Hello, Our Favorite Recipes

This long weekend we cooked and ate like kings. I had no idea we were eating so bare bones until we had the time and money to make a real menu that consisted of our classic favorites peppered with a few new ones.

Allow me to paint you a picture. Saturday night, an evening of shredded buffalo chicken sandwiches complete with bleu cheese for dipping. Sunday, a new pasta dish with blanched spinach and canellini beans. And finally, on Monday night the husband took the time to make his best dish, chicken marsala.

Where we really like to go all out, when we have the time, is at breakfast. We have our two favorites that take entirely too long to cook and leave our kitchen in shambles. But god, is it worth it. Crepes on Sunday morning, Belgian waffles on Tuesday. All smothered in whipped cream that’s been fluffed courtesy of the Kitchen Aid.

As we sat at our dining room table, eating chicken marsala leftovers with a spinach strawberry salad for lunch (see? I told you we lived it up), I couldn’t help but wonder what in the hell have we been doing?

Week by week we dread Thursday as we develop a menu filled with cheap, quick meals. Bean burritos, spaghetti and grilled cheese are frequent guests. With a hurried time crunch and a lack of funds, it’s no wonder we’ve been avoiding the lackadaisical meals we have planned. Our menu has been adapted to just plain suck since I’ve been back to work.

So, thank you 4-day-long Labor Day weekend, for renewing our sense of food. Because if we couldn’t get away to the lake, eating ourselves silly on gourmet food made by ourselves is a pretty good replacement.

Here are a few of our favorite recipes:

• Emeril's Chicken Marsala - super crazy amount of time and effort but sooo worth it in the end. Best served with mashed potatoes.


• Emeril's Belgian Waffles - the best recipe we've found yet. Again quite a bit of effort, but blows bisquick out of the water.


• Crepes - Family Recipe. Jam is my favorite topping. Jake's is strawberries with whipped cream.


• Better Homes and Garden's Whipped Cream - be sure to heed the advice of chilling your bowl.


• Garlicky Pasta with Swiss Chard and Beans - a newbie that was quick and tasty. We approved and look forward to trying it again.

Tater Tot Casserole {Recipe}

Tater Tot Casserole

Makes enough for small army. {Since the ingredients arepractically impossible to halve, I like to reserve half (before baking) into a Tupperwarethat gets popped into the freezer for later. Don’t worry, even with half thereis still plenty for leftovers.}

Ingredients

1 lb ground hamburger {we prefer ground turkey but it doeshave less flavor}

1 onion, chopped {leave these pretty large}

1 (16 oz.) package frozen tater tots

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup cheddar cheese {or more}

Make It 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Brown hamburger with onion, drain excess fatty fat

Combine hamburger and onion with remaining ingredients {usethe biggest bowl you’ve got}

Pour into large casserole dish

Bake 20 minutes or until tater tots are golden

Enjoy!

Notes:

While delicious, this casserole requires mass amounts ofketchup and hot sauce (Tabasco, Tapatio) of choice.

I’ve made it with the cheese mixed in and cheese just ontop. Trust me, mix the cheese in and then add some to the top if you please. Itadds tons of flavor and a more creamy consistency when mixed in.

I'm linking up to these sweet Linky Parties.

Tater Tot Casserole {Recipe}

Tater Tot Casserole

Makes enough for small army. {Since the ingredients are practically impossible to halve, I like to reserve half (before baking) into a Tupperware that gets popped into the freezer for later. Don’t worry, even with half there is still plenty for leftovers.}

Ingredients

1 lb ground hamburger {we prefer ground turkey but it does have less flavor}

1 onion, chopped {leave these pretty large}

1 (16 oz.) package frozen tater tots

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup cheddar cheese {or more}

Make It 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Brown hamburger with onion, drain excess fatty fat

Combine hamburger and onion with remaining ingredients {use the biggest bowl you’ve got}

Pour into large casserole dish

Bake 20 minutes or until tater tots are golden

Enjoy!

Notes:

While delicious, this casserole requires mass amounts of ketchup and hot sauce (Tabasco, Tapatio) of choice.

I’ve made it with the cheese mixed in and cheese just on top. Trust me, mix the cheese in and then add some to the top if you please. It adds tons of flavor and a more creamy consistency when mixed in.

I'm linking up to these sweet Linky Parties.

Caeser Chicken Pitas

Caesar Chicken Pitas
This was an easy, quick and delicious dinner. We had just one problem that revolved around these.

Allow me to explain

While entertaining, it was annoying. These were the only pitas available at WalMart, so next time we're going to venture to a "real" grocery store and see what they have to offer. Now, for the recipe....

• 1 grilled chicken breast -Sir Sunderland claimed we should have 2

• Shredded romaine lettuce

• Caesar Salad Dressing

• Whatever sandwich fixins you have (we used pickles, pepperoncinis and mustard)

• Pitas (not Sara Lee kind from Walmart)

Grill chicken, cut into cubes

Toss in with salad and salad dressing -I like to use a big tupperware and shake it all to get it all coated

Stuff pitas full of Caesar goodness and enjoy!

We didn't have a side dish and were left feeling less than satisfied with just the pita. The only side dishes we could come up with for the future is watermelon, maybe some corn on the cob. Any suggestions? 

Caeser Chicken Pitas

Caesar Chicken Pitas
This was an easy, quick and delicious dinner. We had just one problem that revolved around these.

Strap on the Feed Bag*

*When I asked Sir Sunderland for his input for a title for our weekly menu, this is what he had to offer.

Strap on the Feed Bag*

*When I asked Sir Sunderland for his input for a title for our weekly menu, this is what he had to offer.

Weekly Dinner Menu

You might notice that we have a couple of repeats on our menu this week. This is because last week zoomed right by. I can't even tell you when, where or what happened, but I can tell you that we were super busy every night of the week. You will be pleased to know that Taco Bell was NOT on our menu this last week, no matter how busy we were. Alas, this week we are trying to keep things low key and, hopefully, a little less stressful.

Weekly Dinner Menu

You might notice that we have a couple of repeats on our menu this week. This is because last week zoomed right by. I can't even tell you when, where or what happened, but I can tell you that we were super busy every night of the week. You will be pleased to know that Taco Bell was NOT on our menu this last week, no matter how busy we were. Alas, this week we are trying to keep things low key and, hopefully, a little less stressful.

Dinner Menu

After last week's quite disturbing realistic look into our eating habits, I was not only scorned by my mother but also asked if our butthole's hurt due to the sheer amounts of Mexican takeout we consume. I am proud to announce that that was in fact a bad, not typical, week for us. Excuses aside, we have hopped back on the wagon and ready to eat like normal human beings again! Now we just need to clean that dinner table off......

Dinner Menu

After last week's quite disturbing realistic look into our eating habits, I was not only scorned by my mother but also asked if our butthole's hurt due to the sheer amounts of Mexican takeout we consume. I am proud to announce that that was in fact a bad, not typical, week for us. Excuses aside, we have hopped back on the wagon and ready to eat like normal human beings again! Now we just need to clean that dinner table off......

Realistic Dinner Menu Recap

Realistic Dinner Menu Recap

Dinner Menu

 

Last Week's New Menu Item

Cornish Game Hens

I fondly remember having cornish game hens as a child and loved how we got our own special little bird. As a grown up, the excitement has worn off when having to look at a bird in full form. I called my mom and asked what I needed to do and she said just follow the package directions. They were as follows:
-Cover bird in butter. Bake in oven and baste in butter.-
I opted for olive oil instead and piled on some garlic salt, onion powder, and rosemary.  Even that was too greasy. I used a roasting pan and put fingerling potatoes and carrots along the bottom with and tossed in some asparagus for good measure.

Note- asparagus doesn't roast well and you need to add water or some liquid to the veggies on the bottom of the pan, otherwise they have nothing to cook in.
     It was pretty carnivorous as we ripped apart the little bird's legs and wings apart and chowed down on its overly greasy meat. Needless to say, this will not be gracing our menu ever again, but at least brought back some fond childhood memories!

Dinner Menu

 

Last Week's New Menu Item

Cornish Game Hens

I fondly remember having cornish game hens as a child and loved how we got our own special little bird. As a grown up, the excitement has worn off when having to look at a bird in full form. I called my mom and asked what I needed to do and she said just follow the package directions. They were as follows:
-Cover bird in butter. Bake in oven and baste in butter.-
I opted for olive oil instead and piled on some garlic salt, onion powder, and rosemary.  Even that was too greasy. I used a roasting pan and put fingerling potatoes and carrots along the bottom with and tossed in some asparagus for good measure.

Note- asparagus doesn't roast well and you need to add water or some liquid to the veggies on the bottom of the pan, otherwise they have nothing to cook in.
     It was pretty carnivorous as we ripped apart the little bird's legs and wings apart and chowed down on its overly greasy meat. Needless to say, this will not be gracing our menu ever again, but at least brought back some fond childhood memories!

Shredded BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

You know those tubs of bbq shredded pork or chicken you can get in the fridge section at the store? Lloyd's something or other? Well, we've created our very own version right here at home and like to think it's just as good, if not better and super easy! We first grill the chicken (on our panini press/grill thing) then shred it and toss it into a pot on the stove where we pour bbq sauce over it. Heat until warm while your buns are toasting and voila! You've got yourself a shredded chicken bbq sandwich.

Shredded BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Introducing Our Dinner Menu

On Sundays I will share our weekly dinner menu with updates throughout the week on recipes, successes and failures.  Like most families we have a rotating list of the same meals we turn to on a weekly basis. To break this monotony we will be trying at least one new recipe a week (look for the New!). I hope our menu staples will inspire you and look forward to hearing recipes from you!

Chez Sunderland

New!
Chicken Cordon Bleu 
Mashed Potatoes (homemade in mixer!) anyone have a recipe?Steamed Carrots

Spaghetti
Angel hair pasta topped with Prego
Salad with delicious red wine vinaigrette dressing (recipe to follow)

French Dips
Toasted roast beef sandwich dipped in McCormick’s packet of au jus
Pasta Roni straight from the box
Artichokes

Salmon
Brown rice
Grilled Asparagus


BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
Shredded grilled chicken smothered in bbq sauce in between two French rolls
Artichokes

Chicken Tacos
Grilled chicken with lime and chili seasonings topped with fresh avocado, sour cream and all the fixins
Refried Beans straight from Ms. Rosarita herself
Spanish Rice

Introducing Our Dinner Menu

On Sundays I will share our weekly dinner menu with updates throughout the week on recipes, successes and failures.  Like most families we have a rotating list of the same meals we turn to on a weekly basis. To break this monotony we will be trying at least one new recipe a week (look for the New!). I hope our menu staples will inspire you and look forward to hearing recipes from you!

Chez Sunderland

New!
Chicken Cordon Bleu 
Mashed Potatoes (homemade in mixer!) anyone have a recipe?Steamed Carrots

Spaghetti
Angel hair pasta topped with Prego
Salad with delicious red wine vinaigrette dressing (recipe to follow)

French Dips
Toasted roast beef sandwich dipped in McCormick’s packet of au jus
Pasta Roni straight from the box
Artichokes

Salmon
Brown rice
Grilled Asparagus


BBQ Chicken Sandwiches
Shredded grilled chicken smothered in bbq sauce in between two French rolls
Artichokes

Chicken Tacos
Grilled chicken with lime and chili seasonings topped with fresh avocado, sour cream and all the fixins
Refried Beans straight from Ms. Rosarita herself
Spanish Rice