Menu Plan Monday April 30

I am panning a pretty simple menu here this week. 

We have a few projects here that I need to finish up so I am going for easy.

Here is the line up:

Monday
Mr. Homegrown's birthday request
Hamburgers on the grill
Onion rings
Strawberry Cobbler (recipe to come)

Tuesday
End of season soccer party at Chic-fil-A

Wednesday

Tuna Noodle Casserole
Did not get around to this last week.

Thursday

Chicken Chow Mein
Edamamme

Friday

Grilled Butterflied Brown Sugar Chicken

Green Beans with Bacon and caramelized onion

Weekend
Pizza using Beer Batter Pizza Dough
Family movie night!

I am linking up with Menu Plan Monday.  Go check out what everyone else is going to eat this week.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

My mom is a blessing to our family.  She lives about two miles away and she sees the little Beanes all the time.  They love her.

That being said, she is not without flaws.  She loves pizza, but she only loves "real pizza".  She likes her pizza to have a crispy  thin crust, pepperoni, and 'white' cheese.  By 'white' cheese, she means a package of mozzarella cheese. 

I like to be a little more adventurous with food.  I like to order food in a restaurant that is a little different and I like to make food at home that is a little more adventurous than my mom likes. 

One night, we invited her over for pizza.  She was so excited to come.  She left a little upset with me. 

I made BBQ Chicken pizza, which is delicious.  She was expecting 'regular' pizza.  When she saw the pizza was not loaded down with pepperoni, she was confused. 

I tried to explain that BBQ Chicken Pizza was not all that unusual and that most people have eaten it and loved it. 

She ate some.  She liked it.  She ate another piece.  She liked it. 

She said that it was good but it was not pizza. 

Lesson learned:  When you invite my mom over for BBQ Chicken Pizza, call it a sandwich or something. 

Ingredients
One batch of Beer Batter Pizza Dough, or your favorite pizza dough.
One bottle of BBQ sauce, I used Kraft with honey
One package of Purdue Shortcuts chicken.
3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
5-6 slices of bacon, fried crisp
1/2 cup chopped or red onion
1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 
Make your pizza crust, roll it out and get it in your pan. 
Prick the pizza dough with a fork several times, so it won't bubble up while it is baking.
Bake the pizza crust 10 minutes.
Take the pizza crust out of the oven and let it rest until you are ready to dress it up.



Use some kitchen sheers and cut the chicken up into cubes.

Pour the bottle of BBQ sauce over the chicken.

Give it a little stir.

Spread it over the pizza crust.  Now it is time to dress it up!

Sprinkle the cheese over the top.  Sprinkle the onion, cilantro, and bacon over the top of the cheese.

Bake the whole thing at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until the cheese starts to brown a little.

Let is rest just a few minutes and then slice it up and serve!  This is so good.  Just don't tell my mom it is pizza.

I am linking up with Metamorphosis Monday, Allergy Free Wednesday, and these other Awesome Parties!



Friday Favorites

It is Friday, Homies!

I am so glad to start the weekend.  We have a lot going on in the Beane house this weekend. 

For starters, String Beane is finishing up the soccer season with a final tournament.  He will play two games Saturday with a possible semi-finals and final tournament!  Whew.  It makes me nervous.

The other big event here is Mr. Homegrown is having a birthday!  His actual birthday is Monday but we will go out to eat Saturday night for a birthday dinner.  We are going to try eating at McCormick & Schmick's.  Have any of you eaten there?  What is good to get?  I need some suggestions on what to order.

Now on to my top 5 favorite finds for this week. 


Nutter Butter S'Mores
It is the simple ideas that are the best.

Caramel and Chocolate chip Brownies with a Pretzel Crust

I am going to have to try this very soon.


Sushi Salad
Sushi is Mr. Homegrown's favorite food.


Honey Ginger Chicken Bites
This seems like something the Little Beanes would eat.


Cake Decorating Party
One of these years, Jelly Beane will have this as her birthday party!

What have you pinned this week? 

I am linking up at Finding Joy in my Kitchen.  Go check out everyone's favorite finds.

Menu Plan Monday April 23

Last week's menu was so good!  The Homemade Spaghetti-Ohs and the Mini Corn Dogs were the hit of the week!  Both of those recipes have been added to our Family Favorites. 

This week I am going for easy.  I am also using up some things I have in my freezer.  We are also going to try cooking over the campfire again.  I am loving some camp food right now.  It is so fun.  I might have to give actual camping a try one of these days.  Maybe I should start with 'glamping' first and see how it goes.

Here is this weeks line up.

Monday

Kielbasa and Pasta


Tuesday
BBQ pulled pork
Slaw
Boiled potatoes

Wednesday

Chicken Fajitas
Mexican Rice
Corn

Thursday

Grilled Fish with Black beans and corn

Grilled Potatoes with Dipping Sauce


Friday
We are going to try the dutch oven over the campfire again!  Wish us luck.

Gumbo
Rice

Weekend

Tuna Noodle Casserole

What is on your menu this week?  I am linking up with Menu Plan Monday.  Go check out all of the meal plans.

Reese Cup Cake

I love Reese Cups!  My jeans do not love Reese cups.  It is an unfair world. 

I try not to have snacks in the house that contain milk for a couple of reasons.  The most important reason is that I need my house to be safe for String Beane.  I don't want him to accidental eat something that has milk in it and react.  The second reason is that if I do have a snack here that has milk in it, like Reese cups, then I am the only one that can eat them.  So I eat them.  Then my jeans get really tight.  Or more tight, I should say. 

I found these mini cake pans at Michael's and I bought them not knowing what I was going to do with them.  Then one night a craving for a Reese cup hit me so I made these wonderful things.  They do not contain milk so I was not forced to eat the whole batch to keep my home safe! 

The bonus is that all the little Beanes loved them!  We got to share the goodness of these little cakes.  So these are basically diet food. 

Ingredients
One box of Duncan Hines chewy fudge brownie mix
ingredients to make the brownies
1/4 cup plus 1/8 cup butter, melted (Flieshmann's unsalted margarine is milk free0
2 cups of powdered sugar
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Frosting, (Duncan Hines chocolate frosting does not have milk, yea!)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the margarine, sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla in a mixer until well combined. 

Follow the directions on the brownie mix to make the brownie batter. 

Spray the mini cake pans with cooking spray.

Fill the mini cake pans about 1/2 full with the brownie batter and bake for 15 - 18 minutes.  Keep an eye on these to make sure you don't over bake them. 

When you take them out of the oven, let them cool for a few minutes in the pans and then pop them out on to a cooling rack to cool completely. 

When the cakes are completely cooled, grab two of them and get to filling.  You may want to level the cakes a little if they domed up on you while baking. 

Fill the cakes little cavities with the peanut butter mixture.  I used a little cookie scooper to fill mine. 

Use an offset spatula and run a thin line of frosting around the edges of the cakes.  Sort of like a little bit of chocolate glue.  Stack the two cakes together to make a filled cake. 

Then ice the whole thing with frosting.  and you get one of these.

Then slice the little cake open and revel the peanut butter surprise!

You will not be disappointed in these.  I was able to make three filled cakes with this recipe.  There was a little bit of peanut butter mixture left over, so I ate it.  You know 'waste not, want not'.  My mama taught me that. 

I am linking up with Metamorphosis Monday, Allergy Free Wednesday, and these other Awesome Parties.





Friday Favorites

It is Friday peeps!

I have so looked forward to Friday all week.

Getting back into the school routine after Easter break has not been easy! 

String Beane has a small speaking part to say in his Kindergarten Graduation.  He was supposed to have learned his lines over Easter Break.  Guess who forgot to teach him his lines?  Whoops.  He still has time to learn it.  He just didn't have it memorized for the first practice.  I am going to put this on my 'mother of the year' application. 

Here are my top 5 picks for this week.  What have you pinned?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Fondue

Who doesn't think chocolate and peanut butter are the best combo?  Weirdos that is who.

Orange Crush Cupcakes

This looks like a good cupcake for summer!

Cookie, peanut butter cup, brownie

This is sort of a trifecta of goodness. 

Honey Ginger Chicken Bites

This sounds like a great app!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Peanut Butter

I have no words for this one!

Have a great weekend.  I am linking up with Finding Joy in my Kitchen.  Go check out what other people have pinned!

Menu Plan Monday April 16

Spring break is over.  I had so much fun with my little Beanes this week.  Mr. Homegrown even took a few days off to be with us.

Now Monday morning, it will fell like herding cats getting everyone up, dressed, fed, and out the door on time.  I do not look forward to that.

I am planning an easy week of meals that I hope everyone will happily eat.

Here is the line up:

Monday


Baked Shrimp Scampi
Rice

Tuesday

Homemade Spaghetti Oh's

Wednesday
BBQ Chicken Pizza on Beer Batter Pizza Crust
I will post this pizza recipe soon!

Thursday

Mini Corn Dogs
Broccoli
Corn on the cob

Friday
Pizza from Papa John's and family movie night!

Weekend

Orange Chicken
Rice


What is on your menu this week?  I am linking up at Menu Plan Monday.  Go check her out.

Funfetti Caramel Chocolate Popcorn

Do you ever have one of those weeks where you think you should join the circus?

I am not sure what talent I could add to the Ringling Bros., but I am sure I would be better at the circus than I am at motherhood some days.

I will never get used to why boys think that bodily functions and boogers are so funny.  

What is up with that?  Some days I feel like I am living with animals. 

Just when I really think I am getting somewhere with my lectures on being polite and having some sense of social graces, my husband starts laughing and then we are back to square one.  

So in honor of the circus today, I am giving you my version of a carnival style popcorn.

I made mine without any milk ingredients so my String Beane could eat it.  Tweak the ingredients any way you want to make your circus animals happy.

Ingredients

1 Bag of microwave popcorn, popped

or 4-5 cups of pop corn, popped on the stove.

1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips (I used Gharidelli since they do not contain milk)

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup margarine (I used Fleishmann's unsalted- milk free)

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

A sprinkling of colored sprinkles, probably about 1/4 cup.

Directions

Pop popcorn and remove all of the unpopped kernels.  Spread the popcorn on a rimmed baking sheet.  

Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the popcorn.

Place sugar, butter, corn syrup and vanilla in medium heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly with wooden spoon.  Continue cooking until the mixture reaches the hard-crack stage, stirring constantly. 

Remove from heat. 

 Add baking soda and mix well.

Immediately pour caramel mixture evenly over popped corn and candy until coated. 

 Do not stir. 

Sprinkle the popcorn with the colored sprinkles.

Let stand 30 minutes or until caramel has cooled and hardened.

Break it up into pieces and eat!

Store the leftovers in an airtight container.

Here is one more look at it

You would totally avoid the melted chocolate look if you used M&Ms.  But they contain milk so we can not use them.  I sort of like the chocolate streak look anyway.

I am linking up with Metamorphosis Monday,  Allergy Free Wednesday and these other

Awesome Parties!

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday Internet Peeps!

It is Friday the 13th! 

Does that scare you?  It does me just a little.  But on a happy note, today is my mom's birthday!

Happy Birthday, mom.

Here are my top 5 favorites from the Internets this week.

Crispy Shrimp Tacos

The fish tacos from last week were such a hit, I might try these out.

Orange Chicken

I think this looks so yummy!

Sizzling Ponzu Fajitas

I am going to have to try these out very soon.

Homemade Nutter Butters

Nutter Butters are my favorite store bought cookie!

Lemon Curd Filled Cupcakes

I think my String Beane would love these.  He loves lemon.

What have you pinned this week?

I am linking up with Finding Joy in My Kitchen. Go check her out.

Menu Plan Monday April 9

Happy Easter!

He is Risen!

We are on Easter break here this week.  The little Beanes are out of school/preschool and I am looking forward to a slower paced week.

We had a lot of good meals last week.  I tried some new recipes and all three were keepers! 

The Shepperd's Pie was so good and all the little Beanes ate it up.  The Tuna Noodle Casserole was surprisingly good.  I was honestly only making that because I had some tuna in the pantry and I was wanting to use it up.  Turns out this recipe is a repeater, as Mr. Homegrown would say.  And the Fish Tacos were so good! This was Mr. Homegrown's favorite meal for the week. The little Beanes did not like them in the flour tortillas but they ate all the 'insides' of the tacos.  Good enough for me! 

We did not get around to the Navajo Tacos last week so I am rolling them to this week.

Here is this week's menu.

Monday

Navajo Tacos

Salad

Tuesday

Teriyaki chicken Kebabs

Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Bundles

Rice

Wednesday

Roasted Chicken

Crashed Potatoes

Grilled Glazed Carrots

Thursday

Out to eat!

Friday

Left overs

Saturday

My mom's birthday dinner.  I am making her favorite:

Pepperoni Pizza on Beer Battered Pizza Crust

and my favorite:

Thai Chicken Pizza

and

Strawberry Shortcake

What is on your menu this week?

I am linking up with Menu Plan Monday.

Strawberry Sorbet

When you have a milk allergic child, you will come to worship sorbet. 

A lot of ice cream parlors will offer one or two flavors of sorbet.  The great news is sorbets are made of fruit and sugar.  No milk.  Yea for Sorbet!

We live near several strawberry patches where you can take your kids and pick your own strawberries.



My little Butter beane in 2010 eating picking strawberries!



They are all starting to open for the season! 

I had some strawberries in the freezer, so I decided to give Sorbet a shot.

Glad I did.  My little Beanes love it.

Ingredients

1 pound of strawberries, fresh or frozen

1/2 cup of sugar

1 Tablespoon of lemon juice

Directions

Give the strawberries a few rounds in the food processor.  Make sure they are good and pureed. 

Stir in the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar dissolves.  Give it a taste to see if you want to add a little more sugar or not. 

If you are using frozen strawberries, go ahead and put in your ice cream freezer and churn, according to manufacturers directions.  If you are using fresh strawberries, put the pureed mixture in the refrigerator for about 2 hours before transferring to your ice cream freezer.  

This is best eaten as soon as you make it.  If you have any left over, just pop it in a plastic container and keep in your freezer.   

Here is one more look at it.  Delicious.

I am linking up at Metamorphosis Monday , Allergy Free Wednesday, and These other Awesome parties!