Recipes and cooking tips for foodie families.
Featured Recipe: Chicken Barley Stew
If I told you that I could feed mom, dad, big kid #1, and little baby #2 for less than a buck a serving, you’d be like: awesome, right? Let’s add healthy, delicious, and fits in one pot so there’s no clean up: could it be possible? Continue reading
Ok, it’s resolutions time! Yes, I’m a few days late, but a girl’s got to finish her holiday, right? Now that it’s back to work, back to reality, I’m ready to commit. So, my resolutions are……………(drumroll, please)
1. Eat healthier
2. Workout more
3. Spend less money
Wow, original, right?
So here I was on Monday night, armed with my resolutions, trying to figure out what to make for dinner. It’s cold. I want something comforting. And filling. And delicious. Unfortunately lobster mac and cheese isn’t going to help me with those pesky resolutions.
Minestrone! It’s warm and comforting. The whole family loves it. If you’ve never seen a 3-year old chowing down on big chunks of kale, it’s worth it alone to make this. It’s healthy–only 4 Weight Watchers points per bowl. It’s cheap–about 10 bucks for the whole batch, or less than $1 per bowl. And it works out for you. Well, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad (watch for my next post on Meatloaf).
Thanksgiving is on Thursday. I bring this up because, if you’re like me, you may not be aware. It snuck up on me. I thought I had an extra week in there somewhere. Recalibrating…
Ok, this week’s menu is all planned around the fact that you are going to eat a big meal on Thursday. If you’re cooking Thanksgiving dinner and don’t have all of your recipes picked out, or if you’re bringing a side dish and need some inspiration, I’m including a Thanksgiving dinner menu. Either way, the last thing you’re going to want is overwraught, heavy meals all week.
So, on the menu: a slow cooker vegetarian meal with a side of cornbread, leftovers to be used for Thanksgiving stuffing. A make-ahead salad, where you could potentially make other Thanksgiving sides at the same time–mashed potatoes or green bean casserole. And of course, the main event, the bird.
Menu #1
If you’re making cornbread stuffing for Thanksgiving dinner, be sure to make plenty of cornbread to go along with this soup. You’ll want to give it a couple of days to get good and stale before making your stuffing.
Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup
Cornbread (make from recipe on box)
Garden Salad
Menu #2
You can get a jump on your Thanksgiving cooking by cooking a bunch of potatoes and pre-make your mashed potatoes. Then on Thanksgiving warm over a double boiler, or bake in a casserole for a new twist on mashed potatoes. You can also steam extra green beans here for the classic green bean casserole
Menu #3
Brined Roasted Turkey
Gravy
Cornbread Stuffing with Cranberries and Pecans
Mashed Potatoes
Collard Greens
Steamed Green Beans
Shopping List
10-12 pound turkey
1 ham hock or ham bone
bacon
garlic
onion–3
celery
potatoes–3 pounds
collard greens–2 pounds
green bell pepper
Boston lettuce
tomato
green beans
solid white tuna in water
1 lb dried black beans
14oz can diced tomatoes
chicken or vegetable stock–2 quarts
Goya Sazon seasoning
kosher salt
whole peppercorns
bay leaves
dried thyme or fresh thyme
chopped pecans
dried cranberries
cornmeal or cornbread mix
brown sugar
capers
assorted olives
dijon mustard
cider vinegar
white wine vinegar
olive oil
butter
egg
whole milk
I’m feeling the need to eat a ton of veggies this week, but there’s just not a whole lot in season anymore. Carrots, leeks, and cauliflower can still be found though so I’ve snapped them up. 
The week starts with Ina Garten’s Lentil Soup–which is amazing. It’s chock full of carrots, leeks, celery and delicious French lentils. The recipe also makes a TON. Way more than we can eat before we get sick of it. So I used some of the leftovers, strain the broth, and serve on the side of grilled salmon for a classic combo that comes together in a couple of minutes. Any remaining soup can be pureed with cooked brown rice for a healthy stage 3 baby meal.
Finally, on Friday’s we love to make pasta as an end of week treat. So I’ll roast up some cauliflower and toss it with rigatoni, capers, and red pepper flakes. Add an interesting Italian white and voila! A week of delicious, and fairly healthy, eating!
Menu #1:
Ina Garten’s Lentil Soup
Grilled Chicken Sausage
Garden Salad
Menu #2:
Salmon with Lentils
Swiss Chard
Wine: Pinot Noir
Menu #3:
Rigatoni with Roasted Cauliflower and Capers
Wine: Medium bodied Italian white (like a Soave)
Shopping List
4 6-ounce salmon fillets, skin on
chicken sausage
1 pound French green lentils–Whole Foods sells these in the bulk foods bins
onions–3 large
leeks–2
garlic
celery
carrots
1 pound swiss chard
cauliflower
olive oil
red wine vinegar
capers
3 quarts chicken stock
kosher salt
black pepper
thyme
ground cumin
red pepper flakes
tomato paste
rigatoni
Parmesan cheese
pecorino romano cheese
crusty Italian bread
auntieangela
gourmetmommy