Week 17 - End of School

The school year is coming to a close for many of us and it seems to slip by more quickly each year.  I'm not the emotional type over school, but I see so many moms tear up as they pick up their kids on the last day of school.  I get it, but I guess I also look forward to the next stepping stone in each of my children's lives.

Emilie is my party planner.  The girl wants to have a party to celebrate every kind of food that she loves.  Last year, she organized a "Watermelon" Party with her friends from school at a play ground.  This week she asked me for a "Strawberry" Party.  Since she's been nagging me about this idea for more than a few weeks, I finally decided to act on it and invited 2 friends over to celebrate.  I made strawberries on sticks with whipped cream for dipping, they played Old Maid and then watched Strawberry Shortcake.  Could life be any better?  

Now, onto this weeks' menu.  I really haven't thought too far in advance, so I'm not going to get detailed with the veggies.  I'll just list the main course unless it's something that has to be eaten out of my fridge within the next few days.  

Sunday - Mahi-Mahi, seared asparagus, seared zucchini, white rice
Monday - Angel hair pasta with meat sauce (zucchini noodles for the hubby), green beans
Tuesday - Chicken breasts with pumpkin seed sauce
Wednesday - Sirloin steaks, sauteed spinach, roasted carrots
Thursday - Chicken tacos, black beans
Friday - Out of Town
Saturday - Out of Town

Let's see your menus, everyone!  Happy cooking!

Week 15 - I'm Back!

Wierd, but Blogger tells me I didn't publish this last week.  I thought Nikki said she saw it, but I'm going to publish it again.  Sorry if you all are getting this twice!

Just finished organizing a children's consignment sale with some of my friends, so that is why I've been absent with menus over the last few weeks.  It's been a roller coaster start to Spring!  I'm very excited to be cooking again this week!

My hubby is starting a new diet called "Paleo," so I am working around the beginnings of this diet in our menu planning.  It looks like I'm cooking a lot, but I'm trying to stretch carb leftovers for the kids.  The basis is not too far off from his normal requirements (lean meat, lots of veggies and fruits, no carbs, etc.).   The kids still eat rice and pasta and I'm going to do as much as I can from my amazing Mexican cook book.  ;)

Here's the menu so far:
Sunday - Shrimp stir fry with mixed veggies
Monday - Seared sirloin steak, caramelized onions, black beans, roasted mixed veggies and yellow rice
Tuesday - Turkey burgers, tomatillo-chiplotle salsa, steamed broccoli, yellow rice (kids), salad with cilantro vinagrette
Wednesday - Chicken with almond sauce (been trying to make this for weeks), green beans, salad, rice
Thursday - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, baked sweet potato, broccoli
Friday - Marinated mahi-mahi, black beans, white rice, grilled zucchini, lime-honey coleslaw
Saturday - Out for dinner at Birthday party

Let me hear what you all are eating this week!

Sarah

Week 16: Freezing in May!

So, those of you who do not live in the Atlanta area might not know that it's absolutely freezing this week!  I feel like such a baby saying this (as I know my BIL and SIL are dealing with highs in the 40's in Oregon), but very windy highs in the 60's in May = Not Cool! 

Nevertheless, I must confess that I'm enjoying some inside playtime with my kids.  The nice weather puts us outside everyday which leaves very little time for blogging, cooking and cleaning.  ;)

So, this Paleo diet is getting better in our house and I am adjusting.  Alain is fully committed, but I am only about 75% committed.  I still eat bread.  This diet encourages no bread (wheat or grain of any kind), no dairy, no legumes and as little processed food as possible.  Low processed food is something we've been working towards in our house for over a year, so I'm very on-board with this idea.  I cherish knowing what goes into my children's bodies. 

So, here's my menu for this week.  I may or may not include sides from here on out just so I can get this out more quickly.  ;)

Sunday - Whole baked chicken with Mole Sauce

Monday - Thai basil shrimp with cabbage

Tuesday - Chicken tacos, black beans, cabbage slaw, fresh mexican salsa

Wednesday - Leftovers

Thursday - Mahi-Mahi, steamed artichokes with vinagrette, broccoli

Friday - Burgers, roasted sweet potatoes, asparagus (big hit with the kiddos now)

Saturday - Out for dinner

Well, I hope that all of you are well on your way with your weekly menus!  Please post your menu in the response so we can all be encouraged to stay on top of meal planning! 

Happy Cooking!

Week 14: Hello Spring!

I've missed this blog, but we had such an amazing time in Oregon!  We got to spend time with Alain's brothers (and my Sis-in-law), snowboard, sled, make snowmen and snow shoe!  They had so much snow and the kids were totally worn out every night!  No jet lag for them while we were there.  Annabelle made the cutest snowwoman that she called "Snowella."  She had pig tails if you can believe that.   Most of the snow around Bend was just too dry to make snowmen or snowballs, but we found a park along the DeChutes River that was perfect for snowmen building and we took full advantage of the conditions!  Above is a picture of ice in my hair after snowboarding all day and Mt. Bachelor and a heated walkway! 

Last week was really catch up week for all of us.  Our flight got 4 hours delayed while we were in Newark, but we already had a 3 hour layover planned.  So, 7 hours in Newark airport was beyond our family's capacity.  The aiport was 85 degrees and there was barely any food in the concourse.  It was a frustrating day for everyone trapped in that airport.  So glad to be home!  :)

I have to say that it was a pleasant surprise to come home from so much snow in Oregon to see all of the dafoidils and trees starting to bloom!  What a wonderful welcome home to Atlanta! 

Here's the menu for this week:

Sunday - Barbecue Meatloaf, green beans, white rice

Monday -  Salmon burgers with ceasar slaw, roasted carrots, asparagus

Tuesday - Sauteed chicken with almond sauce, yellow rice, pineapple salsa, broccoli

Wednesday - Shrimp in garlic sauce, black beans, green beans and yellow rice (leftover)

Thursday - Spaghetti & meat sauce, broccoli

Friday -  Leftovers (Annabelle and I are camping with Girl scouts)

Saturday - Out to dinner maybe.  Not sure what Alain will do. . .  ;)

Snow was as deep as Zach's legs outside Josh & Mary's townhouse!

Happy Cooking Everyone!

Sarah

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!