Nothing to review this week as I chose all tried and true recipes last week. I did, however, test out my new pressure cooker (thanks to my MIL both for getting it for me and showing me how to work it!) making some pinto beans to flesh out our Spanish Beef and Rice meal. Now that I'm over my intimidation, I definitely need to use it more often - what a time saver! I'm hoping to stock-pile some beans and chicken in the freezer for these first few months with a newborn in the house again :)

Another "easy" menu for this week. It's supposed to be pretty cold the next few days so I tried to pick some hearty/feel-good meals. I guess I'm on a roast turkey/chicken kick :)

Roast Chicken and Veggies with Breadmaker Rolls

Chicken Tacos (using leftover roast chicken)

Corn and Kielbasa Chowder

Cottage Cheese Blintzes with Strawberry Sauce

Turkey Breast, Mashed Potatoes and Veggies

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs with Carrots and Celery for Super Bowl Sunday!

Pizza (out)

Jan 4 - 10

Time to get back at it! Somehow this week's menu wasn't too tough to pull together. I had some roll-overs from last week (that I forgot to post) and a couple of old stand-bys we haven't had in a while. Here we go!

Smothered Bean Burritos

Spaghetti with French Bread

Turkey Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

Italian Wedding Soup

Roast Chicken and Veggies with Bread Machine Dinner Rolls

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs with Crunchy Veggies

Nov 2 - 8

I guess I must be back in the swing of things because tonight's menu-making process was agonizing! It's supposed to be much cooler this week so I can finally pull out some soups/stews/chilies with more enjoyment. :)


Mexican-style Quinoa (see recipe below)

Creamy Baked Ziti

Chili and Cornbread

Roast Chicken and Veggies (again, for company)

Chicken Fajitas (using leftover chicken)

Broccoli Cheddar Soup and Sandwiches

Mexican-Style Quinoa

1tsp cumin

1T olive oil

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup cilantro

1/2tsp minced garlic

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 cup diced tomato

1 cup black beans

1 cup rinsed quinoa, cooked according to package

Sliced avocados

Chop veggies and combine all ingredients while quinoa cooks. Add quinoa to veggie mix and chill for 15 min. Serve with avocados.

Oct 26 - Nov 1

Thanks to another round of sickness, I have some roll-overs for this week. We also have a pot-luck meal with our home group and Halloween dinner plans. Easy menu making this week!

Matzo Ball Soup with Chicken (for my recovering tummy)

Lasagna (for pot-luck, cheating with the frozen kind)

Roast Chickens and Veggies

Chicken Pot Pie (using leftover chicken)

Stuffed Flounder/Fish Sticks and Rice

Shepherd's Pie (some day we'll get to this one!)

March 22 - 28

Last week's menu had some big hits for us. Among them, the Cheesey Baked Pasta with Spinach and Artichokes (I now realize my typo last week - oops!), Mexican Meatball Soup and Hoisin Cashew Beef. The Ginger Noodles were ok, just nothing spectacular. I'll post the soup and pasta recipes next since they're not online yet. They're super easy and yummy!

This week has a rollover and a repeat because we liked it so much. We're also having guests one night so our chicken dinner will be featured once again.

Hamburgers with Carrot & Apple Slaw

Creamy Basil & Tomato Pasta

Spanish Tortilla with Red Pepper

Tacos

Roast Chicken and Veggies

Pizza (for Keenan and the kids - I'll be having a ladies night out at Pei Wei - woo hoo!)

Hoisin Cashew Beef

March 8 - 14

All of our new recipes for last week were quite tasty (Salmon Bites, Quinoa Burgers and Black Bean Soup). My only adjustment will be to use fresh salmon vs. canned next time.

Our old standby - Turkey Meatloaf - never ceases to amaze me. The kids just love it! Between the 3 of us (Keenan was at band practice) we ate 2/3 of a loaf! I'll post the recipe again with my modifications after this post. I think I'm going to make it every other week or so because it has so much good stuff in it and they actually eat it!

This week's back to basics. My family will be in town and they're not quite the adventurous eaters we are :)

Tamales and Beans

Broccoli Rice Casserole

Ravioli with Tomato Sauce and Garlic Bread

Roast Chicken with Veggies and Dinner Rolls

Hamburgers and Baked Beans

Paella

Feb 8 - 14

Review time again! We didn't get around to the Chicken and Cherries so that will have to wait until next time. However, the sausage crepesadillas and hearty winter veggie pilaf were both hits! I'm going to use the crepesadilla idea using breakfast sausage this next week and serve it, well, for breakfast. :)

Here's what I'll be making for a special Valentine's treat this week as well: Cake Pops!

Chicken and Cherries

Ravioli with Pesto and Tomatoes (We're having this again because it's quick, easy and all the ingredients are listed in the name!)

Sloppy Joes

Greek Couscous Salad with Chicken

Cheese, Crackers and Fruit

Roast Chicken with Veggies and Rolls

Firecracker Enchiladas

Jan 18 - 24

I have to toot my own horn for a minute here. I'm really getting the hang of roasting chicken/turkey! My father-in-law came up with a method for his holiday turkeys that leaves the meat - both white and dark - melting in your mouth. I decided to apply a similar technique to our chicken this last week and it was perfect!

Low and slow is the key. I prepped 2 whole chickens by stuffing each with 1/2 a head of garlic (sliced in half horizontally), 1/2 a lemon and a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary. The outsides were rubbed with olive oil and seasoned with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. I added about 1 can of chicken broth to the pan, but I later discovered this probably wasn't necessary. Cover the roaster and bake at 275 or 300 for about 4 or 5 hours. They're not "presentation worthy" (i.e. no dark crispy skin), but the flavor and juiciness more than make up for it. Making 2 at a time also allows for plenty of leftovers for another day - bonus! We love having roasted root veggies along side the chicken as well. With 2 chickens in the roaster and a small oven, I have to cook the veggies separately, but it's all worth the work and the wait.

On to this week...

Fish Tacos (see "C's" comment from last week for recipe)

Bacon and Kale Minestra

Uptown Down-Home Chili

Loaded Baked Potatoes

Chicken Pasta with Raisins, Pine Nuts and Rosemary (using leftover roast chicken)

Shrimp and Veggie Stir Fry

Pizza

Jan 11 - 17

Our warm and hearty meals sure helped us get through the cold snap that passed through last week. I guess I'd never realized how much food those recipes make, though. The good news is we have plenty of left-overs to get us through a night or two this week which means less cooking for me! Keenan and the kids really enjoyed the salmon cakes, but I thought they lacked a little something. The double dumpling stoup was pretty good, but definitely not your traditional chicken and dumplings. We love potato gnocci around here (the 2nd dumpling in the soup) so that was definitely a hit and meatballs always go over well with the kids. I'd have to say it was more a glorified chicken and noodle soup than anything.

I wasn't very inspired for a menu this week so I'm pulling out some old stand-bys. Maybe next week I'll be more creative :)

BLT's with chips and fruit

Smothered bean burritos with cilantro-lime rice (made with left-over homemade beans!)

Creamy Green Chilie Chicken Enchiladas (didn't get around to this one last week)

Homemade Turkey or Chicken Pot Pie

Roast Chicken with Veggies

Brats with Beans and Sweet Potato Fries

Nov 2 - 8

A quick review to start off this week. The sausage and tomato risotto was a big hit with us. It was basically like a pasta dish with sausage and a tomato sauce only with rice instead of pasta*. Risotto is becoming a favorite dish of mine - so rich and creamy. I just wish it wasn't so labor intensive. It's definitely worth the time and effort, though. Yum yum :)

* Update: I forgot to mention that I replaced the plain chopped tomoatoes with fire-roasted and garlic flovored ones. They caught my eye in the store and I think they really helped round out the dish.

Tex-Mex Chicken and Beans (roll-over from last week)

Cheesey Chorizo Strata

French Dip Paninis

Paella

Curry Pot Roast

Spinach Lasagna

Roast Chicken and Veggies