The stove hates me

Even though I said I'd get over my mental thing with the stove, I didn't. Decided midweek that I couldn't live one more minute without some snickerdoodles. Turned on the stove to preheat it, got the dough all nice and ready then realized I was out of parchment paper. Bummer. But not compared to the bummer of the stove NOT GETTING HOT.

Maybe it's just vacationing for the summer? Eh, probably not. It's been dying a slow and painful death for quite a while. The broiler hasn't worked for who knows how long and we've been lighting the burners with a match for even longer than that. But I enjoy that part since the smell of burnt out matches makes my nose especially happy.

The goals from last week were met. Sticking with the making as few trips to the store as possible one. Once the kids are back in school it won't be such a big deal since they'll be IN SCHOOL when I shop. And unless you've shopped with three youngsters, you have no idea how happy this makes me.

• Grilled cheese with avacado & tomato soup - this is something we tend to eat when it's not a million degrees out, but I'm really jonesin' for some cooler weather, so we're going to pretend
• Veggie stir fry with brown jasmine rice
• Taco salad (crossing fingers that I'll be able to add some fresh tomatoes from our yarden)
• Kebabs or Cold Sesame Noodles with Chicken and Cucumbers

Dinner without the stove

Last week's meal plan was a success. Oddly enough, as it gets hotter and hotter, I find myself wanting meals that require the stove. I know it's a mental thing. And I'll get over it. As soon as I walk out the door and get slapped around by the humidity or peek at my most recent electric bill.

The goal for this week is to create as little heat in the kitchen as possible. This meal plan should do the trick. Oh, and a couple little goals while I'm at it. 1) Fewer trips to the grocery store. During the summer I have to take the kids. Sometimes that ends with me running out of the store short a few items. 2) Budget friendly meals.

• Grilled Lime Chicken Sandwiches with Spicy Slaw
• Pitas & homemade hummus with tomatoes and cucumbers
• BLTs on homemade bread
• Dinner out

Grilled Lime Chicken Sandwiches with Spicy Slaw

It's way too hot to cook inside these days. Luckily, I hit the jackpot with a twofer one hardwood charcoal from Whole Foods. Granted, standing over a hot grill in 90 plus degrees is no picnic. For this recipe, I'd do it at least once a week.

Grilled Lime Chicken Sandwiches with Spicy Slaw

from Shape magazine a zillion years ago

Serves 4

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 10 min

For grilled chicken:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast fillets, all fat removed

1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

juice of 3 limes

For dressing:

1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt

2 tablespoons mayo

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1-2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce (or to taste)

salt, to taste

For slaw:

4 cups shredded raw cabbage

1 cup shredded raw carrots

1/3 cup finely sliced green onions, green parts only

nonstick cooking spray

4 large whole-grain buns

Preheat broiler or prepare coals for grill.

Place chicken breasts, soy sauce and lime juice in a medium size glass or ceramic bowl; cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (and up to 3 hours).

Meanwhile, place dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until well incorporated. In a large bowl, toss dressing with cabbage, carrots and green onions and set aside.

Once chicken has marinated, lightly coat fillets with cooking spray and grill or broil until chicken is firm and cooked through. (Cook for 4-5 min on each side, depending on thickness.)

To assemble sandwich, place 1/2 cup slaw on a whole-grain bun bottom, place chicken breast on top and add 2-3 tablespoons of slaw over chicken. Cover with bun top and serve immediately.

Nutrition score per serving (1 sandwich):

363 calories

28% fat (11g, 2g saturated)

34% carbs (31g)

38% protein (34g)

5g fiber

133 mg calcium

2.5 mg iron

800 mg sodium

Trying to get organized

Being organized keeps me sane. This summer has pretty much been chaotic, so here I am taking baby steps toward sanity. Step one (with some inspiration from my meanie friend) is to get my dinners together. There have been periods of time when I've done really well with making a meal plan and sticking to it.

Cooking dinner in the summer is a challenge due to the heat. Our a/c unit, much like the old dishwasher, is ancient. The summer heat pushes it to the limit some days, which means adding a hot stove to the mix can be disastrous.

I'm responsible for dinner Friday through Monday, so here we go!

• Grilled burgers and salad (with tomatoes from our yard)
• Zesty Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken
• Pesto (with basil from our yard) over angel hair
• Breakfast - english muffins with scrambled eggs & turkey sausage or breakfast burritos
  

A new year, a new dishwasher

I'm not a resolution maker. While I get the whole starting fresh thing, it seems like it'd be better to make the change you want to make when you want to make it rather than waiting until some really cold day in the middle of winter when it's easier to wait until tomorrow. Doesn't work for me.

Ya know what else doesn't work for me? A dying dishwasher. We only had a dishwasher at one house growing up. And we couldn't use it due to low water pressure or some such. When I bugged my parents for a dishwasher (which is totally normal, right?) I always got the same response, "We have a dishwasher. Her name is Autumn." (I was also the tv remote.) Needless to say, I'd be cool without ever washing another dish.

The dying dishwasher (it came with the house, so it's at least five years old and quite possibly may be the first dishwasher ever made) had been acceptable until the last few months. As I found myself washing more dishes than the dishwasher, I decided that was it.

I got the best New Year's gift ever in my new dishwasher. It's fancier than I planned with it's stainless steel door and tall bottom rack. The only downside is that the fridge and stove seem a bit jealous.

Belle has a birthday

Since Belle's birthday is Christmas Eve, a concerted effort is made to keep it separate from Christmas. It usually turns into a month long event. This year we decided to change it up a bit and celebrated on her birthday.

After thinking about it for .005 seconds, she decided on Hananoki for her birthday lunch. The place was deserted, so no diners were annoyed by all the picture taking.

Luke ponders his options.

The onion volcano was a dud. Luckily the food was delicioso.

After lunch, we went to Aunt May's for more presents.

And cake. We learned our lesson with that huge Cold Stone cake of 2008. This year, we got a very normal sized red velvet cake with sweet cream ice cream mixed with oreos and a ganache frosting. Super yummy, if a bit rich.

Success!

It's December?

Guess I wasn't quite as refreshed as I thought I was back in August. We've managed to get the girls to school on time every single day. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Too bad there's not a fancy prize for that. Oh, yeah. The prize is not going to court. Guess I'll take that.

So, here's a quick photo recap of what I haven't blogged about.

Luke started preschool. He wants to go more.

We dressed up

Sadie (my sister) added a member to the family.

We made a few messes.


And some goofy faces