Chicken Sauteed with Apples

Since I still have so many apples in my garage, I thought I'd try something a little different for us and use them in a savory dish.  I thought it was delicious.  #3 finished his chicken but was not a fan of the apples since he didn't like the "little green things."  #2 ate his required bites so he wouldn't miss Cub Scouts but the frown on his face the entire time left me with the impression that it was not something he would ever want to eat again.  #4 has been toddler picky lately so she mostly ate rice.  As for #1, well, he is currently enjoying some quiet time in his room...I won't elaborate since I'm still a little grumpy.

Here is the recipe that I used:
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chicken-sauteed-apples-10000001116466/index.html

Although I currently have seven types of apples, I do not have any Braeburn so I substituted with what I'm pretty sure was a Fuji.  I also opted to use a couple of shallots versus a large onion.  My grocery was out of Vidalias and I thought the family would appreciate a milder onion flavor.  The chicken was a little dry (probably because I pounded the chicken breasts a little thinner than the recipe called for so they overcooked.)  The sauce with the dijon was yummy and really helped.

Going Vegetarian

So, it's been quite awhile since I've posted any new recipes.  Even though life has been very busy lately, I have still been squeezing in our New Food Mondays almost every week. Tonight I actually had my camera handy and a couple of minutes of spare time after dinner so I decided it was time to get back in the groove.  

#2 has been tossing around the idea of becoming a vegetarian lately so I decided to dust off my copy of Vegetarian Planet by Didi Emmons and try something without meat (gasp!!).  I prepared the Thai Tofu with Red Curry Sauce over Coconut-Scallion Rice.  It was spicy and delicious!  I even ate the broccoli!  #1 and #4 ate the rice minus the scallions and a couple of pieces of plain fried tofu since neither is a big fan of spicy food.  #3 gobbled up some plain tofu with rice and tried some of the broccoli in the sauce but quickly requested a glass of milk.  #2 almost cleaned his plate but I think the heat started to get to him too (even though he would never admit it.)   Hubby gobbled his serving up (after picking out all the broccoli.)

Here's the recipe:

http://www.food.com/recipe/thai-tofu-w-red-curry-sauce-over-coconut-scallion-rice-245589

This version uses only one tbsp of chili sauce where the original calls for three...hmm..maybe I should have used this one.  The author of this recipe halved the amount of broccoli but doubled the amount of oil.  I did not buy fish sauce or kaffir lime leaves since I was fairly certain I wouldn't use them again.  I am not a huge cilantro fan so I only used maybe 1/3 cup.

Wegmans Fest

We were in a time crunch once again due to #2's baseball game so I tried something simple and almost new.  The Wegmans theme popped into my head since I already had several Wegmans products on hand.  #1 normally loves anything pork chop related so I wasn't worried about him.  #2 could probably go his whole life without ever eating another pork chop so he ate his one bite and was done.  #3 probably would have cleaned his plate if he had had more time.  I thought the chops might be a bit much for #4 so she ate something else.  The brussels sprouts were another issue entirely.  I am not a huge fan of them in general but have found that I can eat them if they are roasted in the oven.  These, however, were not.  All three of the boys ate their one bite and asked to be done.  I don't blame them as they were a bit on the mushy side.  I opted for some good old instant mashed potatoes on the side, but, unfortunately, misread the directions and only made two servings.  Everybody got just a wee taste.

Here is the recipe for the pork chops:

http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&productId=348514

Chipotle Lime Chicken

Well, we once again had a very full Monday in store so I decided to dust off my Crockpot and try some Chipotle Lime Chicken with Jamaican Rice.  I was pleasantly surprised that #1 was the first to taste the chicken!  He said something along the lines of, "Well, that wasn't too bad."   Pretty sweet praise coming from him!  Neither #2 or #3 was thrilled with the chicken but they did eat what was required.  The rice, however, disappeared from #2's plate before I had even finished serving myself!  I think the rice was definitely my favorite as well.  Not at all lowfat, but so delicious.  #2 has a Little League game this Monday, so I'm thinking about something simple....maybe an all Wegmans meal.

Here's the recipe that I used:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/slow-cooker-chipotle-lime-chicken-thighs-jamaican-rice-and-peas-recipe/index.html

I substituted chicken breasts and found the meat a bit dry.  Since the recipe was intended to make extra for another meal, I also cut the amount of meat in half.  I think I would add more of the chipotles to kick up the heat a bit too.  You might notice from the picture that I did not add the beans to the Jamaican Rice.  You can reference my last post if you are wondering why. :-)  It still turned out super yummy!!

Aloha Chicken

Well, with the beginning of Little League and a busy Easter week, I decided to take it easy on everyone again this week.  I thought I was anyway until #2 said, "Ugh, chicken...I don't like chicken."  The chicken was very similar to a sweet and sour without the sour.  Lots of sweet pineapple-y goodness!  I would have served it over the rice but, again, my children have a 'thing' with mixed foods...one thing at a time.  My sweet hubby did add his usual hot sauce so maybe it could have used a bit more flavor.  I think their favorite part was all the pineapple.  I snuck (is that a word?) a second new food in with the yellow/wax beans.  I offered them the choice of steamed or raw.  I tried both and much prefer the raw (as did everyone else) though I am still not a fan.  I would probably be perfectly content never to eat another bean again with the exception of chickpeas and possibly baked beans.   I think next week I'll be dusting off my crockpot, but what to make...

Here's the recipe for the chicken:
http://www.parents.com/recipe/chicken/aloha-chicken-with-pineapple-dip/

I used two large chicken breasts and it fed all of us with a little leftover.  I also increased the amount of the pineapple sauce since the recipe said it only served two...they must have used a very small chicken.

Eggs Over Easy

In all the craziness of #4's birthday week, I almost forgot to post this weeks meal!  Since the past three weeks have been a challenge for the boys (or some of them at least), I decided to take it easy (har har har) on them.   While they've eaten scrambled, hard-boiled, and salad, none of the kids had ever eaten fried eggs.  It might be because I don't do very well with the whole flipping and not cooking the yolk too long thing.  The two in the picture were the only ones with any significant dipping yolk left!  They loved the eggs!  Well, #1 wasn't a big fan of the yolk which is funny since when he eats hard-boiled eggs he always tries to eat the yolk in one bite.  Gag!  #2 copied #1 and dipped a bit and then ate all the white around the yolk.  #3, once again, cleaned his plate.  Outside of the burnt oven-made toast, dinner was a hit.  My favorite was the REAL bacon...none of that healthy turkey bacon we normally eat.  I'm thinking about maybe some sort of stew or casserole next.  I'm also compiling a list of all the New Food Mondays that happened pre-blog.

Pastitsio

Well, this past Monday I was called into work so sadly I wasn't able to experience the entire New Food Monday event.  I took Matt's suggestion and made pastitsio.  The recipes I found weren't exactly what he remembered, but he enjoyed it anyway.  The reviews were again mostly positive.  That's three weeks in a row...must be a new record!   #1 was put off once he found out there was some sort of tomato based sauce involved.  He did, however, eat quite a bit of the lettuce I had intended to make into a salad.  #2 ate ALL of his while #3 ate just a few bites.  I missed #4 trying hers but, from what I was told, she gobbled it up.  Matt took a picture so I could get a glimpse of how much she enjoyed her meal.  She's actually joining me in some leftovers as I type.  The most frequent comments involved the amount of cinnamon in the dish.  As for me, I really enjoyed what was, to me, a Greek version of the lasagna and baked ziti we ate growing up.  As you can tell, the recipe made a lot!  I decided to freeze half of the leftovers for one of those nights when I have no clue what to make for dinner.

I based my version on the following two recipes:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/pastitsio-recipe/index.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-specials/pastitsio-recipe2/index.html

I reduced the cinnamon and onion (in Ina's recipe) by half and used tomato puree rather than crushed since we have an issue with tomato (and onion) chunks in our house.  I went with rigatoni but might try lasagna noodles the next time.  I went ahead and followed Ina Garten's recipe for the bechamel which was yum but you could probably tweak it to make a lower fat version.  I just love getting to sneak sips of heavy cream.  Now I just need to figure out next week...

Harvard Beets

I liked the beets!!  I know, can you believe it??  #4 was the first to take a taste followed shortly by #3; both thought they were yummy. We even tried to hide #4's meat in the beet sauce since she liked it so much.  #2 was slightly hesitant but after Hubby finished his and gave the "Papa Seal of Approval", he went ahead and ate the required bite.  My ever picky #1, who has issues with the texture of his food in general and sauces in particular, decided the taste was okay but that maybe the sauce was a little slimy.  It did get a little more congealed as dinner wore on.  It took me several minutes to figure out why the taste was so familiar before it finally came to me...they tasted like the smell of Beech Nut's Sweet Corn Casserole!  And as a side note, I have decided that it is nearly impossible to take a good photo of beets.  It must be something about the color that just isn't very appetizing.

Here's the recipe I used...http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art536.asp
I chose to use fresh beets since I don't really care for most canned vegetables.  I boiled until tender (which seemed like it was forever but was probably closer to 45min.) and when they had cooled, the peels just slid right off.  I would probably half the recipe if I ever made these again.  I'm not sure when that will happen since I am still trying to finish the leftovers.

Pad Thai

This past Monday, we tried Bobby Flay's version of Pad Thai.  The reviews were mixed.  Hubby seemed to really enjoy the slightly sweet, slightly spicy mix but I'm not so sure I was a big fan, though I have eaten all the leftovers.  I opted to not torture the boys too much and left the scallions and bean sprouts out of the meal I served to them.  #2 decided he wanted to try the sprouts and really liked them!  #1 had a hard time wrapping his mind around the idea of mixing peanut butter and chicken but decided it was okay after finally trying his required one bite.  Old Reliable (aka #3) really enjoyed his dinner again!  Since #4 is just starting to experiment with real people food, I only gave her a sample of the noodles and some tofu plain both of which she decided didn't taste so great but were wonderful to smush on her tray.  Next stop...beets!

Here's the link to the recipe I used...http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/grilled-tofu-and-chicken-pad-thai-recipe/index.html  My thoughts on the recipe...only use half the amount of noodles since the ratio of the two was way off and my Wegmans was out of extra firm tofu and grilling firm tofu (or probably any tofu) is NOT easy so I might just pan fry in a little olive oil next time.  Enjoy!

Caprese Salad

Since I'm always running behind, it seemed appropriate to start off my new blogging adventure with last week's new food.  I thought I'd take it easy on the kids and serve something fairly innocuous.  I mean, really, who wouldn't love some red, ripe grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil picked fresh off my new hydroponic basil plant?  Well, two out of the three old enough to try it, that's who!  My oldest (#1) decided that perhaps holding the tomato in his mouth, for what seemed like an eternity, would improve the flavor while #2 described the tomatoes as sour but they both loved the cheese.  We might have to rename #3 Old Reliable since he gobbled up the whole thing.  I am thankful that I have at least one child so far who has not inherited my picky genes. Tonight we went on a journey to Southeast Asia but you'll have to wait until at least tomorrow to see what we tried.