Week 85 Menu

Monday - Tortellini Soup w/ Chicken Meatballs
Tuesday - Southwest Chicken Salads
Wednesday - Robyn's Meatloaf & baked potatoes
Thursday - Hungarian Chicken, rice & salad
Friday - pizza
Saturday - Happy Valentine's Day! (we're eating out, along with everyone else in this town!)
Sunday - Vegetable Frittata & smoothies


This week's treat: S'mores Truffles

Mistakes, Mishaps and Stupidity

I'm not quite sure what happened to me this week. It seemed like every time I stepped into the kitchen another debacle was imminent. By Friday I had given up on trying to cook and we settled for fast food.



Monday: I managed to make a REALLY salty Roasted Red Pepper soup. Everyone else loved it and licked their bowls clean, but I couldn't slurp a bit of it.

Tuesday: I tested a new recipe for some filled valentines day cookies. What a mess. The dough stuck to everything and the cookies never browned properly in the oven. Plus the filling was not good. When I went to work on dinner, I realized that I had not actually bought any steaks for our steak & polenta meal. Duh.

Wednesday: Tacos for dinner. How hard can that be? Well, I browned the ground beef and went to look for the seasoning packet. I looked and looked. I was convinced that I had several in our pantry & food storage. Not a single one to be found. So I grabbed some spices and came up with my own version and it was not bad.

Thursday: I pulled the rest of the cookie dough out of the fridge to try and fix it. It was still awful. The ones I did bake off ended up as little white rocks. Later when I went to start dinner, I realized that I neglected to buy the ham for our Chicken Cordon Bleu Crepes. I must have really not read my shopping list at all this week. What is wrong with me?

Friday: I tested a recipe for a cute little version of valentines cupcakes. They made a big mess and were not worth the work. Later, I accidentally dumped half of a box of couscous all over my freshly swept kitchen floor and then decided enough was enough... Taco Time here we come!


Here's to hoping that next week will be a better one!

Week 84 Menu

Monday - Roasted Red Pepper Soup & Rustic Pan Bread
Tuesday - Steak Kabobs & Creamy Polenta
Wednesday - Tacos
Thursday - Chicken Cordon Bleu Crepes (we never ate this last week)
Friday - eat out
Saturday - Oriental Chicken Wraps
Sunday - French Toast & fruit

French Toast & Buttermilk Syrup

Not so many months ago, if you would have asked me what my least favorite breakfast bread was, I would have told you French Toast. Ask Mr. Dinner's on Me his most favorite? French Toast. Ah the dilemma. So I set out to find a French Toast recipe that I could choke down. We tested 3 or 4 recipes (yes, there are actual recipes for French Toast) and found one that not only do I tolerate, but I LOVE.

My problem with basic French Toast, is that it is usually soggy, heavy and I have to drown it in syrup to make it taste okay. Then afterwards I feel sick because of all of the syrup I've ingested. What makes this French Toast different? Well the egg mixture that you dip the bread in is more of a batter. It includes flour and a little milk and it is almost a crepe batter. It creates an eggy crust on the outside of the bread, keeping the bread from becoming too soggy.

I have only tested this recipe with thick-cut bread (texas toast style) so I'm not sure it would have the same non-soggy results with a thin sandwich style bread. I have topped this with regular maple syrup, a delicious Buttermilk Syrup, warm cinnamon apples with nuts, and also homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam. All were wonderful, but the Buttermilk Syrup was our favorite. (scroll down for recipe for Buttermilk Syrup)





French Toast
(This batter recipe is perfect for about 8 or 9 slices of french toast)

3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

8 slices thick-cut bread


In a medium bowl, whisk eggs. Add milk, flour, vanilla and salt and whisk to fully incorporate flour.

Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray. Pour batter into a pie plate (or other shallow dish.) Briefly dip each slice of bread into the batter until coated and place onto skillet. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until bread is brown and toasty. Repeat with remaining slices of bread.




Buttermilk Syrup
(This is a copy-cat recipe we came up with after tasting a really unique syrup served at a local restaurant here in Utah. It's not exactly the same, but close enough for us!)

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of cinnamon (optional)

Combine sugar, butter, buttermilk and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes (continue to stir!) until all sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and cinnamon if desired.

Week 83 Menu

Monday - Mom's Potato Soup & Skillet Cornbread
Tuesday - Cilantro Citrus Chicken & salad
Wednesday - Spaghetti, bread sticks & salad
Thursday - Vegetable Frittata & yogurt smoothies
Friday - eat out
Saturday - homemade pizza
Sunday - Chicken Cordon Bleu Crepes & corn

Hawaiian Bread

Here is a recipe for a fast and easy bread that I just can't seem to get enough of lately. I love it because it requires no kneading, I only dirty one bowl and one pan, and a half-recipe makes just enough for our family for dinner (plus one slice for me at breakfast the next morning). I can't remember where on earth I ever got this recipe from, but I did a search and found several similar recipes out there.

(scroll down for half AND full recipe)





Hawaiian Bread
(half-recipe: makes 4-6 servings)

1/3 c. pineapple juice
1 1/8 tsp yeast
1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. milk, warmed
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c. granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 tsp salt

Place pineapple juice into a small bowl and microwave until warm (about 100 degrees). Add yeast, stir and let sit for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, warm the milk and melt the butter in the microwave. Combine, and add sugar. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, pour juice and yeast mixture. Add 1/2 cup of flour and stir to combine. Add warm milk, eggs, sugar, melted butter and salt and stir to combine. Add the remaining 1 cup of flour and stir to combine. Dough will be very soft and sticky. Beat on medium-low speed for 2 minutes.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and lightly spray with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let raise in a warm place for 1 hour.

Spray an 8-inch round cake pan with cooking spray and dust with a little flour. Pour dough into pan, cover and let raise for 45 minutes (or until doubled in size). With about 15 minutes left, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Best if eaten warm from the oven!





Hawaiian Bread
(full recipe: makes 2, 8-in pans: 8-12 servings)

3/4 c. pineapple juice
2 1/4 tsp yeast
3 c. flour
1/2 c. milk, warmed
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. granulated sugar
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 tsp salt

Place pineapple juice into a small bowl and microwave until warm (about 100 degrees). Add yeast, stir and let sit for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, warm the milk and melt the butter in the microwave. Combine, and add sugar. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, pour juice and yeast mixture. Add 1 cup of flour and stir to combine. Add warm milk, eggs, sugar, melted butter and salt and stir to combine. Add the remaining 2 cups of flour and stir to combine. Dough will be very soft and sticky. Beat on medium-low speed for 2 minutes.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and lightly spray with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let raise in a warm place for 1 hour.

Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and dust with a little flour. Pour dough into pan, cover and let raise for 45 minutes (or until doubled in size). With about 15 minutes left, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Best if eaten warm from the oven!

Week 82 Menu

Monday - Sweet & Sour Meatballs & Hawaiian Bread
Tuesday - salmon in parchment (something like this)
Wednesday - pizza
Thursday - Pesto Chicken Florentine
Friday - eat out
Saturday - French Toast (w/ buttermilk syrup) & scrambled eggs
Sunday - Hungarian Chicken over rice