martha stewart monday

here is the deal. I am an all or nothing kind of gal.

I am either a total martha stewart super mom or a total unshowered shlumpadinka.

there is no middle ground with me.

in an effort to veer more towards martha-ness, i have decided to record the efforts of my good days (on mondays) so that i am forced to repeat them more often than not.

hopefully i will carry through with this week after week....and obviously if you want to follow suit and share your awesomeness...let me know and i would love to see it.

So anyways: Martha Stewart Monday #1 is all coooking related.

I am (occaisionallly) an awesome little chef.

On a good week, i grocery shop with a list, and then i come home, put the groceries away, and record on a little white board on my fridge what it is i will be making for that week.

most of these things were made last week - but 1 or 2 are just blogs that never happened. They are all chicken related, but with one pasta dish mixed in. (we eat a lot of chicken) what you should notice though is the repeat of ingredients also used in new and different ways....which i think is super important when you are trying to keep grocery expenses down.

without further ado....here are some good diner ideas (if you want them):

Chicken Enchiladas with avocado Tomato salad

( i have posted a similar recipe for this before...but i love it so much you are gettting it again.

I usually buy a rotisserie chicken for this and just use all of the white meat that i can get. I put the shredded chicken into a bowl and mix in most of a can of diced green chilis, chopped white onion, salt and pepper, a little bit of Tapatio hot sauce (the BEST stuff out there), and some sharp cheddar cheese. I mix all of that with my hands. then spray a pyrex dish (11x13?) with some pam. Fill in corn (or flour if you are my husband) tortillas with a generous portion of your chicken mixture. I think flour tortillas get soggy and corn is better but do whatever floats your boat. Place the tortillas with the folded side down in a row (right next to each other in your dish). pur over either green or red enchilada sauce....a little more cheese....maybe some jalepenos and bake for 20-30 minutes at 350.

the tomato avocado salad is the perfect solution for something a little light that you can serve on the side with a mexican dish. I hate when there is something heavy like refried beans served with a heavy main dish. sooooooo anyways, just cut up some ripe avocados, and slice some tomatoes (i used a fancy blend of tiny tomatoes). Chop up some cilantro....add salt and pepper and a tiny bit of olive oil and voila! it is delish.

Baked Chicken Marsala w/ Caprese Salad

I just used boneless skinless chicken for this one....once the chicken was thawed i added lawrys (seasoning salt) and pepper and baked it in the oven at 400 for way longer than i should have ( i seriously hate juicy chicken) you of course can cook this for as long as you want though. While that was baking i sliced up some baby bella mushrooms and a tiny bit of red onion. you really do have to chop red onion in super tiny thin pieces for it not to be overwhelming. i set that aside and melted about 1/4 to a 1/2 a stick of butter into a pan on medium heat. Add in about a 1/2 teaspoon of chopped garlic. When everything melts, add in the mushrooms and the onion. Pour in a large splash of Marsala wine too. probably about a 1/2 cup to a cup. let the mushrooms cook down and all of the flavors will start to blend. I let it simmer for a while. The marsala really doesn't taste good until it cooks for a while. Then right before i take the chicken out of the oven i added about 1/2 Tablespoon of cornstarch to about a 1/4 cup of cold water (in a seoerate dish) mix that up. It will just look like cloudy water. Add that into the mushrooms a little at a time until it thickens up. Str it constantly. You prob wont need all of the cornstarch and water. It turns into a sort of mushroom gravy that you just spoon over the chicken.

The Caprese is just like the salad above but with basil instead of cilantro and some thin slices of fresh mozzarella and balsamic vinegar....again - something like rice could be good with this too, but this was lighter.

Homemade Pasta Sauce with Whole Wheat Fettucine

Add a large splash of olive oil to a big sauce pan. Once heated, saute some onion, garlic, chopped white onion and diced green pepper. Let those ingredients soften and start to slightly brown then add in about 1 pound of ground beef ( i use 96%lean). brown/cook the meat completely. Add in two 14.5 oz cans of Diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil. chop up some fresh basil and sliced baby bella mushrooms. add 1/2 of the basil and all of the mushrooms. Also add some italian seasoning, salt and pepper. You will need a lot...but add according to your taste. I used 1/2 a package of "good seasons" salad dressing seasoning because i was out of italian seasoning and it was actually really good in the sauce. let the whole concoction simmer for at least 30 minutes to an hour. it just gets better the longer it goes but keep the heat low. Boil the water for the fettucine and cook for 9-10 minutes for al dente pasta.

Garnish the pasta with fresh parmesan and the remainder of the fresh basil.

You will have a ton of sauce left...i freeze it and just keep it in the freezer for next time....so that you can be awesome TWICE!!!

Crock Pot Chicken Chili

Again...shred the chicken from a rotisserie chicken and put it into your crock pot.

mix into your crock pot a can of cannelini (white) beans, garbonzo beans, and black beans...all drained and rinsed. Chop up some fresh corn and some white onion and throw that in there too.

Chop up one of those multicolor packs of peppers. I like orange red and yellow. Then add a can of diced tomatoes. Juice and all. Add in some (ummm maybe 1-2 tablespoons) of mexican chili powder, salt and pepper....and seriously whatever else you like in chili.

Cook the chili all day long and garnish with sour cream, fresh cilantro (my fave) and some tapatio.

My sister Lauren and her boyfriend Josh made this for us the week Ashlyn was born and i loved it!!!

Lemon Chicken.

This one is sooooooo not healthy....but sooooo good so its okay (every once in a while - like twice a year) :) It is a complicated recipe though and I don't feel like typing it out right now Sooooo if you are interested in finding out how to make some seriously ridiculous restauranty good chinese food, just email me :) for now. I will just post the picture of it to prove a little more martha-y ness.

this was a long post.

i bet no one is even reading anymore.

If you are though...i hope you try some of these recipes. They are all really good and very conducive to having a ton of leftovers....which only makes your life easier...and i like easy (most of the time)

Happy Monday!