Menu Plan Monday - May 31

Happy Memorial Day! I hope you are all enjoying a day off of work and relaxing with those who matter most. Unfortunately, my husband has to work today. It's a short day, though, so we will be able to enjoy the day during the afternoon. The kids just got a new kiddie pool over the weekend, so I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time in the backyard.

The heat has really set in lately and with that comes low appetites. Our meals this week are light and healthy.

Monday: Southwest Chicken Salad with Green Chili Dressing

Tuesday: Carnitas Tacos with all the fixings

Wednesday: Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Crespelles, tossed salad, french bread

Thursday: Brazilian Black Beans with rice

Friday: Red Bell Peppers Stuffed with Rice, tossed salad,

Lunches include:
Spinach and Feta Quiche
Tuna Salad
Chicken, Spinach and Feta Mini Calzones

Breakfasts:
Baked Oatmeal
Scrambled Eggs with Scallions and [garden fresh] Tomatoes
Mango with Strawberries, Blackberries and Lime

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! For more menus, check out Orgjunkie.com

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

It seems like every time I make cookies, I end up making chocolate chip...which isn't a bad thing, but I've been craving something different. I stumbled across some white chocolate macadamia nut cookies on Annie's Eats the other night and remembered the bag of Ghirardelli white chocolate chips in the pantry that I've had for ages. It always was cast aside in favor of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips. I looked around at other recipes and formulated what I thought would fit my family's tastes best. We're a chunky cookie family and this cookie is loaded with big hunks of salty, rich macadamia nuts and sweet, creamy white chocolate.

I love that Husband has a job where I can send the cookies to work with him. Having these in the house would be far too much temptation!


White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
makes 24

1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
8 oz. white chocolate chips, or bar, chopped
6.5 oz. macadamia nuts, chopped coarsely

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Stir in egg and vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Add to the butter mixture. When thoroughly mixed, add the white chocolate and chopped nuts. Stir to combine.

Drop cookies by heaping teaspoonfull onto an ungreased baking sheet, about two inches apart.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until very lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet.

Store in an airtight container.

Sophi P. Cakes Cupcakes

Today was the grand opening of Sophi P. Cakes in Lafayette, Louisiana. They advertised cupcakes, quiche and cheesecake being available. I'm always interested in trying new, exciting flavors so I loaded the kids up and went to check it out. The flavors available were pretty picked over, which was disappointing. I was expecting a lot of fun flavors and there were a few, but too few.

We tried three flavors. Peanut Butter Cup, Classic Red Velvet and a Kahlua/Cappucino.

Here are my notes on each.



Peanut butter: Cake has good texture, not overly rich or chocolatey. Kind of forgettable in flavor, but moist. Icing: I would have expected a peanut butter frosting, but it was a chocolate buttercream - really light on the chocolate. It had good texture, albeit a bit grainy. Sort of bland tasting. It was filled with more chocolate buttercream with chopped peanut butter cups, which was really the best part. I think it would have been better overall with peanut butter frosting.


Red Velvet. Cute cupcake. Cake is bright red, sort of dry with a tight crumb. Nothing spectacular. I'm really particular about Red Velvet. I've tasted it everywhere. I missed that delightful little tang from the vinegar. The cream cheese frosting was excellent though. Nice texture, nice tang. It was filled with a bit more cream cheese frosting, which I could have passed on. It tipped the scales on the frosting to cake ratio...but I realize that is completely my opinion and a lot of people really love a ton of frosting.


Kahlua/Cappucino: The frosting is really sweet, nice texture, nice boozy aftertaste. I want to think it has chocolate in it, but I can't really taste it. The cupcake tastes like a vanilla cupcake with a shot or two of kahlua...which isn't a bad thing. This cupcake wasn't labeled and the person working the counter didn't really know anything about it...so I'm lost as to what they were aiming at with this variety. The overwhelming flavor was kahlua...so I'm going with that. It was overall pretty good. Too big to really finish though as the flavor became a little cloying after awhile.



They had two sizes of cupcakes available, small for $1.69 and large for $2.89. The large could definitely be split between two people because it is so sweet.


Overall, I was unimpressed. The cake tasted like it was from a box mix and if I am going to pay money for something...it had better be better than what the average home baker can make. The frosting was decent, tasty, had nice texture but it wasn't something I would call outstanding. The entire experience was rather uninspired. I only wish the shop would have had their more exotic flavors available for purchase. There were many tags that sounded interesting.

They do make beautiful cakes though, although nobody could really give me any answers about pricing or anything.

I do hope that the kinks get worked out as Lafayette really could use a decent cupcake shop.

Taco Rolls

I had my doubts about these the first time that I made them. They were excellent...but putzy. Mama doesn't have time during the week to be putzing with lunch. I loved the flavor enough to give them a second try and this time, they were great all around. I used a different bread dough and they were much easier to handle. The recipe makes a ton and they are very filling, so one recipe will make lunch for a few days...which I love.

You could easily substitute refrigerated or frozen bread dough, but I love the texture and flavor of homemade dough. I haven't tried anything that could compare, but in a pinch the pre-made stuff will do. I would normally use whole wheat bread dough, but I ran out of whole wheat flour. Feel free to use your favorite whole wheat bread recipe.

The cream cheese/sour cream mixture cuts the spice of the taco seasoning and adds a creaminess that my kids really loved. The green onions added a fresh element and a crunchy texture.

Taco Rolls
makes 20-ish rolls

1 recipe bread dough
1 lb. lean ground beef or turkey
1 package taco seasoning
2/3 cup water
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
4 oz. neufchatel cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese), softened
2 T. light sour cream
2 green onions, chopped

Prepare bread dough according to recipe directions.

While dough is being prepared, brown ground beef or turkey in a large skillet. Drain the fat off and add 2/3 cup water and the entire taco seasoning packet. Stir until combined. Reduce heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid is gone. Let cool completely.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface. Roll the dough in a large rectangle, about 18 inches x 10 inches. If the dough is too spongey to roll, let rest a few minutes and try again.The dough shouldn't be too thin or it will tear. Aim for 1/4-1/2 inch all around.

Combine the cream cheese, sour cream and chopped green onions in a bowl. Spread over dough rectangle leaving a 1-inch border around the edge of the dough.

Top cream cheese mixture with ground beef and finally the cheddar cheese.

Roll up cinnamon roll style - starting with the long edge closest to you. Pinch the edges to seal.

Slice into 1/2-inch slices with a serrated knife. Some of the filling with inevitably fall out, so just stack it back on top of the roll after it is placed on the baking sheet. Place 2-inches apart on a large, greased baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes or until golden and the dough is cooked through.

Menu Plan Monday - May 24

I can already tell that this is going to be one hell of a week. I was up until nearly 3 this morning with random allergy attacks and sinus headaches. I've been battling a sinus infection all week and I'm still dealing with residual head-poundies. I sit here pounding coffee in hopes that it might give me just a tad bit of patience with my kids today, but I realize I might be fighting a losing battle and am considering shipping them to their grandmother's house for the day. Ah. Sweet reprieve. I'm also considering actually doing my Spring cleaning this week. I have lists and lists that I've developed from Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook...I think I might be over my head on this. The first thing I noticed that told me this book wasn't for me was the fact that actually folded her fitted sheets...wait...you mean not everybody just rolls them up into a rectangular-ish form and stuffs them in the linen closet?


Needless to say, the menu this week includes a lot of slow-cooker and prepare-ahead meals. My favorite kind!

Monday: 3 bean turkey chili in the crockpot, jalapeno cornbread

Tuesday: Eggplant parmesan, salad, french bread

Wednesday: Roast, mashed potatoes, salad

Thursday: Green chili turkey burgers, sweet potato fries

Friday: Buffalo sweet potato and blue cheese grilled pizza, caprese salad

Lunches:
Taco Roll-Ups
Chicken, Spinach and Feta Calzones
Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Breakfasts:
Baked Oatmeal
Banana Bread
Berry Scones

You can find more menus here. Have a fantastic week everyone!

Barbacoa

If I could eat this for every meal for the next two weeks, I would. It is so versatile. Roll it up in a burrito, put it over some lettuce for a salad, put over rice, add cheese, onions and salsa. It's spicy and full of flavor.

The heat tolerance in this family is pretty high. The baby would eat a lot of this as long as he had a cup of milk handy to wash away the lingering heat. Feel free to add fewer chipotle peppers if you don't like it quite so hot.

I served this two nights, the first night over brown rice with corn salsa, avocado and purple onion. The second night, I made tex-mex black bean salad and topped it with barbacoa. Both are equally delicious and had my husband coming back for seconds, thirds, fourths...every time he took more, he kept commenting on how great it was.

I chose to make this in a slow cooker. It would work in the oven too, but I'm not very hands on when it comes to adding more water to the roasting pan. I usually forget and my meat comes out looking more like a hockey puck than dinner. There is a bit of initial preparation, but then it cooks all day (and makes your house smell fabulous!). I used a trimmed sirloin tip roast, feel free to use your favorite cut or whatever is on sale that day. I love slow cookers because you can add a
shoe leather piece of meat and at the end of the day, it's melt in your mouth tender.


Beef Barbacoa
serves 10 generously

4 lbs. sirloin tip roast, trimmed of all visible fat
kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper
8 cloves of garlic
1/2 onion, quartered
4 chipotle peppers
3 T. adobo sauce (the liquid with the chipotle peppers)
1 T ground cumin
1 T. ground oregano
1/2 tsp. all spice
3 bay leaves
1 cup water

Place the garlic through the all spice in a blender or food processor (my mini food processor worked wonderfully) and process until it turns into a thick paste.

Season your roast liberally with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, brown roast on all sides (you may need to cut it into smaller pieces to fit into the pan).

Add the roast to slow cooker along with the spice paste, bay leaves and water.

It took 6 hours on high to get the meat to shredding consistency. It would probably take 8-10 on low.

When beef is tender, remove from slow cooker and shred with two forks. Add back to slow cooker to coat with juices.

Serve and enjoy!

Toddler Treats

My youngest son flew under the radar and became a picky eater. My husband and I both came to the realization the other day when we noticed that the only things he really wanted to eat were bread and candy. I think my husband and I both took it for granted what a wonderful eater our 4 year old is and just assumed that since we started our 16-month old the same way (with Super Baby Food) that he would turn out the same way. WRONG. With his new ability to run and his never wanting to eat, he was losing weight fast.

We've had to install some new rules around here. no candy. no sweets until this picky behavior is gone. He fought it for about 5 minutes yesterday and has fallen into line nicely. He ate an entire turkey sandwich, half an avocado and 4 strawberries after a little prodding. This morning, he had oatmeal sweetened with agave nectar and coconut oil with blueberries and a berry smoothie (with a little avocado mixed in) and loved every bite.

I think we had second child syndrome a little too much in this instance and really needed to get back to the basics nutritionally that we've always considered so important with our kids.

I made these for snacks today. They have lots of good fat, whole grains and use dried fruit and honey to sweeten. They really were a hit and I suspect they will become a favorite with both kids. Best thing? The 4-year old made them almost entirely himself.


Granola Toddler Treats
makes 20 1-inch balls

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup ground nuts (my kids prefer pecans)
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
4 T. honey or agave nectar
1 beaten egg
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup dried fruit, chopped fine (we've tried prunes, apricots, dried pears and cranberries and all have been excellent!)

Mix all dry ingredients. Mix honey, peanut butter and vanilla into dry mixture. Add more honey to moisten ot dried oats to dry if necessary. Form into small balls. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. They will keep in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. 

To make granola bars, press mixture into an 8x8 baking dish. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, cool and cut into bars.

I'm editing this after some thought. I need to add that honey and nuts are not appropriate for children under 1 year of age. If you are making these for younger children, omit the nuts entirely and increase the wheat germ to 1/2 cup. Omit the honey, and use either agave nectar or just leave the sweetener out completely - it really isn't necessary. Replace the peanut butter with 1/4 cup melted butter or 1/4 cup mashed banana.