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Chicken Stirfry Lettuce Wraps

Well April is almost done and so is my fourth cookbook, Great Food Fast. I have nothing but praise for this cookbook. I loved the full-color photos of EVERY recipe. I love the organization (by season!) and I loved the food. I actually tried EIGHT recipes from this (yay, made it!) book.

and for the finale … Chicken Stirfry Lettuce Wraps. Continue reading “Chicken Stirfry Lettuce Wraps”

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Title Unknown

Last week just about kicked my butt. Work. Kids. Work. Outside-of-work commitments. I could barely drag myself to bed within a few hours of bedtime, let alone write anything coherent.

Thursday night we had the parent info night for Kindergarten (!!) for Tabby. I’m still reeling from the fact that my baby’s headed to Kinder. But I was hugely impressed by our local elementary and I can say with confidence that whichever teacher she gets (2 of the 3 teach all-day Kinder) we’re very lucky. They are both great and exude enthusiasm for Kindergarten. Their classrooms are full of happy and fun and I can totally picture her there.

Friday we had checkups for the kids. Things went just fine except for the four shots Tabby had to get. It didn’t go well. There was much screaming and I had to help the nurse hold her down. I was super glad they sent in the large male nurse. We needed the extra muscles. Her legs hurt through yesterday. There was much whining. I felt terrible for her. Thank goodness for Tylenol.

Saturday we went to the Yves St Laurent exhibit at the Denver Art Museum. Well Tabby and I went. Matt bravely took Ben to see Chipwrecked and reports that it will soon be an approved method for torture. I’m not much into fashion, per se, but I really enjoyed the YSL exhibit and so did Tabby. She was GLUED to the audio program throughout and had such opinions and observations on the whole deal. The exhibit is only in Paris, Madrid and DENVER. There’s a whole story behind how it wound up in Denver (basically, we asked and agreed to do whatever they wanted). It was a great day and I loved hanging with my little (big) girl.

I am still plugging away at this month’s cookbook. We made Indian Spiced Chicken Burgers and Pan Fried Shrimp with Green Curry Cashew Sauce, except it was Green Curry Peanut Sauce because I can’t have cashews unless I want to spend the night at the ER in anaphylactic shock. The chicken burgers were great in theory and smelled good, but ultimately kinda tasteless. The kids ate them however because they had yogurt all over them. So at least that worked.

The shrimp sauce was really good and Ben had an awesome time making it, but the whole thing just didn’t come together. I blame it on the shrimp. We have a real hard time for some reason getting good fresh shrimp here. I don’t remember having issues years back, but maybe I didn’t know any better? Not sure. At any rate, it just didn’t work out.

But tonight we made the awesome Jerk Chicken and I think our bad streak of recipes is over.

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Chicken Caesar Salad

I debated even posting this recipe because we strayed so far from the original in Great Food Fast that it was really more of an inspiration than a recipe we followed. The original recipe called for making your own caesar dressing. I’m all for that, but we ended up making these for lunch and somehow homemade caesar is less appealing after hanging out in the breakroom fridge for a while, so I grabbed some stuff we had in the fridge and used that instead. I also try not to keep mayo (an ingredient in the dressing) in the house. It’s an ethical thing seeing as I hate mayo. But in the end, this is a really tasty and darn quick meal and I wanted to share it because it’s something that I love but never think about making. Maybe now you’ll think to make it too.

Chicken Caesar Salad

  • 4 oz Italian or French bread cut into 3/4 inch cubes (about 4 cups)
  • 3 T olive oil
  • coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 18 – 20 oz romaine hearts
  • caesar dressing (either from a bottle or scratch – I’ll add that below)

Heat oven to 375. Place bread on a rimmed cookie sheet and drizzle with 2 T olive oil and season with S&P. Toss to coat. Bake, tossing now and then until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat remaining tablespoon of oil over high heat in a skillet. Throw in your chicken and season with S&P as desired. Cook until a bit browned on the sides, stirring now and again with a spatula, about 3-4 minutes in all. Set aside.

Prep the romaine by slicing crosswise in 1-inch ribbons. Wash and dry (spin cycle). Toss with croutons, chicken and dressing. Enjoy!

If you want to make the dressing from scratch, Great Food Fast does it this way: put 1/4 C fresh lemon juice, 1/4 C reduced fat mayo, 1/4 C grated parm, 2 anchovy fillets and 1 small garlic clove in your blender and blend until smooth. Honestly, it sounds great, even with that evil mayo and I would love to try it next time.

This was also a great way to use up the extra bread left over from making the kids Berry French Toast this weekend. I already had the oven on from making the sugar cookies (they were the base of the fruit pizzas) and so I finished up the french toast and tossed in the croutons then stored them in an airtight container until we needed them. Just remembering to do little things like that makes putting together dinner (or lunch for the next day) so much easier!

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Ben is Three

I want to know who the heck swooped in while I wasn’t looking and swapped that teeny tiny little baby for this big boy. *sigh*

The bad news? He’s just not so little anymore. The good news? He’s awesome. So let’s focus on that. I’m madly in love with that little boy. He’s funny and cute and smart and sassy and so very sweet. I don’t think in his three years he’s ever refused me a kiss and a hug. He loves snuggles more than almost anything. Even Buzz.

I could write a long rambling post, but Ben isn’t the kind of kid for long rambles.

What he loves: BUZZ! and blocks and tea parties and David Shannon’s books. Playing with other kids, his people. Trains, cars, anything that goes.

What he says: “It’s not my fault!” and “Just five more minutes!” and “No! I not talking to you. I talking to [whoever I think will do what I want]!” and “Aww Mama, don’t cry!” (if I give him a pouty look when he’s being ornery).

What he eats: loves fruit and most carbs … meat is kind of secondary but well received. Defaults to his favorites as chicken fingers and hot dogs but eats most of what the rest of the family eats.

What he does: he loves to play with other kids, be outside, sing with Tabby (loudly), snuggle, RUN

What he has accomplished recently: he is ALMOST potty trained (after such a rocky start I’m immensely relieved), he is also getting pretty good and quick about picking up (at least when it suits him), can buckle his own car seat (we check, tighten) and get the mail from the mailbox

What he’s looking forward to: camping, summer camp at Tabby’s preschool, big boy school in the fall

He is such a joy to have in our family. Never a day goes by that he doesn’t make me smile. He has a great sense of humor and is at his core a kind little guy. We all enjoy him so much it’s hard to miss him being little and we’re incredibly lucky to count him as part of our family. Happy third b’day, my Benji.

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Ben’s Birthday

Ben’s birthday falls on a Tuesday this year … a really busy Tuesday as it happens. So we wanted to do it up right on Saturday while we could. Ben  is big into trains right now so we made a visit to the Colorado Railroad Museum. I’d asked my parents to get Ben a membership for his b’day which they were game to do. The membership there is extra nice because it includes 7 people and either my folks or Matt and I can take the kids. My parents, sister, grandma, Matt’s mom (in town for the weekend) joined us as well as our good friends and their boys. Continue reading “Ben’s Birthday”

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Meat ‘n’ Potatoes

Well things got kinda crazy last week with the hospital thing and all. But the week wound down nicely into another busy weekend. On Thursday our resident grill master’s new grill was delivered. And it was pretty. And he was happy. Since we had a bbq planned for Saturday, we thought we best test it out. And how better to do that than cook a couple of recipes from Great Food Fast. So we did.

Flank Steak with Lime Marinade

 

  • 1/3 C fresh lime juice (about 4 limes)
  • 2 T soy sauce
  • 2 scallions thinly sliced
  • 2 T minced peeled ginger
  • 1/2 t red pepper flakes
  • 1.5 lbs flank steak
  • vegetable oil for grates
  • coarse salt and pepper

In a resealable plastic bag, combine the lime juice, soy sauce, scallions, ginger and red pepper. Add the steak and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator, turning occasionally for 30 minutes.

Heat the grill to high. Lightly oil the grates. Remove the steak fro the marinade, letting excess drip off. Season with S&P. Place on the grill and cover. Cook turning once until the meat has reached desired doneness, 6-8 minutes for medium rare. Let the steak rest for 10 minutes before slicing thin.

 

Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Scallions

  • 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick slices
  • 3 T olive oil
  • 1 t dried thyme
  • 1/4 t cayenne pepper
  • coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 2 T butter (optional)
  • 2 scallions thinly sliced

Heat grill to medium. Toss the sweet potatoes in a large bowl with the olive oil, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Season with S&P.

Grill the potatoes, turning frequently until tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife, 20-30 minutes.

Return the grilled potatoes to the bowl and add the butter. Break potatoes into large pieces with the side of a spoon. Toss in the scallions and serve.

These two meat and potatoes dishes were incredibly easy, very very tasty, quite healthy and a huge hit with everyone. We added a bit of fruit and dinner was served.

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Tabby’s Tummy

Those of you who I’m friendly with on FB already know that we had quite the eventful Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday morning Tabby complained of a mild tummy ache. It wasn’t bad enough apparently to induce her to stay home and Matt sent her off. She was, it seems, perfectly fine throughout the morning but after nap, her tummy started to really hurt her. By the time Matt arrived to pick her up she was on the verge of tears.

I got home about 30 minutes after them (I was at the doctor and long story short, I probably have asthma) and by that time, she was crying out in pain pretty regularly. Matt and Ben then departed for tumbling and I started making dinner. Before long, Tabby was full on crying continuously and I went over to check her out. I barely glanced her tummy with my hand and she screamed out as though I’d pulled  a tooth without Novocaine. I asked her to point to where it hurt on her tummy and she pointed without hesitation to the region just below her belly button. Continue reading “Tabby’s Tummy”

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Lemon Pudding Cakes

I think my give-a-darn must have been broken last night when I was trying to make dinner. My parents brought the kids back to our house and I made the easiest meal ever, spaghetti, for  dinner and Matt whipped up this dessert, Lemon Pudding Cakes (from Great Food Fast, in case you’re in the dark). Spaghetti, being ridiculously easy to make, turned out great. And these turned out great as well, thanks to Matt being at the helm and not myself. I was unfortunately in charge of photographing them and that err … didn’t go so well.

But rest assured, despite the crappy photo over there, these are amazingly tasty and worth your time to make. They are also light and fresh and not a bit heavy. I believe they come in around 150 calories apiece too, so no guilt!

Lemon Pudding Cakes

ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/3 C all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 t baking powder
  • 1/4 t fine salt
  • 3 large eggs, separated
  • 3/4 C granulated sugar
  • 1 t finely grated lemon zest
  • 1/3 C lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
  • 1 1/4 C whole milk
  • Confectioners’ sugar, for serving

Heat the oven to 350. Put kettle on to heat. Butter eight 6-ounce ramekins or custard cups. Set in a shallow baking pan.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks with 1/2 cup granulated sugar until pale and smooth. Whisk in butter, lemon zest and juice, milk, and flour mixture.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat egg whites with 1/4 cup granulated sugar until stiff peaks form, 5 minutes; fold into batter. With a ladle, divide batter among ramekins, keeping sides clean if you can! Pour enough hot water (from the kettle) into baking pan to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake until cakes are puffed and slightly golden on top, 20-25 minutes. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately.

 

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13.1 Miles of Crazy

Today we tackled our 7th half marathon, the 10th Platte Half Marathon. I’ve been training, probably no too religiously, but training nonetheless since January. I’ve done at least 4 runs over 10 miles and two of them were even pretty great and yet, I struggled today.

The race started out well enough. It’s a nice course, pretty similar to one of my favorite training runs, along Clear Creek trail. The weather was mild enough at the start and I was feeling pretty good at the start. However, by mile 4 or 5, it was pretty clear I was not having a good day. Matt said he could hear my breath getting heavy and wheezing. He said the way I was going he thought I’d be lucky to make it to mile 6.

But I soldiered on, not feeling terrible, but not feeling really ON. I was running under 10 minute miles and I was happy with that, but by mile 8, I really couldn’t keep it up. I had to walk for 30 seconds here and there (something I try to NEVER do) just to catch my breath and I felt pretty darn terrible. It was frustrating, because my muscles and joints were perfectly fine, but my lungs just didn’t want to do their thing.

Sometime around that point, the weather turned pretty cruddy. It had clouded over and gotten a little colder and breezy, but then the wind got serious and it started raining a little. The wind was the worst though. At one point, the gust was so bad that I felt like I was running about double just to keep going forward. It was really not what I needed at that point. There is a massive hill at the end (about the last .9 miles) that is pretty soul-crushing if you’re not doing well. But happily, I managed to make it up with only a short break when I couldn’t get through a pack of people. The finish line was a welcome welcome site and my time was not terrible despite how I felt. The Platte has a great post-race-party with some good food and a fun atmosphere, but we had to skip it. The line was looooooong and the weather was freezy. I was sorry to miss it, but the warm car was very nice.

Now I have to figure out what’s going on with the lungs. My good friend, H, a nurse, has suspected for a while that I may have some issues with asthma. It’s not exactly that I didn’t believe her, but my problems have been so hit or miss that I didn’t really want to delve into things. But it seems like this is getting more frequent and worse and I need to face the possibility that I am having issues. I’m really not a fan of doctors, but I’m also not a fan of feeling like crap on long runs.

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Pasta with Salmon, Peas and Mint

I frequently get a surprised reaction when I reveal that my kids like fish, but they do, like a LOT. We are met with squeals of delight when we mention fish is on the menu. I like this kind of weird! So I knew it was a pretty done deal when I selected this recipe from Great Food Fast to try out. Salmon is instantly popular and add pasta to it? Slam dunk. That’s the right basketball metaphor isn’t it? I’m more sure of football: TOUCH DOWN!

As an added bonus, we got to use the fresh mint from our garden and I am always a fan of that. Matt is constantly threatening to eradicate my precious mint before it takes over the neighborhood, but I say he’s a spoil sport. But I figure I better use it while I can and it grows so fast I can harvest virtually all the mint I want and still have tons left over.

Pasta with Salmon, Peas and Mint
adapted from Great Food Fast

Ingredients

  • 1 pound short pasta (rotini, farfalle, cavatappi, elbow macaroni?)
  • 1.5 lbs salmon (skin removed)
  • juice and zest of 2 lemons
  • 10 oz frozen peas, defrosted
  • 2 T unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint plus more for serving

Cook pasta according to al dente. Reserve 1 C pasta water and return to pot. Meanwhile, season salmon with S&P and place in a large skillet. Add a 1/4 cup of water and the lemon juice and zest. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and steam for 10 minutes. Add peas and steam until they are tender, 2-3 more minutes.

Combine salmon, peas and cooking water with the pasta. Add butter, mint and season with S&P to taste. Stir gently breaking the salmon into large flakes. Add reserved pasta water for desired consistency. Serve topped with a little extra mint if you like.

 

This was a great recipe and just as tasty leftover as it was the evening we first made it. The kids devoured it and asked for seconds. I would like next time to add just a little cheese, perhaps Parmesan or Romano or maybe feta? just to see how it would be.

Pasta with Salmon, Peas and Mint