ONE
Silicone baking mats
I've been using the same two from Crate & Barrel since we got married - they are awesome! Non-stick, easy to clean, reusable, everything! I feel like a jerk every time I toss the aluminum foil I line my pans with, and these eliminate the need.
They don't seem to sell ours anymore, but these look almost identical:
TWO
Italian seasoned panko breadcrumbs
An extra-crispy coating on everything, awesome topping for my bacon mac & cheese, and makes my meatballs so light and fluffy! Giant brand sells them cheapest, but I've found tons of different brands on sale.
THREE
She drives me nuts with that scary chain smoker voice, but these meatballs are YUMMO!
Oh wait, that stupid "Yummo" thing drives me nuts, too. Sorry, haters gotta hate.
I double the recipe and it makes about 3 dinners' worth for 2 adults & two toddlers. We had ours with baked penne and broccoli on Sunday. Delicious! And not spinachy at all, despite the entire bag of spinach I used.
FOUR
Oven baked chicken nuggets
Sometimes (most of the time) I REALLY want some Chick-fil-A but I can't leave the house to get any because, you know, all these children. But these totally satisfy my craving!
Adapted from this recipe:
1 lb chicken tenders (sub breast if you prefer - I buy them frozen from TJ's and the tenders defrost faster)
1 cup italian seasoned panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 stick butter, melted (1/2 cup)
Preheat oven to 400. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl (or a big ziploc bag - one less dish to wash...). Melt butter in large bowl.
Now stick all that chicken into the butter and make sure it's well-coated. Lift with slotted spoon (or your hands) into breadcrumb mixture. Coat well and transfer to baking sheet lined with nonstick mat (or sprayed/greased). Pour remaining butter over nuggets.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, broil for 5 minutes until crispy and browned.
Yeah, we all LOVE these!
FIVE
And what's a blog post without a cute picture of the kids?
Taken last summer on top of a mountain.
Go find more inspiration at Moxie Wife!
Those meatballs look really good! I'm gonna have to try them!
ReplyDeleteMmm. Those meatballs look great. Cute picture of the kids! Was that at Skyline Drive?
ReplyDeleteThose recipes look yummy and I love the picture of the kids..so sweet!
ReplyDeleteIt's probably a bad idea for me to look at them when I'm hungry though - now I want to eat all the food!!!
DeleteEEEeeee! I just had to squeal a little when I saw that you heart silicone baking mats too. My sweet hubby got me one for Christmas (one of the Silpat ones) but I used them all the time when I used to work in restaurants so my love is long-term. :)
ReplyDeleteSuper cute pictures of your kids! What a special moment!
We had a dishwasher that didn't fit our baking sheets in our last house and so if I used the mats I SO rarely had to wash the baking sheets and it was awesome! So much easier to wash a bendy, non-stick sheet than a metal pan with caked on everything!
DeleteBahaha! She does have a scary voice! But sometimes you just can't deny how good her recipes taste!
ReplyDeleteHi! I saw your link over at Hallie's. What a fun post. I always wondered how those mats would work. I'll have to try them out. I'm also going to try the meatballs and the chicken. Both sound delicious! Lastly, super cute photo of your kids! :-)
ReplyDeleteooh, those meatballs look so good! The RR voice and terms- not so much, but some of her recipes I use often. :)
ReplyDeleteThose meatballs look great- I think I'll have to add them to my rotation soon. :)
ReplyDeleteI so want to try all of these recipes! And agreed on Rachael Ray. Giada and Ina are my favorites.
ReplyDeleteAnd I looove my silicone baking mat!