Cheryl Qualls' Home Page



Welcome!

Welcome to my home page! This page was established to provide a convenient means of distributing homemaking information to my family and friends. I hope you enjoy your time here. Thank you all for your faith in me and your incredible support!

I'm back...

A note from CQ's husband and webmaster...In an effort to save money, we have merged our web pages into a single domain. I got a new web host service, and the cherylqualls.com domain name has been dropped. You should have gotten here by http://www.billqualls.com/cq. We're glad you're here.

What can I say...?

Happy Fourth of July!!! I was answering an e-mail from my daughter, Emma (the new Mrs. Nathan Wagner) about what to cook for dinner that was inexpensive, fast and tasty. I thought some of you may enjoy my answer to her. With it being a holiday weekend, most of the stores will feature some form of chicken breast in their sales this week. My personal favorite are the bone-in split chicken breasts. They are large, meaty and a great bargin at about $1 a pound.

The best time management tip I have ever come across for saving time in the kitchen is the concept of cooking once and eating twice (or more!). Chicken breasts are perfect for this. Either bake them up in the oven or grill them to perfection outside. The extra effort of cooking more than you need will be well worth it. Once the meat is cooked and has cooled, you can remove the meat from the bone and store it up to three days in your fridge or up to three months in your freezer. Meal preperation is a snap when you have this versatile ingredient on hand. So here is a quick list of ten to start you thinking of ways to use all that bargin chicken and you have my sincere hope that these ideas make your week a little easier and your meals more enjoyable.

For all of these, there are recipes here on the website. Just added today is a chicken salad much like the one served at Corner Bakery.

  1. Classic Chicken Salad. Can be made the night before. Use this for either lunch or dinner. Try serving it on a crossant or in a half of a pita bread. Add lettuce, sprouts and a tomato slice to be extra fancy. Serve with cold raw veggies served with a fat-free dipping sauce like honey mustard or ranch dressing.
  2. Quesidillas: (I'm trusting my husband will clean up my spelling on this one) Take the shredded cooked chicken and layer it on a whole wheat tortilla. Add a black bean and corn salsa and your favorite cheese (cheddar or pepper jack). Top with another tortilla and toast to perfection in a non-stick skillet. Serve with chips and salsa or a crisp mixed green salad. Dinner in ten minutes!!!
  3. Ceaser Salad. In generous bowls: Place a handful of chopped romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, croutons, and kalmata olives (I know they aren't in the origional salad but I like them!!). Top with shredded chicken and a few pinches of shredded parmesan. Serve with a low fat ceaser dressing or I also like "green godesss" dressing on this salad. Serve with a baugette of bread and a few clusters of green grapes.
  4. Pannini Sandwiches. Oh my! What could taste better on the front porch than a perfectly grilled sandwich and a cool drink? Start by giving some sturdy bread a blast of olive oil style cooking spray on one side. Layer the sandwich with the oil side against the pan (or pannini press if you've got one) add slices of chicken breast, roasted red peppers and thin roasted slices of zucchini, top with a slice of swiss or provolone cheese (or pepper jack if you like spicy) top with the other piece of bread (oil side out) and toast (or close press to bake) turning once so both sides are nicely browned. Serve with melon slices and a cool lemonade. OR Try sliced chicken breast, thin slices of Granny Smith apple, and sharp cheddar cheese on whole wheat. Yum.
  5. Chicken Fried Rice. Remember, only cooked, cold rice will work for this dish so use up leftovers or make the rice the day befoe and keep it in the fridge.
  6. Chicken Tortilla Soup. A summer treat expecially if you fire roast the peppers while you've got the grill going anyway. Fire roasting brings out the sweetness in the peppers. Also use real corn. This is Illinois for heaven's sake. Kernals slice easily off the cob if you rest the fat end on your cutting board and use a sharp knife and start at the top and slice downward. Watch your fingers! It's worth it. Top the soup with a dallop of fat free sour cream and a handful of oven toasted tortilla strips. A meal in itself. But you can serve ice cream sandwiches for dessert if you want to.
  7. Chicken Fajitas. In a non-stick skillet place a dime-sized spot of olive oil. Crack some pepper into it and a pinch of red pepper flakes and a pinch of oregano. Heat the shredded chicken through by stirring it around and around. You can also sautee thin strips of colored peppers and onion while you heat the chicken. Place a spoonful in a warm tortilla and top with your favorite salsa and sour cream. Watermelon or corn on the cob would go along well.
  8. Stuffed Colored Peppers. Why do they have to be green? For that matter why do they have to be bell peppers? The palbano peppers are super tasty when stuffed with chicken and cheese and baked till melted perfection. For the other variety cut the tops off the peppers and get the seeds out. Place them in a glass pan with an inch of water. Cover loosely with waxed paper and micro wave on high for five minutes. Drain. Spoon a savory mixture of chopped chicken, drained diced tomatoes, cooked shredded zuchinni and carrots (or whatever you've got) and brown rice or even cooked barley. Throw in a handful of mozzerella cheese (or cheddar if you perfer) Top the peppers with a few breadcrumbs and bake for 30 to 40minutes at 350 until steamy hot and the cheese is melted. Serve with a crisp salad and maybe some sherbert.
  9. Kabobs. Do you love kabobs but hate the time spent putting all that stuff on a stick? Don't do that part!! Take cubes of cooked chicken and into a non-stick skillet add a touch of olive oil along with chunks of onion, peppers, tomatoes, summer squash, or even plums and nectuines. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano and sautee till tender-crisp. Serve over brown rice.
  10. Cold Pasta Salad. To a pound of cooked, drained sturdy pasta (corkscrews, manicotti, penne, shells) add cubed chicken, kalmata olives, tomatoes, roasted red peppers and shredded parmesan cheese. Toss with enough zesty italian dressing to coat. Serve on a bed of lettuce with some nice bread and you've got a cool summer dinner.

Recipes

  • Go here to check out our growing collection of recipes!
  • I really like the daily recipe feature on www.weightwatchers.com. You don't have to be a member to use the site.
  • Another fun place to look for ideas is www.allrecipes.com. This site is ideas submitted by readers. Very easy to use and great fun to try.

Archives

Things to see and do

  • Ravinia
  • Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra: This is the premiere youth orchestra in the Fox Valley. Concerts are given three times a year at Elgin Community College. Tickets are available thru the college box office. Order early as these concerts always sell out. More information about the group can be found on their website at www.eyso.org.
  • Cantigny Park: 1 South 151 Winfield Road, Wheaton. Parking fee is $7 weekdays, $8 on weekends. Call 630-668-5161 or http://www.cantignypark.com
  • Chicago Botanic Garden: 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe. Parking fee is $12 per car. Call 847-835-5440 or http://www.chicagobotanic.org
  • Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave. Features a city lot-sized working garden. Free. Call 773-638-1766 or http://www.garfield-conservatory.org

Homemaking Links

Gargening Links

Personal Links

Email me

You can email me here.

Copyright © 2010 by Cheryl K. Qualls. Last updated 02-Jul-2010. All rights reserved.