Since we are heading back to school this week, I am hoping to go back to 'normal.' If I even know what normal is. I have been planning breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner for the past couple of weeks. I had been noticing that if I didin't plan breakfast we ended up eating cereal every morning. Miss M is home everyday for lunch with me so I like to plan lunches for us. And with Mr. Man in school all day long this year and Miss M going next year, I have been planning snacks too so that they end up with some nutritional snacks for them in the afternoons. As always I'm planning on dinners. So, I'll list my breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners. This is helpful too, because it's fun to plan a little exciting snack every now and then.
Menu:
Monday- breakfast: pancakes (I made extra last week and froze them so all I have to do is pop them in the toaster to warm and crisp them up today)
lunch- salad for me, hotdog, cheese stick, fruit for Miss M
snack- gogurt
dinner- (we have dance & a t-ball game tonight so it has to be fast) Pulled pork sandwiches with baked beans
Tuesday- breakfast: Toaster Struddles
lunch: ham & cheese lunchable (homemade...deli ham, sliced cheese, and crackers)
snack: bugs on a log (celery with peanut butter and raisins)
dinner: Chicken Enchiladas with refried beans and cheese (leftover dinner that was not used last week)
Wednesday- breakfast: muffins (will make Tuesday night)
lunch: no plan right now, will cross this bridge when we get there
snack: warm pretzals
dinner: Wednesday nights we go to church and eat there
Thursday- breakfast: Breakfast bars & banana
lunch: leftovers
snack: cheese & crackers
dinner: homemade chicken noodle soup (in the crock pot) with grilled cheeses (we also have ball games tonight so dinner has to be made and ready for us when we get home or at least easy to assemble quickly)
Friday- breakfast: cereal
lunch: field trip to the zoo...packing pb&j's for lunch
snack: pudding
dinner: hamburgers on the grill with sweet potato fries
Saturday- breakfast: breakfast tacos
dinner: Veracruz fish with a salad and fresh veggi
Sunday- breakfast: Sausage souffle (made Sat. night)
dinner: Tasty marinated chicken (made Sat. night and marinated all night & day long), grilled, with rice & a salad
Grocery List:
(Remember if there is an * by an item, you need it for this weeks' recipies)
Apples
*Fresh Veggi
Fruit
Garlic
*Salad
*1 lb. Hamburger meat
*Whole cut up chicken
Bread
*Flour tortillas
*Hamburger buns
*Shredded cheddar cheese
Kraft singles
*Muffin mix
Pasta sauce
Honey mustard dressing
*Milk
Coffee creamer
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Sunday Shrimp
This evening I had planned on making the shrimp satay for dinner, but decided that I wasn't really in the mood for it. So I went to the trusty cookbook and looked at different shrimp recipies. This dinner ended up great and the kids and hubby loved it. We had Curried shrimp with cilantro, lime, and garlic, with rice, and corn and peas. I used Uncle Ben's chicken rice and it took about 20 minutes to make, so time accordingly. We really like frozen veggies. They are picked at the peak of their growing season and frozen to make sure they are great. I had some corn and peas and the kids said they wanted both. I combine them in a small glass bowl with a lid. I don't add water (because when they cook the ice in them melts and puts enough water in), but I do add butter (Country crock tub butter with calcium is what we use)...just a large spoonfull, and salt & pepper. Then I nuked them for 5 min, stirred and went again another 3 min. Yummy!
Curried Shrimp with Cilantro, Lime, & Garlic
Robin Miller Quick Fix Meals pg. 186
2 tea. olive oil
3 medium shallots, minced (I had one really large one that I used)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, to taste, minced
1 1/2 tea. curry powder
1 cup reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth (I used beef broth, because I had some in the fridge)
1 1/4 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice (I used bottled lime juice...it's what I had on hand and tastes the same...to me)
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Add the shrimp and lime juice and simmer until the shrimp are bright pink and cooked through, about 3 mintues. Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
EnJoY!
I ended up combining the rice and shrimp so that the yummy shrimp juice moistened up the rice. It tasted sooo good and everyone was happy with this meal. I will do it again. My only caution would be that the curry and garlic really smell up the house, so do it when you know you won't be having company over anytime soon to air out.
Curried Shrimp with Cilantro, Lime, & Garlic
Robin Miller Quick Fix Meals pg. 186
2 tea. olive oil
3 medium shallots, minced (I had one really large one that I used)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, to taste, minced
1 1/2 tea. curry powder
1 cup reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth (I used beef broth, because I had some in the fridge)
1 1/4 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice (I used bottled lime juice...it's what I had on hand and tastes the same...to me)
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Add the shrimp and lime juice and simmer until the shrimp are bright pink and cooked through, about 3 mintues. Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
EnJoY!
I ended up combining the rice and shrimp so that the yummy shrimp juice moistened up the rice. It tasted sooo good and everyone was happy with this meal. I will do it again. My only caution would be that the curry and garlic really smell up the house, so do it when you know you won't be having company over anytime soon to air out.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Cake Balls
It's Friday and my wonderful husband suprised us today by taking the day off of work and taking us out for a family fun day. We ate breakfast at McDonald's, and a late lunch/earlyier than old people eat dinner at TGI Friday's. I did not cook one bit of food today, so I can not share any recipies with you.
BUT the other day I did make cake balls. OH MY GOODNESS! I don't like sweets. I love to make all kids of bad food, but I don't like to eat it. But cake balls. WOW! Sooooo goooooood. And super easy to make. Not to mention, you can mix and match until your hearts' content. I had a lot of chocolate cake leftover from a cake that I had made the weekend before, so I made chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting in milk chocolate.
Cake Balls:
Cake
Frosting
Melting chocolate
Bake the cake and let it cool. Once it's cool, put it in the mixer and mix it up until it's all broken apart. Then mix in a container of frosting (or make a batch of it and mix it in). Mix the whole mess together and put it in the fridge overnight. Take it out and line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Using a melon baller, make a bunch of balls with the cake mixture. Freeze for 1 hour (the more frozen the better). Melt 2 cups of chocolate in the microwave, in 30 second increments, stirring after 30 seconds each time, until it's all melted. Pull the cake balls out of the freezer and using a toothpick, dip each ball into the chocolate. Use another toothpick to help get the ball off of the other toothpick & back onto the wax paper to cool. If the balls start sticking to the toothpicks, put them back into the freezer for a bit to harden back up. Drizzle some chocolate over top to make them look pretty. Keep them in the fridge...or I freeze mine. They keep longer this way and I think they taste better frozen.
EnJoY!
BUT the other day I did make cake balls. OH MY GOODNESS! I don't like sweets. I love to make all kids of bad food, but I don't like to eat it. But cake balls. WOW! Sooooo goooooood. And super easy to make. Not to mention, you can mix and match until your hearts' content. I had a lot of chocolate cake leftover from a cake that I had made the weekend before, so I made chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting in milk chocolate.
Cake Balls:
Cake
Frosting
Melting chocolate
Bake the cake and let it cool. Once it's cool, put it in the mixer and mix it up until it's all broken apart. Then mix in a container of frosting (or make a batch of it and mix it in). Mix the whole mess together and put it in the fridge overnight. Take it out and line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Using a melon baller, make a bunch of balls with the cake mixture. Freeze for 1 hour (the more frozen the better). Melt 2 cups of chocolate in the microwave, in 30 second increments, stirring after 30 seconds each time, until it's all melted. Pull the cake balls out of the freezer and using a toothpick, dip each ball into the chocolate. Use another toothpick to help get the ball off of the other toothpick & back onto the wax paper to cool. If the balls start sticking to the toothpicks, put them back into the freezer for a bit to harden back up. Drizzle some chocolate over top to make them look pretty. Keep them in the fridge...or I freeze mine. They keep longer this way and I think they taste better frozen.
(This picture does not do justice to how yummy these are!)
EnJoY!
St. Patty's Day dishes
It's Friday and I didn't post yesterday and I'm late posting today. Sorry! It's been a busy couple of days.
Thursday was St. Patty's day. We started off the day with green eggs, toast, and green milk. They tried the green milk and decided that since it still tasted the same, it was ok to drink. The green eggs on the other had did not go over at all. It did not matter what color the eggs were, they were not going to be eaten...with out a fight. They eventually got eaten, but I think next year, we'll just have cereal with green milk. To make the green eggs, I just cracked 5 eggs into a bowl and added a few squirts of green food coloring, added some shredded cheddar cheese and scrambled them up in the skillet. Same with the green milk, I put 2 drops of green food coloring into the cups and added the milk. Easy peasey.
(I have tried and tried to get my pic here, but I can't get it to work, sorry you can't see our lovely green eggs and green milk)
After breakfast, we decided to head over to have lunch with daddy. I wanted to make a special St. Patty's Day treat to take with me. I had found some mint Hershey's kisses at Target that had a recipe on it that I wanted to try. So I whipped up a batch of cookie brownie cupcakes. They were super easy and quick. Once they are cool, you put the kiss on top. I learned the hard way that you have to wait until they cool or else the kiss melts. So even if you want to hury them along, WAIT!
We were going to do Pistachio pudding for snack, but didn't get back in time. So, we'll have to do it another time and just enjoy the green.
For dinner we had Beef and Noodels in thai peanut sauce. It was good and we'd had it before (but I'd forgotten that we had). It's not full of flavor, but it's good.
Beef and Noodles in Thai Peanut sauce
(Robin Miller Quick Fix Meals pg. 88)
8 oz. somen or soba noodles or whole wheat spaghetti (I used rice noodles b/c I had some that I wanted to use up)
Thai Peanut Sauce:
3 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
2 Tbs. reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbs. creamy peanut butter (I used Jiff...because I'm a choosy mom)
2 tea. toasted seasme oil
1 tea. hot sauce (I did not put this in and whished I had for a little extra flavor)
Pad Thai:
1 Tbs. peanut oil (I didn't have this, so I just used olive oil and it was just fine)
1 tea. peeled & minced fresh ginger (I used a tube of refridgerated ginger)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded & diced
1 1/4 lbs lean beef steak (such as sirloin or flank), cut crosswise in 1/4 inch strips
1/4 cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts
1/4 cup chopped scallions (white and green parts)
Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain, transfer to a large bowl, and cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap to keep warm.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, whisk together the sauce ingredients until well blende and set the pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the beef and cook, stirring, for 2 mintues. Add 1 cup of the peanut sauce and simmer until the beef is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Transfer the beef mixture to the noodles and toss to combine, then serve on individual plates topped with the peanuts and scallions.
EnJoY!
Like I said this was good, just not FULL of flavor. It makes a lot of peanut sauce so you can either make this a couple of times, make less sauce, or make something else like stirfry with the extra.
Thursday was St. Patty's day. We started off the day with green eggs, toast, and green milk. They tried the green milk and decided that since it still tasted the same, it was ok to drink. The green eggs on the other had did not go over at all. It did not matter what color the eggs were, they were not going to be eaten...with out a fight. They eventually got eaten, but I think next year, we'll just have cereal with green milk. To make the green eggs, I just cracked 5 eggs into a bowl and added a few squirts of green food coloring, added some shredded cheddar cheese and scrambled them up in the skillet. Same with the green milk, I put 2 drops of green food coloring into the cups and added the milk. Easy peasey.
(I have tried and tried to get my pic here, but I can't get it to work, sorry you can't see our lovely green eggs and green milk)
After breakfast, we decided to head over to have lunch with daddy. I wanted to make a special St. Patty's Day treat to take with me. I had found some mint Hershey's kisses at Target that had a recipe on it that I wanted to try. So I whipped up a batch of cookie brownie cupcakes. They were super easy and quick. Once they are cool, you put the kiss on top. I learned the hard way that you have to wait until they cool or else the kiss melts. So even if you want to hury them along, WAIT!
We were going to do Pistachio pudding for snack, but didn't get back in time. So, we'll have to do it another time and just enjoy the green.
For dinner we had Beef and Noodels in thai peanut sauce. It was good and we'd had it before (but I'd forgotten that we had). It's not full of flavor, but it's good.
Beef and Noodles in Thai Peanut sauce
(Robin Miller Quick Fix Meals pg. 88)
8 oz. somen or soba noodles or whole wheat spaghetti (I used rice noodles b/c I had some that I wanted to use up)
Thai Peanut Sauce:
3 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
2 Tbs. reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbs. creamy peanut butter (I used Jiff...because I'm a choosy mom)
2 tea. toasted seasme oil
1 tea. hot sauce (I did not put this in and whished I had for a little extra flavor)
Pad Thai:
1 Tbs. peanut oil (I didn't have this, so I just used olive oil and it was just fine)
1 tea. peeled & minced fresh ginger (I used a tube of refridgerated ginger)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded & diced
1 1/4 lbs lean beef steak (such as sirloin or flank), cut crosswise in 1/4 inch strips
1/4 cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts
1/4 cup chopped scallions (white and green parts)
Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain, transfer to a large bowl, and cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap to keep warm.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, whisk together the sauce ingredients until well blende and set the pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the beef and cook, stirring, for 2 mintues. Add 1 cup of the peanut sauce and simmer until the beef is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Transfer the beef mixture to the noodles and toss to combine, then serve on individual plates topped with the peanuts and scallions.
EnJoY!
Like I said this was good, just not FULL of flavor. It makes a lot of peanut sauce so you can either make this a couple of times, make less sauce, or make something else like stirfry with the extra.
Wednesday Baked ziti with sausage
It's Wednesday already and today we plan on going to the park...if this rain stuff stops! On the menu today is Toaster Struddles for breakfast, PB&J sandwiches for picnic lunch, Orange smiles and bugs on a log for snack, and Baked ziti with sausage and salad for dinner. The ziti is the only reicpe for today since I assume you can make the rest of the menu on our own.
Baked Ziti with Turkey Sausage and a Salad
(Robin Miller Quick Fix Meals Pg. 34)
1 lb. ziti noodles
2 tea. olives oil
8 ounces turkey or chicken sausage (sweet or hot), casing removed
One 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
One 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 tea. dried basil
1 tea. dried oregano
One 15 oz. container ricotta cheese
8 oz. shredded motzarella cheese
1/2 tea. garlic powder
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Cook the pasta accorking to the package directions, drain.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned, about 5 min, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, and basil and bring to a simmer. Partially cover the pan, reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer for 10 min. Remove from heat.
In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, half of the motzarella, and garlic powder until well combined.
Spoon 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 4 quart casserole dish. Top with half the cooked ziti. Top with half the cheese mixture, spreading it evenly with the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula. Top with another cup of the tomato sauce. Repeat the layers using the remaining ziti and ricotta mixture, then top with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and the Parmesan evenly over the top.
You can now freeze the entire thing. Or, Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly.
EnJoY!
Baked Ziti with Turkey Sausage and a Salad
(Robin Miller Quick Fix Meals Pg. 34)
1 lb. ziti noodles
2 tea. olives oil
8 ounces turkey or chicken sausage (sweet or hot), casing removed
One 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
One 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 tea. dried basil
1 tea. dried oregano
One 15 oz. container ricotta cheese
8 oz. shredded motzarella cheese
1/2 tea. garlic powder
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Cook the pasta accorking to the package directions, drain.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned, about 5 min, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, and basil and bring to a simmer. Partially cover the pan, reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer for 10 min. Remove from heat.
In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, half of the motzarella, and garlic powder until well combined.
Spoon 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 4 quart casserole dish. Top with half the cooked ziti. Top with half the cheese mixture, spreading it evenly with the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula. Top with another cup of the tomato sauce. Repeat the layers using the remaining ziti and ricotta mixture, then top with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and the Parmesan evenly over the top.
You can now freeze the entire thing. Or, Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly.
EnJoY!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Breakfast Tacos, Pizza Sticks, Fruit Kebobs, Chicken Caccitore with wild mushrooms and Rice
Breakfast Tacos
I don't follow a recipe for these. Here is what I do. I buy a tube of sausage that I like (such as sage sausage) and cook it up. Then I let it cool and put it into a baggie and freeze it. This way when we decide we want breakfast tacos, we just pull some out, put it into a bowl and warm it up in the microwave. Typing that just gave me the idea that I could even throw it into the eggs when I am cooking them and warm them up that way too. I always have eggs, tortilla shells, salsa, & shredded cheddar cheese on hand so these are a quick & easy "go to" for us.
OK...warm up enough sausage for each taco to have some. Scramble 1 egg per person (I do 2 for my husband because he'll eat 2 or 3 tacos and the dog gets the extra eggs...they're good for them ya know?) while the eggs are cooking add a bit of salt and pepper for taste. Once the sausage is warmed up, throw your tortillas onto a place and microwave them for 30 seconds (for 4 flour and 2 corn tortillas). When the eggs are done, the sausage and tortillas are all warm, lay a tortilla on each persons plate. Top with some eggs, sausage, cheese, and salsa. You could also use bacon (I use the microwave kind, we think it tastes good and it's a WHOLE less messy). Serve with milk or OJ and some coffee. EnJoY!
Pizza Sticks (from Mommy & Me cookbook pg. 30)
These are new for us, but really good, and a LOT of fun! They are going to become a new "go to" for us the summer, I can see it now.
1 pkg. refrigerated bread stick dough (I used Pilsbury)
pepperoni slices (or whatever meat you like on pizza)
Shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese (I didn't measure, I just used what I thought looked good)
1 Tbs. Italian seasoning (again, I didn't measure)
1 Tbs. garlic powder (I didn't use this since all I could find were garlic bread sticks)
Pizza sauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay bread sticks on a baking sheet. Mine made 4 very long bread sticks that I ended up cutting into thrids. Flatten out the bread sticks and top with pepperoni slices (or whatever meat you like) and mozzarella cheese. Fold the bread stick over and twist. Mix together the parm cheese and Italian seasoning, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the bread sticks. Add more mozzarella if you'd like. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown. Heat the pizza sauce in a bowl in the microwave for about 1 minute. Place the sticks on a plate. Dip the sticks in the sauce. I served orange smiles (oranges cut into sections that look like smiles...eights)
EnJoY!
Fruit Kebobs
On some skewers put some different fruits. We are using Strawberries, Apples, and Bananas today since that's what is in season and best priced right now. But you could also add grapes, pineapple, cantelope, honeydew, etc.
Serve with fruit dip. Here is the recipe for the dip that I made for us.
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. soy sauce (I know, I know it sounds gross, but TRUST me...it's tasty!)
1 cup chopped peanuts (if you'd like, I leave them out)
Mix well and serve. EnJoY!
Chicken Caccitore with Wild Mushrooms and Rice
(from Robin Miller Quick Fix Meals pg. 112)
I liked this dinner. BUT, it had a lot of diced tomatoes and there were...mushrooms in it. Let's examine this for a minute. Neither my husband OR kids like tomatoes, though I am working on converting my husband AND my kids HATE mushtooms. So, in the kids books, this dinner was a flop and my husband ate it without a word because he was starving and would have eaten the rice box had I served it. I thought that there was a lot of flavor and it was easy to make. If you like chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms, veggies, rice, and lots of flavor this is a good dish for you. If you're weird like the rest of my family, you probably won't :) Also, this is one of Robin's morph meals so it makes a LOT, I made half of this and still had leftovers, since I did not plan on using the extra for the other morph meals this week.
I don't follow a recipe for these. Here is what I do. I buy a tube of sausage that I like (such as sage sausage) and cook it up. Then I let it cool and put it into a baggie and freeze it. This way when we decide we want breakfast tacos, we just pull some out, put it into a bowl and warm it up in the microwave. Typing that just gave me the idea that I could even throw it into the eggs when I am cooking them and warm them up that way too. I always have eggs, tortilla shells, salsa, & shredded cheddar cheese on hand so these are a quick & easy "go to" for us.
OK...warm up enough sausage for each taco to have some. Scramble 1 egg per person (I do 2 for my husband because he'll eat 2 or 3 tacos and the dog gets the extra eggs...they're good for them ya know?) while the eggs are cooking add a bit of salt and pepper for taste. Once the sausage is warmed up, throw your tortillas onto a place and microwave them for 30 seconds (for 4 flour and 2 corn tortillas). When the eggs are done, the sausage and tortillas are all warm, lay a tortilla on each persons plate. Top with some eggs, sausage, cheese, and salsa. You could also use bacon (I use the microwave kind, we think it tastes good and it's a WHOLE less messy). Serve with milk or OJ and some coffee. EnJoY!
Pizza Sticks (from Mommy & Me cookbook pg. 30)
These are new for us, but really good, and a LOT of fun! They are going to become a new "go to" for us the summer, I can see it now.
1 pkg. refrigerated bread stick dough (I used Pilsbury)
pepperoni slices (or whatever meat you like on pizza)
Shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese (I didn't measure, I just used what I thought looked good)
1 Tbs. Italian seasoning (again, I didn't measure)
1 Tbs. garlic powder (I didn't use this since all I could find were garlic bread sticks)
Pizza sauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay bread sticks on a baking sheet. Mine made 4 very long bread sticks that I ended up cutting into thrids. Flatten out the bread sticks and top with pepperoni slices (or whatever meat you like) and mozzarella cheese. Fold the bread stick over and twist. Mix together the parm cheese and Italian seasoning, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the bread sticks. Add more mozzarella if you'd like. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown. Heat the pizza sauce in a bowl in the microwave for about 1 minute. Place the sticks on a plate. Dip the sticks in the sauce. I served orange smiles (oranges cut into sections that look like smiles...eights)
EnJoY!
Fruit Kebobs
On some skewers put some different fruits. We are using Strawberries, Apples, and Bananas today since that's what is in season and best priced right now. But you could also add grapes, pineapple, cantelope, honeydew, etc.
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. soy sauce (I know, I know it sounds gross, but TRUST me...it's tasty!)
1 cup chopped peanuts (if you'd like, I leave them out)
Mix well and serve. EnJoY!
Chicken Caccitore with Wild Mushrooms and Rice
(from Robin Miller Quick Fix Meals pg. 112)
I liked this dinner. BUT, it had a lot of diced tomatoes and there were...mushrooms in it. Let's examine this for a minute. Neither my husband OR kids like tomatoes, though I am working on converting my husband AND my kids HATE mushtooms. So, in the kids books, this dinner was a flop and my husband ate it without a word because he was starving and would have eaten the rice box had I served it. I thought that there was a lot of flavor and it was easy to make. If you like chicken, tomatoes, mushrooms, veggies, rice, and lots of flavor this is a good dish for you. If you're weird like the rest of my family, you probably won't :) Also, this is one of Robin's morph meals so it makes a LOT, I made half of this and still had leftovers, since I did not plan on using the extra for the other morph meals this week.
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 cups wild mushrooms, such as shiitake, oyster, chanterelle, or porcini
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tea. dried basil
2 tea. curry powder
2 bay leaves
1/2 tea. salt
1/4 tea. crushed red pepper
Two 28 ounce cans diced tomatoes
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cups quick-cooking rice (I used Jasmine rice...it's what we like best but takes 20 min to cook)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 2 inch (or bitesize) pieces
Heat 1 Tbs. of the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, bell peppers, mushrooms, and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the basil, curry powder, bay leaves, salt, and red pepper and cook 1 mintue, until the curry is fragrant. Add the tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pan, and simmer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the package directions.
Heat the remaining 1 Tbs. oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, until golden brown on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Add 2 cups of the caccitore sauce and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Divide the rice among the bowls and spoon the chicken mixture over the top.
EnJoY!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Spring Break Menu, Shopping List, & Mondays recipie
This week is spring break for us so I have planned not only my dinners, but also my breakfasts, lunches, and snacks. I do NOT like to waste my time trying to figure out what I am going to make to eat when we have so much more things we'd rather be doing. I'm not saying that I will stick to the menu everyday. I may move things around and or delete things due to change in plans or whatnot, but I want to have the food on hand just in case it's needed. So, without further adu, I give you.....my menu and grocery list for this week.............
Menu:
Monday: Breakfast- Pantcakes (pancakes really, but my kids called them pantcakes when they were little & it stuck)
Lunch- Pizza Sticks
Snack- bugs on a log (aka celery with peanut butter & raisins)
Dinner- Baked fish with parsley, green beans, rolls, and baked apples for dessert
Activity- bake Angel cookies with M's Easy Bake Oven
Tuesday: Breakfast- Breakfast Tacos
Lunch- Ham & Cheese sandwiches
Snack- Fruit Kabobs with fruit dip
Dinner- Chicken Caccitore with wild mushrooms and rice
Activity- make cake balls
Wednesday: Breakfast- Toaster Struddles
Lunch- PB & J (going on a picnic, keeping it easy)
Snack- Orange smiles
Dinner- Baked ziti with sausage and a salad
Thursday: Breakfast- Green Eggs and ham (today is St. Patrick's Day...you'll see a theme today) with green milk
Lunch- hoping to go see daddy for lunch today
Snack- make Pistachio pudding (watch it turn green)
Dinner- Beef & Noodles in Thai Peanut Sauce with Mint Brownies
Friday: Breakfast- Cinnamon rolls (from the can)
Lunch- left open in case I skip something this week
Snack- popcorn
Dinner- no plan yet
Saturday: Breakfast- french toast
Dinner- Shrimp Satay on the grill with rice
Sunday: Breakfast- Cereal
Dinner- Chicken Enchiladas with refried beans and cheese and chips & salsa & guac.
Shopping List:
(remember if there is a * then you need the item for a recipe...everthing else is for our weekly needed stuff)
*1 green bell pepper
*2 red bell peppers
*scallions
lettuce
strawberries (for the kebobs)
apples (for the kebobs)
bananas
*sweet onion
*1 cup wild mushrooms
*1 1/2 lbs shrimp (large, raw, peeled, deveined) throw in freezer as soon as you get home
*sausage
*4 white fish fillets (your favorite, we usually do tilapa)
* 1 1/4 lbs. lean flank steak cut into 1/4 in. strips
lunch meat...ham
hot dogs
*2 cup bag shredded mexican cheese
block of colby cheese
*15 ounces ricotta
*parmesian cheese
bread
cereal
breakfast bars
Mrs. Buttersworth
poptarts
Nilla wafers
*ziti noodles
*black bean sauce
*2 28ounce beef broth
*1 cup chicken broth
*8 ounces tomato sauce
pistachio pudding mix
*dry roasted peanuts
Gatorade
melting chocolate
*2 rolls of Pilsburry rolls (whatever you like...they are for sides)
*1 roll of Pilsburry breadsticks
Toaster Struddles
2 frozen pizzas
Monday:
Breakfast: pantcakes (recipe from Bisquick box...altered a bit)
2 cups Bisquick mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 Tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
dash (in our case...a whole lotta) cinnamon
Stir to combine. Pour onto greased griddle. Cook till edges are dry and you see bubbles in the middle of the pancakes. Turn, cook until golden. Can serve with a side of bacon or sausage, fruit and milk or OJ.
Lunch: we ended up goning to a movie and ate lunch at Target. Let me tell you, Target is a great cheap place to get lunch. The three of us ate for $9. The kids each had mac & cheese, apples & caramel, milk. I had nachos & a soft drink.
Snack: Since we ate popcorn at the movie and a late lunch we didn't have a snack.
Dinner: Baked fish with parsley, green beans, rolls, and baked apples.
Baked Fish with parsley (Gooseberry Patch Quick & Easy Pg. 82)
1 lb. fish fillets
1/2 cup butter, melted
2Tbs. lemon juice
1/4 cup minced onion
1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dried parsley
Place fillets in a lightly greased 13" x 9" baking dish. In a small mixing bowl (I melted my butter in a measuring cup and used it to mix in) blend together remaining ingredients and pour over fish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Makes 4 to 5 servings. I also put the rolls in the oven and baked it all for 30 minutes.
While the fish was baking I made the green beans. I snapped off the ends and put them all into a large skillet with some water (just to cover the bottom of the pan), covered the pan and boiled for 5 mintues. Drain the water from the skillet and add some minced garlic, diced onion, a dash of nutmeg, 2 Tbs. butter, and seasoning salt. Saute until the beans are golden and the onion is translucient, about 4 or so mintues.
I also make my own tarter sauce for the fish since I don't really like store bought. I don't measure anything when I make this, I just eyeball it and taste it. To make the tarter I mix together about 2 cups Mayo, 1 Tbs. yellow mustard, 1 Tbs. sugar (we like it sweet), 2 Tbs. sweet relish, a dash of paprika, salt and pepper.
Baked apples:
Core 2 red apples (for 4 people) and put into a baking dish. Add a pat of butter in each and sprkinle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Top with marshmallows and broil until marshmallows are brown. (I usually use red hots instead of the cinnamon and nutmeg, but wouldn't you know it, we were out of them and I didn't realize it!)
I did not get any pictures. But I'll try to for the rest of the week. I did this fish recipe for the first time. We thought that it was ok. I usually just throw some fish in a baking dish and season it up with seasoning that we like and bake it till it flakes apart. But I wanted to try something else. It was good, but not great. There was a TON of butter and the seasoning was just ok. Not very strong.
EnJoY!
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