Weekend Cooking

Breaded Chicken
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons garlic cloves, crushed
1/4-1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup dry italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or tenderloins, pounded

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

2. Heat the garlic and olive oil in small saucepan, set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Dip the chicken breasts in the olive oil and garlic mixture, then dredge into the bread crumb mixture. Place in a shallow baking dish.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear.
Cost: $6.32 Ways to make it cheaper include using chicken that is on sale, vegetable oil, and I used fresh Parmesan, so pre-packaged would cost less.

Fettucine Alfredo
Ingredients:
10 ounces fettuccini pasta
1/2 cup butter
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 large onion, diced
2 Tablepoons flour
1 cup heavy cream
1 egg yolk
1 1/2-2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons dried parsley

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

2. In a large pot melt the butter and add the garlic and onion. Cook on low for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until softened. Whisk in flour a tablespoon at a time to make a roux.

3. Pour 1/4 cup of the heavy cream into a small bowl. Add egg yolk and beat together; set aside. Pour the remaining 3/4 cup of heavy cream into the pan. Increase the heat to medium-high. As the cream starts to boil, mix rapidly using a whisk. Slowly add the cream/egg mix. Continue whisking until well blended.

4. Add 1 cup Parmesan cheese and continue to mix the cream. Pour in the remaining Parmesan and the parsley, mix until smooth. Immediately remove from stove. Serve over cooked pasta.
Cost: $3.72 with plenty of leftovers. Ways to make cheaper include buying pasta on sale, using milk instead of whipping cream, omiting the egg, margarine instead of butter and not using Fresh Parmesan.

Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients:
2-3 pounds small red new potatoes, cut into quarters
1/4-1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Cost: $1.98

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Toss potatoes with oil, salt and pepper in a plastic zip enclosure bag. Arrange, cut side down, in a large pan.

2. Roast until tender and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Check after 15 minutes and turn with a wooden spoon to separate and prevent sticking.

Sweet and savory carrots
Ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) package baby carrots
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 package ranch dressing mix

Directions:
1. Boil or steam carrots. Drain well.

2. Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over low heat.

3. Add brown sugar and stir until dissolved.

4. Add carrots and Ranch mix, stir until carrots are coated.

5. Increase heat to medium, and stir until carrots are glazed.
Cost: $2.65

Total cost: $14.67. I used an additional package of chicken tenders at $3.99, so $18.66 cost and there’s enough leftovers for everyone for a meal today. So, about $1.87 per person per meal.

Sara: Gabe gave me a new garlic press, meat tenderizer and a mug filled with teas and chocolates. Awww But I won’t share how much he paid for gourmet jelly beans for Ally. Man. Let’s just say the jelly beans cost more than this meal!

I used chicken tenders because ahem Gabe bought them instead of chicken breasts.
Gabe:Well let’s just say that you asked for boneless chicken. Next time you should specify boneless chicken breasts!
Sara: uhh yeah. hmm

This combination of foods isn’t the greatest, but I wasn’t sure if the kids would like the pasta, so I made the potatoes too. Holy carb overload!

The kids liked everything, so I can add these items into the permanent menu plan and rotate them with other recipes we try and pre-existing recipes we regularly make. I asked them to give thumbs up or thumbs down to each item.

Ally especially loved the fettucine alfredo and Miranda was still picking at chicken even after dinner was done. Miranda liked it all, which is a definite bonus. All three liked the potatoes and the carrots, but Zachary wasn’t crazy about the fettucine alfredo. (although he still gave it a thumbs up)
Gabe: After his mom bribed him with a glass of pop…
Sara: Yes. He had pop. Let’s not have everyone thinking he drinks it often or I actually did bribe him. He drinks milk 98% of the time with dinner.

I liked the carrots. The alfredo was good and I can see adding chicken and broccoli to it in the future. I thinned it a bit with milk because it thickened while set aside from poor timing. lol The potatoes were pretty standard fare. The chicken was crisp on the outside and moist and tender on the inside, but obviously with using chicken tenders, they tasted like…tada…chicken tenders! lol Regardless what cut of chicken used, I think it could have had a little bit of lemon juice. The flavor was a bit bland. Not terribly so, but being tenders and without a sauce to dip it into, it was lacking a little bit of flavor.
Gabe:The food was good. I ended up doing the dishes. It’s funny that Sara doesn’t mention how many pots and pans were used in this process. I’m a nice guy. Tomorrow there’ll be many less dishes to wash when I am done.
Sara: Did I forget to say thank you? muwhahaha

This entry was posted Saturday, February 2nd, 2008 at 9:55 pm and is filed under Pasta, Potatoes, Poultry Dishes, Sara, Vegetable Dishes. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.