50 States; 50 Meals: Arkansas

Arkansas was the first state where I felt out of my element but it turned out to a Winner Winner Chicken Dinner.
Here is the menu:
Baked "Fried" Chicken
Arkansas Green Beans
Mashed Potatoes
Biscuits

Baked "Fried" Pickles was also on the menu but time got away from me so I scratched them. No one in the fam was excited about them. The girls are not huge pickle fans and fried pickles remind my husband of a bad night in Nashville (that sounds like a country song) so I thought why stress trying to it get it done.

The fried chicken and green beans were so good. The green beans were simple to throw together. Just cans (I prefer fresh or frozen but the recipe called for cans and my girls prefer canned), bacon, butter, soy sauce, garlic powder and brown sugar. You microwave the bacon before baking. I was worried that it would make the bacon rubbery but it crisped up in the oven. My husband said the green beans needed to become a staple in our house. They would be great for potlucks, as a side dish when taking someone a meal and great for holidays. If you are still planning your Easter menu I would highly recommend these.

Now the chicken was good but there is room for improvement in my preparation. I shook off too much flour but it had awesome flavor. It was KFC-esque. I think I will try this recipe with tenderloins next time. It was nice to have the chicken cook consistently and not be stuck by the stove flipping chicken so it didn't burn.



Way to Arkansas! We loved this meal.

Next week are eating California style. I'll be serving up one of my favorite salads.

50 States; 50 Meals: Arizona while Skyping

This week my husband and youngest daughter traveled to Connecticut to help a family member and our palates traveled to Arizona. We decided to keep our 50 States meals going to I made Chimichangas for him to take with him.
Chimichangas always remind me of my late FIL. Unfortunately, the story of why is not good in writing. The way he would say Chimichangas always made me laugh.
The night we had planned on eating the Arizona dinner we happened to be testing Skype on my MILs new laptop. Hubby and I ended up cooking together over Skype. It reminded me of something you would see in a chic flick but our version was more comedy than romantic comedy thanks to our crazy family cutting jokes while we prepared dinner. We kept Skype going so we could eat our meal together. My oldest really wished she could have been there laughing with everyone.




Three weeks in, this was our favorite meal but we tend to be big fans of Mexican and Tex Mex food. Both the Chimichangas and chile sauce baked up well after being frozen. I didn't prepare any other "Arizona" foods just to keep things simple during a very busy week. I will definitely be making this recipe again!



Baked Chicken Chimichangas with Green Sauce

50 States; 50 Meals: Alaska

I'm sure that Alaska eats more than salmon and king crab legs but that is what I kept finding when searching for our Alaska menu. I did learn that they grow blueberries but completely forgot to incorporate them. I also forgot the sourdough bread. Can you say busy week!

Alaska Menu:
Sesame Soy Skewered Salmon - we loved the marinade in this recipe. I had seen another recipe that skewered the salmon. I stole that idea to make dinner a little more kid friendly.

Honey Roasted Carrots

White Rice



And as promised my version of a Baked Alaska that I was able to make for around 130 calories!
Deconstructed Baked Alaska - I love that term!
1 scoop Turkey Hill Neapolitan Frozen Yogurt (about 1/4cup)
1 slice (1/10 loaf) Sarah Lee Free and Light Pound Cake
2 Meringue Cookies

What is American food?

One day I innocently enough told my girls we were having "Italian" for dinner. They answered me with how they knew what Italian food was and they knew what Mexican food was but asked what was American food. I listed hamburgers, hot dogs and fried chicken and then thought that there has to be more. So we decided to tour the 50 states eating a different dinner with the popular foods from each state. I first thought about starting in the east and eating our way out west but lobster is not really in season so Maine was out. We changed the plan to going in alphabetically. This also helped break up the different regions since they tend to have similar flavors.
Disclosure: When choosing my menus I have been trying to stay figure, kid, busy mom and wallet friendly.
I have been collecting my menu ideas on my Pinterest board.

So first up is Alabama!

Alabama Menu

Smoked Sausage - I used turkey
Fried Corn
Cheese Grits
Corn Bread
(By this point was the turkey sausage really necessary.)








We will have to revisit Alabama this summer and have Fried Green Tomatoes!

Next up is Alaska and my version of a Baked Alaska.