"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