My Last Day as a Housewife

I made sure my last day as a housewife went out with a bang! I did not sit back and relax all day. I cleaned, canceled other interviews I had lined up, and cooked a great meal for Tony. This is his last day being married to a housewife and more than likely will not be coming home to home cooked meals every night. Our schedules are going to be slightly off. I probably will get home an hour and a half after he does since he goes into work early. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I will not be cooking anything since I have karate those nights. Either it will be left overs or he is going to have to cook the meal for us. Tony will also have to get used to eating later at night if I am going to cook when I get home. I probably will get home between 5:30 and 6:00 each night and Tony gets home at 4:00. While working at my last job I worked at home so even though I would work to 5 even sometimes 7 at night I could quickly toss something in the oven or take a break to make sure dinner was ready for him.

Okay…backed to what I cooked today. Yummy! I first tried low fat monkey bars from Woman’s Day magazine. These are so stinking good I had to fight not to eat almost half of the batch. I did make one mistake. In the recipe I was only supposed to put a half cup of the chocolate chips in the batter and then sprinkle the rest on but I put the full cup in. Does not make a difference in the taste but all the chocolate chips sink to the bottom. They are 3 grams of fat per serving but I made a few modifications so it is probably only around 1.5 grams of fat per serving. 1.5x40 servings…okay…I had my share of fat today. Ops.

Monkey Bars

1 2/3 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 5 bananas)
¾ cup packed light brown sugar (I used brown sugar splenda)
¼ cup oil (I used applesauce)
¼ cup milk
2 large eggs (I used egg beaters)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
1 ¾ cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 350 Degrees. Line a 15x10x1/2 inch baking pan with nonstick foil and let foil extend about 2 inches above pan at both ends.
2. Whisk mashed bananas, sugar, oil, milk, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in large bowl until mixed thoroughly. Whisk in flour just until blended; gently stir in ½ cup of the mini chocolate chips.
3. Spread batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
4. Holding foil by ends, lift from pan onto cutting board. Carefully cut lengthwise in 4 strips and then cut each strip into 10. Remove from foil.

For dinner I made Tony Buffalo Shrimp Sliders from Redbook Magazine. I made these once before and he loved them. I did make a few modifications. I added red pepper flakes for more heat as Tony likes it. He does not like celery so I used onion instead. I also used whole grain flat bread buns, toasted with butter spray and garlic. I did not do red pepper flakes, onion, or garlic the last time and Tony liked it even better this time around. Now what did I eat since I do not like seafood...a Morning Star black bean burger. Yes, Tony gets the homecooked meals.

Buffalo Shrimp Slider

8 (3-inch) soft dinner rolls, split – or 4 regular buns
1 small heart romaine lettuce, finely shredded, 2 cups
1 celery stalk, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced
1/3 cup shredded carrots
3 tbsp blue cheese dressing
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
3 tbsp hot-pepper sauce or buffalo wing sauce
¼ cup crumbled blue cheese

1. Heat the broiler. Place dinner rolls, cut side up, on baking sheet. Place under broiler and lightly toast, turning baking sheet to toast rolls evenly.
2. In a medium bowl, toss lettuce, celery, and carrots with dressing. Divide the mixture over the bottom halves of the rolls.
3. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add 1 tbsp butter and shrimp. Sauté 2 minutes or until shrimp are almost cooked through.
4. Add remaining 1 tbsp butter and hot sauce to skillet; continue to cook, stirring shrimp in buffalo sauce with a slotted spoon until cooked through, about 1 minute. Spoon shrimp and sauce over lettuce mixture, sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles and place roll tops, toasted side down.

Now I have to share the potato salad I made Tony and his friends for guy’s night last Friday. This potato salad is a hit whenever I take it to a party. It is spicy and you can only make it with Tastefully Simple ingredients…so call your Tastefully Simple consultant to place an order…that would be me. Especially do not substitute the bacon bits for any other brand. It just does not taste nearly as good.

Fiesta Bacon Potato Salad

5 large Idaho potatoes
2 hardboiled eggs
1 small onion, diced
2 cups miracle whip
¼ cup mustard
¼ cup bacon bits (Tastefully Simple Brand)
2 tb vinegar
1 tb dried onion (Tastefully Simple Brand)
2 tb relish
1 ts Fiesta Party Dip Mix (Tastefully Simple)

Boil potatoes in water until tender. Cool and dice. Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl. Fold in potatoes. Refrigerate 2 hours before serving.