I have so much to say tonight, I apologize in advance for my verbal vomit! And sorry for saying "vomit" in a food blog ;) First, I would like to say that my pre-roasted chicken was worth it's weight in gold tonight--SERIOUSLY! We have been so off schedule with my hubby's marathon vacation. Everyday we are out doing something, and I am sure that is part of why I am feeling so stressed about cooking lately. Add in the fact that we just bought a house, we have been out buying landscaping supplies, garden supplies, towel bars, and in general, just buying shit we think we need but probably don't. At any rate, even if you don't buy a fixer upper, I'm convinced that any home is a money pit, and it never ends! Second, going out to procure everything, is a time vortex, and it sucks your life away. Okay, that rant is done.
As you know, we have four children, and I will talk about them often. Part of the reason I decided to write this blog was to dispel the ideas that eating healthy will break your bank. It just takes commitment and planning, and I want you to know that if I can do this with a family of six, anyone can do it! There is a great program, that we participate in called Bountiful Baskets. It is a produce co-op, and they operate in 23 of the 50 states. When we were in Washington we could participate weekly, however now that we are in Texas, our site only offers baskets every other week, so check to see what your state offers. This is such a great way to get fresh produce for minimal investment, and you can interact with some of the people in your community while you are at it. They even offer organic baskets as well. A standard contribution is $15, and you have the option of purchasing additional add-ons for an additional contribution, like a gallon jar of organic, virgin, coconut oil for $20, which is a great price! Here is our last basket. (Not pictured is a 25 pound bag of carrots that I purchased as an add on...HUGE freaking bag. Dave told me that we needed to buy more carrots because we go through so many in the kids' lunches every day, so I thought, problem solved, not realizing exactly how many carrots go into 25 pounds! Dave says we will be eating carrots for the rest of our lives, lol.)
Anyhow, tonight's meal, "Creamy Chicken Casserole" was prepared using ingredients from our last basket as well as some of the chicken breasts that I pre-roasted a couple of days ago. I do have to admit that I sent Dave to the store for more broccoli, because I failed to check, and it turns out I had enough--OOPS! Sorry Hun. Having the pre-cooked chicken was a huge time saver, and the meal literally could feed an army! I can freeze the rest for another meal or lunches for my daughter, Dave and I. Think both time and monetary budget friendly! This recipe is not my creation, but you can find it at PaleOMG Creamy Chicken Casserole . As always, I took some liberty with this recipe, but even if I had not, I know it would have been amazing, because I honestly have not gotten a bad recipe from her site. Plus, her blog is just great reading because she has a wicked sense of humor, and great writing style. Here are the changes I made:
1. I used pre-roasted chicken breasts as opposed to thighs. I warmed the cubed chicken in the bacon fat and then added it to the broccoli/cauliflower.
2. I added bacon to the recipe.
*It was also about the same time I was getting ready to make dinner I checked my Facebook and saw a recipe posted by Just Eat Real Food for Bacon Chocolate Cookies from Urban Poser and decided because I have ADD and can't not think of multiple things at one time that I would make extra bacon and make the cookies too!
 |
| Alyssa cooking the bacon! |
3. Instead of a yellow onion, I used leeks because I had them and needed to use them.
4. Because hard cheese does not phase myself or my brood, I topped the casserole with some shredded Kerry Gold Dubliner cheese. Go with what you can handle.
This was the finished product, and it was soooo good! However, I am sad to admit that the boys did not find this to be their favorite dish. In all fairness, they are not cauliflower or mushroom people, but they still cleaned their plates.
We then took the extra bacon and made cookies for dessert and lunch snacks.
You HAVE to make these cookies! Seriously. David said that they were "a party in my mouth!" They are ridiculously delicious. I used the almond flour that I had on hand, but the recipe calls for fine milled almond flour. I will be ordering some to make more of these little devils, but I have to say that even with regular almond flour, they are still amazing. Definitely going into the regular rotation.
So sorry to cut sling load. Go forth and make good choices! Check out Bountiful Baskets, and make these recipes!
No comments:
Post a Comment