Memorial Day Weekending

You know, the nice thing about weekends when you're a stay at home mom is there's no end-of-the-weekend dread.

We had a great kickoff to the summer. Started out with some pool and sprinkler action in the backyard.

Interesting flag placement, boys.

We spent a sunny Sunday out at my parents' cabin.

I distinctly remember making all-American fried chicken for last year's Memorial Day meal. This year? Kind of the opposite- saaaaaalad. But don't hate me on this one. It's saaaaaaalad because it's super easy to put together and healthy and delicious.

Asian Chicken Salad Serves 4
-1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1" thick
-1 bottle Asian salad dressing
-1 bag broccoli slaw
-1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
-1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
-1 tomato, diced

See? So simple. First put the chicken in a resealable bag with half the dressing. Let marinade for at least 30 minutes, up to 24 hours (in the fridge). When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour chicken + marinade into a baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for ~30 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through. Chicken is done when internal temp reaches at least 165 degrees. Let cool on a cutting board and dice up when cool enough to handle.

While chicken cools, assemble your salads- broccoli slaw, topped with veggies, diced chicken, and leftover Asian dressing.

I dig this because it's a very different texture than lettuce- crunchier, more substantial.

I mean, it's no fried chicken, but Asian chicken salad might have to be our new Memorial Day go-to.

It's the (second) most wonderful tiiiiiime of the year!

In Minnesota we have that one glorious week in May when the all the lilacs and all the crabapple trees are blooming and it is beautiful and fragrant and wonderful.

Then there are the other 51 weeks of the year.

Nature's beauty aside, I made some paella last week! Only, being me- cheap and easy (heh heh)- I made paella-ish. Actual paella uses saffron as one of the main spices. Saffron is extracted from flowers and is $25 at my grocery store for just a weensy bit. Definitely not happening. Also actual paella uses a special pan. And has mussels.

Thus, paella-ish.

But it's still super tasty! And cheap! And easy!

Easy Paella
-1 bag large/extra large/or jumbo frozen shrimp (I like to buy the raw but deveined kind)
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-1 teaspoon minced garlic
-Salt and pepper
-About 1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs cut into 1-2 inch chunks.
-1 large sweet onion, diced
-1-2 bell peppers, diced
-2 bags Spanish rice mix (mine was actually rice/pasta hybrid- totally fine)
-3 cup chicken or vegetable broth
-1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
-4-5 precooke andouille sausage links (mine were actually chicken sausages)- cut into coins
-1 cup frozen peas
-1 tablespoon lemon juice
-1 tablespoon dried parsley

Thaw shrimp according to package instructions. Meanwhile heat up 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or other deep pan (medium high heat). Add garlic- stir around for a few seconds. Add shrimp. Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Saute, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until shrimp is pink and tender. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add remaining tablespoon olive oil to pan. Add raw chicken thighs. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. When chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees or more, add Spanish rice mix, broth, and diced tomatoes. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once rice has soaked up most the broth and you're at a nice consistency, add sausage, peas, and cooked shrimp. Add lemon juice and parsley, cover, and let cook for another 5 minutes. Serve up!

Recipe makes six generous servings. So good- who needs $25 saffron and mussels anyway?

Cooking with the greatest 90's one hit wonder

I’ve been wearing shorts for the past week.

Not the same shorts of course. 

Even if I did you wouldn’t judge, would you? 

It’s just nuts to go from this:

to this:

in three weeks time.

Last week's post mentioned red beans and rice, and never ever being one to disappoint (heh heh), here we go. Side note: every time I say “red beans and rice” in my head, I can’t not follow it up with “ Didn’t miss her!” 

Sir Mix a lot pops up in my brain more than he does in normal people I suspect.

Red Beans and Rice

1 lb bag dry kidney beans

6 cups water + 3 vegetable bouillon cubes or 2 tbsp better than bouillon (but plain water would work too)

1.5 cups brown rice

1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning

1 large yellow onion, diced

4 bell peppers, diced

1 14-16 oz turkey kielbasa, cut into thin coins (could omit as traditional red beans and rice is just that)

The directions on the beans will tell you that you need to soak overnight. Nah, ya don’t. Simmer (covered) in the bouillon water for about 90 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile make rice according to package directions. When those beans are done, scoop out about 2 cups of the liquid and drain the rest. Add cooked rice, onion, pepper, kielbasa, and Cajun seasoning. Cover and cook on medium low, stirring every few minutes, until veggies are tender- about 10 minutes. Serve up!

Nutritionally this works because the beans + rice together yield a complete protein. Proteins are made from amino acids. There are 9 amino acids our body cannot make itself (termed “essential amino acids”), so while both the rice and the beans as solo foods are incomplete proteins, together they deliver the 9 essentials. Make sense? This is why vegetarians aren’t up a creek with protein deficiencies.

Makes six servings. Per serving: 315 calories, 50 g carbs, 5 g fat, 22 g protein, 8 g fiber

And now if you're walking away singing something about workout tapes by Fonda, you can blame me. 

Stuff I bought that I like

Thanks to these little nuggets I don’t have much time on my hands. 

Twins are a weird mix of crying frenzy, and peaceful quiet downtime. I’d like to say that I’ve been using snippets of downtime to be working on recipes or other post ideas, but it’s been laundry and cleaning taking priority. 

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a frivolous post about stuff that I’ve bought and love, so here goes!

Clarins Radiance-Plus Golden Glow Booster

This product is genius- it’s the concentrate of self tanning liquid, meaning you add a few drops to your favorite face lotion or sunscreen to poof! Make it into self tanner. I love my daily Lancôme with SPF and hate spending money on a separate self tanner. While the price seems high (at Nordstrom it's on sale though!), this bottle has lasted me more than a year. Because I’m naturally really pale, I use two drops mixed with my lotion every other day. No streaks, no smell, no ghostly white face. 

90 Degree by Reflex Jacket

One of the fashion bloggers I follow raves about this jacket, and me being the complete follower I am bought one as well. Love that it’s sold on Amazon (who doesn’t have a Prime subscription nowadays?) and love the price. To me this is a total dupe for Lululemon- thick stretchy material that’s cut really well. This plus my high waist leggings will be my go to mom uniform.

Maybelline SuperStay Matte Lip Ink

I’m not a huge drug store makeup girl, mainly because I like being able to try out a product first. I don’t even remember why I bought these but man, they’re good. I have two colors and use one or the other most every day. They are really natural looking on and don’t dry your lips out like a lot of matte longwear products do. I have "Lover" (pictured) and "Dreamer."

Philosophy Hands of Hope

With twins comes having to wash my hands 17,632 times a day. I end up with super dry skin no matter what soap I use. I love this particular hand lotion because it’s thick and non greasy, but most important- there’s no scent to it. I love perfume and scented shower gel but for a basic hand lotion? Nope. Plus my husband can use it without smelling like cotton juniper sunshine field. 

BP Sunglasses

A few months ago I was at Macys and saw these beautiful Tory Burch sunglasses. I’ll admit that I already have quite a few designer pairs of glasses and I can’t justify the cost for a funkier pair. I found these BP ones at Nordstrom and to me they’re pretty much a dupe at less than 10% of the price. Most important is that they’re comfy and don’t slide down my nose. When one of the kids overzealously tries them on and they break, I won’t freak.

Safe to say that being at home with babies- during the down time- leads to some internet purchases. But hey- think of it as me doing the screening of products for you.

On the table this week? Red beans and rice! May or may not have everything to do with said shopping. Happy Wednesday!