Lazy mom meets golden arches

I picked up 2 tired and cranky children from school today. They didn't even want to visit Santa!!??

What brings smiles to most children's faces? Why it's the Golden Arches, yes, McDonalds. Tonight called for 2 Happy Meals. As if I had sprinkled magic pixie dust on the girls, the mere mention of Mickie D's and their little faces perked up.

They drove home with the anticipation of dinner with the tv on and footsies- why not!!

I ate some leftover steak, and a few frozen (not so good) latkes from Trader Joe's, don't buy them, they're pretty tasteless.

There is the threat of snow looming for tomorrow morning and it is very likely we will have a snow day.

I cleaned and pounded 220 chicken thighs today at work, it was hell!!! Along with preparing a few assorted vinaigrettes and sauces, I am ready for a H-O-T bath and early to bed.

I'm going to be a rebel tonight and not make the kids lunches.

Gingerbread trifle

Happy Holidays to everyone. I am teaching a holiday hors' d'oeuvres and desserts class tomorrow and wanted to share my recipe for a gingerbread trifle that is really, really easy.

Gingerbread Trifle

Gingerbread cake-prepared
12 oz. whipping cream
2 tbs. powdered sugar
½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
3 tbs. crystallized ginger
Sliced strawberries
Toffee Bits


Cube gingerbread and store in an airtight container. Whip cream with a hand mixer for 4 minutes in a cold metal bowl. As cream thickens, add powdered sugar and pumpkin pie spice and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. Can be prepared and stored in the refrigerator over a bowl of ice for 2 hours. Slice strawberries and toss in diced crystallized ginger. Let stand at least 1 hour to macerate. Can also be made 1 day in advance.

Layer in a trifle bowl gingerbread, strawberries, toffee bits and whipped cream in alternating layers. Top layer should be whipped cream and toffee bits. Serve cold.

We went to a friends house tonight and ate steak and roasted salmon. She prepared is very easily, a little olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper and 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary on top. She baked it in the oven (covered I think) for about 20 minutes on 375. We had couscous and green beans with it.

I'm working all day tomorrow and tomorrow night, so Kirk is on his own for dinner, my guess is he'll either make ramen soup for the girls with some fresh fruit or order Chinese!! :)

Roasting Chickens

Tonight's dinner is a weekly staple in our house. Roasted chicken, some type of veg and a starch. To me, it's a quintessential family meal, healthy and balanced.

I had 4 split chicken breasts with skin and bone. I placed them in a casserole pan, squeezed the juice from 1/2 a lemon, drizzled olive oil on the breasts, and sprinkled a little Adobo seasoning and pepper. Those went in the oven at 425 for about 35-40 minutes. No need to check on them, they always turn out with crispy skin and moist meat.

I bought a cauliflower and sliced them into 1/8ts, drizzled them with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper, and a little pinch of curry powder. Those also went into the oven about 20 minutes into cooking the chicken. If you don't love curry, you can certainly leave it out.

I bought some great Israeli couscous with quinoa a while ago from Trader Joes. It's delicious and easy to make. Boil 1 3/4 C. chicken stock (or water), and a drizzle of olive oil. When the liquid boils, add 1 1/4 C. of the couscous and bring to a boil. When the liquid boils, reduce the heat to med. low, cover and simmer for about 12 minutes or until all of the liquid is gone.

The kids always eat this meal and it makes good leftovers too.

Snow, snow, snow!

Our first day of snow! We were all excited and the girls spent a good portion of the morning with their neighborhood friends playing and laughing. I made French toast bites that have become a staple breakfast in our house. I thought I'd share this healthy and easy recipe for you.

sliced baguette pieces
1 C. egg whites (we use the egg whites that you can buy that have already been separated)
1/2 C. fat free milk
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tbs. unsalted butter

Preheat a large nonstick pan or a griddle to medium high heat. Whisk egg whites, milk, sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. When the griddle is hot, spread the pat of butter to coat the surface. Dip each piece of baguette in the egg milk mixture and cook for 4-5 minutes per side. Turn once and cook until each side is golden.

I like to serve these with sliced banana or strawberries and a little maple syrup.

I like to give the girls a warm breakfast when it's so cold outside and this is fast, healthy and easy.

Give it a try!

Chinese for everyone

It's late and I've just finished catering the Burr Mansion Christmas Tree party with the catering company that I work for called Festivities. I'm pooped and didn't cook today. I ordered Chinese food for the girls and our babysitter. I did celebrate a special birthday yesterday with some dear friends and felt filled with gratitude for their friendship- it's so true there is no greater gift than friendship.

Anyhow, I wanted to quickly share a good vinaigrette recipe that I used today while having lunch with my friend and neighbor. It's a lime mint vinaigrette and very easy:

1/4 C lime juice
2 tbs. Dijon mustard
10 finely diced fresh mint leaves
handful of finely diced flat leaf Italian parsley
1/2-3/4 C. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
optional- shredded Parmesan cheese

Whisk lime juice and mustard together, add in mint, parsley, salt and pepper, and slowly whisk in olive oil. Season to taste and adjust olive oil. Dressing is very tangy and delicious and will keep in the fridge for a week, but trust me, it won't last that long. It's also good drizzled over shrimp, fish or chicken.

Ok, I'm off to collapse into bed. Have to prep for a 30 person cooking class/birthday party on Saturday.

Baked pasta primavera

My friend Sue loves to make this pasta and here is a version of hers.

Boil penne pasta. While the water and pasta boil, dice 1 zucchini, a 1/2 onion, a handful of mushrooms, and a small Japanese eggplant.

Saute the vegetables in 1 tbs. olive oil until they soften. Season with salt and pepper.

After pasta is cooked until al dente. Drain and preheat oven to 375. Combine 2 C. tomato sauce with 1 C. skim ricotta cheese. Add in sauteed vegetables and toss to combine with pasta. Bake, uncovered in an oven proof casserole dish for 20 minutes until sauce is bubbly.

I like to turn the oven to Broil for 3 minutes before removing from the oven to get the top of the baked pasta a little crispy. No one else likes the little crispy bits, but I love to pick them off the top!

Kitchen's closed today.

We had a nice relaxing Saturday today, didn't do much, but enjoyed every second of it. Emma wanted ravioli with sauce, and Abby had more of the lentil soup and a couple cucumbers. We went to a movie tonight, saw Into the Wild, it was good, but long, - our dinner was popcorn.

I bought some Asian grilled chicken breasts from Trader Joe's- haven't tried them before, will let you know if they're any good.

:)