Tuesday Dinner

 

Cicada’s invade the Midwest.

We have cicada’s everywhere in our town. They will fly towards you in a swoop, make a screeching noise and are just obnoxious.

We have heard here in town that lots of dogs have been eating the cicadas. Some dogs have had so many that they had to have their stomach pumped.

People have also been making cicada ice-cream. Cicadas covered in chocolate and possibly cicada soup?

I personally haven’t tried any of these, and don’t plan too!

Here is a little history of the cicadas…

Life Cycle-Taken from University of Illinois Extension

Cicada Killer

Dogday cicadas emerge from the soil during the heat of the summer - the dog days of summer. The harvestfly name came about because some crops are being harvested at the time of their emergence. Once they emerge, they mate and lay eggs. The eggs hatch and the nymphs feed on the sap in tree and shrub roots from two to five years. When fully grown, the nymphs emerge from the soil, climb a tree, building, or other upright object, and shed the exoskeleton that protected their body and wings while tunneling up through the soil. By pumping body fluids to the thorax area behind the head, the thorax swells and splits the exoskeleton. This allows the adult to emerge. Once free, fluids are pumped into their wings causing them to unfold and expand. Once the wings are fully extended, the cicadas let them dry before they fly.

Birds and other predators, including humans, feed on dogday cicadas. One of the more noticeable predators is the cicada killer. This is a large wasp that catches the dogday cicada. After catching and stinging the insect to paralyze it, the cicada killer carries it back to its hole and drags it underground to a chamber where it lays its eggs in the paralyzed cicada. When the eggs hatch, the wasp larvae feed on the paralyzed, but still living, cicada.

The damage done to a tree by the dogday cicadas is not significant enough to justify trying to control the cicada. Let nature take its course. As for the cicada killer, leave it alone and it will leave you alone.

 

 

MMM….Happy Cicada Summer!

What's for dinner Tuesday night?

 

Our first grilled meal of the season!

This is our spluuuurrrrge dinner! We were at the grocery store and my husband was looking at the meat, he called me over and asked if I thought we should buy these? I said of course! These kabobs made for a simple meal, easy clean up and easy cooking since they were already made up!

My wonderful husband cooking dinner for us on the grill!

Just a side note, we enjoyed this meal after it was done cooking on the grill and the grill ran out of propane…so before our next grilling adventure we need a refill!

Happy Cooking

Jackie

What’s for dinner on Tuesday?

Crockpot Mexican Chicken

This is a recipe that I made up on the spare of the moment with ingredients we already had on hand.

• 1 lb. chicken
• 1 can enchilada sauce
• 1/2 jar red bell pepper
• 1 can corn (drained)
• 1/2 onion
• 1 c salsa
• Garlic, Chili Powder, Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 Knorr Taco Rice
• Tortillas
• Sour cream
• Shredded Cheese (we used Mexican blend)

Mix first 6 ingredients in crock pot, add seasonings to taste, set on high for 4 hours. Add rice to crockpot approximately 10min before ready to serve and more seasoning if you so desire.

Serve on tortillas or even over tortilla chips. Add any toppings you enjoy. Ours was served on flour tortillas with a Mexican cheese blend and sour cream.

I think the next time I make this we will try it on tortilla chips. We will add cheese sauce, sour cream, maybe some chives.

Happy Cooking

Jackie

What’s for dinner on Tuesday?

French Fried Onion Chicken

This is a new recipe for dinner this week.

We had french fried onion chicken, baked beans and potato salad. It was a big hit!

French Fried Onion Chicken (Taken from the French Fried Onion Package)

• 1lb chicken
• 2tbsp flour
• 2 cups french fried onions
• 1 egg
• zip lock bag

In a zip lock bag mix flour and french fried onions. Crush mixture until smooth. Beat egg in a bowl. Place chicken in bowl with egg and mix around, then place into zip lock bag and mix in french fried onion mixture. Place chicken on baking sheet and bake for approximately 30 minutes at 400 degrees. If you notice the french fried onions starting to get a little to brown during baking, you may need to place some aluminum foil over the top while it finishes baking.

Baked Beans

• Large can of baked beans
• 1/2 c Ketchup
• 1/4 c brown sugar

Put the can of baked beans in a baking dish, mix in 1/2 cup of ketchup and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 30 min with chicken.

Potato Salad

• I bought it premade at the grocery store!

Happy Cooking,

Jackie