People ask how I cook every night with a house full of kids...

...The answer is: I watch where I step. ;)

*this pic was taken while I was trying to hurry and make Burke's Eggplant Parmesan for his birthday. I literally tripped over the costumes 3 times...

Cookie Topped Brownies

Salem and I must be related because we both had brownies on the brain. I was thinking about what to take to my hubby's work picnic and decided to bring brownies. But I wanted to make them special so I thought, hmmm maybe I'll make this recipe. I did tweek it a little though. I just used a boxed brownie mix (family size) and had some homemade cookie dough in the fridge and crumbled it on top. Hope it turns out yummy!

Hungry...

...and SO excited to be back on my normal schedule again! I'm hungry because we were eating so much/well on our trip, and now being home I'm back on my regimented wake up & exercise then eat breakfast routine (it feels SO good!). I promise my life doesn't completely revolve around food, but I am quite excited about several of these dinners. You see, I picked up this new book, and let's just say Ryder and I quite enjoyed browsing through. We literally sat on the couch and looked through every page oohing and ahhing over the yummies. So now for the meal plan:

*Monday: Salmon Kebebs with Cilantro Sauce , Lavash Bread & Carrot Pineapple Smoothies

*Tuesday: Since I loved my bruschetta so much last week, we'll have THIS tonight with a green salad

*Wednesday: Chicken & Broccoli Calzones--HERE'S a good recipe, but I'm swapping the sausage for chicken

*Thursday: Leftovers

*Friday: Burke's Birthday! He has requested one of our favorites-Eggplant Parmesan & simple Ice Cream Pie for dessert (I just learned yesterday that he used to have this for his "cake" every year on his birthday when he was little!) - see recipe below

*Saturday: We're attending a little one year old's birthday today and will be eating there!

*Sunday: Asian Noodle Salad

*and darnit, I just saw THESE....gonna have to find an excuse to make them this week!

ICE CREAM PIE DESSERT

Crust:

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:

• 1/2 gallon vanilla Ice Cream
• 6 oz. pink lemonade

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients for crust together and press into a 9x9" pan (or pie plate)

2. Mix all filling ingredients together and pour over crust. serve frozen.

Dinner Tonight

This is what I ate. Plain old Bruschetta. It was absolutely delightful, and so simple. To round off the meal, I had a green salad made with spinach, romaine, cucumbers and sunflower seeds (I have to have crunch on my salad). I love summer meals, because I feel like I don't need to spend time slaving away in the kitchen. And to make my meal even more special, I shared it with my 2 year old on my lap. We practically fought for the last piece. And neither of us even "like" tomatoes!

Here's the tasty recipe:

2 tomatoes, diced
1 tsp. dried basil (or fresh)
4 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
seasoning salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 baguette, sliced

In a medium bowl, mix tomatoes, dried basil, parmesan cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt & pepper. Cover and chill in refrigerator 8 hours, or overnight, before serving (I rarely make mine ahead of time, but do love to keep the leftovers in the fridge to make fresh bruschetta with the next day). Toast bread slices slightly under the broiler (until the bread begins to brown around the edges). Top with tomato mixture and a sprinkle of parmesan and broil for a few more minutes (until the cheese begins to melt). Enjoy with a 2 year old on your lap. ;)

Hi Friends!

...that is if I still have any. I'm back for a week before I take off for my LAST trip of the summer. So here's a week's worth of meals, and then I PROMISE I'll get back in my groove...

*Monday: Chicken Tortilla Soup-Burke was sick and we were out of town on Father's Day. So tonight we're celebrating with one of his favorites. And I normally make him a Banana Cream Pie for dessert, but tonight I'm going to simplify by making individual banana cream trifles (see photo above). Layer crushed vanilla wafers, sliced bananas, vanilla/banana pudding, whipped cream, and repeat 3 times. Garnish with a wafer and banana slice.

*Tuesday: Baked Potatoes with toppings

*Wednesday: Pasta with Tomatoes & Pinenuts and salad (I may throw some pine nuts on my salad too!)

*Thursday: Homemade Fish sticks & coleslaw Ryder's been begging for us to make fish sticks, and I've been craving some good ole' coleslaw. Perfect!

*Friday: Beans & Rice-going to try a pinto bean recipe that my Mom & I will be making for about 40 people in 2 weeks. We'll top our beans & rice with tomatoes, cotija cheese, avocados & onions.

*Saturday: Leftovers

*Sunday: Stuffed Peppers

Quickie.

Dropping by for a quick run down of our menu for this BUSY week that we're home. We have family coming to stay with us starting tonight, 2 graduations on Friday, a race on Saturday and driving out West on Monday. Here's what will tide us over:

*Wednesday: Spinach/Sweet Potato Risotto with corn on the cob and some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip bread to welcome our guests

*Thursday: Lasagna Rolls, salad and baguette

*Friday: Out to eat to celebrate with the Graduates

*Saturday: Smoque BBQ for lunch and wraps for dinner (our lunch will be early-just after our 10 mile race downtown). For wraps I'll have tortillas, sliced turkey/ham, sliced cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, diced avocados, cheese, peppers, bacon, mustards/dressings and anything else that sounds yummy. I'm also making a cucumber/tomato/fresh mozzarella salad, like THIS one.

*Sunday: Thanks to my aunt for the idea, we'll have an easy crock pot meal tonight. Throw chicken breasts, a can of black beans, can of corn, 1 c. salsa and 1 package taco seasoning in the crock pot for 4-5 hours until the chicken is cooked through. Then, remove the chicken, shred it with a fork and place back with bean/corn mixture. Serve over chips with cheese and sour cream. You could also put it over lettuce to make a chicken taco salad.

This is the beginning...

...of my super busy traveling summer. This Thursday we head to Michigan for my race on Saturday. Then it's to New York. And it will continue all the way through July. So forgive me for random posting, but I'll at least get a few days in this week. And you know I'll be cooking wherever I am, so I promise I'll try to post when I can. But this week will be easy meals, giving me time to pack! Here you go:

*Monday: Black Beans (soak in water for about 4 hours, then let simmer with lots of salt/bouillon for another 4 hours) & Cilantro Lime Rice (we'll top ours with chopped tomatoes, diced purple onion, fire-roasted corn from Trader Joe's, leftover guacamole & mango salsa from our Mother's Day/late Cinco de Mayo celebration with the Noorda's yesterday, shredded cheese and any other yummies I decide...) I may also make some cornbread muffins

*Tuesday: Baby Shrimp & Linguine with red pepper/garlic & eggplant spread on top (didn't get to that last week, thanks to my Mom coming to visit and treating us to Giordano's!). And also a green salad & ciabatta rolls

*Wednesday: Leftovers

For other yummy ideas check out the labels on the right side of the screen...