Guest Recipe Post: Spicy Caspian Chicken and Mint Yogurt

Fedra from Spicy Caspian Sauce submitted a Guest Recipe

Ingredients for Caspian sauce:
6 chicken drumsticks
1/2 Cup of Olive Oil
1/2 Cup of Lemon Juice
1/4 teaspoon of parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon of mint flakes
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Meal and Menu Planning For the Family Part 1

Tim from Everyday Living asked me a question which inspired me to write a series of posts on

M eal and M enu planning for the  family.

Here is the first of several post on meal and menu planning for your family.

Meal planning doesn’t need to be something you dread or don’t bother to do. Setting up a meal plan can save your family time and money.

First you need to write down a list of the foods/meals your family eats on a regular basis. If your family eats a lot of spaghetti or burritos you’ll need to always have the groceries in your pantry and refrigerator.

I prefer to write down a list of 6 meals a week and winging it one day a week. Some families go out to eat on weekends or the kids are not home, so this works for them. Once you decide on the meals your family likes you can write an in depth grocery list. Make sure you look in your refrigerator and pantry for groceries and spices. You don’t want to buy too many of something if it will not stay fresh.

I usually check my newspaper for the store ads and the coupons. I usually match up the coupons with the items for sale in the store ad For instance I went to the grocery store a couple of weeks ago and I found boneless skinless chicken breast on sale for $4.99 for a 3 pound bag. I bought 10 bags of it. I’m sure the clerk thought good god she sure likes chicken.

I have a deep freeze in my kitchen so I’m able to stock up for things when they are on sale. I have 8 containers of peanut butter in my cabinet right now.

A while back I had 5 bottles of tomato ketchup in my pantry.

Stocking up on groceries does really save you some bucks. You might have to put out the money in one week to pick up the deals, but you will save money the next week. It all works out in the end. A well stocked pantry makes for a happy family. There’s nothing worse than going to an empty pantry when you are really hungry for something good.

Until the Next Post of this Series.

Check out my Series of Memes Marvelous Menu- Join the fun on Monday’s

Simple Three Pepper Slow Cooker Chicken

image credit wikimedia
Who wants to worry about cooking in the summer? I’d rather throw a few ingredients in the slow cooker then call it supper.
Preparation time: 5-10

Cooking time: 7 hours on low on 4 hours on low

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

6  boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs

2 (16 ounce) bags frozen three pepper stir fry

1 (10 ounce) can tomato soup

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
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Marvelous Menu Meme #5

Each week I’m going to add an extra menu to my menu page each week. Thanks for adding yourself today

Monday-> Whole Chicken Bake
1/2 cup orange marmalade, warm in microwave for 2 minutes without lid
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1. Clean chicken pat dry, spread marmalade all over chicken, sprinkle chili powder on chicken.
2. Bake uncovered for 60 min 350 degrees F until juices run clear when poked.
Sweet potatoes fries:
4 large sweet potatoes, peeled, quartered
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1. Add sweet potatoes in recloseable bag, add spices, mix, pour onto a foil lined cookie sheet, bake 20-30 minutes or until fork tender.
Sides-> green beans, cookies

Tuesday-> Open face Turkey melts (adjust amount of ingredients to serving size.)
1/2 pound slice turkey from deli or package
Apple butter
Whole wheat bread or (your preference)
Apples, cored, sliced
Carrots, shredded
Cheese (your preference)
1. Spread apple butter on bread, layer apple slices, carrots, cheese, repeat.
2. Place into oven until cheese melts
Sides-> corn chips, cake

Wednesday-Meatless Goulash
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
4 cups tomato juice
1 tablespoon dark molasses
1/2 teaspoon basil
2 cups elbow macaroni
1. In large heavy bottom saucepan add oil over low-medium heat sauté’ onion, celery until lightly brown.
2. Add remaining ingredients and cook over low heat for 30 minutes. Cover and stir occasionally.
Side-> bread and butter, ice cream

Thursday- Stuffed Green Peppers
1/2 pound ground beef, brown, drain, pour into large bowl
1 cup white rice, cooked
1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce, original
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon white sugar
Ketchup
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
2. Add all above ingredients into large bowl with ground beef, stir.
3. Add spoonfuls of mixture into each pepper top with a little ketchup, top with green pepper top. Set into shallow dish add a little water around peppers, tent with foil.
4. Bake on bottom rack for 50 minutes.
Side-> angel food cake

Friday-> Leftovers or Freebie Friday

Saturday -> Pocket  Potato Pizza
4 large baking potatoes, rinse, cover with foil poke a few holes
2/3 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Colby cheese
1/2 cup ground sausage, brown, drain
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
2 teaspoons chives, dried
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Bake potatoes for 50 minutes, remove from oven and let cool. Cut 1/4 inch off top of potato(length wise), scoop out center, put into a large bowl, mash with fork. Add remaining ingredients into bowl with potatoes and mash.  Spoon into potato shells.
3.Place back into oven and bake for 10 minutes or until cheese melts
Sides-> green salad, mix fruit.

Sunday-> Fish Tacos
2 cups coleslaw mix
1/2 cup green onions, diced
4 tablespoons miracle whip
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
6 frozen, batter fillets, bake according to directions
6 taco shells, warm on cookie sheet about 4 minutes
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix coleslaw mix, onions, miracle whip, lemon juice, hot sauce in medium bowl.
3. Place a piece of fish into each taco shell and top with coleslaw mixture
Side-> corn on cob, ice cream

Gary’s Seasoning Mix

I recently had the opportunity to sample Gary’s Seasoning. Once I received it in the mail I removed the cap to the perfectly packaged mail tube. Inside the tube were a 5.6 ounce shaker and pour bottle of the seasoning and several packages of the seasoning for me to give to family and friends to try it. On the packaging it says you can use the seasoning on just about anything. The first thing I did was try it on some boneless skinless chicken breasts and it was so delicious. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with the ‘forbidden tofu’ because of its nutritional values and I was surprised how the flavors of the seasoning were able to marry with the tofu. If you have cooked with tofu you know that it takes a bit of experimenting to get the recipe just right. I made a stir fry with the tofu and Gary’s seasoning and it turned out so good. Gary’s Seasoning is the perfect edition to any meal. I am planning to dress up mushrooms tonight with it. The great thing about Gary’s Seasoning is he will send you a sample of the seasoning. Who could argue with getting something for free with lots of flavor?.

Gary’s Seasoning provided a  free sample of Gary’s Seasoning in exchange for an honest opioion of the product.