Thursday, May 7, 2020
Have you heard there may be a chicken shortage? My bff reported that there was absolutely no chicken to be had at her butcher. I bought some chicken and put it in the freezer last week and I am also getting my Dinnerly box each week that always has one chicken meal in it. I wonder if that will change? Apparently it has to do with processing plants being shut down. I would love to buy directly from a farmer. I am excited to go to a farmer’s market Sunday afternoon. It is supposed to be a socially distant one so I hope that works out. We are still not supposed to travel or gather for Mother’s Day. I wonder if people will break that “rule” here in Kentucky?
Anyway, I feel it is time to branch out from the standard chicken and ground beef based meals. I hope to make more fish, brats, and salads as the weather warms up. Maybe I will try my hand at grilling steak and shrimp, too?
If you have a Fresh Market, they offer (offered? Don’t know if this will change?) $5 rotisserie chickens on Thursdays. I went there last Thursday morning and bought two. I served the first one just as is with a side of broccoli and a side of crispy roasted potatoes and the homemade no knead bread.
One of our Dinnerly meals recently was ravioli lasagna. I don’t really know what qualified it as lasagna as there was no ricotta/egg mixture. You just boiled two packages of cheese ravioli and baked it with sauce and cheese. I had a bagged Ceasar salad on the side with it. This would be an easy meal to pick up on your next grocery order, cheese ravioli, jarred sauce, mozzarella would be all that is required.
Another Dinnerly meal was lemon pepper chicken, broccoli, and potatoes and I had some more of the homemade bread. The Dinnerly meals have lots of fresh broccoli, fresh green beans, and fresh potatoes involved. That works out for us because everyone likes those and I don’t have to buy those things at the grocery because they come in the box.
This is the no knead bread below. It is just flour, yeast, water. If you are having trouble finding yeast, I think they sometimes have it at CVS and Walgreen’s. The little markets are also a good source for things like yeast.
Here are the Dinnerly recipes that I still have to make:
French Onion Soup burger and oven fries.
and Chicken Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans. I have never made this so I am excited to try it and I think my family will like it.
Other meals I will make in the next week:
spaghetti (already have homemade sauce in the freezer)
tacos
sloppy joe’s
quesadillas
My Thoughts on my Borrowed Air Fryer:
My sister in law generously offered to let me borrow her air fryer. She has a Ninja that is not the Ninja Foodi, but just the regular one. The basket is not that big so anything for a family of four would have to be done in batches.
I tried:
Reheating husband’s leftover pizza (Worked great and re-energized the crust)
Frozen Trader Joe’s hashbrown patties (tasted better than McDonald’s)
tator tots (excellent, but had to be done in two batches)
WW 2 ingredient bagels (excellent but had to be done in two batches)
panko breaded chicken (pretty good but had to be done in 3 batches for a family of 4)
Bacon (really good – but had to be done in 4 batches)
So, I am torn. I don’t have counterspace for this appliance, nor do I really have storage space.
What have you been cooking or want to cook? What thoughts do you have on the air fryer?
Amy
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 
It’s been such a change for us to have the boys home and cook for a family of 4 again! We usually have tacos once a week, pasta, and I try to make a crockpot chicken dinner too. I need to check out our Fresh Market and snag a chicken – if they still have them!
xo,
Kellyann
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I bet! My sister is really good about starting a crock pot in the morning and I need to do more of that. I have more energy in the morning than at 5 pm! Yes, check out Fresh Market!
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Storage/counter space is what always holds me back on buying things like an air fryer. It looks like you got great results though!
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I know! And it’s too big for our current under counter cabinets. I just don’t think I would use it much if I had to go get it from the basement.
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I am with you on the Air Fryer, Amy. I don’t have the space for appliances like that, and it sounds like it is not very convenient for a family of four if you have to do things in batches. I have been using my crock pot more, though. Two favorites – brisket (put in sliced onion, chunked up celery, a half bottle of chili sauce, and a can of beer. Cook for 8-10 hours. Scrumptious served with mashed potatoes and roasted veggies. Then, I use leftovers for another meal – shred the meat up with BBQ sauce and serve over mac and cheese. Crudite on the side. Another favorite is Mississippi Roast: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/246721/mississippi-roast-slow-cooker-pepperoncini-pot-roast/
I also get the NYT Food newsletter everyday. Love the inspirations I get there. We certainly do need more information to stay motivated with cooking these days. 🙂
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I am making that brisket! And have you ever made bbq open faced tacos? Or BBQ pizza with naan? That would be great for the leftovers too! I just sent the Mississippi toast recipe to my sister not 10 minutes ago bc she bought 1/8 of a cow! I think we will have to shift from chicken!
The farmers markets open this weekend FYI.
Let’s talk soon!
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Ooh, I love Fresh Market and I need to go back- what a deal, and I just love being in there. You know, I wanted an air fryer so badly, so I was researching them and came upon an article that explained they are basically a small convection oven & a convection toaster oven would give similar results when they food is lightly sprayed with oil-so I bought that instead since we needed a toaster oven. I am happy with it! We are loving our Dinnerly boxes and my son said, “We need to send a picture to Mrs. Amy!” We are having the onion burgers tonight and the chicken fried chicken tomorrow. Blessings to u…
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Fresh market feels so European! And the prices are so European!
Haha!
Good point – I also heard you can use the convection feature on your oven? I need to look into that!
I’m so glad you like Dinnerly! Your son sounds sweet!
The chicken fried chicken was really good – maybe leave out a bit of the steak seasoning bc it’s kind of strong? You all may be used to it.
The ravioli bake was a hit if you got that. I sometimes go rebel and use the foods as I want!
Take care! So happy you like it!
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I bought an air fryer about a month ago and for 2 people I think it’s nice. I don’t have to use and heat up the oven for just a small amount of food. So you might find you’ll use it and like it more when you’re cooking for 2!
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Good point Theresa! I think if I get a smaller coffee maker I could keep in on the counter more, too. It’s been fun to play around with! Any favorite things to cook?
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Earlier this week I made the Trader Joe’s vegetable bird’s nests and they were so good. I’ve cooked French fries and cooked those too long…. so I’ve got to experiment and see what temperature and times work best!
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It’s great for frozen foods!
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