Skillet Cornbread

Also last week, happy to use my cast iron skillet, we tried Skillet Cornbread. I haven't made normal cornbread or the good old cornbread souffle in years because those blue Jiffy boxes are loaded with sodium unfortunately :( So this low-sodium-friendly recipe was very exciting to find (just omit the salt and use no-sodium baking powder).

I loved it. Steve and all three kids were not fans. I couldn't believe it! It turns out, they all prefer northern style cornbread which is essentially cake -- much thicker and sweeter. I did add a couple T of sugar to this, anticipating this reaction, but even still, thumbs down from all of them. The kids in particular didn't like the "tanned" part -- where it browns on the edges thanks to the skillet time on the stove. I thought it was the best part.

Honey Lemon Pork Chops with Healthy Salt Alternative

Last week we tried Honey Lemon Pork Chops with Healthy Salt Alternative. Unfortunately, no picture because I forgot. I used thick bone-in chops instead of boneless because they always seem more moist and flavorful. These weren't bad at all. I made the marinade in the morning and next time would be even better if I remember to do it the night before.

Baked Peanut Butter Oatmeal

Just this morning I threw this in the oven (Baked Peanut Butter Oatmeal):

I've been looking for a change from our favorite PB Energy Bites and although this is pretty similar in the ingredient list, it does get baked so there's that. I also threw in a banana and some chocolate chips. It turned out... ok. Nice and sweet, more dessert-like than breakfasty. Also a bit on the cakey side but not terrible. The kids haven't had a chance to try it yet -- will be interesting to see what they think.

Lemon Butter Chicken

I have been seeking out recipes that make use of my new cast iron skillet so this week we tried Lemon Butter Chicken:

Although it tastes somewhat similar to at least one other chicken recipe I used to make all the time, this was different enough and we did like it. The sauce is especially rich and flavorful and the chicken stays very moist bathing in it. 

Baked Broccoli Tots

This week, among several new recipes we tried Baked Broccoli Tots:

(That picture is before they went in the oven... they came out slightly toasted looking).

They were similar in texture in normal old tater tots but had a distinct broccoli flavor (obvs) and should be much healthier. All in all, Steve and I loved them and look forward to having them again. He thinks we should add crab meat to them but I think I'll leave that to regular crab cakes and have these unadulterated. Genevieve liked them a lot too, though opted to dip hers in her tarter sauce we had out for the fish main dish instead of ketchup which I think is much better. They boys gave the tots a thumbs-down.