_____________________________________________________________________________
It's another nutty week in our household. Lots of evenings committed outside of home but I think I've managed to come up with an easy menu including a few of my favorite working (or busy) mom's shortcuts.
A Working Mommy's Meal Plan
For the week of 6/20/10:
If you've never checked out the Palermo's frozen thin crust pizzas at Costco, you should really give them a try. As a working mom who gets home at 6:15 3 days a week, these are perfect for a quick and not too unhealthy meal. We pair the pizza with a green salad and get a meal with relatively no prep, complete in under 20 minutes. The crusts are so thin and crunchy. I was able to eat 1/3 of the pizza even while on a strict low carb diet.
For Friday's meal, I will use Costco uncooked tortillas. My great friend Kristy turned me on to these and they are amazing. They come uncooked so you simply cook them in a pan on the stove until they fluff a bit. You can use these yummy, chewy tortillas for burritos, soft tacos or even breakfast burritos.
The Calypso Crunch cookies that I served at Father's Day lunch today were such a hit. We discovered these cookies in the Publix bakery. My husband requested them for dessert today but Publix did not have them. I searched the internet for a recipe and found this one (I made a few modifications which are included). They were awesome (if I do say so myself). We paired them with various flavors of sherbet and everyone (including my hubs) was pleased. If you want a light and tropical alternative to your normal chocolate chip cookies this summer, give these a try.
Calypso Crunch Cookies
Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 cup) margarine
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/4 cup quick cooking oats, crushed in a blender
1 cup self rising flour
8 oz. canned, crushed pineapple, drained
7 oz. coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
Mix margarine, sugars, vanilla, and almond extract, set aside.
Process oats in blender until a fine powder then add flour and oats to margarine mixture. Beat well. Add pineapple, coconut, and nuts to the mix.
Make into balls (a little smaller than a golf ball) and flatten with fork on a greased and floured cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes.
Enjoy. . .or as we Italians say Salude!
_____________________________________________________________________________
A Working Mommy's Meal Plan
For the week of 6/13/10:
Yummy Chicken Bits w/ Oriental Salad
Prep Time: 5-10 min / Cook Time: 15 min / Feeds: Depends on how much you make : )
{WARNING: This is not a precise recipe which is sorta the way we Italians do things.}
You'll Need:
Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts
Cooking spray
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Garlic Salt (or Garlic Powder and Salt)
Romaine Lettuce
Green Onions
1 Small Pkg Sliced Almonds
2 Packages Ramen Noodles
Clean and trim chicken breasts then cut into little chunk pieces. Heat skillet over medium heat. Spray pan with cooking spray. Add in chicken pieces and garlic salt, stir. Let chicken cook for a few minutes.
While chicken is cooking, rinse and cut romaine lettuce. This is an entree salad so you can cut however much you'll need for each person to have an entree-sized portion. We use 1.5 bunches for three servings. Put lettuce in serving bowl.
Chicken should be cooking nicely. Once most of the juices are cooked off, add in enough balsamic vinegar to coat and stir again. This will create a nice glaze in the pan and will cause chicken to get a little brown. Add a small amount of olive oil and stir again. This will cause the chicken to get a little crispy. The chicken should look pretty done by now (about 10 or so minutes from when you first put it in). You can add more garlic salt if you'd like. Have a taste and see what you think. This recipe is really about how YOU want it to taste. If the chicken looks like it needs more time and the pan is really dry, add a tiny bit more oil or balsamic vinegar to get it going again.
Once the chicken looks done, remove from heat and cover pan while you put salad together. This will keep chicken moist.
Rinse and cut green onions. As many or as little as you'd like. I will warn you though the onion adds the best flavor to the salad to make sure there's enough. Add to lettuce in bowl and mix well. You can sprinkle a little salt on the lettuce and onions to bring out the onion flavor.
Add the almonds to the salad mixture. Crumble both packages of ramen noodles into small clusters and add to salad mixture.
In a small bowl, take one (just one) of the packages of ramen noodle spices and add it to 1/3 cup of olive oil and 1/4 cup of balsamic. Mix well. The dressing should also be made to taste so feel free to add additional oil or vinegar to your liking.
Pour dressing over salad mixture.
You can serve chicken over the top or on the side.
{Keep in mind: leftover chicken bits make a great toddler lunch item.}
Enjoy!
