Thursday 8 March 2012

Meal Planning *Update*


So I didn't do too well.  I didn't make the trip to the Chinese grocery store so all of my mother's recipes that I planned on making this week just isn't going to happen.  However, I did make the others.

Pasta with sausage & a simple salad - I cheated with Classico Tomato & Basil sauce and I 'unwrapped' sausage from its casing to make mini sausage meatball.  I think this is in a way to make me feel as though I'm really making dinner.  I threw in some green peppers, chopped onions and a bit of garlic because there  should be some vegetables in it.  It's okay, but I find that canned/jarred pasta sauce not as tasty as the ones in restaurants.  Probably because it's more processed and not fresh.  Oh well, I'll try to make my own sauce one day.

Today I went a bit ambitious and made:

  • Balsamic chicken - I actually used a different recipe since I didn't have rosemary and left out the parsley & sesame seeds since I didn't have them.  It's very simple and since I only ended up making 5 drumsticks I halved everything except the garlic (I love them).
    • Ingredients 
      • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
      • 1/4 cup honey
      • 1/4 sugar (I used white since I ran out of brown sugar)
      • 1//8 cup low sodium soy sauce
      • 3 minced garlic cloves 
      • 5 or 6 drumsticks
    • In a bag or container (I use a container since I think using a bag is wasteful) mix everything but the drumsticks together.  Once mixed, throw in the drumsticks and coat them well.  I usually just put on the lid and give the container a few shakes.  I marinate it in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours and give it a shake whenever I remember while its marinating. 
    • Preheat the oven at 450 degrees and then bake for 30 minutes.  I used to turn the chicken over half way through but I didn't do so this time and found the chicken was fine.  By not turning it also left some crispy skin (so good...and so bad)
    • This recipe turned out a lot better than I expected.  I feared it was going to have a vinegar taste to it since the smell was pretty strong but all that honey and sugar really took care of it.  I'd make it again. 
  • Lemony white bean & arugula salad - followed this Giada De Laurentiis' recipe but left out the capers.  The cannellini beans tend to all gather at the bottom of the bowl so you just have to remember to scoop them out when you serve it.  I didn't think I was going to like the dressing because I wasn't too fond of it when I tasted it by itself but with the beans & arugula it was great. I don't think I would have liked the capers in this salad.  It would have too much of a sharp salty taste.
  • Potato and bacon soup - I have a bag of potatoes and a package of turkey bacon in the freezer that have both been sitting there waiting to be eaten.  I found this on allrecipes.com and since it had great ratings I tried it out.  Modifications (it seems like I can't follow a recipe very well): 
    • I used turkey bacon which isn't as fatty as regular bacon so there was hardly any bacon fat to saute the onions & garlic in.  I ended up adding olive oil to it.  
    • I didn't have half & half so I used the skim milk that I did have in the fridge and added a couple tablespoons of butter so compensate.
    • Instead of 3 tablespoons of flour I used four since I wanted it a bit thick.  I still didn't get the consistency I wanted but left it at 4 tablespoons.  
    • The soup was good but didn't have the bacon taste I was expecting since I used the turkey bacon.  It was still pretty good and probably healthier than the original version. 

No pictures of the chicken & salad because I was way too hungry once everything was ready to take pictures (left the soup for last since it needed to cool down).  Oh well!  The recipe links have pictures except for the salad if you're that interested.  I'll try to be better next time!