What's for Dinner? Day 115-121 (End of March)

We moved in April---the whole month of April.

That seems like a good idea, spreading it out, but I am not so sure.  I was worn out and grouchy!

Probably because I did a lot of it!!

Although I did have some great friends who came and helped move and clean the old house, which saved me a few days :)

Even in the middle of the move we did have some yummy meals and some fun activities.

In an attempt to catch myself up quickly, I will list the meal, stick in a picture and give you the link to the yummy recipe.

Our fun activites will follow in a different post :)

Day 115

Baked Creamy Taquitos

It was a Our Best Bites night.

We had the Taquitos, find them here, black beans and guacamole both from the cookbook but I can't find them online.  Oops! 

It was delicious though and a thumbs up all around.

Day 116

I don't even know what happened this night :)  Oh wait I do.  I had a cold, or more likely bronchitis and had been coughing so badly that I broke a rib.  OUCH!!  No dinner cooking for me, I can barely move.

Day 117

Italian Meatball Soup

The kids were "a thumb's to the side" on this one.  But Joe and I liked it a lot.  I was feeling much better today being on a dose of Prednisone :)  I used the leftover meatballs that I had frozen from our Spaghetti and Meatballs we had a while ago.

Find the soup in Our Best Bites cookbook.  It isn't listed on their website.  And my brain was a bit fogged, no picture :)

Day 118

Corn Cakes with Tomato, Avocado Relish

This was a hit, thumb's up all around.  Find the "yumminess" here.

Day 119

Santa Fe Chicken Salad

This is a family favorite--Basically make a green salad, we like to make sure that there are tomatoes, corn and black beans.  For the chicken I used the Spicy Shake and Bake.  For the dressing we use homeade Hidden Valley Ranch and add some Wingers (and wing restaurant in Utah and Idaho) sauce.

The kids loved the chicken!!

They always "pick" around the salad.

Day 120

Breakfast for Dinner

Breakfast is a great fall back meal isn't it?

Today we had scrambled eggs, homemade hash browns and bacon.  The kids love it.  They always make comment, "That it is the best meal ever".  Why do I cook anything else? :)

No recipe, but I do have to say homemade hashbrowns are the best!

 

Don't those look like happy kids?!

Day 121

Sounders Game--Qwest Field, Seattle

Joe got 4 tickets to the Sounder FC soccer game in the Suite from AT&T.  So the 4 of us went and had some free food (which Peyton thought was great!) and watched the game.  Souunders lost :(

A Year of Dates

We have been so bad at date nights.

It's just a hassle to get a babysitter and then more expensive because you have to pay a babysitter.

Anyway, there's always an excuse :)

This year for Valentine's Day I gave Joe. . .

. . .A Year of Dates

I found the idea here during one of my Pinterest rounds :)

I did it similar to her's in that I just put them each in a white envelope with the Month label at the top.  Then I wrapped them up in a bow and SURPRISE!  Most of them are already paid for.  Like I went and got a gift card or something and put it in the envelope.  Some of them are free :)

We schedule the date for the month on the 1st of each month.

FEBRUARY

--Spa Date at Home, think face masks :)

MARCH

--iPic movie and dinner--The Hunger Games

APRIL

--Temple and Thai

MAY

--Special at home, we'll just leave it at that ;)

JUNE

--Dinner at Mazatlan (just a restaurant not the actual location) and card games at the park

JULY

--Mini golf in Utah

AUGUST

--Movie and Blizzards from Dairy Queen

SEPTEMBER

--Picnic lunch and hike Mt. Si--Subway gift card-check

OCTOBER

--Seattle Art Museum and Fish and Chips at Pike Place Market
NOVEMBER

--A sleepover for 2--stay up, movie, popcorn and these quiz books I found
DECEMBER

--Mall Shopping Date and Cheescake Factory
JANUARY

--Wii and or Xbox game night

Today we had March date night.

We had pre-purchased tickets to the Hunger Games.

We went to the iPic theater in Redmond--check it out here.

I had an iPic gift card in the March envelope.

They serve food and you can take in into the theater to some cushy chairs.

We had pizza and sliders and little popcorn.

Dinner and a movie--CHECK :)

Margaret Mead Science Fair

Peyton really wanted to participate in the Science Fair at school this year. 

We picked a project from our science project book weeks before the fair, maybe even months :)  But of course we didn't finish until just before we left to go to the fair.  In all fairness I got sick in the middle of it all and it wiped me out for a few days, maybe even a week :)

Peyton decided he wanted to make a small machine--he made a Merry Go round.

We had a lot of fun at the science fair.  There were lots of different science booths there.  Addison loved the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery--she was intrigued by the fish being gutted.  Peyton loved the machine building room--robotics.





Small machines make our world "go round"

Peyton built a "Merry Go Round" out of a battery, wire, a small machine, thread spools and birds made of felt.

The birds spun very slow :)  But they did spin!

Peyton found out that many things that we use each day use small machines and simple motors.

He wrote his whole poster himself and did a lot of the merry go round him self, with some help form Mom to make it work properly :)

He got a ribbon and certificate!

There were a lot of vendors that had "science" things on display for the kids to try.

Issaquah Salmon Hatchery--this was Addison's favorite

Abacus Math

Museum of Flight Robot Garage--this was Peyton's favorite

A telescope

What's for Dinner? Day 112

We have the Science Fair tonight.

Peyton decided he wanted to participate which was great, but it was a little more difficult to get him to do the project over the month that we had to do it :(

Needless to say we were rushing to finish it today.  Me being sick the last week did not help this any.

Pictures to follow :)

For dinner we had a yummy Weight Watchers salad. 

The kids had the chicken and oranges.

Chicken and Orange Salad

Weight Watchers--Points Plus 7

Serves 2--I doubled it

1 medium orange, peeled, cut into bite-size pieces

5 oz cooked skinless, boneless chicken thigh (s), cut into bite sized pieces--I used a Costco Rotisserie chicken cut into bit sized pieces

2 cups romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped or torn

2 small uncooked shallots, minced

1 rib, uncooked celery, chopped

1 Tbsp sliced almonds

Dressing

1 1/2 Tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

1 1/2 tsp water

1 tsp canola oil

1 tsp honey

1/4 tsp table salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/8 crushed red pepper flakes

1.  In a large bowl, combine orange, chicken, lettuce, shallot, celery and almonds.

2.  To make dressing, combine remaining ingredients in a cup; stir well to blend in honey.  Pour dressing over salad just before serving; toss gently but well.

What's for Dinner? Day 111

We did the walk through on our new house today!

Hurray we get the keys the 1st of April.

We had super sloppy joes for dinner. . .which evidently the kids did not think were so super!

Super Sloppy Joes

2 lbs ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1 2/3 cup canned tomatoes, pureed
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp steak sauce--I used Heinz 57 because that's what I had, but I prefer A1
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp paprika

In a large pan over medium heat, cook ground beef, onion, celery, and green pepper until the meat is not longer pink and the vegetables are tender; drain.  Add the next 9 ingredients; mix well.  Simmer, uncovered, for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Serve on hamburger buns with cheese and pickles.

I love mine with cheese and dill pickles.

We had corn on the cob and blackberries with our sloppy joes.

What's for Dinner? Day 110

We had a yummy Mushroom Pasta tonight!

It was the first day I did not need to nap in 4 days!

Hallelujah!

Well Joe and I liked it.

The kids tolerated it.

I got it from Pinterest :)

But it originally came from Sweet Paul

Mushroom Pasta Sauce

Start by cutting up 1/2 LBS mushrooms and finely chop 1 onion and 2 garlic cloves.

Heat up a pan and saute mushrooms, onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons olive oil until the mushroom starts to golden and the onion is soft.
 
 

Add 1/2 cup chicken stock, 1 1/2 cup cream and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill.

Let it simmer for 5 minutes and season with salt and pepper.  I also added some parmesan cheese to the sauce--The longer you cook the thicker is will become.  But watch so that it doesn't burn.  Stir frequently.

Cook up enough pasta for 4 people, remember to add salt to the water.Boil until al dente.


Strain and place in a bowl. Add the sauce, mix and serve with shaved parmesan on top.

What's for Dinner? Day 109

I'm still dying from this cold.  It hit me hard!! 

Harder than a cold has for a long, long time.

I have napped for the last 4 days!

I like naps but don't normally have time for them.  But I have felt like I couldn't function unless I had one for the last few days.  Yikes!!

So we had an easy dinner tonight.

Beef Taco Salads

1 lb ground beef

red onions

kidney or black beans

taco seasoning

water

Fritos (or Tortilla chips or Doritos)

shredded lettuce

grated cheese

chopped tomatoes

sliced olives

chopped avocado

Hidden Valley ranch prepared from dry mix

salsa

Brown ground beef wth onions and kidney beans, add taco seasoning per package instructions.

Layer Fritos, beef mixture, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, avocado, ranch and salsa.

4 thumbs up around here!!

Corned Beef and Cabbage. Day 108

One of Joe's favorite meals!  We usually get to have it on St. Patrick's Day but yesterday was so crazy that we didn't get to have it.

So we had it tonight!

I usually boil it but being Sunday and I had Ward Council I thought I would try the AllRecipes crockpot version.  It tasted the same to me!

Crockpot Corned Beef and Cabbage

Allrecipes--here

4 large carrots, peeled and cut into matchstick pieces
10 baby red potatoes, quartered--I had russett potatoes so that's what I used
1 onion, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
4 cups water
1 (4 pound) corned beef brisket with spice packet
6 ounces beer--I just added more water
1/2 head cabbage, coarsely chopped

Directions

1.Place the carrots, potatoes, and onion into the bottom of a slow cooker, pour in the water, and place the brisket on top of the vegetables. Pour the beer over the brisket. Sprinkle on the spices from the packet, cover, and set the cooker on Low.

2.Cook the brisket for about 8 hours. An hour before serving, stir in the cabbage and cook for 1 more hour.

It's not my favorite.

But the kids and Joe give it 2 thumbs up!!

Top O' the Morning to you

Top O' the Morning to you!

Addison got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. . .probably at about 2:00am. . .not quite sure I was quite asleep!

All of the sudden she comes running into our room to my side of the bed.

"Mom there is green in the toilet!"

It took me a minute since I had been sleeping :)

"Oh, the leprechaun must have come and peed green in the toilet."

"Oh"  she laughs and goes back to bed.

However in the morning she then woke Peyton up to tell him.  Luckily is was not at 2:00 :)

Then we had some green eggs for breakfast.

I gave them the option of green eggs or pancakes.  They chose eggs, but then were not certain they wanted to eat them because they "looked weird".  They decided they would eat them anyway and they tasted the same!

After breakfast I took some cute cupcakes that I made for a friend's daughter's birthday tea party to the party.  Aren't they cute?

They had delicious. .

Lemon buttercream

Mint buttercream

Regular buttercream

. . .on the top.  and I ate way to much of it :)

I took another 2 hour nap.  Still feeling yucky!!

Then went to a friend's 40th birthday party at

The Parlor in Bellevue.

It was a nice date night and visit with friends.





What's for Dinner? Day 106

I started feeling worse today with my cold!

I took a nap for about 2 hours!!  Yikes!  The kids even entertained themselves the whole time!

My good friend brought us dinner.

Tomato Basil Soup

Green salad

Watermelon

Bread

Mint cookies

Yum!!

And so nice to not have to cook :)

What's for Dinner? Day 105

What's easier than Hawaiin Haystacks?  Not much!

I started having cold symptoms earlier in the week and they started escalating today.  So something easy for dinner was best.

Hawaiian Haystacks

Serves 4

Two frozen chicken breast

2 cans cream of chicken soup (I use Campbell's)

Salt

Pepper

Place above ingredients in crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours

Just before serving shred chicken in crock pot and add 4 oz cream cheese.  Let melt and stir together.

While cream cheese is melting. . .prepare toppings

Grate cheese

Chop tomatoes

Chop avocados

Slice green onions

Get chinese noodles

Drain can tidbits pineapple

Serve sauce over rice and top with desired toppings!

My kids loved it--especially because they can choose their own toppings :)

 

The Jungle Book

The Cub Scouts in our ward and the Sammamish 2nd ward put on a production of the Jungle Book tonight :)

Did you know that Baden-Powell based the Cub Scout program was on. . .

The Jungle Book

by Rudyard Kipling

Our boys put on the production where the admission was canned food for the Scout Food Drive.

Howard McComber was the director and he was great with the boys!

Peyton starred as a wolf, an elephant, and a monkey.

I was a fun production!

What's for Dinner? Day 104

 I took dinner to a friend tonight!

They got chicken enchiladas, and so did we :)

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

I don't ever really use a recipe for chicken enchiladas.  And the picture below does not do them justice.  But they are delicous and make great leftovers!!

I usually take 2-3 chicken breasts

Boil for 30 minutes and then shred and put into frying pan with red onion wedges, oil, vinegar, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper (and any other mexican spices you want)

While cooking the chicken I also. . .

grate monterey jack cheese or pepper jack cheese (enough to sprinkle a little in each tortilla and on top)

and open 1 large can green chile enchilada sauce and heat on the stovetop.  When heated, add about 1 cup sour cream (I use light).

and warm up white corn tortillas in the microwave (I use a tortilla warmer that works great, see below, but a wet paper towel wrapped around the tortillas also works great)



Mine has a different pattern but looks similar to this and can be put in the microwave.



After the chicken is a bit crispy on the edges and the onions are transluscent gather all ingredients to assemble.

Spread enchilada sauce in the bottom of the pan.

Take a warm tortilla, put a spoonful of sauce on the top, put some chicken in, sprinkle with cheese, roll up and place in pan seam down.  Repeat until pan is full.

Pour remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350 until bubble and hot.

Serve with sour cream, guacamole, and salsa.

Also rice and beans if you want!

What's for Dinner? Day 103

Addison has been sick all day. . .like fever sick where she just lays there and is very, very sweet!

I hate seeing her sick but she is pretty cuddly when she is sick.

I didn't have much time to do a lot of cooking with Addison being to cuddly or time to get to the grocery store, which I desperately needed to do.

So we had homemade pancakes and bacon and strawberries.

Peyton had pancakes and strawberries for school lunch :)  So I thought he'd be bummed.  Nope he thought it was the greatest thing!!

Homemade Pancakes

via my friend Martine

2 cups flour

1/2 cup oil

2T baking powder

¼ cup sugar

1 egg

1.5 cups milk or until the thick/thinness you prefer

And sometimes a drop or two of vanilla--I did add a drop of vanilla :)

Put it all together in a bowl and mix it up.

Breakfast for dinner :)  So easy and yummy!!

Look at the snow we got today!  I think we had snow, rain, sun and clouds today.  Yikes, what crazy weather that we are having!



What's for Dinner? Day 102

Tonight we had an Asian inspired meal.  I found a steak marinade on Pinterest here.  Which was an adaptation from the Pioneer Women's Black Heels to Tractor Heels book (which I have not read, but just might pick it up now as I do like the Pioneer Woman)

Asian Inspired Flat Iron Steak Recipe

I of course adapted a few things myself, noted in red.

Recipe type: Main Author: Savory Sweet Life Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 15 mins Serves: 4-6 A delicious Asian-inspired grilled flat iron steak recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Sherry--I did not have this and so looked for sherry substitutes and I found vanilla was a substitute and I had that in the house.  It was 1 tsp vanilla to 1Tbsp sherry. 
1/4 cup Honey
2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
2 Tablespoons (heaping) Minced Ginger
2 Tablespoons (3-5 cloves) Minced Garlic
teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

2 Flat Iron Steaks--I used one big flank steak which is what the Pioneer Woman used.

Garnish: 2 Tablespoons Roasted Sesame Seeds and 2 Green Onions, slivered.

Instructions

Gather all ingredients together – soy sauce, sherry, honey, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, and flat iron steak.

Whisk the ingredients in a bowl. Place the steaks and marinade in a ziplock bag and chill in the refrigerator for 3-6 hours.Grill steaks on high heat for 4 minutes on each side for medium rare steaks. Allow steaks to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Sprinkle roasted sesame seeds and green onion slivers on top to garnish.

We served it with rice and a frozen stir fry veggie pack.  It was pretty good but I did not like that I could taste the vanilla it the marinade.  Maybe would have been better with the sherry or a different substitute :)  It looked pretty though!

13 Colonies Project

I teach a Computer Tech/Public Speaking Class for an 8th grader that is home schooled.

Today we went to hear his final presentation that he did a powerpoint and oral presentation on.

We also got Philly Cheesesteaks for lunch :)

Here we are in Philadelphia getting ready to eat some delicious Philly Cheesesteak :)

What's for DInner? Day 100!!!!!

I feel like a celebration is in order!

100 days of mostly different and new things :)

A few leftovers

A few eating out

A lot of keepers

A few never need to make again

and a lot of yummy stuff!

Tonight we had

Tomato Basil Pizza

I got it here via pinterest :)

It comes from David Lebovitz

Four to six servings
2 1/4 to 2 1/2 pounds (about 1.25 kg) small-to-medium sized fresh tomatoes, sliced in half
3 clove fresh garlic, peeled and quartered lengthwise or thickly sliced
2 tablespoon olive oil, plus additional oil for the pizza
12 branches of fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme--I used dried
1 bay leaf
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 ounces fresh pizza dough--I made a quick kind from scratch--almost tried whole wheat but went with the tried and true

8 ounces (240 g) mozzarella cheese, sliced--Fresh mozzarella
One bunch of fresh basil
Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).

2. On a non-stick baking sheet (or one lined with parchment paper) that’s large enough to hold the tomatoes in a single layer, toss together the tomatoes with the garlic, olive oil, thyme, bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper. (I usually finds it takes a bit more salt than I think, but you can add more salt after roasting.)

3. Roast in the oven for 1 hour, checking midway during roasting to make sure the garlic isn’t burning. If the tomatoes are getting overly dark on the bottom, turn them gently with a spatula.--Mine did not need quite an hour, more like 45 minutes.

4. After one hour, turn off oven and leave tomatoes in the oven until oven cools completely. Roasting time will vary depending on the size of tomatoes; just roast them until they’ve given up their juices, as shown in the picture in the post.--Also I was in a hurry so I did not leave them in until the oven cooled down.

(Tomatoes can be roasted up to three days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. They can also be frozen in freezer bags for several months.)--Probably should have done this :)

5. To make the pizza, preheat the oven to 450ºF (235ºC) and place a heavy baking sheet on rack on the lower third of the oven.

6. On a lightly floured surface, roll and stretch the pizza dough into a 14-inch (36 cm) circle. Place the dough on a sheet of parchment paper.

7. Brush the dough with a thin layer of olive oil. Drain the tomatoes well (reserve the liquid for a vinaigrette or soup), then distribute the tomatoes and garlic over the dough. Put the mozzarella slices over the tomatoes, then place a dozen fresh basil leaves on top of the pizza and grate some Parmesan over the top.

8. Transfer the pizza to the baking sheet by grabbing the hot baking sheet out of the oven (wearing an oven mitt to avoid burning yourself) and slide the pizza onto the hot baking sheet.

9. Return the pizza to the oven and bake for 10 to 20 minutes (see Note), until the pizza is baked to your liking; the bottom crust should be crisp and the top should be slightly browned and bubbling.

10. Remove from the oven and strew chopped fresh basil over the top along with a generous sprinkling of additional grated Parmesan cheese.

Variations: You can use a different cheese if you wish. Fresh goat cheese, smoked mozzarella, or a semi-soft cheese like Fontina work well on pizza. You could also add bits of bacon or prosciutto to the pizza.

Note: Ovens vary greatly in terms of heat and browning ability. Very hot temperatures are recommended for pizza, although small home ovens often lack that power. So I encourage you to bake the pizza at a very hot temperature, but monitor it while baking and move it about the oven to cook the top and bottom evenly. (If using a pizza stone, they generally bake best on the bottom of the oven.)



What's for Dinner? Day 99

Our plans changes today from what I had initially planned on so I had nothing planned for dinner.

I told Joe to pick.

He of course picked ground beef tacos with corn tortillas.

It's one of his favorite!!

And easy!

The kids complained about it when they saw it. . .then they tasted it and both ate 3 tacos :)

We just use the Lawry's taco seasoning mix and then fry the corn tortillas.

Add:

cheese

lettuce

tomatoes

sour cream

guacamole

red onion

and

Voila!!

What's for DInner? Day 98

We had a yummy Strawberry Spinach Salad tonight.  Joe and I that is--the kids had sandwiches and strawberries.  I didn't feel like listening to complaining tonight so I didn't even offer them Spinach :)

Find it here along with some other yummy stuff

Strawberry and Avocado Spinach Salad

1 clove garlic (grated)
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon raspberry vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoon olive oil

1 5 ounce bag baby spinach
2 handfuls strawberries (sliced)
1 avocado (peeled, pitted, sliced)
1 handful fresh peas (optional)--I didn't have any so opted out of these
2 slices bacon (cooked and crumbled, optional)
1 handful blue cheese (crumbled)
1 handful pecans (chopped)
Directions:

1. Mix the garlic, honey, mustard, vinegar and oil.
2. Assemble the salad and toss with the dressing.

What's for Dinner? Day 97

The kids and I love Noodles and Company!

We go there in Utah :)  But they don't have them in Washington.

Tonight we tried the knock of Wisconsin Mac and Cheese recipe from Noodles and Company.

That's the kids favorite!

Peyton likes Mac and Trees

Addison likes Mac and Cheese

I usually get something off the Mediterranean menu but did just mac and cheese tonight.

Noodles and Company Mac and Cheese

1 lb. elbow noodles
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups half and half--I used fat free milk because that is what I had
1/2 tsp salt
3 Cups Monterrey Jack (or Colby Jack)--I used Monterrey Jack, but would have liked a sharper cheese better I think



Cook pasta according to package directions.

In large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour making a roux. Gradually stir in half and half whisking until thickened. Stir in salt. Remove from heat. Add cheese, stir until cheese melts. Top with fancy shredded mild cheddar cheese.

To serve Noodles and Company way put a good size spoonful of cheesy sauce in the bottom of a bowl, top with cooked elbow noodles and then sprinkle grated cheese on the top.  You can also add broccoli for the trees.  That's what we did.  Then stir to mix on your own :)

The Napping House

We had Mommy and Me book club today.

I did. . .

The Napping House

It's really cute.  A bunch of people pile up on a bed until a little flea wakes them all up.

We got to wear our pajamas and go to our friends Jack and Tommy.

We had to practice piling up the characters

Then we made rainbow pictures with marshmellows for the clouds and colored some characters.  I think Peyton is eating more marshmellows than putting them on the picture.

Then they made their own Napping Houses out of crackers, cheese and raisins.

Addison's had two doorknobs.

And Peyton's had two houses--I took the picture upside down on Peyton's he didn't do it ;)