Thai Meatballs and Sweet Rice

An awesome "fast food - home cooked" meal.

I thought I was busy when I had 4 little kids. Now that I have 2 teenagers, a very mature pre-teen and a 7 year old - we are FREAKIN' BUSY!

Our oldest is involved year round in HS sports with swim team and track, the next 2 in line are in soccer year round and finally Ms. P is involved w soccer and dance. So - I have no control over my life whatsoever. I am SOOOOO looking forward to our oldest getting his license - but he isn't so motivated...

This is relevant bc I am always looking for short cuts and quick meals.

We make it a priority to have a sit down dinner every night as a family. More often than not - it happens and I'm so grateful for that. We have some of our most memorable talks, inside jokes and bonding around our dinner table.

There are definitely nights that we can't all sit down - but I work hard to provide a home made meal for everyone to enjoy when they are home and ready for dinner.

Here's my CHEAT!!!

I got these at my local Costco. My husband and I don't like Thai food - but the entire family - including my husband and I approved of these. 12 minutes in the oven and done.

I served these on top of a Family Fave Sweet Jasmine Rice smiles all around. 

Food Finds III

Another round of food finds! This'll be short and sweet.

First up - not really a 'food find' per se - parmesan cheese - the real deal. A hunk of it. I've been using fresh parm for a couple years now and you just can't beat it. Use your cheese slicer to shave a few pieces on any salad - or if you really want to pump up the flavor - use your vegetable slicer for a nice thick piece...

Nature Valley Dark Chocolate Granola Thins - perfect snack - soooooper delish...

Provincio Black Pepper & Blue Cheese Panne (Bread). I have to tell you that I DO NOT like Blue cheese. It's a bit too pungent for me - but this bread is perfect. It doesn't taste like Blue Cheese - but the cheese adds a richness and a depth of flavor that is hard to describe.

I find this every once in a while at Costco - when they have it I usually get 3 loaves - one to eat soon and 2 to freeze - it really is that good...

Share your food finds!

Food Finds III

Another round of Food Finds - short and sweet - well, actually salty.

Riceworks Gourmet Brown Rice Chips. Flavors: Sea Salt, Salsa Fresca, Tangy BBQ, Parmesan and my personal fav - Sweet Chili. Really so good and super healthy... I get them at Whole Foods and my local gourmet market...
My husband and I had these chips (camping - see! gourmet camping peeps!) with salsa and my husband couldn't stop talking about the salsa. I told him that it wasn't the salsa - it was the chips. I was right (of course!) These chips are absolutely amazing. They add depth and flavor to anything you would normally serve with tortilla chips. The girl that bought these got them at Costco (in another state) but I found them at Smith's grocery store...

What are your fave food finds? Share!!

French Fries, Fry Sauce & Food Finds

That is 5 F's baby. I have had a hankering for French Fries lately. Like obsessed. Maybe my diet has been potato deficient for too long or something. Anyway... I've tried every single kind of frozen french fry out there (well, probably not - but I've tried many, many, many over the years) I finally found the perfect fry. I tend to go for "steak" fries - but these Ore-Ida's Extra Crispy Seasoned Crinkles are the bomb. I made hamburgers and french fries the other night and we were all so full from our burgers (more on that later!) that only a few fries were eaten (by me of course). I was bugged that all these fries were going to go to waste - b/c who eats left over cold fries?? But my husband suggested we have them for breakfast - sounded good enough for me.

We didn't use them for breakfast (but would've been delish). So, it's lunch time and I have to have fries. Like willing to go across town to my fav fry place to get some. Ridiculous. I looked in the fridge and saw the tupperware with our leftover french fries. I thought - what do I have to lose? Leftover French Fries Heat about 2 T EVOO in a sautee pan. When it's nice and hot - add your leftover french fries. Sautee them in the oil for about 8-10 minutes tossing them every 2 minutes or so. You end up with nearly perfect fries. They are nice and crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle - almost as good as they were when they were originally made. Drain on paper towels - and eat!! I was so impressed! Who knew? On to the perfect fry sauce. I have posted here about fry sauce before - but I have perfected the stuff. Seriously. It involves this magic here... SIRACHA

Kicked Up Fry Sauce 2 parts Hellman's Mayonnaise 1 part Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce (Original) 1 t Siracha 1/2 t salt 1 t pepper Blend together and enjoy!! Great on burgers too!!

Food Finds II

A few more food finds - that I've been using forever... so much so that I forgot they are "food finds" just b/c I've known about them for years doesn't mean you do! First up - Kirkland Cibo Naturals Fresh Basil Pesto. I divide this up into 1.2 cup Rubbermaid containers and freeze to use whenever dinner needs a little brightning up! Next - Bella Sun Luci Sun Dried Tomatoes (Julienne Cut). I buy the 2lb size. I divide about half the bottle of julienne cut tomatoes into these neato Rubbermaid 1.2 cup size containers. The cool thing about these containers is that they have screw on lids - so you know it has a good seal. Then, I take the other half of the tomatoes and use my immersion blender to blend them up and divide them between the same 1.2 cup containers. I put one of each the julienned and blended containers in my fridge and the rest go in the freezer. They only take a couple of hours to defrost in the freezer to be used. I use them for appetizers and for most anything I use tomatoes in - marinara sauce, lasagna, stuffed chicken, etc. I like to make my own breads - but I don't always have time. That is where these babies come in. Le Petit Francais Baguettes. I buy them in the frozen foods isle in a box of 10. Each pack has 2 baguettes. You get them out of your freezer and thaw them on your counter for 15 minutes. Then cook at 400 degrees for 8 minutes - what could be easier? Oh - AND they are fat and sugar free:)

Hummus. Yummus. This is my favorite kind. I often add a bit more pine nuts to it - b/c I love a bite.

There you go!!