[Kitchen still out of commission until at least mid-week. New stove coming on Tuesday!!]
Monday: leftovers (Ryan gone)
Tuesday: dinner with small group
Wednesday: ravioli
Thursday: chicken salad sandwiches
Friday: meatloaf on the grill
Saturday: ?
Sunday: ?
Monday, July 13, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Menu for July 6th- July 12th
Working around this kind of stuff in the kitchen for the next week or two:
So meals will be of the no stove or oven, quick and easy, possibly take-out variety.
Monday: Cilantro Lime Chicken (finally... it's only been on the menu three weeks already and kept getting bumped for various reasons.)(and we'll definitely be doing it again -often! Yum!)
Tuesday: Pizza with our small group
Wednesday: Asian Pasta Salad
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: hamburgers on the grill
Saturday: ?
Sunday: ??
So meals will be of the no stove or oven, quick and easy, possibly take-out variety.
Monday: Cilantro Lime Chicken (finally... it's only been on the menu three weeks already and kept getting bumped for various reasons.)(and we'll definitely be doing it again -often! Yum!)
Tuesday: Pizza with our small group
Wednesday: Asian Pasta Salad
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: hamburgers on the grill
Saturday: ?
Sunday: ??
Monday, June 29, 2009
Menu for June 29th - July 5th
kind of a light week in meal planning this week with lots going on to take up dinnertime :)
Monday: Eggplant and Mushroom Strogonoff
Tuesday: dinner with small group
Wednesday: grilled cheese
Thursday: Cilantro Lime Chicken
Friday: quick bite before or at the Fourth of July festival
Saturday: grill at block party (make fruit salad and ??)
Sunday: Ginger Steak Salad (never made it last week)
Monday: Eggplant and Mushroom Strogonoff
Tuesday: dinner with small group
Wednesday: grilled cheese
Thursday: Cilantro Lime Chicken
Friday: quick bite before or at the Fourth of July festival
Saturday: grill at block party (make fruit salad and ??)
Sunday: Ginger Steak Salad (never made it last week)
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
keeping our cool- Menu for June 22nd - June 28th
We're in the midst of a little heat wave around here... upper ninety degree temps with the heat index up over 110. Yuck.
We've been spending most of the day at the pool, every day, and that's pretty much my plan for the week. Which means two things: When I finally drag the kids out of the water at the end of the day, I want to come home and have minimum prep for dinner... without turning on the stove or the oven.
A week of meals without (or minimal) cooking? Here's some of what I've come up with:
Monday: Cold Ham Sandwich Pizza with corn on the cob
Tuesday: Pepperoni Pasta Salad with bread and nice big green grapes
Wednesday: Sausage, cheese and cracker platter with fruits and veggies
Thursday: No-Cook Tomato Sauce and pasta with broccoli steamed in the microwave
Friday: pizza party with the neighbors at the pool
Saturday: Ginger Steak Salad
Sunday: Pulled Pork Sandwiches
We've been spending most of the day at the pool, every day, and that's pretty much my plan for the week. Which means two things: When I finally drag the kids out of the water at the end of the day, I want to come home and have minimum prep for dinner... without turning on the stove or the oven.
A week of meals without (or minimal) cooking? Here's some of what I've come up with:
Monday: Cold Ham Sandwich Pizza with corn on the cob
Tuesday: Pepperoni Pasta Salad with bread and nice big green grapes
Wednesday: Sausage, cheese and cracker platter with fruits and veggies
Thursday: No-Cook Tomato Sauce and pasta with broccoli steamed in the microwave
Friday: pizza party with the neighbors at the pool
Saturday: Ginger Steak Salad
Sunday: Pulled Pork Sandwiches
No-Cook Pizza
I found this recipe after looking high and low for another no-cook main dish that wasn't all veggies and wraps hoping maybe my kids would eat it.
Cold Ham Sandwich Pizza
- 1/2 cup cream cheese with chives, softened
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp. horseradish sauce
- 1 prepared Boboli® pizza crust
- 1-1/2 cups chopped cooked ham
- 1-1/2 cups chopped plum tomatoes
- 1/2 cup shredded lettuce
- 1/4 cup creamy Italian salad dressing
I tweaked it a just a tad to fit what we had in our kitchen:
I used regular cream cheese and mixed it with the mayo and a little shot of dijon mustard since we're not a horseradish family.
I chopped up the deli ham I had, rather than cubed cooked ham, and made up my own pizza crust; I already had the oven on in the early morning making some quick breakfast bars, so I mixed up a Jiffy pizza crust (adding some garlic parmesan seasoning to the dough since I was going to be working with plain cream cheese) and popped it in the oven while it was on. Then I just left it out on the counter to cool and rest until we topped it cold at dinnertime.
Sawyer helped me spread the cheese mixture and sprinkle on the lettuce, tomatoes and ham. We threw some corn on the cob on the stove for a few minutes (so it wasn't a completely no-cook meal) and dinner was served.
I had hoped Sawyer would be more likely to try it since he helped me make it; but notsomuch. He basically picked off a little ham off of his piece and called it good. Savannah did better, but didn't finish it. Ryan said he liked it but didn't seem blown away by it or anything. He did eat two pieces though...
I, on the other hand, loved this pizza! I was so nice and cool and refreshing. The cream cheese "sauce" was perfect and the fresh toppings were nice and light. I will definitely be coming back to this idea throughout the summer. I may pick up a Boboli or two to have on hand... or it would be really good on some focaccia bread or something similar.
Yum!!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Beer Bread
I love this bread.
You can alter the flavor a tad by using different beers; darker, or a sweet honey beer, or try out whatever you have on hand. My favorite is a local Irish beer. Yum, it makes it so good!
This is the simplest bread recipe I have, and it is hands down my favorite.
It uses as little as three ingredients. That's it. Flour, sugar and beer. How simple is that??
It goes together in a couple of minutes, bakes easily, and goes with so many meals.
Some of my favorite pairings... this chili, this soup, and this pork and veggie dish. It's awesome just as a snack too.
Beer Bread
You can use non-alcoholic beverages instead of beer. That is fine to do but it's recommended you add a packet of Dry Active Yeast or 2 teaspoons of Bread (Machine) Yeast so that you get a proper rise.
The final result should be a thick, hearty and very tasteful bread, NOT A BRICK! ;). Just be sure you sift your flour and it's easy peasy!!
You can alter the flavor a tad by using different beers; darker, or a sweet honey beer, or try out whatever you have on hand. My favorite is a local Irish beer. Yum, it makes it so good!
This is the simplest bread recipe I have, and it is hands down my favorite.
It uses as little as three ingredients. That's it. Flour, sugar and beer. How simple is that??
It goes together in a couple of minutes, bakes easily, and goes with so many meals.
Some of my favorite pairings... this chili, this soup, and this pork and veggie dish. It's awesome just as a snack too.
Beer Bread
- 3 cups flour (sifted)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
- 1 teaspoon salt (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 (12 ounce) can/bottle of beer
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix dry ingredients and beer.
- Pour into a greased loaf pan.
- Pour melted butter over mixture.
- Bake 1 hour, remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes.
You can use non-alcoholic beverages instead of beer. That is fine to do but it's recommended you add a packet of Dry Active Yeast or 2 teaspoons of Bread (Machine) Yeast so that you get a proper rise.
The final result should be a thick, hearty and very tasteful bread, NOT A BRICK! ;). Just be sure you sift your flour and it's easy peasy!!
Lemony Pork and Veggies
Well, it's been awhile.
I do have a few goodies I want to get caught up on and record here. Good dinners, yummy scones and sweet desserts.
First up, one of my old favorites that was resurrected (twice) in the past week. Everyone who's had this has loved this dish, I used to make it often for dinner guests. I was looking for an easy portable meal to make for friends last week and remembered this one. I made it for us again as well, because I couldn't resist! This pork just melts in your mouth and the slight lemony juice is just perfect on everything.
>I also always make my favorite beer bread along with this dinner!!
Lemony Pork & Veggies
2 lbs boneless pork shoulder
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 16 oz package peeled baby carrots*
8 oz parsnips, cut into 1/2 inch slices*
2 medium shallots, sliced thin
1 lemon, quartered
1/4 cup thinly sliced basil**
1 14oz can chicken broth
1 1/3 cups quick cooking couscous***
-In your slow cooker, place carrots, parsnips*, shallots, lemon quarters and basil**.
-Trim excess fat from pork and cut into 1-inch pieces. Combine flour and pepper in plastic ziplock bag and add the pork, closing and shaking to coat.
In large skillet brown half of the mean in 1 tbsp of the oil about 5 min, turning to brown evenly. Remove from skillet and repeat with remaining pork in remaining 1 tbsp oil.
Place pork on top of vegetables in slow cooker.
-Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high 3 1/2-4 hours.
-Discard lemon pieces. Use slotted spoon to remove pork and vegetables to a serving dish, cover dish to keep warm, reserving 1 3/4 cups of the cooking liquid in the slow cooker. Be sure cooker is turned on high and stir couscous into liquid. Cover and cook for 5 minutes more. Fluff couscous with a fork.***
Serve pork and vegetables over couscous.
*when I very first used this recipe, I couldn't find parsnips and instead came across a bag of prewashed and prepped mixed green beans and thin carrot sticks together. I used this and it was awesome. So now that's my go-to and if I can't find that bag in the veggie section at the store (not all stores carry it) I just grab a bag of green beans and then cut a few big carrots into matchsticks to add to it.
**I rarely have fresh basil on hand. Obviously dried basil flakes sub fine... I just sprinkle a bunch in over the veggies.
***I prepared this once as directed with the couscous and didn't really care for it. I normally just throw some brown rice in my rice cooker to be done at the same time as the pork and veggies and it goes wonderfully together. Serve the meat and veggies over the rice and drizzle with the cooking liquid.
I do have a few goodies I want to get caught up on and record here. Good dinners, yummy scones and sweet desserts.
First up, one of my old favorites that was resurrected (twice) in the past week. Everyone who's had this has loved this dish, I used to make it often for dinner guests. I was looking for an easy portable meal to make for friends last week and remembered this one. I made it for us again as well, because I couldn't resist! This pork just melts in your mouth and the slight lemony juice is just perfect on everything.
>I also always make my favorite beer bread along with this dinner!!
Lemony Pork & Veggies
2 lbs boneless pork shoulder
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 16 oz package peeled baby carrots*
8 oz parsnips, cut into 1/2 inch slices*
2 medium shallots, sliced thin
1 lemon, quartered
1/4 cup thinly sliced basil**
1 14oz can chicken broth
1 1/3 cups quick cooking couscous***
-In your slow cooker, place carrots, parsnips*, shallots, lemon quarters and basil**.
-Trim excess fat from pork and cut into 1-inch pieces. Combine flour and pepper in plastic ziplock bag and add the pork, closing and shaking to coat.
In large skillet brown half of the mean in 1 tbsp of the oil about 5 min, turning to brown evenly. Remove from skillet and repeat with remaining pork in remaining 1 tbsp oil.
Place pork on top of vegetables in slow cooker.
-Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high 3 1/2-4 hours.
-Discard lemon pieces. Use slotted spoon to remove pork and vegetables to a serving dish, cover dish to keep warm, reserving 1 3/4 cups of the cooking liquid in the slow cooker. Be sure cooker is turned on high and stir couscous into liquid. Cover and cook for 5 minutes more. Fluff couscous with a fork.***
Serve pork and vegetables over couscous.
*when I very first used this recipe, I couldn't find parsnips and instead came across a bag of prewashed and prepped mixed green beans and thin carrot sticks together. I used this and it was awesome. So now that's my go-to and if I can't find that bag in the veggie section at the store (not all stores carry it) I just grab a bag of green beans and then cut a few big carrots into matchsticks to add to it.
**I rarely have fresh basil on hand. Obviously dried basil flakes sub fine... I just sprinkle a bunch in over the veggies.
***I prepared this once as directed with the couscous and didn't really care for it. I normally just throw some brown rice in my rice cooker to be done at the same time as the pork and veggies and it goes wonderfully together. Serve the meat and veggies over the rice and drizzle with the cooking liquid.
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