What We Eat

Hello. I guess this is beginning to be a once a month post kind of thing. I was reading my last post, and started to kind of laugh, because I'm beginning to sound like either a liar, a broken record, or a big fat drama-queen. Or maybe all of the above.

Because. Would you guess it, I'm sick. Again. We had about a 3-5 day break from being sick and were able to enjoy a nice little family vacation to Arizona. And then came home to another round of doctor visits. And I may be up for another one come tomorrow.

So blogging has really been the last thing I have felt like doing. Actually, the only appealing thing has been to park myself on the couch with the remote and stay there.....forever.

But I have a TON of photos from our trip. We had so much fun. So once I finish editing and going through them, I will write about it.

In the mean time, I thought I would tie you all over by doing a food post. With a little disclaimer, I actually haven't cooked much lately, because....well, the couch. It speaks to me more than chopping veggies these days. And I may have tossed some chips on a plate a time or two and called it lunch/dinner for the kids. Basically, if anything involves more energy than it takes to toss something in hungry mouths, I'm out. So these are recipes that I have had saved up in my not-fully-functioning-head. (Also, while I'm thinking about it, make sure you pin from the link that I provide for each of the recipes.)

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken. (Photo and recipe by Carlsbad Cravings, find recipe HERE)

Let me be clear. This is not a quick toss it in the oven type of meal. When I originally decided to make this, it was on a whim. I was going to make another sweet and sour recipe, but wanted something easier. I saw "baked" and thought, "perfect, this will be even easier". I may have cried half way through the process when I realized the big mistake I had made. I believe it had been a long night and an equally long day.....and well, the last thing I wanted to be doing was dredging raw chicken (oh, and I burned half of my chicken....which made the whole experience 10 times better) In a frustration rage, I may have said, " I hope no one likes this, because I will never ever make it again." To which I kindly remember hearing Cole say, "Mom, will you make this over and over again...... of course.

HOWEVER, if you love ordering sweet and sour chicken then you absolutely HAVE to try his recipe. It is very sweet, you might even be able to cut down on the sugar some. But it truly has that authentic take-out taste, with no msg and all pronounceable ingredients. It is also very very good and so flavorful. After all is said and done, I will make this again.....but will be able to plan ahead, and the knowing what I'm getting in to will help my attitude...that, and remembering not to put the chicken in a smoldering hot pan.

Next up, Chicken Shawarma. (Photo and Recipe credit from Jo Cooks, find the link and recipe HERE)

Finally, a recipe that is easy and tastes just as good as if I was ordering it at an authentic restaurant. One disclaimer, I made this super duper easy by buying some pre-made tabboulah salad and hummus from Trader Joe's, drizzled with Greek yogurt and forgot to make the garlic sauce all together.....and it still tasted delightful. We stuffed everything in some pita bread that I had forgotten about in our freezer. And this is truly one of those drop in the oven and you are done type of recipes. No dredging here. :)

Next, onto tacos, two completely different ways. I can see us stuffing our faces with these lots during the heat of the summer. Man, am I looking forward to a new season...and hopefully less germs.

Chili Lime Chicken Tacos with Grilled Pineapple Salsa. (also both pic and recipe found over at Carlsbad Cravings, one of my new favorite blogs. Everything is fresh and full of flavor. Find the link for the recipe HERE)

So I'm going to be honest here, I totally cheated. I marinated the chicken, then just threw it all in a baking pan and baked it instead of grilling it. The day that I made these, it was raining and i didn't feel like standing outside in the rain and making the extra effort. Which also means I didn't grill any of the salsa ingredients. And let me tell you this, they still tasted fantastic! I can only imagine grilling everything would even heighten the results...I mean, grilled pineapple, does it get better than that?

Easy 15 minute fish tacos with corn and avocado salsa (Photo and recipe credit from Averie Cooks, find the recipe HERE)

On to taco #2, there is a sad reality that I'm still working on coming to grip with. My hubby does not like fish. Except he will order fish tacos. And  because I love all types of fish and am always looking for ways that I can sneak some into our diets. I finally decided to give making fish tacos a whirl, not real sure why they intimidated me so much. But these were a breeze to whip up. The avocado and corn salsa gave it the perfect amount of citrus, brightness and sweetness. These will also be made on repeat this summer.

German Oven Pancakes
(Recipe from The Girl Inspired found HERE) 

Lastly, when time is short and I don't have much in the pantry to make a complete meal, or I just don't want to have to think about preparing dinner. My go-to is breakfast for dinner. It's pretty much a guarantee that plates will be licked clean and seconds begged for. I have previously shared a recipe for Finnish pancakes that we loved for awhile. But I found that they could actually be quite, finicky. If you didn't blend them enough they separated, or weren't as silky smooth as the time before. Then entered this new recipe. Every ingredient is tossed in my vitamix, I whirl it around for a few seconds and it pretty much makes itself. We love to eat it with berry compote, Trader Joe's no sugar added strawberry jam, or simply fresh squeezed lemons and powdered sugar. Anyway you eat them, they always turn out perfect. The true key is to let them cool a bit, everything settles into a perfectly smooth custard-like finish.  But we often don't have that kind of patience. They also reheat beautifully the next day.

There you go. Hopefully these can help with some meal planning or trying some new meals. And hopefully this will be my last whiny post about being sick.