What's For Dinner? Week 4

Oops. My bad.

The days kinda' got away from me and I forgot to write my dinner post.

But not for a lack of good food to display!

It's been a yummy week.

Remember all the fresh produce we brought home from the farmer's market?

It all disappeared quickly, except for a little bit of zucchini and yellow squash that I've rationed out to steam in portions for Sophia.

I forgot to mention last week that several of our meals revolved around the produce we got from Dan & Lori's garden. We made scalloped potatoes and ham using their potatoes, carrot pancakes using their carrots and the tomato mozzarella pasta using their cherry tomatoes. So thanks again Dan & Lori! We love having homegrown produce on our table!

And oh my goodness...

Have you had a honeycrisp apple yet this season?

They are THE BEST!!!

Here's what we ate this past week:
1) Saturday: Taco salad. A good 'ole standby that Craig always requests.

2. Sunday: For breakfast, we had our carrot pancakes again. It's just so easy to whip up a batch of these and then enjoy the leftovers all week. Will is eating breakfast at home a couple days a week now before preschool, so having pancakes already made is very handy. Both kids (especially Will) eat a surprisingly large breakfast. Neither would be satisfied with just a bowl of cereal. The standard has been pancakes, yogurt, fruit and milk for quite some time now. Here we're still eating at the card table. :)

For dinner, I tried a new yummy pasta. And remember Will helped me make a loaf of cornbread to go with?...

...as well as chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

Another "Sensational Spaghetti" recipe from Better Homes & Gardens: Spaghetti with Roasted Butternut Squash. This is what I prepped on Friday or Saturday (I can't remember now when I did my prep work): sliced 1" pieces of butternut squash, peeled garlic cloves (it calls for A LOT but it doesn't taste overwhelming), salt & pepper all tossed with olive oil. This goes in the oven to roast and then just tosses with cooked spaghetti, cooked bacon pieces, and toasted walnuts.

Top with shredded Parmesan and YUM!

(It called for Pecorino - a sheep's milk cheese - but I had Parmesan on hand.)

3. Monday: Roasted Vegetable Paninis. Another prepped tray of veggies ready for roasting:

Roasting gives so much flavor! This week, the final product didn't look quite as fancy because I just served it on regular whole wheat bread instead of sourdough but they tasted just as good and were probably healthier. I grilled them with the panini press as usual.

4. Tuesday: We'll start with packed lunch because, also this weekend, I made another batch of granola bars with ground almonds, oatmeal, sesame seeds, dried blueberries and cranberries and real maple syrup. The purpose of these was to serve as a main protein source for me to pack in Will's lunch for preschool. He's not a fan of the 'ole pb&j so I have to come up with other options. This seemed easy enough and I know he does like them, but he didn't eat them real well this week. As is his standard, he inhales the fruits and veggies and then picks at everything else. He's also a little more distracted at school and doesn't want to take time to eat.

Here's a sample packed lunch.

Tuesday night, we had leftovers for dinner.

5. Wednesday: I prepared Baked Penne with Corn, Zucchini and Basil completely in advance for it to be ready to pop in the oven for dinner one night. But then, as the week went on, I realized I should prepare myself for some major whining and complaining from Craig for all the "healthy food" (loaded with vegetables) I was serving this week. It did seem we were having quite the vegetarian week as I reflected on that. So on Wednesday, I asked Craig to swing by The Anderson's and pick up two 8oz strip steaks to throw on the grill along with this pasta and then it would essentially be just a veggie pasta "side dish". I know. I'm sneaky. And guess what... he told me this was the best thing I could possibly serve with zucchini in it. :) Meaning: it's palatable enough for him to actually swallow.

This was pre-baking:

The kids just ate the pasta with some fruit on the side and then I packed it for my lunches the rest of the week.

6. Thursday: We also ate leftovers of this on Thursday.

7. Friday: We had to go somewhere this night, so dinner was a quick burgers-on-the-grill with grapes, pickles (Will & Craig's fetish lately) and Bob's Salad.

Hope you're all enjoying some yummy meals with your families too!

See you next week!... Or in a few days, rather. ;)