What's For Dinner

Shimmy Shams
In a children's book we have, an ice cream truck makes "Shimmy Sham Shakes" for the kids. My girls love this story and we renamed our morning smoothies - Shimmy Shams - like the story.*In a blender simply put one container of fruit yogurt of your choice, 1 banana, some frozen blueberries, and fill with OJ a few inches above the fruit. Blend up and serve with straws. My girls love these for breakfast with some cereal or toast. Or I even make them for dessert sometimes after a meal.* I buy the large bag of frozen blueberries at the market. It seems expenseive, but the bag will last you a long time!*obviously you can add any other fruits you have on hand or other juices like cranberry.

Homemade Pizza!
It’s much easier than it sounds! Get the kids involved and let them top their own. You’ll be surprised what they’ll eat when they make it themselves! Try zucchini, olives, mushrooms, pepperoni, ham, pineapple – you name it! I love to buy my dough for $1.50 from our local Italian Deli, but Tyler Florence has a great recipe that I’ve used many times as well! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/pizza-dough-recipe/index.html Kitchen

Kitchen Sink Meatloaf
(here is the exact recipe from my friend, if you want to try it and don’t like to improvise like me!!!) one to one and a half pounds of ground meat (can be turkey, too) one can cambell's abc vegetable soup (beef stock or vegetarian) one egg 1/2 cup bread crumbs 1/4 cup milk worsteshire sauce seasoning salt garlic powder minced onions all to taste (I use plenty of each) ketchup and mustard mixed together mix all ingredients except ketchup and mustard mix and shape into loaf. coat with ketchup/mustard mix and bake one hour at 350. usually best to let it sit a few minutes before slicing.

Stir Fry
I love to take a bunch of fresh vegetables: onion, carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, snap peas, bock choy… and throw them into a hot skillet (I usually start with the onions to season the pan and start adding the things that take longer to cook like carrots and broccoli – putting in bock choy last because it cooks quickly). I sprinkle in some ginger and maybe some peanut oil if things are sticking. If you want to add chicken or beef, I cook that up first and set aside. Add it back in at the end, just before you put some sauce on. At the last minute I add the star ingredients *pineapple chunks and sliced water chestnuts* Finally I add a little stir fry sauce to coat all and it’s done. I serve it over rice (using a rice cooker of course!) and the kids love it – mostly because they love to hunt for the pineapple!

Tortelini and Broccoli

Pork Chops and Apple Sauce

Baked Chicken and Potatoes
My lemon tree us filled with yellow lemons, so they inspired me to try this recipe tonight for the first time! Recipe from Everyday Food Magazine. 1 whole chicken cut into pieces (tonight I’m using bone in, skin on breasts) 1 pound white new potatoes halved 1 large red onion cut into eighths 1 head garlic, cloves separated (I’ll probably use about 4 cloves) 6 sprigs thyme 1 lemon quartered (I’ll probably use at least 2!) ¼ c. extra-virgin olive oil 2 Rbs. Balsamic vinegar Coarse salt and pepper Oven to 450 Place everything in a 12x16 baking dish, toss to coat with the oil and vinegar. Roast until chicken is brown, about 50 minutes.

Chicken Enchiladas
I rarely follow recipes! My hope is to share with you what I’m making for dinner so it sparks a new idea for you. Every now and again I’ll share a recipe if I have one. This time, I only have ingredients, no exact recipe. I like to use the green enchilada sauce and the key is using flour tortillas! They get crispy on the outside, and doughy on the inside! cooked, chopped chicken sour cream green chili enchilada sauce grated cheese Mix the above together to make the filling. Don't add too much sauce or sour cream, it shouldn't be runny. Pour some sauce in a baking dish, roll the filling into the tortillas and place in the dish. Cover with remaining sauce, some cheese and bake until bubbling and brown. 375 degrees, uncovered

Steak and Potatoes
Why not? We love it, why wouldn’t the kids?? Last night I made NY Strip marinated with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, s&p , diced, roasted sweet potatoes (with olive oil, salt and a dash of cinnamon – I also diced them smaller than normal so they would roast more quickly), and some asparagus. Everyone left the table happy.

Taco Chicken Nacho Love
(I don’t know what it’s really called!)
A friend in Seattle made this for me once, and it has become one of my favorites! I made it for a crowd last weekend at my Son’s birthday party and it was a hit. (you can double the amounts to fit your crowd). 2-3 chicken breasts – boneless, skinless 1 can Mexican stewed tomatoes with juice 1 packet taco seasoning mix Put that in the crock pot on low for 4 hours (or until the chicken falls apart) Shred the chicken in the pot, add 1 can black beans – rinsed and drained, and about 2 cups frozen corn. Stir and let it go in the crock pot for at least one more half hour to make sure every thing is warm. Pile chips in your bowl, top with the chicken love, cheese, sour cream… you name it! It’s awesome and so easy! Left-overs makes great quesadillas

Turkey and Cheese Panini
We’re keepin’ it simple these days as our one year old is graduating from baby food! Simply putting fresh sliced turkey and cheese on bread in the Panini maker can make a rather tasty meal! You don’t need any butter, or even condiments. Simple is the key, the Panini maker does all the rest! (Obviously there are many other amazing recipes for gourmet Panini! We’ll get to those later!)

Italian Beef
(in the crock pot)
My friend Allison just sent me this recipe and I haven’t tried it yet, but I trust her because she is an amazing cook!!! 3-4 lbs beef roast 1 stick margarine 3 beef boullion cubes 2 t Italian seasoning 2 T garlic powder salt & pepper 2 t oregano Cook in crock pot for 7 hours on high or 9 hours on low. The longer the better Stir well, break up meat and serve on hoagie, steak or sub buns. (I think some Provolone and peppers and onions might be fun to add as well!)

Lasagna, Lyric style!
My friend Lyric, who is another fabulous cook, shared this recipe: Made with the Barilla no-need-to-boil noodles (recipe on box). I double the cheese called for and add some thawed, chopped spinach and mushrooms. Then I purchase those square tins to put it in.Put the lasagnas together (it makes three of the 8x8 squares) and pop 'em in the freezer. When time is short, I pull one out to thaw and we've got a great dinner.The noodles fit perfectly two-to-a-layer in the pans and without the need to boil the noodles, the lasagnas go together in a snap.

Chicken Nuggets and Silly Stuff
My daughter got to choose our complete meal tonight, shop for it, and help cook all of it. This is what she chose! We cut up chicken breasts, coated them with Italian bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, then fried them up in a little olive oil. Her veggie of choice was peas, so we made orzo pasta with peas, zucchini, a little lemon zest and juice from our lemon tree, parmesan cheese and a dash of olive oil. She named this side dish, “Silly Stuff.” For dessert we had strawberries!

Corned Beef and Cabbage of course!
Corned Beef Brisket, cabbage, red potatoes, carrots, and beer bread. I love it, once a year! I boil the brisket on the stove for at least 4-5 hours. I also make one in the crock pot, cooking for about 4-5 hours as well. I add the potatoes about 1 hour This year I’m making my friend Ryan’s hot mustard to go with it, it’s amazing!:
Hot Mustard
Ingredients:1/2 Cup Dry Mustard (or one 2 oz. can of Coleman's) 1 Cup Sugar 2/3 Cup Vinegar 3 Eggs Directions:In a sauce pan whisk together the dry ingredients until well blended. In a separate bowl mix the eggs and vinegar thoroughly. Add the liquid to the mustard mixture and whisk until completely blended (no lumps). Slowly cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat as soon as it starts to boil. Cook slowly so eggs do not overcook.Once thickened, transfer to a glass bowl to cool.Serve warm or cold.Keeps in refridgerator for about a month.

Chicken Noodle Casserole
The other night I was uninspired, nothing planned for dinner, so I tapped into my mid-western roots, threw together what was in my fridge and pantry and it turned out quite well! Cubed cooked chicken (from the night before) Fresh green beans Cooked egg noodles 1 can cream of chicken soup Grated cheddar cheese Mixed all together with some crushed Ritz crackers on top, baked at 375 for about 30 minutes. It was great – a rip off of Tuna Noodle Casserole!

Fresh Cod & Asparagus
This is maybe the 4th time I’ve ever cooked fish! I took fresh cod fillets and seasoned them with some lemon olive oil from a local olive orchard, salt & pepper. I simply seared it in a pan. We also had asparagus and some Harvest Grains from Trader Joes that I cooked with chicken stock. It was all delicious and I was amazed that the children ate all of their fish!

Greek Style Chicken & Flat Bread
This is a Summer time favorite, kabob style, but last night I did a Spring improvisation! Chicken breasts marinated in fresh lemon juice, olive oil, fresh minced garlic, salt & pepper, and dried oregano. I barbequed the chicken (about 5 min a side) and grilled some flat bread as well. When everything was done, I placed the flat bread on a platter first, then piled up the chicken off the grill right on top. All the juices ran into the bread and made it delicious! I also sautéed up some zucchini with lemon, olive oil and salt & pepper.