January 25th

Brazilian Food

I feel like the only Brazilian food most Americans experience is a Brazilian steakhouse where they bring you unlimited meat on a sword.  Don't get me wrong...I love those places.  However, I'm pretty sure that's not what Brazilians eat every day.  I would think that the food we ordered tonight is more representative of day-to-day Brazilian food.

Taste of Brasil
Oak Park, IL

I forgot to take pictures again and I am so sorry, because since most people haven't had these foods, it would be nice to have pictures to show you.  I guess I was just too excited to eat it!

We ordered carry-out from Taste of Brasil.  If you live in the area, I'd recommend it.  The food is good and the people are friendly.  I have eaten in the restaurant too.  It's very small, but we had great service.

I had a beef risoles which is ground beef and cheese all mixed up inside a fried croquette type thing.  Soooooo good!  I was originally debating just ordering a couple of these for my dinner.
I also had a picanha sandwich, which according to the menu is Brazil's most traditional steak, called "picanha" served on a lightly toasted french bread with caramelized onions and mozzarella cheese.  This is like a steak sandwich but the meat has great flavor and the onions add deliciousness.

Doug had a chicken risoles, which is the same thing as the one I had but filled with chicken, sweet corn, and cheese.
He also had feijoada which the restaurant says is the national dish of Brazil.  It is a black bean stew with assorted smoked pork and sausage.  It was served with collard greens and farofa (sauteed cassava flour and seasonings.)

Grades:

Megan - A (I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the risoles and could eat them for my entire meal.  My sandwich was also very tasty.)

Doug - A-

Noelle - A (Noelle ate the leftovers of my sandwich and really liked it.  She kept saying "I want more cheeseburger please.  Oh, that's not a cheeseburger, that's a sandwich!" She even ate the onions!)

January 24th

Taco Tuesday

There are some classic dinners my family ate when I was growing up.  Some of them might be normal classics, some maybe not so much.  But I guess they were my mom's go-to dinners...spaghetti with meat sauce, macaroni and cheese with fish sticks, beef enchiladas, chicken kiev, and tacos.  This was a classic dinner night.

Classic Tacos

no recipe folks...everyone knows how to make a taco, right?

In order for these to be classic tacos, you can't try to be fancy.  No special sauces, no cilantro, no avocados.  Just ground beef with taco seasoning, cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce.  Maybe some store bought taco sauce...but that's as fancy as it gets.  Oh, and flour tortillas.  No chia seeds in them or spinach...just flour tortillas.  I served them with some refried beans.

Grades:

Megan - A (I don't think anyone can really mess up tacos.  I mean they're pretty much good any way you make them...even if they're not made that great like mine tonight.)

Doug - A- (Doug says "Who doesn't like tacos?")

Noelle - A (Noelle was happy there were tomatoes in them because she likes tomatoes just as much as candy.  She wanted more tomatoes and kept saying that they were hiding in the ground beef [I guess she likes when her food is hiding].  She also has recently been interested in where her food goes when she eats it, so she informed me many times that the tacos were in her belly and we couldn't see them anymore. In addition, she loves black beans more than the average person, so the refried beans were quite a treat for her.)

January 23rd

Monday

Mondays are always the hardest day of the week in my opinion.  The weekend is over and there's a full week ahead of you.  This dinner didn't help make my Monday any better.

Ahi Tuna with Avocado Orange Salsa

salsa recipe from: The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2013

I told you before...I'm not a fan of fish unless it's fried or shellfish.  This was neither of those and as predicted, I wasn't a fan. 
When I'm grocery shopping I always think, "I'll get fish.  It's healthy and my family likes it."  but then when the night comes to eat it, I always think, "Why did I buy this?!"
The fish was frozen Ahi Tuna steaks from Trader Joe's.  I just put salt and pepper on them and sauteed them in olive oil. 
The salsa was very good...it would've been even better if it were on something besides that fish!

Avocado Orange Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1 large orange, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
• 1 avocado, pitted and cut into ½-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons minced red onion
• 4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1 small jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded and minced
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, adding salt to taste.

Grades:

Megan - F (I just need to stop trying to be healthy and accept that I don't like fish.  I tried a bite [just like I make Noelle do] and I did not like it at all.  The salsa was great though...I ended up eating that for my dinner.  Oh, and there were those grey looking artichokes for a side that didn't help anything.)

Doug - B+

Noelle - A- (Noelle is nothing like me and loves fish [even though she calls it chicken no matter how many times I correct her].  She was super excited there were avocados.  Then, when those were gone she found any piece of fish that had anything green on it and said "oh, there's a little avocado on there."  She ate it all.  Except the onions.  Even though they were chopped up super tiny, she found them all and made sure none stayed in her mouth.)

January 22nd

We Did Not Eat at 3 Floyds

We were supposed to go to 3 Floyds brewery tonight for dinner but found out last minute that they closed early today.  My sister got us reservations at Old Town Pour House in Oakbrook, IL instead.  While there was no heavy metal music or violent action movies, it still had lots of beer and was a fine substitution.

Old Town Pour House
Oakbrook, IL

Once again...I forgot to take pictures of my food.  But here's what we had:

Appetizers:
- fried calamari
- crab fondue

Entree:
- Megan - Fish and Chips
- Doug - Grilled Chicken sandwich
- Noelle - mini cheeseburgers and fries

Old Town Pour House is an upscale sports bar/restaurant that has 90 beers on tap.  No bottles or cans.  It was pretty noisy in there, but a great place to watch a game.  They also had awesome Wiki Stix for the kids to play with while they waited for the food.  And they had my all time favorite beer - Cuvee Des Jacobins Rouge.

Grades:

Megan - A (My food was tasty and even though they got my order mixed up and I had to wait for my food, they were very apologetic and nice about it.  The calamari was great.  I wouldn't order the crab fondue again - too runny and crabby tasting.  The fish and chips were typical fish and chips and were good.)

Doug - B (He says "B for the food, A- for the beer.")

Noelle - A+ (Noelle and Leila both loved the calamari.  It was a little weird to see them going nuts over little squid tentacles.  Noelle kinda liked the crab fondue.  She loved her little cheeseburgers and fries and ate a lot of food.  She also liked playing with the Wiki Stix - it was a nice change-up from the typical crayons and paper that she's never really into.)
Grades:

January 21st

Nothing Like Medieval Times

The cookbook claims that this is an old-time favorite with roots in medieval times.  I have been to Medieval Times a couple times, and this is nothing like the food they serve there.  So, who do you believe; Ruth Van Waerebeek or Shaumburg, IL's Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament?

Braised Chicken with Grapes
or Kip Met Druifjes (Dutch)
or Poularde Aux Raisins (French)

recipe from: Everybody Eats Well in Belgium Cookbook by Ruth Van Waerebeek and Maria Robbins

Grapes and chicken sound weird together, but this tastes good...trust me.  I guess in medieval times the mixing of fruits with meat and a little tart wine was a common combination.  Today, sometimes apples will be with pork, but other than that most fruits sound strange with meat.  Especially grapes.  Be brave with this one and you won't regret it. 

The recipe calls for a cup of canned, peeled grapes.  I just assumed the store didn't have these because I've never heard of such a thing, so I didn't look.  Maybe they do.  If they have them, I think they would make the dish even better.  Doug made this and since I didn't get the canned grapes and he didn't want to peel grapes, he just cut them up and put them in there, which worked just fine.  We also didn't have any fancy watercress leaves for garnish.  And, it says it's best served over potato croquettes, but you should have noticed by now that I am not big on spending time making side dishes (and apparently neither is Doug), so we served it over brown rice.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 pounds of chicken (we just used chicken breast, but you could use the whole chicken cut into pieces)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 TBS vegetable oil
• 3 TBS butter
• 1/2 C minced shallots
• 1/4 C cognac
• 1/2 C fruity white whine such as muscadet or riesling (we used moscato)
• 1/3 C chicken broth
• 1 C canned, peeled green grapes, drained but 1/2 cup heavy syrup reserved
• 1/2 C heavy cream
• 1/2 lb fresh seedless green grapes
• watercress leaves for garnish

Directions:

1. Season the chicken pieces generously with salt and pepper.  Heat the oil and 1 TBS of the butter in a large saute pan or dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot.  Add the chicken pieces, a few at a time so as not to crowd the pan, and saute on both sides until golden brown.  Continue until all the chicken pieces are browned.  Set aside. 
2. Heat the remaining 2 Tbs butter in the same pan over low heat.  Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned.  Add the chicken pieces.  Flambee with cognac.
3. Add the wine, chicken broth, and reserved heavy syrup from the canned grapes.  Cover the pan and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes.  Turn the chicken pieces over and simmer, covered, until the chicken is tender, about 20 minutes longer.  
4. Remove the chicken pieces.  Reduce the liquid in the pan over high heat by one-third to concentrate the flavor , 1-2 minutes.  Add the cream and reduce further until the sauce is smooth and nicely thickened.  Taste and adjust seasoning.
5. Reheat the chicken in the sauce, turning the pieces over carefully so that every bit is covered with sauce.  Add both the canned and fresh peeled grapes.  Arrange on a platter, surrounded with grape clusters and watercress leaves and serve.

Grades: 

Megan - A (The flavor of the sauce was so good and the grapes brought a nice sweetness to the chicken.  The only thing I would do differently is make double the amount of sauce because I wished there was a lot more.)

Doug - A-

Noelle - A (Noelle was happy to be eating something daddy made once again.  She loves grapes so she ate all those first.  Then she ate all the chicken and rice and was really into it. Yay - she's finally eating again!)

January 20th

Do Kings Like Chicken?

This dish is called Imperial Chicken.  I have no idea why.  The recipe is from my mom, who got it from her mom.  I did a very brief Google search and apparently it's a real recipe that people outside of my family have made.  I couldn't find any reason for the name though.  I'm going to say it's called Imperial Chicken because it's so good, it's fit for royalty.

Imperial Chicken

recipe from: Eileen Mulvaney (my grandmother)

So, this picture really does not do this chicken justice.  I'm telling you...it's imperial!  It tastes imperial and it looks much more imperial than my photo.  It has a crunchy, garlicky (I always add 2-3 times the amount of garlic it suggests), buttery crust.  But, it's healthier because it's not fried (just don't think about all that butter you dip it in/pour over it.)  Cook it, serve it, and expect to feel like royalty while you're eating it.

Ingredients:

• 1 C dried breadcrumbs (unseasoned)
• 1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup minced parsley (I used dried parsley)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 3/4 C melted butter
• 2 Large cloves garlic (I used about 3 times this amount!)
• 3 lbs chicken breasts

Directions:

1. Blend crumbs, cheese and parsley, salt and pepper.
2. Melt the butter and add garlic.  Cook garlic for about 30 seconds - 1 minute or until fragrant.
3. Dip the chicken in butter and garlic mixture, then into crumbs, coating thoroughly.
4. Arrange chicken in a single layer on a shallow pan.
5. Drizzle any remaining butter and garlic over the chicken. 
6. Bake uncovered at 350 for one hour or until fork tender (will probably not need full hour).

Grades:

Megan - A (this is one of my favorite go-to dinners.  It's quick and delicious.)

Doug - A-

Noelle - B+ (Noelle seemed like she liked this...she wasn't very hungry when I fed it to her so it was hard to tell what grade she gave it.  Maybe if she had been hungry it would've been higher.  Or, maybe she just wanted to go with the theme more and eat it with a crown on.)

January 19th

Feels Like Fall

The weather has been a little warmer than usual and rainy, making it feel a little bit more like November than January.  To make it feel even more like fall, I made a dinner full of fall flavor.

Pork with Dried Apples and Prosciutto

recipe from: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/249186/pork-with-dried-apples-prosciutto

This one might look a little too brown, but the flavors are all there.  I didn't have apple cider, so I just used extra broth.  If I had the apple cider, I think the flavor would've been even better. The prosciutto makes it sooo good.  I love prosciutto...it was hard not to just eat it all before making the dinner.

Grades: 

Megan - B+ (I thought the flavor was great.  It only got a B because pork is not my favorite.)

Doug - B+

Noelle -B (Wow...I really thought Noelle would HATE this one since she seems to be on a streak of hating everything.  She was hesitant to try it at first and didn't seem very into it, but then she tried the prosciutto and I guess she's like me and loves the stuff too.  She kept asking for more prosciutto and when that was gone she seemed to enjoy the pork and apples.)

January 18th

So Warm and Cozy

Whenever Noelle is cold and we put a blanket, coat, or some other thing to keep warm on her, she always says, "I'm so warm and cozy."  Today was a chilly, gloomy day and this soup was the perfect thing to warm me up and make me feel warm and cozy.

Vegetable Barley Soup

recipe from: http://www.fromachefskitchen.com/italian-vegetable-barley-soup/

This soup is healthy and tastes good, a rare combination!  The recipe calls for tomato juice in the soup and I forgot to buy it.  The soup was still good without it, but I think it would've been thicker and a little more flavorful with the juice.  I also did not add the cabbage since Doug doesn't like it.  Instead, I had an extra leek in the fridge so I threw that in and I added extra zucchini and yellow squash.  I ate this for leftovers the next day and I think the flavor was even better!

Grades:

Megan - B+ (I liked that it had a good vegetable flavor and seemed hearty with the barley while staying fairly healthy.)

Doug - B+

Noelle -F (Noelle's opinion of my food has really been bad lately.  She's been sick so that could be part of it...at least that's what I'll tell myself. I even tried telling her that daddy made it and that it was Grandpere's veggie soup and she still didn't like it.)

January 17th

A Non-Photogenic Dinner

I have been told that I need to work on the photographs of my food because some of them look a little pathetic.  I agree...some of them do.  But, like I said before, I'm not trying to make it look fancy or professional.  I'm just showing what I eat, and sometimes (like tonight) what I eat doesn't really look that pretty.  Blogs always make the food look so perfect.  Well...my food doesn't usually look perfect.  This is real life and if you make it at home, it might not look perfect either.  Hopefully it will taste good though!

Ham with Roasted Carrots

Definitely no recipe needed for this dinner.

This was a precooked, store-bought ham.  All I had to do was heat it up in the oven for about 20 minutes.  For the carrots, I just peeled them and roasted them in the oven with a little salt and olive oil.  Sometimes you just need a dinner that takes no effort.

Grades:

Megan - C (This dinner was average.  Not bad, not great. It gets an A for the amount of work involved in making it.)

Doug - B

Noelle - C (Noelle agreed with my average rating.  She ate some of the ham but seemed like she could take it or leave it.  She was quite concerned that I didn't cut the pieces of ham small enough for her and spent a lot of time looking for "good pieces.")

January 16th

Kabobs Anyone?

For some reason kabobs always look more impressive to me than serving the meat without a stick.  And really it doesn't take any more effort than cutting the meat into chunks.  Give it a try and kabob your next meat!

Greek Lemon Chicken Skewers with Tzatziki Sauce

recipe from: http://reciperunner.com/greek-lemon-chicken-skewers-tzatziki-sauce/

This chicken turned out very flavorful, even though I think I overcooked it a bit.  The sauce was a little runny, but still good and was the perfect accompaniment to the chicken. 
It was really cold and rainy here tonight, so instead of grilling the chicken, I cooked it in the oven.  I did it at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes.  Like I said, I think that was too long.  30 minutes probably would've been fine.  I served it with roasted fingerling potatoes, but really any vegetable would be great with it.  You could even get creative and put some veggies on the skewers with the chicken. 
Even though this turned out really well in the oven, I think it would be even better on the grill, so if that's an option for you, I'd go for it!

Grades:

Megan - A (I loved the lemon-oregano flavor of the chicken and the sauce went really well with it. I may or may not have eaten a couple spoonfuls of sauce by itself.)

Doug - A (Doug said this dinner was "restaurant quality.")

Noelle - D+ (Noelle was not into this.  She took one bite and then didn't want to eat any more.  After I made up a song about lemon chicken she ate a little bit without too much protest, but I don't think she was really enjoying it.  I know she likes lemons because she wanted to suck on them while I was making the marinade.  Maybe she's not an oregano fan?)

January 15th

A Big BBQ Dinner

I didn't have anything planned for dinner tonight, so we ordered carry out.  We ordered way too much food from Q Bbq in Oak Park, IL.

Burnt Ends and BBQ Chicken

Doug and I each ordered a dinner from Q Bbq and we split the meats (burnt brisket ends and chicken).  Each of our dinners also came with two sides and two hush puppies.  It was a lot of food and neither of us finished. 

The burnt ends are my favorite thing at Q Bbq.  They are the charred, delicious ends of the brisket and are so full of flavor.  The restaurant has a variety of different bbq sauces, but I think my favorite is the Carolina sauce - I love the vinegar taste in it. 

I never had the bbq chicken from there and I was impressed by it.  It had a lot of flavor and was very moist.  It would be great on a sandwich.

One of my favorite things about eating at Q Bbq are the sides.  They have a good selection of sides and every one I've had has been extremely tasty.  I honestly think I could make a dinner of just the sides (hmm...maybe I'll do that next time).  Every meal comes with hush puppies.  I don't really know what they are except that they taste like fried deliciousness.  I ordered the Mexican corn which is corn with a spicy lime mayo....yum!  And I had the baked beans.  Doug had cornbread and mashed potatoes with gravy.

Grades:

Megan - B+ (Q Bbq is really good.  Next time I'll get a sandwich instead of just the meat - I like that better.)

Doug - A-

Noelle - D- (Noelle wasn't in the mood to eat any of her food when I gave her this, so I don't know if she didn't like it or if she just wasn't hungry.  I think it was more of the latter.  Either way, she was much more into playing with her food and trying to feed it to her baby than eating. Grrr...)

January 14th

An Anniversary Celebration

Doug and I went to his aunt and uncle's 35th wedding celebration tonight at Bartolini's Restaurant in Midlothian, IL.  We had lots of food, fun, and dancing.  With all the fun we were having, I forgot to take a picture of my food. 

Fried Chicken

I had fried chicken and salad and it was delicious.  My dad said we used to use Bartolini's to cater my graduation parties, but I don't really remember it.  After eating there for the party, I would recommend it though!

January 13th

Classic Italian

One way we can afford for me to be a stay-at-home mom is by not eating out for dinner very often. But, with dinners like this I can feel like I am eating restaurant-quality food without the restaurant price. Buon Appetito!

Eggplant Parmesan

recipe from: Maureen Konieczny
This recipe was previously featured on my blog and includes step-by-step instructions and pictures.  Check it out here: https://dailydoseofdinner.blogspot.com/2011/12/and-im-backwith-italian-feast.html

I could've done better with the presentation on this one.  However, I just wanted to eat it, not mess around with garnishes!  I also should've made a side dish, but we're trying to eat healthier, so the perfect side of garlic bread wasn't going to work.  Since the dinner is all vegetables, I thought serving a vegetable side would be silly.  I think a good non-bread side would be ceasar salad.  I'll do that next time.  This time the eggplant was the sole star!

This recipe takes slightly longer than many of my other recipes, but only because it takes a little time to fry up all the eggplant slices.  The recipe is not difficult at all!  If you like eggplant parmesan, you must give this one a try!

Grades:

Megan - A (Love it!)

Doug - B+ (Doug thought the eggplant was cooked very well.  Eggplant it not his favorite though.)

Noelle - A (Noelle kept calling this pizza even though I told her it was eggplant parmesan.  She ate about the same size portion as I did and loved it so much that she didn't even mind her face and fingers getting messy from the sauce!)

January 12th

Where's the Beef?

Remember those commercials from the 80s?  "Where's the Beef?" I always have lots of dinner ideas involving chicken, but am constantly trying to think of ideas using other proteins, like beef.  This dinner uses ground beef which is easy to cook, inexpensive, and when seasoned properly, delicious.

Korean Beef and Rice

recipe from: SixSistersStuff.com

This dinner couldn't get any simpler.  Despite how quick and easy it is to make though, it's packed full of flavor.
You can adjust the amount of chili flakes you use depending on how spicy you like it.  We like it pretty spicy, so I use a lot.  However, I took out a portion for Noelle before I added the spice because I know she's not a fan of really spicy things.
Since this dinner was basically just beef and rice, I decided to add some vegetables.  I just added a bag of frozen stir fry vegetables in after the beef was browned.  It adds flavor, crunch, color, and makes it healthier with all those yummy veggies!
The only other thing I did differently from the recipe was to make a little extra sauce since it seemed a bit dry.  I still only used 1/4 cup of brown sugar, but added more soy sauce and ginger.

Grades:

Megan - A (I love that this recipe takes under a half an hour and tastes like it took much longer.  The sweet and spicy flavor combo works great.)

Doug - A-

Noelle -D+ (Noelle has never had any "Asian flavors" before such as ginger and soy sauce.  I could tell she didn't hate it, because she kept asking for more. But, every time she ate a bite she acted surprised by the flavor.  She needs to get used to these new flavors and maybe she'll like it better next time)

** A little tip rant...
When Noelle first tried this dinner I could tell she was surprised by the new flavors as any of us would be when we try something new.  One thing I try not to do is say, "Oh, I guess you don't like that" when she tries something new.  Instead I say something like, "That was a new flavor for you that you'll have to get used to.  I'm proud of you for trying it."  Also, even if she doesn't seem to like it or doesn't eat much of it, I don't give her something else instead.  If I started doing that, she would quickly learn that she can just refuse what's in front of her and get something better.  I know she won't starve herself.
Sometimes I can tell Noelle just doesn't really like the flavor of something and then I don't really push her too hard to eat more.  However, with this, I could tell she was on the fence about whether she liked it or not, so I did try to get her to eat a little more.  When she wasn't eating it, I started eating it (cause I was hungry!!).  As soon as she saw me eating it too, she asked for more and ate quite a bit more with me.  I think kids want to see that you like the food you serve them too.  Personally, I don't really like "kid food" because it tends to be lower quality food than what adults eat, less healthy, and pretty flavorless.  For example, once she ordered a cheeseburger off a kids menu in a restaurant (I hate kids menus BTW).  When it came, it was a dry, plain, greyish brown disgusting looking patty on a plain bun.  Noelle tried it and did not want it.  And I couldn't blame her!  It looked disgusting!!  I wouldn't have wanted to eat that either.  That was an extreme situation, but just an example of the question I always wonder...why do we expect our kids to eat plain, boring, flavorless food that we wouldn't eat?  I don't know many adults who eat plain noodles, chicken nuggets, and hot dogs every night for dinner, so why would our kids?
Just like Noelle's experience tonight...flavors take a while to get used to (I think they say you have to try something about 13 times before you can really tell if you like it or not), but when you get used to them, they are sooooo much better than bland food. 

January 11th

This One is A Stinker

There was a restaurant we liked in L.A called The Stinking Rose.  They specialized in all super-garlicy dishes.  This dinner would be perfect for that restaurant.  This is not a dinner you want to make for a first date.  Make this with someone who loves you and doesn't mind being stinky with you since it is full of LOTS of garlic!

Linguine with Bay Scallops

recipe adapted from: Maureen Konieczny (my mom)
This recipe was previously featured on my blog.  Here's the link to the recipe: https://dailydoseofdinner.blogspot.com/2012/05/birthday-dinner.html

This is one of our go-to dinners.  It's pretty easy and quick to make and tastes delicious (if you love garlic).  We have made this recipe with bay scallops, clams, and shrimp and all are great!  Just be ready to smell like garlic for a while!

Grades:

Megan - A+ (This dinner has been one of my favorites since I was a kid [but we used to have it with shrimp].  I think shrimp are the best in it, but Doug doesn't like shrimp so bay scallops or clams are great substitutes.)

Doug - A-

Noelle -A+ (I take back what I said about banana muffins being Noelle's favorite food.  This is her new favorite!  She was shoveling it into her mouth like someone was trying to take it from her [I was trying to sneak a few bites] and she kept asking for more.  She ate a HUGE serving of it and her favorite part was the scallops.  She ate all the scallops first and then kept saying, "Where are you scallops?" Getting a 23 month old to love scallops = success!)

January 10th

A Too-Healthy Dinner Plus a Bonus Snack

This dinner was way too healthy for my liking, but if you are trying to lose weight, get in shape, or eat healthier, this could be a dinner for you!  Since it was so blah, I felt bad and decided to throw in the recipe for a snack Noelle and I baked earlier in the day.

Mahi Mahi with Spinach

There is no recipe...it's pretty basic stuff.

I really don't like fish very much (unless it's fried, in stick form, or shellfish), but I make it anyway because it's healthy.  Mahi Mahi is not fishy tasting at all, which makes it better than most fish.  This dinner is super simple and super healthy (too healthy in my opinion).  It probably only took me about 15 minutes total to make.

Ingredients:

• Mahi Mahi fillets (I get them frozen from Trader Joes)
• Olive Oil (or you can use coconut oil)
• salt and pepper
• frozen chopped spinach
• butter
• garlic, minced

Directions:

1. Put the frozen spinach in a pot and heat until it isn't frozen anymore.  Stir in some butter and garlic to taste.  Cook a little longer until the garlic has cooked a bit.
2. Heat the oil in a pan.  Salt and pepper the fish.  Add the fish to the pan and saute until cooked through.  Serve with lemon wedges.

Grades:

Megan - C (This dinner was fine.  It's just not something I would ever crave because it's just way too healthy and I don't like fish very much.)

Doug - B+ (Doug likes to eat healthy and likes fish.)

Noelle - A (Noelle loves fish.  She was hesitant to try the spinach, but she knows she has to try at least a bite of everything before she can be finished.  After she tried a bite, she realized she liked it and ate all of it.)

Bonus!!!
Banana Oatmeal Muffins

recipe from: fitandhealthywithdebbie.blogspot.com

Noelle and I baked these muffins together this afternoon and I decided to add them to the blog because they are pretty awesome.  These are probably Noelle's favorite food.  Whenever she is pretending to cook and you ask her what she is making, she always says "banana muffins."  She almost loves making them as much as she likes eating them.

I think cooking with your kids and having them help prepare their food is very important so they not only understand how the food is made and where it comes from, but also get excited about eating since they helped make it themselves!  Noelle is not even two yet, but she helps me make these.  She helps pour the measured ingredients into the food processor, peel the bananas (and tries to eat them), put the paper liners in the muffin tin, and helps sprinkle the chocolate chips on top (even though it's more like...put one chocolate chip on the muffin, eat one, one on the muffin, eat three...)

If you want to get your kids to eat something new, seriously try having them help you make it!

Chocolate chips are not in the recipe, but we sprinkle a few on top because they're delicious and it makes these muffins feel like a special treat even though they are still really healthy.  You could add anything to the top...walnuts, coconut flakes, etc.

These are a favorite healthy snack of mine and Noelle's.  Let me know how it goes if you try making them with your kids (but they're also great for adults.  I have to restrain myself from eating them all!)

Grades:

Megan - A (These are really good, healthy, and easy to make)

Doug - B+

Noelle - A+ (A favorite to make and eat!)

January 9th

One Skillet Supper

I always love dinners that use as few dishes as possible because the worst part about cooking is cleaning up the dishes.  This dinner is great because it only uses one pan! 

Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet

recipe from: Primaverakitchen.com (here's the link to the recipe: http://www.primaverakitchen.com/ground-turkey-sweet-potato-skillet/)

This dinner is healthy and perfect for a quick, easy comfort meal.  I only changed two things from the recipe.  First, I covered the pan with a lid while the potatoes were cooking.  The lid trapped some moisture, which helped cook the potatoes more quickly.  Second, I did not use the oven.  Really, who has time to use the oven just to melt some cheese!?  Instead, I sprinkled the cheese on top and covered the pan with a lid to melt the cheese.  It didn't brown like it would have in the oven, but it tasted the same.

Grades:

Megan - A- (I liked the flavor, liked that it was healthy, and liked that it was quick and easy to make.  And I liked the red pepper flakes in it!)

Doug - B+

Noelle -D- (I'll never figure this girl out.  I thought she would love this one since she is obsessed with sweet potatoes.  She barely ate any of it and what she did eat, she had to be strongly coerced into eating.  She did ask me at first if daddy made it and I said no, mommy made it.  Maybe if I would've said daddy made it she would've liked it???  I think she didn't like the spice from the red pepper flakes.  I thought I added few enough that it wouldn't bother her, but next time I'll try making her portion without any pepper.)

January 8th

A Fricassee Cicada Story

It was Stew Sunday, so Doug made dinner.  If you know Doug, you know he's a big Francophile, so his dinner was from his Provence cookbook.  If you want to sound fancy when you serve this dinner you could say; "We are having Fricassée de Poulet au Vin Blanc, Câpres, et Olives."  If you want to sound normal you can just call it Fricassee of Chicken with White Wine, Capers, and Olives.  Up to you.

Fricassee of Chicken with White Wine, Capers, and Olives

recipe from The Provence Cookbook by Patricia Wells

This was a pretty healthy stew with a nice light flavor.  It's nice and warm for the winter, but I think it would be good in any season.  Doug said it's easy to make, which is always a plus.  The cookbook says it's even better the next day, so I guess Noelle tasted the best of it since she ate the leftovers the day after we had it.

Ingredients:

• 1 fresh chicken (3-4 lbs) cut into pieces (Doug used all boneless skinless chicken breasts)
• salt
• pepper
• 3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 2 onions, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
• 2 cups white wine
• 2 lbs ripe tomatoes, peeled, cored, seeded, and chopped (Doug just cut up the tomatoes...It was still good without them peeled or seeded)
• 1 cup Picholine green olives, pitted (substitute pimiento-stuffed olives which Doug did)
• 1/4 capers, drained

Directions:

1. Liberally season the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper.
2. In a skillet, heat the oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking.  Add the chicken pieces and brown until the poultry turns an even golden color, about 5 minutes.  Turn the pieces and brown the other side 5 minutes more.  Carefully regulate the heat to avoid scorching the skin.  This may have to be done in batches.  When all the chicken is browned, use tongs- to avoid piercing the meat - to transfer them to a platter.
3. Reduce the heat to low and add the onions and sweat - cook covered, over low heat until soft but not browned - for about 3 minutes.  Return the chicken to the pan.  Add the wine, tomatoes, olives, and capers.  Cover and simmer over low heat until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour.  Taste for seasoning.  Serve with rice or fresh pasta.

This has nothing to do with the stew, but the cookbook had some interesting information about Cicadas and their relationship to Provence.  I found it interesting.  If you want to learn more, here is a picture of the page:

Grades:

Megan - B+ (I thought the flavor was good, but I thought the onions needed to be cooked more.  I don't like them to have any crunch or texture at all in my soup.  I prefer them soft and mushy.)

Doug - B+ (Doug doesn't like olives very much so those brought his grade down a bit.)

Noelle - A (I really was thinking Noelle was going to hate this one since it had big pieces of onion and had olives and capers in it; neither of which she likes.  Boy, did she surprise me!  She loved it and ate a huge bowl, onions, olives, capers, and all!  She thought it was hilarious that the capers were "hiding" in the soup and laughed whenever we found one.)

January 7th

It Feels Like Summer

Actually, it is bitterly cold outside.  But inside our condo, it feels like summer!  Our heat has been blaring and it was so hot inside today that I was wearing a tank top and had windows open in every room.  Since it feels so warm, I decided to make a dinner that makes me think of sitting on a porch by the beach on a New England summer night.

Maryland Crab Cakes

Recipe from: The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2013

Active cooking time: 15 minutes
Inactive cooking time: 30 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes

These crab cakes were really easy to make and turned out better than I expected.  They have well-seasoned chunks of crab instead of being a doughy ball with little flakes of crab like some served in restaurants.  The recipe calls for a pound of fresh lump crab meat, but I used 8 oz of fresh crab claw meat and 8 oz of shredded imitation crab meat because that's what I had in my fridge.  It still turned out delicious, so I can only imagine if you used all the good stuff it would be even better!
I didn't make a sauce for mine in attempt to be healthier.  Instead I just served them with lemon wedges.  However, I think an aoli would be delicious with these.  The recipe in the book suggests a Creamy Chipotle Chili Sauce that sounds great.  I included the recipe for the sauce below if you want to try it with yours.

Maryland Crab Cakes:
Serves: 4
Ingredients:

• 1 lb fresh jumbo lump crabmeat, carefully picked over to remove cartilage and shell fragments
• 4 scallions, green parts only, minced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 Tbs chopped fresh herb, such as cilantro, dill, basil, or parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
• 2-4 Tbs plain dry breadcrumbs (I used 2)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise 
• salt and pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

Directions:

1. Gently mix the crabmeat, scallions, herb, Old Bay, 2 Tbs of bread crumbs, and the mayonnaise in a bowl, being careful not to break up the lumps of crab.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Carefully fold in the egg with a rubber spatula until the mixture just clings together.  Add more bread crumbs if necessary.
2. Divide the crab mixture into 4 portions (I divided mine into 8 smaller crab cakes) and shape each into a fat, round cake about 3 inches across and 1 1/2 inches high.  Arrange the cakes on a baking sheet lined with waxed or parchment paper; cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.  (the crab cakes can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours)
3. Place the flour on a plate.  Lightly dredge the crab cakes in the flour.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.  Gently place the chilled crab cakes in the skillet; pan fry until the outsides are crisp and browned, 4-5 minutes per side.  Serve immediately with sauce or lemon wedges.

Creamy Chipotle Chile Sauce
makes about 1/2 a cup
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp canned minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 1 small garlic clove
• 2 tsp minced fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 tsp lime juice

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl.  Cover and refrigerate until the flavors blend, about 30 minutes. (The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 days) 

Grades:

Megan - A (I thought these taste light and fresh.  They were good with just lemon juice, but I would like to try them with a sauce)

Doug - B+ (Doug thought these were good crab cakes, he just doesn't like crab cakes enough to give them an A)

Noelle -B (Noelle really liked saying the word crab cake over and over and was excited by the idea of eating these.  I think she was expecting cake... which was a little disappointing.  She still ate some though and seemed to like it.)

January 6th

A Night Out

Doug and I got fancy and went to see The Magic Flute at the Lyric Opera tonight.  We both decided we aren't the hugest opera fans, but it was fun to get out and see the show.  Before the show we did one of my favorite things...ate out!

Madison Tavern

We ate at Madison Tavern because it was conveniently located in Olgilvie train station, was close to the opera house, and had reservations.

Doug had a beer and jambalaya.  I had an "Olgilvie Old Fashioned" (which was pretty much just a regular Old Fashioned) and a lobster roll with fries. Unfortunately, I was enjoying myself slacking off and forgot to take a picture of the food.  😞

Madison Tavern is located inside Olgilvie Station on Madison and Canal in the Chicago Loop.  It's kind of an upscale sports bar.  It seemed to be popular with the "after-work crowd." I would recommend it if you are in the neighborhood and want a casual restaurant with a more upscale menu than a typical sports bar.  It is very convenient if you are traveling to/from Olgilvie Station or the nearby Union Station.

Grades:

Megan: A - The drink was good.  The lobster roll was delicious, but not the best lobster roll I've ever had.

Doug - A- (Doug said his Jambalaya needed more rice but the taste was on-point.)

Noelle - No grade from Noelle.  She had to stay home and eat leftovers.

January 5th

Indian Inspiration 

I'm always making recipes I find on Pinterest, and this was one of them.  I really like making different ethnic foods because I think it's fun to try new things and it makes me feel like I am traveling even when I'm in my own kitchen.

Lamb Meatballs with a Curried Coconut Cream Sauce

recipe from: http://www.howtocookmeat.com/recipes/lamb/how-to-make-lamb-meatballs.htm

Total cooking time: 25 minutes

A lot of the time when I follow a recipe I add more spices, herbs, garlic, and onions than the recipe calls for because I don't like my food to taste bland.  However, with this recipe I made the mistake of adding too many onions.  I added about double the onions the recipe called for thinking, hey that will just add more flavor.  But, it made it too hard for the meatballs to stick together and hold their shape. So, don't add too many onions.

If I made it again, I also would cook the onions and the peppers before mixing them with the meat because I found that they didn't really cook well when they were added into the meatballs raw (they were still quite crunchy). 

As for the sauce...I wish it would've thickened up more.  Maybe I just didn't cook it long enough.  I never have to patience to let sauces reduce.

Grades:

Megan - B (I'm not the biggest fan of the taste of lamb.  Besides that, I wish the onions would've been less raw.)

Doug - B

Noelle - C (Noelle ate some of the meatballs after I sang the Daniel Tiger classic - "You gotta try new foods cause they might taste good!" [You have to love those Daniel Tiger songs - they really help me get Noelle to do a lot of things!] She wasn't spitting it out or gagging, but she didn't seem very impressed by them and didn't each as much as I expected.)

January 4th

I am Polish

This is the type of meal that reminds me...yep, I am Polish.  I haven't really ever attempted to make any traditional Polish foods besides these pierogis, so I'll have to start working on fixing that this year.

Pierogis and Smoked Kielbasa

Pierogi recipe from Donna Konieczny (my grandmother)...but sorry, it's a top secret family recipe, so I can't share it on here.  However, I'm sure that you can get good recipes online.

Cooking time: a long time. I didn't time it, but these are pretty labor intensive.  I made them in the summer and made a huge batch of them.  In my opinion they are worth the time.  Especially since you can make a million of them at once and then freeze them so they are ready to eat whenever you want.

If you have never had a pierogi, you need to try them right now.  The store-bought ones are good, but they are NOTHING in comparison to homemade.  The store-bought tend to have thick dough, while these homemade ones have paper thin dough (No matter what recipe you use, if you make them yourself be sure to roll the dough super thin).  Also when you make them yourself, you can add more flavor into the filling than the store-bought. 
I made three different flavors; cheese, potato and onion, and cabbage.  I topped them with bacon crumbles, sauteed onions, and some sour cream.  The sausage was store bought and I just sauteed it in a pan.  This is not a meal for those on a diet (and I am on a diet...oops).

Grades:

Megan - Pierogis = A+, Polish Sausage = C (I love, love, love pierogis.  Especially my grandma's and these taste almost as good as hers.  There was nothing wrong with the sausage.  I just don't particularly like Polish sausage.)

Doug - A- (Doug said it was "a real stick-to-your-ribs dinner")

Noelle - A- (Noelle loved the potato pierogis and asked for more.  She tolerated the cabbage ones and did not really like the cheese.  Noelle seems to be like me and not be the biggest fan of Polish sausage. She ate some of it, but mostly just liked commenting on what the shapes of the sausage I cut looked like to her...she really liked one she found that looked like a chair.)

January 3rd

Being like Julia

Tonight I made a Julia Child's recipe, which to me sounds intimidating.  But, it was simple, quick, and delicious!

Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons (aka Chicken and Mushrooms)

I got the recipe from this site: http://sugarandspice-celeste.blogspot.com/2009/08/chicken-breasts-with-mushrooms-cream.html which is an awesome blog with tons of recipes and pictures...you should check it out!

Active cooking time (time I actually spent doing stuff): 20 minutes
Inactive cooking time (time spent simmering/in the oven when I really wasn't doing anything: 30 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes

As you can tell, these pictures are real.  That's how the food actually looks when I am about to eat it.  It might not look the prettiest, but it sure was tasty!

This is a fancy french chicken dish that is really easy to make and not so fancy in terms of prep work.  I love the taste the wine adds (I used a dry Vermouth) and the mushrooms make me feel like I am eating something healthy. 
FYI... I don't know how Julia Childs likes her chicken, but I prefer mine cooked and therefore I baked it for more than 6 minutes (30 minutes to be exact) and I think you should too.
Another thing I changed from the original recipe was that I did not cover it with buttered parchment paper.  I just covered the pan with a lid and it was fine.

Grades:

Megan - A (I love the wine taste and want to eat a big bowl of just the sauce)

Doug - A- (Doug liked the mushroom taste)

Noelle - A - (Noelle ate more chicken than I have ever seen her eat and commented on how she wanted "more sauce," but she did not like the mushrooms)

January 2nd

Dinner by Doug

Typically in the cold-weather months, Doug makes a stew every Sunday.  We were busy with holiday stuff and he never got around to making this one, so he did it on a Monday.

Texas Chili
recipe from Mark Rippetoe - the recipe can found in this link under "Rip's Chili Recipe" http://startingstrength.com/report/the-report-november-14-2016

Apparently, real Texas chili has no beans or tomatoes.  According to this guy it doesn't have anything except meat and spices/peppers.  It was good, but I think I like my chili with a little more stuff in it.  Also, we were trying to be healthy and didn't put cheese on it...that would've made it better because cheese makes everything better.

Grades:
Megan - C+ (I thought it was too plain and needed more than just meat. I like other chili recipes better.)

Doug - A- (Doug liked it, but wished it was spicier.)

Noelle - A- (I wasn't sure if Noelle would like this or think it was too spicy. She ate a lot of it and seemed to enjoy it.  Part of that could be because I told her daddy made it and she likes anything daddy makes :)

January 1st

A Rough Start to the New Year

Our 2017 has been off to a bad start.  I have a bad cold and Noelle has been pretty sick for the past week.  Hopefully this is not an indicator of how the whole year will go!

The plan was to go to a party and have dinner there.  We weren't going to go due to illness, but I decided I needed to get out of the house and enjoy the company of others since I've been cooped up with a sick toddler for way too long.

We had a delicious dinner prepared by my aunt (Doug and Noelle had the leftovers I brought home).  I forgot to take a picture of my dinner at the party, so it's a leftovers picture...sorry I still need to get used to taking photos of all my dinners!

We had Italian beef sandwiches and quinoa salad.  My aunt made the beef.  If you aren't from Chicago, you might not know about Italian beef.  It is crazy to me that this deliciousness has not gained widespread popularity in other cities!  It's basically beef cooked in yummy herbs and spices for a long time (you can tell I don't know how to make it).  Then you put it on a bun and add some of the beef au jus (or soak the bun in the juice if you're like me).  If you are ever in Chicago, you have to get Italian Beef.  So good and so hard to believe I won't be having this again until 2018!

The quinoa salad was from Costco and was delicious - I recommend it for something fresh and healthy.

Then there's the unhealthy part...because the diet always starts tomorrow, right?

Grades:

Megan - A+  (so delicious and I didn't have to cook it!)
Doug - B+ (Doug liked the beef a lot but thought the quinoa salad was "too cucumber-y" which isn't good for him since he doesn't like cucumbers)
Noelle - B (she liked the beef but it's hard to tell how much because she didn't eat much since she's sick.  She was not a fan of the salad, but she never likes any salads)