Catz in the Kitchen

menu icon
search icon
×

No Weekly Menu

By Leave a Comment

I know this is Wednesday and the weekly menu is late. Well that's because I have no menu for this week. Sorry :( The last two weeks have been very busy. We've been dealing with a sick cat and trying to get her better, planning for birthdays and anniversaries along with crazy weeks all together. So I'm taking this week off...as well as next week.

Josh has a whole week of vacation off starting Saturday and were going to spend one whole day and one whole night by ourselves :) and then we might take the kids to the beach for the night and who knows what else. Were leaving our schedule open...which is so nice. The only real definite thing we have on our agenda is cleaning out the garage...doesn't that sound like fun? We hope to make enough room to put a freezer in their at some point.

If I can...I'll have Josh blog at some point...but no promises ;)

Have a wonderful two weeks everyone and I'll see you when I get back!

Weekly Menu 7/31-8/7

By Leave a Comment

Can you believe it's August!?! I mean the last real month of summer is here and soon it will be gone :( I'm feeling really jipped right about now. How dare Summer come to us so late! I walked into Rite Aid last week and they already had Fall decorations out and I bought a few early school supplies last week as well. I don't want to think about school quite yet...Soooo I'm going to do my best and make sure we get the most out of our Barbecue for the days start getting darker and colder.

Saturday
Josh made his amazing Chicken Enchiladas
Sunday
We got home late so we had fried egg sandwiches
Monday
Grilled Citrus-Rosemary Salmon with a garlic potato salad
 and corn on the cob
Tuesday
Chicken tacos with Beans and rice
(our usual)
Wednesday
 Teriyaki Pineapple Turkey Burgers with
sweet potato fries
Thursday
BBQ Chicken drumsticks with baked potatoes and green beans

Friday
Chicken Tetrazzini....Maybe

Weekly Menu 7/25-7/31

By Leave a Comment

Sorry to be posting this a few days late. The beginning of the week was a bit hectic around here and then my wireless mouse stopped working. So I had to buy new batteries for it. But everything is fixed now :)

Sunday
Bacon Cheeseburgers and fries
Monday
It was to hot to cook so we went to Moe's for tacos
Tuesday
Teriyaki Chicken Thighs with rice and green beans, and
leftover broccoli (steamed)
Wednesday
BBQ Cowboy beans with homemade drop biscuits and corn
Thursday
Frankenstuffers and a fruit salad
(pending- we have maintenance coming to spray the apartment and Josh gets off work early)
Friday
Grilled Citrus-rosemary salmon with garlic potatoes and veggies
Saturday
Chicken tetrazzini with rolls

Polynesian Chicken

By 6 Comments

This ultra-simple, super-fast recipe for Polynesian Chicken is one of our busy week night go-to favorites! Five ingredients, 30 minutes, and so much flavor!

This ultra-simple, super-fast recipe for Polynesian Chicken is one of our busy week night go-to favorites! Five ingredients, 30 minutes, and so much flavor!

This recipe for Polynesian Chicken first appeared on Catz way back in July of 2010, just a couple of months after I started the blog in an effort to improve my grocery shopping game and the quality of our family meals! Since then, we've made the recipe over and over and over again. Its simplicity, combined with its speed and flavor, send us back to it again and again in busy weeks or when the pantry is getting bare. Also, it's just plain yummy! Some of the notes below are funny - the "six year old" is now 13 and regularly cooking on her own, while the "picky" two year old will eat almost anything! And Jewel is no longer 15 - she's soon to graduate from college! 

At any rate, we've made a few little enhancements to the recipe, along with some notes about additional ideas to add even more flavor, and, of course, some updated photos. Enjoy! 

You know when you're invited to someone's house for dinner and the meal is just so good that you have to have the recipe? This was such a meal for my family. Back in June, we were over at my in-law's house because I was going to meet one of my husband's cousins who he hasn't seen since he was a wee little boy. June is a crazy time for my in-laws and us because our family from Southeast Africa comes into town and we spend pretty much every night there. I enjoy seeing my husband's family and enjoying the perk of getting out of dinner...ha ha, mostly kidding - of course, we help out as much as we can! The food sure is tasty, though.

This ultra-simple, super-fast recipe for Polynesian Chicken is one of our busy week night go-to favorites! Five ingredients, 30 minutes, and so much flavor! [Read more...]

Smoked Sausage Kabobs

By 1 Comment

I'm so glad to be home from our vacations! It feels really good to fall back into the routine of things and to be cooking in our home once again. I didn't realize how much I had missed it, until I was getting dinner together last night. Sometimes, I think I take for granted being able to cook in my home and really enjoy it. It's always nice to be reminded about the simple things that you enjoy.

While going through the fridge last week, I was looking for inspiration with some of the things we had leftovers of. I had about ¾ left of a sausage Kielbasa and I wanted to use it up before it went bad, so I took to the internet to see if I could find something there. I went to the Hillshire Farm site to look for recipes there on what to do with the leftover meat because usually, we use the Kielbasa in breakfast meals. The site offered a lot of helpful ideas but the one that caught my eye was very easy and looked delicious.

Kabobs are such a fun way to eat dinner. The kids think they are getting away with something and for us adults, we really are getting away with something...that whole messy clean-up thing. What's easier than throwing little wooden sticks away after you've used them? This is a cheap, quick, and fun summer dinner to throw together with your family. 
Smoked Sausage Kabobs
(Source: Hillshire Farms)

1 pkg. Hillshire Farms smoked sausage
1 large onion, cut into 1" pieces (optional)
1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces
cherry tomatoes
1 can (8oz) pineapple chunks, drained and reserved
½ cup teriyaki marinade sauce
Cut sausage into slices. Thread sausage, onion, pepper, tomatoes, and pineapple, leaving a small space in between each item. 
Grill over medium heating, turning frequently for 10 minutes. While grilling, brush skewers with teriyaki sauce and pineapple juice. Grill until vegetables are crisp tender. 
Serve over white or brown rice and enjoy!

Weekly Menu 7/19-25th...Starting Monday

By Leave a Comment

Well wouldn't you know it, we finally went grocery shopping. Yes, the long awaited payday/grocery day had arrived...as of Thursday evening. I was so glad it finally came because as of Thursday night...I had no idea what I was going to feed us and I was lucky enough to stumble upon a Chevy's coupon earlier this week so that was our dinner Thursday night. Today (er, tonight) is Friday and we just finished up the rest of our grocery shopping.

Lately, our regular grocery store hasn't had the greatest selection of produce :( and since we've been gone, no Farmer's Markets...but we ended up buying our produce tonight at Lambs which is the Wilsonville grocery store and everything is pretty much fresh, local, and gorgeous to the eye. How can you go wrong there? And now that the grocery shopping is complete I can post my Menu for the week. I would post it Monday...But Monday's are my hectic cleaning days. So I just figured why not get a jump start on the week, eh?

Monday
Smoked Sausage Kabobs with Veggie Mix
Tuesday
Grilled Steak Tacos and Mexican Rice
Wednesday
Polynesian Chicken with rice and steamed broccoli
Thursday
Lemon Pepper Cod with Rice Pilaf and Seasoned Corn
Friday
Teriyaki Chicken Thighs, Grilled Potato Salad, and Green Beans
Saturday
BBQ Cowboy Beans with Homemade Drop Biscuits and a Garden Salad
Sunday
Spaghetti Carbonara, Garlic Bread, and a Garden Salad
As always the order of the meals is subject to change. But it is my hope that it follows the flow I've set for it because I think it would be the most conducive to our week ahead. Saturday and Sunday night, we didn't eat at home. Saturday Night, Josh and I had our first date night since March, and we had dinner at the Macaroni Grill and Sunday night, we had a family BBQ at my parents house since my cousin was in town from Texas.
Have you planned out your weekly menu yet?

4th of July food get togethers

By Leave a Comment

I figured since I'm on a roll I might as well post a blog of some of the food I made while we were at the beach. I know that if I don't post this now, I may not get around to it at all since were leaving again Thursday.

Saturday night, Josh grilled burgers and hot dogs for us and my Grandma made her really yummy potato salad. Sunday, my dad and Grandma made fish n chips. Delicious halibut my dad deep frys and he did the same thing to some cute little shrimp too. My mom made her delicious scalloped potatoes (which she won't give me the recipe) and texas toast. And the Dessert...well I just might do a separate post for that...because for whatever reason...it looks awful but tastes good. No idea what went wrong. So here are some fun food pics from over the weekend!

I feel bad because pictures don't capture flavor and the food was amazing!!! It makes me so mad because my Grandma made a delicious breakfast Sunday morning...I love her breakfasts...I only get them when I come down to the beach and though they aren't anything special as she would say, I think they are so yummy. I adore her pancakes and breakfast potatoes. BUT...I ate my breakfast to fast and I forgot to snap a pic. :( Maybe another time. 
So I just thought I would share some of the food we had :)

Weekly Menu 7/5-7/11

By Leave a Comment

We're back!!! Yeah, were back from the beach, got home yesterday only to turn around and leave again in 2 ½ days. Were leaving Thursday for California for my Family Reunion. That is going to be a short trip. So because we got back from the beach yesterday (Monday) and were leaving on Thursday, that doesn't make much of a weekly menu.  So here is the plan for the week.

Monday
We walked over to Taco Del Mar for dinner
Tuesday
We might either make Fish Tacos ( I doubt it )
or Breakfast Burritos
Wednesday
Dinner at Josh's family's house
his grandparents are in town one last time from Africa
Thursday-Sunday
Fast Food I assume on our way out the door for
our long drive ahead of us and then a lot of homey cooking while were gone.
Anything after Sunday
No idea...I have a few things I could make...but really I don't have a clue.
Have a great week everyone, I hope your 4th of July was amazing!

No Weekly Menu

By Leave a Comment

I know this following week is going to be crazy busy and I don't really know how many nights if at all any, I'll be cooking. So I would rather not make a meal plan at all since it's just basically the same thing it was last week. I've still got family in town from Africa, some are leaving today, others at the end of the week and then over the weekend were supposed to go to the beach for the 4th of July if the weather is nice. I do however, have some fun pics that I'll post in another blog of the yummy food we've been eating since family has been here. We were lucky enough to have my husbands uncle go fishing and he caught some Fresh Chinook Salmon and so we grilled that up one night and it was AMAZING!!!

Anyhoo, everyone have a wonderful week with lot's of good food.

"How To" Hull a Strawberry

By Leave a Comment

I have a love affair with strawberries! I just cannot get enough of them. I would eat them in something delicious everyday of my life...if I could. But maybe I can???

Strawberry Season has not been going very well here in Oregon. Normally, there is a Strawberry abundance and the prices are cheap. This year, we have been rained out. My husband who manages a bank in "Farm Country" (Known as Woodburn or Little Mexico) comes into a lot of contact with the local farmers there. Most of the crops have been ruined from all the rain and there is very little to be salvaged. So when I see a deal on Strawberries, I'm going to grab them.

Lately, the produce has not been overly great where I normally shop, (it's understandable with the weather) so we've been shopping for our fruits and veggies in our own town's local grocery store. This store is filled with all local ingredients and it's the community that keeps this business thriving. It's really an awesome store, their Meat, Bakery, Seafood, and produce sections are out of this world! So when I saw local strawberries on sale for $2.99 for 2lbs...I thought I was going to die. Normally, I would pay $2.50 for 1lb at my store so I was thrilled about this. I do plan on going berry picking soon...but the weather and my schedules have been working together very well.

Since it was Father's Day weekend, I didn't have time to devote myself to the "time-consuming" art of hulling Strawberries. So Monday, as soon as the kids were down for their nap...I got busy hulling. Which is actually I'm able to blog right now too, their napping again :)

I love the color of Strawberries. The richness of the color varies on the size and shape of each berry making it completely unique even though they are all the same thing. Once I was done gazing at my crimson beauties, I got to work rinsing them really good. While the water was draining off, I set up my prep area...right in front of my garden window ( I like to have a view of something while I work) and quickly got down to business.
What I needed was:
1) a Straw
2) cutting board
3) knife
4) garbage bin ( or I just used the container the strawberries came in)

This is the way I hull my Strawberries...I've found a method or assembly line version that works for me so this is what I did. I took one strawberry and trimmed the green leafy top off and discarded it. Then, I took my Straw and at the top, I poked my straw through the strawberry till it pushed through at the end with it the center of the strawberry in the straw.

The I sliced the Strawberry in half and set aside and went to work on the next one. This...could take awhile, depending on how many Strawberries your have. It took me somewhere in the 35-45minute time frame...but I was also taking my sweet time. 
After all the strawberries were hulled and sliced, or quartered. I placed them all back into my strainer and rinsed them off again. 
My goal for this batch of Strawberries was to simply freeze them. I know I want an abundance of fresh berries in my Freezer by the time Fall comes so aside from the one strawberry I did eat...they were all going to be frozen for future use. 
I got out my cookie sheet ( one with high edges really works best for freezing berries) and I covered it with plastic wrap. The berries just don't stick to the plastic wrap as they do the metal. Then I laid out all the strawberries on the sheet and put it in the freezer for 2-3 hours. 

Gosh, they are soooo beautiful!!

Once they were completely frozen, I transferred them to my awaiting and pre-labeled ziploc bag and put them in the freezer. Couldn't be more simple!

They say, you can keep a bag of Fresh Frozen berries in your fridge for up to a year. I don't know who "They" are...I'm assuming they are the foodie people that know a lot of about freezer burn and bacteria. But that's okay, because I will go through this bag probably fairly quickly by making smoothies, and muffins, and pies with these sweet little bites!

What are your favorite ways to cook a Strawberry?