Thai Grilled Chicken

I haven't deserted you all.  I promise.  It has just been a crazy two weeks in the Jones household and something had to take a back seat, so I'm afraid it was you.  I hope you will forgive me.

Between the continuing battle with lice and the beginning of cake season (aka graduations and weddings), I have had zero time to myself. 

And just to prove how completely insane I am, I decided to build myself a picnic table from some plans I found on the internet.  Great idea, lousy timing.  

I was tired of trying to cram my large family of 8 around our tiny little patio set for 4.  I am so happy with the end result and it was actually a lot of fun to build.  I just should have waited a few weeks when I wasn't covered in buttercream frosting to do it.

 Now that my first official piece of woodworking is done, I am ready to grill to my heart's content and gather my family around to enjoy the results.  This recipe is one of my favorite flavor profiles, thai.  I came up with it myself and it was really good.  I might throw in a bit of coconut milk to the marinade next time and see if I like it even better.  I'll let you know!

Thai Grilled Chicken
6 chicken breasts
2 cloves garlic
1/2 C cilantro
2 Tb fish sauce
1 Tb sesame oil
2 Tb sugar or sugar substitute *I prefer Truvia
1 tsp red pepper flakes

1.  Combine all the ingredients in a large ziplock bag.  Allow to marinade for 4-8 hours.
2.  Preheat grill to high.  Remove excess marinade and place chicken on the grill.  Lower the heat to medium-low.  Grill for 5 minutes on the first side, then turn and grill 3-5 minutes on the second side, depending on the thickness of your chicken.  Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Chicken, Bacon & Green Chili Dip

So how was your Mother's Day?  

Mine was set up to be just like I wanted.  Simple.  Just some time with my family and friends.  No gifts.  Just some homemade cards from my kids.

My 8 year old decided to get me a gift, however.  The gift of lice.  

I discovered it sitting next to her in church as we snuggled on the pew.  Yuck!  So, my quiet Mother's Day was spent picking nits for 4 1/2 hours, washing every piece of bedding in the house and all the unwashed laundry.  I bagged up everything I couldn't wash then vacuumed everything possible.  So much for quiet and simple :)

This dip is a mainstay in my fridge for days like Sunday, when I have zero time to make myself something healthy to eat.  There is always a container of this prepared and ready to go for a quick lunch or dinner.  I know it is a dip, but I use it as a meal because it is packed with so much protein.

My kids love it as well, but it is a bit spicy.  If you aren't a fan of spicy, just let it sit overnight in the fridge and the heat mellows considerably but I wish I could tell you why?  It just does.

I serve it with veggies at my house, but it would be a home run on crackers, pita chips or toasted bread.  Just not low-carb like with the veggies :)


Chicken, Bacon & Green Chili Dip
16 ounce container Nordica Green Chili Sour Cream dip
2-10 ounce cans canned chicken breast
1/2 C cooked and crumbled bacon - This is the precooked version I use

1.  Drain the two cans of chicken breast in a strainer.
2.  Combine all three ingredients in a medium bowl and mix together well.  You will need to use your spoon to break up some of the larger pieces of chicken breast.
3.  Serve immediately for the hottest flavor, or let it sit overnight for the heat to mellow.

Chocolate Covered Bacon - Low Carb & Sugar Free

Without the knowledge or permission of my dear husband, I bought my kids a puppy while he was on the other side of the country on business.  Better to ask for forgiveness than permission, right? :)

Now that we are done having babies, I broke down and bought a furry version of one.  Our little Sheldon (aka Dr. Sheldon Cooper) is the cutest ball of fluff.  

He has been part of our family for one week.  While a newborn human is more work, a puppy is still more than I ever expected.  It is actually quite funny to watch my 2 year old go through all the phases of jealousy that are usually reserved for when you bring home a new sibling.  

We have many, many new rules in our house when it comes to this puppy.  The top of the list is NO feeding the puppy people food.  I do not want a dog that begs for food every time someone eats.  Turns out, if you bake a pound of bacon in the oven, puppies beg whether or not they have ever tasted it before.  Who'da thunk??

This was the first time I ever prepared bacon in the oven and it will not be the last!!  Just throw the whole pound in the oven and forget about it.  Plus, no huge greasy mess to clean up afterward.  Bonus:  you end up with perfectly flat pieces of bacon to boot!

To say this recipe rocks would not do it justice.  It is magnificent!  If you aren't into the whole low carb/sugar free thing, then go ahead and slater your bacon with regular chocolate.  I won't tell a soul.  Promise.

I only covered one side of the bacon with the chocolate and I'm glad I did.  If I would have done both, the flavor of the bacon would have been lost.  Be sure to get the bacon crisp, because limp bacon under chocolate would be disgusting!

Chocolate Covered Bacon - Low Carb & Sugar Free
1 pound thick sliced bacon **regular bacon will break
12 ounces sugar free chocolate - semi sweet or milk  **you can also use regular chocolate instead of sugar-free
4 ounces sugar free white chocolate

1.  Line a large jelly roll pan with aluminum foil.  Lay out the pieces of bacon evenly across.  Place in a COLD oven and turn the oven on to 400 degrees.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  You want nice and crisp bacon for this or you will end up with something mushy under the chocolate.
2.  Once bacon is baked, remove from the pan and cool on paper towels.  While it is still warm, cut each piece in half.
3.  Melt both chocolates in microwave proof bowls, 30 seconds at a time and mixing after each heating.  Continue to heat until the chocolates are completely melted.
4.  Use a spoon to paint one side of your bacon with the chocolate.  Drizzle on some of the white chocolate and swirl it in slightly.  Place bacon on wax paper.  Once all the pieces are covered, refrigerate until chocolate is firm.

Grilled Cilantro Thai Chicken

The countdown to summer vacation officially began this morning.  14 days of school left for my older kids and only 3 for my preschooler.  He was in tears about that.  The older ones were in tears that they had so many more days than he did....

With summer weather right around the corner, I began digging up new recipes for the grill.  I had quite the pile to try, but no working grill to try them on.  I had been waiting for my husband to be in town long enough to go buy us a new one and most importantly, put it together!

I realized last week that if I continued to wait, we would never get a new grill because he is never home!  So marched to my Menards, bought the biggest grill they had and almost 4 hours later, finally had it put together.  Apparently, the CharBroil company and I have very differing definitions of "Easy to Assemble".

This recipe was at the top of my new grilling recipes I wanted to try.  The original recipe didn't have the sugar or red pepper flakes, but the whole flavor profile of Thai food includes some sweet and spicy as well.  I'm glad I added both.  

Grilled Cilantro Thai Chicken

8 chicken breasts

1 C cilantro

6 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped 

3 Tb fish sauce

1 Tb soy sauce

2 Tb toasted sesame oil

2 Tb sugar 

3/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1.  In your food processor, blend together the cilantro, garlic, fish sauce, oil, sugar and pepper flakes.  Pour the mixture over the chicken and mix it together so the chicken is completely covered on all sides with the marinade.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2.  15 minutes before the chicken is finished marinating, turn your grill on high and let it get hot.  After it has heated, grill the chicken, skin side down first.  Turn the heat down to medium and cook for 5-7 minutes.  Flip over the chicken and grill another 5-7 minutes on the other side, or until the juices run clear.

**Gluten-free:  Be sure to use gluten free soy sauce
**Low-carb:  Use Truvia instead of sugar.  You could also use Splenda, but I greatly prefer Truvia because there is no after taste.

Cake Batter Puppy Chow / Muddy Buddies

I have been out of commission for the past week and I think today was the breaking point for my kids.  They can only take so much of Mom being sick (while Dad is out of town to boot) before they completely lose it and everything falls to pieces.  At some deeper level, that should make me feel good since I am so essential to our family functioning effectively.  However, it just ticks me off.

My friends kept telling me how lucky I was that I had my older three to fill in for me.  Ummmm....right.  So lucky.

My 8 year old finally got sick of "nothing good to eat" today and made this recipe.  I was proud of her. She helps me all the time in the kitchen, but this was her first true solo endeavor.  It was a huge hit with all her siblings and made me realize that I often underestimate the abilities of my younger three.

It is OK though, because this week has taught me that I overestimate my older three's ability to see a need and fulfill it on their own.  I guess we are at a perfect balance of disfunction!

Cake Batter Puppy Chow
(makes about 1 gallon of mix)
10 C rice Chex cereal
10 squares of white almond bark
1 small bottle sprinkles
1 1/2 C dry yellow cake mix
1/2 C powdered sugar

1.  In a large mixing bowl, measure out the cereal.  In a medium microwave safe bowl, melt the white almond bark according to package directions.
2.  Pour melted bark over the cereal and gently fold with a rubber spatula.  Add the bottle of sprinkles and mix until the cereal is evenly covered.
3.  Using a 1 gallon container with a lid, pour the covered cereal into the container then add the cake mix and powdered sugar.  Place the lid on the container and shake until the cereal is completely covered.
***Gluten Free - use a gluten free yellow cake mix

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

Did you run out of Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs as quickly as we did?  They were definitely the hot item during the traditional "Trading of the Candy" that follows all holidays.  Here was the general exchange rate this year:

1 Reese's Peanut Butter Egg = 1 Butterfinger Egg + 2 Mini Twix

1 Mini Twix = 1 Nerds

1 Nerds = 3 Smarties

1 Pop Rocks = 2 Smarties + 2 Nerds

Of course, the older children were anxious to trick the younger kids by trading 1 Smartie for 1 Peanut Butter Egg.  I quickly stomped out trying to take advantage of uninformed traders due to age.  Stinkers.

So by the time Monday afternoon rolled around, all the coveted Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs had been inhaled.  My 4 year old was especially distraught, so we made these bars together to heal the broken Easter heart.

Yep, they are easy enough for a 4 year old to make.  Plus, they are outstanding.  I like them better than the eggs :)


No Bake Peanut Butter Bars
(recipe adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff)
Filling:
2 C graham cracker crumbs (about 1 bag + 4 whole crackers ground)
1 C butter
1 C peanut butter
2 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Topping:
1 1/2 C chocolate chips (semi-sweet for richness, milk for something more mild)
1/4 C peanut butter

1.  In a large glass bowl, melt together the butter and peanut butter in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes.  Add the graham cracker crumbs and powdered sugar.  Mix until combined.  Spread evenly on an ungreased 9 x 13 pan.  You can also use a 9 x 9 pan and have a thicker cookie.
2.  Place the chocolate chips and peanut butter into a small glass bowl and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes.  Use a rubber spatula to combine and mix until the chocolate is melted completely.  Spread evenly over the peanut butter mixture.  Refrigerate for an hour before serving.
***Gluten-Free:  Use gluten free graham cracker crumbs!

Low Sugar - Low Carb Teriyaki Chicken

Vacations are the best:  Sleeping in.  Eating out.  Sleeping in.  Eating out.  Sleeping in.  Eating out.

Having just returned from our week long family vacation to Utah, I am definitely feeling the effects of my above mentioned pattern.  My clothes are much tighter and only a doughnut from Carl's Bakery in Granite Falls, MN would have gotten me out of bed to workout this morning.

Getting back to reality after such indulgence is always so painful.  Why can't we live in our "vacation world" more often?  Granted, I would be 400 lbs and would accomplish very little since I would sleep 10+  hours a night.

This chicken definitely helps in my transition back to reality.  It tastes great, and the best part:  No feelings of guilt when I wake-up tomorrow morning!  At least for me, eating well the day before is completely empowering for the next day.

This is a great freezer meal as well.  I prepare extra sauce and pour it over the raw chicken in a freezer bag.  So easy when you are already making one batch, so just make a bit more and save loads of time later!

Low Sugar - Low Carb Teriyaki Chicken

recipe adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 C quality soy sauce

1/2 C water

1/4 C Splenda or 2 Tb Truvia

1 Tb dark brown sugar

2 Tb freshly grated ginger root

2 Tb fresh garlic, finely minced

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Trim visible fat and tendons from the chicken breasts.  Make a row of shallow cuts along the top of the chicken to allow the sauce to penetrate deeper.  Place the chicken, cut side down, in a single layer in a casserole dish

2.  Put all the sauce ingredients into a small saucepan and simmer about 15 minutes.  It should reduce by 1/3-1/2.  Pour about 1/3 of the sauce over the chicken and cover the dish with foil.  Bake about 25 minutes, or until the chicken is beginning to firm to the touch.

3.  Remove the foil, turn the chicken so the cut side is facing up and baste the chicken with the extra sauce in the pan using a pastry brush.  Continue to cook another 20-25 minutes, basting with the sauce every 5 minutes. 

***Freezer meal- place chicken and all the sauce into a bag and freeze.  To cook, allow chicken to thaw and remove some of the extra sauce so you can baste the chicken while cooking.  Follow the regular baking directions.
***Gluten Free - be sure to use gluten free soy sauce!

Banana Coffee Cake

Every weekday morning by 10:00 am, here is what I have usually accomplished:

• Taught a 45 minute religious education class to 10 high school kids
• Gotten my 6 kids up, dressed, fed and out the door for school
• Exercised
• Showered/Hair/Make-up for myself
• House cleaned up from all the various morning disasters
• Newspaper read, crossword attempted
• Email/Facebook/Pinterest read

So can someone please explain to me why, for the life of me, I don't even come close to being that productive by 10:00 am on a Sunday morning?  

While we are never late to our 10:00 am church services, everything leading up to sitting down in the pew is a nightmare:

• My house is beyond a complete disaster
• No one has eaten breakfast so they shove dry cold cereal in bags to eat in the car
• 2-3 children are still getting dressed, hair styled or make-up applied in the car
• At least two little children are crying
• At least two big children are being rude and disrespectful
• I have lost all patience and have none left for the 1 hour 15 minute long service spent together in the pew

Am I alone here?  I am working hard to make our Sabbath mornings a bit more like they should be so pass along your suggestions!

I usually reserve these breakfast treats like this recipe for Friday or Saturday mornings.  Maybe if I switch to Sundays, I could bribe everyone:  If you are up and ready to go by 9:30, then you get a big, awesome chunk of coffee cake.  If not, dry cold cereal in the car.

This "Sunday morning bribe" is an awesome one and I am always looking for more ways to use my over-ripe bananas that I have in the freezer.  The banana flavor is nice and subtle while the cake is wonderfully dense from the cream cheese.  Who needs the same old banana bread with this recipe in your repertoire?

I better go start prepackage the dry cereal in bags because who am I kidding?  My Sunday mornings won't change for at least another 16 years :)

Banana Coffee Cake
(adapted from allrecipes.com)
Cake:
8 ounce package of cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 C butter, room temperature
1 1/4 C sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 C mashed ripe bananas, about 3 medium
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 C all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Topping:
1 C chopped pecans
2 Tb dark brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Mix in the bananas and vanilla.  Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Mix into the batter just until combined.  Do not overmix!
2.  In a small bowl, combine all the topping ingredients.  Add half of the topping to the cake batter and gently fold in.  Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 13 cake pan.  Sprinkle on the remaining topping and bake for 25 - 30 minutes, until light touch in the center springs back.  Cool on a wire rack.  Drizzle on a powdered sugar glaze if desired (1 1/2 C powdered sugar, dash of salt, dash of vanilla and enough milk to allow the glaze to drizzle off your spoon.)

Jana's Biscuits

I like to think of myself as an honest person and someone others can trust to be so.  However, there are just certain situations in which I find myself that are simply impossible.

Bold face liar example #1:  this morning at the pediatrician's office.  I was running late (of course) and I just grabbed whatever I could for my two year old's snack as I ran out the door.   I had carrots on the counter from prepping dinner, so I shoved one in her little hand and bolted.  She was still munching on this monster carrot when her pediatrician saw her.  I was dubbed "Mother of the Year" right there on the spot for "giving my child a perfect snack."  He went on and on and on (and on) about how proud he was of me and how he wished more mothers followed my example and stopped feeding their children so much junk.

I didn't have the guts to show him the inside of my purse.  It contained the requisite bribes for a two year old's good behavior:  fruit snacks and candy.

I'm such a fraud!

By the time we got home from the doctor's office, it was time for lunch.  My four year old knew I had a bag of homemade biscuits in the freezer and used his best puppy-dog eyes to convince me to bake some up for lunch.  Both my preschoolers were ecstatic when I agreed.

I mean, if you've given them a carrot for snack, why not have biscuits for lunch?

This is my go-to recipe for biscuits.  They always turn out perfectly.  Light and fluffy, with those to-die-for flaky layers.  I wish I knew the original source for this recipe.  I mooched it off my sister in law years ago, which is why they will always be "Jana's Biscuits" in our family.  

When I make a recipe, I get out my biggest mixing bowl and multiply the recipe times five.  I bake off one batch right away, then cram the rest of the raw biscuits onto a cookie sheet.  I freeze them overnight, then toss them in a bag until needed.  Genius!  Just ask my preschoolers who were the beneficiaries of my freezer biscuits.  Believe me, I would have never whipped up a batch from scratch after my exhausting morning as the perfect mother.

Jana's Biscuits
(makes 12 biscuits)
2 C flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 Tb sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 C shortening
2/3 C milk

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2.  In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients.  Using a pastry cutter, blend in the shortening until evenly distributed and the pieces are the size of small peas.
3.  Make a well in the center of your mixture and add the milk.  Use a wooden spoon mix together your dough, starting from the well of milk and working your way outward.  Your dough will still seem a bit crumbly.
4.  Dump onto a lightly floured counter and knead gently about 15 times until the dough comes together.  Roll to a 1" thick disk and cut with a floured biscuit cutter.  Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.  Serve immediately.

**For freezer, prepare the dough as listed above, but do not bake.  Place cut, uncooked biscuits on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer overnight.  Once frozen, toss in a freezer bag.  To prepare, preheat oven to 425 degrees and bake frozen biscuits for 13-15 minutes.

Diary of a Mad Fat Girl: A Book Review

So I am going for something a little different with this post.  I hope you don't mind me branching off a bit from yummy recipes and crazy Mommy moments :)

As a member of the BlogHer family, I was given the opportunity to participate in their book club and publish a review.  I decided to give it a try.  I am always looking for an excuse to read!  As a mom of six kids, taking the time to read leaves me feeling a bit guilty.  It is such a selfish indulgence when life is so crazy and busy.

Note:  I was compensated for this BlogHer Book Club review, but the opinions shared are completely mine :)  

As soon as I saw the cover, I was completely infatuated.  I couldn't wait to dive in!  It screamed "great chick read" at me.  (Yes, I do judge a book by it's cover, so take note all publishers).  My one complaint:  if those legs and rear end are considered fat, I think I better start hitting the gym three times a day instead of just once!

Ace Jones is definitely mad.  I would even go as far to classify her as a bit on the crazy end.  However, fat is not how I would describe her.  In fact, her weight really doesn't play a role in the story.  There are a couple mentions of her thighs and 10-15 extra pounds, but it was disappointing that author Stephanie McAfee didn't utilize Ace's weight in the plot.  I mean, look at the title!

The book definitely is filled with many memorable characters, including her two best friends Chloe and Lilly, and her love interest, Mason.  He is much more patient than any man in real life would be and he should have walked away from the disaster Ace years ago.  Hands down though, my favorite character is Ace's psycho boss Catherine Hilliard.   I picture her just like Professor Umbridge from Harry Potter.  Out to crush everyone in an effort to further her own success.  

The book is a quick and easy read.  It made me laugh out loud a couple of times.  However, I can't let this review end without cautioning you on the two items that would keep me from handing my copy to a friend.  First, the language is over the top.  Too many F-bombs and crude references.  Do grown women really talk like that all the time???  Second, the sexual references and situations went beyond my comfort zone.  There are many amazing chick stories I have handed down to my 17 year old daughter.  This would not be one of them.