2012 Week 26

I will be spending most of this week at a synchronized swimming national competition with the team I coach.  The meet is in Ohio and we will be eating and practically sleeping at the pool for most of the week.  So...no great meal plan this week, as I'm sure Scott and the kids will be eating grilled hot dogs and ice cream all week!
Sunday - away, Scott's on his own!
Monday - same
Tuesday - same
Wednesday - I get back, hopefully Scott will have something planned!
Thursday - Rockies game today, dinner will be either at the game or right after somewhere downtown
Friday - We will want something easy, veggie quesadillas on the grill
Saturday - Homemade pizza on the grill, I'm looking for new combinations...

2012 Week 25

Happy Father's Day to Scott!
Whew, 90º and higher all week!  I see lots of cold salads and grilling in our future...
Sunday - Father's Day dinner.  Easy, peasy for Scott, since I have to work. Hot dogs and a steak on the grill, corn on the cob and some cold greens.
Monday - Cold, make ahead pasta salad.  Possibly this.
Tuesday - Guacamole Grilled Cheese Sammies and a fruit salad
Wednesday - Some sort of cold Asian peanut salad...
Thursday - Grilled Salmon and sauteed green veggies with homemade bread
Friday - Homemade pizza on the grill.  I'm still working on a dough recipe that we all love, I'll post the one we are going to try later this week.
Saturday - I have to leave for a swim meet in OH, so something easy for Scott and the kids.  Maybe sliders on the grill.

Have a great week!

Oh.My. (Avocado & Grilled Corn Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette)

Even though I just put up our menu yesterday, it's already fallen apart and I couldn't be happier. This morning I found this recipe for Avocado & Grilled Corn Salad on Pinterest and this evening we had it for dinner.  Perfection!  Below you will find the original recipe from http://authenticsuburbangourmet.blogspot.com/ along with my notes.  And after you make this delicious salad, go check out her blog, there is some yummy food there!

Avocado & Grilled Corn Salad
5 Ears Corn, husk removed, brush with olive oil and grilled, remove corn with sharp knife (I used 3 ears)
2 Avocados, diced and sprinkled with lemon juice to prevent browning
2 C. Tomatoes, red and yellow cherry variety or equivalent
1 Small red onion, finely diced
¾ C. Feta, crumbled
1 ½ C. English cucumber, skin on and chopped small dice

(1 C. black beans)

Add to a large bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

Cilantro Vinaigrette
6 T. Olive oil

2 T. Sherry vinegar (I used a combination of apple cider and balsamic vinegars)
1 t. Garlic powder
2 T. Fresh cilantro, minced
½ t. Salt
10 Grinds of fresh ground pepper
Add all of the dressing ingredients in a small glass jar with a lid. Shake really well. Taste and adjust seasoning and ratios of oil and vinegar as you desire. (I did not measure and just eyeballed the whole thing, it turned out perfectly.  The only change I will make next time -and there will be a next time- is to add a squeeze of lime at the end to brighten everything up.)

When ready to serve salad, add the dressing and gently toss.

2012 Week 24

Not much going on this week, just loving the summer weather!

Sunday - Kitchen sink quesadillas
Monday - Pizza
Tuesday - Food truck night
Wednesday - Green noodles, I need to work on my pesto recipe, but we have more basil ready for the picking
Thursday - Pantry raid, I have no ideas now, but I'm sure we can find SOMETHING to eat!
Friday - Fish tacos on the grill
Saturday - Dinner out

2012 Week 23

Nothing like posting for the week on Tuesday!  Whoops!

Anyway, we made our first batch of garden pesto this AM and I could seriously eat it for breakfast!  I can hardly wait for dinner.

We used the recipe off the bag of pine nuts, but it's a pretty simple one.  You could do a lot to jazz it up if you wanted.

2 cups packed basil leaves

1/2 cup pine nuts

4 garlic cloves

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

salt and pepper
Add the basil, pine nuts and garlic to the food processor and run until you get a paste.  Drizzle in the olive oil, scraping down the sides of the processor as needed.  Add the cheese and salt and pepper and pulse a few times.  Serve on warm pasta, or bread, or just eat by the spoonful (not that I do that).

Anyway, on to dinners...
Sunday - Hot dogs on the grill for Scott and the kids
Monday - Salad and a fruit crisp
Tuesday - Pesto pasta and a fruit salad
Wednesday - Farro Salad with tomatoes and herbs
Thursday - Grilled salmon with a spinach salad
Friday - Sesame tofu stir-fry (didn't do this last week, still have the tofu)
Saturday - Dinner at a friend's wedding

2012 Week 22

Happy Memorial Day Weekend to everyone!  We are celebrating in Vail with a few friends.  The weekend has been full of kids and food and fun.  There are four families here sharing a townhouse at the Ritz, and we split up the meals so no one is having to cook the whole time.  Scott and I were in charge of breakfast and we made these delicious egg boats.  I loved that everyone could take a slice or two and that we could make some vegetarian and some with meat.  This was perfect with a fruit salad and (lots of) coffee.

Bike riding on the path in Vail!

Anyway, on to the meals for the week!
Sunday - Dinner with friends
Monday - Easy grilling.  Probably whatever we have on hand.  Black bean burgers are a freezer staple around here.  One of those with some green chilies and melted cheese on top is a perfect dinner with a salad.
Tuesday - Easy homemade pizza for dinner after driving back from Vail.  I buy the fresh dough at the store and we always have something to put on the pizza!
Wednesday - I never got to the homemade pesto last week.  So, I'm going to try again this week.  We have spinach from the CSA and arugula from our garden that both need to be used.
Thursday - Fish tacos on the grill.  We grill the fish and then made rice and beans and a spicy coleslaw.
Friday - Sesame tofu stirfry, finally using up all those veggies!
Saturday - Roll ups.  The Pioneer Woman did a post on roll ups the other day.  Now, of course, I can't get them out of my mind.  I'm thinking they would be perfect for a picnic dinner and a movie in the park!

Oh my

As the kids and I were in the store today, Little Man spotted a bag of Andes Baking Chips, you know, the mint chocolate kind.  Well, since I had just seen an episode of Giada's show where she made these incredible double chocolate cookies with mint chocolate chips, I was game.  Little man threw them in the cart and I made the cookies pretty much as soon as we walked into the house!  Let me tell you, these are amazing.  Just be sure you have a large glass of milk on hand, these babies are rich!

Here is the link to Giada's recipe.  Below is my version of the recipe, which is doubled and adjusted for high altitude.

Ingredients

• 12 oz of chocolate chips
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups flour
• 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/3 cups sugar
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• One 10-ounce bag of Andes mint chocolate baking chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325º F. Line your baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the chocolate chips and butter. Place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.

In a medium bowl, sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, 2 tablespoons water and vanilla extract. Gradually add the dry ingredients. Fold in the cooled chocolate. Stir in the chocolate mint pieces. Chill the dough 10 minutes to firm slightly. Drop cookies by the rounded spoonful on to the cookie sheet.  Give them some space, they will spread.  I was able to get 8 on each sheet.

Bake the cookies 12 minutes. Bake until the cookies are slightly puffed and dry looking with some small cracks on top, but don't let them over bake.  Cool the cookies completely on sheets (they may deflate slightly as they cool).