It's that time again...This week, I will be prepping my contributions to Christmas dinner at grandma's (bread and my grandma's homemade noodles). I also made a giant pot of marinara last week as an offering to the freezer gods. So, the week's meals will take advantage of some of my efforts.
Sunday: Spaghetti, garlic bread & green beans - whole wheat spaghetti with homemade marinara. It was nothing fancy, just good ingredients. Even the munchkin enjoyed some spaghetti pieces and little bites of green beans.
Monday: Meatloaf (recipe), mashed potatoes & salad - Last Monday turned out to be a busy one, and we ended up eating grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner! So I'm recycling this meal to this week. Salad for me! :)
Tuesday: Taco soup - Tuesday is almost always Mexican night at our house...and it's usually tacos. This week, I plan to make a pretty simple soup. This is a wonderful recipe (below) that is easy to make with or without meat. Serve it with your regular taco toppings and tortilla chips.
Wednesday: Cheeseburgers/falafel & fries - I liked the falafel so much last week that I cooked up the remaining mixture for leftovers. And I'll be having it again this week! If we didn't have an abundance of hamburger buns in the pantry, I'd make my own with some of the bread dough for Christmas...
Thursday: Chili - I usually make two pots of chili...The Man likes his chili slightly sweet, but I do not. I also want mine meatless now. So, two pots of chili it is!
Friday: It's pizza night! I plan to use some Christmas bread dough to can make our own. We find most frozen pizzas to be lacking, and takeout takes a toll on our bank account. The Man and I enjoy being in the kitchen together, and we'll get to use some of that tasty marinara!
Saturday: Peanut Soba Noodles (recipe below) - I've tried an Asian dish using peanut butter before, and The Man wasn't fond of it. This time, I will try something different...we'll see if he likes it. :)
Taco Soup
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked & shredded (optional)
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 cans chicken broth, depending on desired consistency
1 can Rotel tomatoes & chiles, in liquid
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 can kidney beans, in liquid
1 can corn, drained
2 tablespoons chili powder
red pepper flakes to taste
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Combine ingredients in a crockpot (add chili powder, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper to taste). Cook on low overnight. Serve with tortilla chips and your favorite Mexican garnishes.
Peanut Soba Noodles
(4 servings)
8 ounces soba (buckwheat) noodles
2 T olive oil
1 bag frozen stir fry vegetables, thawed1 bunch green onions, sliced
2 T sesame oil
1 t grated fresh ginger
1/3 c peanut butter
2 T soy sauce
1/4 c hot water
1 T cider vinegar
1 t white sugar
crushed red pepper flakes to taste
Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling water until done. Drain.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a wok. Quickly cook the stir fry vegetables until just tender. Remove from the wok.
Heat sesame oil in the wok. Add onions and cook until tender. Add ginger; cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in peanut butter, soy sauce, water, vinegar, sugar, and red pepper flakes.
Toss noodles and vegetables with sauce, and serve.
Showing posts with label Peanut Butter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peanut Butter. Show all posts
12.18.2011
Kitchen Therapy
A stressful day filled with bad news about sick family members and friends has led me into the kitchen for some therapy. I don't mean eating...I mean baking.
For me, being in the kitchen is like meditation or yoga, even with The Munchkin following me around in her walker and running into the back of my heels! There is something so soothing about the whir of a Kitchenaid stand mixer combining raw ingredients into wonderful treats that will bring smiles to the faces of others...and myself.
And today, I've given the mixer and my oven quite a workout. It all started with a loaf of bread and my mom's Upside-Down German Chocolate Cake to complete an early Christmas dinner for some friends of the family. Once those were done and ready to be delivered, I turned to cookies to share with our coworkers and families.
One of The Man's favorite cookies is Paula Deen's Monster Cookies. I make them with chocolate chunks, M&Ms, and raisins. Sometimes I'll add white chocolate chips as well, but The Man prefers them without, so today I obliged. You can add to the base cookie whatever you and your family like. After all, it's your cookie!
The second cookie is one I found on Pinterest. The Lemon Burst Cookie could actually be done with any flavor cake mix. I just happened to have a lemon cake mix laying around, but I think chocolate would be wonderful (of course!) or even a french vanilla cake mix rolled in powdered sugar and cocoa. The possibilities are endless! Let your imagine run wild with this one.
In the end, the cookies turned out wonderfully, and the kitchen therapy really did help. The cookies are so wonderful, we are having a hard time staying out of them! I do hope to package some up for each of us to take to work to share with our coworkers, but I'll have to make sure we have some left! :) And, I found myself focusing on the food and enjoying the process instead of dwelling on the bad news of the day.
I had hoped to make more Cranberry Walnut Bagels, some Zucchini Muffins and Hot Cocoa Cookies, but The Munchkin wasn't going to allow that...so, maybe tomorrow after her 9 month checkup.
Stay tuned for more goodies!
For me, being in the kitchen is like meditation or yoga, even with The Munchkin following me around in her walker and running into the back of my heels! There is something so soothing about the whir of a Kitchenaid stand mixer combining raw ingredients into wonderful treats that will bring smiles to the faces of others...and myself.
And today, I've given the mixer and my oven quite a workout. It all started with a loaf of bread and my mom's Upside-Down German Chocolate Cake to complete an early Christmas dinner for some friends of the family. Once those were done and ready to be delivered, I turned to cookies to share with our coworkers and families.
One of The Man's favorite cookies is Paula Deen's Monster Cookies. I make them with chocolate chunks, M&Ms, and raisins. Sometimes I'll add white chocolate chips as well, but The Man prefers them without, so today I obliged. You can add to the base cookie whatever you and your family like. After all, it's your cookie!
The second cookie is one I found on Pinterest. The Lemon Burst Cookie could actually be done with any flavor cake mix. I just happened to have a lemon cake mix laying around, but I think chocolate would be wonderful (of course!) or even a french vanilla cake mix rolled in powdered sugar and cocoa. The possibilities are endless! Let your imagine run wild with this one.
In the end, the cookies turned out wonderfully, and the kitchen therapy really did help. The cookies are so wonderful, we are having a hard time staying out of them! I do hope to package some up for each of us to take to work to share with our coworkers, but I'll have to make sure we have some left! :) And, I found myself focusing on the food and enjoying the process instead of dwelling on the bad news of the day.
I had hoped to make more Cranberry Walnut Bagels, some Zucchini Muffins and Hot Cocoa Cookies, but The Munchkin wasn't going to allow that...so, maybe tomorrow after her 9 month checkup.
Stay tuned for more goodies!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)