Menu for July 30-August 5

With a few recycled from last weeks menu that we didn't get on the table...

Monday: sloppy joes with veggies and dip
Tuesday: Honey Nut Chicken Strips on salad, Poached Pears with Raspberries
Wednesday: Meatballs and mashed potatoes, broccoli, and fruit salad
Thursday: Toasted Ravioli and salad
Friday: Sausage and Potato skillet
Saturday: Fajitas and spanish rice and corn
Sunday: Crusty Lemon Chicken with rice and sweet honey peas

Lemon Cookies

Since you asked for the recipe, here's the scoop.
I can hardly take credit for making these cookies. It was a case of using the cookie recipe off of the cake mix box. Have you ever had the cake mix cookies? They are honestly some of the yummiest cookies I've ever had. I made the holiday ones this past year and they were a huge hit.
So all you have to do is go buy a box (or two!) of Pillsbury's Moist Supreme Lemon Cake Mix and follow the cookie recipe on the side of the box. You just add oil and egg. I think it's just a matter of adding less egg than for the actual cake and omitting the water. (You can make them Kasey... you don't even need any butter!! LOL!) Then I made the glaze of powdered sugar and lemon juice and drizzled that over the top. They really are so good. I'm buying more cake mix with my next grocery trip this week!

Cantaloupe and Chicken Salad

I'm having pretty good luck with new recipes lately. I'm giving this one two thumbs up. Ryan was so-so and the kids of course wouldn't even try it.
I'm talking about a new summery dish I found called Cantaloupe and Chicken Salad.
Super easy to make... cantaloupe, grapes, cucumber and cooked cubed chicken all mixed up with a dressing of mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice and chives.

I'm usually not a fan of things "all mixed up together". I like lots of different foods; just keep em' separated! But the more I ate of this, the more it grew on me. I really liked the chicken with the dressing on it, and the fruit kept it light and crunchy. Ryan said it wasn't his favorite.

The kids, by the way, ended up eating their dinner "pre-assembled" :

Menu for July 23-29

Monday: Cantaloupe and Chicken Salad
Tuesday: BLT wraps
Wednesday: sausage and potato skillet
Thursday: spaghetti
Friday: barbeque at friends'
Saturday: Crusty Lemon Chicken with rice and veggies
Sunday:??? maybe out for dinner?

weekend recap

Okay, I just have to say that the Tomato and Asparagus Pie?? It's my new most favorite vegetable dish ever! I could live on this the rest of the summer!! It's even good leftover and cold! Here's the recipe:

Tomato and Asparagus Pie
1lb bundle of fresh asparagus
1 tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 medium ripe tomatoes, sliced
1 9" baked pie shell (I used the frozen shells; just thaw and pre-bake according to directions on package)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Trim asparagus and roast (in a single layer on cookie sheet drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper, 500 degree oven) for 10-12 min.
Let cool slightly and cut into 1 inch pieces.
Turn oven down to 325 degrees.
Melt butter in small saute pan and cook onion until translucent.
Layer in pie shell; half the tomato slices, half the asparagus, onions, the remaining tomatoes, and remaining asparagus.
In small bowl, combine mayo, cheese and garlic salt.
Spread thin layer of mayonnaise mixture evenly over the top of the vegetables.
Bake at 325* for 30 minutes.

I was lazy and in a hurry, and we're not big onion fans, so I left out the onions but sprinkled just a bit of onion powder over the veggies for the flavor.
Mmmm... my mouth is watering just typing this up.
Of course the kids wouldn't eat it... I just saved out some bits of asparagus for them to eat. We loved it though! It's a great summertime side dish, and if you have fresh garden tomatoes, it would be even yummier!! Give it a try.

Oh yeah, and the Grilled Chicken marinade we had with the pie was great also. And we had a couple of perfect grilled steaks last night. Ahhh.. the foods of summer!

I've Been Boycotting Meal Preperation

If you were wondering where the menu was for this past week, let me save you the searching and tell you that it didn't exist. As a lazy, single parent this week I've been a completely fly by the seat of my pants kind of cook, and to be honest, most of it has consisted of chicken nuggets, sandwiches, waffles and McDonald's.

Don't worry, Ryan's on his way home this evening and I actually had a great meal planned... but now his flight's delayed so I'm scrapping that one and saving it for tomorrow. So here's the meal plan for the (short) remainder of the week:

Thursday: we'll probably grab something quick and/or out before, during or after our airport run. We'll see what time he actually gets in.
Friday: Grilled Chicken with Tomato and Asparagus Pie
Saturday: out of town visiting the Laughlins
Sunday: Grilled Steaks (probably hamburgers for the kids)

I did bake cookies today though... Sawyer's favorite:

Banana Raisin Cookies

Combine 1 and 1/4 cup oatmeal,
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder and
1 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
Add 2-3 mashed ripe bananas,
1/2 cup apple juice,
1 tsp vanilla and
1/2 cup raisins.
(Batter will be stiff)
Drop by teaspoon on a non-stick cookie sheet and flatten slightly.
Bake at 375* for 15 minutes.
Store in airtight container.

I also need to make some banana bread today to use up the rest of the bananas around here. Do the home-baked healthy goodies make up for feeding my kids processed foods all week? :)

Tonight We're Taking Dinner Out

Well, my menu was sort of thrown for a loop this past week, as I was really sick on Thursday and not really up to par on Friday and Ryan didn't want to stick to the menu and cook meals that the kids probably wouldn't even eat.
Friday we had planned on taking dinner to the Malones and visit with them and the new baby, but I didn't want to go near Yuri not being too sure about my stomach. So we're headed over there this evening and we're taking along my favorite Salmon Baked in Foil, along with an Apple and Pear Salad, some fresh baked bread, and for dessert... Creamy Lemon Squares. These are my absolute favorite... I could eat them all summer long. I found the recipe at the very beginning of the summer after searching high and low for a good lemon bar recipe. I love lemon bars, but I'm pretty picky about them. That is to say, I'll eat just about all of them, but I love the creamy ones, more like cheesecake than the ones that are too gel-ly. These are perfect! And I love that the crust is made of Nilla Wafers instead of Graham Crackers... very yummy! If you like lemon, give 'em a try.

Crock Pot Potatoes

I love this meal. If you can find 20 minutes at some point during the day to do some peeling, slicing and cubing, you can get it in the pot, and you're set and it'll be ready and waiting for you by dinner. I love my crock pot! I can't wait till fall and winter weather to make me want to make these warm and hearty meals again on a more regular basis...

Country Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
8 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 lb fully cooked ham, cut into 1" cubes
1 pkg (1 oz) country style gravy
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups water
2 cups shredded cheese

Combine potatoes, onion and ham in lightly greased crockpot. Combine gravy mix, mushroom soup and water; whisk until combined. Pour gravy mixture over potatoes. Cover and cook on Low for 8 hrs or High for 4 hours. Top with cheese during the last 20-30 minutes.
Tip: to prevent darkening of potatoes, toss sliced uncooked potatoes in a mixture of 1 cup water and 1/2 tsp cream of tartar; drain and proceed with recipe.

Sawyer didn't touch it, but Savannah actually ate some this time. I think she was just starving. After five or six bites (when she realized what she was eating) she started asking what else she could have...

Buenos Tacos

Well, we thought they were good anyway. The kids... that's a different story. I made Savannah a simple cheese quesadilla (and made the mistake of trying to sneak a bit of taco meat in there) instead because I knew she wouldn't even come near a real Soft Taco. She about gagged with every bite she took once she realized there was "spicy" meat in there. Gave Sawyer a hard taco and he dumped out the contents and ate most of the shell. To their credit they both ate a quite a bit of lettuce (ultimately smothered in ranch... I don't believe ranch goes with tacos.) and had a fruit cup. Oh well, at least Ryan and I enjoyed a couple of tacos each along with some broiled tomatoes. Man I love baked tomatoes!!

Wow, A Real Menu!

for 7/9-7/15
Monday: Creamy Cheesy Chicken Alfredo (cheater's version)
Tuesday: Tacos and broiled tomatoes
Wednesday: Country Scalloped Potatoes and Ham in the crock pot
Thursday: Crusty Lemon Chicken with some kind of rice and veggie
Friday: Foil baked Salmon with Apple-Pear Salad
Saturday: Steaks on the grill
Sunday: Grilled Ham and Cheese sandwiches

catch up

or ketchup... which happens to be Sawyer's favorite food right now. Today he dipped not only his fishsticks, but his mixed vegetables (the peas carrots and corn) and his apples as well.

Okay, first here are a few meals we've had in the past week or two... and surprisingly my kids are actually eating!!

Tonight we had Creamy Cheesy Chicken Alfredo with honey butter peas and bread and butter.

Savannah loved it, can you tell? (note that is a cheese mustache, not a milk mustache!)
I loved it because it was THE simplest and best meal I've made in awhile.


Last week another successful dinner was a Garlic and Herb pork loin with asparagus and mandarin oranges. Once again, the kids both actually ate it!

And this past weekend we had the best meal the kids have eaten in I can't remember how long... Toasted Ravioli (I think that's a St. Louis thing, as I've never seen them outside of STL and Ryan was sooo excited to be back here and able to buy it!). The kids each had four or five raviolis on their plates and a dish of marinara sauce and they went to town! We had salad along with it and Sawyer actually at that for the first time!

Apparently my kids like food better in Missouri!