did they eat it?

Broccoli Garlic Pasta

We've had this before, I put the recipe here. It's a good thing to have when you're stretching your food budget. The nuts give it some protein and we use Barilla Plus pasta because I worry the kids don't get enough protein.

Here are pictures from the process.

My favorite cookbook ever.

Broccoli before steaming. Don't steam too long if you're cooking for the Summers or noses will turn up.

Steam until just bright green. Best.

Pine Nuts. Max does not like walnuts and cried when he thought these were walnuts. But gladly ate them once I said they were pine nuts.

Sauteing the garlic, pine nuts, basil and salt and pepper while the pasta cooks and the broccoli steams.

Toss it all together and eat.

Logan: Ravenous after T-Ball practice, could have gnawed on a shoe.

Melissa: Love this, I love everything.

Madison: "I could live off this. Put some in my lunch tomorrow please."

Max: "WAAAAAA I don't like garlic!" Me: "Okay it's just broccoli pasta." Him: "Okay....wait I hate walnuts! WAAAAAA!" Me: "No those are pine nuts." Him: "I love this, I'm so glad it doesn't have garlic."

BUT IT DID HAVE GARLIC! I WIN!!!!!

Tomato Cheese Muffins and Scrambled Eggs

Welcome to the week of food from the house because it's a week until payday and I just spent a shit ton of money on clothes and camera stuff because of some very nice women I spent the weekend with.

This recipe is from a Gooseberry Patch cookbook my sister in law gave me called 'Meals In Minutes'. Are you seeing a theme here? I don't especially like cooking but I like feeding my family.

2 1/2c. all-purpose flour
1-1/2t. baking powder
1/2t. baking soda
1/2t. salt
2T. sugar
1t. dried basil
2t. onion minced
2 eggs
1 tomato peeled and chopped
1/2c. milk
2T. catsup
1/4c. butter, melted
3/4c. shreeded cheddar, divided.

Combine first 6 ingredients together; set aside. Mix onion, eggs, tomato, milk, catsup and butter together; add alternately with 1/2 cup cheese to dry mixture. Stir until just moistened; fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle evenly with remaining cheese; bake at 375 degrees until golden, about 18 minutes. Makes 12.

I forgot to put the cheese on top and we served this with scrambled eggs. We also had my friend Chrissy's kids over for dinner which always changes the results of this.

Madison: I made these before and Maddie LOVED them and wanted two in her lunch the next day. She didn't remember loving them and she hates scrambled eggs so she ate nothing but the apples I cut up and put on the table. I sent a half a muffin in her lunch the next day and she gleefully told me, "I threw out the muffin you put in my lunch." HI! POWER PLAY!

Max: Loves both scrambled eggs and these muffins but refused to eat last night, not even the eggs. He ended up eating two muffins at lunch the next day though.

Chase: Inhaled the eggs, could not be cajoled into a bite of the muffin.

Erin: I'll eat these eggs but F-Off about the muffin lady.

Logan: Love.

Melissa: Cheap and fast. Just like me.

I'll make it again because I think Maddie will like it eventually.

Chicken Casserole Thingie.

We made this before.

Tonight I made broccoli and breadsticks as well to go with it. Here is the recipe, it's from Seat Of the Pants Suppers.....my easy cookbook. The one you use when your mother taught you how to make pork chops which resemble beef jerky.

Ingredients (Hi, I love my new phone.)

Take 3 cups cooked chicken (I usually have some in the freezer, I make extra whenever I'm making a chicken dinner), mix with 3 cups rice and a jar of gravy (we use a fat free chicken gravy). Mix together and put in a pie plate.

Add melted butter to some italian bread crumbs, cover dish with the bread crumbs like a crust. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

I did not have any precooked chicken on hand so I had to put some in a skillet.

Mix the rice, gravy and chicken all together. We usually eat brown rice but Logan's low fiber this week for the Indy Mini Marathon this weekend. It looks sort of unappealing. This is definite comfort-like food.

Take the bread crumbs (mixed with a couple tablespoons of butter) and put them all over the top. Bake at 350 for around 20 minutes and.....hello. You are khaki colored and not something I would serve to guests but still, you tantalize me.

Did They Eat It?

Logan: likes this dish, especially since it had white rice and he'd just run for 30 minutes before it was served. Have I mentioned how much I hate running? I hate running.

Max: "I remember this! I love this!"

Madison: "Sometimes I say I don't like the sauce on things....so I lick all the sauce off the part I like and then eat it and I can't understand why my mother impales herself on a butter knife when I say I don't like the sauce."

Melissa: I do like this, it's comfort food. My friend Chrissy makes something called Spam-A-Rama (yes.....made with Spam! And Velveeta!) and I like that too. There, I said it. Are you happy now?