Monday Dinner

Dinner Monday night was fast and simple. Love it when it works out that way

Turkey Pasta with red sauce and itillian sausage. A full serving is hefty in the points  I believe I calculated 9 total. So I cut the serving in half  for the lower  point count and ran off to yoga after gobbeling it down. I know not the brightest idea and proably the reason why I felt heavy when moving from svanasana to svanasana upward dog to downward dog etc etc.  But I had to have something because last weeks class I was starving and  felt a little light headed. Yikes.

Little Meal Madness... But Alas A Great Idea

OMG The  stuff you will come up with when you have a house full of picky eaters. The littles not the husband. So my latest idea was to add more protein into pasta.

Boil down pasta strings

While pasta is boiling take out a block of organic baked tofu- Teriyaki flavor ( the one we like- Trader Joe's)

Whip out a hand shredder and start shredding.

 

                                    Shred down the baked tofu. This is  about  3 tablespoons.
                                    When the pasta is done boiling  drain it and add a little bit of butter.
                                      Currently Gabriel is obsessed with buttered pasta and cheese.
                                                  So I am sure you can guess the next step...

                                 Mix in butter, and tofu.

Add  string cheese and mix up some more the cheese will melt

          Serve to unsuspecting little. He is so  use to pasta  he will never notice

                                             So yummy ... One down Mr. Super Picky to go...

                                                                           Voila! Success!
Sometimes thinking out of the box to come up with ideas to feed the littles can be frustrating. However, since this worked so well. I am going to be trying this trick with everything for awhile. Yes, expect me to be shredding chicken , turkey, steak, veggies etc.  into all of their pastas for sometime to come. Hopefully they will not catch on for a while.

Dinner and Lunch

                                              Dinner : rice, salad, and one chicken leg



     Lunch : Salad with carrots and salsa, chicken leg,  HB egg and fig newtons, and raisin crunch cereal

Holiday Dinner

Instead of the usual BBQ this year E and I chilled out when it came time to make Labor Day dinner plans . I defrosted some chicken and chopped up some veggies seasoned tossed everything in a bake pan and put it in an oven for 45 minutes.

I used red pepper, peaches, squash, mushrooms and broccoli. I served it with rice and a nice cold glass of lime aid and Pellegrino mixed. The holiday was great we took a much needed rest and spent some family time together.

Dinner and Dinner For Littles

Stuffed bell peppers and pasta.
I did a two for dinner plan tonight. Weather was perfect to cook in the oven and heat up my little casa.

Browned ground turkey meat and added seasoning, basil, lemon pepper,oregano. While the meat was browning I started noodles and chopped down veggies... Mushrooms , carrots ,red onion and broccoli. After meat had started cooking and was finishing up I added the chopped down veggies. While all if this was simmering and smelling yum I chopped off the tops if three green bell peppers and gutted them.

After turkey meat and veggies were cooked I preheated the oven to 350 . Spooned out some turkey filling and spooned into the peppers. Topped them with cheese. Placed them in baking dish.

On to the pasta. After draining the noodles I mixed the noodles turkey meat and veggies and pasta sauce together. I filled up a large baking dish with the mixed up pasta and then topped with shredded cheese.



















I of course forgot to take a picture of the finished product but it was both yummy and nice looking. Thus was my first attempt at stuffing peppers. They came out really good. This one night of cooking will stretch the next couple of days.

Peppers and salad
Pasta and salad
ok not that many days but one less night I have to cook right? Works for me.


And the littles what did they eat...






Pasta with bananas and carrot pick up dips. Served with a favorite of theirs hummus with shredded cheese

What the heck is a pick up dips ?Chopped whatever in this case bananas and baby carrots.

Other choices:
String cheese
Bread sticks
Cubes of bread or slices
Slices of apples
Sliced up waffles

Serve a dippable in the plate. I serve our pickup dips in mini silicone cupcake liners and other bento box bits and bobs I have found along the way.

Ideas for dips

Hummus
Peanut butter
Salsa
Nutella
Almond butter
Pumpkin butter
Marinara sauce

Then serve with a pick up . My littles love cheese but other ideas are:

Shredded cheese
Raisins
Crushed pumpkin seeds
Any other seeds you may fancy
Chopped up dried fruit
Cheerios
Gerber puffs
Chocolate chips

The idea is to take the "stick" dip it in your dip and pick up the pick ups . The littles LOVE this. We have some kind of pick up dips a lot in this house. Why? Because it's fun and I have found that the funner I make a meal or snack the more likely they are to eat it.














Sample pickup dips
Cheese stick trader joes
Papaya mango salsa trader joes
Shredded cheese
Yum!

CV fab mama/curlie girlie gone mobile!

On the Menu : Baby Tacos & Dinner Confessions

Confession time, We are eating out TOO much. Three times this week already

Sunday: Pizza

Tuesday: Chevy's

Wednesday: Burrito Shop

UGH!!!! This really needs to come to a fast end. Not only is all this eating out not helping with all the hard work I put in during the day by tracking points but its really a waste of money. Last night I had a massage session, ran to the grocery store and then dashed off to my friends house for a princess house party. It was hot in the kitchen and I was not to keen on making it hotter. E offered to run to the local burrito shop and I took him up on his offer. I had two steak baby tacos. I topped with the Trader Joe's Salsa Especial. E had a chicken burrito. It was ok but really a waste of money considering I would have felt more satisfied with a salad but oh well. I am really trying to start TODAY with eating out less. I still have not dinner plans tonight, we will need to see where the day take me .

Dinner:Del Fuego!

Last night my mom and sister took LMG to karate. We have decided to hold off a few months as he is really not paying that much attention. We don't want him to not like it so lessons will resume once he matures a little. While LMG was at his lesson I had a hot date with my hubby and my little baby David. We went to Buffalo Bills . I had my favorite salad the Del Fuego: Spicy chipotle dressing romaine lettuce, black beans, cucumbers , roasted red peppers, tomatoes, tortilla chips and roasted pumpkin seeds. YUMMY! We also and the staple Buffalos Bill's nachos. A trip to Buffalo Bills would not be the same with out them. BBD tore up some chips and place beans and chicken strips ad enjoyed some alone time with his mom and dad. It was a quick and tasty meal then back home to make sure we were on time for the arrival of my little karate kid.

PS. I really enyoy taking pictures of my food. I think the snaps come out good. What do you think?

Sunday Dinner

I had a serious yen for some comfort food last night. I cooked up turkey cutlets, and sauteed them down with green peppers and red onions. I added minced garlic, lemon pepper and some goya seasoning. I served on top of steamed white and brown rice (sorry people I was low on brown and needed enough to feed the 4 of us, we are rice hounds) On top I spooned on cream of mushroom soup. YUMMY! this mean reminded me a lot of a dish my mom use to make for us. Simple but good for you dinner. I did "healthy" it up my making turkey cutlets and not ground beef. For a breezy evening, it hit the spot. I opted out of having the traditional slice of bread to accompany it but did have a glass of pinot grigio to go along.

Monday Dinner

Monday was E 's last day of school. He hosted a BBQ for his students in both the AM and PM class. By the time he got home he was not even interested in eating dinner. I was a little tired and not in the mood to really cook so I took the night off and had Trader Joe's Latin Style Black Bean Soup. One cup of soup equals 1 point, Which isn't too shabby at all. I did jazz this soup up a bit by adding brown rice cooked brown rice (while it heated) when it was done I added in a table spoon of salsa crumbled 4 tortilla chips on top and a pinch of shredded cheese.


MMMM... looks great and was yummy!


I had a wrap with my soup. Whole Wheat tortilla with spinach cucumbers, tomatoes a little bit of salad dressing and 2 jalapeno chicken sausages I cooked up over the weekend for dinner (I love to make the most out of left overs, what can I say. I hate wasting food.)

Needless to say my dinner was as good as it looked and healthy!

On The Menu: Fish Tacos

Tuesday night dinner, Chimchurri salmon tacos, served with chimchurri rice. Picked up both the salmons fillets and the rice at Trader Joe's. An easy 20 minutes dinner. after the rice and the fish had cooked. I warmed up the tortillas in the microwave for 10 seconds. once out of the microwave I started building my taco. First the salad greens, then sliced fish fillet. Next was salsa, and trader Joes's cilantro dressing topped off with avocado. I served it with 1/2 cup of the rice. This delicious dinner cost me 10 of the 15 points I had left for the day. Not bad. Different, delicious and did I say yummy!

FabMama Review: Niman Ranch Fearless Franks For Kids

Great franks to have around the house. What I liked the most about these franks is they where very crisp when you bit into them . There was a little bounce off of the frank which sometimes you don't find in an ordinary hot dog when you sink your teeth into. Maybe the difference is that they are franks and not ordinary dogs. The flavor was great. I usually do not like hot dogs, but I gave these a try because they are organic. Another great thing about these franks is that they are versatile and a kid pleaser! Woo hoo I am always looking for something that will makes the littles happy and they will want to eat.

I served these a few different ways while I had them int he fridge. Traditional frank style, sliced and grilled over brown rice, and fabu-dog style.

Franks can be a great throw back dinner The Niman Ranch Fearless Franks with Amy's organic baked beans are a great pairing as well.




LMG eating his franks with brown rice.


Another satisfied little chomping on franks and rice.


Gabriel eating his dog big boy style. His first attempt at proper hot dog eating might I add.


Ideas for frank night: buns, mustard, ketchup, baked beans, Cookies and , juice.


A great pairing with franks... think traditional frank and bean dinner. My bean hound of a little David was not a big fan, he rarely turns down beans but it took him a few tries to decide if he liked them. Eventually he warmed up to their sweet tomato taste. I really liked these beans. I liked the flavor and a serving is only 2 points. Pictured is the actual 1/2 cup serving. Great with dinner small and hearty enough to put in your lunch box for a filling lunch.


A rare moment of preschooler sharing. E liked these dogs too and requested I order them again soon.


A frank grown up style... or shall I say Fabu-Dog Style. Toppings were nature value mustard, chopped onions, chopped avocado, and sprinkled fontina cheese. HOLY COW was this frank good! I served it with a side salad and enjoyed my frank feast. Yummy looking, no?


Another snap of this delicious meal.

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Dinner: Turkey Cutlets

Dinner last night was fast and simple. Turkey cutlets, mushroom risotto and asparagus. I seasoned up the cutlets with a spice blend that I have created a little bit of cumin, lemon pepper, a dash of Cinnamon and a super secret ingredient. The spice blend gave the cutlets a smokey full flavor. I liked it so did the littles. The mushroom risotto is a Trader Joe's fave. I pan seared some asparagus and called my meal 20 minute meal done!

Dinner!. Sausage , Rice and Beans

Dinner : Trader Joe's cilantro sausage, brown rice, back beans, and Trader Joe's black truffle flat bread. Very Yummy!

Last Monday's Dinner

Monday's ( last not this Monday) was oven roasted pork roast, served with baked red potatoes and this spinach cashew dish I like to make. I enjoyed with a crisp glass of white wine(actually 2 glasses)





Potatoes cut and crossed filled with garlic, ginger and rosemary then baked with pork roast


All in a pan ready to cook up

Date Night : Eddie Papa's

E was headed out of town last week for a competition with his students. He would be gone for 4 days so we turned Wednesday into date night. We had a few errands to run before he left town. After much debate as to where to eat( the never ending battle we have when we dine out) I decided on Eddie Papa's in Pleasanton. What a delight. We will be going back soon. I really loved the saucy-ness of this place. Drinks are served out of jam jars and at the end of your meal you get a little bowl of cotton candy. Very creative, looking forward to our next visit.

We ended the night at Walmart, to pick up some travel essentials for E.

Thursday Dinner: Pita Pockets

A fab Family favorite (well for E and I anyways) was on the menu for dinner last night.

Cook down ground turkey meat, add your choice of seasonings , last night I added lipton's onion soup mix and balsamic vinegar, lemon pepper and Goya Adobo blend. Chop veggies of choice I used zucchini, onions, garlic and spinach. Allow all of these things to cook down and mingle together in a pan. That's it! What the heck you say.. I am not kidding.

Next step is beyond easy. get some pitas I used whole wheat from TJs warm in a skillet ( I have found this to be the easiest way to open the pita pockets after many trial and errors) Once warm slice open and fill with your one skillet sensation (above) I like to sprinkle a little bit of shredded cheese on top, but crumpled feta is just as fantastic. I served this with TJs chimichuri rice. I thought this rice was yummy. Its been in the freezer a couple of weeks so I finally had a chance to use it. It was a cross between Spanish rice and Indian rice very zesty. BBD loved it , LMG did not and he is a rice hound. So go figure, you can't please both littles all of the time.

Tuesday Dinner

A Trader Joes favorite. Boneless Kobi beef ribs in a spicy sauce. I served this with a quick fix rice and asparagus. Dinner was done and on the table in 25 minutes. I love a quick painless dinner.

Thursday Dinner

Fantastic night for sandwich. On the menu, left over pork roast sandwich, served on sourdough bread, with mango ginger chutney, and sprouts. On the side a spring greens salad. This dinner created quite the controversy in my house. Thursday is usually every man for himself night. This means left overs, a sandwich whatever. Elvin had a deli sliced sandwich of Italian turkey with chips while I enjoyed this fantastic meal. Here is the facebook convo that ensued after he spotted my plate.


Elvin Alvino Jr is looking at the great meal michelle made for herself wondering where mine is

Raul Victor Smith at 5:00pm March 26
Go outside and it's in a bowl that has the name FIDO on it. LOL!

Elvin Alvino Jr at 5:05pm March 26
Lol we are outside.... And now i cant stop her from laughing.

Michelle Castro-Alvino at 5:11pm March 26
I love that grown men can talk smack about their wives with buddies and wives on facebook but can't slap a meal together. Thats what you get Elvin for the quick fix meal baby cakes. Patience Grass Hopper... at the end you have a dish like mine... and it was GOOOD!

Elvin Alvino Jr at 5:20pm March 26
I love that the same women who make these wonderful meals and have such wit about them cant use a hammer and nail to hang a picture frame to a wall

Michelle Castro-Alvino at 5:27pm March 26
wow Elvin you put me on blast on facebook. I hope you are ready for a long lonely night with palm -ela

Elvin Alvino Jr at 5:29pm March 26
Lol....patience Grasshopper she will knock on your door soon as well.

Michelle Castro-Alvino at 5:38pm March 26
why did i even get you on facebook. leave me alone brat

Michael Jason Williams at 7:01pm March 26
Yo Elvin..this is funny..:>)
Elvin Alvino Jr at 7:03pm March 26

Just me and the wife busting chops... LoL

Raul Victor Smith at 7:05pm March 26
Holy crap! I can just visualize the remote control flying across the room. Followed by a "Oh no you di int!"

Michael Jason Williams at 7:07pm March 26
yes i di id..:>)


WHATEVER. The Sandwich was yummy, I loved it and look forward to making that roast again so I can do a sandwich redo. After all of that I am not sure why I urged E to get on facebook.

Spud Box Wednesday

In the fabulous box this week!
Asparagus
Avocado
Bananas
Cucumbers, Long English
Oranges, Blood
Pears, Red Danjou
Salad Greens, Spring
Spinach, Baby
Sprouts, Alfalfa
Strawberries
Tomatoes, Roma
Rosemary Potato bread

Wednesday Dinner: Pork Roast

For dinner I made a pork loin roast. I picked up this slap of meat at Trader Joe's on my trip to the market this week . It was pre seasoned which always makes dinner faster. I sliced up some taters, and carrots sprinkled with olive oil salt and pepper and stuck in the oven for 45 mins @ 350 degrees. It was delicious! A very hardy meal. Plenty of left over for a quick sandwhich tonight maybe with a salad .


Done and plated, served with a green veggie favorite!


The littles dinner basket. They were not fans of this meal and hardly touched it.