Meats & Fish

The word “crispy” sells more food at restaurants and stores than any other adjective.  We love crispy food! People tend to like crispy food because crispy/crunchy foods are noisy to eat.  It is the “sixth sense” of eating.  We associate crunch, or noise, with freshness and quality, therefore we are drawn to foods that are crispy or that have crispy in the title. We have, in recent years, trained ourselves to stay away from “fried”, but we still order “crispy” even though it is the same concept of preparation.  

It’s Spring!  YAY!  The weather is warmer, the sun is shining and the bugs are out:). Yes, I got my first mosquito bite of the year on Saturday night.  Very sad, but it didn’t stop me from grilling out and enjoying the evening.  

Having three boys means we go through a lot of food in my house.  They have never eaten a ton in one sitting, but they eat all day!  It is funny though, my oldest son who is 6’1″ eats the least and my middle son who hates everything eats the most.  I have learned over the years to have food accessible all the time. I try to have fruit or some frozen snack heated when they get home from school.  When have time I will make a big snack or the “meal” before dinner.  This recipe is one of those snacks I will make, but it is a great dinner as well.  Just serve a salad and you have a great, easy weeknight meal.

There is something about sweet and salty that everyone loves.  I think that is why my kids LOVE to go to Benihana. They are drawn to the salty fried rice and the teriyaki chicken and frankly so am I. So how do you recreate that taste at home without all the salt and calories? You make your own teriyaki sauce! I know that sounds very chefy, but it’s very easy and a whole lot less sodium. You can use this sauce to marinate chicken, shrimp, vegetables…. I use it to marinate salmon which has a very strong flavor and can hold up to the teriyaki.  

The spring semester is in full swing and that means that our schedule is crazy!  During the weekdays starting at 3pm I am in the car until about 9pm.  And on the weekends we have games or practices or some event that we have to drive our kids to the ends of the earth to attend. I know I am not alone and if you are in my shoes then you know how hard it is to drive and cook. So, if I can find a way to put dinner in the oven in the morning or afternoon and have it ready at dinner time then I am one happy mom. 

This recipe for Oven Baked Ribs is a favorite of my family and I can make this way ahead of time if I need to.  I used St. Louis Style ribs this time, but you can use Baby Back Ribs as well.

A little trivia about the difference between St. Louis and Baby Back…. St. Louis ribs are the meatier cut of ribs that are taken from closer to the breastbone.  Baby Back […]

The winter blues have definitely set in! Or maybe its the spring blues or fall blues?  The weather can’t seem to decide what season it is so I am going to quit trying to cook for the season.  I am just going to cook what the little people will eat.  And, surprisingly, two out of my three boys will eat salmon-the third will just have to forage for himself:) Just kidding l feed him also.  I normally just bake a chicken breast for the kid that HATES fish.  I wish he would eat it, because it is so good for you and it balances out all the cheese-its, ice cream and Girl Scout Cookies, but I am going to pick my battles!

It’s here!!!  I hope all your shopping is done, because it is a zoo out on the roads and in the stores.  People have forgotten how to drive, how to be nice and are generally acting like morons out there. So, if you are like me (pat, pat, pat on the back:) and you are done with all the shopping then you can stay at home and enjoy your moody teenagers. Or your moody toddlers-there really is not much difference.

The holidays are definitely here because I have come down with the cold from HELL! This is the worst time of year to be in bed and when I say in bed, I mean IN BED! I have gotten nothing done-no shopping, no cards, no tree up, no cocktails:( But, I am on the upswing and finally feeling better. Thank the lord!  But, as you all know, Mom doesn’t get much time to lay in bed.  We still have to get the kids to school, fight over homework, feed the dog, feed the kids….

I hear all the time, “I wish I could cook like you do, but I just don’t have the time”.  My response is always the same, “I am not a gourmet cook and the things I cook for my family are EASY and healthy, I promise!”.  This week is crazy busy with football games, lacrosse practices, carpools, tutoring, husband out of town, broken drain the in front yard, two bat shit crazy dogs, dentist appointment, haircuts for the boys, a stupid pumpkin project due for history (really??), trying to get some sort of workout in….. a normal week, right? So, trust me when I say I get it that it is HARD to get a homemade dinner on the table. So, if you are new the cooking task then start small.  Plan on cooking ONE night this week.  Try a recipe on my blog that you think sounds good and give it a try.  I promise, promise none of my recipes are complicated, unless I state that on the recipe.  But, seriously I am a very lazy cook so not many […]

Sunday nights I ask my kids what they want me to cook for the week and I get the same answer every time. One of those requests is Baked Chimichangas. They are really good, but honestly my husband is not a huge fan.  Not because they don’t taste fabulous, but because they aren’t really a “meal” in his book.  So, I make these when he is out of town and I need a quick dinner. I had a very busy night last night so I made these about 3:30 in the afternoon.  I kept them warm in the oven until 3:45!  That is when they walked in the door starving and inhaled 2 each.  I explained that the chimichangas were for dinner and that I was not making a second meal.  They shrugged their shoulders and dispersed to do homework. And about 6pm they ate the rest.  I hope they had a glass of milk to round it out, but I can’t be certain. We obviously did not make it to the table for a family dinner-the dogs were very sad that […]

If I can find a dinner that I can make in advance and that still tastes good I get excited!  Dinner comes at the WORST time of day for moms with kids that can’t drive.  You are trying to get everyone everywhere, at the same time, and help with homework and get dinner on the table.  Then if you throw in a few extra surprises like, feeding the dog, buying a poster board for a project that is due tomorrow, answering the door (why does FedEx and UPS always deliver at 6pm?) it makes getting family dinner ready next to impossible. 

Yesterday was my youngest son’s birthday and we went out for a big family dinner, so no cooking at my house.  Because it was his birthday he begged me to let him stay up a little bit later than usual.  Being the best mom in the whole world, I let him.  I don’t know about other parents out there, but do you ever think about what they will remember when they are older?  Will they remember the night I let them stay up and watch that movie, on a school night.  Or… will they remember that time I chased them around the house with “Mr. Spoon” because they were throwing the football in the house and broke a window? I always wonder and then feel guilty and let them get away with some things that I know in my heart of hearts I should shut down.  Well, last night was one of those nights.  He stayed up late and the DEVIL woke up this morning! The devil also woke up in the other boy as well.  Needless to say it was […]

You would think that I would have my act together since school has only been in session for about 3 weeks, but I can’t seem to get into a rhythm in the afternoons.  The other day I picked my son up from practice at 5:30pm and the first thing out of his mouth was, “what’s for dinner”? Uh……I said.  I had NO idea what was for dinner.  I know, I know I needed my weekly calendar, but that weekend had been crazy busy and I did not have time to plan ahead.  

Sauces used to scare me, but they are NO big deal and they make bland things like chicken and pork come to life. One of the best dishes in the world is chicken or veal picatta. I mean how could you not like lemon, wine and butter?? I think I could drink it, with a loaf of bread to round out the meal, but still I think I could drink the stuff.  There are a few tricks to making sauces and once you learn these tips you can play with ingredients.

Texans love their Mexican food, or should I say Tex-Mex food. We don’t like a lot of sauces like Cal-Mex. In Texas we eat tons of fajitas, nachos and grilled chicken.  And when I say a lot, I mean a lot!  You can ask anyone from Texas what is the first thing they eat when they get back into town from a vacation and their response will be Mexican food! It is just home, Texas home.  

I have to be honest about my cooking style.  I am LAZY when it comes to cooking, seriously!  I love to cook, but I hate to stand in the kitchen all day making one recipe.  I mean if I work for 6 hours and the monsters eat for 10 minutes where is the joy in that?  I guess it would be different if I was cooking for people that sat and savored every bite, but let’s face it, my family just wants to eat and move on to their phones, eh em, I mean their homework and books. Even though I love to cook I really don’t love standing around all day making an intensely complicated dish. So, with that said, all my recipes are EASY, I promise! And, if you can find a short cut with the same results then by all means let me in on the secret. 

The word casserole brings visions of tuna mixed with cornflakes or chicken spaghetti. Ick! I understand that casseroles are easy and feed a lot, but who really likes them? Needless to say, no one in my family likes casseroles and I am no exception. So, this dish is not really a casserole-it is just a easier version of the classic French dish, Chicken Cordon Bleu, which takes much more time and effort than I have. 

What is it with Asian food and kids?  They love it!  I guess its the salty, umami flavors.  My kids are no exception-they beg for broccoli beef, sesame chicken and cashew chicken all the time! The good thing about these dinners is that they are super easy to make and you know exactly what is going into the dish. Sometime I will tell you my Hong Kong dinner story:) Yep, I don’t think I am going back to Hong Kong anytime soon, if you know what I mean.

Who doesn’t love BBQ and who doesn’t love hamburgers? If you raised your hand then we must talk privately!  But, for the majority that love both of those food groups this is the burger for you. The BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger! And, yes tastes as good as it sounds, I promise! 

I think someone told me it was summer, but I have not had 5 minutes of being lazy and drinking my summer margarita.  These kids are so much work!! Why didn’t someone tell me that…like 15 years ago??! Anyway, yesterday afternoon I looked up from ironing on labels for camp and realized that everyone was hungry and I needed to feed them.  So, I looked in my fridge and found chicken and half a bag of mozzarella.  Hot damn-dinner! Then I thought I could make this dinner look really fancy if I used some of that basil taking over the back yard and I made some pesto.  

Pulled Pork is a hands off summer BBQ dish.  It is so easy and usually makes a ton so if you are one of those leftover lovers then this is a great main course to make for a summer dinner, lunch, midnight snack…

I thought I would post something that was a little more complex than pot roast!  Not that pot roast doesn’t take all my energy on some days, but last night I made my family Apricot Stuffed Pork Tenderloin. Two things to keep in mind, first, I do not like sweet with my meat so this is not sweet!  And second, this is not that complicated.  I actually made this entire dish while on the phone helping my best friend solve a major world problem. Thank goodness we solved it! Please call with any issues you need advice on:) 

I think most of the country has been dealing with Spring showers, storms, tornados, frogs falling from the sky, locusts… It just seems to be a very violent spring and we Texans have not been spared.  And to add to the fun of wet clothes, frizzy hair, ruined shoes and hail damaged cars, it is the last month of school. Do you remember when you were a kid how long May took to come to an end?  Well, my kids are there!  It is almost impossible to get them out of bed in the morning. Even my annoying singing does not do the trick.  They have lost all interest in school-not sure they had much in September, but what little they did have is GONE. 

Mid week dinner blahs!  Its spring and spring fever has set in, at least it has at my house!  We have one month left of school, activities, homework, early mornings…. I know we can get through this.  I am always so excited to get to summer and the more relaxed days, but I guarantee you that come July15 I will be begging for the routine of school and having a clean house, during the day. There is just no pleasing me:)