Deli Monte Cristos

Holy smokes! I have been getting progressively busier at work. This is a good thing. A really good thing. I feel like I haven't submitted a post in a while; like a week. I also feel like I don't want to cook, and my allergies are driving me absolutely crazy. Last night, I had Toastmasters, and I was planning to fix dinner for my family before I left. That didn't happen, and I left David in charge...He did not cook dinner. The kids ate leftovers. Tonight, I didn't want to cook either, fortunately David jumped in and fixed the dinner that I was supposed to fix last night. He takes good care of me when he knows I'm starting to get overwhelmed, or over worked, or just plain tired and unmotivated. It gives me a small respite, and I can get back to my routine tomorrow.

The kids start spring break tomorrow, and we are going to a spring training game on Saturday. I am taking Monday off from work, as well as next Friday and Saturday. I'm pretty excited about spending some time with my kids and family.

Deli Monte Cristos
prep/total time: 10 minutes Makes: 2 servings

4 slices rye bread
4 thin slices deli ham
2 thin slices deli turkey
2 Tbsp deli coleslaw
2 Tbsp thousand island salad dressing
2 slices Swiss cheese
2 eggs

On two slices of bread, layer a slice of ham and turkey, coleslaw, salad dressing and cheese. Top with remaining ham and bread.
In a shallow bowl, whisk the eggs. Dip both sides of sandwiches in eggs.
In a non stick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, cook sandwiches over medium heat for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until bread is toasted and cheese is melted.

Enjoy

Again with the sloppy joes!

I am loving getting up early to take care of my workouts. I used to do it all the time, and then I got out of the habit, but when my schedule gets booked with back to back clients, I don't have time to get mine in. However, today I had a fairly easy day, and got my workout in before I started my shift. Then I got off early in the mid-day, so I did another thing that I used to do all the time. I went home and deep cleaned my kitchen from top to bottom; dusting the ceiling fan, washing the french door windows, washing the walls and base boards, cleaning the appliances, you get the idea. I bought some Mr Clean Magic Erasers the other day, and I have never tried one before. Where have they been all my life? And WHY didn't I start using them sooner? WOW!

After I cleaned the kitchen, I went to get the kids from school, and came back home for a late lunch, and then off to my second shift at work, and my second workout of the day. I came home after that and got dinner started. Before I left, I gave David the choice of making cheese burgers, or I could make sloppy joes after I got home. He's not feeling too well, so he chose that I cook dinner tonight. The last sloppy joe recipe I shared with you, was a crock pot recipe. Tonight, I made them in the skillet. I got this recipe out of a magazine. It's a recipe by French's Mustard, super easy and delicious.

Sloppy Joe Sliders
Makes: 24 sliders

1 1/2 tsp oil
2 C chopped onions
3 lbs ground beef
2 C barbecue sauce or ketchup
1 C French's classic yellow Mustard
1/2 C Worcestershire sauce
24 slider buns

Heat oil in a large pot. Saute onion 3 minutes, until tender.
Add beef to pot. Cook until browned, stirring to separate meat. Drain well.
Stir in barbecue sauce, mustard and Worcestershire. Simmer 5 minutes, until flavors are blended. Spoon onto slider buns.

I do not make the full amount. I cut it down to 1/3, and we use regular buns, not slider buns. So crock pot or skillet, it doesn't get much easier than sloppy joes, for a hectic day or an easy but super productive day.

Enjoy

Crock pot Monday

What a day! I got up at 4:30 this morning so I could get my first workout in. I didn't have any other time available through out the day, and there are no excuses for missing a workout on Monday. The kids had to get to school early today, and I had to get dinner in the crock pot before we left. The funny thing is, the more I have to do in a small amount of time, the better I perform, and the calmer I actually am. I forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer last night, so I actually just put it in the crock pot frozen, and I like the way it turns out. Something about the texture that I like better than most chicken in the crock pot.

My day was slammed with back to back clients and then I had to go pick the kids up after school. I went back for my second shift, and had a second workout planned for after those clients. My second client was 30 minutes late, and normally that would make me twitchy, but because I knew dinner was already prepared, and the family could eat, I wasn't too distracted by his tardiness. When I got home, everyone had eaten, and said dinner was delicious. After eating some for myself, I could guess that the kids probably had a very small portion, and then made a cheese crisp or something. Tonight's dinner had a decent kick to it, and my kids don't like "spicy" Needless to say, there are leftovers, and I am very excited about that.

I found this recipe on Pinterest, and it came from www.skinnymom.com

Skinny Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Prep time: 15-20 minutes

Cook time: 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low

Yield: 6 servings

Serving size: 1/6 recipe

Ingredients

Soup:
• 16 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 16 oz can reduced-sodium black beans, drained + rinsed
• 16 oz can kidney beans, drained + rinsed
• 8 oz can tomato paste
• 10 oz package of yellow corn, frozen
• 2 — 10 oz cans Ro*Tel® diced tomatoes with chilies
• 1 packet reduced-sodium taco seasoning
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 32 oz reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 20 unsalted corn tortilla chips
Optional toppings*:
• reduced-fat sour cream
• sliced Jalapeño peppers
• avocado
• reduced-fat Mexican shredded cheese
• cilantro, chopped
• lime wedges
• *Optional toppings are not included in nutritional calculations.

Instructions

Soup:
1. Place chicken on the bottom of the slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients.
2. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.
3. Remove chicken breasts and shred with a fork, return to slow cooker and mix well. Spoon soup into bowls and top with crumbled tortilla chips. Add optional toppings, if desired.

Nutrition Information

Per Serving (1/6 recipe):

Calories: 389

Calories from fat: 55

Fat: 6g

Saturated Fat: 1g

Cholesterol: 43mg

Sodium: 1795mg

Carbohydrates: 52g

Fiber: 13g

Sugar 16g

Protein: 31g

Calcium: 11%

Iron: 19%

Stupid easy lasagna

WARNING If you are paleo, or more importantly Italian, you should probably just stop reading now. There is nothing paleo friendly about this recipe, and it's also just an insult to all Italians. Before I get into all of that let me say that I have a hard time sleeping in, so I went to bed at midnight last night - or this morning. I was awake by 7:30, and could not go back to bed. For me, that is a success. I decided to try to make today an electronic free day. So much accomplished today!!! When I used to do triathlons, I was constantly productive. I haven't raced in a while, and while I think about doing it again, I must admit that I am obsessed with the barbell right now. At any rate, since I haven't had to budget my time to include training for racing, I haven't really been doing all of the things I used to. I know that I work, because I feel that it makes me a better mom. I am just better able to budget my time, but I have been neglecting some household chores, and that effects my stress level. I am feeling pretty good that I was able to put some attention into the things that I have been needing to for a while.

Today my daughter went over to her best friend's house, and I've started to become friends with her mom. I never thought i would be friends with any of my kids' friend's parents, but I am happy that we are becoming friends.  When I went to pick my daughter up, I stayed and chatted a bit, and found out that they make home made pasta every Sunday as a family. Pretty cool tradition and family bonding. I told her we were having lasagna for dinner, and that's when she told me about that tradition. She then asked if I've ever made pasta before, I said no, and then she asked if I make my own sauce. While I have, I don't very often. When I got home, I decided to take a small respite from all my productivity. Then I went to search for my lasagna recipe. I remember my mom making lasagna when I was a kid, and I remember her putting egg in the recipe, and she would make her sauce from scratch. Yummy! David is the lengthy pasta dish maker. He makes the most delicious manacotti. I should request that in the next menu block (in about 6 weeks). I have only made lasagna 2 or 3 times before, and I haven't made it in probably 10 years. Imagine my dismay when I saw that it was a fairly lengthy process. I went online to see what I could dig up. I struck gold on www.myrecipes.com As I started to assemble the dish, David walked in, and shook his head at the order of operations. Certainly not like I've ever made it before, and definitely an insult to Italians. However, it was so delicious and there were no leftovers. Everyone - including Kaila had seconds.

The recipe calls for ground beef in the sauce, and I would normally add that, but I didn't thaw any out, so I left it out. Everything else was followed as instructed.

Extra Easy Lasagna
Makes: 6-8 servings

1 pound lean ground beef
4 C tomato basil pasta sauce
6 uncooked lasagna noodles, uncooked
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
2 1/2 C (10 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 C hot water

Cook beef in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the pasta sauce

Spread 1/3 of the meat sauce in a lightly greased 11x7 inch baking dish; layer with 3 noodles and half each of ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese. (The ricotta cheese layers will be thin). Repeat procedure; spread remaining one third of meat sauce over mozzarella cheese. Slowly pour hot water around the inside edge of the dish. Tightly cover baking dish with 2 layers of heavy duty aluminium foil.

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes; uncover and bake 10 more minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

So easy to prepare, and I was able to continue to be productive while the lasagna was cooking.

Enjoy

A new family favorite that I didn't eat

What a beautiful day it was today. I had an easy day at work; 1 yoga class, and 2 clients. Then, my daughter and I went with my mom for our pedicures. I swear, that was probably one of the best, most relaxing pedicures I've ever had. I got dinner cooking, but when it was all said and done, I didn't want to eat it. My allergies started acting up as I was cooking, and you know how you can lose your appetite when you get stuffed up. My family said that dinner was delicious, and there are no leftovers, so I won't be able to try out some leftovers to try for myself. I served broccoli as a side dish.

Zesty Pork Tenderloin
Makes: 6 servings

2 pork tenderloins, about 3/4 pound each
1/4 C ketchup
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp white wine or water
1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Trim fat from pork tenderloins. Mix remaining ingredients in a shallow glass or plastic dish. Add pork; turn to coat with marinade. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour but no longer than 24 hours.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place pork on rack in shallow roasting pan. Insert meat thermometer horizontally so tip is in the thickest part of pork. Bake uncovered about 35 minutes for medium done-ness (160 degrees).

Very easy. Even when allergies make you feel like doing absolutely nothing.

cowboy burritos

So, I was mistaken, I thought that Wednesday was the night that I had planned for the steak dinner, but it was actually tonight. So I made what I had planned for Wednesday night, tonight. On Wednesday, Heath had parkour, and my folks invited us out to dinner after. Very lovely. Winning all around. I got to spend time with a bigger portion of my family at the table, and I didn't have to cook. We ate at a place called Baja Joe's. Great Mexican food, and excellent seafood. I had a client tell me about the place, and then I told my folks about it, and my mom can't get enough of their shrimp tacos.

Tonight was a recipe that I'm sure isn't original, but it just came to me one day, so I don't know who to give credit to. I wanted grilled chicken burritos one night, and then I started just throwing things together as the chicken breasts were grilling. The end result was delish and everyone loves when I put them on the menu. David was in charge of grilling the chicken breasts while I was at work, but when I came home I was sitting in my driveway listening to a good song on the radio, and my car died. Just like that. Sooo, I had to take over the grilling while David ran around getting my battery replaced. I must say that I am slightly intimidated by the grill. I think I am a bit more confident after tonight's experience, but I will just say this; please don't ask me to light the grill.

When I set up the assembly line for this dinner, I lay out the tortillas, then I chop up the tomatoes, lettuce, and avocado, and just leave it on the cutting board. I set out the cheese, sour cream, and salsa so that each person can assemble their burrito as they wish. Then there is the pan for the beans, so really clean up is so simple, as we eat these on paper plates.

Ranch Style Cowboy Burritos

1.5 lbs chicken breasts, grilled and shredded
1.5 ounce can ranch style beans
tortillas
shredded cheese
tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, sour cream, salsa

Grill the chicken over medium heat until no longer pink (you can choose to marinade them if you'd like - I don't), cool and then shred. Heat up the ranch beans. heat up the tortilla, then layer on the chicken, beans, and whatever toppings you'd like. Use your imagination and make a masterpiece.

Enjoy

Fish and Brussels sprouts after a long day of work and working out

I forgot to post last night, but David was in charge of the cooking. We had meatball subs, and a nice salad. YUM! Today was a split shift for me, and I ate lunch on my break, so I didn't have time to cook, or rather I didn't feel like cooking on my down time. I had 2 clients in the evening, and then had to get in my intervals before heading home. I called David on my way home, and asked him to prep the vegetable. His choice was between broccoli or Brussels sprouts. He chose the Brussels sprouts. Dinner was actually rather easy to fix, and I got to do something that I really enjoy, which is prepping an entire meal, and timing it so that everything is done and ready at the same time.

We had a very pleasant dinner together, at the table as a family. Great bonding and conversation. Everyone liked the dinner, and Kaila ate her entire dinner with only a minimal amount of "picking" - she didn't care for the shallots in the sauce/dressing. I have to figure out what I have in the freezer for tomorrow night's dinner, as we ate the steaks I had planned for tomorrow on Sunday when we had surf and turf. I guess tomorrow is the mystery dinner. Maybe I've come up with a new night, like meatless night, word of the day Wednesday, mystery dinner night. Maybe not.

Dinner looked so delicious that I thought about taking a picture of it, but first I was too hungry, and ate it before I gave it a second thought. Also, I am still pretty frustrated about the pictures I took on Sunday, and my inability to post them here. UGH

Pecan-Coated Roughy
Prep/total: 30 minutes Makes: 4 servings

1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 C finely chopped pecans
4 orange roughy fillets (6 ounces each)
1 Tbsp chopped shallot
2 tsp butter
1/2 C wine
2 tsp cornstarch
1 C orange juice
2 tsp Dijon mustard

Place the egg and pecans in separate shallow bowls. Dip fillets into egg, then coat with pecans. Place in a greased 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, saute shallot in butter until tender. Add wine. Bring to a boil; cook for 1-2 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, orange juice and mustard until smooth; stir into wine mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
Serve with orange roughy.

OK, so I learned on Sunday that orange roughy is not sustainable, and is actually endangered. So I chose to use tilapia instead. I haven't cooked with roughy in probably a decade, so I haven't purchased it in equally that long, which explains my ignorance I guess. I also use arrowroot instead of cornstarch.  Also, in one of my earlier posts, I think the first one, I mentioned that I try to cook recipes that use similar ingredients, so that I don't end up using part of something and throwing it away, but rather I use it the next night, or the day after. However, wine is an entirely different story. I don't drink. Well, I might have a beer 2-3 times in a year, and I really don't like wine. Especially red wine. I know, please don't judge me. When I have a recipe that calls for wine, then the bottle of unfinished wine will seriously sit in the fridge until the next recipe, and on and on until it's finished.

This dinner was seriously very easy, and quick. I could imagine fixing this after work if I worked a 9-5 job, and then had to run around carting the kids here and there.

Enjoy.

Surf and turf on Sunday

I took advantage of having the kids stay at my folks' on Friday night, and started to map out the next blocks of menus. I usually do 3 week blocks, but I had so much in the waiting list. I challenged myself to go for 6 weeks. David and I were watching some movie on TV, so I asked him for 7 dinner suggestions. I had to laugh at the look and scoff I got from him. You would have thought I asked him to paint the house. I did the same thing last night when the kids were home. I got the same look and more of a groan or whine from each of the kids. They made it through, but I had to encourage them to think outside the box, as they were requesting the same things as not only each other, but the same suggestions as their dad the night before. It was totally worth it though, as I now have 6 weeks worth of menu ideas. One of them was brave enough to request to go out, or get take out. Their voice was dripping with question marks, and I very enthusiastically responded with, "that's a great idea! I'll get a night off." I am now second guessing my reaction, and hoping that they forget about it when we go through this process again in 4-5 weeks.

My family takes turns going grocery shopping with me, and this week, it was David's turn. We made a trip to Sprouts before the grocery store, and I learned that orange roughy is not sustainable and endangered. Sprouts no longer sales it. I won't be eating it any longer either.  While we were there, I was selecting some steaks, as that is on the menu for the upcoming week. David remembered that the last time he shopped with me, we found some king crab legs on sale, and bought some. I was planning to cook them for dinner tonight, when I picked up the steaks, David requested that we have surf and turf for dinner. Which now means I have to come up with something to replace the night that the steaks were planned for. Maybe I'll shop the freezer.

I've prepped everything for the upcoming week, and I've even gotten the majority of my lunch and the kids' lunches for tomorrow prepped and packed. I start out trying to do this, and it usually only lasts about 3 days max. Oh well, at least tomorrow morning will be somewhat easier.

So I took a few pictures of what my process looks like when I am menu planning for the week as well as the next 3 (6 in this case) weeks. I am trying to figure out how to get them to post here. I took them with my phone, and I have them on the computer, but I don't know how to get them here. UGH I am seriously inept when it comes to technology. I WILL figure this out.

David grilled the steaks, and I made some asparagus, and prepped the crab. Everyone enjoyed each other's company and the dinner. My picky eater, Kaila had to come up for air. I know she loves steak, and ribs, and burgers. I can now add crab legs to her menu of things she loves to eat. I remember when we went to San Francisco over summer vacation last year, and the two things that my son really wanted to eat was a bread bowl of soup, and crab legs. We didn't get the crab legs while we were in Frisco, but we traveled along the coast to Monterrey Bay, and on our last night there we had dinner at Bubba Gumps and the kids split a bucket of crab legs. They loved it. David and I spent most of time cracking crab for them that we really didn't get to enjoy our own dinners. We got some souvenir cups from the restaurant and they brought them out for their cranberry juice, and we took a trip down memory lane recounting fun times from our trip.

No cooking tonight

So, the stress of the week has melted away. Either that, or I just decided to react to it/receive it differently. Last night was a pretty good night, and I didn't have to cook.  I didn't have to cook tonight either, as the kids spent the night at my folk's house. My daughter volunteers with my mom at Paz de Christo food bank on the last Saturday of the month, and since they have to leave so early, I have her spend the night. David and I spent a nice quiet night at home, watching some silly movie with Simon Pegg.

Last night, David made farmhouse pork chops and mashed potatoes. I am not a vegetarian, but sometimes, I just don't feel like eating meat. When I got home from work, I experienced one of those moments. I just wasn't in the mood to eat meat. I made myself a masterpiece of a salad to munch on.

However, this brings me to a new thing I need to learn. I want to post the recipe for farmhouse pork chops, but I have the feeling that I've posted it already. Hmmm. Now I need to learn how to tag things.

Tomorrow, I will post pictures of the mess that is the process I have for creating my blocks of menus. I've got that almost finished, and I am also prepping for my Wednesday shopping trip. My goal for that trip is to have a savings that is bigger than 30%

Looking back at the past month, I've created some new rules for myself, and I did manage to post 1 blog with pictures. Now I need to make that a regular thing. I will also make learning to tag things (like recipes) a goal for March.

At the risk of repeating myself, I give you
Farmhouse Pork Chops
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 20-25 minutes Makes: 4 servings

3/4 C bread crumbs
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 large egg white
4 boneless center-cut loin pork chops (5 ounces each), trimmed

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with vegetable cooking spray.

2. In a resealable plastic bag, combine bread crumbs, oregano, lemon peel, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper. Mix well.

3. In a shallow bowl, beat egg white until foamy. Dip pork chops into egg white, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl. Place pork chops in plastic bag and shake until coated.

4. Place pork chops on prepared baking sheet. Bake pork chops, turning once, until pork is cooked through and golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Place pork chops on a serving platter. Serve immediately.

Variation: To broil pork chops, preheat broiler. Line broiler rack with foil. Prepare pork chops as recipe directs. Place on broiler rack. Broil pork chops 5 inches from heat, turning once, until cooked through and no longer pink, about 6-8 minutes per side.

Dinner with an Adam Sandler song

I consider myself pretty lucky in that when stress at work is high, my home life is very calming and mellow. By the same token, when life at home gives me stress, then things at work seem to be smooth sailing and easy. Today, I was not so lucky. Stress was coming at me from all sides, and it wasn't letting up. I thought when I got home with the kids, I would get a bit of a reprieve, but something was going on there, and the stress kept coming. Not only that, but it followed me home from work as well. Times like this are when I have to give myself a time out, and focus on all the good, and all of the things I have to be thankful about. Today I was thankful that I put dinner in the crock pot and did not have to cook with the avalanche of stress aimed at me. I was also thankful that tonight I had Toastmasters. That meant I could get out of the house, and have some time to myself. Working on things for myself.

I didn't get to eat dinner at the table with my family, which is sad, but I think that it was probably best for all of us that I got away. I prepared a yummy and healthy dinner for them to enjoy, and I felt good in knowing that.

Sloppy joes are very simple. It doesn't get much easier than ground beef - or whatever, chili sauce, some bell peppers and onions. However, I know that sometimes even that can seem like a huge undertaking. You still gotta eat, and it's better to eat healthy and minimally processed, than to just throw your hands in the air, and order a pizza, even though I know that is the easiest, and probably cuts way down on that stress level. I am pretty good at tuning in to my stress levels, and schedule, and I can judge when I should probably bring out the slow cooker, or enlist David's help during the week, so I don't go crazy, and then end up spending more money to order out, and waste food, by throwing out something I've defrosted, but didn't end up cooking.

Tonight's sloppy joes went into the crock pot, and I didn't have to worry about a thing. Except for my family saving me a serving to eat after Toastmasters. The thing about sloppy joes, is that whenever I am fixing them, whether it's in a skillet, or in the crock pot. I can't help but to sing the lunch lady song that Adam Sandler sings. Getting to the chorus of, "sloppy joe, slop sloppy joe. Sloppy joe, slop sloppy joe." I tend to sing it out loud, and often times will find the song on youtube, and play it so I can sing along with it. The problem then becomes that the song will get stuck in everyone's head, just like it's stuck in yours right now. So if I make it in the morning and put it in the crock pot, then I will be singing it at work, and I'm sure the kids are singing it at school, thus inflicting that song onto everyone we come in contact with. Or, if I make it at night, then there is no dinner conversation, only a bunch of silly fools, myself included, singing the lunch lady song at the dinner table. So good luck with not singing the song the next time you make sloppy joes.

Campfired-up sloppy joes
Makes: 4-6 servings

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1/2 C chopped sweet onion
1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 C catsup
1/2 C barbecue sauce
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1 can (8 ounces) baked beans
6 Kaiser rolls, split and warmed
shredded sharp cheddar cheese (optional)

1. Brown ground beef, onion, bell pepper and garlic 6-8 minutes in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring to break up meat. Drain and discard excess fat. Transfer beef mixture to crock pot.

2. Combine catsup, barbecue sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and chili powder in a small bowl. Transfer to crock pot.

3. Add baked beans. Stir well to combine. Cover; cook on HIGH 3 hours.

4. To serve, place 1/2 C sloppy joe mixture on bottom halves of rolls. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese, if desired, before covering with roll tops.

Enjoy

Blank space. Not a Taylor Swift song.

I am working on trying to reduce my stress and increase my down time. I've started to add "blank space" days into the weekly menu. I don't plan for it every week, but I'm thinking that once every other week or so, should allow me some down time during the week. I had planned for the blank day to fall on Wednesday this week, but we did it tonight instead. My son's grade is taking a field trip to the Grand Canyon in a few months, and there was an informational parent meeting tonight. I had to go in to work, and then meet my family at the meeting. It just seemed easier to move the blank space night to this evening. My intention for the blank space night, other than allowing myself to take a hard earned and well deserved break, is to get my family to clean out the leftovers. We had plenty left over from last night's dinner, and there were a few other options to choose from. Everyone did really well, fending for themselves. Well, Kaila asked if she could have cereal. In keeping with the theme of reducing my stress, I decided that it wasn't worth the fight, and that a night of cereal wouldn't kill her. I only buy "sugar cereal" twice each year, and we don't ever keep it in the house outside of those two occasions, so I was OK with a bowl of cereal.

The only thing now is that I have to cook dinner tomorrow when Heath has parkour class, and I have a Toastmasters meeting. I'm looking for something quick and easy. Heath requested cheeseburgers, but I'm liking the sound of some good ole' sloppy Joes. I could even make those in the crock pot, making my life super simple.

Speaking of simple, I have to let you all know that last night, I wrote about the kitchen clean up being so easy, well as I was writing that, David was in the kitchen cleaning it up! I am one lucky girl. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I feel very appreciated, and I am very grateful.

I didn't use a recipe this evening, so I had the kids grab a cook book, and I did the old trick kids do with a globe, where they spin it, and put there finger on a spot, and say that's where they want to travel. The recipe for tonight is coming from The Mom 100 Cookbook 100 recipes every mom needs in her back pocket.

The Basic Quesadilla (and its infinite possibilities)
For the quesadillas
8 medium sized (8 inch) flour tortillas
2 C (8 ounces) shredded cheese, such as cheddar, a Mexican blend, Monterey Jack, or a combination of any of these.
For the filling
Anything goes: black beans, scallions, chopped fresh cilantro, asparagus, hearts of palm, feta cheese (this goes really great with asparagus)
This list is only limited by your imagination. Remember the post about the salad and sandwich masterpieces? This is essentially the same idea. See how many different colors and/or textures you can get into your quesadilla.
chopped olives, chopped broccoli, thinly sliced zucchini, chopped tomatoes, sliced/grilled onions, roasted bell peppers, shredded chicken, shredded beef or pork.
At the risk of sounding like Bubba from Forest Gump I'll stop here. You get the idea.

If you're using the broiler
1. Preheat the broiler
2. Place 4 tortillas under the broiler, right on the rack, and keep checking them until they turn golden brown on top, 2-3 minutes. A dark brown bubble here or there is fine. Remove the tortillas and place them uncooked side up on a work surface. Evenly sprinkle 1/2 C of the cheese over each of the 4 tortillas.
3. You can add whatever toppings you can think up, or just continue on to step 4.
4. Place the 4 uncooked tortillas on top of the filling. Carefully transfer the tortillas to a baking sheet and place it under the broiler. Broil the quesadillas until the cheese is melted and the top tortillas are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Let the quesadillas sit for a minute before you slice each into 6 wedges and serve them with salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and/or cilantro, if desired.

You can also choose to use the grill. Preheat the grill to medium, and follow the same steps above.

Enjoy

Easy chicken enchiladas?

While I was mapping out this week's menu, I discovered that I had 3 open spots. I didn't want to pull from next week's menu. so I enlisted the help of the family, and asked for some ideas. David chose pork chops, that he would cook. The kids chose hamburgers, and then David also chose chicken enchiladas. I find that to be a fairly time consuming recipe, and I did not have the time in my schedule to put it together. This is a recipe that I will commonly make and freeze, but I haven't in a while, and therefore was not able to shop from my freezer. I went on the search for a quick and easy recipe, or possibly a crock pot recipe. I started with one of my crockpot cook books, and didn't get very far when I found tonight's recipe. It's not chicken enchiladas, but it was easy and delicious. I put it in the slow cooker this morning, and worked all day. When the kids and I got home, the house smelled so yummy. I shredded the chicken and dinner was ready. I set out the tortillas and cilantro, and cheese, salsa and sour cream, and let everyone build their own burritos/enchiladas, whatever. I opted to have mine sans tortilla, in a bowl, and added some "fixins" The best part, my kitchen was clean, and all I had to do was put the leftovers (what little there was - David loved this recipe) in a glass container for the fridge, and clean out the crockpot.

We were not successful at having dinner at the table, David ate in front of the computer, and Heath and I ate at the table. Kaila was in the shower, and she came to the table for dinner after Heath and I finished eating. We were still at the table, working on math, so we kept her company while she ate. The topic of conversation revolved around the upcoming spring break, and what we want to do during the time off. David and the kids want to go camping, Kaila wants to make a movie, and go someplace to decorate a cake. Heath wants to bake cookies, go to the water park, and go play laser tag. I want to go to a spring training game, go hiking, and go biking. So far, we've written down all the things we want to do, now we just have to plan the logistics of it all. I know that the water park isn't open for the season yet, so that's out. Kind of fun planning out all the options though.

I will post 2 recipes tonight. The first will be the recipe for tonight's dinner, and the second will be the chicken enchilada recipe I use. I will say that it is relatively easy, but there are quite a few steps, and it makes a mess, so it's much easier if I am able to make a few things ahead. However, I enlisted my family's help yesterday and one of the meals was for today, so not too much time to prepare ahead. This recipe originated from my dad, who was trying to find things to do with leftover turkey after Thanksgiving one year when I was in high school. I use chicken instead, and it's just as delicious, if not better.

Anne's Chicken Burritos
Makes: 6-8 servings

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
15.25 oz can corn, drained
16-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
16-oz jar salsa
6-8 10 inch flour tortillas
Garnish: shredded cheddar cheese, salsa, chopped fresh cilantro, sour cream, sliced avocado, or guacamole

Combine chicken, corn, beans and salsa in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low setting for 8-10 hours, or on high setting for 4-6 hours. Shred chicken; stir back into slow cooker. Roll up in tortillas; garnish as desired.

Chicken Enchiladas
12 corn tortillas
chicken breasts (I use 2)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can olives, sliced
4 oz green chiles
1/2 onion
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 can of water (1/2 can per can of soup)

Bake chicken breasts at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until done. Set aside to cool, then shred.

Saute' onions in pan sprayed with cooking spray. Add soups and water and green chiles. Add salt and pepper if desired. Simmer

Bake tortillas 10 minutes at 350-375.

Dip tortillas in sauce, then layer: tortillas, chicken, cheese and olives for about 3 layers, ending with a layer of tortillas, remaining sauce and a layer of cheese.
Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

If you have an easier, quicker recipe, I would love you to share it in the comments.
Enjoy

Lazy Sunday

I slept in today, Fixed some yummy breakfast burritos for our family breakfast. Then I took a nap on the couch, flanked by both my children while they watched some nature show on TV. I wanted to set up another 3 week block today, but I will leave that for sometime later this week. I set up this week's menu and made the grocery list. I then went through all of my coupons, and added some e-coupons. I'm a bit miffed, b/c I used more coupons on this trip, and ended up with a lower percentage of savings then I usually do. I am planning another coupon centered trip on the first Wednesday of March, so I can get my savings from the coupons and the senior savings. I hope I can do better that day.

Once we got home, I fixed the veggie packs for next week, I cooked up some rice for a few lunches, and boiled some eggs for a nice snack. All of my snacks are mapped out and prepped. Lunches are mapped out, and I am ready to start the week off right. After the snacks were all prepped, I started in on dinner. I had David in the kitchen helping me with chopping and cleaning. Sometimes, I like him to keep me company in the kitchen. Tonight's dinner was super easy. I am thinking of a way to make it even easier, in the way of using less dishes. That way I will have less clean up.

We ate together as a family, and David got in trouble, because he dipped into the rice that I made. He thought it went with the dinner. Why would rice go with a dish that has potatoes in it? He's killing me. After dinner, my daughter wanted to watch the Oscars. She went down the hall to put on her best dress to watch the show. Too cute.

Skillet Beef and Potatoes
Prep/total time: 25 min  Makes: 4 servings

3 medium potatoes, halved and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/3 C water
1/2 tsp salt
1 pound boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
2 tsp garlic-pepper seasoning blend
1/2 C chopped onion
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1-1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary

Place potatoes, water and salt in a microwave safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 6-10 minutes or until tender; drain. Season beef with pepper blend. In a large skillet, stir-fry beef and onion in 2 Tbsp oil for 5 minutes or until beef is no longer pink.
Meanwhile, in another skillet, stir-fry potatoes in remaining oil for 5 minutes or until browned. Stir in beef mixture. Sprinkle with rosemary.

I'm wondering if I could just microwave the potatoes, and then add to the beef mixture without browning them first. I didn't fell like the potatoes were "browned" Something to experiment with next time.

Enjoy

Friday night date night

Today was an easy day at work, and Kaila went over to a friend's house after school. My son wanted to go to "Family Movie Night" hosted by his school. No one else wanted to go, so I was the one to take him. David wanted Chinese food for dinner, so that meant I got another chance to try my hand at Asian cooking. I have one recipe that I am an expert at. I've made it several times, and my family loves it. I've actually found a way to make it easier and quicker.

I use ground chicken and cook it until it's no longer pink. I then add all the other ingredients, and cook until heated through. All the rest is prepared/assembled as instructed. This saves quite a few steps and quite a bit of time. Besides, I'm not all that good at dicing up the cooked chicken breasts like they do at P.F. Chang's I will sometimes try to get away with not making the special sauce to pour over the top of the lettuce wraps. The hubs always mentions something about it to let me know he notices.

 

Lali

 

91.40%;

 (394)

• Bergy
• Bergy 
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• Pismo
• SharonChen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL TIME

25mins

PREP

 10 mins

COOK

 15 mins

another version of the chicken lettuce wraps.

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INGREDIENTSNutrition

SERVINGS 2-3UNITS US

• 3tablespoons oil
• 2boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1cup water chestnut
• 2⁄3cup mushroom
• 3tablespoons choppedonions
• 1teaspoon minced garlic
• 4 -5leaves iceberg lettuce

• Special Sauce

• 1⁄4cup sugar
• 1⁄2cup water
• 2tablespoons soy sauce
• 2tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2tablespoons ketchup
• 1tablespoon lemon juice
• 1⁄8teaspoon sesame oil
• 1tablespoon hot mustard
• 2teaspoons water
• 1 -2teaspoon garlic and red chile paste

• Stir Fry Sauce

• 2tablespoons soy sauce
• 2tablespoons brown sugar
• 1⁄2teaspoon rice wine vinegar
• 
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil.
2. Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve. Combine the hot water with the hot mustard and set this aside as well. Eventually add your desired measurement of mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce mixture to pour over the wraps. Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan. Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side or done. Remove chicken from the pan and cool.
3. Keep oil in the pan, keep hot. As chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to about the size of small peas. Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl. When chicken is cool, mince it as the mushrooms and water chestnuts are. With the pan still on high heat, add another Tbsp of vegetable oil. Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to pan. Add stir fry sauce to pan, saute mixture a couple minutes then serve in lettuce leaves.