easy meals

Apparently blogger has changed the posting format since the last time I posted, hopefully this all goes as planned.  I am almost done with pregnancy (hallelujah) and as I have gotten further along and lazier the crock pot and sandwiches have become dinner regulars.  Here are some of my recently discovered pinterest favorites.

 Prosciutto, mozzarella and tomato sandwich.  This one was just a picture so I used it as inspiration.  A baguette, prosciutto slices, fresh mozzarella and tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  

 Hawaiian haystacks, the crock pot version.  I'll be honest this was a little more work than I generally like to put into crock pot meals, but it was good and I swear it still took less time then my other haystack recipe.

Hawaiian meatballs.  This was very good as well, with the exception of using frozen meatballs.  Next time I do this I will either buy better frozen meatballs or make my own.

I am noticing a strong Hawaiian theme...

goat cheese pasta and other pasta

via Smitten Kitchen

This pasta has lemon, lemon zest, asparagus and goat cheese. It sounds delicious. I am going to make it next week. I found it on pinterest but when I clicked further I saw it is a Smitten Kitchen recipe, which means it is probably as good as it looks/sounds.

I used it as a partial inspiration when I made this Butter Noodles with Chives recipe from Epicurious. I made it mostly as directed except I boiled the noodles in chicken broth rather than adding it later and I added about a cup of feta cheese and a tablespoon or two of milk. It was delicious and easy. I recommend it.

americanized thai tacos

I love peanut sauce, I have no idea if authentic Thai food uses it or not but I love it. I want to try Thai tacos but I haven't found a recipe that is quite what I am looking for so here is what I think will fulfill my needs. It is somewhat inspired by California Pizza Kitchens Thai pizza.

photos via Apron Strings and Wedding Rings and Closet Kitchen

My plan is to use the following:

Chicken cooked in oil, seasoned with garlic salt.

Shredded Carrots

Bean Sprouts

Green Onions

Cilantro

Thai Peanut Sauce:

1 garlic clove, peeled

1 (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled

½ Cup smooth peanut butter
¼ Cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 Cup hot water

Place garlic and ginger in food processor until well chopped. Add peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and red pepper flakes. Pulse until well combined and slowly add hot water until sauce is the consistency you like.

Any suggestions on how to make Thai tacos?

mango quinoa salad

I recently ran across this mango quinoa salad on Our Best Bites, I have been wanting to find more quinoa recipes. I currently have two good ones with two more to try out. Hopefully this one will fall under the 'good' category.

cleaning the freezer

We are moving in a week and a half! I am trying to clean out my freezer so I am going to try this Slow Cooker Philly Cheesesteak recipe tonight with a side salad.

easy pasta

I tried out this Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter pasta from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. It was fast, easy, and delicious. A triple threat.

some recipes

These recipes have spiked my interest. Hamburgers with grated zucchini and beef? Baked, egg-less egg rolls? I want to try them...

Sirloin Burgers with Roasted Garlic & Rosemary


Baked Southwest Egg Rolls

P.S. There will be a giveaway later this week!

P.P.S. I made it through the wedding (pictures to come) and my graduate presentation. I am now one 20-30 page paper from graduation!!

meals, meals, meals

Really I should say dishes because meals implies more than an entree. If I ever make more than one dish for a "meal" it is Sunday or a special occasion. Here are some dishes I am eying to make in the next month.

Quinoa and grilled pepper salad- I have been trying out various quinoa dishes since buying a Costco sized bag of it. So far the only failure has been my own creation.

Chicken and Lemon- Broccoli Alfredo- I have chicken and broccoli and I am trying to clean out the freezer and food storage. This meets my requirements.

Honey Lime Enchiladas- I had honey mixed in some herbal tea right before getting a mean bout of the flu a couple of years ago. It has kind of ruined honey for me. I am hoping this recipe will help me get past that memory.

meals for the week

This white prosciutto pizza from say YES! to hoboken looked so good that I couldn't resist the prosciutto at the grocery store. I got 1/8 lbs. of prosciutto for $1.80 and it should be more than enough for a homemade pizza on Saturday.

I have made these panini's from Giada before, they are fantastic. I mad some minor alterations to fit what I had at home (provolone cheese and mixed greens) and they are still just as good.

P.S. Don't forget the giveaway ends tomorrow night. Leave a comment if you would like a chance to win the earrings!

photos via say yes to hoboken, food network

super bowl slider

via she knows
We are having friends over for the Super Bowl. This year I decided to do a pot luck and I think one of my contributions will be meat balls. This is my favorite tried and true meat ball recipe, I kind of like the idea I saw on She Knows, of substituting ground turkey for a healthier version.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

1 1/2 lbs. hamburger

1/2 cup of milk

3/4 cup rolled oats

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 eggs

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Mix meatball ingredients together and form into golf ball sized meatballs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Mix sauce ingredients together in a pan. Heat and pour over meatballs about half way through the cooking time. Serve over potatoes or rice.

Sauce (I usually double this):

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 cup vinegar

2 tsp/ Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp prepared mustard

menu planning

Monthly meal planning isn't doing it for me any more. I am trying my hand at weekly meal planning. It worked pretty well last week, the question at the end of the month will be whether r not it is more cost efficient.

photos via Dana Made and Simply Recipes
This coming week my plan includes:
Chicken Fajitas from Dana Made It
Tortilla Soup from Recipe Picnic
Meatball Subs
Chicken Broccoli Casserole
Greek Black-Eyed Pea Salad

dinner last night

photo via Shirley J
I was feeling lazy yesterday so I wanted an easy dinner. My first thought was meatballs, then I realized I am out of brown sugar so I lacked an essential ingredient for my favorite sweet and sour meatballs. I navigated to Food Network for some inspiration and I found meatball sandwiches. Not a groundbreaking recipe but perfect for the level of effort I was willing to put into dinner.

I used this meatball recipe from Rachael Ray because I wanted to try something a little different from my usual meatball. I put the cooked meatballs on a sub and melted provolone cheese on them and then added warmed up marinara sauce. They were delicious, mostly because the meatball recipe was awesome.

vacation meal

via Simply Recipes

In not to long I will be heading to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a family vacation. In my family each of the children and their families take a night to cook a meal for everyone. I have been trying to decide what to cook for my night. I am very tempted to make my favorite Greek Chicken Burgers. My sister is campaigning for Carne Asada's for the sole purpose that it goes with my signature corn salsa and guacamole. I think I will test out this everyday chocolate cake this week and maybe use it for the dessert portion.

I am tempted to give in to my sister's request since she is 7 months pregnant, and we all love Mexican food so it could be a win-win-win situation.

And since I have never shared the corn salsa recipe, which I was very tempted to keep secret. Here it is. I combined my favorite parts of two different recipes and ended up with (in my opinion) a far superior hybrid. It is delicious.

Corn Salsa

2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 16 oz. bag of frozen corn
1 1/2-2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
1/2 cup red onion diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 lb. feta
1 clove garlic minced
1 15 oz. can black beans drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste
drizzle with olive oil and lime juice

I usually put the corn on a cookie sheet and put olive oil over it and broil it till it starts to barely brown. This is a very forgiving recipe I never measure out anything except the cumin and chili powder.

a pasta weekend

I found these recipes on Real Simple today. They look delicious and theoretically take less than 15 minutes to prepare...

Parmesan pasta with chicken and rosemary

gnocchi with butter and herbs

calzones

photo via timeless gourmet
I started thinking about calzones yesterday, I don't know if I have ever had one before but I love the concept- homemade pizza pockets. I was getting ricotta to make this pasta recipe (which was delicious, next time I might double the ricotta though) and I decided to get a larger carton of ricotta to make calzones (according to wikipedia ricotta is traditionally used in them).

I found this Emeril calzone recipe (I will probably substitute chicken for the sausage) and this buffalo chicken recipe and I think I might try to make up a Mexican pizza calzone as well. I love how you can cater calzones and pizza to what you have on hand.

summer pasta

This pasta recipe from Real Simple was highly recommended to me yesterday. I am excited to try it this weekend. Tonight we will be polishing off chicken shish kabobs basted with a peanut satay sauce. Yum.

stir-fry

via Martha Stewart
I think this Beef Stir-Fry looks delicious and potentially easy...

pesto pizza

via Martha Stewart

Doesn't this look amazing? I need to get some buffalo mozzarella and make some pesto pizza!

beef tacos

via Martha Stewart

I have a lot of black bean salsa left overs so tonight we are making beef tacos! I found a recipe on Martha Stewart that looks pretty straight forward, and I have all of the ingredients on hand.