Filler Menu Post

I was going to post about how awesome I am at potty training my kids, but Rory peed in his pants 3 times today after being accident free for almost a week.  Hopefully you'll be reading that post soon.

Instead, I'll give you my weekly menu from last week.
Sunday:  Beef Tips with Rice - I kind of made this up as I went along.  I coated about 2lbs of beef tips in flour, salt and pepper.  I cooked them until they were slightly less than medium in a pan in a couple tablespoons of olive oil.  Once I got it to that point, I added a can of beef stock and about a cup of red wine.  While that was cooking, I had the rice going on another burner.  I then sauteed some green peppers and mushrooms in another little pan.  When those were done, I threw it all together, then added a little milk and cornstarch mixture to thicken up the sauce.  It was pretty good - the kids liked it too.

Monday:  Fish with Quinoa, Spinach and Tomatoes - This is another one I kind of made up.  I make the quinoa with chicken stock.  While that is cooking, I prepare the fish.  I didn't feel like turning on the oven because it was hot so I just cooked the fish in a pan.  I used pollack, I think - it was really cheap.  I salt and peppered it and cooked it in a couple of tsps of olive oil.  In another pan, I cook a can of diced tomatoes and once they are bubbling, I add a bag of baby spinach.  Throw in some garlic, salt and pepper and cook until the spinach is all wilted.  I layer the quinoa, then the fish and top it with the spinach and tomatoes.  The kids are not big fans of this one, but I really like it and it's pretty healthy.  I also made some Caprise Salad.

Tuesday:  Turkey Burgers and fries - nothing fancy, just exactly what it sounds like.  The fries were frozen.  I just add random things to my turkey when I make burgers.  This time I threw in some poultry seasoning and it kind of made them taste like stuffing.  I liked it.

Wednesday:  Big Salad - Again, it's exactly what it sounds like.  It's a big ass salad.

Thursday:  Chicken Cordon Bleu - This is so easy and I think it's really good.  I don't think we will ever eat plain chicken breasts again.  At the very least I can throw a piece of cheese and a piece of ham in the middle.

This is my personal stock photo of my chicken cordon bleu.  I did finally get around to spending the $.99 for some toothpicks so I'm not using drink skewers.

Friday:  Tacos - I decided tacos are one of my favorite foods.  I like them from almost everywhere.  They can be authentic street tacos, homemade with the seasoning packet or from Taco Bell.  I have a special place in my heart for all of them.  These were the seasoning packet ones.

Saturday:  Sushi - I did not make this, but I wish I could.  Oh, I love sushi!

Monday Menus

Hang on to your hats - I have some new recipes!!  Everything I made this week was really good and nothing took longer than 30 minutes in prep time.  The meatloaf recipe took a long time to cook, but still came in under the 30 minutes in preparation. 

Monday:  We had leftover pizza and braised pork from Saturday and Sunday. 

Tuesday:  Jalapeno Rosemary Alfredo - this sounds strange, but it was goooo-ood.  My only complaint was that it could have been just a tad more spicy.  I think the cream really cuts into any heat so if you aren't a fan of hot, but like some extra flavor, this is for you.  I may add another jalapeno the next time I make it or use a serrano pepper instead.

Wednesday:  Marinated Grilled Shrimp, Kale Chips & Asian Salad - I was starting to feel about shrimp the same way I feel about chicken breasts.  I would make it and while it wasn't bad, it definitely wasn't what I consider good.  With both proteins we would bake, grill, throw into sauces with pasta, etc.  However, with every meal, the chicken and shrimp seemed to lose just a little more flavor.  A couple of years ago I discovered brining and my whole world changed - at least in regards to eating chicken.  Seriously - brine the shit out of your meat.  I always thought it was some huge process, but it isn't and it makes a HUGE difference in the taste of the meat.  My brining rant has nothing to do with this recipe, but is just a friendly tip.  So back to the shrimp.  It's marinated, something I had never done before and again - super good!  I was a little too lazy to grill the shrimp, so I just threw the little marinated crustaceans in a pan and cooked them in the marinade on the stove.  The basil is key in this and made it taste very Thai-like.  Here is my recipe for Kale Chips.  If you have never had these, they are delightful, but they do get stuck in your teeth so not ideal for a social event.  I think they taste like roasted broccoli, which I happen to love. 
2 bunches of kale
olive oil
season salt - like Lawry's
Heat your oven to 425.  Tear your kale up into pieces.  Pull the leaves off of the thick main stem.  The little stems that branch out into the leaf are fine, unless they are really thick, then you may want to pull that stem off too.  Wash and thoroughly dry all the kale in a salad spinner or whatever other green drying mechanism you use.
Place your pieces of kale in a single layer on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.  Drizzle with a little olive oil.  If you get too much, it will be soggy and greasy.  I probably use 1/2 a tsp per baking sheet.  Sprinkle with season salt - again, not too much and then toss it all together and redistribute in a single layer on the pan.  Throw it in the oven for about 8 min or until crisp and enjoy!  Two bunches of kale made 4 different batches.

Kale before baking.

After baking.

The Asian Salad was one of the Dole Salad Kits.

Thursday:  Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf - this was so good.  It didn't taste like turkey at all.  It was very beefy tasting.  The only thing I did differently with this recipe was to cook the quinoa in chicken stock because I had some left over that I needed to use, I doubled the recipe and doubled the cooking time.  Raw ground meat of any kind makes me gag so I may overcook my burgers, meatloaf or any other ground meat entrée - you may want to take that into consideration with your cooking time.  If you haven't had quinoa yet, you need to get your hands on this little baby grain!  It's one of my favorite side dishes and it's really good for you too. 

That's over 2 lbs of meatloaf right there!

Friday:  We had leftover meatloaf - it was even better the next day. 

Saturday:  Sliders - no recipe, just little hamburgers with fries.

Sunday:  Leftover sliders. 

Monday Menus X2

I should have never said I was going to post menus every Monday.  I have been living my last 2 years with no deadlines whatsoever and suddenly adding one task, regardless of its simplicity, throws me into a frenzy.  Not really, but I felt like there was something hanging over my head for the last couple of weeks.  So I'm officially saying I may not post a menu every week, but I will give you two weeks worth today.

Monday:  Pizza  This one was a little different.  I double this recipe and usually make 4 pizzas.  This time, I did double it, but used whole wheat flour instead of bread flour and it didn't turn out well at all.  The dough didn't rise and it was really dense.  Of course we still ate it, but it wasn't very good.
Tuesday:  We had a dinner playdate at a friend's house and I brought dessert.  I made the Magic Cookie Bars without nuts because we have a friend with a severe peanut allergy and because walnuts are gross.
Wednesday:  Chicken Cordon Bleu  This turned out way better than I thought it would.  I even took a picture! 

We never have toothpicks so I had to use Christmas drink skewers.  They have bells on the end.

Thursday:  Tacos - nothing fancy at all.  Store bought shells, turkey with the regular taco seasoning and all the regular taco toppings.
Friday:  Cream of Potato Soup  This was good, but really rich.  I used the cream base recipe in the link and then cut up 4 baked potatoes and a bunch of scallions to add to it.  One thing I changed was using 1/2 skim milk and 1/2 half and half.  I didn't think the skim milk would thicken the way I wanted it to, but the half and half was almost too rich.  I think 2% milk would be perfect.  We had cheese and bacon for toppings.
Saturday:  We didn't really eat dinner.  We were watching our beloved Hawkeyes at a local Iowa bar and ate bar food late in the afternoon so it kind of stuck in our guts for the rest of the day.
Sunday:  In-N-Out  It was Kamryn's birthday so she got to pick the food for the whole day.  No complaints from this corner!

And for week #2
Monday:  Meatloaf  I made this in the crockpot.  I actually used beef instead of turkey this time and bought a seasoning packet.  I usually just make up my own, but I wanted to try it.  Those seasoning packets are really salty.  Anyway, I mixed it all together, threw it in the crockpot for 5 hours on low and it turned out pretty well - just a bit too salty so I probably won't use it again.
Tuesday:  Big Salad  This is exactly what it sounds like.  If you are still unclear what this is, there is a whole Seinfeld episode about it.  It's not a regular salad, it's a big salad.
Wednesday:  Beef and Veggie Stirfry  This is one of our go-to meals when we don't know what to make.  It's cut up beef and frozen vegetables in a stirfry sauce with rice. 
Thursday:  Marinated Grilled Tuna with mango salsa  I don't really follow the recipe too closely - more just the idea.  I used yellow fin tuna instead of mahi mahi, but I did follow the marinade recipe.  I passed on the coconut rice since we had stirfry the day before and the mango salsa I just threw together on my own.  I cut up cilantro, mango, tomato, red onion and squeezed some lime juice in it. 
Friday:  Jersey Mikes It was supposed to be the baked potato bar, but it was kind of hot that day so it didn't sound real appetizing and since I didn't have a back up, we got subs.
Saturday:  Braised Ribs with White Beans and Fresh Herbs  This is one of my all time favorite recipes.  It is pretty involved, but it is well worth it.  I have made it with fresh herbs and with dried and I think I  prefer the dried herbs.  I also like to double the beans.  It's really filling and pretty cheap to make. 
Sunday:  Pizza  Same recipe as above, but I'm back to using bread flour. 

I know this is probably not the norm, but my kids eat all of the stuff I make.  Fish is a tough one, but tuna really does taste a lot like chicken.  Kamryn is a much better eater than Rory, but he surprises me every once and awhile and likes something that I don't think he will.  However, that being said, I refuse to make a separate meal for the kids.  They aren't required to clear their plates, but they have to at least try what I make.  And I usually have at least one side dish that I know they like.  Afterall, I remember my mom making liver when we were kids and we either ate it, or didn't eat.  She wasn't making an extra pot of mac and cheese for me and my brother.

I'm not chastising anyone for making your kids extra meals, I'm just lazy.

Monday Menus

Soooooo, after committing to post a menu for the week on each and every Monday, I'm already slacking.  However, I was thinking about it and while I do still plan on posting my menu, I'm posting last week's menu.  That way I can give you all my very important and useful reviews of the recipes.

Last week we were out of town for a portion of the week and I didn't actually cook the entire week.  Here are the meals I did cook.  I planned on cooking 6 nights and spent a total of $89 at the grocery store for the recipes.  Although $89 is probably the least amount I have spent in a long time for a week's worth of groceries, I was a bit lazy with a couple of items and I could have gotten it under $80 if I would have gone to Target.  I bought Cream of Tarter to make playdough at home which cost me $4.99 and I bought my shampoo at the store too because we literally had zero shampoo left.  I buy cheap shampoo anyway, but it cost me about $4.00 more than I usually spend. (I use Suave.)

Enough of my gibberish about shampoo - let's get to the menu!  Please try and contain your excitement.
Monday: We ate some delicious Thai food on our way home from the airport.

Tuesday:  Spaghetti - No big secret to this.  Just ground turkey, store bought sauce and whole wheat noodles.  This is really the only pasta dish where I like the whole wheat noodles.

Wednesday:  Connie's Zucchini Patties - This recipe claimed that these were just like eating crab cakes without the crab.  Uh, I'll be the judge of that, Connie.  I doubled the recipe which used about 8 zucchini and I shredded them with a really fine shredder.  I don't know if I can say these were just like eating crab cakes, but they did not suck!  They were really good.  The kids liked them too.

Thursday:  French Dip - This is just delicious.  You don't even need to make sandwiches, you could just eat the roast, but I enjoy a nice French Dip.  I added a cut up onion and another can of broth to make some extra sauce.  You likka the sauce?  The sauce is good!  I give you more sauce.
 
Friday:  Chili - It's Ryan's recipe and it's undocumented.  One secret is cutting up some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  DO NOT USE THE WHOLE CAN.  I REPEAT, DO NOT CUT UP THE WHOLE CAN.  It will be a double burner, if you know what I mean.

Saturday:  Open Face Sandwiches - I used the left over roast, made some mashed potatoes and gravy and put it all on good old fashioned white bread.

Sunday:  We made a chicken run to El Pollo Loco. 

Overall, not the best week for eating.  I'll try to do better this week.  Also, I don't like posts without pictures, so here's this.

Elvis' awesome gold suit on display at Graceland.