Menu Plan Monday- September 17, 2012

Last week in my kitchen:

All of the brioche that I could find here had a frosting-like glaze on it and I decided that wasn't going to work so I made the Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon and Brioche with one of the big round Turkish breads that I cut into quarters and then made it into a little triangle pocket. Martijn really liked it but I thought it was missing something. Maybe some fresh chives or green onions. It didn't taste bad it just wasn't quite all the way there for me.

I really liked the bean cups from the Tuna Salad Bean Cups recipe. I used fresh korriander instead of parsley because in my mind that was a better pairing with cumin and I also had some korriander in the fridge and I didn't have any parsley. I went off on my own tangent a little with the tuna salad so I can't say if it was magically delicious or not but the bean cups are a definite keeper.

I didn't make the Mini Tamale Pies because I was too lazy. Surprise surprise.

Beef and Beet Salad- My father in law picked some fresh beets for me the other night and I roasted them up and will use them in this. I might add in some feta since that's supposed to be a good pairing with beets.

Carrot Souffle and uh... something else... maybe fish.

Taco Soup- I don't think I have a recipe for this. It's essentially stewed tomatoes, kidney beans, ground beef, corn, and onion with a few tortilla chips, cheddar and sourcream plopped on top.

Southwestern Chicken Wraps- These look nice and easy and I have some shredded chicken in the freezer.

That's it for this week...

Menu Plan Monday - September 10, 2012

We had a wildly successful time with the new recipes I made last week.

Starting off with the Thai Chicken Enchiladas. You need to make these!! They were most excellent. I used whole wheat tortillas. I think I'll add a little more cabbage and carrots next time but the flavors were spot on.

The rub on the Blackened Chicken Breast and Cilantro Lime Quinoa with Greek Yogurt Avocado Puree was nice and spicy without being burn your mouth off hot. You don't really need Greek yogurt for the sauce. In fact, I think it would be better with a regular slightly runnier yogurt.

I think there are endless possibilities with the Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps. It really needs the sour cream and probably salsa added inside. As written they're a little dry but the flavors are good.

I took the Cheeseburger Muffins to my North American Women's Club potluck. I used half BBQ sauce and half ketchup, added in a whack of horseradish and doubled the mustard and Martijn and I still thought they were a little bland. Still I think with a few more tweaks here and there they have some serious potential.

This week:

Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon and Brioche- Smoked Salmon is on sale this week. I don't know if I'll use brioche. We'll have to see if I can find it.

Tuna Salad Bean Cups- I found this one on my Pinterest. I don't remember pinning it but it looks promising so I'll give it a go!

Mini Tamale Pies- Ground beef is also on sale this week and I think these look tasty.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs- I have lots of rice leftover from the wraps I made last week so sweet and sour and some fried rice should just hit the spot!

Menu Plan Monday- September 3, 2012

I can't even talk about what a slacker I've become in the meal planning department so lets just pretend there hasn't been a huge gaping hole in the past few months and carry on.

Chicken breasts are on sale this week for a very good price so I'm stocking up and planning around that. The Cheeseburger Muffins are for the NAWC potluck on Tuesday so I'll make them Monday night for dinner just to be certain they're not yucky.

Blackened Chicken Breast and Cilantro Lime Quinoa with Greek Yogurt Avocado Puree

Thai Chicken Enchiladas

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

Cheeseburger Muffins


Anything delicious on your dinner menus this week?

Menu Plan Monday- June 4, 2012

Last week was all about not turning on the oven because I didn't want to heat things up. If the forecast holds true for this week, I might be changing my menu this week and using the oven everyday just so I don't cave in and turn the heater on!!

The Speedy Salmon and Leek One Pot was indeed very speedy. I served it with couscous and the fish was steamed just right!

I also thought the Seafood Macaroni salad was a hit. I used half the amount of mayo and subbed Greek yogurt for the rest.

This week:

Sloppy Joes- Martijn requested these and I decided I'd make some coleslaw to go along side them.

Asian Inspired Slaw- Since cabbage is the gift that keeps on giving, and giving, and giving, and giving... I decided I'd make this with the leftover cabbage from the normal coleslaw. I'll grill some chicken to toss in because it's quite tasty that way.

Slavinken and Mashed Cauliflower with Something Green to Accompany It- I am going to check out the market and see what vegetables look appealing and go from there.

Orange Chicken with Fried Cauliflower "Rice"- I was going through my Pinterest boards this morning and discovered I have about 10 different recipes for orange chicken. I need to start trying them so I thought I'd begin with this one and since mashed cauliflower only takes a half a head, I can use the other half to make pretend fried rice.

Menu Plan Monday - May 28, 2012

Last week was a bit of a mixed bag.

The Sweet Potato Falafels I was so excited about were... not good. When you first put it in your mouth it started to be okay but then when you begin to chew something goes horribly wrong. This is a DO NOT REPEAT. It's a pity too, I was really looking forward to it.

We both liked the Sweet Chili Bangers. I sprinkled in some cayenne to give it a little more of a kick. I think this would be good on regular hotdogs too.

I cheated on the Sticky Salmon. It's been SO hot the past few days I just couldn't make myself turn the oven on so I spread the honey and oyster sauce on the salmon and just tossed it on the grill. And then I steamed some veggies in the microwave. So I can't rightly say this is a wonderful recipe because I didn't really make it. What I can say is that I liked the salmon with the honey and oyster sauce and I'd do that again!

This week:

I spent a day in the heat of doom from last week baking for Martijn's birthday so this week I decided I'm NOT turning on the oven. It's supposed to cool down later in the week but unless it falls below freezing (which it won't), the oven is on vacation... sorta. I'm going to use the microwave and since we have a combi unit the oven will be used, just not on the oven setting!

Speedy Salmon and Leek One-Pot

Microwave Meatloaf

Seafood Macaroni Salad

Polenta Pizza- I'm not going to bake the "crust." I think it will be plenty good just with a heap of polenta with the spinach and bacon on top!

Menu Plan Monday- May 21, 2012

Ugh, sometimes I feel like I seriously fail at life. I have good intentions of getting back on track with my blog and then I don't do anything with those intentions but stick them back under the desk again where they've been for the past 6 months.

Now though, I really need to get the grocery budget back on track. I KNOW I do better when I menu plan so I'm going to try to sit down every Sunday evening and look at the ads and plan my menus. Even if I really don't want to, I know I can extract 15 minutes from my "not doing anything whatsoever" time budget and do it!

This week I am going to dig through the freezer to make room for the ice cream machine clear out some of the older things that need to be used.

Stir-fry with leftovers and noodles from the cupboard

Sweet Potato Falafels- How handy that I have a sweet potato just languishing on the counter and a bag of chickpea flour hanging out waiting to be tested!

Sweet Chilli Bangers- I have some sausage in the freezer and I think I'll fry up some onions and serve them in buns with whatever sort of vegetable is on sale this week.

Sticky Salmon with Chinese Greens- There is some salmon in the freezer and I think I have everything else in the pantry aside from the greens! I might be a rebel and add red bell pepper because I have quite a lot of that in the freezer too.

Menu Plan Monday- April 23, 2012

Last week:

The Noodles with Shrimp and Peas was alright. I probably won't put it on the top of my YES MAKE THIS AGAIN list but it wasn't bad.

We both quite liked Herby Salmon and Couscous Parcels. I think quinoa or bulghur would be a good fit for this recipe too.

When I was making the Quinoa-Black Bean Casserole I kept wondering what had possessed me to put it on the menu in the first place. The sweet potato was throwing me off but it was actually really really good. I'd make this one again too, and it was rather filling.

As for the Tuscany Tuna Salad with White Beans... good, but it was lacking... something. We put a little cheese in it and that helped but it was just missing something to make all the flavors pop.

This week:

Corn Tortilla and Egg Bake

Bourbon Chicken and Fried Cauliflower "Rice"

Schouderkarbonade (a cut of pork here good for the grill), Salt 'n' Vinegar Roasted Potatoes, and a green veggie of some kind.

Ground Beef, Spinach, and Egg Scramble



Do you have anything super extra magically delicious planned in your menus this week? Do share!

Menu Plan Monday- April 16 2012

I'm trying to use up a few things that have been kicking around in the cupboards and freezer for a little while. I think I can squeak by spending very little on groceries this week.

Noodles with Shrimp and Peas

Herby Salmon and Couscous Parcels

Quinoa-Black Bean Casserole

Tuscany Tuna Salad with White Beans




P.S. I let my subscription to my web host expire so there are a few missing pictures and images on the blog here and there. I know it looks stupid in a couple of places but I'm still host shopping and haven't found quite what I'm hoping for in a host yet.

Menu Plan Monday- February 20, 2012

My pantry, freezer, and food storage areas are all looking a bit of a mess right now. This week I'm trying to work on eating some things that have been there for awhile or lost in the back of the cupboards.

Paprika Pork Chops- I don't have any pork chops but they are on sale and I do have everything else. I like to double the topping recipe and then I only spread it over two chops. As written it just isn't krauty enough.

Lentil Sloppy Joes- I am just going to use my standby sloppy joe recipe and sub in lentils for the ground beef. It seems like it should work... I'm also considering trying these Oopsie Rolls to use as buns.

White Beans with Kale and Pork Sausage- This looked quite good to me. I might go crazy and use frozen spinach instead of kale only because I have frozen spinach and I don't have kale.

Salmon Burgers- I only need to get fresh coriander for this one and then I'll be set.

What's on your menu this week?

Menu Plan Monday- July 25, 2011

Last week:

We both really liked the Curried Chickpea Salad but the Mushroom Quinoa Stew wasn't very memorable and it actually tasted yucky as leftovers so that means a big fat FAIL in a soup/stew recipe if you ask me.

The Sticky Sausage & Sweet Potato Salad was quite tasty but we both thought I should've used slightly leaner sausages than I did. You need them to have a little fat though because you don't use any oil on the sweet potatoes to roast them.

As for the Nutty Chicken Curry... well I'm not going to make it again. It tasted okay but there are certainly way better curry recipes around.

Sloppy Joe Bake- I'm going to add in a can of kidney beans like it suggests in the "All-American" version. Seems a bit strange to me though as I've never once added beans to my real "all-American" sloppy joes!

Thai Coconut Soup- I love this stuff. I'll post the recipe on Tuesday!

Split Pea Soup- Yes, in July. Unlike the rest of the northern hemisphere we are not having an absurd heat wave at the moment... plus I have a little ham in the fridge that I really ought to use.

Baked Corndogs- I love corndogs. I hardly ever eat them but they're so so good. I'm going to try this and see if they're any good but I think I'm going to change the flour/cornmeal ratio to 1:1. If I'm going to eat a corndog i want it to be CORNY not floury... hah!

Bacon and Egg Casserole with Tomatoes- I'm not sure we'll actually get to this meal this week but it's usually stuff I have in the fridge anyways so if I don't make it it's okay.

What's your menu looking like this week?

Menu Plan Monday- July 18, 2011

Alright, this was a mixed week. The Sizzling halloumi with fava beans and mint wasn't bad but I don't think that it was as good as I'd have hoped. I think if you cubed up the halloumi and tossed it in with the beans and served it as a side dish it would be better.

I thought that the Steamed pork and shrimp wontons were quite tasty. I decided to steam the broccoli for the stir-fried broccoli with cashews and I think there was serious potential for good until I boiled the pan dry and killed the broccoli... and my pan.

As for the eggplant curry... I grilled the eggplant on my contact grill instead of frying it in the pan but otherwise I followed this recipe pretty well. It was good, I will probably make it or something like it again in the future!

This week:

Curried Chickpea Salad with Mushroom Quinoa Stew-- I think I'll serve the chickpea salad on top of arugula or something green to stretch it out a little bit.

Sticky Sausage & Sweet Potato Salad-- I have some sweet potatoes to use and I think this looks yummy! I might cut down on the honey a bit. According to the reviews it's a little too sweet but we'll see what happens when I make it.

Polenta Pizza-- Last time we had this we both quite liked it but I think I'm going to tweak the toppings a little and make a slightly thinner crust this time.

Nutty Chicken Curry-- We're having curry weather here right now. I think this'll be a nice tasty warming dish! I'm going to toss in some other vegetables to stretch it out a little and maybe add another chili like the comments suggest.

Menu Plan Monday- July 11, 2011

We ate well last week.

I made the roasted tomato, halloumi, and quinoa salad twice because we liked it so much. I suggest adding some chopped up cucumber to the mix.

We both liked the egg foo yung with chicken and mushrooms but I need to figure out what to serve with it next time because we both had an attack of the "I'm still hungries" a couple of hours later. It's kinda weird though because I would've thought the protein from the eggs and chicken would've made it stick around longer. One thing with this recipe is I don't think you need NEARLY so much oil as it calls for. Use the full amount of sesame oil but cut down on the canola/veg oil.

I didn't make the potatoes in the BBQ Chicken Salad and instead served it with baked sweet potato fries. It's a really good salad but I decided next time to just chop up an avocado and add it to the mix instead of bothering with the avocado vinaigrette. I loved the combo of BBQ sauce and blue cheese though, it's really good!

BBQ Chicken Salad-- Yes, again. It's actually a pretty fast meal to throw together so I'm all over making it again!

Steamed pork and shrimp wontons & Stir-fried broccoli with cashews-- I was looking for recipes to help use up some of the bottle of oyster sauce I bought for the egg fu yung last week and this looks rather delicious.

Sizzling halloumi with fava beans and mint-- I like all of the ingredients in this so I hope they'll be good add mashed together!

Eggplant curry with lemongrass and coconut milk-- I don't make a lot of curries and I'm not really sure why since I quite like them. I'm going to give this one a go and see what happens!

What is on your food agenda this week?

Menu Plan Monday- July 4, 2011

Happy Independence Day to all my American friends!

I still haven't made tamales like I wanted to. It got so hot here that the thought of having something steaming in the kitchen for almost an hour nearly had me in tears so I ditched that plan for now. I will revisit it again in the less hot future.

This week:

Turkse Dürüm (box mix)-- We don't tend to eat a lot from boxed mixes but there are a couple I really like. This is one of them and they were on sale last week!

Roasted tomato, halloumi,& quinoa salad-- This is hinging on me finding halloumi. I have an idea where to buy it but I'm not 100% sure. This sounds really good though so I'm rather determined to track it down!

Egg Foo Yung with Chicken and Mushrooms-- I think this looks yummy and it should go together pretty easily.

BBQ Chicken Salad-- I might leave the potatoes out of this, it looks like it'll be pretty filling without.

Menu Plan Monday- June 20, 2011

The only new recipe from last week was the fish tacos. I used corn tortillas instead of lettuce to wrap them but they were pretty amazing. I loved the cabbage in them!!

Casselrib (a type of smoked pork) with green beans and tomato salad-- we got some goodies from my mother in law which makes a very easy night of cooking for me!

Mexican Pizza on cauliflower crust-- we both really liked this last time and it's actually pretty quick to put together!

Tamales-- I've never made these before so it might be a little bit of an adventure.

Grilled Chicken and Quinoa Apple Salad with Curry Dressing

Shrimp Enchiladas Verde

I'm having Mexican food cravings. Can you tell?

Menu Plan Monday- June 13, 2011

Last week went over pretty well.

• Everyone at the potluck liked the Thai Minced Chicken Salad.
• The Mexican Pizza on cauliflower crust was quite tasty. It's not -really- pizza but it's close enough to make me feel quite happy! This would be a good one to turn vegetarian by leaving out the chicken since it's still pretty filling without.
• Now the Seafood Stuffed Peppers... I substituted quinoa for the rice and they were good but a little bland. I think if I were to make this one again I'd add some seasonings in to jazz it up a little.
• I didn't really follow the recipe for the almond crusted fish but I did make it! I really like using almond meal to crust fish... I ought to do it more often!

For this week:

Lettuce Wrap Fish Tacos- This came across in my Google Reader yesterday and I knew I had to make it. It looks so so tasty. Plus I can try grilling fish on my snazzy new contact grill.

Asian Inspired Slaw- Since I'll have leftover cabbage from the fish tacos I thought this would be a good way to use some of it. I think a head of cabbage is like the gift that keeps giving... and giving... and giving... and giving. I'll toss in some chicken for some added protein to make it a main course.

Pork Sate- It's been ages since I made this and I think it will probably taste good with the leftover slaw that will inevitably be there!

Since today is my birthday (yay me!) we're going to the in-laws for dinner and I don't have to cook (yay!).

Menu Plan Monday- June 6, 2011

Last week:

I loved the grilled eggplant. The Fusion Chicken was okay but I felt like it was missing something so I probably won't make it over and over again.

The Chicken Rollatini with Spinach a la Parmigiana was tasty but MESSY to make and looked a bit of a disaster on the plate. I used almond flour to crust it instead of breadcrumbs and that worked pretty well.

I didn't get the Almond Crusted Fish made so it'll move over into this week.

This week:

Thai minced chicken -- One of the guys in Martijn's dinner group made this for us last week and it was really good! I plan on taking it to the NAWC potluck on Tuesday so I'll just double the recipe, save enough for dinner, and take the rest.

Mexican Pizza on a Cauliflower Crust-- I've been having wild cravings for refried beans so I think this'll be extra tasty.

Seafood Stuffed Peppers-- I have oodles and oodles of bell peppers in the fridge. I thought this would be a yummy recipe to use some of them.

Almond Crusted Fish-- Carryover from last week because I didn't get to it.

Menu Plan Monday- May 30, 2011

The pies I made last week for Martijn to take to work were a hit. They didn't even save a sliver for me... which if I'm being honest isn't a completely bad thing!

On to the eats for this week:

Fusion Grilled Chicken and Grilled Eggplant- Chicken and eggplant were on sale this week so I took it as a sign that I needed to make this!

Almond Flour Crusted Fish- I need to use some fish we have in the freezer. The last almond crusted fish we had was really good so hopefully this will be too!

Pork & Veggie Stir Fry- I admit to being lazy for this one. I totally bought the stir-fry veg and meat pre-chopped which made this a 10 minute meal!

Chicken Rollatini with Spinach al la Parmigiana- I just think this looks delicious. It's probable that mine won't look nearly as good but hopefully it'll taste amazing!

Menu Plan Monday- May 23, 2011

This week is a short one because it's Martijn's birthday and we're going to his parents for dinner that night. The next day he's got his weekly dinner group somewhere else so that makes two easy days for me.

Veggie Thali- According to wikipedia "a thali is a selection of different dishes, usually served in small bowls on a round tray... Typical dishes include rice, dhal, vegetables, roti, papad, curd (yoghurt), small amounts of chutney or pickle, and a sweet dish to top it off." I've made this once before (with a few tweaks here and there) and it's quite tasty.

Chicken Cordon Bleu and Potato Salad- I'm using pre-made chicken cordon bleu since I'm laaaazy.

Potato, Green Bean & Tuna Salad

Since Dutch tradition dictates that you bring pie to work on your birthday I'll be making a lime pie, cherry blueberry pie, and a nut pie for Martijn to take on Wednesday.

Menu Plan Monday- April 18, 2011

Last week:

I tried two new recipes.

The Sweet Potato & Caramelized Onion Quesadillas were really really good. I didn't think they were going to be gross but I wasn't expecting to enjoy them as much as I did!! Definitely a keeper.

The Almond Crusted Salmon was also good. It calls for honey mustard but I think it would be yummy to try other varieties instead and see what other flavor combinations you could come up with.

This Week:

Spicy Bean Burritos and Cilantro Lime Rice

Thai Salmon with Cucumber and Dipping Sauce

Potato, Green Bean, & Tuna Salad

Spinach, Ground Beef & Eggs

Menu Plan Monday- April 11, 2011

Last week:

Okay, so I made burritos with black beans and sweet potatoes and I didn't use a recipe. Maybe that was my downfall... they weren't bad but there was something off about them and I didn't enjoy them nearly as much as I hoped I would. Oh well, it was worth a try!

The Polenta "Pizza" with Spinach and Bacon got four thumbs up but we both thought you could probably decrease the amount of polenta for a slightly thinner less dense "crust." It was really really good though. I highly recommend it!

The Stroganoff Skillet Dinner was tasty too, and pretty quick to put together.

This Week:

Sweet Potato & Caramelized Onion Quesdadillas - Meatless meal for this week... I know sweet potatoes have got to be good for more than just sweet potato fries and eating plain with sugar and butter and cinnamon!

Chopped Salad with Fried Garbanzo Beans- I liked this last time I made it but I think I might roast the chickpeas in the oven this time instead of frying them.

Almond Crusted Salmon- Salmony goodness, what more needs to be said?

Smoked Salmon BLT- Once I got having salmon into my head I had to make these too.

Somewhere in all of this I'm going to be making MORE with carrots. I have a wild abundance of them... I'm still open to recipe ideas.

What yummy things are you eating this week?