It's Movie Night...

...and it involves FOOD!! The Hornets Nest closed not long after we moved up here and we were so sad! I absolutely LOVED their chicken wraps and salads and funny enough never thought to make them myself. We would always say "man I wish the Hornets Nest was still open" so we attempted their chicken wraps and I have to say they were sooooo good! This is a meal that will make it into our weekly summer rotation. It was easy peasy with little cooking required. Greg grilled us up some chicken, we cut up some tomatoes, cheese, avocados, olives and scallions added a little bit of Spicey Ranch dressing, rolled it up and indulged!



The kids picked Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs and I admit I had more fun watching Colt and Skye than I did the movie. That Colt is one silly kid and alll 100% boy!

I was a little slow to grab the camera but this was right after Colt jumped on her back and smashed her face into her plate

keeping her modest if her back showed he would pull her shirt down

she gave up and he took control of her plate

oh you NUT!

Greg and I watched The first Work and the Glory. We have seen the second one and were a bit confused (not knowing it was the second one) so we had to wait a few years and start the series over.

It's Movie Night...

...but before we get to that we had Subway for dinner. This is a crowd-pleaser at our house. Greg ALWAYS gets a club with bacon and NOTHING else and the kids get the same thing. I of course don't like my sandwich so plain. I usually get the flat bread and usually chicken with all the veggies and southwest sauce. They always get the Italian Herbs and Cheese bread so that is what we attempted to make tonight. A couple of things...1) pretty sure my sandwich wasn't less than 410 calories like Subway's club is 2) I don't do airy bread mine is DENSE 3) Dad I am pretty sure I can teach you how to make yummy rolls. Greg said, as I was making his sandwich "I have a feeling you are going to ruin my desire for Subway" Dax said after eating his entire 6 incher (Greg and I could only eat half of ours) that he loved it and that it was just as good as Subway. Jacey just couldn't stop eating and she finished her entire sandwich. Skye ate half of hers like she usually eats Subway, everything separate. Colt LOVED the bread and tomatoes, didn't care for the bacon though.


Now on to the movie. We watched White Lion with the kids, Jacey has been waiting forever to see it. They all enjoyed it, even Colt who never watches anything on TV growled a bit at them. It was more of an educational movie but it had a cute little story behind it. Mostly you watched the little cub grow and learn and every once in a while you would see the camp fire and the storyteller.

Greg and I are going to watch Charlie St. Cloud both of us swear we did not add it to our queue, never heard of it, we will see how it goes. I will come back with an update later...

I'm back! Pleasantly surprised. After reading the synopsis I was really expecting some dark depressing movie, it was sweet (of course it was it had Zac Efron in it) and one I would recommend to you all.

Project 52...

...oh how we miss going to Chick-fil-a, probably more Greg than any of us. So that was our inspiration for tonight's dinner.
The recipe:
Chick−Fil−A Chicken Nuggets
2 Cups Chicken Breast (Boneless, Skinless, Cubed)
1 Cup Flour
1−1/2 Cups Cracker Meal (I didn't have any crackers so I just used bread crumbs)
1/4 teaspoon Paprika
2 Cups Water
2 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
2−1/4 teaspoons McCormick Season−all
Place cool water in bowl, add 1/4 teaspoon season−all and
dissolve bouillon cubes in mixture. Place cubed chicken in
water, mix, cover and place in refrigerator for 12 hours or
next day (I didn't think about dinner until this morning and the chicken was frozen so ours only sat for about 5 hours). When ready to cook nuggets, mix flour, cracker meal,
2 teaspoons season−all and paprika in bowl. Heat oil for deepfrying. Drain chicken. Coat nuggets in flour, cracker mixture and fry until golden. Chicken will be flavorful and juicy.

I didn't want to fry the chicken so I breaded it and then placed it on my cooling rack on a cookie sheet and baked it. Spray it with cooking spray and they were YUMMY! Greg even said they were close to Chick-fil-a standards and said that if I had fried them they would have been.

Then of course we couldn't have Chick-fil-a without waffle fries and for these I pulled them out of the freezer and baked them as directed.

Project 23...

...man does it seem like there have been a lot of food posts lately? Yeah, I thought so too. It is winter though and there isn't a lot going on as far as pictures and blogs go, but I will make more of an effort.

So remember Panda Express Orange Chicken Night? It was so yummy but very time consuming and not the healthiest meal, and since we are still on our New Year's better eating kick I thought I would see if I could make it easier and healthier.



DONE and DONE! Basically I took the orange sauce and marinated the chicken with a couple of (alterations) for a few hours.
Orange Sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons water
5 tablespoons sugar (reduced to 3)
5 tablespoons white vinegar (reduced to 3-since in most marinades you want your acid to balance your sugar)
1 orange, zest of
1 T ginger root (I used the powder out of the jar)
1 t garlic powder
crushed hot red chili pepper to taste (left this out so the kids would eat it and not have the "it's too spicey" excuse)
1 T garlic red wine (you can use rice vinegar, but I didn't have any)

I dumped chicken and sauce into a pan and cooked it on top of the stove, you could just as easily bake it.

Chow Mein:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 scallions, trimmed, and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick pieces
2 cups sliced napa cabbage
1/4 cup sliced celery (yes I add this too)
1/2 cup bean sprouts
saute until the cabbage is wilted and the veggies begin to soften then add
1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar (left this out)
1/4 cup sesame garlic sauce (found by the soy sauce)
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 lb vermicelli, cooked (I used whole grain pasta and know one would ever have known-the sauce is brown-ish anyways)

For some added crunch and yumminess I sprinkled the top with roasted almonds. Very very easy, and mighty tasty too!

Project 24...

...we might get through this project yet. Tonight's main dish was kept sweet and simple to try the cheese sticks (which we will be the highlight of another blog another day). We made Boston Market's Chicken and in reality this is more of a roasted chicken recipe but since I don't have a roaster and because I don't buy chicken with the skin on I of course altered the recipe, but it was yummy non the less. Dax's was gone before I even sat down with mine.
Sweet and Simple:
3 TBS honey
3 TBS lime juice
1 tsp paprika
1/8 cup canola oil
whisk it all together

To get better flavor in your chicken brown it on the stove top on both sides and then bake it with the glaze (basting throughout) until the chicken is fully cooked.


Easy-Peasy! More on the Cheese Sticks later!

Project 26...

...so last week Skye was so mad that we weren't having pizza so we thought we better have it this week, but in addition to our usual pepperoni tomato and basil pizza we added Pizza Huts dessert pizza. I cheated and had some, but I have been saving up for it so there is no guilt!

So here is the recipe (with my alterations)

Pizza Hut Dessert Pizza
Pizza Crust: (I used my regular pizza dough recipe-this is only enough for the dessert so if you want pizza for dinner you will have to double this-or use my recipe)
1 cup warm (105F) water
2 cups flour
1−1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast

Fruit Filling: (we used 1/2 of a can of raspberry pie filling)
1 − 21 oz. can pie filling (cherry, blueberry, or apple)

Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup firm butter or margarine (this sounds like a TON of butter to me and not very crumbly so we used 4T instead so 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Vanilla Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoon Milk
1 tablespoon Melted margarine or butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

If you use their recipe this is how you make their dough (12 hours?! are you kidding me? I started mine at 4:20 and we were eating the dessert at 6:00 after we ate the rest of our dinner)
Combine yeast and warm water and let proof for 3 minutes. Add to other crust ingredients in a large bowl and knead for 10 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for about 12 hours. Preheat oven to 500F. Roll the dough on a floured surface until it is about the diameter for your 16 inch pizza pan. Place in pan and form the dough to the edge. Brush with vegetable oil and prick with fork. Prebake for 3 minutes. Remove from the oven and spread with pie filling. Mix crumb topping ingredients with a fork or pastry blender. Spoon over pie filling. Return pizza to the oven and continue to bake for 10−15 minutes or until crust is light golden brown. Remove and drizzle with vanilla glaze.

I baked my dough for about 3 min and then spread the raspberries and the crumble top. The crumble top spread a bit and some of mine fell off the edge so watch it and maybe put something under it to catch any drips.
I never thought I would have to bribe my kids to eat their dessert, but I certainly did not want the whole thing for just Greg and I, although it was yummy enough we would have had no problem. Jacey and Dax were quick to turn their noses up to it, but after seeing Skye and Colt LOVE it and a little forcing (we paused the movie and vowed to not play it until they each had a bite) they tried it and no surprise they both liked it. Dax wouldn't admit it at first, but then he got his grin on his face and admitted it was good!

Project 27...

...although I am thinking I might have to go through this series and re-name it all. I had a wonderful, thoughtful friend send me a cookbook with probably about 450 recipes from a bunch of different restaurants and for candies. I am so excited to use it! I had Greg go through it last night and pick tonight's meal. It was probably one of the more involved dishes I have made. Prep time was probably an hour and cook time was also about an hour. So here I give you...(with minor alterations from me)

Olive Garden Lasagna

Alfredo Sauce:
1/2 lb. sweet or salted butter (yeah, I only used 1/2 cup)
12 oz. heavy cream (I used 1 1/2 cup 1% milk and 2 oz cream cheese)
Fresh ground white pepper (I skipped this but added 1 T grated garlic)
1 1/2 cups fresh Parmesan, grated (I used 3 oz not sure how much it was grated)
I have learned that patience is the key to using milk and not scorching your white sauces. So over Med heat melt your butter when it is mostly melted add in your cream cheese. When both are mostly melted slowly add in your milk 1/4 cup at a time stirring in as you go. Once is it nice and smooth and hot (not boiling) slowly add in your cheese a little at a time melting it completely before adding more. Stir until smooth. Set this aside to cool.

Cook pasta until before it is al dente (it will finish cooking in the baking step). If you add 1 TBS oil to your water it will keep them from sticking together. Once they are done (but not really done) drain them and then put them into cold water until you are ready to use them.

Ricotta Cheese Mix:
1 pint Ricotta cheese
2 oz. Romano, grated (WM didn't have any so we left it out)
3 oz. Mozzarella, shredded
2 tbls. green onions, sliced (I used 3 TBS fresh chives)
2 teas. fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teas. salt
1/8 teas. black pepper
1/4 teas. dried basil (I used 1 TBS fresh)
1 1/2 cups Alfredo sauce, cooled
Mixed this all together in a bowl and set aside

Vegetable Mix:
1 bunch of broccoli florets
2 cups carrots
1 small package of chopped fresh mushrooms
1 red bell peppers
2 cups zucchini
I ran all of this except the mushrooms through the food processor with the wheel on to make thin slices. Set aside.

Grate 4 oz of mozzarella cheese

ASSEMBLY: Coat the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking dish with vegetable spray. Lay out cooked lasagna strips (about 4) to cover entire bottom. Spread 1/2-1 c of the Ricotta mix evenly over the strips. Top with veggie mix and spread out evenly. Lay out 1/3 of the mozzarella to cover the veggie layer. Repeat this layering. End with lasagna strips ricotta and mozzarella.

COOKING: Spray a sheet of foil with vegetable spray and cover the baking dish tightly with the foil, sprayed side down. Bake in a preheated 375F oven for about
an hour or until the internal temp is 165F. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for a few minutes, covered, before cutting and serving. Immediately prior to serving, heat the reserved portion of Alfredo Sauce and ladle the hot sauce over each slice of lasagna as it is served.

This made a full 9x13 lasagna and then I cut up the rest of the noodles and added all the left overs into a 9x9 pan and in the freezer for another day.

So Greg said "All I can say is WOW!" and I agree this was worth the effort. The carrots were very slightly firm so I am glad I slivered them with the food processor. All the flavors blended so well and that sauce...WOW! I am glad I put the garlic in.



So funny about the zucchini I have picked 3 all season and then it froze slightly and I guess the plant decided that it better get with the program. I picked 3 zucchini today and it has been freezing all week long, in fact the leaves are all completely black. Silly plant! Good thing I still have a freezer full from last years crop.

So this dinner was not very much on the figure friendly side of meals, but with the alterations I made here is the comparison...
The Olive Garden:
1170 calories 68 grams of fat 39 saturated 2510 grams of sodium 90 carbs and 11 grams of fiber. Keep in mind this would probably be 2-3 servings, but still that is almost 1/2 of my daily calories in one dish...wow!

So this is what it looks like if you make it the way I did and figure that a 9x13 provides 12 servings

Still not great, but oh so much better and honestly it was YUMMY!

Project 28...

...wow I am WAY behind on this little project, better see what we can do about that.

Growing up grilled cheese sandwiches were a staple in our house...they were easy grab and go breakfasts and secretly my favorite ones! My dad can make a MEAN grilled cheese (okay really it was broiled and not grilled, but we still called them grilled). The other day I was craving some, but since it was movie night I felt the need to umph them up a bit so I could add them to my Project 52 list and so I give you my glorified grilled cheese.

Homemade bread (leftover from the day before-but come on we know restaurants do that too)
Fresh mozzarella cheese
Pesto-today we will call it the grab bag pesto-basically I snipped off here and there from my herbs then blended it up with pine nuts, parm, and a little evoo. Have to say it was YUMMY!
Garden fresh tomatoes...need I say more!
and not that they needed more flavor, but because I love it so we dipped in balsamic vinegar and evoo.

I could have eaten a few dozen of these little delights!

The Final Day...

...summer vacation officially ended yesterday I guess since there will still be weekends, but since we couldn't decide which day to celebrate we did both.

We had our weekly movie night last night with sliders (always want to try these when I go to a restaurant) and Jack and the Beanstalk which the kids liked and Greg REALLY liked. It was actually a very fun show with lots of movie easter eggs (did you know that is what they call it when a show uses parts of other shows in their movies-Belle's appearance in The Hunchback of Notre Dame as one example) the fun part was that the easter eggs were not specific to a children's movie including some from Back to the Future (I think this might be why Greg liked it so much). As for the Sliders they were a HUGE hit...why is it that things mini-sized are better (with the exception to the mini oreos) is it because you know you can have more than one and not get in trouble?! Even Dax ate one (and he chose to have another one for lunch today) WEIRD! Remember Jacey's rave about the cheeseburgers a couple of weeks I guess it encouraged Dax to try one. Honestly all I did for these was use my usual hamburger and roll recipe and just made them mini sized. Then I sliced up a couple of my BIG cherry tomatoes from my garden (the romas were just a tad to big and the cherries just not quite big enough). Of course every one but me ate them plain.



Today we enjoyed being at home for once this summer and did laundry, played the computer together and just did what ever we wanted. Sadly it was a tad to chilly for a last hurrah at the pool (and we will be gone again next weekend when it closes for the summer) it has been a WONDERFUL summer and it went by WAY TOO FAST, but we are so ready for a new school year...bring it on!

Project 29...

but before we start a pic of Skye powdering her cheeks :)


...before we headed home from St. George we stopped at Red Robin for lunch and after eating mine I knew I was going to have to make it myself. I LOVED IT, although my friend had the same thing and she didn't love it so much. It was their Bruschetta Chicken Sandwich "A perfectly grilled chicken breast with freshly prepared bruschetta salsa, pesto aioli, Provolone cheese, shredded Romaine lettuce and balsamic cream on rustic ciabatta bread."

So let's see I did perfectly grill the butterflied chicken breasts seasoned lightly with Lowry's Season Salt. Cut up some tomatoes and onions for a fresh salsa (that is all their bruschetts salsa was). It was my first time making pesto and I am proud to say I used my own herbs for it and it was YUMMY! The thing with pesto is this...I didn't like it the first time I tried it, tried it again and liked it much better and like it more the more I have it. It is one of those acquired foods so give it a try and then maybe even a second try. Here is how I made it, and if you want to tone it down a little add in a TBS of sour cream.
1.5 cups basil leaves
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (toast them in a dry pan over med-med low heat and keep an eye on them once they start they go fast)
1/2 cup fresh grated parm
2 garlic cloves minced
Pulse the above in a food processor until finely chopped and then slowly drizzle (while the processor is running) 1/4-1/2 cup EVOO you want just enough to mix well with good consistency. Let it chill an hour or so.

I used fresh mozzarella cheese and didn't have the lettuce, made the ciabatta bread
1 cup warm water
1 TBS sugar
1 1/2 tsp yeast (proofed)
2 1/2 cups flour and 1 tsp salt
mix it up knead it, let it rise until double, I placed mine in an 8x8 pan and then cut it in half to make 2 HUGE sandwiches enough to feel probably 4 people.

Once everything was made I stacked my sandwich and put it in the oven to melt the cheese. I have to say it was pretty dang good!



For movie night we watched Second Chances and Jacey LOVED it as I was sure she would. It is about a girl and a horse and their special connection. It was a cute show.

Project 30...

...I said I was going to branch out of Italian resturants, but I just can't seem to come up with anything. I will keep thinking...until then we have tonights dish Bacon Mushroom Gorgonzola and here is how we made it:

Cook pasta al dente
1/2 package of bacon cubed and cooked, drained, removed and set aside
2 cups mushrooms cooked in the same pan with a little chicken stock added as the pan dried up. Remove and add to the bacon
Sauce:
1 cup chicken stock to deglaze the pan
1 cup milk (cream if you want more richness/calories)
3 garlic cloves grated
1 TBS parsley
6 oz gorgonzola cheese
simmer until it thickens up and the cheese melts

Add the pasta, mushrooms and bacon into the sauce and wilt in 2 cups fresh spinach. Top with fresh parsley...yum!

Project 31...

...I was looking through past posts for this project and realized I have done a TON of Italian meals. When I told Greg I needed inspiration for a different genre he said, but I thought this was supposed to be restaurants we like to go to. And that is true so we went back to The Olive Garden for their Chicken Vino Bianco except we can't really call it Vino since we substituted chicken stock for the wine.

So here is how I made it...

Pasta
1 tablespoons olive oil
8 chicken tenders
salt and pepper
1/2 cup chopped red onion
3 LARGE cloves garlic grated
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 heaping TBS flour
2 TBS butter
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup tomatoes
1/2 cup milk
2 TBS heaping sour cream (I use low fat)
2 TBS chopped fresh parsley
2 TBS chopped fresh basil

Cook pasta al dente (so not quite all the way done)
Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and brown both sides in a large (stainless steel is my recommendation) skillet. Remove and set aside. De glaze the pan with a little chicken stock. When most of the chicken stock has evaporated out add in the onion and garlic (to keep this meal lower in fat add in tiny amounts of chicken stock when the pan starts to get dry) after a couple of min. add in the mushrooms and chicken stock as needed. Add in the butter and sprinkle the flour into the pan. Cook the flour for a few min. and then add in the rest of the chicken stock and milk. Put the chicken back into the pan and simmer until the sauce thickens add in the tomatoes and simmer for about 3 more min. Turn the heat off and add in parsley and basil and sour cream letting it all melt together. Pour over pasta and top with a little reserved herbs and fresh parm. YUMMY!!



So do you all know why you want to stop cooking your pasta and drain it right before it is fully cooked? It is because when you pour the hot sauce on top the al dente (which means to the bite) pasta absorbs it and finishes cooking it. If you poured the sauce on noodles that were all the way done it would not soak it up as well and it would end up over cooked and mushy.

Are you afraid to by the fresh parm because it is more expensive? Well stop it...I fought this with Greg for a while and I am big enough to admit I was wrong. The powdered stuff is less flavorful so you end up using more of it, while the fresh stuff you don't need near as much. Greg and I will buy a block about every 6-8 weeks and the flavor is so enhanced that you don't have to use as much. Try it! Oh and if you are afraid to buy it because you don't use it very often...don't worry it lasts FOREVER and actually gets better flavored.

Project 32...

...we Nielson's are always looking for a reason to celebrate with new food so since it was Cinco De Mayo we went Mexican tonight.




Chicken:
3 large chicken breasts in the crock pot with 2 cups of salsa (I used my frozen Chili's recipe) and one packet of taco seasoning. Cooked on high for 2 hours (until chicken is done) then I shredded it up and cooked it on low until we were ready to eat.

Avocado Mango Salsa:
dice up
2 avocados
2 mangos
1/2 red onion
4 large tomatoes
1/2-1 jalapeno
mix together and add
1 tsp garlic powder
salt to taste
cilantro to taste

To make my bowl healthier I sprayed a metal bowl with cooking spray and put the fresh tortilla over it and baked it at 350 until it was done.

In my bowl I added salad, black beans, kidney beans, cheddar cheese, chicken, salsa and a dollop of sour cream. Greg said we should add this to our regular rotation, and I have to agree that it was very yummy and easy to make too. Not too mention HEALTHY! Depending on your choice of tortillas you are looking at about 200 calories for the filling and it is filling!

I would recommend you all trying this!

Project 33...

...gotta get back in the swing of things if I am going to finish this project by the one year mark. Tonight's dish started last Fall and after a few tweaks here and there I think we have it perfect and just to tell you how perfect, Dax asked for seconds of the "saucy noodles" when there was a dish of plain noodles in the sink. Our deal is that he has to eat the "saucy noodles" I dish up for him before he can have the plain ones. Dax is getting so good at this "I will try everything" deal we have going. As a mom it is always good to see your dedication and consistency pay off (of course Skye is becoming more picky these days). Anyways back to this meal...have you ever eaten something and it just hit the spot and made you wish you could climb inside the dish and hang out-the true comfort food-well that is what this sauce does. Hits the spot perfectly! Greg says he would gladly pay $20 for a dish of it (maybe I should start charging!). Not only is it super yummy it is SO EASY I am positive ANYONE could pull it off and impress whoever they were serving.

So here is how it is done:
8-10 roma tomatoes and cut in half
1/2 onion chunked (the chunks don't need to be uniform or very small)
4-6 garlic cloves peeled no need to chop (mine were HUGE so add more if you have the small ones)
1 cup unchopped FRESH basil leaves
1 large (or 2 small) red pepper chopped into strips
3 TBS olive oil
and salt
put everything into an 8x8 or 9x13 pan set your oven to 350 and let them hang out in the oven for about 30 min. stir them once and let them cook for another 20 min. Put everything into a blender (including all the liquid that pools in the bottom of the pan) and blend until smooth. Careful when blending the hot food use a towel on top to avoid burning your hand with the steam and blowing the top off from the pressure.
this is what it looks like before the blender...


We serve this with tortellini. It makes about 3 cups and we usually only need 1.5 cups for our 8 servings of tort. I use the left overs for wraps, pizza, sandwiches, chicken...it is so good I have even considered eating it like a soup. We have also made it without the red peppers for those of you that think "I don't like peppers" while it was still good I could barely get Dax to eat it and it just didn't have the same "hit the spot feel"

Official Peanut Butter Lovers Day...

...did you know that was today? Who comes up with these days and how do they decipher which foods get their own day? That is what I want to know. Peanut butter and I have a love/hate relationship (mostly love now, but it hasn't always been that way). Back in the day of living with my parents. My dad had at least one PB&J sandwich a day and I can honestly say it was his knifes developed the hate half of my relationship with PB. The smell of PB and dish soap just don't mix well and I developed a dislike for anything PB UNTIL I was pregnant with Dax and started to crave PB. I would spread this yumminess on everything. Some of my favorites to this day are PB and grapes, PB and bananas, PB and apples, PB on bread with chocolate syrup, PB on bread with raspberry jam.

Today we celebrated with Thai Peanut Butter Noodles and Chicken and here is how we made it:
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp ginger
4 T soy sauce
4 T peanut butter
1 T garlic powder
2 T minced onion
1/2 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup chop celery
(I didn't have any fresh onion or garlic and so I used the bottled kind)
8 ounces spaghetti noodles
3 chicken breasts butterflied
(I wish I had some peanuts or toasted almonds to add to the top, but I forgot them)

Cook your pasta as directed
Salt and pepper both sides of your chicken and seer in a hot pan. Remove from the pan and set aside. In the pan saute carrots, celery, onions, garlic, ginger until tender. Add in the chicken broth, peanut butter and soy sauce. Add the chicken into the sauce and finish cooking. Pour over noodles...and enjoy!

I don't think I have ever had Thai food before, but YUMMY! I am counting this as part of my Project 52 because I could see this dish as a choice at a restaurant.



this served 6 and here are the stats...not too bad!

Project 34...

...getting back into it I find it a little more challenging to create meals in under 30 min. as I usually get interrupted at least once. This one was pretty easy and VERY tasty.

We are calling it "Fettuccini Di Pollo Alla Mercoledi" and it is from restaurant Nielson...meaning it is not from a specific restaurant, but it a meal that I could see ordering in one. So here is how we made it:

What you need:
3 chicken breasts
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes packed in oil (finely chopped)
1 TBS oil from tomatoes
1 TBS butter
3 cloves of garlic
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
8 oz pasta
2 TBS fresh basil

Cook pasta.
Butterfly 3 chicken breasts and pound them to 1/4 inch thickness salt and pepper both sides and in a large skillet with 1 TBS oil cook the chicken. When the chicken is done remove from the pan and set aside. In the skillet add butter, garlic, and sun dried tomatoes. Saute for a min. and then add the chicken broth. De glaze the pan and slowly add in the milk. Whisk together until the sauce has reduced and coats the back of a spoon. Cut the chicken and add it back into the pan. Toss with pasta and add basil right before serving.



It was very yummy! and not too bad in the numbers area either...

Project 35...

...wow I realize that again we are going Italian...what can I say we are part Italian. I will make more of an effort to branch out next time. Tonight we went to The Olive Garden for what I can't believe we haven't done before, because it truly is one of my favorite dishes-thanks to one of my FB friends for the reminder this one is for you!

Steak Gorgonzola-Alfredo:
grilled beef medallions drizzled with balsamic glaze, served over fettuccine tossed with spinach and gorgonzola-alfredo sauce.
Here is how I made it all:

The Steak with Balsamic Glaze:
2 lbs top sirloin steak
1 cup low fat Italian Dressing
1 T fresh rosemary
1 T lemon juice
let it marinade in the fridge for at least one hour, pull it out 30 min. before cooking to bring to close to room temperature. Cook to your liking. For the glaze I cook my meat in a stainless steal pan (or cast iron) and then deglaze the pan with a splash of balsamic vinegar and then reduce until shinny.

The Gorgonzola-Alfredo:
1/4 cup butter
4 oz fat free cream cheese
2 cups 1% milk
3 oz fresh parm cheese
2 tsp garlic
3 T gorgonzola cheese
melt the butter then add the cream cheese and whisk until smooth (it looks separated until the cheese is completely melted and then all of a sudden it goes creamy) slowly stir in the milk and garlic. Add the cheeses melting a little at a time.

The rest:
cook 1 lb fettuccine pasta until al dente (to the bite-not mushy) drain the pasta and add it back to the pan and pour sauce over the top. Add in 4 cups wilted (slightly cooked) spinach and 1/2 cup green onions. Serve hot with crumbled gorgonzola, a few bits of sun dried tomatoes and fresh basil on top. Oh and don't forget your steak and glaze.

Served with breadsticks of course this was a very yummy meal and I have to say just about as good as the real thing.

now if you study this picture and wonder what is missing I did the same thing as I was taking the picture and then after digging in I realized I had left the spinach in the microwave...so use your imagination.

Here are the nutritional facts for the way I made it; this served 8 adults (yay for leftovers!)

now compare that to The Olive Garden dish with 1310 calories, 73 grams of fat, 2190 mg sodium, 82 grams of carbs and 9 grams of fiber (we decided that they must use fiber infused pasta (or a fiber supplement) because mine didn't have near this much...might have to find the better pasta next time) of course their portions are HUGE but wow amazing how much you can cut out by using lower fat substitutes. When I would get this I would usually take home at least half of it for the next day lunch and although it was very yummy I was always a little disappointed with the puddle of fat that would sit in the bottom of the dish...not going to get that with my dish that is for sure!

Project 36...

...thought I better get a couple of these in before the baby comes so watch for another one tomorrow. So this is from no particular restaurant and actually I don't know that I have ever had one at a restaurant, but it turned out good enough to share the recipe.

Fish Tacos
in a bowl mix the following together:
2 T olive oil
1 T white vinegar
1 T lime juice
2 cloves garlic grated/minced
1 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1 t seafood seasoning (you could probably leave this out but since I had some I added it)
1 lb of tilapia fillets
you can let this marinate for hours if you want and then when you are ready to cook just dump all of it in a pan and cook it up.

I made a chipotle dressing for spice it up just a bit more:
1 cup sour cream
1-2 T chipolte sauce (to your taste and spice desire)
1 T lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

prepare some tortillas and enjoy with cheese, tomatoes, onions and cilantro or your favorite taco toppings.

This dish was very easy and from start to finish we were done in about 20 min. and it made 5 tacos.



Here is the nutritional info for 1 taco with 1 T dressing (don't let that fat scare you...this is the heart healthy fat with lots of omega 3)

Project 37...

...we were watching TV the other night and saw a commercial for Papa Murphy's "Chicken Bacon Artichoke deLIGHT" and was so tempted to send Greg all the way to Twin to get some (2 hour commute to the closest joint) but decided instead to make it myself. Like last time I could not find a recipe so I made one up from the description and this is how I made it...

The cracker thin crust:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 package of fast acting yeast
1 T sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 T olive oil
1 cup warm/hot water
mix everything in this order and knead it for 10 min. it should get smooth and tough. Let it rest 20 min. and then divide the dough in half. Spread thin on 2 12 inch pizza pans. Cook at 350 for 15 min. Doing this pre-cook will help it not get soggy from the toppings so don't skip it unless you want soft dough.

The garlic cream sauce:
2 T butter
2 T flour
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 cup milk (I use 1% but you can use what ever you have all the way up to cream)
2-3 garlic cloves grated (at the very least 1 T)
melt the butter and whisk in the flour cook until smooth then whisk in the chicken stock, milk and garlic. Bring to a boil and thicken. Stir in 1/2 T dried parsley

The toppings:
4 bacon slices
1 cup grilled chicken breasts (use left overs or about 1 chicken breast)
1/2 cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts
2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup fresh mozzarella (or you can use the other kind, but there is so much flavor you really don't need much)
cook the bacon and drain the fat. Add the chicken, spinach and artichoke hearts to the pan and wilt down the spinach.

Spread the sauce and add the toppings and then cook at 350 for about 15-20 min. just until everything is hot and bubbly! I made just a plain cheese one for the kids and Dax was not a huge fan, but that is just Dax.

Yeah so I am not sure if this is comparable to the real thing, but I can say that my mouth was HAPPY!

So here is what it will set you back...this is for 1/8 of the pizza I separated them so you could adjust your toppings as you wanted. Next time I would probably dare leave the cheese off completely and maybe use a turkey bacon and make it even healthier...but as is not too bad eh?!

ps) not sure if the new do on the blog helps or not...but that is all I can sit for tonight so let me know

Project 38...

...so we went back to Romano Macaroni Grill tonight for their Pollo Limone Rustica "Tender chicken with imported penne pasta in a lemon-basil cream sauce with fresh spinach, roasted red peppers, topped with lemon zest and baked until golden" but to be honest other than this description I was on my own as I could not find a recipe for it. That said I don't know if it tastes like theirs, but I think Greg and I both agree that this was one of our favorites so far.

Here is what you need and how I made it:

1 cup roasted red pepper-you can buy this, but it is MUCH cheaper and easy to do on your own. I bought 2 large red peppers for $1 and to roast them all you do is place the entire thing on a foil lined baking sheet and put it under the broiler turning and checking often until all the skin is blackened. Pull them out and make sure you don't have any active sparks/char (we don't want any fires) and place them in a paper bag closing it up and let them cool. Once cool the skin should come right off and the stem and seed should be removed easily. Chop it up.

3 chicken breasts grilled-I froze my chicken for about 45 min before I was ready to use it and then cut it into medallions for faster nicer looking grilled chicken.

17 oz penne pasta-this is the one that looks like a sharpened pencil on both ends.

2 cups wilted spinach-this is different than cooked you want it just heated but still holding it's shape.

3 TBS fresh basil-divided into 2 T and 1 T

1/4 cup fresh grated parm cheese-divided in half

While your pasta is cooking make your lemon basil cream sauce.
2 T butter
3 cloves fresh garlic (about 1 TBS minced/grated)
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup milk (I used 1%)-you could use half and half or cream for the FULL FAT version
zest of one lemon
1/4-1/3 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 T cornstarch

melt your butter and saute your garlic for just a min. or two. Add in your chicken stock and bring to a boil, slowly add in your milk and bring back up to a boil. Add your cornstarch to your lemon juice and mix well. Once your sauce it boiling add your lemon juice and stir constantly until it thickens.

Once your sauce is done add everything into a casserole dish placing your chicken on top, sprinkle it with parm cheese and 2 TBS fresh basil and put it in a 350* oven for about 10 min. until the cheese melts. Once it is done serve with reserved cheese and basil on top.



and since I really should be more health conscious and get in the mode to start loosing this baby weight I thought I would also share the nutrition info for those of you that are interested...
I calculated this for 6 servings-if you order this at the resturant you will get 1200 calories, 38 grams of fat, 94 g carbs and 1870 mg of sodium (of course their portions is also twice as big as it should be)...so there is another bonus for cooking it at home. OH AND DID I MENTION THAT THIS WAS YUMMY, AND YOU ALL MUST TRY IT!


But then since I am still pregnant and because it is movie night I thought I would also share our favorite treat...M&M's and popcorn...mmmmm!


for the more adult version (which I would never dare feed the kids replace the M&M's with milk chocolate chips...it melts and makes the most disgustingly yummy gooey mess your mouth will thank you!