Q: What are you going to do with 8 pounds of chicken breast? A: Freezer Cooking.

That is the abridged version of a conversation with a neighbor at a neighborhood gathering last Saturday.

I decided to cook both four pound packages of chicken that I picked up last week on sale for $1.99/lb instead of freezing in one pound portions.  I pulled out both of my slow cookers and put four pounds of raw boneless skinless chicken breast in each one.  I added barbecue sauce to one of them to make a batch of chicken barbecue and I added taco seasoning, Ro-tel tomatoes, and some other ingredients to the other one to make a chicken taco or burrito filling.  They both smelled great while they were cooking!

The taco/burrito filling is in the clear dish and the bowl is what I saved out for us for dinner. The chicken barbecue is in the black dish. I placed the bags in these dishes and then filled them with cold water and ice to safely cool them down before placing them in the freezer.

I had  found some bread on the “stale bread” shelf in MARTIN’s on Tuesday and had about one and one-half loaves left.  I had recently seen this post on Money Saving Mom about making homemade uncrustables for the freezer and making croutons out of the leftover crust.  I already had the Pampered Chef gadget and thought that it would be nice to have some ready made sandwiches for Natalie’s lunch. 

I tried making the sandwiches in the center of the bread, but because I wanted to save the crust for croutons I found it easier to just cut the bread first then press them together.

I wrapped the individual sandwiches in plastic wrap and then placed them all in a gallon sized freezer bag.

Yum! Butter, olive oil, italian seasonings and bread – what could smell better?!? We had a few more croutons before the picture. I had a few “quality control inspectors” passing through the kitchen when these were finished.

I also had several onions that I received in my produce box from Dominion Harvest that I wanted to chop up and freeze.  I ended up chopping up three and a half large onions and placing them in snack size bags so they are recipe-size portions.  I later wrapped the individual bags in foil, then placed them in a large storage bag and a freezer bag to keep the entire freezer from smelling like onions.

I really don’t like to chop onions so hopefully having this many onions ready in recipe-sized portions will make fixing dinner a lot easier.

I didn’t get everything finished that day, I had to go out to a parent’s night at school.  I did finally finish the last item on my agenda when I got a chance to cut up some of the beautiful peppers that I got in my produce box from Dominion Harvest.  I still had half of a large onion so I made portion sized bags of red and green peppers with onions for stir fry or fajitas and I chopped up one bag with assorted peppers and the rest of the onion to use for chili.

Cutting peppers is another chore I don’t like to do and hopefully this will make pulling dinner together easier and faster on busy weeknights.

 

What do you have stored in your freezer?  What are some ingredients that you keep on hand for quick weeknight meals?  Do you have a favorite fix double, triple, or quadruple and freeze the leftovers recipe?  Please feel free to share. 

Happy Cooking & Freezing!

~Ann

Menu Planning with the MARTIN’S Ad–Kind of

Have you tried any of the recipes that I have posted?  Do you have a family favorite that you would like to share?  I made the Asian Lettuce Wraps (or at least a version that my family would like) last week.  I didn’t buy the sesame oil and I checked to see how much it was to have on hand for the next time I make the lettuce wraps – it was $5 for a 10oz bottle!  I will have to look in an Asian market.  They were really good and I definitely see us eating them again. 

I was really uninspired by this week’s MARTIN’S ad for recipes and thought that I would take the time to instead talk about freezer cooking.  I have talked about it several times in the past and I spent about 3 days working on preparing and freezing foods about 2 weeks before Michael was born this past summer.  I love having a freezer full of goodies that I can always go to and pull stuff together for a meal for us or someone else.  It is because I have a stockpile of frozen meat, vegetables, and even fruit among other items in my freezer that I can have shopping weeks like I had last week.  I want to share some of the things that I keep in my freezer and then a few recipes.

I actually have 3 freezers.  We have a refrigerator in our kitchen and one in our garage, it came with the house and after a year of me complaining about it I convinced Steve to get me a nice side by side during a tax-free weekend for my everyday use.  I also have a chest freezer in the garage.  I lose a chunk of space in that freezer for long-term storage of things like sliced peaches and apples I froze in the summer and fall, and baking ingredients like nuts and coconut.  I keep frozen vegetables, and frozen products like waffles, Texas toast, frozen pasta, and rolls in that freezer.  I keep most of my frozen meat, casseroles, sauces, and cheese in the refrigerator freezer outside.  I keep items that are getting ready to be used in the freezer inside.  Right now I have homemade baby food, and opened packages of things like frozen fruit, pasta, or waffles. 

I mentioned that I have casseroles in my freezer.  I know some people cringe when they hear the word casserole.  Yes, I did freeze a chicken casserole, but it is usually various pasta dishes that I have made.  When I buy large packages of meat I will routinely divide them into close to one pound portions and freeze them individually.  I also make things up to a certain point and then freeze them like meatloaf, meatballs, and sausage.  I like to keep things on hand like cooked chopped chicken breast, diced onions, and chicken broth.  Some family favorites that I either double when I am making them or they make so much I freeze the leftovers for quick meals are pork or chicken BBQ, pizza sauce, chili, and taco meat.

Pizza Sauce:

I enjoy making pizza at home.  My girls always want to help when I make homemade pizza and enjoy taking ownership in the part of the pizza they got to help with.  I found this recipe for pizza sauce or breadsticks dipping sauce and I try to double it because it is so good and easy to make and then pour the leftovers into a freezer bag for the next time.  It is something you can easily play around with and adjust to what you and your family like.  I freeze these flat so that after they freeze I can easily sit them upright in the freezer to conserve space.  If you want to make your own pizza dough try out this recipe it is really good and you can also bake just the crust and then freeze that for a quick meal.  It will taste better and is better for you than a DiGiorno pizza. :)

Chicken Broth:

I call it broth, but after looking for an on-line recipe I discovered that really I am making Chicken Stock.  (That explains the really rich flavor!)  I will freeze chicken bones from cooking bone-in chicken or if we have a rotisserie chicken.  When I have two “carcasses” I will add whatever vegetables I have on hand usually carrots and onions in addition to celery leaves and a few bay leaves.  I make mine overnight in the crock-pot and strain it and pour it into zip-top freezer bags the next morning.  Here is a link to a post I wrote about a year and a half ago about how I transfer the chicken stock to the individual bags.

How about you – do you have any family favorites you like to keep prepped and on hand in your freezer?  Do you have multiple freezers?  Do you like to save space for things like meat in your freezer so you avoid buying things like frozen pizzas and waffles?  Do you have any meals that are easy to make ahead or double and keep in the freezer for busy nights?  Feel free to share.  :)

Happy Cooking (and freezing)!

~Ann

Menu Planning with the MARTIN’S Ad

Menu planning and saving money really can go hand-in-hand.  It is important to realize that you can still enjoy some of your family’s favorite meals by menu planning with a sales flyer, you just need to be flexible. 

I am including a few more Super Bowl Menu items this week in addition to four meals for the week.  I have found that I really only cook on average four meals a week and that we end up having at least one left-over night, one meal out, and something easy like homemade pizza.

Super Bowl Party:

Buffalo Chicken Dip:

This looks like a great recipe for making your own Buffalo Chicken Dip.  I don’t see any canned chicken on sale, (I personally don’t care for canned chicken).  If you don’t already have some chicken breast in your freezer you could pick up some Split Chicken Breast ($1.69/lb) and cook them yourself* (20oz of meat is about 3 large chicken breast).  You can pick-up Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Kraft Shredded Cheese, and Ritz Crackers as part of the buy $20 and save $7 promotion.  The Frank’s Red Hot is only $0.50 when you use the $0.50/1 coupon in the 1/23 SmartSource insert.

*I rinse the chicken breast off and rub a little bit of oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper before baking them at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes depending on their size.  I let them cool then I remove and discard the skin, and pull the meat from the bones.  Save any meat you don’t use for the dip because it will make yummy chicken salad, or you can freeze it for soup.  I also save my bones to make my own chicken broth in my slow-cooker.

Brown Sugar Smokies:

These sound really good and look really easy to make.  The Hillshire Farm Little Wieners or Smokies are on sale for 50% off and if you buy 2 you can use the $0.75/2 coupon in the 1/23 RedPlum Insert.  You can use the GIANT bacon that is on sale for $3.33/lb. 

Fantastic Mexican Dip:

I love this dip and I have made it several times.  It really makes a lot and because of all of the meat it is really filling.  I personally start off with a layer of refried beans (Old El Paso are on sale for $1 a can) and then you can adjust the toppings to whatever suits your group.  It is also really easy to make up to the point of adding the meat, then I put it in the refrigerator and add the rest of the toppings just before serving.  You can buy the ground beef on sale ($2.49/lb), and buy the cream cheese, sour cream, and shredded cheese as part of the buy $20 and save $7 promotion.  The taco seasoning is also on sale for $0.67. 

Quick Things:

You don’t have to be a gourmet chef and make everything from scratch when you are having people over.   You can easily have some heat and serve appetizers or easy things like chips and dip.   Some ideas would be the El Monterey Taquitos, Mini Chimichangas, or Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas.  (On sale for $4.99 and use the $1/1 coupon in the 1/30 SmartSource insert.)  The Heluva Good Dip is only $0.50 this week when you use the $0.55/1 coupon in the 1/23 SmartSource insert.  Utz Potato Chips are 50% off.  Doritos are 50% off, Chi-Chi’s Salsa is $0.50 when you use the $0.50/1 coupon in the 1/16 SmartSource insert.  Microwave popcorn can even fill up an empty snack bowl – Orville Redenbacher’s 6-pack is only $2 if you have the $1/1 coupon from the December 2010 or January 2011 issue of All You Magazine. 

Weeknight Meals:

Pierogies & Sausage:

Mrs. T’s Pierogies are only a $1 a box after the $1/1 coupon in the 1/30 RedPlum insert they are only a $1 a box after the coupon.  I generally boil my pierogies and then saute some onions in butter to put over them and top it off with sour cream.  I thought a really yummy and filling twist would be to serve it with the GIANT Italian Style Sausage that is on sale for $1.99/lb or the Hillshire Farm Polska Kielbasa that is 50% off (buy 2 and use the $0.75/2 coupon in the 1/23 RedPlum insert).  You can make it a complete meal with a bag of the GIANT SteamReady Vegetables.

 

Asian Style Pork Chops with Rice Pilaf:

I came across this recipe and was impressed with how many ingredients are on sale this week.  You can pick-up the Lipton Recipe Secrets are $1.25, the fresh center cut bone-in pork chops are $1.99/lb, and the Knorr Rice Sides are $0.50 each when you buy 2 and use the $0.50/2 coupon in the 1/30 RedPlum insert.  (I haven’t actually tried this recipe so if you do let me know how it turns out.) :)  Finish off the meal with either a salad or a bag of the GIANT SteamReady Vegetables.

 

Salmon Dill Packets:

This is a really simple and easy way to fix salmon.  Take either a square of heavy-duty aluminum foil or use two pieces of aluminum foil, spray it with some non-stick cooking spray, and place a GIANT Fresh Salmon Portion (that are on sale for $4.49 each) on the foil.  Take about 2 Tablespoons of prepared dill dip (the T. Marzetti Vegetable Dip is on sale for $3.49 and use the $0.75/1 coupon in the 1/30 SmartSource insert) and spread it over the salmon fillet.  Make the aluminum foil into a packet and place it on a baking sheet.  Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the fish is firm and flakes with a fork.   Serve with a bag of GIANT SteamReady Vegetables and rice.

Taco Night:

This is something that is easy to pull together rather quickly and everyone has fun adding their own toppings.  You can use some of the Lean Ground Beef that is on sale in the value pack size for $2.49/lb (put the rest of it in individual freezer bags and freeze in portions your family eats).  The Old El Paso Dinner Kit is on sale for $2.35 – it has the seasoning, sauce, and shells or tortillas all together.  This is another opportunity to purchase sour cream and cheese from the buy $20 and save $7 promotion. 

 

Let me know if you try any of these recipes and how they turn out.  I would love it if you wanted to share any of your recipes.  I love trying out new recipes!

~Ann

Meal Planning with the MARTIN’S Ad

I want to start a new weekly post with meal ideas to help with your weekly meal plan using items from the weekly MARTIN’S ad.  Because I am planning on posting these on Wednesday or Thursday of each week these are items that will help you for the next week.  (I got hit with a stomach bug this week and it has pushed me back a day.) 

I have found that something as simple as taking 15 minutes early in the week to plan out meals for the week and making sure that have the ingredients on hand makes my life so much easier.  The key to menu planning is having some flexibility.  You have to be flexible enough to move things around for nights that you forgot to defrost your meat, got home later than you intended, or your husband surprises you with an unexpected sitter and meal out. 

I am going to focus on a few meals and try to give you some links or my own recipes with the majority of the items either coming from the sale ad or items I keep in my stockpile.  The Super Bowl is next week and there are already some deals on party foods if you are hosting a Super Bowl party so I am also including those this week.

 

Super Bowl Party Menu

Chips & Dip

• Lay’s Classic Potato Chips are 50% off (they were $1.99/bag at the store near me)
• Dean’s Dips – $1 or buy 2 and use this coupon and get them for $0.50 each.

Chips & Salsa

• Lissa shared that she found the Chi-Chi’s Salsa for $1.66 combined with the $0.50/1 coupon in the 12/12 SmartSource makes it only $0.66.
• Newman’s Own Salsa (16oz) is $2.   Use the $0.50/1 coupon in the 1/23 RedPlum Insert and get it for $1.
• Grande Tortilla Chips are $2.50.  Buy 2 and use the $1.50/2 coupon SmartSource Insert they will be $1.75 a bag.

Crock-pot Meatballs

• Mama Lucia’s Italian or Homestyle Meatballs (12oz) – Buy One Get One Free (I saw them for ~$3.98/box)
• GIANT Chili Sauce – $1
• Add either Grape Jelly (~16oz) or Jellied Cranberries

Mix the 2 boxes of meatballs, the entire jar of chili sauce, and either the grape jelly or the cranberries together in a crock pot.  Cook them on high for about 3-4 hours or low for 6 hours.  Make sure they are warmed through.

Weeknight Dinners:

Chili

• Fresh Ground Beef (73% lean) is available in 5lb packages for $4.95
• 3 lb of Yellow Onions for $2
• GIANT Canned Tomatoes are $0.59 a can.
• Sauer’s Chili Seasoning Mix – $0.79

If you don’t have a chili recipe here is a recipe. I haven’t made this one, but it looks like a good basic recipe to get you started.  You should be able to get a can of beans and tomato sauce for less than $1.50.  We like to have a little bit of cheese and sour cream on top of our chili.  They are also on sale this week.  GIANT sour cream is $1.29 (16oz) and you can get the Heluva Good brand cheese for $0.67 by using the $0.55/1 coupon in the 12/12 SmartSource Insert or this $0.50/1 coupon.  If you like it hot add some Tabasco sauce – free after sale and using this $0.50/1 coupon (must register).

This would be great for your Super Bowl Party.  Serve it with the tortilla chips I mentioned earlier or you can make this a meal with baked potatoes and salad.

• 5lb bag of Russet Potatoes - $2
• Dole Special Blend Salads or Complete Kits – $2

Slow Cooker Barbeque Sandwiches & French Fries:

I like to pick up a Fresh Whole Shoulder Pork Roast when they are on sale and just stick it in my slow cooker with a bottle of barbeque sauce.  Depending on the barbeque sauce I may add some brown sugar, soy sauce, hot sauce, or whatever I am in the mood for.  I cook it on low for 6-8 hours (varies with size of the roast), then I take it out and chop it.  Pick-up a bag of Ore-Ida French Fries for $2.50 and you have a carry-out meal without paying carry-out prices.  (You could also make you own potato wedges with the russet potatoes on sale.)  This usually makes lots of barbeque, more than we need for even two meals so I routinely freeze the leftovers.   The leftovers make a great quick weekend meal.

Sandra Lee’s Pork Ragu over Penne:

I saw Sandra Lee make this recipe on The Food Network and thought it would be really easy and with the Fresh Whole Pork Shoulder Roast on Sale this week for $0.99/lb it would be really inexpensive.  The diced tomatoes are on sale for $0.59 a can and GIANT pasta is on sale this week for $0.75 a box.  I really wanted to try out her Round 2 Recipe – Lasagna Roll Ups for the rest of the pork.  I love the idea of cooking once and getting two different meals.

Spaghetti & Meatballs:

How can you go wrong with spaghetti & meatballs – if you have a toddler in all white and no bib. :)  I feel guilty making spaghetti and meatballs because it is so easy to pull together, yet it goes over so well with my family. 

• GIANT Pasta – $0.75
• Newman’s Own Pasta Sauce – $0.89 (after using the $0.50/1 coupon in the 1/23 RedPlum Insert
• Mama Lucia’s Meatballs (12oz) – Buy One Get One Free ($3.98 at the store near me)
• Dole Special Blend Salads or Complete Kits – $2
• New York Texas Garlic Toast – $1.19-$1.39 with the $0.40/1 coupon in the 11/14 SmartSource Insert OR $0.50/1 coupon in the February issue of All You Magazine

Breakfast:

We love breakfast for dinner.

• Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix – $2
• Aunt Jemima Syrup – $2.50
• GIANT Sliced Bacon – $3.33
• Jones Golden Brown Sausage Links or Patties – Buy One Get One Free
• Bob Evans Breakfast Sausage Links or Patties – $2 when you use this $0.50/1 coupon
• Simply Potatoes Buy One Get One Free

A dozen eggs is about $2. You could round out the meal with a yogurt smoothie.  Buy 3 Stonyfield Yogurts for $0.50 with this $0.50/3 coupon (must register) and add in some fresh blueberries $2.50 (6oz) or a mango ($1.25) and whatever else you like.

 

These are just some ideas that I had.  I love reading recipes and trying out new things in the kitchen so if you have ideas or recipes to share please feel free to pass them on. 

Have a great weekend!

~Ann

 

 

Thank goodness I stocked my freezer!

I am so glad that I have an overflowing pantry and freezer!  The weather has been very, very hot in Richmond.  It was in the 90’s most of last week and all this week it is suppose to be in the 90’s again!  Add in being 32 weeks pregnant and I am really miserable.  (I am extremely thankful for air-conditioning as well.)  The heat has completely zapped me of what little energy I seem to have. 

I was on a huge “make twice as much and freeze half” kick about 2 months ago.  I had a feeling that I would appreciate it during the summer months.  I have begun “shopping” from my freezer for easy to prepare meals for us to enjoy.  It is amazing what you can pull together from the freezer with a few fresh on-hand ingredients.

Saturday night we were working on some cleaning projects around the house and before we realized it it was already 6 o’clock and we were all starting to get hungry.  I admit it was tempting to play the where do you want to order delivery from game.  Instead we had a complete meal ready in 30 minutes with little prep – the time it would have taken us to decide what to have and wait for delivery.  We ended up with Pork BBQ from the freezer on hamburger rolls I had picked up earlier in the week with some frozen french fries and fresh squash and onions that we had picked up earlier that day.

Tonight I have a baked ziti in the oven that I pulled out of the freezer.  I didn’t really defrost it so I made sure to put it in the oven around 4:30 so that it will hopefully be ready around 6.  I have some garlic bread in the freezer that I will heat up in the oven and round out our meal with either a green salad or some cucumbers with Italian dressing. 

I have several other main dishes that I am thinking I will pull out later in the week.  I have chicken and ground beef already cooked and seasoned with taco seasoning for a taco night.  I also have a batch of chicken and black bean enchiladas in the freezer.  I have some chicken barbeque for another night of barbeque sandwiches and ground beef already mixed with meatloaf ingredients for meatloaf.  I also look forward to pulling out the various meats that I have in the freezer that I froze with a marinade.

It is great to have these things already on hand and with all of the wonderful fresh vegetables the summer gives us it is easy to pull together a complete meal without spending the entire afternoon in a hot kitchen.

How about you - how do you stay cool in the kitchen during the summer?  Do you eat more salads for dinner, grill outside, or utilize your crock pot to avoid using the oven?

My version of freezer cooking

I have read lots about freezer cooking or once a month cooking (aka OAMC).  I went to a place a few times about 4 years ago called My Girlfriend’s Kitchen that specialized in OAMC.   (The location near us closed about 2 years ago.)  It was a neat place, they had a menu for a month and you got to pick how many total entrees you wanted to make (usually 6 or 12) and then if you wanted full portions or half portions.  The thing I liked best about it was that everything was set up in stations and they had all of the supplies you needed right there.  If the recipe called for diced chicken there was a container there with diced chicken.  The concept was great.  The food was good, but not as good as “home cooking”.  I picked up some tips from going there a few times and from reading numerous articles on the subject and decided I could do the same thing at home with recipes that we like.

So, how did I apply this concept to my everyday cooking and food prep?  Well, one of the easiest ones is that if I buy a piece of meat , like a london broil, that I end up having to freeze I make the marinade for the meat in advance and put it in the freezer bag with the meat.  That way when the meat thaws the marinade thaws with it in the refrigerator.  I learned that sometimes there are steps that you just can’t do ahead of time.  If I plan to make a stir fry for dinner I can freeze the meat and the vegetables, but I need to make sure I have rice in the pantry to finish off the meal.  This also ties into the another concept freeze individual components of your meal such as the meat in one freezer bag and the vegetables in another freezer bag. 

One of the biggest challenges of freezer cooking is knowing when to pull out the dishes to thaw them.  I learned that a casserole or pasta dish usually takes 24-48 hours to really thaw out.  That of course requires some planning on my part, but knowing is half the battle! :)

I have learned to prep some items and have them ready to grab to put together a quick dinner.  I bought a 3-lb bag of onions about 2 months ago.  I diced the entire bag (with the help of my food processor) and put about 1/2 cup portions in individual baggies that I wrapped in foil (to keep the rest of the freezer from smelling like onions) and them put the entire batch in a large freezer bag.  I also freeze uncooked meats, like ground beef or chicken breasts, in package sizes that my family generally eats, so about 1 pound each.  I can easily go to my freezer and pull out a bag of chopped onions and a pound of ground beef from the freezer and have dinner started in a few minutes. 

One way that I keep my freezer stocked with freezer meals is by cooking double and freezing half.  I did just this last week when we had taco night.  I had a two pound package of ground beef.  I browned up the entire package and added two seasoning packets to the ground beef and froze half of the meat for another time.

It doesn’t take that long to make a recipe or two for the freezer especially if you don’t have to bake the dish or if you can utilize your crock pot.  I spent about an hour (if that long) Friday afternoon making baked ziti that I was able to freeze in disposable pans that came out to 3 meals for our family.  In that time I also chopped up 2.5 pounds of chicken that I cooked in the crock pot with barbeque sauce for chicken barbeque that I divided into two meal portions in a freezer bag.  I now have 5 meals in the freezer that I can either share with someone or enjoy on a night that I don’t want to cook – all in about one hour.

I do want to share one last thing, this is along the lines of food safety.  When I make dishes like baked ziti or the chicken barbeque that are still hot when I finish them I put them in the refrigerator for a while to cool before I put them in the freezer.  I don’t want the hot dishes to soften up my precious ice cream.  :)

How about you - do you freezer cook?  Do you freeze your meat in portions your family will use?  Do you prep any of your food before freezing it?  Do you cook double and freeze half?  Feel free to share any of your favorite recipes – I am always looking for new ideas. 

Making Tortillas

I haven’t been doing a great job in the last week with menu planning, I blame it on going on a mini-vacation last week.  So, Tuesday night when Steve had to go to a dinner for work and I was home alone with the girls I ordered pizza.  I was going to have us eat leftover pizza Wednesday night so that we didn’t have to clean-up too much before going to church.  Then, Steve told me that he has to go out to dinner Thursday night with some co-workers in town from Europe.  I decided to keep the pizza for Thursday night.  That left me with the 4 o’clock dilemma of what to have for dinner.

I decided we could have tacos or burritos.  I have about 5 pounds of ground beef in my refrigerator that Steve picked up for me Monday night at Ukrop’s as part of the Monday only deal.  This would be an easy and quick dinner.  I looked in the pantry and realized that I was out of tortillas.  So, when you decide you want something and still have about 2 hours before dinner and don’t want to take 2 kids to the store for one item what do you do?  You find a recipe and make it yourself.  I found this recipe at allrecipes.com and decided to give it a try.  I figured the worse case scenario would be I would ask Steve to stop and pick some up on his way home.  They turned out really good, were easy, and inexpensive to make.   I don’t know if I will go back to buying flour tortillas again.  The girls also had fun helping me make them. 

Here are some pictures from our tortilla making adventure:

Whisking our dry ingredients

Rolling out our individual tortillas

The girls were making smaller tortillas – one of the larger ones I made is on the counter

Cooking two of the smaller tortillas in the pan.  I could only get one of the larger ones in the pan at a time.

They didn’t require any oil to cook them in and I kept them warm on an oven-safe plate with the oven turned on to 110 degrees.  I hope if you give them a try you won’t be disappointed. 

A sticky burnt mess...

I am trying to be better about organizing my day, my activities, and even my meals. I have been really challenging myself to use up a good portion of what I have in my freezers. One reason is that I am about to start baking and freezing Amish friendship bread for a friend who is getting married in October. My second reason is that I get nervous when it is hurricane season and I have one deep freeze and a second refrigerator freezer full in the garage. I have also been trying to eat at home more. It is nice to enjoy a meal out, but a lot of our eating out is tied to poor planning.

In order to use up what is in the freezer I have been trying my hand at menu-planning. It really does make the day a little bit easier when I have an idea of what I want to make for dinner as opposed to the 4 o'clock panic of what's for dinner tonight? I sat down Monday and wrote down some ideas of things that I knew I had available for main dishes and a list of what I had available for side dishes. That wasn't so bad and it didn't take very long. Now comes the hard part, making sure I have everything available and making sure I plan enough time and know what I am doing to make the meals happen.

Tonight was one of those nights. I thought I had it all planned out. I planned a meal of honey-orange marinated salmon, steamed asparagus, and rice. I found the salmon recipe on one of my favorite recipe sites - www.allrecipes.com. I like allrecipes because you can read the reviews from others who made the recipe and get tips and suggestions for the prep or side dishes. The recipe had several positive reviews. The recipe was to make a marinade out of soy sauce, orange juice, honey, olive oil, ginger, green onions, and apple juice and let the salmon sit in the marinade in the refrigerator for at least an hour, then remove the salmon from the marinade and bake it. No problem - my kind of recipe not a lot of mess and an easy clean-up. I had read several reviews from people who took the marinade and reduced it on the stove while the salmon was baking, they said it made a yummy glaze to pour over the fish. I thought it sounded easy enough and that it would be a nice addition to the recipe.

I thought I was on top of everything - I prepared the baking dish, got the piece of salmon into the dish and had it in the oven. I poured the marinade into a small saucepan and turned it on high to make sure it got to a boil. My plan was to let it boil for a minute then reduce the heat to low so it would sit and thicken. That was my plan. I made one crucial mistake. I started washing the few things I had in the sink while I was waiting for it to boil. When it started to boil I thought I turned the burner down to low, except for some reason I turned the burner in the front on low. (The sauce was on the back burner.) I didn't even have a pan on the front burner. I didn't realize it until after I finished washing up the dishes and noticed that the back burner was still red. I tried adding a little bit of orange juice to the sauce, but I knew I was in trouble when it splattered and steamed as soon as I added it. I grabbed the handle and ran the water in the sink as hot as I could and tried to rinse the pan out. It was not coming off. After rinsing it out a few times I got the top layer off, but it was still burnt and sticky on the bottom. I added hot water and some dish soap to the pan and just let it sit. I tried washing it out after dinner and it was still stuck on there. I did make a little bit of progress when I tried some soft scrub. It is a Calphalon pan so I don't want to use steel wool. So, the pan is sitting again on the stove filled with water and dish detergent. I hope I get it off the bottom of the pan. The mess was one thing, the other bad part was the smell. It was horrible. We ended up eating dinner with a window open to try to get rid of smell. I have had a candle burning all night and still feel like it smells like burnt soy sauce. Yuck!

On a positive note, the salmon itself turned out really good and I would make it again. I thankfully didn't burn the rice, and the asparagus was good with some butter and fresh Parmesan cheese shredded on the top. I think I will try the recipe again and even try to make the glaze again. I do think it would add to the dish, but for tonight it just wasn't meant to be.

Any suggestions on removing a sticky, burnt mess from my sauce pan will be appreciated!