Zesty Chicken and Veggies

I made this one up with all lots of stuff from my fridge. Here's what i used:

Ketchup, Honey mustard, garlic, Italian seasonings, lemon juice, season salt, and pepper,

vegetables: potatoes, squash, onions, carrots, and broccoli (you can use what ever you want!)

And Chicken Breast cut up into strips, you could use other pieces of chicken, or pork or beef if you wanted.



I cut up all the vegetables small and in a bowl i mixed them along with all the condiments from my fridge, you can mix and match anything, but i think the ketchup and lemon are key to making it zesty. You could use lime too if you wanted. Just a squirt, or a dash of everything. Mix it up really well, and then add to a casserole. Make sure that you lift the vegetables out of the bowl with your hand rather than dumping into the casserole. This way you will have left over marinade for the meat. Let the meat marinate for a few mins. You may want to start the veggies because my potatoes came out raw and i had to put them back into the oven to cook a little longer. Once they've cooked for about 30 mins, add the meat to the top and let cook for another 20 to 30 mins.

Zesty Chicken and Vegtables

These pics are a little backwards, but basically you'll put the chicken into the oven at 350. add a few dots of butter to the top. Bake for about 30 mins. at the 30 min mark, spoon some of the juices from the bottom onto the chicken. Bake for a little longer until the chicken is golden brown. (side note) my potatoes did not come out cooked, so i had to take the chicken off and bake the potatoes longer. You may want to marinate the chicken for a little longer, and let the vegetables cook for about 3o, and then add the chicken and bake until the chicken is done. I added a spoon of sour cream to the plate and ate it up!

Meat Loaf Dinnaaaaa

This is my FAMOUS Meat Loaf Dinner. I usually Serve Mashed potatoes, and either veggies or a salad.
Here is what you'll need:
1 Onion
1 lb of beef (some get fancy and use 1/2 pork, 1/2 beef... I don't)
Beef Broth (just buy a box and keep it in the fridge, and use it for other things... it lasts a LONG TIME!)
Worcester sauce

Ketchup
BBQ Sauce
salt & pepper
Bread crumbs
Sage (if you have it.. if not, don't worry about it)
Italian seasonings
garlic
french fried onions (can you guess... this is my favorite thing! i use em almost every night!)

So start off by chopping an onion and sauteing it until almost transparent, you don't want them to disappear into the meat loaf.
While they are cookin, add into a large bowl, the meat, a few squirts of ketchup and BBQ sauce and Worcestersauce. A sprinkle of salt, pepper, and other seasonings, Garlic, How ever much you like! I added about a table spoon full of minced garlic. about a 1/4 cup of bread crumbs, and about a 1/4 cup of broth. Do not mix until the onions are ready. Once the onions are ready, mush it all together with your hands, be gentle, and don't over work the meat! all of the ingredients should be incorporated. Put the meat onto a baking pan, make sure it has edges because you don't want a mess on your hands. Form into a loaf, add some ketchup to the top and brush all over. Add French Fried onions to the top and bake @ 350 for 45-1 hour. or until you think its done :)

Veggies for the Meat Loaf

I used zucchini, and squash, i chopped up all the veggies into bite sized pieces,
I added seasoning: Season Salt, Garlic, a few table spoons of Onion Soup.

Added the veggies to a steamer, and let steam for about 10 min, or until fork tender. You could also make a foil pack: just lay a large piece of foil out, pour the veggies into the center, take the opposite sides and fold together, and then bring in the sides. Make sure the packet is sealed and won't come lose. Place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven @ 350 for about 20 to 30 min.

Final... Meat Loaf Dinner

Mashed potatoes
Meat Loaf
and
the meal on plates!

Shepherds pie ... finished

Once the meat mixture has simmered for a few mins... add to a casserole dish, add the potatoes... I used scalloped so i added the dried potatoes first, and then poured the cream mixture (from the box) to the top. Bake at 350 for 25-30 mins. Once the mixture is bubbling hot add the french fried onions to the top, crushing them with your hand as you sprinkle them on top. Bake for another 5 mins, or until the onions are golden brown and crispy.
Take out of the oven, let cool for a few... and then ENJOY!!!

I hope this was fun and easy for you to make... let me know if you have any questions...

Shepherds pie... cont...

Once the onions are caramelized add the hamburger meat, break it up, and cook it through. once cooked through, drain off grease and add veggies... you can use as much or as little as you like... i used about a cup of frozen carrots and broccoli... you can through in spinach, zucchini, squash, anything!!!

After the veggies are added, add the 2 spoons of sour cream, and splash of milk or cream (i used cream) (you could also make a gravy out of the grease and use that as the "sauce" but i like the sour cream/cream mixture...

Mix up everything and let it simmer for a min or two...

Shepherds pie... yum

Okay, I made this for dinner last week... I actually made it Thursday, but didn't feel like baking it off, so i refrigerated it and made it Sunday night for dinner... You need:

little drip of olive oil

1 Onion

1 lb of hamburger

2 spoons of sour cream

a splash of milk or cream

Veggies... any kind, frozen or fresh

potatoes... i used scalloped potatoes, but you can use mashed, and i used them from the box,but you could make them from scratch.

french fried onions...



so here we go:
dice up the onion... doesn't need to be perfect... i did big dice because they will sweat and shrink and I wanted to taste them in the end result...
cook the onions in the olive oil until they are caramelized, but not completely cooked through.... I use a little liquid... either vegetable, chicken, beef broth, or water... I add it little by little as I'm cooking the onion to de-caramelize the pan and it helps the onions to cook a little faster with out getting burned.



I had to do a few different posts because the blogger couldn't handle all of my pics in 1 blog... hmmmm