Short and Sweet and to the Point

Let me just start by saying this last week did not start off so well. I had big plans to have a nice sit down family dinner Monday night then afterwords play a few games that we had gotten for Christmas. You know the kind you actually enjoy playing with your kids and they get it and everyone is a bit challenged. But no, it ended with me watching The Bachelor from my bed and pausing it long enough to puke while Rich was down finishing up dinner that I had marinated earlier in the day.
I marinated chicken for "Honey Mustard Chicken," on pg. 139 it is Tricia Buss'. However, I must add the smell of it was very fragrant and made me puke at least 2 times MORE than what was required from a stomach bug. I would dose off and and wake to this smell of Thai Restaurant in my house and swiftly make it to the toilet just in time. So when Rich did take over the meal after getting home it was a little late, like too late to bake. So earlier I had managed to get down the stairs and start the rice cooker for him. So when he got home I suggested he just cook up the chicken on the stove and serve it over white rice. Then he went the extra mile and steamed cauliflower to go with it. I will definitely retry this one in the near future. It was apparently very tasty and my family very much enjoyed it.

On Tuesday Night we made "Chicken Parmigiana," on pg. 141 but first we started with, "Breaded Chicken Cutlets" also, on pg. 141 both by Leisa Forsberg. I say "we" because it was Bunco and Rich came home and took over the prep on this one. I just had bone-in chicken breasts, so he deboned and beat them to a bloody pulp. They looked great from my perspective and then I went ahead and got all the fixins' ready for the flour, the egg wash and the bread crumb mix. We did use fresh parmigiana on this recipe and you could sure tell the difference from when I did not have it for the white sauce recipe a week ago. He and the kids indulged that night and liked it a lot and the next day I had the left overs, it was MaGniFiqUe!

Okay, next I prepared "Saucy Meatballs," by Amber Farmer on pg 131. Now Amber is a simple girl and this was a simple recipe. I however did alter it a bit. I used one lb. of ground beef to produce my own meatballs. This was not a big deal I just rolled them and browned them with some Johny Spice and Pepper then dropped them in the crock pot and let it simmer for the afternoon. Again, I made white rice and the family really liked this one and I will definitely make it again. I think I will get one of those big bags of meatballs at Wallmart to keep on hand. There are so many meals you could make with meatballs and kids love 'em!

Today, Sunday morning I made "Oatmeal Waffles," by Pamela Reeder on pg. 47. Okay first let me just say I like my waffles fluffy like a marshmallow. This recipe called for oatmeal which I think made the waffle more dense than fluffy. Also, I am a sucker for sweets and could not taste the cinnamon or the brown sugar. It was quick and easy and my family did eat it up and hey it was healthy fresh homemade!