Menu: April 25-May 1

• Spaghetti, Side Salad, and French Bread
  
• Man Pleasin' Jambalaya - This is one of Jared's favorite meals and I love it because it doesn't create a bunch of dishes for me to wash:) I do cut down on the rice (2.5 cups vs. 3) and the chicken by half. I also add Chipotle Tabasco Sauce for a little more heat.
  
• Still deciding on my make ahead meal...
  
• Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli.
  
• Brats & hot dogs, potato salad, and corn - I may also make a cheesecake because we're getting together with our college/career's group.

Mini Tortilla Pizzas

Today, I was out of bread at lunch so I decided to get creative. I knew that I had some leftover soft taco shells, salsa, pepperjack and cheddar cheeses, and chopped olives in the refrigerator. I figured that I could do the usual "Cheese Triangles" as my 3 year old son, R, calls quesadillas, but then an idea struck me, "Why couldn't I just make mini tortilla pizzas?!"

I took a flour tortilla (taco size), added 1 1/2 tablespoons of salsa, and then topped it with 1/4-1/3 cup shredded pepperjack/sharp cheddar cheese and some chopped black olives. I popped them in the oven for 3 minutes @ 400 degrees and then 2 minutes on broil. Voila! I pulled them out of the oven and took the pizza cutter to them. The kids LOVED them and ate 3 a piece. Overall, it was an easy and delicious lunch. You could also do this as an appetizer or snack.

National Pretzel Day

Today is National Pretzel Day and I LOVE pretzels! In fact, while I was prego with my almost-2-year-old daughter, E, I craved soft pretzels. Anytime we would go somewhere near a pretzel place I would tell my hubby that I NEEDED a pretzel. I have thus far been unable to find the perfect pretzel recipe or cooking method, so I am pleading with you to share a good pretzel recipe or process with me.

If you have a really good pretzel recipe please post a comment with either the recipe or a link to the recipe.

Thanks in advance!

No Menu This Week (April 18-24)

We have a ton of things going on this week and because of this am not posting a menu. I will be throwing things together, doing leftovers, or frozen meals (things that I have prepared and frozen). I will say that there are a year's worth of menus for you to mull over and attempt.

This week's menu last year - Click Here.

Your Turn: What are you having for dinners this week? OR What are you baking this week?

Weekend Baking

I am going to attempt a lot of baking this weekend. I have started off with a quadruple batch of Blueberry Banana muffins/bread. I made 2 dozen muffins and 3 loaves of bread, which are my hubby's favorite.

I am also going to attempt my sister's "secret" granola bar recipe. Wish I could share it with ya, but I've been sworn to secrecy. ;o) Instead, here's a link to search Allrecipes.com and Foodnetwork.com for the highest rated recipes.

Then, last of all, I'll be making some of the most delicious chocolate chip cookies. My aunt shares her recipe with each of us nieces when we get married. We will be delivering a few of them to some of the new people in our college/career's church group.

Pasta Alla Romana Improv

When working on this week's menu, I knew that I wanted to make a dish that included both spinach and ricotta cheese as I had picked some up for a good price. So I searched and searched and found a recipe for manicotti that used both and placed it on the menu. Then through a mix-up I didn't remember to pick up the manicotti noodles. I still needed to prepare a make-ahead meal and I had plenty of other pastas in the cupboard, so I improvised. This dish can be made using almost any pasta (except maybe spaghetti, fettuccine, angel hair, etc.).

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 pound ground beef, turkey, chicken, italian sausage, etc.
• salt and pepper to taste
• 8 ounce spinach, chopped
• 1 (12 ounce) package pasta
• Macaroni
• Penne or Penne rigate
• Rigatoni
• Ziti
• Rotini
• you could even use lasagna noodles!
• 1 1/2 cups (15 oz container) low fat ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 3 cups (26 oz. jar) spaghetti sauce
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions until translucent. Saute garlic for 1 minute and stir in ground meat. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until browned and crumbled. Add spaghetti sauce and basil. Set aside to cool.
2. In a frying pan, cook spinach in remaining olive oil till wilted, 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool; add sour cream, and ricotta cheese.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and parboil for half of the time recommended on the package. Drain and rinse with cool water.
4. Prepare the white sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and chicken bouillon. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, until it begins to bubble. Stir in milk and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in parsley.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
6. Spread 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
7. Layer in the following order:
• 1/2 pasta
  
• 1/2 cream sauce
• 1/2 ricotta mixture
• 1/2 red sauce
  
8. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes more.

Of course, if you want to stick with using Manicotti noodles, you can follow the original recipe (with my ingredient changes) - Manicotti Alla Romana

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 pound ground beef, turkey, chicken, italian sausage, etc.
• salt and pepper to taste
• 8 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 (12 ounce) package manicotti shells
• 1 1/2 cups (15 oz container) low fat ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups (26 oz jar) spaghetti sauce, divided
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onions until translucent. Saute garlic for 1 minute and stir in ground meat. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until browned and crumbled. Add spinach and cook till wilted. Set aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add manicotti shells and parboil for half of the time recommended on the package. Drain and cover with cool water to stop the cooking process and prevent the shells from cracking.
3. To the ground beef mixture add sour cream and ricotta cheese. When the mixture is cool, add the beaten eggs. Spread 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Gently drain the manicotti shells and carefully stuff each one with the meat and cheese mixture; place shells in prepared dish. Lightly cover the dish with plastic wrap or a clean, damp towel to prevent shells from cracking.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
5. Prepare the white sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour and chicken bouillon. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring constantly, until it begins to bubble. Stir in half and half and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in parsley. Pour or ladle the sauce evenly over the stuffed shells.
6. Stir the basil into the remaining spaghetti sauce. Carefully pour or ladle spaghetti sauce over the white sauce, trying to layer the sauces without mixing.
7. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes more.

Week 52 Menu (April 11-17)

WOW!! Has it really been a whole year? Hard for me to believe that I have kept the blog going for that long. I hope that this has been some help to anyone reading it. I know that it has helped me having my menus and favorite recipes on the blog. I know that there have been many weeks that my menus have been late making it online (including this week), but at least I got them up, right?

• Pulled Pork & Slaw, and carrot sticks
• Parmesan ranch baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and veggies.
• Manicotti Alla Romana, side salad, and French bread (or maybe even breadsticks...) - this dish can be made the night before and then refrigerated, which will be perfect for a Wednesday.
• Pineapple Chicken Stir-Fry (yes, I will be making this up as I go)
• Brats, grilled potatoes, & relish tray

Your Turn: What are you making this week for meals? What is your favorite make-ahead dish?

Amelia and the Avocados

I posted some info on avocados a couple of weeks ago and have since tried them as baby food. Here is a picture of our youngest, Amelia, eating some.

She is 7 1/2 months old and loved them. We had them sliced in our Mexican Chicken Soup for the same meal.

Week 51 Menu (April 4-10)

Christ the Lord is risen today, Hallelujah! Happy Easter to everyone. I love cooking for holidays and Easter is one of those that I especially love cooking for. I would usually make a large ham in the crockpot but this year we have decided to do something a little different for Easter dinner (everyone is kind of "hammed-out").

• Easter Dinner:
  Snacks - cheese and crackers, deviled eggs, and veggie tray
  Entreés - Grilled Steak w/onions and mushrooms (adults) and Hot Dogs (kiddos)
  Sides - Potato Salad, Baked Sweet Potatoes, dinner rolls
  Dessert - thought about doing a fruit tart (got a tart pan for Christmas) or my traditional Cheesecake, also thought about making a giant chocolate chip cookie or rice crispy bars (I picked up SEVERAL boxes for free with coupons)...
  
  
• Sweet potato waffles and scrambled eggs
  
  
• Steak Fajitas (I will try to get this recipe posted soon) and Mexican Rice
  
  
• Chef's Salad (Grilled Chicken, boiled eggs, ham, cheese, etc.) and maybe Bread Bowls
  
  
• Jalapeño Cheddar Mac'n'Cheese (I substitute jalapeño cheddar for the shredded cheddar and use skim milk to cut down on the fat a little) and Hot Dogs or maybe even Brats
  
  
• Saturday the hubby is taking me out for my birthday - dinner and a Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics game (got the tix for free). We'll be using a Restaurant.com gift certificate to help cut down on cost.

Other Easter Food Ideas

What are you planning to make for Easter?

Sweet Potatoes

I get 6-8 large sweet potatoes when they are on sale during Thanksgiving and Easter. I've prepared them a few different ways and loved them all! There are many health benefits to eating sweet potatoes so try some, besides, they taste DELICIOUS!!!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

• 2-3 large potatoes
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small chunks
• salt and pepper to taste

This is a very simple recipe that I decided to try instead of baked sweet potatoes. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Cut the potatoes up into 1" cubes, place in a grease 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, top with butter. Cover with aluminum foil and place into the oven, bake at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

Sweet Potato Fries

-5 large sweet potatoes (I only did 3)

-1 quart peanut oil (I used two and had problems with the oil wanting to boil over because of the high sugar content in the sweet potatoes, so just stick to one!)

-Kosher salt (we keep a small Tupperware container of Kosher salt in our cupboard for easy "sprinkling" access)

1. Cut the potatoes lengthwise into 1/4"-1/2" slices, then cut each slice lengthwise into 1/4"-1/2" fries.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed medium stockpot over medium heat, or in a tabletop deep fryer, to 365 degrees. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and set aside.
3. Fry each batch until golden brown, 3-4 minutes. Remove to the baking sheet lined with paper towels and season immediately with salt. Serve hot.

Tip: Sweet potatoes DO NOT get crisp like regular fries and get darker faster due to the high sugar content. Also, you can leave the skins on just be sure to clean them really well.

(The recipe is from Bobby Flay's cookbook Burgers, Fries, and Shakes - the "kiddos" a.k.a. my hubby bought me a signed copy for Mother's Day this year - which I would highly recommend if you like to make burgers, fries, and shakes)

[Crockpot] Baked Sweet Potatoes

3 medium-large sweet potatoes (you can really use however many you would like) 

3 Tbsp. butter, divided

3 Tbsp. brown sugar, optional - you could also sprinkle nutmeg or cinnamon instead

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Wash sweet potatoes. Prick each sweet potato with a fork three to four times. Wrap each sweet potato in aluminum foil.
3. Place potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for 45 - 60 minutes, depending on size. Smaller potatoes will be ready after about 45 minutes, but larger ones may take as much as one hour to bake. [You can also cook these up in the crockpot. Simply follow step 2 and then place in a slow cooker. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7 hours.]
4. Let your baked sweet potatoes sit in the foil for about 10 minutes before unwrapping. Cut each potato that you plan to use right away and top with butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar and/or cinnamon.

Maple Roasted Sweet Potato

Need some ideas for what to do with the leftovers (if there are any)?

• Sweet Potato Waffles
• Southern Sweet Potato Bread 
• Sweet Potato Pancakes

For more sweet potato ideas, click here.