Chicken Pasta Primavera

This time of year I think we've all got tons of veggies from the garden laying around waiting to be used up. At least that's how it's been in my house lately. I really do love it, but at time it can be an overwhelming thought.

One day at lunch last week it consisted of my throwing a bunch of ingredients, namely vegetables, into a skillet and creating the dish you see above. All while crossing my fingers and praying the kiddos would eat it. Some ate better than others but for the most part all five children present gobbled it up. Score for this mom/daycare provider!

I honestly love meals like this, it's what I would call a pantry staple. All ingredients I have on hand and I can substitute for whatever veggies I have in the fridge. Plus the kids and I had a great discussion regarding what vegetables certain animals like to eat. One of my daycare boys ate all of his carrots when we talked about bunnies enjoying carrots too.  We even decided bunnies like zucchini as well. Whatever works!

Chicken Pasta Primavera

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 zucchini, chopped
2 whole carrots, chopped
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 fresh green beans
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. basil
8 oz. pasta (I used angel hair)
1 seasoned chicken breast, cooked (I used an Italian seasoning blend)
Shredded or grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat, add in zucchini, carrots and green beans. Let cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomatoes and garlic, let cook for one minute longer.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Slice chicken breast into strips. Add cooked pasta to vegetable mixture, toss to combine. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve chicken over pasta in bowls.

Speaking of vegetables, here's what was in our produce box for this week. A lovely variety! I'm excited for more kale and we even got three different varieties of basil this week. There's a lemon kind that smells wonderful, I can't wait to cook with it!

Chewy Butterfinger Bars

So I was thinking last week, I've clearly deprived you of treats lately. I've been so busy focusing on making sure none of our veggies from the produce box go to waste that I haven't made many desserts. A good thing, but we've got to have some chocolate now and then, right?

Well I think I've more than made up for it here. I've made for you a decadent, rich, chewy brownie like bar that's filled with all kinds of peanut butter goodness!

I seen these in the recent issue of Simple and Delicious magazine, they instantly caught my eye. I think many of you will appreciate the fact they start with a simple box cake mix. They also make a lot! Plenty for you to give to the neighbors or bring to a potluck. I split ours between my daycare families otherwise I would be constantly snacking on a piece here and there.

Oh and try yours warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A perfect brownie sundae!

Chewy Butterfinger Bars

Ingredients:
1 box chocolate cake mix (regular size)
3.9 oz. instant chocolate pudding
1 cup flour
1/2 cup milk plus 2 tbsp more
1/3 cup canola oil
3 tbsp butter, melted
2 eggs
6 full size Butterfinger bars, divided
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips, divided

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding and flour. Add in milk, oil, melted butter and 1 egg. Stir just until moistened, add in up to 2 tbsp more milk if needed. Press half of mixture into a 15x10x1-inch baking pan lined with foil, make sure to grease foil as well. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, chop two candy bars. Stir peanut butter, vanilla and remaining egg into leftover cake batter. Fold in chopped candy bars and 1/4 cup of chocolate chips.

Chop three additional candy bars and sprinkle them over warm crust, press down gently. Cover with remaining cake mixture. Crush the remaining candy bar and sprinkle over bars, top with remaining chocolate chips. Bake 25-27 minutes longer or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Let bars cool before cutting.

Garden Veggie Pancakes

This is how I spent my weekend! The girls and I went up to Harper's Ferry with my parents for the weekend; they have a place up there and try to make it up every weekend throughout the summer and fall.

It was relaxing, we had perfect weather and enjoyed a full day out on the water. The girls got to fish, played on the beach, went tubing and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings.

It's back to the grind today and even after going to bed early I'm still tired! They wear me out.

Last Thursday before we left I made up these veggie pancakes using some of our produce box. They made for a  nice little appetizer to our meal and something that most of us really enjoyed.

Before I forget, this is a glimpse of what we received for last week. Lots of cucumbers! I've also been starting to get some in my own garden. I think we'll be eating cucumbers at every. single. meal! The kids immediately ate through the carrots. I did make a small batch of pickles that night, they're pretty good but a little sweet. I prefer dill pickles, so I'll have to tinker around and see if I can come up with a good recipe.

You can incorporate any sort of veggies you have on hand, but I used carrots, zucchini, potatoes and corn. These were so good! The hubby loves hot sauce with just about anything so that's what he topped his with. I enjoyed mine with just a touch of sour cream and salsa. We added just a little bit of cheddar cheese in the batter and they were perfect. I never thought I'd be one to enjoy vegetables this much, but I really do have fun each week creating new dishes that are healthy and good for us.


Garden Veggie Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 zucchini, grated
1 medium potato, grated (I used 2 small new potatoes)
1 medium carrot, grated
2 eggs
1/4 whole wheat flour
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
Olive oil, for frying

Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, combine eggs, flour and seasonings. Add in grated vegetables and stir to combine. Sprinkle in corn and cheese and combine well.

In a skillet, heat 1-2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. When skillet is ready, drop batter onto skillet and let cook for a few minutes and then flip to other side. Let cook until each side is golden brown, remove to a plate lined with paper towels.  Serve immediately with desired toppings such as sour cream and salsa.

Makes about 12 pancakes. These are best served warm.

Freezer Cooking Guide

Do you dream of filling your freezer with tons of meals like this? Maybe it's an overwhelming thought and you have no clue on where to start. I'd like to help ease you into the process and encourage you along the way when it comes to freezer cooking. It's definitely something that I love and have become very passionate about. I'm no expert and there's still lots that I'm learning about, but I do love to help others save time in the kitchen by sharing tips that have helped me along the way. So let's get started.

Have a plan

It's really pretty easy to make meals ahead of time and save for a later date. Having a plan is a must! I always begin by making a list of the meals or meal components I'll be making, that way I know how much of everything will be going into the freezer and makes it easy to draw up your grocery list.

If money happens to be extra tight, I challenge you to come up with recipes using ingredients you already have on hand. Maybe you won't be making a bunch of meals per say; but having waffles, pancakes and muffins on hand will make for easy mornings.

 If you've never freezer cooked before I don't recommend making a whole day of it at first. It can be a lot of work and you'll wear yourself out and maybe not want to ever try again.

Ease into it.  Many times I will spread out my plan over the course of a few days or even a whole week. Take time to make 1-2 items each day or even double or triple your dinner and stash the extras in the freezer. It's really the easiest and most effective way to freezer cook.

Storage

I use a combination of disposable containers and freezer bags to store my meals in. I generally will not use my own bakeware because I don't want them tied up in the freezer. I will use freezer bags for meatballs, pulled pork, cookie dough, twice baked potatoes and even cinnamon rolls. The disposable containers are mostly used for casseroles and the like. Disposable makes for easy clean up and are nice for gifting meals to new parents or a friend in need.

Freezer bags are nice to stack on top of one another in the freezer, making room for many dishes. I hear all the time how people can't freezer cook because they don't have a large chest freezer. That's so not true! By using the freezer bags and stacking them you make room for so much more. Even the disposable containers don't take up much room, especially when stacked like shown above.

One more important tip regarding storage: label, label, label! Make sure you label and date each item. That way just in case you forget what it is (because you know you will!), you won't be faced with a surprise dinner!

Resources

I first learned about freezer cooking a few years back through Money Saving Mom. Check out her site, she's got some great recipes, tips and printables for you.

Other sites worth checking out for both information regarding freezer cooking and recipes:
Once a Month Mom
Life as Mom
Ally's Sweet and Savory Eats
$5 Dinners

These are just a few that I like and use on a regular basis, I'm sure there are tons more out there though!

Recipes

I've found it's sort of a trial and error process with freezer cooking. Sometimes I'll think a recipe will turn out wonderfully, then we'll go to enjoy it for dinner one night and then the pasta turns out to a be a bit mushy (easy fix though, just be sure to cook pasta more al dente). I will say most everything I've ever made turns out great and we love it, but it takes some experimenting.

Start with the meals you make on a regular basis for your family, I bet most of them will work. Thumb through your favorite cookbooks, tried and true family recipes; these are a good base for your cooking plan.

The following are some tried and true freezer recipes that I rely heavily on:

Breakfast:
Mini Pancake Bites
Waffles
Strawberry Muffins
Breakfast Burritos

Main Dishes:
Taco Pasta Bake
Italian Shredded Beef
Pesto Chicken Pasta
Italian Stuffed Meatballs
Ham Balls
Chicken Penne Casserole
Chicken Enchiladas (freeze sauce separate from prepared shells)
Pizza Pockets
Taco meat/cooked ground beef
Shredded chicken for salads, tacos, etc
Marinated Chicken

Side Dishes/Extras:
Twice Baked Potatoes
Zucchini Bread
Slow Cooker Applesauce
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Freezer Spaghetti Sauce
Yogurt Bites

I know I've got lots more of ideas on the blog but this list should help get you started or give you new inspiration. Start by picking a few different recipes to try, you can even double them to yield more servings and see how it works for you.

I hope after reading you feel comfortable and inspired to give freezer cooking a try. It's really so much fun, even more so with a group. Gather a few other friends and make a day of it, you'll each go home with delicious meals and you'll get to enjoy some much needed time away from the kids. Read more about forming a freezer swap group here. I formed a small group two years ago and I love it. We typically only meet twice a year and would love to do it more often but you know how life is, it's hard to make one date work for everyone.

Please, if you have any additional questions, leave a comment below or email me at beentherebakedthatrecipes at yahoo dot com. I'd love to help you out as much as I can!

Easy Garlic Croutons

Have you ever made your own croutons? Yeah, me either. Until a few weeks ago when I had half a loaf of french bread sitting on my counter and needing to used up asap. Homemade croutons immediately popped into my head. Why not? How hard could they be?

I will be the first to say how easy these are to make, literally just 15 minutes total of my time, while I was preparing dinner even. I don't normally buy croutons in the store but I can guarantee these are so much better! They were the perfect topping for my salad, which was full of fresh veggies from our farm share.

So next time you've got some stale bread sitting around, you've got to promise you'll try these. Seriously they're so good! Even the girls were caught sneaking some from the pan just to munch on.


Garlic Croutons

2 cups bread cubes (I used french bread)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano

Directions:
Mix together seasonings in a small bowl and set aside. Melt butter in the microwave and then combine with the olive oil. Place bread cubes in a large bowl and drizzle melted mixture over bread evenly. Using your hands, toss the bread cubes until everything is coated. Sprinkle in herbs and toss again using hands.

Spread bread cubes in a single layer onto a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 7-8 minutes. Use a spatula to stir croutons a bit and then bake an additional 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, let cool just a bit and then serve with salad. Store any extras in an airtight container.

{Overnight} Slow Cooker Chicken Stock

This summer our family signed up for our very first farm share (CSA). I've talked briefly about this before but realize I haven't shared too much more on the blog. Each week on my facebook page I post a picture of our weekly share, just like the one above. Every Thursday when daycare is over for the day, the girls and I drive across town to pick up our stash for the week. It's always a nice variety and we've enjoyed trying new things.

Speaking of my facebook page, make sure you're following me on there! I sometimes post things like these pics that I don't normally share on the blog. Plus I've got a good giveaway going on right now, you'll want to make sure to check it out! I'll be drawing a winner Tuesday evening so head over and enter!

A few weeks back we also had the chance to purchase fresh whole broilers from the farmer. I've found it's not so easy to find free-range chicken or grass-fed beef in our community and really wanted to try a couple. Now I've always thought the chicken was good that I purchase from our local grocery store, they seem to have really good quality meat. But as I'm reading more and becoming more knowledgeable about how most chickens are raised; it really disgusts me and I hate the idea of feeding my family something that is full of antibiotics.

We decided as a family to purchase two for the time being. Let me tell you, they aren't cheap! At $3.35 per pound, I spent more than I ever have on two chickens. We've prepared one so far and it was so good! I split up the pieces amongst two pans. One I slathered a homemade barbecue sauce on and the other had a combination of olive oil, garlic and various spices plus some lemon.

I wish I would have taken a pic, I can't believe I forgot. They were so beautiful, well as beautiful as cooked chicken can be. I could totally taste a difference in the meat, because you can bet I surely had some "regular" cooked chicken on hand. The legs and thighs weren't as fatty either we noticed. Now I can't honestly say from here on out we will only be purchasing free-range chicken, our budget simply won't allow for that right now.  But whenever we can we most certainly will.

Since I was spending so much on one chicken, you can be sure I wasn't letting any of that bird go to waste. You should have seen me, patrolling everyone's plates as they were done. Making sure no bones whatsoever were thrown away. I was surely making some more chicken stock for the freezer.

Now I've already posted about homemade chicken stock before. But this time I came across a way to make it in the slow cooker, overnight while we were sleeping or even during the day when you're going about your usual business. If I can save myself some time in the kitchen then I'm game.

I put everything in the slow cooker before bedtime one night and went to sleep. The next morning I woke up to the most amazing smell in our house! I almost thought I had some sort of chicken and noodles or soup going until I remembered it was the stock.

Even look at the difference in color from the first picture to the second. The first one is the stock I made last year with a typical chicken most us purchase from our grocery store. The second one is made from the free-range chicken I purchased from a local farmer. It's so much darker and much more flavorful in my opinion.

Whichever type of chicken you use to make homemade stock, you'll definitely want to give this easy slow cooker version a try! It can't be any easier to make and you'll love being able to pull a container out of your freezer any time you need some for a recipe.

{Overnight} Slow Cooker Chicken Stock

Ingredients:
Leftover bones/carcass from one whole chicken
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 whole carrots, chopped (I didn't even peel)
1 bay leaf
sprinkling of parsley and thyme, don't worry about exact measurements
salt to taste
*celery would also be good to add as with any other veggies on hand

Directions:
Add all ingredients to slow cooker, make sure to remove any meat from bones for another use. Fill slow cooker with water, leaving about 1 inch at the top. Cover and turn on low, let cook overnight or for at least 8-9 hours during the day.

When stock is done, ladle soup to pass through a fine mesh sieve to remove all bones, veggies and herbs. You can leave this in the slow cooker or I ladled it into a large bowl to let cool. Let stock cool either on counter or in fridge for 24 hours. At this point the fat will rise to the top, skim this off to remove.

Transfer stock to freezer containers or mason jars. You can also freeze small portions in ice cube trays and transfer to a freezer bag when solid. Store in freezer for future use.

Source: 100 days of real food

Grilled Bacon Caprese Sandwich

I apologize for the lack of consistency with my posts this week, it's certainly been one of those weeks. We enjoyed a beautiful day at a local amusement park (well still two hours away) yesterday with our family. It's been years since we've been able to go and since the girls are a little older now, we knew they'd have a blast.

It really was the most beautiful day, the sun was shining, the temperature was perfect, maybe a little too hot in the sun at times but nothing a visit to their waterpark couldn't fix. The kiddos were all so well behaved and we were exhausted by the time we got home late last night. I only wish I would have taken more pics, but that's okay, we created a memory filled day that I hope the girls always remember!

Our youngest two have been enjoying lots of homemade popsicles lately, we love making our own and creating new flavors. These were just simply frozen lemonade, which they quickly devoured.

Okay back to this sandwich. It's nothing real fancy, no complicated ingredients; but man is it ever good! I've literally been waiting to make this for a long time now, waiting for fresh, ripe tomatoes from the garden. Well mine aren't exactly ready yet, I've still got lots of green ones but we've been purchasing some every weekend at our local farmers' market.

I dreamed this up one day. I have this problem a lot actually, I'll suddenly think of a new recipe whether it's a dessert, sandwich or casserole dish. Maybe it will come to me in a dream or I'll just think of it out of the blue. Is that weird? Maybe it's a foodie thing lol.

You'll have to make this as soon as you get your hands on some fresh tomatoes! You're gonna love it I promise. I could go for another one right now.


Grilled Bacon Caprese Sandwich

Ingredients:
Bacon, cooked
Tomato, sliced
Fresh mozzarella, sliced
Basil pesto
Good quality bread
Butter

Directions:

Heat a small skillet over the stove. Butter the outsides of two slices of bread, spread pesto on the inside of the both slices. Place one slice of bread, butter side down in the skillet. Top with bacon, sliced tomato and mozzarella cheese. Place last slice of bread, butter side up on top of sandwich. Let cook on both sides until golden brown. Remove onto a plate, cut in half and enjoy!