This was an interesting week . . . I guess I am not back into the swing of making lunches, because we ran out of EVERYTHING by my "grocery store day"! I resorted to canned mandarin oranges in the lunch boxes . . . and PB&J sandwiches made on hot dog buns. Ooops! :) Out of desperation, I sent Sean to the Farmers' Market (by himself!!) yesterday with 20 bucks and a wagon, and told him to buy some fruit for lunch. He came home with the biggest watermelon I have ever seen. :) So we made it one more day . . .
I also couldn't find the pound of ground beef that I KNOW I HAD SOMEWHERE IN THE FREEZER, so we had to put off our hamburger night until later this week. Luckily, I had a couple frozen steaks (oh darn) that were very nice with grilled garden veggies. Not bad! Here we go for another week:
Thursday: Shellfish paella
Friday: Hamburgers! Corn on the cob, caprese salad
Saturday: Shish kabobs, sauteed greens, homemade flatbread (good for lunches!)
Sunday: Baked chicken legs/thighs, Greek salad
Monday: leftovers or breakfast for dinner
Tuesday: Pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, peas, grilled garden veggies
Have a great week!
Love,
Kathy
P.S. The kids were NOT impressed with the grilled eggplant/red onion/bruschetta pasta that I made to go along with the steak. I have a lot of leftovers to eat for lunch!!
P.P.S. If you have any good Swiss chard recipes, please share. We are building a (small) deck off the side of our house (the 2 x 4 "temporary" steps from our addition are rotting away . . . ) and my row of chard is in the way. We need to eat it before the permit gets approved . . . ! :)
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Here's our week, Jennifer! :)
Wednesday - Pesto lasagna, Farmer's Market bread, fruit
Thursday - Grilled salmon, "stackers", brown rice ("stackers" are my favorite summer garden food . . . slice and grill eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, onion, and pepper and then stack with fresh mozzarella, sliced tomato, and basil . . . drizzle with olive oil and balsamic. YUM!)
Friday - Beef and mushroom tacos, melon
Saturday - We are off to Milwaukee for the Meyers' wedding . . . kids get hot dogs, corn on the cob, fruit
Sunday - Farmers Market corn chowder and grilled cheese
Monday - over to Aunt Anne and Uncle Tom's new house for dinner! :)
Tuesday - leftovers or breakfast for dinner
Wednesday - Hamburgers, garden veggies, grilled sweet potatoes
Pretty easy week! You will notice that around this time of year when the garden produce is in full swing, that the menu is basically garden veggies with some twist . . . for example, "stackers" and "garden veggie pasta" are basically the same thing . . . just served a different way. Tacos tend to be "taco meat" with grilled and chopped garden veggies. Rinse. Repeat. The kids get tired of it, but I NEVER DO!!! :)
Good luck with the menu planning!
Love,
Kathy
Thursday - Grilled salmon, "stackers", brown rice ("stackers" are my favorite summer garden food . . . slice and grill eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, onion, and pepper and then stack with fresh mozzarella, sliced tomato, and basil . . . drizzle with olive oil and balsamic. YUM!)
Friday - Beef and mushroom tacos, melon
Saturday - We are off to Milwaukee for the Meyers' wedding . . . kids get hot dogs, corn on the cob, fruit
Sunday - Farmers Market corn chowder and grilled cheese
Monday - over to Aunt Anne and Uncle Tom's new house for dinner! :)
Tuesday - leftovers or breakfast for dinner
Wednesday - Hamburgers, garden veggies, grilled sweet potatoes
Pretty easy week! You will notice that around this time of year when the garden produce is in full swing, that the menu is basically garden veggies with some twist . . . for example, "stackers" and "garden veggie pasta" are basically the same thing . . . just served a different way. Tacos tend to be "taco meat" with grilled and chopped garden veggies. Rinse. Repeat. The kids get tired of it, but I NEVER DO!!! :)
Good luck with the menu planning!
Love,
Kathy
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Back to the blog!
Back to work! Back to school! Back to the blog for dinner ideas!
Here's to hoping we can make a plan and stick to it ... and minimize last minute trips to the store on an empty stomach that inevitably end in gelato purchases and forgetting to purchase the ingredient that was the reason for the trip.
All recipes subject to change if it is too hot to cook in the kitchen.
Love,
Jennifer
Sunday: Out to dinner
Monday * Labor Day * Must grill on the "last (HOT, HOT ... we hope) day of summer"!
Chili pork tenderloin with charred corn and okra salad (ala Sunset September 2014 p.96)
Tuesday
Spicy scallop salad with green beans, bok choy and red peppers
Wednesday * School Night * Our official Crock Pot Night
Black bean and chicken tostadas
"Extra" chicken for chicken salad with kefir or hummus, grapes, olives and walnuts/almonds/chopped celery for lunch sandwiches
Thursday
Miso cod with stir fried brussel sprouts, mushrooms and Japanese eggplant (if the squirrels haven't taken them)
Friday
Grilled pizza with whatever veggies are left in the kitchen
Saturday
Grilled shrimp with pesto pasta salad OR Burgers
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Signing off for a while! :)
Hey ladies,
I think I'll sign off for a while . . . if anyone is interested in this again at some point, send me an email to let me know. Thanks! Hope all is well with all of you! :)
Kathy
I think I'll sign off for a while . . . if anyone is interested in this again at some point, send me an email to let me know. Thanks! Hope all is well with all of you! :)
Kathy
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Menu plan and burger question
Wednesday: Grilled salmon, buttered noodles, peas: my kids' dreams come true! :)
Thursday: Oven fried chicken, roasted carrots, sauteed spinach, hashbrowns
Friday: Lasagna, garlic bread, green beans, salad
Saturday: Homemade ravioli day! (First time ever - I'll let you know how it goes!), fruit salad
Sunday: Really Good chili, cornbread
Monday: Chicken and noodles, brocolli
Question: I refuse to cook more than one pound of ground beef for one meal in this family. This works fine for everything (ie tacos, spaghetti, chili, etc) but not so much for burgers. So I am always adding stuff to the ground beef to stretch it so I can make 6 bun-sized burgers. Do any of you have any secrets to success? Usually I use cooked mushrooms, eggs, bread crumbs, etc . . . last night I resorted to cooked zucchini, ground up in the food processor with (uncooked) oatmeal and an egg. It looked really gross, and the patties completely fell apart on the grill . . . but 100% of my critics gobbled it up and begged for more. (I even told them there was zucchini in it to try to make them eat less!!) :) I am looking for something that holds the patties together better. Any ideas? (It seems that the grass-fed beef already makes patties that are harder to keep together, so I am starting behind!) Thanks for your help!!
Hope you are all having a good week!
Love,
Kathy
Thursday: Oven fried chicken, roasted carrots, sauteed spinach, hashbrowns
Friday: Lasagna, garlic bread, green beans, salad
Saturday: Homemade ravioli day! (First time ever - I'll let you know how it goes!), fruit salad
Sunday: Really Good chili, cornbread
Monday: Chicken and noodles, brocolli
Question: I refuse to cook more than one pound of ground beef for one meal in this family. This works fine for everything (ie tacos, spaghetti, chili, etc) but not so much for burgers. So I am always adding stuff to the ground beef to stretch it so I can make 6 bun-sized burgers. Do any of you have any secrets to success? Usually I use cooked mushrooms, eggs, bread crumbs, etc . . . last night I resorted to cooked zucchini, ground up in the food processor with (uncooked) oatmeal and an egg. It looked really gross, and the patties completely fell apart on the grill . . . but 100% of my critics gobbled it up and begged for more. (I even told them there was zucchini in it to try to make them eat less!!) :) I am looking for something that holds the patties together better. Any ideas? (It seems that the grass-fed beef already makes patties that are harder to keep together, so I am starting behind!) Thanks for your help!!
Hope you are all having a good week!
Love,
Kathy
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Back to School . . . 3 for 4! :)
Grace is back in school today . . . just 3 mornings a week. Liam and I did the annual drop-off then walk to the coffee shop for a celebratory brew. I think that in 2 years, the drop-off might be followed by a walk to a different kind of brew! :)
I have a longer meal plan . . . nice to get back into a routine again.
Monday: Salmon, brown rice, garden fare
Tuesday: grilled meat and veggie foil packets (chicken, steak, zucchini, white and sweet potato, red onion, red pepper, garlic, mushrooms), popovers (was supposed to be Irish brown bread, but I ran out of whole wheat flour!!)
Wednesday: Spaghetti (made with garden tomatoes) and meat sauce, salad
Thursday: (Liam at work, me out to dinner with a friend, YIPEE!): hot dogs, corn on the cob, melon
Friday: Chicken in the crock, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli
Saturday: Parish Picnic!
Sunday: Ham, sweet potato casserole, green beans, salad
Monday: Sirloin steak fajitas (crock pot)
Tuesday: Grilled fish, grilled veggie quinoa
Wednesday: Stuffed baked potatoes (leftover ham, cheese, veggies, etc)
Thursday: Pesto Making Day! (Pesto pasta for dinner, of course.) :)
Friday: Plan to go to Bloomington
Saturday: Hamburgers, peas, oven fries, tom-basil-mozz
Sunday: Cube steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, roasted carrots, salad
Hope everyone is doing well!
Love,
Kathy
I have a longer meal plan . . . nice to get back into a routine again.
Monday: Salmon, brown rice, garden fare
Tuesday: grilled meat and veggie foil packets (chicken, steak, zucchini, white and sweet potato, red onion, red pepper, garlic, mushrooms), popovers (was supposed to be Irish brown bread, but I ran out of whole wheat flour!!)
Wednesday: Spaghetti (made with garden tomatoes) and meat sauce, salad
Thursday: (Liam at work, me out to dinner with a friend, YIPEE!): hot dogs, corn on the cob, melon
Friday: Chicken in the crock, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli
Saturday: Parish Picnic!
Sunday: Ham, sweet potato casserole, green beans, salad
Monday: Sirloin steak fajitas (crock pot)
Tuesday: Grilled fish, grilled veggie quinoa
Wednesday: Stuffed baked potatoes (leftover ham, cheese, veggies, etc)
Thursday: Pesto Making Day! (Pesto pasta for dinner, of course.) :)
Friday: Plan to go to Bloomington
Saturday: Hamburgers, peas, oven fries, tom-basil-mozz
Sunday: Cube steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, roasted carrots, salad
Hope everyone is doing well!
Love,
Kathy
Monday, September 2, 2013
Oatmeal Pancakes
At Ann Marie's request (great to see you, by the way!!), I am posting our oatmeal pancake recipe. It is actually from Runners' World, and is entitled "America's Healthiest Breakfast". So you can't go wrong! This is our go-to recipe . . . though we usually just eat it with real maple syrup, vice the homemade blueberry syrup in the recipe. Enjoy! :)
Soak 1 1/2 cups rolled oats in 1 cup of buttermilk in a small bowl for 15 minutes. (You know the buttermilk trick, right? To make homemade buttermilk, just put 1 TBSP of vinegar into a 1 cup measure and fill it the rest of the way up with milk. Let sit 5 minutes and WALLA! Buttermilk!) :)
Combine 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon in a medium bowl.
Whisk 2 large eggs together with 2 large egg whites (who are we kidding here. I just use 4 whole eggs. Why leave out the most nutritious part??!) in a small bowl and stir in 1 1/2 cups milk.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir. Fold in soaked oatmeal.
Cook! :)
For Wild Blueberry Sauce: Combine 2 cups frozen wild blueberries, thawed, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the berries pop. Stir in 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon. Enjoy.
Soak 1 1/2 cups rolled oats in 1 cup of buttermilk in a small bowl for 15 minutes. (You know the buttermilk trick, right? To make homemade buttermilk, just put 1 TBSP of vinegar into a 1 cup measure and fill it the rest of the way up with milk. Let sit 5 minutes and WALLA! Buttermilk!) :)
Combine 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon in a medium bowl.
Whisk 2 large eggs together with 2 large egg whites (who are we kidding here. I just use 4 whole eggs. Why leave out the most nutritious part??!) in a small bowl and stir in 1 1/2 cups milk.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir. Fold in soaked oatmeal.
Cook! :)
For Wild Blueberry Sauce: Combine 2 cups frozen wild blueberries, thawed, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the berries pop. Stir in 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon. Enjoy.
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