50 States; 50 Meals: Oklahoma

What we had for dinner:

I nicknamed this meal the Cracker Barrel meal.

Chicken Fried Steak
Cube steak coated in flour, fried, and served with thick gravy.  We had never had this before and we all liked it.  The gravy reminded me of one of my favorite breakfasts and another Oklahoma fav, Biscuits and Gravy.

Biscuits and Gravy
Biscuits covered with a sausage gravy.

Both of the recipes were from the Pioneer Woman.
Chicken Fried Steak

Biscuits and Gravy - You should know by now that I used can biscuits. HA!

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What is your favorite Cracker Barrel meal?

 

 

 

50 States; 50 Meals: Ohio

What we had for dinner:

Cincinnati Chili
This chili stands out for its use of seasonings such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice or chocolate.  It can ordered in the following way:

• Bowl: chili in a bowl


• Two-way: chili and spaghetti


• Three-way: chili, spaghetti, and cheese


• Four-way: chili, spaghetti, cheese, and onions


• Five-way: chili, spaghetti, cheese, onions, and beans

The four way chili was surprisingly good.  My favorite part of this chili is the amount of cheddar cheese that gets added to the top and it was great over spaghetti.
This recipe, from Food Network, makes the five-way chili.



Buckeyes
These treat is named after the nut from the Buckeye Tree.  Peanut butter balls dipped into chocolate.  Need I say more.



 

 

 

50 States; 50 Meals: North Dakota

What we had for dinner:

Well... we didn't.  It seemed that most of the recipes involved dough and baking is not my strong suit.

Strudel, Lefse, Fleischkuekle - There was a lot of Googling for these German dishes.

So we had a store-bought Kuchen.



 

 

 

 

 

50 States; 50 Meals: North Carolina

What we had for dinner:

North Caroline Style Pulled Pork sandwiches.  North Carolina pulled pork is served with a vinegar-based barbeque sauce.  I served hush puppies on the side as they do in Lexington.



 

 

 

 

50 States; 50 Meals: New York

There are so many choices for New York.  New York style pizza, bagels, Manhattan clam chowder.  We traveled outside the big apple for our New York chicken dessert but came back for dinner.

What we had for dinner:

Buffalo Chicken Wings
The first wing was made in the Anchor Bar owned by Teresa and Frank Bellissimo

Baked Chicken Wings - The skin gets just a crispy as fried with this recipe.  I didn't make the sauce and bought a bottle of Anchor Bar sauce instead.

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Spiedies Pronounced "speedies"
Spiedies were originally from Italy.  They are marinated cubes of meat, traditionally lamb, cooked on a skewer like a kebab.  Pork, chicken, veal, venison, and beef are also used. The meat is marinated and then grilled. The marinade recipe varies, usually involving olive oil, vinegar, and a variety of Italian spices and fresh mint. The meat is then served on Italian bread.  The bread is used to take the meat off of the skewer.I was able to find bottle Spiedie marinade at my grocery store.

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New York  Cheesecake
No-Bake Cheesecake - I made this version so the kids could help me.
Traditional New York Cheesecake

Black and White CookiesDevil's food cake cookie with white buttercream frosting on one side and black frosting on the other side.

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What is your favorite food from New York?

What are we having for dinner?: May 24 - May 31

Happy Memorial Day!  Today unofficially marks the first day of summer, grills are fired up and the cookout season is upon us.  First and foremost, it is a day to remember those who gave their lives and those who continue to give for their country.

 

Here's what we are having for dinner this week:



Sunday: Dinner @ Hershey Park


Monday: BBQ Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Red Potato Salad
BBQ Chicken -Based off of this recipe with store bought rub and sauce
Red Potato Salad - Recipe Coming


Tuesday: Taco Pizza - My Recipes
I substituted refried bean for refried black beans.

Wednesday: Hot Dogs and Baked Bean

Thursday: Cashew Chicken - Wegmans
This recipe is better than Chinese take-out. 


Friday:  My Birthday Dinner

Saturday: Cilantro Lime Chicken, Grilled Corn & Black Beans and Strawberry Fields Salad


Cilantro Lime Chicken - Bottled Marinade from Wegmans and Chicken Breasts.  Quick hint:  They sell already marinated chicken in this flavor too.
Grilled Corn & Black Beans - Wegmans
Strawberry Fields Salad - My Recipes - This salad has strawberries, nectarines, green tomatoes, glazed pecans and poppy seed dressing.  So yum!  Should be even better with the strawberries we plan to pick that morning.

 

What did you have this Memorial Day?

 

 

What are we having for dinner?: May 18 - May 23

Or maybe I should say what we had.  It has been a crazy week.  The girls have had dance pictures almost every night since Sunday.  It feels nice to actually sit down, and do something I actually want to do.

Here's what we are having for dinner this week:



Sunday: Awesome Sauce Chicken with Spanish Rice and Refried Black Beans


On Friday we went out to a Mexican restaurant.  My husband's dinner came with this awesome avocado, jalapeno, cilantro sauce.  It was so good I wanted to drink it.  I hunted Pinterest to see if I could find the Copycat recipe.  I didn't find the exact match but this recipe from Tasty Kitchen.  It tasted just like the sauce as the restaurant.  I added more water so I could use it on the chicken as a marinade and kept half for a dipping sauce.  It was so good I was dancin'.



Monday:
The girls:
Perdue Chicken Nuggets
Easy Mac (Wegmans Brand)

The adults:
Wegmans Pasta Bowls

Tuesday: Easy Spaghetti Bolognese from Spoonful.com
I found this recipe for my husband because I was going out to dinner with a friend.  He said it was super easy since everything is made in the same pot and thanked me for finding the recipe.  The leftovers were delicious.

Wednesday: Black Bean Quesadillas with Cilantro Lime Rice
Quesadilla Recipe - My Recipes
Rice Recipe - The Recipe Critic

Thursday: Bacon, Tomato, Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup


Speed things up by buying the precooked bacon.

Friday:  Mrs. Flax Dinner aka Appetizer Dinner
If you remember the movie Mermaids from the 90's you know what I mean by Mrs. Flax Dinner.  "A word about Mrs. Flax and food: the word is "hors d'oeurves." Fun Finger Foods is her main source book and it's all the woman cooks." This stuck with my mom and I so whenever we have a meal of appetizers (aka to our family as pickies or appys)

Saturday: Our Niece is getting married!!

 

When you make a grilled cheese do you butter the bread or add the butter to the skillet?

 

 

What are we having for dinner?: May 10 - May 16

Happy Mother's Day Weekend!  I hope all you Mom's or Ladies that feel like someone's mom are having a great weekend!

Here's what we are having for dinner this week:



Saturday:

Pizza Delivery and a Movie

Razzleberry  Pie from Marie Calendars.  (Raspberries and Marionberries Pie - for a State dinner)

 

Sunday:  Hubby is making me my favorite, Mexican Food!

Rotisserie Chicken Tacos, Goya Spanish Rice

Monday:
The girls:
Perdue Chicken Nuggets
Easy Mac (Wegmans Brand)

The adults:
P.F. Changs Mongolian Beef Frozen Dinner

Tuesday: 

Breakfast Dinner - Pancakes and Sausage Links

Wednesday:

Stouffer's Lasagna, Salad and Garlic Bread

Thursday:

Cheeseburgers and Baked Beans

Friday:  

White Pizza and Salad

 

What are you going to have for dinner?

 

 

What are we having for dinner?: May 4 - May 9

Let me answer that question for you.  When I get together with my Mom's Group a topic that frequently comes up is what to have for dinner on busy nights.  A few things have led my husband and I to become master's of the meal plan.  We did at study of the book Enough, attended Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and lived through two rounds of government furloughs.  I figure if I'm already making the plan I might as why share it.  I always like to find ways to work smarter and not to recreate the wheel so; hopefully, you will find this helpful.

Something to keep in mind about these meal plans.  We are a pretty busy family.  Between the kids activities, meetings, bible studies, hobbies, exercise (and even some adult nights out) some weeks we have an activity every night of the week.  I guess what I am trying to say is don't expect gourmet meals.  Most meals we are eating lately are quick and hopefully healthy.  I LOVE when I do finally get to cook  a "real meal". It makes me so happy that I dance in the kitchen.

Here's what we are having for dinner this week:



Sunday:

Stromboli - Pennsylvania State Dinner (Post coming soon) I plan on using Wegmans pre-made pizza dough and only pepperoni.

Monday:  My girls eat dinner at their dance studio and hubby and I have frozen meals on Monday's

"Cinco de Mayo Meal"
The girls:
Taco Bell Copy Cat Cheese Roll-Up (Soft taco sized tortilla, Shredded Mexican Cheese); Doritos, Fruit

The adults:
Amy's Organic Frozen Meals - Enchiladas and Tortilla Casserole

Tuesday: No Activity!  :)

Cheesesteaks - Another Pennsylvania State Dinner.  I'm leaving out the green pepper and mushrooms for my youngest.

Wednesday:

Tomato Pesto Sauce on Thin Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, Caesar Salad
You have to have a Wegmans for this one.  Follow the instructions on the jar of Tomato Pesto.

Thursday:

Mojo Chicken Kebabs with Rice and Corn on the Cob
This is a Wegmans recipe so I bought the already marinated chicken.  If you don't have a Wegmans you can buy the Goya bottle of marinade.  Wegmans also sells a bottle of their marinade if you have chicken breasts already.

Friday:  Kids have an event

The girls:  Chicken Nuggets and Easy Mac
The adults:  Dinner Out

What are you going to have for dinner?