Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Grilled Greek Chicken

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
1 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tsp each chopped fresh oregano, rosemary, thyme, & basil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast

In a medium sized bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. Whisk in the olive oil until well combined with the other ingredients.

Place the chicken breasts in a large resealable bag and pour marinade over chicken. Close the bag and remove as much air as possible. Smoosh the chicken breast around until they are completely covered in the marinade. Lay the bag flat in the fridge for 24 hours.

When you are ready to grill, allow the chicken to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. Set the grill to medium-high heat and place the chicken over the heat source. Grill to an internal temperature of 165°, about 4-6 minutes each side. Allow to rest 5 minutes before serving.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb chicken (completely thawed if frozen)
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1 jar pasta sauce
sliced or shredded mozzarella cheese

Spread the olive oil into the bottom of the crock pot.

Beat the egg with a fork in a separate bowl.

Mix the bread crumbs with the salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese in another bowl. Dip the chicken into the egg, then into the bread crumb mixture, coating both sides.

Place the chicken breast pieces in the bottom of the crock pot. Layer 2-3 sliced or 1-2 cups of the mozzarella cheese on top of the chicken. Cover with entire jar of pasta sauce.

Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

If serving with pasta, serve with extra sauce.

Frito Chili Pie

This is a Pioneer Woman recipe and a huge hit in our house. She makes it with ground beef, but as usual, we use turkey instead.

2 lbs ground turkey
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (12-14 oz) tomato sauce
1 can Ro-tel (diced with tomatoes and chilies)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground oregano
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1/4 cup masa (corn flour) or regular corn meal
1/2 cup warm water
Friots chips
Grated sharp cheddar cheese
Diced red onion

Brown ground turkey with garlic in a pot over medium-high heat. Add tomato sauce, Ro-tel, salt, oregano, cumin, and chili powder. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Add drained and rinsed beans. Stir to combine, then cover and simmer for another 20 minutes.

Mix masa with water, then add to the chili. Stir to combine and simmer for final 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside. (We always skip this b/c it is plenty thick for our liking.)

Serve by placing Fritos in the bottom of a bowl. Pile in the chili, cheese, and diced onions. Serve immediately.

English Muffins

1 tsp active dry yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups bread flour
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour (plus more if needed, up to 1 1/2 cups total)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup cornmeal

In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar, and 1/2 cup of warm water. Stir to dissolve the sugar and yeast. Let sit about 5 minutes or until foamy on top.

While the yeast/sugar mixture is resting, combine 1 1/2 cups bread flour and salt in a large bowl. Stir well to evenly distribute the salt. In a second small bowl, combine the milk and butter. Microwave the milk/butter for 30 seconds, stir and microwave again for 30 seconds. Stir butter until it melts into the warm milk.

Pour the yeast mixture and the milk mixture into the flour. Stir until is has combined into a pasty mix. Adding 1/4 cup at a time, stir in the white whole wheat flour until the dough forms a soft, slightly sticky ball that pulls away from the bowl. (This is where you can use more of the white whole wheat flour if the dough is still too sticky).

Sprinkle a little bit of flour onto a clean counter-top ad coat you hands in flour. Dump the soft ball of dough out of the bowl and knead it for about 5 minutes. Add as little flour as possible to the counter-top while kneading. Adding too much flour will yield tough muffins.

Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a bowl that has been coated with non-stick spray. Lightly spray the top of the dough and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until double in size (about 45-60 minutes).

Punch the dough down, shape into another ball, cover the bowl/dough and let rise a second time (45-60 minutes or until doubled).

Punch down the dough again and turn it out onto a well floured counter-top. Using a rolling pin, lightly roll the dough until it is about 3/4-inch thick. Using a cookie cutter, biscuit cutter, or large round glass, cut the dough into circles. When you can't cut out anymore circle, gently ball the remaining dough, roll again and cut more.

Place the cut dough onto a sheet pan that has been liberally covered in cornmeal. Sprinkle more cornmeal on top of the muffins. Cover loosely with a damp town and let rise, once more, until doubled in size (about 45 minutes).


Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Spray the pan with non stick spray. Carefully transfer the fluffy, risen muffins to the hot skillet with a spatula. Cook the muffins, in batches, in the skillet until they are golden brown and crispy on each side. Make sure to keep the heat low so that the outside browns slowly, allowing time for the inside to "bake" (about 7 minutes total).


Let the muffins cool on a wire rack before attempting to slice open. Toast the split muffins in a toaster. Or freeze them and pull them and pull them out at you want them.

*Source

Paula Dean Tacos

I'm not sure why these are called Paula Dean Tacos. I search google for that recipe, and nothing comes up. I don't even know where I got the recipe. These are healthy and don't contain a stick of butter like her typical recipes, however we continue to call these Paula Dean Tacos .=)

1 lb ground turkey
1/4-1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 jalapeno, ribbed and seeded, minced
8 oz can tomato sauce
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, minced
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper
8-10 taco shells
taco toppings

Brown ground turkey in a large skillet; add onion and jalapeno and saute a few minutes or until tender. Add tomato sauce, cilantro, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder and fresh lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer for 5-10 minutes. If mixture starts to look too dry, add 1 or 2 Tbsp of water and stir to combine.

Serve in crunch or soft taco shells with desired toppings.

Wee School

Colin had another great year at Wee School. This year his teachers were Ms. Linda & Ms. Jenni. Today was his last day and I was so happy to find a CD in his bag of all the pictures they took though the year. The CD has possibly over 500 photos, but here are my favorite ones of Colin.

Sitting in the cubbies

Trying on hats.

The kid LOVES fire trucks, but was afraid to get too close. Look at him holding Reagan's hand.

And then he makes a run for it.

Lucky Ladd Farm

Music class

Reindeer from his hand and foot prints.

Colin Coleman, MD

Delivering Valentines

PJ Day, trying on bunny slippers.

They weighed and mesaured him at the begining of the year and the end. According to their measurements, he has gained 3.5 lbs and grown 2.5 inches!

Looking forward to another great year at Wee School next year!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

See Spot Run

Hallie and I participated in our first ever race. We completed the See Spot Run 5k. We were so excited and pumped, but the week before I started having really bad leg pain. After an x-ray (no fracture!) and a vein ultrasound (no blood clot!) I am assuming I have really bad shin splints. This is a first for me and I am still trying to figure out how to manage it. Poor Hallie came down with Bronchitis just a couple days before.

But she was armed with her breathing treatment and I gave some compression sleeves a try. We didn't expect much and just wanted to have fun and finish. I decided I would like to finish in less than 40 minutes.

We finished in 35:40. What's funny is, we both finished with the exact same time. It was fun to have someone to talk to while we ran. It helps me make sure I am not going to fast. (I'm using the if you can't talk you are going to hard rule).

I finished 13th out of 31 in my age group, 57th out of 169 in my gender, and 110th out of 252 overall. Hallie finished 7th in her age group!! So proud of my friend!

Andrew finished 2nd in his age group and 16th overall! I am so so proud of him. He even won a trophy - a hammer that says he was 2nd in his age group. =)

I am actually starting to enjoy running and can't wait to do another race. I love having an official time to improve on.

Here's some pictures:
Pre-race. I got to pick out a new running shirt for my mother's day gift. Too bad you can't see my awesome compression socks.


Andrew and his hammer trophy.

Post-race. I think you can only tell b/c i am showing my water bottle.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Stay at home mom

A few of you know this about me, but I am now a full time stay-at-home-mom. I'm into my 3rd week and so far I love it. This would not have been ideal for me 2 years ago, but for now, it suites me so well.

The first week home, we didn't do much. I think Colin liked that he didn't HAVE to go anywhere. So we played at home a lot. I have been able to put into practice my new cleaning schedule and it has been so much better than doing lots of cleaning one day a week. I do a couple things while Colin naps and I'm done.

We rejoined the MAC and Colin loves the child care area. Sometime he even asks if we can go to the gym. I am able to go on the days he has MDO without having to worry about taking him, but it is nice that he likes to go. I am also running my first 5K in just a couple weeks!

We've been to park many times already with this nice weather. On Monday we went to the Greenway and did 12 miles on the bike (Colin in the trailer) and then played at the playground and we brought a picnic lunch. He loved it. He told me once we got buckled in the car that it was so much fun. I'm hoping we do that a lot this summer.

I also have plenty of recipes I need to get posted. One of my favorite parts of having so much free time at home is that I can cook so much more. We haven't purchased bread or English muffins in weeks. I now make them at home. And Colin likes to help me stir and pour in ingredients so I have a little sous chef. He loves my bread and English muffins and even told me "You're at good cooker!" He has been begging for tortillas so that is up on our list soon.

I'm transferring all of my favorite and frequently used recipes to a tastebook so that I have a hard copy in case something ever happens to my blog. That will slow me down a little when it comes to posting recipes, but I hope to have some new favorites up soon.