Monday.

I made no dinner.  I took no pictures. 

BUT two things that made my day:

My wonderful husband brought home flowers for me.

AND

Evan tt'd on the potty!

It's been a lllloooonnnngggg day and I am going to bed!

Dinner Day Eighteen.

Eggs in Purgatory

Food Network / Giada De Laurentiis

Today was one of those days were I had nothing planned and had to work with what I had.  I went through my recipes and came across this one that I have made once.  I remember it being good, but not this good!  The flavors in this dish are unbelievable.

Ingredients:

5 large eggs

2 cups mashed potatoes, chilled

(I had leftovers from my dinner a couple of nights ago.)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

(I used canola.)

Salt and Pepper

1 cup marinara sauce, warmed

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Heat oil in a large nonstick fry pan over medium heat. 

Stirl 1 egg in a large bowl to blend.  Mix in the potatoes, then the flour.  Using a generous 1/2 cup of potato mixture, form 4 (4-1/2 inch) pancakes.  Fry the pancakes until they are golden brown and heated through.  Transfer the pancakes to paper towels to drain.  To keep pancakes warm as you make your fried eggs, place them on a baking sheet and place in oven.

Most of you know how to make fried eggs, but just to complete the recipe:

Drain excess oil from pan and heat the pan over medium-low heat.  Crack the remaining 4 eggs into the pan.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook until the white is firm.  Using a spatula, turn the eggs over and cook for 30 seconds.

Divide and spoon the sauce onto 4 plates.  Place a pancake atop the sauce.  Top each pancake with a fried egg.  Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.

Enjoy!

Thomas, Clutter and MiMi.

MiMi got Evan a Thomas Easter basket and he loves it!

I cleaned out my kitchen cabinets and someone had a good time playing in the clutter.

Evan brought my phone to me this afternoon and asked me to call his MiMi.

Is that tractor glued to your hand?

We tried to get Evan to play T-Ball, but he wasn't willing to put his tractor down!

The rest of us tried!

He didn't put it down all day!

What a BUSY weekend!

We went to Lauren's 2nd birthday party Saturday and had so much fun!

Evan "riding" the scooter.

Brina being silly.

Lauren and Evan jumping.

Lauren saying, "cheese!"

"You fall?"

Just watching.

And now for the coolest Happy Birthday singing ...

Guitar playing by Travis.

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We came home and enjoyed dinner outside.  Dinner provided by Domino's!

Evan's favorite!

Playing in the dirt.  Evan's other favorite!

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I took this picture today as we left MiMi's after Grandma's birthday party (will have those pictures up tomorrow). This is her neighbor's dog and pool. 

Isn't this funny?!?

(Oh, and I have no idea what that is floating in the pool!)

Dinner Day Seventeen.

Country Style Ribs

This meal really doesn't call for a recipe.  Just a pack of country style ribs and Saltgrass Steak House Seven Spice Seasoning.  Grill to perfection and ...

Enjoy!

Dinner Day Sixteen.

Crispy Oven Fried Chicken

Woman's World Magazine

You will never believe what this low calorie crust is made of!

Ingredients:

6 cups of toasted rice cereal

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

4 lbs. chicken pieces (skin on)

1/2 cup bottled creamy Italian salad dressing

Preparation:

Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 400 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with foil and place a rack in each pan; coat with cooking spray.

In a plastic food storage bag, crush cereal until crumbs form.  Add flour, seasoning, salt and cayenne; shake.

In bowl, mix chicken pieces with dressing, turning to coat.  Add chicken to crumb mixture 1 piece at a time; toss to coat.  Place on racks.  Roast until  no longer pink near bone, 45 minutes, switching pans between upper and lower racks halfway through cooking time. 

Enjoy!

Dinner Day Fifteen.

Cheesy Shrimp Quesadillas

The Houston Chronicle

Ingredients:

1 (4oz.) can of chopped green chiles

2 cups of chopped cooked shrimp

1 cup of coarsely chopped fresh spinach, lightly sauteed in olive oil

1 cup shredded jalapeno jack cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

12 (6 inch) flour tortillas

2 tablespoons of olive oil, divided

Preparation:

Combine chiles, shrimp, spinach, cheeses, and cilantro.  Divide mixture among 6 tortillas and top with remaining tortillas.  Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat.  Cook each until golden brown on each side, adding oil as needed.

(I pulled my George Foreman Grill out and it made this dinner so easy to make!  No skillet required.)

Tony's plate ... served with Charro Beans and Spanish Rice.

My plate.  Nothing, but main entree goodness!  I couldn't even come close to finishing all four pieces!

Enjoy!

DoodleBUG!

Luke and Evan found a doodlebug and thought it was pretty neat.  Well ... maybe not neat, but interesting!

I got another "CHEESE!" picture!

Dinner Day Fourteen.

Lasagna & Garlic Bread

basics from http://www.kraftfoods.com/

I followed this recipe pretty close, but I decided to try it with whole wheat noodles and I also made whole wheat french bread.  This recipe for the Garlic Bread Spread is so good!  The first time I made it, the only bread I had was hot dog buns, so I cut them in half and man did they turn out great!

Lasagna Ingredients:

3/4 lb. extra lean ground beef

(I used a pound and it was still good.)

3 gloves of garlic, minced

1-1/2 tsp. dried oegano leaves

1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce

1 large tomato, chopped

1 container (16 oz.) low fat cottage cheese

1 egg

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

2 cups low fat mozzarella cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Brown meat with garlic and oregano in large saucepan. Stir in spaghetti sauce and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in tomatoes.

Mix egg, cottage cheese and parmesan cheese in a medium bowl.

Spread 1/2 cup of sauce mixture onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish.  Top with a layer of 3 noodles, 1 cup of cottage cheese mixture, 1/2 cup of mozzarella and 1 cup of sauce mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles and sauce mixture.  Cover with foil.

Bake 30 minutes or until heated through. Top with remaining mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Garlic Bread Spread Ingredients:

1/2 cup of butter, softened

1/3 cup of parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp. of garlic powder

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and spread on bread of your choice.  Bake until golden.

Enjoy!

And as for the whole wheat noodles .... they were ok.  Not sure I would use them again.  However, the whole wheat french bread was great and I will definitely buy it again.

I ♥ My Daddy!

Evan LOVES his magnetic drawing board The Gunnels' got him for his birthday.  He is always wanting someone to draw him a tractor!

Now, this picture is funny not only because it is of Tony sitting in Evan's chair and drawing on his toy, but the flying feet are humorous too!

He could mow the grass all day ... Evan that is!