My Garden Plan

As many of you probably already know, I'm a farmers' market junkie and a bit of a hippie (I make my own compost...)! Every Wednesday last summer, my boss would let me come into work an hour late so I could go to the market and shop for fresh, local produce. I would then come home and make mounds of baby food for The Munchkin. And I loved every minute of it!

I love being able to talk to the people who grow the food...I can learn about their process (they love food as much as I do), and I can ensure that my family is getting the best quality produce. And I'm doing what I can to support the local economy. It's also nice to know that what we will be eating was picked at its peak and just days prior to consumption, as opposed to grocery store produce. (Grocery store produce is picked early and forced to ripen during or after shipping, which results in less taste and fewer nutrients. And the produce is shipped, on average, 1500 miles just to get to your plate, consuming a large amount of fossil fuels...)

Ok, I'm stepping down off the soapbox now! :)

Anyway, I plan to still shop at the farmers' markets this summer, but I have also planned to grow quite a bit of the food for our household. Since we've lived here, I've grown a few things, but never enough to really have a freezer or canned stock.

Two summers ago, before I found out I was pregnant, I constructed 4 raised garden beds from salvaged decking materials. (I thought the build was so exhausting because I was out of shape...I found out a few weeks later that I was pregnant!) Anyway, because I was so tired for the first few months of my pregnancy, I didn't make any progress with the gardens. Then, last year, having a newborn and a full time job made it difficult to get out and do any serious gardening. I planted a few things, and ended up with a HUGE zucchini plant. And all-in-all, the outcome was good. This year, I hope to do things a little differently.

I have 64 square feet of garden space in those nifty raised beds, and with the help of SmartGardener, I've planned a well-rounded garden full of produce that can either be canned or frozen (with the exception of a few things which will need to be eaten fresh, like salad greens). I just hope I can keep up with it!

Here's what I've got planned:

• roma tomatoes
• green beans
• arugula
• lettuce mix
• spinach
• broccoli
• bell peppers
• serrano peppers
• cayenne peppers
• cantaloupe
• snow peas
• snap peas
• carrots
• parsnips
• beets
• green onions
• spanish onions

I'll also be growing some herbs like basil and cilantro in pots.

My hope is that, with SmartGardener's weekly to do list and email reminders, I'll be able to maintain a garden full of delicious produce to feed this little family. I'll get the items we eat less frequently, like cucumbers, at the market. And we have a huge stock of both winter and summer squash in the freezer from last summer, so I don't need to grow any of those!

I'm excited to get started in a few weeks, and I hope to keep you updated on the process (both successes and failures)! And hopefully, I can inspire each of you to grow a food item or two...

What would you like to try growing?

Recipe Abbreviations

I've had some questions from readers about the abbreviations for measurements used in my recipes, so here's a quick rundown:

• t = teaspoon
• T = tablespoon
• c = cup
• oz = ounce

I may add more as I come across them. Please feel free to ask if you have questions.

I hope this helps!

Menu: Week of 1/29

It's that time of the week again - time to plan the coming week's menu! Normally, I would take a moment to review a new recipe we tried this week, but unfortunately, I had a root canal on Tuesday and then ended up having two teeth pulled Thursday, one of which was the root canal tooth. :( This, in combination with an inability to find some ingredients for the planned meals, forced me to improvise for several meals (AKA macaroni and cheese LOL). Fortunately, I'm feeling much less pain, and my energy level is returning to my version of normal, so this week, I hope to try some of the recipes I had planned for last week. So here's the plan:

Sunday: Cheesy Broccoli Orzo & Butternut Squash Sage Rolls - This meal was originally planned for Thursday night, but after the trip to the dentist, I wasn't feeling much like cooking. Also, I was unable to find orzo at the grocery store last week. And since I'm sure I won't be able to find it this week (and I refuse to shop at Walmart), I'm just going to substitute some other pasta I have on hand...most likely elbow macaroni.

Monday: Spaghetti & Meatballs - This is another of The Man's favorites, probably because I make the meatballs homemade (recipe below). And it's a good way to use up some of the marinara we have in the freezer.

Tuesday: Enchiladas & Mexican Rice - Another do-over from last week.

Wednesday: Burgers - the usual!

Thursday: Pasta Fagioli - This is a great vegetarian soup (if made the traditional way), and The Man loves it! It will also give me an excuse to use the enameled cast iron dutch oven I got for Christmas :)

Friday: Pizza - Another homemade pizza! :)

Saturday: Penne with Sausage & Peppers - And the last of the repeats from this week. Hopefully I can find Italian sausage at the grocery store this week...

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Meatballs
(serves 8)
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 c seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t ground black pepper

Combine the ingredients until everything is incorporated. Form into balls (a few tablespoons) and place on a foil-lined cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart (the foil will make cleanup a breeze!). Bake at 350 degrees until fully cooked, about 30 minutes (depending on the size).

Note: I use a cookie scoop (small ice cream scoop) to form the meatballs. Also, these are great freezer items. Just form the meatballs and freeze on a cookie sheet. Once they're frozen through, put them in a freezer bag and label it with contents, date, and cooking instructions.

And there ya have it! Mangia Bene!

Corn and Potato Chowder

Tonight, The Man and I tried the Corn and Chicken Chowder I posted in this week's menu plan. We LOVE homemade potato soup, so this wasn't too far off the "scale-o-comfort".

As usual, I didn't pay much attention to the ingredients before I decided to try this recipe...I just blindly added them to my grocery list and purchased them this morning. When I began making the soup tonight, I noticed the cayenne and chiles and thought it seemed a bit odd...enough so that I almost omitted them completely. Please don't! :) The spice wasn't too much (and I don't do spicy food), and the added flavor was phenomenal! All-in-all, The Man and I absolutely loved this soup, and it is probably going to replace regular potato soup!

I did, however, make some pretty serious modifications, most notably the meat is now gone, and I doubled the amount of potatoes so it would be more hearty. Please feel free to add the chicken and bacon (from the original) and replace the vegetable stock with chicken stock. however, it's not necessary...when the soup was done, I offered The Man some leftover cooked chicken for his, but he chose to go without. He had no regrets!

Here's my version:

4 T butter
1/4 red onion, chopped
4 T flour
6 medium potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 c milk
2 c vegetable stock
1 t Italian seasoning
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 t garlic powder
1 t kosher salt
Ground black pepper to taste
2 c frozen corn
1 4 ounce can diced green chiles
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sliced green onions

In a large stock pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, and sauté until they are translucent.

Sprinkle the flour over the top of the onions, stirring constantly for one minute.

Add the potatoes, milk, stock, Italian seasoning, cayenne, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Continue to boil and stir until potatoes are fork tender, about 15 minutes.

Add the corn and green chiles. Cook over low heat until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Serve with green onions and cheddar cheese.

When you make this, please let me know what you think!

Weekly Menu

It's time for another weekly menu! (I'm going to try to start posting them on Saturday, since they start on Sunday..) And just like last week's menu plan, this week's menu is also (somewhat) Pin-spired. But before we get to that, let's talk about the Chicken/Shrimp Satay w/ Thai peanut sauce...The Man and I aren't big eaters of Thai food, but this recipe sounded and looked pretty tasty. I went out and bought all the ingredients we needed and diligently mixed up everything for the marinade and cooked the sauce on the stove in advance. When it was time, I started cooking the marinated chicken and shrimp. It didn't take long at all. I had cut the chicken into cubes, the shrimp were fairly small, and soba noodles only take about 3 minutes to cook. Everything smelled fantastic as it was cooking, and the sauce tasted pretty good. The first few bites were full of new flavors that neither of us were sure about. We continued to eat, and after a few minutes, The Man looked at me and very somberly said, "I don't think I can do this." Oddly enough, I was thinking the same thing! LOL Now, I must say this...there is not a thing bad about the recipe. It's just that The Man and I aren't used to those flavors. So maybe in another life... :)

Ok, on to this week's menu!

Sunday: Corn & Chicken Chowder and Cheesy Pull-Apart Buns - Everything about this soup sounds & looks fantastic! I'm going to bet The Man won't even miss the chicken that I'm going to leave out (teehee)! And who doesn't love homemade bread filled with cheese?! I think I'll even make a double batch of the soup (one for the freezer), and since the bread makes two loaves, I will probably end up freezing one of those as well.

Image from bunsinmyoven.com

Monday: Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole - This is a dish I haven't made in a while, but The Man always loves it! And it's a great dish for on Monday night since it doesn't take a lot of prep or attention.

Tuesday: Enchiladas & Mexican Rice - Another "oldie but a goodie". Mine will be bean and cheese, and The Man will have his either with chicken or ground beef. I really wish he liked refried beans so I could make these the way I used to for lunch specials at my parents' store, but alas...he will not give in on this one!

Wednesday: Burgers - Since I'll have bacon in the fridge for Sunday's soup, I'm going to cut up a slice or two to mix into The Man's burger this week. I'm hoping there is leftover soup for me to eat instead of a burger!

Thursday: Cheesy Broccoli Orzo & Butternut Squash Sage Rolls - Mmmm orzo! Orzo looks like rice, but it's actually pasta and can be found in the pasta aisle at the grocery store (look for the tiny box of pasta - a pound of this stuff doesn't take up much room, which makes it a great pantry staple). And it's wonderful because it can be used to make creamy (but less labor-intensive) dishes like risotto since it gives the rice-like texture. (Note: this recipe is a massive one, and it's also calls for some strange things since it's vegan, so check back later for my modified and scaled-down version.) And, because we have a freezer full of mashed butternut squash that The Munchkin has almost grown out of eating, I'm going to use it to try the rolls. I'm hoping these become an "oldie but a goodie" because The Munchkin loves the texture of bread, and these would be a good option for her (though I might eventually modify the recipe to omit the brown sugar for her sake). This recipe also calls for chèvre, which is goat cheese, and which I will also omit, since The Man and I are not fans of it.

I love the color of these! Image from  http://www.petitekitchenesse.com 

Friday: Pizza - I'll be making a batch of dough tomorrow to restock the freezer, but I'll leave one ball of it in the fridge for some homemade pizza. Listen for the smoke alarms to go off at our house Friday night...there's nothing like a little smoking corn meal on a pizza stone to signal dinnertime! :)

Saturday: Penne with Sausage & Peppers - This is another of The Man's favs, and we typically eat it in the summer when the peppers at the Farmers' Market are looking gorgeous, but since we had fajitas a while back, I'm in the mood for some peppers! Come on summer! :)

It looks like it's going to be a tasty week at our house! I'll let you know next week if that prediction is correct!

Mangia Bene!

Weekly Menu

This week, we are going to continue testing recipes I've found on Pinterest. I feel like I somehow have to justify the amount of time I spend on there...which is LOTS! :) And it also allows me to say...

(image from http://jojofam.blogspot.com/)

Teehee!

Before I get into this week's menu, I want to update you on the jambalaya experiment from last week. After looking over the recipe (which I admit I hadn't done before deciding to try it), I realized that there wasn't much sense in cooking meats in a crockpot all day and then adding rice and shrimp 30 minutes before serving...especially when you can easily make a meal like this in 30 minutes (without the daunting task of having to clean the crockpot afterward!). Don't get me wrong, I love my crockpot.

Though maybe not this much... 

Ok, back to the jambalaya. :)

The recipe called for rice, which I always have on hand, and Cajun seasoning. I found this at the grocery store...basic ingredients: chili powder, garlic powder & onion powder...all of which I have on hand, so I decided not to buy it. As I was perusing the aisles, which I sometimes do for inspiration, I noticed a box of Zatarains. Now, if you're currently living (or have lived) in Creole Country, please don't kill me for this. But I picked up a box and looked at the directions and ingredients. Lo and Behold! It was practically the same ingredients as the rice and Cajun seasoning, and it only took 30 minutes to cook. I was smitten...especially for a dish I wasn't even sure The Man would like! So, I bought it. I followed the instructions on the box and added Polish sausage and chicken for The Man and shrimp for me. I also added 1/2 c brown rice, but no extra liquid (just to stretch it a bit). Everybody went in the pot at the beginning...easy peesie!

The verdict: It. Was. Fantastic! The Man agreed, and we've been eating the leftovers all weekend! :)

Now to get to the matter at hand...this week's menu...

Sunday: Chicken/Shrimp Satay w/ Thai peanut sauce & soba noodles - I love peanut butter! And this looked/sounded WONDERFUL when I saw the photo on Pinterest. I'm not sure how The Man will feel about it, but maybe if I don't tell him all the ingredients, he'll go into it with an open mind. *insert evil laughter here* :) (Note: Soba noodles are a great gluten free pasta alternative. They're made of buckwheat, which is actually not related to wheat at all. So if you need GF, eat to your heart's content!)

Monday: Fried pork chops & macaroni and cheese - I was going to test the French Onion Mac & Cheese recipe I found on Pinterest, but I could not, for the life of me, find Fontina at the grocery store on Friday. And since I had The Munchkin with me (and it was snowing), I wasn't up for hopping from store to store to try to find it in this culinary wasteland we call central Illinois. Also, with all the different cheeses required by this recipe, the cost of the dish was rising to a level I'm not comfortable with. I like good food, but I also like cheap food, and I believe the two can live in harmony! So I'll try this one another day because it makes my mouth water to think about it! (Note: if you need Fontina, don't go to County Market for it...I would try Meijer.)

Tuesday: Tacos/Quesadillas - I really need to find some scrumdittilyuptous Mexican recipes...sans beans (for The Man)...I'm getting bored with making tacos and quesadillas...and I'm pretty sure you're getting bored with my Tuesday meal choices!

Wednesday: Burgers - I didn't have the energy last week to make the Quinoa burgers, but I hope this week will be different! They look pretty good, if you ask me!

Thursday: Baked crispy cheddar chicken & sliced baked potatoes - Both of these recipes are from Pinterest, and they look tasty and interesting. And since The Man likes anything with cheese, I don't think he'll have a problem with this at all!

Friday: Pizza

Saturday: Chicken & Cheese lasagna rollups & Texas Roadhouse rolls - I'm not sure how either of these recipes could not taste good!

I can't wait to try these! I'll give you a recap of these items in next week's menu. :)

Mangia Bene!

Weekly Menu

Here is this week's menu. We've pretty much cleaned the freezers of everything except frozen produce from this summer's farmers' markets, so now we're going to try some of the recipes I've found on Pinterest!

Sunday: Manicotti Florentine - I didn't end up making this last week because I got home later than usual and wanted to spend some time with The Munchkin before she went to bed.

Monday: Biscuits & gravy - The last package of sausage in the freezer. The Man will LOVE this, as usual. I'll make a little batch of gravy for myself without the sausage. And if I'm feeling particularly hungry, I'll make some scrambled eggs and tater tots to go with it.

Tuesday: Fajitas & Mexican rice - I'm bored with making tacos, so I'm going to mix it up a bit and make fajitas. This is just sliced green peppers and onions (and chicken for The Man). I heat olive oil in a skillet and add a little chili powder and crushed red pepper. Cook and serve. Yum!

Wednesday: Cheeseburger/Quinoa burger & Parmesan hash brown cups - It's time to try 2 recipes from Pinterest. I recently tried a Gardenburger from the grocery store's freezer section, and I must say I wasn't real impressed. So it's time to try something else.

Thursday: Slow cooker jambalaya - I don't think either The Man or I have ever had jambalaya, but I think it's time to try it. I'm going to make it with all the meat, then I'll just pick around it. We shall see...

Friday: Pizza - nothing new here...

Saturday: Tater tot casserole - I had never heard of this until I met The Man. It was a staple when he was growing up, and it's really not hard to make. Brown 1 lb ground beef. Drain and layer in a pan with 1 can cream of <whatever you prefer> soup and 1 can drained french cut green beans. Cover with a layer of tater tots and bake according to tater tot directions. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for another 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and slightly browned. I may just have some cheesy tater tots! :)

So there you have it...come back next week for more Pinterest inspired meals (and maybe some modifications to the recipes we are trying this week).

Mangia Bene!