Are you asking for a challenge?!

On a completely unrelated note, before I begin did you know there is a Homestar Runner Wiki? They'll wiki anything these days.

Anyway, this week I am introducing a new challenge. I am no where near as daring as Stephanie O'Dea of A Year of Crock Pot Cooking. I can't commit to using my crock every day for a year. However, I am going to commit to using my crock every day for a week and see how it goes.

Starting Monday February 1, 2009 I am going to make a brand new, never been made in my kitchen crock pot recipe. James will cry because he'll have to wash the crock every day, but I think the yumminess that I will be feeding him will more than make up for it.

So for dinner next week we have:

• Corn Chowder
• Brown Sugar Chicken
• Margarita Chicken
• 3 Cheese Broccoli Soup
• BBQ Beans and Weenies

We'll just devour left overs on Saturday and Sunday. I'm off now to find some yummy bread recipes to go with our soups!

Shortbread Cookies

I've experienced my first epic fail today and I'm not happy about it.

For Christmas, my dear friend Jennifer made a bunch of cookies to give to her friends as gifts. One of the cookies she included was her family's super secret Shortbread Cookie.These cookies are a gift from God. Since she won't share her recipe with me, I've been searching for a recipe for Short Bread Cookies.

The recipe that I made tonight came to me via LiveJournal. The comments on the recipe were all positive so though perhaps THIS was the recipe I had been looking for.

Uh...no.

I'm not even going to bother posting the recipe or pictures. The flavor is God Awful and the texture is just foul. I have a second batch in the oven now dusted with a little cinnamon. Maybe that will help?

---

The result of the cinnamon experiment? Cinnamon flavored paste.

Ugh...what  a waste of 2 sticks of butter!

~Akari~

Baked Chiken Teriyaki

Tonight was raid night for my husband (TOC 25 man) so I wanted something that was both simple and fast because I hate being in the kitchen alone. ^_^

Tonight's dinner comes courtesy of All Recipes. I almost passed it by because I'm used to bottled teriyaki sauce that's full of salt. Since this recipe made it's own sauce, I thought I'd give it a shot. I paired this up with some fresh steamed broccoli and some non traditional sticky rice.

Baked Chicken Teriyaki

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 1 tablespoon cold water

• 1/2 cup white sugar

• 1/2 cup soy sauce

• 1/4 cup cider vinegar

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  

• 12 skinless chicken thighs

Directions:

1.     In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the cornstarch, cold water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and ground black pepper. Let simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles.

2.     Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

3.     Place chicken pieces in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Brush chicken with the sauce. Turn pieces over, and brush again.

4.     Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn pieces over, and bake for another 30 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Brush with sauce every 10 minutes during cooking.

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Recipes That Rock -- Betty Crocker's Skillet Lasagna & Blogs That Rock

Me and Betty, we have a love/hate relationship going on. Some of her recipes are down right fantastic and should be praised in all ways. Some others, though, make me want to yak and are not fit for human consumption.

The recipe I want to share with you tonight has become a family favorite. Betty Crocker's Skillet Lasagna is not only delicious, but quick and simple to make!

Some notes of reference: I have not been able to locate mini lasagna noodles. I'm sure my local grocery store has them, but I can tell you that 8oz of regular wide egg noodles works just as well.

And on a completely unrelated note: For those of you who are into World of Warcraft, my darling husband has started a blog on the Lore of Warcraft called "A Keeper of Lore". Check him out! While we're on the subject of blog pimpin', you should also check out Kaiser Crowbar's Ablogcalypse, The Year of Beer, and The Infinite Worlds of Jonathan Huskey. All of these blogs are informative, entertaining, and run by people who are near and dear to my heart.

Okay, that's enough out of me tonight. Tomorrow night we're having Baked Chicken Teriyaki, steamed broccoli and sticky rice!

~Akari~

Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Tonight's dinner almost didn't get made. I was feeling extremely stressed out from work and all I wanted to do was nap until the morning. But thankfully, I was drug out of the bed and this last minute dinner was thrown together.

I present Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole from CopyKat Recipes. CopyKat is the brain child of Stephanie Manley and her collection includes several recipes of restaurant favorites that you can create at home. I've been dying to try her recipe for Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits!

Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

• 6 skinless/boneless chicken breasts or thighs
• 2 cans cream or mushroom soup
• 1 piece of ham for each piece of chicken (I usually used leftover, but you can use deli ham just as well.
• 6 pieces of cheese. Farmers cheese works best, but I have used Monterey Jack.
• A soup can of milk
• Season to taste

Combine soup and milk in 9×13 casserole dish and place chicken. Put a slice of ham on each piece and top with a slice of cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

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Baked Bean Stew

Did you know that Aldi.com has recipes now? I discovered this little gem about a year or two ago while searching for budget recipes. Supposedly you can find all the ingredients for the recipes at your local Aldi grocer. I've yet to see any Aldi in my area carry lamb at any point in the year, but I have to assume that maybe some of them do. You don't have to sign up to search the recipes, but to save the recipes to your cook book or use their grocery list function, a free registration is required.

At any rate, this recipe is an Aldi original (as opposed to a reader submitted recipe) that has been sitting in my "cookbook" for several months.They say good things come to those who wait, so let's get started!

Baked Bean Stew

• 1 cup onions
• 1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into .5 in. pieces
• 2 cans baked beans, or canned pork and beans
• 1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, or black-eyed beans, drained and rinsed
• 14-1/2 oz tomatoes, diced, with roasted garlic, undrained
• 3/4 tsp dried sage
• 1/2 tsp cumin seed

Directions

1.  Sauté onion and green pepper in oil in large saucepan until tender, 3-4 minutes.
2. Add chicken and cook over medium heat until browned, 3-4 minutes.
3. Add beans, tomatoes, and herbs to saucepan; heat to boiling.
4. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 8-10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

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This Week's Offerings

This week I am offering up 3 brand new dinner recipes along with a cookie recipe!

• Cowgirl Beans
• Baked Teriyaki Chicken
• Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
• Shortbread Cookies

I have two recipes left over from last week that I need to make and post as well: the Baked Bean Stew and Spaghetti Carbonara.

I've decided that if I meet my goal of posting at least one new recipe a week for 1 year, then I am going to host a fabulous dinner party for my friends. You might think that this benefits them more than me, but I love cooking for others so much and I very rarely get to do that anymore. And trust me. There will be pictures of all the mayhem.

So I leave you now to go take the oatmeal raisin bars out of the oven!

~Akari~

Recipes That Rock -- Chicken a l'Orange & Perfect Crispy Potatoes

This feels like a cop out post, but James and I spent the day being lazy and thus the kitchen did NOT get cleaned. And I do not cook in a dirty kitchen. So here's a couple links to two of my favorite recipes.

1. Chicken a l'Orange

2. Crispy Potatoes

Melissa d'Arabian is my hero. Her meal ideas are incredibly tasty and not that expensive.

One note on the chicken, you can totally use boneless, skinless chicken breast. It's still very tasty. I've also breaded the breasts in panko and flour and drizzled the sauce on top.

The potatoes are just freaking amazing no matter which way you look at it.

Recipes That Rock -- Akari Hoshi’s Special Macaroni and Cheese

I know that the main point of the Saucy Skillet is to branch out culinarily and try new things, but to be honest, I've got some stand by favorites that I want to share with you too. So every once and awhile, I will share with you a recipe that rocks.

The first edition of Recipes That Rock features my special mac and cheese. This is where I got the recipe for the cheese sauce for the tuna noodle casserole. This is an especially creamy mac and cheese with a couple extra additions. I hope you enjoy!

Also, I've created a new email account for The Saucy Skillet. If you've got a favorite recipe you would like featured here on The Saucy Skillet, send it to thesaucyskillet@gmail.com.

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Tuna Noodle Casserole

Nothing says "I'm totally broke!" like Tuna Noodle Casserole. This particular recipe comes from All Recipes and if you want to get technical, the true name of this recipe is Tuna Noodle Casserole I. But whatever.

Tuna Noodle Casserole I

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package wide egg noodles
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can peas, drained

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large pot of salted water, boil noodles until al dente. Drain well.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine flour, butter, and salt. Stir until butter is melted and ingredients are combined evenly. Add milk, and whisk until the sauce thickens (usually it is at the proper consistency by the time it begins to boil). Add cheese to mixture, and whisk until cheese is melted and mixture is well blended. Stir in tuna, peas, and noodles. Spread evenly in prepared dish.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

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Chicken in Creamy Gravy

I was having a horrific day yesterday, so my bestest friend of all my friends, Aki, invited me over for the ultimate comfort food: Biscuits and Gravy. So I apologize for the lack of an update yesterday, but it was well worth the wait.

Tonight's dinner comes from The Hillbilly Housewife. I can't tell if Susanne is an actual Hillbilly Housewife or if she's just playing one on the internet, but the purpose of her website is to help people reduce the size of your grocery bill and still keep your family well fed and healthy.

Chicken in Creamy Gravy

By: Susanne of the Hillbilly Housewife

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 can reduced fat cream of broccoli soup undiluted
• 1/4 cup fat free milk
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 4 lemon slices

Directions

1. In a nonstick skillet, cook chicken in oil until browned on both sides.  (Approx. 10 minutes)  Drain.
2. In a bowl combine soup, milk, lemon juice and pepper.  Pour over chicken.
3. Top each chicken breast with a lemon slice.
4. Reduce heat.  Cover and simmer until chicken juices run clear.  (Approx. 5 minutes)

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Simple Hamburger Stroganoff

This recipe comes courtesy of AllRecipes.com.

• 1 (16 ounce) package egg
  noodles
  
• 1 pound lean ground beef
  
• 1 (.75 ounce) packet dry brown
  gravy mix
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream
  cheese
• 1 (6 ounce) can chopped
  mushrooms, with liquid
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed
  cream of mushroom soup

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. In a skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef until no pink shows; drain.
3. Mix brown gravy, cream cheese and mushrooms with hamburger until cream cheese has given the mixture a whitish look. Add milk, sour cream, and mushroom soup to cooked pasta. Blend hamburger mixture with pasta.

Read more »

This Week's Offerings

So this week, I offer up FIVE new recipes. Like I said, I'm down an income right now so I've had to adjust my grocery budget considerably. These five recipes are exceptionally budget friendly. I think James (my darling husband) said the grocery bill for this week was less than $50.

Recipes for This Week

• Simple Hamburger Stroganoff
• Spaghetti Carbonara
• Chicken in Creamy Cravy
• Tuna Noodle Casserole
• Baked Bean Stew

Tonight I am going to make Simple Hamburger Stroganoff. Update after dinner!


~Akari~

Sweet Nibblets...

Oh boy, here we go.

My name is Akari Hoshi and, as my profile states, I love food. I love eating it, making it, talking about it. I can spend hours reading cook books and cooking magazines. I am a recipe junkie.

My dear friend JP started an epic journey to discover new and uncharted lands in the world of beer. He chose to share his journey with the world via a blog. Thus inspired, I decided to actually start my recipe blog.


The Purpose of The Saucy Skillet

So what is this all about? What is the point of The Saucy Skillet? That's the easy part. My goal here is to find and make at least one new recipe a week to share with you. I'll share the recipe with you, any substitutions or modifications I made, any notes or changes, a review of the final product as well as pictures of the entire process from start to finish.  I'll throw in the occasional product review, restaurant review, and other food and recipe related topics as I see fit.

I want to challenge myself culinarily (is that even a word) and I think this is a good way to do that. The hard part is coming up with the gumption to actually do this.


The Rules of The Saucy Skillet

The rules are simple. And these rules are mostly for me as the poster, not you as the reader.

1. Post at least one recipe a week 
2. Attempt to make one food related post
3. Keep it on topic
4. Have fun and don't stress

Heh. Seems pretty easy, no?

All in all, I'm excited. Things might be rough for the first couple of weeks since we're a one income family at the moment, but as soon as that changes, I'll be able to take off.