Honey's Birthday Dinner

Last night was Jose's birthday. I didn't have any plans for dinner for him, because we were both gonna do seperate things. Well, I got sick and our plans changed. I went to the store after picking the kids up from school and bought stuff for his dinner.

Pasta & Shrimp in Butter-Garlic Sauce, Garlic Bread, Salad

PASTA
~1 lb of Pasta (I used Angel hair, but prefer Linguine for this dish)
*Cook As Directed

SHRIMP IN BUTTER-GARLIC SAUCE
~2lbs of Shrimp, de-veined & shell/tail removed
~1 stick of REAL butter
~6-8 garlic cloves (depending on your palate)
~Ground Pepper & Salt
~Parsley
*Melt the butter in pan on medium-high heat, you don't want to burn your butter. I add a bit of olive oil to help w/ the melting process. Press garlic and add to the butter/oil, grind in salt & pepper, add parsley. Mix it all up and toss in the shrimp. Cook just until they turn pink (you DO NOT want to overcook shrimp!).
*Toss all over Pasta

GARLIC BREAD
*Feel free to make your own, but we like this:

Cook according to package directions

SALAD
~Bag of mixed greens
~1-2 Cucumbers
~2-3 Tomatoes
Chop the bigger vegis up, toss into greens & enjoy!

Very easy, took about a total of 40 mins to do it all & it was a HIT!

Betty Crocker Saved The Night!

I totally forgot that Adriana had her performance last night. Around 3:00pm I realized that I still had to get home, make dinner, get homework done, shower and have everyone ready to go no later than 5pm!
So, I called on good 'ol Betty!
Here is what I made:
Oven Baked Chicken

Corn

French Bread & Butter

Monday Night's Dinner

Well, another Monday, what do you do?
I was having a craving for Chicken and Yams, so that's what I made.
Sorry, no pics, but this is what I did...

Baked Chicken
INGREDIENTS:
~1 Whole Chicken, cleaned, dried and seasoned with Garlic Salt and Seasoning Salt
DIRECTIONS:
I had the oven heated to 400* for the yams, so I placed the chicken into my Deep Dish Baker (R) by Pampered Chef, and let it cook for 1 hour 15mins.
Remove from the oven and let it sit for 5 mins, so the juices could disburse into the chicken. Cut up & Serve.

Baked/Smashed Yams
INGREDIENTS:
~Fresh Yams (how ever many your family will need)
~Butter
~Milk
~Salt
DIRECTIONS:
Bake the yams at 400* for about an hour, or until they are soft like a potato. Remove from oven, peel the skin and put the flesh into a pot. Add butter & milk to your liking & season.
Heat and serve.

Stuffing
INGREDIENTS:
~2 boxes of Stove Top Stuffing (1 was WAY more than my family needed, but I had company)
~Butter
DIRECTIONS:
They're on the box, follow them...

Voila, dinner is done! It took about an hour and a half, but the prep was easy and you got to just throw stuff in and then go sit.

Dinner At Disneyland

Well, we decided to take the kids to Disneyland last night. On our way out we stopped by McDonald's and bought 15 hamburgers and a large fry.
We ended up eating 10 of them on our way out and the fries.
Later we were all hungry again and Anthony was begging us for a turkey leg.
I've never understood what his big stink is over these turkey legs.
Well, let me tell you...
These things are MASSIVE and beyond delicious!!!!
Here's a pic:

Anthony Cooked!

Well, Jose didn't get home until after 8:30pm last night, and I just didn't feel like cooking...Surprise, Surprise!?!
Anthony wanted Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Adriana just wanted a sandwich. My mom & Dom wanted breakfast for dinner.
So what I decided to do is...HAVE A FREE FOR ALL!
Anthony made grilled cheese for Adi & himself and tomato soup to go with it.
My mom made potatoes, eggs and toast for her & Dominic.
I ate Anthony's left overs.
Voila, dinner made simple!!!

Wednesday Night Dinner

I have really been feeling icky lately and did not want to make dinner.
Well, it doesn't always go as I want it to, and if I don't make dinner, then who will!?!
No one, that's right.
So what do you do when you don't want to make dinner, but still have a clan to feed?
Find something fast, simple and yummy.

Taco Salad
INGREDIENTS:
~1 1/2 lbs ground beef

~2 bags already mixed salad greens

~5 roma tomatoes

~homemade tortilla strips


DIRECTIONS:
Brown ground beef with seasonings (whatever you use). Let it cool.
Add the lettuce & chopped tomatoes to your bowl. Add the cooled ground beef.
Top with the tortilla strips, cheese and your favorite salad dressing.
Here's the end result before the toppings...

Spongebob Cupcakes

Dominic requested Spongebob Cupcakes for his birthday.
These were LOTS of fun! I was hoping to do more with the frosting and get more creative, but I was in SO much pain by the time I started decorating, I said, "FORGET IT!" they would be gobbled up in a flash.

No special ingredients or directions for this. I just used Funfetti cake mix and the same frosting. I added neon brite blue food coloring to the frosting to make it look like "the sea". Made the cupcakes in Spongebob cupcake papers, then topped them with the Spongebob candies and found Crabby Patties in the candy isle (Dom ate some before I could get them on the cake).
Here's pics...


The Happy Boy

Birthday Dinner

It was Dominic's 4th birthday yesterday and I asked him what he wanted for dinner. Believe it or not his answer was, "Macaroni & Cheese."
So, instead of going and getting enough boxes of Kraft to feed my family, I decided I would make a homemade dinner and incorporate Mac N Cheese.
Here's what we had...

Lemon Pepper Chicken
INGREDIENTS:
~1pkg of Chicken Legs & Chicken Thighs (I was feeding 10+ people)
~2 bottles of Lawry's Lemon Pepper Marinade

DIRECTIONS:
Pre-heat oven to 350*
Place pkg of thighs in one pan, legs in another. Cover each pan of chicken w/ 1 bottle of marinade. Place in oven at 350* for 30 mins, then turn the temp up to 400* and bake for another 30 mins. Remove from oven and let sit for about 10 mins so the juices soak up into the pan & serve.

Home Style Macaroni & Cheese

I found the recipe on Allrecipes, so I can't take credit. Click on the name and it will take you to the full recipe.

Monday Night's Dinner

Sunday night we served Mozzarella Sticks for FUSION and there were NONE left over...UGH!
After we left, we stopped by the store to find some & had no luck.
I went shopping today and was on a hunt for Mozzarella Sticks!
Wal-Mart had them and weren't very pricey, so I bought me a bag!!!

So for dinner I decided we were having...
Buffalo Wings & Mozzarella Sticks
No pics, Totally Unhealthy, and a TOTAL pregnant woman dinner :)
But, if you can get to the store, buy a bag or two of Mozzarella Sticks & Wings, cook them as directed. Add some of this:
To your wings. Then your good to go!
Enjoy my easy peasy Monday Night Dinner!

Granny's Frito Candy

When I was growing up, there was a lady that lived next door to us, Granny.
She had the best recipes, but one that has always stuck out is her Frito Candy.
My mom and I have been looking for her recipe for years, with no success.
But ALAS! My mom made rice krispie treats for Thanksgiving and added something to it that really made it taste like Frito Candy.
So Mom headed out to the store to get more marshmallows and see if this was what we have been looking for....AND IT WAS!!!

Granny's Frito Candy
INGREDIENTS:
~1 stick of butter/margarine
~2 bags of Fritos
~1 bag of mini marshmallows
~1 cup of peanut butter

DIRECTIONS:
Melt butter in a pan over med/low heat. Once melted, add the peanut butter until creamy then toss in the marshmallows until they are all melted. It should look like this:

Pour that into the bowl of Fritos & mix until coated.

Spread out onto wax paper & let cool


You can break it up into pieces and ENJOY!!!

City Chicken w/ Au Gratin Potatoes

I made this Monday night. It is a recipe that a friend of mine taught me years ago.
It's definitely a favorite in our house!

CITY CHICKEN

Ingredients:
*Chicken (boneless/skinless)
~Use as much chicken as your family will eat. I use 3 whole breasts for my family of 6

*Club Crackers, smashed us to use for crumbs
~About half box
*Garlic Salt
~About 1/4 Cup, more or less to your taste
*Egg(s), Beat up, ready to dip your chicken in
~About 4

*Oil
~Enough to cover your pan to fry

Directions:
Heat your cooking device. I prefer using an electric skillet (you can use a frying pan on the stove if you like, just watch your oil temp) set to 350*, bottom covered in oil about 1/4" deep.

Cut your chicken up into bite size pieces or into strips, whatever you like better.
Dip your chicken into the eggs.
Coat into the crackers mixure.
Place into hot oil and fry until golden brown, you should see it coming up the side. Then flip and continue cooking until brown.

Remove & cool on paper towels.

Au Gratin Potatoes
Buy a box from your store & make according to directions...