We haven't hopped off our smoothie bandwagon yet! I think these were avocado, but we're still doing the pumpkin ones often and I'm looking forward to making the lassis again this weekend.
On our menu the last two weeks:1) Saturday (Nov 20th) - Muesli & tropical lassis for breakfast. Black bean & cheese quesadillas for lunch. Leftovers for dinner.
2) Sunday - We had lunch this day at my in-laws house. So nice! My mother-in-law made meatloaf, green beans, cornbread and applesauce. Very yummy and nice to get together. Craig and I actually went to pick up that Little Tikes toy this morning using his dad's truck while the kids stayed with their grandma. Then we just stayed for lunch after dropping the truck back off.
For dinner, we invited Casey, Wes, Mya & Stella over for steaks on the grill, Weelicious twice baked potatoes (plus sweet potato cubes roasted with cinnamon for the little kids), corn and garlic bread. And the kids ate oranges too. Also on the stove top, you can see the pie pumpkin that I was baking to puree for various recipes including our milkshakes.
The twice baked potatoes were delicious. I definitely recommend trying them.
For dessert, I made S'more Bars (recipe courtesy of Family Fun), which were really yummy. I also plated three of them for Brianne (for her birthday) who was coming to babysit the next day at our house.
3) Monday - Cottage cheese pancakes for breakfast. Burgers on the grill (sorry no pic) with homemade guacamole to top them, and grapes on the side. Can you tell I was trying to make peace with my husband by serving him all that beef in such a short time? He had been complaining about all the chicken we'd eaten the week before.
2) Sunday - We had lunch this day at my in-laws house. So nice! My mother-in-law made meatloaf, green beans, cornbread and applesauce. Very yummy and nice to get together. Craig and I actually went to pick up that Little Tikes toy this morning using his dad's truck while the kids stayed with their grandma. Then we just stayed for lunch after dropping the truck back off.
For dinner, we invited Casey, Wes, Mya & Stella over for steaks on the grill, Weelicious twice baked potatoes (plus sweet potato cubes roasted with cinnamon for the little kids), corn and garlic bread. And the kids ate oranges too. Also on the stove top, you can see the pie pumpkin that I was baking to puree for various recipes including our milkshakes.
The twice baked potatoes were delicious. I definitely recommend trying them.
For dessert, I made S'more Bars (recipe courtesy of Family Fun), which were really yummy. I also plated three of them for Brianne (for her birthday) who was coming to babysit the next day at our house.
3) Monday - Cottage cheese pancakes for breakfast. Burgers on the grill (sorry no pic) with homemade guacamole to top them, and grapes on the side. Can you tell I was trying to make peace with my husband by serving him all that beef in such a short time? He had been complaining about all the chicken we'd eaten the week before.4) Tuesday - School lunch day for Will! Since I already had guacamole made for the burgers, I decided to try a new Weelicious recipe called Black Bean Cakes (black beans, corn, cheese, cilantro, etc - ground in a food processor and cooked on my griddle). Very tasty! They look like little, brown pancakes, so I thought the size and shape might appeal to the kids since they like pancakes so well. The serving suggestion is to top with guacamole (which Will does eat a little) so I packed him two cakes with some guac and halved grape tomatoes... He did taste the cakes, but ended up only eating the tomatoes. I intentionally packed a light lunch this day because we had just come from his Thanksgiving party at school where they ate fruit and pumpkin bread.
I packed a similar lunch for myself and I love these easy, little cakes! Oh, and Sophie ate them one day but refused them on another.
For dinner, Will helped me make scrambled eggs with green pepper and cheese.
5) Wednesday - Full turkey dinner at Maumee Bay with all the fixings and sides. I took a big tossed salad.
Tomato Bruschetta: (recipe from a family friend)
3 tbsp chopped garlic
3/4 cup red onion, diced
4 1/2 cups Roma tomatoes, diced
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
12+ basil leaves cut in strips
salt & pepper
1 baguette or sweet Italian loaf
Super easy and flavorful. This pasta would make a great side dish to grilled meat or fish. Craig did say he liked this! (I thought he would since he likes my fettuccine Alfredo with lemon.)
I packed a similar lunch for myself and I love these easy, little cakes! Oh, and Sophie ate them one day but refused them on another.For dinner, Will helped me make scrambled eggs with green pepper and cheese.
5) Wednesday - Full turkey dinner at Maumee Bay with all the fixings and sides. I took a big tossed salad.6) Thursday - Waffles for breakfast at Maumee Bay (grandma made them in the room), a light snack around lunch time to hold us over till... our big turkey feast at Kelly's. To that, I brought Weelicious glazed sweet potatoes with maple syrup & lime and a loaf of pumpkin chocolate chip bread. The sweet potatoes were something I'd been wanting to try myself - they're not something I often think of to serve for our dinners - but I also wanted to make a sweet potato dish that wasn't loaded with marshmallows and sugar for the kids. This was actually very good. The lime sounds a little strange but after looking around, I've found citrus to be a fairly common thing to bring out the natural sweetness in sweet potatoes. You really get to taste the flavor of the potato instead of just a little potato with your heap of sugar. ;)
7) Friday - Carrot pancakes for breakfast. Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch (& dinner for the kids). Craig and I went out for dinner to Biaggi's this night with friends. Our first date in awhile!
8) Saturday - We went to Kelly and Steve's for the Ohio State game at noon. She made shredded BBQ beef sandwiches and all the guests brought typical "game food"... bean dips, cheese and cracker platters, veggie trays, cookies and, of course, buckeyes! Then following the game, Craig and I went on to see a matinee movie just the two of us while the kids went down to grandma's for dinner. Craig and I decided we didn't need to eat out two nights in a row, so we came home and had a late dinner of homemade mac 'n cheese (pulled from my freezer stash) and tossed salads after getting the kids to bed.
8) Saturday - We went to Kelly and Steve's for the Ohio State game at noon. She made shredded BBQ beef sandwiches and all the guests brought typical "game food"... bean dips, cheese and cracker platters, veggie trays, cookies and, of course, buckeyes! Then following the game, Craig and I went on to see a matinee movie just the two of us while the kids went down to grandma's for dinner. Craig and I decided we didn't need to eat out two nights in a row, so we came home and had a late dinner of homemade mac 'n cheese (pulled from my freezer stash) and tossed salads after getting the kids to bed.
9) Sunday - After several days of feasting and game food, we decided to have a "mostly plants" (a phrase that is always in the back of my mind now when meal planning after reading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food) lunch on Sunday. Here are the kids plates:
I realized I am forever trying to incorporate meat or protein into every meal and, while it is important, it's not necessary at every meal. I should really just begin with loading our plates with "plants" and then just think about the day as a whole (or, better yet, a 3-5 day span of time collectively) for protein foods. We'd just loaded up on turkey, beef and starchy vegetables the past three days! A day with mostly plants would do us some good, no? I was in the mood for my white bean dip again, so I made that for Will and I to dip our veggies and Sophie got the last of the black bean cakes from above. So we did get a little protein still. My plate looked similar to Will's, plus some baked pita chips to go with the dip. And the kids had pumpkin milkshakes to drink.
In the late afternoon following nap, we ate an early dinner/snack before heading to the zoo to see the Lights. Another thing I'd been in the mood for was my tomato bruschetta so I mixed that up over nap time for the flavors to marry.
I realized I am forever trying to incorporate meat or protein into every meal and, while it is important, it's not necessary at every meal. I should really just begin with loading our plates with "plants" and then just think about the day as a whole (or, better yet, a 3-5 day span of time collectively) for protein foods. We'd just loaded up on turkey, beef and starchy vegetables the past three days! A day with mostly plants would do us some good, no? I was in the mood for my white bean dip again, so I made that for Will and I to dip our veggies and Sophie got the last of the black bean cakes from above. So we did get a little protein still. My plate looked similar to Will's, plus some baked pita chips to go with the dip. And the kids had pumpkin milkshakes to drink.In the late afternoon following nap, we ate an early dinner/snack before heading to the zoo to see the Lights. Another thing I'd been in the mood for was my tomato bruschetta so I mixed that up over nap time for the flavors to marry.
Tomato Bruschetta: (recipe from a family friend)3 tbsp chopped garlic
3/4 cup red onion, diced
4 1/2 cups Roma tomatoes, diced
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
12+ basil leaves cut in strips
salt & pepper
1 baguette or sweet Italian loaf
mozzarella cheese
-Combine first 6 ingredients and allow flavors to marry at room temp for at least 30 minutes.
-Toast slices of bread (that have been drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic powder or rubbed with garlic clove) on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 5-8 minutes or just until light brown.
-Top slices with tomato mixture and a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese. Place back in oven until cheese melts.
In addition to our bruschetta, I made a light Lemon Spaghetti with Parmesan, lemon juice & zest, and basil.
-Combine first 6 ingredients and allow flavors to marry at room temp for at least 30 minutes.
-Toast slices of bread (that have been drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic powder or rubbed with garlic clove) on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 5-8 minutes or just until light brown.
-Top slices with tomato mixture and a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese. Place back in oven until cheese melts.
In addition to our bruschetta, I made a light Lemon Spaghetti with Parmesan, lemon juice & zest, and basil.
Super easy and flavorful. This pasta would make a great side dish to grilled meat or fish. Craig did say he liked this! (I thought he would since he likes my fettuccine Alfredo with lemon.)I only made half of each of these recipes so we wouldn't be loaded with leftovers. Also, I knew Will wasn't crazy about the flavors of the balsamic vinegar and such on the bruschetta mix, so I just made "tomato cheese bread" for him and for Sophie.
And Craig and I enjoyed the bruschetta on our own.
After returning from the zoo, the kids had a banana and a yogurt before bath and bedtime and Craig and I just ate a little more of the above!
10) Monday - Mmm. Monday I decided to serve my mom's "summer tuna cakes". I know it's not summer, but the only thing "summery" about them is the grated zucchini inside and they sounded really good. Alongside, we had grapes and roasted cauliflower.
Summer Tuna Cakes:
1 medium zucchini, shredded
1 (6 oz) can tuna, drained and flaked
1 1/2 cups bread cubes (about 3 slices)
1 egg
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp grated onion
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp oil - only if pan frying, which is kind of messy and difficult
-Pat shredded zucchini dry with a towel (a LOT of moisture) and combine all ingredients into a bowl. With hands, shape mixture into 3" round patties. If pan frying, heat oil in skillet and cook until evenly browned over medium heat (about 8-10 minutes). I actually find it easiest to grill these on my panini grill. They don't fall apart of make a huge mess this way. Serve over toast with lettuce, tomato and cheese or mayo if desired. As you might imagine, Craig ate leftover mac 'n cheese instead.
Will normally eats these so well, but tonight he wasn't feeling it. Still, I packed one in his lunch for Tuesday just in case it was a flukey night. He also got sliced tomato and green pepper, orange segments and homemade Weelicious croutons, since he LOVES croutons. Making those was a great way to use up the leftover baguette from our bruschetta and they were really good!
11) Tuesday - School lunch... see above. For dinner, burgers on the grill (again, no pic). This time I just sliced some avocado for my burger (I love that!) and made the kids an avocado smoothie with the remainder. Can't remember the side dishes, but they were probably grapes and some kind of vegetable.
12) Wednesday - The roasted cauliflower from Monday and the steamed broccoli with cheese that I served this night were from the heads of broccoli and cauliflower Will and I picked up from the Farmer's Market on the 27th. Sadly, the market was extremely small despite the indoor facilities set up for the winter. There's my question for the week: If I'm trying hard to eat local produce and support local farmers, what do I feed my family in the winter in Ohio? This was about all that was available this particular visit (aside from some winter squashes that I didn't need at this time) and I'm hoping it was just an off week because of Thanksgiving and that the other vendors return with their potatoes and onions and maybe even a bell pepper or two this weekend when we go. But that's just the reality of how things are grown seasonally! I did buy some brown eggs from the same farmer that sold me the vegetables.
So for dinner on Wednesday, I made Ham 'n Noodle Casserole from a super old recipe I'd saved from a Quick Cooking magazine probably 10 years ago. The casserole normally calls for peas, but Craig doesn't like that so I left them out and served steamed broccoli with cheese on the side. Pineapple also goes well with ham and was on sale at Meijer for $1.99 so we had that too.
Ham 'n Noodle Casserole:
3 tbsp butter, divided
2 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups diced ham
1 1/2 cups medium noodles, cooked and drained (I used spirals)
Also on Wednesday night, after attending Kelly's Pampered Chef party, I came home to pack lunches for the kids and I for Thursday. I wanted to make Weelicious carrot pineapple muffins since I had the pineapple this week and always keep a bag of bulk carrots on hand. They called for some whole wheat flour and this week I bought a new brand of flour to try:
There's also a recipe on the back of that bag for "no-knead whole wheat bread" that I'd like to try soon. :) The combination of carrot, pineapple and walnuts is something I'd just had in a "carrot cake" that a co-worker brought in for someone's birthday recently and it was really good!
The muffins were very moist (a little crumbly) and delicious! And with the whole wheat flour and agave nectar in place of sugar, they are super healthy. I'm planning to make these next week for Will's 2nd special helper day at preschool, maybe with a light smear/drizzle of cream cheese icing on top. But in the meantime, they went into our lunches for Thursday and breakfast for Friday.
Sophie got a similar lunch at home with dad.
14) Friday - We will be having BLT's with sliced avocado inside and some veggies.
And Craig and I enjoyed the bruschetta on our own.
After returning from the zoo, the kids had a banana and a yogurt before bath and bedtime and Craig and I just ate a little more of the above!10) Monday - Mmm. Monday I decided to serve my mom's "summer tuna cakes". I know it's not summer, but the only thing "summery" about them is the grated zucchini inside and they sounded really good. Alongside, we had grapes and roasted cauliflower.
Summer Tuna Cakes:1 medium zucchini, shredded
1 (6 oz) can tuna, drained and flaked
1 1/2 cups bread cubes (about 3 slices)
1 egg
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp grated onion
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp oil - only if pan frying, which is kind of messy and difficult
-Pat shredded zucchini dry with a towel (a LOT of moisture) and combine all ingredients into a bowl. With hands, shape mixture into 3" round patties. If pan frying, heat oil in skillet and cook until evenly browned over medium heat (about 8-10 minutes). I actually find it easiest to grill these on my panini grill. They don't fall apart of make a huge mess this way. Serve over toast with lettuce, tomato and cheese or mayo if desired. As you might imagine, Craig ate leftover mac 'n cheese instead.
Will normally eats these so well, but tonight he wasn't feeling it. Still, I packed one in his lunch for Tuesday just in case it was a flukey night. He also got sliced tomato and green pepper, orange segments and homemade Weelicious croutons, since he LOVES croutons. Making those was a great way to use up the leftover baguette from our bruschetta and they were really good!
11) Tuesday - School lunch... see above. For dinner, burgers on the grill (again, no pic). This time I just sliced some avocado for my burger (I love that!) and made the kids an avocado smoothie with the remainder. Can't remember the side dishes, but they were probably grapes and some kind of vegetable.12) Wednesday - The roasted cauliflower from Monday and the steamed broccoli with cheese that I served this night were from the heads of broccoli and cauliflower Will and I picked up from the Farmer's Market on the 27th. Sadly, the market was extremely small despite the indoor facilities set up for the winter. There's my question for the week: If I'm trying hard to eat local produce and support local farmers, what do I feed my family in the winter in Ohio? This was about all that was available this particular visit (aside from some winter squashes that I didn't need at this time) and I'm hoping it was just an off week because of Thanksgiving and that the other vendors return with their potatoes and onions and maybe even a bell pepper or two this weekend when we go. But that's just the reality of how things are grown seasonally! I did buy some brown eggs from the same farmer that sold me the vegetables.
So for dinner on Wednesday, I made Ham 'n Noodle Casserole from a super old recipe I'd saved from a Quick Cooking magazine probably 10 years ago. The casserole normally calls for peas, but Craig doesn't like that so I left them out and served steamed broccoli with cheese on the side. Pineapple also goes well with ham and was on sale at Meijer for $1.99 so we had that too.
Ham 'n Noodle Casserole:3 tbsp butter, divided
2 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups diced ham
1 1/2 cups medium noodles, cooked and drained (I used spirals)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 tsp dried parsley
-In a sauce pan, melt 2 tbsp butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cheese and salt until melted. Add ham, noodles and peas. Pour into a greased 1 qt baking dish. Melt remaining butter; add bread crumbs and parsley. Sprinkle over casserole. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 tsp dried parsley
-In a sauce pan, melt 2 tbsp butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cheese and salt until melted. Add ham, noodles and peas. Pour into a greased 1 qt baking dish. Melt remaining butter; add bread crumbs and parsley. Sprinkle over casserole. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.
Mmm. Comfort food.
Also on Wednesday night, after attending Kelly's Pampered Chef party, I came home to pack lunches for the kids and I for Thursday. I wanted to make Weelicious carrot pineapple muffins since I had the pineapple this week and always keep a bag of bulk carrots on hand. They called for some whole wheat flour and this week I bought a new brand of flour to try:
There's also a recipe on the back of that bag for "no-knead whole wheat bread" that I'd like to try soon. :) The combination of carrot, pineapple and walnuts is something I'd just had in a "carrot cake" that a co-worker brought in for someone's birthday recently and it was really good! 
The muffins were very moist (a little crumbly) and delicious! And with the whole wheat flour and agave nectar in place of sugar, they are super healthy. I'm planning to make these next week for Will's 2nd special helper day at preschool, maybe with a light smear/drizzle of cream cheese icing on top. But in the meantime, they went into our lunches for Thursday and breakfast for Friday.13) Thursday - School lunch for Will:
Cheese cube & grape kabobs, carrot pineapple muffin, raw green beans and grape tomatoes, and steamed edamame (protein).
This is the frozen bag of edamame I used from the store. It's actually the remainder of a dip I made back in October for our fondue night. Very good just steamed, plain!
Sophie got a similar lunch at home with dad.
14) Friday - We will be having BLT's with sliced avocado inside and some veggies. Happy eating, friends!
