July 18, 2011- Hot Dogs and Cheese Puffs

Tonight I will not win any awards for feeding my child the healthiest foods.  But, she ate well, and we were both happy at the end of the meal.  I grilled Hebrew National hot dogs and served them with Cheetos Puffs.  I sure do love those!  She also had a little bit of cheddar cheese and a bowl of fresh berries.  She didn't nap today and was definitely looking tired while she ate.  Just when I thought she would say she was finished, she asked for more food.  I'm glad I stalled for a bit, but she did end up saying she was done.  

Ben called a little after 6pm, and we got to talk with him for a while.  His first meeting, the big one, went very well.  Whoo hoo!  After the call, I read Katie one more book and took her up to bed.  In less than five minutes she was out.  I'm so thankful that her lack of afternoon nap didn't turn into a terrible bed time.  And now, it's 7:10 and I have the whole evening to myself.  Hmmm, perhaps I have time for a little crafting, reading, TV, ice cream, and extra sleep:) 

July 14, 2011- Rotisserie Chicken & Salad

I had planned on buying a rotisserie chicken at Fred Meyer on Monday, but we were there too early to get one.  We went to Safeway, which is a bit closer to our house, to pick one up this afternoon after Katie's nap.  It was a fantastic chicken.  Much better than Fred Meyer's if you ask our family.  The chicken was moist and full of flavor.   It was definitely worth the extra dollar or two it costs to buy the Safeway chicken instead of the Fred Meyer one.  I served a salad made of butter lettuce, raspberries, and glazed walnuts for our side dish.  Katie had chicken and raspberries.

After dinner,  I removed and shredded the remaining meat from the chicken bones.  I'll end up using that in a meal tomorrow. 

July 11, 2011- Pan Fried Chicken Tenders

Tonight I made my best pan fried chicken tenders ever.  I didn't change much in my process except I was more patient.  I lightly coated the chicken tenderloins in a mixture of flour, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and a little cayenne pepper.  I heated olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat and added the chicken.  I dropped in a little butter to increase the smoke point.  (Thanks Food Network for that tip years ago.)  And then, I waited and waited and waited until they turned golden brown on the pan side before flipping them. 

While they were cooking, I thought I would quickly unload the dishwasher.  Katie was trying to "help", but she doesn't help or listen very well with dishes at this age.  While I was putting glasses into the cupboard, she started to pulled out a large glass mug.  I told her NO, asked her to put it down, but she didn't.  It quickly slipped out of her hands and shattered on the floor.  Thankfully neither of us was hurt.  She cried hard for a minute, but then stayed in the dining room chair and read books while I cleaned up.  So, the patience I needed to wait for the flip side of the chicken to brown came from having to clean up glass in the kitchen.  Hopefully I won't need a glass to break in order for the chicken to be cooked properly the next time. 

We had berry salad of raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries for our side dish. 

July 3, 2011- Steaks, Asparagus, & Baked Potatoes

Jennifer and I have been planning a surprise bridal shower for Kate for several months.  We wanted to have it this weekend in Redmond since many of our close family friends usually spend holiday weekends there too.  Well, in the end, we were the only ones in Redmond this time.  So, we hosted a shower for Kate and Spencer with just our immediate family.  It was quite nice:) 

For dinner, Jennifer purchased lovely tenderloin steaks.  I brought a tin of Aromatica Organics Nebraska Prime Steak Seasoning with me, which was rubbed on the steaks.  Ben was in charge of grilling them, and he did a fantastic job.  The steaks were all cooked perfectly for each of our preferences.  So, the combination of the great meat, the delicious rub, and the careful grilling resulted in excellent steaks.  We grilled asparagus and baked potatoes to enjoy with the steaks.  

After dinner the dogs were walked and then the shower continued.  We played a couple games-- "Future spouse trivia" and "Name that white baking ingredient".  They were fun even with our small group.  After the games were over, we enjoyed a delicious chocolate cake topped with whipped cream and strawberries. And, no bridal shower would be complete without a few presents:)  It was a perfect evening!  

Well, I should be honest and say that Katie puked just a little bit while eating cake, but we cleaned it up so quickly that it was like it never happened. Other than that, it was a perfect evening.

Monday, 8/9/2010

I made salmon cakes tonight.  I must say, they were simply delicious!  They could be served in a restaurant and people would like them.  Well, at least we would:)  Anyway, I stuck with the same recipe I've used in the past.  For the salmon, I purchased 6 ounce fillets at Fred Meyer--2 plain and 1 seasoned with lemon and pepper.  The recipe only calls for 2 cups of salmon, so there was a little left over for Katie and the kitties to munch on:)

I made a green salad with raspberries, pear, and glazed walnuts to go with the salmon cakes.  It was not the best pairing, but it was what I had available.  Ben thought the salad was too sweet overall and that the lettuce was blah.  I agree that the lettuce wasn't anything special and that it was sweet, but I really liked it.  The salad was dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette. 

Wednesday, 6/2/2010

A while I ago I purchased quite a few Grill Mates marinade mixes. I decided to try the Baja Citrus flavor tonight. Although several different protiens would go with each marinade, it seems like the best choice is listed first under the ingredients on the packaging. Salmon was listed first; so, I marinated salmon.

I struggled with how long to cook the salmon. I like salmon to be moist, but done. It's a hard balance to find. It seems like I went from raw to overcooked in a minute. The salmon was just too dry in the end. And, unfortunately, I was disappointed with the flavor. I can't be sure why, but I think it is because there is too much orange flavor in this marinade. I think salmon goes well with lemon, but orange doesn't work as well in my opinion.

Ben went to a Mariner's game; so it was just me and Katie for dinner. I didn't want to go through the hassle of grilling asparagus without a second person to watch Katie. Instead, I fixed mixed berries for a side dish. Katie is still not sure about blackberries, but she loves blueberries and strawberries.

Tuesday, 6/1/2010

We hosted our PEPS gathering this week. It was a little crazy trying to pull it together after just getting back from our vacation, but we did it:) I got a package of chicken drumsticks from Costco and rubbed them with our standard bbq rub. Ben worked the grill and got them perfectly cooked and coated with bbq sauce. They were spicy and a hit with the group! I opened up a package of mixed greens and put out a couple salad dressings for people to choose from. We had our first corn on the cob of the season. It will get better for sure, but it was still very tasty. And for dessert, we had angelfood cake with berries and whipped cream. I filled a clear salad bowl with 3 layers of berries- blueberries, sliced strawberries, and blackberries.

For the kids, I had Ben grill a couple plain chicken breasts, and I steamed some broccoli. Katie ate so much broccoli at the Chinese restaurant the other day that I was sure she would eat a bunch of it. Nope, she only played with it. Yes, it was all over the carpet. UGH!

Boy, those kids were soo cute! We hadn't been with the group for a month, so it was fun to see how much each of them has changed. I think they are almost to a point where they will play with each other. We put Katie and Ronan in our arm chair together for fun. Ronan has been known to feed Katie food during our gatherings:) Here's a photo of them together. They were grooving and clapping to Casper Babypants.