Menu Plan for the week of May 28, 2012

I have to say that I am loving having my hubby home. But I don't follow my menu plan as much when he is home, which isn't that bad. But if I'm trying to work within my budget, then it's important to stick to it.
So I'm going to try my best this week :)  When I asked my hubby what he would like this week, his answer was BBQ. BBQ everything LOL. So that's the plan!

Monday - Hamburgers on the BBQ, raw veggies and macaroni salad

Tuesday - Italian Sausage & Chicken on the BBQ, rice, veggies

Wednesday - leftovers

Thursday - Pork chops on the BBQ, potatoes, veggies, salad

Friday - leftovers

Saturday - Chicken thighs in the slow cooker

Sunday - Steaks on the BBQ

Chocolate Chip Banana Bars

I came across this recipe while I was browsing Pinterest and it looked fantastic. I had some over-ripe bananas screaming to be baked, so this was perfect. I wanted something a little different to banana bread but still something soft and cake like (but not as thick as cake).

I had this recipe in the oven within 30 mins and it was baked and sitting on a cooling rack another 20 mins later. And it is incredible. Moist, soft and great banana taste. I think next time I will use mini chips like they suggest. I think my chocolate over powered just a little bit. I really love this recipe. You should definitely give it a try.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bars

source: verybestbaking.com

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (approx 2)
1 egg
2 cups mini chocolate chips (I used regular chips)

Preheat your oven to 350F and grease a 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan with non-stick spray.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
In a large mixer bowl, beat butter, sugars and vanilla until creamy. Beat in the bananas and egg.
Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spread into jelly roll pan.
Bake for 20-30 mins. or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a rack before cutting into bars (or squares).
These were so moist and full of banana taste. Just perfect and yummy!
Enjoy!

Happy Baking!

Menu Plan for the week of May 21, 2012

With today being a holiday, it was tough for me to sit and put together my menu. We enjoyed our day as a family, beautiful weather and lots of playing. It was the most perfect weekend!

Monday - Steaks on the BBQ with veggies and homefries

Tuesday - Chicken wings and drumsticks with HotWing Sauce (recipe to come) and some teriyaki sauce (recipe to come)

Wednesday - Steak subs, veggies and side salad

Thursday - Chicken on the BBQ, veggies, side salad and rice

Friday - leftovers

Saturday - Baked Chicken Parmesan (recipe to come) with pasta and some steamed broccoli

Sunday - Hamburgers on the BBQ, potato salad, veggies

Ragout de Boulettes or Meatball Stew

This is traditionally served during the holiday season back home, from what I've been told but I, on the other hand, serve it whenever. The kids love it and it is a great comfort food. Tender meatballs in a gravy served with potatoes and veggies. Very simple and very comforting. I have always made this on my stove top but I think the next time, I am going to give my slow cooker a shot at it as per the linked recipe. It's also very freezer friendly, a big bonus in this house!

Ragout de Boulettes
source: Recettes du Québec

Ingredients
3lbs ground pork
1 1/2lbs ground beef
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp allspice
1-2 tbsp salt (we aren't salt fans, so I used less than 1 tbsp)
3 cups water
1 small can chicken stock (aylmer or campbells)  *see note
1 package of St-Hubert's Ragout sauce
grilled flour (for slow cooker method)

In a large bowl, add the breadcrumbs and milk and let sit 10 mins. Next, add the pork, beef, eggs, spices and salt to the breadcrumb/milk combo. Roll the meatballs to about 1-1.5" each. Place the meatballs in pan on the stove top. Cook the meatballs and do not over crowd them. Cook them in batches as needed.
In a large pot, mix the ragout sauce, water and chicken stock. Heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low-medium and add the meatballs. Let them simmer, stirring carefully occasionally, for about 30-40 mins. Serve with potatoes and some veggies.
If doing them in a slow cooker, roll in some grilled flour once you have rolled the meatballs and place in the slow cooker. Stir together the water, stock and ragout sauce and then add to the slow cooker. Cook on low for approx 10-12 hours.

This recipe makes a lot of meatballs! Very good for family gatherings. Or you can cook them and then freeze them.
*note: I made my stock by using a powder and using half the amount of water so that it would be concentrated like the cans. It worked for me :)

Menu Plan for the week of May 14, 2012

I've got most of my week figured out, but the weekend is still up in the air a little. I'll be busy on Thursday to Saturday, plus it is a long weekend, so I'm not too sure what is up our sleeve just yet!!

Monday - leftovers from a wonderful Mother's Day BBQ

Tuesday - Chicken brochette, broccoli, potatoes

Wednesday - Salmon, rice and veggies

Thursday - leftovers

Friday - Uncle Frankie's spaghetti and meatballs

Saturday - BBQ pork chops

Sunday - Something with chicken (LOL)

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Scones

I think that this recipe is one of the first (if not the first) recipe that I tried from the www.onceamonthmom.com site. Their site offers so many different menus and recipes, such a great resource. This recipe was fantastic. It is fantastic!  I used it quite often during strawberry season last year. Since strawberry season is creeping up soon, I thought I would pass it along. Scones are so quick to prepare and bake. And of course these are freezer friendly. Can you tell that I'm slightly addicted to scones? I love them. It's a good thing that I put them in the freezer, otherwise, they wouldn't last longer than a day. Be sure to make a batch at the start of strawberry season so that you can take full advantage of the full season! This picture was taken with my phone, so it is not the best quality. As soon as I make a new batch and take a picture, I will update it!

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Scones
source: www.onceamonthmom.com

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup strawberries
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup almonds chopped (optional - I don't use)

Begin by preheating your oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Next, cut in your butter using a pastry blender until it resembles a coarse meal. You could also use to knives to cut the butter in.
Whisk the egg yolk and buttermilk in a smaller bowl. Now add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until the dough begins to come together.
Fold in the chocolate chips and strawberries (gently) and place onto a floured surface.
Shape and pat dough into a large square (I always end up with a rectangle for some reason LOL) and cut into to squares again. Then cut into triangles.
Put them on your lined baking sheet and then into the oven. Bake for about 12-15 minutes.
Let them cool before eating or transferring to a freezer bag.
To reheat, I prefer to pop them in a low heat oven. You can also pop them in the microwave.
Makes 8 servings

Happy baking!

Something for Hubby while he's away

My DH is Navy, so it happens often enough that he's gone on sails. This most recent sail was our longest yet. It's only 7 weeks and we've been away from each other longer than that, but it's always tough not being able to chat every day. And since it is only 7 weeks, I wasn't sure if he was going to be able to receive mail. So just in case, I decided to give him a package before he left. It had letters, drawings from the kids and quotes to last the whole trip. I made cards for the special occasions that would happen while he's at sea like his birthday and Easter. I made sure that he had something to open every other day, plus special occasions. Some days it's just a great quote that reflects our life with some little comments from me, others it's a drawing from our kids. I thought he would enjoy something to look forward to. And he has said that he loves it. He's also said that I may be stuck doing this for every sail LOL. I don't mind, he's so worth it ;)

It really didn't take much, just some time finding the right quotes. I searched the sentiment I was looking for (love, family) and with Google, I was able to select to view images. There were so many to choose from. I picked those that suited us best and just re-created them in a Word format using different fonts. I had lots of envelopes laying around with no cards for them, so I took the opportunity to use them up. I had previously bought the blank card/envelope sets from the Dollarama and used the cards for another project.

I know that there will be a next time so I'm already working on that. So many ideas swirling around!!

Happy crafting!

Menu Plan for the week of April 30, 2012

I'm going to be trying some new recipes this week. Mainly slow cooker ones so I'm hoping that they taste great!

Monday - Ragout de Boulettes (Meatball stew) (recipe to come)

Tuesday - Steak subs

Wednesday - Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore (recipe to come)

Thursday - leftovers

Friday - Slow Cooker Balsamic Pork Roast (recipe to come) with carrots and potatoes

Saturday - leftovers

Sunday - Spaghetti and meatballs with Uncle Frankie's Marinara sauce and Uncle Frankie's meatball recipe (to come)