Back At It? I think...

So it is very definitely the middle of the week-and I very definitely have not cooked one meal yet. But no time like the present to start, right?

My motto for the time being is keep it simple sister! So tonight, we will have sloppy joes and a salad, mainly because they are easy, cheap, good, and the little one likes them so she'll actually eat some red meat. Tomorrow, we will do taco salads.

Friday we are in the city with Gramme, so we'll probably do clam chowder. Saturday will probably be family date night out and Sunday we'll likely go to the in-laws.

Lunch and Dinner Menu Plan

Dinner for this week comes with help from the Everyday Food website.

Monday: Chicken pot pie
Tuesday: Tortilla soup
Wednesday: Shepherd's pie
Thursday: Veggie chili and corn bread
Friday: Sesame noodles


Also, I am now in charge of making Alex's lunch every day (otherwise he spends an arm and a leg at school), so here is his lunch menu:

Monday: Tuna sandwich
Tuesday: Left over pot pie
Wednesday: roast beef sandwich
Thursday: Left over shepherd's pie
Friday: Left over chili

Back to School Meals

Okay, so school starts again this week, which means I'll have more time to plan meals but less time to cook them. So I'm coming back full force this week. Hopefully.

Dinner menu (in no particular order):

Open-faced tuna melts and blt sandwiches. On some good crusty, toasted bread.

Steak and eggs w/grits. We bought a value pack of steak and it's waiting in our freezer. I'll scramble the eggs for the kids, but Alex and I like our eggs sunny side up on top of the meat. With swizzle sauce, of course.

Skewered orange-glazed chicken and rice. I found a recipe that used orange marmalade so I'm going to give it a try. I'll skewer some chicken tenders and baste them with the marmalade under the broiler. It only takes a few minutes to cook. Fast and easy.

Bean and cheese burrito. But I have to get it as close to Taco Bell as I can, otherwise Christopher won't eat it.

This week I also want to:

Make my own pre-made pancake mix. I got the idea from Everyday Food. That will make breakfast quicker and easier.

Make a fondant cake. I've never really been into cake decorating, but it looks simple and fun.

Try perfecting my hummus again. It's hit or miss for me. But my whole family loves hummus, even my picky eater! So I've got to figure it out!

Small Mommy: Next Week's Dinner Menu

Okay, so here's a list of dinners for this week, in no particular order (I just know that I have the ingredients!):

chicken and white bean chili
chicken and rice soup
mac and cheese w/broccoli
spaghetti and garlic bread
loaded baked potato soup
quesadillas

sides:

cornbread
salad
smoothies
jello

desserts:

key lime pie!
snickerdoodles

Southern Food and Key Lime Pie

Yes, I've been slacking on my menu planning this summer also. But-I have been spending less on food. I've been trying to use more food storage and recipes that are cheaper to make. Though I've been taking advantage of the $7 meal deal at Albertson's, which includes one rotisserie chicken, a side of slaw or macaroni salad, 4 hawaiian rolls and a 2 liter of soda. I also like the $5 Friday deals at Von's. Sometimes it's pizza, other times rotisserie chicken or sub sandwiches.

This week we are eating leftovers from our Southern supper. That includes collard greens and chicken and dumplings. I usually use Paula Deen's recipes for Southern cooking.

I also thought I'd post the ridiculously easy recipe I use for key lime pie. It's so tasty and I feel guilty taking any credit for it. It's only 4 ingredients total. The recipe can be found on the back of Nellie & Joe's Famouse Key West Lime Juice bottle.

Nellie & Joe's Key Lime Pie

one 9" graham cracker pie shell (or you could make your own-I never do!)
one 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks (no whites)
1/2 cup Nellie & Joe's Key West Lime Juice

Combine milk, egg yolks and juice until smooth. Pour into pie filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, until pie is set.

Let stand for 10 minutes before refrigerating.

Serve with whipped cream or not!

So easy. So good.

Summer Hiatus

Confession #1: I haven't menu planned consistently, if at all, in practical months;

Confession #2: I am blissfully unapologetic for it.

Somehow we've all managed to eat and most of the time the baby gets pretty healthy fare. Yes, we've begged several of our more extravagant and healthier meals off the in-laws, but hey, it's summer. I'm on vacation, damn it :) Plus, it's hot. And I'm tired. And NOTHING sounds good to me in the summer but hamburgers, fruit, salads, ice cream, ice cream, ice cream, strawberry lemonade, and sometimes pizza. So that's what we eat. Every day (slight exaggeration, but only slight.) Or cereal.

Alas, summer is almost over and fall is drawing near. Then I crave soups. And it's icky-ish outside, so I never want to leave my house...and my kitchen becomes vastly more appealing. And I cook. I have accumulated some pretty tasty looking recipes I'm dying to try....at least someday (i.e. not tomorrow, or the day after, or likely even the day after that, if you get my gist).

I'll be back when school is back in session. No, no, I don't go to school, nor do I have a child in one, but it seems like a reasonable marker for putting on my big girl pants, growing up, and eating (and spending, and cooking) more responsibly.

Dinner Menu-Small Mommy

I almost stuck to my pantry challenge last week. I broke down and bought some frozen chicken instead of using the canned because I wanted to make Christopher barbecued wings. But I don't feel too bad about it because it turns out he LOVED them. And that hardly ever happens!

So here are some dishes I will probably make in the next 2 weeks:

Chicken and white bean chili with cornbread

Meatloaf with loaded mashed potatoes and possibly fried okra. By the way, I figured out how to get Christopher and Nathan to eat meatloaf! I saw online that one mother cooked her meatloaf in muffin tins and covered them with barbecue sauce instead of ketchup. Well, it worked. Christopher loved it!

Barbecued chicken and red onion pizza on flatbread

Pasta primavera and garlic bread

Cheese enchiladas and salad

We bought an 11 lb box of medjool dates from our Palm Springs trip, so I'm going to try to find something to do with those.

I also bought a new blender today and I'm excited to start making milkshakes and smoothies.

Portobello Panini

I haven't had one of these sandwiches in years. Literally. I miss them. And I can't remember if I shared this recipe before or not.

This recipe is my own rendition of the Portobello Panini served at Pasta Pomodoro. I lived off of these the last month of my second pregnancy. I truly believe it's one of the reasons Christopher ended up being my biggest baby! ;0) Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Portobello Panini

Sliced french bread or Italian bread, I use french pre-sliced in the bread aisle
portobello mushrooms, I usually get the biggest ones so I can make nice large slices
olive oil
sliced gruyere cheese
crumbled feta cheese, I use the herbed
jar of basil pesto, nothing fancy
arugula, I usually chop it
diced tomatoes, any kind

This would be awesome on a panini maker. So if you have one, get it fired up now.

I spread pesto on only one slice of bread. Then pile everything in there, using as much or as little of each ingredient as you please; though you don't want to overfill. Drizzle with olive oil.

There really isn't an exact science to this. Just get everything on there and stick it in the maker.

Enjoy!

Summer Cuisine, by Tall Mommy

This week was hopeless: I have been SWAMPED with church obligations and the idea of even stepping foot in the kitchen was almost too much to bear...as a result, we have (and most likely will continue to) eaten dinners out. But next week, I'm getting my mojo back :)

I'm not set on an order, but here is what I'd like to have:

Monday: My take on a Chicken fajita tex-mex salad with this salad dressing by Sunny Anderson of Food Network:
Creamy Lime Dressing:
2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup sour cream
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Special equipment: blender
Blend all the ingredients except the olive oil until smooth. While machine is running, slowly drizzle in the oil until incorporated. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Tuesday: Chicken Pesto Sandwich with Roma tomatoes and mozzarella

Wednesday: These fish tacos with chipotle sauce

Thursday: A bug juicy burger with fries and a summer salad of some sort

Friday: Family Date night

Saturday: Maybe shrimp ceviche (the only menu item we didn't get to last week)

Sunday: I'm thinking homemade mac and cheese with bacon served with a veggie platter with chipotle ranch dip

Cooking from the Pantry: The Challenge

While it's nice and warm (or Hot, Hot, Hot!!) in the valley, it's an overcast, dreary 60 degrees in Santa Barbara. Yes, I'm complaining. I miss the warm sun.

So instead of thinking salads and watermelon, I'm thinking soups and chili. Even after 5 years of living here I still can't get used to the cold summers.

Anyway, another bummer about summer is that funds are low. But I'm going to look at these meager times as a challenge: to spend even less on meals and be more frugal.

This week is pretty much over, but I've decided that for the next week, I'm going to cook from the pantry (food storage) and the freezer. With the exception of some perishable items, e.g. milk, eggs, salad and such, I'm only going to use what we already have stored. Ooooh, this should should be fun!

I've compiled this list of meals I want to try-all with pantry items (with the exception of 2 or 3 canned goods I'll need to purchase):

Giada's Lentil Soup

Crockpot Red Beans and Rice

Chicken Enchiladas (modified version of this recipe. And using canned chicken)

Crock Pot Chili and skillet cornbread

Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole (modified version of this recipe. Also using canned chicken)

I'm pretty sure my 4 and 6 year old will starve next week. Or survive on cereal, since I'm sure they will hate everything on this list. We'll see how it goes.