Spring Salads and the Joys of Being Newly 3

Okay, so let me say this parenting gig is NOT for the faint of heart. At times, it downright sucks. This post was originally only going to be about this lovely, yummy salad, and then the afternoon went to Hell in a hand basket. I am spent, people. All I could think of as I got the two younger ones to bed at 5:30 - yes, 5:30 was "I cannot, I cannot, I cannot." You see, we have several versions of "The Little Engine That Could." In one of them the little engine asks an old, rusty engine for help, and his response is "I cannot, I cannot, I cannot." Tonight, I am the rusty, old engine.

I vividly remember the switch flipping on Jake when he turned three. It was like day and night Suddenly, he was awful. Well, the switch has flipped on Connor. All day long - whining. Whining because his toy got taken, whining because he wanted to swing on the big boy swings after I had told him I wasn't going to push him (because I have a baby who no longer wants to be held to watch), whining because he didn't want dinner (before he'd even tried it), and so on, and on, and on, and on...

If experience holds true, we have months of this ahead. God help us. I cannot, I cannot, I cannot. I informed him tonight that if he didn't eat dinner, he had to go to bed when Tucker did. He sat and gave me the stink eye and ate about 2 bites of food, so he and the baby got a bath together, and 6 o'clock was bedtime. Actually, it was a little before 6, but who is counting? He is playing in his room right now, but at least there is no whining...

Now, back to this salad. I could eat this whole plate of salad. This recipe comes from one of our MOPS mentor moms, Amanda. It is the perfect combo of ingredients.

Baja Chicken and Rice Salad

2 lbs chicken tenderloin strips (I used 1.25 tonight because it was only us eating)
Washed spinach leaves
2 can black beans
onion, chopped
garlic, chopped
2 c. Wild Rice Blend (Lundberg's is awesome)
Baja Citrus Marinade, McCormick's

Toppings:
Tomato
Avocado
Sunflower Seeds
Almonds
Etc.

Prepare marinade according to package and allow chicken to set in marinade. I mixed this in a gallon ziplock bag and let it stay in fridge for several hours. Cook rice according to directions. I totally used my rice cooker because I cannot cook rice to save my life. Chop onion and saute onions and a little garlic then add black beans to skillet. I punked out tonight on this step, too. I used onion flakes and garlic powder. Sue me. Once the liquid is cooked out of the black beans, they are done. While black beans are cooking, cook the chicken in a skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Layer spinach on a platter, top with warm rice and black beans. The spinach will wilt a little from the heat of those ingredients. Top with chicken. Add to that pile of yumminess any toppings like grape tomatoes, avocado, etc. Tonight, we had tomato and avocado along with some dried red peppers. Do the boys eat it?

Jake loved it, and I think you can see the answer on Tucker's face. Don't even ask about Connor. And speaking of Connor, I now hear whining from his room. I cannot, I cannot, I cannot...

Goats, Knights, and Dinner, Oh My

Last week, we had a playdate with our MOPS group. It was at a stable that had a whole little farm. The kids had a great time playing with the goats and bunnies in the pen. There were also roosters, ponies, a donkey, and an alpaca. I told Jake about this the week before (poor idea), and I got asked EVERY.SlNGLE.DAY when we were going to see the "sheeps". There were no sheep, but there was a good time had by all.

One afternoon, we decided to wash the golf cart. That was a big hit as well. As you can see, proper attire is needed. The "tizers" also known as tires were really dirty.

Little Jake is a child after my own heart. The boys does love things to be in their place at the end of the day. He loves to help clean, and I have often said that it takes me twice as long when he helps. However, I do love that he wants to help, so I always include him when I can. Here he is helping me vacuum and dust the other day. With a baby on one hip, vacuum in the other hand, and a knight at my side, we managed to clean the house :)

Okay, so now for the real reason for the post. I thought I would share a few easy, quick recipes. I have been obsessed - yes, obsessed with this dressing. My friend, Lauren, brought it to small group a few weeks ago, and I made it the next day. I ate it everyday for about a week straight. I have tapered off a little now, but I had it yesterday again. It is that good. The original recipe calls for a spinach salad with strawberries and walnuts. As you will see in the pic below, I went a more savory route with avocados, yellow peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Still yummy. Please forgive any food pics because they were taken (with the exception of one) while I was juggling 2 crying, hungry children.

Yummy Dressing

Dressing:

1/3 c. apple cider vinegar

3/4 c. sugar

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp salt

1 c. vegetable oil

1/2 small red onion, grated (I only used a little bit of the onion that I grated)

1 1/2 Tbsp poppy seeds

1 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp paprika

Heat vinegar, sugar, lemon juice and salt together until the sugar dissolves.

Cool to room temperature.

Whisk in oil, onion, poppy seeds, mustard and paprika.

When I read the ingredient list, I thought for sure it must have something else in there. Nope, that was it. And it is GOOD...

Pot Roast Enchiladas

Pot roast, cooked in crockpot and shredded (I cooked a big roast and we had it for dinner one night with    mashed potatoes, and asparagus/tomatoes and shredded the rest)

Green Chilies (I used 2 4oz cans)

8 oz cream cheese, softened

sour cream

black beans, 1 can rinsed and drained

refried beans, 1 can

colby jack cheese

salsa, guacamole, sour cream for topping

tortillas

Mix shredded pot roast (as much meat as you want) in with cream cheese, beans, and green chilies. Place mixture in tortillas and roll up. Place in pan and top with sour cream (I used about 1/4 of a 16 oz container) and cheese. Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes. Top with salsa and enjoy. You can make these meatless or add in jalapenos or whatever you'd like.

Spicy Sausage Pasta

I found this on Pinterest. This is a horrible picture. I will just add the link to this one. I really liked it. It was spicy (which I loved). Although, I have no idea what made it spicy. I used mild Rotel and was honestly surprised that it had a nice little kick. You don't have to cook the pasta ahead of time - woohoo!!! Here is the link:
http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dinner/spicy-sausage-pasta.html

Rachel Ray's Southwestern Pasta

We had this one for dinner tonight. Jason came in and said that something smelled really good. It smelled better than it tasted. It wasn't bad, but this needs salt. That is something you won't hear me say often. I'm not a heavy salter when it comes to food. This was just okay. We'll eat the leftovers, and it was an easy dish to prepare. Since it's all over Pinterest, I thought I'd share that I made it, and we thought it was just okay.

http://livinglight58.blogspot.com/2012/03/trying-something-new.html

I have recipes and ingredients to make two more recent Pinterest pins. One is sesame honey chicken, and the other is a chicken quesadilla pie. So far, the boys have gobbled down all these recipes, and I will be sure to post results of the others.

Recipe Rundown

Okay, so in this post, I did a bunch of freezer recipes. They were the EASIEST batch of freezer recipes ever because they required no cooking. I just put a bunch of ingredients into freezer bags, froze, and for the most part dumped from the freezer into the crock pot. It has been wonderful. I also promised to give the rundown of each recipe once we had eaten them all. I made double batches of almost everything, and we have sampled them all. There is one bag of most of the others still in the freezer. Here is how they turned out:

Mongolian Beef - this one was good. I made some rice and the roasted broccoli from Pinterest (the only way I cook broccoli now). The boys, especially Connor, gobbled it up.
Green Chile Pork Stew - this one is okay. It is pretty spicy which I liked but the hubs and boys don't really do spicy.
Teriyaki Chicken - this one was really bland to me, but the boys loved it. Jake and Connor ate it up. I served it over rice. I would make it again if just for them.
Sweet & Spicy Meatballs - this was not bad. I think if you made it with homemade meatballs it would be pretty good. But I have a recipe for meatballs that I usually use, and I like the other sauce better.
Honey Garlic Chicken - I wanted to like this one, but I thought it was kind of gross.
Chicken Caccitore - We have had this before, and we will have it again. It was super easy, smells great when cooking, and served over fettuccine with freshly grated cheese - yummy.
Island Chicken - this chicken had good flavor. I think this one would be good served in a salad
Maple Dijon Chicken - this one is all over Pinterest called man-pleasing chicken. Well, Jason and the boys did like it. It was good. I did not do this one in the crock pot. I thawed and baked.
Pesto Chicken (you are only doing the chicken from this recipe, not the pasta) - this was one of the winners as well. It was dinner tonight. We have eaten the second bag. I served it over angel hair pasta with pesto and freshly grated cheese.

These recipes have all had common themes of pasta and rice, it has seemed. Jason has worked a bunch lately, and it has been so nice to throw a bag of something in the crock pot, fix some rice (in the microwave) or pasta with a baby on the hip, and steam or roast another veggie to go along with dinner. Easy, peasy.

Summer is coming, and I did sort of a summer themed meal for our small group this week. We had some BBQ dishes. I did baked beans (I think they were a Pioneer Woman recipe), those crack potatoes that are all over Pinterest (seriously, yum), along with pulled chicken and pork. As I looked at the "menu" I needed something a little more light and fresh. I found this recipe for Fresh Corn Tomato Salad from the Food Network. This little recipe will go into my "summer staple" rotation. It was super simple, and really good.

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 ears fresh corn, husked (about 4 cups corn kernels)
2 cups halved grape tomatoes
1 bunch scallions (white and green), thinly sliced
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, I used the little balls of mozzarella
1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves

Whisk the vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil, starting with a few drops and then adding the rest in a steady stream, to make a smooth dressing.

Shear off the corn kernels with a sharp knife over a bowl. Toss in the tomatoes, scallions, and mozzarella. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Cover and let set for 15 minutes or up to 2 hours. Before serving tear the basil over the salad and stir.

I know that once the corn and tomatoes are actually in season this will be even better. Yay for summer food. Of course, it is February 10th, and here in South GA the gnats are already swarming in 70 degree weather. You know, it will feel like summer by the end of next month - haha.

People have asked how the freezer recipes were coming, so I hope this helps. It surely didn't take up much space in the freezer, and it was super easy. Also, this would be really easy to divide into small batch type meals if you are cooking for one or two.

Make it Tasty

Okay, so the theme for the week of the photo challenge is "Make it Tasty". I had to giggle (and whip out the trusty camera) the other afternoon when Jake got his first spaghetti meal. This little collage was my submission for the week. He thoroughly enjoyed himself, and I enjoyed watching the little man eat.

In the last week, we have been trying to eat food that we have here, but since Heather and I ventured out to the farmer's market last Saturday, I thought I would post the recipe for the Fried Green Tomato BLTs that I made with my green tomatoes from the farmer's market. Then, tonight I whipped up some food for Ashley's shower tomorrow. I thought that I would share 2 of these recipes as well since all of these things are great summertime recipes. And I do love summertime recipes. The 2 sides are a Greek pasta salad that my friend, Holly, shared with me years ago. It has become a summer staple (and also appears in the winter at times). I love how colorful it is, and it only takes a few minutes to make. The other is a grape salad. Once again I will credit Holly with telling me about this one. It is quick and easy as well. I hope that you can enjoy the yummy foods of the summer, as well.

                                 Fried Green Tomato BLT (courtesy of Southern Living)

2 or 3 green tomatoes, sliced

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. cornmeal

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 c. buttermilk

salt, pepper (I omitted these and used some Cajun seasoning)

Heat 1/2 inch of oil in iron skillet. Combine wet ingredients and in another bowl combine dry ingredients. Dredge slices of tomato in mix of cornmeal, flour, and seasonings. Dredge in buttermilk and egg mix, and then back into flour mix. Fry until golden brown on both sides

French bread

Bacon, fried

Lettuce

Avocado slices

Remoulade (I bought the yummiest creamy salsa that went with this soooo well) If you   live in Jackson, and have a chance to go the farmer's market, there is an older African-American lady that sells salsa. Yummo...

Combine fried green tomatoes, bacon, lettuce, remoulade or other sauce, avocado slices on thick slices of french bread and prepare to be in Heaven :)

Greek Pasta Salad



Box of bowtie pasta

Grape tomatoes, halved

Cucumber, diced

Chopped black olives

Marinated artichoke hearts

Feta cheese, I use the blends of Mediterranean herb or Garlic

can of Chickpeas

packet of Zesty Italian Dressing (prepared according to directions)

Cook the bowtie pasta according to directions on box. In a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients. I never measure. I just add to my liking. Stir in cooked pasta, and refrigerate. Add feta just before serving.

Grape Salad

2 lbs red grapes

2 lbs green grapes

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup nuts, chopped

Wash grapes and pat dry. Mix next 3 ingredients with mixer and stir in grapes. The recipe states to fix this in a 9x13 dish and then top with brown sugar and nuts. Since I did this in the trifle bowl, I filled it halfway, sprinkled some brown sugar and nuts, then filled it up and repeated with brown sugar and nuts. This is best refrigerated overnight to allow the brown sugar to melt and soak into dish. Yum...

Around the world and back again...

First of all, let me say that I have no idea what this entry is going to consist of. And I do know that I just ended a sentence with a preposition which is one of my writing pet peeves, but for now it will have to do. This week has been pretty active. We had Bill from Andy On Call come out to install fixtures, faucets and fix the paint on the bathroom ceiling. Everything looks so much better, and I hope that it all helps to entice someone into buying our home whenever we put it on the market. Jason has been busy moonlighting or working telemedicine which has the grossest hours. They are just really weird shifts, and for the life of me, I cannot keep the days straight.

In weight loss news, the grand total is now 19 pounds, although by the end of this week, it may be around 17. This has not been a week where willpower has prevailed. Plus, the weather has been rainy and interfered with our daily walks. I know - excuses, excuses. I will share a yummy recipe with you all. I don't know the point value because it is not a WW recipe. I was too lazy to figure it out, but I can tell you that the point value is pretty low. It's one of those recipes that I saw on a blog and since the blogger had raved about it, I decided to give it a try. It was yummy and different - super easy yet something that looks impressive. Click here for the recipe. Here is a photo of the finished product. Jason thought it was pretty yummy, too. Quick edit: I bought a container of mixed greens instead of buying the individual lettuces, and I used a green Anjou pear since Kroger didn't have red ones.

Candied Walnut and Pear Salad with Dijon Balsamic Vinaigrette

Jake is growing like a little weed. He hasn't quite mastered the skill of sitting alone, although he can sit for several seconds to minutes alone depending on his mood or what he's doing.

I have been crafty this week. After visiting several sites for personalized name art, I decided that I could do it myself. I created this for my friend, Holly, for her birthday. If anyone is interested in their own, just let me know :)



Black and white with black frame. I have letter options for different letters.

I am sooo ready to head back to GA. To the land of friends who have known me for a long time and accept me for me. Don't get me wrong, I have met some really cool girls here, and I know that I will keep in touch with a few. There aren't a whole lot of girls here that I relate to very well. I typed several things and decided it didn't sound nice, so I deleted. My favorite girls in the world are girls that have can drink a beer, say a bad word or two but also know when not to do so, talk about all the things that aren't "polite" subjects, and enjoy being silly. Like I said, there are some really NICE girls here, but nice isn't the word I use to describe my lifelong friends. You girls know what I mean :) So, Savannah, GA I am ready to call you home...

I also sent out an email recently to take pictures for some of the girls whose husbands are residents. I needed camera practice, and I thought that it could be a fun way to get some. I have had a good response, but I am so freaking nervous about taking money for taking pictures! Granted, it's not a lot of money, but still... I am sure that once I have some good pics to share with the girls and their families, I will settle into a rhythm. I hope so.

Anyway, I am sorry for the rambling tonight. I think of things all the time that I want to write about, but I quickly decide that it would probably offend someone. I know, I know not like me to usually worry about that :) I will leave you with a few last pictures. One is of the sun flare I was finally able to "properly?" catch on camera, and the other is of my boys. It totally captured how poor Peanut feels about Jake. He looks like we beat him or something.

Not exactly a great pic, but cool flare. I need to get the hang of this...

Love the Nut's expression!