Menu and Shopping List for 12/12-12/18

Here's what Barbara and I have in mind for the week.
Barbara's in a fish mood - and it's evident this week!
There are only three weeks left in the year - that includes a week capped off with Christmas and another capped off with New Year's.  WOW, we've nearly done it... and there are still things that I'd like to make that we haven't done.

How about...
Chicken Parmesan stacks (more about presentation than a unique entree', but gonna be GORGEOUS!)
Broccoli Pesto on Fusilli w/ Almond Slices
Fish Tacos (hard shell tacos)
Gnocchi with Basil Pesto (homemade gnocchi?)
Flounder Fish Sandwich with Cucumbers and Coleslaw
Chicken with Vodka Sauce and Spinach
Carmalized Onion, Prosciutto & fresh parmesano pizza on Cauliflower Flatbread Crust

Now that's a great looking week. 

Raw – unsalted Almonds or pine nuts

Olive oil
Canola or vegetable oil
Vinegar
Sugar
Brown sugar (1 tbsp)
Salt
Cumin
Cayenne pepper
Flour – low/no carb options are fun to try here.
Garlic powder
Onion powder

Fresh Parmesan shavings or slices

Breadcrumbs
Hard taco shells
Fusilli or Rotini pasta
Grated parmesan
Good, high-end Vodka sauce
(a salad in a bag or two to match up with these dishes)

Tomatoes for slicing
Garlic
Avocado
White and red onion
Cilantro
Lime
Cucumbers
Red cabbage
Spinach (can be frozen)
Cauliflower (can be frozen)
(a nice veg mix to go with the Chicken Parm stacks)

Prosciutto or similar meat (canadian bacon or bacon can poorly substitute)

Chicken tenderloins (2.5 lbs)
Tilapia
Flounder
Broccoli
Corn
Frozen gnocchi – or Barbara’s fresh, homemade…

Fresh basil

The week after Thanksgiving

And for Barbara - NO TURKEY!
(I'm good for turkey eating for a few more weeks thanks to our 21 pound turkey, but Barbara and her family are out of turkey until next year!).

So, Barbara and I had a super super busy week last week, and we'll get some recipes from last week posted this week - what a rockin' week with two full days of catering followed immediately by Thanksgiving - shopping, yesterday, and now it's Sunday already.  WOWZA!  Our week was so busy that we didn't take time out to get the menu in order... but since it's time to get organized as the four week long insane rush before Christmas begins, here's what I've put together for the week!

Sunday:  Italian Sausage and Veggie Pasta
Monday:  Thai Peanut Noodle Bowl
Tuesday:  White Chili
Wednesday:  Stuffed Chili and Cheese Potato
Thursday:  Salmon with Lime and Honey on Warm Black Bean and Corn Salad
Friday:  Meatloaf ala P90x
Saturday: Sweet Bread - the easiest homemade bread -

so there you be...

(Let us not forget that Advent is a time to prepare and be ready - to cleanse and find our simpler self - and be nicer to those around us!)

thanksgiving

This week is Thanksgiving.
Time to give thanks for all those around you who - most of whom you overlook or underappreciate the rest of the year.
And what better way to say thank you to someone than to do so with great food.
Here's our thank you food list...

Twice Baked Potaotes
Cranberry stuffing
Pistachio Pudding pie
Cranberry Relish
Turkey and Gravy
Left over turkey salad with crescent rolls
Turkey Pot Pie


WATCH THE TURKEY PAN COMING OUT OF THE OVEN ... Don't let this be your Thanksgiving...
after the Bupkis's dog eat the Parker's turkey....
Ralphie as Adult: [narrating] The heavenly aroma still hung in the house. But it was gone, all gone! No turkey! No turkey sandwiches! No turkey salad! No turkey gravy! Turkey Hash! Turkey a la King! Or gallons of turkey soup! Gone, ALL GONE! 
then you get ....  Deck the harrs with boughs of horry, fa ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra ra.

Week of November 14 to November 20

Wow - almost Thanksgiving.  About a year ago Barbara and I dreamt this little gem up - and we didn't know what it would do for us.  We've got a few things to do, but we're gonna start letting others know about our cost saving recipes and menus - and hopefully we can make our mark on the world.

Here's what we've arrived at for this week.

Green Tomatillo Salsa (Salsa Verde') over Chicken Nachos
Baked Polenta with Mozzarella and Tomato Sauce
Horseradish mustard encrusted mah mahi
Cheese and Spinach Quesadillas with White Corn Black Bean salsa
Ahi Tuna on a bed of field greens
Shrimp Scampi with Penne
Crescent Rolled Sausages (Pig in a Blanket)

exciting for us!  Nervous as can be about the Ahi Tuna - it's just GOT to be cooked the right amount of time ... and what to top it with. 

Din Din time - week ... who knows! It's November 7-13

Barbara and I had a great meeting this morning - with so much going on, we're juggling like sixteen projects related to "business" with this blog, distribution, publishing, catering, filming, and finances, nutrition, physical fitness, vacations, computing issues, technology issues, and life of two good friends, our one hour meetings daily could be six and we'd never catch up.  UGH!  Wish one of those were easy... nope, not for us.  Anyway,  what do you want to eat?  Here's what we're having...

Sunday - English Muffin Pizzas (one of my kid's favorites!)b
Monday - Pumpkin Tomato Sauce on Whole Wheat Pasta
Tuesday - Rosemary Salmon
Wednesday - Honey CHile Sauce on CHicken with Veg of Choice
THursday - Herb de Provencial on TIlapia
Friday - Manicotti with Pomodoro sauce
Saturday - Apricot Sauce Chicken over Artichokes.

A nice blend of carb rich foods for those who wish and simple carb-free meals for those who don't.  That's kinda the way things are going for us!

Menu 10-31 to 11-6

I've shared this menu with a few folks off line - why, I don't know, I've been super busy and haven't sat down to my computer for a few days ... the first part of that statement is nothing new, my life is like that, but the not sitting down to my computer part is all new.  I'm working really hard on a 90 day project and it's taking way more than the allotted 60 to 90 minutes per day.  I'm so excited by it I let it eat up more of my day than it should.
Anyway, here's the week's menu!

Sunday - Cornmeal crust pizza
Monday - Baked Ham, veg of choice, and Sweet Potato fries
Tuesday - Broccoli stuffed chicken breasts
Wednesday - Butternut Squash soup
Thursday - Parmesan encrusted Pork Chops
Friday - Red Harvest Salad
Saturday - Roasted Red Pepper and onion quiche

I'll put the week's shopping list up in a few despite the fact that part of the week is already passed.
sorry!

10/24-10/30/2010 menu

WHOLLY COW... end of October.
We've got some work to do on a number of projects.
Are your halloween costumes set?  Mine aren't.

Give yourself some late afternoon freedom - plan your dinners ahead of time... here's what we mapped out for you...

Sunday - Grands Pizzas
Monday - Spaghetti Squash with sage, butter, and garlic
Tuesday - Shimp Quesadilla with Avocado/Tomato Salsa
Wednesday - Chicken Stirfry
Thursday - Beef Stew (gravy?) over polenta
Friday - Cuban Panini
Saturday - Pasta "Primavera" - fall style

back in a flash with the next steps!

October 17-23, 2010

Weekly Menu number 987 or close ...
October 17-23, 2010

still filled with fresh ideas we present this week's menu...

Sunday:  Caramel Apple (or Taffy Apple) Pancakes
Monday:  Harvest Salad
Tuesday:  White Chili
Wednesday:  Pork Chops with baked apples
Thursday:  Salmon with ginger cream sauce & green veg of choice
Friday:  Rigatoni with Vodka Cream Sauce
Saturday:  Apple Harvest Coffee Cake

So, Barbara had a pumpkin week last week - this is apple week.  mmm I love apple week!

Menu October 10-16

We are in homestretch of our blog and I cant believe all the meals I still want to make. This will be a week of some original stuff! I went to my favorite Aldi store to do my weekly shopping today and the Aldi manager noticed my hair color. The reason that is so amazing is because I got rid of my ridiculous highlights that in the past 4 months went from light brown to blonde, which looked really funny with my dark brown hair. Not one friend or family member of mine noticed my dark hair, but the Aldi worker did!! He said and I quote "you changed your hair, it looks really good." Aldi, not just a great store, with great products and great prices,but great observant employees!!

Here is the line up:

Sunday-Beet salad, served on a bed of lettuce
Monday- Roasted corn soup
Tuesday-Tilapia encrusted with cilantro and parm cheese, roasted brussel sprouts
Wednesay- Mushroom Polenta
Thursday- Beef Strogenoff
Friday- green Bean Salad with Boil Egg and Black Olive
Saturday- Pumpkin soup and Pumpkin dessert

Menu for 10-3 to 10-9

We had a bit of fun researching and dreaming up this menu - we've done more than 400 posts to this blog since late December... it's been a great experience for me and my family, and I thank Barbara for going down this avenue with me.  It's been wonderful!

Sunday:  Southwestern BlackBean Soup
Monday:  Taco Scoops
Tuesday: Artichoke and Crab Meat on Field Greens with Dijon Vinegrette
Wednesday:  Beef Roast w/ potatoes & carrots
Thursday:  Zucchini Lasagna
Friday:  Spaghetti Squash with Zesty Marinara
Saturday:  Coconut Shrimp with hot fruit dip.

wow...long week last week

OK, so I've been a bit distracted since my kids went back to school.  lots going on, Barbara and I are really working away on a mostly secret project.  It's sucking up a lot of our time...but...I made a pretty silly mistake for you last week on the menu - and in the shopping, which was still pretty darn pain free.  Anyone notice it and not comment?  Uhm, apparently there were eight days last week... we planned eight dinners.  SO...we're just gonna move one of them into this week.  It'll be my secret family recipe for meat sauce - on ravioli.  WHY that one? mmm, cuz we had two pasta dishes at the end of this last week, and you know how i feel about that~

this week.

Sunday - Meat Sauce on Ravioli
Monday - lime and tortilla encrusted whitefish
Tuesday - ginger beef with stir fry veggies & rice
Wednesday - green pepper stuffed with chicken and white beans
Thursday - green pea pesto on pasta
Friday -  cowboy caviar (on chicken or chips - your choice!)
Saturday - Portabello Pizza

Menu 9/19 to 9/25

Hey There... how's your week progressing?
Crazy busy day today, concluding with a picnic to which I took chips and hummus (store bought). BUT, that's just one day, and just one outing, but now we gotta get the menu back on track.

We're recommending the following seven dinners this week:

Pistaccio Pesto with sweet peas over Pasta
Pork Roast in a Chimi Churi Sauce
Tilapia with chili lime almonds crust & wild rice & veggies
Chicken Nachos
Fuitti di Mare
Taco Salad
Ravioli with Kim's Meat Sauce
"Joe's Breakfast Sandwich"

Menu for Week of September 12-18

Summer is drawing to a close, and with that Kim and I have blogged through almost 3 full seasons. We have made lots of dinners and had lots of fun. We have both tried recipes and meals we sometimes never heard of and never thought we could make, and or like, and have experienced a lot of success and happy eaters!! This week is no different in the "experience" department, we have gone with some old standbys and some new chalenges in the culinary department.
So here goes:
Sunday-Chille Relenos-stuffed Pablano Peppers
Monday- Lime herb encrusted whitefish
Tuesday-Black Bean soup
Wednesday- Penne with fresh tomato, canellini beans, tuna and black olives
Thursday- Salad with mixed greens and grilled shrimp drizzled with balsamic vinegar
Friday-Mango Ceviche
Saturday- Grilled Salmon with a Mango Salsa

Menu for 9/5 to 9/11

Celebrating Labor Day this year with a great line up of fun filled foods!

Sunday is a Pita version of the Veggie pizza we did on Memorial Day
Monday is Brats on buns with homemade coleslaw
Tuesday brings a Baked Potato Bar (with cottage cheese)
Wednesday features Barbaras Salmon Melts combo'ed with my Tropical ideas..... Tropical Salmon Melts
Thursday is time for Chick Peas again - with spinach and tomatoes on penne
Friday let's have grilled pork chops with sweet tomato relish, and a medley of sauteed veggies
and we'll end the week on Saturday with a crustless pizza quiche

I'll get you a grocery list tomorrow!

time for the menu! 8/29-9/4

WOW... September already. EEESH. I can't begin to you how much fun this project has been, and how EASY it has become to sit down and make a menu on Fridays with my dear friend Barbara, and then pop thru the shopping list and get it posted. Now that my travels are almost done for the year - I will try to get you menus more timely. It is SO easy and comforting to KNOW what's for dinner each night without stopping to think it thru... it's done - I did it on Friday! And I have all the ingredients, I bought them on Sunday. YES!

This week we want you to enjoy:

• Turkey Bacon Avocado wrap with corn on the cob
• Shrimp Ceviche
• whitefish with cilantro lime pesto and a green vegetable of choice
• Risotto Milenese(rice in a tomato sauce)
• Chicken with Asparagus and Red Peppers
• Summer Version of Parmesan Chicken
• Roast Beef Bruschetta Treasures.

OK... on with the recipes.

What's for Supper? August 22 to 28

OK fans... my kiddos go back to school this week.  So many mixed emotions with that.  Hopefully a bit more time for me, our blog, and the other projectS I have going on... we'll see.  Anyway, here's what we've got in mind for the kids this week!

Grilled Portabella Mushrooms topped with bruschetta
Chicken Salad Wraps
Shrimp Cocktail and that Avocado Corn Tomato Salad (with home-made Mojitos to drink!)
Blue Cheese Stuffed (or topped) Hamburgers with Sweet Potato Chips
Blackened Chicken on a "Southwest Salad"
Key Lime Pie (that's all Barbara wants for supper on Friday night...)
Garden Fresh Soup.

Enjoy!

Food August 8 to 15, 2010

So, this is not quite the "back to school" favorites week menu - that's next week - you know, the week we divert dinner-time conversation from back to school to "mmm, mom, this is so good".  Anyway, like I said, that's next week ... we're still trying some new stuff this week!

Sunday:  Taco Soup (more garbanzo beans!)
Monday:  Farfalle with Saged Squash
Tuesday:  Tequila Citrus marinaded shrimp - skewers
Wednesday:  Simple summer salad with Avocados, Chicken, Tomato & Onions
Thursday:  Breaded Pesto Whitefish with roasted veggies
Friday:  Pasta Salad with Fresh mozarella cheese, cherry tomaotes & pesto
Saturday:  Fresh Homemade Salsa with Cheese Quesadillas

Better quit reading and go to the farmers market right now (well, after I compile the grocery list for you - check that entry first!)

August 1-7, 2010

Yeap, it's August.  Well, tomorrow is August.  We've given you our recipes and menus and some of our thoughts for the past seven months.  Still fun!  Still making our lives easier, and hopefully yours too.  Hope you like the new (free) blog design we chose.  We're trying hard here!

So, this week we're planning:

Pita Pizza
Steak Fajita
Grilled Tequila Citrus Salmon w/ summer squash & mushrooms
Corn, Avocado & Tomato Salad over Chicken
Tomato Basil Black Bean Patty
Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp & Spinach (with a side of sliced tomatoes & balsamic vin).
Swiss Turkey Krisp

that's it!

menu July 24-30

Yikes!! July 30, summer is cruising on by and we are approaching school starting up again. It is bittersweet the start of school. Michael is entering the 6th grade, which is Junior High and the memory is still firmly planted in my head of his tiny hand in mine as I walked him into kindergarten. Where did the years go?? I certainly am alot more productive in the school year, summer is a distraction for me because I love the sun, and any activity I can find outside as well, but also, Michael still requires driving around, and we even "hang out" some time. Im not sure how much of that will take place next year when he will be on the homestretch of school before entering Highschool. OK, mental note- savor the next 4 weeks, or atleast try. I can start by coming up with a menu that is easy, light, and savory......Here is the game plan for the week, and again it may get changed or tweaked depending on time and sports scheduling(this is playoff week for my 6th grader)

Shrimp DeJonghe(Michael loves, loves shrimp)
Salmon al Fresco
Pizza with Portobello Mushrooms and Spinach
Crepe soup
Penne with Green Olive Almond Pesto
Spaghetti Taco

Well, it's officially the "dog days of summer" for me, now! I've gone on three vacations, had our closest family friends over for a nice weekend, and now, it's time to settle down again. Get some routine back into things. And lounge and read books and sit in the sun and enjoy and soak it all in.
Yeah right on the last part...

Here's what you should be eating this week...
Italian crepe Lasagna
Homemade pizza with rosemary crust and Spinach
Blackened Salmon with Sweet Potato Fries
Mojito Marinaded pork tenderloin (grilled) with summer squash and zucchini.
wild rice pasta salad
Balsamic Miarinated Chicken over field greens
ravioli with pesto