Happy Spring, ya’ll! One step closer to summer! Here is some pics from the week… Playing, Legoland, Zoo, etc.
Chicken with Tomato and Veggie Orzo
Hey all! I hope everyone had a great weekend with family and friends celebrating the beginning of Spring, special holidays, and the fact that it is SPRING BREAK!!!! Woohoo! We had lots of fun gardening, playing at the park, and enjoying the amazing Spring weather.
We had a picnic at the park for lunch today. It was glorious to see the girls play and get to eat yummy ham sandwiches and pasta salad. Oh, and my mom makes the best deviled eggs. I think I made them once on the blog. I will have to check it out and make sure I add the recipe if it is not already here. Plus, we had Lay’s chips. Plain. The go to chip in our house. Yes, we love our Cheetos, Cool Ranch Doritos, etc… but there is nothing like a bag of salty crunchy Lay’s. Although those commercials with Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head eating the chips is a bit disturbing…
So with a late lunch and a lazy day, I decided to wing it in the kitchen. I had taken out some chicken thighs from the freezer. I know. Chicken. Again. But it is always a yummy go-to that everyone LOVES. My family loves them some dark meat. When any chicken is on sale, I load up. Luckily, last week, it was thighs. I also had a few random mushrooms, a few carrots and celery, and one onion in the fridge. I also found a large can of diced tomatoes and 1 can of green chilies.
Chicken with Tomato and Veggie Orzo
Ingredients
3 -4 chicken Thighs
10 mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 can chopped green chilies
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup cooked orzo- I used my leftovers from this…https://funfoodiefamily.com/2015/04/03/1-pot-veggie-orzo/
1/2 container of broth (I had veggie, but chicken would be perfect.)
1 turn of white wine- acidity is the key to any dish =) use lemon/lime juice, white/red wine vinegar, or red wine…
Directions
Salt and pepper both sides of your chicken liberally.
Brown both sides in a screaming hot cast iron pan or dutch oven- about 6 minutes per side.
Take the chicken out and add in your chopped veggies. Cook down for about 6 minutes. Add in your tomato paste and stir, about 3 minutes. The aroma of smokey tomato should hit your nose. YUM! Add in your wine. Cook for a couple more minutes and add in your canned tomatoes and chilies. Add your broth and your cooked orzo. Stir well and add in your chicken. Simmer until cooked through. Add crusty bread for dipping. DELISH!
Full disclosure- Everyone was STARVING, so I took the chicken out to serve. It was still under cooked, so I cooked it longer and then took it off the bone and added it back in the orzo. Turned out even better than I thought!!!!! Better to be under cooked and cook longer than over cooked and dry as a bone.
Paired Perfectly with this…
One Pot Veggie Orzo
Veggie Orzo
Ingredients
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 carrots, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
2 handful of mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 container of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
3/4 quart of veggie stock
1/2 cup orzo
2/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Heat pan on med heat and add olive oil.
Add the veggies and cook down until soft, about 6 minutes.
Add seasoning, orzo, and broth. Bring the broth to a boil and add the orzo.
Cook until orzo according to package time.
Add cheese.
Stir well. Add more seasoning and cheese of needed.
Chicken Thighs in Creamy Brown Mushroom Gravy
So this week I didn’t make a meal plan. After Lizzie passed, it was hard for a month or so to get back in a normal routine. Once I did, it seemed too easy. Weekly meal plan, go to the grocery store, make dinners, get distracted with life, go out, make more dinners, etc. So this week I thought about making a meal plan and decided to go against my instinct. I want to feel that rush of “What the heck are we having for dinner?” and “What can I make with the stuff I already have in my kitchen?” Then I looked in my fridge and pantry and realized I needed some stuff to randomly make dinner. So Friday after work I went to the store and got a few things. Awesome. You already saw the last 2 meals that I made.
Today I was home with this sick girl and had to take her to the doctor. Turns out she has the beginnings of a sinus infection and bronchitis. Don’t let the mask and pathetic face fool you. She was still full of sass and energy most of the day. The doctor told her to stay away from running and activity. I almost laughed in her face. Anyways, short of all her ailments, she is feeling fine and ready to go back to school tomorrow. I had a nice day off with her and took her to the store to get her meds and some groceries for the rest of the week. She had lots of opinions, so tonight she chose 3 things her and her sisters like. She loves chicken; Becca loves mushrooms; Lizzie really loved gravy. So I made Chicken in gravy with mushrooms.
Chicken Thighs in Creamy Brown Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients
1/3 cup all purpose flour
4 large Chicken Thighs
1/2 stick butter
1 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup half and half
1 cup canned/boxed low-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup parsley,chopped
Directions
Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper, then dredge in the flour.
Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet. Sauté until brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate. Add onions and mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes. Mix in about 1 tablespoon of the flour; cook 1 minute. Add broth and then vinegar. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Add half and half. Mix well. Return chicken to skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered until chicken is cooked through and gravy thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Top with parsley.
Serve with a side of veggie and grain (couscous, pasta, rice, etc) and some crusty bread, per usual.
I know Lizzie would have loved this =)
Spaghetti with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Bacon, Pine Nuts, and Parmesan
Good evening, kids! I hope everyone had a marvelous Monday! I got home late tonight, so I needed to find something that I could throw together. I had some random things in my fridge and pantry, so I threw caution to the wind and created this masterpiece =) Pretty much anytime you can add pasta, bacon, and cheese, you should do it.
I had about half a pound of thin spaghetti, the last spoonful of a container of sun-dried tomatoes, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1/3 of a container of pine nuts, 1/2 a container of Parmesan, and 8 pieces of bacon. I also added 3 fillets of anchovies and 2 tablespoons of tomato paste.
If you don’t have a jar of anchovies in your fridge, I highly suggest you get one. If you think you don’t like anchovies, you are wrong. If you like Caesar Salad, you like anchovies. I am not suggesting you eat the anchovies whole. That would be an amateur move. I am letting you know that if you add 3 anchovies to a bit of bacon fat, olive oil, or butter, they will melt and make the base to the most delicious sauce you have ever had. So amazing. Trust me, please. Just don’t put your nose directly in the jar, ok? But if you don’t have any in your pantry, are going vegetarian on this dish, or you are allergic for some reason, you can totally leave them out. It is you meal and your life, so you can do whatever you want.
So while I was boiling the water for my pasta (add lots of salt), I made the bacon. I started cooking the pasta. I took out the bacon (cool and chop) and added the anchovies. They melted like butter and I added the garlic and 2 tablespoons of red pepper flakes (optional). I added 2 tablespoons tomato paste and stirred well. Then I added the sun-dried tomatoes (packed in olive oil, but add another drizzle if needed) and pine nuts. I cooked those for 3 minutes, then added the pasta (read time on box and follow minus 2 minutes). I added the pasta in to the mix plus a coffee cup full of starchy cooking water. I let this cook for a couple more minutes before I added the Parmesan. I mixed well then added my chopped bacon on top. 
Fun Foodie Family 