Bayou Turkey-Barley Chowder

Sorry for the break in posts. I don't want to upset my readers, of which there are none right now.

With the holiday, my usual schedule was changed. It wasn't until today that I went shopping and made my plan for the week. I started with my weekly soup, Bayou Turkey-Barley Chowder. My husband thinks this is the best soup I ever made. WOW!

I also made spaghetti sauce. There is no recipe posted since sauce is something that is personal and I learned from my family. I start by browning ground beef, sausage and pork. I then deglaze with red wine, add tomato paste, and some water. I had some tomatoes baked with garlic in the freezer, so I put a few halves in. Then it needs to simmer a long time, stirring occassionally. It's done when it looks done- the color changes, and the flavors are developed.

Dinner tonight will be easy: I have some dinner rolls that the kids will make mini sandwiches. I also found a neat fondue recipe, Tomato-and-Herb Fondue. I think it will be fun for the family to sit around and have a relaxing dinner.

Busy Kitchen

Usually Thursdays are "leftover buffet" night, and it sort of was today. My husband had some minor surgery, so I did not teach my sewing classes. I used the time he was sleeping to get some cooking done. Granted, most everyone ate leftovers.

I tried a Ricotta Spinach Pie done in puff pastry. Tried one for lunch and the rest are frozen.

I needed to make a dessert for work tomorrow. Cranberry Blondies was the choice.

When looking for the cranberry blondie recipe, I came across Orange Cranberry Marmalade. I had to make it!

Baking items out- so I made lemon poppy seed mini bundt cakes- they are frozen and orange muffins, also frozen for the day after Thanksgiving.

Sausage Stuffed French Loaf

One of my favorite cookbooks is Southern Living's "Easy Weeknight Favorites". It has fast, easy, and tasty recipes for any night of the week. I often make the Triple Chocolate Cake and keep it in the freezer for when needed. Wednesday's main course was the Sausage Stuffed French Loaf. We have been eating a lot of sandwiches this week- it has been so busy!

I found the recipe for the sausage stuffed french loaf online, so it is linked on the sidebar. I recommend the entire book.

Work that recipe:

Since I was making one batch, I made extra of the ground beef/sausage mixture without the bread crumbs and put it in the freezer. Now I'm ready for another meal when life gets busy- or I get lazy. Either is possible.

I also pulled together Cauliflower Soup (see link). There was enough to share with my neighbor.

Nachos

Today is getting away from me quickly. I served mac and cheese (the stove top from a box) for afterschool and before the madness began. I have to make the dance run both ways again. My oldest has basketball camp and I'm on drop off. A friend of mine is in a bind and needs help with the basketball run and my husband has a meeting, also at 7pm. When we get home, chicken nachos for the snack.

Steak and Cheese

Again! I had the kids pick their meals for this week- sometimes I get sick of planning. Tim picked steak and cheese.

Saturday and Sunday

The hectic lives never stop- but at least food is provided! We have a Christening this evening, so dinner is there. Sunday, I am going to NYC, kids will be at the grandparents, and my husband and some friends are fixing our ceiling. I will take out some chili that I have frozen for the men to eat. It goes will with beer.

Delivery

I taught CCD after school and had extra kids in the house. Tonight was the first weekend night in a few weeks we could all be at home and not have to leave. I ordered delivery pizza. The kids played with Play-Doh and then we watched a movie.

Rice and Beans Variation

Wednesday was going to be hectic. Dance, two basketball practices and I was going with friends to celebrate a birthday. I made cheese quesdillas, mostly for the kids, yellow rice, and black beans seasoned with chili powder, cumin, and lime juice. Lettuce and pineapple rounded out the meal either as a side dish or the completion of a salad.

Thursday- Leftover Buffet as usual.

Louisville Hot Browns

Another part of the world to try. The kids were happy with two days in a row. I have been wanting to try Louisville Hot Browns and figured before Thanksgiving was a good time, we can have them again with leftovers. The kids liked the open faced sandwiches- I just used deli turkey this time. It was quick and easy and I just added vegetables on the side.

Slow Roasted Pork with Citrus and Garlic

One of the things my kids love best is when we try different regional foods. I started this when we were stuck in the picky eater stage. One person would pick a part of the world and I would make foods from that place. The rule is that you had to taste everything. We don't do the rotation as much as I would like, but occassionally foods present themselves to be good menus- and easy.

Monday is the only night we can all eat together. I planned a Cuban meal with Slow Roasted Pork and butternut squash on the side. The recipe is linked. If you read the recipe, it takes a long time to cook, thus the slow roasting part in the title. Anyway, I did the marinating on Sunday morning and on Monday morning I put the pork and the marinade, onions, and as much citrus as I could fit into the crock pot. The pork cooked on low all day. My house smelled great when I walked in from work. Add a salad and some bread- yummy.

Saturday and Sunday

On Saturday, we had a family birthday party to go to and that provided a late lunch. Once home, and tired, the kids wanted a snack. Frozen chicken nuggets and fries. The over baked and they ate.

Sunday was more fun. We were getting together with friends. My contribution was for kid food. I prepared chicken and beef tacos with veggies and dip as a side. Dinner was done.

Busy Friday but

My husband and I have to go to a fundraiser tonight and my parents are babysitting. I was going to make some quick pizza for the kids and then take them to my parents, but, my dad offered to feed them! Yipee! So, no cooking for me tonight.

Leftover Buffet

Thursdays are my sewing night- leftover buffet for all. Just think about it this way- they get to eat their favorite meal again!

Marmalade Meatballs

As you know, plans change. Today was because my dance carpool is sick. That means I have to take and pick up Molly. I knew this last night so I had time to make arrangements.

A standby recipe, marmalade meatballs (see the link) was the choice. I only had the kids home for 45 minutes before we needed to leave again. I got it together and served it appetizer style with cheese/crackers and veggies with dip. It was a hit.

Work that Recipe

I did not have the Catalina dressing as stated in the recipe. I substituted Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette (not the whole bottle). It worked!

Chili

Still home in bed with a cold and headache. The plan was for chili- also made about two weeks ago. It is out of the freezer thawing and the only work necesssary will be to heat and serve. I may cook some rice to serve with the chili and grate some cheese- dinner is done. I'm napping.

Eggplant Parmesan

Last week was so busy, I wanted to make this week easy and maybe take care of the house a little more than usual. My meals were planned to be low maintenance.

Well, it was a good plan because I had a cold from hell! I came home from work early and went to bed. Luckily, all my husband had to do was pull things together. Pasta and eggplant parmesan was the plan. The sauce was made weeks ago and i pulled that out of the freezer the day before. Boiling pasta and done for the kids.

Let's talk about the eggplant parmesan. I breaded and fried it about a week ago and froze it. It was the first time I tried that. The results- not so great. The eggplant was a little mushy. I may try this one more time, reheating the eggplant before assembling with the cheese and sauce.

Saturday and Sunday

I did my major work on Friday night. We were so busy on Saturday, we left the house at 9am and returned at 5pm and left again at 5:30 for dinner at my mother-in-laws. McDonald's provided lunch. When fast food is once in a while, it is a treat for the kids. Anyway, no cooking done on Saturday.

Sunday morning I'm running to the store for the bread, milk, eggs necessities and again it is a busy day. Honestly, I hate when Sundays are busy. There is plenty of food in the refrigerator thanks to the work on Friday night, so everyone will be well-fed with homemade food for the day.

I have breaded eggplant and sauce frozen- I will put that in the refrigerator to thaw (I never tried the eggplant before so read tomorrow's post). Eggplant Parmesan and pasta are on tomorrow's menu and it is already mostly cooked.