Catz in the Kitchen

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Weekly Menu 11/4-11/10

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Happy November!!! I'm so excited about November I can't even think straight. I've got some great Holiday-inspired dishes coming your way. What I would like to know, is what you are looking for in terms of holiday dishes this year. Do you need more dessert ideas, side dish ideas, entree ideas, or something else? I want to know! So tell me!

Josh started out our weekend with a cold, poor guy. So we've been hunkering down at the house the last few days watching movies and relaxing. We watched Monsters University, Now You See Me, and The Cruds. We didn't go to church on Sunday so Josh could try and rest up a bit, and man...was it slammed. The grocery store has begun laying out all of their holiday specials and coupons and while I love that all of the baking stuff is at its cheapest, I despise out of stock shelves. ALL of the chicken stock was gone. So I had to get a rain check today, which is fine and dandy with me.

Monday
(Meatless)
Tuna Casserole, Fruit Salad, and Rolls
Tuesday
(Taco)
Mexican Lasagna and Salad
Wednesday
(Crockpot, Awana Night)
BBQ Chicken Sandwiches and Fries
Thursday
Southwest Breakfast Bowls
Friday
Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce, Sweet Potatoes, and Salad
Saturday
Turkey, Stuffing, Candied Yams, Green Beans, and Rolls
Sunday
Fried Egg Sandwiches and Smoothies

Roasted Zucchini with Almonds and Parmesan

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roasted zucchini recipe

I think zucchini is the forgotten vegetable. In the late summer, zucchini is at it's peak and everyone is scurrying around to find different ways to use it up. But then fall and winter shows up no one ever talks about it anymore. Well, I'm here to bring zucchini back!

This side dish is delicious! I made it so many times over the summer and each time I think it only got better. Eden has told me that it's one of her favorite sides I make. Its an easy dish to make and pretty cheap. The next time you aren't sure what to make on the side for dinner, try this out! You will gobble it up just like we do!

zucchini almonds parmesan

Roasted Zucchini with Almonds and Parmesan

 

Recipe by Chelsia Rief

Zucchini that is sweetly roasted and topped with toasted almonds, rosemary, and parmesan cheese makes a side dish that is not only perfect for most main entrees, but would also be a great addition to your Thanksgiving dinner.

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 25-30 min

Total time: 40 min

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • ½ cupslivered almonds
  • 2medium zucchini
  • 2-3 tbspextra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 ½ tspdried rosemary
  • 2garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ cupshredded parmesan cheese

Cooking Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. On a small baking sheet, lay the slivered almonds out on the sheet and toast for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.
  2. Pre-heat oven to 375. Cut zucchini into coin shapes and then quarter. Place on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, and garlic. Mix together with hands to ensure everything is well incorporated. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
  3. Scoop the zucchini into a medium sized bowl and carefully stir in cheese and toasted almonds. Serve right away.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Parmesan Subs

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slow cooker parmesan subs

Lately, I've been flooded with a ton of different recipe ideas. I recently just bought a notebook specifically for jotting down my ideas...different ingredients that those ideas might need, writing down different recipes I want to remake from the early days of this blog and making a list of all the holiday dishes I want to prepare.


This sandwich idea came to me a few weeks ago and I could not get it out of my head! I love chicken parmesan, but I never make it because I know its kind of icky for you, even though it tastes so dang good.

On Wednesday's, we have our Awana kids club nights and I've got to have something quick and easy for dinner that won't take to much of our time because at the latest, we've got to be out of the house by 6:15pm to make it to the church by 6:30pm.

parmesan sub recipe

Let me tell you...I surprised myself with how good this was. It really does taste just like chicken parmesan...without all the fried stuff.  It's got Italian flavor written all over it, with the cheesy flavor of parm...but all wrapped up together in a delicious sub-sandwich bun that's been toasted.

We all loved this so much. It's now a new family favorite of ours and we all can't wait till I make it again!

slow cooker sub recipe

Slow Cooker Parmesan Subs

Recipe by Chelsia Rief

An Italian favorite remade into a sandwich. Cheesy chicken, rich marinara sauce, and a toasted bun...this is a sub that you'll want more than one of!

Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: 6 hrs on low

Total time: 6 hrs 30 min

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (frozen or thawed)
  • 1 jar (1 lb) marinara/spaghetti sauce (your favorite brand...I used Prego Traditional)
  • ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 8 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese (1 tablespoon per sandwich)
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley (dried parsley will work too)
  • 8 sub sandwich buns, toasted

Cooking Directions

  1. In your slow-cooker, place chicken breasts on the bottom of the pot. In a medium sized bowl, combine the spaghetti sauce, grated parmesan cheese, and minced garlic and still until it's incorporated. Pour over chicken and cook on low for 6 hours.
  2. When the chicken is cooked, remove chicken and shred with two forks and return to slow-cooker and stir it together.
  3. Place sandwich rolls on a baking sheet and place under the broiler for only a few minutes until lightly browned and toasted. Remove from oven.
  4. Spoon some of the chicken mixture onto the bun. Top with 1 tablespoon of shredded parmesan cheese and sprinkle some of the chopped parsley on top, before topping with the top bun. Enjoy!

Tuesday's Tidings for October 29, 2013

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1. Last Friday, Josh called to tell me he might have a chance to get free tickets to the Disney on Ice show in the Bank of America Suite! Well, he landed 3 extra tickets for the following day in the afternoon. The girls had such a fun time and what a great thing for Josh to do with the girls. I stayed home with Christian, lol! They had a blast!


2. We're in our 3rd week of school and we're trying a different schedule. Grace is now getting up at 5am with Josh to do math and some of her other subjects because the days were getting a little long and I wasn't getting much else done and it was making me super tired. I'm hoping this new schedule works out a bit.

3. When do you start planning for Christmas? I've got an amazon wish list going for the girls so I can keep track of what they want. Last year, I did a lot of shopping online because I was so pregnant and the idea of fighting the crowds made me instantly grumpy. I'm thinking online...especially Amazon Prime is the way to go.

4. Halloween is in like TWO days! Eeek!

5. Yesterday, I went grocery shopping with all 3 kids! I never do it by myself. But I came across this new product from Hershey. It's a Hershey Candy Cane Bar! I'm planning a Christmas treat around it. =)

6. Speaking of grocery shopping, this little guy is too easy to shop with. He just sits there and makes everyone around him smile. He did drop Blue, his bear at the beginning of the shopping trip and I had a mini heart attack because we couldn't find him and the lady at the customer service desk was less than helpful or sympathetic. Oh well. We found him in the card aisle just sitting there, waiting for us. I don't even know what I would of done if we had lost him.

7. It's been several weeks since I've had time to get in a decent workout. Tonight! No excuses! It's just me and Jillian...since I'm cooking enchiladas tonight for dinner and I won't have time to make those and go to the gym. NO EXCUSES!

8. I'm going to be working on my holiday menus for the blog from here on out. I didn't really do a lot of Halloween type stuff. It's not really my thing. But I've got several ideas in the works and I'm planning on making one today!  What would you like to see me make more of; side dishes, main courses, or desserts for the holidays???

9. I was looking over my brother-in-love's shoulder the other day while he was doing some of his math homework that he's got to do for some of his engineer college classes. Literally, I got a headache just staring at it. I firmly believe that the alphabet has no business showing up in math.

10. Today I cleaned up our garden bed. We had all of the old tomato plants just hanging there so I uprooted them as best I could. I was about to pull up my anaheim chili plant, when I noticed that it is actually flowering and has two long chills on it! SHOCKER!

Weekly Menu 10/28-11/3

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I can't believe that Halloween week is finally here and that November is starting this month as well. You know what else that means? Daylight Savings isn't to far away! PRAISE THE LORD!! I know that I could certainly use that extra hour of sleep back in my life.

We finally got Grace her Halloween costume. She really wanted to be the Statue of Liberty. But after reading some reviews that were less than dazzling, we decided not to spend the money. So I took her out on Friday and she found a really cute Southern Belle dress, but we turned it into a princess dress and she LOVES IT! Eden is going to be Minnie Mouse and Christian is going to be a cow. It's all going to be very cute. Do your kids dress up and if so, what are they going to be?

Monday
Birthday Party Dinner
Tuesday
(Taco)
Wednesday
(Crockpot)
Thursday
(Halloween Night)
Friday
Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce, Asparagus, and Garlic Potatoes
Saturday
BLT's on French Bread

Cafe Sintra in Sunriver, Oregon

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Cafe Sintra is one of our favorite places to go have breakfast while we're vacationing in Sunriver. It's tradition that we go there the morning before we leave to go home or the morning before we leave to go home and our kids are always excited to eat there.
The style of the cafe is eclectic and romantic. I always get the impression that I'm sitting in a little cafe in Italy.

Seating is first come, first served, so you can imagine it's a mad dash there in the mornings. We always tend to eat breakfast on the later side, so we don't usually encounter the crowds. But on the weekends, you might find yourself waiting...for any table that will open up. Then all that's left to do is grab yourself a menu and order at the counter. It's very casual, which is kind of a nice change of pace for us.

I've never been there to order from their lunch menu, but I've had many of their breakfast entree's and I can attest that they have all been amazing.

On the morning we were there last, I got the Bacon and Roma Tomato Eggs Benedict and it was so good.

Josh ordered an Italian Spicy Sausage & Mozzarella Cheese Omelet and it was fantastic as well. It's not overly spicy, because I can never handle any heat, but the zestiness of the sausage compliments the tomatoes and cheeses mixed through it's fluffy exterior.

The kids breakfasts are nice and huge. My girls are able to split a plate off the kids menu and they love it. They adore the French Toast and Pancakes a lot. In fact, those are the only two things they ever order off their menu, lol!
There is something for everyone at Cafe Sintra. Whether you're there for a big breakfast or just a cup of coffee and some toast while you read your newspaper, everyone leaves happy. The staff is sweet and helpful and the restaurant is always clean and charming. It's the perfect breakfast spot to end a perfect vacation.
Cafe Sintra
7 Ponderosa Rd. 
(541) 593-1222

Cinnamon Apple Spice French Toast

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cinnamon apple spice french toast

Okay, so, the reality is that summer is and probably always will be my favorite season. I love to be outdoors, I love shorts and polos and sunglasses. I love biking, hiking, and someday I want to make canoeing a hobby...I think. Chels's? Definitely fall. No doubt about it. Every year, I dread the approaching end of summer, while her eager anticipation of turning leaves, crisp mornings, pumpkin everything, and orange decor builds feverishly. Admittedly, I always find myself enjoying autumn more than I care to let on (I am still mourning the passing of summer, after all), but there's one facet of the third season I've never had to be convinced of - the recipe possibilities are nearly endless. Seriously. The number of amazing fall-themed recipes involving apples, cinnamon, pumpkin, pumpkin squash, and eventually eggnog and gingerbread as November comes into its own, is simply spectacular. More spectacular still is the simplicity with which one's favorite dishes can be easily transformed into a warm, inviting, fall-flavored meal. My favorite candidate for seasonal transformation? French Toast.

Don't believe me? Chels and I quite simply love to try variations on the veritable brunch stand by. Leaving out everything we've tried and not blogged, here are few of our favorites:

It's probably not a stretch to insinuate that we have blogged more French Toast recipes over the three and a half years or so we've had Catz than any other single dish. What makes it so easy to manipulate? Well, when you think about what a basic piece of French Toast is, it's just a slice of bread coated in flavored "batter." So, even without getting outside of the box at all, you can come up with nearly infinite variations on the theme by changing the type of bread and the flavor/style of the "batter." This is before you stuff it, make custards and sauces for it, or whip up custom butters to melt over it, which is when the tastiness begins to get overwhelming. Yeah, I'm a little nutty for a good piece of French Toast.
apple spice french toast
A couple of weekends back, towards the beginning of October, I awoke on a Saturday morning with a familiar hankering for my favorite brunch entrée. Our local farmer's market here in Oregon City has a number of vendors we've grown attached to, but one in particular is a offshoot of a local French restaurant/bakery (boulangerie?). They set up a stand called "Petite Provence" and sell absolutely mouthwatering pastries and freshly baked breads. On this particular Saturday morning, the idea I couldn't get out of my mind was that of making French Toast with their indescribably heavenly French bread. I've used it for sandwiches before, but never for French Toast. The time had come.
french toast recipe
fall french toast recipe
cinnamon french toast
french bread french toast

My basic French Toast template is simple, and probably similar to that used by everyone, well, everywhere. Why mess with what works? Good bread, eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and whipped cream. Make it that way, or begin to build in other flavors - it's pretty hard to go wrong. I took the girls down to the farmer's market, picked up the aforementioned French bread from heaven, a delicious pecan cinnamon roll, and spent a few moments pressing fresh apple cider (which was, needless to say, amazing).

homemade apple cider

When we got home, and I had cut the bread into nice, thick slices, I pondered my "batter." It was late in the morning at this point - no time to reinvent the wheel. I was a bit pumpkin-ed out. Too early for egg nog. Berries are not in season. Apple French Toast (with real apples) is excellent, but would take more time than I really had. In the end, I settled on something incredibly simple - adding some Apple Pie Spice and bumping up the amount of cinnamon (which made for a lot of cinnamon, as Apple Pie Spice is just a mixture cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg). The result? The same delicious French Toast I was craving, with the most amazing French bread I'd ever tasted, and a welcoming autumn spice, lead by cinnamon. I sprinkled a bit of Apple Pie Spice on the whipped cream to enhance the "spice" aspect, and it was quite simply wonderful.

cinnamon apple spice french toast recipe
This recipe is easy, festive, and, of course, delicious. It's not rocket science - just a little tweak to find a new way to enjoy an old favorite. Go find the best French bread you can get your hands on and give it a try!

Cinnamon Apple Spice French Toast

Cinnamon Apple Spice French Toast

Yield: 4-6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Take the time to find some good quality French bread, and enjoy this lightly spiced autumn brunch.

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf freshly baked French bread, sliced into pieces at least one inch thick
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 ½ cups milk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
  • butter

Instructions

  1. Add eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and apple pie spice to a large bowl and beat together.
  2. Heat oven to 170 degrees and place a large cookie sheet inside.
  3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Melt butter in skillet (about a tablespoon) and spread to coat evenly.
  4. Dip one slice of bread at a time in the egg mixture, allowing it to submerge and soak up the mixture for a few seconds. The texture and density of the bread will dictate how long it takes to sufficiently soak through.
  5. Move bread directly from the bowl to the skillet. Cook on one side for several minutes, until egg mixture begins to brown, then flip with a spatula and cook the other side for a similar amount of time. Move the bread directly from the skillet to the waiting cookie sheet and keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.
  6. Serve hot directly from the oven, with toppings of your choice. Suggestions include real maple syrup, butter, and whipped cream sprinkled with apple pie spice.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 309Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 103mgSodium: 556mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 14g

Nutrition information isn't always accurate.

© Joshua Rief
Category: Breakfast

Tuesday's Tidings for October 22, 2013

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1. We went to the zoo on Saturday. It was a perfect day for it! A lot of the animals were out and the weather was warm. I'm so glad we have a membership so we can go whenever we want.

2. So we started school last week. Grace's load is pretty heavy. We're encouraging more work. She's going to begin doing book reports next month and Science projects. Right now, she's studying the state birds, so each week I'm having her draw and color a picture of the bird she's working on, along with 4 facts about it.  Eden is doing super well. Her cursive is beautiful and everyday I'm not only seeing improvement there, but also in her number writing.


3. I attempted to make a bean chili yesterday using the beans you buy in the bags at the store. The only other time I attempted to cook with them, it didn't go well. This time was better, but because I was short on time, I didn't have time to boil them for 2 hours, so I just threw it all in the crockpot and hoped for the best. The flavor was there, but the beans were still a little tough. See...not even food bloggers get it right all the time. I'm going to do the recipe over again in a few weeks though.

4. I got my hair recolored again yesterday. I know I was only in a few weeks ago, but the color was fading too fast, so our hair stylist came over to my mom's and we got our hair done there, with a new brand of hair dye. I'm loving the new color. It is so pretty with a bit more red, but it has this beautiful brown as a base. I'm in love with it!!!

5. Josh and I are watching season 3 of The Walking Dead on netflix right now...which means, we're probably going to have to wait a whole year for season 4 to show up on netflix...ANNOYING! Anyways, can I just say that the Governor has ISSUES!

6. We went to the pumpkin patch Saturday morning after we ate the cinnamon rolls I made. (Which by the way were heavenly.) I love our pumpkin patch so much. It's right down the road from where we live. A family owns it, who also sells berries at our Farmer's Market. We picked raspberries there this summer. We just love it. All you pay for are the pumpkins and other produce you might want. No gimmicks. No tickets. No carnival type stuff. Just you and the pumpkins. That's how it was when I was a kid and I loved it! I'm so glad there are still places that offer that simple experience.

7. What's your favorite thing about Fall? Go!

8. Wednesday begins our Awana year at our church, which means I'll be most likely using my crockpot every Wednesday so I can ensure I have dinner done in time before we have to leave. What's your favorite slow-cooker meal.

9. I really want to buy sugar pumpkins so I can roast them and make my own puree...but I'm a little intimidated by it. Who wants to do it with me or point me the direction of some great step-by step directions?

10. Usually, I have a few links to share with you guys about funny things I've read, or recipes that are mouth-watering to me...but, I have hardly been on the internet lately because of school. As soon as we're on a more regular schedule...my internet stalking days are back!

Weekly Menu 10/21-10/27

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I hope your weekend weather has been as beautiful as ours has been. We've had sunny days filled with blue skies and the perfect temperature of about 70 degrees. It's been amazing. It's been a few years since we've had an October this beautiful.

This weekend, we went to the pumpkin patch and the zoo and it was a blast. Perfect pumpkins, beautiful animals, and tons of fun! Our Saturday I think, was one of the more fun and relaxing ones we've had in awhile.

Monday
(Meatless)
Crockpot Bean Chili and Cornbread
Tuesday
(Taco)
Wednesday
(Crockpot)
Chicken Parmesan Subs and Roasted Zucchini
Thursday
Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce, Roasted Asparagus, and Crescent Rolls
Friday
Carbonara Pizza
Saturday
&
Sunday
We have family coming into town so we're leaving these nights open

October Cooking Class

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I didn't do a post on last month's class because I didn't take any pictures. I got there kind of late and then I was overcome with all the good cooking smells and kind of forgot.

This month's class was a ton of fun. The highlight was hanging out with all of the ladies and learning how to make caramel corn-which I can't wait to do. I just need to go grab me an air popcorn popper now.

Aside from learning how to make caramel corn, we made salsa, apple cider, some really delicious cornbread...which I've never been a fan of, but I really liked that recipe and chili. Obviously, I know how to make chili, because I've got a few different recipes on the blog, but I've never made chili from beans where you have to soak them. That was new and fun and I really loved learning how to do that.

We focused on hospitality, vs straight entertaining and how to use things around your home to make it cozy and inviting. For example, she used a painters drop cloth-the kind you can buy from Home Depot and used that as a table cloth and for a table runner, Lisa used some painters paper...and it was so fun and creative. I think my kids would love doing something like that, because then they could color and decorate it like you can at the Macaroni Grill (which is no longer in Oregon). 

Since I've been coming to the cooking classes for a few months now, I've made several of the recipes...a few times and I do plan on sharing some with you.

One of which is this caramel corn! Seriously, it is to die for. I had a hard time convincing myself that I needed to stop munching on it. Now that I have a base recipe...the variations and flavors I can make...oh my! I'm thinking caramel corn isn't just going to be a Fall eats...it needs to be an all year long eats!