#951: Breakfast Sandwiches for the Week

If the title of this post/recipe doesn't get your attention then you must not be a breakfast lover.  I love breakfast sandwiches, but I don't always take time to eat or make breakfast for myself.  However, if I had breakfast sandwiches in my house every day, I can guarantee I would be grabbing one as I walk out the door every morning.  Personally I prefer my breakfast sandwiches with sausage patties, but I love turkey bacon too, so I figured I'd give this recipe a try as is. 

These are fabulous fresh (not reheated).  I wasn't sure I was going to love them but the egg patties were wonderful, especially the peppers.  Reheated these are a little chewy.  Still good, but not fabulous.  I think when I make these again I'm going to freeze bacon cooked and cut in half and keep the eggs frozen too.  Then I'll just pop those in the microwave, toast up some English muffins and it will be ready to go.  Just as easy, but tastes even better.

1/2 lb turkey bacon, cooked
6 whole wheat English muffins
6 American cheese slices
Eggs (5 egg whites and 1 egg) (I used 1 cup of egg substitute)
½ c red bell pepper, diced (I used onion, broccoli and peppers)

Preheat Oven to 350.  Combine eggs and veggies.  Grease a muffin pan (6 count).  Add 1/6 of the egg mixture into each muffin cup.  Bake in the oven for about 20 minute or until eggs are cooked through and set. 

Top one side of each  muffin with a slice of cheese. Place bacon on top of cheese and egg muffin on the other half. 

Preheat your indoor grill to 425 degrees. You do not have to use a grill. You could toast the English muffins in your toaster or toast them in your oven. Depending on how big your grill is, place your muffins on and close it as far as you can. Cook until both sides are golden. (5-6 minutes)

Wrap the sandwiches in wax paper and store in the freezer.  To reheat, microwave for 2-3 minutes.

#950: Layered Pasta Salad

(I took this before I went to a party so the tomatoes are not on top yet.  I added those at the last minute.)

 

This is a great make ahead recipe/pasta salad.  I used a whole box of shell noodles so I doubled the dressing.  I didn't need to.  I thought this was super over-dressed.  Next time I'll probably make 1 1/2 batches of the dressing instead.  I loved this though.  I decided I wasn't going to like the ham in this so I used bacon instead...good call.  Next time I'm going to use turkey bacon since it's a little crunchier. 

 3 cups medium pasta shells, cooked, drained

1 large red onion, sliced
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen peas, thawed, drained
1 pkg. (6 oz.) Smoked Ham, chopped (I used 12 oz bacon, cooked and crumbled)
½ cup Real Mayo Mayonnaise
½ cup Classic Ranch Dressing
1 cup Natural Three Cheese Crumbles
1 cup halved grape tomatoes

Layer the first 4 ingredients in clear 3-qt. serving bowl.  Mix mayo and dressing; spread over salad, sealing to edge of bowl. Top with cheese and tomatoes.  Refrigerate several hours or until chilled. Toss gently before serving.

 

#949: No Bake Cookies and Cream Bars

I made these to take to my Father-in-law's Retirement party this past weekend.  I figured they were super easy and all I needed to get were some Oreos.  Perfect recipe when you only need 1 extra ingredient.  I followed the instructions to grease the parchment paper (both sides, which I think is rather pointless) and I pushed it all down with wax paper like directed.  I should have sprayed the wax paper.  This mixture totally pulled off the parchment paper but it was so stuck to the wax paper.  I tried putting it in the fridge to cool to see if that would help un-stick it.  It didn't.  Not really.  That doesn't look appetizing does it?!  Eventually I just cut off the top layer and the kids and I enjoyed eating the bottoms.  Allison says it tastes like chocolate Laffy Taffy.  It kind of does.  It has a really chewy texture.  I thought for sure after the disaster in making these that they would be terrible, but they really weren't.  They are odd, but they are good.  I don't think everyone would love these because of the texture but the kids and I sure did.

One 16 oz package of Oreo Cookies
5 cups large marshmallows
4 tablespoons butter

Butter an 8X8 inch baking pan. Line the baking pan with parchment paper letting the paper extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. Butter paper; set pan aside.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse Oreos until ground.
In a large, microwave safe bowl, melt butter and marshmallows in the microwave until puffed, about 1½ - 2 minutes. Stir in ground Oreo Cookies until combined. Transfer to prepared baking pan. Using a piece of wax paper THAT HAS BEEN SPRAYED WITH COOKING SPRAY, press mixture evenly into prepared pan.  Let set up for at least 10 minutes. Cut into bars and serve.

 

#948: Coffee Cake in a Cup

This cool, sunny morning called for something for breakfast other than my usual smoothies.  I didn't have enough ingredients in the house to make a yummy egg dish, so I decided to try this fast coffee cake recipe instead.  It definitely was fast to throw together, but it isn't the healthiest of breakfasts.  I tried to cut down on the amount of sugar so I only used 1 tbsp. and you could tell.  It was a little bland.  It was fine for my liking though. 

I didn't love this recipe but I didn't hate it either.  It was good and I ate the entire cup-full, but it's not something I would make over and over again or crave in the morning.  But for a change of breakfasts this was okay. 

1 tbsp. melted butter
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 egg
2 tbsp. sour cream
a few drops of vanilla
1/4 c. flour
1/8 tsp. baking powder

Mix it all together in a coffee cup or mug. 

Then in a separate bowl combine:

1 tbsp. melted butter
2 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix it all together and add on top of the cup. 

Microwave for about 1 minute and add ten second increments to your liking.

Summer Bucket List: Visit a Waterpark

You would think I would have a ton of pictures from our trip to a waterpark.  We went to the Wisconsin Dells for a night and stayed at the Kalahari hotel/resort.  We didn't have Matthew with us so I didn't bring my bag into the waterpark and therefore also didn't bring my camera.  The only picture I have is of the girls standing right outside the hotel.  I guess that will have to do...

Visit a Waterpark

Summer Family Bucket List: Lava Lamps

 

 

This is one of the activities I've wanted to do with my Pre-K kids but haven't yet, so I figured we would try it out this summer and work out all the details.  Good thing I did, because I learned that we need way more vegetable oil and less water.  I also learned that putting in 3/4 of an alka selzer tablet is too much and will cause it to overflow. 

None the less, we enjoyed making this bottle and watching the bubbles move every time we added another piece of tablet. 

A clear plastic bottle (we used a 20 oz pop bottle)

Water

Vegetable Oil

Food coloring

Alka Seltzer Tablets

Fill the bottle just over 1/2 full with vegetable oil, then fill the rest of the way with water, leaving an inch of room at the top. Add 10 drops food coloring. Place the bottle on a plate or pie tin to catch any drips. Now, add 1/4 an alka seltzer tablet and watch the bubbles of water rise up through the oil. Add another piece of alka seltzer after the bubbles have stopped.

Homemade Lava Lamps

#947: Chicken Taquitos

See these yummy looking taquitos?  (Well I guess it's hard to tell if they are yummy or not based on the side view of them).  This is what the "good" side of these taquitos looked like. 

 

 

Now let's show you a picture of the other side of them....

Yeah, not so pretty right?!  The longer these baked the more the busted open.  Didn't effect the taste but they definitely fell apart...most of them anyways. 

 

Okay, let's get back to how these tasted.  This depends on who you ask.  Chloe ate hers only because she wanted ice cream afterwards and she knew she wasn't going to get any if she didn't eat one.  Allison enjoyed it but only wanted one.  Brian thought they would be better with flour tortillas.  Matthew preferred his other foods but still ate some of it.  I liked it a lot.  Is this my favorite meal?  No.  Would I eat this again, Definitely!  I liked them.  Next time though, I'm making these in my quesadilla maker to get the tortilla more crispy.  I still have some leftover chicken mixture so I will be eating them that way tomorrow for lunch. 

 

8 small (6-inch) yellow corn tortillas (I obviously used white corn)

One 9.75-oz. (or 10-oz.) can 98% fat-free chunk white chicken breast in water, drained well (I used 4 cooked chicken breasts, shredded instead)

1/2 cup salsa, fresh salsa is best

1/3 cup shredded fat-free cheddar or mexican cheese

1 tsp. dry taco seasoning mix

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a medium bowl, combine the chicken and salsa, and mix thoroughly.  Cover and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes.  Remove chicken mixture from the fridge, and drain any excess liquid.  Add cheese and taco seasoning, and mix to combine.  This is your filling, set aside.

Prepare a baking sheet by spraying with nonstick spray and set aside.  Dampen two paper towels, and place tortillas between them.  Microwave for about 1 minute, until tortillas are warm and pliable.  Take one tortilla (keep the rest between the paper towels), spray both sides lightly with non-stick spray, and lay it flat on a clean dry surface.  Spoon about 2 heaping spoonfuls of filling onto the tortilla.  Spread it evenly across the entire surface, and roll tortilla up tightly, so that you have a cigar-shaped tube.  Secure with toothpicks (I didn't need to) and place seam-side down on the baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.  Bake for 15 minutes, until crispy.  Allow taquitos to cool for 5 minutes. 

2 Taquitos = 5 ww+ pts

Summer Family Bucket List: Chuck E Cheese

It's not like we've never gone to CEC before.  But when I asked the girls what they wanted to do this summer, this was suggested/asked for.  So on a rainy Sunday morning, this was easy to do and accomplish. 

Bucket List Item #1: Check! 

 

Go to Chuck E Cheese

#946: Slow Cooker Chicken and Stuffing with Onions

If I would have told my family I wanted to make something with French fried onions they would have said, "no way!"  So I tried this recipe which snuck it in and cooked it on top.  No one could tell they were on top and no one complained.  I've made crockpot chicken and stuffing before but I have to admit I enjoyed this one much more.  Probably because it had more "liquid" in it and kept the chicken moist.  My kids don't like stuffing so I don't know how often I'll make this recipe, but it sure was easy and good.

1 large white onion
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast (mine were mainly still frozen and cooked just fine)
1/2 cup water, divided in half
1 box Stove Top Stuffing
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1/3 cup French Fried Onions

First take the large onion and cut it into large pieces and place on the bottom of the cooker. Then put your chicken pieces on top of the onion. The onions act as a rack sort of and keep the chicken off the bottom where they would get more direct heat and may dry out more. Next, add 1/4 cup of water to keep some moisture on the bottom. 

Sprinkle the uncooked stuffing over the top of the chicken.

Next mix the sour cream, soup, and remaining water together well. Then dollop it onto the stuffing – it’s very thick – and gently spread out.  Sprinkle the fried onions over the top. Put on your lid and cook about 3-4 hours on high.

#945: Stuffed Pizza Muffins

This recipe looked like the perfect make ahead meal to serve my pizza loving family for lunch.  My family does not like pepperoni, so I decided to make this with ground pork sausage instead.  As you can see from the photo below I had a helper in the kitchen.  This is my snacking girl though so I had to keep telling her to stop eating the sausage.  :) 

We all really, really enjoyed these.  They are a perfect, lunch, snack or appetizer.  They were so easy to make, I will definitely be making these again and again. 

1 pkg Store-Bought Pizza Dough

1/2 Jar Pizza Sauce
1 c. Mini Pepperonis, Divided (I used cooked, ground pork sausage) 
1 c. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

Preheat oven according to pizza dough’s directions.  Begin by rolling out the pizza dough flat. Spread the pizza sauce over the dough, leaving 1 inch around the edges. Sprinkle with 1/2 c. mini pepperonis and 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella. Cut the dough in half.  Cut into 1 inch pieces and place in a greased muffin pan with the swirled side up.  Bake according to your pizza dough’s directions checking after about 12 minutes. When tops begin to brown, remove from oven.  Use a knife to separate from the pan and cool.  

2013 Summer Family Bucket List

So here it is.  Our 2013 Summer Family Bucket List.  I decided to create this list after seeing the Bucket List Challenge on The Happy Family Movement.  I tried getting input from Brian and the girls but as you'll be able to tell from our list the Girls wanted to do things we've already done and Brian was coming up with ideas, just not enough.  So I took to the internet, Pinterest, and my own Pinterest boards to look for ideas and inspiration.  This is the list we created.  I think all of this is do-able by early to mid-August. 
If you decide to do a bucket list too, let us know.  We'd love to see what everyone else is doing too!!

Now to get started on crossing things off!   

 

2013 Hitchins Family Summer Bucket List
Swim in a Lake
Spend the night in a Hotel
Go to a Non-Baseball Sporting Event
Wildlife Prairie State Park
Fizzy Sidewalk Paint
Springfield Children’s Museum
Visit 3 New Parks
Melted Crayon Art
Visit a Waterpark
Madison’s Physics Museum
Make Ice Cream Dough
State Fair (hopefully not Illinois)
Children’s Museum of Illinois (in Decatur)
Word Family Slam
Homemade Lava Lamps
Swim in Dominic and Sophia’s Pool
Geocaching
Drive-in Movie
2 Liter Bottle Sprinklers
Splash Park
“Fishy Culvers”
Mini-golf
Make 4^th of July T-shirts
Sidewalk Chalk Paint
Berry (or veggie) picking
Make Friendship Bracelets to send to someone
Camping at Grandma and Grandpa’s
Nature Scavenger Hunt
Peoria Riverfront Museum
Metropolis, IL
Finger Paint
Go to Chuck E Cheese
Pop Bottle Terrariums
Santa’s Village
Visit Rockome Gardens
Complete a Sewing Project with the Girls
Go to Orange Leaf
Monkey Joe’s
Picnic dinner
Swimming at Four Seasons
Build a Lego City

#944: Grilled Beef Tenderloin Skirt Steak

I could not find "skirt steak" in the grocery store, so I ended up buying tip steak instead.  I don't know the difference between any cuts of meat so hopefully it was pretty close.  The recipe below says to cut the beef so it's long and flat, but I didn't need to do that with the tip steak.  It was already cut into 2 nice sized, thin pieces.  I still pounded it out a little bit to make it a little thinner and then I marinated the meat for about 6 hours in the marinade/mixture. 

This was delicious.  The girls were very leery about this but both ended up eating it and Allison asked for seconds.  I will definitely be making this again.

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound beef tenderloin
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Heat a gas grill to medium-high or the coals in a charcoal grill to medium-hot.  In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, brown sugar, thyme, oregano and 1/8 teaspoon of the salt.  Cut beef in a circular motion so it becomes a long flat strip of steak 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Pound slightly.  Brush beef with balsamic mixture and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Grill 2 minutes per side for medium-rare.

 

#943: Snow Grapes

These grapes are delicious.  Like really, really, really good.  The girls loved these too.  These are more elegant that just "grapes" so this would make a wonderful dish to take with to a potluck or gathering.  I will definitely make these again. 

4 pounds seedless grapes - red & green (I obviously just used red)
1 cup sour cream - low fat

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese - low fat

1/2 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

zest of one orange

Remove grapes from stems, rinse, and set aside to dry. Mix together the sour cream, cream cheese, white sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Fold in grapes until evenly coated. Chill overnight before serving. Sprinkle the top of the salad with the orange zest before serving.  (I stirred some in and then sprinkled the rest on top).

#942: Carrot Muffins

My goal today was to make some healthy muffins for my bread loving little man, to have in the freezer as extras.  Matthew loves to sit and watch me cook on the counter and could barely keep his hands away from the batter of this muffin.  I may have given him a taste of it, which he loved, so he wouldn't stop eating it.  I apologize for the picture of these muffins. 

I totally forgot about them in the oven and over cooked them A LOT.  They are a little dense and are definitely best with a little butter on them, but overall I liked these.  And more importantly, Matthew liked them too.  The girls however did not like these at all.  I think it's because they were very well done.  I will definitely make these again...and keep an eye on them! 

3/4 cup whole wheat flour (I used white flour)
1/2 cup white flour
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch fine salt
2 eggs (I used egg substitute)
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used a mixture of pear baby food and vegetable oil)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups of grated carrots (3-4 medium carrots)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Whisk oil, eggs, and vanilla together in a medium bowl, then add to dry mixture.  Stir until just combined, then add carrots & stir until incorporated. 

Divide batter evenly into 12 muffin cups and bake at 350 for 28-30 minutes.

#941: Kiwi Muffins

This is supposed to be a clean eating recipe, but I substituted so many of the "clean" ingredients, I can't possibly consider it a clean recipe.  I am not a kiwi lover.  I sort-of, kind-of like it.  So I'm definitely not going to be the best judge for this recipe.  So I'm turning this post over to my two best reviewers:

Allison (age 6, kiwi lover) and Matthew (age 14 months, muffin lover).
Allison: "Um, I can see the kiwi because it's green.  It tastes kind of chewy.  Is there bananas in it?  Do I have to eat the whole thing?"  As you can probably see where this is going, she was not a fan of these.  She ate about 2 bites and told me she didn't want any more.

Matthew: He must have thought it was okay because he ate most of it and another one at dinner. 

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used white flour)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup flax seed meal (I used wheat bran)

2 egg whites (I used applesauce)

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup safflower oil (I used vegetable oil)

1/4 cup organic soy milk

1 cup kiwi – chopped

 

Prepare your muffin tins by spraying with non-stick spray.  In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients except for kiwi.  Mix both bowls separately, and then combine.  Lastly, fold in your fruit and scoop into lined muffin tins.

Bake at 350 for approximately 20 minutes. Muffins are done when you poke them with a knife or toothpick and it comes out clean.

#940: Pineapple Whip

This recipe could not possibly get any easier.  It's literally only 3 ingredients.  This is a very healthy, light and fluffy side dish that would go well with just about anything.  I would be great to make-ahead for a party or gathering.  I made it for my lunches for the week.  It was so good!! 

 

12 oz container of whipped cream

20 oz can of pineapple tidbits in juice

3.5 oz package of pistachio pudding mix (I used sugar free)

 

Place the whipped cream in a large bowl.  Open your can of pineapple and drain the juice into the bowl (do not pour the pineapple in yet).  Empty the pistachio pudding mix into the bowl and mix well.  Then add the pineapples and mix again.  For best results, let it chill in the fridge for a few hours.

#939: Butter Bean and Tuna Salad

I was a little bit scared of this recipe.  Although it looked and sounded delicious, I like my tuna with mayo in it.  This wasn't a typical "tuna salad" recipe.  But, I figured I'd give it a try and worse case, I'd just pick around the tuna.  I loved this recipe.  I made it twice and pretty much ate it all week.  It was delicious and it lasted quite a while in the fridge too.  It's a great make ahead meal!!  I will definitely make this again.

2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. olive oil
14 oz butter beans, drained and rinsed
6 oz tuna (in water or oil)
1/4 small red onion, finely diced
handful of mixed salad leaves (I used spinach)

Combine lemon juice & olive oil in a salad bowl and season.
Drain beans and rinse well under the hot water tap. Add beans to the dressing. Flake tuna into large chunks on top of the beans. Add onion and leaves and toss.

#938: Warm Pea and Tahini Salad

I love tahini paste.  I love the sweetness and nuttiness of it.  I also love frozen peas, so I was sure I was going to love this recipe.  Wrong.  I'm 99.9% sure it was the mint that ruined this dish.  I debated about trying it again just without the mint, but it wasn't worth possibly ruining another bowl of peas and almonds.  Blech!

Serves 2:
4 handfuls of frozen peas
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
small bunch of mint leaves chopped
2 handfuls of almonds (I roughly chopped mine so it would be easier to eat)
3-4 tbsp. tahini paste

Place peas in a bowl and cover with boiling water and stand for 2-3 minutes or until peas are defrosted and bright green.
Drain peas and pat dry with paper towel. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil. Squeeze over lemon. Toss in mint and almonds. Serve with tahini spooned on top.

#937: Baked Ranch Crackers

Sometimes I find a recipe and the name is so stupid, I just have to change it.  Here's another one of those recipes.  I'll be happy to give credit to the original website, so the real name is Crack-tastic Crackers.  DUMB.  So these are now called Baked Ranch Crackers. Unoriginal but not as stupid.

These are ridiculously easy to make and you can pretty much make them with any crackers you like and/or any that you have on hand.  If you are short on time you don't have to bake these, but I agree with the original author, it gives them a good flavor.  Also, you can stick these in the freezer until ready to eat if you make them ahead of time! 

 

1 – 1 1/4 cup canola oil (I used 1/2 c of olive oil.  I thought it was PLENTY)

1 packet Ranch dressing mix

2-3 Tbs. red pepper flakes

4 sleeves of Saltine crackers (I used 1 package of oyster crackers and 1 box of cheddar crackers)

 

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl for a good long while (5-10 minutes), to really get the crackers coated.

 

Lay them out on a cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees for 15-20 minutes, stirring them around about halfway through.

Delay in posts

The countdown to the end of the school year is on.  Technically there are 16 days left!  16!!  However, my students end in 10.  Then I have 2 days of parent/teacher conferences.  Add the gigantic end of the year to-do list on top of my grad class and I can pretty much promise there won't be too many recipes posted before May 28.  But I'll try to get a few on here every so often.  Dinners planned for the next two weeks are pretty much either for the crockpot, grill or already made dinners in our freezer.  I needed to plan things that Brian can reheat or which take minimal effort.  Lunches however are a different story and I already have 5 other recipes bookmarked to make and post.  Hopefully that will happen. 

So I apologize in the delay in upcoming posts...but once summer is here we will hopefully have an abundance of fruit, veggie and salad recipes, as well as main dishes.  Come on summer!!!!