Grilled cheese (mozzarella & Basil Pesto) and Broccoli Soup

This was a great meal. The girls had the "fancy" grilled cheese and Jen and I had 1/2 sandwich and the soup. This meal was fun to make and much more fun to eat. I do not have a food processor so I used my blender to make the pesto and soup. I got the soup recipe from watching a Chef Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmare over the summer. I saw how he made it with no effort and he said how good it was. I didn't believe how good or easy the broccoli soup would be, but Chef Ramsey didn't disappoint. It was great! The girls all tried one spoonful of the soup and they all liked it (for the most part). The grilled cheese was a hit with everyone.

Grade: A+

Grilled Cheese (Smoked Mozzarella & Basil Pesto)

Ingredients:

Basil Pesto

2 c fresh basil leaves

1 c fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves

1/2 c grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1/2 c pine nuts, toasted

3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c extra-virgin olive oil

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Bread

slices of smoked mozzarella

butter

I added cheddar cheese

*for pesto, in a food processor combine basil, parsley, Parmigiano-Reggiano, pine nuts, garlic, salt, and oil and pulse until well combined but still rough in texture.

After you make the pesto, assemble the sandwich like a regular grilled cheese putting pesto, on one half and mozzarella on the other. Put them together and place in a frying pan.

Super Easy Broccoli Soup:

All you need is:

water

salt

2 large heads of broccoli. Cut the florets off of the broccoli and make the stems cut down to the same size.

1. Water in a large stock up to a boil. Place the broccoli in the water for 3 1/2 to 4 minutes.

2. Using a slotted spoon pick the broccoli out of the water and into a blender.

3. Add water from the broccoli pot into the blender. Do not start with too much water as you can always add more if the soup is too thick.

4. Puree the mixture. If too thick add more water. Make sure the water is from the pot that you boiled the broccoli in.

Emily: sampling the soup

Sarah: thinks it is so good, she needs to kiss before she eats it!

Lucy: Copying Sarah

Emily: Finally feeling good enough to eat it all up!

Anna:Not pictured (sorry)

Crockpot chicken and wild rice

This was a typical crockpot meal. Easy and quick to prepare, all day to cook, and made the house smell great. After preparing this meal, I have decided that we might have to buy a new crockpot because one side of the crockpot is obviously running warmer than the other side based on the scorched evidence. I have only made one or two things in it before and have never noticed it. Jen has burnt her fair share of meals in the crock pot, but I just marked it up to Jen not setting it correctly. :-) This meal was simply to buy for and make. I didn't take any pictures because the girls were having an "off" day and it was a little too crazy. Enjoy

Grade: B

Ingredients:
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast
8 oz package of wild rice mix
2 cans of Cream of Chicken soup
1 1/2 cups of water
4 large carrots thickly cut up.

1. Add/mix the soup, water, wild rice mix, carrots, and water into the crockpot.
2. Place the chicken into the crockpot and mix in with the mixture, make sure it is coated.
3. Cook for 7-8 hours on low or 4-5 on high.

Pretty simple.

Taco Puffs

This meal only takes a little more time than it takes to make tacos, but adds the taste of buttery buscuits. If you like flaky busciuts and tacos I highly recommend trying this one. All of the girls, (and one boy) loved this meal. It is neat and easy. Also, we steamed some green pepper and onion for the non-children.

Grade: A-

Ingredients

1lb ground beef (I used ground turkey)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 envelope taco seasoning

2 tubes (16.3 oz each) large refrigerated flaky biscuits (I used the ones with butter)

8 oz cheddar cheese slices or 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1) In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Cool slightly.

2) Flatten half of the biscuits into 4-in. circles; lace in greased 15-in x 10 in x 1 in. baking pans. Spoon 1/4 cup meat mixture onto each; top with two cheese slices or 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Flatten the remaining bisuits; place on top and pinch edges to seal tightly. Bake at 400 degree for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Anna, giving herself a round of applause for the camera

Emily is ready for bed before eating her dinner, but that's OK.

Sarah picking her food apart before she eats it.

Lucy, being Lucy, stuffing her face.

Meat and Corn Bread Squares

It doesn't look that great, but this was the rest of the dinner after the first night.

This recipe was another good one. I had to tone the spiciness of the meal because of the young girls, but it was still good. If I was going to make this again, I might cut the recipe in half and then make half spicy and half mild. If you like corn bread and a meat filling that taste tacoish, then this would be a good one to try. It didn't take that long and it didn't have too many ingredients.

Grade A-

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 Tbs cornstarch

1 Tbs dried minced onion

1 to 2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 14 1/2 oz can tomatoes, cut up

1 4 oz can diced green chili peppers drained

3/4 c all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cornmeal

2 tsp baking powder

2 beaten eggs

1 8 1/2 oz can cream=style corn

1/2 c milk

3 Tbs cooking oil

1 c shredded cheddar cheese

1. In a large skillet cook meat till brow. Drain off fat. Stir in cornstarch, onion, chili powder, and garlic salt. Stir in undrained tomatoes and chili peppers. Cook and stir over medium heat till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. (I didn't add chili peppers and not all of the chili powder).

2. In a mixing bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, and baking powder. In another bowl combine eggs, corn, milk, and oil. Stir egg mixer into dry mixture. Add cheese. Stir just till moistened.

3. Spread half of the batter into a greased 2 qt rectangular baking dish. Spoon meat mixture atop. Top with remaining batter. Bake in a 375 degree oven about 30 min or till golden brown. Let stand for 5 min to serve, cut into squares. If desired, pass salsa.

And believe it or not, Anna did enjoy her dinner, after her melt down.

Emily after a rough chiropractor appt.

Sarah enjoying her food.

Lucy eating away

Anna having a pre-dinner fit, how adorable

Tortellini, Chicken, and Vegetables/ Green Beans with Cream Sauce

These two meals both turned out wonderful. I prepared this meal on a Sunday because I would have the most time to cook, but it only took me a little over an hour to make both dishes. The Lucy didn't "dig" the food to much. However, she hasn't enjoyed very much today. The main dish was very bright and colorful. Anna said it looked like a rainbow. The sauce that went with the green beans was amazing. I am going to look to use the sauce in some other meals in the future. The Tortellini was easy and I doubled the recipe so it would be plenty for two nights worth. The recipe that is below is not doubled (just a warning). Also, I used fresh green beans and milk in the green bean dish.

Grade: A

Tortellini, Chicken, and Vegetables

1/2 c chopped onion

1 Tbs margarine or butter

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1/2 c dry white or red wine

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 9 oz package refrigerated fresh cheese-filled tortellini

2 c loose-packed frozen mixed vegetables

2 c chopped cooked chicken

1 Tbs cornstarch

1/4 c cold water

1. For sauce, in a medium saucepan cook onion in margarine or butter till onion is tender but not brown. Add undrained tomatoes, wine, thyme, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan cook tortellini according to package directions, except stir in frozen vegetables along with tortellini. Drain cooked tortellini and vegetables; keep warm.

3 Stir chicken into sauce. Combine cornstarch and water; stir into sauce. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Pour sauce over tortellini and vegetables; toss well to coat. Makes 4 main dish servings.

Green Beans with Sherry Cream Sauce

1 lb green beans (fresh) or two 9-oz packages frozen cut green beans

1/2 c sliced fresh mushrooms

1/4 c chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbs margarine or butter

1 Tbs all purpose flour

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp coarsely cracked black pepper

1/4 c bee broth

1/4 c milk
2 Tbs dry sherry, dry white wine, or beef broth

1. cut fresh green beans into 1 inch pieces. Cook fresh green beans, covered in a small amount of boiling water for 20-25 minutes or till crisp-tender. (or, cook frozen beans according to package directions.) Drain; return beans to saucepan.

2. Meanwhile, for sauce, in a small saucepan cook and stir mushrooms, onion, and garlic in margarine or butter about 4 minutes or till tender. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Carefully add beef broth and half-and half all at once. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Stir in sherry. Stir sauce into cooked beans in saucepan; heat through. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Sarah trying to excape

Emily, actually enjoying her dinner for once.

Anna trying to figure out how to get the food to fly out of her bowl and into her mouth.

Lucy trying out the new horizonal drinking cup.

More Macaroni

Okay, this is the first repeat recipe to be on the blog. It is and it isn't. It is almost the same recipe as down below, the same ingredients, but I free handed the amount. I dumped the entire box of macaroni in and used 2 cups of milk with a spoonful of flour and a countless number of American cheese slices. The sauce wasn't setting up at all, so I added more cheese and some flour. It thickened up and when combined with the whole wheat noodles, it was great. There isn't any pictures, but it was thick and delicious. Also, we added diced ham to it.

Grade: B+

"Wet" Burritos

This is not an exciting post, and no pictures, but I figured that I haven't posted anything in a few weeks, so it here is a little something.

For my burritos, I took 1 lb of ground turkey and browned it with sliced tomatoes from our garden and very mild yellow peppers. The reason I added the tomatoes and peppers during the browning phase is because I find ground turkey dries out easily. After it was browned, I drained the liquid and added the taco seasoning mix and 3/4 cups of water mixed it all together and brought it to a boil.

While the meat was browning I set the oven to 350. Place the soft taco shells face up and fill them with the meat and sliced cheddar cheese. seal the burritos and place them in an 8x10 pan. Layer the top with shredded cheese and place in the oven until the cheese is melted. It's pretty simple and easy and that is why it was my quick meal for the week.

Grade: B