What's for dinner?

I don't like fixing dinner for myself, so every so often, when I'm feeling good, I cook up a few recipes that I can use for future dinners. Today was one of those days....and I thought I would share my recipes with you for a change. I started with

Chicken Adobo

3 cloves garlic (sliced up)
3 bay leaves
1 c. water
1/2 c. vinegar
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 medium onion, quartered
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (I used 12 chicken tenders)

Put it all together in a covered pot on the stove or crock pot and cook for a long enough time to be sure the chicken is tender and pulls apart easily. Make sure to turn the chicken so it cooks evenly in the liquid.

I used a large frying pan with a lid and simmered it for about 1 hour on medium lo heat. I turned the chicken 2-3 times during that hour.

When the chicken was done, I used the juices with a little water for cooking my rice.
The rice was just yummy. I found this recipe on a busy triplet mom's website. It is delicious!!

The next step is eating one meal from it, and then packing up my homemade freezer dinners.

The veggies are from a bag of mixed frozen veggies, thus they look frozen... because they are frozen!!

Three nice dinners are ready to pop into the freezer!

Here are some of the veggies which will be used in the recipes that I am making.

My next venture was a Bean Salad, which I won't freeze, but will use for lunches for the rest of the week.

Bean and Corn Salad

First, gather the following ingredients:

1 can of garbanzo beans, drained
1 can of pinto beans, drained
1 can of black beans, drained
1 can of corn, drained
2 cans Ro Tel with cilantro and lime
one leek, sliced
2 Tablespoons Italian Dressing
dashes of chili powder, cumin and garlic powder
1/2 of a fresh lime
fresh cilantro
salt

Open all of the cans, and mix the corn and beans.
Add the Ro Tel.
Add the spices.
Squeeze the juice of half of a lime into the beans.
Add the leek and cilantro.
Mix well with 2 Tablespoons of dressing and some salt.
Marinate overnight. Then, drain most of the juice.
Add a little more fresh cilantro, and serve cold.

This picture isn't the finished product. Tomorrow I will redrain it and add a little more cilantro. I had some today and it is really good. no fat, and complex carbs--very filling

The cilantro gives it a little "zing"!

I always make my own Italian dressing from Good Season's dry mix. I love it and I mix half of the oil with water. I also use Balsamic Vinegar so it makes a darker dressing. After I have it all together I put the blender on high and blend it for 2-4 minutes, which emulsifies the dressing so there is never any separation. It lasts for weeks in the fridge....and is all I use now. I never buy prepared dressing anymore.

This is a double recipe.

Wednesday I am going to make Roasted Red Pepper Soup
which was served at an elegant restaurant I was at a couple of weeks ago. It was delicious and we were able to obtain the recipe.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

2 1/2 T. Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 small potato, peeled and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 T chopped marjoram plus extra for garnish
1 T. tomato paste
3-4 large red bell peppers, Roasted and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Salt and freshly milled pepper
1 quart of water or vegetable stock
Balsamic vinegar to taste

Heat the oil in a soup pot and add the onion, potato, garlic, bay leaf and marjoran. Saute over high heat stirring often, until the potato and onion begin to brown, about 12 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the peppers, paprika, and 1 teaspoon salt. Pour in the water and scrape the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered for 25 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf and blend the soup until smooth. Taste for salt, season with pepper and add a teaspoon or so of vinegar. Serve with croutons on top and a sprinkling of chopped marjoram.

(I didn't know how to roast a red pepper, so googled it and learned that you do it under the broiler, with the door slightly ajar.)

I rotated my peppers three times. They peeled like a charm!

On Thursday I will make Maui Chicken and be able to get 5 freezer meals from this recipe.

Maui Chicken (crockpot or slow simmer on stove top)

6 boneless chicken breast halves
2 Tbsp oil
14 1/2-oz. can chicken broth
20-oz. can pineapple chunks
1/4 cup vinegar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp soy sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Brown chicken in oil. Transfer chicken to slow
cooker/crockpot. Combine remaining ingredients.
Pour over chicken. I will cook on stove top with lid for under an hour at lo-med simmer, checking for chicken tenderness.


By the time I have finished my last recipe for the week, I will feel like I have had a real work-out with all of the mess and clean-up I make with each recipe! Being able to get this done means I am having a good back week, so I am thrilled to be able to do it!

The meals I make will last me for several weeks, as I often have a spinach salad with lots of goodies in it for supper, with a nice piece of sour dough bread.