Monday: Baked Potato Breakfast, Teriyaki Beef Sticks & Grilled Pork Chops

Got up this morning and we’re still working our way through the bacon I made yesterday.

My 11-year-old requested one of her favorite breakfasts: a baked potato.

I literally take a potato, pop it in the microwave for about three minutes until it’s cooked, and then she adds butter, garlic, salt and bacon.

She LOVES it.

Some of the other kids had oatmeal with bacon, and then we got to work. It was a pretty busy school morning, so nothing complicated happening in the breakfast department.

Using Up Mom’s Chicken and That Leftover Steak

For lunch, I had a little bit of roasted chicken my mom had sent home with me.

For my teen, I turned it into a really easy chicken wrap.

I put chicken and cheese in a tortilla and crisp the whole thing in a little butter on the stovetop. Once the cheese is melted and everything is hot, I open it back up and add lettuce and a little ranch, then wrap it back up.

That way you get the hot, crispy tortilla and melted cheese without turning your lettuce into a sad, wilted mess.

I used some of the chicken to make myself a barbecue chicken salad.

For the other kids, I started working through the leftover steak from my parents’ house.

This is my favorite way to reheat steak without really reheating it.

Dice the cold, already-cooked steak into small pieces. Get a pan blazing hot, add a little fat and toss in the steak.

You’re not trying to cook it again. You’re just quickly searing those cut edges and getting everything hot.

I served that with chips, fruit and vegetables, and lunch was done.

Getting Ready for an Expander

Tomorrow one of my kiddos is getting a dental expander.

This is my third child to get one, so unfortunately I know the drill by now: those first 48 hours are not particularly fun.

I stocked up on some protein shakes and decided we’d make a couple of easy, soft treats today too.

First up: Jell-O Ring Pops.

I have these little Ring Pop-shaped popsicle molds, but instead of freezing popsicles in them, I like to fill them with Jell-O and refrigerate them.

The Jell-O sets up into this really fun texture inside the molds, and it’s an especially good treat to have ready when somebody’s mouth is sore.

Oreo Fluff

We also made Oreo Fluff, which will be waiting in the refrigerator tomorrow.

Oreo Fluff

• 1 brick cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• Splash of vanilla extract
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• Oreos, chopped

Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together until completely smooth.

Add a splash of vanilla.

Pour in the heavy whipping cream and continue whipping until the mixture becomes really light and fluffy.

Then fold in your chopped Oreos.

Pop the whole thing into the refrigerator. I actually think it’s even better about 24 hours later when the Oreos have softened slightly into that fluffy cream mixture.

So, so good.

Teriyaki Beef Sticks—and We Have a Winner

I also cooked off another beef stick experiment this afternoon, and I am SO excited about this one.

Yesterday I mixed and prepped a batch of my homemade beef sticks, except this time I wanted to see if I could make a teriyaki version.

And spoiler alert: my kids and I—and even my husband—all agree that these might actually be better than the original beef sticks.

I am so excited about this recipe.

I followed the exact same process as my original homemade beef sticks: mix everything into the ground beef, roll it very thin between parchment paper, score it into sticks with a bench scraper, let it cure overnight in the refrigerator, and then bake it low and slow at 275°F.

The only thing I changed was the seasoning.

Teriyaki Beef Sticks

For 1 pound ground beef, I used:

• 2 teaspoons Morton Tender Quick
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce or liquid aminos
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon liquid smoke
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Mix everything really well into the ground beef and then follow the same rolling, scoring, overnight curing and baking process as my original beef stick recipe.

And these are GOOD.

The brown sugar, ginger and soy give them that sweet-savory teriyaki flavor, but they still taste like the beef sticks we’ve already been loving.

I’m hoping to get the full reel posted tomorrow with the entire process, but I’m giving my Kitchen Log people a little head start. If you already know how to make my original beef sticks and want to try these now, there are your ratios.

I genuinely think we may have just found our new favorite version.

Costco Pork Chop Experiment

For dinner, I decided to try something I don’t buy very often: bone-in pork chops.

Of course, because they came from Costco, I had a HUGE package.

I knew we weren’t going to eat all of them, so before I did anything else, I took part of the package and put it into a freezer bag. I used my FoodSaver to vacuum seal it and put that straight into the freezer.

Now I’ve got another pork-chop dinner waiting for me without worrying about those extra chops sitting around in the refrigerator.

For tonight’s batch, I kept the seasoning simple:

• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder
• Smoked paprika
• Italian seasoning

I probably could have made them even better by brining them first.

I did not have time for that today.

So onto the grill they went.

And considering we have approximately one pork chop left, I’d say they were a hit.

Easy Sides and Dinner Is Done

I served the pork chops with leftover pasta I’d already cooked over the weekend.

Then I made a big tray of roasted vegetables.

I also happened to have some plain steamed broccoli left from last night’s dinner, which worked perfectly for the kids who don’t want anything to do with my roasted vegetables.

Again, I’m not making a separate dinner.

You want roasted vegetables? Great.

You want plain broccoli? Also great.

Pork chop, pasta, vegetable. Everybody wins.

Going Into Tuesday

We’re in a really good spot for cooked protein going into tomorrow.

I still have leftover burgers from Sunday, leftover steak from my parents, about one lonely pork chop, plus plenty of uncooked meat in the refrigerator that I can start working through this week.

And tomorrow we’ve got an expander appointment.

So perhaps the most important meal prep I did today wasn’t the pork chops or the beef sticks.

It was the Oreo Fluff.