Monday: 
 Tonight during dinner, Peter took my hand in his and ever so seriously said, "Thanks, Babe. This tastes just like my favorite McDonald's meal." He was joking, of course, and making a reference back to my "microwave dinner" meal last week (or the week before...everything runs together). It's not a having-guests-over type of meal, but definitely a Monday, I-didn't-get-anything-done, it's-so-cold-gray-and-dreary-out, I-weigh-a-thousand-pounds-today sort of meal.

• Goldfish Chicken Strips with honey mustard dipping sauce. (Crush goldfish and add seasoning of choice - I did garlic, onion powder, parsley, salt and pepper. Dip chicken tenders or boneless, skinless chicken cut into strips into melted butter and then into the crushed cracker mixture. Bake at 475 degrees for 20-30 minutes. I also did a minute or two under the broiler at the end to really crisp things up.)
• Basmati rice with carrots and onion
• Garlic green beans

Tuesday:

• Burritos - ground beef, black beans, corn, tomatoes, salsa - rolled up in tortillas and baked at 475 degrees for 15 minutes.

Wednesday:

• Must have been amazing because I can't for the life of me remember what we ate.

Thursday:

• Chicken Pot Pie

Eat your greens is what I heard

...is best! These are the greens I can't get enough of!

Southern Green Beans

Ingredients

• 2 slices bacon, chopped
• olive oil/spray
  
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped (Can just use a bag of frozen)
  
• 4 small new potatoes, diced*
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar**
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place the chopped bacon in a skillet, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the bacon pieces on a paper towel-lined plate.
2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet with a lid over medium-low heat, and cook and stir the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked bacon, green beans, potatoes, garlic, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over low heat until the green beans are tender, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with vinegar, salt, and pepper, and serve.

*I leave out the potatoes sometimes. Today I left the potatoes out and added mushrooms. It was okay but not my favorite.

**The vinegar is the secret to making these greens good!

Best Blueberry Muffins

I'm always afraid to claim something as "the best" of anything. There are always other new and exciting recipes out there and I wouldn't be surprised if I try a different blueberry muffin recipe one day just for fun. In the life of a stay-at-home-mom, new recipes are some of the most exciting things we experience around here. ;-) But, that said, these are some pretty darn good muffins. The lemon sugar on top really was a nice touch. A really nice touch. I just ate the tops off of all 12 muffins.

Not really.

I used frozen blueberries, because that's what I had on hand and they worked great and I used regular milk with a tablespoon or so of plain yogurt instead of the buttermilk. http://www.thebittenword.com/thebittenword/2009/06/best-blueberry-muffins.html

The morning can be busy

Start the day with some Cherry, Almond and Cinnamon Granola! I've been into granola since Christmas. It's a simple way to eat quickly and somewhat healthily. I love it with Chobani yogurt; it's greek yogurt, high in protein, and zero fat.

This recipe is tweaked to my liking and health (oil was lessened)...originally from Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten

Ingredients

* 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
* 2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
* 2 cups sliced almonds
* 1 cups dried cherries, chopped
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 1/3 cup good honey
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon vanilla


Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Toss the oats, coconut, almonds, and cherries together in a large bowl. Pour the vegetable oil and honey over the oat mixture. Add the cinnamon, and stir with a wooden spoon until all the oats and nuts are coated with the liquids. Pour onto a sheet pan. Bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns a nice, even golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Add chopped cherries.

Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring occasionally. Store the cooled granola in an airtight container.

Boy, I miss you guys!

You should have come over for dinner!

I've been working on finding crockpot recipes so dinner is easier to put out on the table. Tonight we had:

BBQ chicken via crockpot
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Zesty-Slow-Cooker-Chicken-Barbecue/Detail.aspx
I placed two chicken breast without skin and topped with BBQ sauce and then a bit of italian dressing, and worcestershire sauce. It cooked on low for about 2 hours.

Leftover Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Boiled sweet potatoes. Skin them. Mash with a bit of sour cream and a bit of cinnamon.

Stuffed Acorn Squash
I used the recipe below for the idea. I've made it twice and it's so yummy!
Microwave squash for 2 min. Cut in half. Place in a dish with water faced down. Microwave for 12 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile cook onions, celery, garlic, mushrooms, and other veggie. (I have added asparagus and cauliflower.) Cook a bit of bacon. (Alissa, I only used one slice of bacon tonight! Try to be good.) Fill the cooked squash with veggie mix and top with bacon and cheddar cheese. Melt the cheese in the oven and enjoy.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cheesy-Acorn-Squash/Detail.aspx

Spinach Salad with apples, blue cheese, and sugared almonds with Honey Mustard dressing.

Now, this was more than we usually have on the table!

Hope this sounds yummy!

Ultimate Banana bread

This was yummy. I've never made a banana bread that I haven't liked, but this one did have really nice texture and looked pretty (although this isn't my picture). http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=25349

Monday:

• Hamburger steak (http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/hamburger-steak-with-onions-and-gravy/Detail.aspx). Ok, I'll admit it. I'm totally embarrassed to be even putting that. I actually made a recipe that had a reviewer who said that it tasted just like their favorite microwave dinner....can you say desperate?? It was actually tasty though - but, maybe I'm ok with microwave dinners. ;-) I did use onion soup mix for the beef broth since I was out.
• Mashed potatoes. If you still make your mashed potatoes with russets, stop! Gold potatoes make the best mashed potatoes.
• Spinach salad

Tuesday:

• Microwave Corn dogs. Just kidding (I think). Ok, for real now: Pesto Chicken Florentine was tonight's main meal. (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pesto-Chicken-Florentine/Detail.aspx?prop31=1) Made my own alfredo (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quick-and-Easy-Alfredo-Sauce/Detail.aspx?prop31=2), used less chicken, more spinach, and more pasta. 
• Rustic hearth bread. I'll post the recipe for that soon. It's my go-to bread now. 

Wednesday:

• "Chichza" as Jack calls it.

Thursday: 

We are out of everything! I have no chicken, no veggies, no rice....hurry up, Saturday!

• Cheeseburger Soup (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cheeseburger-Soup-I/Detail.aspx?prop31=4). Didn't use basil, out of carrots and celery...
• Quick Yeast Rolls (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quick-Yeast-Rolls/Detail.aspx?prop31=1)