Parmesan Bow Tie Skillet

Another quick and simplistic meal from Kraft.com. I did not have any ricotta cheese, so I subbed out cottage cheese that I "mushed" with the back of a spoon until it resembled ricotta cheese consistency and I don't feel like that replacement hindered the meal at all. Not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, but it was good enough to fill our bellies and our son LOVED it. 

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Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese

I'm so clever!!! ha ha ha! This was a fabulous alternative to the box of florescent orange noodles and cheese sauce that my son has come to cherish. I knew that he would pick out the peas, but he had no idea that he ate sweet potatoes with every bite! It was quite tasty, but I think I may add a few spices to it next time as the flavour was a little flat for my liking. Mustard powder and paprika might brighten it up a bit. 

If you have a child who LOVES cheesy noodles, this is a perfect recipe for you to try. (P.S. I used my pre-frozen puree) All I did was roast the potatoes with skin on for about 50 minutes (until soft) let them cool to the touch and then the skin just peeled right off and there was no waste. Pureed them and put 1/2 cup portions in zip top bags and froze. When it came to making supper tonight I just thawed 2 bags and, viola, supper was done in 20 minutes. :)

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Indian Lentils and Rice served with Chapati Bread

This was a super tasty and filling meal, but one that my son wanted nothing to do with. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the surprising combination of yogurt, mint leaves, coconut and spice. The homemade Chapati Bread was a prefect fishing touch. If you are stuck and looking for something new and different I think you should give this meatless, ethnic meal a try. 

Go to Lentil Recipe! 

Go to Chapati Bread Recipe!

Killer Mac 'n' Cheese

Killer indeed! This Mac 'n' Cheese recipe from Jaime Oliver is fabulous! Not too Cheesy and just Creamy enough. The addition of the homemade spiced breadcrumbs was great. I did find that we needed to add salt to brighten the flavour, but otherwise everyone enjoyed their supper tonight. As you can see I used Penne noodles instead of Elbow and it turned out just fine - I think you could use any large noodle really; Rigatoni, Fusili, Rotini, or Tortiglioni, with positive results.

This meal will reappear again someday for sure - thanks Jaime!

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Bread and Tomato Soup (Pappa al Pomodoro)

Sorry Jamie, but I found this soup mediocre, my husband enjoyed it though. I made my son a grilled cheese sandwich to dip because I knew he wouldn't be keen on the big chunks of tomatoes and that worked like a charm and with the dipping he ate most of his soup! This would be a good summertime soup, but honestly it's not one of my favourite tomato soup recipes out there. So you can try it and see if I am wrong, but I probably won't make it again.

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The Plan-it will go on

I just want to say that I did not abandon you; I am still here! I just feel that there is no need to re-review meals that I have already posted about and it just so happens that every meal this week so far falls under that category.

So here are links to the original meal reviews and I will be back tomorrow with a brand new meal that I am looking forward to trying - Black Bean Soup!

  

Mushroon Smothered Salisbury Steak

 

Totally Tubular Pasta

Seared Chicken with Pan Gravy

Enjoy and we will see you tomorrow! 

-Jill

Dirt Birthday Cake and Cheese Enchiladas Verde

Last night was my son's 3rd birthday party (his birthday is not until the 27th, but it is so hard to celebrate so close to Christmas). We had a party at a local Gymnastics Club and had it over the supper hour so we had to ensure there was enough food. We served Chili, Hot Dogs, a Veggie and Dip Platter, and a Crackers, Meat and Cheese Platter, and of course Birthday Cake. My son wanted a "Construction" themed party so I made a Dirt Cake. I had found many recipes, but kinda made this one up as a combination of a few ideas I had seen. It was a huge hit and SO easy to make and it REALLY doesn't matter how it looks... actually the yuckier the better! :) 

 Go to Recipe! 

Tonight's supper was Cheese Enchilada Verde and it was a fabulous Meatless Meal choice after copious amounts of Chili last night. It was light and I loved that it had shredded zucchini hidden inside and let's face it; I am having a love affair with fresh Cilantro. At first my son refused to try it, I got him to eat one tiny little piece and he declared that he loved it and proceeded to gobble it up! This meal will make another appearance to our table for sure. I am still new to the sweet heat of Salsa Verde, but just love it - you should try it too if you like a little spice! 

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Amazing Veggie Burgers and Layered Vegetable Casserole

Amazing Meatless Meal indeed! An easy and delicious homemade Veggie Burger Recipe that has turned out great for me about a dozen times. I have even doubled the batch and frozen the patties and it still turned out fab. 

This Casserole is another dish that I have made quite a bit. It is a lot of work, but it makes a very large casserole - perfect for a pot luck or large crowd. I couldn't find any cubed pre-cooked squash so earlier today I cut an Acorn Squash in half, scooped out the seeds, rubbed with olive oil and placed cut side down on a cookie sheet, baking it for about 1/2 hour on 375*F. I then let it cool a bit and scooped out the flesh and then continued on with the recipe.

This was a feel good meal, perfect for a freezing, snowy day and there's lots left over that I can put aside for my husband when I go away next week. 

Go to Amazing Veggie Burger Recipe!

Go to Vegetable Casserole Recipe!

No Cream Creamy Chickpea Soup with Parmesan Croutons and Cookie Exchange Recipes

A super creamy and filling soup. It reminded me of yellow pea soup - very hearty and perfect for a crisp autumn day. This was the first time I ever made croutons and I knew in my heart that they were easy to make, but now I know that they are and they taste SO much better than the rock hard store bought  ones. My son even ate most of his soup which made me happy because it was full on nothing but good things. I will have this soup on the menu again for sure! 

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I also whipped up test batches of 2 out of the 3 cookies that I will be making for Christmas cookie exchanges this year. The first up was Red Velvet Cakeys with White Chocolate Chunks from NibbleDish.com. Very yummy and "cake-like". Honestly my husband can't stop eating them (which helps my waistline). I made them just as the recipe says. For the exchange I am going to 'up" the red food colouring just a bit, they just weren't red enough for my liking. DELICIOUS though! 

 

Next up was Egg Nog Cookies from Kicked Up Cookie Recipes. I decided to be daring and switched out the Vanilla for Spiced Rum and HELLO! These turned out AH-MAZING! They are light, almost shortbread-like and not too sweet. You can just get a hint of the creamy egg nog and the subtle kick of rum. I think these too will be a hit.

  

The last cookie that I will be making this year for a cookie exchange is one of my fave standbys Soft Gingersnaps. Easy to make, quick to eat and the recipe makes a nice big batch. 

So there you have my 3 cookie recipes that I'll be making for my 3 Christmas Exchanges this year - I am SO glad that the test batches worked out and I can move onto the serious batches, because well, these ones are already gone... 

Southwest Cheese' n' Pasta

First off I want to let you know that the critique of yesterday's Banana Booty Bars came in and it was divided. The Moms loved them, but 4 out of 4 children - hated them and could not spit them out fast enough and went so far as to throw them on the floor. So I won't be making them for my son again, but for my husband and myself - you bet! 

Now onto this evenings meal - it was very tasty meatless meal and I must admit that this was the first time I have ever had Salsa Verde and mmmmm - it is spicy yet sweet. I love it and look forward to using it again soon. The pasta was DENSE to say the least and I had added about 1/2 Cup water while the pasta cooked to thin it a bit. My husband and I were not able to finish our meal - you don't need much of this to fill you up, but the flavour was delish! 

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Baked Polenta with Tomato Sauce and Honey Peanut Butter Cookies

One word came to mind as soon as I took my first bite... Potential. There is nothing wrong with this meal per say, it IS tasty, but it is also lacking. What, I am not too sure. I really like that it is meatless, so I wouldn't add that. But if you look at it straight up, all it is is Polenta, Tomato Sauce and Cheese... Ho Hum. I would add a few more veggies for sure (my usual zucchini and carrot) maybe some spinach? Serve with a crusty loaf to sop up the leftover sauce. I think that would round it out nicely.

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I manged to "persuade" my son to help me bake cookies today. I say persuade because he LOVES to bake; it means he gets to lick the spoons. We made Honey Peanut Butter Cookies so unbeknown to him all he licked was honey and peanut butter off the spoon! :) Even though they had no sugar or butter and were made with whole wheat flour and oats, my family GOBBLED them up. If I am going to serve a batch of cookies to my family I feel good serving ones that are "better" for us and so gosh darn tasty to boot! We love them and I will make them again for sure!

Chickpea and Tomato Curry

Betty Crocker Meal Plan Day 2  and much to my joy this meal lived up to its 30 minute claim. I served it with a brown/wild rice mix and as I was dishing it up, I though to myself - it will be a a cold day you know where when my son will eat this. But I put it in front of him anyway because I feel it is important for him to learn that a meal played is a meal eaten... and much to my utter SHOCK he goggled it all up, chickpeas, diced tomatoes (which he normally loathes), curry and wild rice and all.... WOO HOO! Touchdown!

So this meal will be back FOR certain and so far I am pleasantly surprised that 2 meals out of 2 so far have lived up to their suggested "to table" time.

Betty... I think I might be falling for you...

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In case you missed it earlier today, I posted  about a super cool crafty site that I have come across. If crafting ANYTHING interests you, check it out!

Spaghetti Squash with Simple Tomato Sauce

Magazine Meal Plan Week day 2 - Oh man it is SO nice to have a meal without meat every once and a while (despite my husband's grumblings). This meal was Perfect from start to finish - easy to make, flavourful, full of veggies and... my son LOVED it!  I also like the little piece of useful information about tomato seeds. We had Garlic Toast on the side and that rounded it out perfectly. This is a meal you will see again for sure! (even though I am sure my husband will request a side of steak next time ;-))

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Olivieri Tortellini and Tomato Sauce

No photo tonight because I think most of us know what this meal would look like. I am glad that this meal was on the meal plan for today as it was a beautiful day so the boys and I were outside right up until a few minutes before I had to prepare supper. So supper was ready in 10 minutes and it was eaten up in about the same time. So easy I almost feel silly writing about it... :-)

http://mealplan-it.blogspot.com/2010/08/meal-plan-week-34-2010.html

Totally Tubular Pasta

Who would have thought Tomato Sauce mixed with Soy Sauce and Brown Sugar? Not me, but I thought I'd give it a whirl and it was DELISH!! It was tangy and sweet at the same time - this one is a keeper for sure. I might try it with smaller noodles next time because they were a little big for my son to deal with, so he ended giving up. You will definitely see this one again in my Meal Plans!

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Veggie Burgs & Carrot/Cabbage Stirfry Review

Overall the meal was a big hit - this is one that we have had before and will have again for sure! Fast, Easy and it has it all! :-)

Preschooler Meal: It was all out of a package (Fish Sticks, Corn, Sweet Potato Fries) except the tar tar sauce. He gobbled it all up no prob! :-) 

Go to Cabbage and Carrot Stirfry Recipe!

Go to Tartar Sauce Recipe!