Weekly Menu for Jan. 28 - Feb 3, 2013

Breakfast
Oatmeal; Greek Yogurt; Fresh Blueberries; and Tangerines
Blueberry Grilled Cheese with Greek Yogurt and Tangerines

I only used cream cheese and blueberries. I dipped the sandwich in the greek yogurt to make it extra delicious.

Lunch
Tuna fish salad on whole wheat bread; Tangerines; Kiwi; Cucumbers; and Cheese
Veggie Patty, Tomatoes; Cheese; Tangerines; and Kiwi

I use whatever veggies I have in the freezer, not just broccoli and cheese. These freeze great (matter of fact, I didn't have to make any this week, just pulled them out and microwaved them for 45 seconds).

Leftovers

Dinner
Honey Lime Tilapia with leftover mashed potatoes and a salad (4.5 stars)

Easily one of the best fish dinners I have ever had or made. Super yummy and easy. A keeper for sure!

Sous-vide Steak and leftover mashed potatoes with wilted spinach and corn (4 stars)

Our setup for sous-vide makes cooking meat just like a crockpot meal without any of the mess. This is Brian's favorite method of cooking hunks of meat so we will be doing this frequently with meats that are on sale.

Skillet Gnocchi with Spinach and White Beans (3 stars)

It was my first time using store-bought gnocchi. The whole wheat ones were ok (Cam wasn't a fan) but other kinds I have made recently were better and Cam ate them without hesitation. 

Chorizo Quesadilla with Fried Egg, Avocado and Fresh Tomatoes; and French Fries (4 stars)

This was a hit again. Super easy, yummy, and somewhat healthy. 

Cannelloni Bean Vegetarian “Meatballs” with Tomato Sauce and Whole Wheat Pasta (4 stars)

I followed a new way to cook my dried beans: http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/02/how-to-cook-dried-beans-lentils.html and I really liked the smell of the herbs simmering. For this dish, I threw in garlic, fresh Thyme and Bay Leaves.

I really liked this dish. I was a bit surprised how much I liked it actually. The meatballs fell apart almost immediately when I was mixing them in the sauce, but it all just melded together for a thicker "meatier" sauce.

Baked Chicken with Potatoes and Jicama (3 stars)

Whenever I'm in a bind, I usually toss some herbs on a chicken and bake it with potatoes and a veggie. Super easy, mindless dinner. We saw jicama on sale at our local corner produce market so we decided to test it out. It was interesting, like a combination of canteloupe, watermelon, and alfa sprouts. We will probably do it again. Maybe cook it in a stir-fry??? The leftover chicken was used for the following week's lunch (you'll see).

Super Bowl: Nacho Bar! (5 stars)

Of course this was delicious! Our options included: salsa, sour cream, avocado, refried beans, taco meat, cheese, hot peppers, hot sauce, black olives, and green onions. 

Disclaimer: Photos are from linked sources; not my own work. 

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Source: http://www.mangiodasola.com/2009/11/broccoli-cheddar-soup.html


Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1/2 chopped onion
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup flour
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 cups chicken stock (I used bouillon cubes + boiling water)
1/2 lb fresh broccoli, chopped
1 cup carrot, shredded and chopped
1/4 tsp nutmeg
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot Sauce (optional)

Directions
Sauté the onion (and garlic) in the butter over medium heat. Remove the onions (you can actually leave the onions in there) and add in the flour, stirring constantly. Add in the half and half, milk, and chicken stock. Bring to almost a boil.

Add the onions back in, along with the broccoli and carrots. Simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes.

Season the soup with the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the cheese (and you can play around with the amounts; use however much or little you like) and let simmer for 10 minutes longer before serving.

Nacho Cheese Chicken Chowder

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Source: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/soups/nacho-cheese-chicken-chowder/      

       Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 14 1/2 ounce cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 10 3/4 ounce can condensed nacho cheese soup
• 1 10 ounce package frozen whole kernel corn (2 cups)
• Shredded Mexican-style or cheddar cheese
   
  Instructions
   
  In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker, stir together chicken, undrained tomatoes, soup, and corn.

  
  

  Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 to 2-1/2 hours. Sprinkle each serving with cheese. Makes 6 servings.

Cheesy Ham Potato Soup

Rating: 4 out of 5


Source: http://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-cheesy-ham-potato-soup-345953#ixzz1hTpykhKK

Ingredients

3 cups cooked ham , diced

1 celery rib , chopped (ew, I omitted) 

1 onion , chopped

2 carrots , chopped

5 potatoes , cut in cubes

2 (15 ounce) cans creamed corn

2 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth

2 cups milk

2 cups cheddar cheese , shredded

salt and pepper

Instructions

Place ham, celery, onion, carrots, potatoes, corn and chicken broth in crock pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. (The ham will provide some salt.) If cooking stovetop, cook until potatoes are done. Turn crock pot to low and cook 3 to 4 hours.

During last 10 minutes of cooking add milk and cheese. Heat only-do not boil. Str lightly to allow cheese to melt.

Gazpacho with Avocado

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

To kickoff my new blog, I tried my first recipe from The Amazing Avocado. It was incredibly fast (under 30 mins to chop) and tasted absolutely fresh--it had the consistency and taste of homemade salsa. Overall, it was a great teaser to Spring/Summer, but next time we will serve it as an appetizer before a BBQ dinner.

The original recipe is below with my notes/changes in Italics.

Ingredients
Soup
1 1/2 LB tomatoes, cored (but not peeled)
1 medium cucumber, peeled and seeded
1/2 red onion
1/2 red pepper *I forgot to add!
2 radishes (medium sized)
1 stalk celery *Yuck, I omitted
1/4 cup picked parsley leaves
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sherry vinegar
1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 dashes of Sriracha sauce

Mousse
1 Hass Avocado from Mexico
1 shallot, grated *Omitted
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 teaspoon of chopped cilantro *Omitted
Pinch of salt

Instructions

Soup

1. Prep the vegetables - core out the tomatoes, peel and seed the cucumber, top and tail the radishes, etc.

2. Cut them in to medium sized chunks that will fit through the feed tube of a meat grinder. *I used a food processor.

3. Set up your meat grinder with the medium sized disk (if you have used it for meat, be sure that the parts have been thoroughly washed and sanitized). *Omitted

4. Slowly feed the vegetables through the grinder to a bowl below (it might splash out the side a bit – so have a towel handy!)

5. Season the puree with the salt, vinegar, olive oil, and black pepper.

6. Taste, and adjust if necessary. Chill until cold.

7. Best used the same day that it’s made.

Mousse (see my notes below)

1. Peel the Hass Avocado and place in a small bowl and mash it with a fork.

2. Add the grated shallot, sour cream and cilantro and whisk to combine. Season with a pinch of salt.

3. To serve: ladle cold Gazpacho into chilled bowls. Garnish with the Avocado mousse.

I didn't make the mousse. I sliced the avocado and placed them around the rim of my bowl and topped the gazpacho with a dollop of sour cream.