Weller-Black Wine Celebration

Weller-Black Wine Celebration
A "Wine Cellar Celebration" catered by Chef Robin

Sunday, June 23, 2013

FamMenu

Busy Summer=a little much needed meal planning! (((Especially with five kids eating up everything in site! 😉)))

Sunday: bourbon chicken in the crock pot- a FamFave, for sure! With jasmine rice, a nice spinach salad & some fresh fruit.

Monday: Linguine with seared scallops- yum. I make a roasted garlic & thyme oil- & toss the seared scallops & hot pasta in, delish. Crusty Italian bread, crisp salad with mustard vinaigrette 

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday! That's simple enough! 

Wednesday: kale & bean soup- I made a batch of this last week- it's gone! Frederick, 12, says "Mom, Campbell's Soup should really make this kind!" Ok.... I will take it that he liked it! (3 bowls later!) 
Fresh baked rolls

Thursday: our thursdays have  been turning into breakfast for dinner for some reason lately! "Empty the Fridge"Quiche, fresh fruit & yogurt smoothies

Friday: pizza & movie night

Saturday: venison steaks with roasted potatoes, sautéed mushrooms & onions, Italian style green beans (sautéed with lots of fresh garlic, parsley, crushed red pepper & olive oil:)

Have an excellent week!


Tuesday, May 14, 2013

FamMenu for the week!

Here's What's New....Straight Off The Chef's Knife!

MEATLESS MONDAY: we had smashed bean tacos with hot sauce & white cheddar, Constance made a lovely fruit & vegetable platter, and we had Freddie's chocolate awesomeness cake!

TUESDAY: lasagna, grilled garlic toasts, sautéed broccoli with garlic & crushed red pepper, fresh strawberries

WEDNESDAY: Grilled Mediterannean chicken with Israeli cous cous & lentil pilaf, honeyed carrots & garlicky green beans

THURSDAY: Mexican Style Black Bean & Rice Casserole, chips & salsa, fresh fruit

FRIDAY: Pizza!!!  We have been doing a lot of basic cheese pizza. Check out my Pinterest page for a great homemade pizza sauce recipe. (It's under the board "Looks Like Dinner")

SATURDAY: breaking out the grill. I am thinking burgers, pasta salad, grilled veggies and a big bowl of fresh fruit

SUNDAY: sesame chicken over basmati Rice with stir fried veggies and orange wedges(a daddy fave:)

Have a great week! :0)

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Making Another "My Whole Food Life" recipe!

Here it is... I am subbing finely chopped walnuts for the almond flour and using vanilla & almond extract in lieu of ground vanilla:) smells yummy!

http://mywholefoodlife.com/2012/10/17/maple-vanilla-almond-granola/

Monday, April 29, 2013

FamMenu for This SPRINGYweek!

Here's What's New....Straight Off The Chef's Knife!

Yayayay it's ALMOST May!!! Woot woot! One month closer to Summer, I like it! I like it a lot!
Last week our menu went off without a hitch! The Baked Penne recipe I ended up using was the bombdiggity! I added some Italian chicken sausage, used fresh baby spinach, and added some fresh grated nutmeg, as well. Yum. (((Gotta love Pinterest!)))Here's the link to that recipe:
http://simple-nourished-living.com/2012/02/skinny-artichoke-spinach-baked-pasta/
Here is what's planned for this week! 


SUNDAY: (yesterday, that is!) we had Nana Rose's Old World Italian Meatballs in homemade sauce with whole wheat spaghetti, rolls & fresh fruit.

MONDAY: I'm twisting things up by making last nights leftovers into spaghetti pie!!! I'll post the recipe once I master it!  Spinach salad with feta. Strawberries, walnuts & wild blueberry balsamic vinaigrette. Leftover rolls.

TUESDAY:Chicken Noodle Soup,Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken Noodle Soup with some Cheddar garlic bread on the side!!! (Making a double batch- some for a friend & her Fam- as she is having surgery on her shoulder!!! It's always nice to share, and I think I'll whip up some cookies, too:))


WEDNESDAY: Chinese Chicken & vegetable stir fry- with broccoli, carrots, sugar snap peas & celery over jasmine rice. Orange wedges for dessert. 


THURSDAY: Ethiopian Wat- made with lamb, served over warm polenta with Parmesan cheese, Tzatziki sauce & apple chutney- and some homemade pita bread(classicaly ethiopian would be served with "Injera" a spongy sourdough flatbread) this is CERTAINLY a "melting pot" type meal!!! A little Ethiopean, Indian, Greek & Italian! 

Here is a great Wat recipe I've found:

http://www.food.com/recipe/ethiopian-spicy-beef-stew-key-wat-436458

FRIDAY: pizza! 

SATURDAY:  bacon corn chowder, corn muffins, veggies & dip, fresh fruit.


SUNDAY: steak, topped with blue cheese rosemary butter(yum), sautéed spinach with garlic, 
tomatoes & crushed red pepper, smashed potatoes

That's my FamMenu for the week. What are YOU eating???

RAW garlic Vs. garlic powder

Yup, it's Way better for you, the RAW stuff! Here's proof:

http://www.prevention.com/which-healthier-raw-garlic-vs-garlic-powder?cm_mmc=Flat-Belly-Diet-Nonmember-_-1276390-_-04292013-_-Raw-Garlic-Healthier-Powdered-Copy

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Nana Rose's Old World Italian Meatballs

They are delish. Here is how I made them tonight!
Soak 1/2 loaf stale Italian bread in warm water, squeeze water out and add bread "pulp" to a mixing bowl.
Add in the following:
2 eggs
1 1/3 lb. ground beef (nana used veal & beef)
1/2 -1 C grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/2 C fresh chopped basil
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
Salt & pepper to taste.

Nana made them into balls and fried them on the stovetop- so they had a nice crispy coating- I took the easy way tonight by using a large scoop to portion them out, rolled them and placed them in a 9x13 pan and baked in a preheated oven at 375 for 30 minutes. Add them to your fave sauce& pasta, and whammo, delish dinner!



Sunday, April 21, 2013

BBQ sauce a' brewing!

1 C coffee
1 C ketchup
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C honey
1/4 C apple cider vinegar
1/4 C prepared mustard (any kind you like!)
2 T smoked paprika
1/4 t black pepper
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
Being all ingredients to a simmer in a small pot on the stove. Reduce to about half or to desired consistency. Makes about a pint of delish sauce!

Friday, April 19, 2013

Gotta Love Real Simple!

http://www.realsimple.com/m/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/quick-easy/quick-recipes-dinner-00100000077597/index.html?xid=dailyrecnews-04-19-2013

The FamMenu is back to attack!!!

So here it is for NEXT week:

SUNDAY: BBQ Chicken drumsticks-homemade bbq sauce, but of course! (I'll post the recipe on the blog Monday!), twice baked potato salad (recipe ON the blog!), veggies & penzey's ranch, fruit salad (yummy~ yummy, c'mon old school WIGGLES fans, I know you're out there!!!:-)

MONDAY:Buffalo Chicken Chili(Look for this recipe to be posted by next week, too!) with kettle chips and Da Bomb dip

TUESDAY: Roast Pork with sage & apples, mashed taters, green beans, corn & rolls

WEDNESDAY: Baked Penne Pasta with Italian sausage, spinach salad, italian bread

THURSDAY: black bean, corn & sweet potato Flautas (follow this link  http://www.peasandcrayons.com/ ) , tortilla chips with guacamole & salsa, fruit

FRIDAY: PIZZZA!!! It's Family Movie Night! (any suggestions?)

SATURDAY:  Lumberjack Vegetable Soup (foolw this link:  http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/healthy-recipes/9-healthy-crockpot-recipes-try-winter )  I will be substituting something else for the rutabaga, as I don"t have any on hand!)

Look for all these recipes and more next week! Enjoy your Fam Friends and GOOD food! Bon Appetit!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

FamMenu for 1.14-1.20

Here's What's New....Straight Off The Chef's Knife!

Last weeks menu worked pretty well, a few nights didnt go as planned, but that is to be expected, as life happens! One night, we were invited out to dinner with my parents. Another night the salmon I had pulled form the freezer was, well....less than spectacular smelling....needless to say it went in the trash (GAG!). So I made the chicken from what was supposed to be Sunday's Stir Fry-into BBQ"d chicken for Dinner Saturday, and then made some of that chicken into Chicken Nachos for lunch Sunday-gotta' be creative! We opted for turkey burgers Sunday night :-)

We shall see how this week goes!

MONDAY: Chicken Breasts grilled and topped with crumbled bacon, avocado, tomato & basil, smashed redskins with roasted garlic, sauteed broccoli

TUESDAY: Chipotle Beef and Bean Chili with corn muffins, fruit salad

WEDNESDAY: Spaghetti with italian chicken sausage, green olives & marina, homemade parmesan peppercorn bread

THURSDAY:  Corn & Potato Chowder, salad, roasted red pepper bruschetta

FRIDAY: Pizza! Movie night!

SATURDAY:Penne pasta with mushrooms,artichokes & pesto sauce

SUNDAY: Pulled BBQ Pork on buns, braised red cabbage, baked beans & some crazy dessert for my TEN year old Tonce:0)

Have a super de duper week!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Finally, a FamManu again!

I'm not going to call this a New Year's Resolution, I'm going to call this a decluttering and organizational cleaning frenzied year! With five kids and a busy family, too many things get lost, forgotten, sidetracked and just downright discombobulated, ENOUGH!!!
So heres the first of weekly FamMenus to be seen this year!

MONDAY: My mom & dad just gave me two cool cookbooks, one on Irish cooking, the other on French. Sunday I made a split pea soup and some Irish Soda bread (both out of the Irish cookbook!) Leftovers with some honeybutter tonight!

TUESDAY: Ethiopian Beef Wat - a super delish beef stew made in the slow cooker with a huge bevy of fragrant spices, including cinnamon, cloves, allspice, curry, cumin, pepper, etc..- traditionally served with "Injera"- a sour, vinegary flatbread- but I am guessing the kiddos wouldnt be big fans, so we will have it over rice and have a nice crispy salad on the side.

WEDNESDAY: Baked Macaroni & Cheese- using up some odds & ends cheeses that have been crowding out our deli drawer- all mixed up is always better! Steamed broccoli & carrots.

THURSDAY: Homemade Chicken Pot Pie - made with leftover shredded chicken and gravy that I had frozen awhile back. mixing in some veggies and topping it with pastry dough- yumm-0!

FRIDAY: Movie night! A movie and Pizza for the Toldos!

SATURDAY: Herbed salmon with maple dijon drizzle, quinoa pilaf, veggies of some sort...

SUNDAY: Stir Fry! Chicken marinated in soy sauce, ginger & garlic served up with some crunchy carrots, peppers & sugar snap peas over rice. Orange wedges for dessert.

Hope you enjoy your week!

Taste of Summer!

Taste of Summer!