Dinner “magic”

Dinner tonight was a riot. F. decided he would entertain us by doing magic tricks at the table. He would say “OK. Everyone has to look away and I’m going to take a bite of carrot. And then when you look back the carrot will have disappeared!” The kid is soooo enthusiastic, but obviously missing the mystery part of magic. Of course we all played along. Before we knew it, L.G. was making her food “disappear” as well. R & I spent the whole meal dramatically looking at the ceiling so as not to see the kiddos shoving chimichanga and carrots and tomatoes into their mouths, and trying not to laugh as they announced what they were doing each step of the way! It may not have been the most dignified meal ever, but everyone cleaned their plates and we ALL had fun. Sometimes I can get so caught up in trying to keep everyone at the table, eating their vegetables and drinking their milk without fussing, etc. that the meal becomes anything but pleasant. I’m curious if any of you have special things you do with your families to make dinner fun.

Chicken Chimichangas

There is a bit of prep time involved in assembling these little chimichangas, but they freeze really nicely. They are also pretty filling - the kids can only eat one between the 2 of them, and one is all I need as well. R. might eat 2, but since the recipe yields 12 that still leaves 8 to pop in the freezer for future dinners. I use the fat-free beans and mild salsa because the family is not big on spice, but I imagine these would be super yummy with the spicy refried beans and medium or hot salsa.

1 lb cooked beef or cooked pork or cooked chicken
16 ounces mild salsa
16 ounces refried bean (fat-free will work)
12 8-inch flour tortillas
1 lb four-cheese Mexican blend cheese

Shred chicken (or crumble ground beef). You should have about 3 cups. In bowl combine chicken, salsa, beans, and cheese. Place bag of tortillas in Microwave until warmed through. Spread out tortillas individually on a clean dry surface. Fill individual tortillas with 1/2 cup filling mixture. Fold up bottom. Fold in one side and squish it around the filling, and roll it up.

Freezing and Cooking Directions: Spread out chimis on cookie sheet and flash freeze for about two hours. Gather up frozen chimis and place in gallon size freezer bag together. Bake thawed chimichangas at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minute OR heat them in 1/4 inches deep oil in skillet for approximately 18 minute over med-LOW heat. Turn them once and watch them carefully. Serve with sour cream.

meals for the week

I’m going to really try to pay attention to EVERYTHING we eat over the next few weeks so I can determine just how much money I am actually spending on food each week. As food prices go up, our budget is getting tighter and tighter. Eliminating things like juice boxes and individually bagged snacks for the kids has helped stretch our dollar, but I feel certain if I look closely enough there must be other gaps I can fill without sacrificing too much. The first step in this is planning out meals for the week. I’m going to try and estimate the cost of each entry as well.

dinners:
Friday: Chicken Chimichangas
Saturday: babysitter coming!! The kids can eat fishsticks.
Sunday: Tortilla Soup
Monday: Goat cheese and Sundried Tomato pasta
Tuesday: Macademia Crusted Mahi Mahi fillets with roasted cherry tomatoes green beans
Wednesday: Cheese Ravioli with toasted walnuts, salad
Thursday: Risotto with tomato, basil, parm

things to do . . .

OK this is not strictly food related, but I have so many things to do and so little time! Here is my list for the weekend so far:

• Find a basket for my bicycle. LG has an adorable one with plastic flowers on her bike - I think Mama deserves one equally cool. Plus, I need to be able to stash my bag in a basket if I am ever going to bike to work. <This is the one I am dreaming of, but I think it will remain a dream for now.

• Make Empanadas for the freezer. I used to make these all the time when F. was a baby. I think it is time to re-introduce them to the rotation! I think I’ll probably make some more pizza rolls as well - they are so fast and easy, and I’ll admit to loving them as much as the kids do!

• Plant a terrarium for the livingroom. Somehow I came upon this post by Vintage Chica and it got me thinking about taking another stab at my terrariums. I have these fabulous glass pedestal jars (I think one got broken in the move) and I always intended to use them for terrariums. The old house didn’t get much sunlight so my results the first time around were not good. I’m ready to try again though! Love the addition of the plastic dinosaurs in these terrariums by Two Straight Lines!

• Plan meals for the week - R. can watch the kiddos while I shop, so I want to try and plan out as many meals as possible. The fewer trips we make to the grocery store, the less money we will spend, right?

• Paint my garden bench. The fence is finally finished around the back yard but the budget is not going to allow for the major landscaping job I am dreaming of. Solution? I’m thinking that a bright, glossy coat of fresh paint on my old garden bench will be just the fun punch of color I need right now. I’m thinking robin’s egg blue. . . or maybe a bright leaf green . . .

 

Fast & Easy

What a day! Birthday party this morning, our first pool visit of the season this afternoon! Now everyone is tired and hungry and here I am without a plan. The kids fast and easy favorite? Frozen cheese tortellini tossed with broccoli florets and a sprinkle of parm. Water is boiling now - food will be on the table in 10 minutes!

Healthy Breakfast “Cookies”

Nicole posted this as a comment in another section, and I don’t know how to move it. Cut and paste seems to work though! I guess we will get the hang of this blog thing as we go, right? Anyway, the recipe sounds great, Nic!

Healthy breakfast “cookies” I saw on the Food Network (Ellie Kreiger, Healthy Appetites) that I adapted to Coley’s food allergies. Healthy alternative to the sugary granola bars on the market, sneaks in a veggie and good Omega-3s:

Healthy Breakfast Cookies, adapted for egg/dairy/nut allergies

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour, sifted
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Scant teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ cup whole ground flaxseed meal, such as Red Mill
4 tablespoons butter or non-dairy substitute, such as Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
½ cup canola oil
½ cup dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 eggs or equivalent egg-replacer, such as EnerG
½ cup strained carrot baby food or applesauce (or combination thereof)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup quick oats
1 cup bran cereal flakes
2/3 cup raisins or cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground flaxseed in a medium-sized bowl. Combine butter, oil and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high speed, scraping down sides if necessary, until sugars have dissolved and mixture is light in color, about 1 minute. Add eggs, carrot puree/applesauce and vanilla, and beat an additional 30 seconds. Add flour mixture and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Add oats, bran flakes and raisins or cranberries and mix over low speed just until incorporated. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using approximately 3 tablespoons of batter for each cookie (I use an ice cream scoop), form a ball and place on cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches between cookies. Wet hands and use palm of hand to flatten cookies to approximately ¼ inch thick. Bake for 13 minutes on center rack, until cookies are fragrant but still soft. Let cookies cool for a few minutes on cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Makes approx. 24 – 26 cookies (in two batches of 12 – 13 cookies per cookie sheet).

chicken and broccoli alfredo

1/2 of 16 oz. pkg. of linguine

1 cup fresh or frozen broc flowerets

2 tbsp. of butter

1 lb. skinless boneless chicken breasts cut into 1/2″ pieces

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup ( I use 98% fat free)

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1. Prepare linguine according to package directions in 3 qt. saucepan. Add broccoli during last 4 min. of cooking time. Drain linguine and broccoli well in colander.

2. Heat butter 10″ skillet over med.-high heat. add chicken and cook until well browned, stirring often.

3. Stir soup, milk, cheese, black pepper and linguine mixture into skillet. Cook until mixture is hot and bubbling. Serve with additional parmesan cheese.

 

 

Double Lemon Avgolemono Soup

Fresh from our first camping adventure with the kiddos (we had a ball, but nobody slept very much!) R. and I are both exhausted and not feeling very well. Too much junk food (burger, chips, marshmallows, bacon and eggs - yum!) and not enough sleep or water have left us both with headaches and stomach aches. This recipe was the PERFECT dinner tonight. I cooked chicken in the crockpot this afternoon to use in another recipe tomorrow, and the broth it produced is the base for the soup. We put the kids to bed early tonight, so it was just the 2 of us eating and we ate every drop. Next time I will double the recipe. This has also got to be one of the most budget friendly recipes I have tried. Hope you enjoy!

Double Lemon Avgolemono Soup

4 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup orzo
2 eggs
3 Tbs lemon juice
salt to taste

Heat stock to a simmer, stir in orzo and cook until done.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until foamy, then whisk in the lemon juice. Stir in a cup of the hot broth while whisking. (Always add hot to cold or things get nasty!)

Turn the heat off the broth and slowly whisk in the egg and lemon mixture. Do not let soup boil again.

Toasted Orzo with Peas and Parmesan

Another of our quick and cheap go-to meals. The kids love this. LG ate 3 bowls full last night!!

2T unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium cloves of garlic, minced
1 pound orzo
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup dry vermouth or dry white wine
10 ounces frozen peas
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)

Heat butter in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When foaming subsides, add onion and 3/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until onion has softened and is beginning to brown (about 5 minutes.) Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add orzo and cook, stirring frequently with heatproof spatula, until most of the orzo is lightly browned and golden, 5-6 minutes. Off heat, add vermouth and chicken broth. Return skillet to medium-high heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until all liquid has been absorbed and orzo is tender, 10-15 minutes. With rubber spatula, stir in peas, parmesan, and black pepper to taste. Let stand off heat until peas are heated through, about 2 minutes; adjust seasoning with salt and serve!

Scalloped Potatoes with cheese

My mother sent this one in, and it sounds delicious. Of course, most everything my mother makes is delicious!

1 garlic clove,halved
cooking spray
6 red potaoes sliced
2 Tbs. butter or margarine, melted
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t .pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used parrano)
1 cup fat free milk.

Preheat oven to 425. Rub cut side of garlic clove on inside of a baking dish and discard. Coat dish with cooking spray. Arrange half of potaoes in dish and drizzle with half of the butter. Sprinkle with half of salt and pepper and top with cheese. Repeat layers. Bring milk to a boil in a small saucepan and pour over potatoes. Bake for 40 minutes until tender. Serves 7. Only 228 calories