Weekly Menu

I actually went grocery shopping on Sunday (my usual day) and I planned out the week. I don't have any of my farm box vegetables left, I used them or they just expired. It was a rough week- I felt like I was hardly home to cook and I wasted :(

Sunday (last night): Pasta with Pancetta and Leeks, Parmesan bread (frozen) from local bakery

Monday: Soy Ginger Glazed Pork Chops, Vegetable Fried Rice

Tuesday: Jim is at pool, Leftovers or Free-for-all

Wednesday: Buca Chicken (I've never blogged about this??? I will.)

Thursday: Garlic and Herb Pizza (new crust recipe from Baking Illustrated) with turkey pepperoni, green bell pepper, and black olives (maybe whatever else I get from the market on Wednesday)

Friday: Chipotle Chicken Skewers, sweet corn

Saturday: Spaghetti (I always add mushrooms, bell pepper, and ground beef to a jarred sauce), Garlic toast (my sister's technique)


Wow, some of our favorite rotation meals and I can't believe I haven't blogged about them before. I will!

Pasta with Pancetta and Leeks

This will be added to our meal rotation :) Jim really liked this, as I knew he would because it's a PW recipe- cream, butter, a little wine, pasta, fancy bacon! This was one easy recipe too. Two things to chop- the leeks and the pancetta. And then saute, add ingredients, and then serve. It really did come together in 15 minutes like PW said.

And there is BACON. Yum.

We thought a grilled chicken breast would be good with this, making the pasta more of a side dish. A salad would have been good too. I really didn't make much besides this pasta, it seemed wrong and indulgent to just have it without a salad or a vegetable so next time I will be healthier!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Pasta with Pancetta and Leeks.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Okay, first, this was more like a cake. The recipe said to use a bundt pan so I did gladly, it really doesn't get used often enough. But this was moist and chocolatey and goooood. I even put chopped pecans in this and didn't mind them! (I'm not a big fan of nuts.)

I will definitely make this again. It is a great way to use zucchini. I am concerned about how much sugar is in this recipe, and I did reduce it slightly by 1/2 cup. Maybe next time I would experiment with using honey or applesauce in place of some sugar too? I don't know...



We kept half of the "bread" around our house but I froze the other half in slices for my sister and brother-in-law. He loves zucchini bread!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bread.

Colorful Bento

There's nothing too special about this lunch bento. I just like that there are so many colors. The macaroni and cheese is getting OLD. I wish this boy would eat something else!! I am trying. Oh, I also like the kiwi flower :)

Spaceship Theme

This lunch was a little heavy on the fruit but it's been our constant around here. James LOVES LOVES his grapes. And the cute little mandarin oranges. I made these little star shaped tortilla "sandwiches" with turkey and American cheese. I found out that James doesn't really care for the cheese? Weird. I am sort of glad- I've always found American cheese to taste really artificial, except in grilled cheese sandwiches. Mmmmm.

I just LOVE the little cutters that James' Tia Kristina sent over from Japan. I'm finding them so handy and fun for James. I've given him a slice of cheese and the little cutter shapes and he loves to cut them too. I cute all of these and put them on the edge of his plate. He ate only the tortilla shapes. I know that next time I should use sliced cheddar. The stars? He took a few bites. Progress :)

Grilled Chicken (and shrimp) with Lemon Basil Pasta

Dinner last weekend was a collaborative effort. My sister brought over some wonderful wine and an interesting shaved asparagus salad (I can post later if there is a request for the recipe- I think shaved asparagus, olive oil, shaved parmesan, pepper?) . I swear, I learn the best kitchen tips and ideas from my sister. I would never have thought of using asparagus this way but I'm going to have to try it soon!

We made a Pioneer Woman recipe because you just can't go wrong with that. I prepped the cheese and squeezed the lemon juice (4 lemons) early and that made it a lot easier. The sauce pulled together quickly and the chicken was great (salted and peppered only, not following the PW directions), and the Garlic Butter shrimp from the butcher was an impulse buy that worked out well! We don't deal with uncooked shrimp around here, and now I just don't know why we haven't. They are so much better than the precooked stuff I usually make!

The pasta was so lemony and fresh. The basil came from my basil plants. Everything was really good!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta.

Ice Cream theme

When James sees a Dairy Queen lately he will try to bargain with me about when we can go get an ice cream cone. I thought a lunch with some other kinds of ice cream cones might tide him over until it's time to hit DQ again!

I've been making simpler lunches because he doesn't eat much :(

Orange, cheese cut-outs, and PB&J in the shape of ice cream cones! I added a bit of jam on the outside to look like strawberry ice cream. James enjoyed the cheese the best.

Refrigerator Pickles with Jalapenos & Garlic

Last week's farm box had several cucumbers, more than I knew I would chop for salads. I did a quick google search for easy pickles and I found this recipe. I think it's a prety quick, basic recipe. It doesn't involve an official canning process- I made the brine like liquid and put everything in a very large ziploc bag for several days. I actually forgot about them, pickling away in the bottom of my vegetable crisper until today. I tried one and they were good! Spicy even! My addition of jalapenos, garlic, and red pepper flakes really made a difference.

I put them in small canning jars so I can give some to my sister and maybe my Mom if I see her soon. I plan on snacking on them whenever possible :)

You can see that I cut some spears but also some rounds. I wasn't sure what I would use them for so I did several different cuts.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Refrigerator Pickles.

Birthday Dessert

Jim requested his favorite dessert, his beloved Chocolate Intensity Cake. I also just had to make an ice cream and I decided to make a ginger flavored ice cream- White Chocolate & Fresh Ginger. I used an extra little bit of ginger because he loves it so much and I also added a splash of his ginger liqueur, knowing that alcohol helps an ice cream stay smooth and creamy (it doesn't freeze rock solid).

The Chocolate Intensity Cake is a cake I've made several times. It's a flourless chocolate cake- I don't even know if it's cake-like, its a buttery chocolate :) The ingredient list is short- lots of butter, lots of bittersweet chocolate, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Like the name, its just chocolate intensity. And then there is a chocolate ganache on top. Yum.

So the ice cream was pretty intense too. It was definitely gingery. The picture may look simple but the flavors were very in your face. A little of each goes a long way! The cake makes a single 9 inch cake, and it probably has 8-10 servings.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Chocolate Intensity Cake.

Click here for the stolen recipe for White Chocolate & Fresh Ginger Ice Cream, from none other than David Lebovitz, though this is NOT in the ice cream bible The Perfect Scoop.

This Chocolate Intensity cake was from last year's Father's Day. I wonder why I didn't blog about it before??

Vegetable Fried Rice

For my husband's birthday today he requested a few things- Sweet and Sour Chicken, Chocolate Intensity Cake (have I really not blogged about this one yet?? tomorrow...), and White Chocolate Ginger Ice cream (will blog about this one tomorrow). I decided that I would try to make a fried rice side dish and found a perfect recipe on a cooking blog. I liked that I used mostly fresh vegetables and didn't use a frozen mix. I could have, but I actually kind of like my vegetables tender crisp. The peas were frozen though. I love me some peas.

My in-laws came over for dinner so I wanted to make a dinner that was relatively low fuss while they were here. I hate to be fussing in the kitchen when there are guests. I chopped all of the vegetables ahead of time, made the steamed rice in the morning, and then made the entire dish early. I reheated the fried rice, which kind of felt like cheating, but it was worth it. The sweet and sour chicken was also made ahead of time because it does take an hour to slow bake.

So dinner was a success! Jim said he really, really liked the fried rice. It was some effort to assemble but I like having the option of making all of this at home instead of ordering take-out :) I know, take-out is easier but I'm sure my version was healthier!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Vegetable Fried Rice.

What's in your veggie drawer?

I'm posting this because I saw this topic on one of my new favorite blogs.

I have to admit that I just have too much in my vegetable drawers right now.

On the left I have my grocery store vegetables: bell pepper, lemons, cucumber, cabbage, ginger, carrot sticks, green onions.

On the right I have my famer's market and CSA farm share items: lemon cucumbers, a few different kinds of squash, swiss chard, kohlrabi, and way underneath I have some cucumbers that I'm making into pickles. I used two English cucumbers from my CSA box. I'll share that recipe in a few days when I've tasted them.

On the shelf above the drawers: sweet corn from the grocery store (MN grown), CSA broccoli, CSA lettuce blends, farmer's market sugar snap peas.

To use up some vegetables tonight we're having Dijon potato salad, oven fried chicken, and probably some grilled zucchini. I'm also going to chop up that kohlrabi and just try it raw like some of my FB friends suggested.

Quick Watermelon Sangria

This is my own recipe! I had a HUGE craving for 7up on my way home from FMSC. No, I am not pregnant. I think it was a hot day and I was thirsty. I started thinking about the wine in my fridge and the watermelon cubes that were just waiting to be used. I mixed all of those together and I find it very yummy.

3-4 watermelon cubes

1/3 glass red wine (I have a Red Truck mini barrel, it's like a little keg in my fridge!)

2/3 glass 7up

handful of frozen blackberries

As the watermelon cubes melt it gets kind of frothy and chunky on the bottom. Yum. I suppose these are a little on the weak side but I'm not the biggest drinker. They appealed because they were fruity and cold! My first glass went down so well! Who am I kidding? I've just finished my second glass! :)

Watermelon Juice popsicles & cubes

Watermelon was on sale and I bought a whole big one but I didn't think we'd eat it all. I was right. I cut about 1/4 of it into cubes and threw it in the blender. My friend Ann had given me some popsicle molds so that was my plan. I also knew that I should make some ice cubes with the juice because they would be great in sangria :)

Peach Ice Cream

David Lebovitz. Love him. Another great ice cream recipe. I really liked this recipe because I didn't need to make a custard. Ice creams are worth the work but sometimes it's just nice to mix some ingredients together and churn it later. Yay!

Simple- peaches, sugar, heavy cream, sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla. Yum! The ice cream was light and just peachy enough. It only used 4 peaches and they were great peaches, just from the grocery store. We aren't lucky enough to have peach trees in MN- not that I know of..

Click here for the stolen recipe for Peach Ice Cream.

Repeat

I've made this before but we just love it. The flavors are just incredible and it feels like a treat to eat it but it's not bad for you, I don't think. Chipotle Lime Chicken tacos. Yum.

It seemed like a bad idea to have the oven on for several hours on a hot day but really it was only at 250 degrees and it didn't make a difference.

This was the sauce after the blender. I could have used it just like that but I knew it would just get better after a few hours getting happy with the chicken in the oven.








Taco fixings: sour cream, lime wedges, extra sauce, cilantro, tomatoes (I had lots to use up) with lime juice and cilantro.



Mmmmm, leftovers!

Blackberry Cheesecake

Cub has blackberries, 2 for $1. ONE DOLLA! So I bought four packages and didn't have a plan. I figured ice cream or jam. The very next day Pioneer Woman posted a Blackberry Cheesecake recipe as if she read my freaking mind about blackberries.

I decided to go mini and freeze most of them. I also decided to make half a recipe since I also have banana bread and zucchini bread I can make (and freeze, give away probably too.)




Jim and I had a mid afternoon snack of one mini each. We are freezing the rest- probably for tomorrow! Ha.

The cheesecake is the easiest, basic (and very creamy) cheesecake recipe yet. I can see myself making this one again and drizzling hot fudge sauce on it. Or some other fruits. Endless possibilities- thanks PW!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Blackberry Cheesecake.

My modifications- mini cheesecakes at 375 for 15 minutes. I drizzled the sauce on each cheesecake and refrigerated for an hour before popping them out. I baked the second round of cheesecakes soon after.

Oh! And another use for my pancake pen- I put the cheesecake batter in the pancake pen and I was able to squirt out the batter so neatly and quickly. LOVE!

June 30

I am a Farmer's Market addict, or maybe just a fan. I went to another city's market yesterday and bought some great vegetables (garlic, red onions, broccoli, zucchini), and today I found some different things that I wanted at my local market- basil, cilantro, and bread. Mmmm sweet bread.

I made more pesto with the basil, supplementing my own little harvest. And I added the cilantro to my Roasted Corn Salad for tonight's dinner.

The bread I'm saving for tomorrow for sweet toast or maybe french toast again. Mmm. It has maple, cranberries, walnuts, and raisins. It's a local bakery that I have never heard of. He said that he sold 75 loaves in the first hour of the market, and he was calling the bakery to have them bring over more bread. I have to check out the bakery! I guess they have homemade soups too. Soup and bread? I'm so there!!

June 29

Farmers Market finds (Andover). Broccoli ($2), red onions ($1), red potatoes ($3), garlic ($1), zucchini ($2).

Buttermilk Broccoli and Carrot Slaw & Grilled Pork Chops with Rhubarb Honey Sauce

I cleaned out my refrigerator today and it felt good. I actually know what's in there! So I started to look for recipes that would make use of what I had. I bought bone-in pork chops yesterday that were on sale (buy one, get one free), but I had no idea how to make them. I used my trusty Google Reader to do a search for "pork chops" within my favorite cooking blogs. Sure enough, one of my blogger friends had recently grilled pork chops and the word "rhubarb" popped out at me! I was thrilled. We have so much rhubarb and to find a way to use it in something that is not baked or with lots of sugar- SCORE!

So I set to work on making the citrus mint brine that the recipe suggested. I didn't have orange pineapple juice but I did have orange juice and some pineapple tidbit cups. So I used 4 ounces orange juice and an entire pineapple cup with the juices and fruit. I figured the fruit would add a little extra something something. And lucky me that I had just frozen my fresh mint! It was only $1 for the entire bunch but I hated to waste it. I read one one of my other blogs about how to freeze herbs, and so I was trying it out. I didn't know it would only freeze for a day before I'd use it though.

So as the pork chops sat in the refrigerator, doing their thing, I made this coleslaw. I really just found a recipe for the basic idea of coleslaw. I had a head of broccoli that was beginning to wilt so it was perfect for a slaw. I really really loved this buttermilk dressing! (And wow, I actually had buttermilk in the fridge!) The little bit of cider vinegar was awesome. Who knew that coleslaw dressing is just buttermilk, mayo, apple cider vinegar, and salt and pepper?

Other refrigerator/pantry items that I used: chopped red onion, baby carrots (shredded), sliced almonds.



So I didn't really follow the recipe exactly. Smitten Kitchen didn't use carrots. She also added dried cranberries but I didn't have those.

Back to the chops- I made the rhubarb sauce ahead of time. It was easy enough but it took longer than I thought. It didn't demand constant attention, but I needed to stir it every 4-5 minutes for a total of like 20 minutes I think. I liked the sauce but I think I would take it easy on the cinnamon and allspice if there is a next time.

The porkchops cooking on my grill pan-



Dinner!


Jim and I liked the porkchops but we really liked the slaw. We had second helpings of it!

Click here for the stolen recipe for Broccoli Slaw.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Pork Chops with Rhubarb Honey Sauce.

Strawberry Extravaganza!

I went a little nuts today with the strawberries. My son and I went strawberry picking and we came home with 5 pounds! I didn't really have a plan but I found some easy things to make that didn't require a lot of planning or extra supplies.

First up, strawberry preserves. I don't have a finished picture, like on toast, but so far so good. I opened a jar and it seems to have set well and it's nice and chunky with fresh strawberries. It's also a little tart from the lemon zest and juice. Yum.





Second, the Strawberry Rhubart Tarts. I went searching on one of my favorite food blogs for anything with strawberries and rhubarb and this was perfect. It was something new when I really wanted to go with something familiar, like last summer's Strawberry Handpies, so I'm glad I headed into the unknown. I really am very glad that I made these, they are wonderful! I loved that I got to use my little tartlet pans and they are a perfect portion size. (We tend to overeat our sweets in this house :)

I was a little confused when I followed the recipe at the end, mixing the strawberries and rhubarb with cinnamon, brown sugar, and an egg. I figured it would work out well. Uh, yeah!

In between making the top two delicious items I was making Strawberry Frozen Yogurt, from none other than David Lebovitz. So easy! I think I might have found my favorite way to use my ice cream maker. It feels healthier using organic plain yogurt instead of the heavy cream and whole milk, and eggs, and lots of sugar.

It felt like all day I was cutting strawberries, mixing with it sugar, and letting it get happy for a while before using it in my cooking/baking. Lots of dishes going on! It was all so worth it! I'm trying to decide if I should go strawberry picking again next week- maybe make a whole pie! Oh my Jimmy would love me so much if I made a true strawberry rhubarb pie! (Did you notice that every sentence in this paragraph ended in an exclamation mark?!)

Yes, exciting stuff! Great day! :)

I am sharing some of the jam (it made two half pint jars), probably with my mother-in-law, and then I froze the remaining tarts after Jim and I each had one for dessert. I'm sure Jim will dig in tomorrow again though :)

Click here for the stolen recipe for Strawberry Preserves.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Strawberry Frozen Yogurt. (Perfect Scoop)

Click here for the stolen recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Tarts.