Non-Creamy Creamy Pasta Sauce--YUM!

I'm so proud! We ate something DIFFERENT tonight!
And I made it--from scratch! :) :)

Between Mingus's food allergies and being distracted by two wiley children, it's much easier to stick to our go-to menu options rather than experiment with new ideas. Why?

(1) It takes longer

(2) It often requires special shopping--i.e. planning ahead

(3) It requires special research/adjusting to make sure it's Mingus-friendly

A week of supper is pretty predictable, around here: spaghetti, tacos, turkey burgers, stir fry & baked chicken... Plus a wild card or two here and there.

Last night we made stir fry (Jalfrezi sauce--a husband favorite) but our Zaycon chicken breasts tend to be MASSIVE and when it's just two and a half people (Lou=Half) we don't need that much... So I halfed the breast last night and had to figure out what to do with the remainder tonight. 

It would have been kind of small to just bake it and split it among us... I suppose I could have done fajitas, but I had chicken Alfredo on my mind--something we have never enjoyed together due to the creamy essence that makes Alfredo what it is! 

Creamy = Non-Mingus-Friendly

But we have talked about trying an oil-based sauce with pasta (especially since turning husband onto basil and Italian style bread-dipping oils.) I did a little Pinteresting to see what came up and I actually was still looking for an olive oil recipe when I read this one. I noticed the "white beans" in the ingredients which seemed odd, only then to see it called for "non-dairy milk"--wha??? Seeing that I actually HAD all of the listed ingredients (save a fresh lemon), I had to try.

BINGO! It was a winner! 

I actually thin I'd like to puree a large amount of the sauce and try to save it (freeze it?) so it's easy for a quick meal. (Not that making it from scratch is hard or long... just a little more mess to clean up afterwards.)

Here's my version of the recipe:

 • 1 can white beans (Great Northern)

• 1/4 c Unsweetened Almond milk (other non-dairy milks could be used)

• 3 garlic cloves (I like to error on the side of too much garlic)

• 1 T parsley

• 1/2 t onion powder

• 1/8 t nutmeg

• Juice of lemon*

• Salt & Pepper as desired

* I used lemon juice instead and just guessed...about that much.

Combined & Puree (I used my trusty Nutribullet)

I added the sauce to my sliced and cooking chicken. I also threw in some organic Greystone Garden broccoli. Mingus said he's down for a repeat!

My favorite easy, quick clean-up meal: Foil Dinners

What's the easiest meal for anyone to fix at home?

One ready for the oven with no clean up of course!

What does this usually require? Usually it means you're fixing a freezer meal and one already prepped in some sort of disposable pan or cooking device that can simply be pitched after the fact avoiding the chore of cleaning the kitchen when you really want to just veg out after finishing your dinner. 

However, this also usually requires a sacrifice in the nutrition and health of your meal.

Prepping freezer meals in advance from scratch is a great idea, but I have a favorite solution that can be done the day of--but at any time of day--and the only tools you will have to clean from prep will be your cutting board, a chopping knife and potentially a bowl and fork.

When I make foil dinners, it's usually on an occasion when I know my evening will be busy so I don't want to have to mess with prepping a meal and, even better, I don't want to deal with making a mess that requires cleaning that evening or the next morning.

Ingredients I typically use:
-Potatoes
-Carrots
-Onion
-Garlic
-Ground Meat
-Salt
-Pepper
-Butter
**I add other ingredients as we have them. Last week I also included green beans and cabbage. Other herbs or seasonings would be fine too.

Here is the process:
1. Tear a piece of foil approximately 18-24" long. (This is dependent on how much you plan to pack into your foil dinner.) Tear foil for each person you plan to feed.
2. Chop you potatoes and carrots (and other veggies) into bite size pieces. I usually quarter my onion and keep the chunks together. Lay your veggies on each foil piece, dispersed evenly. Chop or press garlic over and add to veggies also.
3. Sprinkle salt and pepper over veggies (and any other seasonings of choice.)
4. If using meat, mix ground meat with salt and pepper and any other seasoning of your choice. Make into a patty and lay on top of your veggies.
5. Add butter to top of your "pile" of veggies and meat. Half to 1 tablespoon pieces should be placed throughout the top. Judge the amount to use based on the amount of vegetables you are using on each foil dinner. 
6. Wrap the foil tightly around your meal. Afterwards, use a second piece of foil to warp a second layer around each meal. This will not only help hold the heat in for cooking, but it will also help keep the butter in with your meal as it melts.
7. Your wrapped meals can but kept in the fridge until you are ready to throw them in the oven. I cook them around 375-425 for an hour and a half to two hours. 

It's nice to prep this meal in the morning or early afternoon or have it ready on a weekend when I know I may get caught up in a project and not want to have to quite in order to start on dinner. For eating, you simply open up the foil and eat off of a bowl or plate. The foil can be disposed of and, aside from your plate and fork you have nothing to clean in the kitchen!

Yes, this meal still takes more effort that a trip for fast fast food or a frozen meal from the grocery, but it's a great way to serve up fresh produce or veggies from your own garden and keep it extra healthy.

Food for Thought... (No really...some thoughts on my food...)

I've come to taking for granted what a  regular dinner with Mingus is considered. 

It's not getting fast food--or even take-out.
Heaven knows nobody delivers to these parts, so it's not delivery.
It's not frozen, pre-prepped meals we bought from Kroger.
It's not an in-home chef or cook.
And it's obviously not gourmet cooking.

But it is home-cooked meals made up of our own hap-hazard recipes composed of non-processed ingredients and primarily food produced right here on our own land.

Sunday evening my parents joined the two of us for a joint-effort dinner. Sitting down, I was sorely disappointed when I began to proudly look upon my plate at everything that had come from our own efforts, then realized the onions--used only for seasoning other dishes, had not been grown by us. 

Dang. Onions next year maybe?

Our meal was:

• Fried rabbit--from our own bunnies.
• Steamed beets--dug less than a month ago, fresh from the garden (Yes, in January)
• Cooked green beans--canned over the summer
• Mashed potatoes, from potatoes dug in early fall

Tonight, Mingus and I will eat burgers--from ground bunny--and "french fries"; ie: our own potatoes that I sliced, seasoned and baked. (Our pickles on the burgers are cucumbers we pickled over the summer. One day we'll have our own ketchup to use also...maybe?) We're also having rice, which I cannot claim as our own.

Rice is one of the few things we buy regularly that we don't produce ourselves, along with pasta noodles. 

Don't get me wrong--we hit up the grocery often enough. Our seasonings also come from the store, but we try to keep them as organic as possible. I am anxious to grow more of our own herbs. After having incredible basil plants last year that we dried and saved, we have regularly used the leaves to make dipping sauce with spaghetti (made with garden veggies, bunny meat and homemade sauce from garden tomatoes). The difference in our basil and the basil purchased at the store is incredible. 

What it is I've really realized, though, is how natural it is becoming for us to not only cook with our own food, but to actually cook meals and not depend on something from the freezer or something someone else prepped for us with their own special seasonings, preservatives and MSG. We joke that every meal begins with oil, onions and garlic--and it's nearly true. Our garlic press is one of the most used tools in the kitchen. 

We're both glad to be becoming comfortable cooking this way right now (pre-kiddos) so that it's less of an effort when they do come along--it will be second nature to us.

Second, I've realized how much money this must be saving us. Last night's meal, with the exception of onions, garlic cloves and seasonings, and butter and rice milk (for the mashed potatoes) all of the main foods were not purchased in a store. Obviously raising rabbits has costs, as do starting a garden--and time is of value. But to not be spending money on things that are damaging my long-term (and possibly immediate) health is worth the time, no 
doubt. 

You know you're getting old when....

...an EXCELLENT weekend goes something like this:

Saturday:
- Sleep in and wake up next to your hubster and then enjoy morning coffee and a slice of toast (from homemade bread)
- Tidy up the kitchen from the week's built-up mess with the hubby's help
- Box up and put away all of the Christmas decorations...again with the help of the hubs along with other house clean up/organization
- Hang pictures you've had stacked in a corner
- Rotate, fold and put away 3 loads of laundry
- Try a new recipe for dinner that utilizes garden veggies
- Attend a high school basketball game with your husband
- Wind down with a glass of wine on the couch rewatching an episode of Battlestar Galactica before heading to bed

Chicken, black beans & rice recipe from Better Homes & Garden.
Could have afforded to use more cayenne pepper...next time!

Sunday
- Attend church with the hubster and see family and friends
- Make a quick stop at the grocery (with the man)
- Heat up leftovers for lunch while the hubs preps soup to stew all day for dinner
- Make a batch (3 loaves) of homemade bread
- Visit with family who is visiting the Valley
- Make a batch of sugar cookies from scratch
- Vacuum, dust and other house chores
- Enjoy dinner with the hubs and head to bed early

Final step of the bread-baking process!