Happy Bloga-versary

   Two years ago today I began an adventure in both cooking and writing.    I began with a stack of recipes and a desire to carve out something of my own.  On that journey I have had a lot of fun, many messes, and a sense of accomplishment.

    I have had a ball cooking up many dishes.  Although some attempts were not successful, they all taught me something.  I overcame my fear of photography and learned some technical aspects too.   Having followers around the world surprised and delighted me.  I was thrilled to be re-pinned on Pinterest.

     The goal of trying new recipes was met, yet I found my cooking style to be not following any recipe at all!   I learned to cook from what I had on hand instead of cooking by a new recipe.  This was a great way to waste less food.  One of the things I really enjoyed was learning to batch cook.  I also liked transforming leftovers into a new meal (that didn't look like leftovers) .  This brought out my creative side and gave me a frugal fix.  I made A LOT of soup.

    Thank you for joining me on my quest in the kitchen.   To celebrate my writing anniversary, I will be giving away cookbooks this month.  To participate in the cookbook giveaway: comment on any "Outside the Box" blogpost (including any past post); re-pin a post to Pinterest, or shamelessly promote me on facebook or Twitter.

     It is time to retire my little black recipe book, but not my laptop.  I look forward to bringing you my life "Outside the Box." Thank you for reading, eating and sharing.

Chicken Two: Two Different Meals With One Cooking Night

Chicken Parmesan

   In an effort to clear out any space in the freezer, I defrosted a three pound bag of chicken breasts.  Usually  I buy chicken on the bone since I can find a decent sale price, but I bought the big back to be convenient for camping season. With summer over it is time to cook up these birds.

   I planned to make Chicken Parm.  I made breadcrumbs out of oatmeal mixed with some Italian seasoning and garlic powder.  I sliced the chicken thin, dipped it in the egg and breadcrumbs and into the olive oil it went.     I made a few pans full, so I stored the extra in the oven to keep warm.

There's a whole lotta chicken cooking.

   As the chicken sizzled, I put the spaghetti water on to boil and made a salad.  I topped one skillet of chicken with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.  The rest of the chicken was for another meal.  Before cooking, I cut some of the chicken in smaller chicken strips.  Just don't tell the kids their chicken nuggets are really naked Chicken Parm leftovers.

We'll set these aside for nugget night.

   

Deep Thaw: Time to Defrost The Freezer

The freezer is full!

    My freezer is packed to the gills or rather the wings since I have a plethora of poultry. In case you have been on the edge of your seat wondering if I bought the extra freezer contemplated on in  The Big Chill, I have not. I know I could buy that extra chest freezer and find a place for it in the basement. However,  since I bought these turkey burgers for a summer camping trip I think it is time to clean out the freezer.

    My main motivation for the weeding of the freezer isn't so much that I'm concerned about freezer burn.  It has to do with the sales circular.  I keep hearing about great sales and specials from my couponing friend and there is no where to store the stuff.

   Okay so here we go.  I am not buying any more meat until we free up the freezer.  I bet we can get a week's worth of meals using up what we have on hand. First night is turkey burgers.  I will defrost the chicken too for the next day.  I usually buy whole chickens or thighs.  I got the big bag of breasts again to make it easier for the camping trip.

   Stand by for some creative meals.  I may have to stop at the store for some milk or bread, but dinner is coming from the freezer this week.  Brr! I better get started!

Sensational Sequels

    I have lost count of how many times I have heard people say, "I just don't like leftovers."  Poor, poor leftovers, nobody wants them.  They pack them up in Tupperware just to throw them out when the fuzz starts to creep up the lid.  I say, "No more!"  We must take our leftover food and use it for good and not science experimentation.

    Leftovers need an image makeover.  I am going to start marketing them as sequels.  Is that leftover chicken? No honey, that is Chicken the Sequel: Night of the Nuggets.

   One of my favorite ways to use up leftovers is soup.  Just about any meat and vegetable can be thrown in the pot for a fantastic meal. All month long I will be bringing you more ideas to help you transform those unwanted bits into a new meal.

   Using leftovers is a great way to stretch the budget.  You can dish up leftovers for lunch instead of eating out. You can make a whole new meal by adding a few inexpensive ingredients.  This is great for when you find a sale and stock up.  Leftovers also help lessen your time in the meal prep department.  The trick is variety.  We can't eat the same meal days in a row.  Sometimes you have to take what is left and freeze it for another day when it will be appreciated again.

   What are your favorite uses for leftovers?  Stay tuned for my reruns, I mean sequels coming soon in my kitchen!

Cooking Ahead for the Chaos

Sheperd's Pie...Mmmm comfort food

   I used to wait until dinner time to see what I was in the mood to eat.  Then began the process of searching the cupboards, fridge and freezer to see if anything on hand matched what I wanted.  If it had been a busy day it was easy to give up and just call for take out or have a nice dinner out.  Three years ago, I was introduced to Debi Taylor Hough's book Frozen Assets where she has a detailed plan for freezer cooking an entire month's meals in one day.  While I have to admit I don't do the 8 hour stretch of cooking all at once, I have incorporated batch cooking into my routine.

   Batch cooking is when you make duplicate meals, one for now, one for the freezer.  It's great to have a meal tucked away for a busy day.  If there is a sale on hamburger, I can make a batch of meatballs, meatloaf and tacos all at once.  I used to just make enormous meals and have leftovers for days until we had meatballs coming out of our ears.  After reading Debi's book, I learned to freeze leftovers.  Then when you pull them out two weeks from now, it is a new meal to us instead of leftovers for a week. It is good for the food budget since you can cook up whatever is on sale this week without it withering away in your refrigerator. I'm saving energy by using the oven once to cook many things at once and I'm saving my time and energy, a very precious resource indeed.  

  I don't always plan ahead so well, but when hamburger was on sale this is what I did.  I started by making two batches of meatballs.  One set of meatballs went to a friend and the other was for our dinner the next night.  While the oven was still hot I made two meatloaves.  I had made extra mashed potatoes with our roast chicken dinner the previous night.  I topped the second meatloaf with corn, mashed potatoes and shredded cheese to create Sheperd's pie.  The other meatloaf was set aside in the freezer for a future meal.  Now I had 3 nights of dinner with only one messy clean up. 

Garbage Day Creations

Greek Vegetable Pie

   In these interesting economic times I am trying to use up food as a way to stretch our budget.  No matter what the price of an item, if it ends up in the garbage that is wasted money.  In an effort to reduce waste I have taken to meal planning.  I started reading up on "Once a Month Cooking" and love the idea of not having to scramble at the last minute for dinner.  However, I find cooking for the whole month to be a bit intimidating.  I try to map out dinner for the week.  That way we use what we have before heading to the store to buy more and toss the fresh veggies that lay in the bottom of the crisper or get pushed to the back of the shelf.
   This recipe, like soup,  is a great way to use up what's in the fridge before garbage day.  We usually have leftover brown rice.  Since it takes a while to make we tend to cook large batches.  My husband freezes them in steamer bags for later use.  The recipe originated from the Moosewood Vegetarian cookbook, but I spilled egg on it and had to work from memory.  Needless to say I have taken artistic license. I recommend checking out their version.  It called for leeks and for some reason I was fresh out.  The recipe calls for asparagus and we had it leftover from dinner so in it went.
   I have served this dish for holiday brunch, dinner and lunch and breakfast leftovers.  I like it hot or cold and it would be nice for a picnic.  It's become one of my favorite dishes both for it's versatility and taste. This week I made it with broccoli, green pepper and fresh spinach before they headed to the trash.  I didn't have any cheese on hand and it turned out fine. I sauteed up the vegetables and popped it in the oven at 8am and had dinner ready to go on a busy weekday.  I just love not having to make dinner at dinnertime.

Greek Vegetable Pie
from: The Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health: More Than 200 New Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes for Delicious and Nutrient-Rich Dishes

2 cups cooked brown rice
1/4 cup Greek olives
1/2 cup nuts (I use pumpkin seeds)

Pulse in food processor and press into 9 inch oiled pie plate.

Saute 7 cups vegetables.  Asparagus, spinach, leeks, broccoli, red peppers, etc.
Add 3/4 cup cheese
1/3 cup dill
3 eggs beaten
Pour all ingredients into crust.
Top with 1/4 cup cheese

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes until set and golden.  Serve with salad.