Day 1- Stuffed Chicken with steamed Kale and cheesy mashed potatoes

So far, a success!

The menu for last night was the title of this post. The chicken was smashed to 1/4 in thickness with my cast iron skillet (who needs a hammer!), coated on one side with egg to make it sticky and then with bread crumbs. I then mashed a healthy tablespoon of goat cheese to 2tbs diced spring onions and a little salt of pepper, formed it into a small log and rolled the un-breaded side of the chicken around it. The sauce I made for the chicken to bake in consisted of 5tbs butter, a splash of white wine (probably no more then 1/4cup) 1 can of diced artichoke hearts, 3tbs of spring onions, half & half, salt and pepper. I heated the butter and wine to a simmer, let it cook out for a few minutes, then added the artichokes, spring onions, salt and pepper and then, as an afterthought, I added a tablespoon of half & half. I wanted to slightly thicken the sauce and it did just the trick!

For the potatoes, I used 7 small red, peeled (I HATE peeling potatoes but this time I had to) half & half, 1tbs butter, 1tbs minced garlic and a handful of cheddar.

I steamed the Kale.

Would I make this again?

Sure, but with a few adjustments. As always, my serving portion was WAY to large...

I needed the mashed potatoes for tonight's dinner but I should have used a smaller chicken breast with less filling. It was very very rich so it would have been good to have some crusty bread to go along with the meal. The kale... I just don't enjoy it! Joshua loves it for its anti-inflammatory benefits so I get it for him, and usually he eats it every night! There's probably 4 night worth of kale left and I really don't want it to go to waste. This might be the week that I learn to love it.

THIS MORNING!

I was very proud of myself. I really wanted to grab something on the go but as my budget is $25 I don't want it depleted on silly things like fast food. So to the fridge I went! A Smoothie with OJ, Carrots, Celery, Pineapple and Strawberries? Yes Please! My sister-in-law Lauren gives her picky eater son Sawyer smoothies hiding good-for-you things, so why not I? Oh yes, because I am usually too busy and rushed to make one. Well today, I was late because of my smoothie skills, and I couldn't feel better about it!

Who needs to be on time anyway?

$25 challenge-Meals for One

This all started last night. Joshua and I got home from Tampa around 5:30pm and we were starving. Josh ate a sandwich to tie him over until dinner was ready and I started looking around, suggesting to my starving husband things that could be made. Because we'd been away all weekend, there was no meat readily available and defrosting anything would have taken too long (according to Josh), So we decided on Hawaiian pizza (Joshua's Favorite).

The ingredients that I had were:

• loaf of Pillsbury French bread in a tube
• 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes
• dried oregano
• lots of fresh basil and thyme
• shredded cheddar
• ham
• pineapple

I heated and combined the tomatoes and herbs with a little salt and pepper, unrolled the French bread onto a pizza stone forming it to be round with a crust and drizzled a little EVOO on it. spooned the sauce to the crust and topped it with the cheese, ham, pineapple and some dried oregano. I placed it in my 400 degree oven and voila, in about 15 minutes, we had a pizza.

Pretty simple, right?! The husband loved it and it got me thinking...

Joshua will be in Africa for the next 11 days and because we just spent a small fortune at a restaurant this past Saturday (Texas De Brazil... Delicious), why not do the frugal thing and cook out of my pantry this week? Our typical grocery bill is usually within a few dollars of $100, so I'm going to budget myself $25 for the next 11 days for food. A challenge? For me, Yes!

To start off this personal challenge, let me list what I currently have in my refrigerator and pantry:

• Half gallon of OJ and Milk
• 3/4lb of Sliced ham for sandwiches
• a little prosciutto
• provolone cheese
• goat cheese
• cheddar
• sour cream
• Lots of butter
• half & half
• eggs
• tons of Carrots
• celery hearts
• fresh kale
• Spring onions
• bell, sweet, cayenne, and jalapeño peppers (from my garden)
• Garlic
• 14 oz of crushed tomatoes
• small can of crushed pineapple
• enormous amounts of sweet onions (so many that I'm hoping to give them away to friends... anyone want them??)
• 5lbs of small red potatoes
• Kamaboko (Josh is allergic to crab meat...)
• Wantons
• 1lb of ground italian sausage and lean ground beef
• lots of frozed chicken breasts
• 1 sirloin steak
• Frozen peaches, blackberries, mango's, and strawberries

• 2 can cans of artichoke hearts
• lg cans of corn, green beans (French cut style)
• 4 cans enchilada sauce
• tomato paste
• Crushed tomatoes
• whole tomatoes
• salsa
• beef and chicken stock
• cooking wine
• various seasoning packets
• Many many herbs, dried and fresh from the garden
• Oatmeal
• chocolate chips
• flour
• sugar
• vanilla
• cocoa powder
• other various backing supplies
• bread crumbs

(I'm sure I missing a ton, but I'm at school right now and can't check to be sure. So is life...)

Ok, so I know that the above seems like a lot but who wants to cook with things that they already have? I personally LOVE scouring the internet for new recipe ideas, making a list of what I need and going shopping for everything, picking up random ingredients that I might need along the way only to put everything away, get too busy to cook what I planned, forget what I got and repeat the process all over again week by week. Pathetic, I know, so bear with me as I challenge myself to be creative with what I already have.

For tonight, I'm thinking stuffed chicken with goat cheese and spring onions coated with bread crumbs and baked in a white wine, butter and artichoke sauce with a side of steamed Kale and mashed potatoes. Could be amazing, could be terrible. I already have everything for meal, so cost will be $0. I will of course have leftover potatoes so I might try to make Pierogies which I've never made before, so I will use this recipe and make a salad as a side. My friend Tristin introduced me to Pierogies a while ago and boy, were they delicious! I can only hope that the linked recipe is as good as her's was. I'm sure that I'll have leftovers from both of these meals, so who knows what I'll make next!

Also, this week I plan to make a bunch of cookies and other various treats for my brother-in-law Jared who is in the army, bake bread, and do whatever else I can to keep busy while Joshua is gone. I know, I'm pathetic :-)

Here's to dinner!