Monday, September 26, 2011

Meal Plan Monday

Monday: Sprite BBQ Chicken

Thursday: Tasty Meatloaf
Friday: Pizza with this crust we love
Saturday: Chinese Sundaes because we got invited to dinner Sunday and didn't eat them last week.
Sunday: Roast Chicken and mashed potatoes.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Meal Plan Mondays


Just click on any of these recipes if you'd like them. Have a great week.

Monday: Cube Steak Parmesan. I love this recipe because cube steak is usually a clearance item at our grocery store (I guess no one eats it), and I can get it cheap. I serve it with penne noodles and broccoli.

Tuesday: Chicken Noodle Soup and Cinnamon Rolls. I have a good cinnamon roll recipe, but I wanted to try this one from All Recipes since it had like 4,000 reviews.

Wednesday: Carnitas


Friday: We always make pizza on Friday

Saturday: Grill night hamburgers and homemade fries.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Food Nanny's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have another recipe I love, but it calls for shortening, so I love that I can use butter with this recipe and they turn out wonderful every time.


1 cup butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
3 cups of flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy with electric mixer. Add vanilla and eggs and beat another minute. Sift the flour baking soda, and salt together. Add to the butter mixture until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon onto cookie sheet and bake 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake. They freeze well.

Grilled Island Chicken

This is one of our favorite marinades for grilled chicken from here. So easy and delicious. This recipe is for only 2-4 chicken breasts, so we usually double it.


1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 1-2 lemons)
1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
1 clove garlic, finely minced
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2-4 chicken breasts

Combine all ingredients except chicken in a mixing bowl or large airtight plastic bag. Whisk or shake well until the marinade is well mixed. Add the chicken breasts to the bowl or plastic bag so that they are covered by the marinade. If using a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap. If using a plastic bag, press out all the excess air and seal the bag tightly. Refrigerate and marinate up to 10 hours (I would suggest marinading for at least 3 hours at the minimum).

Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium heat. Grill the chicken for 6-7 minutes per side (depending on how thick the chicken breasts are), until the chicken is no longer pink in the center (if you have a meat thermometer, the chicken should register 165 degrees). Tent with foil and let the chicken rest for about five minutes before serving.

Alternately, the chicken can be baked using the following directions:
When ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 350° F. Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish and pour the excess marinade over them. Bake in the oven until cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 165° F, about 45 minutes (exact baking time will depend on the size of your chicken pieces.) Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Sausage and Spinach Penne Skillet Dinner

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound Italian-style turkey sausage, casings removed (I couldn’t find turkey sausage so I substituted mild pork sausage)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced finely
3 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 ounces (about 3 1/2 cups) penne pasta
1 (6-ounce) bag baby spinach
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot and add in the sausage. Cook until lightly browned and no longer pink about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in the water, broth, sun-dried tomatoes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, then add in the pasta. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook at a strong simmer, stirring often, until the pasta is tender and the liquid has thickened, about 15-18 minutes (if you find the liquid is absorbing too quickly and the pasta is still undercooked, add a bit more water in small amounts until the pasta is cooked thoroughly).

Stir in the spinach, a handful at at ime, and cook until wilted. Off the heat, stir in the cheese and pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste adn serve immediately.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Buckaroo Beans


Wherever I take this, I will always be asked for the recipe. It's my go-to recipe for baked beans and we love it!

1 pound of browned ground beef
1 pound of cooked and crumbled bacon
1 medium chopped onion
1 medium chopped green pepper
1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
2 T. mustard
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 16 oz. can of Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
1 16 oz. can of Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
1 16 oz. can of Butter Beans, drained and rinsed
1 16 oz. can of Pork and Beans, undrained

Combine all ingredients in a casserole dish or your crock pot. When it is all mixed together, I look at it to see if it needs more liquid. I usually squirt in more ketchup and BBQ sauce and a little more mustard until it looks like a good consistency. If you are going to bake it, set the oven at 350 and bake for an hour. If you want to throw it all in your crock pot, cook it on high for a few hours or low, depending on how much time you have.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Roasted Marshmallow Shake

Local DC residents know about a little burger joint on capitol hill, Good Stuff Eatery, that serves the best marshmallow shake ever. Here is the recipe!!! I could eat the whole blender.


22 marshmallows or more if you like, not the mini marshmallows
about 3-4 cups of vanilla ice cream depending on how thick you like your shake
1 c. milk
2 T. sour cream

Put the marshmallows on a cookie sheet and broil them in the oven. You don't want them to catch on fire so watch them. Cook them until they look like how you like to eat them over a campfire. Let them cool a little. Throw them in the blender with the ice cream, sour cream and milk and blend. If it looks too thin, just add more ice cream. Garnish with a roasted marshmallow or two. If you love roasted marshmallows, you better use skim milk and low fat ice cream or frozen yogurt because I can't stop eating this. Enjoy!!