what we eat a lot

I think it's interesting that um, everyone eats several times a day, yet we don't talk about it a lot. Right? I don't know any of your famous family recipes, and you don't know any of mine. Every now and then my friends post recipes to blogs, and sometimes I try one and it is a raving success or miserable failure (and I think surely when my friend prepares it it isn't as terrible as when I prepared it.) But for the most part, food prepared at home is a pretty private thing. Even though it is a seriously big part of our day. I find that interesting.

So, in the Gottula home, I try my best to be a good wife and mother, and we eat dinner at the table every night. I plan my meals a week at a time (I always have a piece of paper on the counter with planned meals for the week, for me to pick what I'm in the mood for and knowing full well everything needed to prepare it is in the house), I cook before Shane gets home, I set the table, we sit and pray, then we eat and chat. Well, Wesley eats and throws his food, but Shane and I tend to chat.

A normal family routine right? Wrong... evidently not a lot of families actually eat at the table. I can't believe it! I want it to be a goal of mine for my whole life that my children will always have dinner at the table with their family. Articles I have read say it adds to stability and confidence in the home. That is so important to me.

So, since we eat together -- often -- what are we eating? I thought it would be fun to brain dump my "frequent flier" foods.

Breakfast:

• Love breakfast burritos. Love eggs over easy with toast and a piece of ham or something. Shane doesn't; he prefers scrambled.
• Sometimes all I want is a fruity yogurt and a toasted bagel with butter.
• We also do a lot of cold cereal in our house. Honey Bunches of Oats is a staple. I usually like something rather whizz-bang-free (Special K, Cheerios) that I can put fruit in. Shane likes Raisin Bran. Wesley loves Cheerios.
• I made an amazing almond granola this morning that I make a lot. Whenever I have a huge tub of yogurt I need to get rid of quick, I make this granola. (I generally hate plain yogurt. But Wesley was out of yogurt and they didn't have vanilla at the store and strawberries were on sale, so I bought a tub of plain yogurt and said I'd mash strawberries and combine them at home. It didn't get rid of the tartness of the yogurt, though, sadly. Wesley won't touch it. I've got to eat it... hence the granola.)

Lunch:

• We do a lot of leftovers.
• Love peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Almost exclusively. Love a side of chips, but I'll settle for baby carrots.

Dinner:

• For my mom-friends with new babies, I always make a creamy potato soup with onion, carrots, and celery, and it's best in bread bowls. I tried for years and I've finally found the perfect foolproof bread bowl recipe. It's awesome. The secret to bread bowls? Make them by turning a muffin tin upside down! Thank my brother Kurt for that idea.
• I love huge pots of chili. The chili recipe I love calls for one each of all bell peppers, onion, can(s) of beans, can(s) of tomatoes, ground beef, some spaghetti sauce, some chili powder, and you're done. Topped with sour cream and cheese always, and sometimes tortilla chips from the bottom of the bag or Fritoes (sinful). Plus a side of cornbread if I have time. I love all the leftovers. (PS I'm totally looking for a great cornbread recipe since all mine are terrible.)
• Chicken pillows. Basically shredded chicken mixed with a slab of cream cheese and some frozen peas and garlic powder, divided into little balls of goo and wrapped in a stretched-out Pillsbury crescent roll. Then sometimes dipped in crushed corn flakes. I know Pillsbury stuff is bad for you (all those trans fats), but they're so dang good.
• Hawaiian haystacks. We do this a lot. Chicken and cream of chicken soup, with rice, and a bunch of toppings like pineapple, ham, green peas, green peppers, almonds, coconut, cheese, tomatoes, chow mien noodles, YUM.
  
• Quesidillas and black beans. One of my FAVORITE quick easy meals. Cheese quesidillas, made on the stove top, cut in quarters and topped with sour cream, black beans, and salsa. I just LOVE this meal.
  
• We also do a lot of soup and salad. You just can't beat the quickness.
• The best grilled cheese sandwich I've ever made includes ham, roma tomatoes, fresh basil, and cheese, with the butter used on the outside of the sandwich mixed up with crushed garlic and Parmesan cheese before it's spread. It's amazing.
  

Dessert:

• Pumpkin cake roll. Yes, my signature dessert isn't even chocolate. Shocking! I love this, and I make it every once in awhile for a real treat. It's a big, slim pumpkin cake baked in a cookie sheet, with cream cheese spread on it and rolled up then sliced. It's best frozen.
• Twining M&M cookies. If you've never had these, ask for some. Chocolate- and peanut-butter-chip cookies with M&Ms on top. A memory of my childhood.

I guess that's all for now. I'd call these things my "signature" items. I'm curious, what are your signature items? And feel free to post to your own blog so we can learn a bit more about each other and this little thing called eating (which most of us do constantly!)