Hello Ladies! :)

Ann Marie, I would be glad to share the Kale Market Salad recipe with you, but I have to warn you that it is "untested"!  My week really got messed up with the flu bug that has been going through the house, and the day we were supposed to have this salad, I told Liam that I could not even think about making anything new and "exotic" . . . that maybe just some plain rice would be better.  (He agreed!)  So we had plain rice (actually farro, which I love) and sauteed kale with our steak.  Well, actually Liam did, since I made the dinner and then ended up bringing Katie to the ER while everyone else ate dinner!  (Yes, that was whining too!)  :) 

So now from you guys, I need some meal ideas for just Luke and I since Liam took the 3 older kids to Cincinnati to visit his folks while I stayed home with the sick baby.  (I can't decide yet if this is miserable and terrible or totally awesome . . . )  I have NO GROCERIES in the house, not even peanut butter.  I do have eggs, though, and homemade bread, so I can last quite a while!!  :)  And, oh yes, I still do have that big bulb of fennel . . . .

Kale Market Salad

Lacinato kale is my variety of choice here.

Green Garlic Dressing:
2 stalks green garlic (or scallions), rinsed and chopped (~1/4 cup)
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup / 80 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons ripe avocado
1 teaspoon honey, or to taste
fresh pepper to taste

1/2 bunch kale, destemmed, torn into pieces
1 cup / 5.5 oz cooked farro or wheat berries (semi-pearled or whole)
4-5 farmers' market carrots, very thinly sliced
1 small bulb of fennel, transparently sliced
1 avocado, cut into small cubes
a big handful of almond slices, toasted

Make the dressing by using a hand blender or food processor to puree the green garlic, salt, lemon juice, olive oil, avocado, honey, and pepper until smooth. Taste, and adjust with more salt, or honey, or lemon juice.
Before you're ready to serve, combine the kale with about half of the dressing in a large bowl use your hands to work the dressing into the kale, softening up the kale a bit in the process. Add the farro, carrots, and fennel, more dressing, and a couple pinches of salt, and toss again. Taste, and add the last of the dressing if needed. This is a salad I like quite heavily dressed. Add the avocados and almonds and give one last gentle toss.

P.S. (this recipe is from the site 101 Cookbooks)

Love,
Kathy

Betty . . . I'm looking forward to making some curtains . . . uh sure . . . :)

Birthdays…Easter…oh boy!

Hi ladies,

We are having a snow day here…ridiculous!  My shopping day is going to be pushed to tomorrow not because the roads are treacherous, but since I have no desire to navigate the grocery store with 3 kids!  (yes, that was whining!)  We are trying something different this year and are going to have some special family time with Andrew vice a big birthday party.  We're thinking of heading up to DC for the weekend and hope to see some Cherry Blossoms in peak!  Hoping to attend mass at the National Shrine for Good Friday.  In the meantime, I have a "battleship cake" that has been ordered.

Here's the menu for our week:
Monday: Lemon braised chicken and cauliflower, butternut squash, salad
Tuesday: Moroccan Stew (it's a long story, but I hope to finally make this recipe THIS week:-)
Wednesday: German sausage and red cabbage, spaetzle, salad
Thursday: Hamburgers, Baked Beans, broccoli, salad, Battleship cake!
Friday: Out to dinner in DC!
Saturday: Ditto Friday
Sunday: Ham, lime jello mold with pears and pineapple (request of Steve), (*broiled sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts), rolls, salad

*May be substituted for some different ideas…what sorts of side dishes are you all thinking?

Hope you all have a great week!

Love,
Ann Marie

P.S. Kathy, I would love the Kale market salad recipe when you have a chance!

Portland menu for the end of March

Hello Ladies! 
We've finally exhausted my long menu, so now I actually have to think what to cook this week.  But I think this week is going to be simple with Jim traveling (again! But not as frequent as Liam!) and the fact I stocked up on meat this morning.  Let's just say my $100 grocery bill had only 1 bunch of spinach and grapes :)  But fear not over the health of your nieces and nephew...I'll be going to another grocery store and Costco Monday for the fruits, veggies, and dairy. 

Sat:  Balsamic Pork Chops, roasted Parsnip, mashed potatoes, salad and dinner rolls.  (Thanks Ann Marie for the parsnip idea - now Nathan just LOVES white carrots.)
Sun:  Leftovers of braised beef or Malaysian chicken. 
Mon:  Meatloaf ala Kathy (your stance of  being a one pound of ground meat family was on my mind when I stocked up on 95% lean ground beef this morning!), fruit salad, cauliflower.
Tues:  Turkey chili, corn muffins, salad, and twice baked potatoes.
Wed:  Lamb and sweet onion pitas with orange cucumber salad, beets, and roasted veggies.
Thurs:  Leftovers
Fri:  Peas and carrot soup with dumplings, salad, and raisin apricot bread.
Sat:  Spaghetti and meatballs, salad, roast veggies, garlic bread.
Sun:  Easter dinner for 18 :)

Betty

P.S Kathy - want to warn Mom that I'm thinking of sending 72 yards of fabric directly to her house so she can help me make my living and kids activity room draperies in May?  :)  Hmmm...perhaps she will need one of your free tickets to escape IL then. 

Winter Menu Plan

While those of you in warm climates like San Diego and Portland and Maryland might think that it is early spring, you are wrong.  Today's windchill while I stood at the bus stop was 8 degrees below zero, and the whipping wind did NOT carry a hint of spring.  So this week's menu has 2 themes, which actually work very well together!  Theme 1 (since I spent an astronomical amount of money on groceries last week AND we are going to Cincinnati for a couple days next week): Use up everything in the house and Theme 2: HOT SOUP!!  :)  So right now I have 2 pots of homemade broth going on the stove . . . one for the potato soup and one for a tomato-rice-basil soup that I am planning for lunch, and for our neighbor who just gave birth to Kid #5!!  So, the best part of this menu plan is that I only need a couple things from the store . . . mainly milk and yogurt!

Tuesday: Oven-fried chicken fingers, Pasta casserole w/ butternut squash and chard
Wednesday: Roasted garlic and potato soup, sausage, broccoletti
Thursday: Steak, Kale market salad (kale, farro, and some fennel . . . which I am getting in my ripe organics box, and don't know what else to do with!)
Friday:  Mushroom and cheese pizza
Saturday: Anything in the house that has not been eaten yet, otherwise known as "leftovers"
Sunday: Probably leave for Cincinnati . . .

Have a great week, everyone!

Love,
Kathy

"Waiting for the Lamb"

Ha ha ha, I am so punny finishing Ann Marie's title.  (Get it?  Easter's coming??!!  COME ON!)  :)

Yes, Ann Marie, we have definitely been waiting for March for some time now.  Katie is having trouble making it through the week!  Now I am going to tip my hand and give Mom advance notice about what she's going to have to eat when she comes over here for Katie's party.  :)

Tuesday:  Oven fried chicken, collard greens, roasted potatos
Wednesday:  "baby burgers", sweet potatoes, broccoli, salad
Thursday:  pork tenderloin, broccoletti, pasta salad
Friday:  fish tacos, corn, fruit
Saturday (Katie's party!):  Really Good Chili, homemade mac and cheese, cornbread, salad, fruit, CAKE
Sunday: lasagna, garlic bread, roasted cauliflower, salad
Monday: leftovers

Now all I need to do is actually go shopping for Katie's birthday gifts.  Nothing like waiting til the last minute!!

Love,
Kathy

"March comes in like a lion"

Hi everyone,

Since it is rainy and cold here today, I thought I would title the post with a quote Andrew told me on the way home from school the other day.  As you can imagine, we've been waiting for March for a while.  I would imagine there is some brewing excitement in your house as well, Kathy?  I can't wait to see what cake design is on your menu:-).

We didn't get to the Moroccan stew or stir-fry last week, so I am rolling it over to this week.  I'm on the hunt for Kohlrabi, but I am doubtful Southern Maryland offers such a variety of vegetables.  Hoping I can find it though!  We are very jealous of the California garden!

Mon: 15 bean soup, scalloped potatoes, salad
Tues: spaghetti and meatballs, salad, broiled brussel sprouts
Wed: chicken or beef stir-fry, steamed rice, salad
Thurs: Stew and salad
Fri: curried shrimp, rice, salad
Sat: Hamburgers, broiled vegetables
Sun: barbecued ribs, salad, baked beans

Have a great week everyone!

Love,
Ann Marie

Beef Stew

5-Hour Beef Stew (from Aunt Mary Meyers)

1-2 lbs beef stew meat (or pot roast cut in cubes)

Place in large casserole (deep one) and sprinkle 3 Tbsp. flour over it.

 

Layer:

1 onion, sliced

1 1/2 cups sliced carrots

2 pckgs frozen peas (optional--I usually don't use)

2 large potatoes, sliced

Add salt and seasoned pepper

Pour over all 1 can mushroom or golden mushroom soup, mixed with 1/2 can water.

Cover with foil and bake at 275 for 5 hours,

The yellow carrots didn't have much flavor--we couldn't distinguish them in appearance OR flavor from the potatoes.  They aren't objectionable, just tasteless, at least in the stew.

Love,  MOM

Mary's notes say you can do this in a crock pot on high.  I haven't tried that.

 

The rest of the week . . .

Thanks for posting, Ann Marie . . . and enjoy your "rain day"!  :)  (That's a new one for me.)  We had a snow day on Tuesday, which was really a "sick day" for us.  I second your motion of just wanting to make it through the winter!!! 

Here's the rest of my week, though the snow day has really thrown me off.  So if I go to the store this morning while Grace is in school, when do I do the weekly house cleaning??  SKIP IT you say??  Hmmmm . . . :)

Friday: Fresh fish, brussel sprouts, Broccoli-rice casserole, salad
Saturday: leftovers or breakfast for dinner
Sunday:  Hamburgers, sweet potatoes, green beans
Monday: Beef stew (recipe from Mom, hopefully!)  :)  salad

Get well soon, everyone!

Love,
Kathy

Rain Day in Maryland---Schools out!

Hi everyone,
Yes, we have perhaps the wimpiest, day-off happy school district.  But, given that we are beginning yet another round of colds, the day-off is welcomed!  I confess that I altered my menu a little last week.  We tried out a recipe from each of you:  Kathy's chicken pot pie, Betty's stuffed flank steak, and Jennifer's Scallop and Bean Thread Noodle Salad.  These were so goodl!  We are enjoying the variety and Steve is stealing all of the leftovers for his lunch (unprompted!)  Here is my menu for this week:

Mon: Ropa Vieja (tried out a recipe in my pressure cooker…not a complete success, but I think I'll try again.  Cuts cooking time by about a third, which I figure is worth the effort of discovering!), homemade Biscuits, salad
Tues: Stuffed peppers (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/stuffed-red-peppers-recipe/index.html), sauteed kale, salad
Wed: Pasta e fagioli soup (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/pasta-and-beans-pasta-e-fagioli-recipe/index.html), broccoli and mushroom quiche, salad
Thurs: chicken tacos, salad
Fri: Fillo wrapped salmon fillets, steamed broccoli, salad
Sat: stir-fry…I am excited for Jennifer's tips, as I already see some things I've been doing wrong!
Sun: Kohlrabi apple salad and morrocan vegetable stew

Have a wonderful week ladies.  I hope that illness will one day leave our households and that we will in fact survive until summer!  All is ok though when my little girl is laughing at me this morning (at least I know her motives are still entirely pure!)

Love,
Ann Marie

How to Stir Fry

I think someone (maybe Kathy) requested some tips for stir frying.  I found this in the latest Sunset magazine in an article about cooking Vietnamese food.  We'll experiment with some of the flavors and recipes and let you know!

Love,

*jennife

Kohlrabi Apple Salad & Morrocan Vegetable Stew

Sending warm wishes!

It’s a full week for the two of us with lots of evening plans making it difficult to eat at home together.  Here’s what’s cooking:

SUNDAY:  Leftovers.  Fish taco seasoned cod with stir fried mushrooms and tatsoi (an Asian green like bok choy), over rice. 

MONDAY:  Morrocan vegetable stew over rice.  Opps, we forgot the currants.  We wanted to use up some veggies (squash and zucchini) before they spoiled.  We added mint to the yogurt and it balanced the spices nicely.  Super easy-- just chop and crock pot!

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/moroccan-vegetable-stew-10000001140618/

TUESDAY:  Leftover stew

WEDNESDAY:  Date night!  We signed up for a cooking class at Hipcooks near the house (close to Betty’s favorite Extraordinary Desserts in North Park).  The class is called Healthy, Fresh and Zingy.  If it’s tasty, we’ll share recipes for Yin Yang roast pepper soup with a pesto twist, sesame crusted Ahi seared, mango ginger salsa and mini-sorbet sandwiches.

THURSDAY:  Work event

FRIDAY:  (Likely) fish tacos with the kohlrabi apple salad, as featured in Dad’s End of Story – Darn blog (02MAR13 post) from our CSA recipe bank.  See recipe below.

SATURDAY:  We’ll be picking from your menus!

;)

*jennifer

KOHLRABI APPLE SALAD

* 3 heads of kohlrabi, stems removed and peeled

* 2 medium sized apples, cored

* 1 carrot

* 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

* 1/4 cup rice vinegar

* 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

* 1 tablespoon agave or honey

* 1 tablespoon lime juice

* salt to taste

1.  Cut the kohlrabi, apples and carrot into matchsticks and place them in a large bowl.

2.  In a small glass mix together the vinegar, sesame oil, agave, and lime juice.

3.  Pour this dressing over the chopped vegetables and mix well.

4.  Fold in the cilantro and salt to taste.

5.  Serve with a smile at room temperature or chilled. 

Variations:  We used lemons instead of limes because we have a full tree of lemons.  Also, replacing cilantro with or adding fresh mint and parsley adds some new, fun dimensions.    

Blizzard of 2013

 . . . or something like that!  :)

I have not done my weekly menu plan yet, but I did a 4-day plan on the fly.  We're supposed to get about 7-10 inches of snow dumped on us during the day tomorrow, so I didn't think I would be able to get to the store.  I also forgot to take the sausage out of the freezer for tonight's dinner!  So with my quick stop at the store, here are the next few days of "snowbound" meals:

Mon: Chicken with pesto and mozzarella, hashbrowns, Greek salad
Tues: my German dinner!  :)
Wed: tortellini soup and fresh bread
Thurs:  penne pasta with ham and peas, salad

That should get us through!  :)

Hope you all are doing well!!

Love,
Kathy