Story and a Snack

How cute is this idea from Gourmet Mom on the Go? The answer is, real cute. We are doing this today after swimming. I love clever people and especially those who blog about their cleverness.

Apricot Rice Krispies Treats

This is an easy twist on an already super easy and tasty treat. Any flavor Jell-o can be used, but Laurel and her family love apricot, and I agree- you gotta try it.

Apricot Rice Krispies Treats

5 T. butter

6 C. mini marshmallows

1/2 a small pkg. apricot Jell-o

6 C. Rice Krispies

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and Jell-o and stir til completely melted. Remove from heat and mix in cereal. Spread into a 9 by 13 pan coated with cooking spray. Cut into 2-inch squares when cool. Best if served the same day.

Menu, 6-13-10

Oh how I would love to have this sandwich cutter for lunch time and even parties. Isn't it great?

I fully realize this week is 1/2 gone, but I thought I'd stick my menu up anyway. Here's what we've been/are going to be eating for dinner this week:

Sun: chicken fettuccine with pesto cream sauce, green salad, fruit salad, roasted asparagus, Maren's homemade cookies and cream AND strawberry ice creams. Yum yum yum yum.

M: leftovers

T: Costa Vida pork salad

W: chicken cobb salad

Th: crock pot pork roast and pineapple ginger rice

F: fast fajitas

Sat: Caprese sandwiches

Menu, 6-6-10

As a former resident of the San Fran area, this pancake masterpiece made me smile. Jim seems like one fun dad!

Here's what's for dinner at our place this week:

Sun- spaghetti and meatballs, BLT salad, garlic bread, watermelon, layered strawberry shortcake

M- BBQ chicken, potatoes and carrots

T- linguini with spring veggies

W- tostadas

Th- turkey sammies

F- I'm thinking Zinburger

Sat- out

Breakfast Baskets

I made these for teacher gifts this year and they were a hit! I think they would also be great for giving to a new neighbor, a birthday present, or to take as a meal for a family with a new baby. Contents included:

* Fresh and Easy honey and flax granola
* Trader Joe's buttermilk pancake mix
* Fresh and Easy vermont maple syrup
* Fresh and Easy freshly squeezed orange juice
* a bag of fresh strawberries
* a spatula
* tea towel from Ikea
* napkins from Homegoods

Pesto Pasta Salad

I made this for a BBQ on Saturday night... and I will be making it again soon. Sooo tasty. Recipe from good friend Ina.

Pesto Pasta Salad

• 3/4 pound fusilli pasta
• 3/4 pound bow tie pasta
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups pesto
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
• 3 T. lemon juice
• 1 1/4 C. mayo
• 1/2 C. freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 1/2 C. frozen peas, defrosted
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 3/4 tsp. black pepper

Cook the fusilli and bow ties separately in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes until each pasta is al dente. Drain and toss into a bowl with the olive oil. Cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the pesto, spinach, and lemon juice. Add the mayonnaise and puree. Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta and then add the Parmesan, peas, pine nuts, salt, and pepper. Mix well, season to taste, and serve at room temperature.

Menu, 5-23-10

Our new baby boy is here safe and sound, and we are loving life with him. After an extended cooking hiatus, I am more than ready to plan, prepare and enjoy home cooked meals once again. Although our menu this week does not include donut-burgers, I thought this too tempting an idea not to share. :)

Here's what we'll be having for dinner this week... if I can make it to the grocery store.

Sun- roast, mashed potatoes, green salad, watermelon, roasted zucchini sticks, individual cherry cheesecakes. DELICIOSO.

M- chicken corn chowder

T- chicken salad sammies

W- breakfast for dinner

Th- bean tostadas

F- pizza

Sat- who knows

If you do end up trying the donut burgers, I think this would be a good dessert to serve alongside. (It actually sounds pretty good... very similar to a recipe Amanda makes, it's just the name that makes you wonder.)

Slow- Cooker Beef Stew

This was our dinner last night and it couldn't have been yummier! It is so flavorful, but so easy- I love crock-pot recipes.

Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

• 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 onion, chopped (of course I left this out!)
  
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 3 potatoes, diced
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 1 stalk celery, chopped

1. Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.
2. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6-8 hours. (mine was done in about 5, but my crock-pot must get really hot! Just check it every so often and when the veggies are soft, it's done.)

Menu 4-25-10

This may be my last menu for a week or two... Saturday a new baby is joining our family! We are very excited and busy finishing last minute preparations for his arrival.

Here's what our dinnertime looks like this week:

Sun- cream cheese chicken over bowtie pasta, green salad with oranges, almonds and craisins, french bread, red jell-o, green beans, and pineapple upside down cake (Happy Birthdays J.D. and Miss Riske!)

M- BLTs, steamed zucchs and watermelon

T- refried bean burritos

W- chicken caesar salad wraps

Th- leftovers

F- out

Sat- a tasty hospital meal. Wahoo!!

Endive and Apple Appetizer

I'm pretty sure it's Martha Stewart who pronounces "endive" "ahn-deeve". She also pronounces the "h" in "herbs". I love that lady.

As for me, I say "endive", just like it's spelled. And my favorite way to prepare it is as follows...

Endive and Apple Appetizer

assorted endive leaves

cream cheese, room temp

strawberry jam

crisp apples, like Fugi or Gala

Combine two parts cream cheese to one part jam. Spread a little strawberry cream cheese on each endive leaf. Top with a thin slice of apple (brush with lemon juice to prevent browning). This is a quick, refreshing appetizer or snack. My kids loved it! Thanks to friend Laurel for recipe.

Menu, 4-18-10

This week for dinner...

Sun- chicken spaghetti, garden salad, whole wheat rolls, asparagus, lemon yogurt cake with whipped cream and strawberries

M- fast chicken fajitas

T- chef's salad

W- skillet mac n cheese

Th- BBQ beef sammies

F- Caprese sandwiches

Sat- out

I am going to try to stick to this menu come heck or highwater. I have been cheating too too much as of late!

Split Pea Soup

Split pea soup: Looks like barf, tastes delicious. Ever since I was little I've loved this soup, and I'm really not sure why. What kid likes something that looks like so sick?? Well, I did. I think I just loved the little bits of ham in it. SO tasty. And so, I thought that if it was good from a can, how much better would it be from scratch? Answer: A lot better. I think this soup is so so good, inexpensive, and pretty nutritious too. This recipe is simple and really easy. It basically makes itself! Thanks, Dave Lieberman, for a quality recipe.

Split Pea Soup

1/4 cup olive oil (you could probably get by on less, but I did use the full 1/4 cup)

1 large onion, finely diced (I omitted this, of course)

2 celery stalks, finely diced

2 carrots, finely diced

1 pound bag split peas, rinsed and picked through

1 1/2 pound smoked ham hock

2 quarts chicken stock, water, or combination

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large saucepan, saute onion, celery and carrots over medium high heat. Add peas and ham hock and cover with stock by a couple inches. Bring to a simmer and cook about 1 hour until soup is thick and peas have almost disintegrated but not quite. Season to taste, with salt and pepper. Remove ham hock and let cool. Pull meat from ham hock bone and shred. Garnish with ham and pepper.

Menu 4-11-10

What's for dinner at our place this week:

Sun- Hawaiian haystacks, strawberry spinach salad, no bake cookies, cornbread

M- leftovers

T- linguini with spring veggies

W- lettuce wraps

Th- chicken fettuccini with pesto cream sauce

F- chicken and veggie shiskabobs with pineapple rice

Sat- I'm thinking brownies and ice cream

Lemon- Rosemary Chicken

This was for dinner tonight and it was delish! My only complaint would be that because it cooks in the crock-pot, the chicken doesn't brown up so it didn't look super appetizing, but the flavor is awesome. I think next time I would brown it in it a skillet first, then stick it in the crock-pot. The kids inhaled it and asked for seconds and thirds. I served it over a bed of lettuce that was tossed with lemon juice, salt and pepper, and a side of baked sweet potatoes.

Lemon- Rosemary Chicken

1/2 c. lemon juice
1 lemon, sliced
1 T. olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 bunch fresh rosemary (I used about 2 t. dried rosemary)
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

In a large food storage bag, place lemon juice, oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. Add chicken. Seal bag and marinate in refrigerator 3-4 hours, turning bag occasionally. Place chicken in crock-pot and pour marinade over; top with lemon slices. Cook for 4-6 hours on low, or until tender. You may add frozen broccoli and carrots about an hour before done.

Turkey and Bacon Picnic Sammies

We're trying desperately to soak up the last remaining bit of beautiful weather before the hot. We picniced in Mom n Dad's backyard on Sunday, and it was heavenly.

Turkey and Bacon Picnic Sammies

The ingredients needed for the sandwich are:

Focaccia or Ciabatta bread

deli sliced turkey (my favorite is Boar's Head oven roasted turkey from Fry's)

thinly sliced provolone

crispy bacon

pesto

mayo, if you like

lettuce- I added mine after the pic

Slice bread, spread a little pesto on each side. Layer ingredients... turkey, then bacon, then cheese, then lettuce. Next I am going to try these as an appetizer and slice them into tiny squares to serve, per Giada's suggestion.

Menu 3-28-10

This Week for Dinner:

S- turkey and bacon picnic sammies, fresh fruit, caramel brownies and vanilla bean ice cream

M- spinach ravioli, green and yellow beans, green salad

T- broccoli chicken calzones

W- double decker tacos

Th- chicken cobb salad

F- baked potato bar

Sat- something edible

Breakfast Pizza

Last week, Kelli was in town for a few days (hoorah!) and we had a party for breakfast to celebrate. Between breakfast pizza, banana crunch muffins, scrambled eggs, bacon, donuts, just-picked grapefruit and oranges, we all stuffed ourselves silly.

Breakfast Pizza

• 1 storebought pizza dough
• 2 T. butter, melted
• 4 T. cinnamon-sugar
• 2 C. whipped cream cheese
• 1 T. heavy cream
• 2 T. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
• 2 C. mixed berries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the pizza dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Transfer the pizza dough to the lined baking sheet and brush the dough with the melted butter. Sprinkle with 2 T. cinnamon-sugar and bake until golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Cool the pizza crust on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix together the cheese, cream, lemon juice, and zest.

Spread the cheese mixture over the cooled crust. Top with mixed berries and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon-sugar. Slice like a pizza and serve.

Menu, 3-21-10

On the menu for this week:

Sunday- creamy chicken, smashed potatoes, Kelli's hot buns, garden salad, green beans, corn, strawberry crunch

M- leftovers

T- spaghetti and meatballs

W- turkey waldorf salad

Th- pesto tortellini soup

F- tacos

Sat- breakfast for dinner

Side note... I made crispy coconut chicken last week, a recipe I found on Our Best Bites. I wasn't a fan. I really wanted to like it because it sounded so yum, but I just didn't, and that was that. The kids didn't go for it either. Chris liked it, so if it sounds like your cup of tea, you can find the recipe here.

Asian Spinach & Chicken Salad

This was just the ticket considering the not-so-welcome heat wave we've had this week.

Asian Spinach and Chicken Salad

1 bag of spinach

2 C. cooked cubed chicken

8 oz. cooked and drained bowtie pasta

2 oranges

1 avocado

1 C. chow mein noodles

1 T. sesame seeds

(dressing)

2 T. rice wine vinegar

2 T. brown sugar

1 1/2 T. soy sauce

1 1/2 t. grated fresh ginger

Combine above dressing ingredients, then drizzle in 1/4 C. veg. oil while whisking. Season with 1 tsp. salt.

Toss spinach, chicken and pasta with dressing. Top with slice avocado, orange segments, chow mein noodles and sesame seeds.

(I cut off each end of the oranges, trimmed off all the peel, sliced it into rounds, then quartered each round.)

Organic Fruit and Veggies Guide

What a handy way to remember the "dirty dozen" of fruits and veggies (the ones you should buy organic if possible). Found on Black Eiffel. Download the printable card here.