Wednesday, October 30, 2019

It Helps To Have A Plan

Stir-Fry Chicken & Baby Bok Choy

I took a road trip with friends over the weekend, and of course that included lunch at a cute cafe. While we enjoyed lunch, the conversation turned to cooking our own meals. One of the ladies said, "Cooking isn't hard...it's the DECIDING what to cook!" And there was an immediate chorus of agreement. That's exactly what I've told my daughters for years. It's the decision of what to cook, not the cooking itself, that is the biggest challenge to having meals at home. Standing in front of an open pantry or refrigerator and staring, without a recipe in mind, can send you straight out the door to pick up fast food. 

I'm pretty sure that years after I've departed this earth and someone asks my daughters, "What do you remember your mother saying?", the sentence about meal planning will be among the remembered phrases. It might be the only thing they remember! So it makes me smile to know that both daughters are dedicated meal planners. (They do better than I do.) On Sundays they both write out a weekly plan and make a grocery shopping list. Those plans might shift as the week unfolds but having that plan as a starting place gives a HUGE head start to getting supper on the table.


When I was visiting Jessica a couple of weeks ago she cooked supper the night I arrived. I had the pleasure of watching  her cook and then eating the delicious food. Both daughters make a big effort to cook healthy meals. This dinner plan was low carb and gluten-free and Whole30 compliant. They do not eat carb-free/gluten-free all of the time but they will include some meals like this during the week as they aim for balance. As the season of food—Halloween candy, Thanksgiving feasts, Christmas dinners and parties—arrives, we all would do well to plan some simple, healthy meals to enjoy during the week. Balance, people, balance. That's the goal.

She didn't change clothes. She put on an apron.

Jessica and Todd both work so easy meals are a must. If you have all the ingredients on hand, this stir fry is pretty quick to put together. If you actually set out the ingredients—and even measure them—before you start cooking, the prep feels easy. I've added some substitues in parentheses for ingredients I would be more likely to have in my kitchen. If you use soy sauce, know that it's no longer gluten-free. And if baby bok choy isn't at your store, you could use roughly chopped regular bok choy (the stem part will take longer to cook than the green leaf) or I think even roughly chopped cabbage could work.


STIR-FRY CHICKEN & BABY BOK CHOY

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp. arrowroot starch (or cornstarch)
2 tbsp. avocado or olive oil


½ white onion, sliced thinly

2 baby bok choy*, ends removed and cut in half (or regular bok choy, roughly chopped)
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained

1 tsp. freshly grated ginger (or a good sprinkle of ground ginger)
¼ cup coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp. fish sauce (according to internet, sub with soy sauce or Worcestershire) 
½ tsp crushed red pepper, for spice (optional)

Slice chicken breasts against the grain into thin slices. Place in a bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add arrowroot and toss until coated evenly.Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When very hot, Add chicken and sear on both sides until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side. You will likely need to do this in two batches, overcrowding the pan isn’t ideal as your chicken won’t get that good sear on it. As chicken is done cooking, set aside on a plate.

In the same skillet, add the onion. Saute for about 3 minutes, you may need to add an additional tbsp. of oil if you skillet is dry from cooking the chicken.

Add the bok choy*, garlic, and water chestnuts. Continue to saute until bok choy is tender, about 3 more minutes.
Reduce heat to medium. Add the ginger, coconut aminos, rice vinegar, fish sauce, and crushed red pepper (if using). Stir to combine and let simmer until sauce thickens and reduces, about 3-5 more minutes.
*Jessica says she often uses regular Bok Choy because that's what she can find. Says she chops it up and adds the leafy green part at the very end. The stem part will take longer to cook, so add it with the onions, or just after.
Serve over rice or cauliflower rice.


Jessica often uses frozen cauliflower rice instead of regular rice. It's carb free and low in calories. She roasts it in the oven. This time she picked frozen cauliflower rice with peas and carrots. Roast it like you would any other vegetable. Spray your baking sheet with oil, spread out the "rice" and roast at 400º for 20 minutes, stirring halfway, until lightly browned. If it's browning too quickly, turn the temp down halfway through the cooking. Or, take it out early. Just keep watch on it.
Jessica found this recipe on the blog The Defined Dish. I've heard her say that she likes many of the recipes there. They are mostly Whole30/Paleo compliant. Jessica also has her own blog for her recipes. She hasn't posted in a while, being busy with their big move and a baby on the way. But there are lots of recipes there to browse. 
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FYI, when I see a long list of ingredients I might move on the the next recipe. But often, like this recipe, it really isn't a complicated recipe. I put spaces into the ingredient list here, and grouped them by how they are added to the pan. In a cookbook I might have drawn lines between them. It helps my eye keep from skipping over something.








Friday, October 25, 2019

Food And Friends And Fall


Here's the perfect-for-fall dessert I made for our girls night (aka "book club") this week. It turned out to be a real hit. It had been quite a while since I had made it. Or even eaten it. In our family cookbook this recipe included the note that my college friend Amy made this when she and another college buddy Talley hosted a bridal luncheon for Mommy. That was over 14 years ago.

I do love making notes on my recipes. Reading them brings back so many good memories. Of the food. Of the friends. Of the event. I remember that Amy didn't tell us what the dessert was and made us guess. I'm not sure anyone guessed pumpkin. So if you have non-pumpkin people in your life, this still might be a reasonable dessert choice. The dessert is layers of goodness--smooth lightly spiced pumpkin, cake with crunchy nuts and creamy topping.

This recipe, with some minor changes, has had a second coming online, but without the topping. The current version is topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with caramel sauce. The girls this week voted to keep the topping I used!


PUMPKIN CRUNCH

15-oz. can pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
12-oz. can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 box yellow cake mix
1 and 1/2 sticks butter, melted
1 to 1-1/2 cup chopped nuts

Mix pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, and cinnamon thoroughly and pour into a lightly greased 9x13-inch baking dish.
Sprinkle dry cake mix (straight out of the box) over pumpkin mixture. Pour melted butter over cake mix. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Bake 1 hour at 350º. Let cool completely

Topping:
1 8-oz block cream cheese, softened
1 box powdered sugar
1 8-oz container Cool Whip

Using a hand mixer, blend cream cheese until fluffy. Mix in powdered sugar. Then mix in whipped topping. Spread over cooled pumpkin cake. Refrigerate. Cut into squares to serve. Can sprinkle lightly with cinnamon or chopped pecans to garnish. (I didn't get as far as the garnish.


Good to the last bite!

As I wrote out this recipe here, I am reminded that can sizes and packing sizes can change over the years. The recipe from the bridal shower all those years ago called for a 16-oz can of pumpkin and I know boxed cake mix is about 3 ounces less now that when this was first made. But it still works with the current sizes.

The morning after book club, I woke up and found text messages on my phone asking for the recipe. Everyone took some home to share with their husbands and they loved it, too. Some plan to make this for Thanksgiving.

It would be a great holiday dessert. It's easy to put together. And it can be made the day ahead. In fact, it's probably best to make it a day ahead. Because of a long day at church I didn't get mine made on Sunday afternoon for our Monday night dinner like I planned. If you need to make it "day of", start early. It takes quite a while for the cake part to cool. And the entire dessert needs to chill before serving.

This was so good. I'm glad I remembered the recipe. And the friend who made it. And now it's fun to think that this pumpkin dessert has connected another set of friends.









Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig


Oh, the places I've gone! It has been a whirlwind for the last few weeks. There was a trip to the south of France with Jessica and Todd and all of his family. (They let me tag along.)


Then home to switch suitcases before I drove to the beach for some fall break family time with Mommy, J-Daddy and the little girls. Big Sister is in college now. Since our summer weather has lasted into October this was a great time to be at the beach.


Back home again to do some laundry and repack for a trip to the edge of the city—yes, Jessica and Todd have moved to the 'burbs!—for a look at their new house and a baby shower.


Then I got home in time to help set up for a huge 200th anniversary celebration at our church. My contribution was ironing tablecloths and helping with flowers for the dinner tables. There were a LOT of tables to set.  And of course, the clean-up afterward. 


So last night I was over-the-moon happy to be at home. And to have my friends come for dinner and a movie. This is a weekly event, held at someone else's house. She is away this week. Since I have missed too many of our weekly get-togethers I suggested that maybe they could come to my house. I live far enough out in the country that not everyone had been here to the farm, so it was wonderful to get this group out here.

We take turns bringing dinner to these weekly gatherings and I had plenty of offers to bring the meal, but I told them that I was happy do the dinner if they were willing to make the drive here.

Taking a cue from my daughters I decided an "activity dinner" might be fun. Midway through our movie, I hit pause and we headed to the kitchen to make our own naan pizzas. This is the easiest meal to put together. If you're doing it for a group, you just need to have some counter space. And I'll admit having two ovens helped.

This isn't a recipe but more suggestions for how to do it.


NAAN PIZZA

naan bread (you'll find them near the bakery/deli section of your grocery)
Rao's marina sauce, or your favorite pizza sauce
pesto
shredded mozzarella
fresh mozzarella pearls
pepperoni
grilled chicken tenders, sliced (I cooked them in a grill pan in the afternoon)
mushrooms (I bought them sliced, after cleaning I sliced them thinner)
green peppers, diced
onion, diced
tomatoes, sliced thin (I laid them on paper towels to drain a little)
baby spinach

Spread a small amount of marina or pesto on your naan. Add any combinations of toppings. Hint: Don't pile this too high—it's pizza, not a salad! Top with cheese.

Put pizzas on a baking sheet and slide into a preheated 400º oven for about 10 minutes, until cheese melts and and the edges are a little brown. Cut into 4ths for easy eating.


The topping possibilities are endless. One favorite is to use barbecue sauce instead of marinara and top with grilled chicken, red onion and cheddar cheese. Jessica told me that she sometimes uses up leftovers—like okra or broccoli— as toppings. If you were ordering this in a restaurant, it would be called "gourmet pizza."

We were having such a good time, I didn't even think about a food photo until we were nearly done eating. But y'all know what pizza looks like. I did find a picture of naan pizza that I enjoyed at Mommy's house a few years ago. You can read about how she makes hers here. She has some kid friendly suggestions.

Check back here in a few days for the dessert recipe from last night. All the ladies took some home for husbands and everyone of them asked for the recipe. It's an oldie goldie that's perfect for fall. I'll post it in a few days.

At this very minute I'm looking at a gloriously empty calendar for the rest of the week. All I can say is "Yay!" Everything I've done over the last few weeks was wonderful. But being home feels really good.