Getting Saucy: Post 2

I forgot to mention another favorite for dipping....a Frosty! Or any milkshake for that matter.
I dip fries, chicken nuggets, and I've been known to dip a cheeseburger. Zach cringes...I find it utterly delicious.

One of my favorite sauces/dips ever is the topping I discovered while cooking at the Lynch's house once. It's the topping for meat loaf. I always make extra for dipping after it's done.

I used to LOVE the way that ketchup on top of meat loaf tasted after glazing, if you will.
This is even better for it. I don't have an exact measurement, so just do it to taste.

I would start, if your nervous, with 1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup mustard
1/4-1/3 cup brown sugar

Mix together and brush on top of meat loaf.

Bake
Enjoy!

Oh and make a little extra if you're anything like me!

Getting Saucy: Post 1

I am a "sauce person."

As in almost every meal that I eat, I eat for the sauce, dip, etc...

There's rarely a meal that I will eat without going and getting something extra to add to it after it's done.
I am the worlds biggest dipper. It's true.
Basic dips of preference?
Honey
(for fries, chicken--nuggets, strips, roasted chicken, sometimes funeral potatoes)
Syrup
(for bacon, sausage, French toast or waffles--I don't pour it on top, just dip it on the side...)
Ranch
(fries, chicken--nuggets, strips, roasted chicken, fried chicken, pizza, bread sticks, sometimes funeral potatoes)
Mustard
(fries--occasionally, hot dogs, corn dogs-again, I don't put it on top of the hot dog--I'll dip it in as I feel)
Barbeque Sauce
(fries, baked potatoes, chicken--strips, nuggets, etc..,)

In addition: marinara sauce, au jus, Applebees' Oriental Chicken dressing-I get the salad for the dressing, fry sauce, and many others.)

So...
I've decided to blog at least five entries of my favorite sauce/dip recipes!
Yay for you and me!

I found this wonderful blog
which contained this amazing recipe.
Head on over there to take a look.
The dip is to.die.for.
It's SOOOO good.

Before our diet, Zach and I ate this once a week after it's discovery.
And it will be one of the first things we eat after we're done.
It's not terribly unhealthy, and we fix up our table with fruit and veggies on the side.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

So I just read a book.

And I'm trying to non-diet diet :)

As in, I'm working on my body image and being okay with myself as is
and therefore treating my body well. Which means making good eating choices...for the sake of liking myself and not for the sake of losing weight.


But right now Zach and I are on a very low carb diet.

Mostly, to help us jump start healthy eating.
So that we can get into the habit of eating healthier things.
I've noticed that because of this, I've really searched online and in cookbooks for good/healthy recipes.
And I've definitely found some and should be sharing some more in the future.

This buffalo chicken salad was SUPER easy, not costly, and incredibly delicious.
Zach LOVED the chicken. We'll see how he likes it added to a salad for lunch today.
I don't even like buffalo chicken (I tried this out for Zach) and I LOVE this recipe.

What You'll Need:
*4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
*1/2 cup hot sauce (I used Franks buffalo hot sauce. Found a bottle at Target for around $1.02--and I'll probably get two recipes out of it)
*1 packet of dry ranch dressing mix
*Salad greens
*Celery/Onions optional--we opted out of those--well, I did.

What to do:
*You can cube the chicken, but I honestly didn't. I put it in the slow cooker (actually partly frozen, but SSSSH don't tell)
*Mix the hot sauce and ranch mix
*Place over chicken in slow cooker.
*Cook 4-6 hours
**At this point, it was so EASY to shred the chicken. If you've cubed it beforehand, though, you don't have to.
*Place your salad greens on plate or bowl
*Top with a scoop of chicken mixture.

*Should make 4 servings.

*I will admit. I drizzled a TINY bit of ranch dressing over the top. I just felt it was necessary. Still healthy--if a little indulgent--but that's okay, the book said so :)

Enjoy!

Easy Chicken and Stuffing Bake

Once again I am posting something that my husband made. He's been doing a lot of cooking as of late. In fact, the majority of it has gone to him in the last few weeks because I've been dealing with this horrid tooth ache which has naturally made me whiny and made it so I don't want to do anything once I get home for the day. I'm a lucky woman, I know. In fact, I probably need to blog about that at some point. I swear that I want to cook though. In fact, I crave it. I have a bunch of recipes on hold for when I feel better and I am actually cooking something new right now as I type, and if it turns out, I should be posting that tonight (or sometime this week) as well.

Nonetheless, even before my tooth ache hit Ken was cooking at least once a week. He works late Mondays and Tuesdays usually, and so those days end up being easy meals or fend for yourself type of nights. Lately, he's been trying something new each week and so far all of his meals have been a hit. Including the one I'm about to share.

So, what was on this week's menu? This week Ken tried one of the recipes on the back of the stuffing box. I know, not too fancy, but it was SO good that it's definitely worth sharing.

Here is what you'll need:

-1 box stuffing mix
-1 bag frozen veggies (Ken chose a mix of carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli) These need to be thawed before you can throw them in the bake.
-1 lb chicken breast cubed into 1/2 inch pieces (Ken used two chicken breasts)
-1/3 cup sour cream
-1 can cream of chicken soup or cream of chicken and mushroom soup
-2 cups shredded cheese

Directions:

*Preheat the oven to 400.
*Prepare stuffing as directed on box and set aside.
*Cube raw chicken into 1/2 inch thick pieces.
*Mix chicken, thawed veggies, sour cream, soup, and cheese together and spread on the bottom of a 13 X 9 pan.
*Cover above mixture with prepared stuffing and bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through.

Apple Brown Sugar Pork Chops

What you'll need:

Two 1 inch thick boneless pork chops
One apple
One stick of butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup of brown sugar
Dash of cinnamon

Directions:

Cut pork chops into small, thin slices.
Cut apple into small pieces

In a large skillet combine 3/4 stick butter and brown sugar and pork chop strips. Cook on medium heat until the pork chops are cooked through.

Once the pork chops are done, add the remainder of the butter and the apple pieces until the apple pieces are soft, but not limp, and viola! Delicious!

Sadly, once again I can't even take credit for finding this recipe or cooking this meal. This was all my husband's doing. He's on a role lately. This meal was phenomenal!

I've attached a picture, but it really doesn't do this meal justice.

Grandma's Oriental Casserole

Yup, that's right. Two posts in one day. This is a recipe I made a while back and it's just taken me a while to get it on here. I was trying to find the Oriental Casserole recipe that my mother used to make, but instead I stumbled across one of my Grandma's recipes instead. It turned out delicious!

What you'll need:

1 1/2 lb hamburger
1 1/4 cup celery
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can of bean sprouts
1 onion (optional, Ken hates onions, so I skipped the onion and threw in a little onion salt instead)
1 can water chestnuts
1 cup cooked rice
Hard Chow Mien noodles

What you'll need to do:

-Brown hamburger, onion, and celery together in a pan.
-Then add both cans of soup, water chestnuts, soy sauce, and bean sprouts.

-Pour mixture into a casserole dish and cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour, adding a handful or two of hard Chow Mien Noodles for the last 10 minutes.

Serve over white rice and enjoy!

-Misty

Black Bean Soup

Well, it's definitely been a while since I've posted a recipe on here. I swear I've been cooking. Sadly, my first post since summer isn't even something I made. It's something my husband did, but it turned out so yummy, that I thought I'd share it on here. Here you go:

Black Bean Soup

(Serves 4)

What you'll need:
2-15 ounce cans black beans, undrained
1-16 ounce can low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup Salsa
1 tbsp chili powder

What you'll need to do:
-Mash one can of beans with a potato masher.
-Pour both cans into a medium saucepan and add vegetable or chicken broth, salsa, and chili powder.
Bring to a boil.

Top with shredded cheese, sour cream, onion, and/or cilantro. We topped ours with sour cream and cheese (and I added a bit more salsa to give it more of a kick)and then had corn bread on the side.

I have to admit, when Ken told me he was making this, I was a little bit apprehensive, but it turned out great and it's only 216 calories a serving!

Enjoy!
-Misty