Family Dinner Night and a Morning with Girl Scouts
Sometimes I find it necessary to declare Mandatory Family Dinner Night. Especially during the summer. As their sports, friends and social agendas seem to take them away from home, and our family is scattered in a hundred different directions, I declare a night to gather us all around the table. I sent out a text the other morning and began preparing a menu that would make those meat eating boys happy, but would have some healthy choices for the rest of us.
It was definitely a little bit of everything. So much so that one son asked who came up with the "menu" for the dinner. I had to take all the credit. Here's what we had:
Spinach Salad (dressing recipe included)
Grilled Chicken Breasts
Honey Roasted Carrots (recipe included)
Baked Chicken Wings (Sauce recipe included)
Maldonia's Onion Rings (A Special Treat - recipe included)
The clean plates and boys hanging around the table made it all worth the effort!
Honey Roasted Carrots
Several Carrots with Tops, washed and tops removed
2 tsp olive oil
3 T butter, divided
pepper and salt to taste
2 T organic honey
2 T chicken broth
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Stir together olive oil and 1 T butter in preheated pan. Add carrots, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Bake 10 minutes. Melt 2 T butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in honey, thyme and chicken broth and bring to boil, stirring. Reduce heat and cook 5 minutes until syrupy. Drizzle over carrots and toss to coat. cook carrots another 5-10 minutes until they are crisp-tender.
It was definitely a little bit of everything. So much so that one son asked who came up with the "menu" for the dinner. I had to take all the credit. Here's what we had:
Spinach Salad (dressing recipe included)
Grilled Chicken Breasts
Honey Roasted Carrots (recipe included)
Baked Chicken Wings (Sauce recipe included)
Maldonia's Onion Rings (A Special Treat - recipe included)
The clean plates and boys hanging around the table made it all worth the effort!
Honey Roasted Carrots
Several Carrots with Tops, washed and tops removed
2 tsp olive oil
3 T butter, divided
pepper and salt to taste
2 T organic honey
2 T chicken broth
1/2 tsp fresh thyme
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Stir together olive oil and 1 T butter in preheated pan. Add carrots, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Bake 10 minutes. Melt 2 T butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in honey, thyme and chicken broth and bring to boil, stirring. Reduce heat and cook 5 minutes until syrupy. Drizzle over carrots and toss to coat. cook carrots another 5-10 minutes until they are crisp-tender.
Honey roasted carrots
Spinach Salad Makings . . .waiting on the dressing
Spinach Salad Honey Vinaigrette
1/3 Cup White vinegar
2 T organic honey
1 T dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste.
Whisk these ingredients together and add 2/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Whisk until smooth and dress over Salad.
You may have noticed the common theme here - organic honey to sweeten in these recipes. And here it is again for the chicken wings.
Chicken Wings with Cider Vinegar Honey Sauce
Cayenne Pepper
2 lb chicken wings, washed and if you like, skin removed
2 T olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste.
For Sauce:
Cook 1/4 butter in saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes until brown. Transfer to a small bowl and cool. Cook 1/2 Cup honey and 1 T apple cider vinegar in saucepan for 2 minutes or until heated. Whisk in the browned butter.
Toss wings in olive oil to coat and sprinkle with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Grill or Broil about 25 - 30 minutes until crisp and done. Then. . . . Pour Cider Vinegar Honey Sauce over wings and keep warm until time to serve.
Next, the TREAT . . . .ONION RINGS! If I make it a Mandatory Family Dinner Night I want to at least give them something to salivate over. This time it is the onion rings I grew up with from a wonderful Mother figure in my life named Maldonia. She could cook up a storm in the kitchen!! One of our favorites was her onion rings. Here, I try to do them justice.
Maldonia's Onion Rings
2 Large Vidalia Onions
2 Cups Buttermilk
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Cups all purpose flour
1/4 Cup yellow cornmeal
1 quart Canola Oil
Peel and Slice the onions into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices. You want them a little chunky. Separate the rings. In a bowl combine the buttermilk, salt and pepper and add the onion rings. Let them soak while you do other stuff in the kitchen.
In another bowl, add the flour and cornmeal and salt and pepper.
In a large pot heat the oil to 350 degrees. I use a candy thermometer on the side of the pot to keep the oil at the same temperature. Take some onion rings from the buttermilk mixture and dredge in the flour mixture until coated. Place them into the hot oil and cook for about 2 minutes or until brown and crispy. When ready, lift them out with a slotted strainer and place on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and place in a warm oven. Repeat with the rest of the onion rings until all are cooked.
Try to keep greedy hands from stealing the onion rings!
1/3 Cup White vinegar
2 T organic honey
1 T dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste.
Whisk these ingredients together and add 2/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Whisk until smooth and dress over Salad.
You may have noticed the common theme here - organic honey to sweeten in these recipes. And here it is again for the chicken wings.
Chicken Wings with Cider Vinegar Honey Sauce
Cayenne Pepper
2 lb chicken wings, washed and if you like, skin removed
2 T olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste.
For Sauce:
Cook 1/4 butter in saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes until brown. Transfer to a small bowl and cool. Cook 1/2 Cup honey and 1 T apple cider vinegar in saucepan for 2 minutes or until heated. Whisk in the browned butter.
Toss wings in olive oil to coat and sprinkle with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Grill or Broil about 25 - 30 minutes until crisp and done. Then. . . . Pour Cider Vinegar Honey Sauce over wings and keep warm until time to serve.
Next, the TREAT . . . .ONION RINGS! If I make it a Mandatory Family Dinner Night I want to at least give them something to salivate over. This time it is the onion rings I grew up with from a wonderful Mother figure in my life named Maldonia. She could cook up a storm in the kitchen!! One of our favorites was her onion rings. Here, I try to do them justice.
Maldonia's Onion Rings
2 Large Vidalia Onions
2 Cups Buttermilk
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Cups all purpose flour
1/4 Cup yellow cornmeal
1 quart Canola Oil
Peel and Slice the onions into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices. You want them a little chunky. Separate the rings. In a bowl combine the buttermilk, salt and pepper and add the onion rings. Let them soak while you do other stuff in the kitchen.
In another bowl, add the flour and cornmeal and salt and pepper.
In a large pot heat the oil to 350 degrees. I use a candy thermometer on the side of the pot to keep the oil at the same temperature. Take some onion rings from the buttermilk mixture and dredge in the flour mixture until coated. Place them into the hot oil and cook for about 2 minutes or until brown and crispy. When ready, lift them out with a slotted strainer and place on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and place in a warm oven. Repeat with the rest of the onion rings until all are cooked.
Try to keep greedy hands from stealing the onion rings!
Don't tell me you don't want to gobble these up! I showed a lot of restraint and had just two! They were well worth it!
Feeling completely happy with "forcing" my family to the dinner table, I went to bed a happy woman.
The next morning I had the privilege and pleasure of talking to a delightful group of young Girl Scouts during their camp week. Our topic was Nutrition and Beauty and how the two go hand in hand. This group of young girls were spot on and I am thrilled to say already knew so much about nutrition and how and what to do to feed themselves good, wholesome foods! I loved spending the morning with them and getting a peek into their world. I think they much more confident, educated and aware about their bodies and the relationship nutrition plays in making them beautiful young woman, than I was at their age. It was refreshing to see that the unrealistic depictions of the media and magazines hadn't gotten to these girls!
Thanks girls for a wonderful opportunity!
The next morning I had the privilege and pleasure of talking to a delightful group of young Girl Scouts during their camp week. Our topic was Nutrition and Beauty and how the two go hand in hand. This group of young girls were spot on and I am thrilled to say already knew so much about nutrition and how and what to do to feed themselves good, wholesome foods! I loved spending the morning with them and getting a peek into their world. I think they much more confident, educated and aware about their bodies and the relationship nutrition plays in making them beautiful young woman, than I was at their age. It was refreshing to see that the unrealistic depictions of the media and magazines hadn't gotten to these girls!
Thanks girls for a wonderful opportunity!
What a great group of girls!
How is your week? What do you do to get the family together? Were you a Girl Scout? Sadly I was not and now see what I missed! And I'm still fighting my nasty sinus infection . . . huge bummer in the summer! Anyone else out there suffering?
Have a great day!! Do something fun!
Have a great day!! Do something fun!
And just for fun . . .