eating this week

MONDAY leftovers
TUESDAY spicy corn, tomato, & avocado salad (new) + french bread
WEDNESDAY chilaquiles
THURSDAY pasta with peas & pesto
FRIDAY chipotle sweet corn fettuccine (new)
SATURDAY pizza
SUNDAY tofu burger (new) + sweet potato fries

eating this week

MONDAY fried eggs with salsa verde and fried smashed potatoes - because I didn't get to it last week and I'm dying to try it.
TUESDAY taco salad
WEDNESDAY summer (this is what we call our traditional warm-weather meal of corn-on-the-cob, boiled potatoes, green beans, and sliced tomatoes - my favorite!)
THURSDAY grilled cheese (not sure which variety as I have about 100 different recipes for grilled cheese pinned but I think I'm leaning on a variation of this one)
FRIDAY loaded sweet potato rounds + garden salad (new)
SATURDAY kale, barley, and feta salad (new)
SUNDAY tex-mex quinoa

I had three new recipes on the menu last week but we only got to one of them - it was so freaking hot that turning on the oven just wanted very appealing and also, the delicious Mexican place around the corner was calling your name Saturday night. More hot weather in the forecast this week which explains the heavy push on salads and quick meals. The roasted broccoli salad with lemons and almonds was delicious though I will probably cut back just a bit on the lemon next time.

eating this week

MONDAY summer vegetable skillet lasagna - I discovered this yesterday morning and made it last night - delicious and easy!
TUESDAY pancakes + veggie sausage
WEDNESDAY firecracker cauliflower - this sauce is so delicious I want to drizzle it over everything. Also, can you tell I love this blog for dinner inspiration? If you're into meatless meals at all - even just on occasion, I highly recommend it!
THURSDAY roasted broccoli salad with lemons and almonds (new)
FRIDAY loaded sweet potato rounds + garden salad (new)
SATURDAY fried eggs with salsa verde and fried smashed potatoes - this looks amazing and it has capers which I've never had but have been wanting to try forever. (new)
SUNDAY pizza

eating this week

MONDAY lentils and rice with fried onions (new,) salad
TUESDAY herbed israeli couscous
WEDNESDAY brussels sprouts with roasted corn, avocado and lime
THURSDAY pizza
FRIDAY tortilla soup
SATURDAY vegetable chow mein + tofu
SUNDAY roasted vegetables + quinoa

eating this week

Winners from last week? The minestrone was delicious. I subbed onion for the leek, sweet potato for the squash and vegetable broth for the water. I also added some barley. The wild rice and carrots was surprisingly good for being such a simple recipe. The roasted tomato ravioli was AMAZING. So much so that I switched it up a bit and made it again yesterday (bumping the ricotta spinach pasta for a later date.) The broccoli cheddar pot pies? Eh. Kind of bland, actually. Promising with some changes perhaps...add sauteed onion and garlic for starters and maybe just a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.

For this week, I have a feeling I'm going to be a bit scattered so I'm sticking mainly with things we've had before - mainly quick fixes.

MONDAY lentil tacos
TUESDAY sweet potato + quinoa salad
WEDNESDAY roasted cabbage w/ brown rice
THURSDAY spaghetti + salad
FRIDAY tomato avocado grilled cheese
SATURDAY quinoa nachos
SUNDAY pizza

eating this week

I got out of the habit of sharing my dinner plans each week but I'm most certainly still creating a plan each week. It's been such a great habit for me over the past couple of years. The combination of switching to a vegetarian diet + planning meals for the week has seriously lessened my stress level at 5 pm each day. Having four people ask me on "what's for dinner" (sometimes before they've even finished breakfast...often multiple times a day) on a daily basis is stressful and annoying. Having an answer lessens that stress. A bit.

While I assign a meal to each day, usually each night I look at the meals I still have left for the week and based on time and energy, pick the one that works best. I also throw in one or two lunch items as well as a dessert. Most afternoons, I just grab leftovers or a sandwich at lunch but a couple of times a week, I like to sit down with an actual "meal."

I use pinterest, a couple of tried and true cookbooks and a handful of recipe-less favorites to come up with a plan but I find looking at past menus helps me thrown something together even faster; something that helps me mix old favorites with new recipes in a way that ensures everybody will be happy at least most of the week. I don't save past weeks' menus on my computer so having them easy to access here is a great way to speed up my planning time.

I've been working my way through some Cooking Light recipes I saved last month when I tried out Next Issue (tangent, I did a 30 trial and fell in love with this service! I'll definitely be subscribing when I find myself with a little extra fun money) so a good amount of these recipes are new to us and hopefully will be winners I can add to the regular rotation. I would love to get to the point where I'm planning a month at a time so I can develop weekly shopping lists ahead of time just adding the necessities as required. I'm realizing now that this whole week, with the exception of the stir fry (which is different every time I make it) and the pizza are new recipes.

SO. For this week:

MONDAY late summer minestrone with butternut squash and corn
TUESDAY broccoli cheddar pot pies + salad
WEDNESDAY tomato ravioli + garlic bread
THURSDAY wild rice and carrots + green beans with lemon mint dressing
FRIDAY veg stir fry w/ brown rice
SATURDAY ricotta spinach pasta + salad
SUNDAY pizza

LUNCH fattoush salad
BREAKFAST/SNACK chai banana bread // homemade fruit bars

eat this now

It's hard to deny that the alchemy of water + flour + yeast is one of the most magical transformations known to man. Or, at least, to me.

Over the years, I've become more confident, more adventurous, more comfortable with my chopping and sauteing and experimenting but few things make me feel more competent in the kitchen than producing an edible hunk of bread. And this foccacia took less than an hour. Can't beat that.

I used this recipe, following it to the letter other than changing up the topping a bit. I did a butter/garlic/parsley/ parmesan mix that was absolutely delicious. Paired with this soup (with a couple of handfuls of chopped spinach and my trusty roasted corn instead of bacon substitution) it was the perfect dinner for a less-than-summerlike evening. Seriously, August, what the hell is up?

can cookies be life-changing?

These, holy cow, these are amazing.

I needed something sweet. And I needed it pronto. Enter vanilla walnut "shortbread" cookies. I saved this recipe a few weeks ago as I had a giant bag of walnuts and being of fine British stock, I obviously love shortbread. Izzy and I tossed everything in the food processor and 30 minutes later, we had cookies. These cookies are raw and dairy free and only FIVE ingredients (one of which is salt so that hardly counts...though it does make them that much more delicious!

These would be amazing as-is but as I eyed my cabinet trying to locate the vanilla, I spied the lemon curd I had purchased for these lemon and basil icebox cakes. The basil was all used up in a mammoth batch of pesto though. And the ginger cookies, well, they went the way of the dinosaur once the kids discovered them. I'll come back to that recipe for sure though. I adore a good icebox cake and lemon  + basil + ginger sounds just about perfect (that sounds like a mighty fine cocktail too...that must exist, right?)

So, a spoonful smeared atop the cookie became the best little sweet bite of food I've had in awhile. I've never had lemon curd. WHY have I never had lemon curd? The perfect addition to the sweet, salty cookies. So, make that SIX ingredient cookies ready in just over 30 minutes. If you have some walnuts in your pantry, you should go make these. Now.

(And oh crap, they make lime curd too?? Where in the world have I been?)

tried this week

My "on the menu soon" pinterest board gets a lot of action. We love trying new recipes (probably 2-3 dinners a week on average are something new to us - often variations on something we know we like but still, new.) A few things that are almost sure to get repinned...anything with black beans, corn, avocado, sweet potatoes, or any variation on a taco.

Consequently, the "tried and loved" board is heavily frequented as well. It kind of blows my mind to see that currently, I have 122 recipes that I've made from my board (not to mention all the recipes I've made that didn't make the cut and were simply deleted!) Crazy. I'm so glad that their are so many talented and creative people willing to share themselves and their creations. I'm amazed at the range of blogs dedicated to food and cooking. Lots of vegetarian specific (this one is a new fave - probably not for you if you're profanity-averse. Which I'm not.) But really, I just love pretty picture of food...even if they aren't necessarily a good fit for our diet.

Dinner last night was this recipe for chow mein noodles. A great fast and easy meal that is incredibly versatile - so many vegetable options that could be added! I went with the recipe as written this time, just adding a few pieces of tofu. Next time, I think snap peas are a must as well as a few flakes of red pepper in the sauce. Also, instead of thin spaghetti, I think I'll just grab a couple of packages of ramen and toss the seasoning. Cheaper and more fun for this recipe!

eating this week

After a fog of illnesses and stomach bugs and missed school days, I think, 10 days later, we've finally emerged healthy. I had a menu to share last  week but absolutely no desire to be on this computer any more than necessary. But, for this week, this is where we're at.

monday Brussels Sprouts with Roasted Corn, Avocado, and Lime
tuesday salt and pepper tofu (new) + bok choy salad (new)
wednesday Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw (new, but with high praise from Jen!)
thursday tortilla soup
friday Creamy Ravioli With Squash, Lemon, and Chives (new) + garlic bread
saturday grilled cheese + pickle fries
sunday spaghetti

From my unshared menu last week, we had three new dishes. The hit was absolutely the herbed israeli couscous salad but the edamame, corn and quinoa salad and pappardelle with caramelized onions and parmesan (like french onion soup pasta!) were both very good as well.

I have a big (to me) project planned for May that I'll be sharing tomorrow and throughout the month. I'm hopeful some of you will want to play along with me to keep me accountable and inspired!

eating this week

As I sat this morning and planned out my menu, I was flipping through blogs and spotted Melanie's plans for the week. Those quesadillas quickly found their way to my menu so thanks to Melanie for the assist on that one!

Nothing earth shattering this week but I'm hoping to catch some weather breaks this week so I can make some progress on the yard. LOTS of rain last week (and not a little amount in the forecast for this week) means my spring yard cleaning has fallen by the wayside.

Monday romesco potatoes + salad

Tuesday grilled cumin-lime zucchini quesadillas (new)

Wednesday broccoli lemon pasta

Thursday herbed israeli couscous salad (new)

Friday  quorn and chicken stir fry

Saturday zucchini and corn quinoa nachos

Sunday potato tacos w/ avocado and tomatillo salsa


I can't forget to mention these easy raw bar cookies I made yesterday - easy and delicious (and despite the high fat/calorie count, it's mostly good fat with no added flour or sugar.) I made the oat version and for the topping, melted some semi-sweet chocolate chips with a smidge of coconut oil.
Also planned for this week, I have a few grapefruits all lined up for this jam. The cookies look fab but I just want the jam for my morning english muffin - yum! I'll let you know how it turns out - I'm a bit of a grapefruit fanatic so I'm sure I will love it.

eating this week

Lots of tried and true on the menu this week. Settling back into our normal schedule after spring break last week.


Monday black bean soup
from last week (errr, two weeks ago): 

Tuesday pesto + pea pasta
Wednesday lentil tacos
Thursday succotash
Friday grilled cheese + corn salad
Saturday pizza
Sunday meatballs + brussels sprouts

The lentil soup + naan was fantastic. Yay, I made bread! And the soup was so perfect with it. I skipped the curry because I've discovered after a couple of failed recipes that I'm just not a fan. It was delicious without. Also really, really good? The white beans and cabbage from Super Natural Every Day. Incredibly fast and easy (it's actually the recipe shown on the cover.)

lately

I'm still addicted to chai. This recipe really is good but this concentrate works awesomely well and is so much easier ;) (and in an example of my superior intellect, I almost balked at the $4.50 price until I realized that for the 8 servings, I'd pay almost 10x that much at Starbucks...and triple my calories) It's a tiny bit sweet for me so I don't quite do the 50/50 ratio...more like 40/60.

Juice from 1/2 of a blood orange + soda water = perfection. Also, the container of cucumber + mint water I have in the fridge - so refreshing!

Roasted sweet potatoes with brown rice and salad has been my go-to lunch. Twice last week and again today. There is something so nice about preparing a real lunch.

 

Struggling through this book. I finally finished it yesterday but it was a long one. I really enjoyed Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter so I thought I would like this one as well. Nope, not so much. Though I'm not a huge Austen fan so there's that.

Slowly trying to plan a new quilt for Izzy's bed.

Three seasons of Justified on Amazon Prime keeps me on the treadmill 6 days a week. Three seasons =  30+ hours = almost 150 miles.

eating this week

I'm excited to try some new recipes this week from the cook book check out binge I've been on at the library. I'll let you know next week how they go over!

Monday tortilla soup
Tuesday lentil soup + naan new
Wednesday lentil meatballs new
Thursday kale salad (from True Food) white beans and cabbage (from Super Natural Every Day) new
Friday sweet potato and millet cakes with poblano cream (from Whole Grains for a New Generation) + salad new
Saturday lasagna
Sunday broccoli cheddar soup

from last week:
The biggest hit of the week was absolutely the brussels sprouts w/ avocado + lime. Everyone loved it. I added roasted corn to replace the bacon and also one cup of quinoa (just simply cooked in vegetable broth.) A big scoop over a plate of mixed greens was perfect!

eating this week

Monday bok choy, broccoli and edamame skillet I'm going to try barley rather than millet (new)
Tuesday tomato basil parmesan soup (crock pot) + bread (new)
Wednesday pasta w/ braised broccoli + tomato + garlic bread
Thursday lentil tacos + pickled red onions
Friday brussels sprouts w/ avocado + lime over greens (new)
Saturday tortilla soup
Sunday chinese orange tofu + brown rice & broccoli

and a couple of lunch items for the week:
roasted cabbage
wilted spinach & feta salad (new)

from last week:
The feta ricotta spinach rolls were pretty good but I'm not sure they were good enough to justify the calories. Carlos really liked them though and the kids ate them (though none were thrilled.)

The refried bean tacos were so easy and really tasty. I'm not a huge fan of refried beans but the addition of the onions and tomatoes made a huge difference.

Dill pickle fries? Oh, hell yes.

eating this week

Monday chopped salad with quinoa, sweet potatoes + apples (new)
Tuesday lemon dill pasta (I halve dressing and skip the asparagus)
Wednesday feta ricotta spinach rolls (new) + salad
Thursday apple pancakes + veggie sausage
Friday broccoli gribriche
Saturday grilled cheese + dill pickle fries (new)
Sunday refried beans tacos (new)

And I wanted to share this easy, homey vegetarian "chicken" and dumplings recipe I made by mashing together this recipe (for a cream based soup without the can + chemicals) and this recipe. The only reason I'm sharing my mashed up version is because I used quite a few vegan/vegetarian variations on the basic ingredients and it worked well.

1 T  Earth Balance
3 T flour (whole wheat)
1/2 C vegetable broth
1/2 C almond milk

In a cast iron pan (or other oven proof,) melt butter and whisk in flour. Add the broth and milk and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

1.5 C almond milk
2 C frozen vegetables (I used the kid classic corn/peas/carrot/green bean mix)
1 bag Quorn chicken tenders
2 C flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 T vegetable shortening
2/3 C almond milk

Add milk, vegetables, Quorn and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes to the pan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, combine flour, baking powder, salt and shortening. Stir in milk until just mixed. Drop spoonfuls of biscuit mix on top of filling. Cook on low for 10 minutes uncovered and then 10 minutes covered. Remove cover and put pan in a 350 oven until biscuits just begin to brown.

eating this week: feb 18: feb 19

Monday: roasted veggies, couscous risotto, salad
(It's Tuesday now so we've already eaten this. The couscous was a new dish and really pretty good. I made a couple of changes, using shallots rather than onion, pan roasting some corn along with the shallot and skipping the peas as we were out. Obviously we skipped the pancetta as well and I used a shaved parmesan melted into the risotto at the end.)

Tuesday: broccoli cheese stuffed sweet potatoes + salad
This is a new dish as well but really, how can you go wrong with those ingredients?

Wednesday: tacos

Thursday: jalapeno corn soup
Long time fave.

Friday: vegetable pot pie
Another new recipe.

Saturday guacamole grilled cheese
One more new recipe...

Sunday: lasagna
Because it makes the house smell good all day long!

I'm also going to make a batch of this soup (ummm, also new) to eat throughout the rest of the week for lunch (I'm the only french onion soup lover in the house - blasphemy.)

I'm noticing a trend this week of lots and lots of comfort food. Cold this week so it's apropos as we'll be snuggled inside the next few days as much as possible.

puttering...

...that's what today is about. Wandering from room to room. Thinking about all the things I should be doing (but really only doing the bare necessities.) The kids are off today and tomorrow and the freezing cold temps and light layer of snow has me happy to stay in the next couple of days. Thinking a lot about Carlos today who is braving the weather and climbing poles for AT&T. Yeah.

This morning though, I hopped out of bed and got to work (really a stretch...this recipe is so easy) in the kitchen as I had promised the kids danish for breakfast. I first tried this recipe Christmas morning...a winner for sure!

The filling as the recipe calls for would be way too much in my opinion. She does say that it makes for a really full danish though and that it works fine halved. Even halved, it's plenty!

The only changes I made (other than halving the filling) were to skip the egg wash (not really sure what that's for anyway...I always thought it was to make pastry "pretty" but with the glaze, not sure that matters) and substitute one mashed banana for the egg in the filling (which I might try if I were you even if you don't skip eggs! I think it adds just a tiny bit of flavor to the filling that's really nice.) The fresh berries are the perfect way to cut the sweetness (though, this isn't overly sweet for a danish.)

Thinking now would be a good time to hop on the treadmill. And double up on my time.

wednesday baking with izzy

You know, as I made these cookies this afternoon with my eager little helper, I took a few photos to share here because these cookies, my friends, are the bomb-diggity. Now though, as I type the post up, I'm fairly confident I shared this recipe last year sometime. But you know what, they are *that* good. And, we tweaked them just a bit (still, just as delicious) so they're worth sharing again.

(hand just itching to do some measuring, pouring and stirring)

Pomegranate carnage. Turns out, the cut-it-in-half-and-bang-the-hell-out-of-it-with-a-metal-spoon technique works AWESOMELY well. I seeded that baby in 2 minutes flat. The last time I made these, that part took as long as the entire rest of the process. This is both good and bad news.

Afternoon baking means after-school snacking. Yup. That pop of bright pom flavor in the midst of the ooey gooey chocolate is like magic, people.

Recipe from here. This time, we used whole wheat flour rather than all purpose and ALL the seeds - no measuring because more can only be good (guessing it was around 1.5 cups rather than the 1 cup called for.) We also used our typical flax seed substitution for the eggs. They don't taste any different than I remember them from the last time we made them. And even though the threat of salmonella never kept us from eating raw cookie dough before, now we can truly do it worry free ;)

eating this week: jan 7: jan 13

Lots of new meals on the menu this week. Tonight's dinner is carryover from last week as a stomach bug threw a wrench in our plans over the weekend.

Monday: roasted spaghetti squash, kerala spiced peas (new,) salad

Tuesday: lentil meatballs with lemon pesto (new)

Wednesday: curried apple couscous (new)

Thursday: black bean burgers (new)

Friday: sweet and sour tofu (subbing for the chicken) + fried rice (new)

Saturday: broccoli cheddar soup + bread

Sunday: corn fritters + black beans