What's For Dinner? Weeks 2 & 3

This is going to be a collaboration of two weeks since I missed last week, so be prepared for a longer post.

But first!

I have to tell you about the most exciting news that's happened to me/us in regards to food since... well... since Sarah's Lemon & Sour Cream Pancakes. Haha! :)

Since all the modifications in health insurance this year, Promedica (my employer) has been implementing a big push on health awareness - getting involved, getting active, eating well, risk prevention, getting educated, etc. They offer mini-classes, online education tools, weight loss clubs, recipes exchanges, yada, yada, yada... and they contribute money to an account that can be applied toward your health insurance needs as an incentive. I think it's just great!

Anyway, an e-mail came around last week when I was off sick (I saw it first last Friday) about a local, chemical-free, vegetable and fruit farm that offers a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. I'd read about this last year when I was obsessed with the works of Michael Pollan and Martha Kingsolver, etc. and thought it sounded like such a great resource. But I didn't know of any programs like that around here. I'd also never heard of this farm (Riehm Farm in Tiffin, OH) until last Friday.

A CSA program is where "customer's support the farm by purchasing a share of the season's harvest up front. In return, you eat locally grown, high-quality, fresh tasting vegetables on a weekly basis at competitive prices, knowing where your food came from."

Let me share a little more of what I read on their brochure:

"Healthy soil means healthy food. No synthetic pesticides are used. Artificial fertilizer, ground water pollution and toxic residues on food are avoided. Eating locally grown, freshly harvested food is the basis of a healthy diet."

"Riehm Farm CSA members are interested in MORE than vegetables: they like to know they are fitted with a professional grower who shares their environmental and social concerns. Individuals and families with children are welcome at our CSA gardens [to visit and meet the farmers]."

"We have weekly tips to let people know what's going on in the gardens, how to prepare and store fresh produce, share recipes and announce social events."

Riehm farms is currently a fourth generation family owned and operated farm. They have grown for grocery stores and the Meijer's warehouse for over 20 years! That is such a relief to know my main grocery store selects at least some of their produce from such an environmentally friendly and LOCAL farm. Riehm Farm also offers hormone and antibiotic-free beef, which I plan to learn more about when I visit. And they have family entertainment in the fall and health awareness classes throughout the year. You can check them out on their website at funacres.net.

I called them as soon as I finished reading the e-mail. Most CSA members have already signed up and made final payments by April 1st, but Promedica organized and extra 20 shares for us to sign up for by the end of this month. I assumed that they had already been filled considering there are thousands of employees that should have been privy to this information before me. But Diane (the Riehm farmer I spoke to on the phone) said there was still availability left. Hooray! I sent in my registration and payment immediately. They have a 20 week summer program from June 1 - October 15 and there is a standard pick up day and time just once a week for an hour, not far from my work. {If there is enough interest this year, Promedica will arrange for more shares next year as well as a pick-up location right in the hospital! That would be awesome!} The Standard Vegetable Share provides two grocery bags a week of vegetables - enough to feed two adults and two children for $640. They also have a Split Vegetable Share with one bag to feed two adults for $320. I went with the split share. Broken down over 20 weeks, that's $16 a week. I easily spend $40 or more per week on produce and this way I know exactly where it was grown and feel comfortable with the safety of the food I'm feeding my family. Also, this way I can still leave myself enough money to get plenty of fruit and any vegetables I might want that are not provided that particular week. Basically, the bag will contain a variety of whatever is in season right then. Really... that is how we should be eating every week! Seasonal produce is freshest, healthiest and doesn't have to be shipped from far away lands. So I'm totally willing to plan my weekly meals around whatever vegetables come in my bag each week! Plus, pick up day is on Tuesday each week, so that will give me a couple days to plan a menu for the following week before my normal shopping day on Thursday. As for Riehm Farm's fruit shares... those have all been taken. But they come in standard and split shares too (some of it grown by neighboring farms) and, now that I know about Riehm's, I will definitely sign up for that early enough next year! One more thing: there is an extended vegetable season for six weeks from October 21 - November 28 (still $16 per week) that customers sign up for by August 1st. So assuming we like this program and don't feel too hassled by the pick up time, I'll be signing up for that too!

So Will and I are driving down to Tiffin tomorrow morning (Saturday) for a visit to the farm and to take part in the orientation for the program. I'm super excited and I have a feeling I'm going to fall in love with these people. :) They're going to have a hayride for the kids as well.

So that's my big news!

Moving on to last week's menu (May 7-13):

1) lemon sour cream panckes

2) taco night on Saturday the 7th - we used crunchy shells for a change!

3) Sarah's Lemon Chicken & Asparagus Pasta on Mother's Day

The recipe is somewhere back on my blog, but here it is again.

2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into pieces
1 1/2 # asparagus, ends trimmed
1# bowtie pasta
1/4 cup butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

zest of one lemon

juice of one lemon

parsley to taste

salt & pepper

-In a large pot, bring six quarts of water to a boil. Add asparagus and cook to crisp-tender, about two minutes. Take asparagus out of water and rinse with cold water to stop cooking. Set aside.

-Return pot to stove and water to boil. Cook pasta according to package directions.

-Meanwhile, in a large skillet set over low heat, combine butter, garlic, cream and stock. Stir in s&p, juice and zest. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 mins. Reduce heat to low and add chicken, cheese and drained pasta.

-Cut cooked asparagus into 1-2" pieces on a diagonal. Add asparagus and parsley to pasta and toss all ingredients together. Season with s&p to taste.

*By Sarah's suggestion, I added a little extra cream and broth to make more sauce.

4) Fruit & Chocolate Dream Bars (also on Mother's Day)
Here's the recipe again (though I've shared it before):

Crust:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

Topping:
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

6 tbsp (3/4 stick) butter, softened

1/2 cup jam/preserves, i.e. raspberry, strawberry, or apricot (I used apricot)

2 cups chocolate chips, i.e. milk chocolate or dark chocolate (I used dark)

-For crust, combine flour and sugar in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles course crumbs. Press onto bottom of greased 9" baking pan. (I used a 13x9 for thinner bars.) Bake at 375 for 18-22 minutes or until set but not brown.

-For topping, combine flour, pecans and brown sugar. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles course crumbs.

-Spread jam over hot crust. Sprinkle with topping and morsels. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely. Ha! - It says this recipe makes 2 1/2 dozen! Good luck cutting 2 1/2 dozen bars out of a 9" pan!

5) homemade pizza - our usual Hawaiian and new favorite BLT
6) burgers on the grill again :)

As you may know, Saturday starts a new week in regards to my menu planning.
So week 3's menu (May 14-20) included:
1) cottage cheese pancakes, yogurt and fresh berries

2) Crock Pot BBQ beef sandwiches with green beans and apples

3# boneless chuck roast
1 1/2 cups ketchup

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp liquid smoke (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder

-Place chuck roast in crock pot. Whisk remaining ingredients in mixing bowl and pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove roast and shred meat with fork. Place shredded meat back in crock pot. Stir evenly to coat with sauce. Serve and enjoy!

On Sunday, I watched my twin nieces in the afternoon/evening while Casey and Wes went to a concert.

Casey warned me that they haven't been eating well for dinner for about the last four weeks, so I decided on breakfast food as an easy crowd pleaser. :)
3) scrambled eggs with cheese, bananas & berries, and Weelicious whole wheat waffles
We had so much fun this night and enjoyed those adorable girls' company very much. The three girls' age right now makes having all four of them sooo much more manageable. Diaper/potty time, hand washing and meal time are all very much an "assembly line". And play time is definitely an exercise in sharing. ;) But I loved getting to see them all play together.
Anyway, this is what they all thought of our dinner:

Everyone ate extremely well!

4) grilled chicken with black bean salsa

I doubled the salsa recipe (see link) and used a regular tomato instead of grape or cherry tomatoes. I also added probably a lot more tomato than the recipe says.

I served some lime chips (the kids got a few too) along with this meal. They were very good with that salsa!

5) Great Aunt Jane's AMAZING lasagna!!!

You will be hard pressed to ever get me to try another meat lasagna recipe again. This one is made in a larger pan (but could probably be divided into two smaller ones) and only uses 1# of ground beef. When making the tomato sauce, it doesn't seem like that much, but when eating it... it's perfect. There's also 1# of mozzarella (same as my old recipe) and 24oz of cottage cheese. Very creamy and cheesy and soft. Delicious!

Be grateful I'm sharing this... it's a family recipe. ;) Haha!

1# grd beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic
2 tsp basil
1 tsp salt
8 oz tomato sauce
16 oz seasoned diced tomatoes
6 oz tomato paste
9-10 lasagna noodles
1 tbsp oil
2 eggs
24 oz cottage cheese
3/4 cup Parmesan
2 tbsp parsley
16 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
-Cook meat, onion and garlic. Drain. Add tomato products, salt and basil. Cook noodles in oil; rinse and drain. Beat eggs; add cottage cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan and parsley. Layer 1/2 noodles, spread 1/2 cheese filling, 1/2 meat sauce and 1/2 mozzarella. Repeat and top with remaining Parmesan. Bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes. If made ahead and refridgerated, bake at 375 for 45-60 mins (I did 45). Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

If this isn't your favorite lasagna recipe ever, I will be shocked. :)

6) I also made simple green salads and Weelicious garlic bread to go with.

Ooey, gooey, yum.

Haha! What a goofy (fake) smile.

And randomly, my in laws stopped by on their way out to dinner and brought us a homemade peach crisp for dessert! What an awesome surprise! It was delicious with some vanilla ice cream. Thanks, Marilyn!

I've got a bunch of new stuff (not dinner meals, but side things like treats, snacks, etc.) I'm trying for next week so I'm excited for some new recipes to add to our repertoire.

Happy eating, all!