Shrimp Lo Mein, Neighbor/Doggie Problems, and Band Night!

UPDATE: I have just been informed that Ashley signed up to play the trumpet or the baritone next year in band! Also, the April Menu planner is posted on the right ----->

This was Monday night's dinner, I just didn't have time to blog about it.

Shrimp Lo Mein

(self created recipe & homemade sauce)

•  3lb bag of frozen shrimp (any size, uncooked)
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 pepper, sliced (any color, but I think red is prettiest)
• 1 can cubed or crushed pineapple (I did not have, so it can easily be omitted if you don't have or don't like*)
• cooking oil, as desired
• 1-2 cloves garlic (or crushed garlic) 
• raman noodles, or other as desired

For sauce:

• reserve the juice from the canned pineapple  (*if canned pineapple was omitted you will need approx 1/2 cup tropical juice such as orange, pineapple, mango, etc.
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tsp orange peel seasoning
• 1 tsp lemon peel seasoning
• 1 tsp crushed ginger or ginger seasoning
• 1 TBSP dried parsley
• dash of crushed red peppers (if desired)

• sprinkle of sesame seeds (optional garnish)

Prepare noodles per package directions. Cook shrimp in large skillet on low with cooking oil and garlic. While shrimp is cooking chop onions & peppers (or if you're like me, the onions and peppers are already sliced and in the freezer, so run hot water over them until they are easy to break apart). Add to shrimp when it's about 1/2 way cooked. While shrimp & veggies are cooking whisk together the sauce. Add to skillet and simmer until just starting to bubble. Add pineapple and cook for about 3 minutes on low, just enough to warm the pineapple. Add cooked noodles and toss to coat. Top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds, if desired.

 
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So, Brian and Ashley are off at band night tonight. It is when the 5th graders go visit the middle school and learn about band. I don't know if there is a concert, a teacher, kids from current band class, or if they get to try out the instruments, so I'll let you know when I find out! But, they were exceedingly late due to doggie problems.

When I arrived home one of the children (will remain nameless, but not D this time) was standing at the back door with it wide open. I got out of the car and was just about to yell out to close the door when out ran Gus - the big dog.  He stopped for 1/2 a second when I called him, but decided that running around free as a bird would be much more fun than stopping to see Mommy.

He's the size of a 70lb lab, but all muscle and dressed here in Ashley's nightgown

The chase was on and both Dad and Ashley suited up (it's pouring rain) and went after him. This process is usually futile, and after about 30-40 minutes they returned home without the dog. While I was outside with the little dog, trying to coax in the big dog, the neighbor lady came out and decided to pick a fight with me about the big dog.

From across the street (don't even do me the courtesy of coming over to my yard) she yells at me that I need to do something about my dog because she's sick of my dog in her yard and going after her dogs (ill behaved Pugs who don't say in her yard any better than ours - I get to listen to her yell at them every morning on my way to work because they wander into the street in front of me during their potty walk)! This is also especially hilarious because like I said, he is as gentle as a lab and he "bites" the little dog ALL the time and it feels like a massage!

So, I tell her that she's going to have to talk to my husband about it because I am usually not home. She yells something at me again about calling animal control the next time she sees him out. She then asks me if my husband told me that he (the dog) almost got killed by the bus the other day. I tell her yes, he did, but I wasn't even at home, so there's nothing I can do about it. She retorts that I'd better do something about it!

Here he is "massaging" the little dog's neck -
he's as harmless as a lab.
The little dog draws blood!

It was now past time to leave for band night and actually make it on time and no one had had dinner. But, they left anyway, only to return a few minutes later with Gus! They saw him and opened the van door and he jumped in. We put Gus in the cage in the house and they leave again.

They return a few minutes later and Brian takes Gus from the cage to the front door, where a woman (I assume another neighbor from down the street somewhere) looks at Gus and tries to determine if it's the dog that HIT her car. No, not the dog she hit WITH her car, but the dog that ran into her car! She does seem concerned that the dog is hurt, even though he did it to himself. She said she went out looking for the dog's owner to make sure the dog didn't come home bloody and we didn't know why. Apparently Gus is actually an ox because he is no worse for the wear. We are however going to have to pay for a broken side view mirror.

Miraculously the dinner that I'd been trying to cook since I got home at 4:45 hadn't burned and it is now ten 'till 6. I don't actually have a photo of tonight's recipe, but here it is, compliments of my friend, Robin. It was de-lish' and D has seconds.


Onion and Paprika - Gulash Basic Recipe (AKA- Chicken Paprikas)

1 lg cooking onion minced
1-2 diced green or sweet yellow peppers (we just cut them in strips)
1 tomato cut up in quarters
2 tbsp. oil
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt

Boneless meat is cubed quite small. Meat with bones is cut as small as possible. Saute onions in oil on low heat until onion becomes transparent.  Remove from heat, add paprika, mix well and add meat and salt.  Coat the meat thoroughly with the onion-paprika mixture, add peppers, and simmer covered until meat is tender.  The meats juices generally are adequate; however, if necessary, you can add a little water or stock to keep it from burning.  The slower the cooking the better the flavor; thus this dish lends itself to crock pot cooking very well.

For the chicken version add 1/2 cup of fresh sour cream before serving. 

"Red Neck" Stir Fry & Flowers

"Red Neck" Stir Fry

This is what happens when your dinner plans get canceled so you have to come up with something at the last minute! We had planned to attend a game night at the church, but we were just too tired to get everyone there on time, so we opt'd out. This meant that I had to come up with something to eat at the last minute! So ... what does one do with potatoes, red peppers, onions, and hot dogs? Why, red neck stir fry of course!

I just love paying for my own flowers. The "boys" brought these home from Costco. Guess who pays the Costco bill?

These are the orchids the boys brought home a few weeks ago. At least I didn't have to pay for them! :)

Mustard Pork Stir Fry and New Dishes!

Mustard Pork Stir Fry

This is one of Mary's recipes that can be used in a variety of ways after you cook the pork, so depending on your ability to pre-plan or what ingredients you have in the house, you'll have a meal out of this! I did not have dijon mustard, but regular mustard worked just fine and probably had less bite to it - I'm not a big dijon fan. The sauce was pretty simple, other than I didn't have the beef broth, so I had to make it with bullion cubes, which requires the use of very hot water. After I created this piece, I read the rest of the instructions, which said "quickly whisk together ingredients before the broth gets warm" ooppps! Oh well, I guess we'll let that cool down for a while.

After I cooked the meat, I decided there wasn't enough meat for the large hoagie rolls I bought to make a decent sandwich, so I opt'd for expanding the recipe to make a more robust meal. The original recipe calls for 1 onion sliced and mixed in. I also added a pack of frozen mixed veggies ... peppers, corn, and broccoli. She also states in the instructions that this can be served over rice or noodles rather than sandwiches. I had some top ramen, so I made two packs and then just mixed everything together to blend the flavors and make a more casserole style dish. The hoagie rolls were turned into parmesean garlic bread for the side, which everyone gave a 10 rating!

The pork dish only earned an 8.2 total rating.

The new dishes

 

I am so excited about these new dishes. I had been asking for some since we had the extra kids for summer. We mostly used paper plates for ease of clean up and because the current dishes were rather thick and didn't really fit into the dishwasher very well. They also weren't as microwave friendly as I had hoped - they get really hot. So, after much searching, and my dear husband finding a great deal on these (like 60% off), we ordered 4 sets of 16 piece settings. We use 8 on a regular basis, easy, so 12 makes it two meals before I have to run the dishwasher and 1 extra set in case we break something. The black matches the more modern appliances we have had installed in the past 18 months.

Satruday cooking session ... 4 meals!!!

Brian took Ashley and Dennis out for a couple of errands and then added Sam to the group for "manly" work outside. So, Amanda and I pretty much had the entire afternoon to ourselves. I decided to try some cook ahead meals, in hopes that this week will be easier for me (read my previous post about my first two weeks back to work after maternity leave). So, on Saturday afternoon I made 4 meals: enchiladas, enchilada casserole, a spinach-ricotta pasta dish, and for Saturday night's dinner we had pork carnitas.

Prep for Enchiladas

For those who are not familiar with Mary's book (from which the recipes in this blog are adapted), all her enchilada recipes are casserole style. My hubby is not a big fan of the casserole, but I know he really likes enchiladas so he would probably be a bit upset with me for telling him I'm making enchiladas and then presenting him with a casserole instead!

This recipe is meant to make two casseroles, one for that night's meal and one to put in the freezer for later (unless you actually have a family the size of Mary's, then you'll need both on the same night). I decided to try this as both traditional enchiladas, but also create the actual casserole as the recipe intended. I put the traditional enchilada in the fridge and we will eat them on Monday night. I made the casserole and put it in the freezer for the following week.

Next up was the spinach-ricotta pasta dish. Mary has several vegetarian dishes, but we don't do vegetarian. While I understand that many families, including Mary's, believe that vegetarian dishes provide all the nutrients a growing child needs, my husband would not allow me to serve a meal that did not contain meat of some sort! So, one small addition to this recipe is all it takes to make hubby happy! :) 

I actually added some onions and other seasonings not called for, but just because spinach is not a favorite of mine, so I thought it needed some garlic, salt, parsley, ginger, etc. to add some flavor to the spinach. I also used whole wheat penne because I didn't have the bow-tie pasta that the recipe called for. We will try it this week and I will add it to the list on the right side bar which lists all these new recipes in order from best to worst.

And, last but not least, after cutting my right index finger pretty badly (on the edge of a stainless steel pan, not with a knife), and taking a 1 hr break after cooking pretty much all afternoon, I started the pork carnitas. This one took the longest, but required the smallest amount of physical labor. The most labor intensive part was actually cutting up the pork into cubes for the pan and then shredding it afterward - it didn't require much attention at all while cooking.

Here is Amanda helping me get started. What kid wouldn't want to eat something soaked in SPRITE! Yep, 1 can of sprite and 2 cups of water, that's all it takes. Simmer for 2 hours and then up the temp and cook until all the water is absorbed. Shred and top with salsa and cheese inside a warm tortilla! I didn't think salt was enough seasoning, so I added a dash of ginger, and parsley, and some freeze dried cilantro for some added Mexican style flavor. 

I turned out ok, but the meat was dry. I think because the pork was still slightly frozen when I started that I probably should have cooked it an extra 30 mins at the lower temp, but I'll know to fully defrost the meat next time. Pork chops/loin have been on sale for $1.99/lb at several local stores for several weeks now. We bought a bunch when we did the borscht for the party a couple of weeks ago, but I couldn't pass up this good price at the market last week, so we have more pork than chicken at the moment!

Back to Work ... and Blogging

I must say that my first two weeks back to work kicked me in the BUTT! Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE my job and the pro-life mission for which I do this work, but I had forgotten how LONG 45 minutes to work each direction feels! My first week back, I don't think I cooked a single night ... not even heating up a meal I had previously prepared and frozen.

On Monday, Brian suggested we order pizza and wings to celebrate my first day back - I'm sure not going to complain about that. Tuesday night we had left over soup from Sunday's noon meal. Wednesday night we ate at the church weekly potlock. Thursday night I honestly don't remember what we had, but I remember not cooking. Friday night I went to a friend's house and Brian was in charge of food at the house (and we have a don't ask don't tell policy on those nights)!

One night after being tucked in bed, I caught this scene when I 

went up to put some laundry away in the boys' room

The second week was better, but not by a whole lot! Sunday night I cooked a meal that produced lots of left overs, so we had those for Monday night and Brian had them for lunch the rest of the week. Tuesday night we had another meal that I had previously cooked and frozen and that produced some left overs ... which we took to the weekly church potluck on Wednesday night. Thursday night I worked late, so Brian was again in charge for dinner .... Sam says they had chicken nuggets and Gus was caged because he snuck one from Amanda's plate. I had defrosted some store bought raviolis, but I figured he wouldn't make them! :) Friday Dennis went to the dr (see Brian's post Who's the Whimp) and I had to come home early and work from home. By dinner time I didn't feel like making raviolis either, so we had some Costco take and bake pizza instead.

So, here we are on Saturday ... I have out on the counter defrosting boneless pork chops, 1 package ground beef, and 2 packages of chicken breasts. I am planning to make 2 meals tonight and 2 tomorrow night, eating 1 meal each night and freezing the other one for later this week.

Earlier this week we mailed out 4 packages to "friends" in Ukraine. T his is a sample of the jewelry we sent to our girls (left over Valentine's stuff that was on clearance for less than $1.50 ea at Walmart)!

The Macy Bus

I will defer to my husband's blog about buying a new van http://macyadoption.blogspot.com/2011/02/great-time-of-year.html. I wasn't there when he bought it ... I didn't even get to see it first or test drive it or even ride in it! But, I did agree that we needed a new vehicle. And the best part ... now the little blue RX8 sports car is mine! I certainly am not going to drive the Macy bus which gets about 11 MPG to and from work daily (45 min commute each way on a good day).

So, after the big event, we asked our friend, Jamie, if she wanted to go for a ride in the new van. She agreed and we went to get some Mexican food, followed by D's favorite food - ICE CREAM! This was friend ice cream, and as you can see they all enjoyed it!

 

Dennis very excited to be in the van!

 Ashley very excited to be in the van!

 

Me, not quite as excited to be in the van!  Brian, about as excited as the kids to be driving the van!