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 
• 
• Pismo
• SharonChen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL TIME

25mins

PREP

 10 mins

COOK

 15 mins

another version of the chicken lettuce wraps.

Skip to Next Recipe

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.

sandwich and salad masterpieces

Whenever I make a salad or a sandwich, I take it as a challenge to see how much I can put in it, or on it. I try to come up with unique flavor combinations, and make it a masterpiece. I love lots of colors and texture. Every few weeks David will request to have sandwiches for dinner. Tonight was David's turn to fix dinner, and he had requested sandwiches. Aside from trying to turn a sandwich into a masterpiece, I love tuna sandwiches and egg salad sandwiches. I will add as much to either of those to see what fun I can come up with. I also like to halve a red bell pepper, and fill it with the tuna or egg salad, or whatever.

Tonight was tuna salad sandwiches. David makes it the traditional way, not adding anything extra like relish, onions, pickles or olives. Just mayo, and tuna. He will fix up some bacon, and slice some avocado and tomato, put out some sliced cheese, and lettuce, and let everyone fix their own sandwich. I will get out the stacker pickles and capers to add, as well as chopping up some shallots, olives and celery.

Some fun things to add to your tuna include;

*Yogurt makes the tuna lighter, extra virgin olive oil makes the tuna looser

*Instead of tuna, you can use salmon, trout or shredded chicken

*Diced apples, raisins, or dried fruit, make a fun addition to the basic tuna salad

*Diced fennel, cabbage, or cucumbers or any other crunchy vegetable add a nice texture

*Try adding a dash of curry, dukkah, harissa, chopped fresh herbs, or any combination from your spice rack for some fun flavor

I should have made some homemade bread, but didn't. I had my sandwich on rye bread while the rest of the family used white bread.

Sandwiches don't get much easier, and time efficient. You can also get the family involved, by delegating who is in charge of what ingredients, and setting up an assembly line, of sorts.

Enjoy.

I've been caught

HA! So I was talking last time about how I had such a busy weekend and I was in the midst of an allergy attack. Well, last week was busy with me having to be so many places all week. This week finds me with back to back clients for the entirety of every shift I work. I am not complaining about this. On the contrary, I love what I get to do for a living, and I love even more when I can stack my clients up to fill the day. It makes the day fun and fast. At any rate, my allergies turned into a cold. Yesterday I woke up with a sore throat, so I added some zinc to my vitamin regimen, and washed it down with some emergen C. I am feeling significantly better today, but I am feeling tired, so I will be turning in early tonight.

My morning started off not so great. Last Thursday, I was in the middle of an all day meeting for work, and I scheduled an early morning meeting for my son's IEP for this morning at 7:15. The kids didn't have school on Monday, so of course my week was all messed up, and I wasn't cluing in to what day it was. I was thinking it was Tuesday, and going through my list of clients, and then it hit me that all of the clients I was thinking about were Wednesday clients...and didn't I have a meeting or something??? AT THE SCHOOL!!! AT 7:15 THIS MORNING!!!! It was 7:30 when this thought raced through my head. I called the school to let them know that I was aware of the meeting and would not be there. I then got the kids in the car to take them to school and proceeded to hunt down everyone that was scheduled to be in the meeting whose time I had disrespected and wasted. I apologized to each one of them in person. That is not like me, and I was/am very embarrassed.

The day had only one way to go after that. Of course it got better after I apologized, and got to work. Both kids were so sweet, and showered me with hugs, and encouraging words when they saw how distressed and mad at myself I got. I'm glad they have learned compassion and empathy.

The inspiration for this recipe came from my mom. The place that Heath goes to parkour has a sea food/Mexican restaurant in the same plaza, and the food is delicious. I told my folks about it, and they ate there a few weeks back. I have been thinking about eating there again ever since. I decided to make fish tacos to satisfy my cravings. I found this recipe on Pinterest, and it is so yummy. When you follow the pin, it actually takes you to a Good Housekeeping article, so I guess the credit actually belongs to Good Housekeeping Magazine. Either way, delicious. I had the kids help me prep the veggies, and the avocado, and the tortillas, so it was a quick prep, and a fun family bonding and teaching/learning experience.

The word of the day this Wednesday was: Thaumaturge. Meaning, a worker of wonders or miracles; magician. That was a fun one to try to make sentences with. I said that I sometimes feel like a thaumaturge on Mondays, when I am able to get the kids out of the house early and make sure Kaila gets to her announcements on time.

Fish and Zucchini Tacos
Prep Time: 10 min Total Time: 24 min Makes: 4 main dish servings

2 medium zucchini
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
salt & pepper
2 limes
1 pound skinless red snapper or other firm white fish fillets
1/2 C packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped, plus sprigs for garnish
8 corn tortillas
1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 C chunky salsa

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, trim zucchini, then cut each crosswise into 2 inch pieces. Cut each piece lengthwise through centers into 8 wedges. On 18x12 jelly roll pan, combine zucchini, oil, chili powder, and 1/4 tsp salt until well mixed. Roast 10 minutes.

2. Form 1 lime, squeeze 1 Tbsp juice. Cut remaining lime into wedges; set aside. Push zucchini to one side of the pan. Arrange fish in a single layer on the other side. Sprinkle fish with lime juice, then 2 Tbsp cilantro and 1/4 tsp salt. roast 8-10 minutes or until fish is just opaque throughout.

3. Meanwhile, wrap tortillas in damp paper towels and place in glass or ceramic pie plate. Microwave on high 1 minute or until warm and pliable.

4. Break fish into large chunks. Divide fish and zucchini among tortillas. Top with avocado slices and remaining cilantro. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and serve with lime wedges and salsa.

You know how I feel about cilantro. I used the cilantro in the recipe as directed, and had the reserve for my family to use, but I did not add it to mine. I did not use the salt in either part of the recipe. I don't feel it's necessary. Especially when cooking sea food.

Enjoy

What if we made it differently?

So tonight was pigs in a blanket night. Blech. I had to work late, so I would not be cooking, nor would I be able to sit at the table for dinner with my family. I remember the last time my family had pigs in a blanket for dinner, I posted a recipe redo from Evette Rios. I found another one in one of my cook books, so I figured I'd post it here, for all of you who do like pigs in blankets.

Pigs in a blanket
Nonstick cooking spray (optional)
1 pound (about 30) mini hot dogs
1/3 C slivered cheddar cheese (optional)
About 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour, for rolling out the puff pastry
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of a 17.3 oz or so package), thawed according to package directions
1 large egg
Finely grated Parmesan cheese, or poppy or sesame seeds (optional), for sprinkling
Brown spicy mustard and ketchup, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray it with nonstick cooking spray and set it aside.

2. If you are using the cheese, make a slit down the middle of each hot dog, being careful not to cut all the way through. Tuck a few pieces of cheese into each hot dog.

3. Lightly flour a work surface and place the thawed puff pastry on top. Most puff pastry comes folded in thirds, which is very helpful; cut it down the seams or, if there are no seams, cut it crosswise into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece out until it is a bit thinner, trying to maintain the squared off lines of the rectangle. Cut each piece of puff pastry into strips about 1 inch by 3 inches.

4. Beat the egg and 2 tsp of water in a small bowl.

5. Place a mini hot dog on the narrow end of one puff pastry so that it seals itself. Place the pig in a blanket on the prepared baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining hot dogs and puff pastry strips, arranging the pigs in blankets on the baking sheet at least 1 inch a part. Brush the tops of the pigs in blankets with the egg wash and sprinkle them with Parmesan or poppy or sesame seeds, if using. At this point it is helpful (but not necessary) to place the baking sheet in the fridge and let chill for 15 to 30 minutes so the pastry will puff up a bit more when it bakes.

6. Bake the pigs in blankets until they are puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool briefly before serving with mustard and ketchup.

Cooking tip: Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, comes in packages with 2 sheets. This recipe calls for one of the sheets, and you can defrost it and tuck the other back in the freezer for another day, or you can double the recipe if you are cooking for a crowd.

Get the kids involved: Let the kids wrap the pigs in blankets. Puff pastry is pretty forgiving as far as doughs go. No matter how strangely patched together the puff pastry might look before it goes into the oven, when they come out, they have magically formed themselves into an attractive fluffy, puffy wrapper. The kids can also help sprinkle the grated cheese or the poppy or sesame seeds before you put the wrapped dogs into the oven.

Enjoy

It's great to be back

What a weekend. I got a pedicure with my daughter and my mom, got my taxes done, took my kids a surprise Valentine breakfast gift package, worked, had a wonderful Valentine's date night with the hubs (he put the whole thing together and surprised me), renewed my CPR (got my daughter CPR certified too), had lunch with my folks, took the kids to the movies, and did the menu planning/grocery shopping. All while in the throes of a massive allergy attack. UGH! The kids stayed at my Folk's house all weekend long. I really missed them, and I'm glad our house is full and back to normal. I am very thankful that my folks are close and willing and able to take the kids like that. It really helped when we had so much to do. I took them lunch on Sunday and then took the kids to the movies, so I could spend some time with them, and give my folks some alone time/time away from the kids.

So this week is easy, as it is all the recipes I didn't get to fix last week, because we were so busy. I actually only had to come up with 2 dinners for the week, and David is in charge in of one of those meals. 3 guesses as to what he chose...My "favorite" that's right...pigs in a blanket. I am working late tomorrow night, so they get to eat that, and I will pack something else to eat while I'm at work.



Tonight, I made the chicken tortilla soup. I gave you that recipe sometime last week. I was so happy to sit down with my family for dinner. everyone had some soup, except Kaila.  She does not like this soup - too spicy for her (it's not really that spicy, especially if you leave out the Frank's). She made herself a quesodilla for herself. So since I've already posted this recipe, tonight I will share a recipe that a friend of mine sent to me. She thought I would enjoy it. I put it on my menu for a few weeks from now. She got it from the Performance Paleo Cookbook.

Crunchy Slaw with Chicken
Makes: 4 servings

1 lb cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 medium bell pepper, any color, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
4 oz sugar snap peas, tough stems removed and halved
3 green onions, white and light green parts, thinly sliced
1/4 C cilantro leaves, packed
1 lb cooked chicken breasts, shredded
Creamy mango jalapeno dressing
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 C unroasted cashews, roughly chopped

Combine the cabbage, bell pepper, celery, sugar snap peas, green onions and cilantro in a very large bowl and toss to combine. Add the shredded chicken breast and dressing stirring until everything is well-coated. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, and garnish with the cashews.

Omit the chicken for a fresh, crunchy, veggie-only side dish.

Creamy Mango Jalapeno Dressing
1 C mango, fresh or frozen
Zest of 1 lime
6 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp light tasting olive oil
1 jalapeno pepper, stem and seeds removed
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp fish sauce

Combine all the ingredients in a high-powered blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

If you add the entire jalapeno pepper - seeds and inner white membrane - the dressing will be medium to spicy.

This just sounds like a fresh and crunchy light meal for spring/summer. If you grill up the chicken breasts, then you won't have to worry about heating up the house. You can do it the night before, and have the chicken cold in the salad.
I'll be serving in the next few weeks, and I'm kinda excited about it.

exhausted

I am absolutely exhausted tonight. As a trainer and coach, my job is somewhat physical, and I am up and moving constantly. Today, I had a training class to go to. I learned some valuable and exciting information, but I had to sit for over 8 hours. I am not cut out for that, and it seriously exhausted me. I did not fix anything in the crock pot, nor did I have anything for David to prepare.  When I walked in the door at 7 this evening, David came down the hall and asked, "What's for dinner?" !!!?!? Are you kidding me?!?! THEN...My daughter was filling out valentine cards that she printed from the computer. My son didn't have any valentines, so David asked where his were, and asked why I didn't buy him any. Again !!!?!?! I said that his teacher said it was optional, and he said that he thought Heath should have some to pass out. Great, I thought, take him to the store and buy him some. Guess who had to run out to the store, and buy the boy some valentines? I can see how some people really have no desire to cook when they get home from work, and end up getting take out, or turning to some quick and easy pre-made frozen processed meal. Trust me when I tell you I was wishing I had a pizza in the freezer. Believe me when I say that not too long ago, we used to.

So tonight ended up being a YOYO (you're on your own) night, or a Must-go night. We had some healthy left-overs, and the kids had some other options. I also had some veggies that I prepped on Sunday, and mid week. You know, to spice up the PB&J my son had and the cheese crisp my daughter had.

So some things that I like to do include fixing and freezing, as well as making a dish that can serve as double duty. Like a big roast one night, and then a shepherd's pie the next for example. Well, I have this cook book, Fix It, Freeze It, Heat It & Eat It. There is a chapter in the titled double-duty recipe. They actually combined my two favorite things! This is fantastic, because while I do love to fix a recipe for double duty, I don't always want to have the second meal option the next day or even later the week.

Old-Fashioned Pot Roast
Hands-on Time: 35 minutes Total Time: 6 hr.,43 min.
Makes: 10 - 15 servings (plus 5 C for the second option)

1/2 C minced fresh parsley
3 Tbsp. prepared horseradish
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp dried marjoram
1 Tbsp dried thyme
1 (6-7 lb) chuck roast
4 medium onions, thinly sliced and separated into rings
1 C burgundy or other dry red wine
1 1/2 lb potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 lb carrots, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 lb turnips, peeled and cut into chunks
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 325. Combine the first 5 ingredients; pat over the roast. Cover and refrigerate 2-4 hours. Combine onion rings and wine in a large Dutch oven; ass roast. Bake, covered, at 325 for 2 hours.
2. Add potato, carrot, and turnip; bake, covered, at 325 for 1 1/2 hours. Uncover and bake 20 minutes or until roast is tender. Let stand 15 minutes until serving.
3. Arrange meat and vegetables on a serving platter. Pour pan drippings into a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Boil 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Serve with meat and vegetables.

TO FREEZE IT: Remove remaining meat from bone. Slice or chop meat as desired. Freeze in a labeled airtight container up to 3 months.

Beef-and-Bean Tostadas
Hands-on Time: 22 min. Total Time: 40 min Makes: 4 servings

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp oil
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 C tomato juice
1 (16 oz) can pinto beans, drained, rinsed,  and mashed
5 C sliced old-fashioned pot roast (above recipe)
8 (6 inch) corn tortillas
1 C (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 C shredded lettuce
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 C salsa
sour cream (optional)

TO THAW IT: Remove Old-Fashioned Pot Roast from freezer, and throw in fridge overnight.

1. Preheat oven to 300. Saute' chopped onion and garlic in oil in a large skillet over medium heat for 6 minutes or until tender. Stir in chili powder and next 5 ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes. Stir in mashed beans.
2. Microwave pot roast in a microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 3-5 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring once.
3. Divide bean mixture among tortillas, spreading to edges. Divide cheese among tortillas; sprinkle with pepper.
4. Place tortillas on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 300 for 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Top with lettuce, green onion, pot roast, and salsa. Serve with sour cream, if desired.

I could see fixing the pot roast n a Sunday, for a nice family dinner. Possible having some friends or relatives over. Then freezing the leftovers until you're ready to use them for tostadas or whatever else you choose to fix. It's best to thaw out the meat in the fridge over night, but in a pinch, you could defrost it in the microwave.

Ever wish for the week to be over?

Today was super busy, and the week is about to get busier before it mellows out. I was all over the place today, and I have so much scheduled that I've planned for my folks to take the kids Friday night through Monday night. I am actually planning to go hang out at my folk's house all day on Sunday just so I have a chance to be with the kids. It probably won't be as bad as I am imagining it to be, but all I can see right now is the mountain of endless things I need to do and places I need to be over the short course of the next few days. I am so good at telling people to step back, take a breath, and just be present, and things will happen as they should. I need to heed my own advice, and know that everything will work out just fine.

However, knowing all of this, and looking at my menu for the remainder of the week....yyeeeahhh...probably not going to happen. On the bright side, that's 4 meals that I can push into next week, and then when I need to plan out the next 3 week block (I'm about due for that,  but I'm just too darn busy. Now you'll see how I make it work when the going gets tough). On the not so bright side; I won't get to have dinner at the table with my family for a few days. On the bright side; I found out (my source shall remain nameless) that the hubs is/was planning to take me out to eat on Valentine's day. On the not so bright side; I have to figure out a way to make sure my kids wake up to their Valentine treats that they wake up to every year. On the bright side; I will have close to 4 days with just me and the hubs, like before kids. On the not so bright side; I'm gonna miss my kids. Oh! AND I just remembered that I bought stuff to make Valentine cookies with the kids. I will probably take the stuff to my mom's and she will get to have fun doing that with them.

 I am now planning my surprise for early Saturday morning, and how I plan to get it to them. I will get everything ready Friday night, and drive it to my folk's house before I start work on Saturday morning. I have a cute little picnic basket. I will make homemade heart shaped chocolate waffles, I'll chop up some strawberries, and add a bottle of whipped cream (no, I won't whip it myself - I told you I wasn't perfect). I will throw in the Valentine cards, the small stuffed toy, and the smallest box of chocolates for each of them, that they're used to getting every year, and drop it at my mom's doorstep while I do a doorbell ditch 'em.  I hope I can make it work. Now I'm super excited for that, but at the same time, I just added extra stuff to my mountain of things to do/places to be. See how that works. I just did that to myself in a matter of minutes. I'm sure the hubs will help.  With everything but the making of the waffles.

So the question now becomes, do I blog the recipes I planned to use, or just post other recipes? Do I post tips and tricks? If I do post the recipes I planned to use, what do I post when we have those meals next week? Decisions decisions... I think that for tonight, I will post the recipe of what I had planned to fix for dinner, David's favorite soup. When we were first dating, he would come over to my house, and bring cans of soup and french bread, and we would have a picnic of sorts on my living room floor. This soup brings back memories of those times, but instead of bread, I put out tortilla chips and avocado.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 6 minutes Makes: 4 servings

1 tsp oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
1 jar (16 ounces) mild chunky-style salsa
3/4 C water
2 Tbsp Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
1 package (10 ounces) fully cooked carved chicken breasts
1 can (8.75 oz) whole kernel corn, undrained
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1 C crushed tortilla chips
1/2 C (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Cook garlic 1 minute or until tender. Add broth, salsa, water and Frank's RedHot sauce. Stir in chicken, corn, and cilantro. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, covered, 5 minutes.

2. Stir in tortilla chips and cheese. Serve hot.

I don't add the cilantro, because I really do not like it.  At all. I do chop it up and set it on the table in a small dish for the family to add at their discretion. I also use a chicken breast that I grill up, or bake the night before. I have always done this, but I feel it important to note that here, so you know I am making an attempt at minimally to non processed as possible. I feel like the package of fully cooked, carved chicken is filled with sodium and preservatives, that wouldn't necessarily be in a chicken breast that I cook myself. Lastly, I put the tortilla chips and cheese in separate small dishes, and set them next to the cilantro dish. I think it's tastes better - from a texture standpoint, if you wait to add those ingredients on your own, as a topping of sorts. I also add avocado to this, because, like I've stated before; avocado, much like bacon, makes everything taste better.

Enjoy!