January is almost over. I am happy to report that I am one twelfth into my resolution(s), and going strong on most of them! At least, going strong on the ones that revolve around food. We won’t talk about my exercise plan resolutions…
At any rate, I have made marked progress toward my goal of knocking out the last 37 recipes in Ree Drummond’s Dinnertime during the week! First up, #101: Grilled Chicken and Strawberry Salad Wraps. This utilized some pre-cooked chicken breasts from the earlier Freezer Meals chapter, fresh spinach and strawberries, and I even got to FINALLY make my own vinaigrette from some of the Pampered Chef oils and vinegars that survived The Purge of the spice shelf at the beginning of the year.
The recipe called for a bottled vinaigrette, but I wanted to take the opportunity to build my own unique flavor as well as use something I hadn’t opened yet. I combined two parts Orange Infused Canola Oil to one part Cherry Balsamic Vinegar, then shook it up until it emulsified, giving me a sweet, fruity mixture that blended really well with the berries and greens. 
The final touch was goat cheese, which I normally buy in a “log”, but it’s a pain to crumble up. This time I found it pre-crumbled, so much easier and cleaner to work with! The end result was a satisfying lunch wrap that could also be served sans tortilla as just a big salad. This recipe really didn’t take up too much time, so I was able to whip together a dessert before work that would chill and set throughout the day. Recipe #102, Vanilla Pudding! Super exciting, right? Well, here’s the cool part. It took exactly four minutes longer to make fresh pudding from scratch out of ingredients I always have on hand, as opposed to making it from the Jell-O box. And I can pronounce everything I put in it! I have already made her same basic recipe two other times, opting for the chocolate and the butterscotch versions, but kept passing up the “boring” vanilla flavor.
While it may not be the most creative flavor, this was a huge hit with the whole family, both as single servings in individual cups, and also as a layer in fruit parfaits.
Next up; yet another chicken recipe. It’s the most commonly eaten protein in the U.S., and this cookbook reflects it! To the tune of 25 chicken dinner variations. Good thing I love yard-bird! Also, I know I gave it some smack-talk during my “Big 100” post, but I figured it was time to knock out Lemony Green Beans to go along with it.
Recipe #103 was Chicken Milanese, and I jumped on this one because it cleared out a TON of stuff in the cabinets in one meal. By the time it was plated, I had used up the rest of a can of bread crumbs, an open bag of pretzel chips, the dregs of a gallon of whole milk, some potatoes growing eyes, a bag of chicken I portioned out from a 5-lb container, several lemons, and frozen cauliflower. Now, I know you are looking at the picture and probably wondering where some of that is hiding… This is why I love cooking! You can be creative with whatever you have and most of the time, it’s still going to work out. I didn’t have enough bread crumbs to coat the Chicken Milanese (basically a flattened chicken breast, dredged in flour and egg wash, then crumb coated and pan fried, topped with greens and Parmesan shavings), so I grabbed the bag of “Everything” Pretzel Chips that the kids weren’t putting in their school lunches. Out came the old meat tenderizer, and I pounded the pretzels into a fine dust, adding both the additional coating material I needed but also flavoring in its own right. The Lemony Green Beans, #104, were beyond simple: butter, lemon juice, green beans. Do the math, you’re probably right! The only thing missing was a starch, and I love that mashed potatoes can be made from all but the most decrepit of spuds. You can also easily hide vegetables in there to lighten them up or stretch the portion. Enter the last half-bag of frozen cauliflower rice, and no one could even tell they were in there. YUM.
Last but not least, Chinese take-out, except I didn’t have to “take out”. Recipe #105 was Broccoli and Snow Peas. It’s an entree I have literally never ordered in my life. I’m more of a chicken fan when it comes to Chinese food, but this was not bad at all.
This was made this in under 30 minutes, including the time it took to marinate the flank steak. I was supposed to use jasmine rice, but since I don’t have it, I fancied it up a bit by steaming it with beef broth as well as water, and threw in some diced carrots. I tried to get out of putting snow peas in here and subbing in frozen peas, but darned if I didn’t find a pack of snow peas right there in the produce aisle. Stir-fry vegetables = yuck… But that’s my personal bias, and they were still okay. As soon as she teaches me to make crispy pork egg rolls and an amazing teriyaki chicken, I may never over Chinese take-out again!
Have Book, Will Cook 