Hidden Keys to Loving Relationships

This week was filled with our usual level of crazy, but it was taken up a notch at the end of the week!!

Sunday started out with George heading to church with the boys and me staying home with my sweet croupy baby.  I made my grocery list, typed it into my computer, and was set for a breezy week of cooking bliss.  The plan was for me to marinate the chicken and prep the salad for dinner...no problem...almost like a night off from cooking.  Well, that plan got the kibosh when George got called in for surgery.  It's 5:00, the kids are their usual 5:00 selves, and George is out the door...no problem!  Lucky for me, it's football season, and the boys are content to play football in the backyard about 90% of the day, so it actually ended up being a great night to grill.  I got both of the boys to eat salad once I explained that their "ChickfilA" chicken was on it.  YUM!

Monday's crock pot soup was easy and great for all, and Tuesday I got dinner from Dinners on the Porch, another favorite Winston take-away meal gem.  (Check out their new restaurant opening this fall... The Porch!)  If you've never heard of Kickstarter (this isn't random if you clicked on The Porch link,) it's a great vessel used by entrepreneurs, filmmakers, etc to back their projects.  Segue to...My brother's new film, Self Storage - The Movie, was funded on Kickstarter (view his Kickstarter video here at Self Storage - The Movie to see a taste of his hilariousness.)  And just to give him a further shout out: his film is being released this weekend as a top 20 finalist at the Louisiana Film Prize!!!  I am a proud sister to say the least.

Okay, back to the topic at hand...the end of the week is a bit of a blur as we all had activities every night.  Wednesday was leftover night, which was great because we didn't get home from activities until after 8:00, and I was spent!  Thursday, George was out at a work event, but I decided to make the pork tenderloin anyway (and, in case you're wondering, he doesn't love it when I take over his grilling domain, but, let's get real, sometimes it's just necessary!) It is one of my favorite things to make because it makes plenty of food, and it usually makes me feel like I've had a mom "win" cooking dinner because the boys eat about half of the tenderloin by themselves!!!  It's also great reheated (as George can confirm as he ate it later that evening.)

Friday night, the two Georges went on their first camp out, so the two littles and I were flying solo for dinner.  Pizza and a movie night it was!!!  This truly is one of my favorite traditions ever!  We did it as a family in my house growing up on Friday nights, and it was always a treat.  This is not to be confused with Sunday afternoon "movies" which included Wendy's and watching Hidden Keys to Loving Relationships by Gary Smalley.  You too can own the complete 18 volume set for $19.99!  It was a special, special time for all involved...just ask my brother and sister...I swear this is why we're so close today!!  I had to include the image above to give you a little taste of what we experienced each and every week for nearly 5 months...when I was 16...love you mom and dad!! :)

I don't really know how to follow that except for to say that we pretty much ate pizza all weekend, and I scrapped the tilapia until a later date :)

Happy Cooking!!

PS - this week will be a short week, so I'm only cooking three nights...the kids got to pick, and the winning dinners are:  sliders with sweet potato fries, mac n cheese and edamame, and breakfast for dinner

Dinners Week 2: Fire up the grill, crank up the crockpot, and get ready for some comfort food!

Grilled Chicken Salad with Homemade Balsamic Dressing:
For the salad:
1 head romaine, chopped
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 oz fresh goat cheese (I buy the log, not the crumbles, cheaper & tastier)



For dressing: recipe from CovCom Cooks!
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1 c vegetable oil
Arrange lettuce on platter and top with strawberries, pecans, and goat cheese.  Mix all dressing ingredients together in an air tight container and shake vigorously.  DO NOT over mix, however, as it will turn into syrup.
For chicken: recipe from CovCom Cooks!
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
marinate for 2 to 12 hours by mixing the following, pouring over chicken, and sealing in a Ziploc bag:
3 T mayonnaise
1 1/2 T apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 T lemon juice
1 T sugar
1/2 T salt
1/4 T pepper
After chicken has marinated for at least two hours, heat grill over medium high heat to 400 degrees.  Cook chicken for 5 minutes, flip, cook for 5 minutes more, flip, reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, flip, and cook for 5 minutes more. (If not quite done, keep flipping and cooking 5 minutes per side.)

SERVE WITH: Parker House Rolls!!!!!  What's not to love???

NOTES:  I generally look at my recipes for the week and see what needs to be marinated and prepare the marinade and store the meat right when I get home from the store.  This grilled chicken is my go-to chicken and is a hit every time.  My kids call it ChickFilA chicken, I think because it's peppery :)  If you have never grilled before, don't be intimidated.  It's basically the same heat and time as an oven...you just have to control the heat and flip the meat.  Our pastor's wife, Anita, in Scottsdale used to make this dressing and chicken a lot.  The recipes are hers!  This meal is great for our family and is also fancy enough to have when we have company or to make as a meal to take to someone.


Crockpot Black Bean and Chicken Soup: from my friend Stacey
4 chicken breasts
2 (15oz) cans black beans
2 (15oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 cans cream of chicken soup (or use this substitution)
1 can diced green chiles
1 cup salsa
Combine all ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours.
Serve atop tortilla chips and top with sour cream and shredded cheddar.

NOTES: If you have a crockpot, a can opener, and 5 minutes in the morning, you have time to make this delicious meal!  Honestly, it takes more time to clean out the cans for recycling than it does to prepare this dinner :)


Marinated Pork Tenderloin: recipe from CovCom Cooks!

Whole pork tenderloin
Cavender's Greek seasoning (found with spices)
Newman's Caesar dressing (not creamy)

Sprinkle pork tenderloin with Cavenders Greek Seasoning.  Put in a Ziploc freezer bag.  Pour approximately 1 cup of Newman's Caesar dressing over pork and marinate for 24 hours.  Grill or bake uncovered for approximately 45 minutes.  Pork can be slightly light pink, and it's done.

SERVE WITH: Twice baked potatoes: recipe from Dinner Week 1 and salad (had leftovers from night before from Dinners on the Porch...living lettuce, red pepper, mushrooms, and avocado dressing)

NOTES: I buy the two to a pack pork tenderloins from Harris Teeter.  You can also find these at Costco.  I go ahead and marinate my meat right when the day I arrive home from the grocery store, refrigerate one tenderloin and freeze the other.  This pork is great in the oven, but it is dynamite on the grill!  If I bake or grill this, I start at a higher temperature (425 or so) for about 20 minutes then lower the temperature to 350 and cook for the remaining 25 minutes.  Cook time really depends on the size of your tenderloins.


Homemade Pizza: Again, I know you know how to make pizza, but this was my take this week
Fresh pizza dough ball (I buy the whole wheat from Harris Teeter; Publix & Trader Joe's have them too)
1 cup Ragu pizza sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 Al Fresco spinach and feta chicken sausage links (browned and sliced)
1 red pepper (roasted on high broil 5 minutes on each side, left in a Ziploc bag to cool, peeled, and sliced)
2 oz fresh goat cheese
Roll out dough to desired thickness, add pizza sauce, add toppings.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until crust is brown and cheese is starting to brown.

NOTES: I usually buy two pizza doughs at a time and make a plain cheese pizza for the kids and then a fancy one for me and my husband.  Love doing this on Fridays and having pizza & a movie night like we used to do in my house growing up.  Also, the pizza dough package will tell you to cook the pizza at a higher temperature, but I have found that, when I do that, the edges get too crispy and the middle is too soggy.


Mama's Supper Club Tilapia:
I found this recipe on pinterest...MaMa's Supper Club Tilapia Parmesan 

SERVE WITH: Roasted Asparagus from Dinner Week 1 and

Gourmet Cheese Grits:  recipe from CovCom Cooks!
4 cups milk
1 cup uncooked grits (not instant!)
1 stick butter (divided)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 egg
4oz Gruyere cheese (grated)
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese (grated)
Bring milk to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Add 1/2 stick butter and grits.  Stir until it is the consistency of oatmeal (about 5 minutes.)  Take grits off heat.  Add salt, pepper, and egg (be sure to temper the egg so it doesn't scramble.)  Stir well.  Add remaining 1/2 stick butter and Gruyere  cheese.  Pour into greased 1 quart casserole dish.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

NOTES:  Between the tilapia and the cheese grits, this is a heavy dish, but it is GREAT comfort food!  I usually prepare the grits earlier in the day because they require constant attention.  That way, I can pull them out of the fridge and throw together the asparagus and tilapia so that they're all ready for the oven at the same time.  The leftover grits (if there are any) are also great for breakfast!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Good morning!

First things first.  What's on the menu for this week?  Homemade pizza, grilled chicken salad with balsamic dressing, MaMa's Supper Club Tilapia (shown above) with cheese grits and roasted asparagus, chicken & black bean soup, pork tenderloin with twice baked potatoes and roasted broccoli.

Also, after reading Dinner Week 1, George thought you might want to hear how the week went, so here you have it:

The good:  Monday's chicken, broccoli, and rice casserole was a hit with the entire family once the boys realized that, as I mentioned earlier, they do actually like that dish.  It was a great meal to pop in the oven and have as a one dish dinner on a night that always ends up being crazy with tball.  Tuesday, I made the shrimp & corn chowder, but we ended up going on an impromptu date night after curriculum night at school (yes, I needed a glass of wine after that!.)  So, the shrimp & corn chowder fed the boys on Tuesday, and was great for lunch on Wednesday and dinner for me and George that night (boys ate at Wednesday night supper at church.)  Tacos on Friday night were super fast and easy, and I can pretty much count on happy faces at the dinner table on taco night.  A plus by the end of the week!!

The not so pretty:  Last night, I made the mustard chicken, potatoes, and Brussels sprouts.  Although, my husband and I LOVE Brussels sprouts, I can tell you that the boys do not!  I wouldn't have even attempted putting them on their plates (I served them apples with peanut butter instead) except for the fact that I had heard Dr. Joey Skelton, founder Brenner FIT, speak this past week about childhood hunger and obesity.  He said that you need to put something in front of a child TWELVE times before you give up as their tastes are always changing.  So, I tried it :)  They ate the bacon that it was cooked with...does that count for something?  Also, the dinner from Julia's Take Away Gourmet was so yummy, but I did not take into account that she was making Chicken & Corn Chowder when I was doing my meal planning...we had a LOT of chowder this week :)

The ugly:  Thursday morning, I asked my husband what he might like for dinner of our remaining choices...of course he said the risotto as he's 1/4 Italian, and any time I give him the choice, he'll choose Italian...especially authentic Italian...that takes FOREVER.  I normally would not cook such a labor intensive meal on a "school night," but I decided that it would be great.  I had a plan to start dinner at 4:00, plug the kids into a show if the need arose, and feed the baby in the high chair while I cooked.  I had hoped to be done by 5:30 with plenty of time to spare before the kids were ravenous.  Well, that was a bust because I ended up taking the baby to the doctor at 4:00.  Diagnosis, croup!  Are you kidding me?  Now, what I should've done is scrapped the risotto idea and gone through the drive through at ChickFilA; instead, I got home at 5:45 and promptly started chopping, stirring, etc (I was determined!.)  Thankfully, George was home and entertained the boys, got the baby to bed, and made it possible for me to even make dinner.  At 6:30 when it became abundantly clear that this dinner was no where near finished, we (and when I say we, I really mean George) threw together turkey sandwiches and fruit for the boys, raced to get them into the tub and to bed, and I resumed stirring.  At nearly 8:00!!! the dinner finally came together. It was well worth the wait, George and I loved it, but I would've loved for the boys to have eaten it too (we usually eat at 6:00, and they are usually in bed by 7:15)...it was clearly NOT the right night for it!  Plan = FAIL.  My demeanor at the end of making dinner = FRAZZLED MESS.  Best friend coming over after dinner with pumpkin cookies in tow = SAVED THE NIGHT.

Going Forward:  As I was writing last week's recipes, I realized that my blog post was going to be incredibly long, so I did not include the shopping list.  If that is something you'd like to see going forward, please let me know, and I'll be happy to tack it on at the end.  I'd love your feedback as to what you'd like to see more of, less of, questions you have, whatever!

Happy Cooking!

And So It Begins...

And so it begins...this blog that has been swimming around in my head for months now.  I have put it off again and again with some excuse as to why now isn't the right time:  I don't have time, I won't follow up, I'm not a great writer, no one has a need for this (even though I keep hearing otherwise,) I am definitely unqualified.  Not that those sentiments have changed, but...

Here it goes.  Welcome to The LawsON Dinner.  I don't claim to be a chef in any sense of the word, nor am I a recipe writer by any stretch.  What I can tell you about myself is this: I LOVE to cook for my family, I LOVE to cook for my friends , I LOVE to talk about food, and I LOVE a plan!

I start my week off by planning my meals and making my grocery list (organized by aisle of course!.)  Not that it really matters how it's organized, you see, because 9 times out of 10, I end up ordering my groceries online.  It is quite a beautiful thing...simply input items, pay $5 fee (yes, $5!!!,) drive up, push a button, and out come all of my groceries...voila!

My goal each week is to get dinner on the table at least 5 out of the 7 nights (one night is usually a night out, and the other is usually leftovers.)  I try to avoid making something super fancy for me and my husband and an entirely separate meal for my kids...although, you will see me do that when I am just craving something I know my kids won't touch! I try new recipes, I use old favorites, I try to be thoughtful about my meals, about my week, about my day, I try to be realistic about what I can do with three small children in tow.

On the menu for this week are tacos with homemade guacamole and chips, mustard crusted chicken w/ twice baked potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts, shrimp & corn chowder, risotto with asparagus, and chicken, broccoli, & rice casserole.  I may throw in pecan crusted tilapia with cheese grits and a side salad as well; it all just depends on how the week unfolds :) Can you tell that the fall weather is affecting my meal choices?

I'll update my blog at the end of the week with what actually occurred each night, recipes, and a grocery list so that hopefully some of you can enjoy some of these meals as well.

For now, dinner is on the table, and I just got done convincing my boys that they DO, in fact, like chicken, broccoli & rice casserole.  UPDATE: With the promise of dessert when they get home up for grabs, plates are clean just in time for t-ball.  Small victory!