Sunday Dinner: Smothered Chicken, Steamed Asparagus with Tangy Sauce and Roasted Ranch Red Potatoes

Wow that is a full heading! But this meal was FULLfilling! And it may have topped them all! (Don't I always say or think that?)

This meal was a little Six Sisters Stuff and some Pinterest.

Bare with me...this recipe could get intense, but I promise...well worth the cooking and wait! I brought left overs to work and I think the sentence that first came out is "When are you going to culinary school"? So...I have thought of the idea...we will see how that goes.

Let's start with the produce. Well...let's start with Sprouts (a local all natural/farmer's market like store here in Utah County).  Can I just say I LOVE this store?! I went there last Saturday, spent $30 and left with 5 FULL bags of fresh produce (greens, fruits, vegetables...everything)!  I think that is a pretty good deal. This week they have asparagus .88/lb. I LOVE asparagus. Roasted, steamed...you name it! Six sisters recipe book has this tangy sauce to go over asparagus.  Here you have it:

There are two ways to break the stems off of asparagus. Both seem to work just fine. The first way is to break off the end by bending a stem and allowing the asparagus to "snap" where it does naturally. The top piece is what you want to eat. The whiter end is trash. (I have heard people use these for home made stocks though.) 

Then you just continue to do this to the rest of the stems. 

The other way is to follow the previous way. Once you break one apart you just line up the tops of the asparagus and just chop off the ends of the remaining stems. 

Then place them in about an inch of water in a saucepan.  Bring this to a boil and allow to boil until tender. About 10 minutes.

The Tangy Sauce:
1 part Dijon Mustard (I used French's Dijon and it said it had Chardonay in it--it was the only cheaper Dijon I could find)
1 part olive oil
1 part syrup (yes your good ol fashion pancake syrup--odd I know, but trust me!)

Take about 2 tables spoons each of the three and whisk them together. Take your finger and do a little taste. Delicious right?! It was SO good on the steamed asparagus. And some even ended up on the chicken it was just as good!

Step 1

Step 2

Finished 

Now you need to chop your potatoes. The recipe is here from Six Sisters.

Make sure you scrub your red potatoes really well. They have dips and holes that hold on to a lot of dirt...and we don't want to eat dirt!

Get your EVOO and Ranch packet ready.

 Put your EVOO, Ranch packet and chopped potatoes in a large freezer bag. Now give it to a small child and let them move the potatoes around while you work on the rest of the meal.

Then lay them out on a large cookie sheet. Don't place foil on your cookie sheet like I did...that was a mistake.

Put them in the oven to bake as the recipe shows.

Have I said lately, that I love asparagus?? Place them in the pan with just enough water to barely coat them.

Now let's talk chicken....mm mm chicken!

Get a large pack of chicken. This fed my family of 5 plus we had leftovers for two days worth of lunches.

Peel the skin and trim your chicken, then I cut the chicken breasts in half. Place them in a sprayed cake dish.

This A1 rub is delicious! Shon picked it up at the store and I always use it on my baked chicken. Haven't tried BBQ yet, but I am sure that is delicious too!

And as Emeril always states, you don't eat one side of the chicken so season BOTH sides of your chicken.

I was going for a recipe like this.

Chop your mushrooms. If you hate mushrooms, leave them out. But we love mushrooms...towards the end you add your thawed, slightly warm spinach and shredded cheese.  And the end result...

The family feedback: 5/5 stars! The potatoes were delicious and the chicken was perfectly done. I ate the asparagus first so it didn't get cold and there was some extra sauce from that. So I rubbed my chicken in that, cause wasting that sauce it like breaking the law! :-) Anyways, the sauce was good on chicken! It is such a simple sauce! 

Hope you enjoy making this meal as much as we did.  And...as always...Happy Cooking.

Cristina

Family Tater Tot Casserole

A few years ago I was watching the Duggar Family...you know the 20+ kids and counting show? They were making tater tot casserole for lunch for all the kids. They I googled and found they have a website and they have recipes on it...score!!  

The rest is really history.  My family asks for this at least once a month for dinner. I changed it and kicked it up a little. It easy to make and a crowd pleaser...so that makes it a keeper!

You are going to want a bag of tater tots of course. The normal size bag...I am not sure what the size is. My bag shown here is much larger...I make this often so I usually buy one large bag to make this a few times...

 ...Some chopped green onion to top...

...some sour cream, also to top...

...cheese...cheddar preferably. I also had some monterey jack on hand so I will add that too if I have it...but at least two cups of cheddar cheese.

...brown about 1-2 pounds of meat. I use about 1 1/2 to one family size cream of mushroom soup.

the infamous cream of mushroom soup...this soup has saved me many of times on recipes...it's really like a recipe saver! I love it! Always keep multiple cans on hand!

Ok, back to the recipe...after your meat is cooked and drained, add your soup and mix it in. I also add about 1 cup of sour cream to make it nice and creamy.

...spray a 9x13 dish...super light spray.

Then after your pour your meat mixture in, place the tater tots on top. Yes...I place them neatly on top. Do I have OCD? Yes very much so...

...and here we have it. Sometimes my family will put more cheese on top. Otherwise top with sour cream and some chopped green onion. Yum!

..and to finish it off...since this is a stick to your ribs recipe, we have salad...

...and this salad dressing is the best dressing ever!!! It is especially good on some mixed spinach, red onion, a boiled egg, some sunflower seeds and craisins! Oh, I think I just drooled!

Enjoy and as always, happy cooking.

French Bread French Toast

We had pasta one night and Ridley's (a local store) had a two pack for $2.29.  My husband graciously bought the two pack and here I was thinking what the heck and I am going to use the second loaf for...

So I woke up one Saturday morning and I thought "What am I going to make my kids?" I have a tradition where I make them a nice breakfast Saturday mornings.  We usually don't have to rush anywhere super fast and I tend to wake up early since I get up at 5am on weekdays.  So I get up and start breakfast and they wake up to breakfast when they wake up. Anyways...we were talking about bread right? So there is this loaf and it had to be eaten...

So I sliced it up...

...in to about 2 inch slices...

...then I dunked it into some egg (I got about two slices of bread per egg)...

...I also poured some syrup in to a saucepan to start warming up... (yes I warm the syrup for my kids...my husband says they are spoiled...and I think they are too, but I love it!)

...Like normal french toast, you let it brown on one side, then flip to the other. I cooked these over medium heat.

...and there we have it!

I think the kids enjoyed it...if you can't tell...needless to say there were no leftovers.  I sprinkled some powdered sugar on top of the boys' french toast. Topped it off with a nice glass of milk and it was a breakfast well deserved!

Dave was being camera shy today...

 As always, happy cooking!

The Eleventh Year to Eternity...

As of last Saturday, Shon and I have been married for 11 years. For those that have been close to our journey know that it has been a rough journey. But when I think about that sentence, I think of what journey isn't rough? And what marriage is perfect? We are not perfect and marriage it not perfect. Marriage is a way of life, something that is precious, something that needs to be protected and nourished and worked on. Yes marriage is work, but in the end it winds up having the greatest blessings.

I remember when Shon asked my grandpa to marry me. He knew how much I loved and adored my grandfather (and I still do). He knew even though I never said I have always loved the tradition of the man asking the girl's parents (or grandpa in this case) that it meant a lot to me. I remember walking in to the room and seeing the grin on my grandfather's face. He had a grin that would like up a dark room.  Then the phone went to my dad and I knew what Shon was asking.

In 11 years of marriage, I became a step-mom immediately, I became a mother (which I feel is different than just being a step-mom), I became more patient, I have become more understanding.

I have also learned what is most important for me and my family. And what others say and think doesn't matter because they don't form who my husband and children are or what they can be.

I have learned how protective I am of my relationships. I am very protective of my children. I learned what heart break really is for mentally and emotionally.

I never thought growing up that I would have gotten married so young (although it is the norm here in Utah).  But I am glad I did.

Marriage gave me a best friend and marriage gave me something I couldn't make myself...my children.

It has been one hell of a ride. But all the down hills and back peddling make up for what I have...

Happy Anniversary baby...here's to many more to eternity!

Our new Sushi place that we tried. That thing above is a steamed scallop with avocado on a rice bed. Lemon on top...I think I had died and gone to heaven! It was SO SO SO good!!! Below is their version of a Vegas roll. Yum!

The gorgeous flowers Shon brought me!

Adoption...

That is all...

January LOVE Calendar

So I found this site the very end of December called thedatingdivas.com. I don't remember how I came across it but I am glad I did. I wanted to share what Shon and I did during the month of January. You might have seen some of it on our Dating Divas: Bookstore Date. (stupid blogger won't let me add the link right now)

We used this love calendar. Each day you do something different for your spouse. And if it is a date that is on their website they give you the link to their website! It very user friendly and FUN! I think you have to remember to have FUN in your marriage.

So check it out! We had a of fun! And it was nice when there were days where it was HIS turn to rub my feet or HIS turn to do a chore.

I also tried to copy the calendar in here but since it is a PDF it didn't like it and I am too lazy to convert the file for y'all to see. So just follow the links. I promise those work! ;-)

Pinterest Cooking: Italian Cream Cheese Sauce with Penne and Garlic Shrimp

Here is yet another recipe I (and my family) was eager to try.  And I know what some of you non shell-fish eaters are thinking. "This recipe isn't for me, we hate shrimp". Hear me out...you could have made this with chicken or pork and it would have tasted just as good...to you.  We LOVE seafood in my house.  So we had shrimp!

Here's the bad news.  The link the recipe no longer works. So I had to improvise.  

7 oz of penne 8 oz cream cheese 1 can chicken broth 1 cup cheddar cheese 1/2 packet Italian seasoning 350 degrees While pasta is cooking heat cream cheese, Italian seasoning and chicken broth on stove until cream cheese melts.Place cooked pasta in an 8x8 baking dish and pour cream cheese mixture over top. 20-25 minutes

Oops forgot to show the Italian Dressing Mix

Boil your pasta. Penne, Rotini, whatever you have. The recipe says 7oz which is about 1 lb. which is what comes in most pasta packages.

Once your water is boiling make sure to add lots of salt. Remember this is the only way to really flavor your pasta. And Kosher salt works the best. 

Then you can work on your sauce mix. Stir well.

I added a little bit of garlic. That little gadget is a micro plane. I love it!

It worked well to mix with a whisk.

Then I added a little more Monterey Jack cheese...it's SO good!

Ok, while the sauce was working and the noodles were boiling, I worked on the shrimp.  I used some cooked, frozen, tail on (it's much cheaper-of course get the fresh stuff if you can)

I just microwaved it in a bowl with some butter and cloves of garlic ( I did about 3).

Once the shrimp was thawed and tasting good. I removed the tails...Yes, Shalynn that it the popcorn bowl you gave me with Christmas. It comes in handy. :-)

Here it is out of the oven! Make sure when you dumb the sauce all over you do get it ALL over the noodles. Doesn't that look delicious?!

Once it came out, I added just a little more Monterey Jack Cheese.

Here's the final plate. I just served it with some frozen spinach.

It must've been delicious because this is what our plates looked like after about 5 minutes...we were hungry and it was delicious!

The boys had thirds and even fourths! And we have leftover pasta. (Shon was at work when it was done).

The verdict, as if it wasn't obvious.  4/4 stars! And I wouldn't change a thing! It was so creamy and filling and delicious.  So much that here are my reclined feet when I was done.  

Hope you all enjoy it and as always, happy cooking!