Corn Chowder - Comfort Food for a Tough Week!

This week has flown by in a haze of naps and nausea.  We've been dealing with the stomach flu with the odd cold mixed in.  Next time I'm going to hand out small bottles of hand sanitizer as party favors!!!

Tonight was the first night all week I had any energy to actually cook dinner and I knew I wanted it to be my comfort food - what my mom always made me when I was recovering from being sick.  Her Corn Chowder is one of the recipes I'm so happy I was able to learn how to make from her before she passed away.

I made it tonight and the boys absolutely loved it and I sent some over to my neighbors who are also wrestling with the same stomach flu.

The recipe is super easy to scale up if you need to make more and it's great paired with biscuits or Hawaiian rolls.  To make it interesting I used purple potatoes (you can buy them at Henry's) and it added a cool element.

Mom’s Corn Chowder
Ingredients:½ pound bacon, cut-up
1 medium onion, chopped (about ½ cup)
2 stalks celery, (chopped about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups milk (skim is okay)
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 can (17 ounces) cream-style corn, kernel corn is also fine
2 cups cooked potatoes (* see below)
Snipped parsley
Paprika

Directions:Cook bacon in 3 quart saucepan until crisp; drain, reserving 3 tablespoons fat in saucepan. Cook and stir onion and celery in bacon fat until onion is tender; remove from heat. Stir in flour. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in salt, pepper, corn and potatoes; heat through. Be sure to let boil until the chowder is thick as it is better that way! Stir in bacon. Sprinkle each serving with parsley and paprika if you desire.

*Mom would use a portion of the bacon fat to cook the potatoes, that had been cut in to about 1/2 inch square cubes until tender. Cut the potato as if you are making fries, then cut each strip in to squares before cooking.

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My Dinner and School Lunch Secret Weapon

This last week has been like a Perfect Storm around here.  My husband was out of the country all week on a business trip, I needed to work a 50 hour work week, I was sick and both my kids traded off being sick.  To say that I was a little overwhelmed would be a bit of an understatement.

Getting a decent meal in for the kids as well as packing a decent/healthy school lunch is challenging when you can barely think straight.  One of my fall backs is Subway sandwiches.  We'll go and buy foot long sandwiches and the kids will eat half for dinner.  The other half is perfect for the main portion in their lunches the next day.  Add a snack, water bottle and maybe a mandarin orange or apple slices and you have the perfect lunch.  A huge bonus is the kids LOVE having the sandwiches for lunch the next day - it sure beats PB & J!

So thanks Subway for helping me my sanity last week when I didn't have the extra brain power or energy to make dinner and school lunches!

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Three Fantastic Meal Ideas from fresh & easy

Cooking for the family is frequently tricky.  These days as moms we are juggling more than ever and I don't know about you, but I know I stills struggle to find balance.  I know that family dinners are one area that I am constantly looking for assistance and ideas on.  A lot of it has to do with the honest fact that I am just plain tired and uninspired by the end of the day.  I want something easy, healthy and fast that I can cook for the family.  That is a huge part of why I love fresh & easy so much.  I'm constantly posting about them, well, honestly because that is where I do most of my grocery shopping (I loved fresh & easy long before I worked with them as a blogger).

Be sure to check out some of my all time favorite posts about fresh & easy (holiday dinners under $20 here and groceries for a family of four for under $100 here).

Recently I was invited to a Blogger event here in Orange County at the Epicurean Culinary School in Anaheim to celebrate the launch of 3 new stores in Southern California.  Don't know where your closest fresh & easy is?  Go here to find your nearest location throughout the California, Nevada and Arizona region.  They are constantly opening new locations, so if you don't have one near you, there will probably be one shortly.  I personally have two insulated grocery bags that I use because the closest fresh & easy to me is about 20 minutes away.  Yes, I save that much by shopping there and I just plain love their store label products!

We were treated to instruction on three fantastic recipes (yet easy, healthy and inexpensive).  All of the recipes are below (the pictures are mine from the evening of the actual dishes my group made). 

Shrimp Ceviche

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

o   1 package fresh&easy 31/40 Cooked Shrimp

o   1 cup fresh lime juice

o   ½ cup fresh orange juice

o   1 small red onion, thinly sliced

o   1 jalapeno, stemmed and roughly chopped

o   1 medium ripe avocado, pitted, flesh removed from skin and chopped into ½” cubes

o   ¼ cup packed fresh&easy Sun Dried Tomatoes, chopped

o   1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped in ¼” cubes

o   ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, stems removed

o   3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

o   Salt and pepper to taste

o   Décor: 1 bag fresh&easy Blue Corn Tortilla Chips

Cooking Directions:

1.     Combine shrimp, lime juice and orange juice in a large resealable bag and let sit for 30 minutes to one hour. If shrimp is too big for your liking, chop into smaller pieces.

2.     Once shrimp has marinated, toss them in a large glass or stainless steel bowl with the rest of the ingredients.

3.     Toss well and season with salt and pepper.

4.     Refrigerate until ready to serve, no longer than a couple of hours. Serve in margarita glasses with fresh&easy Blue Corn Tortilla chips.

Build Your Own Pizza

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

o   1 package fresh&easy Traditional or Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

o   1 jar fresh&easy Pizza Sauce

o   1 bag fresh&easy Shredded Mozzarella

o   Flour for rolling

o   Toppings: Include your favorite ingredients

Cooking Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 400F. Allow dough to come to room temperature before starting.

2.     Start with a small bowl of flour at your work area and remove dough ball from wrapper. Dip dough into flour so it is lightly coated before placing it onto the work surface.

3.     Place dough ball down and using a knife or dough cutter, cut dough ball in half. Be sure to dust the cut side with flour so it doesn’t stick.

4.     Using a rolling pin, roll each half into a long thin rectangle, no bigger than the size of the pan you are going to bake on. You should be able to fit 2 of these rectangles onto a regular cookie pan.

5.     Once dough is shaped correctly, move to cookie pans and try to remove any excess flour.

6.     Using a large tablespoon, place 4-6 tablespoons of sauce onto each crust and spread to within 1” of the edge all the way around – It doesn’t take very much sauce to make a good pizza!

7.     Now, take your shredded cheese and use about 4-6oz of cheese on each crust, sprinkling evenly over the sauce and to within ¼” of the edge.

8.     Take your favorite toppings, cut them in smaller portions and then sprinkle on top of the cheese.

9.     Bake until crust is golden brown. Cheese should start to brown and bubble in about 12-14 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes before trying to cut.

10.  Cut into wedges and serve.

Apricot Chicken Tenders

Serves 4

Ingredients:

o   1 package fresh&easy Chicken Tenders

o   1 jar fresh&easy Apricot Preserves

o   1 jar fresh&easy Sweet Hot Mustard  

o   1 bottle fresh&easy Whole Grain Dijon Mustard

o   1 package Progresso Breadcrumbs  

o   1 bowl fresh&easy Cooked Medley with Wild Rice

o   1 bag fresh&easy Microsteamer Veggies  

Cooking Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350F.

2.     Place ½ jar of apricot preserves into a medium mixing bowl. Going by taste, add 1 tablespoon of sweet hot mustard and 1 teaspoon of whole grain Dijon mustard at a time, stirring and tasting between each addition. Sauce should be sweet with a hint of spicy mustard in the flavor.

3.     Place 2/3 of sauce into a serving ramekin for later. Leave 1/3 in mixing bowl.

4.     Open pack of chicken tenders and place into serving bowl with remaining sauce. Toss to coat tenders with sauce.

5.     Once coated, move tenders to bowl of bread crumbs to cover. Once coated in bread crumbs, move tenders to a sheet pan and place into oven to bake.

6.     Cook tenders until they reach 165F internal temperature, and outside is golden brown, approximately 12-14 minutes.

7.     While chicken is cooking, follow package instructions and heat rice and vegetables in microwave.

8.     Plate veggies, rice and chicken with apricot mustard dipping sauce and enjoy.

Note:  We were each given a large bag of yummy treats from fresh & easy to take home, but I can say with 100% honesty, they are already products I have purchased and absolutely adore so it doesn't sway my opinion of fresh & easy.

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Delicious Slow Cooker Lasagna

I'm not the best cook in the world, but I have begun to accumulate a few delicious family friendly meals.  For Christmas I got a new large slow cooker as a present (I know, the joys of being a Mom... these things are actually exciting!) that has inspired me to kick things up a notch.


Working full time presents a HUGE challenge when it comes to dinners.  My job allows me to be with my kids in the afternoons (don't ask what time I get up every morning... you don't want to know), but by the time dinner rolls around I'm exhausted!  The slow cooker has been the answer for me, because it allows me to get everything assembled the night before and get it started at the crack of dawn.  Yes, I'm up well before sunrise on weekdays.

As promised... here is my recent super yummy creation:

Slow Cooker Lasagna

Ingredients:
(all these are approximate and can be increased or decreased to personal preference)

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion (chopped)
• Several cloves of crushed garlic (depending on your garlic preference)
• 1 large can of tomato sauce (29 ounces)
• 1 can of tomato paste (12 ounces)
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 12 ounces of Ricotta Cheese
• 16 ounces of shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 package of regular lasagna noodles
• 1 cup water

Directions:
Cook the ground beef, onion and garlic until the meat is brown (this would also be a great place to add chopped carrots, peppers, spinach or other veggie you would want to "hide" in the meal).  Mix in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil and oregano.

In a separate bowl, mix together the Ricotta cheese, (approximately) 12 ounces of Mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese.

Spread a layer of the meat sauce on the bottom of the slow cooker.  Add two layers of the noodles (un-cooked).  I broke the noodles up in to smaller pieces to allow for easier serving later.  Spread another thin layer of the sauce over the top of the noodles (this gives them the moisture to cook in).  Then spread a layer of the Ricotta mixture.  Then sauce mixture.  Then noodles.  Then sauce. Then Ricotta.  Repeat until you have used up the sauce and the Ricotta.  Be sure not to fill it more than 3/4 of the way to the top (to allow for the expansion of the noodles).  Use a layer of noodles as the top and carefully add the cup of water on the top (this gives the noodles enough liquid to cook).  Cook for approximately 6 hours on low heat.  About 1 hour before it is done, sprinkle the rest of the cheeses, a dash of the Oregano and basil.

This was a HUGE hit in our house and the above picture was actually from earlier tonight!

*Note: This also makes as a great main dish for your kids school lunch the next day, just put a small portion in a reusable container!

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Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes for Kids

Thanksgiving is a crazy time for all families and we are no exception!  Big family get togethers can be a time of chaos and many times the younger (but no longer babies) can feel left out eventhough they really want to contribute and help out.  By finding a couple easy and fun recipes, you can have the kids not just help out, but give them something to be proud of contributing to the family feast! 

Below are a couple super easy family friendly recipes that you can have kids assemble for Thanksgiving (you will need to supervise and be ready to assist) from Todd Adelman, Director of Nutritional Services for Block Institute, and co-author of the James Beard nominated book, Special Foods for Special Kids: Practical Solutions & Great Recipes for Children with Food Allergies.

We'll be trying these this year!

Stuffing
 (Yields four cups)

Ingredients:
16 slices bread, toasted with crust removed
½ cup celery, finely diced
¼ cup onion, finely diced
1 Tbsp. margarine
2 medium apples, grated
2 tsp. parsley flakes
1 tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper
½ cup chicken stock

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Cut bread into cubes & set aside in large bowl.
• Sauté celery & onion in margarine until soft.
• Add celery mixture & remaining ingredients to bread cubes.
• Toss until liquid is absorbed.
• Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
• Serve.

Serving suggestion: Add your favorite combination of dried fruit, nuts, etc.
Dairy Allergy: Use milk-free bread & milk-free margarine.
Gluten Allergy: Use gluten-free bread.
Egg Allergy: No substitutions needed.

Sweet Potato Boats
 (Yields 16 “boats”)

Ingredients:
8 medium sweet potatoes
2 apples, peeled & cored
¼ cup orange juice
½ tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. margarine
½ tsp. salt
1 egg
16 marshmallows

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Slice potatoes in half, lengthwise.
• Cut small slit in center of potato.
• Bake for 45 minutes or until tender when pierced with knife.
• Scoop out pulp of sweet potatoes being careful to leave the skin intact.
• Add salt to pulp & set aside.
• Cut apples into thin slices.
• Toss apples in orange juice & add cinnamon.
• Sauté apple mixture in margarine over medium heat, stirring constantly until apples are soft & liquid is absorbed.
• Add apple mixture to sweet potato pulp & process (or mash) until smooth.
• Beat egg into mixture.
• Fill potato shells to rim.
• Bake on foil lined cookie sheets at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.
• Slice marshmallows in half.
• Top each potato half with 2 pieces of marshmallow.
• Broil until golden brown.

Serve immediately.

Milk allergy: Use milk-free margarine.
Gluten allergy: No substitute needed.
Egg allergy: Substitute 1 ½ tsp. egg replacer mixed with 2 Tbsp. of water for egg. Use egg-free marshmallows.

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Organic meats delivered to your door?

We recently watched the movie Food, inc.  If you haven't seen it, you've most likely at least heard about it.  You've probably also heard that it will forever affect the way you look at our food supply, some people I know have even become vegetarians after watching it.  One thing I took away from the movie is the need to be more aware of where my food was coming from.  I've always had a love for gardening so I personally made a commitment to cultivating more of our fruits and vegetables whenever possible.  That wasn't a tough choice for me, have you ever tasted the difference between a vine ripened tomato and a standard store bought tomato?  It's like night and day.

I admit I've always had vegetarian tendencies, but I do love the occasional delicious hamburger, hot dog or steak.  So my struggle was to find a way to feel better about the beef I fed my family.  In the movie Food inc., they profiled an Organic sustainable cattle farmer who is going back to the way cattle ranching used to be.  I've had the privilege of connecting with another rancher who believes in 100% grass fed cows, no steroids, no antibiotics and good old fashioned fresh air!  What's even better is that you can order the meats directly from him and they arrive at your door, perfectly frozen (no worries about freezer burn because of the way they are sealed, packed and shipped).  For the record, this is who Jamie Oliver's people called when they were in town and needed a supply of meat!   Rocky Mountain Organic Meats sent me a package to sample the products and I was floored to see how fresh the meat was, but it also arrived still completely frozen and perfect.

This is the actual package that arrived!

I decided to test the burgers out on my husband.  His reaction was priceless... he immediately commented that it was the best, freshest meat he had ever tasted!  (He's brutally honest when it comes to things like this too!)  The steaks were amazing, as well as the hot dogs and ground meat.  We also got the chance to sample the beef sticks.  Well, ok... I got to sample one and my husband snagged the rest, promising me they were delicious but that they were all his.  They just didn't have the normal preservative filled taste that beef sticks tend to have.

I was sold.  So it's going to take a little more logistic planning on my part, but I plan on purchasing as much of my beef that I cook for my family from Rocky Mountain Organic Meats as I can.  The prices are very reasonable and the far superior taste of the meat makes the extra planning steps worth it in my opinion. 

So enough about MY opinion of how much better the meat tastes from Rocky Mountain Organic Meats... let's have a giveaway!!!  Rocky Mountain Organic Meats is generously offering the 10 pounds organic burger patty package to one lucky reader! 

The giveaway will go until October 8th, 2010 at 11:59pm and is only open to residents of the contiguous U.S.  When leaving comments, be sure I have a way to contact you, I reserve the right to pick another winner if I am not able to contact the winner in a reasonable amount of time.  The winner will be picked using Random.org.

Mandatory first entry: Head over to the Rocky Mountain Organic Meats website and tell us what product you'd like to try most. (this is allowed once per day until the giveaway closes)

How to enter:

• Subscribe to email feed or other feed subscription for OCMomActivities.com (or if you already are, just say that) 
• Become a Fan of Rocky Mountain Organic Meats or OCMomActivities on Facebook (say so if you already are)
• Follow Rocky Mountain Organic Meats or OCMomActivities on Twitter (1 extra entry)
• Mention/link this giveaway in a blog post or tweet about it (1 extra entry each allowed once per day until the giveaway ends) 
• Go comment on another post on OCMomActivities.com then come back and comment on this one saying you did it (this is an unlimited number of extra entries as long as you do the extra commenting!)

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FiRE + iCE in Anaheim is perfect for a family dinner!

We had the chance to head down to FiRE + iCE at the Anaheim Garden Walk for the 1st Anniversary bash.  It was the first time the kids had been there and their first ever Mongolian style barbecue dinner.  They LOVED it!  It's great for picky eaters because you pick out the ingredients, so you know you won't be getting anything you don't want to eat in your dinner.  

The look on the chef's face was priceless when he saw the eclectic combination that the kids wanted cooked.  But thrown all together was what the kids wanted and they couldn't have been happier with the result.

I had the chicken fajitas, they were amazing.  I could have eaten a ton more.  (I used the recipe on the chalkboard behind the ingredient area for ideas of ingredients). 

One of the best parts was that for an amazing delicious meal, the entire family can eat there for less than $35 because the buffet is all you can eat (think Sizzler with far better food and a chef that prepares the fresh ingredients in front of you!).

A tip for locals... The Anaheim Garden Walk is not busy even during peak tourist season, so don't be afraid crowds if you like to avoid them like we do.  FiRE + iCE is a great stop on your way to Disneyland or after leaving the parks.  Enjoying a meal at FiRE + iCE  is also a great way to wind down after a long day at the parks or wait out the traffic before heading home.  There are also numerous locations across the country, you can go here to find out where they are.

Have you been there?  What was your favorite meal creation?

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Kids Restaurant Week - Amazing Deals at The Melting Pot in San Clemente!

Did you know it is Kids Restaurant Week?  It's a great time to head out to some of your favorite restaurants where there's everything from special menus to amazing prices for kids.  Love Fondue?  Head down to The Melting Pot in San Clemente where the following kids meal is only $10! 

OC KIDS WEEK MENU

Kids (5-11years old) can enjoy the Little Dipper Deal

LITTLE DIPPER DEAL

Drink included: Summer Splasher (Sprite with your choice of Mango, Blackberry, Cherry or Kiwi Monin syrup) or regular soda.

APPETIZER

Pepperoni Pizza Fondue or Mac N’ Cheese Fondue

ENTREE COURSE

Teriyaki Sirloin, Chicken Breast, Ravioli and Shrimp

Served with a variety of vegetables

DESSERT COURSE

Campfire S’mores Milk Chocolate Fondue or Oreo® Cookie Dark Chocolate Heaven

$10 per Child

No splitting or sharing. Minimum purchase of individual entrée required

for every three Little Dipper Deals.

The Melting Pot is located at 647 Camino de los Mares, San Clemente, CA, 92673.

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How to Spend $100 a Week on Groceries for a Family of Four!

Another Fabulous Yet Frugal Friday Post...

I spend $100/ a week on groceries for our family of four (yes, that includes lunches for the kids at school)!  It all started a few months ago when I got tired of how high our grocery bill was getting with multiple "quick stops" in to the local grocery store to pick up things here and there.  It had to stop.  I'm not sure if my biggest motivation was saving money or if it was just being organized for the week so we weren't scrounging around for last minute dinners.  An added side bonus is my husband now cooks most of the dinners!  Don't believe me? Well, as you'll see below the dinners are easy, fast, healthy and super easy on the budget.

So you're probably wondering what my trick is?  Well, once a week I grab my reusable grocery bags and head to Fresh & Easy.  I buy 3-4 of their prepared dinners, tons of veggies for side dishes, super yummy packaged salads for my lunches and plenty of snacks to add to the kids lunches.  And yes... all this for $100 a week.  Don't believe me?  Check out my recent receipt below.  I pointed out some of the key dinners & school lunch main dishes.  One of the things I love the most is the prepared family size dinners, they take about 10 minutes to cook (oven or microwave) and when paired with salad or other veggies, it's a complete meal.  Homemade hamburgers (loaded with onions, spinach & garlic) are great main courses for the kids school lunches.

Would you love to only spend $100/week on groceries?  Try out our plan for one week... and I'm pretty sure you'll be hooked too!  Be sure to come back and comment about your experience!

(Also check out this post on Holiday Dinners for under $20!)

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School Lunch Idea

These last couple of weeks have been super busy! In my quest to improve my health, I've taken a look at what I pack in the kids school lunches also.
Thankfully, my boys are great eaters but I have to admit out of sheer convenience I had been buying the Lunchables far too often.

While doing my "System Re-Boot" this last week (SUPER successful by the way), I had to plan dinners further ahead of time and I had to ensure they were easy at the same time. Using one of my favorite Kitchen gadgets (my George Foreman Grill) I was able to not just get dinner prepped for the boys... but the main course of their lunches! Talk about productive!

So... Try making sliders (baby hamburgers) or hot dogs and making one extra go include in the kids lunches the next day. My boys loved it!

What other healthy, nutritious and easy lunch ideas do you have? I'd love to hear them!

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Thanksgiving dinner for less than $20?

Yes, with a small bit of planning ahead it is very possible! I promise! I happened upon a deal last week that floored me… $0.37/pound for frozen Turkeys at Fresh & Easy. If you calculate that out, you can get a fifteen pound Turkey (plenty for a small family dinner) for $5.00! This is probably a good time to note that I bought one, then went back another day and bought a second Turkey for Christmas Dinner because the deal was too amazing to pass up. Since I’m not cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year, I’ll be making the traditional Thanksgiving dinner for our family of four the day after. I’ll post the actual recipes next week (including how to make my Mom’s world famous gravy!).


I wasn’t planning on purchasing everything so far in advance, but when I saw the deals and did the math in my head I knew it was a fantastic deal that wouldn’t necessarily be around for long! Below are items I actually purchased so I know the prices are 100% accurate. Don’t believe me? Cruise on over to the Fresh & Easy site and check out the prices for yourself!


Here’s the shopping list (including the prices at Fresh & Easy just to make it simple) for Thanksgiving dinner:


1 -15 pound Jennie O Frozen Turkey--------------- $5.07


Green Bean Casserole
French’s Fried Onions ----------------------------------$2.49
1 can – Cream of Mushroom Soup -----------------$.59
2 cans – Green Beans ----------------------------------$.69 x 2


Cranberry Sauce
1 can jellied cranberry sauce --------------------------$.99


Stuffing
1 Box Mrs. Cubbison’s Seasoned Dressing-----$1.49


Mashed Potatoes
48 oz. Golden Potatoes --------------------------------$3.28


Candied Yams/Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes (whole/fresh)-------------------------$2.99


                                                                         _________


                                                                                $18.28 total
 (leaves extra for misc. ingredients most have on hand)

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Super Easy Homemade Chicken Soup

This is panning out to be a yucky cold/flu season early this year! As a kid I was spoiled with my Mom's homemade chicken soup - chicken soup from a can never has any appeal to me.

I don't think many people realize how super easy it is to make your own chicken soup. Storage is a piece of cake (freeze it for those times when you are sick and not up to cooking!). Here's how my Mom always made chicken soup:

Take 1 roasted chicken (we always take what is left over from dinner and I use the ready cooked whole chickens from the store!) and put it as is in a large pot. Fill 1/2 way with water. Turn on high heat for 1-2 hours. Let it boil away.

Once the meat is falling off the bone and falls apart in your hands (or spoon), pour through a colander into a saucepan. The "chicken stock" is now ready to add all the goodies to.

I always add a couple tablespoons of soy sauce as my secret ingredient. Add a couple handfuls of frozen vegetables and frozen brown rice. Let it boil for about 15 minutes and it's done!

My Mom always said the sign of a good chicken soup was if it turned to jelly when refrigerated. Not sure why that is though, but it does make it easier to skim off the fat...

What's your comfort food when you're feeling under the weather?

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Taco(ish) Salad

I had to share my latest creation - Taco (ish) Salad

I was making this nacho recipe for the kids but was really craving salad for myself so I decided to take the raw ingredients of what I was cooking for the kids, add it on top of fresh cut romaine leaves to come up with this... (sorry the image is a little blurry due to my iPhone and my inability to hold still enough...)

Ingredients:

-Romaine lettuce

-Cooked ground meat

-Tabasco Chipotle sauce

-Barbeque sauce (about 1 tablespoon mixed for Nacho meat and salad meat)

-Handful of chopped cucumber

-Handful of chopped sweet red peppers

-Shredded cheese

-Spoonful of light sour cream

-4 Grape tomatoes cut in half

-1 Tablespoon of your favorite salad dressing (balsamic w/oil works well also)

Directions:

Again, I made this primarily with what I already had on hand for the Nachos.  To make the nacho meat, I took one package of ground meat and sauteed it until well cooked.  Then in a bowl I mixed it with 1 tablespoon of barbeque sauce.  I took out about 1/2 cup of the meat and mixed in the Chipotle Tabasco sauce in to it to add kick (knowing the kids wouldn't like it in the nacho meat).  I added all of the above ingredients on top of fresh chopped romaine lettuce and added about 1 tablespoon of my favorite salad dressing (which happens to be Chinese Chicken Salad dressing by Girard's).

The salad came out amazing and the kids loved the nachos!  Perfect way to satisfy the kids and allow me to eat healthily without feeling like I cooked two separate meals! 

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Christmas in September?

I don’t know about you, but this streak of super hot weather in Southern California is starting to get to me! The holidays are my favorite time of year and I am proud to report that last night, it sure felt like them around here, smells and all. Yup, you read that right. I made breakfast for dinner (complete with bacon and eggs) and used a specialty pancake mix from Daddy Cakes called Glamorous Gingerbread and they tasted just like Gingerbread cookies! No kidding! Even my kids were complimenting me on “The BEST pancakes EVER!!!”

With every bite I swear I almost forgot how hot it was outside. There were extras (surprising I know) so this morning I had the privilege of snacking on the cold pancakes for breakfast. Yum! Now after reviewing their website my head is swimming with all the yummy varieties.  Sinful Cinnamon, Criminal Chocolate Chip, Sensuous Strawberry Sensations... the list goes on!

So take a second and pop over to their website ( www.daddycakesbakery.com ) and order a mix package - I’m anxious to hear if anyone else has tried them and what your favorites are!

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Easy Gourmet BBQ Chicken Pizza

I have been a huge fan of BBQ Pizza for years and have struggled to find one I love that delivers. I have to say, my search is over – I have made my own and it is SUPER easy! There are a number of ways to shortcut and simplify this recipe, but I’m going to tell you exactly how I made it last night and leave it up to you as to what parts you may or may not switch out! I highly recommend using a pizza stone to cook with (I’m adding a link to purchase an inexpensive one at Amazon.com at the end of the post). I’ve only recently purchased one and will never make pizza without it again!

Ingredients:
-1 Whole Wheat pre-made pizza dough from Trader Joe’s (you could also make your own, but I had a Trader Joe’s one on hand and didn’t have the time to make my own dough)

-1 bottle barbeque sauce (I highly recommend a honey flavored or other sweet variety)

-1 cooked rotisserie Chicken (you could save $ by cooking your own, but I was running short on time)

-1 purple onion sliced (corn and pineapple would also be a great addition)

-1 package shredded mozzarella (of course it would also cost less to shred this on your own)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly flour the pizza stone with whatever type of flour you have on hand, I use Whole Wheat Flour. Form the Trader Joe’s dough carefully to fit the pizza stone. Allow to rise for 15 minutes, and then re-work the dough to fully fit the stone if it didn’t before. Let rise for an additional 15 minutes if you have time, or just begin adding the toppings. (If you’re not using a pizza stone, you’ll need to prebake the dough to prevent it from being too soft in the center) I smoothed a thin layer of the barbeque sauce over the dough. Then I lightly sprinkled the shredded mozzarella cheese over the pizza. I then added a couple handfuls of the chicken (hand shredded). Then add the sliced onions. Then sprinkle a small handful of mozzarella over the pizza. Cook in oven until the cheese just begins to golden. Remove from onion and cut using pizza cutter. Serve and Enjoy!

This has instantly become one of my favorite dinners! Let me know if you try it and if your family likes it as much as ours!!!

Here's the link to the pizza stone if you don't have one yet:

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Tomato Mozarella Toasted Ciabatta - Yum!

This is one of the easiest, yummiest and cheapest recipes yet! I promise this one will be a huge hit at your dinner table, just as it was at mine tonight!!!

Ingredients:
-Par Baked Ciabatta loaf (fully baked one is fine also, but I love using the Trader Joe’s par baked ones for the fresh taste and they are only about 1.99/loaf!)
-1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
-1 tablespoon grape seed oil (olive oil is fine)
-1 large sliced tomato (homegrown if possible)
-Lawry’s Garlic Salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice the Ciabatta loaf in half to create two equal sides. Lay with insides up on a cookie sheet. Drizzle the oil over the bread sides. Layer the tomato slices across the two sides. Sprinkle the mozzarella over the tomatoes and top the mozzarella with the garlic salt. Cook in oven until the cheese begins to turn a golden color (about 20 minutes).

Enjoy!

*Please note the picture was my first try (last week), my family dove in to tonight’s creation before I had the chance to take a picture. I used sliced mozzarella instead of shredded and didn’t cook long enough… but you get the point!

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Five Healthy Family Dinners under $20

Making a meal plan for the week can be tough, especially if you are a working mother. I find that if I don’t plan ahead, it is far too easy to fall back on take-out, which as we all know is not the healthiest or cheapest option. So, I’ve pulled together some of our family recipes that happen to cost less than $20 to prepare, are nutritious and easy to make. My recommendation is to plan out 5 meals ahead of time (feel free to use our favorites below) and purchase the ingredients at Costsco as this lowers the cost dramatically, in many cases bringing the cost of the meal for the entire family down to less than $10!

Always keep lettuce and salad dressing around to accompany the meal. Grab a baguette or two to accompany soups and salads. Buy the large bag of fresh broccoli at Costco and steam in small batches throughout the week, my kids love the fresh steamed broccoli drizzled with Ranch dressing.

-Bruchetta (http://ocmomactivities.blogspot.com/2008/10/kid-favorite-bruschetta-recipe.html) and Chinese Chicken Salad (http://ocmomactivities.blogspot.com/2008/10/easy-chinese-chicken-salad.html). Make extra of the bruchetta topping because you can add it to cooked pasta to create a completely new dish the next day.

-Homemade Pizza (http://ocmomactivities.blogspot.com/2009/07/easy-pizza-dough.html)

-Panini’s (http://ocmomactivities.blogspot.com/2009/07/yummy-paninis.html)

-Chicken Pasta Primavera (http://ocmomactivities.blogspot.com/2008/10/chicken-pasta-primavera-another-kid.html)

-Corn Chowder (http://ocmomactivities.blogspot.com/2008/10/moms-yummy-corn-chowder.html)

Stay tuned as I’m putting together tips on how to keep your grocery shopping cost under $100 a week and still easily feed a family of four (this includes their lunches for school!).

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Easy Pizza Dough!

Even I Can Make THIS Pizza Dough…

Okay, so it’s no secret around our house – my home made pizza dough’s leave something to be desired. I admit it. I’ve tried, but there always seems to be something wrong and most of the time it’s the dough. Grrrr. I don’t have to make pizza all that often, but I REALLY want to be able to make a good pizza.

Last week, I found a great App on my iPhone for the Epicurious website. While playing around the other day found an easy enough looking recipe for Pizza Dough, it sounded too delicious. I had to try it. The biggest difference from most of the recipes I have tried is the length of time the dough rises and the amount of yeast. I made it for dinner last night and for the first time EVER, I received a two thumbs up from the entire family!!! The Epicurious iPhone App is awesome!

OC Mom Chef Note: I let the dough rise an extra 30 minutes once placed on the cookie sheets, this made them super light and airy, and it was awesome! I also did not hand knead the dough, I used the hook on my Kitchen Aid mixer. Only problem with this recipe was there was a lot of rising time, so I had to be home most of the afternoon while it rose, but it was worth it!

Pizza Dough Courtesy of Epicurious
Yield: Makes 2 pounds
Active Time: 15 min
Total Time: 1 3/4 hr
Adapted from a recipe by chef Chris Bianco, of Pizzeria Bianco, in Phoenix, this dough bakes up crisp and chewy.

Ingredients
2 (1/4-ounces) packages active dry yeast
4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, divided, plus additional for dusting
2 cups warm water (105–115&Deg;F), divided
2 teaspoons salt

Preparation
Make dough:
Whisk together yeast, 2 tablespoons flour, and 1/2 cup warm water in a measuring cup and let stand until mixture develops a creamy foam, about 10 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

Stir together salt and 3 cups flour in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture and remaining 1 1/2 cups warm water and stir until smooth, then stir in 1 cup more flour. If dough sticks to your fingers, stir in just enough flour (up to 3/4 cup), a little at a time, to make dough just come away from side of bowl. (This dough may be wetter than other pizza doughs you have made.)

Knead dough on a lightly floured surface with floured hands, lightly reflouring work surface and your hands when dough becomes too sticky, until dough is smooth, soft, and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Divide dough in half and form into 2 balls, then generously dust balls all over with flour and put each in a medium bowl. Cover bowls with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

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Yummy Panini's

On my everlasting quest to find yummy meals for an active family, I have stumbled upon yet another yummy creation! Panini’s! But I think the best part is that you don’t need to have a fancy Panini maker… yes, the Famous George Foreman Grill does it all. (Okay, that part really makes me laugh, but it IS true). I had one years ago (pre-kids) and cooked miscellaneous items on it when I didn’t have a barbeque. It’s long since disappeared… most likely ending up as a donation to Goodwill.

A few months back, I had really noticed we were getting far too much take out, but the sad thing is that really wasn’t interesting take out or complicated meals really. So in light of the current economy (and smart budgeting!) we’ve really made the effort to cook more meals at home. Not only are they more nutritious, but they cost less and can save time if planned out properly.

Last week I took the Panini’s we had been ordering for take-out and adapted them for at home cooking (I am shocked at how much this saves) and decided to invest in a $70 Panini Maker (aka George Foreman Grill). Here’s what we made and have now become hooked on!

For the adults-

Ingredients:
-Pre-sliced Rye Bread
-Cracked Pepper Sliced Turkey
-Sliced Provolone
-Avocado
-Sweet & Spicy Mustard (French’s)

Directions:
Make sandwich as desired and add a VERY light amount of olive oil to outside of bread sides to encourage crunchy exterior. Cook about 4 minutes in the George Foreman Grill. Voila! This is really good paired with a light salad.

For the Kids-

Ingredients:
-Pre-sliced French Bread
-Mild Cheddar cheese slices
-One cut hot dog slice in half length-wise

Directions:
Lay the sliced hot dog in between two slices of cheddar cheese on the bread slices. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil on outsides of the bread to encourage the crispiness. Cook for several minutes (until golden brown). The kids love this one! It would also be a super easy place to sneak a super healthy pureed veggie mixture in between the cheese slices…



Pssst… as I am sure you know… the George Foreman Grill can cook just about anything you’d cook on the barbeque and can be used year round… just sayin’. ;) Don't have one? I recommend this one from Amazon (get the one with removeable/dishwasher safe grills if you can spend the extra $, it's a HUGE timesaver!):

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