Monday, December 29, 2014

Meal Plan: December 28 - January 2

Sunday:
Mac and Cheese and Mint Peas from Fun Food with avocado and tomato salad

Monday:
Rosemary Chicken and Stuffed Potatoes from Fun Food and salad with lettuce, cherry tomatoes, etc.

Tuesday:
Garlic and Herb Angel Hair Pasta from Fun Food

Wednesday: NYE!

Thursday:
Tunafish Sandwiches and Tomato Soup

Friday:
Fish in packets with tomatoes and scallions from Fun Food, brown rice and green salad

Saturday:
Pizza

Sunday:
Butternut Squash Risotto with green salad

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Meal Plan: December 7 - 14

Sunday:
             Dinner:  Calzones

Monday:
             Breakfast:  Grapefruit, Cereal, eggs
             Lunch: leftovers (pizza, calzones, pasta) oranges
             Dinner:  Butternut Squash Soup, Kale Salad

Tuesday:
             Breakfast:  Grapefruit, Quiche
             Lunch:  Leftover Soup, Turkey and Cheese Sandwiches
             Dinner:  Homemade Pad Thai

Wednesday:
             Breakfast: Oatmeal with nuts, grapefruit
             Lunch:  Wellness Lunch; Kale Salad, Sandwiches
             Dinner:  Pasta with Pesto

Thursday:
             Breakfast:  Quiche, Grapefruit
             Lunch:  Lunch out, leftover calzone and kale salad
             Dinner:  Fall Orzo Bake from freezer

Friday:  
             Breakfast:  Gingerbread Dutch Baby (set up night before) and Grapefruit
             Lunch: Leftover Orzo, oranges
             Dinner: Firm Dinner/Kids at Sleepover

Saturday:
             Breakfast:
             Lunch:  Anniversary lunch out
             Dinner:  TBD for adults; kids have grilled cheese and tomato soup

Sunday:
             Breakfast:
             Lunch:  Leftover Buffet
             Dinner:  Broiled Fish (from Freezer), Green Beans (from freezer) Butternut Squash

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Candied Orange Peels

One of my favorite Christmas sweets to make are candied citrus peels.  They appeal to my sweet tooth and my desire to find the edible in what we tend to throw away (or compost.)  Each year we order a box of ruby red grapefruit from Pell's Orchard in Florida and it typically arrives the week we go back to school after the holiday break.  It is so nice to have a grapefruit every morning, especially in early January in Vermont!

I save the rinds of every grapefruit and orange that we eat throughout the year.  Clementines are not worth saving for this project.  They are too thin and you do not get big enough pieces.  I use a sharp knife to shave off the pith inside the rind and then slice the rind only into thin ribbons.  I put those ribbons into a freezer bag and keep adding to it until about May when the farmers markets start up again and, well, when we are sick of grapefruit.  By then, I usually have at least a full freezer back of rinds ready to be candied for Christmas.  This has proven to be enough to give away as gifts, use in experimental recipes and enjoy throughout the winter.  The trick is hiding them until I have the chance to give them away.  

Ingredients:  (for my full batch)
1 Gallon Freezer Bag full of citrus peels (16 cups, which probably comes from 32 grapefruit)
11 cups sugar

Directions:
Put peels in large pot and cover with water.  Bring to boil over low heat and then let simmer for 10 minutes.  Drain.  Cover with water again, bring to boil, let simmer for 10 minutes again.  Repeat this whole process for a total of three times.  Drain your rinds and add 10 cups of sugar and 10 cups of water to your pot.  Bring to a boil, stirring a bit until the sugar has fully disolved.  When the candy thermometer reads read 220 degrees, add your rinds.  If you are not using a candy thermometer, the syrup should be boiling rapidly and should smell of carmelization.  Simmer until transluscent, about 45 minutes. At that point, turn them off and let them sit in the sugar syrup at room temperature until cool enough to handle.  You can leave them overnight if you want.  [The original recipe says you are supposed to bring them back to a boil and when they reach 226 degrees, then turn off the heat, let them sit for 4 hours and then bring them back to a boil until they reach 228 degrees.  Then you are supposed to let them sit.  I did that whole thing once and it was a huge pain.  I skipped it last year and everything came out fine.]

Once your rinds are cool enough to handle use a fork and  your fingers to spread them out on a cooling rack placed over a cookie sheet.  Then, place them in a turned-off oven, or a dry room in your house for 24 hours.  After that, put them all in a big zip lock bag, add the remaining cup of sugar and toss them around a bit.

We like to eat these like gummy candy, but I also use them in salads, tea breads, atop desserts like chocolate mousse or something with whipped cream.    

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Meal Plan: November 17 - 23

Monday:  Travel
Leftover Butternut Squash Pasta Bake

Tuesday:  Travel

Wednesday:  Talent Show
Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese or Tuna Sandwiches

Thursday:

Friday:  Big Sleep Over
Tacos

Saturday:
Pancackes for breakfast
Pasta for kids/specialty meal for grownups?

Sunday:
Broiled Haddock, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Meal Plan: October 20 - 26

Monday:
Butternut Squash Soup

Tuesday:
Chicken Pot Pie

Wednesday:  
Pasta with Pesto and Chicken

Thursday:  
Barbecue Chicken Tamale Pie

Friday:
Leftovers

Saturday:
Pizza (BBQ Chicken)

Sunday:

Monday, October 13, 2014

Meal Plan: October 13 - 19

Monday:
Leftovers

Tuesday:
Chicken and Potatoes

Wednesday:
Pasta with Mom's sauce

Thursday:
Spagetti Squash and leftover sauce

Friday:
Chicken Pot Pie

Saturday:
Biscuits and Gravy with greens

Sunday:
Butternut Squash Soup and fresh bread

Monday, October 6, 2014

Meal Plan: October 5 - 12

Sunday

Monday -Kate traveling 
Butternut squash soup

Tuesday- socer/Kate traveling
Salsa chicken with rice

Wednesday - fencing
Pasta

Thursday - soccer/TA board meeting
Leftover buffet

Friday - Cape

Saturday- Cape

Sunday- Cape

Monday, September 29, 2014

Meal Plan: September 29 - October 5

Monday:  Fencing
Biscuits and Gravy with sliced tomatoes and avocado

Tuesday:  Soccer
Chicken Salad with Pitas

Wednesday:  Talent Show Rehearsal/Cello
Pasta with Chicken Ragu

Thursday:  
n/a

Friday:
n/a

Saturday:
n/a

Sunday:

Friday, September 19, 2014

Mean Plan: September 23 - 28

Monday:
Leftover Tacos

Tuesday:  Soccer
Pasta with Pesto

Wednesday: Cello
Leftover Tacos/Quesadillas

Thursday: Soccer
Pasta with Red Sauce

Friday:  TBD

Saturday:  TBD

Sunday:
Roast or oven fried chicken

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Meal Plan: September 15 - 21

Monday:
Pasta with cranberry-orange sausage, butternut squash and apples

Tuesday:  Annie's dentist appt/Scott's meeting
Smitten Kitchen Carrot Soup with Roasted Chickpeas

Wednesday:  Cello Lessons
Pasta with red sauce and salad

Thursday:  Annie's Soccer Game

Friday:
Orange Chicken, Fried Rice, Crab Rangoons and broccoli

Saturday:
Pizza
Fresh mozzarella, pepperoni, Hawaiin, BBQ Chicken, Arrugula 

Sunday:
Big Taco Dinner

Monday, August 25, 2014

Meal Plan: August 25-31

It's a new school year (almost) and not only are we back on the meal-planning bandwagon, but we've got an all new approach.  See below:  more than you ever wanted to know abou our diet.  Rather than plan things out by day, I have created lists of potential breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks based on what we have in the house.  These lists, in spreadsheet form, will be hung on our refrigerator, allowing us to cross things off as we finish them up.  I am hoping this system will create more flexibilty and transparency and less waste.  I am hoping to solve my three biggest meal-planning pet peeves at once:  1.  I had planned to serve a certain leftover dish for another dinner, but someone ate it for lunch; 2. I didn't realize there was something good at the back of the fridge and now it's gone bad; and 3. I'm at work and I "feel" like there's no food in the house so I convince myself that the best option is to either eat out/take out or buy all the fixings for whatever I happen to be craving.  I've done the thinking ahead of time.  No excuses.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Breakfasts: (all with fruit; see sweet snacks)
Cheerios
Oatmeal
Toast
Egg Sandwich

Lunches:
Lentil Salad
Turkey
American Cheese
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Arrugula and Tomatoes
Yogurt
Bread
Rolls
Hardboiled eggs

Dinners:
Roasted Buddha Bowl:  Broccoli, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots with Quinoa
Butternut Squash Soup
Bacon, Arrugula and Tomato Sandwiches with Two Week Salad
Pasta with Tomato Sauce
Quinoa with peas, bacon and raisins
Baby Artichokes with Potatoes

Sweet Snacks:
Pineapple
Watermelon
Grapes
Graham Crackers
Peaches
Apples
Peanut Butter
Almond Butter
Bananas
Banana Bread
Chocolate Chip Cookies

Savory Snacks:
Cucumbers
Baby Carrots
Cheddar Cheese
Crackers
Green Beans
Hummus
Avocado
Kale Chips
Almonds
Sauteed Tofu

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Meal Plan: June 9 - 15

Monday:
Hummus, pita and veggies

Tuesday:
Smitten Kitchen Flat-roasted Chicken with little yellow potatos.  Sauteed baby kale

Wednesday:
Arrugula Pesto

Thursday:
Thai dish with baby bok choy and left over chicken

Friday:
Chicken salad sandwiches with micro greens and fruit

Saturday:
Farmer's Market Finds for dinner

Sunday:
Father's Day dinner at Koto

Monday, June 2, 2014

Meal Plan: June 2 - 8

It's Farmer's Market Season again!  Bring on the greens!  Bring on the spontaneous salads!  Bring on the yardwork that keeps us out of the kitchen until it's almost too late to make dinner!

Monday:
Thai Fried Rice with Oyster Mushrooms, Bok Choy and Peanuts

Tuesday:
"Picnic Dinner"

Wednesay:
Pasta

Thursday:
Eggs in a Nest

Friday:
Build your own sandwich

Saturday:
Farmers Market Dinner

Sunday:
Crepes

Monday, May 19, 2014

Meal Plan: May 19 - 25

Monday:
Lamb and Lavash Roll-ups with cucumber, tomato, tzatziki and asparagus

Tuesday:
Leftover pasta, lamb and Pad Thai

Wednesday:
Pasta with Red Sauce

Thursday:
Leftover buffet

Friday:
TBD

Saturday:
TBD

Sunday:
TBD

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Meal Plan: May 12 - 18

Monday:
Fiddlehead Fried Rice, Fresh tomatoes and greens

Tuesday:
Chicken cutlets with fresh tomatoes and greens

Wednesday:
Pasta with red sauce from freezer

Thursday:  
Chicken Sandwiches

Friday:
Leftover buffet picnic

Saturday:
Fresh Pea soup with chives and fresh bread

Sunday:
Buddha bowls with quinoa, roasted vegetables, sauteed greens and fresh tomatoes

Friday, April 18, 2014

Meal Plan: April 19 - 27

Saturday (Easter Vigil):
Asparagus

Sunday:
Deviled Eggs or Egg Salad Sandwiches with Greens and golden beets

Monday:
Leftovers from Saturday

Tuesday:

Wednesday:
Thai Dish

Thursday:

Friday:
Fish and Chips

Saturday:
Pizza

Sunday:
Buddha Bowls with Quinoa, Beets, Brocoli, Cauliflower, Sweet Potatoes, Kale or Arrugula, sauces

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Meal Plan: April 7 - 13

Monday:
Buddha Bowls with quinoa and roasted vegetables

Tuesday:
Thai Dish?

Wednesday:
Pasta with red sauce and Italian Sausage

Thursday:
Sushi Rolls

Friday:
Soup Supper at the Church

Saturday:
TBD

Sunday:  
TBD

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Meal Plan: March 31 - April 6

Monday:
Butternut Squash Soup

Tuesday:
Black Bean Ragu Enchiladas with Cashew Cream

Wednesday:
Pasta with Red Sauce

Thursday:
Thai Dish

Friday:
Soup Supper at the church

Saturday:
Pasta with leftover sauce

Sunday:
Buddha Bowls

Monday, March 24, 2014

Meal Plan: March 24 - 30

Sunday:
Thai Sweet Potato Chickpea Burgers with Spicy Peanut Sauce, Arugula, Bean Sprouts, Dilly Beans and Sauerkraut

Monday:
Potato Leek Soup

Tuesday:
Falafel, pita, cucumbers, hummus, etc

Wednesday:
Pasta with Red Sauce and Sausage

Thursday:
Thai dish?

Friday:
Soup Supper at St. Francis

Saturday:

Sunday:
Buddha Bowls



Tomato Soup

Monday, March 3, 2014

Meal Plan: March 3 - 9

Monday:
Miso Soup, Spring Rolls, Pan-fried Tofu

Tuesday:
Martha Stewart Pasta

Wednesday:  Travel
Pasta with Butter and cheese with raw veggies

Thursday:  Travel
Quesadillas and raw veggies

Friday:  Soup Supper at St. Francis

Saturday:  TDB

Sunday:
Butternut Squash Ravioli

Monday, February 17, 2014

Meal Plan: February 17 - 23

Monday:
Thai Sweet Potato Patties with Peanut Sauce, Kale and Red Pepper Salad

Tuesday:
White Bean and Sweet Potato Chilli with Corn Tortillas and Avocado

Wednesday:
Pasta with leftover pizza sauce

Thursday:
Leftovers

Friday:  
Packed Sandwiches

Saturday:
Olympic Theme Family Dinner

Sunday:
Dinner Out

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Meal Plan: February 10 - 16

Monday:
Hummus, Pitas, Quinoa and Kale Salad

Tuesday:
Sushi rolls

Wednesday:
Annie's special pasta

Thursday:

Friday:
Pizza

Saturday:

Sunday:
Cashew "mozzarella" sticks with marinara sauce, carrot and cucumber sticks, slic

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Meal Plan: February 3 - 9

So, we are in the fourth week out of five weeks that I will be on the road, at least a few days each week.  It is more than a little grueling on all of us, but we are able to protect a sizable amount of time together.  The overcooking in weeks before is paying off as there are plenty of leftovers to carry forward into dinners and lunches.

Monday:
Leftover Thai Seafood Soup with Rice

Tuesday:
Butternut Squash and shells with Kale Chips

Wednesday:
Leftover Pasta with meatballs

Thursday:
Hummus, Pitas and Corn Chowder

Friday:
Homemade Pizza and Kale Salad

Saturday:
Fish and Chips, Avocado Fries, Fish-fried tofu, Coleslaw

Sunday:
Black Bean Ragu (Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)
Corn Tortillas
Pico de Gallo
Guacamole
Cashew Cream

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Meal Plan; January 27 - February 2

This week I celebrate my birthday with a remake of one of my favorite childhood meals.

Monday:
Smoky Butternut Squash over pasta with roasted broccoli Rabe 

Tuesday:
Thai- inspired dish by Scott

Wednesday:
Broccoli Enchiladas and birthday cake :)
This is my own recipe!

Thursday:
Leftover Pasta and "neatballs."  See last Sunday's meal.

Friday:
Pizza night:  the return

Saturday:
Leftover buffet

Sunday:
Thai-inspired dish by Scott

Broccoli Enchiladas with Mushroom Sauce and Crispy Shallots

Ingredients:

6 shallots
1/4 C Canola Oil for frying
2 T Flour of choice
2 crowns broccoli, chopped into small bite-sized florets
1/2 C almonds, soaked overnight
1 C vegan cheddar cheese, shredded
4 T Vegan Butter or oil of choice
1/2 C mushrooms, chopped
4 C non dairy milk of choice
2 T Nutritional Yeast
8 small taco size tortillas
2 Tomatoes, seeded and diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For Topping:
Slice shallots thinly and toss with 1T of the flour.  Heat oil in skillet.  When sizzling, add half of the shallots.  Cook until golden brown.  Transfer to paper-towel-lined plate to drain.  Repeat with remainind shallots.  Set aside.

For Filling:
Drain almonds and pulse in food processor until small uniform crumbs form.  Be careful not to cream into almond butter.  Toss almond crumbs, vegan cheese, 1/3 of the shallots and brocoli florets in a bowl.  Set aside while you make sauce.

For Mushroom Sauce:
Heat Vegan butter in skillet until completely melted.  Add mushrooms and cook until completely softened.  Add remaining flour and stir until a roux forms.  Add non dairy milk and whisk to blend in roux.  Add nutritional yeast and continue cooking until mixture thickens.  Salt and Pepper to Taste.

To assemble:
Add 1/2 C of mushroom mixture to the broccoli/almond mixture and stir to combine.  In the bottom of 9/13 casserole pan, add 1/4 C mixture and spread around the bottom.  Fill each tortilla with 1/8 of the broccoli mixture and place in the casserole pan, seam side down.  Pour remaining sauce over all 8 filled tortillas, reserving 1/2 C for leftovers.  Sprinkle with remaining shallots.  Bake for 18-20 minutes.  Top with diced tomatoes before serving.


Monday, January 20, 2014

Meal Plan: January 20 - 26

Monday:
Martha Stewart One Pan Pasta and leftover kale salad

Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Leftovers (tabouli, hummus, kale salad, pita chips, soups)

Thursday: 
Rice Noodles and Bok Choy


Saturday:
Leftovers

Sunday:
Omitted celery
Added 4 cloves chopped garlic
Added 1/4 nutritional yeast
Added 1/2 tsp dried parsley

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Meal Plan: January 13 - 19

Monday:

Tuesday:
Thai Sweet Potato Burgers with Kale salad and carrot sticks

Wednesday:
Pasta with roasted brocolli, tofu and olive oil

Thursday:
Leftovers

Friday:
Tacos

Saturday:
Surprise!

Sunday:
Leftovers or take out

Monday, January 6, 2014

Meal Plan: January 5 - 11

It's the first Monday of the New Year and for us, the first Monday of our full-blown weekend ski routine.  It is my favorite season of the year because we devote hours on each weekend to having fun all together, but it does mean we have to manage around that time we would have had for household chores.  That said, I am going to go back to creating and posting our meal plans on a Monday through Sunday rotation, as that is how our weeks seem to flow.

Sunday:

Monday:
Coconut noodle soup - recipe to be created on the fly!

Tuesday:

Wednesday:
Scott's Pad Thai

Thursday:
Reprise of Quinoa Red Lentil Cutlets with Mushroom Gravy with carrots and kale salad

Friday:
Martha Steward Pasta for kids
Treat Dinner for us
Guacamole and Tortilla Chips

Saturday:

Sunday:
Dreena's No-Fu Loaf, Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts

Lunch ideas: