5 minute bread, a fabulous roast, and planning a menu

January 11, 2012 By

One of my goals (resolutions?) this year was to plan our meals better. For fast food to become a treat rather than a 2-3x a week occurrence. Not just for our health, but our pocketbooks as well (not that Chicky Husband carries a pocketbook – he’s more of a clutch person-lol).

I pored over many plans and ideas, and rejected as many as I considered, then I came across this little bit of brilliance -

Nester’s Imperfect, Flexible, Doable Meal Blueprint

The Nester has done it again – the only woman who could inspire me to pick up a paint brush has me semi-organized in the kitchen too. Her plan isn’t rigid, takes only a little preparation, and as a result we’ve had wonderful dinners this last week.

One of her suggestions is that you make bread dough every week – I know – MAKE BREAD! But it isn’t as hard as it seems using the 5 minute method.

Well, it would have been easy if my yeast had been good. I mixed up a batch Monday, and while I got some rise, it wasn’t nearly as much as it should have been. I went ahead and made the bread anyway…let’s just say the NHL would love this bread.

I have been meaning to try the 3 packet pot roast recipe I have seen around pinterest, it’s beyond simple: one packet each of ranch dressing mix, brown gravy mix and italian seasoning. Crock pot, water, DONE.

It was delicious – salty, but delicious. Made the most amazing gravy, but again, a bit salty. Next time I will try my own mixture – WITHOUT so much salt! :)

Have you tried any menu planning? Bread making? I would love to hear what you think about Nester’s plan!

 

 

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Menu Planning

July 6, 2011 By

In the kitchen with Chicky

How do you plan your meals? Are you organized and make your grocery list based on what’s on sale and cook around that? Or do you fly by the seat of your pants, buy a little bit of everything, close your eyes and hope for the best?

I have to admit I am a little of both…I WANT to be more organized, and save money while I am at it, but I think because I want to do so much at the same time, I forget to do the little stuff…

like make a list.

Or check the ads…

Sure, I will do it once or twice and feel very virtuous and very Martha, then forget again until the 3 time in a week we eat fast food because I forgot to defrost something AGAIN. Yeah, so much for domestic…

I do have a couple of things I do like to do that help – if you’re helpless like me, maybe they will help you too…

  • I theme each day of the week – for instance, I usually work more/longer on Mondays than other days, so I designate that day crock pot or casserole day. I also have one grilling day a week, a try-a-new-recipe day, and on fridays we alternate between tacos and pizza (that is, when I remember)
  • I keep formulas/recipes that I use often but never remember taped to the inside of one of my cabinets – things like water/rice ratios, biscuit/pancake recipes, oatmeal/cream of wheat recipes…Ooh! I should make a cute printable for it – what else would you add to it?

One thing I did this weekend was make an index of recipes I have saved on pinterest (you can find my yummies board here) so I can remember the things I want to make. Hopefully this will help me remember the things I want to make! :)

PS – Rachel (A Southern Fairytale) and I are planning a FABULOUS joint birthday party week on our blogs – the best part? Our awesome readers get the presents! We will be updating here and on our faceboook and twitter pages, so make sure you are following us to get all the latest updates!

 (picture credit – ME! I was making the BEST oatmeal cookies (so good, I never got a pic of the finished cookies!), and this still life just created itself :) )

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Chicky’s Quick (but fabulous!) Salsa

June 26, 2011 By

This is a re-post of one of my favorite summer foods – this salsa is not just good with chips, but awesome on wheat thins, tacos, fajitas, just about anything!

 

Chicky’s Quick & Dirty Salsa

Domestic Chicky’s Quick & Dirty Salsa

  • 2 Cans Ro-tel Tomatoes, original (you can vary the heat by combining mild or hot), drained
  • 1/2 onion (I used purple in the picture above), cut into chunks
  • 1 handful Cilantro (mostly leaves, but a bit of stems too)
  • 1t salt
  • 1-2t minced garlic
  • few grinds fresh black pepper

Put the onion, cilantro, salt, pepper and garlic in a food processor or blender. Pulse til finely chopped. Add tomatoes. Pulse again til desired texture is acheived (we like ours on the not-so-chunky side). Serve with tacos, fresh tortillas & butter, mix into avocados for guacamole, chips, nachos, or my personal favorite, Wheat Thins (I know, but it’s SOO good!). You can use other brands of tomatoes with chiles, but nothing beats ro-tel!

*If you have ever been to Chevy’s Restaurant (or Anchos in Riverside CA), and you love their Salsa, try this, and add a drop of mesquite liquid smoke – it will be a dead ringer!

I am adding this post to Mouthwatering Mondays over at A Southern Fairytale (hi Rach!) – check it out, there are TONS of great recipes posted there!!

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Chicky's Quick & Dirty Salsa Domestic Chicky's Quick & Dirty Salsa 2 Cans Ro-tel Tomatoes, original (you can vary the heat by combining mild or hot), drained 1/2 onion (I used purple in the picture above), cut into chunks 1 handful Cilantro (mostly leaves, but a bit of stems too) 1t salt 1-2t mi" data-image="http://domestic-chicky.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/domesticchickysalsa1.jpg" data-site="Domestic Chicky">
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