It's days like this...

It's days like this that make me realize what a great family I have.  Well technically it was yesterday, today's been a little more difficult :)

If you ever think you have a disobedient child and think there is no hope, take them to an amusement park.  We went to Sea World yesterday and Mason was one of the most polite and well behaved people there, young and old.  He said excuse me to a little boy who was holding up the line in the play area, said thank you to the man that gave us our lunch, and walked around like a big boy with no stroller! 

Every time I go to Sea World I am shocked by the number of odd, obese, or rude people.  I guess it brings out all types and I probably shouldn't judge since I can be odd, I used to be obese, and I can be rude without realizing it, oops!

Well since the dinner challenge is technically over (even though I was pretty much a failure toward the end) I won't be posting as much food but I did want to leave you with a few of the gems that I cooked in the past week.

Homemade Granola Bars

These are delicious and supposed to be for kids, but I ate most of the first batch so I had to make more for Mason!

2 cups oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar (calls for 3/4 cup, but I cut it down)

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp cinnamon

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup honey (calls for 1/2 cup, but I cut it down again)

1/2 cup applesauce

1 apple, diced small

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 9x13 pan well with non-stick cooking spray.

Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl.  Make a well in the middle and pour in the wet ingredients, including the apple.  Mix with hands until very well combined.  Press into pan.  Bake at 350 for30-35 minutes or until golden brown around edges.

Let cool for about 5 minutes then slice, if you wait too long they will become too hard.

Mushroom "Veggie" Burgers

I cannot believe after 4 1/2 years of marriage I finally convinced my husband to eat these (and he actually liked them)!

4 large portabello mushroom caps, cleaned
1 cup light balsamic vinagrette
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried rosemary
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 whole wheat buns (we used the sandwich thins)
Garnishes (grilled red onions, cheese, etc.)

Combine the vinagrette, herbs, and garlic.  Pour over mushroom caps and let marinate for up to 2 hours.  Grill on med-high heat for about 5-7 minutes per side.  Put on toasted buns, enjoy!

Nights 28 and 29

Bought a new pair of shorts today at Victoria's Secret... talk about motivation to do more squats and get a spray tan.  These shorts are probably the reason why last night I had polenta pancakes with bacon and tonight I had a protein shake.  It's amazing what seeing your legs in a fitting room mirror can do to a person.

Night 28

Polenta Pancakes with Turkey Bacon

There's bacon... IN the pancakes.  Genius I know. 

I made the recipe for the batter myself and I thought it was a little thin.  I would probably change the flour from 1/4 cup to 1/2 a cup and decrease the polenta to 1/4 a cup next time.

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup polenta "corn grits"

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk

2 egg whites

2 tbsp applesauce

Turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled

Sift first four ingredients together in bowl.  Blend milk, eggs, and applesauce together and add to flour mixture.  Combine until well blended.  Add in bacon crumbles.  Cook like regular pancakes!

Night 28

Protein Shake

I have been buying this particular brand of protein shake for a while, but it wasn't until recently we started adding fruit in and blending it up, it makes it soo much better!

Blend the banana, two strawberries, and the shake up for a healthy meal.  I've thought about adding peanut butter instead of strawberries, extra protein and yummy goodness.

Night 27?

So I am apparently a complete blogging failure at this month long challenge thing...

Today was Valentine's Day.  I spent it with one of my sweeties while the other had duty.  I'm really (really) ok with the fact that Scott had to work, it meant I got to sit on the couch in my sweats and watch stupid Bravo reality shows all night and eat delicious buttery rolls and homemade frosting right out of the container.

Nine years ago today Scott sent me a little red teddy bear and a rose at school, that's what started it all, so sweet.  To make up for all that sweetness right at first I haven't received anything for the past eight years, which is ok by me.  I don't think that so much emphasis should be put on one day, it's a lot of pressure, not to mention a lot of money.  I will admit I did get excited to take Mason to his first Valentine's party and fill out the little cards, it's so much fun to watch him experience these things!

Since I have no idea what meals I have missed I will post a highlight reel of sorts of the best meals over the last few days.

Cheesy Potatoes with Ham Steak

1 bag frozen hash browns, the cubed kind

1/2 cup sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

4 cups shredded cheese, I use a mixture of cheddar and jack

1 Ham steak, cubed

Corn Flakes, crushed

Mix all ingredients except corn flakes together in a large bowl.  Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.  Top with crushed cereal and spray top with non stick spray to help brown.  Top with foil and bake for about 50 minutes at 350 until golden and bubbly.

Chicken and Noodles with Mashed Potatoes

1 roasting chicken

1 bag fresh noodles

6-7 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, cooked and mashed

Place chicken in large stock pot.  Cover with water.  Add salt and pepper to pot.  Bring to a boil and cook until done, I've never timed it but I'm going to say about 20-30 minutes depending on size of chicken.  Take chicken out of the water and place on a sheet pan to cool.  Once cooled remove skin and shred chicken off the bone, putting it back into the pot.  Bring back to a boil and add noodles.  Cook according to noodle directions, usually about 15-20 more minutes.  Serve over mashed potatoes.

If you are in my house, this meal must MUST be eaten with corn and Rhodes rolls.  They are yeasty, buttery, and delicious! The rolls can be found in the freezer section, they are so easy.



Sweet Treats

Have you ever made dessert before dinner, only to snack on it while cooking and then be too full to eat dinner?  Yeah... me neither... I was just checking.

We have been eating various left overs and easy to make things like pigs in a blanket and chicken nuggets, mostly because I didn't feel like cooking.  Sue me.  I did make a huge pan of delicious Cheesy Potatoes with Ham Steak (recipe to come soon), they were gone in a day.  So since I haven't been making anything exciting I decided to focus on what I like to do the best, bake. 

We walked/jogged to the store today, which ended up being 5 miles round trip, it was an awesome workout.  I'm glad we walked, it helped me burn of some of the calories I plan on consuming when I eat these delicious goodies...

Cherry Kolaches

They used to serve these occasionally when I was in high school.  They are a Czechoslovakian treat and they are yummy! 

Dough:

1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water (110° to 115°)

1 1/4 cups warm 2% milk (110° to 115°)

3/8 cup sugar

3/8 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

5 ½ to 6 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

1 20 oz. can cherry pie filling

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon cold water

Topping:

1 cup powdered sugar

2-4 tablespoons milk

½ teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, sugar, butter, salt, eggs and 2 ½ cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a very soft dough. Do not knead. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 75 minutes.

Turn onto a well-floured surface. Shape into 1-1/2-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine pie filling and sugar. Combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; gradually stir into filling. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened; set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indentation in the center of each dough ball; fill with 2 rounded teaspoons of filling.

Bake at 400° for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Drizzle with powdered sugar glaze.

Monkey Bread

My dad is the monkey bread master.  I don't know if I ever even saw my mom make it, it has always been my dad's thing.  This is about 1/2 of a batch, I used some leftover roll dough I had.

This is the reason I didn't eat dinner.

You understand now, don't you?

 24 Rhodes Rolls dough balls thawed but still cold, cut in half

1/2 a cup sugar

2-3 tablespoons cinnamon

1/2 stick butter, melted

Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.  Roll the dough halves in the butter, then the sugar mixture.  Place into a greased Bunt pan in an even layer.  Once all dough is gone sprinkle remaining sugar mix over top of the dough and pour remaining butter in as well.  Cover and let rise for about 45 minutes or until dough is about 1 inch below the top of the pan.  Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.  Cool for 5 minutes and invert onto plate. Enjoy! 

 

 

Dinner Challenge: Nights 19, 20, and 21

Just realized I haven't posted in three days not two, probably because I've been forcing my family to eat leftovers. 

Tonight's post is going to be extremely quick... I'm not gonna lie, Glee is on and I don't want to wait to watch it.

Night 19

Ahh, Super Bowl Sunday.  My favorite snack day of the year.  We ordered cheese pizza and breadsticks and ate ourselves into a carb coma.  I went to the gym later that night to try and undo some of the damage, but no such luck, which explains my next two nights of dinner.

Night 20

Leftover night!  Scott had pizza and chicken salad... it must be nice to have a lightning fast metabolism.  Mason had pasta, chicken, and green beans.  That boy has been eating nothing but plain whole wheat pasta lately, weird but pretty healthy. 

I had a protein shake... blended with a banana.  End of story.

Night 21

I fixed jalapeno sausage with marinara sauce and pasta.  Scott is the only one that actually ate this version. 

Mason's Plate

Plain pasta, cottage cheese, and fruit.  This child LOVES cottage cheese.  He also likes to feed it to himself, major mess!

Scott's Plate

Sausage, Sauce, and Pasta

Just as the meal was intended to be eaten.

My Plate

Steamed broccoli and sauce

I had to make up for all that damn pizza somewhere and I felt like more carbs would lead me down a bad path.  This whole delicious bowl was a mere 220 calories! 

Dinner Challenge: Nights 17 and 18

Well it's going to be an interesting time in our lives, I can already tell.  Mason has started singing along to songs lately which is soo cute, his current favorite is Dynamite by Taio Cruz.  The problem is a lot of the songs that are on Scott's Ipod are not child appropriate, we found this out today when Mason started saying bad ass and f-ing nightmare.  Nightmare is right!  We just ignore it and definitely don't play those songs again, I'm thinking of buying a few classical CD's to play when we are in the car together, they say that can help make children smarter and obviously we need to undo the damage that we have already done!

Night 17

For this dinner I fixed biscuits and gravy.  I also fixed bacon... well it was turkey bacon but it still counts.

We found packaged biscuits that are all natural without any preservatives or artificial anything, they were actually very good! I also used turkey sausage in my gravy, not the best, but it beats all the fat and grease in regular sausage.

For gravy:

Brown sausage in large skillet.  Add about 1/4 cup of flour, sprinkling it over the cooked sausage.  Stir around and cook for a few minutes, letting the flour get absorbed into the sausage.  Add salt and pepper (lots of pepper).  Pour in about 2 cups or so of milk.  Cook until it begins to simmer, simmer for about 5 minutes or until gravy is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. 

Night 18

I have a fear.

That fear is under cooked chicken.

To overcome this fear I frequently cube up my chicken breasts before I cook them so I know they are done.

Like this:

Then to make them tasty I coat them in Dijon mustard.

Like this:

Then I brown them in a skillet, doing my best to be rational and stop cooking them before they are briquettes of chicken.   Tonight turned out pretty well, still juicy, but done!

Mason's plate.

Notice the shredded cheese.  This is his new obsession... it's messy to say the least.

My plate.  Just chicken.

I'm prepping for all the pizza I'm going to consume during the Super Bowl.

Scott's "salad"

Look at all that dressing.  I wonder what that does to his insides?

Dinner Challenge: Nights 15 and 16

Well yesterday was my birthday, I turned the big 2-4!  I have always felt old at heart which is fitting since we ate out for dinner at the late hour of 4:00, we were seated next to a couple that had walkers AND electric chairs, now that's serious. 

We spent the day shopping and having fun, even though it was really windy, like semi-trucks flipped over on the freeway windy.  We ate out at a fish restaurant that is inside Bass Pro, which is weird since I wouldn't normally be caught dead in a Bass Pro, especially on my birthday, but Mason loves looking at everything and the restaurant has great fish so it was worth it.

Night 15

Grilled Mahi Mahi with caramelized onions

This was at the Islamadora Fish Company Restaurant. 

Night 16

Hamburgers

Tonight was quite the down grade from yesterday.  In fact, I didn't even cook these, Scott did!  I ate birthday candy most of the day (thanks Scott) so Mason and Scott ate hamburgers on the grill. 

Mason took apart his burger, licked off the cheese, ate the patty, squished the bun back together and ate it.  It's like nothing can be eaten in its intended form.

Dinner Challenge: Nights 13 and 14

So I've decided that posting every night is getting a little ridiculous.  I'm going to move to every other night.  We haven't been eating that much interesting stuff anyway, seriously, night 13 was cereal...

Night 13

Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheat's with a touch of fruit inside

This new cereal is amazing!  It tastes kind of like a little mini pop tart in milk, we loved it.  We were car shopping all day and we bought cereal on our way home for the morning... poor box didn't even make it out of the Target parking lot. 

Night 14

Turkey Pie

Tonight I was a little more adventurous in the kitchen. We used the leftover turkey to make a pie and it was yummy! 

1 Pie Crust ( I used pre-made, pie crusts are my Everest, I can never get them right)

2 cups cooked turkey breast, chopped

1/2 cup green beans

1/2 cup corn

1 jar roasted turkey gravy

4 large potatoes, mashed

1/4 cup shredded cheese

Assemble first four ingredients into pie crust, top with mashed potatoes and bake at 375 for 25 minutes.  Top with cheese and bake for additional 10 minutes.  If the crust of the pie start to get too brown cover with pie guards or aluminum foil.