Chicken Marsala

This is how I make this yummy meal.
1-2 lbs. chicken breasts, flattened
1/2 C. flour
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 tbsp. butter
2 Cups mushroom slices (or more)
3 Cups chicken broth (I use homemade from my freezer)
1 Cup marsala wine (have your dad buy this for you) or a     dark red wine
3 tbsp. cornstarch
Now remember people we are working with raw chicken. Take the necessary precautions!
Place flour, salt and pepper on a plate. Mix together. Dredge chicken in the flour.
Get 2 tbsp. (or so) of your butter going in a large skillet. Cook chicken 5-6 minutes per side at a medium heat until tender and browned. Remove from plate. Please place on a CLEAN plate. (not the one you dredged the raw chicken on…ewww!)
Melt remaining butter (or more!) in your pan. Add mushrooms; cook 3 minutes.
Add wine; cook 2 minutes. (this is not the time for one for the pot one for the cook. But, if you must you must.)
Mix together your chicken broth and cornstarch until well blended.
Add to skillet; cook until slightly thickened. (3 minutes) Add  chicken back to skillet, let simmer a bit until nice and hot.
Serve over pasta, of course!
A crowd pleaser every time. Something fancy, easy, thrifty (especially if you get your dad to buy the wine) =
Happy Healthy Home

Cantonese Dinner

Cantonese Dinner

(I really have no idea why it's called that! I guess it does have a bit of an Asian taste.)

This recipe was given to me when I first got married, almost 17 years ago. I have changed it so much that I'm not really sure what the original was. It also is one of those recipes that doesn't need to be followed exactly, you can certainly change it up a bit.

1-2 lbs. pork steak (or any pork, boneless pork ribs were excellent)
Place in slow cooker coated with non-stick spray.

In a medium sized bowl mix together:
1 (24 oz) jar salsa (I buy mine at a great price from Aldi)
1 (8oz) tomato sauce (again, Aldi) (optional I don't always use this)
1/4 C. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. salt

Pour this mixture over your pork steak.
Cook on High for 4 hours.

After 3 hours or closer to 4 I take the meat out and cut it off the bones and into bite-size pieces, then add it back into the sauce and finish cooking in the slow cooker.

I always serve this over rice.

My family loves this! Nothing liking making me smile when I hear "oh what's for supper? oh that stuff? oh YUM!!"

This is just a quick estimate but this meal feeds a family of 5 with a bit left over for about $5. 

 

Toffee Bars

 Just keeping it real folks!

I never promised that this blog was about perfection. 

So? so, we ate the bars before I could take the "perfect" picture.

~~ TOFFEE BARS~~

here's the recipe

1/2 Cup butter

1 Cup oats

1/2 Cup packed brown sugar

1/2 Cup flour

1/2 Cup ground almonds (optional but you really don't want to leave these out!)

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract (homemade if you have it!! blog post for another day!)

1-2 Cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan, melt 6 tablespoons of the butter. Stir in oats, brown sugar, flour and baking soda. Press firmly into 13x9 greased(or non stick spray) pan. 

Bake 10-15 minutes until lightly browned.

In medium saucepan combine remaining 2 tbsp. butter with the sweetened condensed milk. STIR ~~~ I tell you STIR and don't walk away for a second or this will scorch!! Over light to medium heat stir until this thickens a bit. (10 minutes or so?)

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and ground almonds.

Pour over crust you have removed from the oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes until condensed milk is lightly browned. 

Immediately scatter chocolate chips on top, let them melt a bit and then smooth out with the back of a spoon for your chocolate top!

COOL....EAT!

Tip~ you may want to cut these before they cool too much cause then you might need a bit of a sledge hammer to plow through these but they aren't too bad...I've had worse!

Short and Sweet ~ Sweet Potatoes

We all love sweet potatoes around here. 

They are yummy, they are healthy,

they are fairly cheap, in some countries they are currency. ($$)

Sometimes, they are on sale.

Easter made the price drop per pound.

I bought  sweet potatoes for .69 a pound. 

Best price I've seen around here for a long time.
Those clunkers are heavy.

Wash.

Poke with fork.

Bake 350 degrees on an aluminum foil lined cookie sheet. 

Makes Clean up SO easy.

1-2 hours, until they are soft to pierce with fork.

Cool.

Peel. Slice. Freeze. 

Voila' 

Easy, peasy veggies in the freezer.

All I have to do is heat, mash, add some butter and we are good to go.

When the price is good again, I'll stock up even more.

Mom's of little ones~ sweet potatoes are one of the easiest baby foods to make. Better for baby and better for your budget!

Love stuff like this!