This is my dog blue...

Today he went to the vet for a yearly check-up, only we have not been taking him every year. He's been such a healthy dog that we didn't think he needed it. But because he's out of date with his rabies shots, and I would like to bring him to the dog park during the summer, I felt that now was as good of a time as any to get this over with.

Sweet Blue, he had no idea...

In other news, the Dickey household has been eating a lot of leftovers lately! There was SO much soup from last week, that we've just been eating it all up. Yum

After we've gone though the leftovers, I intend on having the following for our dinners:

• Tonight: Panini's and a spinach salad
• Wednesday: Small roast-It'll be a long day at school and a short amount of time between getting home and leaving for church, so this dish will be super simple and good for tomorrow
• Thursday: Pasta, done my way.
• Friday: Homemade Hawaiian pizza, Joshua's favorite
• Saturday: Tacos
• Sunday: Roasted Chicken

Calzone

OK, I know it seems like I'm going crazy posting on here twice today, but as mentioned earlier, I am at parent teacher conference night. NO ONE ever want's to see me. I'm the music teacher and most everyone will get an A in my class, so I'll spend the 2.5 hours that I have to be here alone and bored. So sad.

Because I am so incredibly bored right now, I thought I'd just share my way of calzone making. I'll post pictures tomorrow when I actually make it. I can't believe I've become so lame!

Here's what I use:

1 Pillsbury Crusty French Loaf

Ham

Spinach

green/red Peppers

onions

lots of cheese

what ever fresh herbs you have handy

Salt and Pepper and some Olive Oil

And here's what I do:

Unroll the Pillsbury loaf onto whatever you're baking it on. (I'm using my pizza stone) It should make a sort of square so visualize a diagonal line across it and start loading up one half with all of your toppings. Once you're loaded, fold the other side of the square over and make a triangle, covering and sealing in all of your toppings. Make a few small slices in the dough so that it can breath and drizzle Olive oil over the top of the clazone. Bake @ 400 for about 25 minutes. Check it every so often to make sure the dough isn't getting too dark. If necessary, cover with foil.

Meanwhile, the sauce.

You'll need

1 Onion chopped

1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes

3 TBS garlic

2 TBS crushed red peppers

Thyme

Salt and Pepper

Heat a skillet to medium and sautee the onion until clear with a drizzle of olive oil. Dump in the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients and let it sit covered on low. Watch it and stir occasionally.

Thats It! Cut it in two and eat it on the couch while watching a redbox. At least that's what I plan on doing! :)

Parent Teacher Conference night

Joshua will feast on the leftovers of the week while I stay at school for parent teacher conferences.

Great...

Beans beans... dinner tonight

I really do not like beans but Joshua does, so it is for him that I make this soup. It's really easy but does take some time to prepare. It's best to soak the beans as soon as you wake up so that they'll be ready for cooking when you get home.

Here's what I do:

You will need

• 1 Package of Hurst 15 Bean Soup Cajun soup with flavor package.
• 2 pounds of ground sausage (I use spicy Italian and original JD)
• 2 Can Diced Tomato
• 2 Large Onion, Chopped
• 3 Cloves Chopped Garlic
• Juice from 1 Lemon

I follow the package directions, and you should too! It's very good, and I don't even like beans! :)

Mater-Choken-Chicken

This is what I'm planning on making to tonight. I made it up last week for Joshua and he came up with the fantastic name for it.

Here is what I used:

Drizzle of Olive Oil

2 Chicken Breasts sliced into strips

1 Sweet Onion chopped

5 Roma Tomatoes quartered then sliced

1 can of quartered Artichoke hearts

A good handful of fresh spinach

1/2 Cup white wine

a splash of lime juice

Salt and Pepper.

Shaved Parmesan Cheese (as much as your heart desires)

Add the olive oil and sliced chicken to a medium hot pan, cover and cook for about 4 minutes.

Add the onion, turn the chicken and cover for a few more minutes, stirring every so often. when chicken is all white throughout, add the tomato and white wine. Cook uncovered until tomato starts to loose it's shape. Add the artichoke, lime, salt and pepper and cook for 3 more minutes, and just when everything looks like it might be done, add the spinach. Right before serving from the pan, add the cheese. Serve and enjoy!

The great thing about this recipe is that it only takes about 30 minutes to make, so once I get home I can run the dishwasher, defrost the chicken, scrub my kitchen counters clean (I'm a little OCD about the cleanliness of my kitchen counters...) do a load of laundry, unload the dishwasher, take care of the dog and make myself a cup of Chai tea all before Joshua has left work! (At least that's what I'm hoping will happen today, especially the laundry part...)

My Valentines Menu

Here's what I'll be making tonight!

Steak, because it's romantic.

2 HUGE steaks (totaling 3 pounds...)

lots of Worcestershire sauce

Fresh thyme (from my garden)

a thick coating of ground pepper and a drizzle of Olive Oil.

Only marinate for about an 30-45 minutes.

Put it on the grill, only turn it once, and cook until it's to your liking. In my house we like our steak medium rare, so our steaks will cook anywhere between 11-15 minutes total.

For sweet potatoes, I won't do anything fancy. Just poke holes in them, wrap um in foil and bake at 400 for 1.5-2 hours. Serve with butter and brown sugar :)

For the mushrooms, it's a little more involved.

What you need:

2 tbs. unsalted butter

2 sweet onions

1 pkg sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup brandy

salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in pan and sautee the onions on medium low heat-this is important, or else they'll burn. Once the onions are clear and soft, stir in the mushrooms and cover the pan. Let them sit for a few minutes and then add the brandy. stir and cover again allowing the mushrooms to get all nice and flavored.

SO GOOD!!

Steamed greens. Joshua loves them, so I'll gladly make them for him, but gross! I can't stand the taste. Steaming really needs no instruction. Just keep an eye on them or they'll over cook. Take them out of the pot when they're a truly vibrant green color. At least they're pretty...

My Spinach Salad has a sort of Asian twist. You'll need carrots, celery, cucumber, and onion. Chop them us as fine as you can get them (a handy chopper tool can work wonders at a time like this :) ) and add them on top of a pile of spinach. as some cheese (whatever you like, or have at the time. I usually use either feta or shaved Parmesan) and serve with your favorite Asian ginger dressing. I personally LOVE Makoto ginger dressing. I could practically drink the entire bottle!

Dessert is easy. I kind of cheated and bought chocolates that the culinary department at my school. The students were making and selling them for a very good deal! 25 different kinds of chocolates and sweet treats for $5, not too bad, huh?

Menu for the week of Feb. 13

Sunday: Pot roast with fixin's

Monday: Valentines day Steak with Sweet Potatoes, Steamed Greens, Mushrooms and a Spinach Salad

Tuesday: Mater-Choken'-Chicken with Greens

Wednesday:15 bean cajun soup with Spinach Salad

Thursday: leftover soup

Friday: Calzone with lots of veggies

Saturday: French Onion Soup with a Spinach salad

Sunday, Feb 13

What I made today... best ever pot roast! Here's how I make mine:

Ingredients

1 large beef roast (does not matter what kind)

10 Carrots chopped into chunks

5 Celery Stalks chopped into chunks

4 Onions

2 pkg golden onion soup

1 container of Beef Stock

Add it all to a slow cooker and cook on high for 6 hours. Result, a never fail roast that EVERYONE will love (especially my husband)

Along with this delight, I made a green bean casserole, steamed turnip greens, Mashed potatoes, and crescent rolls. Dessert was a berry cobbler with homemade ice cream. I really should have taken and posted pictures, but I didn't. Use your imagination. :)