Nourish
Tuesday, September 16, 2008, by Leigh Anne
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
I think the thing I hate most about cooking dinner every night is deciding what to cook! Don’t you agree?
My Menu Planning Tool #2 is what helps make the decision easier - The Wilkes Family Favorites List. (See yesterday’s post for Tool #1)
Night after night of having to make the decision of what we are going to eat gets old after 27 years! With the help of my family I have put together a list of our families favorite meals. I divided them into categories such as beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, salad, pasta/pizza, soup and sandwiches.
Having a master list of family favorites makes the dinner decision so much easier!
I have also taken all of these recipes and put them into one cookbook/binder (or rather my mother and daughter did!) so I always know where they are.
When all the kids were home I would make them all pick a night of the week and decide what we were having for dinner, using the list as a reference if needed. As someone at my class last Thursday suggested, I should have taken it one step further and made them cook dinner that night too!
Another fun trick to help make the decision process easier is to use theme nights.
Rachel Jensen shared with me how she has set up her theme nights. You notice that each theme night also has a “fall-back” meal - a great idea! A “fall-back” meal is something she knows she always has the ingredients for that can be made quickly and easily if all else fails! Here is an example of how she has hers set up:
Rice Sunday (Fallback - stir fry with broccoli)
Pasta Monday (Fallback -Spaghetti)
Crockpot Tuesday (Beef Stew)
Mexican Wednesday (Soft Taco Bar)
Easy Oven Thursday (Frozen Pizza)
Grill Friday (Hamburgers)
Chicken Saturday (Baked Chicken Breast)
Having theme nights makes the decision process easier because you don’t have to make as many decisions. You don’t have to decide between chicken, beef, pork etc. - you know on Saturdays you only have to choose from your chicken recipes! Fewer decisions equals less stress!
I like Rachel’s idea so much I have decided to use it in my Wilkes Family Weekly Dinner Plan
To help me with my weekly menu planning I will be posting The Wilkes Weekly Dinner Plan each week on my family blog - if you’d like to see what we are having for dinner this week and the links for the recipes you can check it out by clicking on the link above.
Here are some of our favorite quick and easy meals from the Wilkes Family Favorites List:
Cafe Rio Sweet Pork
Sweet & Sour Chicken
Sesame Chicken
Mediterranean Chicken and Bow Tie Pasta
Pasta with Pesto and Sun Dried Tomatoes
I hope these meal planning tips help and if you have any more to add to the list please share!
Popularity: 29% [?]
Categories: Nourish, Organizational Tips, Recipes
Subscribe
Monday, September 15, 2008, by Leigh Anne
As promised, today I will share with you some of the information I presented at the class I taught at church last week on menu planning and quick meals. (Part Two will come tomorrow)
A lot of the information I presented was thanks to you! So many of you left great ideas and suggestions when I asked for your help last week. You are amazing!
Over my 27 years of fixing dinner evening in and evening out I think I have tried just about everything - once a month cooking, dinner coop, Make a Mix, Dream Dinners. Each of these methods of menu planning has worked but as the seasons of my life changed or we just got tired of doing it I have tried something new.
Another option, that I have not personally tried but that many of you shared in your comments is an on-line menu planning service. What a great idea! For a monthly/yearly fee you can have a weeks worth of menus delivered to your in-box each week complete with a shopping list. Some of the services even have specialized menus available - Low Carb, Heart Healthy and others. I took a peek at some of their free/sample menus and they looked great. I even tried a recipe from one. If you have picky eaters at your house this might not be a great choice but you might want to check it out.
Some of the services you recommended are:
www.e-mealz.com
www.savingdinner.com
www.thescramble.com
The number one lesson I have learned over the last 27 years of cooking for my family is that Being Prepared is the key to menu planning and quick meals. Knowing what you are going to make and having the ingredients on hand are essential! Doing a little bit of planning and work at the beginning of the week can make the rest of the week so much easier and less stressful.
I do my menu planning once a week on Sunday evenings - planning our menus for the next week. I found it too hard to plan farther ahead than one week. Life happens and schedules change so often that one week at a time just works better for me.
I have two tools I use that help me Be Prepared and plan my menus. They help me be a much happier and less stressed mommy come 5:00 p.m. each night and my family eats better when I use them!
Tool #1 - The Wilkes Family Pantry Staples. I keep a list of all the food items I need to have in my kitchen that keep my family fed. Having these items on hand allows me to put together an elaborate meal for my family or pull together a last minute dinner when I’ve been gone all day and need to leave again in 30 minutes.
If you will review your favorite family recipes you will be able to compile your own list of pantry staples, items that appear over and over again in your favorite recipes or use mine as a starting point and add and subtract from there. By always having these items on hand you will be able to easily and quickly put together a meal your family will love. My list is divided into categories: Freezer, Refrigerator, Pantry, and Canned Goods. Click on the link above to see what’s on my list.
Come back tomorrow to read about Tool #2!
Popularity: 27% [?]
Categories: Nourish, Organizational Tips
Subscribe
Friday, September 12, 2008, by Leigh Anne
Last night I taught my class on menu planning and quick meals at church. Thanks to a lot of input from many of you it was a great class! I will be sharing details from the class next Monday so be sure and check back!
Since I was focused on preparing for the class this week I thought I should probably share a quick meal idea with you and I promised the ladies in the class I would have one on the blog today!
You have heard me mention a time or two that Cafe Rio is my favorite place to eat while in Utah. I have even shared their Sweet Pork recipe with you (another great quick meal because it’s done in the crock pot)
Fortunately for me a Cafe Rio knock off, Costa Vida, opened up in Portland about a year ago. Now I can get my Cafe Rio fix without having to drive 13 hours to Utah.
Today’s quick meal recipe is also done in the crock pot and is a copycat recipe for Costa Vida’s chicken. You can serve it in burritos, tacos or on a salad. It is yummy!
A while ago my friend Laurie emailed me asking for some ideas for a dinner she needed to put on for her family after her parent’s anniversary party. It needed to be quick and easy because they would be coming directly to her house to eat after the party (of which she was in charge of too!)
I suggested she do a taco/burrito bar using the Cafe Rio Sweet Pork and the Costa Vida Chicken. Both could be made ahead of time and just kept warm in a crock pot. It’s a perfect thing for a large group of people because they can personalize it to their own taste.
Serve it with tortillas, chips, beans, and all the toppings. This green chili rice is perfect to serve along side too.
My favorite tortillas to use are the raw flour ones from Costco. Just bake them up fresh each time. So good. I eat them plain they’re so good!
Laurie reported in after the party that both were a huge success!
So today’s Friday Favorite and quick meal idea is Costa Vida Chicken. Enjoy!
Costa Vida Chicken
1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breast (this recipe can be easily halved but make a full batch and freeze the leftovers for another meal! Good menu planning!)
Cook all together in a crock pot for 4 hours, shred meat and cook 1 additional hour.
Popularity: 37% [?]
Categories: Friday Favorites, Nourish, Recipes
Subscribe
Thursday, September 11, 2008, by Leigh Anne
Our first Barefoot Blogger recipe for the month of September, Grown Up Mac and Cheese was selected by Heather of Randomosity and the Girl.
I am not a fan of Macaroni and Cheese. My kids have always loved the orange stuff in the box - yuck! I do remember eating it as a kid but I believe it was smothered in ketchup. Doesn’t just about anything taste good smothered in ketchup!?
Since Mac and Cheese is not on the Zone Diet my husband wasn’t going to be partaking of this particular dish so with only one child left at home - that left only Tessa to enjoy it. I filled a small little ramekin with enough for her and decided to share the rest with someone else.
There is a young family at church that I visit on a monthly basis that could use a little help and love right now so I filled a disposable pan with Grown Up Mac and Cheese, covered it with foil and dropped it off as a surprise. The husband was home going through the refrigerator at the time looking for something to fix for dinner so my timing was perfect. I hope they enjoy it.
Even though I didn’t eat any I loved the idea of mixing the breadcrumbs with basil - a real grown up touch! I also loved the combination of grown up cheeses - Gruyere, extra sharp Cheddar and Blue Cheese. The addition of bacon made in more grown up too -and everything tastes better with bacon! I promise I’ll have a bite of Tessa’s when she enjoys it for dinner tomorrow night.
My picture is a shot of the uncooked version. I took it to the family uncooked so if they wanted to freeze it for another night they could but I don’t think it made it that far!
Grown Up Mac and Cheese
4 oz. thick sliced bacon
vegetable oil
Kosher salt
2 cups elbow macaroni or cavatappi
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
4 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated
3 oz. extra sharp Cheddar, grated
2 oz. blue cheese, such as Roquefort, crumbled
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
pinch nutmeg
2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
2 Tbsp. freshly chopped basil leaves
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place a baking rack on a cookie sheet and arrange the bacon in 1 layer on the baking rack. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the bacon is crisp. Remove the pan carefully from the oven - there will be hot grease in the pan! Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and crumble when it is cool enough to handle.
Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6-8 minutes. Drain well.
Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don’t boil it. Melt the butter in a medium pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or 2 more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the cheeses, 1 tsp. salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and crumbled bacon and stir well. Pour into pan.
Place the bread slices in a food processor fitted with a steel blade (I used my blender) and pulse until you have coarse crumbs. Add the basil and pulse to combine. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the top of the pasta. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.
Popularity: 29% [?]
Categories: Barefoot Bloggers, Nourish, Recipes
Subscribe
Wednesday, September 10, 2008, by Leigh Anne
I’ve been having to do some readjusting to my cooking this week. Now that we only have one child at home I am finding I am making too much food! For dinner last night I cut the recipe in half and still had enough leftovers for another meal! Yikes! One plus is my grocery bill should go down.
Another thing we have lots of at our house is tomatoes! Yes, it’s tomato time! We’ve got lots of ripe tomatoes in the garden so expect a few tomato recipes over the next couple of weeks.
In fact, if you have a favorite tomato recipe I’d love for you to share it - just leave it in the comment box below so everyone can enjoy it. By the looks of this tomato crop I’m going to need a few new recipes. Thanks!
One of our favorite things to do with the tomatoes is make bruschetta. Tessa is the official bruschetta maker at our house and when it is tomato time we eat it several times a week.
Our neighbor and friend Hannah shared with us a great bruschetta tip she learned when she and her family went to Italy. Normally, we just brush some olive oil on the sliced bread and then toast them under the broiler. Hannah taught us to coat them with olive oil but then sprinkle each slice with some Herbs de Provence and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and then toast under the broiler - yum! It is so much better!
Bruschetta
6 or 7 roma tomatoes, skinned and chopped into small pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 baguette style bread sliced into 3/8″ thick slices, brush on a thin layer of olive oil and then toast under broiler or try our new way with a sprinkling of herbs de provence and grated Parmesan cheese and then place under broiler.
To skin the tomatoes we put them into boiling water until the skins crack and then place them in cold water - the skins pop right off. Chop tomatoes finely, add garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar in a bowl and mix. Chop the basil thinly, add to tomato mixture and add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon tomato mixture onto bread toasts - enjoy! Yum!!!
Popularity: 27% [?]
Categories: Nourish, Recipes
Subscribe
Friday, September 5, 2008, by Leigh Anne
We have had a bumper crop of green beans this summer so I am always looking for new ways to prepare them. We attended a potluck party several weeks ago and one of the dishes that was brought were these yummy charred, spice-crusted green beans. I couldn’t wait to make them for a neighborhood Labor Day get together we had.
The great thing about this dish is it’s suppose to be eaten with your fingers and makes a great appetizer as well as a side dish. Not only is it fun to eat it is also fun to make. You will want to serve them soon after cooking and I promise they won’t hang around long! They will be gobbled up.
The only way you can ruin these beans is to NOT burn them! I prepared them using my cast iron skillet on my outdoor grill. They can be made inside but be sure to have your windows open and good ventilation or you will set of your smoke alarm!
The beans are served with a yummy, spicy remoulade. Just dip and eat!
Any other great green bean recipes out there??
Pan-Seared Green Beans
1 pound green beans, trimmed
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
In a large bowl combine green beans, mustard, cayenne pepper, paprika, cumin, chili powder, garlic and salt; toss to coat beans. Heat in a large skillet (preferably cast iron) over high heat until smoking. Add the beans, being careful not to crowd the pan too much (cook in two batches, if necessary). Cook beans, without disturbing, until charred patches appear, about 5 minutes. Toss beans and cook 5 minutes or more. Transfer to a bowl or plate and serve immediately with Spicy Remoulade.
Spicy Remoulade
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp capers, rinsed, drained and finely chopped
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp minced fresh parsley
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Mix mayonnaise, cayenne pepper, mustard, capers, garlic, parsley and lemon juice until combined. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
Popularity: 30% [?]
Categories: Friday Favorites, Nourish, Recipes
Subscribe
Thursday, September 4, 2008, by Leigh Anne
I need your help!
I have been asked to teach a class next week at a women’s enrichment meeting on meal planning, quick and easy meals, etc.
To tell you the truth I have fallen off the meal planning wagon this summer and I’m having a hard time getting back on!
I have tried so many things over the years - once a month cooking, dinner groups, Dream Dinners, etc.
I’d love to hear what you do to help make meal planning and dinner time easier! Please leave a comment below and let me know your ideas!
Popularity: 30% [?]
Categories: Nourish
Subscribe
Friday, August 29, 2008, by Leigh Anne
After a long drive we have arrived in Provo, Utah. Cali is moved into her dorm and we are enjoying our last couple of days with her visiting some of our favorite spots in town.
Before we left home I made my list of BYU/Provo favorites. All the places I love to visit, shop and eat at while in Provo.
Always on the top of my list of BYU/Provo favorites is visiting the BYU Bookstore and having a BYU Brownie. I’m not sure that’s what they call them but it’s what we call them at our house.
A BYU Brownie is a chocolaty, chewy brownie with a layer of mint green frosting covered by another layer of chocolate frosting - yum!
My first stop on campus today, on the way to spend a fortune on college textbooks, was to purchase my BYU Brownie. I had planned on taking a picture of it to share with you but somehow it disappeared before I could get the picture taken!
Since I don’t like having to wait until my next visit to BYU to enjoy a BYU Brownie I googled it and found a recipe for BYU Mint Brownies in the BYU Alumni Magazine. They’re great.
In fact, my younger daughter, after eating part of the brownie I bought today, announced she thought the ones we made were better.
For me, the best part of the brownie is the frosting and I love the combination of the mint and the chocolate together.
So in preparation for our trip to BYU I made a batch of BYU Brownies last week. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do and GO COUGARS! (We’re off to the opening season game of BYU football game on Saturday!)
I did manage to get a picture taken of the ones I made before they disappeared!
BYU Brownie
from the BYU Magazine
1 C butter
1/2 C cocoa
2 Tbsp honey
4 eggs
2 C sugar
1 3/4 C flour
1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 C chopped walnuts (I left these out)
12 oz. chocolate icing (I used the recipe for the mint icing below but just added about 1/3 C of cocoa and left out the mint extract and green food coloring)
Mint Icing|
5 Tbsp butter
dash of salt
3 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
2 1/3 C powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring
Melt butter and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.
Prepare mint icing. Soften butter. Add salt, corn syrup and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and green food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.
Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.
Popularity: 35% [?]
Categories: Friday Favorites, Nourish, Recipes
Subscribe
Friday, August 22, 2008, by Leigh Anne
I think I have mentioned before that I am not a potato fan. Basically, I don’t eat potatoes.
It’s not because I’m trying to cut down on carbs - I just don’t like them. I think it’s more of a texture issue for me than anything else.
Yes, I am married to man from Idaho - a man whose first solid food was probably potatoes!
The first time I went to Idaho to meet Jim’s family I think they were all a little shocked and dismayed (and maybe even a little insulted ) that I did not eat potatoes!
How could their son possibly fall in love with a girl who didn’t eat potatoes!
As I have gotten older I have found a few ways I will eat potatoes.
One of them is as a very crisp french fry! No soggy fries for me!!!
The other way is Patrice’s Potatoes. Patrice is one of my Beach Babe friends and an amazing cook. She is one of those cooks that doesn’t need a recipe - she just cooks!
I first tasted Patrice’s Potatoes at one of our yearly Beach Babes and their Boys Valentine dinners. We have been eating them at the Wilkes’ house ever since. I even eat them too.
They are made from red potatoes and I slice them fairly thin, thus creating a crisper finished product!
You can adjust the “heat” to your liking by adding more or less cayenne pepper and chili powder.
They are pretty much a staple around our house for Sunday dinner.
Guess who eats the extra crispy, almost burnt ones!?
Patrice’s Potatoes
8-10 medium sized red potatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 cube butter, melted
1/4 C olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cayenne powder
2 tsp mild chili powder
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Mix above ingredients and toss with thin sliced potatoes. Place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 500 degrees for 7-10 minutes, then turn potatoes and bake another 7-10 minutes until desired crispness.
Popularity: 35% [?]
Categories: Friday Favorites, Nourish, Recipes
Subscribe
Wednesday, August 20, 2008, by Leigh Anne
As I promised yesterday, today I am sharing the yummy dinner we had for Jim’s birthday celebration.
Because of his Meiner’s Disease (an inner ear condition that causes terrible episodes of vertigo and hearing loss) Jim is on a special diet.
The doctor’s have put him on the Zone Diet. If you are not familiar with it, the basic concept is that you always eat a protein, fat and carbohydrate together and you eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day.
The diet has really helped his condition - he was having episodes every two weeks and hasn’t had one since he began the diet two months ago. The side benefit of the diet is that you lower your cholesterol and lose weight! He’s lost over 15 pounds so far.
Cooking for him has become a bit of a challenge. One thing he can eat though is fajitas (without the tortilla).
So for his birthday I made these fabulous fajitas - a recipe I found over at Our Best Bite.
I have made lots of different fajita recipes and I have to say this will now be my “Go To” recipe for Fajitas - they are fabulous!
Fajita marinade
1/4 C fresh lime juice
1/3 C water
2 T vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic , pressed or finely minced
3 t vinegar
2 t soy sauce
1/2 t liquid smoke* (I used 1 tsp.)
1 t salt
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/4 t onion powder
*If you’re not familiar with liquid smoke, you can find it near the bbq sauces in a small bottle And please don’t make this without it! It’s definitely one of the key components. It makes things yummy and smoky and super flavorful. And if you’re wondering, it actually is real smoke in liquid form.
For the Fajitas:
Boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 3-4 large ones). Steak is also great.
Bell Peppers (about 3 large ones) I used a red, orange and yellow.
1 Onion, I used a Walla Walla Sweet Onion.
Mix all the marinade ingredients together and place in a zip-lock bag. Before you put the meat in, reserve a little marinade to use at the end.(about 1/4 a cup) Then toss in the chicken or steak, and bell peppers and onions or if you want more marinade for the meat do not include the peppers and onions. Just coat them with some olive oil and salt before griling. Marinade for at least 4 hours, but longer if possible. Then grill outside on the bbq, or indoors on a skillet (cast iron is best) or grill pan. Use the reserved marinade from the bag to baste meat as you cook. (This is not the 1/4 cup you reserved)
Here are some tips from Our Best Bites to help make your fajitas truly fabulous!
1. I usually double the marinade, or 1 1/2 it because I have this weird thing where I like to see my meat swimming. Once it’s all combined, immediately reserve about 1/4 cup, and set it aside.
2. I then butterfly my chicken, or pound it thinner, because that increases the marinade-to-chicken ratio! 3. I toss all of the meat in the bag of marinade, but leave the peppers and onions out. Only reason being that I usually want all of the marinade for the meat (see above weirdness), and the veggies get a splash of it at the end with the marinade I reserved. But if you have enough marinade, go ahead and do the veggies too. 4. I slice my onion into about 1/2 inch slices, and leave the slices in tact. Then I quarter the peppers. 5 When they’re ready to grill I toss the veggies with a little olive oil and salt and pepper if I haven’t included them in the marinade.When everything is cooked slice the meat, peppers and onions into strips. Combine in a bowl and pour in the reserved marinade (do not use the liquid that the chicken was marinading in.Serve with tortillas (I used the uncooked tortillas from Costco and cook them up fresh!)
Popularity: 32% [?]
Categories: Nourish, Recipes
Subscribe
RSS Subscription
E-Mail Subscription
