What We’re Eating

We enjoyed such a fun weekend! Saturday we had dinner with friends who are also parents - which was a rare treat and great fun. Their daughter is 15 months old. The kids were on their best behavior over dinner, letting the adults linger over good food and good conversation.

We had a lazy (but productive) Sunday that included church, lots of playtime and a walk to the park. L.J. loves the baby swing! He also had a great time playing with his new ball pit balls. I was so excited about making him a ball pit! He doesn’t really get the “pit” concept, but loves the balls. Between those and the Cool Whip container I gave him…he was in toy heaven.

Another thing that made this weekend great was banana pudding. I made banana pudding for dessert Saturday night using my favorite recipe of all time. It’s my aunt’s mother’s recipe – Nana Bender to us, even though she wasn’t our grandmother. A truly wonderful lady who went to heaven a few years back. Mike and L.J. loved it – and I might or might not have eaten it with every meal on Sunday.

I don’t feel right sharing the recipe without my aunt’s permission, but I will share some other recipes with you. I have seen “What We’re Eating” posts on blogs lately, and thought it would be interesting to do one. We’re all about quick and easy meals these days, so nothing fancy or gourmet here.

Sunday – Roast Chicken with mashed potatoes/cauliflower
Easiest. Dinner. Ever. Rub olive oil and then Mrs. Dash seasoning all over chicken. Roast at 350 for an hour or until done. I cooked a baking potato in the microwave and then mashed it with a box of Green Giant cauliflower with light cheese sauce. Added a little extra cheddar and some chopped bacon (so much for “light”) – a very skeptical Mike said, “Not bad!”

Monday – Lemon Basil Pasta w/ Shrimp. Peas for a side dish.
My family has made this for years. Works with chicken or shrimp. We use garlic powder i/o garlic salt. Double the sauce if you’re feeding 4+.

Tuesday – Grilled ham & cheese sandwiches. Sweet potato fries for a side dish.
I do most of the cooking, but Mike makes the best grilled sandwiches! We use Boar’s Head Sweet Slice ham for these. So good! Sweet potato fries are a cinch. Peel and cut sweet potato. Toss with olive oil, kosher salt, pepper and a pinch of brown sugar. Bake at 350 for 20-25 min. or until done.

Wednesday – Soft tacos with assorted trimmings. Spanish rice for a side.
There is nothing homemade about tacos, sans the assembly! We are partial to the Taco Bell kit that has seasoning mix, tortillas and taco sauce. The seasoning is just right (not spicy) and there is no MSG or trans fat in this kit.
 
Thursday – Pepperoni Stromboli with salad.
(We love this! We use the thin crust Pillsbury dough that comes in the biscuit tubes.)

We don’t typically plan meals for Friday/Saturday night because we never know what’s going on. Friday is often leftover night or pizza night.