Do Try This At Home!

Although I haven't been posting regularly, that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking. In fact I have (except for during this past week, when I have been felled by an ankle injury), and some of the things I've cooked in the past month have been pretty darn amazing!

These Spicy Avocado Chicken Enchiladas were more than pretty amazing. They were extremely amazing! When I told Aaron that chicken enchiladas were on the menu, he was picturing enchiladas with some sort of red sauce. He's not one for creamy sauces, so when he saw this green-ish, vaugely creamy-looking (it's better than it sounds, promise!) sauce, he was not thrilled. He took his first bite with trepidation, but then finished the whole enchilada without comment, and then sighed contentedly before digging into a second. These were not small enchiladas, so that was impressive. I toyed with the idea of halving the recipe, but I'm glad I didn't. We froze half and can't wait to eat them sometime soon. I made two small adjustments to the recipe, purely based on what ingredients I had on hand: I only used two avocados, and I substituted a teaspoon of ground coriander because the grocery store was out of cilantro when I went.

For father's day dinner, I kind of went all-out with the man food. We had Glazed Double-Cut Pork Chops (and here, as a brief aside, is the story of confusing the butcher when asking for double cut pork chops: "Butterflied?" he asked, "No, double thick. Two inches thick. Two bones thick," said I. "Hmmm....." he pondered. "See those bone-in pork loin chops right there? I want the equivalent of four of those, but in only two chops." "Are you sure?" "Quite." And then he asked me to share the recipe because he was intrigued), which were FANTASTIC, including the glaze/BBQ sauce which we saved/froze and which Gabbie has been using on her chicken ever since.

We also had "Mom's Famous Southern-Style Baked Beans" which I made pretty much exactly as written, except I made 2/3 of the recipe based on the sizes of cans of beans I could find. These were so good I almost ate them for breakfast the next day, and happily ate them with every meal until they were gone. I'm not huge on leftovers, so the fact that I ate the leftovers of these is pretty much a testament to how incredible the were. I will definitely be making these again.

I also made up some breakfast burritos that I think are pretty much perfect:

Breakfast burritos are one of my very favorite foods, and I'm a more than a little embarrassed to admit that I eat a fast food breakfast burrito or two a couple of times a week. I have been looking for a made-at-home substitute for a while to alleviate the shame, and I think this may be it. The best part? You can assemble them ahead of time (except for the salsa) and they reheat beautifully, so they make a super-fast weekday breakfast. Here's the recipe:

Jessie's Breakfast Burritos

Ingredients:

1 lb. frozen hash brown potato cubes

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 lb. bulk maple breakfast sausage

1 small onion, diced

1 jalepeno, diced (seeds and ribs removed if you want it less spicy) 

4 eggs, well beaten

6 slices american cheese

6 burrito size flour tortillas

your favorite salsa

To make:

Cook hash browns according to package directions, adding the chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper as they cook. Remove from pan and set aside.

Return pan to heat. Crumble sausage and add to pan. About halfway through cooking the sausage, add the onion and jalepeno. When sausage is cooked through, and onion and jalepeno are soft and slightly browned, remove the mixture from the pan and set aside.

Let the pan cool for a couple of minutes, and then add some oil or butter, coat the pan, and add the eggs. Return to heat, slowly stirring the eggs to scramble them. When the eggs almost fully cooked, remove the pan from the heat, add the potatoes and sausage mixture back to the pan, and stir to combine.

If you'd like, you can stop here, sprinkle on some shredded cheddar cheese, and eat as a scramble for breakfast.

To assemble the burritos, place a tortilla on a plate, tear the slice of american cheese in half and place end to end on the tortilla. Top with a generous spoonful of the filling, and roll into a burrito (fold in sides, then roll from side closest to you to close). If you're going to eat them right away, add the salsa before you roll the burrito. Otherwise, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze. When you're ready to eat them, remove the burrito from the plastic wrap and microwave for 60-90 seconds, add salsa, and enjoy! (If you froze them, put a burrito in the refrigerator before bed to thaw, then proceed as directed for refrigerated burritos.)

Monday Meal Planning 11.21.11

I both love (3-day work week!) and hate (I can't believe November is almost over!) that Thanksgiving is this week. We'll be making the trek down to Ann Arbor yet again (we've gone at least once a week since early this month) to spend the day with family. I can't wait to dig in to all that great food! In the meantime, though, here's what we're planning to eat this week:

Monday: Sweet Potato Foil Packet Tacos, Not-So-Quick Spicy Rice

These are a big hit with everyone in the family. Even Sophie gets one, except hers just has sweet potatoes with a side of unseasoned, smushed beans. As unappealing as that sounds, she LOVES it. She has finally decided to eat real people food and is happy to try anything and everything that's placed in front of her. Ask me how she feels about pumpkin pie! (Hint: It disappeared in no time flat.) The rice is not-so-quick because I've been using brown rice lately. The family is not so hot on the brown rice version, but I'll win them over eventually!

Tuesday: Hot Browns, Broccoli

I make a variation on the above similar to what my mom has always made with leftover turkey (and, I hear, the same as my grandma used to make). We had an early Thanksgiving dinner with Aaron's mom's mom on Saturday, so I have leftover turkey to use even before the actual holiday this week. I'll hopefully post the recipe later this week, but it's basically an open-faced turkey, bacon, tomato sandwich with a beer-cheese sauce over top. It's good enough that I look forward to this once-yearly meal all year, and am very, very sad if there's no leftover turkey to use.

Wednesday: Taco Chicken

I wanted an easy meal for the evening before Thanksgiving, as I'll be making pies and an appetizer, and didn't want to have too much extra mess around.

Thursday: The Big Day!

I always make pie for Thanksgiving with Aaron's family, because if I don't they're stuck with store-bought pie, and I'm of the belief that everyone should be able to deal with making pie at least once per year, and this is the perfect day for it. (Also, I make pie on the regular, because it's really not that hard.) This year I'm bringing the standard pumpkin, as well as apple-cranberry-raisin, and a banoffee pie!

In addition to the pies, dinner is always about 2 hours later to the table than estimated, so I am thinking ahead this year and bringing some artichoke dip and crackers to snack on so I don't starve waiting for dinner (while smelling all those delicious foods cooking - it nearly kills me every time)!

Friday: Pierogis, Chicken Sausages, and Green Beans

Another easy, comfort food-type dinner. My favorite kind!

Saturday: Homemade Pizza

Sunday: ???

This is the start of my birthday week, and I'm hoping for a few dinners out (and that this will be one of them)!

Monday Meal Planning 8.1.11

I'm sitting here in disbelief that it's August already. August! The last month of summer! The last month before my oldest starts preschool! I'm so not ready for all of this!

Anyway, we still have to eat, so here's what we're having this week:

Monday: Spice-rubbed rib-eye with Bar Americain Steak Sauce, Grilled Potatoes with Spicy Tomato Mayonaise, and steamed fresh peas

For Aaron's birthday back in May, I bought him a Bobby Flay cookbook to inspire him to use our new grill. He decided he didn't really want it, but never took it back, and now we're stuck with the cookbook, so we're using it tonight. We also have some fresh peas from my parents' garden which need to be used (and Sophie gets peas for the first time tonight!), so those will be accompanying this dinner as well. Fresh peas are one of my favorite foods, hands down.

Tuesday: Perfect poached eggs and sauteed kale on toast, fruit salad

As adventurous as I usually am in the kitchen, I've never tried to poach an egg the traditional way. Well, I'm trying it this week. Wish me luck!

Wednesday: Macaroni and Cheese, brats and hot dogs, broccoli

This is a request from Gabbie, and I don't know why I'm giving in, because she almost never eats the macaroni and cheese even though she swears that she will! I was inspired this recipe for the macaroni and cheese, so I think I'll try something similar, leaving out the taco-type ingredients (and then making it as written next time, because, yum!).

Thursday: Garlic Greens and White Beans over Polenta

I may be the only person in my family that eats this meal, but it sounds completely heavenly to me. There will be leftovers and other options for the nay-sayers if there are any. I'll win them over on polenta eventually, I swear!

Friday: Pot Stickers, Vegetable Fried Rice

I have been making pizza of some sort every Friday for a couple of months now, but I think it's time to change it up and do home-made take-out type dishes. We all love pot stickers, and I have a pound of ground pork in the freezer, so these fit perfectly. The fried rice is an awesome way to use up extra CSA vegetables that we haven't gotten to yet. Plus, I love fried rice like no one's business.

Saturday: Fajitas on the Grill, Southwest Corn Dip

We bought a beautiful skirt steak yesterday, and I think fajitas (something like this recipe) sound like the perfect way to use them up. Yum! Also, the first corn is arriving at Farmers' Markets in the area lately, so I will be there ready to grab a bag full of fresh sweet corn.

Sunday: Something with Zucchini, fruit salad

I have zucchini coming out of my ears lately, so I need new ways to use them up. This recipe for zucchini pie/quiche is a strong contender, and uses up a bunch of other stuff I have in the house already.

Preschool Lunch Ideas:

What do you send with your kid for lunch? My preschooler has recently decided to eshew all foods that were previously deemed the only foods she would eat and I'm at a loss. She would eat yogurt and crackers every day for every meal, accompanied only by candy, if she could get away with it. Which she can't. So help me out, if you would. I'm fresh out of ideas!

Monday Meal Planning 7.25.11

We are back! We survived camping and had three fun meals made over the camp fire (and then got rained out and had to leave a night early, but still! Fun!). We didn't get extremely creative this time (hot dogs, s'mores, bacon and eggs, biscuits and grilled cheese in the pie iron), but we will definitely be heading out again sometime soon and I'll try some more adventurous campfire meals next time.

Since we didn't get home until about 9:00 last night, we still have most of our unpacking to do, so the week starts out slow, food-wise. However, my parents shared some of their garden bounty with us, so I can't wait to cook those amazingly fresh vegetables.

Here goes:

Monday: Grilled BBQ chicken, dilly potatoes, and carrots

Usually I peel and slice the potatoes for our foil packet dinners, but since I have a bunch of new red potatoes, I'm just going to wash and quarter them before adding butter, fresh dill, and salt. I'm going to try baby carrots in a foil packet tonight too, topped with butter, honey, and salt. I can't wait to see how these turn out!

Tuesday: Stuffed zucchini and rice pilaf

My parents had some huge zucchinis already, so I took one and we're filling it with all kinds of good stuff (except I'm using turkey sausage instead of regular - shh...don't tell Aaron!)

Wednesday: Spicy Garlic and Lime Black Bean Enchiladas, corn bread

I usually make some sort of rice to go on the side of Mexican dishes, but since there's rice in these enchiladas, I'm going to try corn bread or something similar on the side.

Thursday: Cowboy Quesadillas, chips and guacamole

This will use up any leftover BBQ chicken from Monday, and any leftver black beans from Wednesday. That's what a call a win-win kind of dinner!

Friday: Pizza Rolls, fresh vegetables, fruit salad

I've been making pizza of some sort every Friday that we're home lately, and this week I'm using some dough I have frozen for pizza rolls. I'm filling mine with pepperoni and black olives, Gabbie's will have straight up pepperoni, and I'm guessing Aaron will want his favorite - ham and pineapple. I love that these can make all three of us happy in one baking dish!

Saturday: Out

I have actually been really good with making and sticking to meal plans lately. In fact, we've only been out to eat twice in the past two weeks, which is pretty good for us (this includes lunches!). So, of course, I want to reward myself for being so good by heading out and ruining my streak. I'm totally craving Asian food of some sort, so I'll have to convince the rest of the family that they are craving it too.

Sunday: Dinner with the extended family

Once a month Aaron's family gets together at his grandparents' house for dinner. We've promised to make it to this one (we actually got more than a couple of days notice for this one, so we can plan accordingly), so I don't have to plan dinner for Sunday. However, I do have to make a pie, because that's one of the main reasons his family likes me (besides my winning personality and ability to create adorable babies, of course), and his grandpa gets disappointed if I show up without one of my "famous" pies (famous only to them). This week will probably be cherry crumb, since they're so delicious right now.

Monday Meal Planning - 3.7.11 (Okay, so really 3.9.11)

I should probably change the title of these posts to “Weekly Meal Planning,” since Mondays aren’t happening. But, I want to post meal plans all the same. We’ll just pretend today is Monday for this one, right?

It’s my first week back to work, but I’m only working half days, so it’s kind of a mixed bag of quick and complex meals this week.

Monday: Chicken Strips, French Fries, Salad (cut up veggies for the kiddo who won’t eat lettuce)

These chicken strips are FANTASTIC, and super easy. My husband and daughter are huge fans. HUGE. I made the mistake of making them once and now they’re on frequent rotation in our house.

Tuesday: Hot sub sandwiches, chips, fruit salad

For the subs, I took a loaf of Italian bread from the supermarket, cut it in half and hollowed it out, leaving about a ¼ to ½ inch shell (and then the toddler and I ate the entire inside of the loaf of bread – delicious! Also dinner-ruining, but worth it). Then I layered on the deli meat and sliced cheeses of choice; this week that included deli ham, turkey, and salami, as well as muenster and Colby jack slices. I wrapped the whole thing in foil, and baked it at 400 degrees F for about 10 minutes (it could have used another five if I wanted the cheese to be really melty, but 10 minutes was fine). After it came out of the oven, I sliced it into three parts, and topped each sandwich with chopped lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and Italian dressing. Delicious!

Wednesday: Spaghetti with meat sauce, Salad

I had about a ¼ pound each of ground beef and pork, so I sautéed that up with some mushrooms, garlic, salt and pepper, and added in a jar of marinara. Served over buccatini, this was a delicious meal.

Thursday: Slow Cooker Spiced Chicken Stew with Carrots, Orzo

Aside from using chicken breasts instead of thighs (Aaron has a weird thing about thigh meat. I don’t know.) we’re staying pretty true to this one. Looks easy enough and absolutely delicious! Also, it doesn’t use onions, which I still can’t eat because it makes the baby spit up a lot, so that makes it a winner in our book!

Friday: Clean out the freezer vegetable bean soup, bread

I made this once before, and Aaron loved it. Basically, I use a box of stock, a quart sized bag of the tomatoes I processed and froze last summer, a bag of beans (also processed and frozen last summer), and whatever vegetables I have in the fridge or freezer. I also added slices of chicken sausage last time, which I think clinched it with Aaron. I think I’m out this time, though, so he may have to suffer without it.

My sourdough starter should be ready to use to make bread by Friday (another post forthcoming), so we’ll probably have a fresh loaf of bread on the side. Mmmm….

Saturday: Some sort of curry using up a butternut squash, Naan
 I typically make this dish, but Aaron wanted to try something else, so I’m not sure yet what dish I’m making. (This from the man who recently complained that I try too many new recipes, and he can never remember what he’s eaten. Poor guy.)
 Sunday: Leftovers (or possibly the meal from Saturday night if I don’t feel like cooking on Saturday)

Monday Meal Planning 8.23.10

I know it has been a while. I am more than aware. I am also more than busy, what with working the equivalent of two positions at work, toddler potty training (and fighting with 2-year-oldness), baby stuff, husband stuff, house stuff. It's very nearly more than I can handle. I daily give praise for my husband who is such a great help with everything, because otherwise we would be living in squalor, eating ramen or take out for every meal. Instead he helps me get a nutritious meal on the table several times a week and is a clean freak.

Anyway, here's what we're planning to eat this week. We're keeping it simple because I have a lot of long hours that I will be working in addition to some home improvement projects. Like I said, more than busy. Recipes that are starred will be appearing soon.

Monday - Grilled cheese, tomato and avocado, chips, broccoli slaw*
Tuesday - Tortellini with fresh tomato sauce*, salad
Wednesday - BLTs, veggies and dip, fruit
Thursday - Slow Cooker Cheesesteaks, cucumber salad, fruit
Friday - Appetizers for dinner - Artichoke dip, bruschetta, veggies and dip
Saturday - Leftovers
Sunday - Chicken Enchiladas Suisas, Creamy Black Beans

In addition, in order to make our mornings go a little more smoothly, we have started planning out Gabbie's lunches for the week. I'm always on the lookout for new toddler lunch ideas, so I thought it might be helpful to others if I put our ideas here. We're testing out a couple of new things this week, so I don't know about the success of all of these recipes, but I can definitely update next week with what did work! Another important note is that she has to have a cold, finger food lunch two days a week (Wednesday and Friday) because they have picnic lunches those days.

Monday - Soy dog, yogurt, cantelope, carrot sticks with dip
Tuesday - Egg salad*, crackers, cheese sticks, grapes
Wednesday - Cold tortellini with sauce for dipping, cucumbers, banana
Thursday - Mexican Roll-ups*, yogurt, cantelope
Friday - Salami, cheese, crackers, carrot sticks, mandarin oranges

Monday Meal Planning 5.31.10

Oh, my goodness, has it been a long time since I've made (and subsequently stuck to) a meal plan, but this week I am determined! It's a week full of extra-curricular activities, but I'm not going to let that stop me. We have been doing a horrible job of cooking at home and eating real dinners, and it's time for that to change.

On to the plan...

Monday: Refried bean dip, tortilla chips, watermelon

This is a quick and easy dinner since we just got back from being away on an impromptu trip to my parents' house. My favorite recipe is a cold dip in which you layer ingredients as such: refried beans, creamy taco sauce (equal amounts (or slightly more sour cream) sour cream and mayonnaise and taco seasoning to taste), shredded cheddar cheese, chopped iceberg lettuce, and diced tomato. So easy and it lasts forever too, so we'll have lunch for tomorrow as well.

Tuesday: Baked potato bar and roasted zucchini spears

Another quick and easy dinner; I'll just throw the potatoes in the oven when I get home and dinner will be mostly ready when Aaron gets home. Toppings I usually include on the bar are: butter, sour cream, seasoning salt, cheddar, green onions, chopped bacon, and salsa.

Wednesday: Pizza Rolls and Salad

We'll make the pizza rolls using this whole wheat pizza dough that I mixed up, and whatever toppings everyone prefers (Gabbie prefers just cheese, I like pepperoni and mushrooms, and Aaron likes ham and pineapple).

Thursday: Pierogis, sausages,  and steamed green beans

We're on the hunt this week for a nitrate-free sausage to eat with our meal, but it seems to be hard to find around here. A special trip to one of my favorite specialty stores may be in order, and I never mind that.

Friday: Stuffed portobello mushrooms and roasted asparagus

I haven't decided on a recipe yet, I just know that I have a major mushroom craving lately and I'm making sure it's satisfied at least once this week.

Monday Meal Planning 2.8.10

It has been a long couple of weeks, for some reason that I can't seem to put my finger on, and I haven't had time to sit and think, let alone sit and blog. Add to that some general apathetic feelings toward my blogs lately, and that means I haven't been here. I'm coming around though, so I thought I would kick things off with a meal plan.

(Also to be noted - the macaroni and cheese experiment from the last meal planning post failed SPECTACULARLY. The whole thing was a curdled mess and we ended up just throwing the entire dish in the trash and ordering pizza. The black bean nachos were great, but nothing special like I wanted to try - just cheese, black beans, onions, green peppers and tomatoes on chips, baked until the cheese is melty, topped wtih pickled jalepeno, sour cream, and my new favorite food ever - Margaritaville salsa.)

We're still sticking with vegetarian eating for the most part (our new rules are - maybe once a week at home or a special occasion, or if we're eating out), and I'm also dieting, so the meals are lighter or filled with more vegetables so I can eat a smaller portion of the more calorie-laden meal that the rest of my family demands.
Anyway, here goes:

Monday: Macaroni and Cauliflower Cheese Bake, Roasted Broccoli

Last week I borrowed Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution from the library, and we spent the rest of the week drooling (not really) over the book. We're ordering our own copy post-haste, because this is a book I want to have on hand. Of course it also helps that Aaron and I both have kind of a crush on Mr. Oliver, and would eat pretty much anything he told us to eat. The book isn't very vegetarian friendly, but there are a few good non-meat dishes in there.

The broccoli is being roasted, because according to Aaron I can't steam broccoli right (he's mostly correct) and it typically ends up being mushy when I do try. So, roasting it is - just cut it up into bite-sized pieces, toss it on a baking sheet with a drizzled tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt and pepper. Then roast at 450 for 10 to 15 minutes until it's crisp tender (and delicious!).

Tuesday: Chickpea Korma on Pitas with Yogurt Dressing, Sauteed Zuchini

I'm adapting a chicken korma recipe from this month's Food Network Magazine (which I still love, but would probably love more if they could get their distribution better figured out) because the sauce sounds amazing but the chicken not so much. I'll post the recipe if it turns out. (I really hope it does!)

Wednesday: Veggie Lasagna, Garlic Bread, Salad

I made up a vegetarian lasagna recipe for the office Christmas party, and have been meaning to post it ever since. I froze some of the leftovers (it makes a lot, but could be easily halved), and we're eating those on the night I get home late because of Zumba class. It's easy and delicious! I'll post the recipe tomorrow.

Thursday: Lentil and Spinach Soup, Rolls

Another recipe from the Jamie Oliver book that I can't wait to try. I love lentil soup. I'll also post my rolls recipe shortly - they're called 60 Minute Rolls, a quick yeast roll recipe that my mom has made for years. So good!

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Food Network magazine had a little pull-out book of 50 pizzas either this month or last, so we're going to try out one or two of those. I'm thinking tomato, artichoke, roasted red pepper, and pepperocini. Okay, so that recipe's not in there, but I'll use their dough at least. And maybe make the meatball one too.

Monday Meal Planning 1.25.10

We've made it to the last week of the month without eating meat! It really hasn't been too hard, save for a couple random chicken wing or cheese burger cravings. Come February, we're still going to keep this up for the most part, maybe eating meat for a meal or two per week. At least that's the plan; we'll see how it works out in reality. We just really would prefer to eat sustainably grown local meats if possible, and in order to afford that we have to cut back on our meat consumption quite a bit.

Anyway, this is the last week of our vegetarian month, so it's the last all-vegetarian meal plan that I have planned. Could happen again; we'll see. I'm also trying to prep some things ahead, and I'll share the plans below where applicable.

Monday: Black Bean Quinoa Salad, Fruit Salad

Since the quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) salad is supposed to be served cold, I'll make it on Sunday night (I wrote this yesterday to be posted today) so it can sit and the flavors can meld. Then all I will have to do is throw together the fruit salad on Monday night and dinner will be ready in mere minutes. I love when dinner is fast, because we're usually all starving when we get home. This will also mean fewer dishes Monday night, and fewer dishes is never a bad thing!

Tuesday: Peanut Noodles with stir-fried tofu, egg rolls

We're planning to use whole-wheat spaghetti for this dish, since our local grocery store kind of sucks and doesn't have udon or soba, or anything more exotic than whole wheat pasta really. I'm adding the tofu for more protein, and because Gabbie will eat it. The eggrolls are just frozen veggie egg rolls from the grocer's.

Wednesday: Tomato Pie, Broccoli Slaw

I love this tomato pie, but it is a little time consuming to be made on a week night. Therefore I am mixing up, rolling, and freezing the prepped crust, and chopping up tomatoes, on Sunday night. Then I'll only have to chop the onions and shred and mix the cheese mixture, assemble, and bake on Wednesday. And again - fewer dishes!

Thursday: Macaroni and Cheese, Peas, and fruit

I'm going to try something new here, so if the recipe turns out, I'll share it. It comes from a failed - texturally but not taste-wise - crockpot experiment, and I'm eager to see if I can make it a success by cooking it on the stove top first, then baking it.

Friday: Black Bean Nachos/Quesadillas

Another experiment I'll share probably next week - I'm using the black bean mash from another recipe, and we'll see how that works in nacho form. Since Gabbie can't eat the chips without choking (don't ask me how we know this - it wasn't a pleasant experience) she gets hers in quesadilla form. That will also allow Aaron and I to douse our nachos with pickled jalapeno slices with wild abandon. We both absolutely love spicy food!

Saturday: Soft-boiled egg salad on grilled brioche, veggies and dip

Yet another experiment, this one inspired by a delicious dish I had in Chicago last weekend. I'm baking the brioche today and freezing it. Then I'll reheat it on Saturday (we have plans for the day, otherwise I'd make it fresh then) for the sandwiches.

Sunday: Eggplant Parmesan, Salad, Garlic Bread

We have a new recipe for this I'll share later this week. It's messy and time consuming, but absolutely divine. You won't regret the effort, I promise.

Monday Meal Planning 1.4.10

Here's our first full week of vegetarian meals! It's been four days so far, and we're doing okay. Of course, I would love a cheeseburger, but I think I'll survive.

Monday: Argentinian Pumpkin Soup, bread

We made this last night, and I'll post the recipe later today. We were both a little suspicious of the soup, but had a couple of pumpkins that needed to be used so we thought we'd give it a try. It was surprisingly delicious, and we're both excited about the lunch leftovers today.

Tuesday: Quick Curried Chick Peas, Basmati Rice, Naan, steamed green peas

We didn't get to this late last week (we had pizza instead), so it's making the meal list again this week. I have been reading good things about it online, so I can't wait to try it.

Wednesday: Cheese Quiche, steamed broccoli, grape tomato salad

I love a good quiche. I usually put the broccoli in the quiche, but I don't think Gabbie will eat it that way. She eats cheesy eggs, and she eats steamed broccoli, but she won't eat things mixed together. The tomato salad is one of our favorites, and goes great on the side with quiche.

Thursday: Tortellini with sauteed mushrooms and zuchini and tomato sauce, salad, garlic bread

A quick, easy, mid-week meal. We sautee the veggies, boil the tortellini, and heat up a jar of spaghetti sauce. Simple and delicious, it's a complete comfort food.

Friday: Cheesy vegetable pancakes, rice with peas

I'm kind of flying by the seat of my pants on this one, combining a few recipes to try to get what I imagine to happen in my pan. We'll see how it goes.

Saturday: Braised lentils, Spanish style, Olive Bread

Another meal I can't wait to try. Gabbie and I love lentils, and this recipe sounds fantastic. I don't particularly like olives, but I like them on pizza and I think if I halve the amount of olives in the recipe I will love it.

Sunday: Leftovers or veggie quesadillas

I'm sure we'll have plenty of leftovers and I'll be tired of cooking by Sunday, so leftovers will probably happen. One night off of cooking per week is usually needed.

Monday Meal Planning 11.2.09

I cannot believe it's November already. This year has flown by crazy fast!

My cooking slump seems to have mostly passed, thank goodness. Not only that, but my stove is getting fixed under warranty, so I don't have to shell out two arms and a leg for the repairs. I think that weight lifted made all the difference.

Anyway, I took a week off cooking and then I made up for it today, with pear sauce, mint crinkle cookies, and pasties (recipes all coming soon). I was in the kitchen on my feet for 4 hours straight, and I'm totally wiped out. Totally worth it though. I'm back, Baby!

And since I'm back, here are the meals for this week:

Monday: Spicy Mexican Squash Stew, corn bread

I made this in the crockpot by just throwing everything in and turned it on high for 8 hours. I think next time I'd add some beans of some sort to add bulk and make it more filling. It was good like it was - it tasted like a basic vegetable soup - but I can definitely think of a few ways to make it better.

Tuesday: Chicken wrap-ups, tater tots

We use frozen breaded strips and cook them according to package directions. Then we slice them in wrap them in a tortilla with all different kinds of fillings, depending on our mood. My favorite is basic - lettuce, tomato, cheddar, and ranch dressing with a little hot sauce mixed in. Delicious! (and so, so easy)

Wednesday: BBQ Beans and Sausage, salad

This one is such a huge hit in our house, that I get asked to make it almost every week. I limit it to once a month at the most, because I'm not a big fan of having the same thing over and over and over.

Thursday: Taco Calzones, Mexican Rice

I made this recipe up on Friday, and it turned out great. Recipe coming tomorrow.

Friday: Prosciutto Pasta, Herb Garlic Bread, Salad

Another house favorite, and another easy meal. I also saw Ina Garten make some garlic bread on tv over the weekend that I'm dying to try, and so I needed an excuse to make it. This dish is the perfect excuse.

Saturday: Pasties, pear sauce

Pasties are a northern Michigan favorite, and a household favorite too. My dad went to college in the U.P. and Aaron's family is from there too, so we have lots of northern Michigan traditions in our house. These will blow you away. Promise. Recipe to come soon!

Fresh Cranberry Bean Salad

Our CSA is winding down for the season. I think we only have two weeks left (I should probably check on that to be sure), but that doesn't mean that we're getting fewer vegetables. In fact, we're getting the most we've gotten all season. One of the things I've been getting lately is cranberry beans. These beans are really, really pretty, and I'd read many times about how tasty they are over my years reading as many food blogs as I can. So, when I saw them at the CSA a few weeks back, I made sure they made it into my bag. Then they sat on the counter for a week. I got some more the next week, but still wasn't sure what to do with them. Since I wanted to try them so bad, I decided not to disguise them very much. I wanted a recipe for them that really highlighted the beans. I looked around and modified a few recipes until I had exactly what I wanted, and it turned out great. Gabbie and I love them, and have gone through nearly the whole large batch I made. Aaron's indifferent but doesn't really want to eat them since the texture reminded him a little of a lima bean. I want you to know, these are nothing like lima beans. They're wonderful.

Fresh Cranberry Bean Salad

2 c. fresh, shelled cranberry beans
2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill

Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add salt and beans and boil 20-30 minutes, or until beans are soft and no longer mealy. Drain, and toss with remaining ingredients while still warm. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Monday Meal Planning, 9.14.09

Short and sweet as I’m super busy today catching up on all the stuff that built up during a week off.

Monday – BBQ Beans and Sausages

Aaron and Gabbie really, really love this, and it’s super easy, so they get it as often as they want. I actually made it with BBQ seasoning this time (instead of Montreal Steak Seasoning), but Aaron said he prefers it the way I made it the first time. I also followed the cooking directions, but think they turned out better when I cooked them for 10 hours on low as opposed to 6 hours on high.

Tuesday – Stuffed Zucchini & Salad

Another easy meal. The zucchinis I’ve been getting lately are huge, so instead of boiling them on the stovetop, I put them in a 9x13 dish and fill it halfway with water, then cover it and cook it in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the zucchini is crisp-tender.

Wednesday – Pasta, Pesto, & Peas, and Bruschetta

Pasta, Pesto, and Peas:
Cook 3/4 lb. Fusilli & 3/4 lb. Bow Tie Pasta according to package directions. When cooked, toss with 1/4 c. olive oil and let cool.
Puree together 1-1/2 c. pesto, 1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and dried, & 3 T. fresh lemon juice. Add 3/4 tsp. fresh lemon juice & 1-1/4 c. mayonnaise and blend until combined.
Mix pasta with this sauce and add 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, 1 1/2 c. frozen peas, thawed, & 1/2 c. pine nuts, toasted. Cool to room temperature or refrigerate, and serve.

Thursday – Cayenne-Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa and rice pilaf
I’m stealing this joke from the last time I posted this recipe: Aaron said that he asked Cayenne nicely to stop rubbing the chicken, but he wouldn't. (He's a comedian!) I am super in the mood for avocado lately, and this always helps soothe that craving.

Friday – Queso Dip and Chips

We’ve been doing date night on Friday nights after Gabbie goes to bed, so she usually gets a grilled cheese (and avocado which we mash up and spread on one slice of bread so we can sneak in some extra veggies), and the we get the good stuff all to ourselves.

Here's my mom’s (and my favorite) queso recipe:
1 lb. ground beef, browned
1 1b. Velveeta
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 medium onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
Chili powder, garlic salt, and hot/taco sauce to taste.
Combine in a crock pot (you can cook onions and green pepper before adding, if you'd like) and cook over low until the cheese is melted. Serve with tortilla chips.

Saturday – Meatball Subs

I use this meatball recipe (it really is the best I’ve ever made), doubling the tomato puree. Then I brush sub rolls with olive oil and grill them in frying pan, turn them over, and place sliced smoked provolone on the top half and cook just until it melts. Then I halve 2 meatballs, and put them side by side on the opposite side of the bun, spoon over some sauce, add desired toppings (I like it as is or with some pepperocini rings, Aaron likes sliced green pepper, onion, and tomato). Delicious, and perfect for enjoying during a football game on a lovely late-summer evening. Like we did this week. It was heavenly.

Monday (OK, OK, Wednesday) Meal Planning 7.29.09

My body got back from Chicago on Sunday afternoon, but I think my brain only just made it back this morning. I spent Sunday and Monday cuddling with Gabbie, and yesterday I was trying to get things back in some semblance of order. Today, though, I’m finally feeling present, although it could just be the extra cup of coffee I’m drinking that’s making all the difference.

Anywho, since I was off gallivanting in Chicago and having fun for four days, I feel like I really owe Aaron a bundle for staying home and keeping things together so well. He and Gabbie had a great time, but even I will agree that having four days of one-on-one one-year-old can be a bit much. In addition to giving him some free time this coming weekend by taking Gabbie up to my parent’s house for a night and day I decided to make some of his favorite meals (including one he didn’t know was a favorite, but ended up loving very, very much). So, this week’s meal plan is full of Aaron’s definition of good eating.

Monday: Slow-Cooker Barbeque Beans and Sausage, Sliced Tomatoes

This recipe is from my new favorite cooking magazine, and is the first recipe I tried from the issue I bought. Gabbie LOVES baked beans more than any other food, so I figured this would be a good meal to put together for when I was gone. I got up at five the morning I left, threw this all in the crockpot, and they had a delicious hot meal when I got home.

I did make a couple of edits to the recipe – I didn’t use the cloves because I didn’t have any, I used Montreal Steak seasoning where it called for barbeque seasoning blend (I feel they were probably looking for something more like Penzey’s BBQ 3000), and I used less sausage than it called for but left them whole. It cooked on low for 10 hours, and came out perfectly. Aaron’s only complaint was that it needed more sausage, so I’ll definitely used the whole portion next time.

Tuesday: Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, Steamed Green Beans

As usual, this is our “house” spaghetti recipe, which basically means a jar of sauce, along with a half package of Italian bulk sausage, a package of sliced mushrooms, and one sliced zucchini, all sautéed before being added to the sauce. Though we usually eat a salad with this meal, I have a ton of green beans to use up from last week’s CSA take (plus more to pick up today) so green beans it is! Here’s hoping Gabbie will get over her anything-green-except-peas aversion.

Wednesday: Chicken Korma, Basmati Rice (made with stock), Naan

Pretty standard Aaron’s favorite fare, with added sautéed zucchini to up the vegetable content (and use more of our CSA abundance).

Thursday: Turkey Pineapple Chili, Corn Bread Muffins - (oh, yeah. I totally did)

This is, hands down, Aaron’s favorite meal, which is fortunate for me because it’s so darn quick. Seriously, 15 minutes and dinner is on the table.

Friday: Pizza

Because after this week I’m going to need a break.

Over the next week or so, I’m going to feature some recipes from a few celebrity chefs I saw (or would have seen if they weren’t 90 minutes late) at Blogher. I was a total fangirl to one, and I’ll tell more when I post the recipes. I even have some pictures!