Kroger Lunch

Thank goodness for BzzAgent and Kroger for saving the day again.
This Friday morning I redeemed my free coupons for a Kroger Skillet Meal of Chicken Fajitas and a Fresh Selections Salad with the Bacon Buttermilk Variety. 
I was just using the coupons because they were free.  However, I was pleasantly surprised that my lunch turned out to be very tasty and probably better for me than I imagined.

I took home the Kroger Skillet Chicken Fajita Meal and put it 1 tablespoon of oil and cooked it for 8 minutes.  I used a pot instead of a skillet which is why the veggies were more mushy than expected.  If I had used a saucepan they probably would be more tender.
It seemed to be a simple packet of chicken and veggies. However, when I added the spice packet, it whole meal seemed to come together. I don't know what they spices were but they transformed the plain chicken. Fortunately, it wasn't too spicy. I do not like a lot of spice and this was perfect.
The package includes some small tortillas to go with the meal. It says to defrost them for 5 minutes but it may take a little longer than that. Mine took about 10 to completely thaw.
There was enough there for my lunch on Friday and Saturday.
I also added the Kroger Fresh Selections Buttermilk Bacon Salad.  In my opinion, it was the perfect accompaniment.  The lettuce was fresh and crisp and the croutons were crunchy and flavorful.  Plus, the bacon was actual bacon. I was expecting the hard crunchy things that are usually found at salad bars.  Nope, this was much better.
I have some pictures that I will add when I get to my other computer.
Bottom line.....Would I buy this meal again.  Absolutely. It was fast, good, and well worth purchasing. 

Nigella Rules

Nigella Lawson is one of my favorite food personalities because she seems so relaxed in the kitchen and she doesn't mind if you alter her recipes.
On her website she has a monthly cookalong and I finally decided to try one.  The recipe for August was Maple Chicken and Ribs.  It doesn't require many ingredients or techniques.

It starts with 12 chicken thighs and 12 spare ribs. As a single person, I thought that was a bit much so I only got 6 of each.  Spare ribs are pork and short ribs are beef. This is was I learned at the meat counter of my local Fresh Market. As a bonus, the thighs were on sale for 99 cents a pound so thank you Nigella. Unfortunately, I wasn't so lucky with the spare ribs.

 

 

 

You then need 1 cup of apple juice and 4 tablespoons of maple syrup.  I already had apple cider and thought that would so well with the maple so I used that.  I didn't realize it but maple syrup is graded differently than most other things.  Grade B is actually better than Grade A. Oops

 

I added the remaining ingredients- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and soy sauce, as well, as the star anise. There was no cinnamon stick in the house so I just used a pinch of ground cinnamon. My market offers garlic in containers already peeled so I just used those instead of the 6 unpeeled cloves.

In separate ziplock bags i put the ribs and chicken and added the dark brown marinade.

 

They were then put in the refrigerated overnight and I took the chicken and ribs out and cooked them for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

 

 

I plated it with watercress for greenery and some butternut squash. Yum. The taste from the star anise gives the meat a somewhat haunting flavor. The ribs were moist but completely white on the inside. Thighs gave a luxurious feel and the skin was a lovely dark brown.

 





 

 

 

Kettle Chip Crazy!

When I received my free chicken from the Kroger Deli through BzzAgent. I also got a free coupon for their Kroger Kettle Chips. I really enjoyed how light they were. In my opinion, most kettle chips are heavy and thick. They taste like eating fried cardboard. 
The Kroger brand were alot thinner and more delicate. I actually ate the entire bag of chips which I normally never do.

I didn't get a picture of the chips but here is what is left of the chicken.

 

Marvelous Monday

Here is the menu for Monday, Oct. 15.

1. Roasted Chicken
2. Broccoli
3. Rice
4. Apple

I have started making two lunches and share them with my friend JV.  This way we can both save some money and I won't be having to eat so many leftovers :-)

next time I will take a picture
of the roasted chicken. It was really pretty.

Honeycrisp apples are one of my favorites

Brown rice and broccoli