nice to make something other than "Pot 'o Meat."  So  added the rest.  This recipe has *not* been tested yet, so if it explodes, kills you, or just doesn't taste good, you've been warned.  And I'm sorry.  :)


Lazy Shepard's Upside-down Casserole (Crockpot)
Partially borrowed from:  http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2010/06/slow-cooker-big-easy-meatloaf-recipe.html

Ingredients
serves 4-6

1 pound lean ground turkey or beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 potatoes, diced
1 1/2 cup frozen corn
1 cp mushrooms, sliced
1 cup celery, chopped

Directions
Toss meat in a mixing bowl with all the spices. Mix well; I always use my hands.

Put potatoes in crockpot, followed by spiced meat and veggies.  Cook on low for 6 hours, mixing half way.  Check doneness after about 4 hours.

Dinners, Week of August 9

Instead of “wraps,” we’ll be using plain old tortillas.  Flour and corn as necessary.    Also, we’ll be using leftover chicken from a whole chicken ($.79/lb) we cooked tonight.

Lime Chicken Tacos with Avocado and Tomato
http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2010/08/deconstructed-guacamole-wraps-or-lime.html

Serves 4

Ingredients
*8 ounces grilled chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces
*1 avocado, diced
*1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
*1/4 cup red onion, minced
*1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
*3 tablespoons lime juice
*2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
*1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
*Freshly ground black pepper
*4 large leaves green lettuce
*4 tortilla wraps

1) In a medium bowl, combine chicken, avocado, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro. Stir, gently if you have very-ripe avocado.
2) In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Pour on to chicken mixture and stir to combine.
3) Place a few leaves of lettuce on each wrap. Split chicken evenly among wraps. Roll them up. Serve!


I kind of mish-mashed this recipe from 2 different ones I found on Allrecipes.com.  I haven’t tried it out yet; I’ll let you know how it turns out.  We’ll be eating the ribs with raw corn on the cob, which is very plentiful, cheap and yummy right now.

Barbeque Sauce & Soda Ribs (Crockpot)

Ingredients
*10 country style pork ribs
*2 teaspoons minced garlic
*1 lemon, thinly sliced
*1 (18 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce
*6 oz. diet cola or Dr. Pepper soda

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Season ribs with salt and pepper. Place in a shallow baking pan. Brown in oven 15 minutes. Turn over, and brown another 15 minutes; drain fat.
3. Add ribs, BBQ sauce, soda, & garlic to crockpot.  Place sliced lemon on top.
4. Cover, and cook on Low 6 to 8 hours, or until ribs are tender.


Tony and Kismet will be eating their burgers with bread for buns, but I’ll just pile my pickles, ketchup and onions directly on top.  The burgers are Jenny-O premade turkey burgers we got on sale last week for $1.99.

Turkey burgers & oven fries

Skinny Fries
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Skinny-Fries/Detail.aspx

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Ready In: 55 Minutes
Servings: 3

Ingredients
*3 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch julienned slices
*1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons butter or margarine, melted
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*1/8 teaspoon pepper

1. Place potatoes in a bowl drizzle with butter and toss to coat. Transfer to a lightly greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes until golden brown, turning once. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.


The original recipe, wherever I found it (I forgot, maybe on the BHB?), called for 4 chicken breasts, instead of turkey, but we’ve been on chicken overload the past 2 weeks, so I subbed the incredibly different turkey breast.  Also, instead of buying tortilla chips, I’ll be using extra corn tortillas from the taco meal to make our own chips.

 Tortilla Soup (Crockpot)

Ingredients
*1 pound ground turkey
*2 15-oz. cans black beans, undrained
*2 15-oz. cans Mexican stewed tomatoes or Rotel tomatoes, undrained
*2 cups of frozen sweet corn kernels
*1 cup salsa (whichever kind you prefer)
*4-oz. can chopped green chilies, undrained
*14 1/2-oz. can tomato sauce
*tortilla chips
*2 cups grated Mexican cheese

1.) Brown turkey and drain.
2.) Combine all ingredients except chips and cheese in large slow cooker
3.) Cover. Cook on Low for 8 hours.
4.) To serve, put a handful of chips in each individual soup bowl. Ladle soup over chips. Top with cheese and/or sour cream if desired.

Baked Tortilla Chips
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Tortilla-Chips/Detail.aspx#

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 25 Minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients
*1 (12 ounce) package corn tortillas
*1 tablespoon vegetable oil
*3 tablespoons lime juice
*1 teaspoon ground cumin
*1 teaspoon chili powder
*1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cut each tortilla into 8 chip sized wedges and arrange the wedges in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
3. In a mister, combine the oil and lime juice. Mix well and spray each tortilla wedge until slightly moist.
4. Combine the cumin, chili powder and salt in a small bowl and sprinkle on the chips.
5. Bake for about 7 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for another 8 minutes or until the chips are crisp, but not too brown. Serve with salsas, garnishes or guacamole.