Pizza Night

Lexa loves putting together her own pizza. Although they never want any topping except pepperoni..

Timmy is happy to have his with no sauce or cheese- so bread with pepperoni placed on it. 

Chicken Spinach Alfredo for Dinner

I did one of those Facebook video recipes last night. It was yummy. The Parmesan cheese in it tastes good. Of course I rinsed Timmy's chicken off. Lexa didn't like the look of it, but was a good sport and tried it. Surprise! She really liked it. She said, "I'm going to want seconds." 🙂

I didn't have heavy cream so I added extra milk and some butter. I also didn't put cornstarch in it.

Spinach Chicken Alfredo Skillet

http://12tomatoes.com/spinach-chicken-alfredo/

INGREDIENTS

• 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 (14.5 oz.) can seasoned diced tomatoes (with basil and oregano)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Olive oil, as needed
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

• PREPARATION

  1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown chicken on all sides. Continue cooking until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.
  2. Remove chicken from pan, cover with aluminum foil, and set aside.
  3. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat and sauté onions for 6-8 minutes, or until softened and translucent. Add garlic and cook for another 1 minute, or until fragrant.
  4. Stir in tomatoes (with juices), chicken stock and spinach, and season with basil, oregano, salt and pepper.
  5. In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch and milk to create a slurry, stirring until smooth. Pour slurry and heavy cream into sauce mixture, and bring to a gentle boil. 
  6. Stir in cheese until smooth and return chicken to pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until chicken is warmed through.
  7. Serve hot and enjoy!

Chicken Marsala for Dinner

Even though I'm the only one in my family who will eat mushrooms. 😕

Lexa liked the sauce at least.

It's an easy recipe. I didn't dredge the chicken in flour, I used white cooking wine instead of Marsala wine, and bacon instead of prosciutto, since I had that.

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces crimini or porcini mushrooms, stemmed and halved
• 1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

• Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them; pound with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/4-inch thick. Put some flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly.

• Heat the oil over medium-high flame in a large skillet. When the oil is nice and hot, dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess. Slip the cutlets into the pan and fry for 5 minutes on each side until golden, turning once – do this in batches if the pieces don't fit comfortably in the pan. Remove the chicken to a large platter in a single layer to keep warm.

• Lower the heat to medium and add the prosciutto to the drippings in the pan, saute for 1 minute to render out some of the fat. Now, add the mushrooms and saute until they are nicely browned and their moisture has evaporated, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Pour the Marsala in the pan and boil down for a few seconds to cook out the alcohol. Add the chicken stock and simmer for a minute to reduce the sauce slightly. Stir in the butter and return the chicken to the pan; simmer gently for 1 minute to heat the chicken through. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

Summer Dinners

We've been eating dinner outside often this summer. It's great because we typically have been cooped up avoiding the Texas heat all afternoon. I love these summer evenings. 

You may notice we're eating bacon for dinner here. I had a sudden huge craving for BLT salad that night. Salad with bacon, tomatoes, cheese, and ranch dressing. Lexa was game. I remember when bacon was her favorite food as a toddler. She'll tell you her favorites are pickles and spaghetti these days. 

Banana Poothies

The kids are always asking for banana smoothies. I remember my mom making these for me when I was little, and I loved them just as much, and still do! For some reason I have very clear fond memories of her making me these. I'm glad I can share this special banana smoothie from mom experience with them. 

Will calls them Banana Poothies. Adorable, I know.

They are just a banana, milk and a squirt of honey. We used to put vanilla extract in as well. I think there was something about a raw egg in the original. We don't do that, not sure if mom ever did when I was a kid. If the kids enlist Patrick to make them one, he'll add ice and possibly water. 

Another delicious one is to add heavy cream and peanut butter.

Banana poothie mustache!

Queso

Today we had Patrick's quick queso. Just these 2 ingredients and a microwave! 10 minutes at 50% power, stir, and then 5 minutes full power.

Popsicles Days

My kiddos love Popsicles. In the summer I love treating them.

This thing makes emergency Popsicles from juice in 7 minutes. I think it uses liquid nitrogen? Lexa is always trying to get me to save pickle juice when they finish the jar (in an hour usually) to make pickle pops.

I remember these from when I was a kid. I used to love, love filling them with blueberry yogurt.  They make silicone ones now that peel off easy too.

I like to keep refilling these with juice or yogurt each day of the summer. Then I can be the Popsicle fairy giving them their Popsicle everyday. 

My mother in law impulse bought this at Walmart for us one day, and we LOVE it. It's called yonanas. You just put frozen bananas and fruit into it, and it comes out an ice creamy texture. (So it's essentially a blender :)

Another summer treat I loved is frozen fruit salad, especially the frozen peaches. This is a big hit when I bring a big bowl to places like playgroup pool party.

Oh and one more summer treat just for me is frozen berries with lots of blueberries that I pour heavy cream over. The heavy cream freezes as it touches the berries and gets crunchy. I love that!