Playing Catch-up

So I've been a nonexistent blogger lately. We've been staying busy and I've just not had the energy to sit down at the end of the day and write. We also took a bit of a Spring Break, which I found very refreshing.

I got to spend some time with my dad and his family. Quite often when I make it up there it is for some holiday or another. It was nice to be there with no obligations. Princess Little's favourite part of the trip was playing with her baby cousin.

When we got back it was only a short while until my mom came to visit for a couple days. She always manages to ease my stress and it was fun to have someone to run around town with.

Nil has a couple of days off, so we are looking forward to a long and hopefully uneventful weekend. In the coming days, I hope to finally get snow pictures up and start a little series about deployment started (more on that later).

Menu-28 Feb

So the FRG meeting got canceled.  I've decided to view this as a good thing because I got to try out the chicken spaghetti recipe before taking it somewhere.  I made a couple of modifications and it came out pretty much like mine (Nil says it's creamier).  I also made homemade french bread (first time!) to go with it which turned out really well.

Another new recipe last week was the Neely's Dirty Rice.  I really liked it. So much more of the flavour came from the chicken stock the rice was cooked in and the fresh veg. rather thanthe heat and salt that comprise the flavour of the boxed stuff. Nil missed the salt. Next time I would add a little more cayenne.

On to this week's menu:

• Big Sandwich Quick, easy, great for a grocery shopping day. 

• Chicken Tacos I love these. They are super easy and there is normally enough meat left for nachos the next day.

• Meat Loaf This is a favourite around our house.  There's really not a recipe. I use half ground beef and half turkey, eggs, oatmeal, mustard, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. I mix it, adding stuff until it looks right, and top it with a mixture of ketchup, honey and Worcestershire.

• Broccoli Soup I'm so excited about this recipe. One of the ladies at my grandmother's church makes this soup and it is so yummy. Meme (my grandmother) got the recipe and emailed it to me!

• Fruited Chicken Super Tater often sits beside me while I'm at the computer and when I pulled up this recipe he said, "that looks good!" So we are going to try it.

• Fondue One of my favourite dates with Nil was going to a place called Simply Fondue. In addition to what I think of as fondue they had pots of oil to fry meat table-side. I don't think we'll do that, but I thought it would be great fun for the kiddos to have some cheese and chocolate fondues for dinner one night.  Thanks to Simple Bites for reminding me of this experience!

• Philly Steak Potatoes  I use fresh peppers instead of frozen and Mozzarella instead of cheddar cheese. I may add some mushrooms this time as well. The horseradish mayonnaise is our favourite part.

For many more menu ideas, visit Laura over at www.orgjunkie.com!

Finally!

So about a week ago, Princess Little came into my room before we got up and said, "Guess what! It snowed! Just a little, but it snowed!" This was the scene outside her window. (There was a little bit of frost.)

 

 Today, however, it actually snowed! Pictures of the kiddos playing in the snow as I have time to go through them.

Greek Chicken Nachos

 

I don't think they are even on the menu anymore, but Macaroni Grill's Bella Napoli were my favourite thing at the restaurant. They were Italian nachos, of sorts, made with fried lasagna noodles and then topped with cream sauce, Italian sausage, olives and peppers. Some day I'm going to get brave enough to make them. (I'm not very comfortable frying things. I've just never really learned.) 

In the mean time, these are sort of my take on the Bella Napoli with flavours from our Greek dining experiences.  I started making my own hummus because they didn't have it at the Commissary (I say that, and the next my mom comes to visit they will have a huge endcap display of hummus). I really like Rachel Ray's recipe because it has a little smokey kick to it. Also,  previously I had always mixed yogurt and sour cream and diced cucumber for taziki, but yesterday I tried using a recipe and really liked it.

Ingredients 

Rachel Ray's Spicy Hummus

Kalyn's Kitchen's Taziki Sauce 

1 package Pita Pockets

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

3 Chicken Breasts cut into bite-size pieces

Lemon Pepper

Kalamata Olives

Peperoncini Peppers

Feta Cheese

Vinegar (Red Wine or Balsamic)

At least two hours before you intend to eat mix up your Taziki Sauce; it really gets better when given a little time for the flavours to meld. I normally make the hummus at this time as well. (Or you could use prepared products.)

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Season the chicken with lemon pepper. Heat a skillet and a small amount of olive oil. Saute the chicken over medium heat.

Meanwhile cut the pita pockets into wedges and separate the halves. Arrange the pita pieces on a baking sheet and drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle them with sea salt. Toast them in the oven for about seven minutes. I set my timer; this is the only way I can avoid burning them to a crisp.

When the chicken and the pita chips are finished assemble the nachos. I like to spread a bit of hummus on each chip (it helps hold all the toppings on). I then scatter the top with chicken, olives, feta and perperocinies.  I like to drizzle a bit of taziki and balsamic vinegar over the whole thing.

Princess Little has a very different approach. She very carefully constructs each nacho. We're normally finished eating before she's finished creating.

21 Feb 2010

This weekend was sort of the weekend of the child (other than the fact that they had to go to the Commissary with me which none of us enjoy). Saturday morning we took them to a place that had all sorts of bounce houses and slides and other inflatables for them to play on. They earned this trip by doing extra jobs around the house for marbles. Our deal was when their marble jar was full they would get to go somewhere of there choosing.  I think they really had fun. Of course, I forgot to take my camera. When we got home Nil got on the trampoline with the boys (Princess Little had gone next door). They thought it was great bouncing with Dad.

Sunday night we had family fun time. The kids chose to play Disney Scene It despite Nil's best efforts to convince them to play the Star Trek version. Beara's favourite part was trying to knock over the playing pieces.

Menu- 21 Feb

 

We had a lot of leftovers from Jambalaya (hope everyone had a great Fat Tuesday!) and Corned Beef so again I rolled some meals over from last week.  Here's what we have planned for this week.

• Random Appetizers for family fun night  The Commissary had a sale on different frozen appetizer stuff. I rarely buy it and the kiddos think this is a huge treat. We spent this evening eating appetizer sort of stuff and playing Disney Scene It!

• Moroccan Lentil Soup (from last week) 

• Crock-pot Sloppy Joes (from last week) 

• Dirty Rice I normally buy a mix for this. I'm trying to cut the boxed foods from our eating a little at a time. I figure this one isn't that hard to make from scratch.

• Orange-Honey Glazed Chicken This is a Cook's Illustrated recipe. Unfortunately there's a subscription service for their older recipes.  If you happen to have access to their older recipes, this one is awesome.

• Chicken Spaghetti Some how I've lost my chicken spaghetti recipe and I haven't made it in about a year and a half. It's one of those dishes I forget about, but it's great for a crowd. We have a Family Readiness Group (more on that later maybe) meeting this week and I thought this would be the perfect thing to make. I may also have to make a pan of brownies. I'm an over-achiever that way. It drives Nil crazy. But hey, I love to cook for people. Anyway I think this recipe is basically it.  Though I know my recipe had bell pepper in it.

• Leftovers/YOYO (You're On You're Own)

For many, many more menu ideas visit Laura at www.orgjunkie.com!

Tuna Pockets

Originally I had a recipe for this (Southern Living maybe). This is one of our family's favourites. The recipe could be easily halved to feed fewer people. I also eat it as a salad with just a little drizzle of vinegar and olive oil.

Ingredients
2 family size pouches of tuna (I think they're 11 oz or so)
2 apple
8 oz Feta cheese
1 cup walnuts, chopped  
1 package pita pockets
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar

Directions
Core apples and cut into bite-size pieces. Cube feta cheese and roughly chop walnuts. Combine tuna, feta, apple and walnuts.

Slice pita pockets in half and toast. Stuff pita with tuna mixture. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar.