I will be the first to admit that cooking has been a challenge for me and menu planning, well it caused many a "discussion" with the hubby in our first year of marriage. He just didn't get why it was so hard. His theory is throw stuff that looks good in the grocery basket and then make something out of it when you get home. In his defense, this really does work for him. He is one of those chefs that can throw things together. I on the other hand, need a recipe. Our budget appreciates a more systematic approach as well. I still don't really have a great system, but I'm getting there. Pinterest has been helpful in giving me recipe ideas and a place to keep track of them for easy access. I even started adding comments about the recipes I pin after I try them to help me remember if we liked them and what changes/substitutions I made. I made these chicken tostadas last week and they were really tasty. My kids LOVE tacos, but always get frustrated trying to eat them because the stuffing falls out. I thought the flat tostadas might help and these are baked so they are healthier. We are also trying to eat mostly lean, white meat. I actually did kind of a taco party concept and everyone built their own. It makes it a bit more fun and saves me from jumping up to get the boys another serving. We are loving our giant lazy susan in the middle of our kitchen table too!
It was yummy! I used pre-made guacamole from HEB and Mission brand baked tostadas, but I made the pico and the lime creme myself. I put it back in the sour cream container, but it is really more than just sour cream. The lime gives it a tangy flavor. I served it with Ranchero beans as recommended, but I think I would prefer black or just regular pinto beans. However, the boys liked the Ranchero. Jonathan even chose to put them on top of his tostada instead of just on the side. I used my George Foreman grill to cook the chicken and the marinade was super easy too. You could even freeze chicken in the marinade and then just defrost and pop on the grill as needed. This will definitely be a repeat at our house!
The next recipe also utilized chicken and the George Foreman Grill and was inspired by the most amazing lettuce wraps I had at The Cheesecake Factory. I did a google search and found out Martha Stewart had posted the recipe on her website! Thank you Martha! You saved me $8 and satisfied my craving! Too bad I didn't have some yummy cheesecake to go with it though. But, this recipe is only 350 calories for three lettuce wraps. It is healthy and really satisfying! The little boys weren't as impressed, mainly because they were hard to eat without falling apart.
I could have kicked myself for forgetting the Feta cheese! Don't worry though, Jeff and I had the leftovers the next day and the feta was a nice addition to our lunch lettuce wraps. I made some modifications like marinating instead of basting the chicken and using bottled dressing instead of homemade. I did make my own tzatziki sauce though. I don't know what kind of lettuce I used, but it wasn't the butter lettuce because it was too expensive for my taste. They may have stayed together better if I had used it.
I also bombed a bit when I tried to spruce up Angel's lunch with a new recipe I found here. I thought he would love it, but I was wrong. He doesn't like sandwiches and really prefers just meat and cheese with no bread. But I thought the crescent roll would be different. I was wrong. Oh well. Back to the drawing board. This week we are trying a couple of other recipes I have pinned, so look forward to more reviews soon.
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