Meal Plan-it

It has come to this

2011-12-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

I have realized in the last year since going back to work that finding the time to post in my blog has been challenging to say the least. Recently, I decided that the VERY least I can do is post the links to the recipes that I find on the internet with a little one liner from me on my Meal Plan-it Facebook Page. If you'd like to see what I have been cooking and my thoughts, be sure to "Like" me. :)

Meal Plan-it Facebook Page

Thank you for visiting and I wish you and yours many happy dinners around the table!

Jill

Meal Plan ~ Week 31 & 32 2011

2011-09-11T09:14:00.000-06:00

Well, after a LLOOONNNGGG hiatus I thought it was about time that make a come back. I have been Uber busy with full time work, two young boys and school. It's been crazy to say the least.

I apologize for the posts being non existent for so long and although I cannot promise that my posts will not be sporadic, I DO vow to give you some Meal Plans now and again and provide you with all the recipes.

Meals that totally shine will be given a review (or the ones that bomb, to warn you). If I do not have a recipe, review or photo of a meal that interests you, drop me a line and I'll be sure to help you out.

So, without further a do here are this week and next week's Meal Plans ~ I do hope you enjoy!

Week 31

Monday - Amazing Veggie Burgers served with Corn on the Cob

Tuesday- Firecracker Chicken Stir-fry

Wednesday - Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup (No Recipe)

Thursday - Cheddar Cheese and Beef Casserole

Friday - Creamy Stove Top Tuna Casserole

Saturday - Korean Pork with Asian Slaw, served with Rice

Sunday - Mushroom Smothered Salisbury Steak, served with Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans

Snack - Sneaky Snack Bars

Week 32

Monday -Slow Cooker Chicken Curry served with Rice

Tuesday- Perogies and Farmer's Sausage (No Recipe)

Wednesday - Creamy Pesto Chicken Bake

Thursday - Spanish Rice (No Recipe)

Friday -Totally Tubular Pasta

Saturday - Backyard BBQ ~ Burgers (No Recipe), Quinoa Salad

Sunday - Left overs (Maybe)
Snack - Raisin Bran Applesauce Muffins

Pork and Peanut Skillet

2011-02-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

This was another one of those meals where I found the ingredient combination too zany not to try. Parsnips, Raisins, Pork Peanuts, Rice and Curry... sounded crazy to me, but it turned out tasty indeed. I also loved that it was a one pot meal and it was ready in under an hour. My son wasn't crazy about it, but both my husband and I enjoyed it immensely. I forgot to take a photo of my meal, so I have included the photo from the Betty Crocker Website... looks great, hey?

Go to Recipe!

Sugar Cookies with Icing

2011-02-12T19:20:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple recipes that I have used NUMEROUS times without fail. These sugar cookies are delicious and moist (so long as you don't over cook) and the icing dries to a super shiny lacquer-like finish. Once the cookies cool completely I ice them and then let sit out to dry for a couple hours. The icing gets to be hard enough that you can stack them one on top another and the icing stays put! I always cook my cookies for 6 1/2 minutes in a 400* F Convection oven and they turn out awesome.

This a fabulous, easy, no-fail sugar cookie recipe that you are going to want to save. And they work beautifully for any occasion... as you can see this time it is a Valentines Day Party so I tinted the dough pink.

Go to Recipe!

Happy Valentine's Day!

-Jill

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Chickpeas

2011-02-06T20:02:00.001-07:00

Well, these taste exactly like they sound, Chocolate Chip Cookies with Chickpeas. Although a little strange in flavor, they are good, but even loaded with the morsels, the jig was up and my son didn't want to eat his, all he did was pick out the chocolate and leave the rest.

These cookies are not that attractive, and there are WAY too many chocolate chips (yes that is possible). I included the walnuts thinking that might help mask the crunch of the chickpeas, but it did not, they are there and there is no denying it.

With a little tweaking these might be great, but I will probably move on and try a different recipe... Do you have one for me???

Go to Recipe!

Parmesan Bow Tie Skillet

2011-02-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

Another quick and simplistic meal from Kraft.com. I did not have any ricotta cheese, so I subbed out cottage cheese that I "mushed" with the back of a spoon until it resembled ricotta cheese consistency and I don't feel like that replacement hindered the meal at all. Not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, but it was good enough to fill our bellies and our son LOVED it.

Go to Recipe!

A New Vibe and Some Energy

2011-01-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

Today I got crafty with my blog (it was feeling a little tired to me) revamping it and giving it a whole new vibe... I'd love to hear what do you think. I made the Header and Buttons myself on Picnik.com and found the background at Hot Bliggity Blog, I LOVED so many of their backgrounds, it was hard to choose. I will be editing and tweaking things over the next few days so keep coming back to see the end result.

I also made this week's baking: Energy Bars. They were a snap to make (no baking required), but I found that they were a little too gooey to be called a bar per-say, more like a gooey peanut butter honey fudge. I think they need more "stuff". I had added 1/2 Cup raisins already, so to that I would add another 1/2 Cup Oatmeal or some Toasted O Cereal. I have a bag of Heritage O's Ancients Grains Kamut, Spelt and Quinoa O's that would be awesome in this bar! I will definitely be trying this again with my additions.

Go to Recipe!

Meal Plan Month 2 ~ 2011 - February

2011-01-31T07:18:00.003-07:00

It's a new Chapter, new Format kind of day here...

Lost are the days of the weekly meal plans. To cut back on time spent blogging I will be posting monthly plans. I will be including some old favourite meals (which I will not be re-reviewing) and a few new comers. The old standbys will have a link to my last review followed by a link to the recipe, new recipes will be reviewed in a timely manner. With going back to work full time, my husband has agreed to cook dinner every Wednesday to give me some time with our boys.

As this is my first full month plan, please comment and let me know what you think, I'd love to hear from you!

Welcome to "Link-a-palozza"... :)

Monday Jan 31 - Prosciutto Chicken served with Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli

Tuesday Feb 1 - Parmesan Bow-Tie Skillet served with Tossed Salad - new

Wednesday Feb 2 - Crispy Fish Bake served with Tossed Salad

Thursday Feb 3 - Cheese Enchilada Verde served with Couscous and Veg

Friday Feb 4 - Speedy Peanut Chicken Stirfry

Saturday Feb 5 - 4 Cheese Penne (Dashing Dishes Meal)

Sunday Feb 6 - Mushroom Smothered Salisbury Steak served with Mashed Potatoes and Veg

Weekly Baking - Energy Bars - new

Monday Feb 7 - Oriental Chicken Salad

Tuesday Feb 8 - Totally Tubular Pasta served with Tossed Salad

Wednesday Feb 9 - Perogies and Sausage (no recipe)

Thursday Feb 10 - Creamy Stovetop Tuna Rotini

Friday Feb 11 - Chickpea and Tomato Curry served with Rice

Saturday Feb 12 - Speedy Sausage and Bean Ragout served with Salad

Sunday Feb 13 - Pork and Peanut Skillet - new

Weekly Baking - Chocolate Chip Cookies with Chickpeas - new

Monday Feb 14 - Mandarin Chicken (Dashing Dishes Meal)

Tuesday Feb 15 - Hay and Straw Pasta served with Salad

Wednesday Feb 16 - Spanish Rice (my Husband's Specialty - no recipe)

Thursday Feb 17 - Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Tomato Bean Soup (no recipe)

Friday Feb 18 - Tuna Cakes Served with Rice and Corn

Saturday Feb 19 - Veggie Burgers, Cabbage and Carrot Stirfry and Sweet Potato Fries

Sunday Feb 20 - Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Bundles served with Mashed Potatoes and Veg

Weekly Baking - Chocolate Zucchini Bread -new

Monday Feb 21 - Lentil Sloppy "Jo's" (Dashing Dishes Meal)

Tuesday Feb 22 - Southwest Chicken Pizza

Wednesday Feb 23 - Kitchen Sink Stirfry

Thursday Feb 24 - Chicken with Balsamic Vinegar Glaze served with Quinoa and Lentils - new

Friday Feb 25 - Lemon Pepper Orange Roughy served with Baby Potatoes and Broccoli- new

Saturday Feb 26 - Korean Pork with Asian Slaw served with Rice

Sunday Feb 27 - Meatloaf (no recipe) served with Mashed Potatoes and Creamed Corn

Weekly Baking - Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

If you haven't subscribed to Meal Plan-it yet, this is a taste of what you missed last week. Be sure to click "Like" or "Subscribe" to follow me and get all my updates in real time. :)

Have a fabulous week!

for more meal plans and organization advice visit Organizing Junkie!

-Jill

Thai-Style Coconut Chicken

2011-01-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

I love ethnic cuisine! I mean ALL different kinds. Not only does the meal usually taste fabulous, the aromas that circulate my house while I am cooking are amazing. Tonight was coconut, lime and cilantro which made me think of the song "Lime in the Coconut" which I still cannot get out of my head. This was a super speedy, VERY tasty and refreshing dish. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs in place of the breast and I found the meat was quite moist.

Go to Recipe!

Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese

2011-01-28T20:02:00.001-07:00

I'm so clever!!! ha ha ha! This was a fabulous alternative to the box of florescent orange noodles and cheese sauce that my son has come to cherish. I knew that he would pick out the peas, but he had no idea that he ate sweet potatoes with every bite! It was quite tasty, but I think I may add a few spices to it next time as the flavour was a little flat for my liking. Mustard powder and paprika might brighten it up a bit.

If you have a child who LOVES cheesy noodles, this is a perfect recipe for you to try. (P.S. I used my pre-frozen puree) All I did was roast the potatoes with skin on for about 50 minutes (until soft) let them cool to the touch and then the skin just peeled right off and there was no waste. Pureed them and put 1/2 cup portions in zip top bags and froze. When it came to making supper tonight I just thawed 2 bags and, viola, supper was done in 20 minutes. :)

Go to Recipe!

Easy Ham Pot Pie and Banana Bread (with Cauliflower)

2011-01-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight's meal came about because I had a tube of refrigerated biscuits and some ham steaks. Those coupled with broccoli and Cheez Whiz was all this "recipe" needed. And it tasted exactly like you would imagine. I highly doubt this meal will ever make another appearance.

Go to Recipe!

On a side note I was able to FINALLY make that Banana Bread from Jessica Seinfeld's Book - Deceptively Delicious that has cauliflower puree in it from Week 4 Meal Plan. It turned out great; Really moist and yummy! You can get a tiny hint of the veggie in the after taste but if you don't know it's in there you could never tell. The only issue is that it didn't rise really high for me, so it is quite dense, but tasty none the less.

Go to Recipe!

Meal Assembly Journey - Part 2 ~ The Doing

2011-01-26T08:10:00.002-07:00

Couple weeks ago I decided that rather than spending 2 full days in my kitchen cooking/prepping to fill my freezer with meals prior to my return to work that I would sign up for a Meal Assembly Company. Last you heard of this I had researched the local companies and chose Dashing Dishes for the reasons that their meals sound delicious and that I got to be hands on with the prep of my meals. So I signed up (which was a breeze).

Then I waited...

Last night I packed up my cooler and went to my session. The location was easy to find and once inside the building I felt like "Toucan Sam" and followed my nose to the spacious room. The fragrance was awesome; garlic, ginger, spices...mmmm...

The staff were incredibly nice, helpful and attentive. They got me in my apron and bandana and standing at my first station in no time. The format of the meal assembly is you go to a station and fill Ziptop bags with the ingredients needed for a full meal, put on an instruction label and put it in your cooler. Then on to the next... SUPER easy! I had chosen 8 meals and opted for for the "split in half" option (which was no charge). I am glad I did because the portions are HUGE - so at the end of an hour I had 16 meals for my freezer all prepped and ready to go. FABULOUS!!!!

Oh, did I forget to mention that they carried my cooler out to my car when I was all done?... :)

Here are the meals that I made last night:

~ Black Bean Linguine

~ Four Cheese Penne with Tomatoes

~ Korean Beef with Noodles

~ Lentil Sloppy "Jo's" with Tortillas

~ Mandarin Chicken

~ Pork Chops with Feta and Olive

~ Red Currant Slow Braised Pork with Thyme

~ Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Sausage

Don't they sound scrumptious???? I can't wait to try one/all of my meals!

So, if you are a Mom without a lot of time to cook, or a single person who loathes cooking for one. Really anyone who who like to go spend an hour having some fun, go home and sigh a breath of relief because you have a freezer full of nutritious meals - the idea of meal assembly is PERFECT for you to try. And if doing the work isn't up your alley, they'll do it for you, you just pick it up. Seriously couldn't be easier!!!

Next time you hear about this I will be letting you know how the meals taste... oh I can't wait!!

-Jill

This series will also be featured in the Kids in Cowtown Blog

Indian Lentils and Rice served with Chapati Bread

2011-01-24T20:29:00.000-07:00

This was a super tasty and filling meal, but one that my son wanted nothing to do with. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the surprising combination of yogurt, mint leaves, coconut and spice. The homemade Chapati Bread was a prefect fishing touch. If you are stuck and looking for something new and different I think you should give this meatless, ethnic meal a try.

Go to Lentil Recipe!

Go to Chapati Bread Recipe!

Meal Plan ~ Week 5 - 2011

2011-01-24T07:01:00.002-07:00

Well some of you may recall that my family has started on a journey toward eating more ethically. As I had mentioned before it is not something to take lightly and it is not something to just jump into, it's a gradual process. So here are the steps we have taken so far...

1 - All dairy is organic and eggs are to be free run - looking into getting our eggs farm fresh

2 - I will be planning 2 meals a week that are meat free

3 - I am researching seasonally appropriate recipes and resources

4 - I am researching natural, organic and humanely treated protein sources and looking into getting our protein straight from local family producers.

5 - Start purchasing organic produce

It's a lot of ground work right now, but I feel wonderful with the steps we have achieved in only 2 short weeks. Once we get the steps above into our routine, we will look at cutting processed food out of our diet as much as possible.

One major hurdle that I have come across (and it's a great one to have) is that is we have too many choices in family run protein producers. Living in Alberta means having access to world class beef and it is so hard to choose the right fit. I did find a wonderful resource that has a huge database of farms in our region, check it out here.

Well enough blabbing from me... let's get to what you're really here for! This week's meal plan!

Monday ~ Indian Lentils and Rice served with Chapati Bread

Tuesday ~ Mom out (Meal Assembly Session!) Boys have Leftovers

Wednesday ~ Family out for Grandma's birthday dinner

Thursday ~ Easy Ham Pot Pie served with Salad

Friday ~ Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese served with Salad

Saturday ~ Homemade Burgers (no recipe) served with Crispy Parm Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli

Sunday ~ Thai-Style Coconut Chicken served with Rice

If you haven't subscribed to Meal Plan-it yet, this is a taste of what you missed last week. Be sure to click "Like" or "Subscribe" to follow me and get all my updates in real time. :)

Have a fabulous week!

for more meal plans and organization advice visit Organizing Junkie!

Barley Ricotta Cabbage Rolls

2011-01-22T06:52:00.000-07:00

Honestly if you have the time, try this recipe it is a remarkable twist on an old favourite comfort food. This was the first time I have ever made honest-to-goodness cabbage rolls and I do have a new found respect for anyone who makes/made real cabbage rolls and now understand why there are so many "fast cabbage roll casserole" recipes. This recipe was majorly labour intensive, but worth every second. SO Fabulous!! The flavours were incredible and everyone thoroughly enjoyed them. I made a few "meat logs" without the cabbage for my sons and that was a hit. There are left overs for lunch today and I am pretty excited to see how they taste the next day. You can also make this as a freezer meal so I think next time that I have some time I will make a double batch and put them in the freezer.

Go to Recipe!

Pan and Tuna Cakes

2011-01-20T19:39:00.001-07:00

The other day I whipped up a batch of Homemade Pancake Mix and I will NEVER buy mix again. It took me a whole 5 minutes to do. I made it according to the following recipe, but added 1/4 Cup Wheat Germ then put it in a Ziptop Bag, wrote the cooking instructions on the outside and put it in my cupboard until today. This morning I mashed 1/2 banana in a bowl and made the pancakes according to the directions on the recipe and they tuned out PERFECT!! I did find them to be a little sweet, so next time I am going to half the sugar and see how it goes, but they fluffed up nice and big and light. A HUGE winner!!!

For supper we had Tuna Cakes, a meal that we have had numerous times and I just LOVE them. They are easy, they have veggies hidden within AND my son loves them. We always have leftover so we individually wrap them and freeze them for future lunches. I think I may whip up a couple batches just for my freezer before I go back to work... easy and versatile, they have yet to fail me...

It was a love, love day here! HOORAY!!

Go to Pancake Mix Recipe!

Go to Tuna Cake Recipe!

Aloha Chicken Kebabs with Sweet Potato, Mozzarella Sticks with Cauliflower and Ketchup with Carrots

2011-01-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

Tonight I cooked from the book of Jessica Seinfeld called Deceptively Delicious in an attempt to sneak some veggies into my son's stomach. The story that unfolded at our dinner table was a good news, bad news one ... I will start with the good.

My son ate more Chicken Kebabs than I and declared that they were his most favourite ever and wants them for lunch tomorrow (there was left overs) That made me happy because they had sweet potatoes and pineapple on them so he got one veggie... Now here comes the bad...

They were SO labour intensive! I must admit they were awesome, so worth the effort, but I would not dream of making these on a weeknight or for company. The Mozzarella Sticks with Cauliflower were a colossal FAIL! They started out great, until I cooked them, then they turned into little piles of hot mess. My son took one bite and said - YUCK! :( As for the "Ketchup" with Carrots - Even if you had no idea what ketchup was, you would know that this was not it. It turned out to basically be a dish of tomato paste with a hint of spice.

Go to Aloha Chicken Kebab Recipe!

Go to Mozzarella Stick Recipe!

Go to Ketchup Recipe!

Pineapple-Picante Stir fried Pork with Cabbage

2011-01-18T19:45:00.001-07:00

When I was looking up recipes for this week's meal plan, I came across this recipe and the ingredient combination sounded so bizarre to me that I just had to give it a whirl. And you know what? I REALLY enjoyed it! I am the kind of person who LOVES trying new things and some times it really pays off! (Some times not so much) I would NEVER have guessed to mix Picante Sauce and pineapples and combine it with cabbage, but it works great and it is quite filling too. (Not to mention super quick) I definitely recommend it if you are in the mood for something a little off the beaten track.

Go to Recipe!

Spaghetti Pie

2011-01-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

One word sums up this meal... Disappointed. After 45 minutes in the convection oven, the meatballs were still raw and the sauce was barely warm in the center. Not sure WHAT I did wrong, but after 50 minutes the boys were getting antsy for supper so I took the meatballs off and cooked them separately and put the sauce in a pot to simmer for 10 minutes. The flavour was okay but I personally like my own spaghetti sauce which has zucchini and carrots "snuck in" already so I think this recipe will be filed away to be used again, well... never... Sorry Jessica Seinfeld.

Go to Recipe!

Meal Plan ~ Week 4 - 2011

2011-01-17T06:52:00.000-07:00

This week our family is starting to make baby steps toward our journey of becoming more aware of where our food comes from and choosing ethical options. We are not taking this lightly because eating ethically does not necessarily equate to eating economically. We are amazed at the plethora of information and options out there, and are feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment, but are learning more and more everyday.

If the concept of ethical eating interests you, you can get more general info at Eat Kind. For information on Slow Food in America check out Local Harvest and for listings of Farmer's Markets in America check this out. For listings of Farmer's Markets across Canada check out Homemakers who also have a great article on 5 eco-friendly eating habits that is worth a look at. And finally for more Alberta and Calgary specific resources check out Slow Food and Calgary Farmer Market. I will post more links and ideas as I come across them. Please feel free to share any information that you may have as well!!

And here begins the week where I start to honestly deceive my son into eating his veggies thanks to Jessica Seinfeld and her Cook Book Deceptively Delicious. Wish me luck!

Monday ~ Spaghetti Pie served with Tossed Salad

Tuesday ~ Pineapple Stir Fried Pork Tenderloin with Cabbage

Wednesday ~ Tuna Cakes served with Tossed Salad, Rice and Corn

Thursday ~ Aloha Chicken Kebabs, Mozzarella Sticks served with Steamed Broccoli

Friday ~ Barley Ricotta Cabbage Rolls

Saturday ~ Bolognese Style Penne served with Tossed Salad

Sunday ~ Company Coming - Parmesan Artichoke Dip, Shepard's Pie (no recipe) and Monkey Bread

Sometime this week I'll be making Deception Banana Bread, Deceiving Ketchup and Homemade Pancake Mix

Did you miss last week's reviews? Here is a taste of what happened... Follow me on Facebook to stay in the loop!

For more meal plans and organization advise, visit Organizing Junkie

Sweet Citrus Chicken

2011-01-16T19:53:00.000-07:00

CALL THE PRESS!!! ... And tell them that I don't know what to say...

The chicken was nice and moist and fairly tasty. The problem lies with the stuffing mix. It had a decent flavour, but you could tell it was Stovetop Mix, and it was "baby food" goopy in some spots and "cut your gums" crunchy in others. This meal wasn't horrible, but I think I'll spend my effort on other recipes before I do this one again.

Go to Recipe!

Meal Assembly Journey - Part 1 ~ The Sign up

2011-01-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

My return to work after a year on Mat Leave is looming. This is my second swing at the bat so I have a pretty good idea of what the first few weeks of routine change will be like. I know that the schedule change from being at home 24/7 to being out of the house 9 hours a day/5 days a week will be a big one for the whole family and I know getting delicious and nutritious meals to the table on time will be a challenge until we get into "our groove".

The first time I went back to work after Mat Leave I went through a library of recipes and decided which ones would be good to freeze. I then purchased oven ready containers, made a master list of all the ingredients and spent 2 full days in the kitchen while I prepped and cooked enough meals to fill my freezer. A lot of work to say the least, but it DID save us BIG TIME when it came to the first few weeks back to work. (I did this when I was leaving for my Maternity Leaves as well so I had LOTS of food in my freezer for when the babes came - a HUGE lifesaver!)

This time will be different...

I decided to try something I have been wanting to try for AGES... A Meal Assembly Company.

In my search I found many choices for companies that have ready made meals that you can pick up or have delivered (all of which look fabulous) and if you are not one to cook this may be the best option for you, but I love to cook so I chose Dashing Dishes of Calgary because they had a location close to my home, their meals sounded delicious as well as kid-friendly and nutritious and finally, I get to be a part of the process.

Here are the other wonderful looking companies in Calgary that I found:

The Liberated Cook

Copper Pot Creations

Meez Fast Home Cuisine

Mamaluv

Dashing Dishes (yup, they'll do all the work if you want - you just stop by to pick it up)

First Step with Dashing Dishes was to sign up online (which was a snap and took 2 minutes) you pick a session you would like to attend. The next step was to pick the meals you want to make out of their 14 choices; either 8 or 12 (or more, up to 24) THAT was the hard part because they all sounded so yummy! Each meal serves 4-6 people and you can also split your meals in half for no charge! (I opted for that choice, because my sons are not quite full portions yet).

Now that all that is completed I just sit and wait for my session. I will be going on January 25th and will write about how my experience was and then finally I will write my humble reviews of the meals themselves. Be sure to come back and check out how the journey unfolds!

This series will also be featured in the Kids in Cowtown Blog starting Jan 19th

Sole with Lemon-Ginger Sauce

2011-01-15T18:52:00.000-07:00

This recipe is from the book Crazy Plates by Janet and Greta Podleski. The sauce was bursting with a tangy flavour with a hint of sweet which would be just as tasty on chicken, but there is a but...

By no fault of the recipe, the fish shrunk to almost nothing. I have cooked with Sole Fillets before and I recall some shrinkage, but this was crazy ~ they almost disappeared... so needless to say this meal was tasty but left us hungry.

Go to Recipe!

Turkey Stew with Biscuits

2011-01-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned on my Meal Plan this week - I was just going to "wing" tonight's dinner so I don't have a recipe for you, but I will lay out the steps I took to get to the end result. It was very tasty, but didn't turn out exactly like I hoped, but a good starting point for next time.

Now some of you may recall I didn't make Christmas Dinner; it was made by someone else in my home. So we ended up with some of the leftovers (some meat and the wings) but not the carcass. This is what I did with them...

Step 1 ~ I put the wings in a pot of water with large chunks of onion, some fresh parsley, some spices, a couple bay leaves, and a couple mushrooms chopped up. I brought that to a boil and let it simmer for about an hour under cover. I then let it cool until I could handle it and then strained the broth.

Step 2 ~ I poured the liquid back into the pot and chopped up the meat, picked the meat from the wings and chopped it, added chopped carrot, celery, and a couple peeled and diced potatoes. I added lots of seasoning and covered the pot with a lid and simmered that for about an hour (until the potatoes and carrots were tender). I then added corn and peas and brought it to a boil, adding cornstarch to thicken it.

Step 3 ~ Once it was thickened I poured it into a oven proof pot and laid Refrigerated Pillsbury biscuits on top and baked in a 375*F oven for about 30 minutes (until biscuits were browned).

The flavour was fabulous (an experiment, so I tasted it MANY times along the way and added many different spices - you just have to be able to play with it) but it was a bit runny, so more like a soup than a stew. Everyone in the family loved it anyway and it was a nice, comforting way to use up some leftovers from Christmas.

Hope you enjoy!

Jill

Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Bundles

2011-01-12T19:45:00.001-07:00

Savour this description for a moment... "Chicken stuffed with cheddar, bacon and broccoli then coated with Shake'n'Bake" and baked until crispy.

...mmmmm...

Yup, it's that good. It takes a little bit of prep, but these fab little bundles of deliciousness are awesome! I used the "Southern Fried" style of Shake'n'Bake and it tasted terrific! I also swapped out the "cook and chop bacon" step with bacon bits (REAL) AND to top it off, my deception began tonight by me pulling the wool over my hubby's eyes and mixing 1/2 Cup cauliflower in with the mashed potatoes. It was super tasty and he had NO idea! *insert evil cackle here*

Go to Recipe! (You're going to want to!)