A Cooking Baker

This is my new favorite meal, and I made it for everyone I brought meals to this summer - a refreshing alternative to tacos and pasta dishes. It's super easy, and really tasty.  It's perfect for summer when you have a bounty of fresh cukes and tomatoes in the garden, but I've been keeping it in the rotation all year long. This is less a recipe and more of an ingredient list - eyeball the quantities and adjust to the number of people you're feeding - it's easy to make for 2 or 20. Tip: Costco has these fab packages of mini Naan bread - get it, freeze it, and you can heat as many as you need in the toaster - so easy!) Greek Chicken Boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced into strips Fresh lemon juice Oregano (dried) Garlic powder, salt and pepper for seasoning (Roma) tomatoes, diced (Seedless) cucumber, diced Red onion, minced Italian flat-leaf parsley, minced Feta cheese (use real, regular Feta - no need for fat-free or reduced-fat - just don't...

Have you tried this awesome no-knead bread , yet? It was all the rage several years ago, and I gave it a shot.  If I can do it, anyone can.  It's easy, delicious, and you can play around with different flavor combinations.  Our favorite was simply cheddar cheese.  I can't wait to try some new ones!  Rosemary and garlic and some herby combinations are sounding kind of great right now... I didn't change anything about the recipe, and I used my trusty Aldi cast iron Dutch oven (one of the best purchases ever, BTW).   I made a few loaves at a time, so we could consume one immediately, eat one the rest of the week, and then shared with some people.  I even brought a warm loaf to our school bake sale once and it sold immediately.  

I LOVE Angelic Bakehouse products (nope, I didn't even get paid to say that!).  The Flatzza Buddy is the perfect size for a quick lunch or dinner.  I whipped up a BBQ Chicken Flatzza the other day for lunch with some leftovers I dug out of the fridge.  It was pretty fab. BBQ Chicken Mini Pizza 1 Flatzza Buddy per person BBQ sauce Monterey Jack cheese, shredded Red onion, thinly sliced Grape tomatoes, halved and quartered Cooked chicken, chopped Ranch dressing (optional) Cilantro, chopped (optional) OR: Just use your favorite pizza toppings! Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Spread a light layer of whatever BBQ sauce you have on hand (I think it was Mrs. Renfro's in my case), then sprinkle a layer of Monterey Jack cheese on (use whatever you have on hand - mozzarella, cheddar, gouda, jack, etc.).  Add some thinly sliced red onion, chopped grape tomatoes, and chopped, cooked chicken.  Drizzle a little more BBQ sauce over top, and bake it until...

I could eat this Korean-style shredded beef every week - the kids love it, the husband loves it, and it's so easy! This recipe is a great one for a freezer meal, too - I usually make a double batch to serve half and freeze the other half. It's a go-to when I need a meal to share with a someone who needs one in our school community. I'll throw in a bag of tortilla chips and guac with pico, some fresh pineapple or other fruit, and all of the fixings for the tacos.  You can even buy pre-washed lettuce leaves for wraps if you want to include those and you want a short-cut.  It seems to be a universal favorite for kids and adults. Shredded Korean-Style Beef 2-3 lb. chuck roast 1/2 medium white onion, diced 1/3 c. low-sodium soy sauce 1 tbsp. rice vinegar 1 tsp. sesame oil 1/3 c. honey 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated (or 1 tsp. ground) 1/2 jalapeno, minced 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper Put in the roast and onions in your slow cooker, and whi...

I am a recovering recipe ripper-outer.  Now Pinterest and the Internet in general help me save recipes I want to try instead of creating a big paper mess.  I still have an old stack of ripped out recipes I can't quite get myself to toss, so I'm working my way through them when I can. I tried one from 2009 (I know) tonight with a few tweaks.  It was quick, packed in the veggies, and the kids ate it!  I would definitely do the prep ahead of time, since it was a little hectic and messy in the kitchen trying to whip it up right before dinner, but we made it happen. Quick Sesame Beef Sitr Fry Serves 4-6 4 oz. egg noodles, cooked and drained (or serve over rice, etc.) 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated 1 heaping tbsp. garlic, minced 6 scallions, sliced 2 c. cabbage, shredded (the kids barely noticed it!) 1 c. carrots, sliced diagonally or julienned 1 c. yellow or white onion, diced 1 medium green bell pepper, julienned 1 medium red pepper, ju...

I needed to use up some leftover chicken, broccoli, and cheese fondue from New Year's, and this is what happened!  The kids are not giant fans of casseroles - they're more of the "keep my food separate" school of thought, but they ate it and didn't die.  The adults enjoyed it - a simple comfort food dish.  Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Casserole 2/3 cup milk ( 2% or skim)  1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper 1 recipe cream soup mix 1/2 c. shredded Swiss cheese (I used the fondue here) - some people prefer more cheese 1 c. cooked rice 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped broccoli, thawed (I used fresh I had on hand, and steamed it) 2 c. chicken, cooked, chopped (I used leftovers - rotisserie chicken works great here, too) Cooking spray 1 (1-ounce) slice white bread (or use some pre-made bread crumbs - I had some Panko in the pantry) Optional: Sauté some chopped mushrooms (1/2 c. or so) and 1/2 diced onion in a little butter, and stir into mi...

We rarely have leftovers with a hungry teenage boy in the house, so I occasionally for lunch I like to "treat" myself with something they might not like as much.  Here's one I whipped up recently... "Caprese" Chicken Sandwich Good bread - I had some Ciabatta on hand butter or olive oil fresh basil leaves Roma tomatoes, sliced thinly sliced chicken deli meat (this was Boar's Head something or other we had left over from chicken "philly" sandwiches we had for dinner earlier in the week) or slice up a chicken breast if you have it optional: thinly sliced red onion, some garlic aioli, Dijon mustard, mozzarella cheese - or even better, basil farmer's cheese - a dangerously delicious treat a local store here sells (Brennan's) I heated my pan to medium-ish heat, and then lightly spritzed my bread with some olive oil.  I layered the ingredients on, topped with the other slice of bread, and then put my trusty bacon press on top to ...