meatball soup, without meatballs!

My original meal plan called for meatball soup.  I had plenty of leftover roast beef, so I decided to substitute.  This is the soup, served with homemade artisan bread.  Delicious!

I really need to get my next two weeks of meal plans ready.  It's so nice to know what's coming up, meal-wise, especially on the days I am working.

It's a new year - time to get back into meal planning!

This Christmas, I received *two* magazine cookbooks.  One is a One-Pan recipe book from Better Homes and Gardens, the other is a Jamie Oliver recipe yearbook.  I've already been digging in to some new recipes - fun, fun!

Here's my meal plan for Jan 1-14, I'm aiming for two weeks at a time.  Hopefully it lasts past February!

Jan 1 - Southwest Spaghetti pie  (Better Homes and Garden recipe), salad

Jan 2 - Chickpea, Rosemary and Pancetta soup (Jamie Oliver, but I used bacon instead, because I had some leftover) served with buns and sliced veggies

Jan 3 - leftover spaghetti pie, salad and buns

Jan 4 - Pot Roast with roasted potatoes and yams

Jan 5 - Beef and chile enchiladas (made with leftover pot roast, diced)  These were really really good (BHG)

Jan 6 - salmon, rice, and roasted broccoli

Jan 7 - chicken pot pie

Jan 8 - Chicken Caesar Lasagna, salad and buns (BHG)

Jan 9 - Meatball soup (Jamie Oliver, but made with ground turkey), with buns

Jan 10 - Perogies and sausage

Jan 11 - Cheeseburger and fries casserole (BHG book)

Jan 12 - dinner out (I'm out of town Tues/Wed, and get home at supper time, and the hubby is away, so by the time I get back, it's takeout time)

Jan 13 - Mexican Biscuit casserole (BHG book)

Jan 14 - Vegetable biryani

I can share any recipes as wanted, just let me know!

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

Fall is here, time to break out the pumpkin recipes!  I love this one.

1.25 cups old fashioned oats
1-2 tbsp flax seed
2.5-3 tbsp brown sugar
1/2-1 tsp cinnamon
(you can also put in some nutmeg and allspice, but I don't, ginger would be nice too)

mix together.

In another bowl, mix
3/4-1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4-1 cup milk
1/2 to 1 tsp vanilla
2-3 tsp softened butter

Pour over oats, then pour it all into a greased pan.  Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.  If you like, you can mix up a strusel/pecan topping and add part way through baking.  I prefer to add some nuts before serving, with a drizzle of real maple syrup and whip cream (whipped or not).  Delicious!

BBQ Corn on the Cob

After being begged by two of the three children to buy corn, I bbq'ed corn on the cob tonight.  After doing some research into various methods, I decided to attempt this.  I didn't eat it (it's not on my current eating plan, too starchy), but heard nothing but happy munching from said two children and their father.

Here's the key.  Brine the corn.  At least 30 minutes before cooking, toss the corn into a lot of cold water, mixed with a good 1/2 cup of salt (and a 1/4 cup of sugar if the corn doesn't seem sweet enough).  Let it sit.  Then toss on the hot grill and turn until it looks roasty and feels tender.  Serve with butter (another thing I currently can't eat, boo me!)

Summer Spaghetti

This is a family favorite, adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe.  I first made this dish when oldest child was around a year old, and he slurped it down happily and signed for more.  He's loved it ever since.  This can be served hot, or kept chilled and served cold.  It's not an exact recipe, more of a suggestion.

First, smush up some tomatoes into a serving bowl.  Fresh garden ones are the best, but cherry tomatoes or "on the vine" ones will do.  Just not those nasty hot house, lacking in flavor ones.  Smush them up in your hands, keeping all the juices in the bowl, this is a great tension reliever too.

Sprinkle with some sea salt, a few glugs of olive oil.  Then rip up and toss in fresh basil.  Yes, fresh, not dried.  Trust me.

Let that sit for at least half an hour so that the flavors can hang out.

Meanwhile, boil up some spaghetti.  Drain most of the water out, and toss into tomato mixture.  Splash in a few glugs of balsamic vinegar and serve.  It's super good with fresh bread.

Peach Cream Pie

 I'm *not* a pie lover.  I would choose almost any dessert option over pie, except for this one.  This pie tastes like summer to  me.  I love it the best of all the pies in the world.

The only way to make this pie is with fresh, almost overripe peaches.  I often sub low fat plain yogurt for half of the sour cream.

FILLING:        4 C fresh sliced peaches (6 med) 1 C sugar (divided)

                        2 T flour  -  1 egg  -  ¼ t. salt  -  ½ t vanilla  -  1 C sour cream

CRUST:           ½ C butter (1/4 lb.)  -  ½ tsp salt  -  1 ½ C flour

TOPPING:       1/3 C sugar  -  1/3 C flour  -  ¼ C butter  -  1 tsp cinnamon

CRUST:           Cut butter into flour & salt.  Press dough into 9” pie pan

FILLING:        Slice peaches into a bowl & sprinkle with 1/4C sugar.  Let stand.  Combine ¾ C sugar, flour, egg, salt & vanilla.  Fold in sour cream.  Stir into peaches & pour into crust.  Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.  Turn oven down to 350 and bake for another 20 minutes.

TOPPING:       Combine ingredients till crumbly.  When 20 minutes baking period at 350 is over, sprinkle topping over pie and bake for another 10 minutes at 400.

A few tips:

- don't forget to adjust the temperature.  I didn't do the last one tonight, but I blame the second Amaretto Sour.

- make this pie early in the day and chill it before serving.  This pie is best chilled.

The end results

ohmygoodness - Greek dinner

This poor wee blog has been neglected lately.

Tonight, I'm here to share our meal from this evening's dinner.  I call this meal a home run.

Links aplenty ahead!

I was craving roasted chicken tonight.  It helped that it was chilly and rainy today.  I found this:
http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/2010/02/greek-roasted-chicken.html

Holy COW was this good!  Simple and tasty.

I served it with my Greek Salad (which always gets good reviews), this tzatziki recipe (which is my go-to standard and oh-so-delicious) and a pita bread recipe from this cookbook (which I have on my Kindle).

*Then* I whipped up a peach strawberry sangria recipe on my own.  Yummy.

dice two peaches and about 8 strawberries.  Toss with a tbsp of sugar, then add:
3/4 cup peach schnapps
1/4 cup triple sec
(approx)

Chill for 2 hours minimum. Then add one bottle of pinot grigo and marinate longer in the fridge.

Serve with club soda, at about a 1:1 ratio with alcohol.  Delicious!