Korean Glazed Chicken Drumsticks and Veggies

Much like Mexican, we love Asian food too.  I found this recipe browsing Pinterest and it looked delicious so I had to try it.  I normally would not buy drumsticks at the store, but they fit in our budget and gave me an excuse to try a new recipe.  If you are like me you pin lots of stuff to your Pinterest boards but will be lucky to actually make or do less than half of them.  I'm trying to change that by actually trying new things.  So here goes nothing...

Ingredients
1Tbsp Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
1/2 Cup Rice Vinegar
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
6 Garlic Cloves Minced
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Sesame Seeds
1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
10 Chicken Drumsticks
Sliced Green Onion for garnish

Instructions
1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the sesame oil and cornstarch.

3. Stir in the soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes. 
4. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce is thick.

5. Spray a 4 sided baking sheet or 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Lay the drumsticks out on the pan and brush with the bbq sauce.

6. Bake in the 375 degree oven for about 60 minutes.

7. Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds

I like to read an entire recipe though first before I actually start cooking it.  Today I decided to get all my ingredients measured out and separated to make life easier when cooking.  So you can see below I have measured out, the rice vinegar, the sesame oil, soy sauce, corn starch, chopped the garlic and put all the dry ingredients together.  Seriously makes cooking so much easier when you are prepared.

Add the Sesame Oil and Corn Starch to the sauce pan.  Mix together with a Whisk.

Next add in your vinegar, soy, garlic and dry ingredients.  Stir with the whisk.

Let it simmer and get a little bubbly.  Stir occasionally.  The sauce should get thicker.  Once it thickens up, remove from heat but leave it in the sauce pan.

Spray your 9x13 pan with cooking spray

Line your baking dish with your chicken drumsticks

Use a grilling brush to put the sauce you made on the drum sticks.  Coat it nicely.

Once you have covered your drumsticks using the grilling brush, pour any left over sauce on the drumsticks.

Ready for Cooking.  Put in the oven (that is preheated to 375 degrees) and cook for 60 minutes, longer if you want the chicken to be crispy.  Just keep checking it every few minutes after the 60 minutes is up.  You don't want it to burn.

Once its done cooking, put on a serving tray and garnish with chopped green onions.

Dinner is done

The boys really loved eating these drumsticks.  They thought it was fun.

Even Evan got in on the action.  They enjoyed dinner tonight.

So usually this is the part where I would tell you how wonderful the meal was, but today's blog is going to go a little different.

Myself and the boys liked dinner very much tonight.  My husband hated it.  He loved the Korean glaze but hates dark meat.  We've been together 19 years and this is news to me, lol.  I thought he liked chicken wings so he would love this meal, but it turns out he hates chicken wings.  Go figure.

Here is what I would do differently to please all the men in my household.  I would make the glaze sauce again because we all agreed it was fantastic but I would use it as a marinade for Chicken Breast or just cook it on the chicken breast in the oven or on the grill.  That sounds wonderful just thinking about it. 

So the glaze gets 5 stars and would be excellent on boneless chicken breast.

This is why I LOVE trying new things.  You never know how things will turn out.  

Dinner is an adventure!

Sneaky Meatloaf and Cheesy Bacon Potatoes

It has been so cold here and we have been craving comfort food.

Meatloaf is a family favorite in our house and the best thing about meatloaf is you can make it so many different ways.  

The one I make below is a just one I've thrown together over the years that my family enjoys.  Its a classic meatloaf recipe.  Nothing too fancy but it has a great taste and will fill you up.

The Potato Casserole is just something I was experimenting with one day when I needed to use up a bunch of potatoes that would have otherwise gone bad.  And it turned out to be another family favorite.

Serves: 4 / Preheat the oven to 375 Degrees 

The Ingredients for the Meatloaf:

1 Egg beaten

2 Tbsp A1 Sauce

2 Tbsp of Worcestershire 

1 Onion (diced)

1 Green Pepper (diced)

1 Carrot (peel and grated)

1/2 Package of Chicken Stuffing Mix

1 lbs of Ground Beef

Ketchup

The Ingredients for the Bacon Potato Casserole:

5 Potatoes,

2 capfuls of Canola Oil

Garlic Salt

Black Pepper

Oregano

1/2 cup Shredded cheese

Beat the egg in a mixing bowl, add in the A1 and the Worcestershire.

Chop the onion and green pepper.  I love this little chopper from Farberware and use it a few times a week (good investment.)  After veggies are diced up add them to the mixing bowl.

Peel the carrot and then use a zester and zest it right into the mixing bowl. (Sneaking in Veggies.)

Stir up everything in the bowl, looks gross but it will season the meatloaf deliciously.

Add in 1/2 of the bag of prepared chicken stuffing mix.

Spray the loaf pan with cooking spray

Add in the ground beef to the mixing bowl and mix it really good with your hands.

Put the beef into the prepared loaf pan and shape into a loaf.

Add ketchup to the top of loaf and use the bottom of a spoon to spread it around to cover the whole meatloaf.

Next is for the Bacon Potato Casserole

Peel the 5 Potatoes

Cut up the potatoes and put in a bowl.

Your seasonings

Add two capfuls of the Canola Oil, 2 Tsp of Black Pepper, 1 Tsp of Oregano, 2 tsp of Garlic Salt, and 2 Tbsp of Bacon Bits.  Mix all together with your hands.  Make sure the potatoes are coated really well.

Prepare your baking dish with cooking spray.

Pour potatoes from bowl into the baking dish.

Put your meatloaf and your bacon potato casserole in the oven for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes stir the potatoes around.  Then back in the oven for another 30 minutes.  Once its done, remove meatloaf from the oven and set aside. 

Sprinkle shredded cheese on the potatoes and bake until melted (usually 2-3 minutes.)  Remove casserole from oven and serve it and the meatloaf.

Enjoy your yummy dinner.

This is a great family meal.  Meatloaf is just so yummy and there are so many ways you can make it.

Here are some other great recipes for meatloaf:

Parmesan Meatloaf (this is great because if there are any leftovers you can use it the next day in spaghetti.  Just rebrown it in a pan and kind of chop it up and add to the sauce.)

BBQ Cheddar Meatloaf (This is great on Sundays after the Football game.)

Meatloaf Cupcakes with Mashed Potato Frosting (This one is great for picky eaters.  My kids loved this and thought since it was presented like a cupcake it must be good and they ate it all.)

Have fun cooking!

Cilantro Lime Chicken Fajitas

I love Cilantro and Lime and nothing is better than Cilantro Lime Chicken for fajitas.

This is a really easy chicken recipe that will cook up in about 20 minutes.

Serves 4 people.  If you are not fond of lime flavor, scale the juice back to just the juice of half a lime when cooking with the chicken.

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breast (cut in pieces)

Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Chili Powder or Cayenne Pepper

1 Tbsp Cumin

Cilantro (chopped)

2 Limes

Garlic Clove (Chopped)

Avocado

and a guacamole seasoning packet (you can find this in the Mexican food aisle.)

Cut the chicken into pieces using chicken shears.  Add them to a non stick pan with a TBSP of Olive Oil.  Cook Chicken on both sides.

While the Chicken is cooking mix together your spices and Juice One of the Limes.  

Also mash the avocado in a bowl and add the guacamole seasoning.  Cut another lime in half and add half of squeezed lime juice.  Mix it together and then put in the fridge until ready to serve.

Flipping the Chicken

Add the chopped garlic clove to the chicken.  Add the seasoning mix sprinkling over all chicken pieces in the pan.

When the chicken is completely cooked add handful of chopped cilantro and the lime juice.  Cook for additional 3 minutes.

Serve Chicken in a  bowl and add to your tortilla to make yourself a fajita.

Enjoy!  Goes well with a side of Mexican Rice. Corn, Tortilla Chips, Beans.

Two Weeks of Groceries for under $100

Some of you asked how I meal plan and grocery shop to stay on budget.  

Here is my process.  My goal is $120.00 every two weeks.

I shop at Kroger because it is pretty much just a grocery store.  Some of their items are more expensive than other stores, but the reason I shop there is because I cannot walk into a Super Walmart, Target, or Meijer and just get essentials for my family.  

I start to drift to the home section, electronics, toys and before you know it I'm buying cups, wall art, candles, games, books and what ever else I love but don't need.  

I prefer to avoid temptation all together and it has been working so far.  All of my grocery posts will be based on Kroger unless I state otherwise.

The first thing I do is meal plan.  I pick my meals based on prep and cook time, ingredients, and if its a new recipe it has to look yummy!

I will check my pantry and freezer to see what I can use in some of the recipes, do we have chicken, do we have pork chops, I think I have lasagna noodles, do I have all the spices on hand, etc.  Use what you have on hand and buy what you need to complete your recipes.  

For the next two weeks I will be planning 12 Dinners for my family (we will go out 2 times or eat at family events usually.)  The ones I have chosen to cook are subject to change based on how I feel the day I'm supposed to cook it.  I try to stick to my list but sometimes I'll change it up if I have supplies to do so.  I also try and make healthier meals for my family but sometimes you just need a meatloaf!  

1.  Organic Chicken Hot Dogs, Sweet Potato Tots (Alexia Brand), and Salad

2. Cilantro Shrimp Tacos, Rice and Avocado

3. Meatloaf, Potato and Green Beans

4. Cilantro Lime Chicken Breast Salads

5. Skinny Philly Cheese & Turkey Sloppy Joes, Cauliflower, Lemon Coleslaw (skinny)

6. Korean Glazed Chicken Drumettes with Stir Fry Veggies

7. Cocoa & Chili Rubbed Pork Chops with French Green Beans with Almonds (maybe a rice)

8. Whole Wheat Spaghetti, Prego Mushroom Sauce, and Turkey Meatballs

9. Skinny Spinach Lasagna Roll Upswith Salad

10. Homemade Chili with a Pretzel Roll

11. Chicken Stir Fry

12. Bruschetta Chicken with side of noodles in tomato sauce

Next, if you don't already have a Kroger card I urge you to get one.  It will save you a lot of money at the store.  If you already have a Kroger Card go to www.Kroger.com and log in to your card account.

Then go to digital coupons and load your card with special savings.  These work as coupons when you are checking out and will save you more money.

Next print out your lists.  Print out your Kroger coupon list that you just loaded your card with.  I need a visual and it makes it easier when I'm completing my Budget List.  Next print out your grocery list item sheet and take stock of what you have on hand already and check off what you need to buy for your recipes and other items.  Then print out your Grocery Budget Sheet.  I print out three of the budget sheet (2 are for grocery items and one is for household/beauty items.)

You can get them here Printable Grocery List

I personally hate couponing.  I'm not going to go to every web coupon site and print out thousands of coupons, that is just not me and I don't have the time for that.  

What I will do is save the coupons that Kroger sends me in the mail and the ones I get printed out at the check out each time I shop.  

Another great thing about the Kroger Card...it tracks what you buy so a lot of times you will receive personalized coupons that are for items you buy frequently.  AWESOME! 

The coupon stash I will be using today is below!

Find money where you may be forgetting to look.  We had saved up so many bottles over the last year.  Lots of $$ here.  But even without these returns I was still under budget (I wanted to give you a realistic price and then my price I paid when I add in my returns.)

And Yes we do like beer, if you see the labels we have complete year of seasonal Sam Adams...Summer Ale, Winter Ale, Oktoberfest, etc.  Guess I should return bottles more often. :o)

My shopping cart full of my loot.  As you can see I have a good mix of food.  I do buy all Organic and Natural Meats, some veggies,  organic milk and natural cereal.  But I do hit up a few processed items too: the Mexican Rice, White Bread,  and even Bologna (my boys love it for lunches.)  I wanted to show you that you can buy good meats and some organic products even if you are on a budget.

All my goodies laid out on my counter at home for you to see.  Although its hard to see there is a good assortment of fresh veg and fruits (bag of apples, limes, lemons, blueberries, cilantro, green pepper, avocado, onions, cole slaw, lettuce.)

Close Ups of the food.

Another view.

And the BIG REVEAL....Total Bill before bottle returns was $108.07, 

after bottle returns it was $96.07.  So how close was I to my estimated amount??

See the next photo.

I was pretty darn close I estimated: $105.13, my actual bill (before bottle returns) was $108.07.  Not to shabby! That is only $2.94 above what I estimated I would spend.

This was a very successful grocery trip for me and I practically did a happy dance at the check out line when the cashier told me my total...I literally had a smile on my face for my whole drive home (so its only 4 minutes but it was a happy 4 minute drive.)

Itemized List:

Meat: 6 Natural Chicken Breast, 5 Natural Chicken Drumettes, 8 Chicken Hot Dogs, 1 lb of Angus ground Beef, Bologna.

Canned: Peaches, Pears, Chili Beans, Dices Chili Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce, Kidney Beans, 2 Rotel, Beef Broth.

Cereal: Moms Best Honey Grahams, Moms Best Cocoa Crispies (seriously the BEST cereal ever and the ingredients are readable and small compared to other brands and best part they were on sale for 2 for $4)

Dairy: 3 1/2 Gallons of Organic Milk, Sargento Shredded Mozz. and Sargento Thin Provolone, Part Skim Ricotta Cheese, Grated Parm Cheese (I always buy Sargento sale or not, its the best cheese, you could buy Kroger or Valu brand and spend less, personal preference.)

Veg and Fruit: Blueberries, Lime (3), Lemon (2), Avocado, Lettuce, Green Pepper, Cilantro, Chives, bag of Organic Apples, bag of white onions, Lettuce Bag. 

Frozen: 5 bags of various veggies

Bread/Grain: Hot Dog Buns, Hamburger Buns, Loaf of White Bread, Organic White Tortilla Chips (soooooo good and only 4 ingredients), 2 Mexican Rice, Kroger Chicken Stuffing Mix

Condiments and other: Sesame Oil, Chili Seasoning Packet, Dijon Mustard, 8 Apple and Eve Juice Boxes, Dole Fruit Squishees (kind of like the apple sauce in the squirt thing.)

Dessert: Simple Truth Brand Oreo type cookies.

Beauty: Got2Be Hair Glue, 4 Bars of Lever Soap, Frizz Ease Hair Serum (this was the most expensive group of items from the budget because I didn't buy that much as you can see but the total was $11.)

I hope that you found this blog entry helpful and encouraging.  With good planning anyone can be a smart shopper.

Some tips:

* Use items that go into multiple dishes

* If you see whole wheat pasta on sale for $1, go ahead and splurge on 10 boxes, it will save you in the future.  And use this logic for other items too like pasta sauce, canned goods, etc.  Just don't go buy 10 of all the sale items at once, then you will blow your budget  out of control.  Stock up on one item per grocery trip.  There will always be something on a great sale each time you go to the store.  Before you know it, you'll have a nice looking stocked pantry to make meal planning easy.

* Plan ahead of time.  Sounds tedious but when you are meal planning and budgeting it is a MUST.  You will spend way more money at the store if you choose not to plan.

* If you go over budget don't panic.  Its always hard to get it under control in the first few months.  You are doing something new and it will be a learning experience.

*  Now go have some grocery and meal planning fun!