Wednesday, August 1, 2012

When the cubs are away, the bears will....

EAT.  Okay, and play too.  And workout out.  Oh, and watch some Olympics. And play Scrabble. And Rummikub.  Oooh, yeah!  And nap too.  And, and, read books that don't rhyme.

But did I mention the eating?

If you can't tell already, Papa Bear and I are on vacation.  Glorious, glorious, cub free vacation.  Not that I don't love my cubs and all, but, WOO HOO!  No whining!  No crying!  No fighting!  And, most importantly:

NO COMPLAINING ABOUT THE FOOD I COOK.

I may have mentioned this once or three hundred and forty two times, but the cubs complaining about the dinner I cook?  DRIVES. ME. CRAZY.

Because, I love to cook.  I love to try new recipes.  I'm not crafty at all, but making food?  It's my art.  Those of you who scrapbook (I would rather stick needles in my eyes than scrapbook) - food - food is my scrapbooking.  And think I've mentioned (perhaps, just maybe) that I love to eat.

So cooking for picky kiddos (and subsequently eating said food) has become an exercise in boring.  I know, there are many of you who say, "have them try new foods! Make them eat the food they refuse for breakfast the next day! don't give up!"  Uh huh.  Sure.  That all sounds great and wonderful in your perfect little world.  But, um, I prefer not to go absolutely OUT OF MY MIND every night at dinner thankyouverymuch.

So, alas, one of my singular goals for vacation was to cook and eat "grown up food" without anyone complaining.

Sigh.  It's the little things, right?

I thought I'd share the recipes and review with my loyalest CyberBears.  Because I love you that much.

I'll have another post with more recipes.  But for now, enjoy! (Please excuse my pictures.  I took totally lazy phone pictures.  Because, while I love food, I'm clearly no food blogger.)

Sausage Pockets - I saw this recipe on "The Chew" and thought it was cool.  It's terribly easy with even easier clean-up.  I wanted something easy for our first day because we would be coming off of 2 long days of driving and I didn't want to do anything difficult (especially because I would be doing some prep-work for the week's breakfasts, lunches and dessert that day as well).  This was really yummy.  Papa Bear and I each added our own tastes, which was nice.  I LOVED how the brats turned out.  Charred a little (like I like) but super juicy.  This would be GREAT for a party.  Set up all the ingredients and let everyone select their items, wrap 'em up, grill, then throw away the pockets when done.


Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins - While I wanted to cook and enjoy yummy food, I'm also practical.  I didn't want to spend the WHOLE vacation cooking.  So the day we arrived, I made a large part of the breakfasts and lunches (and the whole dessert) for the week.  That way, I got the benefit of yummy food each day, but not the work!  I've been making these muffins for a few years.  They never fail and are DEE-LISH!  They turned out a little moist this time for some reason (thus, they don't look as yummy in the picture).  I'm assuming it's because of the altitude and moisture where we are.  Still taste great, though.  Just whip up some eggs (and the not pictured bowl of fruits-my-cubs-won't-touch) and, voila, breakfast.  (Oh, and I know that's a lot of breakfast.  I'm still doing two-a-day workouts while on vacation, so I need the fuel.)

Pesto Chicken Salad Sandwiches - Yum.  This was the other dish I made the day we arrived.  It serves ten, so I made a batch and put in the fridge.  When it's lunch, all I have to do is toast some bread and then add my sides (the blueberries counteract the potato chips, so it was a totally healthy lunch!).  I loved this.  Thinking I might start making a batch of this on the weekends at home so I have some ready-made lunches.  Papa Bear thought the red peppers overpowered the chicken salad and chose not to put them on going forward.  The recipe called for focaccia bread, which I'm sure would make it even better.  I couldn't find it at the local store, so I made do with honey whole wheat bread.

Salmon with Brown Sugar and Mustard Glaze - Okay.  This recipe just proves to me that Bobby Flay is pure awesome.  Yum.  So very delicious, and so very easy.  I just wish there had been more (I halved the recipe).  Papa Bear and I both wolfed it down!  Will definitely make this again.  Mmm, mmm, good.  Served with easy sides of spinach and couscous.

Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Pasta - This dish had a lot of steps.  And I was tired.  Thus, it's possible I might have set off the smoke alarm.  So, while I liked the dish, I would likely plan it a little differently (make the sauce earlier in the day).  Nonetheless, it was super yummy!  I grilled up a chicken breast and added it to Papa Bear's plate as he needed some additional protein fuel.  I ate it without the chicken.  The sauce had a nice kick and the goat cheese...yum.  I'm not afraid to admit that I went back for seconds.  Served with my Mama Bear's famous salad on the side.

Good thing we're working out a lot on this vacation too(even though most recipes are from Cooking Light), right?

Mmmmmmm.... stay tuned for a few more meals and....dessert.  Glorious, glorious dessert.

1 comment:

  1. Yummmmm!! That's some good cookin'!! Can't wait to hear more about your vacay!!

    ReplyDelete