Weekly Menu

As much as I love fall and by the end of summer can't wait to start cooking all the warm comfort foods, now I'm looking forward to warmer weather and fresh food. Gardens and farmers markets!  I have these romantic ideas of having the kids truly help prepare dinner and maybe even make a meal all by themselves.  I think it's time to start making them responsible for prepping a bit more of the dinner meals.  I find this easier with garden fresh foods--nothing to risk burning themselves.

Doesn't this look good!?

All 3 of them are pretty proficient at browning ground beef too.


Saturday--Thai Chicken Pizza, Grilled Asparagus, Salad
Sunday--Baked Pasta with Meat sauce, Salad
Monday--Spinach Quinoa Salad with Roasted Grapes, Pears, and Almonds
Tuesday--Portobello Pesto Pizza, Roasted Broccoli
Wednesday--Taco Salad
Thursday--Grilled Chicken Salad
Friday--Sushi Salad

Can you tell that I'm in a pizza and salad mood? :)

A few extra meals since everyone will be home (Spring Break) for lunches this week too:
Pizza Stuffed Potatoes
Chicken Enchilada Spaghetti
Broiled PB and Banana tostadas
Bean and Cheese burritos with guacamole
Frittata--kale, bacon, onion, potato

Weekly Menu

Lots of new recipes this week.  I've been having to make adjustments to my menus because of the truck delays to the grocery store. As much as I love getting my shopping done on Friday afternoons, I may have to change my day.  We'll see how today goes.

Saturday--Veggie & Egg Tower of Power  :) start chicken for Monday and perpetual broth for the week
Sunday--Four Corners Lentil Soup, Taco Pie (lunch)
Monday--Roasted Veggie Pizza with Chicken
Tuesday--Split Pea Sunshine and Saffron Soup
Wednesday--Quinoa Taco Salad
Thursday--Chicken Pot Pie, Salad
Friday--Fish Tacos

Blog Highlight: My New Roots

I just love it when I find fabulous blogs to read and get great recipes to build my weekly menus.  The newest one that I've found and fallen in love with is My New Roots.  The blog has been around for a handful of years, but I just stumbled upon it. Sarah, the blog's author, is doing so much and covering so many things that I am interested in and would love to do.  She's a holistic nutritionist and a vegetarian chef.  With many of her recipes she explains the nutritional importance behind the ingredients and she writes to educate us readers about the food.  She's got simple, real food recipes. Her photography is beautiful.

Black Bean Chocolate Chili Cherry Cookies

Split Pea Sunshine and Saffron Soup

Homemade Goat's Milk Ricotta on Toast with Roasted Fruits

Recipe Review: Sweet and Spicy Beef

I (and my husband helped while I nursed the baby) made the Sweet and Spicy Beef with Noodles for dinner. 

Sweet and Spicy Beef with Noodles via How Sweet It Is

The entire family loved it.  I just love it when there isn't any complaining (with the usual exception of John Paul having to "power through" the mushrooms) and the food all gets eaten! I did make a few changes to the recipe.  The biggest change I made was to serve it with rice instead of noodles.  Because I made it with rice, I decided to serve the simple stir-fry family style.  Other changes I made include adding 3 chopped carrots, just under a pound of grass fed steak (not the tenderloin that the original recipe calls for) thinly sliced, and since I needed to serve 5 people, I increased the amount of all the veggies (1 whole red bell pepper, a small onion, 9 baby bella mushrooms, 4-5 handfuls of sugar snap peas) and the soy sauce and honey.  I cooked up 2 cups of rice in 4 cups of chicken broth.  This amount served us well and provided a small single serving left over.  My husband said next time adding some fresh minced ginger would be delicious too.
We will definitely make this meal again!

Welcome!

Oh my, I'm off on another adventure!  I'm dedicating this blog to food, nutrition, health, kitchen, and home.  Pretty big span of topics, but I've got plans :)  I'll start off with our introduction and this week's menu.  I like to post a weekly menu on Fridays so that I can do the grocery shopping on Friday or Saturday morning.  I've got a husband and 4 kiddos to feed along with myself.  Kiddo number 2 has Celiac disease and dairy intolerant, kiddo number 1 has a dairy allergy (this means no casein), kiddo number 3 is sensitive/intolerant to both gluten and dairy, kiddo number 4 is still exclusively nursing because she's only 8 weeks old.  My desire for nutrition and health via food was super-charged when kiddo number 2 got his diagnosis of Celiac Disease a couple of years ago.

Saturday--Sweet and Spicy Beef with Noodles sub rice for the pasta
Sunday--Egg-Stuffed Baked Potatoes, GF/CF Waffles
Monday--Veggies and Noodles with Thai Coconut Curry
Tuesday--Meatloaf, quinoa, salad  and since it's Fat Tuesday I'll make Chocolate Strawberry Truffle Pie or Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Cake for dessert
Wednesday--grilled fish, Smashed Chickpea Salad Sandwiches on this wonderful bread
Thursday--taco pizza
Friday--grilled fish, soaked brown rice, salad