Veggie Pasta Chicken Dinner



Seasoned and Sauteed Chicken Breast

It's the end of the month and time to rid the 'fridge and freezer of 'Almost Gones'.  This means veggies that are nearly frost bitten, fresh veggies that might have a spot or two and leftovers from days ago.  


Various fresh and frozen Vegetables

After some inventory, I came up with a veggie, chicken and pasta dish of some sort. I cooked and sliced a chicken breast.  I then sauteed frozen broccoli, cauliflower, about a half bag of mixed veggies, handful of peas, a wilting carrot, and what was left of a fresh red bell pepper in olive oil with onion and garlic.  I added a splash of lemon juice, chicken stock and a tablespoon or so of butter.  Once veggies were almost tender, I seasoned with salt and pepper and then added the chicken.
 

The finished product.

I added leftover cooked spaghetti (which were cut with scissors).  If I had some Parmesan I would have gladly added it. This actually turned out to be better than I expected.

Squeezing in Lunch

Today I had a lot of things to do for other people. I had hardly any time for myself. This included time for a lunch. Luckily, I had fast and easy to prepare food at home.  Today's quick (microwaved) lunch was a ground turkey patty, steamed mixed veggies, grapes and lemon water. Yes, I almost forgot I was cooking the turkey and it got a little more brown than I intended but it was still good. The veggies are sprinkled with seasoning and lemon juice. And my lemon water has my fancy ice. Considering it was rushed and unplanned, I think this was a decent lunch.

Fancy Ice

Trying to handle these triple digit days have resulted in me drinking more water than I usually do and that's a lot!  Water is great as is, but I saw something on the Food Network that made me decide to ramp it up. I like lemon in my water and I like my water iced. Why not make me some lemon ice cubes?  I've made flavored cubes before but it's never been appreciated like this unusually hot summer. So, I made some fancy lemon ice cubes. I also did a tray with green tea instead of water for added boost in my fruit teas. Pretty and very easy treat for the heat!



I sliced and chopped a lemon.

 

Added a drop of juice to each cube space.




Fill each with water and freeze.

 

Nice lemony glass of water!



Quick Post Workout Breakfast

I did a fast 3 mile walk-out.  I usually eat something before I go but this morning my mind was not with me and all I had was a glass of OJ.  So after a very warm walk I was thirsty and hungry. I opted for fast.  I had a chunk of the homemade granola bar, 4 strawberries and an egg white.  For some reason, strawberries and eggs are delicious just after a workout. They just seem to go together. Obviously, I was satisfied with this breakfast.

Sunday Best Dinner

Baked spicy chicken wings with tomatoes and peppers, rice w/chicken juices, buttered sweet peas. Yummmm-O! This dish has made it on the Thumbs Up list on the fridge. Enjoy!

Lunch for Babysitting

The husband and I were back on babysitting duty for the sis-in-law while she's in class. Two nine year olds and a six. You'd think it was simple but it's not easy at all.  I play the role of the disciplinarian.  Anyway, the mother always prepares a meal ahead of time but it's never exactly something I like to eat. Sure it's usually pretty good but the concept of veggies for kids is lost on her. So, I brown bagged it today. That's multi grain bread with red bell peppers, avocado, onion, tomatoes and lettuce with mustard.  Veggie sandwiches is the way to go on a hot summer day! On the side is cottage cheese w/pepper and a pear. Oh! And I've decided to try flavored carbonated waters to mix things up.  It's pretty OK.  I recommend trying the store brand. It's cheaper and tastes just as good as the name brand.  This lunch gets a thumbs up!

Old School Dinner

Today's dinner was a little nostalgic.  My elementary school, Herty, use to serve these Western Burgers. They were the best dish and anyone who brought a lunch from home scrambled to trade their sweets for one of these tasty savories.  I was talking to my older sister earlier in the week and vowed I was going to make them this week. I finally got around to it.   They were a cinch to make and adding a tossed side salad made it a very satisfying meal.  I have included the original recipe below though I made a couple of substitutions. I didn't make the dough because I couldn't find my yeast. So, I just used a frozen pie crust I had in the freezer (Just a tip for those of you who aren't keen on the yeast doughs). It actually was pretty good. I used ground turkey instead of beef and I added some chopped red and green peppers and some additional seasonings. This is definitely a dinner I will make again and again.

Western Burgers

HINT: Make up the meat mixture the day before and let it chill overnight in the refrigerator. The recipe is in two parts — the dough and the filling.
Western Burger Dough
11/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons yeast...
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons melted shortening
4 cups flour

Combine water, yeast, sugar and salt. Let stand a few minutes. Add shortening and half of flour. Stir until well blended. Add the rest of the flour until you have a firm dough. Place in a greased bowl and let rise.

Western Burger Filling

1 pound hamburger meat
1 small chopped onion
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
2 tablespoons salad dressing
1/4 pound grated cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Brown hamburger and onion. Drain off fat. Add remaining ingredients. Refrigerate until cool.
Roll out dough 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick. Cut into 31/2 inch squares. Pour about 1/2 cup of meat mixture in center of each square. Pull corners together and pinch all the openings closed. Turn upside down on a lined pan (greased). Mash down slightly, let rise until double in size. Cook at 350 degrees until golden brown. Brush with melted margarine.

From Hubby's Hands

I didn't cook today. The husband insisted. Chicken is his specialty. He located a can of sliced potatoes and a bag of frozen green beans.  Because I wasn't in the kitchen, I can't say what he put in the dish. It was like a chicken stew with onions and peppers in a light sauce.  The green beans had the right mix of Italian seasoning and onions and garlic. Of course he served everything with a chunk of warm french bread.  I gotta say this was better than anything I've made all week. Jealous?

Roasted Roots and a Creamy Dreamy Dessert

I'm doubling up on this post.  My dinner yesterday and my lunch dessert delight today. 

Yesterday's dinner was roasted root veggies and chicken. 


 Because I was rushing around today, I didn't get dessert until well after lunch. I discovered a flavored milk that I absolutely adore frozen. 

It's Promise Land's Creamy Dreamy Orange Milk. I'm not usually big on milk or flavored milk at all but this caught my eye. I tasted it and thought it was OK but then decided I would freeze it and hoped I would get a dreamsicle effect. I did enjoy it and it was just whatI needed after a heavy pasta lunch. 

Afternoon Delight!

'My motto's always been: when it's right, it's right. Why wait until the middle of a cold, dark night?'~ (from The Starland Vocal Band's 'Afternoon Delight')

Why wait indeed?  I usually reserve dessert for after dinner but today I was craving something sweet for lunch. Don't tsk me...I had a savory something before.  But I was so looking forward to a good summer berry treat.  It's 102 degrees and I think I deserve this little bit of delight.

It's about a quarter cup of mixed berries, a splash of lime juice (lemon if you have it) , a serving of sweetener and 2 dollops of cool whip. I used one bag of sweetener and vanilla flavored cool whip. I've had this with the regular whip before but I have been wanting to try the vanilla. Either way is pretty tasty.

Beat the Heat Cheat Baking

I had a taste for cornbread. I haven't had it in months it seems. Why?  Because it's triple digit temperatures and no one in their right mind would turn on an oven.  Well....I seriously considered being out of my mind and doing it but the weather man just happened to be on and reported it being a 'nice' 104 degrees. Of course he was being sarcastic. But then again, the high is supposed to reach 107. So, no baking. But I still wanted cornbread!  What's a girl to do with this craving. Hm....pancakes! Yes! That's what I did. I whipped up a from scratch recipe for southern cornbread and fried it in a pan. Genius! Of course it's not like it's never been done before. My Mom use to do it all the time. It's just that I had not thought about how much easier it is than baking it. So, I call this my cheat baking. Darned good idea!