Weekly Menu

Monday: Baked ravioli
Tuesday: Cinnamon chicken
Wednesday: Pork chops and polenta
Thursday: Kids choice
Friday: Homemade pizza
Saturday: Taquitos and black beans
Sunday: Chicken provencale

Weekly Menu

Monday:  Ham, funeral potatoes
Tuesday: Corn chowder
Wednesday: Pork chops
Thursday: Ribeye roast, mashed potatoes
Friday:  Christmas dinner at inlaws
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Homemade pizza

Weekly Menu

Monday: Kids choice
Tuesday: Birthday dinner lasagna
Wednesday: Stir fry
Thursday: Pork chops
Friday: Salmon
Saturnday: Pasta and meatballs
Sunday: Chicken provencale

Weekly Menu

Monday: Family choice
Tuesday: Curry chicken
Wednesday: Pork shoulder roast
Thursday: Corn chowder
Friday: Church dinner party
Saturday: Pork chops
Sunday: Chicken provencale

Weekly Menu

Monday: Pasta and salad
Tuesday: Fillet and scalloped potatoes
Wednesday: Curry chicken and brussel sprouts
Thursday: Salmon and carrots
Friday: Lime pork tenderloin and garlic potatoes
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Cinnamon chicken and broccoli

Weekly Menu

Monday: Savory crepes
Tuesday: Beef roast
Wednesday: Chicken provencale
Thursday: Salmon
Friday: Homemade pizza
Saturday: Cinnamon chicken
Sunday: Pork tenderloin

Weekly Menu

Monday: Tri-tip Hash
Tuesday: Fillet and garlic potatoes
Wednesday: Braised pork shouder
Thursday: :Picnic at the pumpkin patch
Friday: School fundraiser dinner
Saturday: Salmon, hawaiian rolls, green bean casserole
Sunday: Cinnamon chicken

Weekly Menu

Monday: Curry chicken and broccoli
Tuesday: Meatball sandwiches
Wednesday: Lasagna with salad
Thursday: Chicken provencale
Friday: Braised pork shoulder and garlic potatoes
Saturday: Cinnamon greek chicken
Sunday: Dinner with family

Weekly Menu

Monday: Pasta & meatballs
Tuesday: Curry chicken, broccoli
Wednesday: Stir fry
Thursday: Fried Chicken
Friday: Homemade pizza & salad
Saturday: Tri-tip hash
Sunday: Lime pork loin, green bean casserole

Weekly Menu

Here we go again. It's been a little hard to keep up this summer, but now that school is getting ready to start again, I'm making a new effort to get focused. I have a lot of recipes from over the summer that I'll be posting soon. Thanks for checking back.

Monday - Pasta & meatballs
Tuesday - Homemade pizza
Wednesday - Curry chicken
Thursday - Hamburgers
Friday - Salmon & garlic potatoes
Saturday - Leftovers
Sunday - Pork chops & bulgur
Monday (holiday) - Fried chicken

Weekly Menu

Monday: Homemade pizza
Tuesday: Pasta with meat sauce
Wednesday: Curry chicken
Thursday: Ham
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Happy 4th of July picnic
Sunday: Parmesan crusted pork chops

Weekly Menu

Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Filet steaks, garlic potatos
Wednsday: Lime pork tenderloin, caukiflower au gratin
Thursday: Cinnamon chicken, green bean casserole
Friday: Veggie burritos
Saturday: Salmon
Sunday: Chicken provencale

Weekly Menu

Monday: Tri tip hash
Tuesday: Veggie bean burritos
Wednesday: Pork loin & garlic potatoes
Thursday: Sausages in onion sauce, salad
Friday: Pasta & meatballs
Saturday: Chicken provencale
Sunday: Family dinner

Crazy May.

May has been a wildly busy month in our house. I finally have a week where I'm not supposed to be in three places at once everyday, so I'm hoping to get some of the recipes from the last couple weeks up in the next few days. Thanks for being patience and more is coming soon.

Weekly Menu

Monday: Salmon
Tuesday: Pasta & Meatballs
Wednesday: Tacos
Thursday: Cinnamon chicken
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: Up to Daddy (mommy will not be home). Should be fun for the kiddos.

Weekly Menu

We ended up visiting family last week and had some other things come up, so some meals got pushed to this week.

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Sausage with onion sauce

Wednesday: Greek Cinnamon Chicken

Thursday: Chicken pockets

Friday: Homemade pizza

Saturday: Macaroni Shepherds Pie

Churros

I found a recipe for these online and wanted to try them. I love churros. They remind me of spending time in Mexico when I was young. These are a pretty good approximation of the originals.

Recipe

From Rockin' Robin's Cooking Mexican Recipes

1 cup water
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup butter
1 cup white flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 to 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, depending on taste

Tips
Make sure your oil is hot, otherwise you may end up with soggy churros. The easiest way to squeeze the churros is to use one of the frosting decorator tools. Use the biggest star tip you have. They make your churros look like the kind you buy.

Directions

Preheat 1 1/2 to 2 inches of vegetable oil in a 10 to 12 inch frying pan to 375 degrees F. In a separate dish mix the 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

In a 3 qt. sauce pan add the water, brown sugar, salt, and butter and heat to a good boil. Remove from the heat and add the flour. Stirring in the flour will take some muscle. Mix it in until well blended.

In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and vanilla together and then add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until well blended and all the egg is completely mixed in.

Fill your decorating tool with the churro recipe dough and attach the largest star tip you have.

Test your oil by placing a small amount of dough in it. The dough should bubble up right away or that means the oil is not hot enough and a soggy churro is on the way.

Once the oil is hot enough, squeeze some dough (with decorator) into the oil about 4 inches long. I used my finger to release the dough from the decorator. Careful not to burn yourself. You should be able to cook 4 or 5 churros at a time. Cook them about 1 minute and turn them over with a slotted spoon. Cook an additional minute or two. You're looking for that nice golden brown color.

Remove the churros with the slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel-covered plate to absorb excess grease. While still warm, roll each churro into the dish with the sugar and cinnamon until coated.

Weekly Menu

Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Tacos with Mexican ceaser salad (Happy Cinco de Mayo)
Wednsday: Curry chicken
Thursday: Sausage with onion sauce, broccoli
Friday: Chicken clouds, roasted zucchini
Saturday: Homemade pizza (requested again by all the boys), salad
Sunday: Mom's Day dinner at in-law

Homemade Pizza.

It's a yummy dinner and a fun family activity - making your own pizza. You can pick whatever toppings you like, or experiment with new ones. This week the boys wanted traditional pizzas with sausage and pepperoni. I wanted something more eclectic so I tried to recreate one of my favorites - the Pear & Gorganzola from CPK. All the pizzas turned out yummy. Here are the pizzas we made. (And you can see my post of Homemade wheat pizza dough for the recipe)

The Ingredients:

Cooked italian sausage, pepperoni, pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese.

Sliced pears, gorganzola cheese, baby greens, pear & gorganzola salad dressing, mozzarella cheese and caramelized shallots.

Putting them together.

For this one I put down a layer of mozzarella, then a layer of sliced pears and shallots and added a little gorganzola on top.

The final products:

After the pizza is cooked, toss the baby greens in the dressing and top the pizza with them. Then slice and serve.

Homemade wheat pizza dough.

What goes better with homemade pizza than a homemade dough (although you can find and use some from the grocery store if you need to - I like the bags of dough at Trader Joe's). For ideas about what do put on your pizza, see my post about Homemade pizzas.

Recipe
Adapted from Curtis Stone on Oprah

This makes 3 balls of dough, about 8 ounces each (personal pizza sized)
1/4 ounce dry or fresh yeast
1 tsp. honey
1 cup warm water (110 to 115°)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup wheat flour , plus more for dusting
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil , plus more for brushing

Directions

In a small mixing bowl, combine yeast, honey and warm water and mix to dissolve. Allow mixture to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.

In a stand mixer mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, oil and yeast mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are fully incorporated. Attach dough hook to mixer and knead for 5 to 8 minutes or until the dough is smooth but firm. Remove dough hook and cover bowl with a warm, damp cloth and set in a warm spot for 30 to 40 minutes (or in a warmed oven) or until dough has risen to almost 1 1/2 times its size.

Divide the dough into 3 evenly sized balls (about 8 ounces each), and pull the sides of each ball down and tuck into the bottom of itself. Then, roll the dough under your hand until the top is smooth and has regained slight firmness.

Place the balls of dough back into the same bowl, rub lightly with oil and cover with a warm, damp cloth, and let rise for an additional 15 to 20 minutes in a warm spot.

Pound the dough on a floured work surface and reform into balls. You can roll out into pizza crusts immediately, or brush with a little olive oil and refrigerate covered until ready to use for up to 2 days. Dough will also keep in freezer for up to 2 months if tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.

Fried Potato Salad

We started a new activity at church called a Sup-N-Swap where we all bring a dish to try and exchange the recipes. This month our theme was salads. I ended up with a yummy plate of food and a stack of recipes to try. The dish I decided to bring was one that looked so yummy. Thanks Jenni for the great idea. It was delicious. You can follow the link to the recipe.

http://atasteofjennskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/03/fried-potato-salad.html

Lemon Chicken Risotto

My hubby likes chicken and rice, so I try to have different combinations for a little variety. This is a good one that doesn't really need a side dish since the veggies are already in it.

Recipe
Adapted from Pampered Chef

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded flat
Salt & pepper
1 T olive oil
1-3 lemons, halved (depending on how much lemon flavor you like - I use 3)
1 medium onion, diced
1-3 garlic cloved put through a garlic press (we like garlic so I use 3)
2 packages pre-cooked rice, 8.8 ounces each (we use Uncle Ben's Ready Rice in the Brown Rice flavor)
1 medium carrot, julienned or chopped
1 medium zucchini, sliced
8 oz. (about 1/2 can) peeled, diced tomatoes, drained
2-2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup asiago cheese, grated (you can substitute parmesean)
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, sliced
2 ounces mascarpone cheese (optional)

Directions

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and lightly spray with nonstick spray. Arrange chicken and lemon halves, cut sides down, in the skillet. Cook 6-8 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, turning once. Remove from skillet. Cool slightly and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Lightly spray same skillet with nonstick spray. Cook onion and garlic over medium heat until onions have softened.

Add rice and juice from carmelized lemons (be sure not to let the seeds in). Cook and stir 3-4 minutes.

Add carrot, zucchini, tomatoes and 2 cups of broth to skillet; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 4-5 minutes or until broth thickens slightly.


Stir in chicken and cook until heated through.

Remove from heat and add cheese and basil. Stir until cheese melts and sauce thickens (adjust consistency with additional broth if necessary). Stir in mascarpone, if desired.

Serve and eat.

Stir Fry

I don't know that a lot needs to be said about stir fry. It's pretty easy and very quick. It's a great tasting way to get those veggies into your diet, which is hard for my family sometimes. You just need to find yourself a good sauce (I love Trader Joe's General Tsao sauce). There are many to choose from in the asian isle at the grocery store, or you can make your own with a little soy sauce, cornstarch, garlic and chicken/beef broth. I also usually par-steam the harder veggies (like carrots) so they cook faster in the stir fry. If not, I try to add them first so they have a few more minutes of cooking time.

Recipe

Your choice of meat cut into bite sized pieces (we like beef or chicken).
Your choice of veggies that your family likes cut into bite size pieces (we like to combine 3-6, usually a combo of carrots, sugar snap peas, broccoli, mushrooms, peas, zucchini).
1-3 cloves of garlic, minced (we love garlic and use lots but use what your family likes)
2 T olive oil
1 bottle of your favorite sauce

Directions

Add olive oil to a large skillet or wok and swirl to coat bottom. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the meat and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add veggies and cook 3-5 minutes, or until meat is cooked through and veggies are cooked but still slightly crisp. Add sauce and cook until warmed through. Serve over brown rice.

Weekly Menu

Monday: Stir fry
Tuesday: PC Lemony Chicken Risotto
Wednsday: Tri Tip Hash, green beans
Thursday: Curry Chicken
Friday: Homemade Pizza
Saturday: Spaghetti & Meatballs
Sunday: Pork chops

Roasted carrots.

These carrots turn out quite yummy. Roasting them really brings out the natural sugars and they come out of the oven super-sweet. I’ve become a little addicted. And keep in mind that roasting them also shrinks them down, so they don’t seem like much when they are done.

Recipe
From Everyday Food

2 pounds carrots, thick pieces halved lengthwise
1/2 pound shallots, peeled and halved if large

1 T fresh rosemary leaves

1 tablespoons olive oil
coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 450. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss carrots, shallots, rosemanry and oil; season with salt and pepper.

Bake until brown and tender, 20 to 25 minutes, tossing once halfway through.

Pasta with broccoli rabe.

I saw this recipe a couple years ago and have actually been dying to try it, but I can never find broccoli rabe (also called rapini) in the store. They have it at a local market (Henry’s) every once in awhile but they are always out when I see the sign for it. Well, today I saw it at the store and had to pick it up. It’s a little bitter like other dark greens, but very tasty - like a cross between spinach and broccoli. I will definitely try this one again, maybe even adding some additional chicken, veggies or cherry tomatoes.

Recipe
From Martha Stewart

Salt and fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds broccoli rabe, rinsed, trimmed, and cut in 1-inch pieces
1 pound shaped pasta (orecchiette, bowties, rotini or your favorite)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 or 2 anchovy fillets (optional)
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil; Salt generously. Add broccoli rabe. Cook until leaves are wilted, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer broccoli rabe to colander; drain well. Return water to a boil, and add pasta; cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic; cook, stirring, until soft, 30 seconds, being careful not to brown. Add anchovy fillets, if using, and crushed red pepper; cook, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in broccoli rabe; cook until heated through, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add pasta to broccoli rabe mixture; toss to combine, adding reserved cooking water as desired. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Serve with Parmesan and lemon wedges.

Weekly Menu

Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Pasta with broccoli rabe
Wednesday: Fried chicken with roasted carrots
Thursday: Ham with garlic potatoes and salad
Friday: PC chicken with lemon and rice
Saturday: Tri-tip hash and roasted sweet potato fries
Sunday: Pasta & meatballs

Wheat bread.

This is a really yummy homemade wheat bread recipe. Everyone really enjoyed it with dinner tonight. It might even convince me to start making my own bread more often. The bread turned out really soft and light, which I always find hard to get with wheat bread. This is made to use with a dough hook and mixer and I’m told it’s hard to get the lightness if you try to kneed it by hand. It’s a pretty large recipe and will give you 4 loaves of bread. My mixer isn’t that large so I halved the recipe and got 2 nice loaves.

Recipe
From a friend, Edina

3 cups warm water (100-110 degrees)
1 T. sugar
3 T. yeast
2 cups buttermilk
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup molasses
2 T. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
6 cups white flour
8 cups wheat flour

Directions
Add warm water, sugar, and yeast to a mixing bowl. Stir to combine. (You can add them directly into the mixer also. If you do that, beat until dissolved.)

In a saucepan with heat on low combine buttermilk, oil, honey, molasses and salt. Warm all the ingredients but not too hot (about 110 degrees). Remove from heat and add the baking soda. Mix until the soda makes the mixture froth.

Add the warm buttermilk mixture to the mixing bowl. Add 6 cups of white flour and 2 cups of wheat flour. Start the machine on low and mix for five minutes. Then add 6 cups wheat flour. (Add additional flour if the dough does not pull away from the sides of the bowl when mixing). Turn the machine on high speed for five minutes. After mixing, let the dough rise in the bowl for 15-20 minutes. Remove the dough onto a greased counter top/cookie sheet and punch down. Let the dough rest 8 minutes and then shape into 4 loaves and put into greased bread pans. Let the loaves rise in a warm place (or a slightly warmed oven) for 35 minutes. Bake @ 350 for 45 minutes. Remove from pans and place on baking rack to cool. Do not refrigerate - it dries them out.

Beef & Barley Veggie Soup

I don't have a lot of time to make homemade soups so when I found this one I was very excited. It has wonderful flavor and is full of delicious barley and veggies. It's become a favorite in our house (as are many things from Trader Joes). Maybe someday I'll try to figure out how to make a homemade version, but in the meantime....this is a quick and easy dinner.

Soy Salmon

Here is another marinade I like to use on salmon. We all love it, even the kids.

Recipe
From La Leche League

1/3 c olive oil
1/3 c soy sauce
1/3 c brown or coarse ground mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 c parsley, chopped

Directions

Put all marinade ingredients in a ziptop bag and shake to combine. Place salmon in bag and marinate in fridge up to 4 hours. Bake (at 350) or grill until fish is cooked through.

Carrot & Zuccini scapece

This side dish needs to be started the night before so it can sit overnight. A little bit of planning, and it's actually a really easy recipe. The flavors are a bit strong if you have family members that are sensitive to that (the kids don't like this as much as I do).

Recipe
From Food Network

1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 large zucchini (about 2 pounds), cut into 1/4-inch rounds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
10 medium carrots (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Directions

Heat 1/3 cup oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the zucchini and fry until golden, about 2 minutes per side.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried zucchini to a baking dish. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle half of the garlic, basil, and mint leaves over the zucchini.

Add the remaining oil to the frying pan. Add the carrots to the hot oil and saute until golden, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried carrots to the dish of zucchini.

Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the remaining garlic, basil, and mint leaves over.

Drizzle the vinegar over the vegetable mixture and toss gently to coat. Cool to room temperature. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight. Allow the vegetables to come to room temperature before serving. Transfer the scapece to a platter.

Skirt steak

We had a yummy steak, which is a relatively inexpensive cut. I marinated it for about 4 hours prior to grilling. The steak was about 1 pound and cooked in about 15 minutes. When marinating things, I often like to try new combinations, or just put together flavors we like. Tonight's marinade went as follows:

Recipe

1/2 low sodium soy sauce
1 T minced garlic
1 T coarsely ground mustard

Directions

Add marinade ingredients to a zip-top bag, seal and squish bag to combine ingredients. Add steak and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes t0 several hours, as desired. Remove steak from bag and discard leftover. Then grill, broil or cook your steak using your favorite method.

Garlic Roasted Potatoes

These are a yummy twist on a potato side dish. They are soft and crispy at the same time.

Recipe
Adapted from Everyday Food

2 garlic cloves
coarse salt (like kosher) and fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 - 2 T olive oil
1 1/2 pounds small gold potatoes sliced 1/4 inch thick (you can use a mandolin to make the slicing easier if you have one)

Directions

Preheat oven to 475. Finely chop garlic and sprinkle with salt. Press the flat side of a chef's knife back and forth across garlic to make a paste. Transfer to a small bowl and add the thyme and olive oil and stir to combine. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss potatoes with garlic mixture. Bake until browned on underside, 20-25 minutes, mixing halfway through.

Weekly Menu

Monday: Soup & sandwiches
Tuesday: Skirt steak with garlic potatoes, salad
Wednsday: Pork chops and scapece
Thursday: Curry chicken
Friday: Salmon with broccoli, rolls
Saturday: Beef & barley vege soup, homemade wheat rolls
Sunday: Easter ham dinner

40 Cloves and a Chicken

I love to watch Alton Brown on Foodnetwork and this is one of my favorite of his recipes. It is pretty fragrant, so beware - your house will smell like garlic all day. The roasted garlic comes out so soft and sweet. And, the saucy oil is the secret. I try to get a bite of chicken, a little soft garlic and some oil in each bite to get the best flavor. I use my enameld cast iron pot so I can brown the chicken and roast it in the oven in one pot.

Recipe
From Foodnetwork

1 whole chicken (broiler/fryer) cut into 8 pieces (or I buy the picnic pack and use 4 legs and 4 thighs)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
10 sprigs fresh thyme
40 peeled cloves garlic
Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Toss with a 2 tablespoons olive oil and brown on both sides in a wide fry pan or skillet over high heat.

Remove from heat, add oil, thyme, and garlic cloves. Cover and bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Remove chicken from the oven, let rest for 5 to 10 minutes, carve, and serve.

Weekly Menu

Monday: 40 cloves and a chicken, sweet potato fries
Tuesday: Pork chops, rice, broccoli
Wednesday: Stir fry with brown rice
Thursday: Sausage in onion sauce, salad
Friday: Hawaiian chicken and rice
Saturday: Leftovers

Meatballs

A friend made these for me once and I fell in love with the recipe. When I make them now I usually triple the recipe so I can make enough to freeze extras to go with the pasta sauce.

Recipe

Adapted from William Sonma

1/4 c. Italian breadcrumbs

1/4 c. milk

1/2 pound mild italian pork sausage, casings removed

3/4 pound ground beef

1 egg

1/2 c. low-fat ricotta

1/2 c. finely shredded parmesean

1 large shallot, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. dried margoram

Salt and pepper

Directions

In a large bowl combine bread crumbs and milk and mix well. Add remaining ingredients. Seasonwith salt and pepper. Mix until just combined. Form into balls 1/2" to 1" in diameter (I use a #40 discher to portion out the meatballs - it's a great size and keeps them uniform). Place on cookie sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray.

Place in 350 oven for 10-12 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through. Remove to paper towels to soak up any extra grease.

Serve warm with spaghetti and pasta sauce. I put the leftover meatballs in ziptop freezer bags in groups of 12-15 and freeze to eat with future meals.

Pasta Sauce

We love homemade pasta sauce, so when I make a batch it's pretty large. That way I can portion it out in plastic containers and freeze it for future use. I can usually get 7-8 meals for our family out of this recipe (it makes around 25 cups). It can be easliy reduced for smaller batches or families. Sorry for the lack of pictures - I had camera issues that I didn't notice until the end so I only got the final shot.

*Note: You can also exchange small or large cans of ingredients when needed, as long as the total amount works out to the same. Use what you have.

Recipe

6-14 oz. cans peeled, petite diced tomatoes, drained (or 3 large cans)
9-15 oz. cans tomato sauce (or 4 large cans plus one small can)
4-6 oz. cans tomato paste
1 1/2 onion, diced
10 cloves garlic, minced (we love garlic but you can use less)
5 T extra virgin olive oil
5 T Italian seasoning
1 1/2 T dried basil
1 T dried oregano
1 cup brown sugar (we like ours a little sweet but you can use less)
Additoinal spices and sugar as needed to taste

Directions

In a large pot, saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add half of the drained stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir together. Add spices and sugar. Simmer on medium-low for 15 minutes. Add remainder of stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir together. Simmer for and additional 15 minutes. Add additoinal spices and sugar to taste. Simmer on low for 30 minutes or until all flavors have come together.

Mustard Pan Sauce

We had a lovely filet steak dinner tonight (I LOVE when filets are on sale). I pan seared and then oven roasted them so that I could make a mustard pan sauce I have been wanting to try. It was yummy.

Recipe

1 shallot, finely chopped
1/2 c. low sodium chicken stock
1 T coarse ground mustard
2 T heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

After cooking the beef, remove from pan and let rest. In the pan over medium-high heat, add the shallot and saute until tender, about 1 minute. Add the stock. Whisk in the mustard and cream. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper to taste.

Weekly Menu

Monday: Steak & baked potatoes
Tuesday: Pasta & meatballs with salad
Wednsday: Salmon, roasted carrots & cous cous
Thursday: Chicken & rice with broccoli
Friday: turkey Taco Salad
Saturday: Country pork ribs and corn
Sunday: 40 cloves & a chicken with roasted mixed potatoes

Slow Cooker Sausage Lasagna

We tried this for the first time. It made a good Sunday dinner. I always like dinners that I can start before church and have it ready when we are ready to eat.


Recipe
Adapted from Everyday Food Magazine, March 2009

1 pound mild Italian sausage, casings removed
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 cup finely shredded carrot
3 finely shredded garlic cloves
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes in puree
9-12 lasagna noodles (depending on if you like more meaty or noodly lasagna)
2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella (reserve ½ cup in refrigerator)
Salt and pepper

Directions
In a large pot, cook sausage and ground beef over medium heat, breaking up meat into pieces, until no longer pink. Add onion, carrots and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook 3-5 minutes, until onion has softened. Stir in the tomato paste, then crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.

Spoon 2 cups of the meat mixture into the bottom of a 5-6 quart crock-pot. Layer 3-4 noodles (breaking them as needed to fit) over the meat. Layer another 2 cups of meat mixture, then ½ - ¾ cup cheese, then 3-4 noodles. Spread the remaining meat on top.

Cover slow cooker and cook on low 4-6 hours. Sprinkle the reserved ½ cup of cheese on top, cover the crock-pot again and cook 10 more minutes to melt the cheese.

Spinach & Proscuitto Pizza

Making home-made pizza is always a fun treat. It's a great activity to get kids involved in, from rolling out the crust to spreading out toppings. You can customize the pizza with toppings your family likes, or experiment with new flavors. This pizza was the latter. I love to buy whole wheat pizza crust from the refrigerated section at Trader Joe's, but I wanted to try some new toppings that were a bit healthier, so I found a recipe that I thought would work (even though there is no sauce)

Recipe
Adapted from Foodnetwork.com

1 whole wheat pizza crust
4 cups baby spinach
3 oz. prosciutto
½ c. shredded parmesean cheese

Directions

Roll out the pizza crust according to package directions. (We rolled out ours into a sqare, but you can use whatever shape you want). Spread the spinach out all over the crust. Cut up the proscuitto into bite-size pieces then spread over the spinach. Top with parmesean cheese. Cook 12-15 minutes, until cheese is melted and crust is cooked and golden. Slice and serve.

Grown-up Mac & Cheese

This was really yummy and a fun change to the regular mac & cheese. Hubby thought it was a little strong on the blue cheese, but he is really sensitive to that (he isn't too fond of what he calls "stinky cheeses). I thought it was perfect (however I love "stinky cheeses"). It is a little involved, but it was worth it for me and I got to have leftovers for lunch for a couple days.

Recipe
From Foodnetwork

Kosher salt
1 (16-ounce) package macaroni (cellentani or other curly noodle)
1/4 pound bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more to butter baking dish
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups grated fontina
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
3/4 cup grated Gruyere
3/4 cup grated white Cheddar
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and butter a 9x13 glass or other baking dish (I used my stonewear dish).

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain.

In a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot, saute the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Saute the onion in the bacon drippings until soft. Add the 5 tablespoons butter to the onion mixture and melt the butter stirring with a wooden spoon.

Using a whisk, add the flour, and stir constantly until well mixed with the fat making a roux. Whisk in the mustard. Gradually add the milk and cream whisking constantly. Add the thyme, bay leaf, and salt. Let come to a simmer and stir frequently for 15 minutes.

Strain the hot milk mixture into a metal bowl and discard the solids. Working quickly, mix in 1 cup fontina, blue cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyere, 1/2 cup white Cheddar, 1/2 cup Parmesan, the reserved bacon, and parsley. Continue to stir until all cheese is melted. Add the cooked noodles to the cheese mixture to coat.

Add the noodle mixture to the prepared baking dish. Mix the remaining cheese and bread crumbs together and sprinkle on top of the noodles.

Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown. Remove from oven when done and rest for 5 minutes.

Today's Tip

Be flexible. And try to keep a few staples in your pantry and freezer. I try to plan out our menu for the week so I don't have to make a lot of trips to the grocery store but life happens all the time. Sometimes people get sick, unexpected situations arrive, a meeting runs late......and you have to change your game plan for the night. So the dinner you needed to start prepping early doesn't happen and you have to change your plan. It's OK. I always have frozen chicken breasts and veggies on hand and if all else fails, there are always hot dogs or cereal in the house. So from time to time you may notice that meals planned for one week get moved to the next. It's life.

Weekly Menu

Monday: Gnocchi with basil pesto
Tuesday: Chicken & Rice with broccoli
Wednsday: Homemade Pizza
Thursday: Spaghetti and meatballs
Friday: Chicken Provencale
Saturday: Salmon
Sunday: Dinner at Grandma's

Curry Chicken

This is one of our family's favorite meals. We have this at least every other week, and often once per week. There is a little heat to it for those with a delicate tongue like me, but if spice doesn't bother you, you won't have any problems. You can also control the amount of heat by cutting down on the spices a little.

Recipe
Adapated from Low Fat Low Cholesterol Cookbook

2 T vegetable oil
1 med. onion, finely chopped
2 tsp. garlic powder
6 oz. can tomato paste (preferably no-salt variety)
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. ground corriander
1/2 tsp. ground tumeric
1/2 tsp. cayenne
8 oz. light sour cream
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. garam masala
2 T. powedered fiber (optional)
(I like to add some extra fiber to some dishes, like powdered Benefiber, since we don't ever seem to get enough into our daily diets)

Directions
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pour oil and coat the bottom of the pan. Cook onion for 4-5 minutes until tender. Add garlic powder; cook for 1 minute stirring constantly.

Stir in the spices (cumin, corriander, tumeric and cayenne).


Stir in the tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the sour cream. Add the salt and chicken and mix together thouroughly. If the mixture seems too dry, add additional water 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches your desired consistancy. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the ginger and cook for 10-15 more minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from heat and stir in garam masala and fiber. Serve over rice (we like brown rice).