Movies and Books and Food, Oh My!

I watched Julie & Julia yesterday afternoon while the wee boy had his nap. I was wary at first because I am not a big Nora Ephron fan, but I totally and completely loved it! So much that I entertained the notion of putting it on my wishlist for my upcoming birthday...but I have so many movies that I need to watch/don't have time to watch (we bought "Once" back in December and still haven't seen it...partly because I'm worried it will be depressing!) that I thought maybe mixing bowls were a better idea. Or if some kind soul wanted to buy me a KitchenAid Mixer...I'm just saying it would get a lot more use. ;)

But I digress! The reason I'm finally updating (Hi, Mom!) is that for Christmas my adorable in-laws gave me a copy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I have never really read her blog, but her book had great ratings and I'm always looking for new recipes. It's beautifully photographed and the recipes are easy and tasty what with that extra heart stopping pound of butter.

However, the book is laid out all wrong to be a really useful cookbook. It's a coffee table book, not meant to be near your spattering frying pan. It's hardbound, the pages don't stay open, and they get dirty the minute you walk into your kitchen with it. My biggest pet peeve is she makes some of the recipes far harder than they need to be, and she takes pictures of every. single. step. So you have to turn 3 or 4 pages sometimes to find out what needs to be done next. It's annoying.

So what do I do? I have to sit down with the book and write out the recipes. And after making her meatball recipe 4 times I realized that I could do it so much easier and get the same result, well, it's time for me to write down my revised and easy-to-follow recipes for you.

Comfort Meatballs
P.W. (aka Pioneer Woman, not Pee Wee Herman) says that she was given these by a neighbor when she was nursing her third baby and they saved her from starving. Seeing as I've made this recipe monthly since I got the cookbook, I can confirm that they are as good as advertised. Just imagine little baby meatloaves bathed in delectable barbecue sauce. Even my picky baby boy will eat them!

Meatballs:
1 and 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
3/4 cup quick oats
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons grated onion (hides the onion from small eyes!)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
ground black pepper to taste

-Put the ground beef and oats in a bowl.
-Pour the milk over it, then add the grated onion, salt and pepper.
-Mix everything together well.
-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
-Roll the mixture into walnut sized balls and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet, keeping a little space between each meatball so they don't stick together.
-Put the meatballs into the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
-While they're baking prepare the sauce.

Sauce:
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
4-6 tablespoons grated onion
2 dashes ground red pepper or tobasco sauce

-Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl.
-When the meatballs have baked for 10 minutes, take them out of the oven and put them in a 9x13 baking dish.
-Pour the sauce over the meatballs.
-Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
-Put the baking dish in the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
-Serve with mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles.

Tasty Omega 3

I was just checking the ole blog-a-teria, as it were, and realized I didn't post ANYTHING for September! And it's not that I haven't been cooking or baking, it's just that I've been so worn out from my crazy life...I'm flat out exhausted. Find me a place to sit and I will be asleep in 5 minutes. Sleep is my favorite and my best.

In an effort to be healthier eaters at our house we've been eating a whole lot of chicken and fishy. This is my go-to recipe for salmon. Even the kids love it! And it's awesome the next day cold on a sandwich. Get your Omega 3 on!

Baked Salmon

2-4 6 ounce salmon filets
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice (or any kind of citrus juice)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)

~In a medium glass bowl, prepare marinade by mixing garlic, olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley.
~Place salmon fillets in a medium glass baking dish, and cover with the marinade.
~Marinate in the refrigerator about 1 hour, turning occasionally.
~Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
~Make sure the fish is skin side down in the pan and cover tightly with foil.
~Bake 35 to 45 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork.

Tip: I buy my salmon in a big frozen filet at Wal-Mart for around $6-7. I can't remember the brand, but it's in a long, blue bag. It comes sectioned into smaller filets that you can take apart after thawing...easy peasy!

Hot Bar-B-Q, Today!

I was looking for a good way to use boneless chicken breasts that I could just throw in the oven and walk away from. I found this recipe yesterday. I don't know why it's called Tennessee Chicken, but it had a tasty sounding tangy barbecue sauce on it and it looked easy and fairly healthy.

Oh. MY. GOODNESS. This recipe turned out so good...fantastic! I know I put the leftovers in the fridge last night and they're all gone (to work with the husband, I presume). Wee girl is sad because that's all she wanted for lunch. Oh dear! I guess it's a success!

Boneless Tennessee Chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt
pepper
flour
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup ketchup
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
2 teaspoons mustard
4 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 cup chicken broth

1. Grease a large skillet with canola oil or pan spray. Heat over medium high heat.
2. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts, dredge in flour. Brown the chicken on both sides in the skillet. (Not cooked all the way through, just browned...they will finish cooking in the oven.) Once browned, put the chicken pieces in a 9x13 baking dish and set aside.
3. Turn the heat down to medium and in the same skillet melt the butter. Cook the diced onion in the butter until brown. Pour in the chicken broth to deglaze the pan (all those browned bits=tasty!) then stir in the ketchup, tomato sauce, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar and worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes.
4. While simmering preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
5. Pour the sauce over the chicken and put in the oven to bake for 40 minutes.
6. This can be made earlier in the day and refrigerated until time to bake.