Another week... Another menu

Ahhh... yet again its Sunday night. Which means its time for me to figure out my weekly meal plan. You will notice that I have repeated one or two meals from last week. I thought I had the stuff in my house to make everything... but then I went to make them and I was missing one or two things... so I made something
else instead... So here is what Im planning on this week!
Monday - Kincaids Cajun Pasta
Tuesday - Chicken Fingers adn fries
Wednesday - Stuffed Pretzels
Thursday - Asian Chicken Sliders
Friday - BBQ Meatballs and Rice
Saturday - Leftovers
Sunday - Bulgogi
What are you eating this week?

Dinner on no sleep

I have been away since 5:30 am yesterday... yes yesterday... I am working on my 37th hour of awakeness... I hate it. I have not chosen this crazy fate for myself. It has been thrust upon me by my boys. Mostly Owen. He is teething and wont sleep and is MISERABLE. But the few minutes I can get him to sleep Jaxon is awake... so I have not slept. So I have accomplished alot of nothing... But here is what I managed to whip up for dinner

Sausage and Gnocci

5 Sausages (I used Sweet Basil Italian sausage)

2 Med Onions, sliced

2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop in Gnocci. Cook according to package directions.

In a large pan heat oil and add onion and garlic, cook until onions are starting to caramelize. Remove sausage from casing and add to onions. Cook through.

Once Gnocci is cooked drain it and add it to the onion/sausage mixture and mix in cheese.

Not to bad for no sleep!

BBQ Chicken Nachos

Last week I tried making BBQ Chicken Nachos. They were so good. I love BBQ Chicken Pizza and this was a pretty sweet way to get those flavors into nachos! Dont they look so good???
  All you do is take a cooked chicken breast and shred it. Then slice up an onion and carmelize it in a pan. In a small bowl mix 3/4 cups BBQ Sauce with 1/4 cup water. Add the onions and chicken to the sauce and stir to combine. Then top chips with the chicken mixture and then top with Cheese. Bake at 350 until melty!
  So good and oh so simple!
  I keep on thinking I need to have a party and just serve all these different nachos with a cute little saying like "Mothers are Nacho average woman"
   Hmmmm now Im thinking about tomorrow... I really have nothing planned all day... seems like a good time to bust out the craft stuff and go to town! Time to finish up some projects! I still have one of my car mats to finish for my boys and I really need to work on the scrapbooks, but lets be honest I will probably just work on my recipe book!

The Last Olympian

Ok... so I finished this book about a week ago.. but Ive been way to busy with other things to blog about it... but I thought I have to do it before I forget too much about it!
  I have finally finished the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. Book 5 did not dissappoint. I thought it was am almost perfect way to end the series. Loose ends were tied up and it even set up his next series... im not sure what the series name will be but the first book is the Lost hero and its about the next generation of Half bloods... but back on track here... Percy...
  yes I will complain that it was too much fighting. Right from the get go it was war war war... but really considering the last 4 books have all be building up to this ultimate titans vs Olympians war I guess it was too be expected. Considering all the war I was surprised that not many of the key characters died... Im not sure how I feel about that. Im glad because I like the characters and wouldnt wish them dead... but how realistic is it that all the main people survived a war like that... (yes I did just question the realistic-ness of a war between ancient greek mythology figures)
   But the ending was good. It left me happy and even ended how I wanted (which doesnt always happen!) Im looking forward to getting the new series from the library. I was tempted to just buy it when I say I was 204 on the wait list...but as  whole I fine Riordan hit and miss... I love percy Jackson, but hated the first book in the Kane Chronicals (and I love Egypt) and now Ive even started one of his adult books and am having a hard time convincing myself to finish it... so I think Ill hold out and wait though the list and read it then... just in case!
  My final verdict... read the Percy Jackson series. Its a very easy, no brain read. Which I need as a mother of two crazy boys who only gets to read once they are in bed at 9 and i can barely keep my eyes open myself. But its fun because Im really into mythology and it was a neat treat to see a modern spin on it. (thats why I also LOVE the nicholas Flammel series by Micheal Scott) All and all... book 3 was my favorite!

Slacker week!

This week Im feeling like a slacker because Im only trying one new recipe...oh well we all need time off! Plus these are some of Jaxon's favorite things to eat!
Monday - Chicken Burgers
Tuesday - Breakfast
Wednesday - Spaghetti and meatballs
Thursday - Fajita Nachos
Friday - Sausage and Gnocci
Saturday - Leftovers
Sunday - Chicken Fingers
  Im hoping this week to get some crafting done... I want to scrapbook, finish up Jaxon's Valentine's and organize my stuff for the service auction... We will see!

Sambal Shrimp

This is another one of the recipes I tried from the Food network Magazine... It was so good... I will apologize now because I didnt take a picture, I tried one to see if I liked it and then the next thing I new my plate was empty! yes it was that good. Emeril Lagasse contributed the recipe.

Sambal Shrimp

2 cups sambal Oelek (indonesian style chile sauce... make sure you use the sauce and not two cups of the paste! That would even be too spicy for me!)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup lime juice

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup minced garlic

1/4 cup minced fresh peeled ginger

1/4 cup mirin (sweet rice wine... I used a rice wine vinegar)

2 Tbsp fish sauce

2 Tbsp sesame oil

3 Lbs head on shimp, peeled and deveined (ok... I did not use head on shrimp because thats just nasty to look at!)

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

2 Tbsp chopped mint

1)Combine the first 9 ingredients in a med bowl. All to stand at room temp for at least 1 hour (or up to 4 hours)

2) Remove 1/2 cup of the marinade and reserve for later. Add the rest of the marinade and shrimp into a resealable plastic bag and all shrimp to marinate for 1 hour

3) Preheat grill to a med heat. Remove shrimp from marinade and grill until cook. (2-2 1/2 minutes a side)

4) Place shrimp in a large bowl and toss with the reserved marinade and cilantro and mint.

ENJOY

**Its winter here... so i didnt grill these... what I did was a took the shirmp and the 1/2 cup of marinade and sauted it in a pan. It was nicely glazed and still saucy enough too!

Mac N Cheese Soup

I love cheese. LOVE IT! I think you can never go wrong with cheese, especially melted cheese... YUMMY. The other night I tried another recipe from the latest Food Network Magazine. It was awesome! Part of me actually is wishing to try one of these recipes and not like it then my recipe collection wont be quite so monsterous!
  I loved this recipe because it of all the cheesy goodnes and because it was relatively low cal (at 476 cals per serving) and there was grated carrots in it...but you would never know. The added a nice punch of color and those who are anti cooked veggies (like me and my kids) you get a little veggie boost without even knowing it!
  Bare in mind that this is my take on the recipe in the magazine... its pretty darn close but if you are reading the magazine you will notice a changed some things... like always

Mac N Cheese soup

1 cup elbow macaroni

3 shallots, chopped

1 carrot, grated

1/4 cup flour

3 3/4 cup chicken stock

1 1/4 cup milk

6 oz shredded cheese (I used 4 oz of chedder and 2 oz of a pepper jack)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1)Saute the shallots and carrots in a pan until softened. Add flour and cook, stirring  for about 2 minutes. Gradually stir in the broth and bring to a boil.

2) add Macaroni and cute until al dente. The broth will also thicken during this time

3) Remove from heat and add cheeses. Stir until melted. Stir in the milk.

VOILA DINNER!