5 posts tagged “dinner”

I have toyed with the idea of meal planning and prepping.  I've recorded the FoodTv shows that show you how to prep your meals and had good results when I'm consistent.  G is starting Basketball and our schedule is about to become more hectic than it already is.  Wednesdays are always crazy because it is a transition night for J and G coming home from their Dad's house.  We always allow time for venting and bed time is not written in hard stone.  So I thought what I would do is list our meals for the Month.  Although I am blogging it today, I will edit it each day.

December 1st:   Kielbasa with Red Onion

December 2nd:  Turkey Left overs with Celery Pear Stuffing and gravy

December 3rd:   Cavatappi Pasta with Chicken Parmesan

December 4th:   Grilled Salmon, Mashed Potato patty, and Brocolli (very quick dinner courtesy of MarketDay!) Support the school and serve dinner too.  I made a brown sugar cinnamon glaze to go over the salmon.  The Picky eater made himself Mac n Cheese with a chicken Patty.

December 5th:  Popcorn Shrimp with Baby Baked Potatos.

December 6th:  Angus Burgers with Fries, Mac and Cheese for kiddos

December 7th:  Teriyaki Steak with Barley and steamed green Beans

December 8th:  Kielbasa with red Onion over mashed potato patty

December 9th:  Pork Tenderloin in the crockpot

December 10th: Taco Bell- 10 crunchy tacos, 5 soft tacos

December 11th: Cavatappi with marinara and chicken patty and shredded cheese

December 12th:  

My husband is by definition, Mr. Beef.  This man would have potroast as dessert if he could.  I on the other hand really don't care for Beef.  Last night for dinner I made this wonderful Tilapia.  I was really surprised that it turned out so good.  I improvised the whole way through.  I took frozen Tilapia that was to be thawed first and put it in my deep dish baker.  I coated each one with Rice Wine Vinegar, I took 2 tablespoons of Dijon Mustard and brushed it on each filet.  I drizzled honey over each filet and then sprinkled Honey Crunch Wheat Germ over the top.  I added a couple of pats of butter and I baked them at 450 for 20 minutes.  They came out fabulous.  I served them with a side of brown rice and a side of Asian Style Green Beans from Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meals.  I altered the recipe slightly as I was out of sesame oil so I used Vegetable oil and stirred in a tablespoon of Sesame Tahini.  For the Green beans, I heated the vegetable oil, with 2 cloves of garlic, and one tablespoon of Sesame Tahini, add sesame seeds, green beans and add 1/4 cup of soy sauce.  The turned out really good.  For dessert I served pears with vanilla pudding with the almond extract.  Yumm!  Mr. Beef ate every bite...  :)

For dinner I made this the recipe can be found at http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_35470,00.html, but because I didn't have peas or sprouts or pretty little julienned chilli peppers or a lime, or scallions.  In fact the only ingredients I had for this was those cellaphane noodles and the shrimp.  Here is my substitutions:  Instead of sugar snap peas I used green beans, instead of scallions, I used red onion, instead of those fancy little chilli peppers, I used red pepper flakes.  The dressing for this is fabulous!  The only substitution I used was lemon instead of lime. 

For dessert:  I made Sandra Lee's Pears...   OMG!  this is so incredibly easy. You can blink your eyes and yet it tastes like Creme' Brulee.  No better yet, it felt like an Amaretto Disarono commercial!  My husband doesn't like nuts on things so I just dusted cinnamon on top.  I used canned pears, those little jello pudding cups, almond extract and are you ready for this... I didn't have cool whip, I only had the spray can whipped cream and it still worked.  http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_35494,00.html

Last night it was just my husband, myself and baby to cook for.  My son and daughter are at their Daddy's house on Mondays and Tuesdays.  I made Kielbasa and for dessert I made cinnamon apples. 

I am not one for measuring and I try to cook quickly. 

I began with half of an onion and a tablespoon of butter.  I carmelized the onion in the butter and then added about six red skin potatoes chopped into quarters.  I added kosher salt and pepper, then sliced up the Kielbasa and added.  I squirted about a teaspoon of Emeril's dijon mustard over and stirred.  I served this over a bed of spinach leaves and then chopped up some Gala apples.  I used a teaspoon of butter and added about 3 spoonfuls of sugar and several dashes of cinnamon.  I let everything simmer for about 10 minutes.

Baby had pureed green beans and 1/4 banana in her mesh self feeder. 

I believe I have the pickiest family in the entire world.  My husband is lactose intolerant and allergic to milk.  He hates just about everything except potroast and potatoes.  My son drenches everything in creamy, cheesy, fried, breaded-ness.  My daughter only eats vegetables and lean meats. She hates pizza, and despises french fries.  My little baby who is just 8mos old wants BOOB and will eat only foods that are green in color. 

So how do you cook for a family like this?  Often I unfortuately make five different meals... (sigh) this is very difficult when I work 45-50 hours a week.  This past Wednesday I made a dinner that the entire family ate. 

I often buy from Market Day through the kids school because it is sooo convenient and it helps the school. 

I took 4 frozen chicken steaks from Market Day and put them in my slow cooker, I covered them with a large can of seasoned, diced tomatoes, I stirred in prepared ranch seasoning and let it cook while I worked.  When I arrived home at 4:15pm I steamed the flour tortillas in the microwave, and used a fork to shred the chicken in the slow cooker.  I wrapped the shredded chicken mixture into the flour tortillas and topped my son's, my daughter's and my tortilla with shredded cheese and left my husbands without cheese.  I portioned a handfull of spinach into four bowls, I set out the 4 different kinds of salad dressing and chopped up Gala apples with banana's as a side dish...   To my surprise, everyone ate the dinner without complaint...

And the baby had Avocado.