Sunday. Today was just that; A Sun Day. And we took advantage of it. We drank coffee with sunglasses on, we walked through our woods and swung on the swing. We piled in to the pickup, and rode with the windows down to the elementary school. We live on the top of a mountain and lack a good place for our 7 year old to ride her bike, so the school tennis court is an ideal spot. While she rode her bike, my husband and I alternated pitching and hitting old t-balls, an AMAZING stress reliever by the way. For lunch we went to a local pizza spot, followed by afternoon naps. It was glorious. However, it did not allow time for me to create a full blown Sunday family meal, like I usually do. So today I’ll share with you a simple, 1 pan, delicious and balanced dinner that I have thrown together on many occasions.

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole. Seriously Simple.

I placed the following in a baking dish:

• 6 frozen chicken tenderloins
• 10 broccoli florets (frozen would work great)
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1/4c frozen diced onions (I always keep these on hand for quick flavor)
• 1 package of chicken rice
• 2 1/2c of water

I baked it for 1 hour at 400°f. Then when I pulled it out, it was hot and tender, I added some cheddar cheese and a little salt and pepper.

Comment below with some of your favorite “throw together” meals! I’d love to try them!

 

Being stuck at home with this snow storm definitely has its perks. One being that instead of spending an hour driving to work, I have an extra hour to spend making breakfast before I commute to the kitchen table to work from home. Today my princess woke up with pancakes on her mind. I really only make them for her, since my husband and I are more biscuit and egg people. But today I gave in, and even made some for myself.

But what I like on my pancakes, is butter(of course) and molasses.

I grew up with a few horses, and early morning feeds included sucking the molasses off the grain. That smell is a direct line to the dusty barn in the back of my brain where I spent so much time talking to my animal friends. Just call me Fern, pot bellied pig and all.

But molasses isn’t something I see very often outside my own kitchen and I think its a damn shame.

So next time you have a few extra dollars, invest in some good ole’ molasses. Its great in baking and toppings, I’ve even subbed it into my at home Chinese when I was out of brown sugar(delicious!).

 

A snow storm was coming, I had prepared myself for the battle that awaited inside of the crowded grocery store. Where I come from, when it snows, you stock up. Last time it snowed, we weren’t able to leave the house for 6 days. I actually look forward to the solitude. I am able to work from home during bad weather, so instead of breakfast cereal and chaotic slop dinner, I actually get to take my time in the kitchen. I like to take this time to cook new things, enter: discount flounder.

I am a sucker for a sales tag and a huge bag of frozen fish fillets for $5.99 was no exception. I am pretty picky about my fish, I don’t like anything too fishy, and I really only have one or two ways I usually cook it. I tend to stick to tilapia, but this flounder was white and cheap and came home with us.

I’ve had flounder from restaurants, many ways, but after deliberating and scanning a google search, I decided on pan frying, then baking.

This however meant, I would have to find something to coat it. I am a firm believer in not being wasteful, enter: stale saltines.

So I treated the fish, to make it as least fishy as possible. This includes:

1. Thawing the fish
2. Mashing the excess liquid out of it with a clean cloth
3. Salting the fish, and repeating step 2.

Then, I brushed it with a beaten egg, and coated it with the crushed saltines.

The hardest part about frying something for me, is leaving it alone. I am the worst for fidgeting with whatever is in the pan. But I set my time this time, and left it alone on both sides for 2 minutes.Then baked it at 400ºf for another 8 minutes.

And I have to say it wasn’t bad! Paired with one of my favorites: butter herb orzo, and skinny green beans, everyone was happy, including my budget. The key to this discount adventure, was taking my time. Properly treating the fish, and making the most of pantry made this a success.

Have any tips or tricks for me? I’d love to hear them. Comments and advice welcome below!

 

 

 

Well, here I go! After some strong encouragement from a few friends, I am starting a blog. Since its late, and I spent way too long customizing the “theme” of this thing, I am going to start small.

Fruit. What is better than fruit? I am always amazed at how satisfying fruit can be. I live in the mountains of Appalachia, where winter is suffocating. I have probably muttered, “We should move to f**king Florida.” a hundred times. But this week a little ray of Florida sun found its way into my local Food Lion. I had my eye on onions, and potatoes, stew was on my mind. When suddenly the smell of grapefruit surrounded me. And it was on sale!

My rule with fruit is: if you walk by it, and don’t smell it, you probably shouldn’t buy it. Following this logic, I tend to flock farmers markets for local fruit, but in Winter when the markets are closed, I have no other choice.

To make a long story short, I bought several pounds of grapefruit, and we all had a glorious summer snack, while preparing for a snow storm.