Menu #13

Cucumber-Tomato Salad

Last week’s menu never happened, because Sunday night after posting the menu Xavier came down with an ugly virus.  Once again, the week was filled with soups and soft foods.  This is also the reason there were no posts last week, because I was busy playing Nurse Mama.  I’m happy to say X-man is getting better!  He may be sticking to soup and Jell-O for a few more days, but Mama and Papa need texture in their food again.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I can get through this week’s menu, and here it is . . .

Monday:  Panko Chicken Cutlets w/ pasta & marinara

Tuesday:  Beef & Barley-Stuffed Peppers w/ avocado-tomato salad

Wednesday:  Garlic Shrimp w/ polenta & eggplant caponata

Thursday:  Sausage & Beans w/ cornbread muffins

The sausage & beans is going to be a one-pot dish with onions, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, andouille sausage (Henry’s makes their own all-natural sausages without MSG or nitrates, and they are outstanding), and Mayacoba beans (frozen, leftover from 2 weeks ago).  I’ll freeze any leftover cornbread muffins and just take them out as needed. 

Friday:  Leftovers

I also have Book Club on this evening for “Secret Lives of Wives,” and I’m bringing along Nutella Blondies…yummy!

Saturday:  Eat Out

Sunday:  BBQ Chicken w/ potato-pepper foil packets & cucumber-tomato salad

Menu #12



Tomato-Red Pepper Soup



This week is filled with simple, quick dinners because I have a lot going on this week, and here it is…

Monday:  Big Salad w/ Steak, Blue Cheese, & Red Wine Vinaigrette served w/ wheat rolls
I’m using up leftover tri tip for these salads along with any leftover vegetables. 

Also on this morning, Xavier is having a fence painting playdate.  I’m filling buckets with water and tinting them with food dye.  The kids will paint the fence with it, and it comes right off with water!  Then, we’ll all have a picnic in the backyard.

Tuesday:  Parmesan Fish Sticks w/ homemade potato chips & carrot sticks served with yogurt-herb dip
Once again, I'm going to attempt making potato chips with my new Pampered Chef microwave potato chip maker.  The first attempt didn’t quite work out because I didn’t cut them thin enough.  I’ll post about them later this week along with the yogurt-herb dip and parmesan fish sticks.  J 

Wednesday:  BLTs on whole-grain bread w/ Tomato-Red Pepper Soup 

Thursday:  Panko Chicken Cutlets w/ ratatouille & whole-wheat pasta

Friday:  Chicken Wraps w/ ratatouille pasta salad
I’m using all leftovers from Thursday night—the chicken for the wraps and making a pasta salad with the chilled ratatouille and pasta. 

Saturday:  Eat Out

Sunday:  BBQ Chicken w/ grilled corn on the cob & leftover pasta salad

Lil' Chefs School: Waffles

As I’ve mentioned before, every month I teach a fun cooking class for preschoolers from my house.  This month was waffles!  We made buttermilk waffles and brownie waffles.  I wasn’t particularly happy with the texture of the brownie waffles, so I’m going to have to tweak that, but the buttermilk waffles were delish!  Here’s the recipe we used…

Buttermilk Waffles

3/4 C all-purpose flour

1/4 C cornstarch

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 C buttermilk

1/3 C Canola oil

1 egg

2 t sugar

½ t cinnamon

3/4 t vanilla extract

Yields:  4 waffles

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Add the milk, oil, egg, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla; mix well. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes.

Preheat a waffle iron and follow the directions on your waffle iron to cook the waffles. 

I freeze the leftovers and just throw them in the toaster whenever we want them.  I actually make Xavier PB&J waffle sandwiches for his school lunches and he loves them!  J

Mayacoba Beans

These beans are very buttery with a mild herb flavor.  They are wonderful hot out of the pot over rice or chilled in a bean salad.  I used them as a side dish along with steamed brown rice with grilled vegetable kabobs and chicken sausage.  The leftover beans are stored away in my freezer for later use…maybe a bean salad.  Here’s the recipe for the Mayacoba beans…

1 lb Mayacoba beans

4 garlic cloves, smashed

A bunch of herbs (I used thyme, rosemary, oregano, & bay leaf)

6 oz salt pork

About 12 cups of water

Salt, tt

Pick through your beans, looking for discolored, shriveled, or broken pieces along with any pebbles.

Soak your beans overnight or use the quick soak process (see the black bean post for details).  Rinse them well after soaking and before cooking.

For the herbs, I leave them on the stem and tie them all together with kitchen twine (the French culinary term is “bouquet garni,” which means garnished bouquet).  This makes it really easy to remove the stems and leave only the herb leaves behind to flavor your bean liquor. 

I happened to be out of twine this time, so I just cut an extra long piece of thyme as a substitute and it actually worked! 

Place the beans in a large pot along with the garlic, bouquet garni, salt pork, and water.  Place the pot over high heat to bring to a boil.  Skim any foam and turn down the heat so the beans are on a simmer.  Cover the pot loosely, stirring occasionally.  Cook until the beans are tender, about 45 minutes to 2 hours.  At this point, you may salt the beans to taste. 

The cooking time will largely depend on what kind of soaking method you used and how long you soaked.  I soaked my beans for 2 nights and they were done in 1 hour.  If you are going to soak the beans for more than 24 hours, place them in the refrigerator. 

Menu #11

This past week was a bit muddled and chaotic with going to Visalia for my aunt’s funeral and Laddie, my husband, getting an extremely bad sinus infection (Yes, it’s his real name and not an abbreviation.).  There was a lot of soup that replaced last week’s menu.  I look forward to dinners that are not in liquid form this week, and here it is…

Monday:  Chicken Tacos w/ homemade salsa, black beans, & Mexican brown rice

Tuesday:  Rescheduled Going-Away BBQ Dinner for Cody:  Tri Tip, shrimp kabobs, corn & black bean salad, chocolate banana cream pie
With my husband being so sick, we didn’t want him to infest anyone else with his germs so we rescheduled for this date. 

Wednesday:  Leftovers 

Thursday:  Veg & Cheese-Stuffed Potatoes w/ green salad
Since I didn’t make it to the Farmer’s Market last week, I’m going to try to get there this week.  I’ll use whatever I buy there to stuff these potatoes.  In the winter, I do these in the oven, but in the warmer months I wrap them in foil and grill them.  I grill extra to have as lunches throughout the week too.  I’ll post more about these scrumptious taters later this week.  J 

Friday:  Dinner Out:  Lazy Dog Café
We are going out with some friends to watch Ted and have drinks and dinner at Lazy Dog Café.  Yay…I’m looking forward to some fun out!  J   

Saturday:  Chicken Sausage & Garden Pepper Grilled Pizza
The peppers in our garden are growing like crazy right now, so we are going to pick a couple of each, which are Cubanelle (sweet), Gypsy (sweet), banana peppers (hot), and jalapeno (hot) to use for pizza toppings.

Sunday:  Grilled bread slices w/ roasted garlic bulb & bruschetta, grilled fries with yogurt dip, and grilled fruit ice cream sundaes
We are going to just chill out by the grill on this evening and have appetizers and dessert for dinner.  I’m going to wrap a whole garlic bulb in foil with olive oil & salt and throw it on the grill until the garlic softens and just squeezes out of the peeling…it’s absolutely divine!  Along with this, I’m going to make a bruschetta topping with heirloom tomatoes from the garden (yellow pear & Mr. Stripey), basil from the garden, garlic, & olive oil…plain & simple yet so tasty!  We are also going to grill some potatoes slices on the grill to have with a Greek yogurt dip that will be seasoned with garlic & herbs from the garden (thyme, oregano, basil, & a tiny bit of mint).  For dessert, I’m going to half some stone fruit, sprinkle with a tiny bit of sugar, and grill.  We’ll have the warm grilled fruit over ice cream…yummy!   

Berry Trifle

I made this 4-berry trifle for our friends, The Craig Family’s, 4^th of July barbecue.  When I arrived, I topped it with homemade whipped cream and garnished with white-chocolate dipped strawberries that had been dipped in blue sprinkles. 

2 6-oz containers blackberries

2 6-oz containers blueberries

2 6-oz containers raspberries

1 1-lb container strawberries

1/4 C organic cane sugar

1 t real vanilla extract

3 12-oz pound cakes, sliced into ½-in slices

1 C fruit spread (I used strawberry, but you can use whatever jelly, jam, or preserves you have)

Wash all the berries, pour them into a bowl, sprinkle with sugar, and add vanilla. 

Toss gently and set aside to macerate (the berries will soften and release their juices). 

 

Microwave fruit spread or heat in a small saucepot over medium until melted.   

 

Begin to layer the dessert beginning with pound cake.  You then brush the pound cake with the melted fruit spread and top with macerated berries.  Continue layering, remembering to leave room for whipped cream.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours.

When ready to serve, top with whipped cream and garnishes.  I whipped 1 pt heavy whipping cream with powder sugar and vanilla extract to top it off along with these pretty strawberries.  J 

Layered Southwest Salad

Layered Southwest Salad

1 head romaine lettuce, chopped

4-5 plum tomatoes, chopped

2 C black beans, rinsed (or 15-oz can)

1/2 red onion, sliced

2 C Colby jack cheese, shredded

1 15-oz can corn, drained

Layer ingredients in a large bowl beginning with lettuce, then tomatoes, black beans, onion, cheese, and ending with corn.  Pour creamy cilantro-lime dressing (recipe below) over salad just before serving and gently toss.

Creamy Cilantro-Lime Dressing

1/2 C. chopped fresh cilantro

2 limes, juiced

1/2 C extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 C plain Greek yogurt

1 t sugar

S&P, tt

To make the dressing, throw all the ingredients in either a food processor or blender and puree.  Pour the dressing in a container and leave in the refrigerator until ready to use.