strawberry bruschetta

Last night I felt really good about the dinner that I provided for my family.

BBQ Pork Chops

Corn on the Cob

Roasted Summer Veggies

and

Strawberry Bruschetta

Mmmmmmmm........I was most excited about the bruschetta, although the Roasted Summer Veggies surprised me and I had two helpings of those.  They're veggies - that's allowed, right?

Now lunch today was a different story.

I've had the house to myself since about 10:00 this morning.

Ahhhhhhhh......yesssssssss.

Pure silence.

No one to tell me they are bored every 10 minutes.

However, that also meant there was no one to look at me like I was crazy

when I filled my lunch plate with.....wait for it.....

5 pieces of bread with leftover strawberry bruschetta

a handful of cheese cubes

a cosmic brownie (don't tell Elliott about that one)

and Dr. Pepper to drink

So I feel REALLY good about dinner last night.

Lunch today.....not so much.

But that's okay.

As soon as Brian gets home he is going to take me out to a nice

healthy dinner before the kiddos get home

(he just doesn't know it yet).

Anyway, back to the bruschetta.....

Yum. Yum. Yum.

This recipe came from a Southern Living issue featuring all kinds of strawberry recipes
(of which we tried almost all of during strawberry season in May).
I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes, but at the time I had just experienced awesome traditional
bruschetta at a friend's house and thought that if this turned out half as
yummy as hers, then it was worth getting past the tomatoes.

Turns out that I really couldn't taste the tomatoes in this at all.
I can tell they are there, but the flavors blend so well, that it doesn't taste
tomato-y (is that a word?  didn't think so).
But it does taste delicious.
You can even ask my husband,
who coincidentally also has an aversion to tomatoes.

So here's the recipe so you can try it for yourself
(or make it over to my fridge within the next few hours before we finish it off)

Strawberry Bruschetta

(original recipe source found here at Southern Living)

1 1/2 cups diced fresh strawberries

1 nectarine, diced

1 cup diced grape tomatoes

3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

1 shallot, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 French bread baguette (the thin, skinny type)

1 goat cheese log, softened (optional)

Stir together strawberries, nectarine, tomatoes, basil, shallot, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar, pepper and salt.

Slice the baguette into 1/2 inch slices.  Toast them in the oven for a few minutes, spread with goat cheese and top with the strawberry mixture.  Or spread the cheese on and then toast them.  We have also just sliced the bread and put the strawberry mixture right on top, without toasting or any cheese.  Enjoy.  

strawberry shortcake

My mother-in-law is so thoughtful.  She knows how much I love strawberries and especially how much I love her strawberry shortcake.  We get to Florida every year right at the end of strawberry season, and she always has some for us.  And I can almost guarantee that dessert at our first meal at their house will be strawberry shortcake.   Yes, there was strawberry deliciousness this time too!!

I didn't used to like strawberry shortcake, because I'm not a huge fan of the sponge cake that is usually the "shortcake".  It's too sweet or I don't like the texture.  Not sure.  I would often just eat the strawberries and cream and leave the sponginess.

But then I met Brian and was introduced to this other type of strawberry shortcake that I did not know existed.  Oh my goodness it's sooooooo good!  For years I assumed it was something his mom made from scratch and I would not be able to replicate (like the green beans - I've given up on them).  But a few years ago I just asked how she made it and......get this.....she used the recipe on the back of the Bisquick box!  What?!  It's that simple and I've been limiting my strawberry shortcake intake to once a year?  (I didn't feel so naive when I heard Beth ask her the same question last week - at least I wasn't the only one who thought it was a special recipe handed down for generations).  So for the last few years, we've been enjoying strawberry shortcake any time we want!  Even in the winter.  Although it's definitely best when the strawberries are fresh from the patch!

So, since strawberry season is quickly approaching those of us in the big M-O, 

I wanted to share this deceivingly easy recipe in case some of you are sponge dislikers like me and have yet to discover the goodness on the back of the big yellow box :)

(See I made it again the day after we got home from Florida, I missed it so much)

Strawberry Shortcake

4 cups strawberries, chopped into bite size pieces

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 1/3 cups Bisquick mix

1/2 cup milk

3 Tbsp granulated sugar

3 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

1/2 cup whipping cream or 1 container Cool Whip

Mix the strawberries with 1/2 cup of sugar and set aside.  Heat oven to 425.

Stir the Bisquick mix, milk, 3 Tbsp sugar, and melted butter until soft dough forms.  Drop by 6 spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until they start to turn a golden brown.  Split the warm shortcakes.  Once the sugar has dissolved with the strawberries, fill the shortcake with strawberries and top with more strawberries and whipped topping.  (I did not have whipped topping the other night, so my picture is lacking that - I like it just as well or better without it, but I think I'm probably in the minority on that).

You can see the original recipe at the Betty Crocker website.  It's almost exactly the same and is probably easier to print out!

Mom's Apple Crisp



This one is for you Rachel!  Guess where it came from?  Yep, my mom.  Not sure where she got it or if she just knew how to make it from her mom.  I often get recipes from her and from Brian's mom that say things like "bake until done" or "just enough salt" or "a little nutmeg".  I actually love those recipes cause it means that they're really GOOD!  Even though it means a little trial and error on my part to get them just right.  But this one actually had measurements with it AND it's really good - hallelujah!!

Mom's Apple Crisp

4 c. sliced and peeled tart apples (Granny Smith)
1/4 c. orange juice
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
dash of salt
1/2 c. butter

Preheat oven to 375.  Mound apples in buttered 9-inch pie plate or square pan; sprinkle with orange juice.  Combine sugar, flour, spices and salt in a separate bowl.  Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.  Sprinkle over apples.  Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is crisp.

Fall Dinner Ideas

So this is the way I plan meals around here.  I try to come up with 6 weeks worth of dinner ideas at a time according to the season, etc.  Then I use those ideas to plan weekly meals.  It's been working for almost a year now.  I just finished the September-October ideas and thought I would share them with you all.  These are all dinners that most of my family likes most of the time, except for the ones highlighted in yellow.  Those are new recipes that I want to try, so don't hold me responsible if you try them and don't like them - but let me know so that I don't try them at my house :)

September-October Dinner Ideas

Chicken-Mozzarella Panini

This recipe calls for grilled chicken.  I guess you could grill chicken before assembling the paninis, but I don't have the patience for that.  We usually grill a lot of chicken when we grill so that we have extra to put in the freezer and pull out when we need it - that's the route I usually go with this.  I'm sure it tastes even better freshly grilled, though!

Chicken-Mozzarella Panini

prepared pesto
mayo
thin chicken cutlets, grilled (with whatever seasonings you prefer)
fresh mozzarella slices
ciabatta rolls
olive oil

Spread pesto and mayo on both the top and bottom roll. Add the chicken and mozzarella, and then brush olive oil on top of the roll.  Grill the sandwich on a panini press or indoor grill until cheese is melted and the sandwich looks done (sorry - that's just the way I do it!).

Asian Chicken

This one came from my days of doing freezer meals with my friend, Vicki.  Those were fun, exhausting days!  I don't miss the work involved, but I do miss all the meals in my freezer.

Asian Chicken

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/4 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp minced garlic
3/4 tsp ground ginger

Mix soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, oil, garlic and ginger to make the marinade.  Place chicken breasts into a gallon ziploc bag, pour the marinade over them and seal the bag.  Marinate for 1-2 hours.  Pour the chicken and marinade into a baking dish.  Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 30-45 minutes until juices run clear.

Pork Chops with Apple Rings

This gem is from my mother-in-law.  It's one that I can actually replicate.  She is one of those really great cooks whose recipes usually involve "a little of this"  "just enough of that" "you just cook it until it's done".  I watch her make them, write everything down, follow it exactly and it never tastes the same.  So I usually just wait and consider it a treat to enjoy those foods when I'm at her house.  But with this one I can actually come pretty close to making it taste like Nana's.  And it's great for this long-awaited fall weather we are having now!

Pork Chops with Apple Rings

4-6 Pork Chops
1-2 apples
brown sugar
salt and pepper
cinnamon
butter

Salt and pepper the chops.  Brown them on both sides in a large skillet, and then place them in a greased 9x13 pan.  Core apples and slice into rings.  Place 1-2 rings over each pork chop.  Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over both sides of the apple rings.  Dollop butter on the apples.  Bake at 325 for about 1 hour.

swedish meatballs

This recipe is one of my mom's, and my kids eat them with no complaining (rare occurrence at our house)!  I'll add a picture the next time I make them.


Swedish Meatballs

1.5 lbs ground beef
1/2 c. milk
1 c. quick oats
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. chopped onion
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients together and form into meatballs.  Place in single layer in baking dish.

Sauce:

1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 c. ketchup
1/2 tsp. mustard
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 c. brown sugar

Mix sauce ingredients and pour over meatballs.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

slow cooker jambalaya

This is really easy and we love it.  We just made a batch and put half of it in the freezer for another day (our boys don't eat much, so that's my disclaimer for having 2 meals in one).  It's pretty spicy for us going by this recipe, so if you want to tame it a bit I would decrease the amount of andouille sausage and replace it with the beef smoked sausage.

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

(modified from "Colleen's Slow cooker Jambalaya" on allrecipes.com)

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1 inch cubes

1/2 pound andouille sausage, halved and sliced

1/2 pound beef smoked sausage, halved and sliced

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with juice

1 large onion, chopped

1 large green bell pepper, chopped

1 cup chopped celery (we usually leave this out)

1 cup chicken broth

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp dried parsley

2 tsp Cajun seasoning

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 pound frozen cooked shrimp without tails (optional)

1.  In a slow cooker, mix the chicken, sausages, tomatoes with juice, onion, green bell pepper, celery, and broth.  Add the spices.

2.  Cover and cook 7-8 hours on LOW or 3-4 on HIGH.  Stir in the shrimp during the last 30 minutes of cooking time.

 

moroccan chili

Got this recipe from my friend, Erin.  All of her kids eat it and so do all of mine.  That's 5 kids' thumbs up for this recipe, so I say it's a keeper!  Also, every time we've made this we've only eaten about 1/2 of what the recipe makes, so we put the rest in the freezer and have an extremely easy meal ready for another day.

Moroccan Chili

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 pounds ground beef

2 Tbsp chili powder

1/2 Tbsp cumin

1/2 Tbsp paprika

1 Tbsp coriander

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 bay leaf

1 large onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, diced

2 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce

1 can tomato sauce

zest of lemon

Brown meat and drain.  Return to low heat.  Add seasonings and stir.  Add onion, pepper and garlic.  Cook until onion is soft.  Add lemon zest, Worchestershire, and tomato sauce.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Serve with pita bread and couscous.

simple roasted asparagus

This is the first way I ever made asparagus.  It's so easy and so good.  I didn't think I liked asparagus until I roasted it like this.  Well, I didn't think I liked it because it just looked weird to me.  It didn't fit into any of my meat and potatoes and starchy vegetable categories so I assumed it was nasty.  I was wrong.

Simple Roasted Asparagus
(adapted from a Southern Living recipe)

1 pound fresh asparagus
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/3 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Preheat your oven to 400.

Snap off the tough ends of asparagus.  Line a 15x10 ince jellyroll pan with aluminum foil (for the easy easy cleanup at the end).  Put the asparagus into a large ziploc bag.  Add the olive oil.  Zip and shake to coat the asparagus with the olive oil.  They don't need to swim in the olive oil.  Just be coated with it.  Otherwise they'll taste too "oily".

Arrange the asparagus on the jellyroll pan.  Sprinkle with the sugar, salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven 10-15 minutes and enjoy!

shrimp lemon pepper linguine

I promise to add a picture later, but I wanted to get a few recipes on the blog for a friend who asked for them.  This one is really tasty.  I even marked "very very good" beside it in the recipe binder :)

Shrimp Lemon Pepper Linguine
(adapted from Allrecipes.com)
1 8oz pkg linguine pasta
1 tbsp. olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup water or chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
salt to taste
4-5 shakes of freshly ground black pepper
1 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup butter
3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (or 3 tsp. dried parsley)
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil (or 1 tsp. dried basil)

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook for 9-13 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and saute garlic about 1 minute.  Mix in chicken broth or water, wine, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper.  Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is reduced by about one fourth.

Mix shrimp, butter, parsley and basil into the saucepan.  Cook 2-3 minutes, until shrimp is opaque.  Stir in the cooked linguine and continue cooking 2 minutes, until well coated.

lettuce wraps

Several people have requested this recipe, so I thought I'd just put it on the blog and then I can just send them a link instead of forgetting about getting the recipe to them for days....weeks....months.....

I am NOT a big fan of Chinese food, so I was a bit hesitant to try this when one of my co-workers, Kelly, brought this to a work luncheon last year.  I'm soooooooo glad I was adventurous, because this is one of my favorite meals now!  Please try this even if you don't like Chinese food, cause it really doesn't taste that much like it to me, and you would really be missing out.  Better yet, come visit us and I'll make it for you!

See, doesn't it even look pretty?  All green and fresh......much better than the cloudy, dreary, snowy weather we've had recently.  More SPRING-like.  I like it.

Lettuce Wraps

1-2 heads of Boston lettuce (you can also use iceberg, but I like how the Boston curls up - works better for me)

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

1-2 cups chicken broth

3 medium cloves garlic

2-3 tsp canola oil

1 cup chopped scallions (white part, green part or both)

1/8 tsp ground ginger (or 1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger)

3/4 cup Hoisin sauce (with the Asian foods at the grocery store)

4 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp Asian (dark) sesame oil

In a crock pot, add the chicken and 3 whole cloves of garlic (peeled).  Pour enough chicken broth over the chicken to pretty much cover it.  Cook on low for about 7 hours.

(If you have less time, you can also chop the chicken and cook it in hot oil and minced garlic - I just like to cook it in the crock pot because it's so so easy to shred and that's the way we like to eat it)

Pull the lettuce apart into pieces that look like little "boats" and store them until you're ready to serve the wraps.

After the chicken has cooked, shred it and put it to the side, keeping it warm.

In a large skillet, stir in the scallions, ginger, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil.  Add the shredded chicken and heat the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring until it bubbles and is heated through (2-3 minutes).  It will burn (we know this from experience), so stir it constantly and watch it carefully!

Place a bit of the filling in each lettuce "boat" and then wrap like a burrito and enjoy!

cheesy chicken-bacon-avocado quesadillas

These were on the menu tonight and the kids put them on their "all-the-time" list (minus the avocado).  I don't think they minded the taste of the avocado (they both like guacamole if I remember right), but the mushy texture is what made them get the forks out and start digging all the "green stuff" out.

You can find the recipe here at Kevin and Amanda.  I changed it just a bit cause we had cooked chicken I pulled out of the freezer and we only use turkey bacon so we cooked that in the microwave and had no bacon drippings (plus I don't think turkey bacon would make much "drippings").  I would imagine that the chicken would be even yummier cooked in the bacon drippings, though! 

Anyway, we will definitely make these again!

Chicken Nuggets

Hey guys! So sorry it's been so long since I last blogged. This week has gotten away from me with unexpected responsibilities that popped up. I promise to write more over the weekend, but for now here's a kid-tested and kid-approved chicken nugget recipe (Elliott actually thanked God for "Mommy making special chicken nuggets just for us!" in his bedtime prayers the night I made these!). It's really not that difficult and it's got to be at least a little healthier than McDonald's and even the frozen variety (or maybe I'm just telling myself that -ha!).

Chippy Chicken Nuggets (yes, I made that up)

1 egg

2 Tbsp milk

4 cups crushed chips (I used SunChips cause they are healthier and made with whole grains)

1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

Whisk egg and milk in a shallow bowl. Place chips in another shallow bowl. Dip chicken in egg mixture, then roll in chips. Place in a single layer on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes or until juices run clear. 4 servings