Cooking Up A Family

Monday

Aug302010

menu planning!

Monday, August 30, 2010 at 2:14PM

I am late with menu planning this week, I just could not decide what to do about this weekend. We do not plan our weekends very well in advance. Once the weekend is upon us we end up with food that gets wasted. I hate when this happens and since its labor day weekend I am sure we will be doing something. My goal for this weekend is organization. I dont want to go out too much until I feel that some areas of the house are in tip top shape! So I decided to plan for most of our meals at home. Lets hope that sticks!

Monday:

Breakfast: toast and peanut butter
Lunch: Grilled Turkey and Gouda Cheese Sandwiches
Dinner: Korean Beef Rice Bowls (wasnt able to make last night so doing it tonight!)

Tuesday: Noodle Night

Breakfast: yogurt and granola
Lunch: PB&Js, fruit and chips
Dinner: Stuffed Shells, Salad and Roasted Broccoli

Wednesday: Salad/Soup Night

Breakfast: Waffles
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Strawberry Ham Brie Panini, Homemade Fries and Fruit Salad

Thursday: Mexican Night

Breakfast: Waffles and Fruit
Lunch: Salad and Fruit
Dinner: Cilantro Fajitas

Friday: Grill Night

Breakfast: Yogurt and Granola
Lunch: Grilled Ham and Cheese, Fruit Salad and Green Beans
Dinner: Chicken and Pineapple Quesadillas and Sweet Potato Fries

Saturday: Pizza Night

Breakfast: Monkey Bread
Lunch: PB&J's, Chips and Fruit
Dinner: out

Sunday: Anything Goes

Breakfast: Yogurt and Granola
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Steak, Baked Potatoes and Salad

What is on your menu this week?

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menu planning monday

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Thursday

Aug262010

my favorite salad dressing!

Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 3:43PM

Courtney

I have started making all the salad dressing we use and I really love it more than anything. Whenever I have to choose a store bought dressing I get sad..it just cant compare to our dressings at home. My friend who is a wonderful cook and a registered dietain shared this recipewith me! I adore this salad dressing, it adds such great flavor to any salad you can imagine. I especially love it with a simple bed of lettuce, some strawberries and parmesean cheese (or goat cheese if you like the taste!). Easy peasy, delish and filling! It does have quit a bit of sugar in it...but its easily adjustable. You can lower the amount and still have a great tasting dressing. I have also made it with honey and it works out wonderfully!

I usually make a big enough batch to fit into a wide mouth mason jar. (I also have a huge love affair with mason jars..I use them for everything!!) Everytime I put the dressing in the fridge the olive oil would harden up! One day I wanted the dressing ASAP so I heated it up for a second in the microwave and all the sudden it no longer gets hard in the fridge.

Dressing:

2/3 C oil
1/2 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 C wine vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Put all ingredients into mason jar and shake well! Pour on your salad and enjoy!

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salad,

salad dressing

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Thursday

Aug262010

Pioneer Woman's Chicken and Pineapple Quesadillas, oh how I love thee!

Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 12:31PM

Courtney

This is one of my favorite easy to make dinner. I adore fresh pineapple and BBQ sauce so why not marry the two together! (I had a very unhealthy obsession in high school with a pizza just like this) Anyway this little recipe is great and helps remind me of those wonderful day long ago and it helps that it is super yummy too!

I love the zip of the jalapeno in this recipe. I have used both fresh jalapenos and candied jalapenos I got at our local berry farm. Let me tell you, those jalapenos are amazing! At first they taste a little bit sweet and than.....BAM....your sinus are clear as can be! They are HOT, too hot for me and I love HOT stuff!Even though they are too hot I keep eating them...its my unhealthy obession of 2010!

pioneer womans chicken and pineapple quesadillas

Pioneer Woman's Grilled Chicken & Pineapple Quesadillas

Ingredients

8 whole Flour Tortillas
Butter Or Margarine
2 cups Grilled Pineapple, Sliced
3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
Salt And Pepper, to taste
3 cups Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
1 whole Jalapeno, Sliced
Cilantro
3 Tablespoons Barbecue Sauce

Preparation Instructions

Grill pineapple: cut wedges, stick on skewers, and grill over low heat. Cut into slices.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and Cajun spice (or cumin/cayenne, etc.) Drizzle olive oil on a grill pan and grill on both sides until done, brushing with barbecue sauce. Set aside and slice into very thin slices.

Warm griddle over medium heat and put sizzling butter or margarine in the pan. Slightly warm and toast tortillas on both sides, then remove from griddle and set aside. (I just place ours on the panini maker and it does all the work!)

To assemble, sprinkle four browned tortillas with grated Monterey Jack. Arrange chicken slices evenly over the surface. Add pineapple slices and jalapeno slices. Sprinkle on cilantro. If desired, drizzle extra barbecue sauce over the top. Add second browned tortilla on top of each one. (You’ll have four complete quesadillas at this point.)

Add to oven to warm, or back to skillet to warm, until cheese is melted. Cut each quesadilla into six wedges. Serve with sour cream, pico de gallo, and lime wedges.

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Wednesday

Aug252010

something I learned....

Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 1:17PM

Courtney

from losing Ashlyn is to love these two more than I ever knew I could

my girls

I just cannot get enough of them...

hold your babies and enjoy them as much as you can...they are worth it!

eisley

i melt at these eyes!

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avery leigh,

eisley,

love

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Monday

Aug232010

menu planning...school is starting!!

Monday, August 23, 2010 at 6:00AM

Courtney

This week is a first for us....Avery is headed off to preschool. She is so darn excited to go, and I am very excited to see how it goes! She will only be going two days a week for a few hours but it will be enough for her to learn some different things! On the days she is not in school I will supplement and follow whatever she is learning at school just to help get her going! One day of the week she will actually be staying to eat lunch and play a little bit longer so I have to make sure that we have something good for her to take!

This week we are locking down on a good schedule and letting go of our summertime slack schedule. Avery is a great sleeper when you put her down to sleep but if you let her decide a bedtime...she would stay up super late! Which is wonderful cause she is super flexible but with school this wont be allowed! We are going to have a regular bedtime routine for both the girls and also have a morning routine even if we are not headed out to preschool that particular day.

My menu for last week got really screwed up... I was sick a few days...other days too hot to make a meal and other days too lazy. I had lots of salad and crackers and B had lots of cereal. This has to end this week since our summer is over starting Tuesday. We did eat one thing last week and it was great...come back in a few days for the recipe and my overall review! (if you cant wait for the recipe...its here over at The Picky Apple!)

Chicken Artichoke Pasta

Now on to the menu planning for the week....... I am changing it up this week, well actually the rest of August and September using a planning style of certain types of meals each week. Everyday will have a theme and you just change out the recipe.

Monday: Italian Night