foodies.

we've been eating like kings over here.

pasta with chicken, lemon, & white wine.

incredible! from here

 texas sheet cake.

huge cake, you say? 

you won't think so once you start eating it.

from here.

we made caramel popcorn. 

i started by following a recipe on pinterest, but the recipe was crazy and couldn't be right.

so here's what i did...

bowl with 1/4 cup butter or so and 1/2 cup brown sugar--melt it in the microwave (about a minute or so).

then, add a huge handful of mini marshmallows (mini ones melt better/quicker)

microwave until they inflate (careful, they can explode and make a huge mess if you cook too long!)

then, mix it together and pour over bowl of popcorn... mix together and love life.

a glorious potato salad.

that sadly got splattered across a road.

i swear i said, "matt, i'll buckle micah in, you grab the potato salad" (it was on top of the trunk).

matt swears i never said any of that.

we turn a corner. hear a loud crash. and i yelled, "the potato salad!!"

we'll never know the truth.

thus, we only got to try it. but it was crazy good.

here's the recipe... i changed a few things: i used parsley and rosemary and used apple cider vinegar... no shallots (didn't have any on hand!)

what else have we been up to?

hanging out with family... (all the Ebright grandkids!)

 making decorations... 

 (spraypainted piece of wood with painted words)

 frames. 

and hanging out with this little boy.

spending a lot of time at his favorite place... the pool.

a few new eats.

i have cooked a little in the new kitchen.

here are a few delicious new ones.

honey sesame chicken.

this one is straight from pinterest.

except i didn't have enough honey... so just know that it can be good with less honey.

i got the recipe from here.

it's a crock pot recipe. as it turns out, many crock pot recipes don't actually allow you to work all day and let things go at home. this one only cooked for a few hours... i'm still not sure how that's all supposed to work with crock pots.

but i digress.

 and peanut butter oatmeal cookies.

these were GOOD.

check it out. from here.

i've eaten more than any one person should.

but hey, i'm breastfeeding.

the more calories, the better. right?

enjoy!

becoming fatties...

our love for food may be unhealthy.

but we do. oh so much.

once metabolism slows down, we're going to be huge.

check out these recent finds:

philly steak green pepper:

basically, just saute roast beef with garlic, put a piece of cheese in the pepper, then the beef, then the cheese on top!  

bake at 400 for 15 minutes or so.

 sweet and sour chicken:

chicken:

-cut 2 chicken breasts into small cubes

-coat each piece with corn starch (i put the pieces in a ziploc with about 1/4 cup corn starch to get them coated)

-dip in egg (i used 1 beaten egg and actually poured it into the ziploc and mixed it around).

-heat 1/3 cup oil and cook chicken, sprinkling a little salt on it

-put in baking dish, cover with about 1/2 the sauce, and cook at 350 for 15 minutes. then mix it up and bake for 15 more minutes.

sauce:

3/4 cup white sugar

4 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon salt

about 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar

about 1/8 cup rice vinegar

(this makes double sauce, half to pour for the baking time and then more to use for dipping!)

we also had asian green beans (just cooked with rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and olive oil) and rice. 

one of the better things i've ever made!

also, i forgot to take a picture, but i made some decently good 

apple oatmeal muffins...

here's the recipe:

mix 2 eggs, 3/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup applesauce. stir in (just a little) 1 cup flour, 1 cup quick oats, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon cinnamon. add in 2 cups of apples (no skin). 

divide into greased muffin tins, bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

eat it up.

calories, smalories. right?!

FOOD. our favorite.

these days, i'm a working mom.

so, meals have to be delicious (because we hate boring), not be something that later micah will scream about when he gets his part, and be quick.

check out these new ones:

 taco pockets. 

basically, biscuits wrapped around taco meat and cheese. 

surprisingly delicious! and oh so easy.

 baked tilapia tacos.

breaded the tilapia with bread crumbs and lime juice, then baked the fillets for about 12 minutes at 350.

the slaw is red cabbage, white balsamic vinegar, lime juice, and a little bit of mayo mixed together.

it would be best with a fruit salsa (like pineapple?) on top, we thought.

but still pretty dang good.

 baked salmon.

fresh salmon, salt and pepper, oregano, lemon juice, rubbed with a little olive oil.  cooked in a foil packet at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.

lemon dill sauce: about 1/4 cup miracle whip, about 1 teaspoon or so of lemon juice, about 1-1 1/2 teaspoons dill weed (i used dried, so much more if it's fresh), and about 1 1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard (make sure this is done to taste, because it could be overwhelming if you get too much).

holy yum.

other meals as of late:

ham and cheese made delicious by putting it into a croissant and into the toaster oven. so easy. so crazy good.

bbq chicken pizza: we discovered that with a little red onion and cilantro and a multigrain crust (added to the pineapple and chicken), it becomes ridiculously delicious.

eat it up.

for the love of food.

check it out.

i told you i'd make a few new meals.

it took a while, but it happened.

 fish tacos.

find the recipe here.

these were my alterations: 

-i used frozen tilapia and thawed it first.

-i used regular romaine that i cut thinly.

-i used waaaay less mayo and a lot more cilantro, plus a little taco seasoning.

 french toast. everyone makes it and eats it. nothing special. but yum.

 best pancakes EVER. 

cinnamon chips + banana. seriously. incredible.

 and shrimp pasta. find the recipe here...

my alterations:

-no tomato (we're not fans.)

-less spinach.

-frozen shrimp (just thaw before)

-dried herbs, rather than fresh--just be careful how much you use :)

-no lemon zest (i forgot to buy an actual lemon), so just a squirt of lemon juice instead for the shrimp.

crazy good.

enjoy!

newest experiment.

i'm terrible at using a blender.

i have gotten it out probably once in three years.

too hard to clean.

too bulky to get out.

not worth it for me.

enter hand blender.

last night, it effectively combined two of my current favorite things into a delicious treat:

ice. and simply lemonade.

mmmm.

let the season of the hand blender begin.

that's life.

well, i surely haven't posted in forever!

there are many reasons.

reason #1: good weather.

reason #2: lots of teaching, grad school, and planning.

reason #3: 

but, enough excuses.

here are some things i've been doing.

first, food. doi.

1. key west grilled chicken.

find the recipe here.

 seriously amazing!

 2. lasagna roll ups.

basically, boil lasagna noodles. i layered these ingredients: meat sauce, spinach, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese.  then, roll it up and put on a sprayed pan for 10 minutes or so. really great! 

 3. the best one of them all.

korean beef and broccoli.

one of the best things i've ever eaten that i've made. 

seriously.

the recipe's here. you should really try it. we added long grain wild rice underneath.

oh, and what am i looking to make next?

i'm in a vanilla scone mood--trying to replicate starbucks mini vanilla bean scones.

i'm thinking of making them over spring break, though.

but it's on my mind.

and in teaching, we've been having a lot of fun! one quick fun activity that i did today... (my students have been battling with quickly adding 10 without using long addition/fingers)

easily differentiated--more advanced students had to create two digit numbers to add ten to, other students just started with the number that was actually on the die. they loved it!

find the handout here

in other news, our dog is fat. and always looking for squirrels to eat. which is the polar opposite of working off her winter flubber.

when will she learn.

goals for the week.

new recipes.
that's the name of my game this week.


here's what i'm making (hopefully, depending on how busy life actually gets...)

lasagna roll ups.
but, i'm planning to make meat sauce, spinach, and mozzarella (minus ricotta, we're not fans).

key west grilled chicken. 

skewered style.

this one looks crazzzzy good. can't wait. might even try with shrimp?

asian drumsticks.
except not drumsticks... probably pork? or chicken breast? not sure yet.
also... a downfall of this one: i forgot to buy ginger. so i'd have to stop at the store. we'll see if it happens or not.


oh, and already today i made two new recipes!
check it out...

monkey bread muffins.
exactly the same as monkey bread, just in muffin tins--portion control (or that's the goal... for me, i just ate more muffins...)

buffalo wing crock pot chicken.
i generally hate crock pot recipes.
i know, i'm crazy.
but they are never actual "all day" cooking things--you have to stir or break things apart half way through... and i'm gone for 11 hours every day. not conducive to my life.


but, it's sunday. so i can handle it today.
very simple recipe, from here.
doable.
spicy.
but good!


happy week to all.

lazy food.

easy things that taste good.

unbeatable.

salsa shrimp tacos:

-1/4 cup lime juice

-a splash of tequila (non-alcoholic or regular)

-a splash of olive oil

-1-2 cloves garlic

-a bunch of chopped cilantro

-1/2 can of rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles

-1 tbsp butter

-a splash of italian dressing

saute garlic in olive oil.

add shrimp, lime juice, italian dressing, tequila.

let simmer for a few minutes

add butter to thicken sauce a little

add rotel.

let simmer for a few more minutes.

add cilantro at the end.

we were out of tortillas, but ideally, you would pile this into a taco shell and devour!

 

pizza roll ups.

basically, pizza dough with stuff on it (we used tomato sauce and pesto mixed, cheeses, pepperoni), roll it up, bake that trash!

 yummmm.

so there you go.

mini lasagna cupcakes... heaven in a muffin tin.

holy yum.

i got the idea from pinterest--apparently everyone's making these.

(on a side note, pinterest has provided me the opportunity to never again be creative... it's a bittersweet situation for me.)

but, i don't like most things in lasagna. so i made it my own!

steps to make the ricotta-all-gross-things-free lasagna cupcakes.


1. pam that sucker.
2. one wonton wrapper/1/2 of an egg roll wrapper.
3. scoop of homemade meat sauce.
4. scoop of chopped spinach.
5. sprinkle of dried basil.
6. pinch of mozzarella.
7. sprinkle of parm.
8. another wonton wrappe/1/2 of an egg roll wrapper.
9. pinch of mozzarella.
10. scoop of homemade meat sauce.
11. sprinkle of parm.
12. sprinkle of dried basil.
13. spray a little pam on the tops to keep them from burning.


BAKE THOSE BABIES.
at about 350 for 10 minutes or so.


i'm not kidding.
these are incredible.


make them.