Cafe Thursday - Hobo Dinners

My family and I call these packets, but my mom first started me on these, calling them Hobo Dinners. When we used to camp in the summers when my brothers and I were young one of the things we looked forward to the most were making these Hobo Dinners. These simple dinners are basically meat and any veggies you want, wrapped in tinfoil, and baked till the meat is cooked through and the veggies are soft.

Now that I have a family of my own, I realize how very difficult it is to feed several people who all have their own likes and dislikes. That is where the true goodness of these Hobo Dinners lies. Each one of us can create our own ideal dinner of meat and veggies. The hardest part of this recipe is the chopping of the veggies, but I recommend you include everyone and really have fun with this.

Recipe:
Take one large piece of tinfoil. Coat it with plenty of Olive Oil. Add the meat of your choice, raw (chicken, fish and groundbeef are the best we have tried). Pile on all the veggies you like (potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, peppers, and zucchini are all delicious). Add the seasonings of your choice, depends mostly on your meat choice (we like steak seasoning best and salt and pepper) Fold in tinfoil so that no heat escapes your pile (DS makes a hershey kiss sort of shape, I usually make more of a big square packet). Bake on a baking sheet at 450 for about 35 minutes, but test for doneness after 30 minutes.

Let cool a bit. CAREFULLY open your packets, the steam will be HOT. Add steak sauce or katsup and enjoy!

Cafe Thursday - Home Cooked French Fries

If you are a regular reader of my blog then you know that I am currently smack dab in the middle of a 3 week fast that has me eating only fruits, veggies, beans and oats. So how can I possibly post a decent recipe you may ask? Well, the truth is, I have actually been more creative in the kitchen in the past week and a half than I have been in a good long while.

Now, my brother thinks that this little recipe is cheating, but I think that since the ingredients are allowed, it is fair game! So here is the recipe for the only meal I have really enjoyed since being on this fast: Home Cooked French Fries.

Ingredients:

2 - 4 medium sized potatoes, quartered and then cut into strips

4-6 cups of Canola Oil

Dash of Emeril's Essence

Directions:

Put oil in a sauce pan or deep fryer and heat. Add potatoes to pan until they are golden brown (took about 15 minutes for mine). Remove potatoes from the pan and place them on a plate covered with paper towel and sprinkle with Essence.

Cafe Thursday - Cooking a Whole Chicken

I sometimes forget how easy it is to cook a chicken that is delicious for my family.

I bought a very nice, all natural, non-antibiotic whole chicken at the grocery store last week and we enjoyed that chicken for dinner last night. I had planned to roast it, as I found a couple of really nice recipes on blogs that I read regularly, one at Cheap Healthy Good and one at All Recipes.com. However, I knew that my Wednesday evening was going to be pretty hectic, so I decided to give the old crock pot a try. Am I ever glad I did.

I took my 5 lb whole chicken, threw on some salt, pepper, seasoning salt, onion salt, garlic powder and a carton of chicken stock all in the crock pot, covered it, and set it on low for about 8 hours. The smell in the kitchen when I got home from work was almost better than the chicken itself. I simply washed and cut up a few potatoes and set them to boil while I nuked a can of corn and we had a darn quick meal that was not too shabby.

I am on a mission today to find some more cheap and easy crock pot gems that will make my life easier. If you have any great links or blogs or posts, send them my way.

Cafe Thursday - Easy Chicken Alfredo

We had a cheap, easy, delicious meal last night, so I thought I would share it here.

Easy Chicken Alfredo
2 cups chicken cubes
1 Tbls Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Emeril's Essence seasoning
salt & pepper to taste
1 jar of Alfredo Sauce (I have tried them all, Bertolli is my favorite)
1 pkg of linguine, cooked (Dreamfields is the best tasting, low carb option out there)

Cook pasta to desired consistency. In the meantime, in a skillet, heat oil, then add chicken chunks and seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook chicken until it is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. To the skillet, add the jar of alfredo sauce and let simmer. When the pasta is done, drain and add to the sauce.
Add a veggie and a salad for a half-way healthy meal.

Cafe Thursday - Crescent Wreath

I can't wait to try this adorable, yet quick and easy to make crescent wreath! I just love the shortcuts from Pillsbury.

Ingredients
2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls
1 container pineapple cream cheese spread
1/3 cup chopped ham
1/4 cup yellow pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup broccoli, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon red onion, finely chopped
6 cherry tomatoes, quartered

Directions
Heat oven to 375°F. Turn 10-oz custard cup upside down on center of ungreased large cookie sheet.Remove dough from 1 can, keeping dough in 1 piece; do not unroll.(Keep remaining can of dough in refrigerator.) Roll dough in one direction to make 12-inch log.Cut log into 20 slices. Arrange 16 slices, slightly overlapping and in clockwise direction,around custard cup on cookie sheet.

Repeat with second can of dough, cutting log into 20 slices. Arrange remaining 4 slices and slicesfrom second can (total of 24 slices) slightly overlapping each other and in counterclockwisedirection, close to but not overlapping first ring. Remove custard cup.

Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until light golden brown. Gently loosen wreath from cookie sheet;carefully slide onto cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Place wreath on serving tray or platter. Spread cream cheese spread over wreath. Sprinkle withremaining ingredients. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours before serving.

Cafe Thursday

Another week has practically come and gone, and here we are with only some 39 odd days left to get all of our Christmas preparations done. I don't know about you, but I am already starting to feel the familiar panic setting in. I got even more worried when I realized that Thanksgiving is a week from today.



I am subscribed to the Chicago Edition of Daily Candy, and yesterday they sent this amazing recipe from Moto pastry chef Ben Roche. It has me relaxing and completely looking forward to breakfast with my family next week. Whether you try this recipe or an old family favorite, in the rush of the holidays, don't forget to slow down for special moments with loved ones. Take a long morning break and have breakfast with your Mom, daughter, sister, friend or make cookies and have tea with friends. Just remember to enjoy the people in your life at some point, and for a least one meal here and there . . . just enjoy your food without counting the calories.



Pumpkin Pie Pancakes with Cranberry Maple Syrup

Makes 12 Pancakes



3 slices prebaked 8-inch pumpkin pie (cut into 8 even slices)

2 eggs

¼ c. plus 2 tbsp. milk

½ c. plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1½ tsp. baking powder

¾ tsp. salt

2 tbsp. brown sugar

½ tsp. powdered cinnamon

½ tsp. powdered ginger


Syrup

¾ c. cranberry sauce

¼ c. maple syrup


1. Roughly chop pumpkin pie, crust and all, into half-inch pieces.
2. Put chopped pie and eggs into blender and blend until smooth.
3. Add milk and dry ingredients and blend until smooth (a little clumpy is okay).
4. Pour batter into buttered pan and cook as you would normal pancakes. When they are a dark caramel color, flip delicately.
5. Blend cranberry sauce and maple syrup.
6. Top pancakes with cranberry maple syrup

Cafe Thursday

Until further notice, Thursdays will be the days that I celebrate my inner chef. Now, I am no Julia Childs, Paula Dean or even a Rachel Ray, but I can occasionally put together a decent meal for the family. I have lots of favorite ways to come up with recipes for dinner, and I will share those here as well as some sites and tips.

Today, I would like to put down in writing for some friends and family a recipe that everyone except my husband seems to enjoy. I found this recipe in a Pillsbury circular at the grocery store and modified it a bit.

Homestyle Chicken Pot Pie

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 cups of cubed chicken
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
pinch of chipotle seasoning
1 package of frozen or canned mixed veggies
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 packet of Onion soup mix
Cooking spray
2 pie crusts (Pillsbury is my personal favorite)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Heat Olive Oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken, salt, pepper and seasoning. Drain veggies (steam frozen veggies under HOT water if using them) and put in a seperate bowl. Add cream of chicken soup, 1/2 can of water, and onion soup mix to veggies. Once chicken is browned, lower heat and add veggie mixture until warmed through.

Lightly coat a pie tin with cooking spray and spread one pie crust. Add meat and veggie mixture. Place second pie crust on top of the mixture and tuck in around the sides. Be sure to add at least a couple of slits to the top of the pie, but decorate as you see fit. I often will add someone's initials or a heart.

Put pie plate on a cookie sheet and bake for 35 minutes. Remove pie from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. . .serve and enjoy!