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Baking day

I haven’t been in the mood to cook all week. We’ve been eating on leftovers and sandwiches for dinner most nights. My best intentions from Monday’s menu planning have been for naught.  Today, however, I feel a little different – thinking about what to cook for dinner and I’ve tossed out the “plan” from Monday and moving on to cooking something that inspires me.

So, today I am baking.

First up was the baked oatmeal I love and that I make WLS-friendly so I can have it for breakfast. That’s cooling on the counter now. (minus a square I’ve already nibbled for my breakfast)

Next up is my beef with egg noodles & gravy. That will be supper. I’ll be getting it into the crock pot soon.

I’m also going to bake some bread.Bread photo from Delicious! Delicious!

Trying to decide between my recipe for Portuguese Sweet Bread or a new recipe I found for Oatmeal Bread. The Portuguese Sweet Bread never survives for more than a few minutes after it comes out of the oven. The kids and SuperMan LOVE it.  The Oatmeal bread sounds yummy (and healthy) so I’m not sure which one I will make.

Do you make homemade bread?  I love doing it and it’s one of my favorite fall traditions.  It’s so easy if you have a bread machine – and so much better for you than the store-bought breads with all their preservatives and additives.

And, it makes the house smell so good. Add that smell to the crock-pot smells, and who WOULDN’T want to come home for supper?

I’m off to channel my inner Betty Crocker…

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You should bake this

I have it on good authority (my mom) that this is one of the best cakes you will ever bake.  She has just baked it and called me to tell me to bake it right away.  I have one in the oven, because, as we all know, I’m a very obedient daughter.  Of course I hung up the phone and started mixing! Mama said to!

I’m baking 2 small loaf cakes because I’m taking one to a friend who just had surgery. Everyone knows cake is the best medicine when you are recovering from surgery.  That, and my great-grandma’s sausage-rice casserole.  That’ll cure anything that’s wrong with you.

Brown sugar cake

Now that I've baked the cake and had a teensy-tiny sample, I can tell you it is soooo good. There's a rich, buttery taste to it.  I am thinking it would be great served on a cool fall morning with some tea or coffee.

Next time I make it I may add some diced apple and/or cinnamon.

But it is definitely worth a try.

Brown Sugar Cake

  • 1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
  • 1 pkg.  (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
  • 4 Eggs
  • 2/3 cup  BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
  • 2/3 cup Water
  • 1/2 cup  Oil
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup  chopped PLANTERS Pecans
  • 2 tsp. Powdered sugar
  1.  HEAT oven to 350ºF.
  2. BEAT first 6 ingredients with mixer 3 min. or until well blended. Add brown sugar and nuts; mix well.
  3. POUR into 12-cup fluted tube pan or 10-inch tube pan sprayed with cooking spray.
  4. BAKE 1 hour or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 15 min. Loosen cake from sides of pan; invert onto wire rack. Remove pan; cool cake completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

I also added about 2-3 tablespoons of cinnamon sugar to the cake pan after I’d sprayed it with non-stick spray and before I poured the cake in. Next time, I may get crazy and add some to the cake, too.

*Click on the cake name to get a printable copy of the recipe. 🙂

Oh, and I'll be sitting over there in the corner in a diabetic coma after my little taste. If you need me, just nudge me.

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Menu Plan Monday ~ 20 September

mealplanmonday_v2Planning out this week’s menu wasn’t too difficult. 

I knew I wanted something special on Tuesday (it’s my birthday) and then I had a list of recipes I’d flagged from other menus I’ve seen – so it was just a matter of pulling it all together into a single list.

Big Girl is home sick today so I think I’m going to change my original plan and make some soup for tonight’s dinner.  Here’s what’s on the agenda for the week:

  • Pasta Fagioli (this is major comfort food for me – my grandma used to make this)
  • Grilled steaks, boiled & buttered potatoes, steamed broccoli (This is my birthday dinner)
  • Stir Fry Chicken (a friend made this for us for dinner Sunday night – it was yummy)  I’ll make this with whole wheat pasta and maybe add some more stir-fry veggies.
    She also made this for dessert – it was sooo good. I will be making it here at home as soon as I get the ingredients. I think I can make a sugar-free version that would be just as good. If you like Reese's peanut butter cups, you need to try this. It tastes like a cold, pudding version of a peanut butter cup.
  • Meatball Subs (I’ll make a variation of this recipe and let the girls help me make the meatballs. I think they will like that.) Cheesy Volcano Meatballs

Friday, we will be eating out and the weekend will be filled with SuperMan’s high school reunion activities.

What are you eating this week?  Join us over at orgjunkie.com and link up your Menu Plan Monday.

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Flying by the seat of my pants

My menu plan was out the window this week. Between travel over the weekend and the Labor Day holiday AND a raging cold, thinking about what to eat/cook this week was just beyond my capacity on Sunday or Monday.

So, I’ve been winging it.  Which is a little stressful, a lot more expensive, but is also blossoming my creativity. What can I cook with what I have on hand and without a trip to the fast-food takeout joints?Weight Watchers Chicken Parmesan Recipe

Tonight’s dinner?

Chicken Parmesan.

YUM.

I love Chicken Parm. It brings back memories from my (Italian) childhood. Lots of cheese, garlic, tomato sauce, and of course, chicken.

Today I tried a crock-pot recipe for Chicken Parmesan recipe. I checked out several “traditional” recipes and a few crock-style recipes and invented my own version.

One thing I did differently was that I did not bread my chicken. My grandmother may be watching from up above thinking this is a sacrilege but I was trying to eliminate the extra carbohydrates and I figured that was an easy way to do it. Besides, in the crock pot, the breading would’ve just turned to mush. And I don’t need bready mush – ever. 

I also didn’t make my traditional tomato sauce that I use for spaghetti and most anything else Italian I make.  (Grandma may decide to disown me now.)

I figured I was going to try the super-easy, super-simple method and see how it turned out. So, I just used an extra-large can of crushed tomatoes and seasoned them with some garlic, Italian seasoning and my Houston House Seasoning.

And, I used high-protein pasta.  I like Barilla Plus. They have an angel hair pasta, so that made the decision easy for me.  I like the fact that I’m feeding my family the extra protein and vitamins without the white flour and fillers in regular pasta.

The verdict?

Major yumminess.  And major easiness, too. A win-win as far as I’m concerned.

The kids loved it, too.

I served it with garlic bread and SuperMan will probably get a salad with his (when he gets home from work, that is)

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

  • Olive Oil
  • 4-6 Chicken Breasts (boneless, skinless)
  • Houston House Seasoning
  • Italian seasoning
  • Garlic (I use diced garlic in the jar but you can press 2-3 cloves fresh garlic)
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • pinch of celery seed
  • 1 large can of crushed tomatoes
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 pound of angel hair pasta
  • Garlic Bread (you can’t eat this without it!)

Preparation:

  1. Season chicken breasts with Houston House Seasoning.
  2. In a large skillet, brown chicken breasts in olive oil.
  3. In a large bowl, mix the crushed tomatoes, sugar, celery seed, about 2 Tbsp of Italian seasoning and 2 Tbsp of minced garlic.
  4. Add your chicken to the slow cooker.
  5. Pour tomato mixture on top.
  6. Set your slow cooker on low and let the chicken cook for 6-8 hrs.
  7. When you are ready to serve, boil your pasta water and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
  8. While the pasta is cooking, place the chicken breasts in an oven safe dish and top with about 1/2 cup of the tomato mixture on each breast. 
  9. Sprinkle some of the cheese on top of the chicken.
  10. Bake in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese.
  11. Serve the chicken on a bed of pasta that has been topped with about 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce that is left over in your slow cooker.

And here’s a link where you can print your own copy.

 

And, as my grandpa would say… mangi!

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Menu Plan Monday ~ 30 August

Happy Monday, everyone!

This week will be an interesting one for us. SuperMan is going on a new work schedule and won’t be home until after 7 each night (boo!) which means that the girls and I will be on our own for supper most nights. This will be a challenge for me. What to cook that the girls will enjoy/eat and will still be appetizing for SuperMan when he gets home…

Here’s what I have planned for the week:mpm-1

  • Twice-baked potatoes with a salad
  • Chicken Parmesan
    This will be a new one to try on the kids. I don’t know if they will like it or not.
  • Steaks cooked on the grill with fresh veggies and buttered potatoes
    This is usually a SuperMan-cooked dinner. It will be interesting to see how I do cooking steaks.
  • Pizza Braid
    I saw this recipe last week when I was perusing other Menu Plan Monday posts. Have to try it.
  • Sloppy Joes with homemade french fries & fresh fruit
    Kid-friendly & fast – good for one of those nights we have dance classes.
  • Chicken Pomodoro
    I have had this on my list for two weeks and haven’t made it yet. Maybe this week?

 

What are you cooking this week?

Join us over at orgjunkie.com and share your menu plan!

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Losing Innocence

Tall grass growing wild at Lyme Park. Category...Image via Wikipedia

We had lots of drama and trauma this morning. All before 7:30 in the morning.

Driving to school these days, Big Girl sits in the front seat. She is very proud of the fact that she is now big enough to legally sit there and likes to be “in charge” of the radio and environmental controls wherever we go.

This morning, however, I was wishing she was still in the back seat.

We were driving down a stretch of road that, for our rural area, is fairly busy in the mornings with commuters and  mommies headed to school carpool lines.  There was a car in front of us and we were cruising along when out of nowhere a raccoon dashed out of the tall grass on the side of the road and in front of the car in front of us.

I quickly told Big Girl “don’t look, don’t look,” but I think it was too late.

The poor raccoon was rolled under the car as the driver was traveling too fast to stop and to swerve to avoid the creature would’ve surely meant a wreck.

It was the first time she’s ever seen anything like that.  Understandably, she was very traumatized.  (hysterical is a more accurate description, actually)

My poor baby.

How do you explain to a child those split-second decisions you make where you choose the safety of yourself and, most likely, the children riding in the car with you, over saving a creature’s life? She is such an animal fanatic that all she could think about was the poor animal dying and that the person had not even swerved or slowed down.

As a driver (and a mom) I can only imagine what went through that driver’s mind in the milliseconds before they hit the raccoon.

I hate that she had to see that. I hate that a little bit her innocence was taken away today.

I know it’s part of life. I know that she is going to see things and experience things that I will want to shield her from – and that seeing a raccoon get hit by a car is probably one of the milder things. (although I hope and pray not)

Big Girl is also dealing with some new realities this year at school.  Fourth grade involves a lot more responsibilities (and less hand-holding) than last year – they actually change classes! And, she is dealing with the realization that some friends are not “forever friends” but more friends of a season – and that it’s ok that people move on to find other friends.

I hate knowing that I can’t wrap that protective bubble around my babies anymore.  I want to keep them safe in the cocoon of mommy’s protection and shield them from anything negative or harmful.  Unfortunately, life is not that way.  Kids grow up, expand their horizons and experience new things – not all of them good.

Watching her deal with these things is hard. I want to swoop in and fix everything – make it all better and sunshine and roses for her. But, I know I can’t. I know she has to work through some of this on her own.

And I know that my job now is to be there to support and guide her as she learns how to deal with these things – as a big girl, not a little one.

But I still wish I could pull her into my lap and keep her there, safe, forever.

 

Mama's Losin' It

Menu Plan Monday ~ 23 Aug

mealplanmonday_v2 Got lots going on this week.

So glad I have planned out my menus. We have dance classes on Monday/Wednesday and Friday this week, plus curriculum night/PTO on Wednesday night and a knitting session for me on Thursday evening.

Without the plan, I think we would devolve into eating a lot of junk and fast food. This way, I know my family is getting healthy food and I can control fat, protein, and portion sizes.  Not to mention we have great leftovers for lunches.

As you can see we’re back into the chicken routine.  I’ve been finding chicken thighs on sale at the grocery and substituting them for the breasts in menus where I can. They are juicier than breasts and easier for my tummy to digest. The rest of the family doesn't seem to mind, either.

Here’s what I have planned for the week:

I’ve included links to all the recipes since so many of you have asked me for them.  Most are mine, a few other folks’.  All are posted on AllRecipes.com so it should be easy for you to access and print.

Join us over at Menu Plan Monday on orgjunkie’s blog – you can get some great ideas for your own dinners and share what you’ve got planned as well!  There are some great recipes over there – I was picking up a few ideas myself this morning that may show up in my own menus in the next few weeks.

 

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What’s for Dinner?

Here’s one of my favorite go-to recipes for the nights that SuperMan is working late and it’s just me and the girls for dinner.

Sesame Chicken BitesSesame Chicken Bites

Yum.

My girls love them just like they are straight out of the oven. No sauces, ketchup or anything needed.

I make them with two gallon sized zip top bags.

I use one for the mayo base coat mixture.  The second is used to hold the breading coating.  Easy cleanup and easy prep. Love that.

I use flash-frozen chicken tenders and cut them into bite-sized pieces.  This makes the dinner such a snap to make!

Here’s the recipe.  I think it would also be great to serve at a cocktail party with a little honey mixed with horseradish for a dipping sauce.

Sesame Chicken Bites

1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup (apprx) sesame seeds
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp Houston House Seasoning
3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (Cut in bite-sized pieces)
(you can also use chicken tenders cut into pieces)

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. In a large gallon zip top bag, mix the bread crumbs and sesame seeds. Add a dash of Houston House Seasoning
  3. In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, mustard & house seasoning.  Pour into a second gallon zip bag.
  4. Drop chicken pieces into the mayo bag and toss to coat.  I usually let the pieces sit in the bag in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes.
  5. Drop the mayo-coated chicken into the bread crumb/sesame seed mixture and toss to coat.
  6. Place chicken nuggets on sheet pan that has been sprayed with oil.
  7. Bake at 425 for approximately 15-20 minutes (or until chicken is done and coating is lightly browned)

I serve them with homemade french fries, a little fruit and sometimes some yogurt. Quick and easy – and healthy!

You can print the recipe here.

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What do monkeys eat for breakfast?

Have you ever wondered what monkeys eat for breakfast?

I don’t mean the monkeys you’ll find at the zoo.

I mean the monkeys you’ll find if you visit my house!

Curious?

Well, most, days, the monkeys have exciting things like Carnation Instant Breakfast served with side of toast or pop tarts.

But on Fridays, we mix things up a bit. SuperMan is off on Fridays, so I have a little more time in the mornings. Less rush-rush-rush and more nurture-the-family time.

So, I make things like this

imgp3113

Yep, you guessed it!

Monkey Bread!

The kids were not sure they were going to like it – Little Bit was afraid there were monkeys in the bread. Big Girl said it didn’t sound good.

But they LOVED it.

And SuperMan (after telling me I was ruining his diet) ate some, too.

Even Mr. Droopy-Pants had a taste.

imgp3114

And I sent them all away for the day, full of sugar and carbs and bouncing off the walls.

I’m sure their teachers appreciated it.

I’m such a good mom.

If you’d like to indulge in a little sugary goodness one morning, here’s the recipe.  I am most definitely not a morning person and this wasn’t painful to make, even though it was five-stinkin’-thirty in the morning.  I’ll do it again for sure. It was worth the effort.

Monkey Bread

It’s what monkeys eat for breakfast!

2 packages Pillsbury Grands Biscuits
1 cup sugar (I used 1/4 c Splenda 1/2 c sugar)
2 tbs ground cinnamon (I just dump a bunch in)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup, packed, brown sugar (I used 1/2 c Splenda/brown sugar blend)
1 tsp vanilla

OPTIONAL:
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c raisins
(the monkeys at my house don’t like raisins or walnuts)

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Grease 9 or 10 inch tube/Bundt pan.
    Note: if you use a tube pan with a removable bottom, put a cookie sheet on the oven rack below it to catch any drips of the caramel sauce that may seep through and be careful when you dump the bread from the pan.
  3. In a gallon zip lock bag, mix the sugar & cinnamon.
  4. Cut the biscuits into quarters and drop them into the cinnamon/sugar mixture.
    (I cut mine into sixths because the Grands are such big biscuits)
  5. Shake to coat and then drop the coated biscuit pieces into the tube pan.
  6. Continue until all biscuits are coated and placed in the pan.
    If you are using nuts/raisins, don’t forget to sprinkle them in as you are adding the biscuits to the pan.
  7. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together.
  8. Add the vanilla.
  9. Let it simmer for about a minute.
  10. Pour over the biscuits.
  11. Bake at 350 for 35 – 40 minutes.
  12. When you take the bread out of the pan, let is sit for a few minutes to allow the caramel to set.
  13. Turn out onto a large plate and let your hungry monkeys pull it apart (carefully) and enjoy!

Print the recipe here

Quick and Easy Dessert

I wanted to share a super-quick and super-yummy dessert idea with you.

My friend Cindy is quickly becoming famous amongst our newest circle of friends for her amazing recipes – all of which are so simple and easy to make that it is amazing how good they are. Something that easy can’t be that good!

But, Cindy is the master of quick, easy and yummy recipes. I think it is because she is a mom to three big, strapping boys and has had to be very creative with her food budget and cooking to feed those growing boys. (and they are BIG boys… football, weight-lifters, etc.)

Cindy prepared this for us for dessert one night when she hosted dinner at her house. It was gobbled up quickly and we were all begging for more – and the recipe!

I haven’t tried to make this sugar-free or WLS friendly, but I think I am going to try this weekend. Maybe substitute the “real” ingredients for sugar-free varieties. I will let you know how it turns out. 

This version, though, is to die for.

Oreo Cookie Ice Cream

  • 1 (large) tub of Cool Whip whipped topping
  • 1 1/2 gallon container of vanilla ice cream (slightly melted)
  • 1 package Oreo cookies

  1. Crush Oreos in a food processor (or put them in a ziplock bag and let your kids whack them with a mallet to crush them)
  2. In a LARGE bowl, mix the crushed Oreos, ice cream, and cool whip.
  3. Freeze 4-5 hours
  4. Serve

Print the recipe

This is a great treat to share with friends – and if you do there won’t be any left!

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