We always ate as a family when the kids were going up. 6:00 pm sharp. Our children noticed that they usually had three items on their plates...the main dish, a vegetable and a fruit or a side dish. I also made a lot of homemade bread, cookies and other baked goods. I don't bake much anymore. We can't eat a whole dessert and we don't need the extra calories. I enjoyed cooking good meals for my family.
It's a lot easier to make some simple meals for just the two of us such as salad and a grilled chicken breast, a pot of soup, or a sandwich and veggies, etc. I use to stock more "kid friendly" food, but now we're down to mostly lean meat, a little fish, fresh fruit and vegetables. We don't buy soda, potato chips or other treats and we don't buy packaged or much frozen prepared food. We really try to shop around the perimeter of the store where the real food is. We're pretty successful at eating healthy and cutting out sugar and the non-healthy choices.
We've started the habit of buying a variety of veggies and then making "veggie bags" to take to work each week. The veggies fill a gallon size zip-lock bag and will usually last for a week or so. Rick eats his within a few days, but it takes me longer to eat mine. I like mine with some lite ranch dip and he likes his without any dip. We usually include: carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, colored peppers, snap peas, cucumbers and grape tomatoes. It's a great snack at work.
I also got some new cookbooks. Claire gave me two issues of the Pioneer Woman's cook books and I really like them. Ann Romney's Family Table has motivated me to try some new recipes. My daughters gave me the cookbook for my birthday. It has some good recipes in it. So far I've tried:
chicken pasta primavera with fresh veggies
*crispy chicken fingers with dipping sauces
sweet pork burritos
Mitt's meatloaf
beef tenderloin
butternut squash soup
minestrone soup
mango salad
Caesar salad with homemade dressing
butter lettuce salad
The dessert section looks inviting and I'll try more of those when company comes around to help eat it. What do you do to keep cooking interesting and to serve healthy food??
*Crispy chicken with dipping sauces*
1 3/4 cups walnuts1 cup plain dry breadcrumbs, divided
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 large eggs, beaten
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken tenders
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
In a food processor or blender, blend walnuts and 1/4 cup bread crumbs until finely ground. In a medium bowl, combine nut mixture with salt, pepper, and remaining bread crumbs; mix well.
Beat eggs with fork in a pie plate. Dip each piece of chicken in beaten egg, then in walnut mixture to coat; place on prepared pan. Bake chicken 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
While chicken is cooking, prepare sauces.
Apricot balsamic sauce:
Stir together 1 cup apricot preserves, 2 T. balsamic vinegar and 1 T. soy sauce
Honey mustard sauce:
Stir together 2/3 c. Dijon mustard, 1/4 c. sour cream, 1/4 c. honey and 3/4 t. Worcestershire sauce
Blue Cheese sauce:
Mix together 1/4 c. mayonnaise, 1/4 c. plain nonfat yogurt, 1/4 t. Tabasco sauce, 1/4 t. coarsely ground black pepper. Stir in 3 ounces crumbled blue cheese.
Enjoy!
2 comments:
I feel exactly the same as you, and we eat the same as you too, now that we're almost down to the two of us. That's the one thing I won't miss about not having Cam around- no more need to make big meals with meat as part of the meal. Mike will be happy with the kinds of things that you and Rick eat. One thing I do is back some yams and then just warm one up with a salad and other veggies. I'll have to give you another veggie sandwich recipe I have that we love. I want to try that recipe from Ann Romney. It looks good.
You are an excellent cook, Vonnie, and we have loved the food you have made. Much of it has been the best ever. I do endorse the Ann Romney cookbook.
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