Menu Planning

There are so many things in life I can't control but one thing that is in my control is what I feed my family. I try (Try being the key word) to menu plan at least part of each week.

I printed out my handy menu planner that I found here and sat down with my cup of coffee to plan my week.  This week was a bit easier. I only needed meal for a few days since its Thanksgiving this week, but I planned that day out too.

Sometimes I plan based on store sales, sometimes I just try to use up some stuff in the freezer and sometimes it's just what sounds good to me. S is zero help when it comes to meal planning, he has no preference and will eat whatever I put in front of him as long as it's not watermelon (Seriously, who doesn't like watermelon!!)

This week, we are having a chicken Florentine casserole and butternut squash/black bean chili...photos and recipes to come soon.

I was trying to leave you with some photos of our Holiday baking, but my phone/computer is acting up...try to imagine how 4 apple pies and 17 loaves of banket would look. =)

The Working Mom's Best Friend

Or, perhaps I should call it the Busy Person who wants to get a hot meal on the table but doesn't want to spend all day in the kitchen's best friend...Either way...it's the crock pot!  My crock pot is one of the most utilized appliances in my kitchen, coming in just behind the coffee pot!

I "crocked" 2 meal this week and I was glad I did when snowy weather and slick roads got me home later than usual and I could walk in to dinner already made!

Wednesday night I made a Balsamic Garlic Porkloin

I started with a marinade of 4 cloves of minced garlic, 1/4 c balsamic vinegar, 1/2 c water, 1/2 c sugar and a 1t of molasses and a sprinkling of rosemary (I mixed the sugar and molasses in a separate small bowl before adding it to the marinade.

Next I rubbed salt, pepper and dried mustard all over the porkloin on both sides

I threw it all in the crock pot and set it to low for 10ish hours.

I served it with steamed broccoli and I had enough left for lunch the next day and then some!

Thursday I adapted a Swiss Steak recipe that my co-worker, RRJ gave me.

I had a round steak that I dredged in flour and Penzey's Bicentennial Rub before I seared it on all sides.

I chopped up some onion and carrots and sauteed them in the same pan that I seared the steak in

After those started to cook, I added 1 c of water to the pan and a packet of brown gravy.
I dumped the meat, carrots and onions plus a jar of the tomatoes I canned this summer, cream of celery soup, and a small can of mushrooms into the pot and cooked on low all day.

It turned out to look a bit like beef stew. We served it over mashed potatoes. S & E loved it!

It made enough for us to freeze the leftovers for another meal in a few weeks!

I must say that I am finding that writing this blog is just the creative outlet that I was looking for. I am currently curled up on my couch with a blanket and a cup of tea (vanilla sleepy time) and writing about something I love, it's a great way to wind down my evening.

This weekend, we have plans to visit Brewery Vivant with our neighbors and I am spending a few hours on Saturday baking with my mom and aunt, I am sure I will have plenty to write about.

Thanks for reading and please let me know if you try any of my recipes and how it turned out!

Scones

It's no secret that S loves to eat!

For as long as I have known him, he has liked a pastry of some sort along with his egg and cereal in the morning. 

When we were 1st married, I baked him sweet treats every weekend to enjoy throughout the week.

As life got busier ie: E was born, I started just buying him bagels and calling it good.

This past weekend, I decided to surprise him and make him an old favorite...scones! I have made a variety of different flavor combinations over the years and all of them have been pretty good. This week, I decided to thaw out some rhubarb that a patient had given me over the summer and add in my new Cake Spice from Penzeys...what a great combo!

If you aren't sure, Scones are a dry-ish pastry that originated in the U.K. They are wonderful with coffee or tea!

This recipe was given to me several years ago by our friend D.O.

Here is the basic recipe minus the fruits and spices. The fruit/spice combos are endless and mine are never the same twice!

2 1/2 c flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 c granulated sugar
1/4 c brown sugar*
1/4 c cold butter cut into pieces
2/3 c Buttermilk*
1 c fruit

*I never have buttermilk on hand, so I use milk and lemon juice
*I was out of brown sugar, so I used extra white sugar with some molasses

Preheat oven to 375. Stir flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugars.

With a pastry blender, cut in butter until soft crumbs form.

Stir in fruit. Stir in buttermilk (I just roll up my sleeves and mix with my hands) until dough just hold together.
Transfer dough to an un-greased cookie sheet.

Shade into a 9" round. Use a floured knife to cut into 8 wedges, sprinkle tops with additional sugar if desired.  Separate wedges allowing about 1/2" between each piece

Bake 22-28 minutes-until golden.

For these scones, I used about 2 c rhubarb and added 1t Cake Spice and 1 t vanilla. I sprinkled the tops with cinnamon and sugar.

Enjoy!

My 1st Recipe Post!

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Cream Sauce....it's what was for dinner!

Last night, S and I had tickets to Mary Poppins at the Civic....what a great show! We needed something fairly quick and easy so I pulled out some frozen ravioli and whipped up a homemade sauce to toss them in. We paired it with a simple salad and dinner was ready in 30 minutes!



I have made homemade ravioli in the past, but these ones from Costco were just as good and so much quicker. 

Ravioli

 

Here is my recipe..

2T unsalted butter
1/3 C chopped onion
1 1/2 T chopped fresh sage
3/4 C dry white wine...I drank the left over...it was good!
2/3 C heavy whipping cream
Freshly ground S & P to taste
Asiago or Parmesan cheese for sprinkling. I like to buy my cheese in a block and shred as needed.

Get that ravioli cooking according to package directions

Melt the butter over medium heat, add the onion and sage and saute about 30 seconds

Smells so good!

 Add wine and cream. Increase heat and boil, uncovered, until sauce is reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes.

 After ravioli the ravioli was cooked, I drained it, tossed it with EVOO and then tossed it in the sauce, garnished with my cheese and dinner was ready!

Since it's cold and snowy here today, I plan to spend some good quality time in my kitchen and I can't wait to show you what I've come up with! Stay tuned...and stay warm!

I'm a blogger!

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I have been thinking about blogging for a while now and decided to finally take the plunge!

Yesterday, S and I went on a long overdue date. After our food arrived, I began taking photos of if. I mentioned that my dream job would be a restaurant reviewer. He suggested I start a blog where I can ramble on about my love of good food, both from my kitchen and restaurants. I didn't think that I had mentioned blogging before...he totally read my mind!

So, yesterday I announced to my Face Book world that I intended to start blogging, and here I am!

I believe that I can truly show my love for my family and friends through food. I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen and sharing my creations with the ones I love.  If you were to be a guest at my table I can guarantee that you will find a properly set table (much to the dismay of my husband who firmly believes that you only need put out the utensils you intend to use) with cloth napkins. You will also find, good conversation and company. When you leave my table, it is my intention that you leave full...your belly and your heart!

I invite you to sit back, grab a beverage and (hopefully) be inspired to feed the ones you love!

If you like what you've read, leave me some love!