Menu for March 19 to 23

NOTE: Here is the menu - I will do the grocery list up as soon as I can and try to post tonight so you will have it for the morning. At least this way you can decide if you want to cook along with us this week or start making your own list and not have to wait on busy old me! :) ~ Erika

I love being adventurous about food. I think cooking a variety of foods can be a doorway to learn about cultures, chemistry, pleasure, animals, plants, math, and so many other things. So I really hope to inspire my kid to diversify his palate as he gets older. That being said, trying to do something new every night can be, well, exhausting. So this week's menu is going to include a repeat recipe from a previous week and one of my staple recipes. I also encourage you to substitute recipes from the week's menu with your own family go to recipes. Just remember to edit the grocery list accordingly. 

I received a copy of the Looneyspoons cookbook for my birthday recently, so I am going to include a recipe from that as well. If you are interested, this is a pretty good cookbook for people concerned about health and their waistline. You may have seen their show; the two sisters make healthy versions of recipes and have a smack down with the original version to see if they can win over the taste buds of the judges. It is fun to watch and the cookbook has the same punny sense of humour. It is also full of health tips about food so it is an interesting book beyond the recipes. 

The staple recipe I referred to above is my Caesar Salad recipe. I got this from a dear friend who I have long since lost contact with, but every time I make this recipe I think of her. Yet another wonderful thing about cooking; the memories special meals and recipes can create. 

Monday

Caesar Salad by itself or with your choice of chicken or shrimp

The original recipe includes a raw egg yolk and I have made it using that many times, but with a small child in the house we stopped doing that, it still tastes fantastic. There is a way to sort of par boil your egg to make it safe to use called 'coddling' .  Try the 'adult' version for a dinner party.

Ingredients

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1-3 garlic cloves minced or pressed (3 is A LOT of garlic I usually use 1)

1 tsp anchovy paste (deli section in grocery store)

1tbsp dijon mustard

1tbsp lemon juice (1/2 lemon)

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1tsp red wine vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil plus 1 tbsp

1/3 cup parmesan cheese shredded or use a vegetable peeler to make big ribbons

Romaine lettuce washed and torn into large bite size pieces.

Rotisserie Chicken cut into pieces or Shrimp (cooked or cook yourself)

1 Loaf crusty bread

To make croutons: Chop  bread in to crouton size hunks, toss in 1 tbsp of olive oil and place on a baking tray at 350 for 15 min or until golden and crunchy.

For salad:

Mix all the dressing ingredients with a whisk or a fork.

Toss 1/2 dressing with romaine. See if it's enough before you add the rest. I find this amount of dressing can really do two full salads.

Add the chicken or shrimp (if using) and top with parmesan

Tuesday

Breakfast for Dinner and fruit salad

I recently read that if your preschoolers aren’t eating vegetables, not to worry too much as long as they are eating fruit because many of the same nutrients can be found in fruit, so if your kids need a break from the green stuff, try a nice fruit salad with this supper.

Ingredients:

Eggs any way you like them!

Bacon, ham or sausage

fruit salad (store bought or make your own)

toast

Wednesday

Spinach Feta Quiche

Here's the Link to the Recipe ... ignore all the stuff about making pastry and use frozen pie crusts. Also - make double! This is a recipe for just 2 people and if you have a bigger family you will want more and if you don't, this is delicious enough to have extra for seconds or lunches... Also don't be afraid to add stuff. I use olives.

Thursday

Pad Thai

Because it is one of my husband’s favs and I am trying to do less meat when I can. This was on a previous week's menu plan as well. If you didn't like it, maybe this is one to swap, if you did, then maybe try incorporating some ideas like the ones I posted about here and have your child help out! Here's the link to the recipe.

Friday

Nachos

Who doesn't love nachos for a Friday night! This is from my new cookbook and will be the first time I have tried it too. Macho Nachos From Looneyspoons