Dinner #9

Tonight's dinner was good.  I think it would have been better had I not missed a step in the directions.  It didn't affect the food at all, but most likely taste.  We all enjoyed it, but we usually enjoy most types of Mexican food. 

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Fajitas


1 pork boneless loin roast (2 1/2 lb), trimmed of fat 
 

2 tablespoons fajita seasoning (from 3-oz container)

1 cup Old El Paso® Thick ‘n Chunky salsa

1 bag (1 lb) frozen stir-fry bell peppers and onions, thawed (I used fresh ones)

2 packages (11.5 oz each) Old El Paso® flour tortillas for burritos (16 tortillas), warmed

2 cups shredded Mexican-style taco cheese (8 oz)

1 cup sour cream, if desired

1. Place pork in 3- to 4-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle with fajita seasoning. Top with salsa. (ya, that's the step I left out) Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours.

·         2. Remove pork from cooker; place on cutting board. Shred pork using 2 forks; return pork to cooker and mix well. Stir in stir-fry vegetables. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook 30 minutes longer or until mixture is hot and vegetables are tender.

 

3. Using slotted spoon, place 1/2 cup meat mixture in each warm tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve with sour cream.  

Serve with tortilla chips, and guacamole.  Leftover meat can be frozen. 

I also spent a great deal of time in the morning working on a Valentine's Day treat for the kids.  It was fun trying to figure it out since I had never made stuff like this before.  It was a 3 step process.  Make cupcakes... Lily and I managed to do that Wednesday night when all the boys were at scouts.  Make butter cream filling... not so hard once I figured out a recipe for it.  I even dyed it pink for V-day.  Make the frosting... I've been using this homemade chocolate frosting recipe for a couple years and we all love it.  I spiced it up a bit for today by adding a touch of almond extract.  Yum!  I even piped it on the cupcakes instead of just spreading it like I normally do.  It was way fun, but boy was the kitchen a mess afterwards.  At least the kids and Damon enjoyed it.

Dinner #8

I'm starting to think I have bitten off more than I can chew.  Cooking every night is highly overrated and extremely exhausting.  Especially now that all the kids have activities going on in the evenings.  Tonight's dinner was thrown (literally) together in no time at all.  I'm just worried that I will probably get food poisoning from not cooking my chicken all the way.  And I'm annoyed that my house smells funny because I was cooking things in grease.  And the fire alarm kept going off and the house got all smokey.  Surprisingly enough, everybody loved dinner except me.  I don't think I even really tasted the food in my mouth.  I just pulled cupcakes out of the oven hoping to overpower the grease smell in the house.  Now it smells like chocolate. After I clean up the kitchen I want to figure out how to make filled cupcakes. I should just go to bed, but unfortunately Noah's math teacher decided to give out 3 huge assignments that are all due tomorrow as well as a test.  He is burning the midnight (so to speak for him) oil.  Poor guy.  He really just wants to go to bed.


Chicken Milano

Dressing

1	tablespoon olive oil
2	teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/8	teaspoon salt    Salad 1 cup tightly packed baby spinach or arugula leaves 1/2 cup diced tomatoes 2 tablespoons diced red onion    Chicken 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 lb) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour 1 cup Progresso® Italian style panko crispy bread crumbs or Progresso® Italian style bread crumbs 1 egg 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/4 cup crumbled tomato-basil feta cheese (we used gorganzolla because I hate Feta) 1.     In medium bowl, mix dressing ingredients. Stir in salad ingredients to coat. 2.    Between pieces of waxed paper or plastic wrap, place each chicken breast smooth side down; gently pound with flat side of meat mallet or rolling pin until about 3/4 inch thick. (I would do thinner) Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and the pepper. 3.     On separate plates, place flour and bread crumbs. In bowl, beat egg with fork. Coat chicken with flour. Dip into egg; coat well with bread crumbs. 4.     In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add chicken; cook 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170°F) and coating is golden brown. Serve chicken topped with salad and sprinkled with cheese.  When I was all done preparing it I said, "Now it is time to plate it."  The kids started laughing.  I think it's great that they know what that means.  I need to get new plants.  These sunflowers, on top of being completely out of style now, don't do anything for the food.  It almost makes it look worse.  Stay tuned... and write me a note!