Breakfast Sandwiches

I like having easy breakfast items in the freezer, anything to make mornings a little less hectic and also to make it easier for hubby as he heads out the door to work.  Military life means crazy schedules, ever changing and my husband usually grabs whatever he finds in the freezer, nukes it and he is out the door.....these are one of his favorite go to breakfasts......mine too.....and the kids.....and the dogs if they happen to get fed by the kids when mommy is not looking.  Ha!

There is no recipe for these, and the variations are endless. Sometimes I leave out the egg, sometimes I add bacon, or ham etc. Just go with whatever your family enjoys.

English Muffins, Sausage Patties, Cheese Slices, Scrambled Eggs and Jalapeno Peppers. That's what went into these and boy are they tasty.

I cook everything first, assemble the sandwiches, let them cool down and then pop them in the freezer. They will keep for about a month, but to be perfectly honest they usually only last about a week or two depending on how many I make.

OR whatever pasta you have on hand because I ended up with elbow macaroni.

This is a freezer meal and it really does make a lot of pasta, but with the pasta loving family that I have, it's a good thing, plus it's nice to have an extra casserole on hand for busy days.

This recipe is adapted from  Our Best Bites.

Baked Chicken Penne

• 6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes


• salt and black pepper


• 1 pound penne rigate


• 1 teaspoon olive oil


• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 8 ounces each), halved horizontally


• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour


• 6 garlic cloves, finely minced


• 6 cups whole milk


• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese


• 1 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 6 ounces)


• nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. If you’re going to freeze one, use a disposable foil pan.  (I didn't use a disposable because I cooked both casseroles and then divided the extra one into smaller portions in tupperware bowls for individual servings)  In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta and set aside.
While pasta is boiling, heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.
In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot (I used my big skillet where I cooked the chicken), melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking constantly, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer.  Keep whisking frequently as sauce thickens, about 1 minute more.  Sprinkle in some nutmeg (I love using nutmeg in white sauces)

Take the pan off the heat and and gradually stir in shredded cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan.
Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes.

If freezing, place remaining parmesan cheese in a zip-top baggie.  If cooking, sprinkle on top.
Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

 

Freezer instructions:

To freeze, prepare through step 4 and then let pasta cool.  Cover pan well with plastic wrap.  Place extra cheese in baggie (for topping) on top and then cover entire pan well with foil.  Freeze for up to 3 months.  To bake, preheat oven to 400.  Remove foil and plastic from pan and set cheese baggie aside.  Place foil back on pan and bake for about 1 1/2 hours.  Remove foil, stir pasta, and top with cheese.  Return pan to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until mixture is hot and bubbly throughout.

Do you often find yourself looking for more ways to make Pork Chops?

I love cooking them but sometimes I get so bored with the usual that I want something different, so while looking around Picky Palate a while back, I came across this recipe.  Really Really simple, 3 ingredients and that's it.

They were pretty good, tender and it was an easy way to prepare dinner without having to sit at the stove, which with this Arizona heat is always a blessing.

Ranch House Crockpot Pork Chops

6 pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
1 packet dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning
10 oz can Cream of Chicken Soup

Place pork chops, Ranch seasoning and soup into a medium sized crock pot over high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 6 hours.


Yes, that's IT.  I know, I know, you may be thinking that it's not enough to make it delicious but trust me it is.   Now Jenny served them with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes, but I went with Baked Potatoes as requested by my 8 year old and a quick salad.  Yum!

One of my favorite ethnic foods has to be Chinese.  Hands down.  But it's also one of the cuisines that most intimidates me in the kitchen and I don't know why, because when it comes down to it, it's not that hard to make.  Some dishes are time consuming, yes, but not difficult.

Over the years I've set aside my fear and have just dove right into Chinese cooking.  I will never come near to the original, that's a given but some dishes are pretty close and it just motivates me to keep trying new recipes.

General Tso's Chicken.  One of my faves when we have Chinese which surprisingly is really not that often at all, I mean it can go months and months without having any.

When I saw this recipe on one of my Cook's Illustrated, I just knew I had to give it a go.  Turned out really well and got big thumbs up from the family :)

General Tso's Chicken

Marinade:
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

Coating & frying:
3 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups cornstarch
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups vegetable oil
1-2 green onions, thinly sliced on a bias for garnish

Prep the chicken breasts by cutting them into 1 inch pieces.

To make the marinade & sauce, whisk the hoisin, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, and water in a bowl. Of this mixture, place 6 tablespoons into a zip lock storage bag and add the chicken; seal and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Set aside the remaining marinade in the bowl.



While the chicken is chilling in the marinade, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Sauté the garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes until fragrant. Add 2 cups of the hoisin marinade to the skillet and simmer, whisking constantly, until the mixture is dark brown and thickened. Remove from heat, cover and keep the sauce warm.



To prepare the chicken coating and frying, whisk the egg whites in a shallow dish until foamy; set aside. Combine the cornstarch, flour, baking soda, and remaining hoisin marinade in a second shallow dish; mix until it resembles coarse meal.

Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and from the marinade. Pat the marinated chicken dry with paper towels. Toss half the chicken into the foamy egg whites until well coated, then dredge the chicken in the cornstarch mmixture, pressing to adhere. Transfer the coated chicken to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken.



Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat until the oil registers 350 degrees. Fry half the chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes, turning each piece halfway through cooking.



Transfer the cooked chicken onto a paper towel lined plate to drain. Return the oil to 350 degrees before frying again. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

Warm the sauce over medium heat until simmering. Place the sauce in a large bowl and add the fried chicken pieces. Toss to coat and serve.

Menu Plan for week Sept. 2 - Sept. 9th

I know it's kinda weird, usually people start from a Monday or even a Sunday but I'm always the odd one out and I start from whenever pay day is for us Military folks.  So grocery shopping was done yesterday which meant a day of take out, which meant a day of feeling yucky, which meant a day of me wishing and praying that today would come around really fast.

Here is my menu plan for the next week:

Friday 2nd - General Tso's Chicken

Saturday 3rd - Grilled Steaks, Twice Baked Potatoes

Sunday 4th - Baked Chicken Penne

Monday 5th - Ranch House Crockpot Pork Chops w/ Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Tuesday 6th - Scooter's Spaghetti

Wednesday 7th - Crockpot Grinders

Thursday 8th - Shrimp Lo mein

Friday 9th - Beef Curry