Perfectly Cooked Chicken in 10 minutes

Oh I love quick and easy tricks.  

This is one of those my friends.  Sometimes, let's face it, it's 5 o'clock and nothing is ready for dinner.  The kids are whining they are hungry and you have no idea what to make.

This is me at least several times a week.  I love to cook but sometimes I completely space getting ready for dinner (truthfully it's more like I don't want to so I ignore it!!).  

In our house we love our meats but if I have to wait for chicken to cook then that eliminates at least half of my recipes.  But I was browsing one of the cooking blogs I frequent and she had the easiest tip for cooking chicken.

And I thought DUH!  Totally makes sense.  10 minutes flat and you have perfect chicken.

Awesome!!!

Now for the disclaimer: for all of you out there that think the microwave is going to kill you this is not a post for you.  You better stop reading right now and go somewhere else because this is all about the wonderful powers of the microwave.

Perfectly Cooked Chicken in 10 minutes

(click here for printable version)

2-4 boneless, skinless chicken (you don't want it be to be frozen)

1.  Fill a 9 x 13 pan (if you are only using 1-2 chicken breasts then you can go smaller but if you are cooking 4 stick with a 9 x 13) with about 1/2 inch of water.  Place chicken into water and cover with plastic wrap.  Cook in the microwave until chicken is done, about 10 minutes.  If you breasts are large you might need a couple extra minutes.

2.  Remove carefully from microwave--it will be very hot.  Let sit 2 minutes and then remove plastic wrap.  Place on cutting board and shred or chop to your liking.   Enjoy!

Note: This process essentially cooks the chicken in a steam bath so chicken should be juicy and moist instead of dry and tough.

Source: Your Homebased Mom

A Frosting Trick

I don't know about you, but I use a lot of frosting which usually means I use a lot of disposable decorating bags.  I seriously don't want to clean out re-usable ones, they are such a mess by the time I am done.

Well no more ladies and gentlemen!

This is one of the best things I have found on Pinterest in a long time.  It has revolutionized the way I decorate and my life has gotten so much better (sad but true).

Sometimes I think, this (insert any number of things) has got to be a lot easier than it is.  And then I leave it at that.  Heaven forbid I actually sit down and try to think of a way to make it easier.  But today folks...who ever thought of this is on my new favorite person list.  They are amazing!!  And this concept is brilliant.

All it involves is your decorating usuals and SARAN WRAP so lets get started.

1.  Assemble all your paraphernalia.  I have used this with any number of frostings and they all work great so just make your favorite kind and you should be set.

 2.  Cut off a long piece of saran wrap and carefully put your frosting in a narrow log in the middle of it.  At this point you might ask how much to put in it--well folks, it totally depends on how big your bag is and how much frosting you made.  You just want to make sure it will fit in your bag.

 3.  Wrap the saran wrap around your frosting and twist both ends very well.

 4.  Assemble your bag (minus your tip) and gently put your saran wrapped frosting inside your bag, pulling out one twisted end until you can see the frosting at the tip.

 5.  Cut off the twisted part (only on the one end).

6.  Put your tip on and wallah!  Ready to decorate.  When you are done all you have to do is pull out the saran wrap and you have a very clean bag.  Genius!!

Hope it helps, it was a lightbulb moment for me.

Oatmeal...anyone?

Oatmeal seems to be one of those foods that people either hate with a passion or absolutely love.  In my house, the 4 year old asks for oatmeal at least once a week and the rest of the kids roll their eyes and ask, "do we really have to eat it?"  I on the other hand don't mind it at all, well at least as long as it doesn't have raisins in it and is loaded with brown sugar and peanut butter.  

Yep, super unhealthy but yummy!

In my house growing up we had oatmeal fairly often and my dad was in heaven.  He grew up in a house that had oatmeal every morning.  Yep, you read that right, every morning!

And you know what they would do with the leftovers from breakfast?  My grandma would slice it up (because it was cold and congealed) and fry it in butter and they would eat it with their lunch.  I find that quite revolting.  My dad swears it is quite tasty but I just really don't agree.

After reading through Cook's Illustrated magazine one day I decided to try their version of oatmeal.  If anyone can make oatmeal taste better it's those fantastic people over there.  It was very eye opening to read their reasons for making their oatmeal the way they do (if you want to read them all in depth go here) and it is totally worth the time.  This makes the creamiest and dare I say the most yummiest oatmeal I have ever had.  

Even minus the peanut butter and most of the brown sugar.  

Perfect Oatmeal

(click here for printable version)

3 cups water
1 cup whole milk
1 Tbsp. butter
1 cup steel cut oats (Bob's Red Mill is a great brand)
1/4 tsp. table salt

1.  Bring water and milk to simmer in a large sauce-pan over medium heat.  While water and milk are heating, heat butter in medium skillet over medium heat until just beginning to foam; add oats and toast, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until golden and fragrant with butterscotch like aroma, 1 1/2-2 minutes.

2.  Stir toasted oats into simmering liquid and reduce heat to medium low; simmer gently, until mixture thickens and resembles gravy, about 20 minutes (during these 20 minutes do not stir.  You will be tempted but don't give in, it's one of the things that makes it perfect).  Add salt and stir lightly with spoon handle.  Continue simmering, stirring occasionally with wooden spoon handle, until oats absorb almost all liquid and oatmeal is thick and creamy, with puddinglike consistency, 7 to 10 minutes.

3.  Remove from heat, let oatmeal stand uncovered for 5 minutes.  Serve immediately with your favorite toppings.  Enjoy!

Source:  Cook's Illustrated

How to Cook Corn on the Cob

I know corn on the cob season is almost over but as we were sitting at dinner the other night reflecting on how delicious the corn was that we were eating, my husband and I started talking about how people cook it so differently.

Growing up my dad was in charge of cooking the corn.  It always came out perfect and I assumed that everyone knew the best way to have this amazing little veggie.

As we were talking I realized that we had had some disgusting pieces of corn.  Mostly because the cooker didn't know how to cook it.  Corn is simple and doesn't need to be cooked very long.  This is one of the biggest mistakes people make.

This is what we do.  Barring that you don't have old corn, it will turn out amazing.

1.  First get the freshest corn you can find.  I prefer a bi-color (yellow and white) because they tend to be sweeter.  

2.  Schuck the corn and remove as much of the "hair" as possible.  Rinse each ear.

3.  In a large pot, bring water to a boil on high heat.  Your pot needs to be big enough that the corn can fit all the way in.  As soon as the water boils (and not one moment before) put corn in, making sure to cover pot with a lid.

4.  Let corn cook, covered, until water comes back to a boil.  This should take about 5-6 minutes, nothing longer.  Remove corn immediately and serve with butter and salt and pepper.  Enjoy!

Menu Planning

I get questions from friends and family fairly frequently about how I plan my menus and cook dinner every night.  I think it is very easy for me since I get to stay home with my kids but for those moms and dads that work it becomes a little trickier and harder to have the time necessary for home cooked meals.  Anyway, I thought I would share what I do and why it works for me.

Why do I Plan a Menu?  First my most unfavorite part of making dinner is figuring out what to cook.  I will procrastinate till 5:30pm if I don't know what I am making and then we go out and grab pizza or something completely unhealthy.  If I have a menu planned then I know exactly what I need to get defrosted, prepped, stuck in the crock pot, or just what time to get started.  It takes the hard part out of it for me and then I  enjoy making dinner so much more.  Second, I spend so much less on groceries.  I found out a long time ago that if I go to the store with a list then my grocery budget stays in the budget.  And especially the less you are at a store, the less you will buy.  I can never go into a grocery store to just get milk.  I come out with 5 things with the milk.  We spend about $75 a week for a family 6 (I think this is very reasonable especially because we eat a lot of what I can in the fall) eating breakfast,  lunch, and dinner.  Third, we eat a lot healthier.  If I know what I am making we eat out a lot less often (saving on the 'ol budget also) so we are eating not many processed, fatty foods.  Not to mention that I know exactly what is in the food I am making and my kids are consuming.  Fourth, I think it is so imperative that we eat together as a family every day.  Studies show that kids who sit down and eat dinner with their parents are much less likely to have eating disorders, abuse drugs or alcohol, and get into bad behavior.  These kids also have much more open communication with their parents.  The important part is not what you are making but that you sit down and show them that they are important.

Planning the Menu 

I first take one morning and brainstorm what we want to eat that week.  I usually choose some family favorites for the kids and then I consider what I feel like having, what I am craving and what new things I want to try.  A great way to come up with ideas is to look through your cookbooks or search your favorite recipe blogs.  I also try to balance out my meals so that we are having something hight in fat (like homemade fries and burgers) we have something healthier the next day (salad).  Once I have it narrowed down, I write it someplace that I can see and reference throughout the week.  My kids like this too so they can immediately see what we are having for dinner and they don't have to ask me.

Make a List

This is a very important step.  It gives you a chance to check your cupboards and see what you really have on hand and what you need to buy.  I also try to keep a paper separately for things I think of during the week that I need to get on the next shopping trip and then I can add them to my grocery list.  The first thing I do is gather all my recipes and look through each one to make sure that I have remembered all the ingredients.  If I think I have enough of something it always pays off to check your cupboards just in case.  I always make sure I have a pen in my purse so when I get to the grocery store I can cross off every ingredient when I grab it.  This helps me get everything because I have forgotten a pen before and inevitably I forget three things that I have written down just because they got "lost" in all my writing.

Your Kitchen Is Ready

When you get home and get everything put away (my favorite part.  I use to beg my mom to put all the groceries away when she got home.  I love how orderly it all looked in the cupboard, silly!) you know that you have everything in your kitchen for 7 different dinner ideas (and lunch and breakfasts even though I don't write those down on my menu).  This keeps me very organized and like I said above helps me be ready for whatever meal we are having so that the prep work gets taken care of when it needs to.  It also lets me ENJOY my cooking, which is what I believe we should all work toward since we all have to eat!