The Lovely Daughter had veggie crumbles; ground beef for us.
It's a day late on the menu plan - last night we had whatever-you-could-find, since we were eating on different schedules because of Boy Scouts and karate.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches
TMOTH cooked tonight!
He used this recipe, which has some history as well: Pork Tenderloin Sandwich
I'd gone to the grocery and gotten ingredients for tacos, and when I went to put the ground beef away found the pork and asked about TMOTH's plans for it. He stepped up to the plate, and wow, they were great!
For the rest of the week:
Monday: Tacos
Tuesday: Omelettes
Wednesday: Lasagna
Thursday: Soup of some sort, sandwiches
Friday: Karate, but maybe not for the Karate Kid, so might actually not have to have pizza
He used this recipe, which has some history as well: Pork Tenderloin Sandwich
I'd gone to the grocery and gotten ingredients for tacos, and when I went to put the ground beef away found the pork and asked about TMOTH's plans for it. He stepped up to the plate, and wow, they were great!
For the rest of the week:
Monday: Tacos
Tuesday: Omelettes
Wednesday: Lasagna
Thursday: Soup of some sort, sandwiches
Friday: Karate, but maybe not for the Karate Kid, so might actually not have to have pizza
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Truffles!
Not for dinner - but as a treat.
I used the Eagle Condensed Milk recipe.
I used a bag of Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chips and the remainder Ghirardelli semi-sweet chips. Most were rolled in a mixture of cocoa and confectioners sugar.
TMOTH decided he wanted to try dipping some in chocolate - here they are waiting to for him to melt the chocolate. They're setting up now - along with some chocolate dipped vanilla wafers!
I used the Eagle Condensed Milk recipe.
I used a bag of Ghirardelli 60% cocoa chips and the remainder Ghirardelli semi-sweet chips. Most were rolled in a mixture of cocoa and confectioners sugar.
TMOTH decided he wanted to try dipping some in chocolate - here they are waiting to for him to melt the chocolate. They're setting up now - along with some chocolate dipped vanilla wafers!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Grilled chicken/grilled tofu
Both marinated in Trader Joe's Soyaki sauce.
TMOTH brought home asparagus and good bread, and we had broccoli in the fridge, so a very nice Valentine's dinner was had.
TMOTH brought home asparagus and good bread, and we had broccoli in the fridge, so a very nice Valentine's dinner was had.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
GUMBO
It's all in caps because it's such an investment ~ both time and $$ :) I've been wanting to make gumbo for a while, and the SuperBowl last week just bumped things up a notch.
SO, yesterday, I bit the bullet and bought the ingredients for seafood gumbo. Happily, I could get frozen wild-caught shrimp (Key West pink shrimp from Weis) but the crab...not so much in Maryland in February. And I was NOT going to buy canned crab. So I wound up buying king crab legs instead - I figure I'm at least still supporting the US economy.
This morning, I made the roux - in the oven! While making sure I still knew how to make gumbo, I found the oven roux technique on the Deep South Dish blog. Well, I am NEVER EVER NEVER making roux on the stovetop again. This was easy and amazing. I am SOLD. I had my roux, with enough left over to put in the fridge for more gumbo later.
While the roux was in the oven, I chopped the trinity of vegetables - onion, bell pepper, and celery. My college suite-mate was from New Orleans, and her mom taught me to chop those veggies small! I spent the rest of the morning picking crab and shelling shrimp. Honestly, I think king crab legs are even harder to pick than blue crabs. The shells went into a stockpot for broth, the seafood back into the fridge.
After a pick-me-up lunch of leftover pizza, I started the stock. I'd found some Cajun seasoning, so added that, water to cover, and let 'er rip for an hour or so.
About 4, I started heating up the strained stock, and cooking the vegetables, plus a little garlic, in the roux that I"d kept out. No measuring here - maybe a third of a cup of the roux? Added a bag of sliced okra to the mix, a few bay leaves, bits of oregano, thyme, and parsley (since somehow we don't have dried basil in the pantry). About 20 minutes before eating - about when I started the rice - I put in the shrimp; 10 minutes later the crab.
And yum. I love gumbo.
We have lunch for Fat Tuesday in the fridge, and three big containers in the freezer.
SO, yesterday, I bit the bullet and bought the ingredients for seafood gumbo. Happily, I could get frozen wild-caught shrimp (Key West pink shrimp from Weis) but the crab...not so much in Maryland in February. And I was NOT going to buy canned crab. So I wound up buying king crab legs instead - I figure I'm at least still supporting the US economy.
This morning, I made the roux - in the oven! While making sure I still knew how to make gumbo, I found the oven roux technique on the Deep South Dish blog. Well, I am NEVER EVER NEVER making roux on the stovetop again. This was easy and amazing. I am SOLD. I had my roux, with enough left over to put in the fridge for more gumbo later.
While the roux was in the oven, I chopped the trinity of vegetables - onion, bell pepper, and celery. My college suite-mate was from New Orleans, and her mom taught me to chop those veggies small! I spent the rest of the morning picking crab and shelling shrimp. Honestly, I think king crab legs are even harder to pick than blue crabs. The shells went into a stockpot for broth, the seafood back into the fridge.
After a pick-me-up lunch of leftover pizza, I started the stock. I'd found some Cajun seasoning, so added that, water to cover, and let 'er rip for an hour or so.
About 4, I started heating up the strained stock, and cooking the vegetables, plus a little garlic, in the roux that I"d kept out. No measuring here - maybe a third of a cup of the roux? Added a bag of sliced okra to the mix, a few bay leaves, bits of oregano, thyme, and parsley (since somehow we don't have dried basil in the pantry). About 20 minutes before eating - about when I started the rice - I put in the shrimp; 10 minutes later the crab.
And yum. I love gumbo.
We have lunch for Fat Tuesday in the fridge, and three big containers in the freezer.
Saturday, February 09, 2013
Chicken-fried steak
This is one of the two things I've been craving yesterday - the other is gumbo, on tomorrow's menu :)
With the cube steak, we had mashed potatoes (and gravy for TMOTH), biscuits, macaroni & cheese for The Lovely Daughter and the Karate Kid, and cantaloupes and strawberries. For some reason, the Small Man decided he didn't like the brand of pasta The Lovely Daughter chose (it WOULD be too much to ask for all of my kids to eat the same things) so he tried the cube steak and liked it! He even tried the mashed potatoes (although those didn't go over as well).
Menus for the rest of the week:
Sunday: GUMBO
Monday: (cub scout and boy scout night) - pasta
Tuesday: Grilled chicken
Wednesday: Cheese and Crackers
Thursday: Omelettes
Friday: Karate Night
With the cube steak, we had mashed potatoes (and gravy for TMOTH), biscuits, macaroni & cheese for The Lovely Daughter and the Karate Kid, and cantaloupes and strawberries. For some reason, the Small Man decided he didn't like the brand of pasta The Lovely Daughter chose (it WOULD be too much to ask for all of my kids to eat the same things) so he tried the cube steak and liked it! He even tried the mashed potatoes (although those didn't go over as well).
Menus for the rest of the week:
Sunday: GUMBO
Monday: (cub scout and boy scout night) - pasta
Tuesday: Grilled chicken
Wednesday: Cheese and Crackers
Thursday: Omelettes
Friday: Karate Night
Monday, February 04, 2013
Waffles!
With watermelon (!) and bacon.
The watermelon was the "personal" size, and for $3, I wasn't going to be too bummed if it was awful - but it was surprisingly good.
I never took the lasagna out of the freezer, and there was no way it was going to be thawed/cooked in time for evening activities tonight.
The watermelon was the "personal" size, and for $3, I wasn't going to be too bummed if it was awful - but it was surprisingly good.
I never took the lasagna out of the freezer, and there was no way it was going to be thawed/cooked in time for evening activities tonight.
Saturday, February 02, 2013
Lots and lots of pizza
Friday night was karate night and we at at J&P Pizza in Damascus. TMOTH and the Small Man had pizza, the karate kid had ravioli, and I had a Philly cheese steak. It was great! a nice change from pizza - especially since we had pizza for dinner tonight! It was the Small Man's 8th birthday, and he wanted to go to Cici's. So we did :)
Menus for the rest of the week:
Sunday: Burgers
Monday: Lasagna
Tuesday: Chicken
Wednesday: Fish
Thursday: Sloppy Joes
Menus for the rest of the week:
Sunday: Burgers
Monday: Lasagna
Tuesday: Chicken
Wednesday: Fish
Thursday: Sloppy Joes
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Bean soup and cornbread
GOOD cornbread - it's amazing what a difference fresh baking powder makes!!
We had freezer food last night - butterflied shrimp for TMOTH and me; fish sticks for the boys; french bread pizza for The Lovely Daughter and Small Man (he eats a LOT).
We had freezer food last night - butterflied shrimp for TMOTH and me; fish sticks for the boys; french bread pizza for The Lovely Daughter and Small Man (he eats a LOT).
Monday, January 28, 2013
Pulled pork sandwiches
Soooo good. I made chili-lime coleslaw, and made more biscuits for the boys - ham and macaroni for them.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Grilled ham and cheese
Sewing kind of got in the zone, and by the time I realized I needed to do something about dinner, it was kind of late. TMOTH and the Karate Kid went to see "The Hobbit" this afternoon, so I was left with the other two kids, who amused themselves while I sewed.
The crockpot pulled pork got pulled and mixed with sauce after dinner, and is waiting in the fridge for tomorrow's dinner. Yum.
The crockpot pulled pork got pulled and mixed with sauce after dinner, and is waiting in the fridge for tomorrow's dinner. Yum.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Steak
A little deviation from the meal plan there :)
Basically, they didn't have chicken thighs at the grocery, but they had a nice rib-eye 50% off. And since The Lovely Daughter wasn't home, I didn't bother with the broccoli. And we had baked potatoes instead of roasted potatoes. At least the biscuits were according to plan!
Basically, they didn't have chicken thighs at the grocery, but they had a nice rib-eye 50% off. And since The Lovely Daughter wasn't home, I didn't bother with the broccoli. And we had baked potatoes instead of roasted potatoes. At least the biscuits were according to plan!
Pizza Hut
Delivered dinner last night. It was snowing, roads were OK but traffic was crawling, so we didn't brave the trip to Damascus for karate.
Menus for this week:
Saturday: grilled chicken, roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli, biscuits from a can
Sunday: crockpot pulled pork (assuming I can find a pork shoulder the right size)
Monday: Freezer fish
Tuesday: Bean soup & cornbread
Wednesday: pasta
Thursday: enchiladas
Friday: Karate night
Menus for this week:
Saturday: grilled chicken, roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli, biscuits from a can
Sunday: crockpot pulled pork (assuming I can find a pork shoulder the right size)
Monday: Freezer fish
Tuesday: Bean soup & cornbread
Wednesday: pasta
Thursday: enchiladas
Friday: Karate night
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Free For All
That's what the Karate Kid asked for, and what we had. I'm
not in the mood to cook if nobody will eat it.
Cheese and crackers for me, TMOTH had chicken soup, the Karate Kid had corndogs, Small Man had cereal, and I'm not sure that The Lovely Daughter ate any dinner (although she had mac & cheese for lunch).
Cheese and crackers for me, TMOTH had chicken soup, the Karate Kid had corndogs, Small Man had cereal, and I'm not sure that The Lovely Daughter ate any dinner (although she had mac & cheese for lunch).
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Pasta
Just pasta. I think the Karate Kid had some alfredo sauce, and I did make garlic bread and wash grapes. Most of us are still sick.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Pancakes
I love having breakfast for dinner. I'm usually just not that hungry in the morning, so peanut butter on toast is my usual breakfast. But for dinner? I can make pancakes! And bacon! And strawberries! And tonight the pancakes were awesome - it really makes no sense how some nights the pancakes are big and fluffy and other nights flat as a ...pancake. Fresh baking powder probably had something to do with tonight's success.
I also made the sloppy joe filling for tomorrow's dinner today. I kind of smushed together Rachel Ray's recipe here and The Pioneer Woman's recipe here.
My recipe:
1. Open big package of ground beef. Vacuum two one-pound chunks and freeze. Make two hamburger patties and refrigerate. Brown remaining pound of beef.
2. Add the three cremini mushrooms hiding in the crisper, diced, while browning beef.
3. Move browned beef to a bowl, drain fat into a custard cup to add to the dog's dinner, and wipe out the skillet so the vegetables will be vegetarian.
4. Cook an onion in a bit of canola oil, dice and add the top inch of a green pepper and about half of a cup of already-diced pepepr, then add about 3/4 of a jalapeno pepper, and realize that if you added the rest of the diced pepper and another onion, you'd have a really good start on chili later on. Do that, then add about 1/2 tsp chopped garlic. Put half of this in the freezer for later.
5. Add the beef back to the veggies.
6. Put some water in the almost-empty ketchup bottle (maybe 1/4 cup left in it), shake it up, and add to the pot.
7. Add about a tablespoon Worcester sauce, a tsp of steak rub, about a tablespoon of brown sugar, and quite a few grinds of black pepper.
8. Scrape off a couple tablespoons of frozen tomato paste and melt those in. Simmer until blended. Taste and enjoy :)
9. Refrigerate for tomorrow.
I also made the sloppy joe filling for tomorrow's dinner today. I kind of smushed together Rachel Ray's recipe here and The Pioneer Woman's recipe here.
My recipe:
1. Open big package of ground beef. Vacuum two one-pound chunks and freeze. Make two hamburger patties and refrigerate. Brown remaining pound of beef.
2. Add the three cremini mushrooms hiding in the crisper, diced, while browning beef.
3. Move browned beef to a bowl, drain fat into a custard cup to add to the dog's dinner, and wipe out the skillet so the vegetables will be vegetarian.
4. Cook an onion in a bit of canola oil, dice and add the top inch of a green pepper and about half of a cup of already-diced pepepr, then add about 3/4 of a jalapeno pepper, and realize that if you added the rest of the diced pepper and another onion, you'd have a really good start on chili later on. Do that, then add about 1/2 tsp chopped garlic. Put half of this in the freezer for later.
5. Add the beef back to the veggies.
6. Put some water in the almost-empty ketchup bottle (maybe 1/4 cup left in it), shake it up, and add to the pot.
7. Add about a tablespoon Worcester sauce, a tsp of steak rub, about a tablespoon of brown sugar, and quite a few grinds of black pepper.
8. Scrape off a couple tablespoons of frozen tomato paste and melt those in. Simmer until blended. Taste and enjoy :)
9. Refrigerate for tomorrow.
Cumin-lime almonds
I saw this recipe online a while back and kept the tab open so I'd remember to try it: Cumin-Lime Almonds.
I added a little extra splash of olive oil, and about 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper. And at the end, I just grated the zest of one lime over the almonds, and didn't measure how much it was. At any rate, they're pretty good. The next time, I think I'll use an entire pound of almonds, up the spices accordingly, use the zest of 2 limes, and cook for a little longer - I think they could be a little bit more roasted.
I added a little extra splash of olive oil, and about 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper. And at the end, I just grated the zest of one lime over the almonds, and didn't measure how much it was. At any rate, they're pretty good. The next time, I think I'll use an entire pound of almonds, up the spices accordingly, use the zest of 2 limes, and cook for a little longer - I think they could be a little bit more roasted.
Menu plan, week 4
Today, I need to decide how to divide the 3 pounds of ground beef in the freezer, and go through the refrigerator to see what I need from the grocery. (The next milk run is coming up soon.)
Monday - Pancakes w/bacon or sausage, strawberries
Tuesday - Sloppy Joes (if I can find a recipe that doesn't rely on pre-made SJ sauce in a can)
Wednesday - Pasta w/pesto sauce, salad
Thursday - chicken stir-fry with rice
Friday - everybody should be well enough to go back to karate and have pizza night!
Saturday - Bean soup - need to check the freezer
Sunday - Quiche
Monday - Pancakes w/bacon or sausage, strawberries
Tuesday - Sloppy Joes (if I can find a recipe that doesn't rely on pre-made SJ sauce in a can)
Wednesday - Pasta w/pesto sauce, salad
Thursday - chicken stir-fry with rice
Friday - everybody should be well enough to go back to karate and have pizza night!
Saturday - Bean soup - need to check the freezer
Sunday - Quiche
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