Week 13 - Beautiful Weather. . .

So, I guess a  late start is going to be a trend for a little while.  Sorry about that, Ladies!

We are very excited to have my Brother-in-Law staying with us this week since Home Depot flew him in from Oregon for an awards brunch to honor him and a few other outstanding employees.  He got in on Sunday night and I was busy making a mole sauce, so I just didn't get the menu down.  Although Alain bought a ton of food, so I have limitless options for this week.  We're also going to Oregon next Tuesday, so I need to eat up any perishable stuff ASAP.  ;)

The little cold bug that started last week has sprouted into Zach's lungs, so we went the doctor today and got him jump-started on some steriods and breathing treatments so that he will be healthy when we travel next Tuesday.  It takes a long time to get to Oregon (including a 3-hour layover in Chicago), so we have to be healthy. 

Here's my attempt at a menu this week.  This one is extending due to our trip.  I will most likely be very flexible depending on my level of exhaustion.  I had very little sleep last night attending to Zachary, so I'm hoping the chef fairy will come to my house tonight. . .

Sunday - Seared steak with carmelized onions, black beans, white rice
Monday - Mole Poblano with chicken, roasted cauliflower, broccoli and white rice
Tuesday - Fajita burgers, sauteed onions and peppers, roasted potatoes, green beans
Wednesday - Salmon, mashed potatoes,
Thurdsay - Chicken with almond sauce (recipe to follow), seared carrots,
Friday - Chili, Mexican cornbread, salad
Saturday - Shrimp and steak tacos, pico de gallo, black beans, yellow rice
Sunday - Grilled chicken, yellow rice (leftovers), broccoli
Monday - Breakfast (waffles, hashbrowns, fruit)

Happy cooking to everyone this week!  I hope all of you are able to enjoy this beautiful weather sweeping across the country!

Sarah

Week 12 - A Healthy House. . . Almost

It would seem that my family has been healthy for at least one full week!  Hallelujah!  We are so excited to be healthy and that we were able to enjoy nice weather over the last 2 weekends. 

Zach and I started a music class and he seems to really enjoy the cd!  He loves to gracefully dance to the slow music.  It's SO precious!  The girls are cutie-pies too as they dance with him and follow his moves! 

I included a photo of some guajillo chilis that I used this week and they were really yummy! 

So, here it is:

Sunday - Lentil Soup with turkey Kielbasa, salad

Monday - Shrimp, yellow rice, green beans and black beans

Tuesday - Turkey burgers, roasted sweet potatoes,

Wednesday - Baked chicken with guajillo chili sauce, green beans, baked potatoes

Thursday - Breakfast for dinner (Waffles, eggs, hashbrowns, fruit)

Friday - Mole Poblano with grilled chicken, mexican rice,

Saturday - Hamburgers, roasted potatoes/sweet potatoes, broccoli

Sorry I'm so late getting this out this week!  It's been so crazy around here.  Turns out that my kids were incredibly whiny yesterday and one of them has a fever today.  I guess I should've listened to the signs and hesitated before making the title for this post "A Healthy House."  :( 

Prayers for a healthy house to all of you!

Blessings,

Sarah

Crepe Day!

I can't believe I made out my whole week's menu without recognizing that tomorrow is crepe day!  We celebrate Groundhog Day by making crepes in our house.  We'll most likley do them for dessert, but maybe I'll have to change the menu around and do tacos and all wrapped things to celebrate the day tomorrow.  For those of you who don't know us well, Alain's dad is from France and he's always made crepes for us as a special treat when the whole family is together.  He makes them for birthdays, holidays and even for camping! 

Here's a few links to tell you a little more about this French tradition and why we decided that we should start celebrating as well: 

http://bit.ly/gj1jK2

http://bit.ly/hf2fYG

So, here's our recipe if any of you are interested in a random day to celebrate the beauty of crepes!

Jean-Luc's Crepes

1 1/2 cups AP flour
3 tbls. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cup Whole milk
4 medium eggs
2 tbls. oil
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Juice from 1/2 orange, freshly squeezed
Zest from 1/2 orange

Mix dry ingredients.  Mix wet ingredients.  Add dry ingredients to milk mixture.  Mix well.  Let sit (covered) in a cooler or refrigerator overnight (4 hours min, but can be used immediately if necessary).  Add milk to mixture it more thinning is needed after sitting overnight.  

FYI - I almost always double this and if we have guests, we'll triple this recipe.  You can also make these into savory crepes by omitting the sugar, almond, vanilla and orange.  In place, we usually just add some herbs like thyme and rosemary.  Savory crepes are great with chicken marsala, pesto and we especially love them with tomato cream sauces. 

Note - I've seen that a few of you posted comments, but they are not showing up under the blog.  I can see them in the comments section of my blog, but can't do anything with them.  I'm thrilled to see the comments!  Love to see what you are all cooking! 

Happy Crepe Day tomorrow y'all!