Easy Christmas Fudge

One of the signs that I have been feeling better during this 2nd trimester is the fact that i have baked two days in a row! (I have even done my own dishes!!!) :)

I got this super easy (easy for fudge anyways) recipe out of the Pillsbury Holiday Baking book from a few years ago.
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 2 hours

You will need (I highly suggest having EVERYTHING out and cut before beginning the process):
4.5 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
12 oz evaporated milk
4.5 c (or one bag) of mini marshmallows
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
12oz sweet baking chocolate, cut into pieces
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, cut into pieces
2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. almond extract

Optional:
1 c. chopped walnuts, pecans
colored sugar for topping

Line 15x10x1 inch pan with foil, grease. In a 5-6 quart saucepan, cook sugar, butter and milk over medium heat, stirring constantly. Stir constantly till sugar is dissolved and mixture is boiling. Boil uncovered without stirring for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat. Add mallows; stir till melted. Add chocolate chips, sweet and unsweet chocolate, stirring constantly till all is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in extract, vanilla, and nuts. Quickly spread mixture in pan. Sprinkle with colored sugar if desired. Cool completely (about 1.5 hours).

Remove fudge from pan by lifting foil; remove foil from sides of fudge. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Feta Chicken

My midwife wants to me to try to get 80-100 g of protein a day while pregnant. I don't think I have succeeded thus far, but this should help! (one piece of chicken has 30g+ in it!!!) I made it awhile ago and it was so good. Moist and just different. I got it off of AllRecipes.com.

Some changes I made were: using just Feta Cheese and sprinkling basil inside and out of the chicken, I do NOT sprinkle bread crumbs on the bottom of the pan cause it was a mess to clean afterwards, Use olive oil to bread the chicken, and finally, I had a hard time getting the chicken to fold over and stay that way - so I'll use a toothpick to assist with that. 

Ingredients

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 6 ounces tomato basil feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup Italian-style dry bread crumbs, divided

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Place chicken breasts between 2 pieces of waxed paper. Gently pound chicken with flat side of meat mallet or rolling pin until about 1/4 inch thick; remove wax paper. Place 1 ounce of feta cheese in the center of each chicken breast, and fold in half.
3. Spread 2 tablespoons bread crumbs in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange chicken in the dish, and top with remaining bread crumbs.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Italian Meatballs

Mario Batali's Lemon Scented Meatballs

These are amazing. They freeze really well, and reheat nicely in our toaster oven under foil.

We usually eat them with fresh crusty bread, a sage and white bean spread, and a lightly-cooked green veggie of some sort (e.g. asparagus, broccoli rabe, etc.).

The only substitution I make is ground pork for the veal. Also for ease and to make it slightly healthier, I bake them, and they're almost as good as fried (which I did the first time). I usually bake them on a sheet pan at 400 degrees, for about 20 minutes or until they're nice browned on the outside and cooked through in the center.

French Dip sandwiches

This meal is another favourite of my partner in crime. I feel like it's more of a fall/winter dish, and I made it this past week for this first time this season. I got the recipe from Allrecipes. I make a few modifications (explained below). It is amazingly easy for how good it tastes. I just get up half an hour earlier than I usually do, and that's enough time to get it prepped. You wouldn't believe how good the house smells when I come home after work.

I don't do too much different than the original recipe, but this is how I do it. I think it probably adds a bit more flavour. If you don't have a slow cooker you could just do it in your oven in a covered casserole dish instead, adjusting times and temps accordingly.

Brown the outside (all sides) of a 3 lb beef roast (fat trimmed off first). (I usually get what's on sale and/or looks good. This week I used eye of round. It was a 3 lb roast on sale for $6 (from $12 because it was close to the sell-by date). I was quite pleased with my thriftiness, especially because we get at least 3 meals out of this.)

Put in slow cooker (I have the smaller size, not the larger family-size one, which is why I use a smaller roast than the recipe calls for). Deglaze the frying pan with the beer. Add to the slow cooker.

Add the soup/broth as in the recipe.

I also add a few cloves of garlic, chopped into a couple of chunks each, and a small sprig of rosemary (or some dried rosemary). I also add a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce to it, and a few grindings of black pepper.

I don't know if I need to do this or not, but when I get home, I take the roast out, slice it up, and then put it back in all those juices while I get the side dish ready, toast the buns, etc.

I usually serve this with something light and mostly vegetable-y because it's so meaty and rich. This week it was just plenty of raw veggies and dip on the side. But homemade oven fries are very nice too - you can dip them in the au jus. :)

So anyway, toast your hoagie buns, put your meat on them, and serve with the juices in the slow cooker, ladled into ramekins or small bowls. Dip your sandwiches with each bite. Yum!

I actually hardly ever use my slow cooker (though I want to use it more - post your recipes!), but I think it's worth it to have one just for this dish, it's that good.

Spaghetti Cheese Bake

This is a comfort food dish that I've found is especially enjoyed by kids. It freezes really well and it's great to pull out and pop in the oven when you don't have time, or feel like cooking. I will put it in the fridge in the morning to unthaw somewhat before baking. Taken out of the freezer/fridge, it'll take probably about 30 - 45 minutes to bake.

8 oz. (250 g) spaghetti (I use multigrain or whole wheat spaghetti)

1 lb. hamburger

1 cup chopped onion

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can tomato soup

1/2 cup water

1 tsp. salt (or seasoned salt)

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 cups of grated cheddar cheese

Cook spaghetti, drain and set aside

Brown the beef and chopped onions

Add soups, water, salt & pepper to the beef & onion mixture and simmer slowly, uncovered, 10 - 15 minutes

Add cheese and stir until melted

Add spaghetti and mix well

Turn into a 2.5 - 3 quart greased casserole

You can sprinkle some more cheese on top or top with buttered breadcrumbs before baking

Bake uncovered at 350 for 20 - 30 minutes until hot and browned

Serves 6 - 8

Fast weeknight dinner no. 2 - chicken "fajitas"

Now I don't claim that these are even remotely authentic, but they are very tasty and pretty fast. They are also heavier on veggies than on meat, which I like.

Brown an onion (sliced into thin half-moons) and some minced garlic in a frying pan (you could also add a pepper like jalapeno or serrano). Add 1 chicken breast, cut into strips. Sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, cumin (lots), coriander, chili powder (lots) and oregano (a little). Stir around to coat.

While the chicken cooks in the spices, chop up two bell peppers (two different colours is nice). I do them in strips - it looks nicer than cubes and is easier to eat out of a tortilla. Add the peppers when the chicken is cooked and browned. I add a bit of water (couple of tablespoons) to deglaze the pan, to make a bit of a sauce out of the spices for the peppers, and to steam the peppers. I cook it just a few minutes more to soften the peppers slightly. I don't like them too mushy.

We often cook this together, so while one person mans the stove, the other person does the toppings. Warm tortillas in the toaster oven wrapped in foil. Grate cheese and chop a tomato, set out in bowls. Dice an avocado, sprinkle it with lime juice, salt and pepper, set out in a bowl. Set out salsa, sour cream, and Mexican hot sauce (I really like Pico Pica). Serve it with lime wedges if you have a lime hanging around.

You're done! Scoop the pepper/chicken mixture into warm tortillas, top with cheese, tomatoes and avocado. Add sour cream, salsa, and hot sauce to taste. Squeeze a lime wedge over top to finish, then roll up and eat. Yum! If you take it easy with cheese and sour cream, this is actually a pretty healthy dinner.

Generically Chinese fast weeknight dinner

When I'm tired after work and don't want to think too hard about what to make for dinner, and I don't want to do complicated shopping, this is often what I do. A fair amount of the things I have in the house already, and so I always know exactly what I need to grab at the store, which makes for a very fast shopping trip. It's yummy and leaves enough for leftovers for lunch the next day. It's also good with a cold beer. :) I'll just write out what I do and include ingredients as I go.

Chop a knob of ginger, a couple of cloves of garlic, and the white part of a bunch of green onions. Put on a small plate.

Chop the green part of the green onions and put on a small plate with a handful of peanuts or cashews.

Chop a small head of broccoli (or Chinese greens - much better but not easy to get for me), put on a plate.

Dice a cake of extra-firm tofu (or firm would be okay too), put half on a plate, and put the other half in a ziploc to freeze for next time. (Be super-industrious and squeeze in some oyster sauce into the ziploc, and squish it around, so the tofu marinates as it freezes and thaws next time you make this dish.) I guess you could substitute some chicken or other meat if you prefer that to tofu.

Preheat your wok (or frying pan). Pull out of the fridge: soy sauce, Chinese cooking sauce of your choice (e.g. oyster sauce, black bean sauce, hoisin sauce), sesame oil.

Now the wok is hot. Add some vegetable oil and some sesame oil, and the garlic, ginger and onion whites. Stir around while they sizzle. When they smell fragrant but haven't burned, throw in the tofu. Add a splash of soy sauce to deglaze and to add moisture and flavour. If you want to be really fancy, you could add a splash of dry sherry (equivalent for Chinese cooking wine) for a nice flavour. Let cook for a few minutes. Add a couple of tablespoons of the cooking sauce you want (hoisin or whatever), and add the broccoli. I usually add a bit of water too at this point (no more than a couple of tablespoons), to help the sauce thin out and to steam the broccoli a bit. Stir around till the broccoli is cooked how you like it. I do it till it's a vibrant green colour and has a bit of crunch to it still. Turn off the heat, and add a splash of sesame oil, the greens of the green onions, and the nuts. Stir it all around. You're done!

I serve with either rice or with a package of fresh Chinese noodles (I get them from the same case as the tofu at the store), cooked according to package directions.

Note about the Chinese sauces: In my town in the States Lee Kum Kee sauces can be found at the one Asian specialty grocery store. If you live in a bigger town this brand might be easier to find. Fred Meyer and Albertson's don't carry it here, but maybe Safeway does - I'm not sure. It's definitely the best, but I have also used Sun Luck which seems to be more common in the States. It's okay, but definitely use Lee Kum Kee if you can find it.

Also, sometimes I add a can of baby corn or a can of bamboo shoots to the stir-fry, along with the tofu. It's really yummy and adds a third texture and colour to the dish.