Week 2 Menu Plan

Overall, I think that week 1 was a success. Even if we didn't do things exactly that way Rachael would've, we sure had fun cooking and making a mess of pans for my dear husband to clean up. Oh, the unsung heroes!



Here is what is on the Menu Plan for this week:
(This is for anyone who might be following along or looking forward to trying a recipe or two...)

Sunday: #284 - For Neil Diamond: Tangy Cherry Chicken
Monday: #309 - Turkey Tacos
Tuesday: #118 - Peasant Soup
Wednesday: #28 - Pasta with Spinach, Mushrooms, Pumpkin, and Hazelnuts
Thursday: #212 - Broccoli Frittata with Goat Cheese and BLT Bread Salad
Friday: #8 - Mega Meatball Pizza and Zippy Italian Popcorn (for Family Movie Night!)
Saturday: #202 - Fall Minestrone

With a cold snap coming our way this coming week, I'm excited to put a couple of soup recipes on the menu! I love the warmth of a soup.

Pistachio Pesto over Linguini

Dear Readers,

          We made a three star dish: Pistachio Pesto. Yum and Mmmm... It may look green but it was delicious, cost around $10.00, and there's leftovers for lunch tomorrow! The recipe included zucchini, pistachios, parsley, Parmesan, pasta, and garlic. Of course, there's more, but there's too many ingredients to tell. I accidentally burned myself, but was able to finish the dinner with mom.

                                                                      ~Sophia

Mom's Turn: We quickly tended to Sophia's burn, and after some ice therapy, she persisted in getting back in the kitchen to finish out the dinner. She is my persevering daughter, for sure. (And her burn is already looking much better.)

My youngest daughter decided she wanted to be on picture duty, so she grabbed my camera and started taking shots of the process. I think she did a pretty good job. She is very creative, so it just stands to reason she might just be good behind a camera. Here are just a few of her shots...

Sophia was taking care of the pasta and watching the zucchini and garlic cook, while I was running around getting the sauce put together. She did a lot to put this dish together.

Here we are (me with a goofy face, and Sophia looking as beautiful as ever) just tossing the whole thing together right before plating it on our family's favorite pasta serving dish below.

And "Ta-Daaaa!" The finished dish... Pistachio Pesto over Linguini. It was very good. The only change I would make is to make it a little saucier. We added some pasta water to it, but I would add more, I think.

Our family's overall rating was 3 stars. Try it for yourself and let us know what you think! We love comments. Out of respect for copyright laws, we do not feel it is right to list out the recipe on our blog, but you can buy the book at Amazon.com.

Total Cost = $10.00 for 5-6 large servings

Pancetta-Wrapped Shrimp Supper Salad

Dear Readers,

          #319 was our next stop as we continued our 365 days of cooking 30 minute meals. It was so good! Maybe not as good as Turkey Saltimbocca, but I thought it was very close to being as good. It was fairly easy. We just took some greens from our garden: romaine, butter lettuce, and parsley, and made up a delicious salad. Yum! We wrapped the shrimp in pancetta and browned them. To the salad, we added tomatoes, the pancetta-wrapped shrimp, and a dressing mom put together.  I definitely enjoyed cooking this one as well as eating it!
                                                               
                                                                            ~ Sophia

 Total Cost = $11.00 for 5 servings

Banana Bread Surprise!

This was a complete thrill to me! I came home today to find my Sophia had gotten inspired to make banana bread! ...without my help, mind you.

It turned out completely yummy, moist, and delicious! I'm seeing so many benefits to this project. And as a homeschooling family, I love that at 11 years old, she is learning these practical tools and loving it.

                                                                               ~Mom (...um, I mean... Steph)

Mostly Green Curry Chicken Over Coconut Jasmine Rice

Dear Readers,

          We made a really good dish. And can I say, Happy New Year! Like it is said above, we cooked "Mostly Green Curry Chicken Over Coconut Jasmine Rice" tonight. I had everyone give a vote, and I heard 4's all around. We came, we saw, we cooked, we conquered!

                                                                         ~ Sophia

          As you can see, there were some thumbs up at our table tonight. (My daughter picked out the flowers for the centerpiece.) This recipe required some chopping prep-work, but the creaminess of the coconut milk mixed with the parsley, cilantro, and lime juice was divine! This is definitely a curry-inspired dish, and a nice change from the normal.

                                                                         ~Steph

P.S. On a side note, I am loving the "sit down at the dinner table" time we have as a family these days. This project is a great reminder to me of the importance of connecting in this way.

Happy New Year!!!! Enjoy!

3-Day Menu Plan

          Since we started early in our project, we needed to make up a few days of menu planning to finish out our week. After realizing the cost of our delicious dinner last night... I decided to search the book for some lower cost meals. Feeding a family of 5 on a budget is still important! Here is what we've come up with to end out our week.

#319 - Pancetta-Wrapped Shrimp Supper Salad
#249 - Pistachio Pesto over Linguine
#317 - Zucchini Pizza

We hope you'll pick up the book at your local library, or on Amazon.com. With just a few recipes under our belt, we're sure you'll love it too!

Ringing In the New Year with Chicken Saltimbocca!

Dear Readers,

          Happy New Year! We made Turkey Saltimbocca Roll-ups with Mushroom and White Bean Ragout, and Spinach with Pancetta and Onions. Whew! A long name, I know. Instead of turkey, we used chicken because it was cheaper. And can I say, it was good! Five stars from everyone in our family! I think Rachael Ray likes things spicy, because her White Bean Ragout had some kick to it! And there's nothing wrong with that... just, it's not for us. It was truly a delicious meal for the New Year.

                                                                         ~ Sophia

Mom here!

This dish was delish. Thank you, Rachael Ray! The chicken roll-ups were the hit, but I personally loved the spinach side as well. The white bean and mushroom ragout was a little spicy, so I would turn down the red pepper flakes on that dish. All in all, the family loved this one and it's going in the family cookbook. And just look at the beautiful end result above! YUM!!

Total Cost = $31 for 5 people (Yikes! This is a good meal to shop ahead for and stockpile the items you can at sale prices!)
Currently rated: 5 stars

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