Busy Moms Perfect Grilled Cheese

I love grilled cheese.  But I always burn it. Always. Without fail.  With all these little ones running around there is always something that pulls me away from the stove.  By the time I get back the smoke detector is threatening to go off.  (We have a baby gate on our kitchen entrance to keep the kids out if I have to walk away.)

About a year ago I ran across a recipe on Allrecipes.com that changed my life. Alright, maybe not changed my life, but really made me happy!  For the life of me I can't remember which recipe it was (Bad, Vicki!) but it was definitely on Allrecipes.com. 

Anyhow, I love that I can make this and not have to worry about a visit from my local firefighters!  It's so easy.

Preheat your oven to 350.  Grab a baking sheet and cooking spray - I like the Butter flavored Crisco for this because it does give it that hint of butter like when you do it stove top.  Give your baking sheet a decent coating of your cooking spray.

Lay out your bread and load up your cheese and whatever else you like.  I love to add Ham, Roast Beef or Turkey.  Once your set stick them in the oven for 8-10 minutes depending on your oven. 

Once the cheese is all melty they are ready to go.

Time for lunch!  {nom, nom, nom!}

Apricot Pork Chops - The Surprise Hit Dinner

It's Friday.  Finally.  I don't know about you, but it seemed like this week was never going to end.  There was too much drama.  I hate drama. But, here we are, and I'm loving it. 

This week was a grocery disaster. I went grocery shopping, snagged some great deals (I had $75.00 in coupons!) and was able to keep the bill under $150 (we are a family of 6!).  Sounds great, right?! Until a snafu at the register had me leaving the store empty handed and without my coupons.  I. Was. Mad.  I'm over it, but it made for an interesting week, meal wise.

I wound up at Albertsons later this week and was able to pick up two 2 pound packages of pork chops for $2.99 each (Managers Special).  In my search for a pork chop recipe because I begin to feel like I am always cooking the same thing, I stumbled on this.  It sounded yummy so I figured I try it.  So glad I did!  During dinner, my 8 year old told me I had to make this again.  It came out super moist and slightly sweet.  I served it with the thickened sauce over rice with a side of mixed veggies.

Apricot Pork Chops

Ingredients

• 2 pounds pork filets or chops
• 1 cup chopped apple
• 1 cup chopped dried apricots (I used sugar free apricot preserves)
• 1/2 cup fresh or dried cranberries (optional) (I used whole cranberries I had in the freezer)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, small chop (I didn't have any celery, but I did have the Litehouse freeze dried celery bits in my pantry)
• 1/2 cup apple juice (didn't have so I replaced with water)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup dry sherry (didn't have - I omitted)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with
• 2 tablespoons cold water
  
  Directions:
• Combine all ingredients; cover and cook 7-9 hours on low. About 30 minutes before serving, pour the liquid into a separate container and skim off excess fat. Stir in cornstarch mixture and return broth to crockpot. Continue cooking on low for another 20-30 minutes until smooth and thickened.

I found this recipe on CDKitchen.com



I had to make a few changes due to not being prepared for this, but it came out awesome.  I can't wait to try it as written! 

Peruvian Chicken - YUM

Seems like as good a time as any to post another yummy recipe. This one is also South Beach Phase 1 Friendly, and to my surprise was very family friendly. My kids gobbled it up.  I was slightly concerned that the spices might be a bit much for the little ones, but it was not overwhelming at all.  Just a really tasty, moist chicken breast.

Peruvian Grilled Chicken

Makes about 2 to 4 servings.

Equipment

small bowl or jar with a lid

plastic sealable bag

grill or grill pan

Ingredients

1/3 cup (80 ml) low sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 pounds/1.5 kilos), quartered (I use 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts on the grill pan.)

lime wedges

Preparation

1. MARINATE: Whisk together soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, cumin, paprika, oregano, pepper, and oil. Put chicken in a large sealable bag and add marinade. Seal the bag and marinate in the refrigerator 8 to 24 hours.

2. Discard the marinade, then pat chicken dry.

3. Preheat the grill pan over medium-high and add the chicken. Place the chicken pieces on the pan, cooking 7 to 10 minutes per side (less if they are boneless or very thin), turning once.

4. Squeeze lime juice over the chicken and serve.

Variations

GAS GRILL: Preheat the grill on high. Oil the grill rack and grill the chicken over a turned-off burner, skin side down and covered. Turn once after about 15 minutes and grill until cooked through, about 30 to 35 minutes.

 

CHARCOAL GRILL: Open vents on bottom and lid of grill. Light a large chimney starter full of charcoal (preferably hardwood). When coals are lit, dump them out along opposite sides of bottom rack, leaving a space free of coals (the size of the quartered chicken) in middle. When you can hold your hand 5 inches above the grill rack directly over coals for 3 to 4 seconds, coals will be medium-hot. Oil the grill rack, then grill chicken over the area with no coals. Turn once after about 15 minutes, and continue grilling until cooked through, about 30 to 35 minutes. Add more charcoal to maintain heat.

OVEN: Roast the chicken quarters in middle of a 500°F/260° C oven in a 13- by 9-inch roasting pan with 1 cup water for 30 minutes. Then tent with foil and roast until brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes more.

A BIG thank you to Andrea at Andrea's Recipes for sharing this recipe.  This meal was a big hit!

What's Cookin'?

I just got dinner in the oven.  What are you having tonight?  It's been interesting trying to plan meals the last few weeks.  My husband and I are doing the South Beach Diet.  (The sweet man has been wanting to do it for a while now, but he didn't think it would be good form for him to loose weight while I was gaining through the pregnancy/ies)  Call me a slacker, but I refuse to cook separate meals for us and the kids.  So I was on the hunt for Family Friendly South Beach Phase 1 recipes.  I figured if I could find a main dish that we could all enjoy I could make sides for the kids and sides for us - that wouldn't be too bad.  Honestly, although I sat and longingly stared at their mashed potatoes, my Faux Mashed Potatoes really weren't bad.  And, as of this post I have lost 10 lbs!  Yay, me!

So, what is this meal I speak of?  Baked Tilapia Parmesan.  I can't remember exactly how I came across this recipe.  I want to say I was using Ziplist to search. (Ziplist, if you are unfamiliar with it, ROCKS!  Go check it out!)

Back to the recipe.  I need to give a much deserved THANK YOU to Nikki at Now We're Cooking for sharing this recipe.  It has been a family favorite since the first bite.

Baked Parmesan Tilapia

Recipe Source: Now We're Cooking 

Prep/Cooking Time: 30 minutes / 5 mins prep

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
2 lbs tilapia fillets
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 
• Grease baking pan. In small bowl, mix together the cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice, basil, onion powder, salt and pepper.
• Arrange fillets in a single layer in prepared pan. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes until done and flaky.
• Remove fillets from oven and cover them with the cheese mixture on top side. 
• Place under broiler for 2 minutes or until the topping is browned.

Be careful not to overcook the fish.

Makes 8 servings.

Ok, so yes - South Beach Phase 1 does not allow for butter.  Simple solution - I substituted Smart Balance Spread.  Tastes just fine!

Just to let you know how super easy this meal is - the fish was done before I finished typing up this post.  =D