Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

 
    Ok, I went to the dark side and gave in to Eva, who really wanted this Pizza Lunchable for her lunch today.  For her snack, I packed:  an egg bunny, kitty cat cheese, sugar snap peas, tropical fruit cup, and teddy grahms.  I packed for Gerald's lunch yesterdays Creamy Italian Chicken Pasta Salad, whole wheat roll, carrots and pretzels for snacks and his breakfast in his Fit & Fresh.
(PS - Eva told me later that she didn't like her lunchable. The cheese tasted funny, the pepperoni was slimey, and the crust didn't taste like my crust. I didn't say "I told you so", instead I said, "I'm sorry your special treat wasn't so special. I'll try to make you a pizza lunch". And she said, "Thanks mommy."

Breakfast: Blueberry Waffles
Lunch: Pizza
Dinner: Fish sticks, french fries, fruit salad (because Dad gets home at 5, Ella has ballet from 5:30 to 6, and the boys have T-ball from 5:45 to 7. Whew! Gotta eat and go!)

                                                                                                                          

Monday, May 24th, 2010

For Eva's snack, I packed her: baby carrots, chocolate animal crackers, strawberries, bunny egg, go gurt.

Breakfast: Pancakes with breakfast sausage
Lunch:
Dinner: Caribbean Shrimp with Rice

I used the Trinidad Spice blend from Penzy's on the shrimp, with lemon juice and olive oil. 30 min's later, I added Schwan's Island Blend Smoothie Fruit ( diced pineapple, mango, papaya and kiwi ) and stir fried them in a pan.  I served in on rice to Gerald and I and seperately for the kids. Joey ate two servings of shrimp, Eddie ate one, Ella and Eva didn't eat any.

                                                                                                                             

Friday, May 21st, 2010

For Eva's lunch, I packed: Goldfish with teddy grahms, sugar snap peas and carrots (we'll see if she eats the peas!), apples and a go gurt. (She ate the peas!!)

Breakfast:  Breakfast skillet
Lunch:  Schwan's Chicken Ranch Flatbread
Dinner: ?

I had some leftover tater tots, so I took some breafast sausage, browned it in the pan, then added the tater tots (crumbled up). Then I added eggs, cheese and chives. Very yummy!!

For the kiddos snack, I got a little creative and made them bunny pb sandwhichs with kitty strawberries. They loved them!!

                                                                                                                               

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

For Eva's snack, I packed: apples, fat pretzels, go gurt, and pb for the pretzels and apples. Dad received the left over mini french toast triangles for his breakfast along with breakfast sausage and Schwan's Triple Berry Blend.  For lunch, I packed some of Ruffolo's pizza! yummm, that was sooo good!

Breakfast: Cheerios with bananas
Lunch: leftover Ruffolo's pizza
Dinner: Three Cheese Tortellini with Alfredo Sauce and broccoli                                                                                                                            

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

Ok, for Eva's snack I packed: a half of a peanut butter sandwich, baby carrots, teddy graham, and a go-gurt.







Breakfast:  Mini French Toast Triangle "Butterflies"
Lunch:  Leftovers
Supper:  Pizza at our favorite restaurant, Ruffalo's

For breakfast, I wanted to make stuffed french toast. But then I got to thinking that in order for my kids to eat it, I'll have to cut it into bite size portions and what a pain that'll be - unless I do it ahead of time!!  So I took my bread, cut the crusts off, spread strawberry jam on one piece and put another piece on top. Then I cut it in half, corner to corner, then in half again, corner to corner. Then I dunked them into the french toast batter and cooked them on all five sides (think about it, lol).

      





In celebration of our anniversary, we went out to eat with the kid's for pizza to our favorite restaurant, Ruffolo's. Our kids are welcome and they don't mind the mess (or the noise!)                                              

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

Eva's Snack: Goldfish, Teddy Grahm's, Strawberries, Baby Carrots, go-gurt, colby cheese cubes.

Breakfast: Whole Wheat Pancakes with strawberries
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: BBQ Chicken and Rice - OMG was this good!! I got the recipe from Mandy's Recipe Box and I followed her suggestion and used pinto beans instead of black beans. I also added corn to it. Gerald said, "yumm, make that again!" Joey was a little stressed out that everything was mixed together, Ella picked at it, Eddie ate it up, Eva had something different, lol.
Here's my picture of it, but it didn't do it justice.

                           
                                                                                                                          

BBQ Chicken and Rice
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
2 cups instant white rice, uncooked
1 cups Barbecue Sauce
1-1/2 cups water
1 cup canned pinto beans, drained, rinsed
1-1/2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided

1.  Cook and stir chicken in large skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 4 to 5 minutes or until cooked through.
2.  Stir in rice, barbecue sauce and water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover. Simmer 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
3.  Add beans and 1 cup of the cheese; mix lightly. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese; cover. Cook until cheese is melted.

Printable

Monday, May 17th, 2010

Eva's snack today: Goldfish (with some sliced almonds, which she was mad about!), strawberries, baby carrots, colby cheese cubes, go-gurt.

Breakfast: Cheerios with sliced bananas
Lunch: Schwan's Pork Dumplings
Dinner: Shake n Bake Italian Parmesean Pork Chops, Schwans Wild Rice Pilaf, Peas                                                                                                                              

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

Busy day today. We went to church, then Eva has irish dancing, then I have book club and by the time I get home, it'll be close to 5 and time to make dinner. So this is what I did.
For breakfast, we had peanut butter toast. I got up late and had nothing in the freezer to give them and it was FAST! Actually made it to church 10 minutes early!
We came home and while the kids were playing, I took the brats out of the freezer to thaw in the microwave. I put water on to boil for the Mac & Cheese. I threw some chicken breast carcass' I've been saving for soup into the soup pot, filled it with water, and put it on the back burner to do it's things. Then I made up some brownie batter, put it in a flan pan, and put it in the oven to bake. Then I took some hot dogs out of the fridge and microwaved them for a minute and a half. The brats were thawed, so I took them out of their packages, put them into a gallon size baggie, poured in a bottle of beer and some onions, sealed the baggie and put them in the fridge to marinate. By now, the brownie was done, so I pulled it out of the oven and set the time to 10 minutes to let it cool. I plated the kids food, washed their hands, and they sat down to eat. Now the timer's going off, so I run back into the kitchen to take the brownie out of the pan. Since they want me to put the cake under the broiler and I'm not sure if my plate can handle that, I take out my round pizza pan, put parchment paper on it, then flipped the brownie onto to it. Then I spread the marshmallow fluff in the indent (Note to self: Microwave the fluff for 30 secs, it'll be easoer tp spread).  I then sprinkle Teddy Grahms (instead of grahm cracker crumbs) on top and broil it for a few minutes, just until a little brown on top. I set it aside, clean up the lunch table, and now it's time to take Eva to irish dancing. Are ya tired yet? I was, lol.
Went to bookclub, then to my mom's to help her out on the computer. Went home and took the brats out of the fridge. Preheated the oven for hash brown patties while I made German Potato Salad for Gerald and I. Put the hashbrowns in the oven while the brats cooked. Took out a bag of frozen corn, put it in my Pampered Chef cooker, added a couple of tablespoons of water and microwaved it for 5 minutes.  Everything was done within 5 minutes of each other and we sat down to eat!

I gave a bit of the German Potato Salad to the kids, but they didn't like it. Eva didn't like the brat, but I'm not surprised. EVERYBODY liked dessert!



Hot German Potato Salad
Prep Time: 30 min
Total Time: 1 hour 5 min
Makes: 6 servings (about 2/3 cup each) 

4	medium round red or white potatoes (1 1/3 lb)
3	slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1	medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1	tablespoon Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1	tablespoon sugar
1/2	teaspoon salt
1/4	teaspoon celery seed
	Dash pepper
1/2	cup water
1/4	cup white or cider vinegar

1.	Place potatoes in 3-quart saucepan; add enough water just to cover potatoes. Cover; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cook covered 30 to 35 minutes or until potatoes are tender; drain. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Cut potatoes into 1/4-inch slices.
2.	In 10-inch skillet, cook bacon over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet with slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.
3.	Cook onion in bacon fat in skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender. Stir in flour, sugar, salt, celery seed and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat.
4.	Stir water and vinegar into onion mixture. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat.
5.	Stir in potatoes and bacon. Heat over medium heat, stirring gently to coat potato slices, until hot and bubbly. Serve warm.

S’more Brownie

Flan Pan

Pan Grease

Cookie Sheet

Cake Tester

Brownie Mix

7 oz. Jar of Marshmallow Cream

Crushed Graham Crackers

It is recommended to use 2-1/2 cups brownie batter in your Flan Pan.  A standard box brownie mix is the perfect size.  Prepare your Flan Pan with Pan Grease, or use solid vegetable shortening and dust with either flour or cocoa (no need for dusting if you use Pan Grease). Prepare mix according to package directions then measure out proper recommended amounts. Do not fill more than 1/2 inch from the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes or until a Cake Tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Using a small, plastic utensil to prevent scratching your pan (such as a plastic knife), loosen cake from edges and turn out onto a Cookie Sheet. Fill center with jar of marshmallow cream.  Put the brownie under the broiler for about 3 – 4 minutes, just until the marshmallow cream turns a golden brown.  Take out of oven and immediately cover with desired amount of crushed graham crackers.  Place finished dessert onto a serving plate.  Garnish with pieces of milk chocolate bar if desired.  Serves 8 – 16.

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

 I made pancakes from scratch this morning and it didn't take me as long as I thought it would. Will be doing this again!

For lunch, we had: Micky Mouse shaped chicken nuggets and tater tots (I know, I know, but I was in a hurry to get out of the house, lol) At least I made a salad for my serving - Spring Mix lettuce with sliced strawberries, feta cheese and Kraft's Cesear Dressing - yummm!!

For dinner, we had my homemade pizza.
We went out for a hike while dad worked in the yard. When we came home, we had some rice krispie treats made with Malt O Meals Fruity Bits (aka: Fruity Pebbles). Eva made them all by herself!! It is the first time she has made anything from start to finish. I just stood by and coached.

Good Old Fashioned Pancakes

Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Ready In: 20 Minutes Servings: 8

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups milk 1 egg 3 tablespoons butter, melted 1 tsp vanilla 2 tsp cinnamon (opt)

Directions:

1.	In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
2.	Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

(for our family, I'm going to have to double this recipe! But still very good!)

The Original Rice Krispie Treats

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons  butter or margarine
• 1 package (10 oz., about 40)  regular marshmallows
• - OR -
• 4 cups  miniature marshmallows
• 6 cups  Rice Krispies®*

Directions
1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

2. Add KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.


MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS:
In microwave-safe bowl heat butter and marshmallows on HIGH for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Follow steps 2 and 3 above. Microwave cooking times may vary.



*or whatever cereal you want to use, like Fruity Pebbles or Cocoa Krispies!!

 

 

                                                                                                                             

Friday, May 14th, 2010

 Eva's snack today was: Strawberries, carrots, apple slices, go gurt, string cheese and goldfish.

For Breakfast, I spoiled the triplets and made them tater tots with scrambled eggs and breakfast sausage.
For Dinner, the kids decided to eat most of a box of cookies - not my choice, by the way! My fault for leaving them out, their fault for not being able to restrain themselves at just 2 cookies!! So I didn't make them anything for dinner. When they went to bed, I made steaks  and reheated some spaghetti for Gerald and mashed potatoes for me. Very yummy!!

                                                                                                                                 
I used the Chicago Steak Seasoning from Penzy's and it was delish!! Especially with the hickory in there, it almost tasted like I cooked them on the weber instead of in my George Foreman Grill!

Tuesday, May 11th

For Eva's snack, I packed: strawberries, colby cheese cubes, carrots, string cheese, laffy taffy, and goldfish crackers.  Gerald had last night's dinner for his lunch.

Breakfast: Apple & Sausage Breakfast Burrito's
Lunch: leftover's
Dinner: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, finger jello


I know that I saw a recipe for breakfast, but I couldn't find it anywhere! I usually make a pdf of the recipe so I can refer back to it and cite where I found it. hmmm, lost my mind on this one, lol! Basically, spread cream cheese all over a flour tortilla, lay sliced apples on top, then sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar, then lay sliced sausage patties on top, then wrap up like a burrito.
Well, it was good, but I think the next time, I'll cook the apples instead of having them raw.

For dinner, since it was soooo cold and yucky out, I made meatloaf, mashed poatoes (with sour cream, butter, and milk). On Gerald's and my dish, I sprinkled some sliced almonds on the green beans. A perfect meal for such a yucky day!

                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                               

Monday, May 10th

It's Monday again. Wow! The weekend went fast! Hope everyone had a good Mother's Day.
Today for Eva's snack I packed: apples (with a little Fruit Fresh to prevent them from browning), finger jello, pretzels, string cheese, strawberry go-gurt (finally free of high fructose!) and carrots.
For Gerald, I packed for breakfast: regular frosted flakes, milk, sliced bananas.  For his lunch, he had one more frozen leftover to use.

Breakfast:  Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
Lunch:  Leftovers
Dinner: Trinadad Chicken

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal for 4


3 1/2 cups water
2 cups  Quick Oats
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vietnamese cinnamon
3 tblspn brown sugar
1 snack cup applesauce

Pour water into pot and bring to a boil.
Add the rest of the ingrediants. Let cook at a boil for 3 mins or until the consistancy you like your oatmeal.
(Note to self: add 2 more servings as Eddie ate mine!! lol)

The next time I make oatmeal, I am going to try the pb & j topping. For more topping ideas, vist Quaker Oats.

Trinidad Chicken
Sorry, forgot to take a picture, but boy was it good!! I sprinkled my latest seasoning blend from Penzy's Spice, Trinidad Style Lemon-Garlic Marinade.  I sprayed a cookie sheet with Pam, then sprinkled (liberally) the spice blend all over some chicken breasts (with bone and skin on). Then I drizzled some EVOO over the breasts. While I was doing this, I had turned my oven on Broil - Hi. My oven rack was in the middle of my oven when I put the chicken in. I broiled them for 15 mins ribs up, then I flipped them over, reseasoned, redrizzled, and cook them another 12 min's (they were kind of thick and took awhile to get up to 180 degrees).  I served it with bow tie pasta and carrots.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day! It was a VERY cold day (54 degrees!!), but we ate outside anyway (here's pictures of us with our winter coats on!). Here was our very yummy meal:

Raw veggies w/ ranch dressing to munch on
Strawberry Spinach Salad*
Parmesan-Herb Cornish Hens
Baked Potatoes*
Broccoli
Dinner Rolls*
Strawberry Angel Trifle

(the items that were starred were to be made by my mom & dad, the other items were made by us). I brought over the split cornish hens that we received from our Angel Food order, but there were only 3 halves in the bag (weird!!) so after searching around town without any luck, I bought two game hens and split them in half. It was so easy to grill them that way, that I think I will buy them more often. My mom found Strawberry Balsamic Vinegar - yummm!!
 

Spinach & Strawberry Salad Recipe


Preparation time: 15 minutes. Serves 8.

Ingredients:
One 9 ounce package of baby spinach leaves (no stems)
1 1/2 cups of strawberries, sliced
1/3 cup almonds, toasted (we used the Honey Roasted Almond Slices)
3-4 green onions, sliced
Olive oil
White Balsamic vinegar (or Strawberry Balsamic vinegar)
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper Instructions:

• Toast the almonds on a pan in the oven at 300 degrees F for a few minutes (they brown quickly) or place the almonds in a small skillet over medium heat until toasted (shake the skillet a few times while over the heat to toast evenly)
• Make sure to remove any stems from the spinach and place the leaves in a salad bowl with the green onions
• Drizzle with a little olive oil (just enough to lightly coat the spinach)

To serve: 

•  Rinse the strawberries just before tossing the salad, dry them and slice them 
• Add the toasted almonds and sliced strawberries to the salad bowl and sprinkle with white balsamic vinaigrette to taste  
• Add a little salt and fresh ground pepper and toss the salad and then plate

Parmesan-Herb Cornish Hens

4 Tyson® Cornish Game Hen Without Giblets, thawed (I split mine in half for ease of grilling - worked GREAT!)

1/4 cup  Parmesan cheese, grated

2 tablespoons  seasoned dry breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon  Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon  garlic pepper seasoning

1/2 teaspoon  onion powder

1 teaspoon  butter, melted

Cooking Instructions..........................................................

1. Set up grill for indirect cooking: For gas grill, preheat all burners on high. Turn one burner off; place food over “off” burner. Reset remaining burner(s) to medium. Close lid. For charcoal grill, arrange hot coals around outer edge of grill; place disposable pan in open space; place food over open area. Close lid. Heat to medium.
2. Wash hands. Rinse hens and pat dry. Lightly salt and pepper inside of hens. Secure wings to hens and tie legs together with string, if desired. Set aside.
3. Blend Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, seasonings and onion powder in a small bowl. Rub hens with butter; sprinkle with Parmesan mixture, pressing lightly.
4. Place hens (not touching) over indirect heat on grill. Wash hands. Grill hens, covered, 50 to 60 minutes or until done (internal temp 180ºF). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Serving Suggestion: Serve with grill-baked potatoes and a green salad. Refrigerate leftovers.

       On the grill, left.

On our plate, right. OMG!! It was delish!! Definetly going to do this recipe again!!

 

Strawberry Angel Trifle Recipe 

12-16 Servings Prep: 30 min. + chilling Bake: 35 min.

Ingredients:
1 package (16 ounces) angel food cake mix (I used a ready made one)
2 packages (3 ounces each) strawberry gelatin
3/4 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar , divided
2 cups boiling water
5 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed and drained
2 cups heavy whipping cream (I used Cool Whip)

Directions

• Prepare and bake cake mix according to package directions; cool completely. 
• In a large bowl, dissolve gelatin and 3/4 cup sugar in boiling water . Mash half of the strawberries; add to gelatin mixture. Refrigerate until slightly thickened, about 1 hour . 
• Slice remaining strawberries; stir into the gelatin.
• Cut cake into 1-in. cubes. Place half in a 3-qt. trifle or glass bowl. Top with half of the gelatin mixture. Repeat. Cover and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours.
• In a bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Spoon over gelatin. 

Yield: 12-16 servings 

                                                                                                                               

This was sooooo good!! Every adult loved it (the kids were like, whatever). I have a single serving left and I can't wait to eat it!! Will be making this again! And since I had to buy this trifle bowl just for this recipe, I'll have to make some other trifle recipes that I saw on that site!

                                                                                                                      

 

 

Yeah! It's Friday!! I packed Eva a light snack today - a banana, carrot sticks, cheese & crackers, a mozzarella cheese stick.  For Gerald's lunch, I packed: 2 Schwan's Cool Ranch Chicken Flatbread sandwhichs and homemade chicken noodle soup. I also packed his Fit & Fresh with Kashi's cereal with milk and sliced banana.
Breakfast:  Bacon, cheddar scrambled eggs, chive & cheddar biscuit
Lunch: yogurt
Dinner: Greek Chicken, couscous, green beans

I just read in one of the (many) blogs that I read about the "OH crap!" dinner. I have that too. It's the one you whip out when you look at the clock and go, "Oh crap" because in 30 mins, you're family is expecting to sit down and eat dinner.  For me, that would be boneless, skinless chicken breasts, whatever Kraft Dressing I have on hand, couscous or instant brown rice, and whatever veggie is in the freezer. Defrost chicken while preheating oven to 450 degrees. Pour salad dressing in 13x9 glass baking dish, place the chicken in the pan, pour dressing over the chicken and cover with tin foil. Bake for 20 mins or until done.
While the chicken is cooking, make the rice/couscous and the veggies. And 30 mins later, Voila! dinner is on the table!!

 

(Kraft's Greek Dressing, Penzy's Greek Seasoning, and Feta Cheese)

                                                                                                                            

Well, it's Thursday and Eva surprised me this morning by saying she wanted me to pack her a lunch as well as a snack! So for her lunch I packed: a peanut butter sandwhich, grapes, carrot sticks, string cheese, and goldfish (in two little containers). For her snack, I packed pretzels with pb, yogurt, fruit cup, colby cheese cubes, and peas. I wasn't sure about the peas (frozen peas that were just thawed) but Eva said she LOVED them - yeah!!

For Gerald, he still had another leftover to eat. I packed him his breakfast in his Fit & Fresh. 

Breakfast:  Baked Eggs, Hash Browns, Breakfast Sausage Patties

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner: Spaghetti with Chicken Nuggets

Wednesday, May 5th

Just Eva's snack today. I guess yesterday, Eva's pretzel was soggy because of the fruit cup. I open it up a little and drain it because she doesn't like all that juice. Today, I made sure I put it in a baggie and sealed it.  So besides the fruit cup, I packed: Colby cheese cubes, go gurt, carrot sticks, pretzel.

For breakfast, we had blueberry pancakes and breakfast sausage.
For Lunch: We had Baba Ghannoug with fresh pita from the Pita Shack (yummm)
For Dinner: Tex Mex Skillet with Cornbread Topping                                                                                   

Tuesday, May 4th

For Eva's snack, I packed: a big pretzel, colby cheese cubes, carrot sticks, go gurt, tropical fruit cup. For Gerald, he has a lunch still in the freezer at work, so I thought I'd show you his Fit & Fresh. I packed: Raisin Bran, milk, and Schwan's Tropical Fruit Smoothie Pack.  (Gerald says just add some Margarita mix and some rum in a blender and it'd be perfect, lol).
   Breakfast:  Toddler Brunch (Scrambled eggs with cheese and hot dogs)
   Lunch:  Left overs
   Dinner: BBQ Beef ribs, corn on the cobs, tater tots.

I made the BBQ sauce from scratch from several different recipes.

Homemade BBQ Sauce

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
3 or 4 tablespoon liquid smoke

                                                                                                                             

Monday, May 3rd

Just a picture of Eva's snack for today. Gerald still has a couple of lunches from last week in the freezer, waiting for him, so I think I'm off the hook for him this week, lol!!
Eva's snack today was: thick pretzels with peanut butter (in the tiger cup), a banana, and some colby cheese cubes.

Breakfast:  Blueberry pancakes with breakfast sausage (I served them like a sandwhich)
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Sticky Chicken (Oh my gosh was this good!!) Just a warning, you have to marinade this 24 hours before you cook it.

Sticky Chicken
You can make this recipe with boneless ,skinless chicken thighs instead.
Just increase the cooking time by 10 - 15 minutes .
Prep Time: 24 hours , 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 24 hours , 35 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup low sodium soysauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. honey
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger root (I added an additional 1 tsp after the syrup was reduced)
1/8 ts p. pepper
3-4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I cubed them while partially frozen)
   (I made a second batch of the marinade and added it the next day when it came time to reduce the syrup)
Preparation:
1.  Combine all ingredients except the chicken in a shallow baking dish and stir until sugars dissolve. Add the chicken and turn to coat well. Cover the dish and chill in refrigerator for 24 hours .
2.  When ready to eat, transfer the chicken and marinade to a large heavy nonstick skillet. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover the skillet and simmer for 15 minutes , stirring each piece occasionally.
Check the breasts for doneness (170 degrees F on an instant read thermometer) and remove to a shallow pan as they test done. Cover the cooked chicken and place in warm oven to keep warm.
3.  Increase heat to medium and cook the marinade remaining in skillet until syrupy, stirring occasionally at first, then stirring constantly as the mixture starts to thicken, about 8-10 minutes total.
4.  Return chicken to the skillet, coat it with the sauce, and serve immediately - with lots of hot cooked rice! Serves 8   
 (it was better without the sauce on the rice because the sauce is so sweet)

                                                                                                                        

Sunday, May 2nd

                                                                                                                                    
Well, it's Sunday and we really didn't have anything planned. We just had English Muffins with peanut butter before church. For lunch, I reheated last night's pizza in the electric skillet (so the bottom would stay crispy). For dinner, I made meatballs & gravy over noodles with green beans. I used my favorite meatloaf recipe, but just made them into meatballs.  I used a brown gravy mix (one that used 3 cups of water) and I added some worchestire sauce and onion powder to it.  Well, Eva just ate the noodles (of course) and everyone else ate it up! No leftovers for dad's lunch tomorrow!!

It's Saturday and we're always busy.  I made pancakes for the triplets while Eva was at choir practice. Then I made a hotdog and carrot sticks for Eva before I took her to hip hop and the trips to swimming at the Y. After the trips swimming lesson, they have family swim, so we stayed and swam for an hour before we had to leave. Got home, got Eva dressed for an irish dancing show and we were off! I had made pizza dough out of my favorite recipe and stuck it in the fridge. When I got home, I just split it into two pieces and rolled it out into a 14" circle. I made two, thin crust pizzas with that recipe!! The pizza on the left was half cheese, half cheeseburger. The pizza on the right I used the leftover slow cooker chicken, some chopped green peppers, some chopped onions, and some sliced black olives. Sprinkled pizza cheese (mozzarella and colby) and some chili powder on top.  Baked at a 475 degree oven for 12 mins.  YUMMMMMM!!