Tonight dinner took exceptionally long to make - for our usual routine - but it turned out to be a hit!
And what on earth did we have? Well I decided to let the fabulous Tyler Florence inspire one dish and then we tried one from Rice Krispies website...
Butternut squash mac & cheese
Now I added a different pasta - he said use shells - I used brown rice pasta that comes in shapes and is organic (ok - as organic as that can be since it travelled from far away to get to my house... but I digress)
It was super easy - Tyler's book for kids recipes is awesome! Ok and how is this for easy... 1/2 of my 4 lb butternut squash - baked in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper - 50 minutes at 400 - then once it is good and cooked you use one half (about 2 lbs - ish) and put that in the blender (or food processor if you are lucky enough to have one) with 1 cup of milk (supposed to be whole milk, but I had skim milk) - then you blend the crap out of it - I let it run for more than a minute. Ok so then you mix the butternut squash smoothie with the pasta (use a spatula) and then you can put it in a baking dish and put cheese on top and bake it at 350 until the cheese melts - he suggested putting on a cup of cheese - he suggested monterey jack and again I just used cheddar. I cheated this part because the kids had been waiting too long for dinner - so I just put it in a bowl and grated cheese on top - the heat of everything melted the cheese.. shocking...
Kyle said it was wicked awesome - Michael... well the grated cheese wasn't enough to convince him to eat it - he did try it though and that was good.
Ok - so then there was the chicken - that - according to Kyle - was the best chicken fingers he has ever had... and they were super simple.
For this recipe - I cut up two chicken breasts (hey mom, do you know how tall I am? no, sweetheart, how tall are you - I'm as tall as grandma's breast - wicked... frickin' wicked). I cut it in the middle of the breast (whatever that's called - so you end up with four pieces) and then into smaller pieces. Then you dip them in an egg wash - 2 egg whites and 1 tbsp of water, then you dredge them in 2 1/2 cups of rice krispies, 1 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, pepper, 1 tsp seasoning salt (mix up the dredging stuff and yes, break up the rice krispies a little, but you want some of them to keep shape - so it is not meant to be a powder that you dredge them in) - tonight I had the rice krispy stuff on a piece of wax paper than I just rolled the chicken on it. Then this goes in the oven - I cooked them at 400 for 10 minutes a side - the online recipe says 450... me thinks that is too high... but maybe they are in a different climate... or something...
And what on earth did we have? Well I decided to let the fabulous Tyler Florence inspire one dish and then we tried one from Rice Krispies website...
Butternut squash mac & cheese
Now I added a different pasta - he said use shells - I used brown rice pasta that comes in shapes and is organic (ok - as organic as that can be since it travelled from far away to get to my house... but I digress)
It was super easy - Tyler's book for kids recipes is awesome! Ok and how is this for easy... 1/2 of my 4 lb butternut squash - baked in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper - 50 minutes at 400 - then once it is good and cooked you use one half (about 2 lbs - ish) and put that in the blender (or food processor if you are lucky enough to have one) with 1 cup of milk (supposed to be whole milk, but I had skim milk) - then you blend the crap out of it - I let it run for more than a minute. Ok so then you mix the butternut squash smoothie with the pasta (use a spatula) and then you can put it in a baking dish and put cheese on top and bake it at 350 until the cheese melts - he suggested putting on a cup of cheese - he suggested monterey jack and again I just used cheddar. I cheated this part because the kids had been waiting too long for dinner - so I just put it in a bowl and grated cheese on top - the heat of everything melted the cheese.. shocking...
Kyle said it was wicked awesome - Michael... well the grated cheese wasn't enough to convince him to eat it - he did try it though and that was good.
Ok - so then there was the chicken - that - according to Kyle - was the best chicken fingers he has ever had... and they were super simple.
For this recipe - I cut up two chicken breasts (hey mom, do you know how tall I am? no, sweetheart, how tall are you - I'm as tall as grandma's breast - wicked... frickin' wicked). I cut it in the middle of the breast (whatever that's called - so you end up with four pieces) and then into smaller pieces. Then you dip them in an egg wash - 2 egg whites and 1 tbsp of water, then you dredge them in 2 1/2 cups of rice krispies, 1 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, pepper, 1 tsp seasoning salt (mix up the dredging stuff and yes, break up the rice krispies a little, but you want some of them to keep shape - so it is not meant to be a powder that you dredge them in) - tonight I had the rice krispy stuff on a piece of wax paper than I just rolled the chicken on it. Then this goes in the oven - I cooked them at 400 for 10 minutes a side - the online recipe says 450... me thinks that is too high... but maybe they are in a different climate... or something...
Our happy BC squash
The other part of dinner - zucchini and portobello mushrooms
The chicken and squash cooking together - having fun
One side of the squash carved out
Milk and squash making out
There is no cheese at this point - this is just happy squash and milk
While this kind of looks like a painful face - this is him telling me it is the best chicken EVER
Ye olde thumbs up for yummy chicken :)
Good night friends - xo
Oh and tomorrow Kyle turns nine! I know... madness and also fantastic! Hooray for turning nine!
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