Back to Reality!!

Had a VERY relaxing time on the cruise! The weather was perfect the entire time. Jamie and I did some shopping in Progresso,  in Cozumel we did a swim with the dolphins excursion. It was SO cool!! Got to touch them and kiss them and ride on the belly of one.....truly memorable!! Mike did a fabulous job of holding down the fort! I sure missed them while I was gone but it was really a great trip. Kelly Minter was the speaker at the retreat and she really had a good lesson. She is such a good speaker, we really enjoyed hearing her!! Made it back on Saturday in time to see most of Blake's football game.

Had hamburgers Saturday night and steaks on Sunday.

Monday I made the stew meat and cabbage in the crockpot, the recipe is in an earlier post.

Tuesday was Blake's 12th birthday (man I'm getting old!!) and he requested fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy and 7 up Biscuits. I also made him an ice cream cake at his request!

Tonight we are having Stuffed Pesto Chicken. The recipe is in an earlier post but I am going to repost it just in case you don't feel like searching for it because you really should make it......your family will thank you!!

Stuffed Pesto Chicken

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 c feta cheese

1/4 c paprika (this is NOT a typo, yes 1/4 CUP)

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp thyme

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 c pesto

1-2 cloves garlic

2 1/2 T olive oil



Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With sharp knife cut a slit into chicken breasts not cutting all the way through, just creating a "pocket". Stuff with feta cheese and put into 9x13 baking dish. In small bowl combine: paprika, cumin, oregano, thyme and salt. Spread evenly over chicken. Spoon pesto over chicken. Sprinkle with garlic. Drizzle oil over the top and cover with aluminum foil (shiny side down). Put in oven for 35-45 minutes (chicken breast thickness vary greatly) until no longer pink inside.  I serve it with whole wheat pasta mixed with the leftover pesto.

Again.....Recipes from the week!!

Moroccan Chicken and Lentils

8 Cups Water
3 tsp. sea salt, divided
1 lb. dried lentils
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 Tbs. Cumin
2 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, sliced
2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Combine water, 1 tsp. sea salt and lentils in stock pot, bring to a boil, cover reduce heat to medioum and simmer until soft about 25 minutes. Drain well and rinse under cold water. Set aside in large bowl.

Combine 1/4 cup olive oil,vinegar, 2 tbs. cumin, 2 tbs. chili powder, garlic and 1 tsp. sea salt. Pour over lentils and toss gently.

In a large skillet heat 2 Tbs. olive oil add onions and saute until well cooked. Add chicken and saute 2 minutes. Add 1 tsp. sea salt, 1 Tbs. cumin, 2tsp.chili powder and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Saute until cooked through. Serve over lentils sprinkle with fresh cilantro.

Roast Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

1/2 cup cooked broccoli
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup fine oat bran
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup chopped apricots
2 tbs. water or chicken stock
2 pork tenderloins
1 tbs. peppercoarns, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. dried sage
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. dried thyme
sea salt

In medium bowl combine first 7 ingredients mix well and set aside. Butterfly the tenderloins and spoon stuffing into each. Fold over and tie tenderloin with kitchen twine. Sprinkle with dried herbs. Place in shallow dish and bake at 350 for 25-40 minutes. Remove from oven, cover with foil and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Thai Steak on Soba Noodles

1 1/2 lb. flank steak, flattened with a meat tenderizer
Juice of fresh lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
Dash of Tabasco
3 tsp. agave nectar
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 cucumber, chopped
1 8 oz. package soba noodles(I couldn't find these so I used whole wheat pasta)
6 cups fresh dark green salad greens(I used spinach)
1 cup sprouts
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
1 bunch green onions, chopped coarse

Combine lemon juice, olive oil, cilantro, garlic, Tabasco, agave nectar, salt and pepper,(reserve 1/3 )and pour rest over flank steak and marinade several hours or overnight. Mix remining marinade with cucumbers.

Place 1 tsp. olive oil in oven proof skillet, brown steak on both sides then bake at 400 for 10 minutes. Cook noodles. Thinly slice the steak on the diagonal. Serve over noodles, salad greens and cucumbers. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.

Next week Mike will be on his own with the kids!!! Pray for him! Jamie and I are leaving on Monday for a CRUISE and won't be back until Saturday!!!!!!!!!!! It's a woman's retreat at my church, we are going to Progresso and Cozumel. We are SO excited. We booked an excursion to swim with dolphins!! Can't wait!! Thanks to my AWESOME hubby for encouraging me to go and paying for it!! Ha! Ha!

Recipes from the Week

Turkey Loaf to Live By

2 Tbs. Olive Oil
2 Purple or Vidalia onions, finely chopped
1/2 c. finely chopped celery
Sea salt and black pepper
6 cups Baby Spinach Leaves
6 cups baby arugula
1 tsp. water
1 cup basil leaves
1/4 cup cilantro minced
4 egg whites + one yolk
1 Tbs. Tomato paste mixed with 1 Tbs. of water
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 1/2 lbs. lean ground turkey breast
3/4 cup oat bran (if you don't have, you can use oatmeal that has been finely ground in blender)
1/4 cup ground flax seeds

Heat olive oil in non stick pan and cook onions and celery until translucent. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to bowl to cool.  Add spinach and arugala to the pan with 1 tsp. water. Cook until wilted. Remove from heat and let cool. Add basil and cilantro to the greens and mix well.  In a large bowl add egg whites, yolk, tomato paste mixture and stock. Mix well. Add turkey, oat bran and flax seeds along with the onions and celery. Mix well with hands.  Spray a 10 inch loaf pan with cooking spray and place half the turkey mixture into the pan, spread greens mixture over and then put remaining turkey over the greens. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Let sit 15 minutes before cutting.

I served roasted sweet potatoes and fresh green beans with it.

Chinese Chicken and Rice
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into julienne strips
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups Broccoli florets
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts
1 cup penny-sliced carrots
1 cup green onions, sliced
Cooked Brown rice

Marinade
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. minced ginger root
2 tsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 clove garlic minced
Dash of hot pepper sauce

Combine marinade ingredients with chicken and refrigerate 1 hour.  Heat olive oil in pan and saute' garlic until fragrant add chicken and cook until no longer pink. Add chopped vegetables and cook until soft. Serve over brown rice.

Turkey Meatballs
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground turkey or chicken
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup oat bran or whole wheat breadcrumbs
2 Tbs. fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 Tbs. fresh basil, finely chopped
2 Tbs. fresh oregano, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. black pepper

Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl place egg and breadcrumbs, add spices and mix well. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Make meatballs and place on spray cookie sheet. Bake 20 minutes or until golden.

I made organic whole wheat pasta and organic sauce to go with them.

Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins

3 large bananas, mashed
2 cups frozen blueberries
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk or skim milk
1/4 cup Stevia in the raw
2 eggs
1 Tbs. baking powdewr
3 cups quick oats

 Preheat oven to 400. Mix bananas, blueberries, milk, stevia, eggs and baking powder. Once it is well mixed add the oats and mix again. Let it sit for about 5 minutes and spoon into a 12 cup muffin pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Fill each cup to the brim. Bake for 20-25 minutes.  These were even good warmed up all week!! My kids LOVED them.

One night we had grilled chicken breasts and the Fiesta Rice Salad.

Greek Chicken and Potatoes

Lazy Baked Greek Chicken

Ingredients:

2 T EVOO

1/2 medium onion, finely shopped

3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 10oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

salt and pepper

freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
3 T butter

1 c panko breadcrumbs

1 t dried oregano

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1/2 c crumbled feta cheese



Directions:

-Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

-Heat 1 T EVOO in small skillet over med heat. Add the onion and 2/3 of the garlic and cook until softened, 3-4 minutes.

-Transfer to a bowl to cool, then add the spinach and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

-Melt the butter in the same pan, turn off the heat and add the panko, oregano and remaining garlic; toss.

-Drizzle baking dish with remaining 1 T EVOO. Split each chicken breast across (but not all the way through) and open like a book. Stuff with the spinach and feta, letting the stuffing overflow at the edges.

-Place chicken pieces in the baking dish and top with the breadcrumbs. Bake until the juices run clear, about 20 minutes.

Greek Potatoes

Ingredients:

8 large potatoes, peeled, cut into large wedges (about 6-7 wedges per potato)

4 garlic cloves, minced (more garlic is a good thing, less garlic is a no-no for this recipe)

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup water

1 tablespoon oregano (get the Mediterranean, it's the best!)

1-1 1/2 lemon, juice of

sea salt

fresh coarse ground black pepper



Directions:

Preheat oven to 440°F A reviewer has suggested spraying the baking pan with Pam - that sounds like a great idea!

Put all the ingredients into a baking pan large enough to hold them.

Season generously with sea salt and black pepper.

Make sure your hands are very clean and put them in the pan and give everything a toss to distribute.

The garlic will drop into the water/oil solution but its flavour will permeate the potatoes, and this way, it won't burn.

Bake for 40 minutes.

When a nice golden-brown crust has formed on the potatoes, give them a stir to bring the white underside up, season lightly with a bit more sea salt and pepper and just a light sprinkling of oregano.

Add 1/2 cup more water if pan appears to be getting dry, and pop back into oven to brown other side of potatoes.

This will take about another 40 minutes. (Watch them, mine only took about 20 min. on the other side)

Do not be afraid of overcooking the potatoes- they will be delicious.

Spring Break Week

Had a fun Spring Break!!! We did something every day with friends!  Went to the movies, the park for a picnic and fishing, hung out and played, and went for LOTS of bike rides now that Emily can ride her bike, it was a really fun and relaxing week. On Friday Mike took the day off and we headed to Galveston, it was PERFECT weather!! The water was still too cold for Mike and I but the kids loved it! We sat on the beach and enjoyed people watching, the waves and soaked up some sun!!

I didn't cook anything new except Fiesta Rice Salad, so here's the recipe:

Fiesta Rice Salad


Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup fresh lime juice

* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 3 tablespoons roasted tomato salsa

* 1 teaspoon ground cumin

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 2 cups cold cooked brown rice

* 1 cup cooked fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels

* 2 15-oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed

* 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

* 1 cup small cherry tomatoes, halved

* 3 scallions, thinly sliced

* 1 avocado

* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro (I used 3 T)



Directions:

1. In a small bowl, stir together lime juice, oil, salsa, cumin and salt. In a large bowl, stir together rice and corn, breaking up any rice clumps.

2. Pour lime-juice mixture over rice mixture and stir well to coat. Add beans, bell pepper, tomatoes and scallions, and toss gently to combine.

3. Just before serving, pit, peel and dice avocado, and stir gently into salad. Sprinkle with cilantro, if desired, and serve.

The Weekend

Mike cooked burgers Friday night while I took Emily to the eye doctor. He had it ready when we got home. That was REALLY nice. On Saturday we visited Paw Paw at the hospital, ran some errands and had lunch at our favorite Meditteranean Restaurant. Emily also conquered her fear of riding her bike Saturday morning......so proud of her!!! I took Emily to Katelyn's party that evening and Mike took Blake and Chance to the shooting range and then brought them to us at the party so the kids had pizza at the party, Mike had leftovers.

Sunday, Emily and I went to the Rodeo to see Selena Gomez with Judi, Katelyn, Theresa and Virginia Kate. That was lots of fun! Blake stayed at Chance's with his grandparents so they fed him dinner. Mike left early that morning for North Dakota.

With him being gone this week I will be cooking easy things for the kids. YAY!!

Shrimp Scampi

Last week I left on Thursday to go to Camp Tejas with Sherry, Theresa, Sue and Laurie. We got back on Saturday night at around 9:30 so I got a break from cooking all weekend. We had a FABULOUS time!! Lots of laughs and heard a really good speaker at the retreat. I am so grateful to have friends that are living for Him! God REALLY spoke to me at the retreat, funny how sometimes it is so obvious!

Monday night we had Spicy Honey Chicken, Tuesday I made Shrimp Scampi, Wednesday was Brown Sugar Chicken, Thursday was Spaghetti Casserole and Friday was Hamburgers. Here's the Shrimp Scampi Recipe, all the other recipes are repeats and can be found in previous posts.


Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients


1 (16 oz) package angel hair pasta (I use Barilla Plus)

1/2 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, sliced (I used like 5 cloves)

1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/3 cup white wine

3/4 cup dry bread crumbs (I used Whole Wheat)

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1.Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add angel hair pasta and return pot to boil. Cook until al dente. Drain well.

2.In a large saucepan, melt butter, saute garlic until tender,add shrimp and cook until colored pink. Stir in white wine. The bread crumbs are used as thickening, so stir in a little at a time until desired thickness is reached.

3.Serve shrimp over angel hair pasta, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.