Sorry for my absence last week, life suddenly got very busy.  We had a field trip and parent teacher conferences, which of course meant no school for a few days.  Then, there are preparations for Halloween which have been keeping me very busy.  I finally nailed my kids' costume choices down over the weekend.  They've been very indecisive this year.  Lucie will be a ladybug, and Elliot, a Naboo Starfighter pilot (Star Wars).

I can't remember if I've mentioned it here, but I am in love with the cookbook, 'Mad Hungry.'  It's written by Lucinda Scala Quinn, the executive food editor at Martha Stewart Living.  You may recognize her from the Everyday Food cooking show.  She also has a new show called Mad Hungry on the Hallmark Channel.

I bought the cookbook six months ago, or so, and every single thing I've made from it has been wonderful.  The subtitle is 'Feeding Men and Boys,' but I have to say that the food is equally loved by the women in my family, so don't let that prevent you from buying it.  I would just say that the food is particularly non-fussy and practical, so it appeals to boys.

One of the ideas I love from the book is to oven roast chicken breast and shred them for future use.  This takes all of 20 minutes, most of which is not hands-on time.  On Sunday I cooked 6 very plump half breasts and shredded them, then placed them in jelly jar glasses.  I put a few in the freezer and a few in the fridge, and each glass will supply our family of five with at least one meal. 

We often opt for one meal dishes at our house, so one glass of chicken, which is about 2 cups, can be turned into soft tacos, tossed into soup, used as a salad topping, you get the idea.  On Sunday night we made one of my kids' favorite meals, the kind that literally has them yelling "yay" when I announce what we're having.  They think they're really getting away with something with this one-- chicken nachos.  It started as our Super Bowl tradition, but now we have it every few months, not too much to make it seem like a regular old meal.

There's really no recipe for this, it's just organic tortilla chips topped with black beans, black olives, chicken and cheese.  On the adult side there are jalapenos, and we serve it up with salsa and sour cream.  My husband usually does the assembly and it has two layers so that the topping to chip ratio is just right.  I have to admit I cheer a little when they come out of the oven all toasty too.

Monday night I served up Chicken Hand Pies from Mad Hungry using the shredded chicken. The recipe uses a delicious cream cheese pastry which is easy to handle.  I think next time I will double that and freeze several for Elliot's lunch box.  Last night he had me put away the two leftover pies for his lunch and dinner today, so I think that was a success.

Mad Hungry is listed below in my Amazon sidebar.  Thanks to whoever it was who purchased it through my link!