Our Own Gong Show

Menu for March 14th-20th

2011-03-14T06:38:00.000-07:00

Monday: phyllo dough Pizza Bites
Tuesday: crispy baked fish nuggets
Wednesday: Chinese Lemon Chicken
Thursday: spaghetti
Friday: leftovers
Saturday & Sunday: weekend getaway; may or may not plan and prepare meals to take with.

Menu for March 7th-13th

2011-03-07T11:42:00.000-08:00

A couple of new recipes I'm really looking forward to this week!...

Monday: Spiced chicken and grape skewers, garlic toast, grilled asparagus, cantaloupe
Tuesday: Baked Eggrolls, broccoli, mandarin orange slices
Wednesday: Tilapia fishsticks, sugar snap peas, green spaghetti
Thursday: Corn Fritter burgers, fresh green beans, sweet potato fries and homemade applesauce
Friday: grilled steaks w/salad, asparagus and applesauce

Green Spaghetti

2011-03-07T09:29:00.000-08:00

We all LOVE this pasta around here. I probably make it once a week or so. Sawyer, who won't touch any vegetables if he can help it, devours this in no time. The kids honestly cheer when they see me making it for dinner. It's that good.
It's a great, good for you side dish that adds a little more color to your plate as well!

Green Spaghetti:

about 12 oz. fresh or frozen spinach
1/4 c. broth

(I really like to use vegetable broth, but chicken works just fine too)

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. milk or plain yogurt
1 lb. spaghetti, cooked and drained
(I use thin spaghetti or angel hair; 1/2 regular, 1/2 whole grain)
4 tbsp. butter

Steam the fresh spinach until just wilted, or the frozen until warm. Put spinach and its liquid into blender. Add warm broth and liquefy. Stir cheese and milk into the puree. Toss cooked spaghetti with butter, then with green sauce.

This is a totally painless way to eat spinach, and if you cook the spaghetti while the spinach is steaming, this is about as fast as making up a box of macaroni and cheese--and far better!

more fish

2011-02-10T10:43:00.000-08:00

We had Crunchy Yogurt "Fishsticks" last night and I have to say it's hands down my new favorite. Maybe not the best fish I've ever had, but easily my #1 pick coming out of my own kitchen. Sooo yummy.
So yummy in fact that the kids both ate their whole serving!!
And that is big news people, because aside from processed freezer fishsticks, my kids do not eat fish.
But they gobbled these up.

I had tilapia fillets and wanted to make them fishstickish, but tasty enough for us adults, so I was "fishing" around the internet for ideas and came across this one. Which was a spin off of one of PW's chicken recipes. And since we all know PW recipes are a pretty sure bet, I went for it.

I had four fillets and cut them each into fourths, trying to go for the fishstick feel. They were really more like mini fillets, but oh well.
I mixed up some plain yogurt (I just used all of what was left in my container which was about 2 cups), garlic (two cloves, minced), parsley (dried; just sprinkled til it looked good) and the juice of a lemon (actually a lemon and a half) and some salt and pepper.

I added the fish chunks, made sure they were well covered with the yogurt mixture and let it sit for a good hour. (my fish was still partially frozen so I let it sit out on the counter instead of in the fridge.)

Then I simply dredged the yogurty fish in plain Panko whole wheat breadcrumbs, pressing the crumbs on to coat. I put the breaded fish in a 9x13 cake pan sprayed with cooking spray and then put the teeniest pads of butter on top of each piece of fish and covered the whole thing with foil, putting it into the oven at 400°.
I baked mine for about 20 minutes and then removed the foil, baking for another 10 or so. (my oven is off kilter and I would guess in a correct oven that these would probably be good for 20 minutes total.) At that point they were done, but didn't look golden or all that crispy so I turned on the broiler real quick to just let them brown a tad. Beautiful!

These were absolutely the perfect breaded fish... golden crunchy on the outside and moist and flavorful on the inside. Ryan commented that it didn't even have a fishy aftertaste at all... just delicious. And my kitchen didn't smell like I was baking fish... it just smelled yummy!

I am so glad I tried this way of preparing tilapia; it's a fabulous way to use more of the plain, unflavored yogurt I've been buying and trying to incorporate into our recipes, and the whole family loved it. I think that's a first!!

Menu for February 7th- 13th

2011-02-06T20:07:00.000-08:00

Monday: quick leftovers before heading out to a hockey game
Tuesday: crunchy yogurt tilapia "fishsticks", red potatoes and salad
Wednesday: macaroni and cheese, broccoli, fresh pears
Thursday: Popcorn Chicken, whiskey glazed carrots, salad and cottage cheese
Friday-Sunday: out of town

Menu for January 31st- February 6th

2011-02-01T05:01:00.000-08:00

Monday: Salmon Patties, french fries and salad w/ sweet peas
Tuesday: Baked Potato bar w/ salad, green beans and grapes
Wednesday: Winter Vegetable Pot Pie w/ homemade applesauce
Thursday: Parmesan Crusted Tilapia w/asparagus and sweet potato-cider puree
Friday: Chinese Lemon Chicken w/ rice, broccoli and mandarin oranges
Saturday & Sunday: out of town

Protein Pancakes

2011-01-26T13:40:00.000-08:00

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law.
She made these one morning for us while we were visiting and I have never seen my kids gobble up more pancakes in my life. Let alone chocked-full-of-protein pancakes.
Which I like because they're not big meat eaters and with Sawyer being allergic to peanut butter, I have to get in the extra protein where I can.

These pancakes are basically made of eggs and cottage cheese.
I know, yum right?
Yeah, I was weirded out at first too.
But they are really so yummy.

You just dump all of this into your blender:

1 c. cottage cheese
6 eggs
1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt

Blend on high for 1 minute, scrape down sides and blend for 30 seconds more or until all incorporated. Pour pancakes out onto hot griddle or skillet sprayed with cooking spray.
Easy as that.

These are really yummy with any sort of fruit compote on it.

Normally I just slice up some lemons into wedges and we squeeze a bit of juice onto the pancakes and then sprinkle with powdered sugar, roll it up and eat it with your fingers. The kids love that part too!

Sawyer likes to squeeze orange juice on his

And then use too much sugar!

Tilapia and Veggies

2011-01-25T08:59:00.000-08:00

This was a super quick and easy meal that we'll definitely have regularly around here.
I pared down this recipe here for what I had on hand.

Three tilapia fillets for the four of us (the kids split one), a handful of fresh green beans, grape tomatoes, 2 tbsp lemon juice, olive oil, oregano and some salt and pepper. Oh and I chickened out at the last minute, thinking the fish might be just a little on the plain side for me and added just a tiny splash of lite Italian dressing to the veggie mix before I put in on the fish.

I quartered the tomatoes and cut the green beans into about 1 inch lengths and mixed all the ingredients (minus the fish) together. Then I put each fillet on a piece of foil, sprinkled with salt and pepper and topped with a few spoonfuls of the veggie mix. Fold up and seal the foil making little packets around the fish (leaving enough room inside for everything to steam nicely) and bake at 425° degrees for 20-25 min. That's it!

It was really good! Ryan and I really liked it and Savannah ate most of it, though she wouldn't admit that she liked it. Sawyer (after making him try it) said he loved it (with ketchup) but only ate a few more bites. Over all I think it was a hit for us and I love how simple and healthy it is.
I served it with brown rice, and sides of peas and mandarin oranges.

Menu for January 24th-30th

2011-01-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

Goals for the New Year:
Healthier (specifically weight loss friendly right now) meals with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables. I'm striving to serve fish twice a week and other meats just once or twice a week and/or as more the "side dish" rather than the main course.
We'll see how it all goes...

Monday: Tilapia and Veggie Packets with brown rice and steamed broccoli
Tuesday: Smoked Sausage and red potatoes with fresh green beans and homemade applesauce
Wednesday: Protein Pancakes (kids favorite!!), fresh fruit and green smoothies
Thursday: Italian Roast Wraps and green salad with asparagus
Friday: Salmon Patties and salad with shredded cheese
Saturday: out with friends?
Sunday: Mini Cheese Pizzas

Creamy Oatmeal with Apples

2011-01-20T09:27:00.000-08:00

We (minus Sawyer) really like oatmeal around here.
As long as it's got a little flavor to it.

I like this version because it's done in the crock pot and I don't have to stand over a stove for the time it takes to cook the whole grain steel cut oats we like. I can just dump it all in and an hour or two later a warm, hearty, creamy, steamy breakfast (or snow day lunch) is ready for me.

Creamy Apple Oatmeal
2 cups oats
4 cups milk
4 tbsp (1/3 cup) brown sugar
2 tbsp vanilla
1 large chopped apple

Combine everything in crock pot and cook on high for 1.5 to 2 hours or low for 3-4 hours to desired consistency.
I top with a sprinkle of cinnamon in my bowl.
YUM!

Gong Show note: Sawyer picks around the oats and eats all the apples and Savannah picks around the apples eating just the oats.
Of course.

Mmmm... warmmm

2011-01-12T14:11:00.001-08:00

I'm jumping back in the saddle.
Meal planning has finally been back in full force this week -I've just yet to get it to the good old blog- and we've been enjoying lots of good, hearty, comfort meals lately with all this cold weather and white stuff on the ground.

I've currently got the best homemade Chicken Noodle Soup on the stove and I'm about to put some of our favorite crazy good Beer Bread in the oven. Mmmm.
That should keep our tummies warm tonight!

[soup recipe and photo originally from picky-palate.com]

Garlic Ranch Chicken Pizza

2010-02-09T07:41:00.000-08:00

We've had a few really good new recipes lately and I'm dying to get caught up over here to share them with you, but we've been in crazy-house-fixing-up mode as we try to get our house on the market.

I couldn't wait to share this one with you though, real quick, because it was really such a hit!
We have dinner weekly with our small group from church -eight adults and nine kids- and this is what I made up for last week... everyone absolutely raved about it and wanted the recipe. All the kids even wolfed it down... all except my kids of course.
Oh well, this will definitely be on a regular rotation at our house from here on out and my kiddos had just better learn to like it. I really don't know why they objected... it's one of the most kid friendly pizza's I've seen!
(recipe lifted almost directly from this blog)

Garlic Ranch Chicken Pizza
(for one pizza)

1 pizza crust
1 tsp. olive oil for crust
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 tomato,sliced and diced
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 Parmesan cheese
8 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast halves, diced
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
garlic (to taste)
bacon bits (optional)
1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1 teaspoon pepper (to taste)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Prepare pizza crust according to directions. (I used pre-made Mama Mary's pizza crust from Walmart)

Saute chicken in skillet with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper (for reference, I diced six big chicken breasts for 4 pizzas)(also when the chicken was finished I sauted some sliced mushrooms to go on one pizza).

Spread Ranch dressing over crust. (about 1/2 cup per pizza)

Sprinkle with cooked chicken, cheeses, tomatoes, green onions and bacon bits. (I made 4 pizzas; 2 with toppings listed above, one with just chicken, mushrooms and cheese and one with just chicken and cheese for the kids)

sorry, it'll be much more fun to take pictures of dinner again when it's not dark outside!

more cheese added after this!!

Place in oven for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let rest for several minutes, then cut and serve.

I didn't take any pictures of the pizzas in the end, but they turned out beautiful and delicious!
I was so pleased with this pizza. I'm not a huge ranch fan so I wasn't sure about it but I thought the kids would like it. Turned out I loved it! The flavors just melted together perfectly!
Super easy and so super yummy!!

Menu for January 25th- January 31st

2010-01-24T14:54:00.001-08:00

Monday: pork chops and red potatoes
Tuesday: Tuscan Pizza Calzones
Wednesday: Broccoli and Three Cheese Lasagna
Thursday: Baked Teriyaki Chicken (second try)
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: possibly out of town?
Sunday: "

Menu for January 18th- January 24th

2010-01-24T14:47:00.000-08:00

Monday: leftovers
Tuesday: Creamy Fettuccine with brussels sprouts and mushrooms
Wednesday: Italian Meatball Soup
Thursday: Baked Teriyaki Chicken
Friday: tacos w/ the Swinigans
Saturday: brinner
Sunday: breaded tilapia

Oatmeal Blueberry Applesauce Muffins

2010-01-12T09:33:00.000-08:00

We're without a car today so we're (I'm) in the midst of a cleaning/organizing focused housebound day.
Sawyer wanted to take a break and make cookies... I conceded, suggesting muffins instead. Warm and hearty sounds better on a cold, snowy, housebound day.

Here's what we whipped up and they are YUMMY!
They're made with whole grains and have very little fat so these muffins are a guilt free treat!

Oatmeal Blueberry Applesauce Muffins

whisk together in large bowl:
1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
1 ¼ cups oats (any oats will work, but if you use old fashioned or steel cut oats you'll get a heartier texture)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon

combine in smaller bowl:
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup low-fat or non-fat buttermilk
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tbsp canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Make a well in dry ingredients and add applesauce mixture, stirring until just moist. Don’t over mix!
Carefully fold in about ¾ cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
Spoon batter into lined or sprayed muffin cups. Makes 12-16
Bake in preheated 375°F oven 16-18min. Makes 12-16 muffins.

I'm not a huge fan of big blueberries in muffins, I just used them to finish off the ones I had in the freezer. I think these would be really good with some dried apple bits rather than the berries, or any other berry you'd have on hand. They're a really hearty muffin with a bit of sweetness to them that would go well with anything. Chocolate chips would be awfully tempting too!

French Onion Pasta

2010-01-12T09:25:00.000-08:00

We had this French Onion Pasta last night with steamed broccoli, applesauce and warm french bread. I'm going to just stick with a link here as I won't be heartbroken if I can't find the recipe someday... I actually really liked this pasta, but it was gonged big time at dinner last night.

Sawyer: barely gagged down one noodle.
Savannah: actually liked it okay... if she could manage to get a piece of pasta on her fork that didn't have "sauce or onions or frenchies on it". She surprisingly ate almost all of what was on her plate though.
Ryan: "I wouldn't order this again...."

I liked it.
But I like all things french onion. It was nice and easy to make and a warm savory dish that would work great as a main or a side. I think it'd be a really good dish with some chicken or beef or even broccoli diced up in there too.
Not sure if my family is game for another try though...

January 11th-17th

2010-01-10T09:16:00.000-08:00

Monday: French Onion Pasta and french bread
Tuesday: Crockpot Tomato Soup and grilled cheese
Wednesday: Baked potatoes and salad
Thursday-Sunday: out of town

new year

2010-01-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

Wow. Last published post, July 13th!!
Yeah, you can say the rest of the summer and the fall (and the winter so far?) had gotten away from me. We had what seemed visitor after visitor and then trip after trip and while it's true that I let life and lazyness get in the way of smart meal planning more often that usual, it didn't completely disappear as the void in this blog would have you believe.

But it's a new year with a new start and it's good to be back!
I have some really yummy recipes that I've used a lot (in the last six months) and I want to get them on here to record and share. I've got a new motivation to keep up with the recording of recipes on here as I went to whip up one of my New Year's Dinner staples, one which I only had a bookmark/link to and it was gone. I almost cried. So from now on at the very least, all my faves are being typed up or pasted on these pages here so I know they won't disappear on me!!

Here's one to get us started...
It's been really really cold in our neck of the woods ever since Christmas (woke up to -6° this morning) and while I'm not normally an "I like soup" kind of person very often, these arctic days have had me whipping up a pot or two more often. This soup I've actually made twice in the last two weeks. Yummy!
It's a quick and heartier replacement for my usual Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup you can find here.

Here's the recipe snatched directly from Picky Palate:
(thanks Jenny!)

Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, finely diced
4 celery stalks, diced
6 large carrots, peeled and diced
4 Cups fresh baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
4 cans chicken broth
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
6 oz dry chow mein stir fry noodles (they work awesome in soup!!)
Pinch of salt and fresh cracked pepper
Pinch of Lawry’s Garlic Salt with Parsley

1. Heat oil in large dutch oven over medium heat. When hot, saute onion, bell pepper, celery, carrots and spinach for 5 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Pour in chicken broth and add chicken breast. Bring to high heat until just starting to boil. Reduce heat and add in noodles. Stir until softened, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, season according to taste with salt, pepper and garlic salt. Simmer until ready to serve!!

8-10 large servings

[my notes: both times I made this I've actually just picked up a ready to go rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and shredded it right off the bone... yummy and easy! I also have had some extra fresh mushrooms on hand and have chopped those up and added to the veggies. Totally the kind of soup that you can just throw together whatever you have on hand.]

I made this last Friday evening with some sweet potato fries and some warm beer bread while we had friends over for dinner... friends who have been fighting colds and sickness and pneumonia for the past couple of weeks... in between sipping and exclamations of "yummy!" my friend said, "Oh, I can tell this is making me better already!"

Menu for July 13th- July 19th

2009-07-13T05:28:00.001-07:00

[Kitchen still out of commission until at least mid-week. New stove coming on Tuesday!!]

Monday: leftovers (Ryan gone)
Tuesday: dinner with small group
Wednesday: ravioli
Thursday: chicken salad sandwiches
Friday: meatloaf on the grill
Saturday: ?
Sunday: ?

Menu for July 6th- July 12th

2009-07-07T11:20:00.000-07:00

Working around this kind of stuff in the kitchen for the next week or two:

So meals will be of the no stove or oven, quick and easy, possibly take-out variety.

Monday: Cilantro Lime Chicken (finally... it's only been on the menu three weeks already and kept getting bumped for various reasons.)(and we'll definitely be doing it again -often! Yum!)
Tuesday: Pizza with our small group
Wednesday: Asian Pasta Salad
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: hamburgers on the grill
Saturday: ?
Sunday: ??

Menu for June 29th - July 5th

2009-06-29T06:26:00.000-07:00

kind of a light week in meal planning this week with lots going on to take up dinnertime :)

Monday: Eggplant and Mushroom Strogonoff
Tuesday: dinner with small group
Wednesday: grilled cheese
Thursday: Cilantro Lime Chicken
Friday: quick bite before or at the Fourth of July festival
Saturday: grill at block party (make fruit salad and ??)
Sunday: Ginger Steak Salad (never made it last week)

keeping our cool- Menu for June 22nd - June 28th

2009-06-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

We're in the midst of a little heat wave around here... upper ninety degree temps with the heat index up over 110. Yuck.

We've been spending most of the day at the pool, every day, and that's pretty much my plan for the week. Which means two things: When I finally drag the kids out of the water at the end of the day, I want to come home and have minimum prep for dinner... without turning on the stove or the oven.

A week of meals without (or minimal) cooking? Here's some of what I've come up with:

Monday: Cold Ham Sandwich Pizza with corn on the cob
Tuesday: Pepperoni Pasta Salad with bread and nice big green grapes
Wednesday: Sausage, cheese and cracker platter with fruits and veggies
Thursday: No-Cook Tomato Sauce and pasta with broccoli steamed in the microwave
Friday: pizza party with the neighbors at the pool
Saturday: Ginger Steak Salad
Sunday: Pulled Pork Sandwiches

No-Cook Pizza

2009-06-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe after looking high and low for another no-cook main dish that wasn't all veggies and wraps hoping maybe my kids would eat it.

Cold Ham Sandwich Pizza

1/2 cup cream cheese with chives, softened
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. horseradish sauce
1 prepared Boboli® pizza crust
1-1/2 cups chopped cooked ham
1-1/2 cups chopped plum tomatoes
1/2 cup shredded lettuce
1/4 cup creamy Italian salad dressing

In small bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, and horseradish sauce and blend well. Spread over the pizza crust. Top with ham, plum tomatoes, and lettuce and drizzle with salad dressing. Cut into wedges and serve immediately. (6 servings)

I tweaked it a just a tad to fit what we had in our kitchen:
I used regular cream cheese and mixed it with the mayo and a little shot of dijon mustard since we're not a horseradish family.
I chopped up the deli ham I had, rather than cubed cooked ham, and made up my own pizza crust; I already had the oven on in the early morning making some quick breakfast bars, so I mixed up a Jiffy pizza crust (adding some garlic parmesan seasoning to the dough since I was going to be working with plain cream cheese) and popped it in the oven while it was on. Then I just left it out on the counter to cool and rest until we topped it cold at dinnertime.

Sawyer helped me spread the cheese mixture and sprinkle on the lettuce, tomatoes and ham. We threw some corn on the cob on the stove for a few minutes (so it wasn't a completely no-cook meal) and dinner was served.

I had hoped Sawyer would be more likely to try it since he helped me make it; but notsomuch. He basically picked off a little ham off of his piece and called it good. Savannah did better, but didn't finish it. Ryan said he liked it but didn't seem blown away by it or anything. He did eat two pieces though...

I, on the other hand, loved this pizza! I was so nice and cool and refreshing. The cream cheese "sauce" was perfect and the fresh toppings were nice and light. I will definitely be coming back to this idea throughout the summer. I may pick up a Boboli or two to have on hand... or it would be really good on some focaccia bread or something similar.
Yum!!

Beer Bread

2009-05-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

I love this bread.
You can alter the flavor a tad by using different beers; darker, or a sweet honey beer, or try out whatever you have on hand. My favorite is a local Irish beer. Yum, it makes it so good!

This is the simplest bread recipe I have, and it is hands down my favorite.
It uses as little as three ingredients. That's it. Flour, sugar and beer. How simple is that??
It goes together in a couple of minutes, bakes easily, and goes with so many meals.
Some of my favorite pairings... this chili, this soup, and this pork and veggie dish. It's awesome just as a snack too.

Beer Bread

3 cups flour (sifted)
3 teaspoons baking powder (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
1 teaspoon salt (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
1/4 cup sugar
1 (12 ounce) can/bottle of beer
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix dry ingredients and beer.
Pour into a greased loaf pan.
Pour melted butter over mixture.
Bake 1 hour, remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes.

NOTES: Sifting flour for this bread recipe is a must-do. Most people just scoop the 1 cup measure in the flour canister and level it off. That compacts the flour and will turn your bread into a hard biscuit. If you do not have a sifter, use a spoon to lightly spoon the flour into the 1 cup measure. Try it once the "correct" way and you will see an amazing difference in the end product. I do not have a sifter, so I scoop into a mesh strainer.
You can use non-alcoholic beverages instead of beer. That is fine to do but it's recommended you add a packet of Dry Active Yeast or 2 teaspoons of Bread (Machine) Yeast so that you get a proper rise.
The final result should be a thick, hearty and very tasteful bread, NOT A BRICK! ;). Just be sure you sift your flour and it's easy peasy!!

Lemony Pork and Veggies

2009-05-13T06:48:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been awhile.
I do have a few goodies I want to get caught up on and record here. Good dinners, yummy scones and sweet desserts.

First up, one of my old favorites that was resurrected (twice) in the past week. Everyone who's had this has loved this dish, I used to make it often for dinner guests. I was looking for an easy portable meal to make for friends last week and remembered this one. I made it for us again as well, because I couldn't resist! This pork just melts in your mouth and the slight lemony juice is just perfect on everything.
>I also always make my favorite beer bread along with this dinner!!

Lemony Pork & Veggies
2 lbs boneless pork shoulder
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 16 oz package peeled baby carrots*
8 oz parsnips, cut into 1/2 inch slices*
2 medium shallots, sliced thin
1 lemon, quartered
1/4 cup thinly sliced basil**
1 14oz can chicken broth
1 1/3 cups quick cooking couscous***

-In your slow cooker, place carrots, parsnips*, shallots, lemon quarters and basil**.

-Trim excess fat from pork and cut into 1-inch pieces. Combine flour and pepper in plastic ziplock bag and add the pork, closing and shaking to coat.
In large skillet brown half of the mean in 1 tbsp of the oil about 5 min, turning to brown evenly. Remove from skillet and repeat with remaining pork in remaining 1 tbsp oil.
Place pork on top of vegetables in slow cooker.

-Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high 3 1/2-4 hours.

-Discard lemon pieces. Use slotted spoon to remove pork and vegetables to a serving dish, cover dish to keep warm, reserving 1 3/4 cups of the cooking liquid in the slow cooker. Be sure cooker is turned on high and stir couscous into liquid. Cover and cook for 5 minutes more. Fluff couscous with a fork.***

Serve pork and vegetables over couscous.

*when I very first used this recipe, I couldn't find parsnips and instead came across a bag of prewashed and prepped mixed green beans and thin carrot sticks together. I used this and it was awesome. So now that's my go-to and if I can't find that bag in the veggie section at the store (not all stores carry it) I just grab a bag of green beans and then cut a few big carrots into matchsticks to add to it.

**I rarely have fresh basil on hand. Obviously dried basil flakes sub fine... I just sprinkle a bunch in over the veggies.

***I prepared this once as directed with the couscous and didn't really care for it. I normally just throw some brown rice in my rice cooker to be done at the same time as the pork and veggies and it goes wonderfully together. Serve the meat and veggies over the rice and drizzle with the cooking liquid.

Pepperoni Pasta Salad

2009-03-10T11:59:00.000-07:00

I'm not a fan of pasta salads. I love me some pasta, but I like it warm and usually creamy or cheesy or something of that sort. :)
But I tried a recipe I'd been eying on the back of our mini pepperoni* bag and I have to admit I'm a fan. This would be a perfect idea for pasta salad for a potluck or barbeque, as there is no mayo or anything that you have to worry about sitting out.

*we got this huge bag of the cutest tiny bitesized pepperoni at Costco... it's Hormel and they are so yummy -do you think the size makes them more appealing??- and we were all in love with them. They're perfect for making your own mini-pizzas, or for salads, or like here- for pasta salads. Sadly, Costco isn't currently carrying them and I can't find them anywhere in stores or online.

This exact recipe isn't on the Hormel website either, so I thought I'd jot it down in case I ever come across these precious mini's again. Obviously, it would work just as well with regular pepperoni cut into quarters or snipped into smalled bites...

8 ounces rotini (spiral-shaped) pasta (I used half regular and half whole wheat), cooked and drained
1 cup Pepperoni Mini's
4 ounces provolone cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes (I just used the shredded mozerella I had in the fridge... about a cup)
1 medium tomato, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 small can sliced ripe olives, drained
3/4 cup prepared Italian salad dressing
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients except for the dressing and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Add Italian dressing and toss to coat. Refrigerate salad for 1-2 hours before serving. Stir well before serving and toss with Parmesan cheese.

I mostly made this to use up the last of our pepperoni, and I thought the kids would like it. They like pasta, cheese, olives, they love those little pepperonis, and (Savannah at least) like tomatoes and peppers. Turns out, I loved it as well! I picked around the bell peppers and olives, Sawyer picked around everything, but it was a hit with Ryan and Savannah. We steamed some brocolli to go with it, as well as some slices of french bread. What a great summer meal to keep in mind!!

Menu for March 9th- March 15th

2009-03-09T07:22:00.000-07:00

Monday: Pepperoni Pasta Salad
Tuesday: Grilled Chicken w/Mushroom Teriyaki Sauce
Wednesday: Spaghetti
Thursday: Chicken Pot Pie
Friday: Maple and Mustard Glazed Salmon

one pot meals

2009-03-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

I have a few new recipes we've tried lately that we were impressed with and I need to get caught up and get them written down here.
I'm always looking these days for recipes to help me use up random odds and ends from my produce co-op, and have found a few to be especially yummy (and easy!). I linked to them previously, but have learned from past experience that links sometimes go away... I think I can always go back to that recipe, wherever I found it, but one day -poof- I find it's gone! So I'm transposing them here for future reference and safe(r)-keeping.

Here are just a couple:

Garlic Potatoes and Ham

8 small red potatoes, cut into wedges
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (16 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli, partially thawed
1 cup cubed fully cooked ham
1 (1 ounce) package herb and garlic soup mix*

In a large skillet, cook potatoes in oil over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in broccoli, ham and dry soup mix. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

*Lipton has a great mix called Recipe Secrets Savory Herb with Garlic soup mix, which is what this recipe was written for. I simply used what I had on hand- regular Onion Soup mix- and it was still yummy. I am going to keep my eye out for the herb and garlic one though...

The kids ate this one, veggies and all!

Teriyaki Pork and Sweet Potatoes

2 md Sweet potatoes, peeled, cut
- in 3/4-inch cubes (3 cups) 1 T Oil
1 lb Boneless pork loin, cut in
- 3/4-inch cubes (3 cups) 2 c Green beans or peas
1/2 c Bottled Teriyaki glaze
1 t Grated orange peel

1. In large skillet, combine sweet potatoes and 1/2 c water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain and remove
potatoes from skillet; cover to keep warm.
2. Wipe skillet with paper towels. Heat oil in same skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add pork; cook and stir until browned.
3. Add green beans or peas and teriyaki glaze; mix well. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until pork is no longer pink, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in potatoes and orange peel; cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Beef Stroganoff

6 Tbsp butter
1 pound of top sirloin or tenderloin, cut thin into 1-inch wide by 2 1/2-inch long strips
1/3 cup chopped shallots (can substitute onions)
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of dry tarragon or 2 teaspoons of chopped fresh tarragon
1 cup of sour cream at room temperature

1 Melt 3 Tbsp of butter in a large skillet on medium heat. Increase the heat to high/med-high and add the strips of beef. You want to cook the beef quickly, browning on each side, so the temp needs to be high enough to brown the beef, but not so high as to burn the butter. You may need to work in batches. While cooking the beef, sprinkle with some salt and pepper. When both sides are browned, remove the beef to a bowl and set aside.

2 In the same pan, reduce the heat to medium and add the shallots. Cook the shallots for a minute or two, allowing them to soak up any meat drippings. Remove the shallots to the same bowl as the meat and set aside.

3 In the same pan, melt another 3 Tbsp of butter. Increase heat to medium high and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 4 minutes. While cooking, sprinkle the nutmeg and the tarragon on the mushrooms.

4 Reduce the heat to low and add the sour cream to the mushrooms. You may want to add a tablespoon or two of water to thin the sauce (or not). Mix in the sour cream thoroughly. Do not let it come to a simmer or boil or the sour cream will curdle. Stir in the beef and shallots. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately over egg noodles, fettucine, potatoes, or rice. (Potatoes, rice, and wheat-free pasta are wheat-free options.)

Serves 4.

This one was reeeeally good. I love a good stroganoff and this is a great one. The kids didn't go for it, but Ryan and I fought over the leftovers...

Menu for February 23rd- March 1st (in progress)

2009-02-23T06:39:00.000-08:00

Monday: Garlic potatoes and ham w/ broccoli
Tuesday: dinner w/ our small group
Wednesday: Tacos
Thursday: Teriyaki pork and sweet potatoes
Friday: chicken something...
Saturday: egg salad sandwiches
Sunday: hmmm

Menu for January 26th- February 1st

2009-01-26T09:09:00.000-08:00

Monday: out??
Tuesday: Honey Nut Chicken Strips on a salad
Wednesday: Swistle's soup
Thursday: crab and salad
Friday: baked acorn squash
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: Crockpot Chili

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

2009-01-26T08:32:00.000-08:00

I don't know what this soup kick is that I'm on... if you were to ask me I don't even really like soup.
I do think I like it more when I make it from scratch though... YUM!

Here's another good one. I originally had low hopes for this one. I am not a fan of cauliflower. I only made it because my neighbor recommended the recipe and we had two heads of cauliflower from our produce co-op. I wasn't planning on eating those two heads of cauliflower myself, so why not give it a whirl.
Well, it shocked me, but it turns out I like cauliflower soup! This version anyway. It's really got great flavor and it was super simple to make:

Roasted Cauliflower Soup
(from Epicurious)

2 heads cauliflower
3 garlic cloves
2 shallots
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
2 cups heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Cut cauliflower into 1-inch flowerets (about 10 cups). In a large baking pan toss cauliflower, garlic, and shallots with oil to coat and roast in middle of oven about 30 minutes, or until golden.

In a 4-quart kettle simmer broth, water, roasted cauliflower mixture, and herbs 30 minutes, or until cauliflower is very tender. Discard bay leaf and in a blender puree soup in batches until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), transferring to a bowl. Return soup to kettle and stir in cream and salt and pepper to taste. Heat soup over moderate heat until just heated through.

*****

I didn't have shallots, so I used some red onion instead. I wasn't entirely sure from the recipe how to roast the veggies, so after cutting the cauliflower, I just chunked up the onion real big and left the garlic cloves whole and tossed it all on the pan. Also, I roasted them longer than 30 minutes, as per reviews on the recipe... I think I did 45min+... they were quite blackened. I also skipped adding the water and used Half&Half instead of the heavy cream, and only just over 1 cup instead of 2. It was plenty creamy even that way.

Ryan and I were both really impressed with this soup. Savannah tried a decent amount too. She actually said it was too sweet. (?!)
We served it with cornbread and veggies and dip. We're thinking next time (and I do foresee making this again... Not sure if I'd buy cauliflower just for it, but next time we get a head or two from our co-op, I'm looking forward to this soup!) we'd try adding some sausage or cubed ham or something meatier to the soup to make it more of a filling main course.

Menu for January 19th- January 25th

2009-01-20T06:54:00.001-08:00

Monday: leftovers
Tuesday: chicken dinner with small group
Wednesday: Pork Loin
Thursday: Cauliflower soup
Friday: Broccoli Egg bake
Saturday: fish of some sort...
Sunday: Garlic Chicken pasta

Roasted Tomato Soup

2009-01-20T06:43:00.001-08:00

Another yummy homemade soup!!
I made this one ahead of time and then just threw the soup back on the stove to warm up along with grilled cheese for a quick, but homecooked lunch.

Roasted Tomato Soup
6 cups (3 pints) cherry tomatoes
3 tbsps olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves
1 cup chopped onion
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp thyme
1 cup whipping cream (I used half&half)

1- heat the oven to 400*. On a baking sheet combine the cherry tomatoes, 2 tbsps of the olive oil and the salt and pepper. Toss to coat evenly and spread in a single layer.

Roast the tomatoes until they are shriveled with brown spots, about 35 to 45 minutes.

2- In a large pot heat the butter and the remaining tbsp of oil over med. heat. Add the garlic and the onion and saute' until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice, the broth, the thyme, and the roasted tomatoes, including any liquid on the baking sheet. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce heat to simmer, partially covered for about 40 minutes.
3- Using a food processor or blender, puree the soup until it's smooth. Return to the pot and stir in the cream. Without letting the soup boil, warm it over medium heat, stirring often, until steaming. Add salt and pepper (and I added a little Italian seasoning), if necessary.

I really liked this soup, and I'm not a fan of tomato soups. It had a really good rich flavor, and even though I thought it was a tad bland in the seasonings, as soon as we added the italian seasoning, it was great. Once again, my kids wouldn't touch it, but the two other little boys we shared lunch with sucked it down.

Breakfast Casserole

2009-01-20T05:52:00.000-08:00

I'm always looking for a good breakfast with a make-ahead recipe. I found this one this month in my Cooking Light magazine, and since we had house guests all weekend, what better time to try it out!

Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

12 oz turkey breakfast sausage
2 cups low-fat milk
2 cups egg substitute
1 tsp dry mustard
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
3 large eggs
16 slices white bread
1 cup (4 oz) finely shredded extrasharp cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp paprika

1- Brown sausage in a skillet over med-high heat, breaking up to crumble. Remove from heat and cool.
2- Combine milk and next 6 ingredients (thru eggs) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk.
3-Trim crusts from bread and cut break into 1" cubes.
4- Add bread cubes, sausage and cheddar cheese to milk misture, stirring to combine. Pour into a 13x9" baking or 3 qt casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Spread evenly in baking dish. Cover and refrigerate 8 hrs or overnight.
5- Remove casserole from refrigerator, let stand 30 minutes. Sprinkle casserole evenly with paprika.
6- Bake at 350* for 45 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes.
(12 servings)
This was one of Cooking Light's feature recipes where they work with a real family, take an old family favorite that really not so healthy or diet friendly and give it a revamp. I've never used egg substitute before, but by combining it with a few whole eggs, actually makes a big difference in the fat and cholesterol in this recipe. And I was game to try the turkey breakfast sausage, but the grocery store I was at didn't carry it, so I got regular pork sausage. This amount of sausage is still half (!!) the amount in this family's original recipe though. Using the finely shredded cheese helps more evenly distribute the flavor without having to use so much. I mean, this is a large casserole, and I used only a cup of cheese... it was plenty flavorful!
We all loved it. I couldn't get my kids to try it (they had had pancakes earlier), but our friends' toddler gobbled down two helpings!
This is definitely a recipe I'll be making again and again; it's a great recipe to have on hand for overnight guests, weekends at the lake, or to take to a brunch!!

Pulled Pork

2009-01-20T05:40:00.000-08:00

We've been using this recipe regularly for going on a year and we're not even close to tired of it yet. It was our go-to company meal over the summer and it's not turned into that even this winter. It's perfect for a big group or just when you want a really really yummy really easy meal.
I originally found this super easy tasty method on this food blog.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Here's all you need to get started:

a packet of chili seasoning mix
and a pork butt (or shoulder, but pork butt is more fun to talk about!)

Then all you have to do is rub your butt (see? told you it was more fun to talk about). Just take the seasoning packet and rub it all over, around and into your butt. The pork butt that is.
Then just stick the pork into your crockpot, turn it on low and leave it for 6-8 hours or all day long.

About 2 hours before you want to eat the pork, pull it out of the slow cooker and pull it all apart with two forks. Or your hands... once it cools a little, I find it easier with my hands. Once it's all pulled and shredded, throw it all back in the slow cooker (drain all the fatty juice) and pour a big bottle of your favorite bbq sauce all over it. Stir it up, put the lid back on and leave it for another hour or two. The longer the better, but I never can wait it smells so good!

Then just serve it up on some buns and a nice big salad... we love it with corn on the cob in the summer, or maybe some fresh seasoned green beans. Any of those summery bbq feeling foods!

overflowing

2009-01-20T05:25:00.000-08:00

We had a busy week, followed by houseguests all weekend and I made a TON of food. Good food! I tried a few new recipes and they were all soooo good! I also made a few old regulars that we love and I realized that for some reason or not, they are not on this blog. I want to finally get them on here so I have access to them when I'm not at home. That's one of my favorite perks of this blog... I can get to all my favorite recipes wherever I am! That, and I don't have to email or write down recipes for people anymore... I can just direct them over here!

So. I have lots of recipes to get up on here and get caught up.
First I have to get these granola bars out of the way:
I've made these up quite a few times this winter, twice in the past week actually! The kids (usually) like them and since we no longer buy granola bars from the store (the peanut allergy) they've been happy to have granola bars again! These are a great filling snack or breakfast and you can doctor them up however you like. Thanks to Kim for the recipe!

Homemade Granola Bars
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I usually use a bit less)
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350*. Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands (this is why Sawyer LOVES to make this recipe!).
Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges.

Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

I always use a smaller pan... 7x11 or even 7x9x2... it makes for softer, chewier bars.
You can add whatever you like... I was out of raisins earlier this week so I just made them plain. I've also done plain with chocolate chips for a treat. This past weekend I did raisins and dried apples. Yum!

These were tried by four different people in and out of our house this past week and all gave rave reviews... they really are about the yummiest granola bars I ever expect to have!

Menu for January 12th- January 18th

2009-01-12T07:21:00.000-08:00

(Preliminary menu I made up before learning we will have houseguests off and on all week... may make some changes after further planning.)

Monday: Pizza Hut (make up from last week)
Tuesday: Pulled Pork
Wednesday:Lemon chicken
Thursday: Cauliflower Soup
Friday: Pork Loin
Saturday:
Sunday:

Mmmm... fried food

2009-01-12T07:01:00.001-08:00

I made an awesome impromptu dinner last night, if I do say so myself. We were off on our "menu plan" and I had nothing prepared or in mind. We did however, have an old(er) single piece of steak in the freezer and a ton of giant onions sitting in the pantry. Onions that are just begging to be made into onion rings. So I searched the internet for some good ideas and a great onion ring recipe. Boy did I luck out and find a great one!

First I thawed the steak, cubed it up and coated them to make steak "bites".
Here's how:
I mixed up 1 egg and a quarter cup of milk in a small bowl and let the steak bites soak for a mintue while I combined 1 cup of flour, 1 tsp of steak seasoning, some extra garlic powder and a little bit of cayenne in a gallon ziplock bag. I took the steak from the egg dip and put the pieces in the bag, sealed it up and shook to coat them all. Ryan fried them in the deep fryer. You can of course, just fry these in oil on the stove. The FryDaddy is sooo easy though! I think they fried for about 5 minutes in two batches.

Meanwhile, I went to work on the onion rings. I used this recipe and here's my low fuss process...
Put the 1 1/4 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt into a ziplock bag. I made nice big thick slices from our giant onion and threw them in the bag to coat. Then you fished them out and put them aside on a plate while you add 1 egg and 1 cup of milk to the ziplock bag. Seal it up and mash it all around good, mixing the milk/egg and flour mixture till it's a smooth batter. Then put the onions back in and work around with your hands to coat. Remove the onion rings and place on a rack over the sink or a baking pan and let the excess batter drip off of the rings. Put about a cup of breadcrumbs (I only had italian seasoned breadcrumbs handy) in a shallow dish and when the onion rings have stopped dripping, place them one at a time in the bread crumbs to coat. Then fry 'em up, just about a minute and a half on each side.

These are sooo good. Very simple flavor, but they are really so good! I might play around with it a bit next time because I have a Garlic Parmesan seasoning I thought may be really good with these, but honestly they are perfectly good on their own. I'm excited for this summer, because I'm predicting these will be a huge hit at our barbeques this summer.
I'm thinking I can make up a good batch somewhat ahead of time, have them battered and coated and ready to just have Ryan man the fryer when we're ready to eat!

Anyway, we enjoyed these steak bites, fabulous onion rings and a great big salad last night for dinner. Sawyer scarfed down the onion rings; I think he probably had close to a dozen rings! He loved 'em! I did too. I had to make myself stop. Luckily I only made one onion. Mind you, it was a HUGE onion, but at least the pile didn't go on and on like it could have, had I sliced up another. Try them!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

2009-01-12T06:43:00.000-08:00

Easy crock pot comfort food recipe.
I got this from a crockpot cookbook I have, from the section of five ingredient dinners. I've tweaked it quite a bit to make it feel more "homemade"...

original ingredient list:
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
2 cans condensed creamy chicken mushroom soup
1 10 oz package frozen mixed vegetables
1 tsp seasoned pepper or garlic pepper seasoning
1 1/2 cups dry egg noodles

my recipe:
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
2 cans cream of chicken soup
I skip the frozen veggies and slice/chop up onion, carrots and celery
I also add way more than 1 tsp of seasonings.... usually salt, pepper and garlic powder. Plenty of it.

Stir 5 cups of water into the cans of soup in your slow cooker. Whisk until smooth.
Stir in chicken, vegetables and seasoned pepper.
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hrs or high for 3-4 (lower for longer is preferred for soup!).
Stir in noodles for last 20-30 minutes of cooking (if using low setting, turn to high-heat setting). Cook until noodles are tender.

Like most soups, this is much much better days after preparing!

The kids like this too!

Menu for January 5th - January 11th

2009-01-04T14:33:00.000-08:00

Monday: Chicken Noodle Soup in the crockpot
Tuesday: Spaghetti with our small group
Wednesday: (Ryan out of town) pillsbury biscuit homemade pizzas
Thursday: Maple Jack Pork Chops
Friday: Broccoli Egg Bake
Saturday: out to Pizza Hut for Savannah's reading program reward
Sunday: fish of some sort, dish tbd

Breakfast Cake

2008-12-19T08:17:00.001-08:00

(recipe found here)

I don't have enough good things to say about this yummy breakfast treat.
It's the ultimate comfort breakfast food, and thankfully, a healthy filling way to start your day as well. Or for a snack or dessert or whatever!

I'll just get right to the recipe:
(I made this first thing this morning and my house still smells oh so good!)

Breakfast Cake

1 cup butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups whole rolled oats
3/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1 t. sea salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
1 cup raisins, chocolate chips or other dried fruit

Stir together butter, buttermilk, flour and oats in a glass bowl. Cover with a cloth and allow the grains to soak on your counter overnight or for at least 8 hours. (I just did it before bed and let it sit overnight.)

Stir in honey, eggs, salt, baking soda and vanilla. Fold in raisins, chocolate chips or dried fruit. Pour into a buttered 9×9 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

****

Be warned, after you let the grain mixture sit on your counter, it will be STIFF. Um, I actually broke my wooden spoon trying to stir in the honey and eggs. It does soften up quickly once you get it moving, but just an fyi... maybe use a metal spoon!

I'm not a fan of raisins or dried cranberries, but I did want to add something. I ended up dumping in some Cherry Chips I had leftover from holiday baking. They were perfect! Just a little extra sweetness, just a little fruity, just a little holiday color for us leading into this upcoming Christmas week!

This cake is really so good. Don't you wish you had some?...

Cheddar and Mushroom Soup

2008-12-15T06:17:00.000-08:00

I whipped up this yummy soup yesterday getting in the wintery food mood with the cold temperatures and icy wind outside. I loved it!

Cream of Mushroom Soup with Cheddar Cheese

4 tbsp butter
1 lb mixed mushrooms, sliced thick
1/2 medium sweet onion, sliced thick
5 cloves garlic, minced (I only used 3)
1 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsp flour
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
1 cup cream, half and half or milk
1/8 tsp nutmeg
black pepper to taste
1 cup finely grated cheddar cheese

In heavy saucepan, melt butter and saute mushrooms, onions, garlic and salt until the onions are soft and translucent and the mushrooms have released their juices.
Sprinkle with the flour and stir for 1 minute.
Add chicken broth while stirring.
Bring to a low boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
Slowly stir in cream and bring back to simmer.
Add cheddar cheese and stir until melted and combined.
Season with nutmeg and pepper to taste.
Remove from heat and serve.

Oh, this soup was good! Even while I was cooking the mushrooms, onions, etc, I had my nose over the pan and just couldn't wait until it was all finished. It smelled so good. There's nothing like a good mushroom soup. It was so yummy!
The kids ate Campbells chicken noodle. They didn't even pretend to be interested in real, made from scratch, homemade soup. Ryan really liked the soup... as much as someone who doesn't much care for mushrooms could. He picked around most of the big mushrooms and onions. He said it reminded him of a good stroganoff. It was so yummy. Oh, did I already say that??

Next time I will mince the onion as well; we don't really care for whole onion "rings" in our dishes. And I'll probably add some beef or chicken and maybe some broccoli pieces as well to make it a heartier soup for those of us (Ryan) who want something in it besides just mushrooms.

chocolate

2008-11-12T11:48:00.000-08:00

First a recipe for chocolate milk. Don't worry if you're not a milk lover.... there's The Most Awesome Brownie recipe in the second half of this post :)

Savannah loves chocolate milk. I think she inherited that from my mom. Who happened to be in town last week. What better time to try my first giant batch of homemade chocolate milk?

Homemade Chocolate Milk:

4 cups instant powdered milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup non-dairy creamer (optional)
2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

To make instant cocoa mix - Combine ingredients and store until ready to use. Add 1/3 cup mix to 1 1/2 cups hot water.

To make chocolate milk - Mix together 11 cups of water, powdered milk, sugar, cocoa, creamer, vanilla and salt in a medium saucepan with a wire whisk. Heat on medium until warm, just before boiling. Don't let the mixture boil or you'll scald the milk. Pour into a gallon sized container and chill in the refrigerator. Mix before serving each time as the mixture will settle.

Yum!

****************************************

These brownies are taken from Swistle's love of all things brownie and her brilliant experimentation into Chocolate-MINT brownie land. I made these yesterday for dessert for our small group. These were actually my first ever attempt at from-scratch brownies. I personally have been more disappointed in other's homemade brownies than in most boxed brownie mixes, so I've never thought to try any of my own. It's sure easy to throw oil and eggs into the mix and pop it into the oven, and if they come out moist, yummy and just the right chocolatey, why mess with a good thing?? So when I saw Swistle's latest recipe, I thought, Yum! That'd be easy to throw on top of the next brownie mix I shake out of the box!
I honestly don't know why I ended up making the whole homemade brownie part yesterday, but it must have been divine intervention (and really, they were almost just as easy as a mix!), because they are So Much Better.
Too Much Better actually, because I've had three (small) helpings for breakfast already today. (Is it even possible these are better the next day? Because I'm thinking they just might be)

Proof that these are Awesome (with a capital A):
The last batch of brownies I made lasted over a week on our kitchen counter. This is after approximately 18 hours with this batch in our house....

The Brownies!!

1) Melt 1 1/2 sticks of butter and 5 squares (5 ounces) of unsweetened baking chocolate in a large saucepan.
2) As soon as it's thoroughly melted, remove from heat and add
-2 cups of sugar
-3 eggs( beat them ahead of time and add slowly while stirring so you don't cook the eggs)
-1 cup of flour
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp peppermint extract (I actually didn't have any peppermint extract, but I had peppermint schnapps so I used that!)(it would probably be fine to omit it too?)

3) Stir just until combined and then pour into greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350* for 30 minutes.

4) Remove from oven and immediately pour mint chocolate chips or Andes baking chips over the top as evenly as you can. You can just let them sit and cool, but I personally popped them back in the oven for just a minute or two to be sure they got all nice and melty before they started cooling.

Cut them after five or ten minutes (it's really too early to cut them, -wear oven mitts!- but it's easier now than when the chocolate topping is hard and breaks up). Then let them fully cool. This seems to take a loooong time. I ended up putting mine in the fridge to cool and harden.

Important!! Bake these only if you're expecting people to help you eat them (i.e. before a party, potluck or other gathering)... a whole pan of these sitting in your own kitchen for any length of time would be extremely dangerous!!

Sweet Chicken Tacos

2008-10-17T04:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a random recipe I came across online that sounded really yummy to me. I decided to try it since I'm not a huge fan of mexican food and this sounded to me like it sweetened the deal a little...

Sweet Chicken Tacos
3 tbsp. Butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. dried mustard
1 c. Ketchup
2 tbsp. White wine Vinegar
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 c. Brown Sugar
about 2 lbs chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

Melt butter on medium low heat. Add onions and saute. Mix all ingredients (except chicken) until sugar is melted. Then add chicken and let simmer until juices are absorbed in chicken.

Serve with:

Flour Tortillas
Shredded Lettuce
Diced Tomatoes
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour Cream and Guacamole

I really liked the chicken... I liked how it brought in different flavors to the regular soft tacos or fajitas we normally have. Ryan thought it was too sweet for his taste and after my second taco, I could see his point. I'd probably use less brown sugar next time. Two cups did seem like an awful lot!! I'll definitely make this again though. Maybe for guests too, since it makes quite a lot of chicken and the kids wouldn't eat it, leaving lots of leftovers for just Ryan and me!

Cheesy Tilapia

2008-10-17T04:24:00.000-07:00

I saw this recipe on a blog documenting A Year of Crockpotting. I've taken quite a few recipes from there actually, because I love using my crockpot. This is my favorite so far.

This was a recipe using the same method of wrapping the fish in foil packets as my favorite salmon recipe. The foil traps all the moisture and juices in, making a beautifully tender fish, never dried out. This recipe simply calls for a crockpot instead of an oven, and I found myself wondering which was more energy efficient; using the crock pot for 3-4 hours or using the oven for 30-40 minutes. Anyone know the answer to that?
I definitely like having it prepared and out of the way before the dinner hour though!

Here's the recipe:

Cheesy Tilapia

3 or 4 Tilapia filets (or any other favorite white fish)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar is fine, parmesan is yummy!!)
juice of 2 lemons
4 chopped garlic cloves
pinch of salt and pepper

mix all ingredients except for the fish in a bowl
lay out pieces of foil for each piece of fish
rub sauce mixture on both sides of each piece of fish
fold foil over fish to make seal packets
toss the packets into the crockpot and cook on high for 3-4 hours; fish should flake easily with a fork

Ryan and I really liked this fish. One discovery I made was that the sauce was extremely watery when first taken out of the crockpot... I had cut some up for the kids and when I returned to the packet to transfer the rest of the fish to my plate, the sauce had thickened up and turned "cheesier". I used parmesan cheese and the whole thing was really yummy.

mac and cheese

2008-10-17T04:13:00.000-07:00

Here's my Macaroni and Cheese recipe. I always get good reviews on it.
Except from my kids. Cuz of course they only eat mac and cheese made from a certain blue box...

Well, this one's better:

Baked Macaroni and Cheese
-cook and drain 7 ounces (2 cups) of dry macaroni
-melt 1/4 cup butter in large saucepan
-stir in 2 tbsp of flour and cook 1 minute
-add
--2 cups milk
--8 oz softened cream cheese
--2 tsp dijon mustard
--1/2 tsp salt
--1/2 tsp pepper

-cook 3-4 minutes until thickened
-stir in cooked macaroni and 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese (or cheese of your liking)
-spoon macaroni into 2 quart ungreased bakind dish
-stir together 3/4 cup bread crumbs, 2 tbsp melted butter, 2 tbs parsley
-sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top and bake at 400* for 15-20 minutes

Menu for October 13th- 19th

2008-10-13T09:32:00.000-07:00

Monday: Costco food court :) Mmmm... chicken caesar salad here I come!
Tuesday: Cheesey Tilapia
Wednesday: Homemade Mac & Cheese
Thursday: Sweet Chicken Tacos
Friday: Crockpot Pizza Soup
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Pot Roast and veggies

Maple Jack Pork Chops

2008-09-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

Another new recipe this week. And it earned another permanent place in my cookbook!
How could it not, with an easy 5 ingredients, less than five hour cook time (in the crock pot), and one of those lovely just throw it all together and truly forget about it until dinnertime.

I especially like these 'half-day' crockpot recipes... quite often I forget or get a late start on getting a meal in the crock pot first thing in the morning. But then I'm always around at noon or early afternoon, and thats the kids' downtime in their rooms, which means I should always have time to prep a meal!

Anyway. These pork chops. Melt in your mouth. Mmmm, Mmmm. Really.

Want to try them?
All you need is a crockpot, a few pork chops, an onion, some dijon mustard and this:

Yes, really.

Maple Jack Pork Chops
(from Recipezaar)

4 thick-cut pork loin chops
1 sweet onion peeled and sliced
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup Jack Daniels whiskey
2 tbsp Dijon mustard

Place onion slices in the bottom of your slow cooker. In small bowl, whisk together the syrup, whiskey and mustard. Season pork chops with salt and pepper and then dip each chop into syrup mixture and place in slow cooker on top of the onions. Pour remaining syrup mixture over the pork chops. Cover and cook on LOW for 4-5 hours.

Orange Chicken

2008-09-22T19:15:00.000-07:00

I made this "mock" Orange Chicken dish last week and it was delish!! I found the recipe on this recipe blog and it really was soooo yummy. We've had a hard time finding a consistently favorite chinese place around here and this is the perfect substitute. I think I liked this better than any orange chicken I've had from any Chinese place.

It was a tad time consuming, but really quite easy. Definitely not health food, but so yummy!

Orange Chicken
The Chicken:
3 lbs. Chicken, cut into bite size pieces
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup of cornstarch
4 eggs with a little milk
oil

Beat the 4 eggs together with a splash of milk. Mix the flour, cornstarch and garlic powder together. Heat some oil in a skillet. Dip the chicken pieces into the flour mixture, then the egg mixture, and then fry in hot oil until golden brown.
Place chicken in baking dish.

The Sauce:
1 1/4 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of ketchup
1/2 cup of water
2 tablespoons of soy sauce

Combine all ingredients for the sauce in saucepan and bring to boil over medium low heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved and ingredients are combined.
Pour sauce over chicken, and bake for 45 minutes or until chicken is thouroughly cooked through.

We served it over white rice of course, with brocolli.
Ryan and I both loved this recipe. Ryan wants to try it and tweak it to make a General Tsao's dish.
I thought the kids would love it since it since it's so sweet, but no. They still wanted nothing to do with "yucky chicken". That's okay... more for us!

Menu for September 22nd-28th

2008-09-22T19:09:00.000-07:00

Monday: Maple Jack Pork Chops
Tuesday: Meatballs and Potatoes
Wednesday: Pizza
Thursday: Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
Friday: Fajitas
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: Grilled Salmon

Chili in the Crock

2008-09-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

I was brainstorming for menu ideas this cool and dreary past Sunday and my husband chimed in that a big pot of chili for Monday night football would be perfect...
So chili it was!

I've never really made chili before. I know. One of the easiest dishes around and I've never even attempted it. I buy the Banquet Homestyle Bakes chili and cornbread in the box. I know, we're sad. But I just don't like chili. Actually, I've realized over the years, I do like chili, I just hate the beans. And I hate the hassle of picking them out of a good bowl of chili. So I decided to buckle down and find a good no-bean chili recipe to try out this week.

In my searching I made some discoveries...
Did you know that original, classic, true chili doesn't involve beans at all? A popular saying among self-proclaimed chili purists is "If you know beans about Chili, you know Chili ain't got no beans!". The thought that beans do not belong in chili may be further proven in the fact that most official chili cook-offs do not allow beans. In many cases the chili would be disqualified if it contained such ingredients considered "filler".
Chili is a Texas creation, a Texas invention, and a Texas tradition. It was created as a cheap food for cowboys, one that could easily be made while riding the hard trails, and that would also travel well. In other words, it was quick and easy to make, but could be made to serve lots of people over a long period of time. Following the herds across country, a group of cowboys could start a pot of chili, and continually add meat scraps and fat to the pot over the weeks as they traveled--and it only got better as the trail went on. Including beans in chili just wouldn't have happened as dry beans were heavy to travel with and involved a long soaking and cooking time.

So anyway, here was my first attempt at my own homemade "beanless" chili. I picked a simple yet interesting recipe off of Recipezaar and tweaked it just a little according to my pantry and our taste. The original recipe:

1 lb ground beef
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
2 tsp cocoa powder
2-3 tbsp chili powder
1 can tomato paste
1 can diet coke

cook on low at least 6 hours

I chose this recipe because a) it made a decently small amout... enough for 4-6 adults. I knew it would just be me and Ryan eating this and I didn't want to make a huge pot of chili for us to be eating on forever... especially if I didn't know it was a great recipe!
and b) the diet coke and the cocoa really caught my attention and intrigued me.
I love that these are ingredients I would pretty much always have on hand.

Alterations by me:
I didn't realize I didn't have any tomato paste on hand... I used tomato sauce instead
I added a can of diced basil garlic and oregano tomatoes
I added about a clove of chopped garlic and a sprinkle of onion powder

Verdict:
I thought it was really really yummy! Just the right amout of sweet and spicy. I was hesitant on the chili powder and only did about 2 tablespoons and I might go a little more on that next time. Also maybe add some real finely chopped onions. But the consistency was right on and I loved the flavor! Ryan really liked it too. I asked him if I should keep trying other chili recipes to find our favorite and he voted on keeping this one as the norm!
Of course the kids would have nothing to do with it... they pretty much only ate the accompianing corn bread!

Menu for Sept 15th-21st

2008-09-15T05:51:00.000-07:00

Monday: Crockpot Chili
Tuesday: Tuna Noodle Casserole
Wednesday: Ravioli
Thursday: Orange Chicken
Friday: Meatballs and Potatoes
Saturday: Grilled Lemon Dill Salmon
Sunday: Leftovers

Berry Banana Mini-Muffins

2008-09-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

Made these muffins last night in an ongoing effort to get Sawyer to eat something substantial for breakfast...
both kids gobbled down four of these mini muffins this morning!

They have a great fruity flavor and are so moist and tender. And it helps that I know there's antioxidants and fiber in every bite!!

Berry Banana Mini-Muffins
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup freshly shredded carrot
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup frozen wild blueberries

Lightly coat 48 mini-muffin cups with no-stick cooking spray (you can also make regular sized muffins, just bake about 5 minutes longer than called for); preheat oven to 400*.
In medium bowl combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
In second medium bowl combine eggs, bananas, carrot, buttermilk, honey and oil.
Make a well in the center of flour mixture. Pour in egg mixture and stir just until moistened. Batter will be lumpy.
Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling about 2/3 of the way.
Bake about 10 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in muffin pans for 5 minutes.
Makes 4 dozen mini-muffins.
Yum!

French Dip Sandwiches... YUM!

2008-09-03T18:17:00.001-07:00

I've been craving a good French Dip sandwich lately. I used to always order them in restaurants, but then I ran into a few too many blah ones and got tired of it. There's nothing like a really good perfectly tender juicy french dip sandwich though....
So when I found an easy yummy sounding recipe for it, I decided to try it. (First I found the recipe I wanted to try here, but ended up over here as in our house it's much more likely to find beer than a good red wine. hehe.)
So here's what we ended up with:

In the crock pot goes
1 can beef broth
1 can condensed french onion soup
dash of both garlic salt and onion powder
and 1 bottle (12 oz) of beer (I used an IPA because that's all we had in the house (well, that's not true-- we had plenty of light beers, but really I didn't need to be adding water to the broth!) but comments on the Allrecipe recipe mentioned the darker the beer the better)

Then I salt and peppered a 2+ lb sirloin tip roast and plunked that into the broth, turned the crock pot on low for 7 hours and that's it.
I had Ryan slice it up and put it back in the pot about 30 minutes before we ate to let the beef soak up more of the juices.
We piled the slices up in little french rolls, doled out the juice in individual ramekins, and French Dipped away!
It was really good. It may be just that I haven't had one of these sandwiches in so long, but I was quite impressed. I love easy recipes, I especially love easy crock pot recipes, and I loved this one! I will definitely be making this again!

Grilled Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin

2008-09-03T18:11:00.000-07:00

Gotta love Aldi.
I personally love the premarinated pork loins you can get in the stores. A great base for some great recipes, but also yummy enough and easy enough to just cook it and eat it as is.
And when Aldi sells some great quality pork loins for about half the price of most grocery stores' sale prices... what is not to love about that??

We used a simple Teriyaki marinated tenderloin tonight and slapped it right out of the package onto the grill. Cooked up some asparagus next to it and we were good to go!
It was so moist and flavorful... didn't need any sauce or dips or anything. Unless you ask the kids of course and then I'm sure you'd be pouring on the ketchup right along side them...

Menu for September 1st- 7th

2008-09-03T18:03:00.000-07:00

I'm back! I was so out of the loop of meal planning when Ryan and Sawyer were out of town... us girls just ate leftovers and whatever (cereal) while they were gone. Then even the week they returned I just couldn't get in gear with groceries and meals. Busy week.

But this week I'm back. I've been nicely on the ball with planning and prepping and even extra baking!

Here's our menu for the week:
Monday: grilled teriyaki pork loin
Tuesday: crock pot french dip sandwiches
Wednesday: pork chop stuffing bake
Thursday: fish cakes
Friday: BBQ chicken pizza
Saturday: grilled salmon
Sunday: ???

Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

2008-08-07T06:43:00.000-07:00

This is also an old recipe I used to run to all the time... it's great for bbq's, parties, showers, etc or just to have on hand for a snack at home! It's an easy to make tasty fruit salsa with even easier homemade cinnamon tortilla chips.
I don't remember where I first got this recipe, online somewhere I'm sure. I use whatever fruits and preserves I have on hand, it's one of those that's great to throw together a different combination every time. Here are my typical ingredients:

2 kiwis, peeled and diced
1 golden delicious apple, peeled, cored and diced
1 (8 oz) package of raspberries
1/2-1lb strawberries, diced
1 nectarine, pitted, peeled and diced
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar
3-4 tbsp fruit preserves, any flavor (I usually mix both apricot and strawberry)

Simply mix the fruits, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.
This amount fills (heaping) my 1 quart pyrex bowl, which is plenty for a get together of about a dozen people.

For the cinnamon chips all you need is
10 (10inch) flour tortillas
butter flavored cooking spray
2 cups cinnamon sugar

Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges ( use a pizza cutter) and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray.
Bake in preheated 350* oven for 8-10 minutes.
Allow to cool about 15 minutes.
Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

I've made this twice in the past week to make up for my years of neglecting this great party appetizer... once for a bbq with our church and once for our game night last weekend. It was devoured at both.
Also, we made pancakes for brunch following our game night and Ryan came up with the great idea of using the fruit mixture as a compote over the pancakes... YUM!!

Honey "Fried" Chicken

2008-07-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

I made this recipe years ago, quite often, and somehow it's gotten buried in my cookbooks.
I'm resurrecting it as it is so simple and yummy and made with the minimal ingredients that I always have on hand...

Honey "Fried" Chicken
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
2 tbsp dijon mustard
4 tbsp bread crumbs
salt and pepper to season
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp chicken broth or water
butter flavored cooking spray

heat oven to 450* and coat a baking sheet w/ cooking spray
salt and pepper both sides of chicken breasts
brush mustard over both sides of seasoned chicken breasts
place seasoned bread crumbs in shallow dish, add chicken and turn to coat both sides
transfer chicken to baking sheet and spray chicken breasts w/ cooking spray
bake 8-10 minutes until cooked thru
whisk together honey and chicken broth and serve chicken breasts with honey mixture drizzled over the top

I don't think I've even made these since we've had kids (kids that eat table food anyway) so I'll report back later today after it's been gonged by them or not :)

Menu for July 28th- August 3

2008-07-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

Whew! Two months of menu slacking!!
Time to get back on board here...

Monday: Costco food court :)
Tuesday: Honey "Fried" Chicken, baked potatoes and broccoli
Wednesday: Egg Salad sandwiches, veggies and dip
Thursday: Chicken Enchiladas and salad
Friday: Smoked Sausage and Crash Hot Potatoes with asparagus
Saturday: tbd
Sunday: tbd

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

2008-05-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to make this up for awhile now. My sister-in-law had a great recipe for a barbecue chicken pizza and even though I'm not a fan of barbecue, I don't love chicken, and I usually avoid "gourmet" pizzas and prefer plain old tomato sauce, cheese and pepperoni... she made us this pizza often and we really liked it.
I've searched online for her recipe, knowing basically what was in it, but I never found THE one. I'm hesitant to try any other one for fear that I just won't like it as much. And you know how when you have a craving for just the right thing?
Last time I checked, she couldn't find her recipe, but she did rattle off the ingredients to me. So I decided to finally give it a go. It turned out pretty decent and it's soooo easy, I had to share it here.

Here's what I did:
We grilled chicken breasts the other night, so I had Ryan grill up a couple of extra to save for the pizza. Two big breasts were plenty for us.
I shredded the chicken and stirred it into about 1 cup of barbecue sauce. You can obviously use whatever kind is your favorite; I used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue Sauce.
Then I mixed up the pizza crust (I have a really good pizza crust recipe I should post here sometime, but last night I was lazy and just used two boxes of Jiffy), baked just the crust for a few minutes, and then spread a thin layer of more bbq sauce over the crust as you would the tomato sauce.Next over the bbq sauce, I sprinkled just a bit of mozzarella cheese. Then I spread out the bbq chicken, sprinkled with red onions, covered with more cheese and topped with some chopped parsley and basil.That's it.
My SIL's recipe also called for cilantro and peppercinis, but I didn't have those on hand so I winged it. You can really, as with any pizza, put on whatever you think sounds good.
I baked (according to the pizza crust directions) for 18 minutes at 425* and our yummy pizza was ready to slice up and eat.

Ryan and I really liked it (though it's not quite as yummy as I remember yours Holly!), Sawyer had a few bites (and I think actually liked it, if it weren't for wanting to get down and follow his big sister), and as usual Savannah turned up her nose at it.
It's so easy, and yummy, I'm sure I'll be serving this up more often!

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

2008-05-06T18:36:00.000-07:00

I was bored of my go-to grilled chicken flavors... we often do some good old fashioned barbecue, and my all-time favorite grilling marinade is this Basil and Lemon version, but tonight I wanted something different. So I nosed around on the internet and this one sounded yummy.
And it was. I loved it.
We didn't have as much salad left as I thought we did, so Ryan's the only one who had it as an actual salad... I just ate the grilled chicken with some fresh cooked green beans. It was really good! I saved half my chicken breast though, and I'm anxious to pick up more salad this week and use up the leftover dressing!
Try it!!
Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

Ingredients

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp. cider vinegar
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
4 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts (4 to 6)

1 large head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup Croutons

Directions

Mix soup, water, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire, garlic, black pepper and 3 tbsp. cheese in shallow nonmetallic dish. Set aside 1 1/4 cups for dressing. Add chicken to remaining marinade and turn to coat. Refrigerate 15 min.

Remove chicken from marinade. Place chicken on lightly oiled grill rack or broiler pan. Grill or broil 15 min. or until chicken is no longer pink, turning and brushing often with marinade. Discard remaining marinade. Thinly slice chicken.

Toss lettuce, chicken and reserved dressing. Sprinkle with croutons and remaining cheese.

(FYI: the kids didn't eat much as usual... nothing against the flavor, I don't even think they tried it.)

Menu for May 5th-11th

2008-05-06T18:31:00.000-07:00

Monday: Grilled Chicken, veggies and fries
Tuesday: Sloppy Joes
Wednesday: BBQ Chicken Pizza
Thursday: Fajitas
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: out
Sunday: Macaroni and Cheese

oatmeal cookies

2008-04-30T07:16:00.000-07:00

We bribed the kids with bakery cookies during our grocery trip this past weekend, and Sawyer had an Oatmeal Raisin cookie that he devoured in what seemed to be in an instant. It's been awhile since I've turned out a batch of oatmeal cookies, and since I've been having this unusual cookie craving lately, I decided to make some, thinking at least it would be better for my "diet" than chocolate chip or some other completely indulgent fare.

We made them last evening with dinner so they were nice and warm after our meal. I actually didn't have any last night (figuring there'd be plenty of time for me to submit to temptation later in the week), but Ryan raved about them. I treated the kids and let them each have one with their yogurt for snack this morning, and after I took a nibble off of Sawyer's cookie, I immediately returned to the cookie jar for one of my own. I don't normally care much for Oatmeal Cookies, and I must say these are so good! So I just had to share this yummy recipe...

It's a slightly (keyword: slightly) healthier, more flavorful version of the traditional Quaker Oats cookie.

1 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups oatmeal
1 tbsp cinnamon (yes, a whole tablespoon!!)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp softened butter
1/2-2/3 cup raisins

I baked these at 350* for about 12 minutes and ended up with just short of 3 dozen cookies. They came out so perfectly slightly crispy on the outside and soft and melt in your mouth on the inside. Reminds me of a muffin top!

Salmon Tuesday

2008-04-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

Ryan was at work a little late tonight, so I fed the kids leftovers and he and I had a "grown up" dinner by ourselves after they were in bed.
Normally I stick to my all-time favorite baked salmon (YUM!), but since we just cooked that up last week with my parents in town, I was ready to try something different with the couple of salmon filets we had left.

Kim left me a recipe that sounds oh-so-good (thanks Kim! I love getting ideas from everyone!!), but since I didn't make a big grocery trip this week and I didn't happen to have the herbs or parmesan or white whine, I thought I'd save that for another time.

What I did have on hand was an unopened bottle of Trader Joe's Lemon Dill Sauce, so I poured a little of that over the salmon and let it soak in before grilling... and it was sooo yummy! I don't know why I was so (pleasantly) surprised... Trader Joe's has seldom disappointed... but I was honestly savoring every bite of that fish. I'm going to stock up on that sauce! It'd be awesome on a salad with a little tuna or salmon in it too. Tonight we enjoyed a nice salad on the side of our Lemony Dilly Grilled Salmon, and with a nice cool beverage (Captain's and diet Coke, thankyouverymuch), it was the perfect spring/summertime meal. Too bad it was already cold and dark out by the time we enjoyed it!!

Meatballs

2008-04-28T18:51:00.000-07:00

I decided to try something different today with the meatballs than I normally do. I usually just make a quick brown gravy and we eat the meatballs with mashed potatoes.
Last minute-try something new kind of recipe. Simple:

30 frozen meatballs
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp onion powder

I simmered it all together in a pan over med heat for about 20 minutes. Then served over egg noodles.
We also had some honey sweet peas and crescent rolls.
Sawyer: ate only a roll
Savannah: ate everything but the noodles (she's not a pasta fan)... and had seconds on the meatballs!
Ryan: didn't really say one way or the other, but ate lots.
Heather: meh. I really liked the flavor on the meatballs, but the sauce by itself on the noodles I thought was kind of bland.

Menu for April 28th-May 4th

2008-04-26T11:20:00.000-07:00

Monday: Meatballs and mashed potatoes
Tuesday: Salmon (haven't quite figured out what to do with it, but salmon of some sort!)
Wednesday: Grilled Chicken with salad
Thursday: Spaghetti
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: Grilled Steak
Sunday: Breakfast for dinner

I'll come back and link when I figure specific recipes...

Menu for March 17th- 23rd

2008-03-17T12:16:00.000-07:00

Monday: Soup (never got to it last week)
Tuesday: Baked Potato Bar and brocolli
Wednesday: out to Chevy's for fundraiser??
Thursday: Chicken Pot Pie
Friday: out to the Laughlins' house
Saturday: Steak Salad
Sunday: Easter Dinner!

Menu for March 10th-16th

2008-03-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

Monday: BLT's
Tuesday: Teriyaki Pork Loin on the grill
Wednesday: Spaghetti
Thursday: Grilled Lemon Basil Chicken
Friday: Swistle's Soup
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Breakfast for Dinner (most likely pancakes, eggs, sausage and fruit)

Saucy Pork Chops

2008-03-04T12:36:00.001-08:00

I randomly found a few versions of this recipe online trying to come up with some new ideas for the pork chops I had in the fridge yesterday. I decided to throw this together and it was so simple I couldn't believe how much I liked it!

I mixed up 3/4 cup of ketchup, 1/4 cup of barbeque sauce and 1 cup of diet Coke. Yep, that's it!
The usual recipe for this I believe called for just a cup of ketchup, but I wanted a little more tang to it and I was planning to use Diet Coke (instead of regular Coke), so I thought using a little bbq sauce with the ketchup would tone down the sweetness with just a bit of kick.
I stirred it together, salt and peppered four thin pork chops, placed them in a baking dish and poured the sauce over the top. I then sprinkled just a tad of brown sugar over each chop.
I covered the dish in foil and baked at 350* for about 45 minutes and then uncovered and baked for another 15... or until we were ready to eat.

I thought the sauce was pretty yummy and (was it the Coke?) it came out soooo tender!
We served it up with some steamed broccoli and baked potatoes. And applesauce of course.
Pork Shopshhhh and Appleshaushhh... anyone know what that's from? I have that running through my head any time we eat pork chops :)

Anyway, we grown ups ate our fill... the kids pretty much just ate applesauce. Savannah said the pork was "disgusting" and at least ate most of her potato and broccoli. Sawyer not so much.

Menu for March 3-9

2008-03-04T12:31:00.000-08:00

Monday: Baked Pork Chops
Tuesday: Sausage and Egg scramble
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: BLT's
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Honey Nut Chicken Strips on salad
Sunday: Grilled Pork Loin

Chicken Parmesan Risotto

2008-02-19T18:12:00.000-08:00

We really like this dish, and I don't know why it's probably been years since I've made it. It's quick, it's easy and it's yummy. I'm putting it back on my regulars list.

The kids however... meh.
I planned ahead and set aside some of the chicken before I added the soup/spices/tomatoes and rice so I could offer them both the rice dish and plain bites of chicken. Savannah hates rice. But the kids both ate well... Sawyer did have a few bites of the rice, but other than that they at least both gobbled up the chicken (which is rare for Sawyer), ate some green beans and grapes and Savannah even had two helpings of asparagus.

Definite thumbs up from us and I'm counting it as a someday 'go' for Sawyer, just not for Savannah since she's anti-rice always.

gong me

2008-02-19T12:06:00.000-08:00

Did I mention I'm in a no-cooking slump?
Did I mention it's not really a slump as maybe more of a ditch? A canyon? A bottomless pit?

I made up a nice menu yesterday for the whole week. Even started out super easy for Monday... how much simpler can you get than throwing frozen corn dogs and french fries into the oven? But did I do it? Noooo.
Instead we hit Subway while out grocery shopping. Talk about laz eeee.

Today, I'm on though.
Chicken Parmesan Risotto, here we come.
I'll let you know how fast my kids run away from the table.

Well, It's About Time...

2008-02-18T05:50:00.000-08:00

I need to get on the ball around here. I have been so unmotivated making meals around our house. Not only have the kids been doing their regular "gonging" right and left, but I've had no appetite lately either... food is just a hassle and too much work and nobody around here seems to want to eat anything I make anyway (including myself), so why bother? LOL!

So here's our menu for this week; we'll see what comes of it...

Monday: Corn Dogs and Fries
Tuesday: Chicken Parmesan Risotto
Wednesday: Crock Pot Potatoes
Thursday: Salmon Burgers
Friday: Pizza
Saturday: Sausage and Cheese Scramble
Sunday: Lasagna Rolls

Chicken Pot Pie

2008-01-22T06:12:00.001-08:00

Kim directed me to this recipe last week, and her timing couldn't have been better as I had lost my favorite Chicken Pot Pie Recipe somewhere in all this moving over the past year. I'd been craving a good homemade Pot Pie lately, but dreaded tracking down a recipe that probably wouldn't live up to my expectations. Yes, my Pot Pie of the past was that good.
Well, I finally threw this one together last night and I have to say I was quite impressed. It was actually much easier than my original recipe and, if my memory serves me right, just as delicious!
Thanks Kim!

Here's the link to the recipe.
The only alteration I made was to add a cubed potato.
I think I'll be making this next month when my parents are here, and then I'll try it with broccoli or other veggies since my mom is not a pea fan.

The Best Apple Crisp

2008-01-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

We had new neighbors move in over the holidays, so to say hello, I made this last night to take over. It seemed fitting; warm and cozy in the midst of this cold snap we've been having.
And I looove how my house smells with Apple Crisp in the oven!!

About 6 medium apples, pared, peeled and sliced thinly.
1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup oatmeal
3/4 butter, softened

Toss sliced apples with 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and 1/4 tsp of nutmeg.
Spread into a lightly greased 13x9 baking dish.
In a small bowl, combine remaining brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg with flour and oatmeal. Add butter and mix until it's a crumbly consistency. Sprinkle over apples.
Bake at 375* for about 30 minutes until the apples are tender and the topping is golden.

>I love the topping on this and I never think it's enough, so I actually use the six apples and mix with them what's called for, but then in making the topping I double it by half... so instead of 1 cup of brown sugar, flour, oatmeal, I'm using 1 1/2 cups, and so on.

Deception is not always so delicious... or easy.

2008-01-14T06:13:00.000-08:00

So, as I like to do, I did a little menu rearranging during the week.
Last Friday I was feeling a bit lazy and made the executive decision to have Ryan grill up some sirloin burgers instead of making up the meatloaf. We had buns to use up and all the fixin's, so burgers it was.
Then, this didn't really make sense with my feeling lazy but I thought I'd give one of my new Deceptively Delicious recipes a whirl. I'd been eyeing these Rice Balls because they reminded me of some fried potato puffs I'd loved before. I had been curious to try them and thought they might be a nice side to the burgers, so I dove in. I'll skip the sordid details, but after much mess, I ended up with some great Mush balls. I followed the recipe, but I had a hard time dipping and coating the balls as the rice/potato mixture was not thick enough to hold together well. I made probably a dozen and then quit as my patience was wearing quite thin. They were actually quite tasty (the kids woudn't eat them of course), but they were just not holding up and turned into a pile of mush on our plates. Tasty, but too much hassle for the turn out.

This brings our recipe trials from this book to an overall 2 thumbs up, but 3 thumbs down:

Rice Balls- yummy, but yucky... I would have been just as happy eating the chicken/rice/potato mixture straight from the bowl.

Grilled Cheese- with sweet potatoes. This was tested on four adults and three kids... no one liked it. Savannah normally wolfs down grilled cheese and she didn't even eat 1/4 of her sandwich.

Pink Pancakes- made with beets... 1st of all I will never puree beets again. GROSS! The baking, the smell, the staining, just GROSS! And after all that work, I'm the only one who liked them. Ryan said he was getting beets in the aftertaste. I thought for sure they'd be a hit with SJ (hot pink pancakes!!), but she didn't finish one and requested regular brown pancakes.

French Toast- made with sweet potatoes. We all liked it.

Applesauce Muffins- these were really good, but really just like any other healthy muffin recipe. And they lost their quality fast... the next day I didn't really like them.

I'll keep trying some of these (easier) recipes. I have to admit it's frustrating to put the work into cooking and pureeing veggies that turn into recipes you don't care for. Some veggies are nice and easy like sweet potatoes and pumpkin and other squash, but dark messy things like beets and spinach are more of a hassle.
I also have the other book The Sneaky Chef published with the same premise of "sneaking" extra vitamins and nutrients into foods you know that your family will eat. I have yet to try any of her recipes, but from the looks of this book I like how there's more focus on the nutrition and the value of the ingredients you're putting into your dishes. She also has a lot of little simple ideas to give convenience foods a little kick of goodness to them... like adding sweet potato puree to a can of spaghettios (I tried this and successfully added over 1/2 cup of puree to a can of spaghettios and the kids wolfed it down! it made no difference to the color or texture) or using green tea or blueberry juice or pomegranate juice to things like jello or oatmeal instead of plain water for a boost of vitamins and nutrients. This author also has a big push for the fact of not just sneaking things into your kids food, and then forget about them learning to like to eat real veggies. She makes a point of saying that by using recipes like these, that you may be able to avoid some of these mealtime battles... you don't have to force them to eat their peas when you know there's spinach in their chicken nuggets and you know they're getting at least a bit of those nutrients. But that you also most definitely still need to be offering those vegetables and encouraging them to form those good habits of healthy eating and rounded meals. I'm definitely looking forward to experimenting with more of these recipes.

Any other experiences with recipes or ideas like these that you have to share?

mmm, mmm good

2008-01-14T05:58:00.000-08:00

It was such a soup kind of day!
It was trying hard to snow much of the day today... just the tiniest little flurries flying around in the gray sky... cold, cold wind, the kind that stings your skin...
It was great to stay in all afternoon and smell homemade soup simmering away.

We had Swistle's Soup for dinner. It's a super simple throw together soup that you don't have to cook all day... I just liked the feeling/smell of it simmering on the stove all day so we left it there.
Here's the recipe.
I had grabbed a fresh loaf of Sweet Wheat bread from the bakery on the corner too, and it was a great meal.
The kids both ate everything on their plates (cheese cubes, peaches and the bread) and while Sawyer (of course) totally gonged the soup, Savannah actually ate a good bit of hers.
I love this soup!

Tuna Noodle

2008-01-08T17:23:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had a quick meal of Cheesy Tuna Noodle, peas and apple slices.
Savannah ate everything (she's on a roll lately!!) and Sawyer ate nothing. Ryan had two bowlfulls even though he always tells me this is not one of his faves. I, on the other hand, who usually scarfs it down, only picked at it tonight. Role reversal I guess. I only used one can of both tuna and soup tonight to the two boxes of macaroni. I think I like two cans better.

Fajitas

2008-01-08T17:14:00.000-08:00

Ryan makes this meal and I love it! He slices up some red and green peppers, some onion, and sautees them in some oil. Then he adds some sliced beef and browns that up. When the meat is done, he adds a packet of fajita seasoning mix, simmers for a minute and we're ready for fajitas!! Just dish it up in a tortilla with cheese, tomato, salsa, guacamole... whatever you like. I usually serve this with some spanish rice.

For the kids (my kids hate things combined like tacos and fajitas), I put it all in separate little piles on their plates. With corn chips and guacamole for Sawyer (he won't eat tortillas) instead of tortillas and cheese, a couple pieces of the seasoned beef cut into bites, a pile of raw sliced peppers, and some sliced peaches, and they were good to go. They actually both ate well... Sawyer ate everything but the peppers and Savannah finished off her whole plate!

Menu for Jan 7th -Jan 13th

2008-01-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

Back to the daily grind... it's a new year and I've got a new resolve to get back on track with our meal planning and ideas. It really does make my life easier!
So here's a head start on next week's menu:
(I'll have all these recipes and results up by the end of next week)

Monday: Fajitas
Tuesday: Cheesy Tuna Noodle Casserole
Wednesday: Grilled Pizza Sandwiches
Thursday: Beef Kabobs
Friday: Meatloaf
Saturday: Chicken Parmesan
Sunday: Swistles Soup

New Years Day Dinner

2008-01-04T09:07:00.000-08:00

Each year we have a big New Years Day Dinner Celebration with as many friends as we can gather. Also each year we try to create a menu of lucky foods full of good wishes for our friends for the coming year. There are many traditional and symbolic foods to celebrate the fresh start of a new year!

Here’s to a very Happy New Year… or at the very least a happy belly!
Our Menu this year:

Shrimp Martinis
(original recipe here, we just hang plain shrimp around the rim of a martini glass filled with cocktail sauce)
seafood stands for good luck and shrimp specifically signify long life and a year filled with laughter

Vegetables with Arugula Broth
(recipe here)
green foods like arugula and spinach mark growth and wealth
Cooked greens, including cabbage, collards, kale, and chard, are consumed at New Year's in different countries for a simple reason — their green leaves look like folded money, and are thus symbolic of economic fortune. It's widely believed that the more greens one eats the larger one's fortune next year.

Grilled Pork Chops with Creamy Mashed Potatoes
(recipe here and I did these amazingly delicious make ahead potatoes found here)
pork is considered good luck and symbolizes progress or "moving forward" since the animal pushes forward, rooting itself in the ground before moving. Also, traditionally, a family that owned a pig would be eating "high on the hog" for the whole year; thanks to its rich fat content, it signifies wealth and prosperity.

Honey Sweet Peas
Cornbread
the saying in the south goes "peas for pennies, greens for dollars, cornbread for gold"

*Sweets in general symbolize a “sweet year” and plenty of good fortune
Here are the desserts and extra wishes we had on our table*

Champaign Shooters
Champaign (just to celebrate!) poured over Lime sorbet which symbolizes a prosperous new beginning

Gingersnaps
(recipe here)
ginger reprsents a sharp mind and intelligence and cookies mean sweetness of nature and a good disposition

Chocolate Eclair Cake
(recipe here)
pudding is symbolic of the sweetness of life

Orange, Peanut and Red Candy Plates
oranges represent gold and wealth, peanuts are for the hope and luck for the birth of children in the coming year, and red candies traditionally stand for good health and good luck.

Christmas Dinner

2007-12-24T14:05:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve actually. Since this is only our second year having Christmas on our own, we've had the freedom to do what we want for dinner. The Chinese and Pizza options crossed our minds a time or two, but it just wouldn't seem like Christmas without a homemade Christmas dinner. We've been eating our big meal on Christmas Eve. That way on Christmas we can snack on leftovers all day.
Our menu today is
Honey Glazed Ham
Mashed Potatoes
Stuffing
Green Bean Casserole
Corn
Carrot and Raisin Salad
Raspberry infused Pears
Rolls

For a homemade meal full of comfort foods, it really isn't much work. Everything is pretty much throw together and cook. Even my stuffing is simply Stove Top. Isn't that the best stuffing anyway? The Green Bean Casserole is in the fridge ready to pop in the oven, Ryan's whipped up his Carrot and Raisin Salad and I have the potatoes boiling and pears poaching almost ready for the raspberries to go into the sauce. Here's that recipe:

Poached Pears with Caramelized Sauce and Raspberries
(we usually serve this with dinner as a side dish, but it's also great for dessert)

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups water, champagne, or dry wine or red wine (I've used champagne once, but I ususally just use water and it's yummy enough!)
1/2 vanilla bean or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cinnamon stick
8 large firm-ripe Bose or Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and left whole with stem on (I always cut up the pears in halves or thick slices)
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

~in large sauce pan, deep enough so pears can stand up with lid on, mix sugar, water, vanilla, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil over high heat.
~reduce heat to low and add pears. cover pot and let simmer about 25 minutes, gently turning the pears once or twice to make sure they're coated with the sugar syrup. (I usually end up letting them simmer for more like an hour, the pears are done when they feel tender throughout when gently tested with a fork or sharp knife)
~remove from heat; if using frozen berries, add them to the sauce at this point. cover and let sit 5 minutes.
~remove the pears and the berries with a slotted spoon and place in a serving bowl or deep plate. Strain the syrup and pour over the top of the pears and let cool.
~refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
if using fresh berries, sprinkle them over the bears before serving.

Christmas Baking

2007-12-19T17:46:00.000-08:00

I have two staples when it comes to Christmas Cookies...
Well, three if you count Sugar Cookies, which really everyone should. I hope everyone has good memories of baking and decorating sugar cookies when they were little. I've always loved sugar cookies... in theory. In reality, as an adult, I've never really enjoyed them. They're sticky and messy to make, and I've never found just the right cookie... most are either too crispy or too chewy. I have to say that PW herself has turned the whole sugar cookie experience around for me. If you don't know who I'm talking about, you should meet her here.
And then try her sugar cookies here. Awe. Some. Seriously one of the best cookies I've ever tasted. Hurry, make some before Christmas is over!!

Another really fun thing to do with sugar cookies... my kids had a blast making these for our neighbors last year: cut out graduated-sized star cookies, frost with green frosting and stack them to make a tree.
I made ours last year with the Pillsbury Funfetti Holiday Cake Mix, using the directions on the box for the cookies. Talk about simple cookies!! I had many people ask for that recipe saying they were the yummiest they'd ever tasted!! They couldn't believe it when I had to tell them it was from a cake mix!

Alright. On to my never-fail-to-put-me-in-the-Christmas-mood-must-haves...

Chocolate Crinkles
INGREDIENTS

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into one inch balls. I like to use a number 50 size scoop. Coat each ball in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

These are so yummy... like soft little brownies with just the tiniest bit of crunch on the outside with the delightful "snowy" sugar sweetness around them.
Tips: The dough is sticky. Be sure you refrigerate or freeze long enough to firm it up. I use a little scooper to drop the balls of dough right into the bowl of powdered sugar.

Then in the sugar, you can roll it easily and not ever have to deal with the stickiness.

Also, be sure and use parchment or a silpat as the powdered sugar will stick and burn to the bare pan.

Ta-da!!

Peppermint Bark
INGREDIENTS
white baking chocolate or almond bark
crushed candy canes or starlight mints

Simply melt the chocolate in a double boiler, then stir in crushed peppermint.

Spread the chocolate and peppermint thinly on a cookie sheet lined with foil.

Refrigerate for an hour and then remove from cookie sheet and break or cut into pieces. Store in airtight container at room temp.

You can also swirl white and dark/milk chocolate, or layer them by refrigerating just to set first layer and then adding a second layer.

menuless

2007-12-07T12:06:00.000-08:00

I have been a total slacker on the meal planning the last few weeks. I looked at the date of my last post and I couldn't believe it's been that long. I did plan menus for a couple of weeks since then, they just haven't made their way onto the blog.
I made Lasagna Rolls today for a neighborhood Progressive Dinner this evening, and I've had a hankerin' for some meatloaf lately, so I'll probably whip that up this weekend sometime. That's about the extent of my menu planning as of late. I just have not been motivated to think about meals the last few weeks.

I think I might take a little holiday break from the meal planning here and use the next month to simply post some holiday favorites. Some main dishes, but mostly holiday goodies. And I'll be gearing up for our big New Year's Dinner, so watch for that menu coming up. That's a fun one!

So stay tuned and feel free to share some of your holiday favorites and traditions when it comes to the kitchen!!

Menu for November 12th- 18th

2007-11-12T14:23:00.000-08:00

Monday: Sloppy Joes
Tuesday: Crock Pot Country Potatoes
Wednesday: Roasted Chicken
Thursday: Grilled Steak
Friday: Chicken Noodle Soup
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: Pizza

Happy National Nacho Day!

2007-11-06T11:15:00.000-08:00

We love to make our own Nacho dinner around here. I love that it's so easy and it's great to make for a gathering as you simply throw on more chips and cheese for the more people you have!!

All I do is brown some ground beef up and then simmer with a packet of Taco seasoning (I usually use about half a packet for under 1 lb of beef, a whole packet for over a pound). Heat the oven to 350* and spread tortilla chips on your baking sheet. Then sprinkle the beef over the chips, lots and lots of cheese over the beef and chips (I just buy the bags of the mexican blend shredded cheese for this) and then whatever other toppings you like. Then just bake untill the cheese is melty and bubbly.
I like mine sprinkled with fresh chopped tomatoes and maybe a little shredded lettuce, but Ryan like his with just meat and cheese and then of course dips and scoops with plenty of salsa and/or guacamole.

Menu for November 5th- November 11th

2007-11-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

Monday: Spaghetti
Tuesday: Nachos
Wednesday: Breakfast Pizza
Thursday: Chicken Quesidilla Pasta
Friday: Cheesy Hot Dogs
Saturday: Meatballs and Potatoes
Sunday: Pot Roast

Menu for October 22th - October 28th

2007-10-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

Monday: Baked Potato Bar
Tuesday: Burgers and Baked Beans
Wednesday: Honey Nut Chicken Tenders
Thursday: Toasted Ravioli
Friday: Mac and Cheese
Saturday: Beef Kabobs
Sunday: Autumn Soup

Menu for October 15th- October 21st

2007-10-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

Monday: Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes
Tuesday: Jambalaya
Wednesday: Lemon and Basil Grilled Chicken
Thursday:BLT's
Friday: Chicken Tortilla Soup
Saturday: Baked Potato Bar
Sunday: leftovers

you should try these

2007-10-14T12:23:00.000-07:00

a couple of catch-up recipes from last week:

Wednesday we had
Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin with Apple Glaze

Ingredients
-		1 HORMEL® ALWAYS TENDER® Teriyaki Flavored Pork Tenderloin (17 oz.)
-		2 tablespoons butter
-		1 cup apple juice

Directions
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Remove tenderloin from package. Place butter in an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. When butter foams, add the tenderloin and brown it well on all sides (about 3 minutes per side). Remove tenderloin from the skillet and whisk in apple juice, stirring up browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Return tenderloin to skillet and baste with juices. Place skillet in oven and roast meat, turning every 5 minutes and until internal temperature reaches 155ºF (about 20 minutes). Remove skillet from oven and allow tenderloin to rest for 5 minutes. Slice tenderloin into ½-inch medallions and place on a serving platter. Before serving, drizzle medallions with remaining glaze.

We serve this over our favorite brown rice.
I love this dish.
Savannah even finished hers without complaining.... so you know it's okay!

Later in the week, I was going to make Beef Stroganoff, but Ryan was complaining he wasn't in the mood for more pasta. I came across this recipe I had floating around in my recipe book so I decided to give it a spin:

Beef Stoganoff Pot Pie
1 pkg Pillsbury Pie Crusts, softened as directed on package
1 lb extra-lean ground beef (I used the beef I had for the noodley stroganoff... cubed sirloin, probably just over a pound)
1 cup chopped onions
1 garlic clove minced
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1 cup chopped parsley
1/2 tsp pepper
2 eggs
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
4.5 oz sliced mushrooms
1 egg white, slightly beaten

1. prepare pie crust as directed on package for two-crust pie using 9" glass pie pan.
2. Heat oven to 375*. In large skillet, cook ground beef (or beef cubes!), onion and garlic over med-high heat until beef is browned and cooked through. Drain. Stir in all remaining ingredients except egg white; mix well. Pour into crust-lined pan.
3. Unfold second crust. Cut out shapes or vents in several places. Place crust over filling; flute edge. Brush with beaten egg white.
4. Bake at 375* for 45 to 55 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown If necessary, cover edge of pie crust with strips of foil after 15-20 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

It's definitely not low-cal, but it was really yummy! Savannah helped me bake it all, but she wasn't too interested in eating the "meat pie". It's a nice warm, homey, meal for grey days!

Menu for October 8th-14th

2007-10-10T11:57:00.000-07:00

Monday: Garlic Chicken Pasta
Tuesday: Pancakes, eggs and sausage
Wednesday: Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin with Apple Glaze, rice and broccoli
Thursday: Beef Stroganoff, green beans
Friday: Burgers with baked beans
Saturday: Sausage Jambalaya
Sunday: Meatballs and Potatoes

Fall soups

2007-10-10T11:34:00.001-07:00

Now that the weather has finally turned fall, I'm in the soup mood!!

I made Swistle's Autumnal Soup last week and have been enjoying it ever since. It's a vegetable soup and it was really simple (no cutting!!) and really yummy. Of course, as with most soups, better reheated the next day.
Swistle's Autumnal Soup

1 pound or so of ground beef or ground turkey (I use ground turkey, which at our store comes in 1.3 pound packages, and I use the whole package)
28 oz can crushed tomatoes (I like Contadina)
15 oz can tomato sauce (I like Contadina)
4 c. water
1 tsp. sugar
16 oz package frozen mixed vegetables (I like Birdseye classic blend: carrots, beans, peas, corn)
8 oz frozen broccoli (I like to thaw it a little and then snip it with kitchen scissors into smaller pieces)
1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup mix
2 t. salt (or to taste--I love love love salt so maybe start with less than I use)
1 t. crushed red pepper (optional, for spicier soup)

Swistle says, "Fry up the ground meat and drain off as much grease as you can. Put the meat into a big pan--at least 6 quart or you'll be a sorry, sorry cook later on. Add everything else and stir it. Heat to boiling, then reduce it to a simmer and cover it. Let it simmer for half an hour, stirring it occasionally if you feel like it. It's okay to eat right away, but I think it's better reheated the next day.

Delicious accompaniment: garlic toast.

One thing I like about this recipe is that it's flexible. You don't have to use broccoli and classic-blend vegetables, you can instead use up the little half packages of vegetables nobody liked as side dishes, or fresh vegetables that are in danger of going bad in the fridge, or a bag of Italian blend vegetables if you're feeling really wild and crazy. One summer William grew some green bean vines but didn't want to eat the green beans, so I snipped some up into my soup every time I made it. Oooh, and lima beans are good.

It freezes GREAT.

Incidentally, if you do Weight Watchers Core Plan, this soup is a freebie. Well, unless you get all tight about how many grains of that 1 tsp. of sugar are in each portion."

Next up, is a soup I have yet to make this fall, but LOVE IT!

Curried Butternut Soup
You can make this rich soup with any kind of squash, or even sweet potatoes.

8 cups cubed, peeled butternut squash (about 2lbs)
Cooking spray
1 tbsp butter
2 cups chopped peeled Granny Smith apple
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onions
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 garlic clove minced
2 (14oz) cans chicken broth
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup grated extra sharp white cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400*
Arrange squash in single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake for 45 min or until tender.
Melt butter in a dutch over over medium-high heat. Add apple, onion, celery, and bay leaf; saute 10 minutes. Stir in curry powder and garlic; cook 1 minute stirring contantly. Add squash, broth, ad salt; stir well.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Partially mash mixture with a potato masher until thick and chunky; stir well. Top each serving with cheese.

And another recipe I picked up last winter that we love around here,
Chicken Tortilla Soup

1lb shredded cooked chicken
1 15oz can tomatoes
1 10oz can enchilada sauce
1 chopped onion
1 4oz can chopped green chili peppers
2 cloves minced garlic
2 cups water
1 15oz can chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 10oz package frozen corn

Put all ingredients in crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. (or high 3-4 hrs)
For serving:

1 tbsp chopped cilantro
broken tortilla chips
limes cut into 8ths
shredded cheese
sour cream

Add ingredients to top each serving.

Spaghetti

2007-10-10T11:30:00.001-07:00

We make a simple spaghetti around here.
Brown some ground beef, add some chopped tomatoes, some jarred spaghetti sauce and whatever seasonings I feel like.
Serve over whole wheat thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta.
Top with parmesan.

We cooked up some quick garlic breadsticks with our meal or spaghetti and salad tonight too.
Kids would have none of it.

*But they both ate a big bowl of leftover spaghetti for lunch three days later!!! Go figure. AARGH!!!*

Cheesy Tuna Noodle

2007-10-10T11:24:00.000-07:00

Hold on to your hats, the kids ate a meal!
Well, that may have something to do with the fact that it's little more than they're stand-by of mac and cheese, but still... they ate it! With a little extra protein!!

Here's my super quick, super not-good-for-you, Cheesy Tuna Noodle Casserole:
2 boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, prepared
2 cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup
2 cans of tuna, drained
mix together
ta-da!

This is one of my favorites. Don't ask me why. And I'm not a big leftover fan, but I will eat this every day warmed over out of the fridge until it's gone.

Menu for October 1- October 7

2007-10-01T10:52:00.000-07:00

A couple recycled from last weeks', as I did some menu shuffling before I made it to the grocery store.

Monday: Cheesy Tuna Noodle
Tuesday: Spaghetti
Wednesday: Meatballs and mashed potatoes
Thursday: Pork Loin
Friday: Jambalaya
Saturday: Autumn Soup
Sunday: Burgers

Pork Chop and Stuffing Casserole

2007-10-01T10:47:00.002-07:00

This is one of my favorite comfort foods. Super simple recipe I learned from an old friend...
Brown your pork chops in skillet with oil.
Place in baking dish.
Cover with prepared box of Stove Top Stuffing.
Cover all with 1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup.
Bake, covered, for 30-40 minutes.
Easy as that.

My kids LOVE stuffing, so they devoured that part and maybe got a bite or two of the pork in with it. Overall, something I'll probably make often, as it's one of my all time classic favorites.

Beef Kebobs

2007-10-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

Super excited about this meal!! It was so quick and easy and it was delicious. Also, something different for us. I mean, we do plenty of grilling around here, but can't say that I've ever done kebobs and this was so simple and so good!
Recipe is from familyfun.com


	1/2 pound lean round or stew beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
	Salt to taste
	Cherry tomatoes (20 or so)
	1/4 cup soy sauce
	1/4 cup honey

1. Combine the beef cubes, cherry tomatoes, soy sauce, and honey and toss to coat. (I put it all in a tupperware bowl and it was Savannah's job to shake it up!)
2. Skewer the beef cubes and tomatoes, alternating. If you're using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 20 minutes or so beforehand. (Ryan had the kids help him do this. Savannah is very into making patterns right now!)
3. Place the kebobs on a small baking sheet and keep them covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator until you're ready to cook them. The kebobs can be broiled for 10 to 14 minutes (turn once) or grilled. Serves two adults and two kids, with leftovers.
We served the kebobs with herb buttered angel hair pasta and steamed (and buttered) green beans. This was definitely my favorite meal of the week. Savannah loved the cherry tomatoes and the noodles... she did try some of the meat for us. Sawyer, of course ate nothing.

Crusty Lemon Chicken

2007-09-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe where I found this blog idea in the first place...
Melissa's Did They Eat It? blog.
The Crusty Lemon Chicken is a quick and easy recipe she got from a book called Seat of the Pants Suppers.

I loved how easy this chicken was and then how good it tasted even with all that ease! Definitely one we'll do again. I made up some cheesy broccoli rice and some crescent rolls and we also ate the applesauce we made today.
The kids basically stuck to the applesauce and rolls, but I made Savannah eat at least half of her chicken and she didn't complain too much. She didn't even need ketchup!!

Homemade Applesauce

2007-09-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

*Edited to Add* Sawyer loved it! He ate a whole big bowl at dinner and asked for more.

I love homemade applesauce. I love anything baked with apples, but that's beside the point!

Here's my favorite Crockpot Applesauce recipe:
8-10 apples, peeled, quartered, cored, and sliced through food processor
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Put water and apples in slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours.
Add brown sugar and cinnamon and cook for 30 minutes longer.
Simple as that.
Yummy.

Here's also another version I have sitting in my cookbook along side this one. I have never tried it because I love the basic version so much, but doesn't this sound good??...
Caramel Applesauce
31/2 lbs of Granny Smith Apples
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 jar of caramel topping sauce
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Cook at on low for 8 hours.

Carrot Cake Recipe

2007-09-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

Since Sawyer is so anti-vegetable, I'm trying to sneak it in other places. We had carrot cake at my sister's house for her birthday and Sawyer devoured it. I'm going to try out a few recipes of healthier versions so I can use it more as a snack cake than a dessert for the kids. Here's my first attempt. I put in a ton of carrot and a ton of apple. And no walnuts. I hate nuts.

Carrot Cake Recipe

3/4 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups grated carrots
1 1/2 cups grated peeled apples
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts

Mix together the sugar, oil and eggs until the mixture is slightly thickened. Sift the flours together with the soda, salt and cinnamon.

Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Add the carrots, apples, raisins and walnuts. Stir until evenly mixed.

Bake in a greased and floured pan, 9"x13"x2" or a bundt type pan or two round cake pans. Bake at 350ºF for 35-40 minutes if using the 13" long pan. 30-35 minutes for round and 40-45 for bundt.

Always check for doneness by piercing the center of the cake with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, it's done.

Let the cake cool and ice with the cream cheese icing below.

I, however didn't ice it... I made the bundt cake and just slice and hand it out. So far so good. It really is moist and yummy! I don't think this one will be around for long!

Variation:

Replace the grated apple with an equal amount of crushed pineapple that has been well drained. It adds a wonderful bit of tropical flavor to the cake and blends well with the carrots and raisins.

Cream Cheese Icing

4 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup icing sugar

Blend all together and spread over cooled cake.

If you are making a layered carrot cake in the round pans and want to put some icing between the layers, double this recipe to make sure you have enough.

Variation:

If you want to drizzle the icing on a bundt style cake you will need to make it thinner. Do this by adding warm water to the icing a few drops at a time until it is the right consistency. Don't add too much water at one time. It's easier to add a bit more than try to fix runny icing.