Our Menu: Week of April 7 to 13

Easter Sunday!

As I mentioned in my post about Easter, I got all adventurous and made a cake to bring to my mother-in-law’s house for Easter dinner.  This was only my second ‘from scratch’ cake ever and I’m so happy to report that it turned out!  Check out the photos I posted on Facebook (you don’t have to be logged in or even have a profile to view the photos).  If you know me well, you know that I have very little patience and I do everything FAST.  The cake was no exception.  I don’t have a proper ‘cake caddy’ so the hubs suggested I ice the cake but decorate it when we got to his mom’s.  Oh yes, what a great idea!  Except, I couldn’t help myself and once it was iced I thought I’d just put some of the decorations on it and before you know it, the whole thing was decorated!  I felt like a guilty child when hubs got home and saw the cake fully decorated on the counter.  The next question, of course, was, “How are you going to get it all the way to my mom’s like that?” – it’s about a 45 minute to 1 hour drive from our house.  I hadn’t really thought that far ahead, I just wanted to see the finished product NOW.  As mentioned, I don’t have a proper ‘cake caddy’, so the cake sat on a plate, on a lazy Susan, on a bigger platter and then on my lap in the car.  There were a few treacherous moments on the journey and even Baby O looked concerned.  But, the cake made it, in tact and it was delicious!  Here are the recipes:  Carrot Bundt Cake (I skipped the walnuts due to a nut allergy in the fam) and Lemon Cream Cheese Icing.

Baby O looking a little worried about the cake!

I also brought the Mushroom Casserole to have as a side dish to our dinner that I have made before.  Again, it was really good.

Chicken Asparagus Penne and Salad

See this post! 

Coconut Lime Chicken over Basmati Rice with Steamed Green Beans

Oh yes, this was GOOD.  A fan of coconut, I am not, but I love to cook with coconut milk.  Will definitely make this again. Here is the recipe.

Lasagna Rolls with Steamed Broccoli

I made a batch of my own pasta sauce with ground chicken again this week to go in these lasagna rolls.  I don’t have a recipe, but this is basically what I do:

Cook 12 lasagna noodles

In a bowl mix together a container of Ricotta cheese, 1 egg, some shredded mozzarella, grated fresh parmesan and a sprinkle of garlic powder.

Spread the mixture on the noodles and then roll them up.

Place them in a baking dish and cover them with sauce.  Grate some more mozzarella on top.

Bake them for about 30 minutes at 350.  Yum!  Baby O loved these too! 

BBQ Chicken Tostadas with Avocado Corn Salsa and Steamed Asparagus

Another hit!!  I cooked the chicken in the crock pot with some BBQ sauce and about half a cup of water and it turned out so moist and juicy and was very easy to shred.  I skipped the 'ranch' part of this recipe.  The avocado corn salsa was delicious too.  The recipe says to sprinkle the tortillas with taco seasoning, but I just sprinkled a bit of cumin and chili powder on them instead.

BBQ Pork Chops, Grilled Sweet Potatoes and Salad

I heart simple BBQ dinners.  The chops were sprinkled with Montreal Chicken spice and for the sweet potatoes, I just sliced them into rounds and tossed them with olive oil and a bit of salt and hubs cooked them on the ‘Q in our BBQ basket.

Bon Appetit! 

Our Menu: Week of February 18 to 24

Ham and Potato Soup with a Salad

This soup was really hearty and what I would definitely call comfort food.  It would have been great with a baguette for dipping, but alas, wheat and I have parted ways. Here’s the recipe.

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Lemon-Garlic Green Beans

I love a good one-dish meal and this one was fabulous!  I made it for Sunday dinner but as long as you have 50 minutes to bake it, it was quick to throw together.  I might go a bit lighter on the lemon next time by not putting the slices in the bottom of the baking dish.  I will be adding this to our regular dinner rotation!  Find it HERE.  

Chicken Asparagus Penne and Caesar Salad

This pasta dish is a favourite in our house and one we’ve had on rotation for several years.  It is super-quick and delicious.  I don’t have a formal recipe for this one, but this is what I do:

Cook a bag of penne pasta (I use brown rice pasta).

In a large skillet (I use a wok-like deep frying pan), cook 3 or 4 chicken breasts cut up into bite size pieces in some olive oil.  Add in a few cloves of minced garlic (to your taste), some salt and pepper and add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional).  Cut the asparagus into 1 inch pieces and add it to the chicken once cooked, but only when the pasta is cooked and you’re ready to mix everything… nobody likes mushy asparagus!  Add the pasta and drizzle some more olive oil to coat it.  Grate a bunch of FRESH parmesan cheese, stir it up and cook just till the cheese is melted.  YUM!

Easy Crockpot Fiesta Chicken with Rice and Broccoli

I found this recipe on Pinterest!  Very good, would definitely make it again.  I used 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts, but would cut it to 6 at the most next time, as it made a LOT for just the three of us.  I served it over rice with some grated cheddar to garnish and steamed broccoli.  Here’s the recipe.

Mexican Pulled Pork and Pinto Beans (Crock Pot) with Roasted Cauliflower

See THIS post!  For the cauliflower, I toss it with some olive oil and salt and pepper and roast it in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes or till it’s done.   

Pork Stir Fry

This is also a repeat – click HERE.

Pita Pizzas

As simple as it sounds!  Pitas make a great thin pizza crust.  I buy a can of pizza sauce, some mozzarella, pepperoni and use whatever veggies we have on hand like onions, peppers, mushrooms, etc.  They cook up very fast in the oven – 5 minutes or so at 400 then I usually broil them for a minute or two at the end. 

Happy cooking!