Thoughts for Thursday

 

My Thoughts for Thursday center around our household's love of Taco Tuesdays.

::via::

Taco Tuesdays are a staple in our home. I try to make Mexican/Mexi - American meals on this night each week. I thought I'd share a few of our favorites with you. Simply click on the recipe name to make and enjoy in your own kitchen! (I wish I had taken pictures at some point...but trust me, these are pretty fail proof and for those of you who like to see what your food "should" look like, let this take the pressure off of you.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've got many more new recipes on my Taco Tuesday Pinterest Board that I hope to try soon.

I hope you'll join myself and others for this week's Thoughts for Thursday.

Finding Calm in the Kitchen

Oh Thursday. I forgot to set my alarm...thank goodness for an early rising daughter. I got her dropped off by dawn's early light and headed to work. I was trying to figure out just what I was going to do considering we missed another day of school yesterday. It's always an adjustment when we miss school.

I was preparing to begin the day with my students and suddenly became really sick. The school nurse found someone to fill in so that I could leave. I left and went straight to our family doctor. After checking my blood pressure and blood sugar (which were fine) she decided to run a full blood work up. I haven't gotten any results yet, but I'm praying all is well and this was just a crazy fluke. I came home to rest and then later on picked up G from the sitter.

After getting her home and getting in some snuggle time, I decided I needed to just take tonight to really relax. While I feel guilty for neglecting the treadmill tonight, I know deep down this is what I need to do this evening.

In the midst of crazy, there are a couple of ways that I find solace. One is the outdoors and the other is in the kitchen. Since the weather is still pretty bitter I opted for the kitchen. When it comes to food, I dare not type cast. I can always find a way to make various foods work for any meal. Cupcakes for breakfast! Why of course! Chicken is another food that is often overlooked as a potential breakfast item. One of my favorite breakfasts is that of Chicken and Waffles...and after a conversation with my mom who was eating out at I-HOP, my mind was made up. I took a slightly different route however. I made some tasty French toast and decided I'd come up with a yummy chicken component. I had already thawed some drumsticks...what to do, what to do? The end result?

 

Finger-licking Brown Sugar Chicken!

 

 

Hear me out (and don't turn up your nose just yet). One of the best parts about Chicken and Waffles is the merriment of the chicken with the golden maple syrup (and if you are not a fan of C&W, I feel so sorry for you!). Now, it remains important that I monitor my sodium intake and I'm determined to find healthier versions of the things I love when possible. These two things are what spurred the following recipe:

 

 

Finger-licking Brown Sugar Chicken

 

Ingredients:

4-6 chicken legs

4tbsp butter

1tbsp brown sugar

 

 

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400.

 

Melt the butter, combined with the brown sugar in a microwave bowl.

 

 

Pat the chicken dry and dredge through the butter mixture, making sure every square inch is covered in the golden goodness.

 

 

Place it in a baking dish (I always line mine with foil for easy clean up). Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the chicken is golden, the meat is no longer pink and the juices run clear.

 

 

Pair with whatever you'd like...may I suggest French toast or waffles? Enjoy!

 

 

Per Serving (2 drumsticks): 275 calories, 5 carbs, 23 fat, 20 protein, 481 sodium, 5 sugar (Nutrition Information determined by MyFitnessPal)

 

I hope you'll join me in tomorrow's Five on Friday. I've got some fun things in store! For now however, I'm heading to bed early, praying my test results come back A-Okay and that tomorrow will be uneventful.



A Recipe for My Little Redhead

G has been eating more solid foods lately and I've been trying to expose her to new tastes and textures. I made some squash tonight so she'll experience that tomorrow after church. I've also been trying new ways to incorporate fruits and veggies in with some whole grains aside from my standard oats combination. With that in mind, I began browsing Pinterest and ran across this recipe for Toddler Muffins. It's similar to a muffin recipe that I have made in the past using just bananas. I decided to utilize her idea of combining fruits and veggies into one muffin. Here is my personal version...

Redhead's Muffins

 

Ingredients



2 eggs
1/4c water
1c whole wheat flour
1c old fashioned oats
2 bananas
1/4c applesauce
1/2tsp cinnamon
1tsp baking soda
1/2c butter, softened
1c sweet potatoes, mashed

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter, bananas, and applesauce together. Add the eggs. Mix in the flour, oats, cinnamon, and baking soda. Add the potatoes and water. Combine well.

Spray a mini-muffin pan with baking spray. Fill each cup 3/4 of the way with the batter. Bake for approximately 15 minutes. Let them set for 5-10 minutes, remove from the pan and place on a cooling rack to finish cooling.

These freeze well and will last a couple of days in the fridge.

Makes 48 mini muffins. Feel free to vary the types of fruits and veggies...you could even add puréed/finely minced proteins such as chicken.




















I'd say they were a big hit!

She's becoming my little kitchen helper more often these days. Maybe she'll have my love for cooking and baking!