Thursday, July 18, 2013

Culinary Adventures on "Vacation"!

Well, let me tell you about this "summer retirement".  Its wild.  I stay up till 2am every night...sometimes 5 or 6am....I pal around with this adorable boy that gives the best smiles, but is crap at cleaning up after himself and shows no diversity in meal selection.  Thankfully, he gives the best snuggles ever and I love him to bits, so life is good. 
But while my partner in crime has maid service and enjoys milk 12 times a day (no, I'm not kidding), Mom requires something a little bit more for sustenance.  The trick?  Even though I'm not working, this kiddo requires just about 24/7, so I need to be quick on my feet for meal selection, and include maximum nutrients and food groups to help my growing boy!
Neither one of these is super inventive or hard to make, but both have served us well over the past week!

Recipe #1: Super Quick Chicken Couscous (serves 2)

10 oz chicken breast, chopped
1 cup dry couscous
3 cups chopped broccoli (I used frozen)
1 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water

Saute the chicken breast, onion and garlic in a stockpot in the butter for 5 minutes, or until brown.  Add in water, broth, and broccoli, raise heat to high until boiling, then lower to medium, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add in couscous and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes or until couscous and broccoli are cooked through.

Full of flavor and simple-call it idiots risotto.  Much better than cereal.

Recipe #2: Turkey Barley Bowl (serves 2)

10 oz turkey breast, chopped
1 cup pearl barley
2 cups water
1 granny smith apple, chopped
1 cup each: carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, chopped
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tbsp butter

Saute turkey in butter for 5 minutes, or until brown.  Remove and set aside.  Cook barley, seasonings and water in stockpot- boil water, add barley, cook on low for 15 minutes.  Add in turkey and veggies in the last 5 minutes, cover and cook on low for an additional 5 minutes past barley cook time. 

Voila.

As I said, simple dishes.  But they seem to fit our growing family well, and without alot of fuss!

Whats your go-to dish?  Gonna need to up my ante after my "vacation" is over!



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