Monday Night Mealtime

There will be no pictures in this post. Our camera is broken. Again. We do have a warranty, though. That's the good news. The camera isn't all that is broken around here. Our vacuum is and so are our cars. I've read on blogs where people write about stuff they need or want and then someone sends it to them. You never know. If you feel led to send us a car, we will not be picky. A Volkswagen Routan will do just fine.

Yes, my dream car is a mini-van. Call me a dork. I don't care. I am so way past caring about the cool factor.

So, on to Monday night mealtime. For the past several months, our Mondays (family days) have consisted of lunch out, then to the grocery store, and dinner at home. There are lots of different things thrown in here and there, but those three are pretty much consistent.

I'm usually up on Sunday night trying to come up with meals for the week. Since Steven and I are both not happy with the way our clothes are fitting these days, I decided to look for some healthy dinner recipes. When I was at mom's house yesterday, I was checking out the Sonoma Diet cookbook. Not going to actually do the diet-don't like diets-way too much time and effort. Excercise, and healthy eating, right? But this book has great recipes. Seriously, they all looked really good! I decided on the Chicken and Asparagus Saute for tonight. (Except I switched to broccoli, because we're big broccoli fans.)

12 oz. fresh asparagus spears (or broccoli-I used frozen because it was a lot cheaper)
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 to 3 tsp. herbes de Provence or Cajun seasoning (I had Cajun on hand)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 med. red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
1/2 c. dry white wine or chicken broth
1 tbsp. fresh parsley
1 tbs. lemon juice

1. Snap off and discard woody bases from asparagus. Bias-slice asparagus into 1-in. pieces. Set aside.
2. Sprinkle chicken with seasoning of your choice, garlic, salt, and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet cook chicken in hot oil over med-high heat for 3 minutes.
3. Turn chicken; add asparagus (or broccoli) bell pepper strips, and wine. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 8 min. or until chicken is done. Stir occasionally. At the very end I added the parsley and lemon juice.

*Also, my chicken took about 15 min. to get done throughout. When I make this again, I will either pound the chicken or wait to add the veggies, because they were a little more cooked than I would have liked.*

I made some brown rice to go with it. We were doing white for awhile, because, well, I like it. But it's back to brown for the Barbers. It's just so much better for you.

The meal was enjoyed by all. Ellie really is a great eater. She kept asking for more "tomatoes". They're bell peppers, I would tell her. But she kept forgetting. Luke is not such a great eater and he was not a bell pepper fan. Lately, Luke has been asking me, "Why do you eat like this?" And then he does an imitation of me eating. I wasn't aware that I was a particularly
funny-looking chewer, but apparently Luke seems to thinks so.

Andrew especially liked the chicken and brown rice. He ate until he was full. How do I know? Well, I would like to tell you it is because he signed "all done" to me. But he hasn't quite gotten it yet. Instead, I know he's finished because he starts dropping the food onto the ground instead of putting it in his mouth. And he usually leans over his highchair to see where it has landed. Or even better he takes the food out of his mouth and then drops it. We're also working on "more" and "please", but it's more like banging on the table and screaming. His temper is starting to show itself quite a bit these days. It's pretty bad sometimes.

And last, but certainly not least, (because he usually eats almost 50% of the meal) Steven really loved it! Ding-ding-ding-ding. We have a winner! It's the constant challenge: finding a meal that is healthy, affordable, and one that everyone likes.

It seems like there was more I wanted to tell about our dinner tonight or just our night in general. But I guess that was all. Tomorrow night I'm going to try Turkey Sausage-Garbanzo Bean Soup with Pasta. Soups are so great in the winter. And usually they can be very healthy without sacrificing flavor.

And that will be all the meals for this week because Ellie, Luke, and I will be headed to see the Moore's on Wednesday. We're hoping Ada, Luke, and Ellie will play and play and I can help Laura Beth cross off some final things on the "before John gets here to-do list". Andrew will be hanging out with Steven and mom. :( I'll miss him, but not the sleep that is still sometimes not-so-great with him. Sorry and thanks to Steven and mom!

Do you have any recipes that meet all the Barber meal criteria? Do share.

And also check out the fun Kate had with Luke, Ellie, and even Steven HERE.