Working Mom Special - Fancied Up Chicken Noodle Soup and Grilled Cheese

I'm always looking for quick ways to jazz up a meal that is made from pre-made ingredients.  This meal was inspired by my 3 year old son's request for chicken noodle soup for dinner.  Of course he didn't end up touching the soup, but it was delicious nonetheless.

Soup:
1 can chicken noodle condensed soup
1 can cream of chicken condensed soup
1 medium carrot
small bunch of chives

1. Combine soups and add water as described on can's instructions.
2. Heat over med-hi burner.
3. Grate carrot and add to soup.
4. Once soup is steamy, add the chives by snipping them with scissors.  Stir to combine and remove from heat.  

Grilled Cheese:

Nothing fancy here.  Make a grilled cheese sandwich however you like it.  I like to make mine with a nice whole wheat bread and 2 slices of american cheese.  

1. Toast the bread lightly.
2. Heat 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil over med heat.
3. Make a sandwich with the cheese and grill in the pan.  
4. Done.

Enjoy!

Updated: Goat Cheese and Brown Rice

I can never leave well enough alone. Just ask my husband. Especially when I'm cooking and when cheese is involved. Really, can there be such a thing as too much cheese? Tonight I was in an especially decadent food-mood with not a lot of patience or ingredients. I do make it a point to keep a few key things on hand most of the time (like rice/stock/variety of cheeses) and today I found what might be the most awesome little alteration to this recipe ever discovered in my kitchen.

Serves 4 side portions or 2 meals

1 cup brown rice

2 bouillon cubes

sm pkg goat cheese

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Cook rice with 2 cups water, drop bouillon cubes in, bring water to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 25 mins until rice is nearly tender. Stir in goat cheese, butter, and parmesan, warm for another few mins until cheeses and butter are melty and creamy mixed in with the rice.

Voila! This might *dare I say* better than the rice I had on my honeymoon at the swanky restaurant.

Enjoy.

keeping a liepchen fed when she has morning to night sickness

since no one reads this blog, i'll announce here that me and the mister are going to have a baby. this is excellent news and we are thrilled. what isn't so thrilling is the feeling of total illness i now have from about 6am until 8pm in the evening. ugh! my throat constantly feels like there's a lump of vomit in there, and just moving my body sends me into waves of nausea. anyone that knows me will tell you that throwing up is my absolute least favorite bodily function and i will avoid it at all costs. that includes total starvation. can't throw up if the gut is empty, right? right! now, i realize that with a little zygote in there trying to get a good start the starvation tactic isn't the best solution. so what do you feed a pregnant liepchen that is afraid to eat for fear of throwing up?

luckily the mister had some good suggestions that i'm able to eat and keep down. for the past few days i've been subsisting on the following:

-canada dry ginger ale (made with real ginger!)

-whole wheat saltines

-banana

-peanut butter (natural kind)

-water (ice cold, warm water is like drinking pee)

not a lot of variety in there, but i can choke it down and keep it there!

Bourbon Teriyaki Glaze for Salmon

My husband and I eat a LOT of salmon. Once a week at least. So after getting a little bored with the same old olive oil and lemon treatment I came up with this great little glaze to keep things interesting!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce, any brand
1/4 cup Maker's Mark bourbon
2 tbsp roasted garlic & onion jam (what's this?)
2 tbsp honey

Over medium heat in a small saucepan, add all ingredients. Use a wire whisk to break up the onion jam and incorporate the honey. Let mixture come to a gentle boil, then lower heat and allow to gently simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until reduced and slightly thickened. Remove from heat and allow sauce to cool for about 5 minutes. Once you have prepared your salmon (or tuna, or any other fish really) pour the glaze immediately over the hot fish.

Enjoy!

Mexicano Rice Bowls

A few summers ago (likely more than a few, but we won't go there!) Taco Bell had this new menu item and I can't remember the exact name, but it was something like the Chicken Nirvana Bowl. Of course I loved it, and of course it eventually was taken off the menu. To quell my cravings for that lost treasure I had to recreate it in my own kitchen. I'm pretty sure my version is a bit on the healthier side!

Makes 6 Servings

Ingredients:
1 lb ground chicken
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped red onion
1 colored pepper, chopped
4 cloves chopped garlic
1-1/2 cups brown rice
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup salsa (any variety)
1-1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper

In a 2-quart saucepan add chicken stock and rice. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Cook this about 30 minutes until rice is tender.

While the rice is cooking, heat olive oil over medium heat in a pot/pan that has a lot of room inside of it. Add chicken to start browning. Add chili powder, cumin, & cayenne pepper to chicken. Break up the ground chicken as it is browning and combine the spices really well. Once the chicken is nice and browned, add the onion, garlic, and colored pepper. Saute mixture for another 10 minutes, until onions are soft. Add salsa and mix. Remove from heat.

Stir rice into the meat mixture. Serve with sour cream, avocado, or any other mexicano condiment you'd like.

Enjoy!

Freakin' Fantastic AND Healthy Sloppy Joes

This recipe was adapted from the Body for Life cookbook. The recipes there tend to be a bit on the bland side for me, so I like to add extra savory ingredients like garlic and additional seasonings. The base of nutrition is still the same, but the taste is a million times better, IMHO. This recipe is really easy to make ahead of time and reheat for those busy weeknight dinners.

Ingredients: (for 8 servings)
1 lb lean ground turkey (99% fat-free)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I LOVE garlic, so I use 5 or 6 cloves)
1/2 colored bell pepper, chopped
14oz can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup bbq sauce (I use montgomery inn brand)
1-1/2 tsp chili powder
black pepper, to taste

Over medium heat, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan and add turkey to brown. Let the turkey carmelize a bit and then add the rest of the olive oil, onions, garlic, and peppers to saute until soft. Add crushed tomatoes, ketchup, bbq, chili powder, and pepper. Stir together and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Serve on whole wheat buns.

Enjoy!

Tuna Delight in Five Ingredients

This little wonder was born out of a really hungry liepchen coming home from the gym and needing to feed herself and her hardworking hubby. I hadn't been to the grocery for a week so ingredients were scant for anything fancy. Bringing together these 5 items that I always have in the pantry turned out to be a very tasty meal, and a hearty one at that!

Ingredients:
-Pasta - any kind but my favorite is thin spaghetti because it cooks up fast!
-Store bought alfredo sauce - any variety will do, I use Four Brothers varieties
-2-4 cloves garlic chopped finely (if you don't like garlic, leave this out or substitute a little bit of chopped onion or scallion)
-1 can drained tuna, or a pouch
-2 tbsp olive oil

Put water on to boil for pasta. Once water is boiling add pasta and cook according to directions on the box for al dente.

While the water is heating up, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan and add garlic when oil ripples a bit. Sautee garlic until it's soft and sweet. Add tuna, stir together with garlic and sautee for about 4 minutes. Add as much alfredo sauce to cover the amount of pasta you are serving and cook over low heat, uncovered.

The sauce will be ready after you drain your pasta! I always toss the pasta in the sauce before serving so each noodle is covered in this awesome savory concoction.

Enjoy!

{ps....If you are feeling froggy, chopped sun-dried tomatoes would be an excellent complimentary flavor to the creamy alfredo sauce.}

Update: also added frozen peas to the pasta right before draining and it was delicious!