Monday Menu (9/6/10)

For Labor Day, we made some homemade taquitos and chimichangas.  What Bill did was start by heating up the oil in the deep fryer and when it was hot enough (around 360 degrees) he dipped a corn tortilla in the oil for about 2-3 seconds, then removed.  This makes it easier for rolling the taquitos so they don't crack open.  Then after there are about 10 corn tortillas all oiled up. Line up some meat about 1/4 from the edge on the tortillas (we used shredded roast turkey that we cooked in the crockpot over night) and then roll up and stab it with a toothpick.  Bill was able to poke two taquitos through the middles into each other.  He fried them for a minute, then rotated, and fried another minute.  If they didn't look done enough, he rotated a third time and fried another minute longer.  He drained then on a cooling rack with a cookie sheet underneath it to collect the excess dripping oil. 

For the chimichangas, we put a thin spread of beans about 1/4 from the edge, topped with meat (for this one we used ground beef that was cooked, drained, and had taco seasoning added to it), then a good sprinkle of cheese.

To roll up, take the bottom part of the tortilla, wrap up towards the top of the meat and tuck slightly under and hold it tightly together.

Then while holding the middle together, fold the two sides in.

 Then start rolling up.

Then when you roll it all the way up, place a toothpick in it and then deep fry in 360 degree oil for about 2 1/2 minutes on one side, flip, and then about 2 1/2 minutes on the other side.

Put on cooling rack to drip excess oil.

(By the way, don't you just love my mad drawing skills on Paint??)

For dessert, we had something like homemade Twix from this awesome site: Hoosier Homemade.  

They are SO much like Twix bars!  The only thing I would change would be lowering the peanut butter to 1/3 cup and increase the milk chocolate chips to 1 1/3 cups.  I would like to find some way to make a layer of chocolate on the bottom.  Maybe I could line the cake pan with parchment paper, make the topping but put it on the bottom, then while chocolate is still warm, place crackers on top.  Then let it chill in the fridge.  Then make the caramel middle, pour on top, top with crackers again, then chill in fridge again.  Then make the topping again, top the crackers, let chill in fridge until set.  Then slice and enjoy! :)

Monday Menu (8/30/10)

Again, no pictures.... I just don't have time to snap the pics and then upload them.

For dinner, we had what Rebekah likes to call "Tater Loaf" but it is really Chili 'n' Tots.  On the bottom of a baking dish (whatever size you want), spread some chili, top with cheese, then top with tater tots.  Cover with foil (dull side out) and bake in a 350 degree oven until the taters are almost done (around 30 minutes).  Then take off foil and let bake another 10-20 minutes (depends on how crispy you want the tater tots).  The kids would have liked it better had I just used regular turkey chili like I always buy... but I attempted to doctor up the chili and well, it wasn't as yummy as I was hoping.  Next time I will just use the chili the kids are used to and I know they will LOVE it!!

For dessert we had the new Breyers Vanilla Fudge Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches.  They are actually low in fat (4 grams) and low in calories (160 calories).  We all LOVED them!! YUMMY!!! 

Monday Menu (8/23/10)

It has been a while since I have updated our Monday Menus.  I figure instead of trying to go back in time to catch up, I will just start now and if I add them along the way, then that will just be the icing on the cake!

I didn't have time to snap any pictures of dinner because we scarfed them up too quickly. So I am using the picture from the site: Gimme Some Oven.

For dinner, I made:  Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

 
I made a double batch (48 mini ones) thinking that was plenty.  I didn't know that they are not very filling and they seriously disappeared faster than donuts at a Weight Watchers meeting.  I also made a few smaller adjustments to make them to our tastes:

• First, I sprayed each little mini muffin cup with Baker's Joy.  I love it more than Pam when it comes to bready or cake type things because of the flour in the non-stick spray.
• Second, I didn't add any of the fresh basil (mainly because I didn't want to buy it) and then forgot to add dried basil but it turned out fine without it. 
• Third, I made a few puffs without pepperoni for Lily before adding the pepperoni.  After that, I made some pepperoni ones making sure to have enough batter for another variation.  To the remaining batter, I added some bacon crumbles so we had Nate's favorite pizza type: pepperoni and bacon. 
• Fourth, I put an olive in the center of a couple of the muffin cups for Bill and I.
• Lastly, to scoop the right amount of batter, I used a small cookie scooper (2 tsp).  I have THIS one and I LOVE it!

I only baked them for 15-18 minutes instead of the 20 minutes the recipe calls for.  As a family, we decided that these are better suited for an appetizer or snack and not for a dinner main dish.


For dessert, I made Chocolate Peanut Butter Covered Brownie Bites.

Believe me when I tell you, these are very rich and chocolaty.  I personally think that I would have preferred using Milk Chocolate instead of the Semi-Sweet.  Definitely going to make these again!!

Desperation Friday

I just let the kids fend for themselves tonight. They dug through the fridge and found refried beans and cheese. They made themselves quesadillas or if they didn't want that, they had cereal.

Thankfully, there are angels here on earth. I got a phone call from a local grocery store, Lins. They told me there was an envelope with my name and number on it at their customer service desk. I go there to see what it was. To my surprise, the envelope contained a gift card to use at Lins to buy groceries! I don't know who did it, but I will be forever grateful! THANK YOU TO WHOMEVER DID IT!!! You rock!!

Desperation Day Two

Ok, so we scrimped together enough money for toilet paper! YAY!

But for dinner, I scavenged through the cupboard again and created what I want to call: Cheesy Turkey Ramen.

I cooked 3 packages of ramen noodles (instead of the 6 cups of water needed, I only used 4 1/2 cups), then after the noodles boiled for a few minutes, I added the chicken packet flavorings, a can of turkey chunks, and some Velvetta. When it was all heated, I served it with mandarin oranges. Voila: Cheesy Turkey Ramen!

Stay tuned for tomorrow to see if I succumb to making Macaroni and Cheese for the second time this week (we had that on Tuesday) or if I actually conjure up another desperation dinner. :)

Desperation

This week we have zero money to go grocery shopping. (Thankfully we bought milk on Monday.) So I am feeding the kids out of what ever I can find in the cupboard and freezer. So today's meal, I am dubbing: Cheesy Pig.

I found a pork roast in my freezer. I defrosted it, cut it into bite-sized chunks, and cooked it in some garlic oil. When it was done, I threw in a can of Alfredo sauce and a few inches of Velveeta (cut into small hunks). After the Velveeta melted and the sauce was warmed through, I served it over some mashed potatoes. To help stretch this meal (it didn't look like enough for all the kids), I served corn on the side and a hamburger bun for a roll. (I had only 5 buns left and no hamburgers, so it worked out perfect.)

Problem solved. Now what am I going to make tomorrow?

Monday Menu (1/25/10)

Bisquick recipes today!

For dinner, we had: Ultimate Chicken Fingers, Onion Roasted Potatoes, and a broccoli side dish. I just boiled some broccoli, drained it, and added cheese sauce and bacon.
The kids really enjoyed the chicken fingers. They are not as pretty as the pictures Bisquick takes , but thankfully the taste made up for it. :) The kids liked the potatoes as well, but not as much as what they are used to: mashed potatoes. Only the broccoli lovers at the house liked the broccoli (that was to be expected).



For dessert we had: Apple Cake


I made this cake because we had so many apples in the house (thanks to Bountiful Baskets). This cake tasted ok. But eaten warm with vanilla ice cream helped. It was a dense cake and kind of dry. There are some tweaks I would have to do to make this again.

Monday Menu (December 14, 2009)

Today was one of the best days ever! Bill and I went out to lunch at City Cafe and Deli. I am totally in love with their BLTs. They are divine! After wards we did some shopping for the ingredients for our dinner.

Dinner Time at our home on Mondays is always interesting because the recipes are new. And sometimes they are hits with the kids and other times, well, they miss. Tonight's recipe is going to be a staple on our dinner menus.

The original recipe was titled: Chili Dog Casserole but we now lovingly call it Weenielada.

The only thing we did differently than the recipe (you will find at that link) is that inside each tortilla we put a little chili and cheese before we rolled them up. The kids all devoured theirs. Even Lily, who is not a huge hot dog fan, ate all of hers.


For dessert, we thought we would try Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars. These are definitely something I would wait until they are cooled all the way to eat. I didn't care for them warm, but the next day they were pretty good. Half of the kids did not care for the cheesecake filling. In my opinion, it was just ok. Now the crust of this recipe, that is something that I will have to find new ways to use with other dessert recipes. It was a stroke of genius to put mini chocolate chips in the graham cracker crust! Sooooo yummy!



Enjoy!

Monday Menu (November 23, 2009)

I absolutely LOVE my husband! He is awesome!! Bill is really good at picking out soup recipes! He made Northwoods Wild Rice Soup and even though we had wild rice, we forgot to cook it first like the recipe said, so we ended up substituting uncooked minute rice and added some extra chicken broth to help it absorb the liquid... but we may have not added enough liquid or too much rice because the soup came out really thick. It was extremely delicious though!! I totally ♥ this soup! Oh, we also added some sliced fresh mushrooms.


We knew the kids might not like it, so we made them Meatball Subs and they loved them!


Now for dessert, I wanted to try this recipe from one of my favorite food blogs and we all LOVED it! It is called Crunchy Caramel Reeses Cookie Bars. It was so simple and easy to make. I didn't crush the pretzels like the recipe said because the lady shows step-by-step directions and it doesn't show crushed pretzels, just broken into hunks. One other thing, the recipe says 3 cups Reese's Peanut Butter miniture cups and it seemed like WAY more than she had in hers, but I am not complaining. :-)
And when she says to let it cool all the way, she isn't kidding. Even though it tastes pretty good warm, it tastes SO much better the next day. I ate WAY too much of this.... Someone save me!!

Monday Menu (November 9, 2009)

Ok, so I am totally a week behind... But things have been crazy.

I told Bill that since he didn't want me to make meatloaf last week, that he could make the dinner on Monday. So this is what he chose: Smoked Salmon and Corn Chowder.
It turned out really well, actually. We couldn't find any fennel bulbs here in Cedar (ok, so we looked only in two stores) and he substituted it with a leek. It had a very tasty flavor, except I think he put two too many shakes of hot sauce in the soup. It was VERY spicy!

For dessert, I made a Twinkie Tunnel Cake. I forgot to add the chocolate chips but it turned out really good. I am not a Twinkie Fan, but it was good!!

Monday Menu (November 2, 2009)

For dinner, I decided to make Bunk House Meatloaf. Granted, the kids have had meatloaf before, but the boys had not had this kind before and it has been YEARS since the girl had it.

Bunk House Meatloaf Recipe:
1 1/2 to 2 lbs lean ground beef
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup finely chopped green pepper
1/2 cup cooked oatmeal (quick oat)
3/4 cup cracker crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup ketchup plus 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
(or 1/8 cup Lea & Perrins Steak Sauce and 1/8 cup ketchup)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Mix all ingredients together.
Place in greased loaf pan.
Sprinkle with seasoned salt with pepper over the top.
Bake at 350° F for about 1 hour 15 minutes.

(I baked them for like 20 minutes in muffin tins.)


Even though I chopped the bell pepper really tiny, it still gave it a flavor that Nathan was not fond of - but he ate it anyway. Next time I will leave that out all together. I served the meatloaf with smashed potatoes and corn.

For dessert we had Cookie Truffles. I did not care for them much, but the kids LOVED them. We tried the Nutterbutter ones. I think I would like the Oreo ones better - maybe some other time I will make them.

Monday Menu Done on Sunday (10/18/09)

Well, with the kids having a 5 day weekend (gotta love Harvest Holiday, AKA Hunting Holiday) we decided to have our new menu food on Sunday and take it to a friend's house to enjoy the Sabbath and not worry about having to get to bed early because there was no school the next day.

Bill has been dying to have Shepherd's Pie since we got married. I didn't want to make it because his version sounded gross to me and what I grew up with sounded gross to him. However, he was so insistent that he wanted Shepherd's Pie that I finally told him that if he wanted it then he could make it. While this isn't a new recipe, per se, his version was new for me.

And even though I don't have exact measurements for most of the ingredients (or pictures, I was too hungry when it was finally done to think about taking any pictures), you can adjust it to your tastes.

2 1/2 lbs (or less) of ground beef
1 packet of aus jus mix
Garlic Salt
Pepper
Frozen Corn
Potatoes
Butter
Milk
Salt
Bacon
Cheese

Peel and cut up potatoes. Boil until soft enough to mash. While they are boiling, brown ground meat, garlic salt, and pepper. When meat is done (or almost done) add aus jus packet. Then stir in frozen corn. Heat on low until thoroughly warmed.
Drain potato chunks and begin to mash them. You can use an old fashioned potato masher or electric mixer. While mashing, stir in butter, salt, and milk. When mashed, stir in bacon bits (not the fake ones, these ones) until thoroughly mixed.
Spread meat mixture into 9x13. Sprinkle some shredded cheese on top. Then start plopping on the mashed potatoes. Cover with foil and bake at 250°F until thoroughly warmed. Sprinkle bits of bacon on top of potatoes, then cheese on top of the bacon. Bake until cheese melts. Serve warm.

Now for dessert we made those Cookie Dough Pies. Granted, I have made the original recipe before, but wanted to try some fun variations. You will need to click on that link to get the recipe, but I will tell you the variations here:

I got a bag of Keebler Chips Deluxe Coconut Cookies. Between each layer of whipped cream and cookie, I sprinkled some sweetened flaked coconut on. Then when done, I drizzled chocolate syrup on top and then sprinkled a bit more coconut on top. I LOVED this one! It was VERY good.

I was going to use the Keebler Chips Deluxe Peanut Butter Cookies but the ounces of the bag were only 15 and I didn't want to buy two bags and have extra cookies to tempt me.... so I just bought the original kind and then a couple Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (I ended up using 8 PB cups). So between the layers of whipped cream and cookie, I sprinkled some chunks of chopped up Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Then I also drizzled with chocolate and sprinkled with more chopped up cups. This one was FABULOUS! It went the fastest.

Things were yummy that night. It is nice to have one day off a week from my diet. :-)

My Day

Wow, I had a very productive day!

I wanted to go back to bed after the kids got on the bus but I didn't. I pulled on my running shoes and went jogging. I finally was able to jog a whole mile without having to walk! I was so proud of myself! Then I jogged another 1.2 miles but walked part of the way. Eventually I will be able to jog all 2.2 miles without having to walk! And by then, it will probably be snowy here...

While I was jogging, Bill went and helped out a friend who needed a ride and then gave them two of our little kid bikes that our kids have outgrown. That is to save their two youngest from fighting over the one bike they had their size. (Last night we were at their house and it was quite a funny scene watching a 2 and 4 year old fighting over a bike - maybe I am glad my youngest is almost 9.)

After the run, I had some fresh pineapple and sat at the computer for a bit. I felt a tickle on the back of my neck so I reached back there and grabbed what I thought was hair. I brought my hands forward and saw that I had grabbed and killed some sort of bug! Ew, I shuddered just now when I typed that. It was gross and I don't know what it was.

After my body was no longer angry at me for putting it through some tortuous running, I then worked in the girls' room trying to dejunk it. I still have a long way to go, but I put a nice chunk into it.

Then Bill and I had lunch and then ran to Wal-Mart to get a few things to fix dinner with. We wanted to try some new recipes today that we found online (I'll post the links in a minute). Plus, the kids' bathroom has been having problems in the bathtub - the faucet was leaking all the time and the handle for the hot was broken off and they had to use pliers to turn it off and on. Yes, we are redneck. :-) (it was almost like a scene from this website)

Wal-Mart did not have the right plumbing **insert joke about Wal-Mart of check out this site** so we went to Home Depot and Bill spoke to one of the workers who has been a plumber for the past 20+ years and told Bill that he needed to remove the faucet stuff and bring it back in so we could get the correct stuff. Gee, why didn't we think of that before?

When we got home, we had 15 minutes to turn off the water, take the faucet stuff off, get the kids together, and run out the door to make it to Nathan's Parent-Teacher Conference. He is doing fantastically well in school! He has almost all A's and two B's! I am so proud of him!

Then we took the whole bunch of kids (plus one I was babysittting) into Home Depot. Have you ever tried to keep 5 kids occupied in a store where there really isn't much for them to do there? Well, I have. Nathan pretty much just sat there but he did help Bill pick out the new faucet. :-) Justin had fun for just a bit until he found a coloring book and crayons. It left us girls to our own devices. Just take a look here.

We finally survived Home Depot without being kicked out. Then I run to Wal-Mart, yet again, for something we forgot for dinner: tortillas. It is kind of hard to make quesadillas without tortillas. Oh and cheese - another staple for quesadillas. :-)

I drove to Laurie's house, got Kyle (another kid I was to babysit) and headed home. The first thing out of Kyle's mouth when he walked through our door was, "Train tracks!" He always plays with our wooden train tracks and LOVES them. He cracks me up.

I made two pot pies to freeze for later this week. Then Bill and I got cracking on dinner.... oh, that is after he so wonderfully fixed the bathtub's faucet. Yay!

For dinner, we made our own version of this recipe. Instead of steak, we had a pot roast that we cooked in the crockpot for over 24 hours. It was soooo tender. And instead of goat cheese we used pepperjack and cheddar. I am telling you, these things were delish! Nathan fell in love with his and snarfed it down fast. Well, he didn't have the corn relish on top.... but I didn't expect him to. Then, we wanted to try this corn on the cob recipe. I never though I would like it, but OHMIGOSH! It was divine! And for dessert we had these delicious cookie pies. Wow, we are so going to make them again really soon!

Now I am off to watch "Heroes" with my awesome hubby. Then off to bed...

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

No, I am not talking about Thanksgiving.... although I did eat a scrumdiddlyumptious salad at The Garden House today called the Thanksgiving Salad. But that is neither here nor there. I am talking about the turkey-pigs I have living in my house!

I have a house of teenagers.... well, technically only one true teenager: Nate, 14. But the other kids act like teens already. And appetite is just one of the main teenage hormones rampaging through our house.

I cooked 16 hot dogs for dinner.... SIXTEEN! Lily isn't feeling well so she didn't eat anything. I am not a huge hot dog fan, so I had leftovers. But between Nate, Justin, and Rebekah, 14 of the 16 are GONE! Nate had 6, Justin had 4, and Rebekah had 4. I thought I would have leftovers in the fridge for later, but there are only two left and Bill will probably scarf them down when he gets home from work.