I have spent most of my morning in the kitchen "slaving" away. But now I can relax the rest of the day since dinner will be out.
Breakfast
Cornmeal pancakes
Strawberry sauce
Stripples
Lunch
Chili dogs with Amy's organic chili, cheddar, and onions
Corn
Fruit salad with cherries, strawberries, blueberries, green grapes
Mini banana-chocolate chip muffins for dessert
In between breakfast and lunch I did our grocery shopping and got some banana bread in the oven--3 regular loaves, two mini loaves, and a pan of mini muffins to be exact! We had a lot of brown bananas! I added mini-chocolate chips to the last of the batter for an even sweeter treat. I did use half whole wheat flour and half white in the batter--hopefully that counters some of the sugar...
The cornmeal pancakes, btw, were so delicious--especially with the strawberries on top. Although, Ashton and Juliet didn't want the strawberries--strange--just maple syrup. I'll have to post the recipe.
You?
8 comments:
Your meals today sound awesome! I did some cooking today too! It's easier on weekends to make more elaborate breakfasts and lunches.
Breakfast:
Breakfast sandwiches:
-scrambled eggs (but I didn't scramble them all up so I could put the on the sandwich easier)
-bacon (the real stuff, cooked in the microwave)
-muenster cheese
-on a toasted english muffin
-strawberries, rasberries, blackberries, blueberries
-hot chocolate with whipped cream
Lunch:
-tuna salad
-green salad with thousand island dressing and tomatoes
-pasta salad made with orzo pasta, diced carrots, peas, corn and rice vinegar
-tortilla chips with salsa
-cream of mushroom soup (canned)
-bananas
For dinner... not sure yet, think we might go out too!
Those breakfast sandwiches sound delish--it would probably be too hard for the kids to eat at their age, but I could fix them the goodies on their plate and have sandwiches for me and Clayton. And the multi salad lunch is just why I love summer. Can't wait to start making more salads.
I hope you all had a nice dinner out--a good reward for all your kitchen time!
Our going out was actually not so smooth, although it ended fine. We try to use the Entertainment book/card to save money - are you familiar with it? You get one dinner free with the purchase of one. We have 2 cards, actually, b/c we buy one book from school and one from our synagogue (they sell them as fundraisers). Most places usually use two, so if the 5 of us are going, we order 4 adult entrees, two are free and Jacob and Michela split. We usually save a ton of money using the book, plus we find new and different restaurants. That's if we go to a nicer restaurant using the card. The coupon part is more for the casual restaurants and we use those too. Then, of course, we have our standby places where we don't have coupons or discounts - like Claim Jumper, Chili's, Olive Garden, Coco's, and a few others.
tonight we felt like something different. We like ethnic food and our kids are pretty adventurous and willing to try new things. Marlon and I enjoy Indian and haven't been in awhile so we decided to try this new Indian restaurant that's in the book. When we got in, we realized that it was quite a bit fancier than we expected, compared to other Indian restaurants we've been to. Then, they told us that not only don't they let people use 2 cards (which we do all the time), but, also, if we order an entree and rice, it's the rice that's free, not the second entree. (the rice is 1/3 the price of the entree.) The rice was extra as was the really good Naan bread (usually both are included.) PLUS the entrees were a MINIMUM of $26 per entree and they went higher. So, while we mentally calculated how much this meal was going to cost us (we were thinking well over $130 even if we drank water), the kids were munching out on the appetizers they put down on the table and drinking their water. We decided that we really didn't need to have such a fancy and expensive meal on just a regular night, so we decided not to stay. We've NEVER walked out of a restaurant before and I was a little embarrased, but I just really couldn't justify spending that much for a regular dinner out.
So, we left, got back in the car, took a vote and ended up at the Olive Garden, where we had a nice dinner for about $50 instead of $130 (we even had a glass of wine each, which I felt we needed after our fiasco!)
Marlon and I each had chicken marsala with a side of angel hair pasta, salad and breadsticks. Michela had pizza, salad and breadsticks. Harrison had fettucine alfredo w/chicken, salad and breadsticks and Jacob had spaghetti with meatsauce, salad and breadsticks.
Hope you enjoyed your evening out. Where did you go?
Oh, Barbara, I think we invented the entertainment card! That is how we got through med school and residency without feeling like complete paupers. We could eat at good restaurants like the income-earning folks of the world--we just did it for 50% off! And, believe me, you couldn't imagine Clayton's glee when he discovered there was a card for Asheville restaurants. We have now been all over town trying new places. But now that we are in the income-earning bunch, we still see the long-term value of having it. Soon we will be a family of five like you and I can't imagine our restaurant bills when the kids are a little older without a discount card.
There are occasional mishaps with the card--like you experienced last night, but it is all part of the fun...even if you have to get up and leave. We've done that, too!
Can you believe we ate at Olive Garden last night, too? :) I was tempted by the chik marsala but opted for the eggplant instead--so I could share with the kids.
I will be playing catch reading up on the dinner blog too, but the cook is back on this end!!
Ode to Angela, For breakfast this morning, I made breakfast tacos!
Angela made those for Rachael and I back in Houston, and that verde salsa is the best!
tacos (soft are best) filled and melted with
hash browns, eggs, browned meat (I used morning star) cheese...wrap in aluminum foil and heat in oven for a few minutes, then when it comes out of the oven, top with sour cream and green salsa. Yummo.
Sometime over the weekend...I made a veggie chili with, red kidney beans, morning star meat, mushrooms, green bell peppers, zucchini, chili powder, additional cumin and paprika cooked to a bubbling perfection...served with corn bread for one meal...
and then the chili reinvented for another lunch: layered with corn chips, avocado, cheese sauce, fresh spinach that wilts between the chili and hot cheese sauce...
grapes, strawberries, and nectarine for dessert.
Being my birthday, and a long weekend we ate out quite a bit too.
Tonight I am making Bruschetta Capri, with fresh mozzarella, basil and tomatoes over toast with garlic and olive oil...we have a bottle of sparkling blueberry juice to go with it.
Glad to hear we're not the only ones who have ever walked out of a restaurant. We usually have great luck with the E card and it helps us find new and different restaurants. Last night was just a fluke.
Wait til the kids start needing adult meals like Harrison. Runs up the bill fast! We can't really eat out anywhere (except fast food, which we don't usually do) for less than $50.
Funny that we both ended up at the Olive Garden and, even funnier, I considered the eggplant but just felt like chicken!
Am cooking again tonight - just not sure what!
Bonnie, you know the name of your Bruschetta Capri makes me swoon...
and it was delish ;) usually I use Texas toast but last night actually used toasted Panera cheese bread as the base...since my (Caleb's) Aunt had given me a huge loaf! In addition to the fresh mozz. tomatoes, herbs and olive oil, added some avocado and capers, and lemon juice, salt and pepper and garlic powder to taste. The sparkling blueberry is worth trying too!
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