February 25th

Like an 80's School Cafeteria

Remember the awesome school lunches as a kid?  The rectangle pizza, the neon yellow gravy, the little cartons of chocolate milk.  I loved getting the menu for the month and anticipating what was being made for us in the cafeteria.  The best was on holidays like Halloween when there would be "special" foods like witches brew or broomsticks.

Kids nowadays probably have to eat things like organic tofu scrambles and gluten free quinoa bakes instead.  How sad that my daughter might never get to look forward to that amazing rectangle pizza.

Chicken Fried Steak
recipe from: http://www.beingabear.com/2013/02/mr-bear-redefines-geography-chicken.html

This seems like something that would be served in a cafeteria.  Or in a country diner.  When I served it I thought, "This looks like a real 80's Midwestern meal."  And it was perfect because we watched the movie Heathers while eating it.  Just like being transported back in time.

Grades:

Megan - A- (I thought the gravy had good flavor and pretty much anything fried and soaked in gravy tasted good.  No wonder why my diet isn't working.)

Doug - B+

Noelle - A (Noelle ate a lot of it without much to say.  She mostly just wanted to make sure I knew that she didn't want to eat it with a fork, but instead wanted to "pick it up and take bites" because chicken fried steak is always better when you eat it with your fingers.)

February 24th

Friday Fish Fry

I've always said that the only way I like to eat fish is if it's fried.  I was a little nervous about Catfish since it gets a bad rep for flavor.  However, this recipe is from my sister's friend who is from Louisiana.  I figured if anyone knows how to make Catfish, it would be her. 

Fried Catfish in Lettuce Cups with Sauce Gribiche 
recipe from: http://chocolateandmarrow.com/2016/03/01/fried-catfish-lettuce-sauce-gribiche-recipe/

Check out this blog...I've made a few of her recipes and they all have turned out delish.  She also had great stories and beautiful pictures!
This Catfish turned out crispy and delicious.  I liked the fresh taste the lettuce cups added to balance the fried fish.  I think I used too many shallots in the sauce, but it was still really good.

Grades:

Megan - A (The fish had a really nice crisp coating and the sauce added a great fresh flavor.)

Doug - B+

Noelle -A (Noelle was shoveling this into her mouth as fast as I could say "catfish."  She seemed to enjoy the "dip" [aka: Gribiche Sauce] at first, however after a few tries she was gagging on it.  She still accepted a second serving of fish though.)

February 23rd

Cans Can Do It

This recipe came from a blog where she was making a dinner using all canned goods.  Pretty easy...open up the cans and make a delicious soup.

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup
recipe from: http://lmld.org/2016/09/19/slow-cooker-chicken-enchilada-soup/

I made a few changes to this recipe.  While I used a few canned goods, I also used some fresh ingredients.  I used frozen corn instead of canned.  I also did not used canned chicken broth and I used fresh garlic, avocado, cilantro, and cheese.  It would be really good with tortilla chips on it, but I was trying to stay healthy. Finally, I don't have a slow cooker, so I made it on the stove top.

Grades:

Megan - A (This soup had a really great flavor and was really simple to make.  I think it would also be good with beef or just leaving out the meat all together and making it vegetarian.)

Doug - A-

Noelle - C- (Noelle started out eating a little of everything in this soup, but after a few bites only wanted the broth again.  I think it might have been a little spicy for her.)