Week 11

Hmmm .... I'm very uninspired this week. So here is the recipe. A lot of potatoes and eggs, and roots. I guess it must be winter...

Scandinavian Potato, Eggs, and Greens - may sound strange, but I've made it before and it was awesome.

Tortilla Espanola - cheap and good. Kind of pain to slice up all the potatoes, though.

Baked Chicken Meatballs and Butternut Squash - I really liked these from a few weeks ago, it's a make-again.

Speghetti and meatballs and a salad - I use a home-made marinara from Dan Bittman

Carrot-Fennel Soup with a loaf of good bread - I saw some carrots at the farmer's market last week, so hopefully they will still be there this week...

Oh, and on the sweet side, I am going to make orange cranberry bread, I have loads of cranberries left over from T-Day. Starting to think of the Christmas menu... yee haw!

Week 10

It's going to be a Moosewood week at Mi Casa, mis amigos. Moosewood's Low-fat cookbook, to be exact, it is veg (though there is a section for fish) and full of good things to eat. I don't always follow the low-fat part though, I sneak some butter and such, since I like a bit of fat to mingle with my already-there fat.

Okay, so here goes:

Cold Beet and Buttermilk Soup (p. 79 of Moosewood [MW]) with a Grapefruit, Avocado, and Spinach Salad (p. 135 - MW) - I think the Hubsy will hate this, but I've gotta get the beet-love going on.

Beef Stew and whole wheat bread - the weather is just right for such a moody food.

Salmon and Lentils - from this month's Real Simple

Penne with Walnut Sauce (p. 213 - MW) and roasted butternut squash on the side

Couscous with kale

Beans with Sage (p. 168 - MW) - for some lunchy lunch.

Corn Chowder - a la Costco - with whole wheat bread.

And so it is.

Oh, and T-day update - the brined turkey was awesome!! I highly recommend Lawson's book - Feast. I liked the brussel sprouts as well. I think I am the only one who liked the cranberry, orange cornbread stuffing. Oh, well, more for me. My hubsy thought it was too tart, but he is a bit of a baby that way. I think I will continue the brining for next T-day - funny enough, this was the year of the double-brined bird, as I picked-up an already brined turkey at Trader Joe's. So I say, double-brined=double delicous.

Week 9 - Thanksgiving Heaven

Allrighty, so it is Thanksgiving, and I happen to be hosting. This is a good and bad thing. Good in that I can see family in the comfort of my own home, bad in that I have to cook a huge, fairly traditional dinner. But I am giving it my best, y'all (well, the best I can with a husband who is on nights and a sick baby, I know, poor me.)

Thanksgiving Dinner:

Turkey - brined using Nigella Lawson's recipe in her book Feast (I am using quite a few recipes from this book).

Stuffing - basic Pepperidge Farms and then cornbread, cranberry, and orange (Lawson, again).

Potatoes -

Make-Ahead, a nice parmesean, chive mashed potato recipe that you can make a few days ahead.

Sweet Potato Souffle - From a Southern friend of the family, I don't know how long it has been a part of our Thanksgiving, it is awesome. Luckily, my in-laws are not sweet potato fans (for the most part) so that means there will be all the more for myself.

Cranberry sauce - just basic orange and cranberries, my family usually does pomegranate, but I don't feel like picking through them this year. I am using Lawson's recipe.

Rolls - provided by in-laws - which is a very good thing since I am awful with bread.

Brussel Sprouts and Pancetta - I made this last week and it was awesome, and quite a good-looking dish, I might add.

Corn - yawn, but tradition reigns supreme.

Relish dish - this is my in-laws tradition, I am not sure if this is served as an appetizer, but I assume so.

Perhaps green beans, but Josh says it's overkill.

Dessert:

Cranberry and Almond Tart - Lawson's recipe.

Pumpkin Pie

Week 8

I am trying out some Thanksgiving recipes this week, so the menu may seem a bit disjointed. Also, I am really digging Smitten Kitchen this week, so I have taken a lot of recipes from there. I am trying to eat less meat, and she has a good selection.

The Thanksgiving recipes are from Nigella Lawson's cookbook Feast.

Orange rolls - I need to try these again, but this time I am using Pioneer Woman's recipe. It uses orange marmalade filling, so maybe it will pan out (ha ha) better this time.

Thanksgiving recipe experiments:

Cornbread, orange, cranberry stuffing

Brussel sprouts with Chestnut, Pancetta, and Parsley

Menu:

Swiss chard and sweet potato gratin - I have some swiss chard in the garden that I still need to use, I don't know if I have three pounds worth, but we shall see...

Couscous and feta (a carry-over)

Kitchen sink quesadillas - This is a super-easy meal for busy (or outright lazy days), I add mango to it as well.

Salmon cooked with soyaki and roasted acorn squash

Bean and kale soup

Baked chicken meatballs and roasted cauliflower

Warm butternut squash and chickpeas salad, not sure what to pair this with yet...

Week 7

Nights for Josh, so easy-peesy-japaneesy for me. Because when Josh works nights, I work nights and all-day. This in turn makes me into a zombie mommy. So these are zombie-friendly meals.

Alton Brown's mac n cheese with Kale on the side

veg. burgers and oven fries (I'm into these right now, again, gotta use the fried queso blanco)

Pioneer woman's beans and cornbread

Indonesian Ginger Chicken (Ina Garten) and roasted cauliflower

Chili and Cornbread, Sugar Cookies (per Henry's request, I need to find some T-day cookie cutters) - I know, more cornbread, but it is for a tree-cutting celebration and chili just seems right. I am still playing with chili recipes, this one is a bit too hot for Josh, so I plan to tone it down this time around...

Couscous and Feta, and Brussel Sprouts - rerun from last week, I never got around to making it.

Week 6

I am at a loss for a meal plan this week. It's like I've never cooked before. Here is what the plan is:

Chicken and dumplings - sounds good like a great fall meal.

Salmon patties with roasted butternut squash (heck, yeah!)

Roasted tomato basil soup with grilled cheese sandwiches - classic

Butternut Squash pasties - based on Cornish meat pies.

Couscous with raisins, pine nuts, and capers with kale on the side.

Veg. Burgers - I still have some to finish up. Really great served with fried queso blanco.

Week 5

Josh is on nights most of this week, so the menu and livin' needs to be easy. Nothing too interesting.

Speghetti with veggie meatballs, salad, and homemade bread - I like thin speg. best, and I use Dan Bittman's basic tomato sauce recipe. I think the jarred version is a bit too sweet sometimes.

Gyoza and Edamame (gyoza was on sale at Costco, huzzah!)

Beef Stew, in the crockpot

Veggie Burgers, oven fries, and beets (roasted with goat cheese)

Bean Burritos (I know, repeat)

Salmon Patties, can't get enough, with roasted butternut squash

Week 4 (Sort of..)

It has been too long, but I am trying to get back on the wagon as they say. Sometimes, though, the wagon is so boring, and I just order pizza instead. Naughty dottie.

Menu:

Vegetarian Chili - time to pull out the old crockpot.

Beef Stroganoff and Shaker lemon pie for dessert (it's my birthday dinner courtesy of Josh)

Salmon Patties with mixed greens

Couscous with Raisins, Pine Nuts, and Capers
served with garlicky kale

Black Bean Burritos

Chicken Curry (frozen meal I made about three months ago, tastes like pure cornstarch so I won't be sharing the recipe).

Oh, and there will be some awesome caramel apples and hot cider going on as well. I am also thinking of putting this hot cocoa mix together from Alton Brown.

Cheers.

Week 3 Menu

Okay, this week I am throwing in the towel and letting myself be the tired, pregnant lady that I am. Therefore, this is not ambitious, not particularly healthy, but fairly easy - and that is how I am rolling these days.

Menu:

Grilled ham and cheese (muenster)
mixed greens

Kitchen-sink quesadillas
salad

BLATs (bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado sandwich)
deviled eggs

Shrimp curry (a la Trader Joe's simmer sauce) and rice

Salmon patties
mixed greens

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas (for my meal exchange night)

Week 2 Menu

Last week was a bit of a doozie, it included three days of sickness (for Josh and myself), and a minor toxic waste spill in the laundry room. So, I have brought some meals over from the week before, and added a few more.

Corned beef (a la Costco), cabbage, potatoes - St. Paddy's Day!
Irish soda bread

Jamie Oliver's Pasta, spinach and mascarpone - super easy recipe, and a great way to get spinach into my son's belly.

Gardenburgers and coleslaw (repeat)

Kale and bean soup, no-knead bread (repeat)

Twice-baked potatoes, broccoli (if the broccoli has made it this long...)

Hope everyone is eating some tasty food stuffs this week!

Week 1 Menu

Brand new blog and post. I seem to forget the menu plan every week, so I thought this would be a good place to keep track of it. Also, when I freeze during those moments of making a meal plan each week, I can refer back to these. Feel free to add your meal plans too, it's always good to get more ideas. You can follow the link to the recipes on my recipe index blog (the link is on the side column).

Week One:

Macaroni and Cheese - Alton Brown's stovetop recipe
salad

Twice Baked Potatoes
Broccoli

Gyoza and Edamame - Trader Joe's has good chicken potstickers, easy meal to make (though Josh HATES edamame.)

Bean, Garlic and Kale soup
No-Knead Bread (Dan Bittman) - I've never made this before, and it takes some prep (about 12 hours), so we'll see if it actually happens.

Barefoot Contessa (BC) Turkey Meatloaf
Mashed Potatoes

Garden Burgers
(BC) coleslaw

I am trying to keep it easy this week, and the weather has lightened up a bit, hence less meat more coleslaw.