Category Archives: Food

Bulgar Lunch

So I don’t know if I should call this a salad, pilaf, mixed bowl, or what. But this was my first official flour free and sugar free lunch! It was super easy and tasted pretty good. It was very filling and I only ate 1/2 of it at once.

Bulgur Lunch
Ingredients:
1/2 cup bulgur
1 cup boiling water
1/4 teaspoon chicken bouillon
1/2 cup diced cucumber
1 chicken thigh shredded
2 tablespoons shredded zucchini
1 tablespoon soy nuts
2 tablespoon feta
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Fresh cracked pepper
1 teaspoon Champagne Vinegar
1 tablespoon (scant) extra virgin olive oil
Process:
Put 1 cup of boiling water, 1/4 teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder and 1/2 cup bulgur in a bowl and cover it. Let it sit a half hour to an hour and drain off the excess water. Then mix every thing else together! I ate it immediately but i think it would have been good if it sat too!

Meal Plan Monday

So this week is a little crazy. NerdDad and I both have things 2 nights this week (separately) so the kiddos will have dinner with the sitters. I am also trying to do some freezer cooking this week! I will trying out a few new dishes and will report back!

Monday: Chili Mac and Cheese
Tuesday: Hot Dogs
Wednesday: Corned Beef Hash, Scrambled Eggs, Broccoli
Thursday: Birthday Dinner!!! She wants Chicken Kiev, Fried Potatoes, Buttery Rolls and Broccoli
Friday: Tilapia, Zucchini Corn Cakes, Broccoli

Hell’s Kitchen is Back!!!

I am so excited that Hell’s Kitchen is back! I am also excited that Master Chef is coming to the US with Gordon! But I will blog more about that another time! Let’s check out last night’s premiere! (Don’t be disappointed if you get more snark than fact at this point;)

Right off, the clips on what is coming up this season… I think I already know who the “stay at home” British mom is. I think she is also the girl he is kissing;).
So Ramsay “guarantees” a complete first service. 1) What does that mean? Do they get money if he is wrong;)? 2) I think he just can’t shut it down when he sick of them like her usually does. That is what ends service.
So signature dish time is always interesting. Sometimes they are the standard but the big issues and personalities usually jump out here. So Holly didn’t think she would have to come in and cook right off? That is the only reason I can imagine her in those 4 inch heels in the kitchen, the heels that caused her to wipe out.
He starts off with Tanya’s dish (sorry, we aren’t supposed to know that yet;) and loves it! Then he kisses her… And reveals that it is his wife. So they are doing a men vs women signature dish face off as the first challenge. Our pizza chef from Naples served pasta he didn’t make but the next guy who came up made his own pasta. Holly made halibut in a banana leaf and it was gross. Jamie served a Chicken Kiev with the toothpick still in it! Scott is already doing the big talking but Ramsay didn’t like his dish. Mikey came in with a Hell’s Kitchen tattoo. Luckily Ramsay liked his dish. Jason made grits and Ramsay said he was one of the few who could make them right. Andrew seemed a bit creepy talking about raising and butchering his own animals and eating them raw. It would have been fine if he said something about high quality meat can go into a tar tar but the way he talked… ick! Then men won the first challenge.
The prize this year is to be the head chef at Ramsay’s restaurant in the Savoy hotel in London. I hope this group is better than last years then.
Everyone heads to the dorms to start studying their menus. Then the fire alarms goes off. They are all being called for a video lesson. Then they go study and another alarm, which is because there is another video. It goes that way all night. Then the girls get woke up because their punishment is to cook the boys breakfast in bed.
Then service starts. Stacey starts off wrong with the scallops. The boys start off with problems. Salvatore burned shallots twice in a roll. Fran messed up the potatoes and then didn’t answer Ramsay’s questions. Benjamin was tasting and cooking with the same spoon. Things were not going well… I have to say out of it all, I feel for Maria. She got called on something being wrong and walked off and was laughing. I can so relate to that. I smile and laugh when I am nervous. The more tense some times the worse I get. But that got Maria, I think Jamie and Fran tossed for service (or at least that is what he told them). That got Milka pulled back in from table side salad service so she can cook.
Scott was trying to take over on the blue team. Mikey thought his own halibut wasn’t done but he took it up because Scott told him too. Ramsay happened to agree with Mikey and expressed that one quite loudly. I am not sure what Benjamin thought he was doing… he had stock in the pan but no rice for risotto. Salvatore was starting food in a cold pan. Then Ramsay tossed Benjamin and Salvatore out. When Stacey couldn’t tell him how long a dish would take, he tossed her out. Then Mikey served him raw halibut again and got tossed.
To combat the fact that there were only 4 red and 5 blue left, Ramsay joined both teams together. Ed had an opportunity to some off as a super star because he ran the meat station. So Ed ended up pretty much running the show. Then they were able to finish the service.
The women (red) team was considered the loosing team. So the girls had to go pick 2 to up for elimination. The girls bickered a bit but in the end they nominated Fran and Stacey. I think those were both solid choices. I find it interesting that Fran said she was a Kosher chef so she is learning about the shell fish. Ramsay ended up eliminating was Stacey. I think that was the right call. She struggled with every aspect of the fish station and wouldn’t let others really help her.
This was a good start to what is sure to be an intense season!

Crescent Pizza Rolls


So I was bored today and wanted to do something different for the kids at lunch. So I went through the frig and came out with some crescent roll dough, pizza sauce, cooked sausage and mozzarella. I thought about those hot dog rolls that I used to see people make and if you can put those into crescent rolls why not pizza? I just layered everything on each triangle and then rolled it up like traditional crescent rolls. It is so easy that next time I will put out different fillings and let all the kids help! I cooked it at 375 degrees for 12 minutes.

They were so yummy and the kids loved them! So much that my 6 year old daughter just asked for them at her birthday dinner;)!
Super easy and super yummy!

Roadtrips, Fundraisers and a Giveaway!

(This has been moved from NerdFamily Food)
So who loves Sweet Tomatoes or Souplantation (depending on location;)? And how does helping support Boys and Girls Clubs of America? Me too!

Sweetie, the beloved mascot of Sweet Tomatoes and Souplantation, recently kicked-off a Great American Road Trip to help raise money for Boys & Girls Club of America. In each tour city, 20 percent of the entire day’s sales will benefit the local chapters of the Boys & Girls Club! And, Sweetie will be making special guest appearances at select restaurant locations in each market. Guests located outside one of the 12 tour stops can still celebrate May’s Great American Road Trip in stores and follow Sweetie online throughout his travels via a map that will show him moving across the country.
Here is the schedule of the remaining stops!
May 20 – Downtown San Jose, CA restaurant location from 4-5pm
May 20 – Fremont, CA restaurant location from 6-7pm
May 20 – Pleasanton, CA restaurant location from 7:30-8:30pm
May 24 – Los Angeles – TBD
May 25 – Orange County – TBD
May 26 – Encinitas (San Diego area) location from 4-6pm
May 26 – Mission Gorge (San Diego area) location from 5-7pm
They are even going to have some featured dishes for Sweeties Trip!
– California Cobb Tossed Salad
– Chesapeake Corn Chowder soup
– Texas Longhorn Beef Chili Soup
– Neighbor Joe’s Gumbo Soup
– Orange Creamsicle Lava Cake
– French Quarter Praline Muffin
But if you are going to miss out on this charity promotion you can join them to help support Easter Seals in June! From June 1-30, guests who visit any restaurant location in the Pacific Northwest will have the option to donate $2 to Easter Seals, raising money and awareness for children and adults with disabilities in the community. In exchange for the $2 donation, guests will receive a bag of cookies and a coupon for their next visit to Sweet Tomatoes. In addition to the Pacific Northwest, this will also be available in restaurant locations in the following areas: Chicago, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado and Utah.

Win it!
Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes have given me some dining passes to giveaway to my great readers! I am going to give 2 winners 3 dining passes each!
To enter:
* Just leave a comment telling me your favorite dish at Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes!
* A random winner will be selected and notified on June 3rd.
* The winner will then have 3 days to claim their prize.
To earn extra entries, you may do one or all of the following. Each one counts as an extra ticket but you must leave a separate comment for each one.
* Subscribe to my feed (if you already do, that counts).
* Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back here.
* Subscribe to my Twitter and then Tweet about this!
* You can tweet everyday for an additional entry, just make sure to leave a comment for each time!
If you want to see more giveaways pop over to Making Money Keeping Money to see more giveaways on Contesting Monday

Meal Plan Monday

I got so caught up in Lost that I forgot to do my menu! So now…. what to eat this week?

Monday: Chicken Cordon Bleu, Buttery rolls, Broccoli
Tuesday: Corned Beef, fried potatoes, broccoli
Wednesday: Pasta with shrimp and spinach in a garlic butter sauce
Thursday: Chicken Pot Pies
Friday: Homemade pizza with pepperoni and bacon