Healthy Family Hangout

Mmmm.... don't you just love salmon?!  It was on sale this past week so I picked up a couple of packages and wanted to try something out of the norm.  We all like Asian-influenced food so when I saw Sesame Salmon with Noodles I knew it was worth a try.  I changed the recipe up some based on what we had in the fridge and pantry.   I used were Shanghai Noodles, at least I think that's what they are called, but you could use ramen noodles or even rice.  The green peas came straight from my uncle's garden.  My cousin had hand delivered them during Hurricane Igor. It was only now that I used them, but they kept fresh and tasted great.   Myself & Millard liked the meal although we thought that the sesame seeds were a little overpowering.  Christian loves anything that consists of seafood so it was a bit hit with him  and Alexander, as you can tell, loved the snow peas.   Next time I think that I'd like to make a little extra marinad...

I made this quick Yogurt Parfait earlier this week for breakfast.  I had bought a container of "Yoplait Source Parfait Citron Meringue" that tasted so yummy!  I scooped in the yogurt, a granola cereal with pumpkin seeds, and fresh raspberries.  They were so simple and quick to make.  In less than 5 minutes I had all 4 made and ready to eat. They were delicious! 

Last night we had Spinach Stuffed Chicken .  I've made it several times before, but yesterday afternoon got away from me and was extremely late starting meal preparation.  I took a few shortcuts and managed to somehow get a good meal on the table at a reasonable time.      We are a family of 4 and I used to thaw 4 huge chicken breasts for us.  Now that I am more mindful of portion control I only take down 2 chicken breasts to thaw.  I did that nice and early yesterday morning.  Once they thawed I split the breasts down the center giving me a total of 4 portions.  I then mixed up a quick dry Greek Seasoning to coat one side of the chicken. ---- Greek Seasoning Ingredients: 2 tablespoons dried oregano 1 1/2 tablespoons onion powder 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder 1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper 1 tablespoon dried parsley 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1/2 tablespoon ground nutmeg ----  Next I l...

1st Day of Grade 3 The school year is here and its time to get creative with the lunchbox meals.  This was a short 3-day week so meals have been kept simple with sandwiches 2 days and a pizza burger another.  I am putting together next weeks ideas which include a Pizza Pasta Salad .  Mmmm!  Christian is getting very vocal as to which fruit he wants to pack or if he wants ham vs. turkey on his sandwich. That`s great though because he is picking the things that I know he will eat at school and I don`t have to worry about it being trashed.  He is choosing water for his new drink thermos and, unlike last year, he is drinking it and bringing it home empty or near empty.  I am working very hard to continue to balance his meals and to keep from throwing in those extra grains.

Last week Millard brought home a big bag of swiss chard.  His farmer connection said that it wasn't selling because no one liked it. Apparently locals boiled the chard and found it too bitter. Millard bought home a big bag and as you can see Alexander was definitely impressed.   We sauteed our swiss chard with some balsamic vinegar, onions, garlic,  pine nuts and fresh mushrooms. We served it with Christian's Lasagna Roll-ups Myself and Millard love our swiss chard this way... and there is no bitterness.  The kids however do not like swiss chard.  Christian attempted, but truly didn't like it.  He picked out his mushrooms and ate them only. 

One of Christian's favorite foods is Lasagna... layered with meat, cheeses, pasta and full of fat and carbs!  While grocery shopping he saw a picture on the front of the lasagna noodle box for lasagna roll-ups and asked if we could make them.  It was his project so he did most of the work.  Daddy boiled the noodles and I laid them out to cool.  Then Christian took over. He spread out about a teaspoon of Cream Cheese on each noodle. then the pasta sauce and the baby spinach. Then he added some mozza cheese     and rolled them up. We put about a 1/2 cup of pasta sauce in the bottom of the baking pan, put the roll-ups in, and spooned just a little sauce over top and a sprinkle of cheese.  Popped them in the oven for about 20 mins and dinner was ready.  We had 2 roll-ups each and served them with Balsamic Swiss Chard with Mushrooms .    Delicious! 

It's berry pickin' time and what better surprise than to discover wild raspberries growing in our own back yard!!  Millard & Christian headed out back and picked away. They got quite a few. They were so rich in color and tasted delicious. I sooo wanted to bake some yummy sweets, but knew that I couldn't.   Instead I made some pudding topped with raspberries. and some pancakes for breakfast. Alexander loves eating them all by themselves.  We still have some left and I hope to make some muffins tonight... maybe.