Tag Archives | menu planning

Cooking Under A Brick

By on June 13, 2011 in Making Dinner

Chicken Under A Brick

So why would you want to cook anything under a brick?  This was my question before I found out what it meant to cook chicken under a brick.

Basically, when chicken is cooked in a hot skillet with a heavy object on top of it (over foil, of course) it creates a really crispy exterior to the chicken while the interior remains juicy.

Chicken Under A Brick from The Organized Cook

Chicken Under A Brick from The Organized Cook

No, I don’t actually use a brick.  Although, I did the first time, and after making a special trip to the hardware store just to purchase one- sigh.

Actually, any heavy object will do.  What works best for me is to place the chicken in a heated skillet with oil and cover it with foil.  Then I place a slightly smaller cast-iron skillet on top of the foil to create the weight of a brick.  Try my Chicken Under A Brick Recipe below:

Toni’s Chicken Under A Brick Recipe

 

Reincarnating The Leftover

Here is what I love best about Chicken Under A Brick (other than the juicy flavor).  I cook more chicken than my family will eat- only a breast or two extra.  Then store the extra chicken in the refrigerator to pull out a couple nights later to chop up into my Spanish Paella.

Spanish Paella from The Organized Cook

Spanish Paella from The Organized Cook

Combined with a slightly-spicy chorizo and some shrimp, the chicken is now reincarnated into one of my family’s favorite dinners.  It’s one of my favorites too because it requires only one pan… and my favorite pan at that- the “paella”.

 

Spanish Paella from The Organized Cook

Spanish Paella from The Organized Cook

 

If you don’t have a paella pan, any large skillet that can be transferred to the oven will do.  No rubber handles, though.  If you’re in the market for a paella pan, check out my favorite paella pan below.

Paella Pan

16 Inch Large Paella Pan Lid on sale for $21.86

 

Spanish Saffron can be found in the grocery store and from stores like Trader Joe’s.  It can also be purchased in bulk.

Spanish Saffron

Spicy World Spanish Saffron Filaments, 1-Gram Acrylic Box (Pack of 3) $20.77

 

Chicken Under A Brick and Spanish Paella are both on the menu this week from The Organized Cook Weekly Meal Plan System.  Still not sure “what’s for dinner tonight”?  Then ask yourself “what’s for dinner this week” and let The Organized Cook do the planning for you.

Weekly Meal Plan from The Organized Cook

Weekly Meal Plan from The Organized Cook

 

 

 

 

 

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From Herb Baked Salmon to Salmon Salad Croissant

By on April 6, 2011 in Making Dinner

So what’s on the menu this week at The Organized Cook?  My Herb Baked Salmon is one of my easiest recipes and one of the simplest meals I make, but it tastes like I spent a lot of time cooking it.  By simply mixing together a marinade, in the morning, of olive oil, melted butter and garlic and pouring it over salmon fillets topped with lemon slices and dried dill; I leave it in the refrigerator to marinate all day.  So, when it’s time for dinner, 35 minutes in the oven gives my family this healthy, gourmet dinner.

Weekly menu planning for family dinners is- no doubt- the best approach in saving money on your grocery bill and saving time in the kitchen.  The Organized Cook takes menu planning a few steps further by integrating additional methods in our Weekly Meal Plan System.

 

Salmon Salad Croissant

Salmon Salad Croissant

So, what makes this recipe so unique?  A method I refer to as reincarnating the leftover.  If I’m going to take the time to cook this delicious salmon dinner, why not throw in a few extra salmon fillets to store afterwards as leftovers.  Then, a day or two later, I simply flake the salmon, add some minced shallots, capers, dried dill and mayonnaise for…. Salmon Salad Croissant Sandwiches, served with a Bacon Spinach Salad for a super easy- and healthy- dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Organization Is The Ingredient.

By on April 4, 2011 in Making Dinner

Many of us can agree that family mealtime is important.  If you’re like me, you want to get it done as efficiently as possible while creating healthy, delicious meals for your family.  You want to make it simple, make it quick and spend less time at the grocery store, less time in the kitchen and more time at the dinner table with your family.  

 

Organization is the ingredient.
I love to cook.  But, I didn’t want to spend all of my time cooking- I wanted to maintain balance in my life.  I quickly learned that careful planning and organization of my family dinners were the key ingredients that allowed me to prepare home cooked meals for my family each night and still have time in my schedule to do things I love.  My Weekly Meal Plan system is available in The Organized Cook™.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sign up now to receive The Organized Cook Weekly Meal Plan in your email in-box each week and receive:

  • weekly family dinner menu
  • grocery shopping list
  • easy-to-follow recipes
  • cooking instructions
  • time and money saving tips
  • seasonal special party and menu planning guides

 

 

 

 

Let The Organized Cook™ do the planning and organization for you; and show you how to make the task of cooking family dinner easy and affordable.

 

 

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Sorry, Julia. We Moms Don’t Have the Time.

By on April 4, 2011 in Saving Time

Did you have a chance to see the movie Julie and Julia?  It is a great movie about a modern-day girl, Julie, cooking her way through Julia Child’s famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

I have cooked many recipes from this book and it’s an all-day event.  The dinners are fabulous, but this type of cooking is just not practical for us modern-day busy moms.  For many of us, gone are the Julia Child days when stay-at-home moms had all day to prepare a fabulous French dinner while sipping highballs, smoking a cigarette and watching Days of Our Lives in our pearls.  Today, our lives are busier than ever. What Julia Child did in the mid-1900s by bringing fabulous French cooking to the housewife, I aim to do by bringing clarity, simplicity and organization to the busy modern-day mom in The Organized Cook™.

 

 

Rat-a-tooow-eee

Ratatouille.  I made this vegetable dish and loved it.  Unfortunately, incorporating this gourmet recipe into my weekly meal planning as a side dish wasn’t practical because it took up too much of my time.  So, I figured if there were a way to combine a ratatouille into a main dish with a steak or chicken- and add a few short-cuts- it may work.  What I got from my culinary  experiment was one of my family’s favorite dinners: Toni’s Ratatouille Pan-Simmered Steak.  I didn’t even use seasoning with this dish because after it has simmered for an hour with eggplant, zucchini, peppers and tomatoes, it has such a fresh flavor.

I’ll keep experimenting in the kitchen on new family dinner favorites while finding new ways on how to save my valuable time and money at the  grocery store.  Learn more about how The Organized Cook™ can help you.

 

 

 

 

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