Kid friendly healthy food…is there such a thing?

January 30, 2008 at 10:11 pm | In kids | 10 Comments
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As you all know, I have two awesome stepchildren and we are fortunate to have them at our house quite a bit.  Fixing dinner for a picky 8 year old and a picky 4 year old who won’t eat anything sissy won’t eat is challenging sometimes.  I have found that Sheridan’s favorite meal is tacos while Will’s is baked ziti.  However, I can’t keep making these same two things over and over again right??  I pretty much do.  If Sheridan doesn’t like what I make, she eats ravioli and Will eats a salad. 

 I want to be able to cook healthy kid friendly fun meals that everyone will enjoy.  We do pizza, we do spaghetti, we do tacos, etc., but I would like some healthy options as well.  Does anyone have any brainiac ideas for me or websites that I can browse to find new recipes? 

I look forward to the responses.  As for tonight, looks like we will be having breakfast for dinner which is another favorite.  Thanks Lorena for reminding me that we all like that as a meal! 

Random Things About Me – Part 1

January 30, 2008 at 12:59 am | In Fun | 9 Comments

Many of my great foodie blog friends have been doing a “100 random things about me” blog in which basically they just shoot out a bunch of random facts about themselves. I have been literally laughing my arse off reading these random facts. I mean, who knew Amanda was afraid of lettuce? LOL So, I will split this up into 4 parts so you don’t go into random April overload. : )

1. I am highly allergic to poison ivy (I have the scars to prove it)
2. I can’t stand the taste of coffee but I like the smell
3. In college I got into 3 wrecks in ten days
4. My favorite Yankee candle smell is Harvest
5. My mom has a one eyed dog that she rescued
6. We had the same dog for 14 years – a black poodle named Claude
7. My brother graduated from Basic Training for the National Guard the summer before his senior year of high school
8. I have a habit of accidentally breaking wine glasses
9. I only use plastic wine glasses at home
10. I can’t stand the texture of mushrooms
11. I have yet to find the perfect shampoo and conditioner for my hair type
12. I am the oldest of 5 including my brother, two half sisters, and a stepsister
13. I love expensive purses
14. I pass out very easily
15. I had braces during high school
16. I used to have the messiest room on the face of the earth
17. I am a neat freak
18. I have a really big rubber band ball at work that I have made over the past 6 months
19. I am scared of the dark
20. My favorite cake is banana
21. I don’t like yellow gold
22. I will be 27 this year
23. I ran cross country all 4 years of high school and was MVP 3 of those years
24. I do not like elevators or subways
25. I have a birthmark on my right hip

More to come later… : )

Baked Good Exchange January – part 1

January 28, 2008 at 6:29 pm | In Fun, SBGEX, cheesecake | 7 Comments

Saturday morning Tommy and I were working on Sheridan’s bedroom when the doorbell rang. Of course I’m thinking, “Oh crap! The house is a mess, I’m in my pj’s…etc.” You know, all of those things you think when the doorbell rings unexpectedly. : ) However, when I opened the door, there sat a box on our doorstep and I glanced at it and saw it was a cheesecake box!!! From New York!! I knew it had to be one of my awesome JFacie friends sending me something for our January exchange! Sure enough, there was a note on it from Kat Graz saying that even though she was sending this awesome New York famous cheesecake, she was baking me something as well. She is supposed to be my nutritionist/personal trainer friend! What is she thinking?! LOL : ) I took it in the house and yelled for Tommy to come see it and he literally started jumping up and down like a little kid. Cheesecake is his absolute favorite thing ever!


We had some of this finally Sunday evening – we were so busy that we didn’t have time to really enjoy it until then – and we literally had this for dinner. LOL It was SOO good! I think it’s the brownie marble cheesecake flavor – so freaking amazing! I can’t get cheesecake like this around here so the fact that Kat thought to do that makes her awesome in our book! Tommy says he really likes Kat now a lot. LOL : )

Thank you Kat for this unique and awesome foodie gift!!!! You are the best!!!

Garlic Cheddar Chicken

January 23, 2008 at 2:02 am | In Chicken | 2 Comments

So, I have this lovely menu all typed out on my blog for this week – to make things easy on myself. Um, yeah. Except for when I don’t want what is on my menu. LOL I was going to make chicken parmesan except that T and I both had baked ziti leftovers for lunch. I couldn’t do pasta twice in a row, so I spent the afternoon begging my foodie friends for recipes and scouring every blog I could find. I finally found a recipe that looked pretty yummy on Katorade’s blog.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons shredded Cheddar cheese
1/8 teaspoon dried parsley
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – pounded thin

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, and cook the garlic until tender, about 5 minutes.
In a shallow bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano, pepper, and salt.
Dip each chicken breast in the garlic butter to coat, then press into the bread crumb mixture. Arrange the coated chicken breasts in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with any remaining butter and top with any remaining bread crumb mixture.
Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Pig Rating: The pig thought this was pretty good for something different. He was just excited that I was making roasted red potatoes again. LOL

Mrs. Pig Rating: I like this for an easy chicken recipe that I typically have all of the ingredients on hand for. It had a really good flavor to it and was pretty good. I think I’ll definitely save this one for the make again list. :)

Rachel’s "Chicken Dorito"

January 20, 2008 at 11:39 pm | In Chicken | 3 Comments

So, I have seen a recipe for “Dorito chicken” floating around out on foodie blogs. I was pretty leary of this. I mean, throwing Doritos on chicken seemed a little odd to me even though I love Doritos and I love chicken, therefore I never really thought much about this one.

When my friend Clara asked a question on her blog this week about her readers’ favorite proteins AND made them put recipes down (geez…so needy), I found that the “Chicken Dorito” made the list from our great friend Rachel. The recipe that Rachel posted is from her grandmother and it looked a lot better to me than a lot of the other recipes I had seen for this. So, why the heck not try it right? I’m always willing to try new chicken recipes to shake things up a bit. My changes are in red.

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts cooked and shredded (I didn’t shred – I cut into strips)
Cheddar cheese, grated
2 cans cream of chicken soup
milk (1/2 a soup can’s worth)
1 can diced green chilis (you decide the spicy level)
1 bag Toasted Corn Doritos
(I only made 2 breasts so I halved everything)

Directions
Combine soup, milk and green chili’s in a sauce pan and cook until blended and warm.
In a 9×13 pan (or use a casserole dish) layer 1/3 amount of the Doritos, Chicken, Soup, and Cheese. Repeat twice ending with cheese on top. Cover and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

Pig Rating: The pig took his first bite and was like, “Eh, it’s okay,” but then he had a 2nd bite and actually got some of the “dorito crust” in it and he said it was much better. Plate was cleaned by the pig. : )

Mrs. Pig Rating: I think that this would be great with the shredded chicken and put over nachos. Now, of course, anything on nachos is good to me, but I think this would be awesome. I like it pretty well though I have to say. I retract my previous thoughts about Dorito Chicken now. Thanks Rachey : )

PS- the pictures of this suck. It’s just not pretty. Sorry. : )

Roasted Red Potatoes

January 20, 2008 at 11:32 pm | In potatoes | 4 Comments

As you have probably figured out, we love potatoes in our house – love them fried, mashed, baked, roasted, etc. While Tommy’s favorite is fried, I’ve been trying to find a recipe that is more health friendly to make with things when we want potatoes. I love red potatoes so I went on the hunt for a good roasted red potato recipe today and stumbled across one on one of my favorite blogs to stalk – Amber’s Delectable Delights. I love her blog – great recipes, great instructions and reviews, great pictures, etc. Thanks for another great recipe Amber!

Ingredients
4 red potatoes
2 Tbls bread crumbs
1 Tbls olive oil
1 Tbls Parmesan cheese
Your choice of seasonings (I used garlic power, onion powder, and parsley)

Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Slice potatoes into wedges and place into medium bowl.
Season with all the remaining ingredients and place into preheated oven.
Cook for 30-40 minutes or until potatoes are done to your desired crispness.

Pig Rating: The pig really liked these! He said they were a great substitute for fried potatoes and he couldn’t believe that they were really TOO bad for him as far as potatoes go.

Mrs. Pig Rating: Like I said, I love potatoes, so these were no exception. I loved the flavor as well as how crispy they were on the outside and soft on the inside. I will most DEF be making these again and adding these as a staple on our menus.

Menu: January 20th – January 26th

January 20, 2008 at 6:31 pm | In Menus | 3 Comments

I so have to get back in the habit of posting my menus… : )

Sunday- L: 5 Minute Southwest Salad, D: Dorito Chicken ala Rachel, via Clara’s blog, roasted potatoes, salad
Monday- (T & I both off work-woohoo!) L: Out to lunch, D: Chicken Paremesan, salad
Tuesday – Chicken Nachos (Okay, not so healthy but haven’t had them in FOREVER!)
Wednesday – (Kids) Taco Pie (healthy style)/Tacos
Thursday – Crockpot ribs (from Lorena’s Blog), corn on the cob, salad
Friday – Date Night
Saturday- L: Chicken & Potato pizza, D: Company Party

I’m being not SO good this week with dinners. I have some things I need to use up so back on the super healthy train next week, though hopefully I can make everything with enough substitutes to not be too terrible for us. : )

Chicken Cordon Bleu

January 14, 2008 at 12:45 am | In Chicken, ham | 3 Comments

Cordon Bleu means “blue ribbon” in French, and in French culinary tradition, the Cordon Bleu is awarded to food or chefs of particularly high quality. Neat huh? : ) I have never really even thought about eating chicken cordon bleu because I am not a huge ham fan. However, I saw this on a blog a week or so ago and thought I would give it a try since I know Tommy likes it. I wasn’t so sure about it but I made sure to get really thin shaved ham so it wouldn’t freak me out too much… : ) I served this with corn and salad.

Ingredients
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 slices Swiss cheese
4 slices cooked ham
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a 7×11 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Pound chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness.
3. Sprinkle each piece of chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Place 1 cheese slice and 1 ham slice on top of each breast. Roll up each breast, and secure with a toothpick. Place in baking dish, and sprinkle chicken evenly with bread crumbs.
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from oven, and place 1/2 cheese slice on top of each breast. Return to oven for 3 to 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Remove toothpicks, and serve immediately.

Pig Rating: He said, “This is good!”. I told him it makes me proud when I make something and he likes it so he said, “Then you should be proud of this!”, so he must really like it. : )

Mrs. Pig Rating: Like I said, I was kind of worried about the ham, but it gave it a really good taste. I’m glad I tried this one – a new chicken recipe to add to our collection of “save to make again” : )

Recipe from allrecipes.com

As for the picture…well…for some reason I couldn’t hold my hand steady enough tonight to take a good picture, so I just didn’t put one on here. Just trust me on this – it is good. You must try it!

Italian Stuffed Chicken Breasts

January 11, 2008 at 1:10 am | In Chicken | 3 Comments

There are so many blogs that I just love to look through every day. One of my favorite’s is One Tiny Pink Kitchen. She has great healthy recipes and I just love it. There was a recipe for Italian Stuffed Chicken Breasts on there that looked so super yummy that I knew I had to try it. When one of my other fellow foodies Nina tried it recently and I saw it on her blog, I knew it had to be soon! So tonight I decided to try it. It was the first time I have ever made stuffed chicken of any sort but it sounded yummy so….

Ingredients
4 – 4 oz. Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1/8 tsp. Salt
3/4 tsp. Dried Basil – divided – I used about 2 tsp total
1/4 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper
1/4 cup Minced Green Bell Pepper I omitted
4 (3/4 oz) Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
2 Tbsp. Fat-Free Italian Dressing
1/8 tsp. Paprika – I used 1 tsp
1/4 cup Dry Breadcrumbs
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
Cooking Spray

Directions
Pound chicken to 1/4” thickness; sprinkle with salt, 1/4 tsp basil (I didn’t really measure), and crushed red pepper, and garlic powder. Sprinkle each breast with 1 Tbsp. minced bell pepper. Place 1 cheese stick lengthwise down the center; roll up jelly roll fashion. Brush rolls evenly with Italian dressing. Combine paprika and breadcrumbs, and a dash of oregano and basil; dredge chicken breasts rolls in mixture, turn to coat. Place on a baking sheet coated with non-stick cooking spray – seam side down. Lightly coat with non-stick spray; sprinkle with remaining basil. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until done (mine took about 22 minutes). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Pig Rating: He liked this but he is kind of weird about textures and breading on the outside of meats kind of freaks him out sometimes. He said he did like it but maybe not so much breading next time.

Mrs. Pig Rating: I really liked this one!!! I love chicken and cheese and everything that is in this one! I would eat it every night. : ) Definitely try this one!

I "potato" You!

January 11, 2008 at 12:59 am | In Fun, potatoes | 6 Comments


Tonight, I decided that I would make Tommy fried potatoes. Not good for you, but he has been being really good lately working out and eating right so I thought I would treat him. So I came home and pulled out my bag of potatoes and out falls a potato and I about died when I saw it! It was in the shape of….a heart!!!!!! Or a butt depending on how you hold it, but I prefer to think of it as a heart!! I
was so excited about it that I didn’t use it in the potatoes, but I saved it for when Tommy got home instead to show him. He walked in and I showed him and he said, “Aw, I “potato” you!” HA! Who ever thought you could substitute the word “potato” for “heart” and it have meaning?!
So, to all of my foodie friends….I “potato” you!!
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