Because Polenta Sucks...

Because polenta, Sunday's experiment, was disgusting and nearly tasteless, I will not give it a full post. Instead, I will just go over some odds and ends.

After being assaulted by the Chicken Police on Facebook, I went to my slow cooker and devised a good, salmonella scare-free poached chicken that I shredded. I just threw some stock, carrots, garlic, onions, seasonings, and chicken breasts in the slow cooker for 8 hours on low. The resulting chicken shredded easily and was moist and delicious. Annie B. also suggested roasting whole, pre-cut chicken parts. I am looking forward to trying that, too. I promise not to buy canned chicken anymore, J.N., and I will be looking for Bell and Evans at Marsh.

Everything is freezing nicely. R.T. has been leaving it in the fridge at work to let it thaw a little until lunch. I've been trying to remember to pull mine out the night before.

I have been halfway paying attention to how much I am saving nutritionally over buying frozen Lean Cuisine-y lunches, but I should be seeing how much I am saving money-wise. I'll let you know.

Jambalaya

I wanted to keep replenishing RT's food supply in the freezer so I made more pancakes (this time with applesauce instead of banana) and Jambalaya this morning. See page 469. It is beautiful (if I do say so) and it tasted pretty darn good. I kicked the crap out of Betty in fat content, too. I'll let you know how it freezes.

1 tube (1/2 package) of turkey smoked sausage, cut up
1 1/2 c uncooked instant brown rice
1 1/2 c chicken broth (natural, organic- not ready for homemade yet)
1/2 t dried thyme
1 t chili powder (Betty is so conservative! I quadrupled what she suggested)
Some red pepper flake or cayenne
1 chopped green pepper
1 chopped onion
1 can of diced organic tomatoes, undrained
1 can of cooked chicken (don't judge, it really is pretty OK)

Brown the smoked sausage in a big 10" skillet. No need to drain! Stir in all remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling, reduce heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

An idea- add frozen cooked shrimp in the last 4-5 minutes or raw shrimp at the beginning of simmering. Yummy! I will also probably saute the onions and pepper with some garlic and celery with the turkey before I start simmering. It was a little flat-tasting.

Ms. Crocker got 4 servings for 460 cal, 22(!) grams of fat with 8 of them saturated. I got the same for about 300 calories, 6 grams of fat- 1.5 saturated. God bless Oscar Meyer turkey smoked sausage.

Chili- Red, not Green or White

Yesterday, I made my first real red chili for RT's dinner with leftovers for lunch. I ate bologna. Don't judge. That's my 25% and I'll never turn my back on that particular processed meat-like substance. At least I no longer eat braunschweiger. For the record, I also ate a lovely salad with homemade dressing.

I have been making white or green chicken chili for our annual Chili Bowl extravaganza for the last six years and have been lucky enough to win with it for the last two. Red chili is, to say the least, not my thing. I don't like beans unless they are van Camps souped up with Ketchup and brown sugar like my Douglas taught me. However, my baby likes it and I aim to please. Here's what I did with The Betty. See page 466.

1/2 lb. ground turkey
1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (with excruciating tears)
3 cloves garlic
5 dashes of hot sauce (we like el Yucateco from the Supermercado)
1 carrot, shredded
1 can organic Kroger diced tomatoes
1 can (14-15 oz) organic tomato sauce
Some pickled jalepenos (where's the tilda?!)
1 T chili powder
2 T cumin (SHIT! Even this was organic!)
Some salt, not much. RT's a bit of a heart case
Lotsa black pepper
Lotsa red pepper flake
1 can organic Kidney beans (barf) rinsed and drained

Cook oil, turkey, garlic, and onion in a big pot until it is not pink anymore. No need to drain because turkey is lean lean lean. Stir in remaining ingredients except beans. Heat to boiling, reduce heat to simmer, stirring occasionally (I only got to it twice) for one hour. Stir in beans. Heat to boiling again and reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes.

We added more hot sauce and fat-free sour cream for serving.

I thought it tasted terrible, but RT liked it... went back for seconds. I'll let you know how the freezing process goes. Thanks, Bets.

PS: Spell check suggested Schwarzenegger for braunschweiger. I don't eat him, either.

Banana Pecan Pancakes

I have NEVAH made from-scratch pancakes before. I was understandably excited when these were a huge hit with RT, the test-taster and confirmed fruit-hater. The Betty puts it on page 58/59. I made it my own.

Yield 12 adorable little pancakes.

1 large egg (what's a small egg? Like a Robin's egg? Not cooking with that.)
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 c skim milk- I added a smidge more milk
1 T packed organic brown sugar
2 T canola oil
3 t baking powder (a BRAND NEW ingredient for me!)
1 pinch sea salt
1 smooshed RIPE banana
1/4 c or so of chopped pecans- pronounced PEE-cans, please.

Beat egg with a hand mixer for a while (The Betty says "until fluffy." What does that mean?) Beat in remaining ingredients.

Heat a non-stick skillet (preferably an EarthPan) over medium heat. Grease if desired. I didn't. Use real butter if you do.

Pour about 1/4 c of batter into the skillet. I got 2 pancakes per round in the skillet. Keep cooking until it is bubbly on top and then flip.

Place on a cooling rack (or whatever). Eventually, I put them in the freezer on the cooling rack in a single layer. Once they were frozen, I packed them in a gallon Ziploc with a label. I heart labels. I even "vacuum" sealed them with a straw (thanks, Annie B.) RT ate three this morning for breakfast after heating them in the microwave and topping with sugar-free syrup. Good serving size of REAL FOOD.

Welcome

Full disclosure: I never read the Julie and Julia blog nor have I seen the movie (shocker) but I am aware of the concept. Immerse yourself in a cookbook ( I choose Betty Crocker circa 2000) and see what chaos ensues. With me in the kitchen, there is bound to be chaos. I promise nothing. I may post seven times per week... I may post once a week. I do promise to let you know what works in my goal of eating and serving my husband 75%+ real food. Comment, advise, bitch. This should be interesting.