Day 17: Black Bean, Corn and Turkey Chili

Its second nature to me to replace beef with ground turkey when I make chili. You can use ground beef if you wish, but ground turkey is so much healthier and tastes just as delicious! If you are trying to cook on a budget, this is wallet friendly.

What you will need:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound ground turkey

1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic, minced

1 3/4 cups Swanson® Chicken Stock

1 cup Pace® Chunky Salsa

1 can (about 15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (about 16 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained

Get Cookin' Ya'll!

1. Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the turkey, onion, chili powder, cumin, oregano, black pepper and garlic powder. Cook until the turkey is well browned, stirring often to separate meat.

2. Stir the stock, salsa, sugar, beans and corn in the saucepan and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling

I also made a batch of corn bread. I just went by the directions on the box.

What we thought:

So I would rate this a 5/10. Jimmy says this was a 9/10. I think my expectations are too high. It was easy though, healthy, and budget friendly. So i guess that can bump it up to a 6. I was also kind of sick when I was eating this, so that could be a factor. When I had this as leftovers, it did taste more of a 7.

Day 16: Brownie Delight

I got this recipe from someone else online. It looked deellicciioousss so I HAD to give it an attempt, even though I am not big on making deserts.

What you will need:

1 box Brownie mix.

3-4 Score bars

1 large container of frozen whipped topping

2 large box vanilla or white chocolate pudding

Directions:

1. Make brownies as box directions. As soon as it come out take a knife and make it into small pieces, this is to cool it faster. (no rhyme or reason to cutting, i just take a knife and go back and forth making it look crumbly.) cool

2. Crush Score bars into small bite size pieces. set aside.

3. Make pudding, add half the milk called for on box, once pudding starts to set add the whipped topping and stir until well blended.

4.Once the brownie is cool, layer. brownie, pudding mixture, score, brownie, pudding score. do as many layers as you have ingredients for. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

What I thought:

I started to doubt my tastebuds when it came to this desert. It was entirely too rich andI over cooked the brownies, because I was distracted in the living room, which resulted in a few hard pieces of brownies. I also think eating a few thin mints before eating this, i am healthy..i know, also made it too rich. Overall, this was super easy to make so I would rate this a 6 1/2-7 out of 10. Would I make it again? Probably not. It looks pretty though. I also used sugar free vanilla pudding, fat free milk, and added strawberries which really saved the desert.

Day 15: Catalina Taco Salad

It's taco thursday! So on today's menu, we are having Taco Salad!

1 lb. ground beef- browned
1 can kidney beans
1-2 C cheddar cheese- cubed
1 head lettus-chopped
1 bag Spicy Nacho Cheese Doritos
1 small red onion chopped (optional)

Catalina salad dressing

1. Brown meat, drain and mix with salt and pepper, you could add a taco seasoning pkg, but it doesn't need it.
2. In large bowl mix: lettus, beans, meat, cheese, onion (if desired)
3. Serve. Add crunched up Doritos and Catalina dressing to taste.

What we thought:

Jimmy rated this a 9/10. He really enjoyed it. I would rate it 8 1/2-9 out of 10. I found it very filling but I wanted an extra spice or something. I will make this again for sure. I used Fat-Free Catalina dressing and fritios instead of doritos. I think I will try the doritos next time.

Day 14: Slow Cooked Honey -Lemon Chicken with Potatoes

I saw this on the Rachael Ray show. Here is her link for the recipe:http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/slow-cooker-meal-honey-lemon-chicken-potatoes/

I decided to go with this recipe because I am under the weather with a cold, so my energy is very limited, and the last thing I want to be doing is cooking. Since I am tired of Taco Bell, which Jimmy brings home, I can spend 10-15 minutes prepping a meal, and letting the slow cooker do the rest of the cooking.

What you will need:

• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs


• Salt and ground black pepper


• 1 1/2 pounds baby potatoes


• 1 small onion, chopped


• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated


• 4 to 5 sprigs thyme, leaves picked and chopped


• 2 lemons, thinly sliced


• 1/4 cup honey


• 1/4 cup chicken stock or water


• 
  


• To finish:


• Zest of 1 lemon, cut into strips


• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped


• 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted

Get Cookin' ya'll!:

n a skillet, heat EVOO over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and brown on both sides.

Scatter the potatoes, onion, garlic, thyme and lemon slices in the bowl of a crock pot. Season with salt and pepper. Lay the browned chicken over the veggies and drizzle with honey. Add stock, cover and cook, undisturbed, for 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.

Serve each portion topped with a combination of lemon zest, parsley, toasted nuts and balsamic drizzle.

Our thoughts:

Jimmy said this was bland and I have to agree. I would never make this meal again. It was not eye pleasing nor did it please my tastebuds. I would rate this a 1/10.

Day 13: Deep Fried Chicken Sliders

I very, rarely ever eat deep fried chicken unless its chicken tenders. I happened to tune into the Rachael Ray show this morning, and saw that she was cooking deep fried chicken sliders. I thought about making it tonight , but decided against it. Then I was watching the Food Network's 'Cooking for Real' and this chef was making deep fried chicken as well! So, I gave in. You can find Rachael's recipe on the following link: http://rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=3208
I did not follow this recipe mainly because I didn't have the recipe at the store.

What I used:
Store bought biscuts or home made biscuts
1 lb of chicken breats
Flour, Salt, & Pepper
Palmful of paprika
Palmful of garlic powder
Honey for drizzling
Vegetable oil

In a bag or bowl, combine flour, salt & pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. You can dip the chicken in egg and then dip the chicken into the flour mixture so the flour will stick better, or you can moisten the chicken with water before hand.
Meanwhile, you will be wanting to heat the vegetable oil in a pan.

Cooking tip: Rachael Ray said that in order to know if your oil is heated enough, stick the handle of a wooden spoon into the oil. If bubbles start bubbling around the stick, its hott enough.

While you deep fry the chicken, heat the biscuts. Place the deep fried chicken onto the biscuts, drizzle with honey and hott sauce. Enjoy.

What we thought:

Jimmy rated this a 9. I asked him why he rated it a 9 and he said, "because it tasted delicious". I have to agree with him. This really really hit the spot. The reason we think it hit the spot was because of the honey. The honey just made it so sweet, and the chicken was cooked perfectly. The chicken wasn't overcooked, it was juicy, the biscuts was a little over done but I couldn't tell. The only thing I hate about this meal is the way the oil makes my house smell like KFC, and the leftover oil. I will most definitely make this meal again, as long as I have honey!

Day 12: Mexican Lasagna

Its Mexican Monday again!! Today we will be making a 'mexican lasagna'. Sounds different, so we will try it!

What you will need:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked
4 cups salsa
6 ounces lasagna noodles, uncooked
1/2 cup olives, pitted, whole
1 4 oz. can green chili, diced
2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
1 16 oz. can pinto beans

Get cookin' ya'll:

Cook chicken and cut into bite size pieces. Spoon approximately 1/2 cup salsa into bottom of 9x13 baking pan. Place a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles over salsa. Slice olives.

Combine chicken, chilies, olives, and half the cheese. Arrange chicken mixture on lasagna noodles. Spread with 1/2 the remaining salsa. Add a second layer of uncooked lasagna noodles. Spread second layer noodles with canned beans.

Top beans with a third layer lasagna noodles. Cover lasagna with remaining salsa. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until noodles are tender. Remove from oven and enjoy

What we thought:

Jimmy rated this a 6 or 7. He said it was too spicy (we used Medium salsa), and he didn't exactly know what he was looking at when he looked at the lasagna. I think we are so used to seeing lasagna with pasta sauce and cheese, that seeing it with salsa, beans, and noodles did look weird. I would give it the same rating. It was interesting, but I don't know if I would make this again. It wasn't down our alley.

Day 11: Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Happy Valentines Day! I couldn't think of anything more festive other than chocolate covered strawberries to make for valentines. Jimmy helped me with putting chocolate on the strawberries, and it ended up being a fun couples activity. It was more interesting trying to keep Jimmy from eating all the strawberries and chocolate! Good thing I bought two cases of strawberries ;)

What you will need:

1 lb of strawberries

10 oz of semi sweet chocolate

If you want to decorate the chocolate, you can get white chocolate to drizzle on top of the dark chocolate, or vice versa.

Get dippin' ya'll:

You can melt your chocolate two ways:

1) By using a double boiler

2) Microwave

I used the microwave. I emptied the chocolate into the bowl, cooked for 2 minutes, stirred the chocolate around, and cooked for another 2 minutes. Put parchment paper on a plate, dip the strawberries, and place in the freezer for a few hours until the chocolate has cooled.

Jimmy rated the strawberries a perfect 10/10! We waited like 5 minutes and decided that they were frozen enough because we couldn't wait. We ate three and put them back into the freezer, which ended up being a bad idea. We left them in the freezer over night. The strawberries were completely frozen, so we moved them to the fridge. The strawberries ended up thawing out and getting soggy, so we left them out and that messed them up even more. O well. We would reccomend putting them in the fridge after you make them so they cool off, yet not freeze