late summer dinner

 the boys were getting ready to spend their last weekend of summer at jeremy's mom's house so i wanted to have my parents over for dinner before the routine of school set in. my mom is always so good about having us over, unfortunately i am not as gifted in the entertaining/hospitality area as she is so i don't have them over as often as i should. i like to think that she's had many more years of practice than i have so there is still hope!

during these extremely hot summer days the boys have been obsessed with this old movie from netflix called the three ninjas. they were so excited for my parents to get to our house that they were waiting outside for them in their "ninja costumes"...mind you it was like 90 something degrees with major humidity and they're out there in their jackets!! grandma was immediately bombarded with 3 requests for her to make them ninja costumes like the ones in the movie:)

this is about as fancy as i get with 3 young boys! it's plain and simple but still nice. 

the dinner: teriyaki grilled chicken, rice, asparagus, sweet potatoes, and a cold macaroni salad. with this meal i always do the chicken, rice and asparagus and then whatever else sounds good with it that day. sometimes a lettuce salad or a jello salad...whatever you want. of course the chicken is my mom's recipe! it's a really good and easy meal and "easy" is right up my alley:) 

i love it when i make a meal that the boys actually want to eat and help themselves to! now if we could just get that to happen more than once out of every 100 meals that would be awesome!

love family dinners! but even better...dessert!  

this dessert is amazing and definitely one of my favorites. i usually have to have some sort of an excuse to make it though and my parents coming over seemed like a great one. lave cakes--i heart you!

i'm pretty sure i got this out of a martha stewart magazine quite a few years ago as you can tell by the wrinkly, ripped up, well loved page!

now i wouldn't classify this as the easiest dessert there is but it is still pretty simple. you just have to make the centers ahead of time and you have to make them right before you serve them so they will be nice and warm straight out of the oven. you can visit with your company as you whip these up. my mom helped me so that helped to speed up the process.

sooo delish!!

it's a party in your mouth people---yuummee! (it's pretty rich so the nice small size is perfect) 

to end the night my mom brought some of my grandma's jewelry back from california and i got to pick something out to keep. i chose this sweet little piece. it didn't have a chain so i found one of mine to put it on.

i love that i can wear this and feel like i have a little piece of her with me. thanks mom.

my family,
my parents,
sharing a great meal,
makes for a wonderful evening.

here are the recipes if you'd like: 

grilled oriental chicken  

1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. pineapple juice
1/4 c. oil
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. ginger
(pepper to taste)

boil above ingredients for 5 minutes...cool. use chicken breasts (i like to use the chicken breast tenders). marinate meat for only 1 hour. grill.

rice

we like rice pilaf and it's from a box. (can't remember the brand, i don't have one here to look at).

asparagus (got this recipe from a friend at church)

wash, break off ends
lay in a pan and coat with olive oil
sprinkle sea salt over them
put in a 400* oven for 15 minutes
sprinkle fresh parmesan all over 
out back in the oven for 5 more minutes
wa-lah---so good!!

macaroni salad

i just used the betty crocker "suddenly pasta salad" from a box. creamy italian. 

sweet potato

baked (oven or microwave)
butter,salt and pepper
that's it!

i said it was an easy meal...not all home made, but easy.

oh my...i can't forget the dessert!

ghirardelli individual chocolate lava cakes

center:

1/2 bar (2 oz) 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate baking bar
1/4 cup heavy cream

cake: nonstick coking spray

1 bar (4oz) 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate baking bar
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. cake flour

*raspberries and whipped cream for garnish

to make centers, melt chocolate and cream in double broiler. whisk gently to blend. refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm. form into 6 balls; refrigerate until needed.

to make cake, heat oven to 400*f. spray 6 4oz ramekins or custard cups with cooking spray. melt chocolate and butter in double broiler; whisk gently to blend. with an electric mixer, whisk eggs, yolks, sugar and vanilla on high speed about 5 minutes or until thick and light. fold melted chocolate mixture and flour into egg mixture just until combined. spoon cake batter into ramekins. place a chocolate ball in the middle of each ramekin. bake about 15 minutes or until cake is firm to the touch. let it sit out of the oven for about 5 minutes. run a small, sharp knife around inside of each ramekin, place a plate on top,invert and remove ramekin. garnish with raspberries and a dollop of whipped cream.

there you have it! 
enjoy:)

xo

Comments

[Sarah]

I will definitely be trying your lava cake recipe! I fell in love with these on the cruise ship a couple of years ago, but haven't found "the" recipe yet. This looks right! (I'll blame you for the extra pounds this will surely put on me.) :-)

[Retro Jordans]

Your blog are just brilliant, do you know this?

[Jenna]

Oh, sister! How I wish I could have been sitting at your dinner table with you all that night! That looked delicious, but you are right, mom and dad and family...doesn't get much better than that! I love it! I love the piece you picked out from Grandma! That is awesome and so special. Did you save one for me? Hee Hee! Mom said she did so it's all good. She said she didn't think it would be anything I would wear though, but that looked beautiful on you! I love you and once again...thanks for sharing your wonderful, amazing blog!

[Candi]

Yeah! More julijones@typepad.com! I love it! What a fun meal - As always - thanks for sharing!

[s]

well im ELATED to discover you've been busy catching up on your blog entries!!!;) your grandma's necklace is very pretty---glad you have a little something of her to keep with you now & always. j makes a lava cake too and seeing your pics just set my mouth a watering......im sure he'll be happy to oblige my craving though as he's always looking for an excuse to indulge in sweets! lol thanks for including all the recipes too.....will have to try your teriyaki chicken!

p.s. for some reason the chicken enchilada recipe just doesnt taste as good as when YOU make it. guess i need more practice;)

[s]

p.s. i nearly missed the special dessert plates!! glad you're getting to put those to use;)

[Momma Jones]

Hi Jules. What a special time we had at your home and yes, the meal was delicious! Dad said he was hungry on the way over and he was delighted with the meal. Loved all the pictures. I need to get busy on the ninja outfits:) Love that you love Grandma's necklace. I remember her wearing that a lot. And I'm pretty sure my Dad gave it to her so she's had it a long time. Love those lava cakes too. Love you much, Mom