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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Do you ever wonder what people are having for dinner?

I do. Just curious that way. Anyhow, if anyone’s wondering what we have for dinner, here’s tonight’s menu. I have a whole recipe binder of things that catch my eye, and am trying to get more adventurous in the kitchen (if I make steamed broccoli one more time someone might just leave the table screaming)(perhaps me). So tonight I used these clippings:
1. A new (to me) way to do pork chops, Pioneer Woman’s Simple, Pan-Fried Pork Chops – dredging and then frying the chops in butter and oil? Oh the deliciousness.
2. An old favorite Herb-Roasted Fingerling Potatoes (simple, foolproof and knock-your-socks-off good – I make these all the dang time).
3. And a brand-new recipe Faith’s Maple Carrots (by one of my fave bloggers).

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I did have a few mishaps, and have to own up to Googling “What is seasoned salt?” and “Is Canola oil the same as vegetable oil?” before finishing, but that’s just par for the course when I’m cooking. Hey I’m learning, and everything worked out in the end.

In fact, it was all SO GOOD that we were halfway through dinner before I remembered that I wanted a pic for the blog. Oops. That’s why I’m not a food blogger, I guess -- when I’m hungry the only thing I’m thinking about is getting that food into my mouth. So here’s a hastily rearranged shot of Ree’s plate. I pushed two halves of her pork chop back together, zoomed in close so you couldn’t see the gnawed-on parts, put some of my carrots on her plate, and speared another couple of potatoes to kind of fill up the frame:

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I have to tell Faith (the sweet kiddo whose name is given to these carrots) that Ro and Ree loved EVERY BITE. And these girls do NOT eat cooked carrots, well at least they never did before. They snarfed them down, made hugely appreciative noises, then looked for more and couldn’t believe I’d only made a half a bag. Oops. Next time, little babes, next time. Oh, and I’m putting pure maple syrup (like it says in the recipe) on the grocery list, because I’m guessing these are even more fab if you don’t use Log Cabin, heh.

Anyhow, thumbs-up from the entire family on all three recipes. Try them!

Sooooo, what did you have for dinner?! (and if you have any recipes to share, we’d sure be appreciative)

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SpringFling_thumb2_thumb1Post #12 of my Spring Fling 30 posts in 30 days. Getting kind of cocky now, heck I think I might be able to do this! These fun bloggers are also participating in the Spring Fling: And babies make four…, Another Journey, Birdie and the Queen Bee, Catherine’s Chatter, Diary of a Nouveau Soccer Mom, Dragonflies, Journey to Motherhood, Koprowski Kids, Life with L and M (julialaine.net), Love and a Little Craziness, Mindful of Mine, Moments with Maisie, No Ordinary Family, One Plus One Equals Four, Our Boy and His Cricket, Searching for Sophie, Spectacular S, Three Kids = Chaos, To Vietnam and China, We’re Here. If you want to give it a whirl, I’ll link to you too. Start today and post something (anything) for the next 30 days. Feel free to use this button if you want.

30 comments:

  1. I am consistently bookmarking recipe's that I want to try, and especially love PW's Tasty Kitchen website. Unfortunately just because they're saved, doesn't mean I've tried them. Maybe this weekend... We do love those fingerling potato's though, and I finally figured out how to cook pork chops without drying them out. :-)

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  2. Looks yummy and a lot more than I got on our table tonight!

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  3. That is precisely the kind of meal that I grew up on. And it was G-O-O-D. Yum City. We pretty much cook most meals like that. Although, stay-at-home-momhood these past 4+ hears has managed to get me into cooking dinner with gusto and creativity (laundry..no, not so much) I toss out recipes on the blog when I'm trying them out and I have to say one of the best lately...you gotta try it: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/ravioli-with-balsamic-brown-butter-recipe/index.html
    Even PSparkly like it. Booyah!
    M.

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  4. Anonymous4/12/2011

    So I am now paperless thanks to Paprika Recipe Manager app on my iPad. It is sooooooooo easy to save recipes from the web, and add the ones you already have. I love it, you have an iPad, check it out!

    Those carrots sound great!

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  5. Anonymous4/12/2011

    Turkey, quinoa meatloaf. Mashed potatoes and roasted summer squash.

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  6. Anonymous4/12/2011

    Homemade minestrone soup, leftover from last night.

    Paprika Recipe Manager looks great! Thanks for the tip, Julie. I need to try it.

    And FWIW - two of my favorite food blogger/recipe sites are What Are You Feeding Your Kids These Days (http://whatareyoufeedingyourkidsthesedays.blogspot.com/) and smitten kitchen (http://smittenkitchen.com/).

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  7. Yum....dinner sounds and looks delish. Oh, how I love maple syrup. (Food for the gods, I think.)I pour it on everything. Even mix it in my salad dressings - it's great with balsamic.

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  8. mmm.. looks good. i don't know why it never occurred to me to put those plastic sleeves on my recipes. Duh. Will be doing that this weekend! i like this easy sesame chicken recipe.

    http://tothemotherland.blogspot.com/2011/04/sesame-chicken.html

    (hope it links)

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  9. I had to re-read that. You?

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  10. oven roasted tri-tip cooked to perfection (first time!), grilled asparagus, mac&cheese. The other night we had roasted chicken drumsticks with a dry rub of fajita seasoning, cauliflower mash, and salad w/fixing's. I love sharing meal recipes b/c I dread having to think about what I'm going to make for dinner.
    christina

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  11. I know Johnny, shocker, huh?

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  12. vegan jambalaya! (made with homemade seitan) It was really good, and my kids loved it, even though we're a meat eating family.
    If you join your local holistic mom's group, many of them have amazing recipes and great connections for cheap things like organic maple syrup. (I ordered a gallon for $60! so yummy!)

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  13. That looks yummy! I love the Pioneer Woman's recipes. The last one I tried was the Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork. So good. Sadly, daddy was working late last night so the boys and I had a frozen pizza : /

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  14. Anonymous4/13/2011

    One night I decided to slice on the diagonal--very thinly--a crown of broccoli (all of it) and I did the same with a dozen brussel sprouts and then I combined the two and sauteed them in some vegetable oil and olive oil (combined) and added salt and pepper and it is now my favorite way to eat broccoli, which I had been steaming like you night after night after night.

    I make that along with red beets (boiled, peeled, chopped, and with a dash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and sprinkled with gorgonzola cheese)and call it a meal!

    DELICIOUS!

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  15. sounds yummy! We love carrots so we will have to try that recipe!

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  16. That looks yummo. I am never any good at frying things because I tend to smoke up the whole house...without fail. lol. Today is grocery day so last night was steamed rice and a red lentil dahl made with chopped carrots and a Japanese sweet potato and some chicken broth. Then thawed frozen mangoes for dessert. I hope to get lots of goodies from the Farmer's Market today. :)

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  17. Anonymous4/13/2011

    We had Chicken Taco's. I made a huge batch in the crockpot & will use the meat later this week for Chicken Chili http://threekidchaos.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/will-it-ever-end/

    and another night Chicken Enchilada's http://stage.allrecipes.com/Recipe/Beef-or-Chicken-Enchiladas/Detail.aspx

    I highly recommend Penzey's Chicken Taco seasoning. Much better than the grocery store stuff & cheaper too!

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  18. Nothing too exciting here. Yours looks and sounds super yummy!

    Reminds me though, how do you cook your fish? It was melt in your mouth delicious!

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  19. M3 - where do you get the fingerling potatoes??? Can't find them anywhere here by Malibu.

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  20. everything sounds GOOD!! I get bored cooking the same old same old. I tend to cook the same things during the week because I am too tired and there is not enough time by the time I get in the door from work..... but when the weekends roll around I usually get a little more adventurous!!

    I am now craving fingerling potatoes.... I LOVE them. They are so tender and buttery!

    I am just now seeing about your 30 posts in 30 days....HOW FUN!! I would LOVE to participate, but there is now way I could keep up.

    Enjoy the rest of your week, and keep sharing your new found recipes.... always love me a food post:)

    xoxo,

    Lisa

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  21. Anonymous4/13/2011

    Hi M's! We're having chicken and rice and some strange broccoli thing that I learned to make in SLO!
    ItzDebz

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  22. Here's my recipe blog if you want to see some of the things we've had recently:
    http://www.amysrecipeoftheday.blogspot.com
    When I was a SAHM, it was daily. Now it's about twice a month. :)

    Tonight we had bratwurst boiled in beer on wheat buns, frozen stir-fry mix (snap peas, julienned carrots, onions, and mushrooms), and grapes. I don't cook anything creative on weekdays since I started working again 3 years ago.

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  23. What a delicious dinner! I'll have to try it.

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  24. Yum! I am always looking for something new and I'm gonna try all of this! For me I plan all our meals for the week on Sunday night...it's my thing and the whole family knows I'm hard at work trying to make them happy throughout the week. Usually takes me 30 minutes to get it all done. I use myrecipes.com and it's always full of thumbs up from the family foods. I love it because it's in a meal plan, it goes on my shopping list and I just pull it up on my laptop which is on the counter in my kitchen 24/7 and I'm ready to cook. And Monday I found out that my grocery store now has wifi so I can just pull up my shopping list on my ipod-touch and no longer have to print it out. That was huge joy for me this week! :)

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  25. Hi Brenda, we get them in a little bag at Lucky's grocery store. The bag has yellow and purple fingerlings. Do you guys have that grocery store? I've also picked them up at either Trader Joe's or Whole Foods (can't remember which one it was -- sorry!).

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  26. Debz!!! I remember that dish vividly. So good! Send me the recipe if you get a chance, I'd love to make it for the girls.

    xo.

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  27. Thank you EVERYONE for the recipes and links and recipe/planning solutions. Yay!!!!!

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  28. My kids are picky (and hubby too) so I rejoice when my whole family likes a meal. Our first winner from PW was the bowtie lasagna

    http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen-blog/2010/07/a-tasty-recipe-bowtie-lasagna/

    The most recent was the Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork, althought it was way too spicy for my kids. I will try it again with less peppers or maybe just some adobo sauce instead. I saw a jar of the sauce only. I also cooked this in my crock pot as I am not having my oven on for 6 hours. Cook the pork all day or overnight in the crockpot and it is so moist and shreds easily.

    http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/main-courses/spicy-dr-pepper-shredded-pork/

    Another quick and easy is tacos and our special dip. When I buy taco kits, I always make two batches of the meat and freeze one bag for those nights when I need a quick meal. Along with tacos, we make a dip that is easy and yummy. My daughter helps me make it:
    Layer in an 8X8 pyrex dish:
    8 oz cream cheese
    large can No Beans Chili (Hormel)
    2 cups shredded cheese (any variety)

    Bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and melted. We serve with Tortilla chip scoops. The whole pan would be gone but my daughter likes me to save a small portion so she can take the left over dip to school the next day.

    Kim O

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  29. Pioneer Woman ROCKS! Not a single loser recipe in her books. She's amazing. Thanks for sharing.

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  30. P.S. "What is seasoned salt?" For the love of Pete, woman, were you raised in a shoebox?

    ;)

    ~A~

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