I'm Not in the Mood

There are many days lately that I just don't want to cook anything for dinner. Truth be told, if it was still just me and Charlie, I probably wouldn't cook anything and we'd just eat cereal for dinner, but with the boys to take care of, I usually have to pull myself up by my bootstraps and throw something together. The added problem lately though is that I'm not in the mood to eat anything either.

My 'go to' meals are Chicken Parm and Breakfast for Dinner. Tonight I made breaded chicken in olive oil with Italian breadcrumbs, then tossed pasta with sauce and added the chicken to the top, melting some mozzarella over it. Delicious! Even though I wasn't in the mood to eat it when I started, I polished the whole thing off.

Breakfast for Dinner usually consists of omelets, tator tots or English muffins and fruit salad. Easy: check. Covers most food groups: check. A hit with the boys: check. Winner!

Tell me (because I need more ideas!): what do you make for dinner when you just don't want to make anything?

Souper Easy Taco Soup

Am I the only one who loves easy dinner ideas?!

I was in the mood for Taco Soup yesterday but couldn't find a recipe that I really liked (or had all the ingredients for) so I made this up and it was so fantastic that I just had to share it. It hardly took any time at all either, and I threw it together with staples that I had on hand already.

Ingredients
1/2 a large yellow onion, diced
1 T butter
2 c chicken broth
1 packet taco seasoning
1 (14 oz) can kidney beans
1 (14 oz) can black beans
2 c frozen corn
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Saute the butter and onion until the onion softens. Add all other ingredients except the chicken and bring to a boil. Once boiling, put the chicken in the soup (whole and raw). Let it cook in the soup for about 10 minutes, then take it out and allow it to cool slightly before shredding and putting it back in the soup. Turn the soup down to a simmer until ready for serving (mine simmered for about 2 hours and it was awesome).

I added a handful of Mexican shredded cheese to the pot and sprinkled a little more on each bowl before serving. I would have added canned tomatoes if I had them on hand, but it wasn't lacking without them. I probably would have added more taco seasoning too, if the boys weren't eating the soup with us, but I wanted to keep the spice level 'mild' and it was very flavorful.

I served it with homemade cornbread and orange slices and it was a HIT!

Do you have any simple soup recipes to share?

Menu Planning for Dummies

We just had the most fantastic week of dinner/revamped leftovers, so I thought I would share my culinary genius with you : ) Afterall, it's not often that I can figure out what to do with leftovers to make them into something different the next time we eat them. You might not like all of these options, but that's all they are - options! Hope you enjoy!

Day 1
Pecan crusted salmon (recipe below)
Oven fries (tossed potato wedges with olive oil, fresh parsley leftover from salmon, seasoning salt and pepper)
Salad (using romaine or something similar)
French bread

Day 2
Marinated chicken (use any marinade mix you like)
Sweet potato fries (tossed potato wedges with olive oil, cinnamon and salt)
Corn on the cob

Day 3
Burritos (or tacos) with grilled peppers (recipe below)

Day 4 - Revamp #1
Salmon salads with homemade croutons (recipe below)

Day 5 - Revamp #2
French toast (recipe below)
Bacon

Day 6 - Revamp #3
Chicken wraps (recipe below)

Here's how it worked:

• Made the salmon with the intention of having two pieces leftover for salads
• Made the chicken with the intention of having two pieces leftover for wraps
• Used a few slices of the leftover french bread to make croutons for the salads
• Put leftover fries in the toaster oven to eat on salad too (how's that for Pittsburgh!?)
• Used the rest of the french bread (stale by now anyway!) to make French toast
• Chicken wraps used leftover grilled peppers, more romaine lettuce and extra bacon
  

RECIPES:

Pecan Crusted Salmon
4 pieces of salmon
2 T dijon mustard
2 T melted butter
1 1/2 T honey
1/4 c. chopped pecans
1 T fresh parsley
1/4 t salt
1/8 t pepper Put salmon in a 9x9 pan. Mix everything else together except the pecans. Pour sauce over the salmon. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. Bake in 45o degree oven for 20 minutes. Delicious!

Homemade croutons
Cut french bread into cubes. Toss with olive oil and seasonings (I just used sea salt and pepper). Bake in 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes (or until golden brown)

Grilled Peppers

Cut one yellow and one red pepper (or whatever color you have on hand) into skinny strips. Toss with olive oil and a little salt. Cook in a skillet on med/high heat. Don't toss very often, that's how you'll get the black color on the skin like you see in restaurants!

French Toast
2 eggs
2/3 c milk
1/4 t cinnamon (or as much/little as you like)
1/4 t nutmeg
1 t vanilla
1/8 t salt
8 thick slices of french bread (hopefully stale by this point)

Beat eggs, milk, spices, vanilla and salt together. Dunk bread in liquid (to saturation point). Put in a buttered, heated skillet. Cook until golden brown on both sides. Great with berries and/or powdered sugar on top.