Sunday Burritos

Tonight I am going to make burritos, but I am not going to use my regular recipe, I want to try something new. My usual recipe is this:

1/2 lb. ground beef
1 can refried beans
1 can petite diced tomatoes with green chiles (undrained)
1 packet burrito seasonings

Brown the ground beef, drain off fat. Mix in the beans, tomatoes and seasonings, stir well to combine. Heat through, about 5 minutes over medium heat.

That is the main filling for the burritos. Then we would top that with shredded lettuce, shredded mexican blend cheese, and sour cream. Yum!

But tonight I am going to use the following as the fillings:

refried beans
yellow rice
pico de gallo
shredded lettuce
guacamole
sour cream
shredded mexican blend cheese

It's vegetarian, but not for any special reason. I had a burrito made with these ingredients from Chipotle Mexican Grill and it was SOOO good, I decided to replicate it. Now if only I could figure out how to properly roll the burritos without ripping the tortilla. They put the tortilla in some sort of heating/steaming machine at Chipotle before they put your filling in, maybe the steam makes it more pliable. Maybe I should try pressing them with my iron on the high steam setting? Just kidding! If any of you out there know the trick, please share.

Sorry there was no post yesterday, I did not even go on the computer. And I did not cook anything. I bought Cream Cheese Iced Cinnamon Rolls from the grocery store bakery on Friday, so we had those for breakfast. We went to Red Robin for lunch - VERY yummy! They have a delicious Bruschetta Chicken Burger which is served with Garlic Parmesan Fries. They also have a drink called Freckled Lemonade which is lemonade with strawberries in it and you get free refills. It is heaven! Then for dinner we got subs from Jimmy John's and although I keep saying I am going to try their veggie sub, I always get the Turkey Tom with turkey breast (duh), mayo, tomato, lettuce and alfalfa sprouts, plus a jumbo dill pickle. I probably gained 10 lbs., but it was worth it!

Happy eating!

Pizza & Chicken

Hey all, we are ordering pizza tonight, but I did cook something today that I will share with you. My daughter loves to eat chicken, but instead of serving her nuggets all the time I make 'chicken bites' for her. I simply take boneless, skinless chicken breasts and season them with Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning from McCormick, then I cook them in some olive oil in a covered skillet, about 8 minutes per side over medium heat. I let them cool and cut them up into bite size pieces. That's it! She will eat them cold from the fridge for lunch or a snack. I also use them tossed on top of a salad for a light lunch for myself. The seasoning tastes just like the whole rotisserie chicken you can get in the deli section of the store.
Happy eating!

Chicken Kebabs

Tonight I made Chicken Kebabs on the charcoal grill and they were yummy! First I soaked my wood skewers in water. Then I waited for my coals to get nice and hot and covered in grey ash. I put cherry tomatoes, green pepper, red onion and chicken on the skewers. Then I drizzled them with olive oil and sprinkled them with Kickin' Chicken seasoning from Weber Grill Creations, which I got from my MiL awhile ago. I could have just used salt and pepper, it doesn't matter because veggies on the grill are so good! I made a side dish of Knorr Butter Noodles because sometimes my husband doesn't like my chicken dishes, but he seemed to like this one as much as me (it was the veggies).

My daughter asked if we could roast marshmallows since the grill was going, but we didn't have any. So I sent a text to the hubbie asking him to stop at Kmart on the way home and get some, but they only had 'toasted coconut' ones. Have you ever heard of these? I never have, but you can be sure I'll be checking them out at the store tomorrow myself. Anyway, he brought us home some Lindt chocolate instead - sweet!

Happy eating!

Italian Sausage and Paninis

I really wanted to make Chicken Kebabs tonight, but we are supposed to have thunderstorms later and I really don't want to grill in that kind of weather, so I will make those tomorrow. Instead I will throw the Italian Sausage I bought on George. The George Foreman Lean Mean Grilling Machine, that is. We simply call it George* and yes, we still use that relic from the 90's. It is great to use in the winter or on rainy days like today. I also use it as a panini press since 1) I don't have one, 2) I don't have the room for one, and 3) they are expensive and George works just as well. So if you have a George collecting dust in your basement or attic, go find it and make a panini. I am going to have to give you a panini recipe now, aren't I? Okay, here is my favorite one:

VENETIAN PANINIS (makes 4)

8 slices sourdough bread
lunch meat turkey breast slices
swiss cheese slices (or Gruyere if you want to be fancy)
4 garlic cloves
6 tablespoons Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons butter, softened
olive oil

Heat up your panini press or George grill. While it is heating, mix together the butter and mustard in a bowl with a fork. Use a garlic press to press the garlic cloves right into your butter/mustard mixture; again mix well with the fork. Spread this mixture on one side of each slice of bread. Top four of the slices with desired amount of turkey, then with desired amount of swiss cheese. Top the cheese with one slice of bread, mixture side in. (The outside of the sandwiches are dry, the butter mixture goes inside.) Lightly brush the top side of the panini with olive oil and place it olive oil side down on the grill, then lightly brush the other side with oil. Repeat with remaining sandwiches and close the grill lid. (You may not be able to get all the sandwiches on the grill at once. I can usually do two at a time.) Grill until the bread is golden and the cheese is melted.

I got the original recipe from Giada DeLaurentis on the Food Network and changed it slightly to please my tastes. I have served this to a few friends and they all rave about it, so I hope you like it too. I also have a panini recipe that calls for leftover turkey and cranberry from Thanksgiving and you add in some cheddar cheese slices. Another good idea is to make a Caprese panini with pesto, mozzarella cheese and tomato slices. The possibilities are endless.

Tonight I will cook the Italian Sausage on George for 25 minutes, turning them every 5 minutes. We eat them on hot dog buns and I will serve them with coleslaw from Memorial Day and pasta salad that I have in the fridge. The pasta salad is one of those boxed kits where you cook the noodles and add Italian dressing. I always seem to have a 1/4 of a box of bowties or radiatore leftover from something in the cabinet, so I throw those in with the noodles that come in the kit. I also try to change things up by adding chopped olives or tomatoes or salami in there too.

So, does anyone have any other ideas for paninis? Or something fun they add to their pasta salad? I'd love to hear from you!

Happy eating!

* "I'll love him and hug him and squeeze him and name him George." Anyone else remember that Looney Tunes cartoon with Bugs Bunny and the Abominable Snow Monster?

Taco (Salad) Tuesday

What a nice lazy day! After a weekend filled with running around and working on the house, it was nice to take it easy. My daughter and I didn't get out of our jammies until almost noon! I did get some laundry done, did dishes and changed the bedsheets, but I also got to spend part of the day reading the mom-lit book I picked up at the library: Mommy Tracked by Whitney Gaskell.

The lazy day called for an easy dinner, so I decided to make my version of Taco Salad. I have cobbled together the ingredients in my recipe from other recipes for this dish from Allrecipes, which is my favorite website. We also used to make a version of this dish in Girl Scouts and called it Mock Tacos because all the ingredients for tacos are present, but you don't serve it in taco shells or tortillas.

1 lb. ground beef
1 packet taco seasonings
1 can black beans, rinsed
1/2 cup Catalina/French dressing
1/2 cup water
half a head of lettuce, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 bag shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
tortilla chips

Brown the ground beef and drain off the fat. Add the taco seasonings, beans, water and dressing; mix well. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often.
Crush desired amount of tortilla chips in the bottom of a large soup bowl, top with desired amount of beef mixture. Top with cheese, lettuce, tomato and sour cream. Enjoy!

The black beans add some healthy fiber, and of course you can go low-fat or low-cal with the cheese and sour cream. Maybe use baked chips too, if you are really on a health kick. We are not and I only buy full fat, full calorie products. :)
Happy eating!

Memorial Day/What's For Lunch?

Happy Memorial Day! I hope the weather where you are was better than it was here. We had cold and rainy weather starting in the late afternoon, which is why I am happy that we used the grill for lunch, not dinner. We threw on some hot dogs and some burgers I made with steak seasoning, steak sauce and worchestershire sauce. I bought some potato salad and coleslaw that I dressed up with some extra mayo, seasonings, etc. so it was semi-homemade. My dad came over and ate with us, it was good to see him again. He also brought with him more of the stuff we wanted from the 'empty' house that we could not fit in our car; a shelving unit and large mirror and bench to name a few. Thanks dad!

The rest of the day has been spent rearranging things to fit in the 'new' stuff so my husband suggested getting fast food so I don't have to cook. Thanks hon! We are having Taco Bell for dinner. Happy eating!

Chugga-chugga, choo-choo!

Today we went to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL. It was really fun! They had six different trains running, diesel and electric, that you could ride as many times as you wanted for the $12 admission (kids $8), and a bunch of trains that you could walk through, such as the old Pullman sleeper cars and dining cars, to see what they looked like when they were in operation. There were also some HUGE old fashioned engines that you see in the old movies; you just don't realize how big they are until you are standing next to one.

We grabbed breakfast at the McDonald's in the oasis on I-90 on the way out there at about 9:30am, and we didn't eat again until we left at around 3:30pm. I had packed a small cooler with water, string cheese, pepperoni, and Goldfish which my daughter devoured upon entering the car. My husband and I got some singles with cheese from Wendy's and I tried their new Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty. It was good, it had a nice coffee taste with bits of toffee in it, but I will stick with a plain Frosty next time.

Now we are home and it is almost 6pm and I am not hungry. I guess I won't be making dinner tonight, we'll just have some snacks later if we are hungry before bedtime.
Happy eating!