Salmon Patties with Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Bisuits (my version)

Hi everyone!

Here's yet another installment in my effort this week to try something new each night for dinner with recipes inspired by The Tiny Skillet.

I've never made salmon patties before but there have been a couple of recipes I've wanted to try. I combined elements from both recipes and added some ideas of my own to arrive at a brand new creation. I've been making my version of Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits since 2004 so I stuck with what I like.

Salmon Patties

• 1 14 1/2-oz can salmon
  
• 1/4 fresh minced onion
  
• 2 Tbs butter
  
• 2/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs
  
• 3 cups egg beaters
  
• 1 tsp lemon juice
  
• 1 tsp sugar
  
• 2 tsps Worcestershire Sauce
  
• 1 tsp dry mustard
  
• 1/8 tsp pepper
  
• Oil or butter for frying

Finely chop 1/4 cup of onion and saute in a saucepan containing 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat until tender.

Open up can of salmon and drain off the liquid. Dump it into a small bowl (I removed all the bones, but you don't have to--you can just mash them all up into the mix) and mash well with a fork.

In a medium mixing bowl combine breadcrumbs, eggbeaters, lemon juice, sugar, Worcestershire Sauce, dry mustard and pepper. Let sit a minute or two until breadcrumbs have soaked up most of the liquid. Add salmon and onions and combine well.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Shape salmon mixture into 10 small patties and fry for approximately 3 minutes per side or until golden brown. I cook 4 or 5 patties at a time depending on their size. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

Makes 8 to 10 patties.

Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits (my version)

• 2 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix
  
• 1 cup milk
  
• 1 cup cheddar cheese -- shredded
  
• 1/4 cup margarine or butter -- melted
  
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (divided in half)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasonings

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine baking mix, milk, cheese and 1/8 tsp garlic powder until soft dough forms.

Drop dough by 1/4 cups full (I spray the inside of the measuring cup with non-stick spray for easy release of the dough) onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Combine the melted butter, 1/8 tsp garlic powder and Italian seasonings. Brush the mixture over the tops of each biscuit (save leftover butter mixture for serving).

Bake 14 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Makes 8 large biscuits.

**************************************

Here's how this meal was received:

Jason really liked both the salmon patties and the biscuits.

Sierra didn't like the salmon patties but she ate one (I made her--mwahahaha I'm evil mommy). She thought the biscuits were just okay so she added honey. Um, honey on a garlic cheddar biscuit? Riiiight.

Cameron thought the salmon patties were okay and he ate one without complaining. He did the honey on the biscuit thing after seeing Sierra do it. You'd think my kids have never had a dinner roll without honey on it. Wait, maybe they haven't.

Okay, on to the rest of the review. I thought the salmon patties were okay but not great. It's not that they tasted bad or anything. I think I'm just not a salmon patty kind of girl. I always wanted to make them and now I have. I really need to think something is great in order for me to want to cook it again so the salmon patties will not be making an encore appearance at our house.

Of course, I looove the biscuits. I started making them in 2004 when I was pregnant with Cameron. I craved Red Lobster's fried catfish and cheddar bay biscuits throughout my pregnancy even though I'd only eaten at Red Lobster once in my life years before. The thought of them must have really stuck with me. Luckily, there is a Red Lobster near our house so I would just call ahead and take them "to go." When I would arrive, they'd see I was pregnant and ask if I'd like a couple of extra biscuits. Uh, yeah! It started getting a bit costly so I just started making the catfish and biscuits myself.

All in all, it was a good learning experience.

Robyn

P.S. Thank you again, Heather for the lovely family heirloom dishes.

Feta & Basil Stuffed Chicken Breasts Wrapped in Bacon

Hi Nesters!

If you read my recent blog post "Easy Chicken Enchiladas Verde," you know that I perused my friend Lyndsey's blog The Tiny Skillet for inspiration in my meal planning for the week. I didn't have to cook dinner last night because I met a friend for dinner at Daily Grill. Turns out, Jason fed the kids pancakes for dinner so they were pretty happy.

Drawing inspiration from Lyndsey's Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breast, tonight I made feta and basil stuffed chicken breasts wrapped in bacon.

Here's a photo of the finished product to whet your appetite.

The kids get milk. Mommy gets wine!

Here's my recipe:

• 6 chicken breast halves
• 6 slices of bacon
• 3/4 cup reduced fat feta cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped basil
• seasoning (I used Montreal Chicken seasoning)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.

Chop basil and set aside.

Pretty organic basil from my garden.

One at a time, place chicken breast halves in between two pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat tenderizing mallet, pound the chicken into submission (or to 1/4" thickness).



Lay the chicken breast out flat and fill with feta and basil. Roll up chicken breast. Wrap one whole slice of bacon around each breast and secure with toothpicks.





Place the bacon-wrapped chicken breast into the baking dish and sprinkle with seasoning.



Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Then turn your oven to broil and cook a few minutes more till bacon gets crispy.



I served it with a salad of mixed greens, candied pecans , dried cranberries and bleu cheese crumbles. The family loved it and decided it's a keeper--yay!



Thanks for stopping by!

Robyn

FOTD: Meow "Tomcat"

Hi Nesters!

I received some samples I ordered the other day from Meow. I'll try to get them all swatched this weekend but in the meantime, here's the first look I did using one of the samples.

Featured color in this look:

Tomcat - The Meow site describes this color as medium sage green with gold shimmer. From my viewpoint, I see a medium bright green base with a pearly sage green overtone. I also see a pinkish sometimes baby blue shimmer (depending on the light) with light blue sparkles. It's quite lovely.

Other products used in this look:

• Live Unscripted (disc'd TSS) in the crease
• Meow's Crystalline Cat Glow Powder in Opal to highlight and patted over Tomcat to tone down the color.
• Endangered (forest green) gel liner underneath lashes

I have to admit, I think Tomcat looks better swatched on the back of my hand than it does on my eyelids. I find that's true with lots of eye shadow colors though. You can turn your hand every which way in the light to see all of the subtle nuances of the eye shadow. But if I were to do that while wearing the eye shadow on my lids, people might think I was a crazy woman. All in all, I think it was a pretty look but just a little bright for me to wear out in public. More daring girls will love this color.

Oregon road trip

Hi Nesters.

This past Saturday, we drove 8 1/2 hours north to Klamath Falls, Oregon to attend a service for Jason's Great-Aunt Julie (from his mom's side), which was held Sunday morning. Pretty much all of his mom's family lives in Klamath Falls (population 19, 462) or Merrill (a small neighboring town - population 897) and we haven't seen them since the last funeral about 12 years ago.

Although it was a somber occasion, it was really nice too see our relatives. We spent the majority of the day after the service at Uncle Don and Aunt Connie's ranch, which is located out in the country in Merrill. This was Sierra and Cameron's first small town experience. Our cities' population is approximately 910,000 so that gives you an idea of what they are used to.

The kids toured the ranch, moo'd at the cows, and caught (and released) blue-bellied lizards. We ate delicious pulled-pork sandwiches for dinner out on the back deck and got caught up with what everyone had been doing over the past several years. Sierra got to meet and hang out with cousins she hadn't seen (and obviously didn't remember) since she was 1 year old. Lucky for her, all but one of her cousins are girls.

Photo credit: Ramshacklesolid.com

Around 7:00 p.m., she and the girls (ages 15-19) decided to drive into town to get ice cream at the Polar Bear Drive-In. We gave her a 9:00 p.m. curfew and the girls were going to drop her off at our hotel in Klamath Falls.

Photo credit: vintageroadtrip.blogspot.com

About 30 minutes later, a thunderstorm started brewing in the sky. We all stood out in the driveway and ooh'd and aah'd over the beautiful lightening on the horizon. About a half an hour later, Jason and I decided to head back to the hotel. We weren't 5 minutes away from the ranch when the rain started. It went from sprinkles to a torrential downpour within seconds. The rain came down so hard (I've never seen rain this fast and hard in my life) that the wipers struggled to keep up with the water on the windshield. It became so difficult to see, I asked Jason to stop the truck because I started to feel panic setting in. He slowed to a crawl while I regained my composure.

Immediately my mommy senses kicked in and I remembered that Sierra was out with the girls in this storm. We drove directly to the Polar Bear Drive-In to see if the girls were still there. They weren't. We pulled in the parking lot and called Sierra on her cell phone. She said they were on their way back to the ranch. We told her when she got there to stay there and we would bring her home.

When we arrived at the ranch and picked up Sierra, she recounted her experience during the storm...

After they left the drive-in, they headed to one of the local elementary schools to enjoy their shakes and ice cream on the playground. Unfortunately about 5 minutes later, the downpour drove them back to the car. With Sierra and 2 cousins in the back seat, they pulled out of the school parking lot to head back to the ranch. Sierra said she heard a sound and looked over her shoulder out the back window. At that moment, a tree fell down across the road directly behind their car. Sierra said they were "freaked out" and looked for falling trees the whole way back to the ranch.

On our way back to the hotel, we drove by the school to see the location where the tree fell. The tree was so large it blocked the entire road. People were already busy cutting it in sections to remove it so cars would be able to pass. Sierra said it was the most exciting thing that has ever happened to her. I don't even want to think about what might have happened if the girls had left the school yard just a moment later than they did.

The next morning, we went to breakfast at the Black Bear Diner (a recommendation from the hotel concierge). The portions were enormous (the biscuits were 4 times the size of regular restaurant biscuits) and tasty (thank goodness). Had I known this, I would have got a half order of biscuits and gravy instead of the full sized one. After breakfast, we hit the freeway for the long ride home.

Photo credit: thetownmenu.com

Below are photos I took of Mt. Shasta (located in California just south of the Oregon border) on our way to Oregon. I don't remember much from our last trip to Oregon 12 years ago. And I certainly don't remember Mt. Shasta being so majestic. Although these photos are nice, they don't do justice to how it looks in person. She's a beauty!

Easy Chicken Enchiladas Verde

Hi Nesters!

To avoid running back and forth to the grocery store all week or worse, standing in front of my open fridge at 5:00 p.m. wondering what I'm going to make for dinner, I try to plan 4 or 5 dinner menus at a time and then do the shopping for all of them in one trip. I'm in an experimental mood this week and wanted to try some recipes I've never made before (hoping to add a few new dishes to my cooking repertoire). So earlier today, I flew over to my friend Lyndsey's blog The Tiny Skillet for inspiration. Her Chicken Enchiladas immediately caught my eye so I decided that would be for dinner tonight. I changed a few things around to suit my taste and cooking style but basically it's the same idea. The family (which includes a 6 y/o son and very picky 13 y/o daughter) loved it! Here is my recipe:

Easy Chicken Enchiladas Verde

10 corn tortillas
1 28-oz. can green enchilada sauce*
1 lb. white meat chicken* (I used chicken tenders because they were considerably less expensive than breasts)
salt/pepper/garlic powder
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
2 cups shredded Mexican blend shredded cheese
vegetable oil

*You can use leftover chicken and make homemade green sauce if you like. But I didn't have any leftover chicken and I wanted to use canned sauce so it would be fast and easy.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly coat a 9x13 glass baking dish with non-stick spray (makes cleanup super easy).

• Place uncooked white meat chicken in a stock pot. Fill pot with water just enough to cover chicken. Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic salt over the chicken. This seasons the chicken so it doesn't taste bland inside the enchiladas. Boil over high heat until the chicken is cooked all the way through and shreds easily with a fork.

• While chicken is cooking, heat some vegetable oil (about 1/2" deep) in a skillet over medium high heat. One at a time, dip the corn tortillas in the hot oil for approximately 20 seconds. This is just enough time to soften the tortillas for rolling, but not enough to make it crispy. Set the tortillas to drain on a plate lined with paper towels (layer towels in between tortillas.

• Remove cooked chicken from water and shred. I use two forks to shred chicken but you can use your fingers if you like.

• Assembly: Pour enough green enchilada sauce in the baking dish to cover the bottom. One at a time, put shredded chicken down the center of each tortilla. Top with Monterey jack cheese. Roll up and place seam side down into the baking dish. After all filled tortillas are in the baking dish, pour the remaining green enchilada sauce over the top of all the enchiladas. Top with the 2 cups Mexican blend cheese.

• Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve with sour cream.

Don't forget to check back to see what I make next!

Robyn

Wordless Wednesday: Our very own Spiderman!

Mommy's Helper: Alternative dining

Okay Nesters, it's time to spruce up mealtime!

Our children are always ready for us to add some fun to normal, everyday events. When we do, most of us find that we were ready to be spiced up in our daily routine as well. Routine is important for security and stability. But let's face it - sometimes it can just get downright boring. Here are some fun and fresh ideas to add a little pizazz to your family's mealtime.

• Have a picnic on the floor. Pull out a blanket, get out your "outdoor" plates and add the food.




image source

• Eat out on your deck or back porch. Use either a picnic table or set up a card table and enjoy the fresh air.
  
  
• Put a spin on eating outdoors by setting up a tent and lantern. Eat after it gets dark inside the tent. FUN!
  
  
• Allow your family to use chopsticks instead of silverware.
  

image source

• Use festive napkins, glasses or fancy straws at dinner.
  
• Make a rule that no utensils can be used at all! Only hands. Serve finger foods, drink soup out of the bowl, etc.
  
  
• Switch places at the table. Everyone gets to sit somewhere other than their normal seat.
  
  
• Add food coloring to the water.
  
  
• Make dessert FIRST for a change.

image source

Friday Favorites. . .

Hi Nesters!

I was going through some old posts and realized I haven't done a "Friday Favorites" in a very long time. One product I use that I love and have been meaning to tell you about is Trader Joe's Enrich Moisturizing Face Lotion SPF 15.

• fragrance-free


• paraben-free


• oil-free


• PABA-free UVA/UVB protection


• non-comedogenic (doesn't clog pores)


• contains Vitamins A, C, and E.


• formulated for all skin types


• Only $4.49 for a 4 oz. bottle

Wordless Wednesday: In full bloom

Mommy's Helper: Super glue instead of bandages

Hi Nesters!

During the summer months, my kids spend a lot of time in our pool. Sometimes when Cameron has a teeny tiny ouchie somewhere on him that didn't require a bandage during the normal course of the day (paper cut, bug bite, etc.) the water, in his words, "makes it burn!" Since my little guy is a rough and tumble sort, he always seems to have some sort of scrape on him. Needless to say, I quickly grew tired of wasting waterproof bandages (those things aren't cheap).

I had heard of liquid bandage products but didn't have any in the house. So I thought I would give super glue a try. I put a little dab on Cameron's cut (which was barely visible to the naked eye), he and I blew on it until it dried and voila! No more burning ouchie while swimming.

I also need to mention that when he has an open cut that's either bleeding or visibly red, I do use a waterproof bandage. I'm not THAT cheap. But for things like paper cuts, the super glue works like a charm. Now I'm not saying using super glue in lieu of bandages is for everyone (you should follow your own mommy instincts), but in this instance it worked well for us.

Oh and one more thing...if you're thinking about sending me a message telling me how I'm poisoning my child by putting super glue on his skin, I did my research and the primary ingredient of some brands of liquid bandages, including the Band-Aid brand, is a form of cyanoacrylate, better known as "super glue" so I think we're all good here.

Robyn

*If you have a tip that you would like me to consider for publication in a future Mommy's Helper post, please email me your tip (see sidebar for link) and include your name so I can give you credit for sending it in.

Meow haul and my "Caribbean Rainforest" FOTD

I'm loving the new colors from Meow's Lost Rainforest collection. I'm so glad they decided to add new colors. I love them!

I'm equally enamored with the Caribbean Escape collection. I was happy to pick up some extra samples of my favorites.

Here's what I received in my recent Meow haul:

• 1 pampered puss frisky abyssinian - munchkin size (yay for a perfect match!)
• 1 pampered puss frisky korat sample - I like to mix a little of this in with my frisky aby if I've used a sunless tanner
• 2 pampered puss sleek korat sample - to see how it compared to my frisky aby (korat frisky runs dark)
• Caribbean beach sample (already had one from last year, but wanted to add another)
• Caribbean cat island sample
• Caribbean pink sand sample (already had one of these as well, but wanted to add another)
• Rainforest jambu fruit dove sample (love - need a full size of this)
• Rainforest kinkajou sample (love - need a full size of this)
• RF glow in queen alexandria sample (haven't tried this yet but it looks a little scary-not sure how I'm going to like the shimmer/sparkle)
  
• RF glow in phantoma sample (same as above)
  
• RF blush anana sample (love - need a full size of this)
• And I received 2 free samples (thank you, Meow!): "cuddles" from the upcoming Simple Pleasures collection and "lace lingerie" from the upcoming Guilty Pleasures collection.
  

Color descriptions:

jamba fruit dove: neutral rosy peach with hints of taupe and gold iridescence
kinkajou: rich bark bronze shining with copper iridescence
beach: sophisticated soft fawn with satiny metallic gold finish
kamikaze: deep scarlet wine
anana: watermelon pink with sun kissed peach iridescence

Eyes:

• jamba fruit dove (Meow Lost Rainforest) - lid
• kinkajou (Meow Lost Rainforest) - crease/ outer v
• beach (Meow Caribbean Escape) - highlight
• kamikaze (Meow Feliner) - mixed w/ water and lined along upper lash line
  

Face:

• frisky abyssinian (Meow Pampered Puss foundation) - face
• anana (Meow Lost Rainforest iridescent blush) - cheeks
• shortcake (dc'd Aromaleigh lippie) - lips
  

natural light


indoors w/ flash


direct sunlight

Coming soon: "Mommy's Helper"

Hi Nesters!

Are you a busy mom looking for ways to do things that will save time, money or headaches? Well even if you're not a mom, you still might find something useful here so please keep reading.

When I became a full-time stay-at-home mom back in 2004, I found that although my kids kept me very busy and challenged me in their own "special" ways, I started to miss the feeling of satisfaction that I got from working on the computer at my former job.

So when I joined a local group of stay-at-home moms and was given the opportunity to be the editor of its monthly newsletter, I jumped at the chance. It turned out to be not only a great outlet for my computer skills but for my creative side as well.

In that newsletter, I created a monthly column called "Mommy's Helper: Household hints, parenting tips and other useful stuff for busy moms." I solicited the advice of the moms in the group, read parenting magazines and books, and even drew from my own experience to fill that column each month with great tips. Some of those tips have proved invaluable so I've decided from time to time to include them here on my blog. If I can help make even just one mom's life run a little smoother, I will have accomplished what I've set out to do.

So please check back on my blog and keep a look out for my new advice posts entitled "Mommy's Helper." And as I said before, even if you're not a mom yourself, you might just find a tip or two that you can apply to your every day life.

*If you have a tip that you would like me to consider for publication in a future Mommy's Helper post, please email me your tip (see sidebar for link) and include your name so I can give you credit for sending it in.

Ciao Italia! swatches

Hi Nesters!

Here are my Ciao Italia! swatches. Enjoy!





Row 1: indoors w/ flash



Row 1: outdoors



Row 1: sunlight



Row 2: indoors w/ flash


Row 2: outdoors


Row 2: sunlight



Row 3: indoors w/ flash


Row 2: outdoors


Row 3: sunlight





Row 1: indoors w/ flash


Row 1: outdoors


Row 1: sunlight


Row 2: indoors w/ flash


Row 2: outdoors


Row 2: sunlight