Mom, what’s for dinner???

Between the husband and the child(ren).. If mothers and wives got paid for every time they heard that question, we would have a pretty nice savings account.. $$$

Mom, what’s for dinner?!? 

If your house hold is anything like mine, dinner preparing can easily get boring for the whole family if you have a picky eater or anyone with food allergies. The one thing I am grateful for about my family is the will eat leftovers. I have heard some stories from women who say their significant other or their child(ren) refuse to eat leftovers. That just blows my mind! Growing up as a child with my two older sisters (and a step brother for a little while) we were to eat whatever was served. If we didn’t like it or didn’t want it, we would just have to be hungry that evening! Don’t get me wrong, depending on what it is that is left over, I may not want to eat it more than just one day left over. Unless it is a protein, llike chicken or turkey, sausage or seasoned ground meat not mixed with anything. I have gotten pretty creative with completely changing a leftover meal into a whole new meal using the leftovers! It’s part of my “Create-A-Meal” deal! One thing that has actually stuck with my two older children… Which I laugh at to hear them actually say they had to do what Mom does sometimes by creating a meal out of whatever they have on hand or someone brings over!  The base of most of the “Create-A-Meal” ideas are: Meat, Tomatoes, Pasta or Rice, Beans & a type of Sauce if you have it. Anything extra is a bonus! It may not always be what you want but guess what… You won’t starve if you have it!!! 🙂

One way I like to get into a create a meal flow is to view multiple recipes and basically take either an idea or an ingredient from all the different recipes… Sometimes it’s by choice and sometimes it’s based off of what I have or don’t have to work with. Either way, all things are possible if you have your faith in Christ in your life at all times! Hence why we bless the food we prepare and eat and also bless the cook(s).

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ

I am so happy that our daughter loves to eat fruits and veggies!!! #HappyMommyMoment 🙂  So I try to have a variety of good fruits and veggies to snack on and prepare for meals. I don’t want the selection to get boring so I’m always open to try something different. Not sure if she liked asparagus or not, I stepped outside the box and made some asparagus for dinner with a back up plan to fix her some brocolli. I know that I had not always had the best experience with eating asparagus but I also understand certain foods have potential to be good if prepared the right way (brussel sprouts & eggplant to name a couple). During my trip the other day to Sprouts Farmers Market with my friend, sister in Christ and fitness & mentor Amia Freeman, with Sunday dinner prep  in mind… I picked up a fresh bunch of asparagus, a bag of Sprouts baby medley potatoes (which had purple, red and yellow potatoes). My plan was to prepare those two sides with a salmon steak. Not knowing exactly what the outcome of this meal was going to be, I told myself it was going to be awesomesauce before I even prepared it! Here’s a pic of the outcome:

Honey Glazed Salmon, Garlic Butter Asparagus & Roasted Baby Potatoes Medley

Honey Glazed Salmon, Garlic Butter Asparagus & Roasted Baby Potatoes Medley

I must say that I really love cooking/baking with lots of colors and lots of flavor. But, I do not use much salt, if any at all. When I do use salt, I just use a little sprinkle of sea salt. When I cook, I really don’t like to “measure” stuff which can make it a little difficult to tell someone how to make it if they want to. I’ve learnd to guesstimate what I use and tell others to use according to how they want it to taste.

So, here is what I did & used to prepare this meal… First:

Thawed & rinsed. Place skin side down on pan. Dropped butter pieces on top & sprinkled Mrs. Dash, Italian seasoning & a dash of smoked paparika. Place in over heated at 400 degrees til butter melted. While in oven, I mixed equal parts of honey & ketchup(yes, ketchup..lol) Mix enough according to how much you want on the salmon. Removed from oven & spread mixture over salmon & returned to oven til done. Flaked when forked! :-)

Thawed & rinsed. Place skin side down on pan. Dropped butter pieces on top & sprinkled Mrs. Dash, Italian seasoning & a dash of smoked paparika. Place in over heated at 400 degrees til butter melted. While in oven, I mixed equal parts of honey & ketchup(yes, ketchup..lol) Mix enough according to how much you want on the salmon. The taste was actually very good! I had no  idea how that concoction was going to taste! Lol! Removed from oven & spread mixture over salmon & returned to oven til done. Flaked when forked! 🙂

Next… ( I didn’t necessarily go in this order but it all got done.)

Baby potatoes were cut into quarters to make wedges. Tossed in a mixture of almost equeal parts.. Red Wine Vinegar & Coconut Oil ( I was out of EVOO). I used a little more Red Wine Vinegar to Coconut Oil. Wisk in some Mrs. Dash, Italian Seasoning (salt & pepper if you like). Toss potatoes in mixture, then place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet which you can line with foil for easy clean up..(but save the mixture!) Bake in oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes (depending on size of wedges cut). Remove from oven & toss in mixture again. Place back in the oven until done. These were very flavorful!!! :-)

Baby potatoes were cut into quarters to make wedges. Tossed in a mixture of almost equeal parts.. Red Wine Vinegar & Coconut Oil ( I was out of EVOO). I used a little more Red Wine Vinegar to Coconut Oil. Wisk in some Mrs. Dash, Italian Seasoning (salt & pepper if you like). Toss potatoes in mixture, then place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet which you can line with foil for easy clean up..(but save the mixture!) Bake in oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes (depending on size of wedges cut). Remove from oven & toss in mixture again. Place back in the oven until done. These were very flavorful!!! 🙂

Finally…

I used FRESH Asparagus. I read a little tip somewhere that said to "break" the ends off that is tough and chewy instead of cutting. To ensure the really tough end is off, breaking it at it's natural breaking point helps with that. (Interesting...) After cutting & rinsing the asparagus. Melt butter in the pan & add either fresh garlic or I used the Spice World Garlic in EVOO (sold in the jar). Sautee the garlic in the butter just a little bit (don't let it burn!) add the asparagus & cook for about 7-10 minutes. The taste was amazing!!!

I used FRESH Asparagus. I read a little tip somewhere that said to “break” the ends off that is tough and chewy instead of cutting. To ensure the really tough end is off, breaking it at it’s natural breaking point helps with that. (I thought that was interesting…) After breaking & rinsing the asparagus. Melt butter in the pan & add either fresh garlic or I used the Spice World Garlic in EVOO (sold in the jar). Sautee the garlic in the butter just a little bit (don’t let it burn!) add the asparagus, sprinkle on a little sea salt and pepper while cooking & turning.. Cook for about 7-10 minutes. The taste was amazing!!!

My 8yr old daughter LOVED the asparagus.. And everything else too!!! My grandson who has a texture issue with food didn’t like the asparagus but he loved the Salmon & Baby Potato Wedges!!! My husband enjoyed the entire meal as well… I’m sure he was just happy it wasn’t chicken!!! Lol 😀

Genesis 6:21 And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and them.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it & if you give anything a try, please let me know how yours turned out for you! If you tweak anything please share that as well!

God Bless & Take care!!

~Dee~

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