Italian Chicken with Basil and Garlic

With the costs of everything going up, it is getting harder and harder to stretch my food dollar. I am always looking at a package of meat and trying to decide how many meals I can possibly get out it. I am sure many of you are doing the same. We have many meatless nights and many nights were the side dishes take over the meal. You do what you can. It used to be where pasta was a good way to save money but even pasta got pricey. We now only buy it when we can get it for less than $1 a box. When the store has it on sale (recently it was 88 cents) we stock up!

During the week I had made a pot of marinara sauce and having some leftover but not enough for a meal on its own, I am using it as a base for my Italian chicken with garlic and basil. This is going to be very simple because my sauce is cooked. Here is how to do it.

I will be feeding 5 adults so I will figure on 4 boneless breasts. (the pasta helps to stretch the meal).

I have the sauce which is about 1 1/2 quarts. I will cook about 1 1/2 lbs of pasta (my son likes leftovers)

I take the chicken breasts, clean them of any extra chicken fat or scraps and then cut them into 3" pieces. Semi-thick because they will cook in the sauce.

I will saute them in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and then add them to the sauce. Allow it to cook for about 25 minutes. Simple and easy!

Serve with pasta and a side salad and fresh bread and we have a delicious meal!

Any leftovers can be put in a container for a brownbag lunch on Monday. Making your own sauce is much cheaper and tastes so fresh. My sauce is full of garlic and fresh basil so that is where the name Italian chicken with garlic and basil comes from. Really fresh and delicious. The chicken stews in the sauce and gives it so much flavor.

Enjoy!

Grandma's Way

Okay, so you start by cooking some elbow macaroni...let's say about 1 lb. (oh, it doesn't need to be elbows, whatever shaped pasta you have will work)

You brown some ground beef (lean is what I prefer) and yeah, maybe 1 lb. maybe closer to 2 if that is what you have. You add 1 quart of marinara sauce...if you use jarred sauce, fine, if you have homemade- even better!
Spice it up a little. You know what you like. Some oregano- how much? A pinch...you know, grab some between your fingers and throw it in...a few shakes of dehydrated minced onion (if the sauce is not seasoned) and some garlic (gotta have garlic) and again- it depends on your tastes...

Add shredded cheddar cheese. I don't know how much. How much do you like? 4 ounces? 6? extra cheesy would be about 8...

Stir in the macaroni...(sorry for the out of focus picture) and you get the idea...in one pot you have dinner.

When I first started to write web content, this was the first article I did.

Beefaroni Recipe

I read where you should write what you know. Well, as a mom of 5, and someone who enjoys creating recipes, my beefaroni recipe is what I was most sure of.

Growing up I picked up how to cook from watching my godmother, my Aunt Elsie and my grandmothers and of course, my own mother. No one measured. No one even used a recipe book.

When I cook, the only time I measure is when I bake (and technically that is baking not cooking)

So when I started to have to put my recipes on paper to teach others, it was hard. I had to measure so I could accurately share my creations with others. No easy task! Anyone who cooks like I do knows what I mean.

My little "demonstration" of how to make beefaroni shows that. Depending on how much ground beef I would have at home or how many people showed up for dinner, I would add more sauce or pasta to feed how ever many I needed to. That is the beauty of my beefaroni recipe. It is easy...kind of like adding more water to the soup!

For some, cooking comes natural. You just know how much to add. I love sharing my recipes with others but it is a challenge to "talk" someone through a recipe and remember that they may not share the same "gift" of knowing.

Sloppy Joseph

Some nights we have no "set" dinner plan. It is kind of a wing-it night. I had a marinated steak defrosting and a large container of browned ground beef defrosting also. The steak would be for the next night but what to do with the ground beef?

Lots of choices for ground beef recipes. Add to marinara sauce, make taco filling or enchilada filling, numerous kinds of casseroles or one-pot dinners ala homemade hamburger helper. Just wasn't "feeling" those. We decided to do a sloppy joe recipe that would be altered to go along with our own pickiness.

The son doesn't do tomatoes, I don't do peppers...most sloppy joe recipes contain both ingredients. Time to get creative. Loose meat sandwiches sounded good but there again, I don't like the taste of mustard so that wasn't going to work either. Okay, my kids are picky eaters and so am I. I have always managed (even with 5 children) to make dinner for us all without feeling like I run a diner.

I like to be creative and experiment. Looked around for what I did have and this is what we came up with.

I served this on big soft rolls with some spicy curly fries and a vegetable on the side. This recipe made four healthy sandwiches. Serve with plenty of napkins because it is SLOPPY!

Ingredients:
2 to 2 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef - browned and drained of fat
2 tablespoons minced fresh onion
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 large can brown gravy (fat-free works fine)

(notice I added zero salt- even fat-free canned gravy has salt in it)

Add onion and garlic to ground beef and simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes. Add remaining spices and brown gravy. Stir together well and heat to bubbling. Serve about 1 ladel full on each roll.

It will be sloppy but delicious. For those who just cannot survive a meal without ketchup, add some on your roll but believe me- you really don't need it. This was just "hot" enough with enough spice to leave a nice taste in your mouth.

I normally buy family size packages of ground beef. (leanest I can find) Browning the meat, draining the fat and freezing in containers saves so much time and also combats the "lazy" factor. (you know, Oh, I have to BROWN the meat??? UGH!)

Frozen, browned ground beef defrosts quickly. All you need to do is put it in a non-stick pan or pot and cook over a low flame. Add whatever ingredients you need for the recipe you are making. Saves lots of time.

Enjoy this Sloppy Joseph recipe. This is especially good for those who cannot handle the acidity of tomatoes or gassiness from peppers.

Chicken

Freshly Roasted Oven Stuffer

Chicken. Good source of protein that can be made 100 different ways. Roast an oven stuffer roaster once and eat for days.

Did you know that you can cook your oven stuffer roaster in your crockpot?? Great for summertime cooking because using the crockpot doesn't heat up your kitchen the way oven roasting does. Simply line the bottom of your crockpot with chopped celery, onion, carrots, parsley and potatoes and place the chicken on top. Sprinkle with paprika, salt, black pepper and garlic powder, set on low and allow to cook for 4 hours.

After you chicken is roasted, remove the meat and then you can make chicken broth with the roaster. This helps to add more meals for your money.

Here are some ideas of how to eat well from one roaster. The first meal you eat from your oven stuffer roaster could just be a simple old-fashioned chicken with homemade mashed potatoes and a favorite vegetable.

Put away the leftover chicken, no matter how small the pieces are and use them to make this delicious and easy skillet chicken with rice and vegetables.

In the mood for a quick and easy quesadilla?? Use your George Foreman grill to make an easy dinner. You need your leftover chicken, tortillas, cheddar or taco blend cheese and salsa on the side. Add onions or tomatoes if you like. Quick easy and delicious!

So there you go, a few ideas of what to do with an oven stuffer roaster. Making it easy but delicious!

Grilling Boneless Chicken

There are so many ways to prepare boneless chicken breasts but one of my favorites is this easy recipe for marinated grilled chicken. Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes or even overnight...the longer the better for juicy, flavorful chicken! YUMMY! Another tasty treat from Momma Vicky's kitchen.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5053254_make-marinated-grilled-chicken.html