Cooking - for a new lifestyle (Our Test Kitchen)

You'll need: 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or about 12 boneless skinless thighs (we used thighs, but I would prefer the white meat next time) 3/4 cup peanut sauce 1/2 cup salsa (I used mild because I wasn't sure how spicy it would be for our little taster, but next time I'd use medium or even hot.  This recipe is great because you can tailor it to your spice preferences) 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil Here's what you do: Preheat oven to 400F. Meanwhile, mix together peanut sauce, salsa and basil; stir to combine.  Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray (or grease with olive oil like I did).  Place chicken into pan and cover with all of the sauce.   Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes.  We served it with mashed potatoes and a salad.  The extra sauce was really good on the potatoes!! **Hubby and I both liked this dish a lot.  He went back for seconds, which is definitely a sign that it is good!

2 tsp oil 6 sausages (your favourite-Judy likes plain if she has to eat them at all) Cut the sausages in 1/2 length ways and then cut into small cubes. ***HINT: use scissors the job goes faster and smoother! Drop into hot frying pan of oil and cook covered, stirring occasionally until thoroughly cooked! Heat should be about a medium. THIS COULD BE DONE WITH CHICKEN..... Add: 1 cups chopped onion Drain off excess greas from sausages ***HINT: the bulk sausages from Fresh Co come 3 packs of 6 for $10 and they have very little grease after being cooked! Stir in apples and onions, cover agian and sweat them for 2-3 minutes. Stir and add: 2 tsp garlic (jar) or 2 cloves of fresh garlic 2 tsp curry 2 tsp pepper ***HINT: curry is not the same from the dollar store vs the bulk barn vs real curry Our family loves curry, the dollar store curry has too much salt and very little flavour. Real curry is very strong and will NOT need as much! Turn off heat and pour into crock pot. ...

I have noticed my tastes changing in the last year. I appreciate home cooking more now than before the illness last year. I guess not being able to eat for months on end, makes you appreciate the taste of food more. I took: 6-8 large potatoes 4-6 carrots 1 small turnip Dice all veggies into large pieces and place in layers into a roaster, drizzle with oil and sprinkle (I was heavy handed) with italian seasoning. I served this with fried pork chops and apple sauce. Everyone loved it. Including a fussy little eater named Chloe. Now knowing it is better to cook once and enjoy twice, I puposely made too much! So tonight, I took those leftover potatoes and threw them in the crock pot. I added: 1 can of corn (or frozen) 1 box of beef broth 2 stalks of diced celery 1/2 onion chopped and 4 diced fast fry steaks diced and lightly browned in some of the beef broth. Add to the crock pot and heat for 2-3 hours...... Judy came back for more. "Bon appetit!"

Well, sometimes you plan a recipe and find out what you thought was caesar dressing was actually coleslaw dressing and you have to improvise. So tonight what started as chicken caesar noodles became something completely different. Take 2 white eat breaded chicken fingers per person and OVERBAKE them.....not just cook them, really get them crispy. Ok, now make a salad.....but not just a lettuce salad. Use small brocolli florets cucumber cherry tomatoes small cauliflower florets slivered/shaved carrots sunflower seeds croutons parmesan cheese green onions serve with catalina dressing Slice the chicken fingers and serve on top of the salad with garlic bread. "Bon Appetit!"

1/2 lb. ground chicken 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 tbsp dry breadcrumbs 1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 tsp dried basil 1/2 tsp onion powder 5-3/4 cups chicken broth 2 cups thinly sliced escarole (I use baby spinach) 1 cup uncooked orzo pasta 1/3 cup finely chopped carrots In medium bowl, combine meat, egg, breadcrumbs, cheese, basil and onion powder; shape into 3/4 inch balls. In large saucepan, heat broth to boiling; stir in escarole, orzo pasta, chopped carrot and meatballs.  Return to boil, and then reduce heat to medium.  Cook at slow boil for 10 minutes or until pasta is al dente.  Stir frequently to prevent sticking. Serves 8.

1/2 cup jalepeno jelly (I used spicy chili thai sauce) Heat jelly on medium in a sauce pan until melted. Add: 1/4 cup frozen orange juice 1/4 cup terriyaki sauce 1 tsp minced garlic 1 tsp curry powder Remove from heat and stir well. In a rectangular greased casserole dish, place: 3 cups of cubed sweet potato 2 cups coarsely chopped onion 1 can pineapple drained (I used frozen pinapple) 1 1/2 cups diced green pepper Pour in 1/2 of the sauce mixture and stir. Using 6 chicken thighs (chicken breast or equivalent amount of any form of chicken) Place on the mixture. (I used 3 boneless chicken breasts sliced into thin strips) Baste the chicken in the remaining sauce. Bake in oven at 350 for about 1 hour. I served on jasmine rice. JUDY LOVES IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Bon Appetit!"

I will have to guesstimate some of the quantities because I just made this recipe up out of my head and it turned out really well. 1/2 big bag of Rotini pasta, cooked, rinsed with cold water and drained In a 9" x 13 pan pour enough pasta sauce to just cover the bottom and prevent the pasta from sticking. In a frying pan on medium heat cook 2 medium diced onions, 2 stalks diced celery, 1 diced large carrot, 1 lb ground beef, 2 diced cloves of garlic and seasonings of choice.  I used Epicure foccacia seasoning.  When this mixture is cooked through add the remains of the pasta sauce you already have open and then another whole can. Now that your pasta is cooled, toss in a medium carton of ricotta cheese, 1 package of no-name frozen chopped spinach, 1 egg, salt and pepper. Put the pasta mixture into the baking pan.  Cover with the sauce mixture.  Top with grated mozzarella cheese (I used 1/2 of a big block) and a couple of handfuls of grated Parmesan. C...