Easy Peasy

There is a family that Spencer works with that is always giving us these delightfully yummy recipes. This one is one of my FAVORITE. It does take some planning, unless you are someone who keeps coconut milk in your pantry.  So plan, go buy some ingredients, make, and then ENJOY.

Easy Mango Chicken with Coconut Rice

4 chicken breasts
cumin to taste (I used a couple teaspoons)
lemon pepper to taste (I used a teaspoon)
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups mango salsa (I used, per her instructions, Costcos)

1 T butter
1 T brown sugar
1 t sea salt or 1/2 t table salt
2 cups Jasmine rice (best rice ever)
1 1/2 cups coconut milk (shake can well before using)
1/1/2 cups water

1/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Put chicken in crock pot and add spices. Cover and cook until chicken is tender, several hours on high will do the trick. Remove chicken and shred. Remove any juices that might have cooked out of chicken, reserve. Put chicken back into crock pot and add corn, beans, and salsa. Mix well. If it seems too dry you can add reserved juices back in. Let it remain in crock pot turned on low until ready to serve with rice.

RICE:

Heat butter in a deep skillet or a medium saucepan, over med heat. When butter is melted, add brown sugar and salt. Stir until dissolved. Turn heat to high, add rice and stir until each grain is coated evenly. Add coconut milk and water. Stir. Bring to boil then immediately cover with tight fitting lid and turn heat to low and simmer undisturbed for 20 minutes. Remove pot from heat but DO NOT OPEN LID and let set for another 10 minutes.

While rice is cooking, toast coconut flakes in a dry skillet over med high heat. Stir frequently or it will burn. Takes aprox. 2 minutes.

When rice is ready to serve, stir and fluff. Then serve the chicken topping over the rice and sprinkle with toatsed coconut.

Okay let's get our eat on. YUM.

Flashback

I was spending some quiet time (older boys bowling with friends and Case napping for 3 hours) going through some papers/cards/pictures that I have saved since my the end of high school. This is one of the GREAT things I found.

Good times. My heart just melted at remembering the good old days of us Stockhoff Kids. Yes, then I teared up a little bit...and then I gut laughed.

Even though it was a load of stuff, I am glad I went though it AND I guess I am glad I kept it all.

PS I was 16 in this picture.

It is Still Thursday, Right???

I am really off my game. So for the awesome few of you who come to expect Recipe Thursdays here is a special treat for you...Recipe Mock Thursday...aka I-just-didn't-get-around-to-posting-yesterday-so-I-am-pretending-today-is-Thursday.

As I said last week, we are trying to make things a little healthier this year. This week Spencer had a travel day, and normally on these travel days I have cereal and the boys have (insert unhealthy processed meal from a box here). This week though I decided to stick to our healthy goal. I made the boys homemade chicken strips and fries. I searched out a couple of homemade fries recipes and ended up with this adaptation. I determined this combo of spices was pretty kid and mom friendly (although Jack still said they were too spicy).

Enjoy some healthy fries with none of the fries guilt!

Baked Oven Fries
serves 2-3

Ingredients:

2 large baked potatoes
1 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 T olive oil
1/4 t salt
1/4 t granulated garlic
1/4 t paprika
1/8 t pepper (more or less dependent on spice desire)

Wash potatoes. Thinly slice, trying to make as uniform as possible.

Combine all dry ingredients.

Combine potatoes with just dry ingredients, stirring to coat. Drizzle with olive oil, and then toss to coat evenly.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Lay potato slices in a single layer on cookie sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Make sure to watch. If your potatoes slices very in thinness some may burn.

Serve to your kiddies with a side of homemade chicken strips (I made these by coating chicken in a mixture of crushed baked lays, basil, Parmesan cheese and garlic salt) and low fat ranch. Then anticipate accolades of praise and declarations that you are, "the bestest cook ever".

Here's to heart healthy Fries!

Speaking of the heart...I have a table full of projects all for the Valentine spirit in you...

Out Sick

Wouldn't it be nice if mommies could take a sick day? I sure could use a sick day.

Production of useful activities, meals, crafts, chores, etc. have not been up to snuff as of late. Unfortunately, they do still have to get done. Even though television is a useful nanny sometimes, I am pretty sure it doesn't change diapers, nurse babies, help toddlers go pee, clean said pee off the bathroom floor, make sure homework is done, make dinner, fold laundry, give baths...you get the point.

As we speak I am laboriously breathing through one nostril, my throat is on fire, and I am sporting two no-where-near-attractive cold sores on my face, AND I am holding a sleeping baby who is having illness issues of his own (yes and typing...I am pretty talented).

This morning I decided push through the yucks to clean under our bed, in our closet, and our desk area (after all cleaning still has to get done...and hey maybe it is my dust laden room making me sick). Fast forward to this afternoon and I am spent and baby is spent AND everything is sitting on my bed in piles and there is still a appalling amount of dust left. I don't think I will be sleeping in my bed tonight.

So I say again, wouldn't it be nice if mommies could have a sick day without the world around them coming to a screaching halt. I guess it says how pretty special and wonderful mommies are, doesn't it.

Baby The Cold Outside Has Caused Some Colds Inside

Good bye to the hustle and bustle of the holiday months and hello to a fresh new year and a fresh new start...oh and what's that...nationally historic frigid temps which leads to a whole fresh batch of coughs, sneezes, stuffy noses, fevers, and ear infections...why 2010, what did I ever do to you???

Ignore my somewhat huffy attitude towards 20-10, we are already at odds because I turn 20-10 in 20-10 so our relationship is already stressed!

On a lighter note...our colds are almost done, with the exception of Case (well and the little tickle in my throat), and we have heat, blankets, and hot cocoa.

So here are a couple of recipes-- a simple and easy recipe that will warm the bellies of your cold wee ones and a lighter one for a healthier you.

PB and Mallow Quesadillas

2 flour tortillas

peanut butter

marshmallows or marshmallow cream

butter

Spread desired amount of PB on one tortilla. Spread marshmallows/marshmallow cream on top of pb. Melt  a TBS of butter in a frying pan. Sandwich tortillas together and place in pan. Cook for about a minute on each side. Add more butter if needed.

Slice it up pizza style and serve with a cup of hot cocoa.

Then watch the joy on their gooey faces.

We are trying to keep things light this year, and watch our girly and boyish figures. So here is a recipe that I adapted from Recipe Girl for Light Asian Lettuce Wraps. They were super yummy!

Light Asian Lettuce Wraps

1 T canola oil

2 T minced shallots

1 T minced garlic

1 T ginger paste

1 lb ground pork*

2 T low sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup sweet chili sauce (find in Asian section of super market)

1 t oyster sauce (find in Asian section)

1 tsp sugar

1/2 cup fresh, minced cilantro

1/3 cup minced, lightly salted peanuts

1 head boston lettuce, leaves separated

*could use ground turkey for even leaner recipe

Heat oil in wok. Add shallots and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Add garlic and ginger and stir fry for another minute. Mix in ground meat. Add soy sauce, chili sauce, oyster sauce and sugar. Mix and cook until meat is brown and liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently.

Stir in cilantro and peanuts. Serve with lettuce cups and Asian Spaghetti.

Super De-Light-ful...I know you are super impressed by my wit.

Okay everyone on a side note after this post...I totally had this post ready to go this morning. After days of holding a sick Case for every nap, he had finally gone done for a nap in his bed. Well two older running/screaming boys changed that sleeping status. He woke up and the constant holding began...so if any one was looking for my somewhat reliable Recipe Thursday earlier don't be mad its tardiness or at me...blame this kid...

...you can't be mad at that snotty, ear-infected, sleep deprived face can you.