march 28, 2011 - cafe rio chicken salad

i made the cafe rio chicken recipe from this day to make salads with.  started with a flour tortilla on the bottom, then added some of the shredded chicken.  topped it off with shredded lettuce, chopped green onions, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese and some dressing.

march 23, 2011 - fajitas & bean and cheese burritos

first i cut up a few sirloin steaks into strips and sauteed them up with some red pepper strips.  then i cooked up a can of refried beans for the kids and chopped some lettuce.  i served it with the regular toppings of shredded cheese, sour cream and salsa.  so good!

march 22, 2011 - tuna helper italian fettuccine alfredo

i know, i know....  boo to overly-processed food.  But it was quick and easy.  plus i threw in some frozen peas to make it a little more nutritional.

march 21, 2011 - spaghetti & meatballs with garlic cheese bread

this was super simple because i still had some armour frozen meatballs.  just threw them into a skillet with some spaghetti sauce and cooked up some noodles.  the bread is the new york texas toast brand and was really quite good.  i probably should have cooked up some vegetables for a side....

march 17, 2011 - eggs in a basket w/steamed asparagus

so yummy!  the kids really like eggs in a basket and i was really wanting to eat some of the asparagus that i got in my bountiful baskets last saturday, so this is what i came up with and it was so good.  i used a round cookie cutter to cut the middle out of slices of bread and then cracked an egg inside the hole. i topped it with some cheese and then the asparagus (steamed).  nathan and i put a little creamy horseradish on top of ours and it was perfect.

we had sliced tomatoes (also from bountiful baskets) with cottage cheese.

march 15, 2011 - wisconsin cauliflower soup- but 10 times better - and lion house rolls

in my bountiful basket this last saturday, i also got a head of bright green cauliflower (i know weird) and i immediately knew that i would be making this soup.  although i forgot that i needed onion and i didn't have any, so i improvised a little and it actually turned out better than the way i had been making it.  instead of the onion, i used a red pepper.  that is why the coloring of the soup in this picture is darker than the previous ones.

then i also made some lion house rolls to eat with the soup.  i used my bread machine and set it on the dough setting.  i was nice because i didn't have to get my hands all dirty, but the bread machine did struggle a little to get it all mixed and needed a little help from my spatula.

here's the recipe the way i made it.  changes are in blue.

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup
Yields: 9 cups or 8 first-course servings

2 tablespoons margarine or butter (1/4 stick)
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese
1/2 cup monterrey jack cheese

In 4-quart saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 cups water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 20 minutes. In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

march 14, 2011 - waffles and buttermilk syrup with strawberries and whipped cream!

oh yummy!!!  this is what i made tonight for dinner.  stopped at the store on my way home to grab some buttermilk and whipping cream so we could have the real deal.

this past saturday i purchased my very first bountiful basket. in my basket were a pack of delicious strawberries.  the moment i saw them i knew what i was going to do with them.

the recipe for the waffles and syrup can be found here.

march 9, 2011 - tomato soup and grilled cheese

campbell's tomato soup with grilled cheese.  simple and yummy!

march 8, 2011 - chicken noodle soup, again :)

tonight we made the lion house chicken noodle soup.  i know we make this a lot but we really love it and it is super simple.

the other night, we made a pork roast in the crockpot and used the same ingredients that i used to make this chicken recipe.  it wasn't as good as the chicken.

on friday night i made all the kiddos ramen noodles with eggs in it.  a couple of the kids remarked that they had never had ramen noodles that looked like this before.  but i am happy to say that my extra 3 e, k, and r liked it.

march 1, 2011 - cafe rio chicken on sunday stack

i know it's been a while... again.  but tonight i made something super yummy i just had to post about.  i got the crockpot out early today determined to use it for dinner.  after a little thinking, i wondered what was in cafe rio's chicken recipe and googled it.  after looking through a few recipes, i kind of put my own together.

cafe rio chicken my style

3 -4 large chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
1 bottle italian dressing
1 tablespoon chili powder
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
lime juice
cilantro

combine everything but lime juice and cilantro in a crockpot and cook for 7-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.  remove chicken and shred with two forks.  then add lime juice and cilantro.

i didn't do the cilantro and lime juice because of what we served the chicken with - a little texas toast and mashed potatoes.  i mimicked the dish we had this day.

it turned out really well and the kids liked it.  plus my house smelled awesome when i walked in the door.