Playdough

Ingredients
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
4 cups water
4 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup cream of tarta
Gel food coloring

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan.

Cook and stir over low/medium heat until play dough is completely formed and no longer sticky.

Allow to cool slightly before storing in an air tight container or zip lock bag.

So fun and EASY Peasy!

ENJOY!

Menu Plan Monday - May 25th

Er.....maybe this post should be titled Menu Plan Tuesday, but that just doesn't have the same ring to it, now does it? I'm a day late due to the long weekend, but menu planning just the same! Busy week, with lots of plans...so my menu is a little light...and random!

Tuesday - We were just given great seats to the Angels game tonight! So my brother and his girlfriend are coming over to stay with the kids. I am making them the Chicken Broccoli Braid I never got around to last week. Recipe and pictures manana!

Wednesday - Matt has softball and I go to Book Club. Kids will probably eat dinner at Grammie's. I am making my Mom's Overnight Layered Salad to take to Book Club.

Thursday - Cheese Tortellini with Prosciutto and Peas with garlic bread

Friday - Grilled Teriyaki Chicken with baked potatoes and green beans

Saturday - Chuck E Cheese!! I have 100 gold and silver Pirate coins I bought in the dollar spot at Target. The kids get to move them from one jar to the next for things like - taking turns and sharing on their own, following thru with tasks first time they are asked, helping set and clear the table at dinner, being ready for school on time, sleeping in their beds all night...They are just 4 coins shy of filling their coin jar.

Sunday - Matt and I are attending a retirement party for Newport's Athletic Secretary at the Yacht Club tonight. She's been faithfully serving the sports teams and coaches for over 30 years!

Thanks for your patience! I finally got around to posting last week's Spanish Rice and Chicken & Green Chile Casserole recipes today. Be sure and visit OrgJunkie for more menu plan inspiration.

Overnight Layered Salad

This is something my Mom always took to Summer potlucks when I was a kid. I remember not liking it....but I also remember not being a very adventurous eater. Now I LOVE IT! I am making it for Book Club tomorrow night. It's important to make this a day ahead so that the flavors have a good 12 hours or more to meld. So Yummy!

Ingredients
1 head of iceberg lettuce, shredded
1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced
1 8oz can of sliced water chestnuts
1 10oz package frozen peas

2 cups mayonnaise
2 TBSP sugar
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder

3 hard boiled eggs
10 sliced of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced

Directions
In a 9X13 glass baking dish, layer shredded lettuce, onion, water chestnuts, and frozen peas - in that order.
In a separate bowl, combine mayonnaise, Parmesan, sugar, seasoning salt, and garlic powder.
Spread mayonnaise mixture evenly over top of peas.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Before serving, uncover and top with crumbled bacon, tomatoes, and sliced hard boiled egg.

ENJOY! (I always go back for seconds...and it makes great leftovers!)

Spanish Rice

A more traditional recipe would omit the corn, peas, and carrots and just be rice, onions and tomatoes....but this is my sneaky way to get my kids to eat some veggies. Feel free to omit any of them you don't like. Since you add them at the end, leaving them out wont change the consistency of the rice.

Ingredients
2 TBSP olive oil
1 onion, chopped fine
1 TBSP minced garlic
2 cups of medium or long-grain white rice
4 cups chicken broth (I like to use chicken stock, if I have it on hand)
1 TBSP tomato paste
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup carrots, diced and cooked
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup diced tomatoes

Directions
In a large skillet brown rice in olive oil over medium heat.
Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes, or until onions are softened.
In a separate sauce pan bring stock to a simmer.
Add tomato paste, oregano, cumin and salt to the stock.
Add rice-onion mixture and bring to a simmer.
Cover. Reduce heat and cook 15-25 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed.
Add corn, peas, cooked carrots and fresh tomatoes.
Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

Serve with Tacos, Enchiladas, or Chicken & Green Chile Casserole and ENJOY!

Chicken & Green Chile Casserole

For dinner tonight I started out making Pampering Beki's Green Chile Casserole. But as I was gathering the ingredients, they made me think of a couple other recipes I love.

The first is an appetizer my mom makes called Josephina's. (I'll have to post that recipe next!) They are little toasted pieces of baguette topped with a garlic, mayonnaise, green chiles, and jack cheese mixture, then broiled until bubbly and brown. The are delicious and always disappear like hot cakes!

The second is my White Chicken Enchiladas. Matt's favorite dinner of all time.

So I decided to tweak Beki's recipe a bit and this is what I ended up with:

Ingredients
3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 TBSP minced garlic
large can of diced green chiles
1 bunch of cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
1 14 oz brick of jack cheese, grated
8 tortillas

avocado and green onions for garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Spray the bottom of baking dish with cooking spray. (I used my brownie pan that is 8X10, but you could stretch it to fit a 9X13 if you wanted)
Cut tortillas in fourths, making 24 triangles.
In a large bowl, combine chicken, sour cream, mayonnaise, garlic, green chiles, cilantro and salt & pepper.
Place 6 tortilla triangles into the bottom of pan. If you make them so the points face out, they will fill the corners just right!


Spread a layer of chicken mixture over tortillas and top with 1/4 of the jack cheese.
Top cheese with another layer of 6 tortilla triangles.
Continue layering chicken mixture, cheese, and tortillas 3 more times, ending with tortillas.
Top with remaining 1/4 of jack cheese.
Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until cheese is golden brown and the edges are bubbly.
Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into squares like lasagna.


Garnish with avocado slices and green onion
Serve with Spanish Rice, beans, or a green salad and ENJOY!

Menu Plan Monday - May 18th

Seems there is a hiccup in every week (last week it was two!) and I always end up pushing at least one meal off till the following week. Which is fine really, just kinda annoying to my OCD self. It bugs the back of my little brain that I was supposed to make the Brie Burgers last week and post pictures, but I haven't done it yet! Tonight, tonight, tonight.....

We all really liked the Honey Lime Chicken last week! It was fast and easy, and since we enjoy those flavors, I usually have all the ingredients on hand. I will definitely make it again.

Once a month I have season tickets to the theatre with girlfriends. We always meet for dinner & drinks at a different restaurant before. Last month, we went to a Cuban restaurant, Habana, and I had the Salmon. It was SO GOOD. (Also enjoyed a Blackberry Mojito that knocked your socks off!) The Salmon was grilled and topped with a spicy cream sauce of tomatoes and green onions and served with black beans and rice. This week I am going to try and recreate it....If it works, I'll post the recipe! If you live in the OC, go try Habana on a warm night. The patio is beautiful with seriously hundreds of candles and every plate makes your mouth water.

Monday - Brie & Shallot Parisian Burgers with TJ's Garlic Fries

Tuesday - Green Chile Casserole from Pampering Beki

Wednesday - Softball game and Bible Study....probably dinner on the run, or something simple like Soup & Grilled Cheese.

Thursday - Habana's Salmon with black beans and white rice

Friday - Chicken & Broccoli Braid with green salad (recipe to come)

Saturday - Chicken Tacos and Spanish Rice (recipe to come). Maybe some margaritas as we cheer on the LakeShow.

Sunday - "Snack Bar is now Open" (This is what my Dad used to say when he made dinner when I was a kid. It meant cleaning out the fridge of all the weeks leftovers and passing them off as mini meals!)

STILL can't wait to try the Crack Burgers...er, I mean Brie Burgers! And hoping my Salmon can hold a candle to Habana's. Be sure and visit orgjunkie.com for more menu planning inspiration.

Menu Plan Monday - May 11th

Well - better late than never right?! I finally got around to doing my shopping tonight and "menu planned" as I walked the aisles. Can't wait to try the Crack Burgers...er, I mean Brie Burgers! Be sure and visit orgjunkie.com for more menu planning inspiration.

Monday - Pot Roast, Rice & Carrots

Tuesday - We went to Ruby's as I was still regrouping from the weekend's festivities and didn't do my grocery shopping until tonight (rather than Sunday!)

Wednesday - Green Chile Casserole from Pampering Beki

Thursday - Ginger & Soy marinated steaks, Wasabi Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans

Friday - Honey Lime Chicken with steamed rice and Broccoli (carried over from last week)

Saturday - Brie & Shallot Parisian Burgers with Fruit Salad

Sunday - Spaghetti Bake and Garlic Bread