Foodie Pen Pal - April 2014 Edition

This month I was originally assigned to one person but did not hear back from them.  So Lindsay reassigned me with Carol.  We've emailed each other back and forth.  In fact we emailed each other last night and today.

One cool tidbit is that we are both teacher and are dealing with the end of the school year behaviors, Common Core, and testing blues.  

To check out what I sent her, check out her blog entry.

Here's what she sent me:

These are good.  I have the remainder of the bag in my purse/bag in case of emergency.  I don't have many of these almonds left.  Yum!  

Yum!  I love yogurt and granola.  Almonds are also one of my favorite nuts.  I had this with my yogurt this morning.

I love Larabars.  In fact, while we were in Disney I ate Apple Pie Larabars for breakfast during half of the week.  So these will be gone soon.

She sent me 2 of these.  I tried one of them tonight for my afternoon snack.  Oh, my goodness.  So delicious!!!!!!!!!  It was just what I needed after a second day of testing and then teaching my sixth graders.

Thank you Carol for great snacks!

For more information about Foodie Pen Pals, visit Lindsay's blog - The Lean Green Bean.

Mom, What's For Dinner? - Week of April 28

This week we are administering the Ohio Achievement Assessment to the students in my room.  This is very stressful for both the students and especially the teachers.  

I need a few comfort meals to make up for the stress I'm going to be feeling.

Monday - Baked French toast, bacon, and strawberries

Prep:  Soak Pinto Beans, Prepare Overnight Oats

Tuesday - Pinto Beans and Kielbasa, corn, and cornbread

Prep:  None

Wednesday - Sausage Penne, Zaxby Texas Toast, salad

Prep:  None

Thursday - Pizza Quesadillas, Carrots

Prep:  Prepare Overnight Oats

Friday - Barbecue Pork Sandwiches, Roasted Potatoes, Green Beans

This week I found a menu planner template that I love.  It's from Simplified Pantry.  Mystie creates meals from a basic pantry list.  She also has a great resource that she has created with recipes using her master basic pantry list.

Here's a link to my menu plan for the week:  April 28th menu.  

There is one change to the menu.  We are not going to have rice with the quesadilla.  

Also I don't plan for Saturdays and Sundays.  I may cook on Saturdays but nothing is set in stone because we may or may not be at the house.  Also Sundays are spent at my mother-in-law's house.  Sometimes I cook dinner like last night or she cooks dinners.  Or we both cook portions of dinners.

For more great menu plans, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Copycat Zaxby's Sauce

In late July early August we traveled to the beach and on our way there and on the way back home, we went on a road trip to see Monticello, Appomattox Courthouse, Georgia Aquarium, Zoo Atlanta, and the Space and Rocket Museum.  

After we left Zoo Atlanta, we traveled to Huntsville, Alabama.  We ended stopping at a random park in a town called Fort Payne.  They had a beautiful fence with the word Alabama on it.

I knew we were in Alabama so I thought it was letting visitors know what state they were in or something.  

Any who, we ended up stopping at a Zaxby's in Fort Payne.  The wall was decorated with albums and pictures of the band named Alabama.  They were from Fort Payne.  That was why there was the beautifully decorated fence at that park.

On a side note, we also traveled on part of the Trail of Tears when were in Fort Payne.

I fell in love with Zaxby's after we ate dinner there.  So much so when we traveled to Walt Disney World, I had Hubby stop there once on the way back and once on the way home.  

There are no Zaxby's in Ohio.  Kentucky, yes.  Indiana, yes but none in Ohio.  :(

So I did research and found the special sauce they give out with the chicken dinners.  It's not the same but is still tasty.  In fact Hubby loved it!  He couldn't stop dipping his fries and chicken strips in it when we had it for dinner.

Copycat Zaxby's Sauce

Adapted from Ranker

Stars of the recipe:

• 1 c. mayo
• 1/2 c. ketchup
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 to 2 tsp. black pepper

Steps:

1. Mix the mayo, ketchup, and garlic powder until combined.
2. Add the Worcestershire sauce and mix until combined.
3. Coat the mixture with black pepper and mix until combined.
4. Put in the fridge for 2 hours before serving.
5. Enjoy!

(I put mine in the fridge for an half an hour and it still was delicious.)

Kitchen Tip Tuesday - Hard Boiled Eggs in the Oven

I have a confession.  No matter what I cannot make hard-boiled eggs the conventional way.  The eggs' yolks don't fully cook.  

I have an egg cooker that I use at times.  However, I didn't want to use the egg cooker when I was cooking up the eggs my sons' were going to dye using Kool-Aid.

I looked up hard-boiled eggs and found a way to hard boil eggs in the oven.  Some people may say it is easier to make boiled eggs the conventional way.  But for me who is hard-boiled egg challenged, this is a great option.

I would start with a couple eggs to find out what is the best amount of time to cook the eggs.

Oh, and on an unrelated note - Hubby walked into the kitchen while we were dyeing the eggs.  He told me that it smelled like Kool-Aid, not dye.  Hubby did not realize we were using Kool-Aid instead of the traditional store-bought egg dyes.

Stars of the recipe:

• large eggs (preferably a week old - This will work better if the eggs are slightly older.)
• mini muffin pan

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 325 to 350 degrees depending on whether your oven runs hotter or cooler.
2. Place the eggs in a mini muffin tin (the larger side in the tin).  
3. Bake for at least 30 minutes.  (I would check one egg and add time in 5-minute increments until the eggs are done.)  My eggs took about 37 minutes at 325 degrees.
4. Remove from the oven.  If there are brown spots on the eggs, don't worry.  
5. Place in ice water or a strainer.  If using a strainer run cold water over the eggs to stop the cooking process.  The brown spots should rinse off.
6. Store in the fridge.
7. Enjoy alone or in your favorite recipe!

Mom, What's For Dinner? - Week of April 21

This is what I woke up to last Tuesday morning.  We got an inch of snow overnight.  It had started as rain the day before.  During the night, the temperatures dropped to the lower 30's so the rain changed over to snow.  The crazy thing about the snow was that it was on cars, trees, and grass.  Since it had been in the 70's two days prior, there was no snow on the road.  It was a beautiful drive to work.  

Just so you know, where we live in Ohio, we don't normally get snow in mid-April.

That afternoon it was still spitting snow.  Yuck!

The weather has become springlike since that rare snow.  Today the temperature is in the high 70's.

Onto the menu this week:

I've got to go get my license renewed on Tuesday and need to stay late on Wednesday and Thursday to work on some paperwork.  So my menu needs to be easy and something my husband can cook up with little instructions.

Monday - Out to eat

Tuesday - Chicken fingers with homemade Zax sauce, crinkle fries, homemade Zaxby's Texas toast, fresh veggies

Wednesday - Orange Chicken over rice with veggies

Thursday - Ravioli with spaghetti sauce, garlic bread, salad

Friday - Breakfast for Dinner

Saturday  - ???

This post is linked to I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Planning Monday.

For a printable version of this menu, click this link.

Happy eating, Traci

Mom, What's for Dinner? - week of April 14

After a couple weeks off from menu planning, I'm back to menu planning.  We did have a menu plan last week but we didn't always follow the plan.  

We got back from Walt Disney World on Sunday night at 8:30ish in the evening and then I was back at work at 7:15 am the next day.  So last week, we ate mostly out of the freezer or ate out.  Finally on Saturday night, I felt like making a complete meal - meatloaf muffins, mashed potatoes, and fresh corn on the cob.  The family was happy for a home cooked meal.

I'm now back on track for cooking dinner for the family.

Here's our meal plan for this week:

Monday - oven baked French toast (recipe to posted later), sausage patties

Tuesday - navy bean soup, ciabatta bread (from Second Street market), and fruit salad

Wednesday - breaded pork chops, roasted broccoli, and rice pilaf

Thursday - tacos, apple enchiladas

Friday - eat out - We are going to the zoo.

Saturday - pizza with family

For more meal plans visit I'm an Organizing Junkie's menu planning Monday.

For a printable version, click here.

Happy eating, Trac

Kitchen Tip Tuesday - DIY Seasonings and chili seasoning (new recipe)

Making your own seasoning mixes is very economic.  Plus you can adjust the amount of a certain spice if you don't like that spice.  You can also admit spices.  I've been making taco seasoning for a few years because Hubby doesn't like store bought taco seasonings.

You can find glass containers to put your seasoning mix at places like Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  You can also use Mason Jars (4 oz or 8 oz size).  Another idea is reuse jars from spaghetti, salsa, or even peanut butter.  If you have Tupperware containers, you can also use those.

One of my foodie pen pals sent me a sweet and spicy spice mix in a Crystal Light container.  I thought that was pretty cool. 

If you are going to make a lot of seasoning mix for holiday gifts, the best thing to do is to buy spices in bulk.  When I buy in bulk, I get it from it from Sam's Club.

Here is a recipe for Chili Seasoning:

Chili Seasoning

Lynn's Kitchen Adventure

(I reused my Hershey's spread container.)

Stars of the recipe:

• 1/2 c. dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 c. chili powder
• 1/4 c. dried minced onions
• 2 Tbsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp. dried basil
• 2 tsp. paprika

Steps:

1. Combine all the ingredients in an airtight container.
2. Use 3 Tbsp. of seasoning mixture in your favorite chili recipe.

Other seasoning recipes:

Taco Seasoning

Ranch Dressing

French Onion

Hot Chocolate Mix (Not a seasoning mix but still is economical to make your own.)

Happy eating, Traci