Ranch Goldfish

The girls have been out of school since Friday.  The weather is cool, and we are all staying inside baking and enjoying some much deserved rest.  

I took some pictures of the falling…..fallen leaves of the little Japanese maple in our backyard.

The girlies each did a huge puzzle at the dining room table.  It was two days of sister togetherness.

Tonight we are making chicken noodle soup.  It’s not homemade though.  What’s better than homemade????  According to Amber, “DOUBLE NOODLE Cup-O-Soup!”

For the rest of us.......those who are missing the “homemade love”.....I made some ranch oyster crackers.

Except I had a problem.  There are no oyster crackers to be found in Japan.  So I improvised.

Don’t laugh.  It worked.

Ranch Goldfish

Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 bags Pepperidge Farm saltine goldfish
• 1packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix

Place crackers in a large bowl.  Pour oil over crackers and stir until all the fishies are coated.  Add dressing mix and garlic powder.  Bake on an ungreased baking sheet at 250 degrees for 15 minutes.  Stir every five minutes or so.  Store in a plastic container or serve it to your kids while they sit happily at the table doing Christmas puzzles.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

It has been such a busy couple of weeks I have hardly had time to sleep, let alone blog.  So, after cleaning today with the girlies, we decided to take it easy…before I blogged. 

I took easy to a whole new level.

I made Spinach Artichoke dip for lunch.  For myself.  No sharing.

Nom.  Nom.  Nom.

I did take a few pics for you though, so you can see my laziness shine through.  The dip. In a bowl. On the couch. In front of the TV.  With my Twilight plastic cup filled with Diet Cherry Coke (my fav).

Want some?  Make your own.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

·        8 oz of cream cheese

·        ¼ cup mayo

·        ¼ cup sour cream

·        ¾ cup chopped drained spinach (I used frozen)

·        1 can artichoke hearts diced up

·        1 Tablespoon (at least) chili powder

·        Tortilla chips, veggies, or crackers for dipping

Soften the cream cheese in the microwave until it stirs smooth (1 minute).  Mix in mayo, sour cream, spinach, artichokes, & chili powder.  I take the stems out of the artichokes because yuck….I hate them.  I probably add more chili powder because I like a little spice and the ingredients really cool down the spice.  Be brave….add a lot! Dump the mixture into a baking dish. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Bake at 400 until cheese is beginning to brown.  (I think it is about 20 minutes but remember, I was being lazy and forgot to time it.

It’s so good even Edward wanted some.

He didn’t get any.  I ate it all.

Pepperoni Pizza Bites

I’ve been seeing these little pizza dippers around Pinterest and other blogs.  YUM.

But, I haven’t been so keen on making my own dough lately.  Just think of it as me doing my part to conserve energy in Japan.  If I made dough, I would have to knead it.  If I were kneading dough, I would get hot.  If I got hot, I would have to turn on the air conditioning.  See what a good person I am?

Okay, I am lazy.  My kids were hungry and I didn’t want to knead and wait for dough to rise…..so I improvised.

These little bites are easy to make and fun to eat.  I did pepperoni bites, but I have visions of filling them with some veggies and sausage too.  Serve with some marinara sauce and you will have an empty platter as soon as they hit the table.

Pepperoni Pizza Bites

Recipe adapted from Annie’s Eats

Ingredients:

·        One pizza worth of pizza dough…buy it or make it…your choice

·        8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

·        1/3 cup diced pepperoni

·        2 Tbls butter

·        1 tsp crushed garlic

·        1 tsp parsley flakes

·        Parmesan Cheese (I actually forgot this, but they were still good.)

·        Marinara sauce for dipping

Step 1:  Make your dough.

Step 2:  Mix your shredded cheese and pepperoni

Step 3:  Flatten tablespoon sized pieces of dough on your hand or flat surface.  Use flour if dough gets sticky.  Place a bit of the cheese & pepperoni on top, like this…..

Step 4:  Wrap the filling inside the dough, creating a little goody filled dough ball.  Place into a pie plate.

Step 5: Melt the butter and mix with the garlic and parsley.  Brush mixture onto dough balls.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Step 6:  Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees or until tops begin to brown.  Let cool for a couple minutes.

Serve with marinara sauce for dipping.

Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

There are very few meals in my family that I can make that ALL FIVE people will eat.

Maybe we are weird.

I think we get it from my mom’s side of the family.

Anyway, last night I made a meal that EVERYONE loved.  Amber, who says she is a vegetarian, ate it up.  Abbey gave up her teriyaki sauce boycott for it.  Allie, decided to forgo Chip Chick for her birthday dinner, and have this instead.  Brian, was so satiated by it, he took an hour long nap after we had dinner.

Oh wait, he always does that. But still........these are AMAZING!!!! (Like most things  that are wrapped in bacon.)

Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

(Recipe adapted from www.ourbestbites.com)

 

Ingredients:

·        1 lb boneless/skinless chicken (I used breasts)

·        1 package bacon (not the thick kind)

·        1 large can pineapple chunks

·        Teriyaki sauce/glaze

·        Kebab skewers or toothpicks

1 - The easiest way to put these together is to set up a little Kebab making station.  On one plate cut the bacon into thirds.  On another plate, put the chicken cubed up into bit-sized pieces. Finally, drain the pineapple and put it into a bowl.

2 – Wrap one third slice of bacon around a chunk of chicken and secure the bacon with a skewer.  Next, add a slice of pineapple.  If you are using toothpicks, you are done.  If you have kebab skewers, repeat until the skewer is full of bacon wrapped chicken and pineapple goodness.  Lay each skewer on a rimmed cookie sheet or baking dish.

3 – After all the chicken chunks have been wrapped like little babies in bacon and skewered, brush with teriyaki sauce.  Turn over, and repeat.  Go ahead and get them extra goopy with sauce.

4 – Place the pan in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours.  (I only did two hours because I was too excited to get them on the grill.  Longer, can only make them better I’m sure!)

5 – Grill each skewer on low heat for about 10 minutes on each side.  (Check them after 7 minutes, just to make sure they aren’t burning.)

Baste with extra teriyaki sauce each time you turn them, plus one final baste right before you take them off the grill.  (I actually turned them over for about 2 minutes just to cook on that final baste.)

At about this time your neighbors will be peeking over the fence and smelling the deliciousness of your grilling/basting magic. 

You better double the recipe, because they are going to want some.

I promise…..there won’t be any leftovers.

Easy Chicken Quesadillas

I think I have about 6000 pictures of food and recipe preparation stored on my hard drive.  We have our desktop looping a slideshow through those pictures, which include about a gazillion family pictures from the last eight years.  So, pictures of me trying to squeeze sausage out of its casing (maybe you don’t want to ask)…….

……end up randomly popping up along with pictures of my family.  (Aren’t we a fabulous bunch?)

When you have your Japanese culture club over for a little luncheon, they love the family pics but the sausage one....it's pretty confusing.

Anyway, I have sat on my bum for half of the afternoon going through albums labeled things like “alfredopumpkinmuffs” and “spicypicklesugarcookies”, trying to clean up my messy family slide show....and I sort of forgot about dinner.  Luckily, I had taken pictures of this easy, family pleasy meal, AND had all the ingredients.

Eons ago, I found this recipe on a chat forum for fitness.  I was trying the low-carb/high protein thing, and these were possibly what I lived on for about 3 months.  I do believe they originally called for whole wheat tortillas and fat free cheese, but blech….who wants to eat that? Not me, and definitely not my kids.  So, I tweaked it and everyone is happy.  You will be happy too, if you make them tonight.

Easy Chicken Quesadillas

 

Ingredients:

·        5oz canned chicken breast

·        4 Tortillas

·        Cheddar cheese

·        Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

·        Pam cooking spray

·        Optional Ingredients : cumin, jalapenos, onion, sour cream, salsa (make mine!) , guacamole…(whatever you like!)

Directions:  Lightly spray two tortillas with Pam cooking spray then sprinkle each with a little bit of the Lawry’s.  (If you like it a little spicier, sprinkle the cumin on in this step. 

Flip the tortillas over so they are seasoned side down.  Next, take the canned chicken and spread it evenly over the two tortillas.  Sprinkle the cheese over the chicken.  (Again if you like, you might want to add some onion or jalapenos here too.)

Place another tortilla on top of the chicken and cheese.  Spray these lightly with pam and sprinkle the Lawry’s.  Put in the oven at 425 degrees.

After about 5 to 6 minutes, take a large spatula and flip the tortillas over.  I usually do this when the tortilla starts to bubble a bit and the edges are slightly brown.  Put them back into the oven for about five minutes more, or until the tops are starting to brown and get crispy.

Cut each tortilla into 4 triangles with a pizza cutter and serve with sour cream, salsa (make sure it’s mine), guacamole, lettuce, etc.

Now if I can only get my husband to clear off all the mouth/skull/surgery pictures he has on the computer, we will be good to go for a nice and normal family slide show.