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 1.2.12

Today is the last day of my 11 straight days off of work, and I am growing increasingly sad about this. I think that calls for a warm, homey meal tonight and quick, easy meals for the rest of the week, don't you?

Here's what we're eating this week!

Monday: Clean out the fridge soup, a salad, and pretzel rolls

We have so many little bits of leftovers from the past week or so, and they are just begging to be added to a big pot of soup. This one will probably contain: chicken and apple sausages, diced tomatoes in juice, chicken stock, red and green peppers, diced onion, carrots, celery, garlic, beans, and rice or pasta to be added at the end.

Tuesday: Spicy Thai Noodles, steamed broccoli

I pinned these a while ago and have been wanting to eat them ever since. This is my week!

Wednesday: Cheeseburger Salad

From The Pioneer Woman. I think that about says it all.

Thursday: Brinner

I think we'll be having breakfast burritos for brinner this week: eggs, sausage, peppers, onions, salsa, hash browns, and cheddar all wrapped up in a flour tortilla (or separated out for the kiddos).

Friday: Homemade pepperoni pizza, raw vegetables and fruit

We have some sandwich-sized pepperoni, which I think will be fun on this pizza. On mine I'll add either black olives or tomatoes and banana peppers.

Saturday: Balsamic Roasted Chicken, basic parmesan risotto, steamed broccoli

Sunday: Leftovers

We've been doing a big breakfast on Sundays as our main meal, and then snacking or eating leftovers the rest of the day. This is how my mom did things when I was growing up, and it seems to be a nice way to round out the weekend. I understand why she did this now. :)

And now that I'm all done typing this, I'm starving. Good thing it's just about lunch time!

Monday Meal Planning 10.24.11

I needed to flex my writing muscles this morning before I launch into proposal and report writing for the rest of the day, so I thought what better place to start than with food so that I'm completely distracted thinking about all of the yummy things coming up on our meal plan for this week.

(I'm such a dork!)

Anyway, the meal plan for this week is abbreviated due to some exciting-to-us happenings occurring later this week. A short meal plan doesn't mean that there's nothing good, though, and I can't wait to dig in to a few of these meals.

On to the food!

Monday: Chicken and Dumplings, roast beets

Last week sometime, Aaron and I were chatting about memorable meals. He brought up a bowl of chicken and dumplings he had once at a restaurant near where he grew up that he can still practically taste because he loved it so much. They were on special that night, and he looked for them every time he went back, but they never had them again while he was there. Talk about disappointment!

Anyway, last night I stewed some chicken to make stock and chicken allegedly for soup, but little does he know that I'm trying the Pioneer Woman's recipe for chicken and dumplings instead. I hope he's very pleasantly surprised!

Tuesday: 3 Packet Pot Roast, Celeriac Mash

A few weeks back, when I watched The Pioneer Woman's show where she made pot roast, I noticed she served her roast with mashed potatoes instead of with potatoes cooked with the roast. Since I still have plenty of potatoes and celeriac left over from the CSA (which has, sadly, ended for the season), I thought I'd serve my roast with this celeriac mash recipe (and of course, with carrots cooked with the roast, because those are about my favorite thing, ever). However, my celery roots are nowhere near the size mentioned in the recipe - I don't think the three I have reach the weight of the one listed - so I'll be halving this and using Yukon gold potatoes instead of the russet listed. So yeah. We'll see how that goes!

Wednesday: Quiche, fruit

I have a lot of eggs I need to use up, plus some leeks, orange and yellow peppers, and feta, so I'm thinking a roasted pepper, leek, and feta quiche sounds pretty darn good. I had something similar from a local food truck not too long ago, and it was fan-freaking-tastic. The main difference was they used goat cheese, but I think the feta I have on hand will substitute nicely. I will let you know for sure how it turns out.

Thursday: Grilled Cheese sandwiches, raw vegetables, fruit smoothies

This is kind of a clean-out-the-fridge meal, and the kind that usually goes over better with Gabbie. After she cleans her plate and asks for more after a meal like this one, I often wonder why I kill myself to make more elaborate meals on a regular basis, but then I realize, it's because I love to cook. And eat. It all works out.

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 6.13.11

Thankfully the Work Project that Ate May (and Some of June) is finally done! To say May was a hectic month would be a bit of an understatement. I laid low last week to recover, thank goodness, and now I'm ready to join the ranks of productive adults once again!

This week is one of the most exciting of the year for me - our CSA starts this week! I am really, really looking forward to all the wonderful fresh vegetables and eggs. The only thing that is hard about the CSA is meal planning, because we get a list of possibly available vegetables at the beginning of the week and then don't get to pick them up until Wednesday, and so I have to make meal contingency plans. Early on, it's not too hard because it's pretty much just different kinds of greens, but as the variety increases and the possibilities list gets longer, it gets a lot harder.

Keeping in mind the greens we will have mid-week (and the farm fresh eggs, one of my favorite parts of the CSA) here's what we're eating this week!

Monday: Macaroni and cheese, roasted asparagus, turkey sloppy joes

Tonight is Gabbie's last tumbling class of the season, so it's the last week I have to take it extra easy and quick on Mondays. To celebrate we're having three of Gabbie's favorite foods (mine too!).

Tuesday: BBQ Chicken, baked sweet potatoes, broccoli

Aaron has been talking about BBQ chicken on the grill for longer than we've actually had the grill, and is determined that this will be the week it happens.

Wednesday: Margherita Paninis, cucumber salad, french fries

I have a large piece of fresh mozzarella, a bunch of tomatoes, and a huge container of basil in my refrigerator. Throw in the sliced sourdough boule I have on my counter, and what else could I possibly even think of making? Yum!

Thursday: Quinoa stir-fry with vegetables and chicken

We'll use left-over chicken from Tuesday to make this a super-quick meal

Friday: Brinner!

We'll be having fried or poached eggs over a mixed green salad, spiced cubed potatoes, sausages, and sauteed mushrooms. It doesn't get much better than that!

Saturday: Aaron's Choice

My sister will be in town from Arizona yet again this weekend, and it's the last time until mid-September, so we'll be seeing her on Sunday. This means we're celebrating Father's Day on Saturday, and Aaron gets to pick whatever he wants for dinner (and he hasn't chosen yet). I would not be the least bit surprised to see either meatballs or taco rice (depending on how involved he wants me to get) on the menu, nor would I be surprised if he chose breakfast out at our favorite local restaurant instead of dinner. I would be very happy with any of those options!

(Sunday is up in the air too, thanks to visits with family)

And with that all said and done, here are:

Pre-Schooler Lunch Ideas
Monday: Oatmeal with brown sugar, strawberries, yogurt (she wanted scrambled eggs too, but we had to draw the line somewhere!)
Tuesday: Ham and Cheese on Sourdough, carrots, blueberries, applesauce
Wednesday: Chicken, peas or broccoli, mandarin oranges, yogurt (and possibly some fruit snacks as a treat)
Thursday: Pasta with butter and parmesan cheese, peas or broccoli, strawberries
Friday: Peanut butter and honey sandwich, pretzels, yogurt, banana (and possibly some fruit snacks as a treat)

Monday Meal Planning 4.25.11

Is this two weeks in a row I've posted a meal plan? I think it is! I may finally be getting my stuff together. I remember it taking forever after my first daughter was born, so I lowered my expectations this time. Life sure is crazy with two little ones. Add in Gabbie's extra-curriculars (tumbling and swimming classes), holidays and the associated get-togethers (Easter last weekend, plus our upcoming May birthdays and Memorial Day), and I'm barely holding on some weeks. As a result, I'm finding I have to put together more quick and easy dinners whenever possible. Also, I've set a goal for this week to not eat out at all, so I definitely need to ensure that these meals are easy enough that I'm not tempted by take out.

So, here's our fairly quick and easy meal plan for the week:

Monday: Egg Salad BLTs, chips, carrots, grapes

We arrived home yesterday with 8 hard boiled eggs that Gabbie colored at my parents' house. I'm not huge on egg salad, but I figure that adding bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes will help me like it quite a bit more.

Tuesday: Cashew Chicken, rice, steamed green beans

The way that Erica talked about this dish made me want to try it immediately. Plus, the ingredients make it sound like one of my favorite Chinese dishes from a restaurant in my hometown (which sadly has gone downhill in quality, so the dish isn't as good as it used to be). I can't wait to try this!

Wednesday: Taco Rice

My husband requests this every week. Seriously. I give in only every other week, though.

Thursday: Minestrone, bread, salad

This is going to be a "clean out the cupboard and fridge" type soup. I'm thinking potato, pasta, white beans, diced tomatoes, carrots, celery, spinach, chicken broth...and anything else I feel like throwing in. We will definitely be topping it with what Gabbie now calls "Salty Cheese" (aka parmesan). (Hilariously, we used to call it "green cheese" growing up, due to the Kraft green container it came in.)

Friday: Hummus Wraps, fruit and yogurt parfaits

These are basically a pita or tortilla spread with hummus, and filled with cut up vegetables (cucumbers, green peppers, lettuce, tomatoes) and feta. Yum!

Saturday: I'm hoping we'll get to try out our new grill on Saturday. This depends on our ability (read: available time to go to the store) to pick one up this week. I am so excited about a having a grill finally that I can hardly stand it! (If we don't get the grill, we'll be eating leftovers.)

Sunday: Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce, salad

This looks delicious, and will hopefully provide lots of leftovers for Monday's lunch!

Toddler Lunch Ideas

Here's what I'm planning to send with Gabbie this week. I've been trying to make a plan so I don't end up staring into the refrigerator every morning, wracking my brain trying to come up with something healthy and easy to send with her.

Monday: Cheese, crackers, broccoli, strawberries
Tuesday: Mini Whole Grain Morning Glory Muffin (omitting the walnuts because I'm allergic), cottage cheese (something new we're trying out with her) or yogurt, banana
Wednesday: Cheese Quesadilla, beans, carrots, grapes
Thursday: Leftover cashew chicken, rice, green beans, banana
Friday: Cheesy pita (a pita, brushed with garlic butter, baked with cheese on top), marinara for dipping, cucumbers, grapes

(I, along with hundreds of others, posted my meal plan at I'm an Organizing Junkie. Check it out!)

Monday Meal Planning - 3.14.11

I was planning for this, my first week back to work full-time, to be a crazy week, but it's already proving to be more crazy than I had planned. To say this morning was hectic would be a drastic understatement. I was actually relieved to get to work this morning so I could relax, as weird as that sounds.

Our meal plan has already been revised due to the hectic morning (no time to even throw dinner in the slow cooker), but it should still be a delicious week!

Monday: Brinner

We bought farm fresh eggs on Saturday, plus we have some local, thick cut bacon, and fresh homemade sourdough bread (I can't wait to post about my starter). You can't really have a bad meal with those items at your disposal! Add in some hash browns and fruit salad, and I'm already ready for dinnertime.

Tuesday: Pearl Couscous "Risotto" with Butternut Squash, Salad

I bought a really big butternut squash, apparently, because we have enough left over from last week to make another vegetarian dish this week.

Wednesday: Italian Chicken Sausage and Mushroom Pizza

I have a pizza dough started, using my starter, and I can't wait to see how this crust turns out! We also usually use this recipe for sauce, and definitely will use it this week. Typing out our meal plan is making me HUNGRY!

Thursday: Corned Beef Brisket with Veggies, Irish Soda Bread

I'm curing my own corned beef (using this recipe from Foodmomiac), but adapting it to cook in the crockpot along with the veggies, and adding in a can of Guinness stout to the cooking liquid. I wanted to make this for St. Patty's Day last year, but for some reason I wasn't feeling up to handling raw meat, and the spices sounded horrible to me. A year, and one 3 month old baby later, I now know why!

Friday: Take Out

We're heading to my parents' house for the weekend (Sophie is being baptised at my parents' church), so we'll probably have pizza or Chinese, as is my parents' Friday night tradition.

Saturday: My Dad is making ribs!

Sunday: Brunch

Our big meal on Sunday will be a post-baptism brunch. I'm thinking some sort of egg casserole , cinnamon rolls, and fruit salad. Possibly also a cake, we'll see. Although I love my recipe for cinnamon rolls, I equally love the Pioneer Woman's recipe, and due to transportation issues with my dough I'll probably make her's instead (half the recipe though; we don't need quite as many as the whole recipe makes).

Toddler Lunch Ideas

We're being more organized when it comes to Gabbie's lunches lately (getting two kids ready and out the door in the morning is quite the undertaking!), so I'll start posting these here again.

Monday: Chips and salsa, cheese cubes, mandarin oranges
Tuesday: Waffle, strawberries, yogurt
Wednesday: Pretzels, sliced ham, sliced cheese, mango
Thursday: Quesadilla, peas, strawberries
Friday: Leftover Corned Beef, carrots, yogurt

Monday Meal Planning 11.15.10

When I sat down to plan our meals for the week yesterday morning, I could not think of a single thing to put on the list. That rarely happens to me, as there are usually a few recipes I'm dying to try. So I surfed around the 'net for a while, then I surfed around my archives for a while, and I managed to put together several recipes that should suffice. This whole thing is made doubly hard since I can barely fit any food in my stomach lately, as it's being squished by the baby. Being able to only take a bite or five of food kind of kills my will to cook. However, there's the whole having a family to feed thing that takes precedence, so I will soldier on.

Monday: Taco Rice

Quick and easy tonight since we have tumbling class. I saw this recipe a few weeks ago and then again yesterday when I was surfing for ideas, and it sounds like some amazing comfort food. Now I just have to try to avoid mixing the rice with melted butter, sour cream, and cheddar cheese before adding the toppings, even though I think that sounds totally better.

Tuesday: Pot Stickers and Sesame Noodles, Edamame

We still have pot stickers in the freezer (I apparently made a HUGE batch), so we'll be eating those with a side of sesame noodles. I'm halving the recipe for the noodles because it takes us forever to make it through a whole pound of them.

Wednesday: Coconut Curry Butternut Squash, Rice, Naan

We have approximately a dozen butternut squashes (plus assorted other squash) from our CSA so it's time to start using them up. This recipe has become a total comfort food in our house because it's so good and filling.

Thursday: Egg Salad Melts, Fruit

I didn't get to these last week, but the craving is strong so they WILL be happening this week.

Friday: Leftovers/Take-out

Saturday: Pizza

I still haven't gotten around to making this pizza recipe, but it needs to happen soon, and I'm thinking Saturday will be the perfect day for it. I'm planning to top it with pepperoni and black olives (my current favorite topping combination).

Sunday: Something in the crock pot.

I haven't decided what to make for Sunday yet, but there are a few possibilities, including Italian Pot Roast, Split Pea Soup, and Jamaican Red Bean Stew

And now, for Toddler Lunch Ideas:

(As an aside, do you know what kills me? It's when my child will scarf something down at dinner time, eating second and even third servings, and then when I send the same thing to lunch for her two days later, she won't even touch it. I just don't get it.)

Monday: Bagel and cream cheese, mandarin oranges, peas
Tuesday: Soy dog, cheese slice, carrot sticks, grapes
Wednesday: Grilled cheese, green pepper slices, strawberries
Thursday: Edamame, naan slices, yogurt, sliced peaches
Friday: English muffin pizza, yogurt, fruit strip

Monday Meal Planning 11.8.10

Well, even though I totally failed at NaBloPoMo once again (darn those weekend and having too much fun to remember to post!), I'm going to try to post at least most weekdays through this month, if not every weekday. I have a huge backlog of recipes to post about and I'm ready to get them up. Call it nesting: blog version, if you will.

Here are the meals planned for this week:

Monday: Hearty Black Bean Soup, Crescent Rolls

I need something fast and filling on Monday nights for the next six weeks because Gabbie has tumbling class across town at 6:45. This recipe looks like it will fit the bill, and is full of beans which are among her favorite foods.

Tuesday: Aaron's Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Bread

It has been a while since we've eaten Aaron's specialty: spaghetti. We use a jarred sauce, and add browned sausage, and sauteed mushrooms and zuchini. It's heavenly. Add in that every time we ask Gabbie what she wants for dinner she says "noodles and sauce", and this one should be a hit. Except for with the baby, who kicks like the dickens after I eat tomato sauce and causes me to have horrible heartburn. Oh, well. It's good enough that it makes it worth what will ensue after the meal.

Wednesday: Sweet Potato Hash with Fried Eggs

I have been looking forward to this meal since I saw the recipe last week, and it immediately went on the meal plan. (Although we'll probably substitute a regular green pepper for the poblano so Gabbie can eat it too.) I love a good brinner!

Thursday: Asian Beef Skewers, Edamame

Another of Aaron's favorites and helps satisfy a red meat craving I've been dealing with lately. I have to admit, one thing I'm looking forward to most about not being pregnant any more (besides getting to have a little itty bitty baby, of course) is a meal consisting of a medium-rare steak with bleu cheese butter and a glass of red wine. Aaron has already been forewarned that this will be happening.

Friday: Leftovers

Because there's no way we can eat all this food, even with leftovers for lunch every day of the week.

Saturday: Out

Aaron is headed to beer camp (excuse me, deer camp) this weekend, so my sister is coming to stay with us and we'll probably take Gabbie out for Girls' Night Out. It should be a blast!

Sunday: Grandma's Open-Faced Egg Salad Sandwiches, veggies and dip

This one doesn't sound that appealing at first glance, but stick with me here, because I promise it's great comfort food. Plus, we just found a place that is on my way home that will supply us with farm fresh eggs all winter, and I can't wait to try them. Our first pick up is at the end of the week, otherwise I'd be eating this before Sunday. I'll post the recipe with a picture next week.

Now for Toddler Lunch Ideas

Monday: Grapes, Carrots, Yogurt, Crackers (as requested by her tiny highness)
Tuesday: Cheese Quesadilla, Mandarin Oranges
Wednesday: Mini Bagel with Strawberry Cream Cheese, Grapes, Pretzels
Thursday: Noodles and Sauce, Mandarin Oranges, Yogurt
Friday: Black bean soup, Tortilla Chips & Cheese Sauce

Monday Meal Planning 11.1.10

I cannot believe that today is the first day of November already! The weather decided to be seasonally appropriate today (sadly) and it is pretty frigid out there. The only thing good about seasonally appropriate weather is that it makes it the perfect time to eat seasonally appropriate food. There. I think I've said "seasonally appropriate" enough.

We'll see how we do with actually eating what we plan this week. We haven't been good at it for a few weeks now, and I think making a plan and actually sticking to it will take care of some of the overwhelmed feeling I have lately. We'll see how it goes. On to the plan!

Monday: Turkey Pineapple Chili & Cornbread

I needed something super fast for tonight because we have to leave the house by 6:15 tonight for Gabbie's tumbling class. While chili is usually a long, slow dish to make, this one is ready in 10 minutes flat, and it's a house favorite.

Tuesday: Chicken Spaghetti, Steamed Broccoli

I've been wanting to try this recipe for ages, but haven't gotten around to it. I have all the ingredients at my house right now, so I don't have an excuse. Everyone raves about it, and I can't wait to dig in!

Wednesday: Crock Pot Pulled Pork and Coleslaw Sandwiches, Sweet Potatoes

I have a 3 lb pork roast in my freezer that is taking up too much space, as well as a head of cabbage, carrots, and a bunch of small white sweet potatoes (I can't wait to try them!) from our CSA, so this meal is perfect. It uses up everything I have that needs used up! Plus it has great reviews and sounds delicious to me. You can't get much better than that!

An interesting side note - my child who won't eat anything LOVES cole slaw (usually - this will be the one time she refuses to eat it, I'm sure). Bizarre, but I'll take it.

Thursday: The Best Quiche Ever!, tomato salad

After such a meat heavy few days, it seemed perfect to have a lighter meal. We get our last egg share from our CSA this week (and are VERY, VERY SAD about this, as the eggs were the best we've ever eaten), and so The Best Quiche Ever! will be fabulous, I'm sure.

Friday: Ranch Macaroni and Cheese, roasted brussels sprouts

Friday is supposed to be one of the colder days this week, so a nice comforting bowl of macaroni and cheese sounds perfect. Mmmm....

Saturday: Baked Chipotle Beef Taquitos, red rice, chips and salsa

I've made the chicken taquitos from Our Best Bites several times, but never the beef ones. I'm pretty pumped to try them though. I'll have to hold back on the chipotles and sauce so Gabbie can eat them, and substitute monterey jack for the queso fresco so I can eat them, but I think they'll still be fantastic.

Sunday: Leftovers

This looks to be a heavy cooking week, so I'm sure we'll have plenty left over for lunches AND Sunday dinner. We tend to do our bigger meal for breakfast on Sunday anyway (ricotta lemon pancakes or pumpkin maple cinnamon rolls are on tap for this week).


 
And then this week on "Will the Toddler Eat It/Anything" (aka Toddler Lunch Ideas):

Monday: Cheese, Crackers, Grapes, Yogurt
Tuesday:  Mini Bagel, Peanut Butter, Apple Slices, Carrot Sticks
Wednesday: Soy Dog, Green Pepper Slices, Yogurt, Banana
Thursday: "Noodles and Sauce", Broccoli, Yogurt
Friday: Pork, Cole Slaw, Kiwi, Cheese

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 - 4.5.10

Spring seems to have arrived in Michigan (finally - and we'll ignore the 2 days this week when the forecast is for highs in the 40s), and when spring gets here it never fails that I start craving vegetables - and allergy medication - like mad. I want plates full of vegetables, light salads and fresh berries. I also want slabs of grilled meat, but seeing as though we have yet to purchase a grill, I'll happily settle for vegetables alone. Since Aaron requires a little more substance than a plate of vegetables, I think the plan for this week meets both of our needs - jam packed with vegetables and protein for staying power.

This week I'm also adding in what Gabbie will eat while we're eating our meals. I try my hardest to cook only one dinner, but there are certain things (leafy greens, things that are mixed together, etc.) that she won't eat, so I try to modify what we're eating so that she can have a healthy dinner without me having to make an entire seperate meal. It has been a challenge, but we've been doing well so far. I'm also learning to give her a little of the main dish as is, because sometimes, like a couple of weeks ago when she ate lentil-barley burgers and wouldn't touch spaghetti-os, she surprises me. Her meals are listed in parentheses on the line below what we'll be eating.

Finally, I'm really excited this week to be able to use my new iPad in the kitchen instead of printing out recipes. I read a great tip online about using your iPad (or iPhone) in the kitchen. Put it in a ziplock-type bag and seal it. That protects it from moisture and mess, but you can still use it and see it just fine. I tried it with my phone and found that it's true - the touch-screen worked fine even with the layer of plastic in between my finger and the screen.

On to the plan!

Monday: Spinach and Chickpeas, Rice, Fresh berries with yogurt and honey
(Chickpeas w/the spinach picked out, rice, berries, yogurt)

Tuesday: Cheese Tortellini, Tomato Sauce with butter and onion, Salad, Bread
(Tortellini with a side of sauce for dipping, carrots, bread)

Wednesday: Veggie Tacos, Spanish Rice
(Cheese and bean quesadilla, spanish rice)

Thursday: Kale and Cheddar Frittata, Carrot Salad
(Scrambled eggs, cheese, carrot salad)

Friday: Avocado BLTs, Sweet Potato Fries
(Bread, cheese, sweet potato fries, yogurt)

Saturday: Green Chile Chowder, Cheese Quesadillas
(Cheese and bean quesadilla, applesauce)

Monday Meal Planning 3.22.10

We did pretty well at making meals out of food we had on hand all last week as planned.  The only exception was Thursday night when we bought subs and beer and plopped down in front of the television to engage in some March-type madness. (GO STATE!)

I went grocery shopping today and all of the space I had managed to make in the pantry and refrigerator last week is now filled up again. My meal plan this week is designed to clean things out even more. My list is designed so that I would only have to buy a few produce items and some meat (we got a jonesing for pulled pork and lasagna). I've been doing good at keeping my grocery bill low, and this week managed to buy produce, a few canned goods, meat, and some mascara for less than $75.

As long as you don't count the special trip I made to the Middle Eastern bakery yesterday to buy fresh-baked pitas.

Mmmmm....fresh baked pitas. So good!

Anyway, onward to the meal plan!

Monday: Turkey Patty Pockets, Hummus and Veggies

A recipe I will be sharing this week, adapted from the most recent edition (April 2010) of Everyday Food (EDF). We actually ate this last night, because we were in the mood for something fresh-tasting and were dying to eat more of the fresh baked pita bread. We ended up very pleased with how this meal turned out. I can see this ending up in rotation fairly frequently.

Tuesday: Crispy Rice with Mushrooms and Carrots

Another EDF recipe that we are really looking forward to eating. Fried rice topped with a sunny-side-up egg, and surprisingly still fairly low in calories, plus vegetarian. This sounds like it's right up our alley.

Wednesday: Spicy Shredded Pork Tacos, Grilled Zucchini

The cover of EDF this month shows a pulled pork sandwich, which is what put us in the mood for the same. I bought my brother The Pioneer Woman's cookbook for his birthday last month and the shredded pork recipe was the first he tried, and then he called me to rave about it. I'm going to throw the ingredients together in my crockpot, and then eat half in the tacos and half later in the week slathered in BBQ sauce and topped with cole slaw on a fresh, grilled bun. Excuse me for a moment while I mop up the drool that just happened. Given the nice weather we've been having lately, I've been jealously smelling everyone in the neighborhood grilling their dinner and dreaming of BBQ, so I am quite eagerly anticipating this meal.

Thursday: Mushroom Caraway Soup, Roasted Broccoli, Bread

Even though it has been, as I mentioned above, absolutely beautiful outside lately, I still crave soup about once a week. This mushroom soup caught my eye while meal planning so we'll be giving it a try. The broccoli is mostly for Gabbie's sake, since it's her favorite food lately (so weird, but I'll take it).

Friday: Pulled Pork Sandwiches topped with cole slaw, Sweet Potato Fries

I CANNOT WAIT FOR FRIDAY JUST SO I CAN EAT THIS!

Saturday: Lasagna, Salad, Garlic Bread

Funny story here: when I was planning out our meals for the week, I read the list to Aaron, like usual, for his approval. When I came to this, I said, "The Pioneer Woman's Lasagna," and he whined, "Why can't you make your lasagna? I love your lasagna!"

My lasagna is the Pioneer Woman's lasagna. Apparently I've tried so many recipes I have the poor guy confused. I think he'll be pleasantly surprised come Saturday.

Tarragon Shallot Egg Salad Sandwiches on Grilled Brioche

So, this sandwich:

comes really, really close to the dish I was trying to recreate. So close, in fact, that I'd call it a success! I accomplished exactly what I wanted, and it is really good.

While in Chicago I ate a fan-freaking-tastic meal at a small plates vegetarian restaurant called Green Zebra. My meal consisted of several small plates, including: fresh burrata cheese with satsuma tangerines, salted cucumbers, pickled red onions, and pumpernickel crumbs; udon noodles in a spicy-tart broth with squash dumplings and greens; an ice cream tasting; and my favorite dish of the night - soft-boiled egg salad with tarragon on grilled brioche. I've been day dreaming about it ever since.

I started looking for ways to recreate it as soon as I got home, and while I never found a recipe for a soft-boiled egg salad, I did find a hard-boiled salad that sounded similar and a recipe for brioche (I suppose, if you lived somewhere other than where I live, you could just go buy a brioche, but, like I said earlier this week, grocery stores around here kind of suck, so I was on my own). I soft-boiled the eggs and used the salad recipe, and it is perfection. Exactly what I wanted. And so, so good. It's quite time consuming, but if you're bored or in the mood to tackle a somewhat difficult cooking task (as I often am on weekends) do this. You won't regret it.

Tarragon Shallot Egg Salad Sandwiches on Grilled Brioche

Adapted from Epicurious

For egg salad

4 large eggs

1/4 c. light mayonnaise

1 1/2 Tbsp. finely chopped shallot

3/4 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh tarragon, or to taste

2 tsp. white wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

For sandwiches

slices of brioche

butter

Make egg salad:

Cover eggs with cold water by 1 inch in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, and bring to a rolling boil. Boil one minute and then cover and remove from heat. Let sit 4 minutes. Flood pan with running cold water and let eggs sit for a couple of minutes until cool enough to handle. Peel eggs and finely chop. (This will be very messy with soft boiled eggs.

Stir together eggs and remaining salad ingredients in a bowl with a fork. (I stirred quite vigorously in order to get the yolks to blend into the dressing.)

Spread slices of brioche with butter and grill in a hot skillet until browned. Serve egg salad between slices of grilled brioche. You'll probably need a knife and a fork.

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.