Squash Disappointment

I really like to make my own chicken strips and nuggets. While buying pre-made is easier, I know what is really in my nuggets. It's really not that hard to make.  I made these chicken strips the same way I made my pork nuggets, only I placed them in the oven for a few extra minutes since 

they were a thicker cut.

I made a big batch today, because hubby was home for dinner.

Then I decided to try and make breaded squash. I coated them in egg and breaded them, but was in a rush as both hubby and Dinosaur were rushing me with pains of hunger. I didn't coat them evenly, as you can see.

Even though the squash did NOT turn out how I wanted. How did I want them to look? I wanted them completely coated and to look like round chicken nuggets so Dinosaur would eat them. That didn't work out and he refused to even have them on his plate. He DID eat every bit of chicken and asked for more.

Despite the way the squash turned out, hubby LOVED everything. He cleaned his plate and asked for more. Now, that makes a wife feel good, but I must plan ahead and take more time to coat my squash so son will eat a few of them.  Hmmmm, maybe I can cook broccoli the same way.

Did any of your meals not turn out the way you wanted, but still rocked?

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CLEANING SCHEDULE

Daily:
run washing machine if full, put away dried clothes, clean up disaster areas from Hurricane Dinosaur

Tuesday:
clean bathroom

21st
organize/catch-up day (from yesterday-vacuum inside sofa)

What's your cleaning agenda today? 

  

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Dinosaur Approved Dinners - Pizza

PIZZA PIZZA We made pizza... PIZZA! Dinosaur LOVES pizza. Making the pizza is ALMOST as fun as eating it.

We add some Ragu pizza sauce, pepperoni, and left over meatballs. Pizza is a great way to use leftovers in the house. Toppings can be chicken, broccoli, sausage, carrots, pineapple, pork, green beans, hummus, olives, or any toppings you like. That's what's great about homemade pizza, there are NO rules and you make it the way YOU want.

If I don't watch dinosaur he'll eat all the toppings and try to eat the sauce all before we finish the pizzas. He's a hungry dino.

In our electric stove it only takes twenty minutes until they are perfectly ready for a hungry dinosaur with a huge appetite. I put them right on the rack, to ensure the bottom is crisp but not burnt.

Mini pizza's are perfect for Dinosaur to hold and take a crazy dinosaur bite. It is important for dinosaurs to try to fit the whole slice in their mouth. YUMMY!

What dinners do you love to make with your kids? How much do they help?

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL DINNER

Tonight I made chicken cutlet strips with potatoes, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower.

I cut thin cut chicken cutlets into halves, then marinated them with olive oil, water, curry, allspice, onion, garlic, and parsley.  After an hour, I placed them in hefty ziploc bag with bread crumbs and crushed french onions and shook them up to coat them. I cooked them in cast iron skillet on each side, then out them in a container until later. 

While chicken was cooking, I marinated potatoes and veggies in left over seasoning. Put them in skillet, cover and place in oven at 300 for 30 minutes. Our oven is an old electric oven and cooks pretty fast

 Hubby was thrilled with the way dinner looked, I thought me might have gone to heaven.

 

He gave me a clean plate and a two thumbs up. This makes me very proud. 

 

Pork Nuggets and Carrots

Son loves food that he can hold and has a kick to it. I also wnat him to eat healthy.

As with all my recipes, I don't follow directions too well AND don't give good directions, I remember it all in my head and make it up as I go along. I see a pic and try to figure it out. I SUCK AT BAKING THOUGH, LOL

Ingredients:
One pork cutlet
olive oil
french fried french onions
bread crumbs
eggs
minced garlic, curry, all spice
fresh baby carrots

Cast Iron Skillet

Directions:
cut raw pork cutlet into strips

Marinate in eggs and seasonings

Coat in breadcrumbs and crushed french onions

Cook pork strips in skillet on stove top, only a few minutes on each side. they are thin and will cook fast, you don't want to dry thenmout.

Remove when cooked and place on paper towel to blot away excess oil.

Place fresh carrots in skillet and sprinkle with seasonings and extra oil.

Cover skillet and put in oven at 300 for twenty minutes.

Carrots will be cooked but still have some crunch to them. You donn't want them soggy.

*We have an electric stove, which cooks quite fast. Before we moved, our gas stove took a long time to cook. 

**This was a fast and easy meal to cook. This was just for son and I, hubby REFUSES to eat pork cutlets, but I do love them. 

Mommy's awesome sauce and meatballs

Hubby and son love this, as Italian men they can't NOT eat pasta, sauce and meatballs.

As with all my recipes, I don't follow directions too well. I like to make it up as I go along. I find that makes my dinners rock. 

Ingredients:
Jar sauce
1/2 cup water
frozen meatballs
oregano, chives, parsley, diced garlic and onions
two sausage links, with skin removed.
Cast Iron Skillet

Directions:
Cook sausage and break up into small pieces in cast iron skillet on stove top.

Once sausage is 3/4 cooked, shut off stove top

Add sauce, water, seasonsings, meatballs to skillett

Put top on and place in oven at 300 degrees for half hour

*we have an electric stove, which cooks quite fast. Before we moved, our gas stove took a long time to cook. 

**Yes, they are frozen meatballs and jarred sauce. No I do not cook from scratch. If you are one of those moms that can do that, then good for you. I don't try to be someone I'm not or try things that I know aren't for me. My son thinks I'm super mom and that is good enough for me.