Menu Monday

I decided to link up on Rachel's blog for Menu Monday.  I am a faithful reader of her blog, but have never linked up.  Those of you that know me in real life already know that I cook most every night.  I'm just not always thinking about taking pics of what we had, so I will try to be better about that. Some of the things on the menu last week include:

Barbecue Beer Chicken

Since I didn't take a pic of mine, I borrowed this photo from How Sweet it is, the blog that I got the recipe from. I really liked this, but mine was way soupier than I think it was supposed to be.  I remedied that by taking the chicken out of the cooking liquid once it was done and shredding it into a separate dish.  I then just added the amount of sauce needed to make it the right consistency for us.  I didn't cook it quite as long as the recipe called for, so if you will be cooking it all day, you may not run into that.  The leftovers were really good in a salad, I made a dressing using some of the leftover sauce and added some green onion and cilantro and tossed it all with a big bowl of salad greens.  This would also do double duty for you if you wanted to make a BBQ chicken pizza.  I planned to do that, but didn't get around to it before the chicken was all gone.  I will make extra next time. 

I made quiche for dinner one night, I like to make to so I can eat it through the week for breakfast too. I have started using Kate's recipe as the base and then I just add whatever veggies I have on hand.  This week, it was asparagus, spinach, and mushrooms.

Wednesday nights we host an American Idol watch party and I have a couple of girlfriends come over to eat.  This week we had an Asian Chicken Salad, similar to this one from Pioneer Woman. We served it with edamame and plenty of vino, (Wednesdays are fun)!

Thursday and Friday we ate out, but Saturday we had a Cinco de Mayo feast over at some of our dear friends' house.  They have a gorgeous pool and the weather was perfect for sitting outside.  I made these Sour Cream Enchiladas to go along with all the other great food...we always over eat when we visit these particular friends!  I love these enchiladas but they really are pretty hard to do by yourself, you need an extra set of hands.  We set up a little assembly line and I get the hubs to help me!  It's pretty fun because he really doesn't do much cooking and I enjoy having him in the kitchen with me.  We always double, or even triple, this recipe.  I figure if you're going to make the mess, might as well make plenty! They reheat really well from the refrigerator, I haven't ever tried to freeze them though. 

My line cook

Here they are before going into the oven, I didn't get an "after" pic because we took them to over to the party to bake later. I serve these with my home made salsa and fresh guacamole. I also like to sprinkle chopped red onion and cilantro over them before serving, but they are great without that too.

As you can see, I get lots of inspiration from blogs I read, hopefully I can inspire a few of you out there to cook more meals at home!

Summer Suppers

Man y'all, it's H-O-T!  You know my love for cooking (and eating), but this weather is curbing my appetite for both.  We have been living on salads and sammies over here.  I am currently addicted to Greek salads with chicken.  I marinate the chicken all day while I go about my business then throw it on the grill at dinner time.  Another staple is a good ol' BLT.  I add avocado and that just kicks it up to the point of eye rolling good.  I have put my ice cream maker to work too!  I just whipped up a batch of mocha almond, and yes, it was as good as it sounds. I've got some fresh mozzarella and home grown tomatoes just waiting to be dressed in basil and balsamic--sounds like lunch tomorrow.  What are you all doing to keep cool as a cucumber in the kitchen?

Ice Ice Baby

It's slick out there! This means I get a snow day~that is a perk about being a teacher. I have never known a life without a snow day. Think about that for minute, will you? Funny, huh? It's a strange dichotomy. I have many friends who are teachers and we call each other, check the news etc...all to see if we will be having school. We love a snow day...for NOW, but come May, which turns into June, we aren't quite singing the same tune. By then, the kids are just DONE with school. It is difficult enough to hold their attention when they are still on, but once they are off, FU-GET ABOUT IT! So, when I am still in school after Memorial Day, I will need to remember how much I enjoyed this cold icy day that I got to stay home with my husband and kids. I made french toast and bacon and I drank coffee til noon. I am wearing my most cozy pj's and I don't plan on changing. These are pj's that one would really ONLY wear if it was an ice storm kind of day, otherwise you would begin to sweat as soon as you put them on. I just went to the grocery store for a "big shop" before the storm hit, so I have options! I am going to make Hot and Sour soup that my friend told me about. I won't have to listen to my kids gripe about it because I will have plenty of time to make them something else. That rarely happens around here. You eat what I fix. You don't love it? Well BUMMER, this ain't Mel's Diner! I mean, I am not force feeding my kids liver and onions over here (which by the way, I love and have since I was a kid). I just like to cook and we really don't eat out that often. My kids would be in hog heaven if we ate out every night. I find it difficult to eat even fast food without breaking the bank. I think because I do cook I know what kind of meal I could make for less money and it really irritates me. My kids of course do not think this is logical at all. Oh well, I tell them when they grow up and are made of money they can treat me to dinner out every night. I am looking forward to it too, I will probably be really sick of cooking by then. In the mean time, I think I will go eat some mac and cheese...the kind in the box. Cause on a snow day, calories don't count! Keep warm.

Talk Soon,

G