February menu- ready to go

Good Sunday! I have been planning ahead, and have the February meals planned and ready to go.
I plan my meals to only cost $400 or less per month, for cooking at least 20 days out of the month. If you'd like a copy of the menu and list of ingredients, please email me.

Dutch Oven- Rosemary Chicken recipe

I am still catching up from the Holidays. For Christmas, I got a fabulous Dutch oven. My husband was skeptical about these heavy things, so he also got me a cookbook- Glorious One Pot meals- that I could draw inspiration from. Little did he know that he was about to get amazed by the power of the Dutch oven :) we have cooked with it three times now, since Christmas, and every single recipe has turned out amazing.

The best part about the Dutch oven is that you can put all the ingredients in one pot, put it in the oven, and forget about it for 45 minutes, while it does its magic. I highly recommend it. And the meals tend to be complete, with proteins, veggies and whole grains. Per-fect, as my friend Beth would say ;)

Ingredients
Canola or olive oil spray
1/2 medium onion, cut into 1-inch slices ( I cheat and buy the pre-cut onion at Trader Joe's in the freezer aisle)
1/2 to 3/4 lb chicken breasts or thighs
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 to 8 small red potatoes
1/2 small acorn squash, cut into 1-inch cubes
5 to 10 mushrooms, sliced
2 cups of fresh green beans
4 to 6 small fresh rosemary sprigs

Directions
So, with these guys, it is all about layering, the order that you place the ingredients in the pan make all the difference. First, heat the oven to 450( the conventional oven, that is ;)). Spray the inside and lid of the cast-iron Dutch oven with canola oil. Scatter the onion slices in the pot. Place the chicken on the onion and season with salt and pepper. Place the potatoes around the chicken, add the mushroom and squash. Cover with green beans and add the rosemary sprigs throughout the pot. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, or until you can smell the aroma of a wonderfully cooked meal.

The chicken came out perfect- tender, juice, not overdone or underdone, just perfect. I would highly recommend investing in one of these Dutch ovens. Target and Costco have more affordable options than your typical LeCreuset. This recipe is also only 339 calories per serving, with only 3g of fat.

Beijos,
Thais

Tomato and Basil Tarte Tatin- Simply Baking TV show

I am so in love with this new TV show. The hostess is a doll, and her food looks amazing. I made this recipe over the holidays and it was a major hit. She also teaches you how to make puff pastry from scratch- which was not that bad. I followed the recipe, but if you don't have time, store bought puff pastry will work as well.

I highly recommend you to tune in to her show- she is a doll and fun to watch :)

Ingredients
2 boxes of cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Large pinch of sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp of honey
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
All purpose flour, for dusting
1 lb store-bought or homemade puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten
Small bunch of fresh basil or mint leaves
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the tomatoes in the skillet with the vegetable oil, salt and pepper, and honey and sugar. Arrange together as tightly as possible. Sprinkle the tomatoes with the bread crumbs. On a well-floured surface, roll out a circle of puff pastry the same size as the top of the skillet. Place the puff pastry over the tomatoes, tucking it around them so the tomatoes are encase.

Brush the pastry with the lightly beaten egg on the top only. Bake in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the puff pastry is well puffed and golden brown. If your skillet cannot go in the oven, just use a round pie dish for this step. Using gloves, bring this pie dish/skillet over a sink, and flip it over, with the tomatoes on top. Let it cool, and once it is ready to serve, cut up the basil in small chunks and sprinkle them over the top. Add salt and pepper as required.

Lorraine is fun to watch, and obviously loves to cook, which is inspiring to an amateur home cook like me :) her accent is also a huge plus, if you ask me ;)

Beijos,
Thais

Chocolate Chip Cookies- allegedly the Double Tree cookie recipe ;)

Good morning,
Oh, it has been too long since I last blogged, and now I have a bunch of recipes I want to share with you. The first one is this amazing cookie recipe I got about 6 years ago, and have been making it ever since during the Holiday season. I realize this is a bit late to make it into last year's Holiday season, but early to next one, right?

They are delicious, and a great treat to give to family and friends. I never found someone who said no to them :)

Enjoy!

Ingredients
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 eggs
3 cups semi-sweet choc chips
1 1/2 cups walnuts, finely grinded

Directions

Grind oats in a food processor until fine. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl.

Cream butter, sugars, vanilla and lemon juice in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs and mix until smooth. Stir dry ingredients into the wet mixture and blend well. Add chocolate chips and nuts and mix by hand until ingredients are well blended.

Chill the dough overnight for best results- this also gives my husband a chance to eat some of the dough ;)

Using an ice-cream scoop, spoon dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 for 16-18 minutes or until cookies are light brown and soft in the middle. Cool on racks.

Enjoy! More recipes to come this week,
Beijos
Thais