Image via FoodNetwork.com

This dish is great because it has the crunch of the almonds, the sweetness of the cranberries and the tartness of the apples. Plus, couscous is not only fun to say, but it’s fun to eat!

Giada’s Israeli Couscous with Apples, Cranberries and Herbs

Couscous:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups Israeli couscous (or barley or orzo)
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 medium green apple, diced
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted, see Cook’s Note

Vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil

So when I had the opportunity to make a recipe using Newman’s Own products, I decided to go for it. I really enjoyed their Low Fat Sesame Ginger dressing and knew the flavors would make a tasty stir fry. This will take you 30 minutes or less from start to finish and it makes two large portions. Adapt the recipe to your tastes, too, since it’s really about using what you have!

Not the best food pic ever, but don't let that deter you from trying this recipe!

Now, I’ve always been more comfortable at the keyboard than in front of a camera, but I gave it a shot in the name of recipe sharing. Oh, and by the way, the electric wok I was trying to use did really explode! It made a loud pop and shot a super fine white dust to cover our kitchen. Awesome. Not.

Quick & Tasty Chicken Stir Fry

Makes two generous portions.

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup Newman’s Own Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 2 t garlic
• 4 T dry sherry
• 1/2 t cornstarch
• pinch of chili powder

Stir Fry:

• 1 large chicken breast, sliced
• 1 head of broccoli
• 1 medium sized red pepper, sliced
• 3 carrots, cut in half and quartered
• 1 handful green string beans, trimmed
• 3 T vegetable (or peanut) oil, divided
• small bunch of scallions, chopped

Begin by chopping up your veggies. Heat up a wok or large pan on high. To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients into a small saucepan on medium high. Stir occasionally until sauce starts to thicken. While it’s thickening, start with the rest of the stir fry.

Evenly cover pan with 2 T oil to the hot pan. When slightly smoking, add chicken slices and cook until lightly browned and evenly cooked, about 3-4 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and onto plate. Cover in foil to keep warm. Add 1 T oil back to the heated pan. Start cooking the peppers and broccoli first, cover pan to steam, for about a minute. Then add carrots and green beans, stir and cook uncovered for about two minutes.

Combine meat and veggies, drizzle sauce over and add chopped scallions. Serve with steamed white or brown rice.

Enjoy!

Yikes. Recipe disaster zone.

Roadblocks to Meal Planning

• We don’t always eat dinner together. Sure, we both eat dinner at home most nights, but it’s not always at the same time. Two nights during the work week, I eat around 6:30 and Matt will eat around 9:30 or later. Not eating together is mostly just a roadblock to my motivation. Plus, my snacking gets in the way and I don’t always eat a full dinner.
• There’s hardly time to eat, let alone cook. Two nights during the week we have less than an hour to cook and eat. This is usually why we go for those bagged/skillet meals.
• Produce doesn’t get used as quickly. I want to eat fresh, nutritious food, but if we’re not cooking much during the week, the food doesn’t always last. I could go to the grocery store more, but I don’t have the time/don’t want to go more than once a week.
• Friday nights and weekends are usually the days when I have time to cook, but I usually want to eat out these days.
• I’m lazy! Do you see all my excuses in those bullet points? Meal planning takes work.

So, am I quitting so soon? Heck no! I still believe that it can be done. One of the recipes I made was so good and I don’t know if I would have made it if we weren’t meal planning. I just need to find quick and simple recipes or maybe make our own version of those frozen skillet meals.

Any tips for me?

Ginger Beer Chicken

• 2.5 – 3 lbs Chicken (I used breasts, but you can use wings or thighs or whatever you feel like)
• 1 bottle Fat Tire Amber Ale
• 1/3 cup Honey
• 1/3 cup Soy Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic
• 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger

Pour the beer into a saucepan and cook down for a couple minutes. Whisk in the honey, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger.  Cook until the honey is melted, stirring often.  Place the chicken in a glass baking dish (I prefer the Pyrex type with lids that seal nicely), skin side down (if you have skin).  Pour the sauce over the top and refrigerate for a few hours, overnight is best.  Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes at 375.  Remove foil, flip chicken, and cook for another 30 minutes or so.  Remove when done and serve over a bed of rice.  The sauce is delicious.

Thanks to the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program and New Belgium Brewing Company for sending me the stipend for beer.  It has been awesome to cook with!

Cincinnati Chili

Most people aren’t familiar with this style of chili as it’s mostly meat, onions and spices served over spaghetti noodles with various toppings. The recipe is based off of the famous Skyline Chili recipe by Nicholas Lambrinides in Cincinnati, Ohio, where they have been serving happy customers since 1949.

Here you can actually see the chili part.

Cincinnati Chili

• 2 lbs. lean ground beef
• 4 T. chili powder (I used some cayenne pepper and paprika)
• 1 T. salt
• 1/2 T. all spice
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2-1/2 t. cumin
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 quart water
• 1 T. vinegar
• 1/2 t. oregano
• 1/2 t. red pepper (or one packet from a pizza place!)

In a three quart pan, cook everything for about 3 hours. Check to make sure there is enough water and add if needed so that it’s not too dry. Note: If you use a slow cooker, cook it on low for 3 to 4 hours. I actually brought it to work with me the next day and it was fine keeping warm over night. I found though that I needed to add double the spices with the slow cooker method.

Toppings: Skyline Chili says you can order it Three Ways, Four Ways or Five Ways, which includes toppings of diced onions, shredded cheese and red beans. In our family, we like to add green onions, garbanzo beans, oyster crackers — pretty much anything.

Have you heard of and/or had Cincinnati Chili before? Please say you’ll try it! It’s so good, my mouth is watering right now just thinking about it.

Back to the soup, I got it from A Year of Slow Cooking. I love, love, LOVE using the crock pot because it does all the work for me and the smell of dinner greets me at the door when I come home from work.

Sorry I forgot to grab a photo. What blogger doesn’t always take pictures of everything they eat, see and do?

Crock Pot Chicken and Brown Rice Soup
(adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking)

• 6 cups chicken (I used cans of pre-cooked chicken that you can find at Costco)
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup cooked chicken
• 1 cup cubed carrots
• 1 cup celery
• 4-6 red potatoes, quartered
• several shakes of herbs de province (and anything else you might like)
• salt and pepper to taste

Put everything in the crockpot and cook on low for about 8 hours. Fair warning, the brown rice can get a little mushy. So cook it less (not sure how many hours) to avoid it, or add the rice halfway through if possible.

Soups are also pretty easy. I used to think I needed one of those immersion (stick) blenders, but I realized a potato masher does just fine! I chop up my potatoes pretty small as well, because I like my soup smooth and not chunky. Smaller cubes are easier to smash into a liquid consistency (once boiled)!

Anywho, the recipe.  I found one using my Dinner Spinner app, and then just altered it to fit our needs (as in I doubled it!).

Ham & Potato Soup

(via All Recipes)

Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, approximately 8 minutes.

Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

Everything in this recipe can be changed.  Do you really like celery?  Add some more.  Want some mushrooms? You could probably toss a few in.  I pretty much doubled the original recipe from All Recipes, so most of the time amounts doubled.  The milk mixture never seemed to get super thick, but it worked out just fine anyways.  I served this with a little cheese on top and froze the rest.

To try something new, I’m sharing this recipe over at I Have to Say, click on over to see more soups & stews!

Check out our signed copy of Rachael Ray's new cookbook!

So when making my grocery shopping list, I flipped through Look + Cook’s pages and found some recipes to try. Wanting to use a Costco-sized tub of organic spinach, I opted for the spanakopita orzo to go with Pioneer Woman’s steak bites. I’ve always wanted to try the meaty mouthfuls, ever since she posted them in January 2009.

While not the perfect pairing — combination of American/greek flavors; the orzo is paired with lamb skewers in the book, but I’m not a huge lamb fan — it was a nice, home-cooked meal that we both enjoyed. Plus, it looks super cute in my new baking dish that was only $7!

Pioneer Woman’s Steak Bites

• 1 pound Sirloin Steak (without Much Gristle) OR Pre-cut Beef Tips
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper To Taste
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• (Emily’s note: I would add a little herbs or seasoning to give it a little more flavor)

Trim off the large obvious piece of fat that runs along the side of the meat. Next, cut strips less than 1-inch wide. Rotate the meat and cut into small bite-sized pieces. If you see any more large chunks of fat, gristle or long silvery membrane, cut them off.

Sprinkle generously with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss the meat around a bit to thoroughly coat with the seasonings.

Next, turn on your ventilation fan overhead. Heat the skillet over medium high to high heat. As the pan heats, add about 2 tablespoons butter to the skillet. Allow the butter to melt, then brown, before you add the meat.

Place some of the meat in the pan in a single layer. It should sizzle loudly when it hits the pan – if it doesn’t, the pan isn’t hot enough. Don’t stir or disrupt the meat for 30-45 seconds. You want it to sizzle and brown on one side. Scoop as many steak bites as you can with your spatula and flip them over. Repeat until all the meat is turned. Cook for an additional 30 to 45 seconds—just long enough to sear the outside of the meat but NOT cook the inside.

Remove the meat to a clean plate. Add a little more butter to the pan and repeat the cooking process with the next batch just as before. Lastly, when all the meat is nicely browned and removed to the plate, pour all that browned/blackened butter all over the meat. And enjoy!

Spanakopita Orzo

• 1/2 pound orzo
• 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 3 cups spinach, divided
• 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Place a large pot of water over high heat to boil the orzo. Salt the boiling water and cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain the cooked pasta and reserve.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.

While the veggies are cooking, add the vegetable stock and about 2 cups of spinach to the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Add the puree to the pan with the onion and garlic to heat through, about 30 seconds. Remove pan from heat and stir in the reserved orzo, remaining whole leaves of spinach, feta, some salt and pepper.

These ladies know how to work it in the kitchen, that’s for sure!

As I said before, I cooked Christmas Eve dinner for the first time this year.  This was a tradition that my mom started many years ago and I wanted to carry it on.  Since my parents do not live here, we cannot spend Christmas Eve with them if we are home.  In attendance were my in-laws, grandpa and sister in law, and family friends (two parents and four kids).  It was so nice to have them all over, and we fit just perfectly!  Our friend’s oldest daughter came to help me make appetizers and set up.  It was so fun to spend time with her and have the help.

Appetizers on our cute Christmas plates.

She did the bacon wrapped jalapenos after we set the table.  I did the weenie wraps (not pictured – pigs in a blanket!).  That was it for the appetizers, although I had plenty left over.  For dinner we had ham (provided by my lovely father and mother in law), twice-baked potatoes, broccoli cheese casserole (from the Fortunas, our friends), and salad.  I had rolls but then forgot to put them out. Sigh.  On the plus side, I pre-made the potatoes so all I had to do was reheat them for dinner.  It was a very low stress evening.

Yummy twice-baked potatoes.

We had lots of desserts as well — premade (frozen and brought back to room temp) cookies and peppermint bark, brownies from Costco and fudge from a friend.  I wanted to be able to do dessert without plates, as I do not have that many Christmas dishes yet!

Our dessert buffet.

There you have it — a very successful and low stress Christmas Eve dinner.  We went to bed and enjoyed a nice Christmas morning to ourselves before heading over to Matthew’s parents’ house.  It was really nice to spend time just the two of us.  Matt made coffee and cinnamon rolls so that we had enough food before going to his parents for stuffed french toast, bacon and cider!

Merry Christmas!

We also got a family picture in front of the tree!  How was your Christmas?  What did you eat?  And what new traditions did you create?

My mom is much better than me at doing the presentation side of cooking!

Pomegranates are tricky, but we found the best way to get at the tasty, tangy seeds is to cut a bit off the top and extract the seeds in a bowl of water. Making into a sauce turned out to be a messy ordeal, but it was totally worth it. The sauce is really great and can be used for other things, like adding it to ranch dressing for salad! That was my mom’s idea, so I can’t steal it as my own.

Here's my mom carefully extracting seeds into the food processor to then strain them (although we couldn't find a strainer) to make the sauce. Be careful -- it's a messy recipe, but a good one!

Mustard Pomegranate Pork Tenderloin

from AllRecipes.com user Linda W.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup pomegranate juice
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 dash cayenne pepper
• 1 (1 1/2 pound) pork tenderloin
• 4 tablespoons pomegranate seeds

Directions

1. In a clean jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine pomegranate juice, orange juice, mustard, honey, garlic, orange zest, and cayenne pepper. Tighten lid, and shake until everything is mixed well. Pour over pork tenderloin in a large resealable plastic bag. Seal bag, and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to 3 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a large roasting pan with cooking spray. Remove tenderloin from marinade, reserving the marinade. Place meat in roasting pan, and arrange pan on center rack in oven.
3. Pour marinade into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and reduce volume by half. Remove from heat. Place 1/2 of liquid in a cup for basting, and reserve to use as a sauce.
4. Roast tenderloin in oven for 30 to 40 minutes, basting lightly with reduced marinade until internal temperature is 155 degrees F (68 degrees C) when measured in the thickest part of the tenderloin. Remove tenderloin from oven, cover with foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. Serve each portion with reserved sauce drizzled over top, and a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds.

FYI, we found that it needed to be cooked longer than the recommended 40 minutes.

Be sure to try this when you have a chance. It’s a really good meal using a fun and different fruit!