Chicken

Have to give TMOTH the credit - he made this tonight:
BAKED CHICKEN WITH POTATOES LYONNAISE

French bread from the grocery and black grapes to go with. Chicken nuggets and macaroni & cheese for the rugrats.

Catfish and hushpuppies

A good southern meal! They periodically have "catfish nuggets" at the Giant, and I like these much better than the bigger pieces. Season, roll in cornmeal, fry. Yum.

A Romantic Dinner with the Small Man

Just me and the toddler at home tonight - we had leftover chicken, macaroni & cheese, cucumber, honeydew, and Armenian flatbread.

Chili

TMOTH cooked chili! YAY! No cooking for me!

AND, the farmer's market started up again! DOUBLE YAY!!! Still early, so not a whole bunch of stuff, but I now have weekly convenient access to free range eggs. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. Omelets for dinner tomorrow!

Cook-out!

The weather isn't sunny, but dinner was. Hamburgers (from the last grinding) and hot dogs, with chips. I forgot the watermelon; we'll have some for dessert.

Poor neglected dinner blog...

We're just such boring eaters these days. We had frozen TJ's fish filets or frozen french bread pizza for dinner, with bake and serve rolls (also from TJ's).

At least last night we had watermelon with dinner (cheese and ham and crackers).

The Small Man wants to "play on the playground" (our playset) when he gets home, and we mostly do. Tonight there was a big tent in the yard, so he had to go in and out all evening.

Lasagna

Home-made lasagna tonight; another pan in the freezer, along with a pan of stuffed shells. Garlic bread and watermelon as well.

Pancakes and waffles

With strawberries from Florida.
Last night we ate out at Red Hot and Blue - the tween and I both had to get new glasses. She needs new glasses, I just need new frames - the coating on the metal temples of mine are coming off. Not good.

Potato soup

With onions and crispy bacon sprinkled on top. And Ritz crackers, of course. Kidlets had tomato soup, silly things that they are.

Hot dogs and popcorn chicken

and the mid-kid and TMOTH were still going to be late for Cub Scouts. They were bringing a hammer, so who knows what will come home.

Back from vacation

Tonight we had grilled pork tenderloin (YUM - I bought it at a different grocery; don't know if the brand made a difference, but it was really good), biscuits, and cantaloupe.

Meals are a bit constrained - no water. Pump died. Ick.

Ravioli

Something everyone likes!
TMOTH made chicken leg quarters last night; very yummy.

Ribs? Macaroni?

I think that's what the family had. I was at a review meeting, so dinner consisted of 2 bottles of Pepsi, a brownie, and a cookie. I had some toasted biscuits and a glass of milk when I got home. NOT a healthful dinner on my part.

Ham

With roasted potatoes, pineapple, and biscuits.

Last night TMOTH made fish chowder from a Queer Eye recipe. We'd made it before, but this time DIDN'T put in the habenero pepper. We're just wimps.

A terrible dinner

TMOTH bought some "pinwheel steaks" a few days ago.
They were awful - tough and badly seasoned and also probably a little old.
Anyway, Kona ate well tonight.
We had carbs - french bread, rice-a-roni, baked potato. The toddler and I shared a cucumber.

Hot dogs

With chili for me and TMOTH. I took the tween to Target to get a birthday present for her BFF and we were a little late getting home.

Steak

The tween informed me last night that we hadn't had steak "in forever." When we did have steak last night, she complained that it wasn't done enough. There's no making a pre-teen happy. We had frozen stuffed potatoes, broccoli, and strawberries, and french bread from Trader Joe's.

Leftover chicken piccata

This time over orzo pasta. Leftover Pizza Hut breadsticks and grapes to go with.

And, we have hot water! YAY!

Pizza Hut

The title pretty much says it all ;>)

To be fair, we've been without water since mid-morning - water heater blew out. TMOTH went to Home Depot early afternoon and bought a new one and is in the process of installing it. While I have confidence in his ability to do this, I wasn't sure it would be done by the end of the weekend. Fingers crossed!

Fish and hushpuppies

TMOTH bought some frozen battered fish fillets at Trader Joe's and we had those with hushpuppies and a salad.

Breakfast for dinner

Eggs with bacon for me, sausage for TMOTH and the toddler. The mid-kid had waffles. Hash browns for TMOTH, toasted biscuits left over from last night for me.

Last night was chicken piccata, a Green Giant vegetable mixture, grapes, and biscuits.

Stuffed peppers

I used the leftover beef shank/mushroom stuff, added some barley, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and parmesan cheese. Some gouda on top (that oddly never melted, but still tasted good), and in the oven. TMOTH bought some partially cooked baguettes at Trader Joe's, so I thawed those and cooked them. Fruit kebabs to go with. A very nice meal.

Last night was quesadillas, again with leftover meat (chicken). Very very good.

Beef shanks with mushrooms over rice

TMOTH cooked again, this time in the pressure cooker. It was quite yummy.

Last night was chili dogs! The night before, waffles. I was even able to eat a sausage link without throwing up all night.

Leftover chicken

BUT, we had it with roasted asparagus. Yummmmm. Also biscuits, and mac & cheese for the kidlets.

Last night was chili. I'd been craving chili for a few days now, and when they had ground beef on sale, well, it was clearly time! A day in the crockpot, and dinner is ready.

Fish

Fish sticks, fish filets, and chicken tenders for the tween who refuses to eat fish. O'Brien potatoes and french bread for carbs, carrot and celery sticks for "salad," and broccoli with cheese sauce.

This was our Valentine's dinner last night - cheese and crackers:

Ignore all of the junk on the table.
TMOTH went to Whole Foods, so GOOD cheese!

Also, a nice wine:


Also, a happy belated Valentine to everybody - a virtual cookie:

Hamburgers/cheeseburgers

Requested by the mid-kid.

Barbecue beef sandwich

Yes, again :>)
TMOTH is on an overnight, so I didn't bother to cook for myself. Macaroni & cheese for the kids. Strawberries for everybody! (PLANT CITY strawberries, YAY!)

Tortellini

Just regular old Barilla tortellini with either red sauce or cheese melted on top. Home-made breadsticks and a nice big salad.

I think I need to start looking for a new bread machine. I only use it for making dough, but I do use it pretty frequently. It seemed to be producing a "motor going bad" smell tonight. I see them all the time at the thrift stores, so I think I'll buy one the next time I see one that looks little used.

Barbecue beef sandwiches

We used the roast beef to make barbecue sandwiches. Very good.

I've been sick as a dog, and cooking as little as possible.

Appetizers

For the Super Bowl, we always set out a buffet on the coffee table so we can eat and watch. We had quesadillas, pupusas, mozzarella sticks, jalapeno poppers, pizza rolls, clam strips, ham and cheese roll-ups, and carrot and celery sticks with ranch dressing. Definitely a cheese theme.

Yay Giants for beating the Patriots!

Leftover roast beef

with mashed potatoes, squash from the freezer, yeast rolls, carrot and celery sticks. Birthday cake for dessert!

Lasagna

Safeway house band, frozen, with Safeway garlic bread. I'm such a slacker. It fits the weather, though - it's rained all day, starting with sleet which delayed school 2 hours.

Hot dogs

with chips and grapes. Major slump in the cooking these days, but the kids don't mind :>)

Potato Soup

With onions...Ritz Crackers to go with.

VERY late - I was making a carrot cake for my boss's birthday (it's today, the cake is for tomorrow) and needed to get it into the oven before dinner. At any rate, dinner eventually made it onto the table, and the cake is in the fridge.

Spaghetti

Leftover meat and mushroom sauce over angel hair pasta, with garlic bread.

Roast beef

TMOTH made the slow-roasted beef again. Yummy. Biscuits in a can, mac & cheese for the kids, roasted carrots and potatoes, sauteed mushrooms. The carrots were a bit underdone - something noted by a few people online the first day after the recipe ran in the Post, but that could be remedied by steaming after roasting.

Second great dinner in a row. Last night we had boneless skinless thighs, grilled after marinating in Soyaki Sauce from Trader Joe's, baked potato, french bread, and lima beans (for me).

No cooking tonight

Not much, anyway. The mid-kid went to a birthday party at dinnertime and had pizza, and I had a slice as well. TMOTH cooked dinner for himself while we were gone, but he couldn't get the toddler to eat anything. I made him tomato soup, but he didn't eat it - he DID eat three slices of toast and some celery with ranch dressing. I just had a bowl of corn flakes and a cup of tea. Definitely a cold coming on - hopefully it won't peak during my meeting Monday morning.

YOYO

This term was used by a mom on one of the listservs I belong to - You're On Your Own! Not really - the boys aren't old enough to cook for themselves yet, but I made quesadillas for them and home-made macaroni and cheese for me. Mmmmmmm....nothing better when you're not feeling all that well. TMOTH made himself some french bread pizzas.

Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hotdogs

Another locust night - the toddler ate TWO cheeseburgers, and the mid-kid ate a cheeseburger and a hotdog and maybe another hotdog. And carrot and celery sticks, for a token vegetable.

Mmmmmm, fish...

TMOTH made fish for us tonight. He sauteed artichoke hearts, peppers, garlic scapes, and garlic in butter and olive oil, then put on top of the fish to bake. I brought home French bread, a brown rice mix (portobello mushroom flavor; very good), and a broccoli/cauliflower mix. Kids had fish sticks or chicken strips.

Leftover bean soup

Fast and easy.

Last night was pork tenderloin, fried apples, salad/vegetables, and crescent rolls. I never know when we have dinner whether my kids will show up as butterflies or locusts; last night it was locusts. Nothing but a grease stain left on the plate.

Beef shank

TMOTH bought a cross-cut beef shank on sale last week, so I braised it, adapted from an Emeril Lagasse recipe, with onions, carrots, and celery in a broth-wine mix. Yum. Homemade yeast rolls to go with. I made pasta for the kids, and wound up with enough for us to mix with the meat. Double yum.

Waffles and bacon

The mid-kid wanted Lego waffles, so I got them for him for dinner. (TMOTH and I had normal waffles.)

Leftover bacon will be VERY good on bean soup sometime this weekend. TMOTH has a beef shank in the fridge; not sure of his plans for that.

Bits of this and that

1. Cheese sticks
2. Tyropita
3. Soft pretzels
4. Baguettes
5. Pretzel thins
6. Hummus
7. Artichoke dip

Plus, TMOTH is making cookies!

Leftover roast beef

TMOTH made mashed potatoes and I brought home mushrooms to saute. Also a cantaloupe, which wasn't bad for January. Brownies from a box for dessert later!

Chicken thighs

On the grill - TMOTH cooked 'em, so I don't know what he put on them - tasted like some garam masala. Broccoli, carrot and celery sticks, and biscuits. Leftover apple crisp for dessert.

We had a little excitement at dinner - the cats came chasing in a mouse, which made it into the wall before the cats could get it.

Hamburgers

TMOTH used the KitchenAid grinder attachment to grind a chuck roast into hamburger meat. MUCH MUCH better than from the supermarket. It's more fatty than I like, but tasted better than the stuff from the store, and TMOTH likes them fattier. All in all, a good thing. The tween had dinner with a friend, so no duplicating dinners.

Lamb chops

Grilled lamb chops, asparagus (a gift from my friend K. who bought too much), crispy potatoes, and bread with olive oil for dipping from Trader Joe's. Yum yum. I made the dough for snickerdoodles this afternoon and baked them after dinner. Toddler-boy helped with some.

leftover chili

I added black-eyed peas to mine - they're close enough to "beans" to work really well. Also cheese, and scooped it all up with tortilla chips. TMOTH eats his chili with Ritz crackers - yuck. Kids had quesadillas.

I also bought chicken thighs at the Giant, along with a big piece of chuck roast for TMOTH to grind into hamburger.

I also have a yen for snickerdoodles. Just need to go mix it up and get it in the fridge before I have to take toddler-boy up to bed.

Roast beef

A hurried dinner for me - the tween and I had 15 mintues to eat and dress (for her) to make it to the high school for the band concert.
Too bad - TMOTH made roast beef using this methoc:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/08/AR2008010801295.html

It was yummy. Perfectly medium rare, with baked potatoes and sliced cucumber [my pitiful contribution] and wheat croissants.

lasagna and garlic bread

I was running late today, for some reason...lots of small stops. At Hancocks for quilting thread, at the grocery for baby wipes and Chapstick...and our wimpy microwave doesn't help. It was eventually done, and not horrible.

Pizza

TMOTH made pizza, with toddler-boy helping - he puts on the mushrooms and pepperoni.

Grilled fish

With hushpuppies, potato salad, and broccoli/carrots. TMOTH wasn't too happy with the fish (too plain) but the hushpuppies were made specifically because I wasn't too sure he'd like the plain fish and he even liked the potato salad.

Shepherd's Pie

We had a piece of leftover grilled lamb, so I diced it up and added leeks, mushrooms, celery, carrots, and a little beef broth, then had mashed potatoes on top broiled to brown. We also had some mini whole wheat croissants that are surprisingly good.

Pizza tomorrow may turn into calzones - TMOTH was looking for recipes today.

I'm doing something right!

From This, That, and the Other Thing

Your Life is 8% Off Track

No doubt about it, you are living the right life. You've made some great decisions, and they've definitely paid off. Keep it up. You're on the right track!

Are You Living The Wrong Life?

Menu Planning

Not something that gets done often enough around here :)

In the fridge, there is some leftover lamb and pizza dough from Trader Joe's. The lamb will become shepherd's pie tomorrow night, I think. I have leeks, carrots, celery, and potatoes. We also have eggs now, so I can make bread.

Pizza Sunday.

Fish Sticks Monday (has to be relatively easy and fast; quilt guild starts at 7:15).

I'll have to scavenge the freezer to see what needs to be dealt with for later in the week.

Long time, no post...

Holidays took over for a while, I suppose.

Tonight was leftover mini-quiches, pita triangles with hummus, and bagel chips with artichoke dip. A little light on the vegetables, considering that one of my resolutions for 2008 is to eat more vegetables. I had good intentions, but never quite got that broccoli cooked.