When I wrote the menu last week, I decided to give something a try...
I go home for lunch most days, it's a nifty benefit of living and working in the same town. So...why not put together a crockpot meal while I'm there? I chose something easy, Crockpot Chicken Teriyaki. This way, there wasn't chopping of a million ingredients or having to pre-cook anything. And hey, if it didn't come out well, there's always pizza. (my standard answer to bad dinners everywhere)
It came out better than well. It was great! Imagine coming home from work after picking up the kids at school/preschool, to the smell of dinner already cooking. All that was left to do was make rice, steam broccoli and thicken the sauce with a little cornstarch. (We were out so Brian used a tiny amount of flour while I was folding laundry.) Bang! Dinner on the table at 6pm, leaving time for Will and I to finish watching "Goonies."
Hmmm...."Crockpot Monday" may just become a thing!
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Monday, September 22, 2014
Mixed Reviews
Two meals from last week: cheesy ravioli bake and meatloaf "cakes." I thought that they were pretty kid-friendly. I was apparently wrong.
The first one, cheesy ravioli bake, seemed like a slam-dunk. Both kids adore cheese ravioli, especially Will. I figured this was cheese ravioli with a little bit of veggies and some cheese on top, for the win. Brian and I loved it! The kids? Notsomuch. Will picked at the ravioli and Sean cried that it looked "terrible." Later on Sean told me that he likes ravioli, but next time don't make it with the "leaves" and tomatoes if I want him to eat it. Leaves are baby spinach, by the way.
Then on Tuesday or Thursday (all my nights run together after a while) Brian made a "meatloaf cake" recipe that I had found on Pinterest. Now, I am not a big meatloaf person. I have never had a meatloaf at home that I've really liked. A bread pan with a "loaf of meat" with a big fat slick on top just isn't delicious. Not so with these. They were perfectly cooked and didn't resemble martian food, very flavorful. And the slick of fat? Nowhere to be seen. We served it with egg noodles and canned green beans. (aka STILL the only vegetable these two will eat without a fight) The meatloaf was a big old No Go. I threw in the towel and acquiesced to their request for peanut butter and jelly.
All this meant that there was more leftovers for us. Later on in the week Brian made loaded mashed potatoes to go with the meatloaf cakes when we ran out of noodles. We had a lot of potatoes in the house, and these were awesome. Obviously, we will continue to soldier on, to get these boys to eat new things.
If you're interested in the meatloaf "cakes" recipe: here it is. We omitted the sriracha to make it more "kid friendly." Hahahahahahaha! :)
The first one, cheesy ravioli bake, seemed like a slam-dunk. Both kids adore cheese ravioli, especially Will. I figured this was cheese ravioli with a little bit of veggies and some cheese on top, for the win. Brian and I loved it! The kids? Notsomuch. Will picked at the ravioli and Sean cried that it looked "terrible." Later on Sean told me that he likes ravioli, but next time don't make it with the "leaves" and tomatoes if I want him to eat it. Leaves are baby spinach, by the way.
Then on Tuesday or Thursday (all my nights run together after a while) Brian made a "meatloaf cake" recipe that I had found on Pinterest. Now, I am not a big meatloaf person. I have never had a meatloaf at home that I've really liked. A bread pan with a "loaf of meat" with a big fat slick on top just isn't delicious. Not so with these. They were perfectly cooked and didn't resemble martian food, very flavorful. And the slick of fat? Nowhere to be seen. We served it with egg noodles and canned green beans. (aka STILL the only vegetable these two will eat without a fight) The meatloaf was a big old No Go. I threw in the towel and acquiesced to their request for peanut butter and jelly.
All this meant that there was more leftovers for us. Later on in the week Brian made loaded mashed potatoes to go with the meatloaf cakes when we ran out of noodles. We had a lot of potatoes in the house, and these were awesome. Obviously, we will continue to soldier on, to get these boys to eat new things.
If you're interested in the meatloaf "cakes" recipe: here it is. We omitted the sriracha to make it more "kid friendly." Hahahahahahaha! :)
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Summer Wrap-Up
Look at that! A whole month went by with no posts.
That's not to say that we haven't been eating. Obviously, we ate, or I wouldn't be here to write this! We had a lot of good stuff, not that I can remember all of it for this post. I found a bangin' recipe for chicken caprese that was out of this world good. I'd post a pic, but every since I replaced my phone a couple of months ago when my youngest dropped it at Disney World, I can't auto-update photos from my phone. So here's the recipe: Chicken Caprese. Normally I'm not a fan of grape tomatoes, but they really worked in this dish.
Another Pinterest recipe that I tried this summer: Nectarine and Basil Pizza. I substituted peaches which was a mistake, because the peach crop this year was abysmal. Well, at least in the grocery stores it was, I have YET to go peach picking! Another tip....don't try to make it a quicker dinner by using a Boboli crust. It just didn't work. Eating weird-textured peaches on a boboli feels like you are eating a very sad cracker.
Now we're starting to get towards fall, and tonight I made chili. It wasn't quite "chili weather" but it still tasted good. oh, and meatballs for the freezer. Now THOSE came out well!
Tomorrow night we're having a chicken ginger stir-fry, and trying a new recipe on Tuesday. It's chicken with artichokes and red potatoes. Looking forward to it. And though I don't update often, I'm glad to be back!
That's not to say that we haven't been eating. Obviously, we ate, or I wouldn't be here to write this! We had a lot of good stuff, not that I can remember all of it for this post. I found a bangin' recipe for chicken caprese that was out of this world good. I'd post a pic, but every since I replaced my phone a couple of months ago when my youngest dropped it at Disney World, I can't auto-update photos from my phone. So here's the recipe: Chicken Caprese. Normally I'm not a fan of grape tomatoes, but they really worked in this dish.
Another Pinterest recipe that I tried this summer: Nectarine and Basil Pizza. I substituted peaches which was a mistake, because the peach crop this year was abysmal. Well, at least in the grocery stores it was, I have YET to go peach picking! Another tip....don't try to make it a quicker dinner by using a Boboli crust. It just didn't work. Eating weird-textured peaches on a boboli feels like you are eating a very sad cracker.
Now we're starting to get towards fall, and tonight I made chili. It wasn't quite "chili weather" but it still tasted good. oh, and meatballs for the freezer. Now THOSE came out well!
Tomorrow night we're having a chicken ginger stir-fry, and trying a new recipe on Tuesday. It's chicken with artichokes and red potatoes. Looking forward to it. And though I don't update often, I'm glad to be back!
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