June 28, 2011- Chicken Alfredo and Corn on the Cob

It was our turn to host our PEPS group tonight.  Usually I make something from scratch, but decided I just couldn't add that to my schedule this week.  I opted to purchase chicken alfredo with penne noodles from Costco for our main dish.  It was delicious and super easy.  Preheat oven; bake for an hour; serve.  How nice not to be stressed about getting the food done in time!

We also served corn on the cob for the first time this season.  I think Katie ate 1.5 ears of corn!  The other families brought a green salad and Klondike bars:)

June 27, 2011- Chicken Strips and Fruit Salad

A few weeks ago I bought a new kind of chicken strip for Katie.  The strips seemed to be restaurant styled, which Katie usually likes.  The instructions said they could be baked or microwaved.  Well, each attempt to microwave them has resulted in very rubbery chicken that she hasn't eaten.  Tonight I decided to bake them for the whole family.  The chicken was much better baked than nuked.  I suppose I knew that already, but I am glad they were good baked.  

I made a fruit salad of pear, banana, raspberries, mandarin oranges, and grapes for our side dish.  Katie had oranges and grapes.  She is quite fickle about her bananas.  She has never eaten them pre-sliced. She went straight from mashed to whole.

June 26, 2011- Chicken Burritos

We made chicken burritos tonight, using the left over diced, seasoned chicken we had from Friday.  I really appreciate how well the chicken reheats.  It is one of the best left-over foods in my opinion. 

June 25, 2011- Prost West Seattle

We took Katie to see Cars 2 late this morning.  It was her first movie in a theater.  She got up and down from her chair several times and asked to watch "Tangled" on my iPod once.  But, all in all, she did pretty well for being only 2 1/2-years-old.  It was actually not a very good movie to take her to.  It had a complex plot about espionage that she couldn't understand and a lot of guns.  I guess we need to do more research before assuming a kid's movie is okay for her. 

After the movie, we went to BJ's for pizza.  We ordered a small cheese pizza for Katie and a medium pepperoni and sausage pizza for ourselves.  The cheese pizza came out, shortly followed by an apologetic waitress.  She dropped our pizza on the way to the table.  Unfortunately, we had to be back home by 3pm to meet a paint contractor.  That didn't leave enough time to make us a replacement pizza.  We were told that the beverages we ordered and Katie's pizza would be free.  That was a fair compensation.  Ben and I each ate a quarter of Katie's pizza, and we went home.

We were determined to have pizza tonight, but it just didn't work out.  We drove to Zeek's pizza, but forgot that there was a community festival on the same block.  That meant, no parking and probably no space inside.  Ben suggested a couple restaurants we could go to, but we stopped at Prost West Seattle. Ben has wanted to eat at this German restaurant for several years and this was our first opportunity. Well, it was disappointing.  First, they were out of the beer he wanted to drink.  It was very sad.  Second, the only thing they had on the menu that we thought Katie would eat was a pretzel.  She took one nibble and said "I don't like that part."  That just meant she didn't like the pretzel.  My bratwurst sandwich was fine, but I'm not a fan of curry ketchup.  Ben's thought his curry wurst would be served on a rye bun.  Nope, it was served with two small wedges of rye bread on the side.  Ben and I both ate enough to be full, but were not satisfied.  Since Katie didn't eat anything other than goldfish crackers, we went through the McDonald's drive through to get her a burger.  

I guess it just wasn't our day to eat out. 

June 24, 2011- Chicken Burritos

I whipped out chicken burritos for dinner tonight.  The chicken tenderloins that I pulled out the freezer were almost defrosted when it was time to start cooking.  That made them the perfect texture for chopping.  When they are completely thawed, it takes a long time to dice them.  I put the diced chicken into a hot skillet with some vegetable oil.  Once cooked completely, I added one and a half packages of Lawry's chicken taco seasoning and a half cup of water.  After the water cooked down, I added the seasoned chicken to burrito tortillas in which I had already shredded cheddar cheese.  We have grown accustomed to using shredded rotisserie chicken for our burritos, but this was equally tasty. 

Katie had some cheddar cheese and left over chicken strips, which were kind of rubbery. 

June 23, 2011- Tea Party

Tonight Katie and I attended the 3rd Annual Chancel Choir Ladies Tea Party.  This was the first time either of us have attended.  I tied a wide lilac colored ribbon onto my sun hat with a large bow.  Katie wore a pink an white beaded headband with a fun pink bow on it.  We took petite tuna fish sandwiches with dill pickles diced inside, a splash of lemon juice, and a few dashes of black pepper.  There was plenty of food to eat, although we didn't bring any sandwiches home with us:)  We enjoyed strawberries- deep in flavor and color, cornbread sandwiches with turkey inside, sandwiches with asparagus, cream cheese, and prosciutto inside, cookies with jam prints, orange cake, and much more.  What a delightful evening!  

Katie spent a lot of time following and "playing" with Gizmo, the resident dog.  She even got to take Gizmo on a walk with Gordy, the man of the house.  Gizmo was a very patient dog with Katie's attention.  When she was done with Katie, she retreated upstairs, must to Katie's dismay. 

June 22, 2011- Cheeseburgers & Hotdogs

We were planning on going to the home of our friends for dinner tonight, but they had to postpone due to a schedule conflict.  So, we ate hot dogs and left-over cheeseburgers with fruit salad for dinner.  I put frozen raspberries, green grapes, bananas, pears, and mandarin oranges in the fruit salad.  It was quite delicious!  

By the way, Mom and Dad, we've used up the last of the raspberries from last year's harvest:) 

June 21, 2011- BBQ Chicken

Ben and I had left over barbecued chicken breasts and a side salad for dinner.  The salad ingredients were romaine lettuce, diced fresh red bell pepper, sliced mushrooms, and a Parmesan and roasted red pepper dressing.  Katie ate the ham out of a sandwich and peas out of the pods.  In the past she has eaten the peas and then moved on to the pods.  Not tonight.  The pods were out.  Oh well, at least she was eating vegetables!

June 20, 2011- Impossible Taco Pie

We had the pleasure of taking dinner to our friends Mike, Naomi, and Oliver this evening. They welcomed Liam into their family on the 7th, and our PEPS group has been taking them meals every couple of days. What a sweet baby Liam is:)  We took two Impossible Taco Pies with us.  We shared one with them tonight and left one with them to eat another time.  We had a salad with romaine lettuce, tortilla strips, Mexican cheeses, and spicy ranch dressing on the side.  I took ham sandwiches, string cheese, and applesauce for Katie and Oliver to eat.  Neither of them ate very much.  Of course, that meant that Katie had to eat once we got home. 

June 19, 2011- Father's Day

Looking back on this Father's Day, I want Ben to remember the really good things and forget the really bad things.  I want him to remember that we went out for breakfast.  I don't want him to remember that Bakery Nouveau was too crowded to go into.  I want him to remember that the coffee he got at Uptown Espresso was delicious.  I don't want him to remember that Katie would only eat the glaze off of her cinnamon roll or that the coffee cake he ordered was dry.  

I want him to remember that we had tasty bbq chicken sandwiches for lunch.  I don't want him to remember that Katie had a frantic fit of kicking on her changing table that left me yelling "STOP IT" for all of the neighborhood to hear.  I want him to remember how excited Katie was to go to the Museum of Flight with him.  I don't want him to remember her flopping on the floor of the museum when she didn't want to follow him.  I want him to remember how sweet she was to whisper in his ear and give him kisses.  I don't want him to remember how she didn't want to sit in the plane with him and instead wanted to touch every piece of trash and dirty thing she found on the ground.  I want him to remember how cute she was playing with her new airplane.  I don't want him to remember how she hooked it into my arm to reduce how quickly I was putting her down.  (Yes, it hurt.)  

I want him to remember how good his Diablo burger from Pyramid Alehouse was.  I don't want him to remember how Katie wouldn't eat much of her dinner at the restaurant and started saying she was hungry as soon as we walked out the door. (And, here's where the don'ts outweigh the do's.) I don't want him to remember how she wouldn't stop talking over us while we were trying to Skype with his mom.  I don't want him to remember how she angrily chanted "MILK" during her entire second dinner at home.  I don't want him to remember how she pulled her place mat off of the table and dumped the crumbs on the carpet.  I don't want him to remember how she went spastic on us when it was time to brush her teeth.  I don't want him to remember how she got soo worked up about wanting to brush her teeth, eating more food, and not going to bed that she puked on her changing table.  

I want Ben to remember how funny it was that the Father's Day card Katie gave him at the end of the night said "Dad, I was put on this earth to bring joy and sunshine into your life.  How am I doing so far?"  Ah, the joys of being a dad.  Ben, I love you and am so thankful Katie has you for her daddy. And now for pictures from the good parts of the day:

Check out all of the photos here: http://www.ackersphotography.com/Family/Fathers-Day-at-the-Museum-of/17648045_Vv9nCL#1345389577_HTPnw93-A-LB

June 18, 2011- Cheeseburgers

We hosted our church potluck group, Crock Pots, at our house tonight.  It was a really small group this month, just 5 adults and 3 kids.  While we missed those who couldn't come this time, we did enjoy having a single conversation that everyone could hear and participate in.  We grilled hamburgers, seasoned heavily with Lawry's seasoning salt, and smothered them with cheddar cheese.  Watermelon and chips were served on the side and ice cream wrapped up the meal.  After the meal we played several games of Banagrams.  I love that game and wish we had time to play it more often!

Here are two adorable photos of Katie's friend Esme enjoying her ice cream cone.

And, here are several fun photos of Katie chowing down on watermelon.

June 17, 2011- Luna Park Cafe

I planned on having left over barbecued chicken tonight, but it didn't sound good.  We continued to let carbs entice us by heading to Luna Park Cafe for dinner.  I had a bacon cheddar burger with fries.  Ben had chilli fries with a hot link in it.  Katie nibbled on a cheese quesadilla and had a couple fries.  We all shared an ice cream sundae for dessert.  Ben and I are sufficiently stuffed and satisfied. 

June 16, 2011- Barbecued Chicken

Feeling a little better today, I decided to make the barbecued chicken I didn't make yesterday.  I rubbed four boneless, skinless chicken breasts with our standard bbq rub.  After brushing a little vegetable oil on the grill grates, I cooked the breasts for 10 minutes over Medium Direct heat.  I flipped them after 5 minutes.  At the end, I brushed on barbecue sauce while grilling a couple more minutes. Just now, as I was looking for the post on how to make the bbq rub, I remembered that we usually bbq chicken that is bone-in and skin-on.  That would explain why this chicken was more dry that usual.  The flavor was great, just missing a little moisture.   

I fixed a spinach salad with diced red pepper and a parmesan, roasted red pepper dressing to go with the chicken.  It was quite tasty!

June 15, 2011- Strawberry Shortcake

I took Katie in to see the doctor today, and he said we have a nasty, highly contagious upper respiratory virus.  He prescribed sleep, fluids, and Tylenol.  It will eventually go away.  Ugh...I hate waiting!  

Well, the low-carb diet has been on hold while we struggle to feel better.  Good-for-us food hasn't sounded appealing at all. When I told Ben that I didn't want to eat what I originally planned to fix for dinner, he said that strawberry shortcake sounded good to him.  I just happened to have strawberries and whipped cream and decided to make it happen. So, yes, we had strawberry shortcake for dinner.

My mom suggested using Bisquick for the shortcake.  I had exactly the 2 1/3 cups of Bisquick the recipe called for.  Katie didn't care for the whipped cream and only ate part of her shortcake, but she loved the strawberries.  She is definitely a fruit lover.  It was a delicious dinner/dessert:)

June 14, 2011- Refrigerator Roulette

Ben had plans with a couple friends after work tonight.  Katie and I were planning on going to our PEPS gathering for dinner, but ended up staying home because she wasn't feeling well.  We've been fighting a cold for several days, and I thought we were on the mend.  When she was really fussy after her nap this afternoon, I looked at her throat.  It was swollen and red.  We'll probably end up at the doctor tomorrow to get her checked out.  We have a new baby in our PEPS group, and I don't want to get that family sick.  

When asked what she wanted to eat for dinner, Katie surprised me and said pepperoni.  She never wants to eat it on a pizza, but seems to like it just fine by itself.  Although she told me she didn't want any cheese, she ate a stick of string cheese when I handed it to her.  She also had a few slices of apple.  I had a cheeseburger, using a left over grilled patty from last Friday. 

June 13, 2011- Pizza, Chicken Strips, and Phad Thai

Tonight I got a chance to go out for a movie and dinner with my good friend Melissa.  I realized that we've known each other for 10 years now.  I can't believe it's been that long!  Katie came downtown with me and had dinner with Ben.  They went to Gordon Biersch where he had a pizza and she had chicken strips and carrots.  After dinner, they took the bus back home.  Katie had a blast on the bus!  Ben said she did great on the bus, but wanted to be a bit too independent when walking from the bus stop to the house.  He had to keep moving her back to the side of the road.  Apparently, she prefers to walk down the middle of the street. 

After watching Bridesmaids, which was hilarious, Melissa and I had dinner at Thai Ginger.  I had Phad Thai with chicken while Melissa had a curry dish.  What a fun night!

June 12, 2011- Penne Rustica

Jennifer, Ben, Katie and I drove up to Lynnwood this afternoon to help Kate and Spencer unload their U-Haul trailer.  The trailer was completely unloaded 25 minutes after we arrived!  We all got to meet Kate's dogs Ana and Sota, named for Indiana and Minnesota.  Katie did pretty well with them, but was definitely too nervous to be left alone with them yet.  They are much bigger than she is and would have just knocked her down out of excitement.

After the trailer was unloaded, we went to Macaroni Grill for dinner.  I had Penne Rustica-- roasted chicken and aged prosciutto tossed with Parmesan cream sauce then baked until golden.  Ben and Jennifer shared the same dish, but did not opt out on the shrimp like I did.  We all agreed that they have made their portions a bit more reasonable.  In the past the dish was overwhelmingly large.  Katie had spaghetti with meatballs. While it didn't seem like she ate much, she did keep herself occupied during most of the meal.  Kate and Spencer shared a dish of Pollo Limone Rustica-- roasted chicken sauteed with imported penne pasta, lemon-basil cream sauce and fresh spinach, then baked until golden.

June 11, 2011- Cupcakes

Katie had chicken strips and grapes for dinner.  Ben, his mom, and I had cupcakes for dinner after Katie went to bed.  We ate a late lunch at P.F. Changs and just weren't hungry for another meal.  My cupcake was mint chocolate.  Ben's was triple chocolate.  Jennifer's was mocha flavored.  All were quite tasty.  

Our future sister-in-law, Kate, is moving to Washington to live with Spencer.  She is enrolled in the Family Nurse Practitioner program at the University of Washington and starts in just a week or two.  They have been on the road, driving here from Chicago, over the past couple of days.  They will arrive tomorrow and we spent the day preparing a surprise for them.  Jennifer and I created "welcome" posters, one for Kate and one for her dogs:)  We let ourselves into their home and left them fancy desserts, wine, flowers, chocolates, an umbrella for Kate, and treats for the dogs. 

June 10, 2011- Cheeseburgers

We grilled cheeseburgers for dinner tonight.  When I went grocery shopping on Monday this week, I bought two packages of hamburger.  I kept the lean meat in the fridge, expecting to make taco meat with it.  I put the fattier meat in the freezer, planning on using it for our hamburgers tonight.  Well, I didn't make up the taco meat and forgot to defrost the meat from the freezer.  So, I ended up using the lean meat for the hamburgers.  I added Lawry's seasoning salt and A-1 Steak Sauce to the meat to add flavor.  By some kind of miracle, the burgers held their form and didn't fall apart when flipped on the grill!  In the past we have added an egg to lean ground beef to help it stick together.  It hasn't been very successful.  Since tonight's grilling experience was positive, I think I'll leave the egg out in the future. 

June 9, 2011- Left Overs

We ate in shifts tonight.  Katie was hungry first and had a chicken strip which she dipped in ketchup.  Ben had a long commute home, so I ate by myself after getting Katie cleaned up.  I ate left over mahi mahi from Tuesday with a salad.  Ben ate a pork chop left over from Wednesday when he got home. 

June 8, 2011- Mesquite Pork Chops

Ben worked later than normal tonight, so I fed Katie before he got home.  She had a slice of left-over pizza for her meal.  Ben and I ate broiled pork chops that I marinated in Grill Mates Mesquite Marinade.  I usually overcook meat.  So, it was high praise when Ben said they couldn't have been cooked better:)  We had a side caesar without croutons to go with the pork chops. 

The best part of the meal was when Katie, who was watching "The Voice" in the den, came running in and said she needed a microphone.  I jumped up, pulled my mic from the closet, told her not to drop it or hit it on anything, and let her go.  She held it up to her mouth, humming and dancing along with the singers.  When each song ended, she would run into the dining room shouting "I did it!"  How awesome!  I love that little girl:)

By the way, "The Voice" is a fantastic new singing competition on NBC.  Far better than American Idol in my opinion. 

June 7, 2011- Roasted Garlic Mahi Mahi

We had sea salt and roasted garlic mahi-mahi with a salad for dinner tonight.  We've had this fish several times and love it.  The fillets come pre-marinated, individually vacuum sealed, and frozen from Costco.  I simply line a cookie sheet with foil, place the fillets on the foil, and bake in a pre-heated oven for 25 minutes.  The result is a delicious fillet of fish.  Tonight, I let the fish cook an additional 5 minutes since Ben was still on his way home.  It definitely dried out more than normal, but still tasted great.  

I planned on making a spinach salad with strawberries, glazed walnuts, and poppy seed dressing, but found that my strawberries were too past their peak to use.  The green grapes I used as a substitute were pretty good with the other ingredients.  I still prefer the berries, but it is nice to know I have other options.  Katie ate a few bites of fish along with several grapes for dinner.  I bet she wakes up hungry tomorrow morning.

June 6, 2011- Pizza

Well, it's been over a month since I last blogged. I have notes about what we ate for most of the past month, but the catch up game is just too daunting.  So, it's time to just start again with today.

Ben and I spent the past three days in a photography workshop in the Palouse hills.  The tour was led by Adrian Klein and Kevin McNeal of Northwest Photo Tours.  I gave Ben the tour for an anniversary gift, and he was kind enough to ask me to come along:)  Katie stayed with my parents while we were gone and had a blast!  The tour started Friday at 4pm and ended Sunday around 11am.  We were plain exhausted by the time it was over.  The 3:30am wake up calls and late nights did us in.  Thankfully we planned to come home today and not yesterday. 

After a very long drive home, including a stop to photograph the PSE Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility, we were definitely not in the mood to make dinner.  Katie pushed every one of our buttons during the drive home. As soon as we hit I-5 Ben called in our order to Garlic Jim's Pizza.  We had sausage and pepperoni on a hand-tossed crust.  Katie didn't want the meat on her slices, but did a pretty good job eating her pieces along with some grapes. 

Ah, it's good to be home:)