The Hopkins Model

The only people who are good at cooking at the ones who are stuck doing it every day. They don't look at food sites or buy recipe books or rip recipes out of magazines because cooking is a hobby, they do all that because they are stuck. doing. it. every. day.

When I was a kid, I would play at my friend Brenda's house nearly every afternoon. Around 5 pm, her mom would come home from work and magically turn a few ingredients into a magical meal for a family of 4 (5 if I was lucky, which was probably 80% of the time). I was completely fascinated with how Margo could do this - here she was tired from working as a secretary all day long, and she immediately went to work cooking. Everyone sat at their cool "breakfast nook" table together and visited and laughed during supper.

I learned three things from that part of my childhood.. 
1. I was going to be a secretary because they could do everything.
2. I was going to have a real family and we were going to have supper at the table every day.
3. If anyone was at our house during supper time, they were going to eat with us.

So far that's worked really well. I was a secretary from ages 15 to 25. I have a great family and we eat together at 6 pm every day. Everyone we know has an open invitation to join us.

Thank you Margo, Denny, Brenda and Jason. I loved your family.

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La De Da Enchiladas

• 2 pkg. Grilled Chicken Breast Strips, Southwestern (fully cooked)

• 1 can cream of chicken soup 

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1 cup salsa

• 2 tsp. chili powder

• 1/2 cup Mexican shredded cheese

• 1 pkg. flour tortillas (10 count/medium size)

• 1 tsp. olive oil (to grease baking dish/pan)

• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained

• 1 bunch sliced green onions (or 1/2 diced onion) 

Mix soup, sour cream, salsa and chili powder in a bowl.

Chop chicken strips into smaller pieces and add them to another bowl, along with cheese and 1 cup of the soup mixture from other bowl.

Scoop chicken mixture into tortillas, roll them and place seam-side down into greased baking dish/pan. Keep doing this until you run out of chicken mixture or tortillas or space.

Pour remaining soup mixture on top of tortillas.

Cover and bake 40 minutes at 350°.

Top with diced tomatoes and onions.

The Push-Pull

I found this ingenious device in Arkansas, it's called a Push-Pull. It's for pulling the oven rack out and pushing it back into place. Yes, it's a stick.

It's September, so that means you are probably being pushed and pulled in every direction. Blame Jupiter, the giant magnet that takes over our September sky. You're probably too busy in September to even take 5 minutes to go look at what's to blame for your anxiety, so my plan today is to push you outside tonight when it gets dark. Jupiter hasn't been this close to us since 1963, and it won't be this close again until 2022.


This is what the Push-Pull sounds like (Jupiter in your brain):

So, get outside and shake your fist at the bane of your existence, or simply enjoy the bright pretty light in the sky. Here's an extra five minutes to make up for the time spent doing that..

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Sweet & Sticky Chicken

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup olive oil 

Take a one gallon zip lock bag and pour in olive oil, then honey, then soy sauce. Add chicken breasts. Freeze.
Some night, when you don't have time to fix supper, dump contents of bag into a baking dish and bake at 325° for 90 minutes. 

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Disclaimer: I do not own these recipes. I cook from memory and often adapt things I've seen, tasted, heard about, or read about.

P.S. Happy Birthday to my son Shane, the first love of my life.

Strawberry Chicken Salad

It is Memorial Day weekend! The official start of summer. I began the long weekend by going to the Bare Essentuals boutique at Rosedale to stare at all the things I really need want. Now they have brush-on mineral sunscreen, which not only protects you, it makes your skin look nice. Now, if only I could find $50 so I could buy two on special this weekend and earn double stamps. Earlier this week, I read that many sunscreens have vitamin A in them which will actually accelerate skin cancer rather than protect from it. Check to see if your brand is safe at Environmental Working Group.

While I was longing for cosmetics, and my #2 son was longing for things in the Apple Store, half our family was at a Minnesota Twin's game. The Graduate was working (she's the responsible one).

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Strawberry Chicken Salad

• cucumbers (as thick as you can find), washed well and sliced 
• frozen grilled chicken breast strips, thawed and cubed
• mayonnaise
• fresh strawberries, sliced
• dill weed (Aldi may or may not have this)
• black pepper

Mix chicken, mayonnaise, strawberries, dill weed and black pepper in a bowl and then put a scoop of the mixture on a sliced cucumber. Make as many or as few as you want, they look beautiful and taste great!

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Disclaimer: I do not own these recipes. I cook from memory and often adapt things I've seen, tasted, heard about, or read about.

Chicken Parmesan

On Sunday, we had a graduation party for my daughter. Graduation parties mean that parents go insane about the cleanliness and repairs needed in their houses. I got painted ceilings out of the deal, so I'm pretty happy right now. We copied Chipotle for the party food, and, you guessed it, used Aldi's frozen grilled chicken breast strips.

This is a picture of my mom, The Graduate and myself:

    

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Chicken Parmesan

• 1 bag frozen grilled chicken breast strips
• 1 envelope dry onion soup mix
• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
• 1-1/2 cups evaporated milk
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 cup rice
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp. olive oil

Grease Crock Pot with olive oil and add chicken.

Mix onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup, evaporated milk, apple juice and rice together and pour over chicken. 

Top with Parmesan cheese.

Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours.

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Disclaimer: I do not own these recipes. I cook from memory and often adapt things I've seen, tasted, heard about, or read about.

Native North American People who Live Where it's Warm Foil Wrapped Chicken

I love Mexico, I really love Mexico. My favorite thing about Mexico is the people who live there. They are warm loving people with strong family values who are very faithful to their beliefs. I've been down the entire west coast of Mexico, and most recently to the Yucatán Peninsula; as well as Cozumel a few times.

I encounter many people who have relatives living in Mexico, or ancestors from there, while shopping at Aldi. They are always smiling and visiting, that makes me smile. One time I tripped in the parking lot and went face first into the pavement (my fault - I'm clumsy) and a grandfather-type man rushed over to help me and then his entire family came to help.

One thing I know for certain, the majority of people living in Mexico really hate drug traffickers and people who cross the border to the US illegally. They are known as the people who ruin it for everyone else. How sad is it that some are so wrapped up in hate that they judge an entire people for the actions of criminals?

This recipe is also from my mom. She likes Mexico too. 

 

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 Native North American People who Live Where it's Warm Foil Wrapped Chicken

• 4 chicken breasts, thawed
• 4 tsp. taco seasoning mix
• 2 cups shredded refrigerated hash brown potatoes
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup salsa
• sour cream
• aluminum foil

Place one chicken breast on a big square of foil.

Sprinkle 1 tsp. taco seasoning on chicken breast.

Place 1/2 cup hash browns on top of seasoning.

Cover with 1/4 cup cheese.

Top with 1/4 cup salsa.   

Wrap foil around entire mess, place in baking dish, repeat three times.  

Top with sour cream prior to eating, if desired.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

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Disclaimer: I do not own these recipes. I cook from memory and often adapt things I've seen, tasted, heard about, or read about.

Chicken Burritos

I made melt-in-your-mouth beef burgundy tonight, not one ingredient was from Aldi, so I shouldn't be writing about it, but it turned out perfectly. Sure wish I would have waited until I am over this horrible allergy thing so I could have enjoyed it more, but I found a perfect roast with a green "TPR" (temporary price reduction) sticker on it at Cub and I couldn't leave without it ($1.99/lb.). I was in Cub to pick up a few spices that I can't buy at Aldi.  

I had a bet going with myself that if my husband put salt on his food without tasting it first, I was going to get up and leave and let him figure out what he did wrong. He didn't, thankfully. These are the thoughts that happen after you turn 45. I hear they become worse over the next 10 or so years. I also hear that at some point, it won't occur to me that these thoughts are not normal.

The beauty in the picture is my baby. She weighs as much as a small child too. I have wanted an enameled cast iron dutch oven forever, but I was not going to pay $75 for one. Guess what? Aldi got some in. They were $39.99, still too much for me.. then one day, they marked them down to $19.99. Perfect beef burgundy would not have been possible without this wonderful thing, thank you Aldi!

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Chicken Burritos

• 1/2 bag frozen grilled chicken breast strips
• 1 jar salsa
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 pkg. 10-count flour tortillas
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 
• 1 tsp. olive oil  

Grease Crock Pot with olive oil.

Place chicken and salsa in Crock Pot. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8-9 hours. Add sour cream during the last hour.

Heat individual flour tortillas for a second or two in a fry pan. Fold chicken mix into tortilla and add cheddar cheese and additional sour cream, if desired.

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Disclaimer: I do not own these recipes. I cook from memory and often adapt things I've seen, tasted, heard about, or read about.

Mexican Lasagna

Hey Paula, do you only cook casseroles and über fattening food? 

No, but you don't need a recipe for simple cooked/grilled vegetables, meats, and fish. Duh.

Aldi doesn't have the biggest produce selection, but the prices are outstanding. They usually have the basics and they move really fast, everything is very fresh. My mom did the math and figured out she is saving $40 a month on produce alone. They eat A LOT of produce, it's really paying off in health benefits. Now the savings is paying off too, she is putting the money saved in their vacation fund.

I like fresh herbs and shallots, and I cannot buy those at Aldi. That's okay, because when I need those types of things, I usually make a special trip somewhere anyway. I won't be writing out any of those recipes because they don't fit with this Aldi-only theme about saving money. 

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Mexican Lasagna

• 2 lbs. hamburger
• 1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies, do not drain
• 1 can corn, do not drain
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning
• 1 pkg. 10-count flour tortillas
• 2 cups cheddar cheese

Fry hamburger and drain grease. Add tomatoes, corn, and taco seasoning and heat on medium heat for a few minutes.

Spoon enough of the mixture to cover the bottom of a round baking dish. It should be a fairly big dish, about 4" high. Add a flour tortilla on top of the mixture and continue to build layers until you reach the top. The top should have a sauce mixture.

Top with cheddar cheese and bake uncovered at 350° for 45 minutes.

I'll write about what to do with those leftover flour tortillas another day.

Optional:

• use frozen grilled chicken breast strips instead of hamburger - heat mixture first and add chicken
• add a chopped onion or jalapeno to mixture

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Disclaimer: I do not own these recipes. I cook from memory and often adapt things I've seen, tasted, heard about, or read about.

Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole

Maybe someday my kids will be hungry for something I used to make and then they'll think, "oh, that's right, mom went through a crazy phase one time and put all that stuff on the internet."

I used to get a complex when I listened to some people go on and on about their cooking abilities. Then I found out that they really only cook a few times a year and anyone that eats what they cook BETTER NOT EVER FORGET how good it was and how much time and energy it took. I don't know how I got stuck doing this every day. This food thing invades every part of your life when you are the one responsible for doing it. I cannot imagine what it would be like to just show up to a table and eat. Well, I can imagine that, it's called going on a cruise. I haven't figured out how to permanently live on a cruise ship, without being a crew member, of course.

This recipe is from my mom, this is my lazy adaption. She boiled a chicken. She no longer gets to eat food like this at home, but that's a story for another day. I used to wait to make this the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas, and then I discovered that I could tear apart a store-cooked rotisserie chicken to make it anytime, and then I discovered those amazing frozen grilled chicken breast strips. 

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Chicken Broccoli Curry Casserole

• 1/2 bag frozen grilled chicken breast strips
  
• 1 pkg. frozen broccoli florets (or fresh broccoli)
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. curry powder (or less, I like the stuff)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients (except cheese). Put in a baking dish.

Top with cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

Optional:

• use leftover turkey instead of chicken

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Disclaimer: I do not own these recipes. I cook from memory and often adapt things I've seen, tasted, heard about, or read about.

Chicken Taco Pie

My youngest and I bought a weeping willow tree at Aldi today. It was $14.99. She has wanted a "sad tree" since she was 4. Her plan is to read books while laying under it, but it looks like a giant stick right now. 

She and my husband are off to Home Depot to buy dirt and I just put this in the oven (it's my step-father's mother's recipe, converted for the lazy, she boiled and de-boned the chicken):

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Chicken Taco Pie

• 1/2 bag frozen grilled chicken breast strips (other 1/2 needed for upcoming recipe)
  
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can red enchilada sauce
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic in olive oil
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 bag corn chips, crushed (compare to Fritos)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients except for cheese and corn chips. 

Line a baking dish with corn chips.

Top with cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

Optional:

• use leftover turkey instead of chicken

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Disclaimer: I do not own these recipes. I cook from memory and often adapt things I've seen, tasted, heard about, or read about.

Chicken Bruschette Bake

I am a little obsessed with the Crock Pot lately. The main reason is because I am lazy, but also because a Crock Pot uses 72% less power than an oven, even with the longer cooking time. I used to think of it as a winter appliance, but I'm sure the energy savings is even greater in the summer when you think about having the oven on and running air conditioning.

My mom gave me this recipe. I adapted it for the Crock Pot. I am also obsessed with Aldi's Grilled Chicken Breast Strips, they will be coming up often in the future, unless I get sick of them. They are kind of expensive ($7.99), but that's a small price to pay for grilled flavor and not having to deal with raw chicken.

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Chicken Bruschette Bake

• 1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies, do not drain
• 1 pkg. stuffing mix for chicken
• 1 can chicken broth
• 2 tbsp. minced garlic in olive oil
• 1 bag of frozen grilled chicken breast strips
• 1 tsp. dried basil leaves 
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 2 tsp. olive oil

Add olive oil and chicken strips to Crock Pot. Layer mozzarella cheese and basil on top of chicken.

Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix, broth and garlic in a bowl; pour on top of chicken and cheese. Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 4-6 hours.

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Disclaimer: I do not own these recipes. I cook from memory and often adapt things I've seen, tasted, heard about, or read about.