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October 19, 2018

Hey Good Looking! What You Got Cooking?

15 Comments/ 106/ 0

I have been on a cooking bent lately and it has been great.  Chris has been home more the past couple of weeks and we have really been enjoying the somewhat cooler temperatures and having some nice meals at home.

We often eat on the deck in the back overlooking the lake and on these cooler fall days it has been the perfect place to enjoy a few meals.

While I haven’t been cooking fancy I have been trying out some new recipes and some new cooking products so today is the day I share a couple on the blog.  No fancy recipes or pictures but I will happily share some of my favorite dishes I have prepared the past couple of weeks.

First up is a great little site called Budget Bytes. Aaron and Erin use this a lot and I am a huge fan. Their recipes are easy and usually pretty quick to assemble and I am hooked on their one pan dinners and their sheet dinners. First up is a one pan dinner —Lemon Pepper Chicken with Orzo. 

This one was a winner winner chicken dinner in all ways.  I let Chris add his own goat cheese to his portion since I am not a huge fan and he loved it. Topped with fresh parsley and this was flavorful and easy.  Just click on the link above to go directly to the recipe.

How about some Pesto Chicken? Sheet Pan Pesto Chicken could not have been easier.  I love the recipes that dirty the least amount of dishes and with a sheet pan dinner this one was perfect in every way.  Just look at those crispy potatoes and juicy chicken topped with pesto and mozzarella.  Is your mouth watering yet?

Next up are a couple of soup recipes that I made in my Tupperware Micro Pressure Cooker.  I had purchased it quite awhile ago from my Tupperware pusher dealer Mary Hopper.  If you are ever in need of any Tupperware she is the perfect go to person.  (Click on her link here to go to her personal Tupperware website.)   Mary and I became friends when we were both North Iowa Bloggers and maintain that friendship long distance.  I had to laugh because I felt like I was a commercial when I posted on Facebook how much I loved this product.

I have an Instant Pot and have not really used it.  The Tupperware Micro Pressure Cooker is less intimidating to me for some reason.  It is a bit smaller which fits our little two family household perfectly and I am finding new things to cook in it but at first I started with a couple of soups.  Chicken Orzo  Soup was a definite winner and I cooked a whole chicken in it in 25 minutes.  Now that is amazing.  If I do nothing else with this I will use it for that.

Notice my great wooden spoon?  My favorite kitchen tool handcrafted by Will Burney of TOTMcraft.

I also made a pretty fabulous black bean soup with fresh cut green onions and cilantro on top to add that extra bit of flavor.  Chris liked his with a dollop of sour cream.

How about applesauce in 15 minutes?  Fall brings all of the best apples and I took advantage of the great varieties that The Whistlestop Market had and made a fabulous batch of homemade applesauce in record time.

Sometimes simple is best, don’t you think?  Chris and I were gone over the weekend on a little trip (more to come on that later) and I packed a bunch of stuff in a cooler in case we needed a snack.  One night we had had a really large lunch and didn’t really feel like a regular dinner so this little spread fit the bill.  Repurposed the ice bucket tray and walaa we had an instant supper.  Who says food has to be fancy to be good?

So what have you been eating lately?  Anything worth sharing?  Any favorite recipe sites to share?  And favorite cookbooks?  I would love for you to share those today so leave me a comment .  All comments this month mean a 50 cent donation to our Comments for a Cause – UMCOR Florence Hurricane Relief fund. 

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BudgetBytes cooking food Lemon Pepper Chicken with Orzo Mary Hopper North Iowa Bloggers recipes Sheet Pan Pesto Chicken Tupperware Whistlestop Market
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15 Comments

Leave a comment
  1. Darlene
    October 19, 2018 at 06:24 am

    I love trying new recipes as well. I made a creamy pesto and mushroom pasta the other night and it was so good. My favourite cookbook is Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the Middle East and North Africa by Habeeb Salloum. It is chock full of fabulous recipes and nice little stories to go with them. May of them quick and easy too. Now I am hungry!!

    Reply
  2. Jeni 💫Practical Magic🔮 Eats (@JeniEats)
    October 19, 2018 at 08:55 am

    I’m glad you reminded me to check out Budget Bytes. Those dishes looked so good. I’ve been in such a cooking rut lately – either take-out or grilled cheese/quesadilla/pizza.

    This week we had caprese salad while the farmers markets are still going strong with veggies and takeout mediterranean dips. I will have to also check out the cookbook Darlene recommended above.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      October 19, 2018 at 10:11 am

      It really is a great site with lots of options!

      Reply
  3. Katy Flint
    October 19, 2018 at 09:35 am

    That lemon chicken orzo looks DELICIOUS!

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      October 19, 2018 at 10:11 am

      It is! And there is something about adding fresh herbs to things that make it better. Even better when I can cut them from my little herb garden!

      Reply
  4. Minnesota Prairie Roots
    October 19, 2018 at 09:56 am

    Thanks for all of these cooking tips. I’m about fast, easy, delicious and inexpensive.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      October 19, 2018 at 10:04 am

      These will do it!! Great recipes and really easy website to navigate!

      Reply
  5. priscillaking
    October 19, 2018 at 11:09 am

    Trying to eat around glyphosate these days is enough of a challenge. Then, a payment was late. Then, as a well-known survivor of a stubborn case of mononucleosis, I talked with a kid who’s going through something similar, last week, and dang if in my immune-depleted state I didn’t feel as if I had mono all over again this week. I *have* had a little more income this year than in 2015, but this week’s food intake has still consisted of 2 cans of peanuts, 1 box of rice, 1 piece of chocolate, and medicinal garlic. Worth it, though, to see the inflammation from the last round of glyphosate poisoning go down! It’s not just *seeing* my waistline come back; after losing my waistline mainly to inflammation, I woke up *feeling* it…though still feeling weak and feverish.

    Nobody wants to know what I’m eating these days. Yet, because my mother and I used to be role models as healthy gluten-free celiacs, people do ask. These days they’re usually sorry. Are you?

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      October 25, 2018 at 07:09 am

      Not sorry one bit, Priscilla! Makes me appreciate that I can eat just about anything that I want to eat without any negative outcome. Thanks for your comment and for your continued education to those of us who don’t understand the limitations that many people have.

      Reply
  6. Shirley Matthews Dunn
    October 19, 2018 at 09:01 pm

    What great recipes. Looks so good. I did just make my first pot of chili for the season.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      October 25, 2018 at 07:06 am

      It is definitely chili season again, isn’t it? My chili is usually just dumping stuff in the crock pot –no real recipe. 🙂

      Reply
  7. Mama's Empty Nest
    October 20, 2018 at 07:24 am

    I think I’m coming to your house for dinner! 😉 These look so yummy. Meals here at our house have been haphazard as schedules have been wonky. But a friend just gave me a new recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu soup done in the slow-cooker. She said it was delicious, so I’m going to try it soon.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      October 25, 2018 at 07:06 am

      Come on anytime! My door is always open! I would love to hear how the Chicken Cordon Bleu soup turned out! Sounds delightful!

      Reply
  8. susi_snaps
    October 20, 2018 at 09:24 am

    I’ll have to check out the Budget Bytes site. We are always looking for new recipes to try with the family. It’s not always easy to change things up since the kids like certain things and there are only so many things all 5 of us enjoy!
    Everything here looks amazing and I’m intriguied by the tupper ware pressure cooker.

    Reply
    1. Beth Ann Chiles
      October 25, 2018 at 07:05 am

      It is such a great site and I have really gotten hooked on a lot of their simple recipes lately. Cooking for just two of us allows me the chance to experiment a lot and Chris loves different things so that makes it even better. He is the least picky eater and always compliments me on the cooking. 🙂

      Reply

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