Scheri's week of 4/28

So last week was kind of a bust for us. I thought the weather was going to be super nice, so I planned for a warm weather menu. Since the weather wasn't nearly as nice as expected, we ended up eating red bean stew, minestrone soup, lasagna, and going out to eat. We'll see how it goes this week.

Over the weekend, we tried Jenn's potato salad recipe and it was very, very good. We also tried the hummus recipe that was included in the article about Doctor's eating better. At first, it didn't taste well blended, but after it sat for an hour or so, the flavors blended together and it tasted great!

Here goes for this week:

MONDAY:

Black Bean Soup w/ rice, chips & salsa (our weakness is chips & salsa, so we eat a lot of it!)
- Grill 2 tomatoes, 1 onion, 1 pasilla pepper, and 1 jalepeno until soft.
- Blend the grilled veggies, with 2 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp coriander, 1.5 c. Black Beans.
- Add the blended mixture to 4 cups broth & 2 c black beans. Salt to taste.

TUESDAY: I have a sitter Tuesday afternoons, so I will cook the pasta, cut the veggies and prepare the salad in the afternoon. Harsha will cook & put it all together when he gets home. I've found that it helps him tremendously if the majority of the prep work is done.

Veggies w/ Penne and Pesto:
- Ingredients: 1 med onion, 1 clove garlic minced, .5c chopped carrots, 1 med zucchini chopped, 1 bell pepper chopped, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 2 Tbsp Pesto sauce (until I can pick the herbs from my garden, I use the store bought Pesto sauce), cooked Penne, parmesan.
- In large pan, cook veggies w/ Olive oil until soft. Add the pesto sauce, pasta and about .25c of the water from cooked pasta. Serve w/ Parmesan

Spinach Salad w/ mandarine oranges, roasted almonds, and raspberry vinagrette

WEDNESDAY:

Baked Potatoes w/ chives & sour cream

Whole Wheat Tortillas w/ Hummus (left over from Sunday evening)

Herb Grilled Tomatoes (Jenn gave me this recipe last year)
- Ingredients: 1 Tbsp Olive Oil, 1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar, 1 garlic clove, minced, 1 tsp basil, minced, salt, pepper, 4 tomatoes, 1 Tbsp Parmesan
- Combine first six ingredients to create the marinade. Cut tomatoes in half. Add tomatoes to marinade & coat on all sides. Place tomatoes on the grill, turning often, until begin to soften and brown. Remove from grill and top with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

THURSDAY:

Vegetable Pot Pie/Shepherds Pie
- Ingredients: 2 sweet potatoes, 1 Tbsp Butter, 1 onion, 1 tsp, 3 Tbsp Flour, 1 tsp garlic, 1 tsp parsley, 3 c mixed veggies (fresh assortment chopped or frozen - either tastes great), 3 c vegetable broth, 1 sheet thawed puff pastry dough
- Boil potatoes, then mash w/ butter. Layer in medium casserole dish.
- Saute onions in butter until soft. Add flour and cook for about a minute. Add broth, garlic, parsley and veggies. Cook until thick and veggies are softened. Pour on top of potatoes in casserole dish.
- Place the puff pastry on top of the veggie mixture and cook in the oven on 350 until pastry is golden.

Fruit Salad (whatever fruits I have with a touch of honey & lime)

FRIDAY: Harsha is going up to Buena Vista, so it is just the kids and I. I think I will probably do something real simple like mac n cheese w/ steamed veggies. Nothing too fancy for the three of us :-)

Have a great week!!