We've had a yummy week filled with comfort foods!
Here's what is on our menu:
1) Saturday morning, we had Weelicious whole wheat oat pancakes before our trip to the library.
Then Saturday for lunch was our pumpkin penne. And in the late afternoon, we went to Lincoln's baptism where they grilled steaks alongside salad, seasoned potatoes and sauteed zucchini. Lincoln's grandpa and uncle are the owners of two very classy and upscale restaurants in downtown Perrysburg... so the food is always good at their parties. Lucky us!In case you thought I was done eating then... Ha! You're wrong. Because later that evening was Casey's and my girls night and we ate some more. :)
2) Sunday was our trip to the pumpkin patch with our friends and then everyone came back to our house for chili and grilled cheese. I made a big batch of my grandma's chili in the crock pot and we did grilled cheese on my pancake griddler. Love that thing! Angie also brought a veggie tray with dip and we had several types of cookies for dessert. Yum.
3) Monday we had Tyler Florence's Macaroni & Cheese with a bacon topping. Alongside, I served a green salad with homemade vinegarette dressing and oven-roasted cauliflower. I'd like to tell you it was the culinary highlight of my week (because it was delicious!) but I had an equally fantastic pasta on Thursday night too. So here were some of my mac 'n cheese ingredients. Mmm... thyme is a wonderful addition, I must say.
More "Mmm"... sharp white cheddar = love.
More "Mmm"... sharp white cheddar = love.
I used my food processor's grating disc to shred the cheese. I just popped the blocks of cheese in the freezer for about 15 minutes beforehand. Super duper fast! I love it.
I made the mac 'n cheese entirely in advance on prep night (Friday). I also chopped the onion and thyme for the topping and set them aside in a container. Then on Monday when I was ready to serve, I cooked up the bacon and sauteed the onion and thyme and sprinkled the whole thing on top after baking. It was awesome. However, Craig hated it (he wants the processed crap, of course), Sophie ate it just fine, and Will took a few unpleasant bites and refused the rest. So... the next mac 'n cheese recipe I try will be without onions and possibly a different cheese variation. But if you're looking for a good mac 'n cheese, this one is excellent. You could also just leave off part or all of the topping if you wished.
The vinegarette dressing was also very good. There's just no comparison for homemade dressing.
And, just like I did the night I took dinner over to Casey and Wes, I cut a head of cauliflower into florets, drizzled them with olive oil, sprinkled salt and pepper (oh, and a little shaved parmesan cheese this time) and roasted them in a 13x9 pan in a 400 degree oven for about 30-35 minutes.The picture doesn't do justice. This is a great (and super easy) way to serve cauliflower.
4) Tuesday - leftovers.5) Wednesday, we had mini meat loaves with steamed broccoli and bread. I make this recipe a ton. It's my favorite meatloaf recipe, hands down. But I also like to double it and make 2 oz portions and freeze them (cooked) on a cookie sheet. I store them in a gallon freezer bag for quick meals for the kids. Ingredients:
I doubt this is a new piece of advice to anyone, but it's best to mix up all your ingredients before adding the meat so as not to over-manipulate the meat.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the baked meat loaves before dinner on Wednesday, but the Cooking Light link to the recipe above has a great picture. I just think the individual portions look so nice and are super easy to serve as opposed to cutting portions out of a loaf pan.
6) Thursday morning was my parent helper day at Will's preschool. School doesn't start till 9 a.m. so we didn't have to leave until about 8:40 (as opposed to 7:30 on normal days). So with the extra time, I decided to make pancakes for breakfast again. I went back to the yogurt pancakes and added the same things as last time: dried blueberries, slivered almonds and a few drops of almond extract. This time, however, I used a different type of sugar. I've been looking into a more natural, unrefined sugar for certain recipes and was interested in trying a "turbinado sugar". It's a healthier alternative to white, refined sugar because it isn't processed as much and is therefore naturally healthier for your body. I purchased the brand that is sold as Sugar In The Raw. You use it just like regular sugar and the crystals are a rich, golden color from the natural molasses.
The price is greater so, for now, I doubt that I will use it in all my baking. But at least for our pancake breakfasts which don't usually call for more than a couple tablespoons of sugar, or for some cookies and muffins that I plan to offer the kids, I will use this or the agave nectar that I've written about before.
So the pancakes were, once again, very good. And what a great way to give a little calcium boost to our breakfast! Especially for Will, who's just not a big drinker and may be a little lacking in calcium because of that.
I doubt this is a new piece of advice to anyone, but it's best to mix up all your ingredients before adding the meat so as not to over-manipulate the meat.
Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the baked meat loaves before dinner on Wednesday, but the Cooking Light link to the recipe above has a great picture. I just think the individual portions look so nice and are super easy to serve as opposed to cutting portions out of a loaf pan.6) Thursday morning was my parent helper day at Will's preschool. School doesn't start till 9 a.m. so we didn't have to leave until about 8:40 (as opposed to 7:30 on normal days). So with the extra time, I decided to make pancakes for breakfast again. I went back to the yogurt pancakes and added the same things as last time: dried blueberries, slivered almonds and a few drops of almond extract. This time, however, I used a different type of sugar. I've been looking into a more natural, unrefined sugar for certain recipes and was interested in trying a "turbinado sugar". It's a healthier alternative to white, refined sugar because it isn't processed as much and is therefore naturally healthier for your body. I purchased the brand that is sold as Sugar In The Raw. You use it just like regular sugar and the crystals are a rich, golden color from the natural molasses.
The price is greater so, for now, I doubt that I will use it in all my baking. But at least for our pancake breakfasts which don't usually call for more than a couple tablespoons of sugar, or for some cookies and muffins that I plan to offer the kids, I will use this or the agave nectar that I've written about before.
So the pancakes were, once again, very good. And what a great way to give a little calcium boost to our breakfast! Especially for Will, who's just not a big drinker and may be a little lacking in calcium because of that.In the evening, I went grocery shopping right after work so my mom fed the kids dinner for me. (Thank you, mom! SUCH a huge help.) And then after the kids went to bed, Craig and I settled in for a little his & hers ravioli. Craig had simple cheese ravioli with marinara and I had pumpkin ravioli (which you can find with the other stuffed pastas in the freezer section at Meijer) with a homemade brown butter sauce. I just tweaked this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis for the brown butter sauce (I used less butter and even that was more than enough), but I love the combination of the walnuts, dried cranberries and fresh sage. 
It is SOOOOO good! And it looks so pretty and fancy but it is seriously the easiest thing ever.
7) Friday was leftovers again.
It is SOOOOO good! And it looks so pretty and fancy but it is seriously the easiest thing ever.
7) Friday was leftovers again. Ooh! I have some fun stuff planned in the food department for this weekend. Can't wait!
Hope you all enjoy another beautiful fall weekend.
Happy eating!
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