Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - 25 May 2009

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Monday :
Sushi

Tuesday :
Leftover Salsa Chicken on Tortillas
Corn on the Cob

Wednesday:
Carbonara
Brocolli

Thursday:
Leftover Mexican Beans and Rice

Friday:
Slow Cooker Steak Fajitas

**

Baking :

Poppy Seed Muffins
Date Crumb Bars

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - 18 May 2009

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie.


Monday :
Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Pizza

Tuesday:
Sushi

Wednesday:
Maple Salmon
Rice
Corn on the Cob

Thursday:
Sandra's Crockpot Salsa Chicken
Broccoli

Friday:
Beth's Spinach, Chicken and Orzo Soup
Foccacia Bread
Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli

**

Sorry folks, no photos this week !!
I've got a pre-heated bed and good book calling me !
(electric blanket ! gotta love it !)

Menu Plan Monday - Khrista - 05.11.09

I wanted to post this sooner, but my wireless mouse is acting up and giving me such grief!
I'm off to bed...if you want any of the recipes just post a comment and I will be sure to send you in the right direction!

Baking Triumphs!

The other day I whipped up a batch (in only 3 hours!) of cheesy chicken pot pies from scratch. Hmmmmm, must be finals time! Oh, that magical time of the semester when cooking elaborate meals and scrubbing the bathroom with a toothbrush become very appealing.

The Yummiest Meal I've Ever Made!

This is a fillet of Dover Sole with black bean salsa. I lightly seasoned the fish with salt and pepper, sauted it in olive oil for about 2 minutes per side and topped with the salsa. One addition I made to the salsa recipe: I bought fresh corn and roasted it. The sweetness of the roasted corn really went nicely in the salsa!
Yum yum yum yum yum!!

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - 11 May 2009

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Last weekend was crazy ... we had a wedding and it was a long (holiday) weekend and well, I just didn't get a menu planned. And then I just grabbed ingredients for a couple quick meals to get us through til Friday when I thought I'd shop. So ...we did sushi and carbonara and easy stuff like that. Then Friday came and for some reason, I didn't get the shopping done ... oh, that's right ... I hadn't planned the menu !! And then we went out on Saturday night and last night I scrounged around and made this out of the few remaining bits and pieces in the fridge ...

sushi rice
fried egg
mushrooms with red, white and spring onions cooked in garlic and soy sauce
sauteed zucchini with garlic salt

So ... here I am Monday morning needing desperately to make a menu !! Let's see what we can come up with ...

Monday ... Sushi. always need something easy on shopping day ...

Tuesday ... Lemony Chicken and Israeli Cous Cous Salad Deliciousness ! and steamed broccoli

Wednesday ... Finally trying Khrista's Vodka Pasta with steamed broccoli (yeah, again !)

Thursday ... Mexican Beans and Rice



Friday ... Chorizo Stuffed Chicken (new recipe), Roast Potatoes with Feta , and this delicious Balsamic Pea Salad that I can't believe I've never posted here ...

I'm going to try something different this week. I'm only going to shop through Friday's meals ... and then I will assess and see if we can make the weekend on the leftovers and bits and pieces. If not, I'll shop again for those two days. I'm hoping this will help us not waste food ...

Greek Croustade

This is my Aunt Lori's recipe ...
I'm cutting and pasting from the email she sent me !

GREEK CROUSTADE

The original recipe has it all wrapped in phyllo dough which is fabulous but more time consuming so we just make it as a side dish. If you double the recipe it makes a nice 9x13 pan. I have also put a spoonful on a strip of phyllo and folded it up into a triangle. You can even freeze those and pull them out at a later date and bake them.

10oz frozen chopped spinach - cook according to pkg - squeeze out excess water
1/4 c chopped onion
3T butter
3T flour
1/4 t crushed tarragon
1 cup milk
2 eggs - beaten in a bowl
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup crumbled feta

In a saucepan, cook onion and butter until tender. Stir in flour & tarragon. Add milk all at once. Stir til thick and bubbly. Stir 1/2 of hot mixture into eggs and then return all to saucepan. Stir in cheeses and spinach. Stir thoroughly to break up spinach. Bake in an oiled pan at 375 for 35-40 minutes. I always watch for the top to start to brown.

***

I put a sheet of puff pastry under mine since I don't really like working with phyllo ... I think next time I'll put a sheet of puff pastry on top too !! The kids loved this 'pie', as they called it !!

Patatas Alioli

Garlic Potatoes

2 pounds potatoes
salt
4 to 6 garlic cloves (I used 6)
1/2 cup mayo
fresh flat leaf parsley, 12 sprigs

Chop potatoes into big chunks like you'd do for potato salad.
Boil 'em to desired tenderness.

While that's happening, mix the garlic (that you've done in your garlic press), and the parsley (that you've chopped), with the mayo.

When potatoes are done, drain, and let cool. (I put mine in the fridge for 10/15 minutes.)
Then mix potatoes with mayo.

Done.

Enjoy.

Yes, you will have garlic breath.

Yes, it is worth it !!

I served this tonight with Pollo en Salsa de Ajo.

Pollo en Salsa de Ajo

I got this recipe out of The Food Of Spain - A Journey For Food Lovers, a great cookbook that some friends gave me a while back.

Chicken in Garlic Sauce

(my modified version)

1 kg chicken. They called for thighs. I used breast.
olive oil
paprika
salt
pepper
8 - 10 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/4 cup fino sherry
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 bay leaf
flat leaf parsley

Cut the chicken into thirds. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a fry pan over high heat. Cook the garlic (in it's skin) 'til brown. Doesn't take long. Remove. Cook the chicken in batches, til browl all over. Return all the chicken to the pan. Add the sherry. Boil for 30 seconds. Add stock and bay leaf. Sprinkle with paprika, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, on low heat for 10 minutes.

While that's cooking, squeeze the garlic from it's skin. Add a good handful of parsley and pound to a paste using a mortar and pestle. Stir into the chicken, then cover and cook for 10 more minutes.

Serve hot.

Baked Potato Soup

I got this recipe out of the Rachel Ray cookbook my cousin, Jill, got us for Christmas !
You can find the original recipe here.
Here's how I did mine ...

10 slices bacon, chopped
2 big leeks, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
8 sprigs fresh thyme, removed from stems
1 tablespoon paprika, plus additional for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 kgs potatoes, peeled and chopped
6 cups chicken stock

Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
Spring Onions, for garnish

Cook bacon until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and reserve.

Cook leeks and garlic in the bacon fat until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add in the thyme, paprika, some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add potatoes and stock to the pot and boil til the potatoes are cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. When the potatoes are tender, puree the soup in a food processor. I had to do this in about 5 batches as this makes a LOT of soup !

Serve the soup in a bowl or mug topped with some of the two cheeses, reserved bacon, and a sprinkling of spring onions.

We used sour cream tonight but we won't again.

** Tomorrow when I have the leftovers for lunch, I'm going to put chopped avocado on top !!

PS ... I served this soup with Roasted Cauliflower and Brocolli !

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - 27 April 2009

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie.

I sure have missed having a menu. We moved house last week and it has been a bit topsy turvey around here !! But ... I'm back on track. Planned my menu last night, went shopping today ! Cooked something delicious this evening. The recipe will be posted soon !! Except for Wednesday, we're having all new recipes ! So ... I'll share the photos from tonights dinner, but that will be it for photos til I actually make these meals !! They all sound so good to me !!

Monday ... Chargrilled Salmon with Asparagus in a Lime Vinaigrette and Greek Croustade.

Tuesday ... Potato soup with the works , grilled turkish bread, roasted cauliflower and broccoli

Wednesday ... Sushi

Thursday ... Gone all day casserole, roaster cauliflower and broccoli

Friday ... Chicken in garlic sauce, patatas alioli

Saturday ... leftovers

Sunday ... Gregg and Chery's wedding

Fish with a groovy lime salsa

The other day I bought Notebook, one of my favorite magazines. It had a free bag of goodies and included in it was the December 2008/January 2009 issue of delicious. (another fave) I've made a couple of the recipes out of it that I want to share. The first is this delicious fish recipe ... I, of course, modified it, so here is that modified version ...

You will need :
Olive oil
Firm White Fish Fillets (two big ones served the four of us nicely)
1 lime
coconut (see note below)
1 avocado
fresh ginger, grated (to taste)
1 cup fresh coriander (cilantro)
splash fish sauce
1 tsp sugar

I like to try the recipe as close to the way it is the first time I try it. This recipe called for fresh coconut and since I live in a tropical paradise and can buy coconut fresh, I went for it. Don't think I'll do it again. I googled how to open a coconut, thought it look pretty easy, gave it a go but couldn't do it. Luckily Rory's got skillz and he got the coconut open ! The recipe said to grate 80g !! I never weighed it, I just grated til I could grate no more ! And I still had almost a whole coconut left ! ha ha. So yeah ... next time, I'm going to try using desicated coconut ! But ... you do what you like !!!

How you make it:

Segment and chop the lime. Try to catch the juice, or have another lime handy to use a bit of the juice (depending on how limey you want this). Mix with chopped avocado, corander leaves, ginger, fish sauce and sugar. Set aside. (this is quite a tart salsa ... mmmmmm !)

Heat a bit of olive oil in a large non-stick fry pan ( I used a grill pan ) over high heat. Season fish with salt and pepper. Cook til fish is cooked through. Should only take a few minutes each side.

Serve fish on steamed rice and with salsa on top ....

I also roasted cauliflower and asparagus with a whole heap of garlic and olive oil. Mmmmmm !

You may wonder if our kids eat all these meals I cook ?

They sure do.
For some things ( like the lime salsa ) that I think they won't be excited about,
I only give them a small helping.
I wrote about how we taught our kids to eat, if you're interested.

PS. we had leftovers of the salsa. i ate it the next night on mexican chicken. mmmmmm !!

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - 13 April 2009

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie.

The plan for this week is that there is no plan !!

We are moving house on Thursday and will probably eat out or eat eggs on toast until then !!
See you back here next week when I'll be cooking on my GAS STOVE in our new place !

Chinese Chicken Curry in the Crock Pot

This is a great recipe that I got from Sandra's Full Bellies, Happy Kids blog ...
You should go check it out ... she's got some great recipes !!

I didn't actually make this one. Rory did. So, yeah, I found it exceptionally easy !! ha ha Here's how he did it ...

2 Onions, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, chopped
1 tablespoons Curry Powder
2 teaspoons Light Brown Sugar
200ml Chicken Stock
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
4 Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into chunks
3 tablespoons Cornflour

Fry up your onions and garlic. After a couple minutes, add curry powder. Fry for a bit longer., 30 seconds or so. Add sugar, stock, soy sauce and bring to the boil.

Toss the chicken pieces in the cornflour and lay in bottom of slow cooker, top with sauce and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

We served this on rice.

Steamed Fish on Rice

Adapted from Authentic Tastes of Southeast Asia by Celine Carnegie



Here's how you make it :

Fish ... I used Barramundi ... 4 pieces topped with one lime thinly sliced

Steam over high heat for about 15 minutes or til cooked through.

While that's steaming :

Mix the following ...
2 cloves minced garlic
chopped chillies (if you want)
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar

When fish is done :

Remover from steamer.
Lay on bed of cooked rice.
Top with sauce, cilantro leaves (coriander) and thinly slices spring onion.

I served with :

Kimchee

Next time :

I'll also do a steamed green veggie

Yummy Salad with a Radish Dressing

I got this recipe out of A Year In A Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop.
It is so delicious ! I've made it a number of times ....

I've adapted it a bit to suit our tastes.
Here's my adapted version ... if you want the original you'll have to buy the book !

For the dressing
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano leaves
1 med garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper
6 tbls good olive oil
a bunch of small*radishes, thinly sliced ( about 1.5 cups) - I made this one time but couldn't find radishes. It was just as good without them

Whisk everything but the oil and radishes in the bowl you intend to make the salad in. Add the oil and whisk til smooth. Add the radishes. Toss to coat. Set aside til you make the rest.

*radishes get spicier the bigger they get

For the bread
8 small slices country bread, cut 1 inch thick
good olive oil
salt (I used Himalayan rock salt)

Pre-heat your sandwich press, or grill. Brush the bread with the oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill ( or do in the press like I did !! ), turning once.

For the salad
Tender lettuces ... I used butter lettuce ... torn into bite sized pieces. It said 12 cups. I don't think I used that much.
2 cups cherry tomatoes
kalamata olives ... how ever many you fancy
crumbled feta cheese ... again ... to your liking

Uh ... make a salad with those ingredients in the bowl with the salad dressing. Toss to coat.

To serve
Mound the salad high on the toast.
Serve immediately.

Enjoy !!!

Something New ...

Ok ... I'm going to progressively set up a page like this for each of our major foods.

Check it out !

Go to the side bar and click on the quinoa photo ...

Go on !

Do it !

Just for fun ...

Lemony Chicken and Israeli Couscous Salad Deliciousness

We had this tonight and I couldn't even wait til tomorrow to share it with you.

DE.LIC.IOUS with a capital D !!!
So freaking good !!
Even the kids were raving about this one !

I loosely followed a recipe from this book for this recipe ...

4 chicken breast fillets (this made enough for dinner and lunch !)
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 lemons, halved
2 cups Israeli couscous
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shredded lemon rind
2 tablespoons salted capers
dried parsley
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Brush the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook in a hot, preheated grill pan (or on BBQ) til cooked through. Set aside. Place the lemons in the pan, (or on BBQ) cut side down and cook for 1 minute ... I cooked a bit longer.

Make the couscous according the package directions.

Heat butter in fry pan over medium/high heat. Add lemon rind, capers, parlsey and almonds and cook til almonds are slightly toasted. Add cooked couscous and toss to combine.

To serve, top couscous with chicken and grilled lemons. We squeezed the lemon juice from the lemons onto both the chicken and the couscous.

Mmmmmm ... I'm lickin' my chops just thinkin' about it !!

Foods of The World - March 2009

Ok people. India was not a huge success. I don't know why. Maybe we can just keep posting Indian recipes as we make them and label them using the 'Foods of the World - India 'label so we can find them easily. Speaking of which, I've added buttons to the side bar for each of the Foods of the World countries. If you click on them it will show you all of the recipes labeled with that country. Keep 'em coming, even if that month is finished !! I will still be posting recipes from Spain ... I can't believe I've taken so long to post them ! I've just been a total slacker when it comes to this food blog. I've been cooking some amazing food ... and so want to share the recipes with you ... and I will ... soon ... I promise hope.

How about the rest of you ? What have you been cooking ? I'm sure that you've all been cooking heaps worth sharing ...

I thought I might do something a bit easier. Maybe Indian food was a bit labor intensive ! I don't know ... but let's move on ! Let's cook ITALIAN FOOD this month !! Woo Hoo !!!

I'm going to let you all in on a little secret. Ok, it's not a secret. Who cares ? It sounds better to say it is ! My sister, Ellie, one of the authors of this blog is ITALIAN ! I'm serious. She was born in Italy. Yep ! My brother and I were born in Spain. She was born in Italy and our youngest sister Hannah was born in DC. My parents love to tell people that none of their children were born in any of the 50 States ...

Anyway ... I'm hoping to see some great Italian posts from my great Italian sister ! That's her in the photo above ( it's not in Italy though ... it's in Spain) ... isn't she cute ?

I know I said this last month, and I didn't do it, but I'm going to try and cook one Italian meal a week and post the recipe !! My first one this week is an experiment, in the crock pot, I'll tell you how it turns out !

OK ... get cooking ! Get posting ! Get linking !! (in the comments section)

See you tomorrow for Menu Plan Monday ...
Anyone else planning menus ?
I'd love to know what you're cooking ...

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - 30 March 2009

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by I'm an Organizing Junkie.

I can't believe I have missed out on two weeks of Menu Plan Monday !! I didn't plan any sort of menu two weeks ago then last week, I planned it but never got it posted !! So ... here I am, two weeks later ... WITH A PLAN and A POST !!

I went to the library last week and except for tonight, I'm going to cook a new recipe out of one of each of the books I got .... Well ... at least six of the books ... I got more than six though so not really one of EACH !!

Monday :
An easy on because I'm shopping today ...
Falafel Wraps

Tuesday :
Warm Chicken and Lemon Couscous Salad



from The Marie Claire Cookbook Flavors by Donna Hay

Wednesday :

12 Layer Garden Salad
from the Low-Carb Vegetarian Cooking Cookbook by Sue Spitler

Thursday :

Steamed Fish with Chilli and Lime

from Authentic Tastes of Southeast Asia by Celine Carnegie

Friday :

Beef Brochettes
Black Bean Open Sandwiches
Salsa Mexicana

from the Fresh Mexican Cookbook by Monica Medina-Mora and Angeles Ayala

Saturday :
I'll have the kids help me make ...
Pastry Wrapped Chorizo Puffs
and a green salad ....


from the Mediterranean Food and Cooking Cookbook by Jacqueline Clarke

Sunday :

Leftovers.

I'll also be making :

Chewy Muesli Bars


from the Reader's Digest Beat High Blood Pressure Cookbook

Wow ... that menu looks great.
I'm excited.
I need to get myself organized now to go do the shopping !!
See you through the week.
I've got some great recipes that I cooked last week coming your way !!

Did you cook anything new last week ?
Do share ....