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Well, the last two weeks were a disaster from a food prep perspective. We were already scheduled to be busy, but it seems like nearly every moment has been filled with something.

On top of that, mom started the annual tradition of a pre-summer respiratory issue. It seems like as soon as the weather warms up and we're geared up to play, one of us (usually mom) celebrates by getting some sort of cold/flu funk. Dad started with red, itchy eyes last Saturday and has since progressed to a full-blown cold. Last but not least, Mason woke up in the middle of the night last night with a slight fever and a cough, signaling the beginning of his turn. We're keeping our fingers crossed that it doesn't turn into bronchitis for anyone like it did for me last year. That was decidedly not the best way to ring in the summer time.

So for the next couple weeks, we will be finishing off the majority of the meals from our last bi-weekly stock-up first. We still have the ingredients for the Chicken Pasta Toss and Chicken Tortilla Soup to save from the depths of the freezer before we continue. Depending on how the weather and our respective colds pan out, I may either use the soup as comfort food or hold onto the ingredients because they are easy to keep on hand for a "quick fix" or when nothing else sounds good.

The new additions to the lineup are as follows:

Fire Station Sloppy Joes
Pork Roast with Red Potatoes and Carrots (no recipe, just slow-cookin')
Thai Chicken and Broccoli Wraps
Spicy Pepper Steak Packets ( just a note, this recipe makes a TON of food)
Crunchy Chicken Fingers and baked fries


Fire Station Sloppy Joes
1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 C. ketchup
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 can condensed Chicken Gumbo Soup
2 tsp. mustard

Brown hamburger and onion. Drain moisture off and add rest of ingredients. Simmer until well combined and heated through. Serves four. Way better than Manwich!



Thai Chicken and Broccoli Wraps (by Parents Magazine)

3/4 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
2 C. broccoli-slaw mix
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
3 10-in. whole wheat tortillas

Peanut Sauce
3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp. hot water
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. ginger

Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Cook chicken over medium-high heat until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside. Re-coat the pan with cooking spray. Add broccoli slaw and ginger. Cook until crisp-tender and set aside. Mix peanut sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly until smooth. Spread tortillas with peanut sauce. Top with chicken and broccoli slaw. Roll each and cut in half. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

I got this recipe from Parents magazine some time last year, but I can't find a link to it, so here you go. This recipe is simple, quick, and relatively healthy. We like it because it's really different than a lot of the other stuff we eat, and it's a good way to sneak some broccoli into Mason's diet.