Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

Do you ever have one of those nights where it's 5:00 and you think, "urgh.  I've got nothing planned for dinner."  If you say you don't, then I don't believe you.  And I don't want to be your friend, you overachiever.

Last night I was dreading dinner.  I opened the fridge and I realized I had two chicken breasts and that's about it.  And then I saw something else that was in my fridge.  A bottle of store-bought premade salad dressing.  (I had bought this salad dressing when we had company over in case they didn't like my homemade.  Turns out, they loved my homemade dressing.  So this sinful (more than 5 ingredients) bottle of salad dressing had been sitting in my fridge ever since then.  Staring at me.  Taunting me with its convenience).

I didn't even think twice about grabbing a ziploc, throwing in the chicken breasts and dumping that dressing all over it.  I let it marinate for about an hour and then Mr. McGhee threw it on the grill.

I had some tortillas that I warmed up on the oven.  I smeared the tortillas with hummus , and filled with strips of the chicken, feta cheese, cucumber sticks, tomato slices, and olives.

We rolled up the tortillas and scarfed these down.  My minis loved them.  Mr. McGhee and two.  And I was happy because they were happy.  I'm that type of girl.

We ate our tortilla roll ups with fruit salad.

The best part about this meal is there was absolutely no clean up.  Well, no clean up for me, at least.  I told Mr. McGhee he could clean up while I went upstairs and put my tiny mini in the tub while I read my book gave my tiny mini a bath.

Grilled Veggies, Take Two

Have you tried my grilled veggies yet?  If you haven't, I am going to be honest...I'm sort of angry with you.  Because, once you do try them, you're going to have an "Oh my gawd, Heids McGhee, you have rocked my world" moment.  And then, you will email to tell me about your OMGHEYHRMW moment.  So, by you not making my veggies, I suffer because my inbox could always use more "you are the best thing that has ever happened to me" emails.


So, try my veggies.  And make a triple batch.  Because you are going to eat twice the amount you ever thought you would and you will need the leftovers for lunch the next day.


Heids McGhee's Grilled Veggie Sandwich

• grilled veggies (cold, left-over)
• naan (or pita)
• hummus (I used my own, but I think a roasted red pepper would be fabulous)
• feta cheese

1.  Smear the hummus on your naan or pita.

2.  Layer as many grilled veggies as you can on the pita.

3  Sprinkle with feta cheese.

I cheated and bought naan at Whole Foods.  It was 105 degrees where I live the day I made these.  I wasn't turning my oven on for anything!  My friend Astrid shares a recipe for naan, if you prefer homemade (which, of course, incredibly awesome people do.  I chose not to be incredibly awesome on that particular day).

Layer those veggies on as high as you can.  If you're feeling a little crazy, drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar.

Fold in half and eat.  Make one for the minis too.  Because if you don't, they're going to do that annoying hover that they do when they want a bite of what you're eating.  And you won't want to share this.

And, please email me and let me know when I give you a moment.  And, if you love me, please pin me on pinterest.  (I've always wanted to say that).

Easter Sell Out

Lately, I've been really aware of how quickly time is passing and how fast my minis are growing up.  Every day I am having moments of "when did she get so old" and "is he really big enough to be doing that" and "wow, he doesn't need me to do that for him anymore."  And it's sending me into this panic of trying to make memories.  And, why am I telling you this?

Because I am a sell out.  And I am blaming it on my current sentiment.  I already told you about the jelly beans.  And several of you were gracious enough to send me links to all natural jelly beans, even after I asked you not too.  So, thanks!  Unfortunately, you can't order something on Good Friday and have it delivered by Easter, so my minis are stuck with these toxic mixtures of food color and high fructose corn syrup.  I thought I couldn't stoop any lower, and then my tiny mini flipped her Katniss Everdeen braid and batted her blue eyes and said, "mama, pwease make me rainbow jello on Easter."  And I realized, it's only a matter of years before she's asking for a skimpy rainbow bedazzled bikini for Easter, so I said yes.

And my "go big or go go home" attitude kicked in found this recipe on pinterest.  I went to the store and came home with these.  I didn't read the ingredients, but I am pretty certain it reads INGREDIENTS: food coloring and unmentionable animal parts.

And this is the reaction that I got.

She was thrilled.  I was thrilled.  We literally spent hours together in the kitchen and I taught my 3 year old mini all about ROY G BIV.  Success despite all the toxicity.

Rainbow Jello

• small packages of Jell-O, any colors
• plain yogurt (I was REALLY bad and bought vanilla-flavored yogurt to make it really sweet and creamy)

1.  Mix one package of Jell-O with 1 cup boiling water, stirring to dissolve completely. 

2.  Pour 2/3 cup of the jello into an 8″x8″ pan that has been rubbed lightly with vegetable oil. 

3.  Refrigerate until set. 

4.  While it is chilling, stir enough 1/3 cup of yogurt into the remaining Jell-O.

5.  Once jello layer has set,  pour jello-yogurt layer over the chilled first layer.

6.  Continue in the same manner to make clear and opaque layers and chilling each before adding the next. Once finished, cover and chill for a few hours, then cut into squares with a sharp knife.

First layer is purple jello.

Here you can see purple jello layer, purple jello/yogurt layer, blue jello layer, blue jello/yogurt layer, green jello layer, and green jello/yogurt layer.

Here you can see me pouring the orange jello layer onto the purple/blue/green layers.  MAKE SURE YOU CHILL AND SET BETWEEN EACH LAYER!!!!  And yes, I realize, I made a ROY G BIV error and put orange orange on before yellow.  And yes, I considered throwing this out and starting all over again.  But, I didn't, so I will be forced to eat RYO G BIV jello tomorrow.  I consider that punishment enough.

Here's the orange jello/yogurt layer.

Finished product.  So. Much.Fun.

So, I apologize for selling out.  It was worth it because my mini told me I was the best mama ever and she had an I-can't-stop-hugging-you moment.  But, if you are disappointed, I will try to make it up to you with a couple more recipes.

Tomorrow is Easter.  To me, Easter means two things....Jesus and deviled eggs.

Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs

• 12 Hard boiled eggs
• 4 slices Bacon (cooked & crumbled)
• 2 tablespoons Cheese, finely shredded
• 1 Green Onion (finely chopped)
• 1 cup Mayonnaise (make your own, it's so easy!)
• 1 tablespoon Mustard
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Cook bacon {we like to cook bacon in the oven}
2. Slice hard boiled eggs length-wise and scoop out yolks, place yolks in a mixing bowl.
3. Mash yolks and mix in the bacon,green onion,mayonnaise, mustard and black pepper.
4. Spoon or pipe the mixture into the egg whites.
5. Refrigerate until serving.

I forgot to take pictures of the finished products, but they were delish!!!!  

I am also bringing this dip tomorrow to Easter brunch.  You can eat this dip with pita chips or veggies.  I prefer veggies, especially cucumber slices.

7-Layer Greek Dip

• 1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened (I used low-fat)
• 1 tsp. dill weed or Greek seasoning (salt free–go for a mix that just has herbs)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 c. hummus
• 1 c. seeded, diced cucumbers
• 1 c. seeded, diced tomatoes
• 1/2 c. chopped Kalamata olives
• 1/3 c. chopped green onions (about 3 green onions completely chopped)
• 1/2 c. crumbled Feta cheese
• 1/8-1/4 c. minced fresh parsley

1.  With an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, seasoning, garlic, and lemon juice until light and fluffy. 

2.  Spread in the bottom of a pie plate or a small, shallow baking dish. 

3.  Then spread a layer of hummus. 

4.  In order, create layers by sprinkling the cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, onions, Feta cheese, and parsley. 

5.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. Serve with pita chips, fresh vegetables, and/or flatbread.  

I hope you can all find it in your hearts to forgive me for selling out.  I would like to point out that tomorrow is Easter, and Easter is the season of forgiveness.  So, have a blessed day and come back and visit me soon!

Busy dinner night

Who here has a busy family?  Much to my dismay, the mini McGhees are way too busy.  See, I would prefer to pick the minis up from school, come home to a homemade snack, ride bikes, play board games, do an art project, eat dinner, take baths/showers, read, pray, bedtime.  You know, end our nights with one of those "Good Night Jon-boy" moments from the show, The Waltons.  Our real life is more like this, pick kids up from school, shove snack down their throats in the car, yoga lesson, therapy session, golf lesson, swim practice, soccer practice, baseball tryouts, homework, dinner, sniff-test (oh, you're fine, no showers tonight!), read, pray, collapse in bed in a state of exhaustion with shouts of "we said good night, that means we don't need to see you until it's time to say good morning." 

And I don't see life slowing down anytime soon, as I have minis chasing dreams of becoming the next great swimmer/baseball player/soccer player/yogi/golfer.  And if those dreams don't work out, my minis want to work at a smoothie shop when they grow up.  And live in an RV on the beach.  I'm all like, "dude, if you can find out a way to make that work, go for it."  My dreams are to find a way to help provide for my family without ever having to leave the comfort of my own home.  So, to me, an RV on the beach sounds like a lofty goal.

Today is Wednesday which means we will be eating an early dinner before swim practice and then coming home and having a snack afterwards.  Dinner will be tortillas with hummus and black bean stuffed bell peppers.  I got the hummus recipe from Mr. HPT.   

I won't have the time to make homemade tortillas, so we will eating these raw tortillas.

Hummus

• 2 cans garbanzo beans
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 6 dashes cayenne pepper
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 dashes cumin
• 3 tbsp olive oil

1.  Drain most of juice from garbanzo beans.
2.  Place beans in Pyrex dish or equivalent and spread out evenly.
3.  Place in oven at 375 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.
4.  Remove from oven and place in blender or food processor with other ingredients.
5.  Blend until smooth.

I added a bit of tahini and a pinch of kosher salt.  I don't have a fancy food processor, so I needed to thin mine out a big with the juice from the garanzo beans.
Spicy Black Bean Stuffed Peppers
First step is to roast your peppers.  You can do this ahead of time.  You can also make extras.  I love to mix roasted red peppers in with my scrambled eggs or on top of salads. 
1.  Coat bell peppers generously with olive oil. Put them on a baking sheet and broil them under flame until they begin to turn black. Turn peppers until each side has been blackened. Remove from baking sheet and place in a bowl. Cover bowl with saran wrap. 

2.  Let the peppers sit for a while, at least 30 minutes. Take peppers out of jar and pull stem off. Dig inside of pepper and remove the seeds.

3.  Carefully peel the outer skin off of the pepper.

4.  After peppers are all peeled, set aside. Resist all temptation to eat them. They're worth the wait.

Next step is to make the black bean stuffing.

1/2 medium sized onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 TBSP olive oil

15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup water

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp salt

pinch cayenne pepper for a little heat

1/2 cup sweet corn

1/2 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese, or any cheese you like

fresh cilantro, salsa, and sour cream for serving 

1. Heat olive oil in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Add your onion and saute for 3 minutes, until beginning to soften and turn translucent.
2. Add garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
3. Stir in your black beans along with the water.
4. Add your cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt, and cayenne. Stir, cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and simmer the beans for at least 15 minutes, but up to 30 minutes.
5. Stir in corn. Divide the bean mixture evenly among the two peppers and sprinkle with cheese.
6. Broil for 3 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Garnish with fresh cilantro, salsa, and sour cream if you’d like. 

Just a tip, make a double or triple batch of the beans and once they are cooled, stick them in a freezer bag.  These freeze very well and are a blessing on those, "oh *&#@, what's for dinner?" nights. 

After swim practice, we will most likely come home and have pomegranate smoothies (the minis are obsessed with those right now) and popcorn.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
• 1/2 banana (I freeze brown bananas and they are perfect for smoothies)
• 5 strawberries
• 1/2 cup yogurt (please use plain, I used my homemade yogurt)
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a blender, and blend until desired consistency is reached.

Super Bowl!

WOOT WOOT!  Tomorrow is the Super Bowl, and you know what that means.....MADONNA!!!!  I personally feel like this is Madge's last chance to prove she can do Madonna better than Gaga can do Madonna.  Tomorrow, like everyone else in America, I will be cooking up some snacks for the day.  Here's my line-up (haha, get it line-up).....

I found blue tortilla chips at Trader Joes that only have 5 ingredients, and even though I consider them 100% junk food, I am serving them tomorrow with guacamole and salsa.  I loosely follow this recipe when making guacamole, but I am a big fan of tasting as I go and adding what I think is needed.

• 3 avocados - peeled, pitted, and mashed
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

If you don't want to make homemade salsa, look around in the deli section of your grocery store.  I found a salsa at Costco that is 100% fresh ingredients and nothing else added.  So, I cheated and bought some.  However, I LOVE making my own salsa.  It's simple....tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, lime juice, salt.  Mix, blend, taste and tweak.

I am serving veggies (cucumber, carrots, celery, and yellow grape tomatoes) with hummus. 

1 (19 ounce) can garbanzo beans, half the liquid reserved

1 clove garlic

4 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons tahini

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

1. In a blender, chop the garlic. Pour garbanzo beans into blender, reserving about a tablespoon for garnish. Place lemon juice, tahini, chopped garlic and salt in blender. Blend until creamy and well mixed.
2. Transfer the mixture to a medium serving bowl. Sprinkle with pepper and pour olive oil over the top. Garnish with reserved garbanzo beans.

My favorite appetizer is stuffed mini sweet peppers.  I will make stuffing tonight, I find that they are better that way.

• 15-20 mini sweet peppers
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 1/4 cup goat cheese (you can substitute mozzerella, but I don't know why you would want to)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 2 tbsp diced sundried tomatoes
• salt and pepper

1.  Cut the tops off the peppers and clean out the seeds.
2.  In a bowl, mix cream cheese and goat cheese.
3.  Add garlic, basil, sundried tomatoes, salt and pepper.
4.  Using a small spoon, fill the mini pepper with the mixture.
5.  OPTIONAL:  bake/broil for 5-10 minutes until pepper is soft

And, Mr. McGhee's absolute favorite bacon wrapped jalapenos.

20 whole Fresh Jalapenos, 2-3 Inches In Size

2 cubes Cream Cheese, softened

1 pound Thin(regular) Bacon, Sliced Into Thirds

1.  Put on latex gloves.
2.  Split jalapenos in half-lengthwise. 
3.  Remove seeds and little white membrane. 
4.  Smear cream cheese into pepper.
5.  Wrap with a piece of bacon.
6.  Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

No pictures right now, I will update tomorrow!  Enjoy the halftime show game.

Random assortments

Mr. McGhee is cheating.  Now, before you get all huffy and start tsking my man....Mr. McGhee is not cheating on me.  But, he did give the kids lollipops.  They came home from school on Friday, giggling and full of laughter.  I assumed it was because of me and a home full of the scent of fresh whole wheat banana muffins.  Then tiny mini McGhee proudly announced, "daddy gave us lollipops" and stuck out her green tongue to prove it. At this point, I just gave Mr. McGhee my blank stare.  In our marriage, that means pick your poison, buddy.....a butt-chewing or the silent treatment.  Mr. McGhee claimed it was a lapse of judgement.  I pointed out that it was sugar and food-coloring on a stick.  That's a pretty big lapse.  Then, he grinned and said he did it to give me material for the blog.  Being a new blogger and all, I realized, he did have a point.  So, I dropped my blank stare and dropped the subject.  See, I really am a treehugger and don't like to fight.

Yesterday, one of my readers emailed me and said her husband told her that the banana muffins tasted like sticks.  That was a little harsh and I hope she gave him a blank stare.  You know, the "pick your poison" blank stare. 

That being said, I do want to accomodate my readers....so, I hit the kitchen this morning to come up with a new recipe.  And, I promise, this one is fabulous tasting, but slightly less healthy than these muffins.  One of my best friends from high school was visiting today and she told me these pumpkin muffins were really good.  And I believe her.  She would never lie to me.

Pumpkin Muffins (based on this recipe with some changes)

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2.5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 1.5-2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (melted slightly)
• 1 cup honey

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2.  In a bowl mix flours, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
3.  In a separate bowl, mix eggs, pumpkin, oil, applesauce, coconut oil, and honey.
4.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients into well.  Mix just until the dry ingredients are absorbed.  DO NOT OVERMIX. 
5.  Bake until a toothpick comes out clean.

I've gotten a few emails about hummus, so I thought I would share how I make hummus.  It's super easy, and you can follow a recipe like this or you can do what I do and just dump stuff into the food processor. 

• 1 can of garbanzo beans (slightly less than 2 cups)
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cloves garlic

1.  Drain garbanzo beans, keep liquid separate.
2.  In a food processor, put beans, tahini, lemon juice, salt, and garlic.
3.  Blend using liquid from beans to thin hummus, if needed.

I would recommend not putting all the tahini and lemon juice in right away.  I would add half of them and blend.  Then taste and add more, based on your personal preference.

And, because I know someone is going to want to know what tahini is, here's a picture. 

Ever have one of those nights where everyone is tired and lazy and you don't feel like making dinner?  That was the general mood at the McGhee house tonight.  I would have loved to have ordered a pizza and I'm pretty sure my kids would have sold their souls for some cheetos and a chicken nugget.  But, since we have given up processed foods, we opted for a dinner of a random assortment that made no sense at all......kale chips, zucchini and squash, and chicken breasts.  OK, after I read that it doesn't seem so random, but for some reason it sure felt it.  Kale chips, you already know the recipe and I've gotten great feedback on them.  I am happy to be part of the green leafy revolution that is going on amongst the minis of America.   

Zucchini and squash

• oil (I used grapeseed oil)
• 3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• sliced squash and zucchini

1.  Heat oil on stove.
2.  Add garlic and squash and zucchini slices.
3.  Cook until brown on both sides.

Remember when I said I wasn't promising you perfect pictures.  Um, yeah, I think it was this picture I was referring to.

I had leftover dressing from last night that I drizzled over the slices and then threw it on some spinach leaves. 

For the chicken I used this recipe from Our Best Bites.  I got this recipe from my friend Jami that lives in Seattle, which makes her way cooler than those of us stuck in "the middle".  I like to channel my inner Jami when I am shoe shopping and when I cook spicy honey chicken. 

Chicken Rub

• 2 tsp granulated garlic (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder

Glaze

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar

1.  Mix all spices together.
2.  Drizzle oil on chicken and rub the chicken rub onto the chicken (how's that for obvious?)
3.  Grill/pan fry chicken until no longer pink in the middle.
4.  Warm honey and add vinegar.
5.  Pour honey/vinegar mixture on chicken. 

Just at tip....you can make a huge batch of that chicken rub and store it.  It makes life much easier on those "I would so much rather order a pizza tonight" nights.

And that is it for today.  I've got to get moving and get some menu planning done for the week.  Enough of these random, shameful dinner nights!