What's for dinner???????

Okay, I've just survived another three day weekend with everyone home, and everyone screaming, "Mom, what's for dinner?"  or "Mom, what's for breakfast?"  Of course, they all get up at different times so that makes things extra challenging, and my two girls both had friends over for the weekend, and we had our adorable three year old granddaughter too.  Did I mention, that one of my daughter's is a vegetarian and my granddaughter is too.  Plus, Skyler (granddaughter) can't really tolerate dairy so she drinks only almond or coconut milk. Just typing this is making my jaw tighten from the stress of thinking of what to feed everyone.


I try to make the meals healthy because face it my dh and I both could stand to lose a few pounds, and I don't want to give my kiddos junk.  But, they cringe at the sight of a vegetable, esp. the vegetarian which makes things ten times more complex.  I've been trying to plan out a weekly menu to maintain some sanity around here which helps, but....  .  If anyone has these issues I would LOVE to hear how you handle this or maybe a cookbook that caters to picky eaters.  I just want to have time to finish the projects I've started, catch a reality show or two, read a chapter in my book, start a new craft, pin on Pinterest,and rest (ha ha).  And not spend four hours in the kitchen only to be greeted with, "What is that?", "Ew, fish. I think I'm allergic to seafood.", "Can't we just order a pizza?", "I'm not that hungry."


I noticed Lori at Our Forever House (http://ourforeverhouse.blogspot.com/)  posted a similar post about this same problem and she is posting her weekly menus so I an going to pony on to that and try posting my menus on here too.  Also, at the end of my post is her recipe for knock-off Chik-Fil-A Baked Nuggets that I am going to try plus a wonderful breakfast egg muffin I tried this weekend that was very yummy.  


Maybe by the end of 2012 I will have perfected the PERFECT FAMILY MENU. dun dun dun (serious times call for serious theme music), until then here is the plan for this week.  And yes, I know it's Tuesday, but today is my Monday because of Martin Luther King Day.  Hope everyone has a good day and bon appetit.


Monday
Honey Mustard Chicken Breasts
Leftover Steamed Green Beans
Leftover Carrots and Red Potatoes


Tuesday
Taco Tuesdays (copied from Rosa's Cantina, a Mexican fast food restaurant, who offers tacos at a ridiculous price on Tuesdays.


Wednesday
Fake Chik Fil A Nuggets
Sweet Potato Fries


Thursday
Chicken Tortilla Soup using a kit from HEB


Friday
Broiled Lemon-Parmesan Tilapia


Saturday
Leftovers


Sunday
Chili




2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 tbsp Tabasco
1 cups flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Trim away any fat from the chicken and cube them in to bite size pieces.  Try to keep them uniform in size so they cook evenly.  In a medium bowl whisk the egg and stir in the milk and Tabasco.  Place chicken in milk mixture and cover. Let it 'marinate' for 2-4 hours in the fridge (I let mine sit overnight since I made them 2 days in a row). This will make the chicken very nice and tender. Combine your dry ingredients in a bowl or large resealable bag.  Add your "marinated" chicken to the dry ingredients and coat.  Spread the chicken out on a large baking sheet, leaving space between.  Place the pan under the broiler.  Watch closely.  When the nuggets start to get a bit golden brown, remove the pan and turn over the chicken using tongs.  Place back under the broiler to brown the other side.  Under the broiler, the heat somewhat caramelizes the sugar in the breading which allows the nuggets to turn a golden brown and get a bit of a crunchy crust. 

Serve with your favorite dip and enjoy. 


The real secret to the recipe is the addition of powdered sugar in the breading which gives it some sweetness.  I never thought about that the nuggets at Chick are sweet, but they kind of are and that is what makes them so tasty.  I made a few changes to the original recipe.  Since I was baking these, I added some additional sugar to help crisp up the nuggets under the broiler.  I also added some Tabasco and cayenne to give the nuggets a bit more flavor and zip. 


Breakfast Egg Muffins

1 dozen eggs
1 1/2 Bisquick
1 c of whipping cream
1 tsp Spike seasoning
sliced green onions
shredded cheddar cheese (use as you like)
salt & pepper
Optional Add-ins:
sauteed mushrooms and fresh spinach
Cut up ham, or cooked turkey sausage


Mix together and pour into muffin tins.  Silicone works best but if you use paper liners use two and spray with oil.  Spray the silicone too these babies like to stick. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Only fill the cups 2/3 full.  Can freeze and reheat in the microwave.  These are like the South Beach quiches that use egg whites and whipping cream, which I like but my kids have a hard time with.  Next time I am going to try it with low fat milk instead of the whipping cream to lower the calories and fat.  I just needed to use up some leftover whipping cream.

Broiled Parmesan-Lemon Tilapia (from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 4 (4 ounce) tilapia fillets
• 2 tablespoons Miami-style sazon seasoning (sazon completa)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons butter-margarine blend (such as Smart Balance®), melted
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise (such as Kraft®)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 1/8 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon celery salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source. Line a broiler pan with aluminum foil. Spray the broiler pan's rack with olive oil cooking spray.
2. Sprinkle tilapia with sazon seasoning and arrange on the prepared broiler rack.
3. Mix the Parmesan cheese, butter-margarine blend, fat-free mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon zest, basil, black pepper, onion powder, and celery salt together in a bowl and set aside.
4. Cook the fillets under the preheated broiler until fish is barely opaque, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Spread the Parmesan cheese blend over the fish fillets, return to oven, and continue cooking until the topping is golden brown and the fish flakes easily, 3 to 5 more minutes.

• Cook's Note:
• You can substitute low-salt all-purpose seasoning blend for sazon completa.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 213 | Total Fat: 10.1g | Cholesterol: 51mg