Yes, I am a slacker!

Sorry, folks.  It's a bit of a crazy time, here.  I've had quite a few shoots, Ewan's getting ready to start school today and it seems like when it rains it pours (as far as stuff breaking down).  So today is the first day of our new normal and I'm hoping to get back to blogging more regularly, too.  I've got a beef roast I need to use up so look for a currently undecided beef dish for dinner tonight. ;)

Italian Chicken

Tonight I had to use up some chicken breasts I had thawed yesterday for our BBQ but then we didn't have as many guests as I originally thought.  I didn't want to do anything too time consuming as Feenie's been extremely fussy all day so I decided on Italian Chicken.  I dunked the chicken in Kraft Light Zesty Italian dressing, rolled it in bread crumbs and Italian seasoning and then tossed it in the frying pan in a little butter.  I am still learning how to fry chicken.  The first round ended up needing the breading scraped off.  :-/ But the chicken itself was fine.

The second batch was much better and that's what we ate.  I'll use the leftovers for chicken tortilla soup tomorrow.

I also made "smashed" potatoes using the leftover baked potatoes from yesterday's dinner.  I sliced the potatoes once long ways and three times width wise.  Dropped a pat of butter on them and a little sea salt.  I baked them at 425 for about half an hour then pulled them out and smashed them, added some seasonings and baked for another ten minutes.  We also had cooked carrots but I didn't take a picture of those.

For dessert I melted some Nestle's semi sweet chocolate chips and dipped some pretzels.  Simple and easy yet a nice little treat.

Labor Day Favorites

Well, we're wrapping up summer here and I don't know about you, but here in MI it feels very much like fall!  In fact, I'm about to get the fireplace going and I LOVE IT!!! I absolutely love fall and winter and I'm more than happy to welcome the cooler seasons.

At any rate, I braved the cold winds and made us one last traditional summer meal (ok, it probably won't be our last); BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, baked potatoes, melon trio, macaroni salad & cole slaw.  I didn't make it all as we were gone for part of the weekend, but here's what I did make:

BBQ chicken: stabbed the boneless, skinless chicken breasts with a fork a few times on each side.  Rubbed them with Famous Dave's Steak & Burger Seasoning (works on chicken, too).  Dumped some Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet Honey BBQ sauce on one side and Jack Daniel's BBQ sauce on the other.  I grilled them on low until the thermometer showed they were 180 degrees.  It was juicy (again, a pleasant surprise) and flavorful.

Baked potatoes: stabbed them a few times with a fork, brushed with butter and added a little sea salt.  Wrapped them in foil and baked them at 350 for about an hour.

The rest of the sides were pretty self explanitory or pre-made.

We also have chips & salsa and a cheeseball and reduced fat Wheat Thins sitting around as we prepare for a little Rock Band/Guitar Hero.

And yeah, that's a Christmas light shaped spreader.  It's all I have for spreading. ;)

Roasted Chicken (almost a week late)!

I'll be honest, I might have forgotten about these photos until I went to pull tonight's pictures off of the compact flash card.  So I don't actually remember what all we had but it looks like crescent rolls, stuffing, potatoes and mixed veggies?  I think.  I do remember how I made the chicken, though!  I melted some butter and brushed it onto the bird.  I then sprinkled some sage, salt, pepper & oregano onto it and covered the pan with foil.  I baked it at 375 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  I removed the foil and roasted it a bit longer till it was crispy and the thermometer showed it to be 180 degrees.  It was really juicy (which is not the norm around here) and we all enjoyed it.

Some Days You Just Have To Go Easy

I didn't even take a picture because, frankly, I'm a little embarassed.  Tonight we had *hangs head in shame* a Banquet Homestyle Bake from a box. :-/ I had planned to do a roasted chicken with some delicious broasted potatoes and veggies but the chicken was still frozen so I had to come up with something quick and easy so yeah, we ate a processed boxed meal and I'm not proud of it.

Look for pics of my roasted chicken tomorrow...if it ever thaws. ;)

Big Big Breakfast and My First Ribs

Sorry this took an extra day.  It was a long (but good) weekend.

Anyway, yesterday we slept in and then I made what we refer to as "Big Big Breakfast".  Basically I make a little bit of everyone's favorites.  Yesterday was scrambled eggs (some plain, some "fancy" with green peppers, onions and some shredded tomato & basil cheddar left from our trip to the Cheese Haus in Frankenmuth, last weekend), pancakes, turkey bacon, maple flavored sausage patties, sausage links and leftover biscuits from dinner Friday night.  We had some bluberry jam also from Frankenmuth, plum preserves, syrup and butter, too.

I didn't take a lot of photos as I prepared dinner because we had some family and friends over and I was trying to be a good hostess.  At any rate, I made these huge boneless country-style ribs.  I used some rub and a LOT of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce and put them in the crock pot for a few hours.  James then tossed them on the grill for about half an hour just to give them a little crisp.  Oh. My. Stars.  They turned out so much better than I had hoped.  I thought for sure they'd be tough but they were actually really juicy and sweet.  I even had a leftover for lunch today. ;)

Today's dinner was Jambalaya made by James.  I don't like shrimp so I had a wrap but everyone who ate it (my father-in-law, brother and his girlfriend and James) all loved it. Unfortunately, I don't remember what's on the menu for tomorrow and I'm too lazy to walk over to the fridge and check so...you'll just have to wait and see! ;)

Chicken Kabobs & Foil Veggies

Tonight's menu was pretty simple: Chicken kabobs and veggies cooked in foil.

I started by chopping up some green peppers, onions and tomatoes.

For the veggies I just sliced a zucchini, cubed a few potatoes, onions and green peppers, a few pats of butter (probably too many but we do splurge on butter) and put it all in some foil and let it sit on the grill which was heated to about 350 degrees for about half an hour.

 The two guys here were my seasonings for the evening.  Both were used on the kabobs and just the Lawry's was used on the potatoes.  Salt & peppered to taste at the table.

Layered the kabobs and got them ready for the grill.  Side note: I picked up this sweet kabob set at a garage sale for $3 a few years back, still new in the box. I love it!  It even folds up so it takes less space in the cabinet!

Sometimes this fella here likes to help out, especially when it involves "his" grill.  To be fair, I've actually only used it once.  Isn't he handsome?  Sorry ladies, he's taken.

Here's the food on the grill.  It smelled so good our neighbors' grandma even commented!  She asked if we were cooking onions and I said "Yes, mixed with potatoes and zucchini on the grill."  She said, "I think I'll stop and get some sliders on the way home cuz those onions smell gooo-ooood!"

Presentation is everything, folks.  Only the best paper plates and plasticware for my family!

Another aside: this Kroger brand spreadable butter (Land O'Lakes knock off) is SO GOOD!!!!

Finished veggies.

Finished kabobs.

I also tossed some Pillsbury Grands biscuits in the oven and served those with dinner, too.  It was absolutely delicious!  For dessert: leftover apple pie and vanilla bean ice cream.