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The other day I had an extra frozen pizza that was just begging to be dinner. My problem was that the pizza happened to be a cheese pizza—a big hit with the kids and not so exciting for Mom and Dad.
I love getting creative with my food (which is why I’m not the best baker), and a cheese pizza is all I need to get my creative tastes brainstorming for a semi-homemade dish.
Cheese pizza with a kale and bacon topping
I left a little less than half the pizza plain, just enough to please the kids. Then I got to work on the adult portion: kale, diced onions and bell peppers, bacon bits (real, not imitation), and a little sprinkling of cheese on top. Kale is not something I normally have on hand, but I had extra after using it in my Zuppa Toscana soup recipe (think Olive Garden, yum!). The kale came out crispy, subtle, and a perfect compliment for the bacon. The pizza was absolutely delicious, probably one of my favorite combinations.
And it gave me a brilliant idea for several other variations of the semi-homemade pizza: Tuscan; chicken bacon ranch; mexican. The possibilities are endless! Best of all, I can have all the custom ingredients of homemade without any nightmares with yeast or homemade dough.
I’ve got meal planning on the brain, so while I’m in the meal planning/cooking mode, I figured I’d share one of my favorite recipes from my rotation. This recipe is a constant. In other words, it’s on my rotation all year round because it is such a family favorite. It’s my mom’s recipe, and it’s a good one.
List of Ingredients
1 c flour
2 t garlic salt
2 t salt
1 t paprika
1/2 t seasoning salt
2 t black pepper
1/2 c milk
1 egg
Mix the first six ingredients in one bowl, and the last two ingredients in a separate bowl. I usually will use 3-4 chicken breasts cut in half to make tenders (it cooks faster this way). Dip in the milk/egg mixture, then in the batter, once more in the milk/egg, and a final time in the batter. Double-coat if you are frying the bird; coat only once for oven-fried (the less batter, the better chance for crispy with oven-fried). And one note on the batter: it looks like a lot of pepper, but it really balances out with all of the salt. However, feel welcome to adjust to your family’s tastes.
When I deep-fry (which is an extra special treat at our house), I’ll cook the battered tenders 3 at a time for 10 minutes at 360 degrees. The time will vary a little bit depending on the thickness of the tenders.
To oven fry, cover a baking sheet in aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Spread the tenders onto the baking sheet. Then spray the tenders thoroughly with cooking spray. I’ll bake at 425 degrees for 15 to 20. Broil for the last couple of minutes to get a little crispiness. It’s tasty, but of course not quite as tasty as its deep-fried cousin.
I will warn you, however, that neither my husband nor my father would ever buy restaurant fried chicken after eating this recipe. Your KFC days will be at an end. It’s just that good.
Yay! Here it is folks, my newly updated fall/winter rotation of meals. I’ve got a lot of new recipes I’m trying, and so far they’ve been very yummy.
A few of the recipes I’ve adjusted to taste. For instance, on Day 2 I really don’t have parmesan on my potatoes and my chicken. I usually leave the parmesan out of the chicken recipe because it gives the chicken a tangy flavor that my family doesn’t prefer. Also, I’ll often oven fry the recipe, while sometimes for a special treat, I’ll deep fry it. It’s a family favorite that I will definitely be sharing with you.
- Want to find out more on how I use my rotation? Read “Rotating a Meal Plan.”
- For more info on the planner I use to create my meal plans, click here.
About four years ago, soon after the birth of my first child, I was taking a walk with a close friend and discussing the challenges I was facing with meal planning. What had always been my nemesis had become an absolute nightmare. Trying to come up with a meal plan had always been difficult, even when it was just my husband and myself. Now, attempting to maintain a menu and BE the menu at the same time with my nursing child, was way beyond what I felt capable of.
My friend’s solution was a monthly rotation of meals: a four week plan that repeated itself each month. As we walked, I think I gave her absolutely every excuse for why it “wouldn’t work for our family.” We loved variety. I couldn’t think of a week’s worth of meal’s much less four weeks. I hated to be tied to anything for that length of time. What if I didn’t want what was planned? But after all of my excuses, I went home and tried it anyway. After all, I was desperate.
Now after four years, that’s still my method of choice.
Setting up the rotation
The first thing I did was to sit down with a piece of paper and write down every meal I knew how to cook. I was shocked to find how long my list actually became! From that master list, I choose seven meals for my first week of a rotation, and stopped. That’s all I did—one week. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s that time of the year. The weather is getting cooler, and soups are starting to sound tastier. The salads and grilled menu items are not the highlight they once were. The garden is all but gone. And it’s time to pull out the fall menu.
For the last several years, I’ve done my meal planning in a rotation. I have a spring/summer rotation and a fall/winter rotation, each 4 weeks long. And each season I tweak it. I’ve been tweaking quite a bit the last couple of seasons, and as it nears fall once more, I’ve had soups and casseroles and chilis on the brain. So, occasionally, I thought I’d feature some menu planning or recipe posts that keep you up to date on my process.
One favorite planning option that I’ve found is Plantoeat.com. I used this website to set up my last menu plan rotation, and it was so easy to use that I subscribed for the year. The $4 out of my monthly shopping budget was so worth it! And I’m getting to make use of it’s awesome features once more as I set up a new plan. Allow me to highlight a few of my favorite features.
1. I love that I can easily store all my recipes from all over the web in one simple location. Many recipes from 100s of sites can be added by simply searching for the recipe on the plantoeat site and clicking “add the recipe.” But even the recipes that are not directly linked with the website (i.e. the fabulous recipes you find on your favorite blogs or via Pinterest) are easy to add. The “Bulk Input” option for adding recipes allows you to cut and paste the entire list of ingredients from the blog to the website. Got a recipe that a friend emailed to you? Just copy and paste it into the recipe form. I can literally “type” and save a new recipe in about 3 minutes or less!
2. Adding the recipe to a calendar is another fantastic feature. I simply drag and drop the recipe title on the days that I want to plan that meal. You can plan all three meals and a snack each day with this method. Most of the time, I don’t mind “winging it” on the other meals if I know supper is under control. In other words, breakfast and lunch take care of themselves; I do not plan a menu for these meals. But the option is there if you like to plan the whole day’s worth of eating.
3. In addition to the drag-and-drop feature, you can also repeat a menu. This makes my menu planning such a breeze! Once I input 4 weeks worth of meals by dragging and dropping the recipes, I simply click on the option to repeat the menu and all 4 weeks worth of meals are transported to the dates I indicate. It couldn’t be faster!
4. You can also import this menu plan to your e-calendar. That way your events and meals are easy to track and in the same place. If you’re not the e-calendar type, just print off your meal plan and/or the recipes on that plan! I do both: import my menu into Google Calendar, then print off the menu and recipes for my Household Notebook.
It’s my best friend for meal planning, and what’s also great—we can share and swap recipes! Just sign-up for the free 30 day trial, and we can start sharing and planning together.
Disclaimer: I do get compensation from referrals using my links, but I wouldn't refer you if I didn't already love the service!
