Friday

Homemade Chicken Nuggets
This is just something that I throw together, so the ingredients aren’t exact measurements

3-4 Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breasts(or as many as you may need for your family)
Salt & pepper to taste
Flour
Egg
I cut the chicken into bite size pieces, then salt and pepper them.
Beat egg in shallow pie pan, add little bit of milk to it.
Pour about 1 cup flour in another shallow pie pan.
Dip chicken pieces into egg mixture then into flour.
I pan fry these in olive oil. Really very simple, and my children love them.

We served this with some rice and gravy (remember born and raised in the south), sliced tomatoes and some green beans.

Saturday night we will be having pizza, and I’m not gonna lie, we usually have $5 pizza from Little Ceasars. I have been known a few times to buy a ready made pizza crust and throw some toppings on it. But in honor of Stephanie Nielson and her family, I’m going to make her homemade Wheat pizza crust. The children will enjoy cheese as their favorite topping and Todd and I will top ours with spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, onions, black olives, and peppers.

Wednesday--

Last night we had...

Cheesy Beans and Franks, so good. I'm on a bean kick this week, just one of those things. I'm not pregnant, but just wanting something other than meat for a change. I got this recipe from Martha Stewart kids several years ago, and we agree that it is a great alternative to Mac and Cheese.
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 ½ Tbsp flour
1 ¾ cup milk
3 ½ cups yellow cheese( i have used several different types of cheese and not all of them were yellow)
2 cans 15.5ounces white beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups, smoked sausage, cut into ½ inch moons
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ cup finely crushed croutons
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In medium saucepan, heat oil, add onion and cook until translucent, 3-4 minutes. Add flour, stir to coat onion, with heat on medium, stir with a whisk and add milk in steady stream. Continue whisking until combined. Cook until sauce begins to thicken, about 2 minutes. Add cheese, stirring to combine. Remove from heat and stir in the beans and sausage. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to oven proof dish. Sprinkle croutons on top of casserole and bake until bubbling, about 15 minutes.

I make this dish without the sausage, and it’s still really tasty. One time I used turkey franks and the kids liked that, we have also used some leftover ham. We served this with a side of baby peas. Happy Eating!

Tonight we will be having Brinner, you know, breakfast for dinner(did anyone watch Scrubs,,too funny) Anyhoo, we have open house at school for Amara tonight and I wanted something quick, and easy and sure to please. We will be having eggs, grits(I have lived in the south all my life), fruit and some pancakes. I may or may not have time to take pictures!

Dinner Tonight

Last night was Spaghetto's and apples - not worth blogging about. But, tonight was a definite improvement and one of my favorite things to eat - fish! I used to dislike it, but David "newly" introduced it to me and I have been hooked. So, tonight we had fish tacos with side fixins'.



1.5 lbs of swai fillets (or another white fish) marinaded in Key Lime Honey Mustard (but you can use any marinade you like) for 20-30 minutes, then grilled. Flake it and place it in a tortilla shell. Add sour cream mixed with lime juice to give it a kick and some salsa to top it off.

Add some roasted potatoes (David does these and I have no idea what he seasons them - I don't think he really knows - but I know they are darn good) and steamed diced broccoli, yellow squash and zucchini.

Don't forget a dessert to make this meal not so guilt free:).

Tuesday--

Chicken and Refried Black bean Quesadillas

This is a really simple and easy dinner. Use leftover chicken, open a can of refried black beans and your main ingredients are ready. As you can see, we had some sliced tomatoes, corn and guacamole to make it complete. Picture courtesy of Todd.

Food as comic relief?

Here is a picture taken at 5 pm. Not artistic. Quite animalistic. 

I baked nine blueberry muffins at 11 am on the same day using this recipe. 

The muffins turned out so well that we were spooning them directly out of the tin to shovel the contents straight to our mouths. We couldn't be bothered with the extra step of easing the muffins out first. Nope. Tin-spoon-mouth. 

I've been looking for a great blueberry muffin recipe for years. I think I've been looking for some secret trick or ingredient, and that's why the perfect recipe has eluded me for so long. 

Irene found this one. It's simple and delicious. Be warned. This recipe will rob you of food reasoning skills. I had four in a matter of six hours.   

We followed the directions exactly and used fresh not frozen blueberries. Oh yum.

Monday---

Stuffed Zucchini and Bell Peppers
1 small onion, grated
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 large egg
3 Tbsp ketchup
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1/3 cup grated cheese; Parmesan, Romano, Fontina (any kind you have on hand works)
¼ cup bread crumbs
1lb ground turkey, preferably dark meat
2 zucchini, ends removed, halved lengthwise
2 green bell peppers, halved and seeded
Can also use, red, yellow and orange bell peppers.
1&1/2 cup marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly drizzle olive oil into a 13x9 baking dish. Whisk the onion, parsley, egg, ketchup, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese and bread crumbs. Mix in the turkey. Cover and refrigerate. Using a spoon or melon baller, carefully scrape out the seeds and inner flesh from the zucchini.(see above picture) Be careful not to pierce through the skin. Fill the zucchini and pepper halves with the turkey mixture, dividing equally. Arrange the stuffed vegetables in the baking dish. Pour the marinara sauce over the vegetables.( I use crushed tomatoes, or canned diced tomatoes simmered with some herbs.) Bake uncovered until the vegetables are tender and the filling registers 165 degrees F, about 45 minutes.

We served this with a side salad, toasty wheat bread, and some noodles for the kiddos. For dessert, some brownies. On the menu tonight, Quesadillas. Yum!

Food Art?

Black Bean burgers, Tomato & Cucumber salad, Crash Potatoes

So, not nearly as pretty as the previous pictures, but we are trying. I have an adequate not quality camera. This week I am going to be posting our dinner menu and would like anyone and everyone who reads this to do the same. (It doesn't have to be this week, but soon!) I am really itching for some new dinner ideas, and I could go through my gazillion cookbooks, but I do that all the time, so here's another challenge for all who read this!

Sunday: Black Bean Burgers, Tomato & Cucumber Salad and Crash Potatoes

Black Bean Burgers

1 can Black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup minced red onion

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 large egg

place beans in large bowl, partially mash with fork. Stir in remaining ingredients. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions, ( i made 5 burgers with this amount) shaping into a patty. Grill or pan fry in small amount of olive oil until cooked through.

We served this on lettuce, you could use mayo and buns, or guacamole or ranch, the possibilities are endless.

Tomato & Cucumber Salad

Slice one cucumber, one tomato and 1/2 red onion. Combine in bowl, add favorite Italian dressing, or Oil and vinegar mixture with salt and pepper to taste. I used Olive oil and vinegar, but I don't measure so I can't really tell you how much, just to taste. Let marinade a few hours.

Crash Potatoes

You will need enough small red potatoes for your family. Bring red potatoes to boil in salted water until fork tender. Drizzle cookie sheet with olive oil. Place red potatoes on cookie sheet and smash with potato smasher or fork. Brush olive oil over potatoes, sprinkle with salt, pepper and any other delish herb you like. I got this recipe from Pioneer Woman Cooks if you need better directions.

On the Menu for tonight, Stuffed Zucchini and Bell Peppers, see you tomorrow!