Sunday, October 9, 2011

Emptying out the Cupboard

I didn't really go to the grocery store this week so here's what we came up with :). A couple nights we had Smoothies with our meals. Super easy and delicious!

Monday: Mom's Night Out @ Poly Thai--yum! Phil and Char had breakfast food-pancakes, eggs, and green smoothies
Tuesday: Veggie Stir-fry over rice
Wendnesday: Spinach and Mozzarella Ravoli (found at costco) with salad
Thursday: Black bean, avocado, & lime tacos
Friday: Family Date Night--Acropolis complete with flaming cheese, sangria and flying napkins :)
Saturday: Lentil burgers, oven fries, green smoothies

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Green Smoothies Recipe

Green Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:
Fresh Squeezed OJ
Kale, Chard or other green
Frozen Fruit (we get a mix at Costco called "Festival Blend")
Other fruit we might have on hand such as blueberries, strawberries, bananas, mangos, etc.
Ice

Instructions:
Throw a bit of everything in a smoothie machine, blender, etc. and blend away until smooth. Adjust with more juice or fruit as needed for the correct consistancy. Enjoy!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Italian!!

So we had a lot of Italian food this week... not the best of meal plans, but it got us through!

Saturday: Morningstar Fried "Chick'n" Salads, Feta, Pesto & Artichoke flatbread
Sunday: Butternut squash mac n' cheese, salad
Monday: Chickpea salad in pitas with balsamic, cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce (vegan), kale chips (made with apple cider vinegar) and smoothies
Tuesday: Tuscan Pasta, bread
Wednesday: Homemade pizza (I used the extra veggies from the pasta for the top), salad
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Family date night! -- We are starting a new thing on Friday night called Family Date night where we go out to eat each Friday for fun together as a family! This will be the only day we eat out :). This week we went to Panera then Campbell's Dairyland for ice cream!
Saturday: Pasta salad (see recipe below)

Pasta Salad: So I made it a little different this time around. I used tortellini, olives, peas, sundried tomatoes, marinated artichokes, and balsamic dressing. Yum!

Chickpea Salad Recipe

Chickpea Salad

I adapted this recipe from something called Vegetarian Chickpea Sandwich Filling. The first night we had it in pitas with veggies and balsamic vinegar. The rest was eaten for lunches on crackers. Its a similar idea to egg salad or tuna salad. It can be made vegan if you use vegenaise instead of mayonaise.

Ingredients:
*1 can garbanzo beans or equivalent (we cook them instead of using canned)
*1 stalk celery, chopped
*1/2 onion, chopped
*1/2 green pepper, chopped
*1-2 spoonfuls mayo (or vegenaise)
*A little squirt of mustard
*1 Tablespoon lemon juice
*1 teaspoon dried dill weed
*salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Place chickpeas in bowl and mash with fork.
2. Mix in the rest of the ingredients using mayo to make it the right consistancy.
3. Put in pitas, on sandwiches, on crackers, etc. and enjoy!

Tuscan Penne Pasta Recipe

Tuscan Penne Pasta

So I kinda made this dish up. I had this amazing dish at the The Spaghetti Warehouse a month or two ago called Tuscan Rigatoni and I wanted to make something along those lines. This is what I ended up with and it was a hit! It was super easy to (just some chopping of veggies). I also used 2 jars of sauce. I typically make my own but I got a super good deal on sauce and wanted it to be super easy!



Ingredients:
*1 box whole wheat Penne
*1 Jar Bertolli Five Cheese with Asiago & Fontina red sauce (though any red sauce would work)
*1 Jar Bertolli Four Cheese Rosa white sauce (any white sauce would work here too)
* Parmesan cheese (freshly shredded)
* Oil for sauteeing veggies
* Tomatoes, chopped
* Marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
*sundried tomatoes, chopped
*Onions, chopped
*3 cloves of garlic, pressed
*Mushrooms, sliced
*Zucchini, chopped





Directions:
1. Boil water for pasta and cook.
2. Meanwhile, pour both jars of sauce together and heat on low heat. I added quite a bit of Italian herbs and garlic to the sauce to make it taste good.
3. Heat oil in saute pan. Add onions and garlic.
4. A couple minutes later, add mushrooms and zucchini.
5. After a few more minutes add tomatoes, sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts.
6. Once veggies are cooked season with salt and pepper.
7. Now you can make the dish! Put pasta on your plate. Top with desired amount of sauce then top with veggies and finally shredded cheese.
8. Enjoy!

Feta, Pesto & Artichoke Flatbreads

Feta, Pesto & Artichoke Flatbreads



These are super easy and a great side to a dinner. They'd even make a great lunch by themselves. I enjoy pairing a flatbread with a big salad for dinner.

Ingredients:
*3 Pita bread
*Pesto (basil based)--a couple spoonfuls
*marinated artichoke hearts
*Fresh feta cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lay out your pita bread and spread your pesto on it.
3. Sprinkle artichoke hearts and feta over the pesto.
4. Bake for about 10 minutes until cheese is browning and pita is slightly crisp.
5. Cut into wedges.
6. Enjoy! :)

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Easy/Comfort food-ish week!

I'm a bit late posting for this week. But this is what we had this past week. It was a pretty simple week. I made up the quiche and it turned out well. That was our new recipe for the week. I also made up the beans & rice recipe, just threw stuff together and it turned out well too. 

Saturday: Publix Subs after church
Sunday: Bean & Cheese Enchilidas rice (I think), veggies of some sort
Monday: Onion, kale & feta quiche, figs
Tuesday: Kashi frozen meals (yay for easy!) (vegan)
Wednesday: Veggie Stir-fry w/ rice (vegan)
Thursday: Beans & Rice (I just did brown rice, then black beans with cut up onions, celery, tomatoes, green peppers, and some seasoning). Add cheese & sour cream if you wish... or don't to make it vegan :)
Friday: Pizza & Salad!