What's For Dinner - Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

This meal was awesome! It was so light and refreshing, and great for a summer meal.
I will definitely be making this again, even if it's not on the menu.

Recipe:
3 c hot cooked penne, about 6 oz uncooked
1½ c shredded chicken (I used left overs from this meal)
1½ c halved small tomatoes
½ c chopped green bell pepper
½ c thinly sliced fresh basil
½ c chopped green onions
⅓ c Caesar dressing
½ c crumbled feta

Directions:
Cook pasta as directed on package. Drain and rinse with cold water. In large bowl, combine pasta, chicken, tomatoes, basil, onion, green pepper, Caesar dressing, and feta. Toss well to combine. Refrigerate before serving.

What's for Dinner - Molasses-Grilled Pork Chops

Saturday Night, Andrew grilled Pork Chops. I wasn't feeling well, so all I had to eat was a baked potato, but Andrew ate the pork chops and said they were really good. This was a really easy meal to prepare, you just have to do a little planning, since the pork chops need to marinate for about 8 hours.

Recipe:
(¼ c molasses)
(2 T Dijon mustard)
(1 T cider vinegar)
1 lb boneless pork loin chops

Directions:
Combine molasses, mustard and vinegar; brush evenly over meat. Cover and chill 8 hours. Grill, covered with grill lid, over low-medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until thermometer inserted in thickest portion registers 160. Turn once.

Prep Time: 10 minutes, Plus 8 hours
Cook Time: 15-20

I served the pork chops with mixed vegetables, and baked potatoes. We just put the potatoes on the grill to bake.

What's For Dinner - Greek Baked Chicken

Friday night was Greek Baked Chicken.

Recipe:
⅓ c olive oil
¼ c lemon juice
1 t salt
¼ t pepper
Garlic powder, to taste
½ t dried oregano (I used an Italian blend of spices)
3 lb whole chicken

Stir together olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and oregano. Place chicken in shallow dish; pour oil mixture over chicken. Cover; marinate in refrigerator 8 hours. Remove chicken from marinade. Discard marinade. Place chicken, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake at 450 for 45-60 minutes or until thermometer in thigh registers 180. (We have a George Foreman Contact Roaster, so that is what I used, but the oven works just as good.)

I served this with a Greek salad, and crescent rolls.

Prep time: 10 minutes, plus 8 hours to marinate
Cook Time: 45-60 minutes
Total: 1 hour - 1 hour 10 minutes, plus 8 hours

The chicken turned out really good. It was moist and had a good flavor. Enjoy!

What's for Dinner - Bacon Cheddar Quiche

Let me start by saying, we love eMeals! We have been doing it for almost a year now and it is great! There is zero thought about a menu and grocery shopping. They do it all for you. (And no, they are not paying me to say this, they don't even know my blog exists.)

Anyway, I thought I would start sharing what I cook for dinner each night, and include a picture and the recipe. So, here goes my first "What's for Dinner..." post.

Last night was Bacon Cheddar Quiche. The recipe was for a bacon-Swiss quiche, but since I don't like Swiss cheese, I changed it to fit our taste but you can use Swiss cheese, if that's what you like.

Recipe:
2 standard frozen pie crusts or 1 deep dish pie crust
¼ c green onions, sliced
(1 T butter)
6 eggs
1½ c whipping cream
¼ c apple juice
16 oz sliced bacon, cooked & crumbled
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

In small skillet, saute green onions in butter (I actually sauteed them in the bacon fat); set aside. In large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream & juice. Stir in bacon, salt and pepper to taste and green onions. Divide evenly into 2 pie crusts and top with cheese. Bake at 350o for 40-45 minutes until set. Let stand 5-10 minutes before cutting.

Total Prep time: 30 Minutes
Total Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Total: 1 Hour 15 minutes

I served this with fruit salad on the side.

My thoughts: This was so good! It was light, and fluffy. Great flavor! I'm looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch, and I hate eating leftovers for lunch! Because this made two, there is plenty for a family of 4, or enough for a second meal. I would highly recommend this recipe for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner. It would be great for any meal!

Thrift store Friday

Here are my great finds this week:

2 pairs of Old Navy Jeans $1.00/ each
1 pair of Children's place Jeans $1.00
1 pair of US Polo Assn. Jeans $1.00
Tommy Bahama shirt $4.50
Toy Tractor $.50

Easter Pictures 2012

Here are some pictures I took of Michael in his Easter outfit.

Love this one!

In the afternoon, we went over to Mom and Dad's for an Easter Egg hunt and dinner. The Whole family was there, so we tried to get a good picture of all the cousins together.

Here they all are, ages 16 to 20 months

Michael had so much fun playing with his cousins. He even got into finding the Easter Eggs. They let Elise (2) and Michael (1.5) go first, and get the easy eggs. Surprisingly, both Elise and Michael got really excited about finding the eggs and putting them in their basket. I was too busy helping Michael to take any pictures, but hopefully somebody got some pictures, and they will share them with me.

20 Months

This month, it has really been noticeable how many words Michael can say. I have stopped counting, but I would guess he is up to 100 or so. He tries to repeat everything we say. Sometimes he is spot on, other times he gives it a good try, but you can't understand what he is saying. He has been putting two words together, but not consistently. He did say his first three word sentence today! He said, "daddy go work"

He didn't grow any taller this month, but he is up to 28.5 lbs!

We have spent lots of time outside playing in his new sand box, or at the park this month. He loves being outside.

He is doing really well with his colors. He knows blue, red, yellow, brown and pink. He has a hard time with orange, green and purple still.

He wanted to see how tall Daddy was too. 

He loves his ABC book that I made for him. He can point to A, B, and C and can also tell you what they are when you point to them.

This is how most picture turn out these days.
He's too busy to sit still for a picture! 

His current obsession is tractors. He will watch daddy cut the grass the entire time Andrew is on his tractor. He also has a tractor that he got for Christmas from his aunt Amy that he carries around the house. All day long he will ask where the tractor is, referring to the lawn mower, and then answers himself and says "away".

Trying out Daddy's Tractor

He is still sleeping anywhere from 14-15 hours a night. He goes to bed around 7:30 and wakes up between 9-10. He takes a two hour nap each day also. Some days it is only 1.5 hours, and other days he sleeps for three hours. He is a great sleeper, and we are so thankful!

Swinging like a big boy at the park.

Meals are hit or miss. It really just depends on his mood, I guess. He does ask for a few things everyday, like cheese, "bread" with "butter" (peanut butter) and o's (Cheerios). He is still drinking three cups of milk a day, so I know he is getting plenty or nutrients.

His first Popsicle. He loved it!

He got his first haircut this month, and it has really filled out. It won't be long till its time for another haircut.

He's getting brave at the park!

Michael is such a sweetheart, and loves to give and get hugs and kisses. Everyday, I feel more and more blessed that God has allowed Michael to be my son!

Sand Box

This weekend, I went and got sand for Michael's sandbox and some sand toys. I wasn't sure how he would like the sand, since he isn't a big fan of having dirty hands. He loves it!! I took his shoes off of him, and stood him in it. Then I showed him how to put sand in the shovel and pour it into the bucket. That was all he needed, he was happy as could be for the next hour! Then again today, we went back out, and he's been happily sitting in his sand box playing with all the toys.

I have it sitting in the shade, so this will be great during the summer when it is too hot to run around. He can just sit and play.

Let's hope he likes the wet sand on the beach as much as he likes this sand.