Menu Plan Monday June 29, 2009

I had a couple of successes with dinners last week. First, my Strawberry Cream Cake turned out well. Although, I recommend making it for a crowd, as it only lasts about 1 day in the refrigerator. I also made the black bean salad, from Simply Recipes. I substituted grape tomatoes for plum, as that is what I had on hand, and omitted the heat due to preference. I don't know about my guests, but I enjoyed it and it is a quick and easy dish for pot luck.

Last week, I also tried a new Alfredo sauce recipe as I shared that so far I had not had success making my own Alfredo sauce. Unfortunately, that still stands. I do not recommend the recipe from Cooking Light. I think I will just stick to getting Chicken Alfredo at the Olive Garden!

I am not quite certain what I will make for dinner this week. I am going to throw out some ideas of what I'd like to make, but it is subject to change each day!

Sunday: Ben grilled burgers and I served homemade potato fries and fresh fruit.
Monday: I made this tortilla chip casserole. I needed to use up some stale tortilla chips. I added frozen corn, and sliced olives, and about 1 T of cilantro, to taste. I recommend lightly crushing the chips. The crushed chips tasted better than whole chips. Ben liked it and said I could make it again.
Tuesday: Eating Out
Wednesday: Chicken Souvlaki with rice
Thursday: Chicken Enchiladas Verdes (This is a new recipes, but I need to use up some bottled sauce).
Friday: Breakfast for dinner. Either pancakes (I need to use up some Buttermilk) or hashbrowns.
Saturday:Light breakfast of Oatmeal and fruit to save room for the 4th of July BBQ!

I also have some blue tinted frosting leftover from a project I will share this week. I think I will use it to decorate sugar cookies for the 4th of July!

For more menu's, visit Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday

Strawberry Cream Cake

In my Menu Plan..Tuesday? comments section, Christa (great name, btw), asked for an update on my attempt to make a Strawberry Cream Cake from America's Test Kitchen. I am pleased to say I made it last night and it was mostly a success! I saw mostly because well.......


I think the cake fell. The recipe requires cutting the cake into three layers. This looked much too small for that. It tasted pretty good, but Ben noted, perhaps, it was too dense. It was, however, edible, so I count that as pretty good!


My greatest success was whipping my own cream. And yes, I did it by hand. Apparently, I am crazy! I don't have an electric mixer, so I really hoped it would work. It took forever (20 minutes?), but I did it and it tasted really good. The achievement was worth the effort!

So, here is the end result of the cake. As you can see, I did cut it into three, pretty thin, and very uneven layers! But, the strawberry sauce made the layers moist, the cream held up, and my guests said they liked it!

And to show my imperfections....the back of the cake, where the berry sauce leaked out. :-)

My verdict? This was a lot of work, but it was good enough that I will try this again during strawberry season next year. I need to perfect the cake, but if I do, perhaps this will become an annual staple. If anything, I am no longer intimidated by the thought of making my own whipped cream....I will invest in/borrow an electric beater next time, though.

Menu Plan...Tuesday? 6/23/09

I finally have my menu plan squared away. If you haven't posted your menu yet, Laura at Org. Junkie has a great give away!

Last week, I tried out a new recipe: Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken from 5 Dollar Dinners. It was easy and yummy. I marinaded it for 2 hours. Next time, I may marinade it longer to give the chicken more flavor.

Here is my menu for this week:

Monday: Store bought rotisserie chicken, the Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes, corn, and grapes.

The smashed potatoes were great, but mine didn't look like hers. I don't think my masher was strong enough, plus my potatoes were too big, or I didn't boil them long enough. Nonetheless, I ended up cutting them in half, and smashing them that way. Fortunately, they tasted really, really good, and Ben said I could make them again. I will have many occasions to perfect my smashing technique :)

Tuesday: Burgers on the grill with black bean salad from Simply Recipes (didn't make it last week).

Wednesday: Chicken Alfredo (using the leftover rotisserie chicken). I am trying a new recipe for alfredo sauce from Cooking Light. So far, I have not had success with making my own alfredo sauce. I will let you know how it turns out.

Thursday: Left over wings, thighs, and drumsticks from the chicken with buttermilk biscuits and probably a fruit salad.

Friday: Pasta Pizza from Better Home and Gardens. This is the best pasta pizza dish I've found. (The link is similar to the one in my cookbook, but not quite the same. I use marinara sauce in place of the tomatoes and omit the peppers)

Saturday: Lemon Lime Chicken Broil with corn on the cob. (I'll post the recipe with my changes soon).

This week, I am finally going to attempt a Strawberry Cake I saw two years ago on America's Test Kitchen. Strawberry season is almost over, so I have to take advantage of it!

I also need to make chicken stock with the leftover bones from the chicken.

For more menu's, check out Laura's Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Patrick Labyorteaux Interview

If you were a fan of JAG, or have followed the work of actor Patrick Labyorteaux, you will enjoy listening to his recent interview with Jay and Jack, of the Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack. He is an excellent interviewee who shares great stories about growing up as a child actor, working on JAG and of course, his love for Lost. I especially enjoyed his stories of working with Lucille Ball, running into John Wayne, and meeting his wife on the set of JAG.


Listen to the interview here....

Menu Plan Monday June 15, 2009

I have not posted a menu plan in a few weeks now. I have sketched out quick menus, but have very little incentive for cooking. I blame this mostly on the change in season. I need to collect more recipes suitable for cooking in warm, muggy weather....my old standbys of beef stew, and chicken casseroles must be put on hold until fall returns.

I almost didn't post a menu this week as well. We are eating out most this week, and one of the days we are at home is a leftover day. Not too exciting. To compensate for my lack of menu ideas, I want to share two new dishes that I have added to our rotation.

The first is Pizza Braid courtesy of Amy's Finer Things, by way of Laura. I know that Laura refers to hers as the cooking disaster of 2009. However, the fact that she mentioned her braid still tasted good, even if it didn't look as she'd planned, gave me confidence to try it! I changed the recipe a bit. I used my tried and true pizza dough from Better Homes and Garden, which I always add a little Italian seasoning, and garlic powder to the dough. Then I let it rise overnight. There are only two of us, so I divided the dough in half and made little baby braid loaves. I cooked them on my pizza stone (which I love!). Ben really liked them! I enjoyed it too because whenever we make homemade pizza we are always commenting how it doesn't taste as good as this or that chain. There is nothing for us to compare pizza braid too. It is a just a quick and easy dish!

The second is Garlic Cheddar Chicken. Two weeks ago, I had my meal planned with the usual standbys....that is until I saw the recipe for Garlic Cheddar Chicken on My Frugal Adventures (by way of Menu Plan Monday!). It looked easy enough, and I had all the ingredients. It was so yummy! It tastes almost like cheesy garlic bread, but with chicken. Ben and I decided I could reduce the amount of butter and garlic next time, but we still loved it!

Here is my partial menu for the week........

Monday: Meatloaf, from my BHG cookbook, with leftover mashed potatoes. (I know meatloaf is a warmer dish, but it is going to be cooler tomorrow, so I figured I should get one more meatloaf in before the season changes. Plus, it is one of Ben's favorites).

Tuesday: I want to try the Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken from $5 Dollar Dinners. I plan to pair it with white rice and another new recipe, a black bean salad from Simply Recipes.

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday-Saturday: We have plans to eat out.

Last, I am taking advantage of having three egg yolks in my refrigerator to make these super delicious cinnamon cookies. It is tempting to eat them right out of the oven, but I personally think they taste a lot better the next day.

Don't know what to cook for the week? Looking to vary your menu? Check out over 400 menu plans with Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Up, The Movie

Up is a daring tale of adventure that will stretch your imagination and have you wishing for goggles, an aviator cap and a bunch of balloons so you too can soar new heights and seek out unknown worlds. It also features one of the most beautiful, authentic love stories Disney has ever produced. (If you're like me, Kleenex is a must.) Go see it. It is worth the full price of a ticket.

"The Best Chicken Ever"

For a quick easy chicken, I highly recommend Leanne Ely's Garlic Lime Chicken. I found it in her book "Saving Dinner: The Menus, Recipes, and Shopping Lists to Bring Dinner Back to the Table." She declared it a best loved recipe. We concur! I made it one night, and Ben declared it the "Best Chicken Ever." It tastes great leftover in tacos too!

(Ben was kind enough to stop eating to let me take a picture!)