4/4/11 meals :)

Eekk! I'm late on posting this week!

I decided that we will try at least one new meal a week! This week its the Mediterranean Lentil Salad (leftover from last week) and the pasta with white bean sauce! I hope they turn out well :).

Monday: Mediterranean Lentil Salad w/ homemade bread
Tuesday: Pasta with white bean sauce, salad, homemade bread (I"m going to use either almond or rice milk and use the garden variety of pasta), roasted veggies with dip
Wednesday: Easy Peasy beans & rice, veggie
Thursday: Chickpea burgers (Frozen), veggie
Friday: Quinoa Stuffed peppers, homemade bread
Saturday: Frozen Pizza (We need a lazy day!), salad
Sunday: Zucchini Rice Fritatta, fresh fruit

Want to see other menus or get fun recipe ideas? Visit Organizer Junkie's website for Menu Plan Monday where bloggers post their weekly plans!

Meals 3/28

We have a couple repeats. I forgot I had a mom's night out so that was one less meal! We also ate up some frozen Bean Soup one night because neither of us wanted to cook. I hope everyone has a great week!

Monday: Polenta Casserole, homemade bread
Tuesday: Mediterranean Lentil Salad, homemade bread
Wednesday: Southwestern Quinoa Casserole in tortillas, carrot sticks
Thursday: Cold Veggie Pizza (make ahead)
Friday: Artichoke and Spinach Lasagna, veggie, homemade bread
Saturday: Curried Cous Cous, roasted veggies (Thanks Karla!)
Sunday: Chilaquiles Casserole, rice

Cold Veggie Pizza

Cold Veggie Pizza

This is a great dish to bring to potlucks etc. Its also is a fun treat for dinner!

Ingredients:
*2 (8oz) packages refrigerated crescent rolls
*1 cup sour cream
*1 8oz package cream cheese
*1 teaspoon dried dill weed
*1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
*1 1oz package ranch dressing mix
*Veggies: peppers (multi-colored), celery, radishes, carrots, onions, broccoli, tomatoes etc...just whatever you have!

*Spread crescent roll dough onto large cookie sheet and bake at 350F for approximately 10 minutes (just watch it until its done). Cut dough now...much easier than doing later :)
*In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine sour cream, cream cheese, dill weed, garlic salt and ranch dip mix. Spread this mixture on top of the cooled crust.
*Arrange veggies on pizza. Cover and refrigerate. Serve once chilled.

Roasted Vegetables

These are SO SO SO GOOD! My friend Karla made them at her kids' birthday party the other day. Even if you don't like veggies, you'll love these! Especially the sweet potatoes.

Roasted Vegetables:
You can do whatever veggies you'd like.
My favorite are
Asparagus
Sweet potato
Portabello caps
Others that roast well are:
Carrots
Broccoli
Red peppers

For all the veggies, drizzle extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
Place them on a cookie sheet or baking pan and roast in the oven at
400 degrees. The each take about 20-30 minutes. You can also grill
them on a pan or outside grill. Make sure they are a little chard but
not burned. For the sweet potatoes or carrots I usually pre-slice
them. The bellos, I usually leave whole then slice them when they come
out. the Peppers I usually cut into halves or thirds, roast them and
then slice them.

A WONDERFUL dip that goes well with them:

Ingredients:
*1 cup mayo
*3 oz sour cream
*salt and pepper to taste
*5 oz balsamic vinegar
*2 garlic cloves
*6-8 medium sized basil leaves

Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for an hour or more before serving.

Curried Couscous Salad with Dried Sweet Cranberries

Curried Couscous Salad with Dried Sweet Cranberries

This recipe is SO good! I don't like curry but in this its amazing :). Its also super easy which is a plus. Thanks mom for the recipe!

Ingredients:
*1-5.8 oz box instant couscous (or equivalent... I buy couscous in bulk)
*3/4 cup dried cranberries (raisins also work)
*1 Tablespoon curry powder
*1 tsp salt
*1 tsp sugar
*1/2 orange, juiced
*2-3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
*3-4 scallions thinly sliced OR green onions chopped
*2 TBS chopped parsley
*1/2 lemon, juiced
*3/4 cup chopped walnuts
*Freshly ground Pepper

Stir the couscous, cranberries, curry powder, salt and sugar together in a heatproof bowl. Bring water listed in package directions to a boil and pour over the couscous. Add orange juice. Give it a big stir, cover the bowl and let it stand, giving it a big stir once or twice until the water is absorbed and couscous is tender, about 5 minutes.

Fluff up the couscous with a fork. Add the olive oil, scallions, parsley, lemon juice and walnuts. Stir around until everything is distributed evenly throughout the couscous. Make up to 2 hours ahead of time and keep at room temperature until you are ready to serve. Check the seasonings just before you serve the salad and add salt and pepper to taste.

Mediterranean Lentil Salad

Mediterranean Lentil Salad (from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home)

Serve this nutritious salad on a bed of lettuce, topped with feta cheese and olives and surrounded by tomato wedges and cucumber slices.

Serves 4
Total time: 30 minutes

1 cup brown or green lentils
4 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon fresh thyme,(½ teaspoon dried)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
boiling water
½ cup diced celery
½ cup diced red or yellow bell pepper
½ cup minced red onion
½ cup chopped fresh parsley

Dressing
⅓ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground fennel
1 rounded teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Rinse the lentils. In a medium saucepan, bring the lentils, water, bay leaves, thyme, and garlic to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until tender, stirring occasionally.

While the lentils simmer, cover the sun-dried tomatoes with boiling water in a heatproof bowl and set aside. Combine the celery, peppers, onions, and parsley in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients until smooth. When the sun-dried tomatoes have softened, drain and mince them, and add to the vegetables.

Drain the lentils and discard the bay leaves. Remove the garlic, mash it, and mix it back into the lentils. Toss the lentils with the vegetables and dressing, and adjust the seasonings if necessary.

Serve immediately, or cover and chill to serve later.

Rumpledethumps

Rumpledethumps (from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant)

The diet of northern European peasantry relied heavily upon the potato ever since it was imported from Peru in the sixteenth century. In Celtic Britain it was taboo to harvest any potatoes before the festival of Lugnasa, and so the event was met with great anticipation. Colcannon, a potato and cabbage dish-variations of which are legion-is traditionally served on Lugnasa. All members of the family must share the dish or risk offending the agricultural spirit that protects the crop. After the first bite everyone shouts, "Death to the Red Hag!" thus driving away the specter of starvation.

Rumpledethumps is a colcannon that includes broccoli and cheddar cheese; it serves equally well as a luncheon or side dish. There are over one zillion know varieties of colcannon, and we have tried them all. This one is best.

Serves 6

5 large potatoes (2-2 ½ pounds)
2½ cups chopped cabbage
2 leeks, washed and chopped
2½ cups coarsely chopped broccoli
6 tablespoons butter
¼ teaspoon mace
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup milk
1½ cups grated cheddar cheese

Peel the potatoes, cut them into chunks, and boil them in salted water for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, steam the cabbage, leeks, and broccoli. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and stir in the mace. Mix this seasoned butter and salt and pepper to taste into the steamed vegetables.

Drain the potatoes and mash with 2 more tablespoons butter, the milk, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the seasoned vegetables and mix evenly. Spread in an oiled 13x9-inch baking pan. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and drizzle it over the potato mixture. Sprinkle the top with the grated cheese. Place under the broiler for 3 to 4 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbly.

If you'd like to prepare Rumpledethumps ahead of time, omit the cheese topping, cover the baking pan tightly, and refrigerate. Later, bake, covered with foil, for 30 minutes at 350º. Uncover, sprinkle with the cheese, and place Rumpledethumps under the broiler for a few minutes to brown.