Thursday, December 16, 2010

THRIFTY THURSDAY

Morning Everyone.
Well I am heading down to Victoria this afternoon to prepare birthday dinner for Kevin and Lindsay. It is hard to get everyone together at this time of year and with the boys Granny finds it easier if I just drive down and cook a dinner at their place then if they all head up here. Going to cook their requests of Philly Cheese Steak for Kevin and a Butternut Squash Soup for Lindsay.

Chicken Ceasar Salad
Croutons
Half a baguette, cut into 1" cubes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Olive oil for drizzling
Salt and pepper
Dressing
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup mayonnaise
5 anchovies, packed in oil (in a can by the tuna)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3 large splashes of Worcestershire sauce


Chicken
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salad
1 head of romaine lettuce
1 cup chunk of Parmesan cheese
Directions
Croutons
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Place baguette chunks in a large bowl and add oregano, oil and season with salt and pepper.
Toss well, making sure the bread is well coated with oil and spread out on a baking sheet.
Toast in oven until they are crisp and golden, about 20 minutes. If you feel lazy you can always buy croutons in a box....
Dressing
Place dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk well or alternately, puree with an immersion blender until smooth.

Chicken
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add oil.
When it is hot, season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and then sear them for 8 minutes per side, or until they are cooked through. Let cool slightly.
Salad
Tear romaine into large pieces and put into a large salad bowl.
Add croutons, slice chicken breasts, and then add Romaine.
Pour in dressing and toss well.
Garnish with the cheese by slicing it into ribbons with a vegetable peeler.

Appetizer

Warm Spinach
Artichoke Cups

24 won ton wrappers
1 can (398 mL/14 fl oz) artichoke hearts, drained, finely chopped
1 cup Kraft 4 Cheese Italiano Light Shredded Cheese
1 pkg. (300 g) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1/3 cup Miracle Whip Calorie-Wise Dressing
1/4 cup Kraft 100% Parmesan Light Grated Cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped red peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced

Make It
HEAT oven to 350°F.
PLACE 1 won ton wrapper in each of 24 mini muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray, with edges of wrapper extending over top of cup. Bake 5 min. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients.
SPOON artichoke mixture into won ton cups.
BAKE 12 to 14 min. or until filling is heated.


For best results, spinach needs to be squeezed until very dry. The squeezed spinach should measure about 1 cup. Put it in either a tea towel and squeeze real tight or I use my Potato Ricer..Everyone needs one of those .Look for won ton wrappers in the produce section of the supermarket.
Here is a aThrifty idea for today...
I know you are all going to be cooking over the Christmas Holidays and if you use your stove top to do a lot of frying, or you just haven’t cleaned the hood vent in a while, you know that it can get pretty dirty and greasy. A thrifty way to quickly and easily clean the vent is to make a paste with cornstarch and water.
Mix approximately 3 parts cornstarch to one part water and apply the paste with a clean cloth. Once you’ve wiped the entire surface down, go back over it with another clean cloth to remove any of the cornstarch residue.
This is a great homemade cleaner that is safe to use and removes grease without costing a ton of money for expensive cleaners.
Enjoy
Cheers
Granny

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