My Afflation

I didn't want to completely re-invent the wheel so I scavenged my blog and social media posts for recipes with photos. Almost everything here should be able to prepped and cooked within 30 minutes or less.

My daughter is a picky eater. In the last three months she has developed intolerances to wheat, dairy, and soy. Just need nuts and seafood to be complete (knock on wood). Creating menus each week just got more interesting . Luckily, she can eat just about anything from El Pollo Loco, but we have both gotten tired of that in the last month. Cooking from scratch in 30 minutes or less (most nights)... Monday: Beef and Broccoli - minus the soy sauce and water, so I guess it was more of a stir fry, but she had multiple servings. Tuesday:  Avocado Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing Wednesday:  Beef & Bean Chile Verde  - I make mine with Fresh and Easy Salsa Verde Thursday:  Chicken Avocado Salad Wraps Friday:  Primal Jambalaya  - minus the cauliflower rice Saturday:  Paleo Avocado Turkey Burgers  - reminds me of the burgers at the District Pub (also much cheaper to make at home). Menu Plan Monday hosted by:

This is what the menu looks like when I ask for my daughter's input. Not bad on the days I have her. We're in the process of packing up for a move at the end of the month, so I'm trying to keep most meals to one skillet or so. Last week's menu bleeds into this week. Monday : Asian Orange Chicken (I cheat and use Fresh and Easy Orange Peel Simmer Sauce and didn't bread the chicken (paleo friendlier) -- that makes this meal 30 minutes or less) Tuesday : Skirt Steak with Arugula Salad - also 30 minutes or less Wednesday : Leftovers for me Thursday : Beef and Bean Chili Verde (she's finally getting tired of this one, but it's so quick and easy). Dessert of African Fruit Fool (adapted -- no papaya for me, no coconut for her, homemade whipped cream is the BEST) Friday : More Chili Verde... Saturday : Today is the day I planned to go to storage unit, clean crap out of it, load it with boxes that I won't need immediately. Perfect day to use the cro...

This is another one of those recipes where I just wing it but the results are incredible. It all comes down to the spices. I use Cajun's Choice Creole Seasoning , or you can make your own Cajun Spice. INGREDIENTS: 2 teaspoons salt (or adjust to taste if you want to use less) 2 teaspoons garlic powder  2 1/2 teaspoons paprika  1 teaspoon ground black pepper  1 teaspoon ground white pepper  1 teaspoon onion powder  1 teaspoon cayenne pepper  1 1/4 teaspoons dried oregano  1 1/4 teaspoons dried thyme  1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)  DIRECTIONS: 1. Stir everything together. Store in an airtight container. Once you have your choice of seasoning (store bought or homemade), grab your salmon (4 4-6oz steaks or filets), some butter (or olive oil, but it tastes better with butter), a sauté pan and get to cooking. Heat sauté pan until water sizzles when droplets are flicked into it Add 2 tablesp...

Sometimes you just don’t have “quality” (high-priced) ingredients on hand, but you have have the general idea for something. A typical chicken cordon bleu recipe calls for the following ingredients: 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 6 slices Swiss cheese 6 slices ham 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon paprika 6 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup dry white wine 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 cup heavy whipping cream But sometimes all you have on hand is: chicken breast tenders bleu cheese dressing (with actual bleu cheese crumbles) canadian ham mixed veggies Set oven to broil. In an oven safe pan sauté the chicken in butter or olive oil. When browned, pour dressing over chicken and top with ham.  Place in oven and broil until the dressing forms a crust – about 5 minutes.  Enjoy! (Tastes better than the picture makes it look)

Ok, it’s not really five minutes, but prep time is about 5 minutes and bake for 30 minutes, freeing you up to do something else, like knock out a blog post about 5-Minute Zucchini Parmesan (with salad). 5-minute Zucchini Parmesan Ingredients 3 or 4 zucchinis 1 16 oz. jar pasta sauce 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese Cooking Directions Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease or use non-stick spray on 9x13 baking dish. Slice the zucchini, it doesn't matter how. Place in baking dish, covering bottom thoroughly. Pour the pasta sauce over the zucchini and stir to coat. Sprinkle cheese over mixture. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Serve with salad. Bon apetit!

We're back to almost vegetarian in my household and Sunday nights are either gourmet or leftovers. We're out of leftovers. Tonight's dinner is Portobello mushrooms with a side of summer squash and baked potatoes. It took about 20 minutes - less if your grill doesn't run out of gas! Portobello Mushrooms with Summer Squash Recipe by Annette Holland Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Total time: 30 minutes Yield: 4 servings Ingredients 4 portobello mushrooms 1/2 cup Fresh & Easy Classic Balsamic Vinaigrette 1/2 cup Fresh & Easy Burgundy Wine Simmer Sauce 1 package summer squash 4 Yukon Gold potatoes Cooking Directions Grilled portobello mushrooms are delicious, but our grill was out of gas and it was too hot to broil. I made due with the griddle. Lightly oil with olive oil, then spoon either the balsamic vinaigrette or burgundy wine simmer sauce over the ...