Easy Ham Pot Pie and Banana Bread (with Cauliflower)

Tonight's meal came about because I had a tube of refrigerated biscuits and some ham steaks. Those coupled with broccoli and Cheez Whiz was all this "recipe" needed. And it tasted exactly like you would imagine. I highly doubt this meal will ever make another appearance. 

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On a side note I was able to FINALLY make that Banana Bread from Jessica Seinfeld's Book - Deceptively Delicious that has cauliflower puree in it from Week 4 Meal Plan. It turned out great; Really moist and yummy! You can get a tiny hint of the veggie in the after taste but if you don't know it's in there you could never tell. The only issue is that it didn't rise really high for me, so it is quite dense, but tasty none the less.

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Meal Assembly Journey - Part 2 ~ The Doing

Couple weeks ago I decided that rather than spending 2 full days in my kitchen cooking/prepping to fill my freezer with meals prior to my return to work that I would sign up for a Meal Assembly Company. Last you heard of this I had researched the local companies and chose Dashing Dishes for the reasons that their meals sound delicious and that I got to be hands on with the prep of my meals. So I signed up (which was a breeze). 

Then I waited...

Last night I packed up my cooler and went to my session. The location was easy to find and once inside the building I felt like "Toucan Sam" and followed my nose to the spacious room. The fragrance was awesome; garlic, ginger, spices...mmmm...

The staff were incredibly nice, helpful and attentive. They got me in my apron and bandana and standing at my first station in no time. The format of the meal assembly is you go to a station and fill Ziptop bags with the ingredients needed for a full meal, put on an instruction label and put it in your cooler. Then on to the next... SUPER easy! I had chosen 8 meals and opted for for the "split in half" option (which was no charge). I am glad I did because the portions are HUGE - so at the end of an hour I had 16 meals for my freezer all prepped and ready to go.  FABULOUS!!!! 

Oh, did I forget to mention that they carried my cooler out to my car when I was all done?... :)

Here are the meals that I made last night:

~ Black Bean Linguine

~ Four Cheese Penne with Tomatoes

~ Korean Beef with Noodles

~ Lentil Sloppy "Jo's" with Tortillas

~ Mandarin Chicken

~ Pork Chops with Feta and Olive

~ Red Currant Slow Braised Pork with Thyme

~ Roasted Red Pepper Pasta with Sausage

Don't they sound scrumptious???? I can't wait to try one/all of my meals!

So, if you are a Mom without a lot of time to cook, or a single person who loathes cooking for one. Really anyone who who like to go spend an hour having some fun, go home and sigh a breath of relief because you have a freezer full of nutritious meals - the idea of meal assembly is PERFECT for you to try. And if doing the work isn't up your alley, they'll do it for you, you just pick it up. Seriously couldn't be easier!!! 

Next time you hear about this I will be letting you know how the meals taste... oh I can't wait!! 

-Jill

This series will also be featured in the Kids in Cowtown Blog

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!

Meal Plan ~ Week 5 - 2011

Well some of you may recall that my family has started on a journey toward eating more ethically. As I had mentioned before it is not something to take lightly and it is not something to just jump into, it's a gradual process. So here are the steps we have taken so far... 

1 - All dairy is organic and eggs are to be free run  - looking into getting our eggs farm fresh

2 - I will be planning 2 meals a week that are meat free

3 - I am researching seasonally appropriate recipes and resources

4 - I am researching natural, organic and humanely treated protein sources and looking into getting our protein straight from local family producers. 

5 - Start purchasing organic produce

It's a lot of ground work right now, but I feel wonderful with the steps we have achieved in only 2 short weeks. Once we get the steps above into our routine, we will look at cutting processed food out of our diet as much as possible.

One major hurdle that I have come across (and it's a great one to have) is that is we have too many choices in family run protein producers. Living in Alberta means having access to world class beef and it is so hard to choose the right fit. I did find a wonderful resource that has a huge database of farms in our region, check it out here.

Well enough blabbing from me... let's get to what you're really here for! This week's meal plan! 

Monday ~ Indian Lentils and Rice served with Chapati Bread

Tuesday ~ Mom out (Meal Assembly Session!) Boys have Leftovers

Wednesday ~ Family out for Grandma's birthday dinner

Thursday ~ Easy Ham Pot Pie served with Salad

Friday ~ Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese served with Salad

Saturday ~ Homemade Burgers (no recipe) served with Crispy Parm Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli

Sunday ~ Thai-Style Coconut Chicken served with Rice

If you haven't subscribed to Meal Plan-it yet, this is a taste of what you missed last week. Be sure to click "Like" or "Subscribe" to follow me and get all my updates in real time. :)

Have a fabulous week!

for more meal plans and organization advice visit Organizing Junkie!

Barley Ricotta Cabbage Rolls

Honestly if you have the time, try this recipe it is a remarkable twist on an old favourite comfort food. This was the first time I have ever made honest-to-goodness cabbage rolls and I do have a new found respect for anyone who makes/made real cabbage rolls and now understand why there are so many "fast cabbage roll casserole" recipes. This recipe was majorly labour intensive, but worth every second. SO Fabulous!! The flavours were incredible and everyone thoroughly enjoyed them. I made a few "meat logs" without the cabbage for my sons and that was a hit. There are left overs for lunch today and I am pretty excited to see how they taste the next day. You can also make this as a freezer meal so I think next time that I have some time I will make a double batch and put them in the freezer. 

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Pan and Tuna Cakes

The other day I whipped up a batch of Homemade Pancake Mix and I will NEVER buy mix again. It took me a whole 5 minutes to do. I made it according to the following recipe, but added 1/4 Cup Wheat Germ then put it in a Ziptop Bag, wrote the cooking instructions on the outside and put it in my cupboard until today. This morning I mashed 1/2 banana in a bowl and made the pancakes according to the directions on the recipe and they tuned out PERFECT!! I did find them to be a little sweet, so next time I am going to half the sugar and see how it goes, but they fluffed up nice and big and light. A HUGE winner!!! 

For supper we had Tuna Cakes, a meal that we have had numerous times and I just LOVE them. They are easy, they have veggies hidden within AND my son loves them. We always have leftover so we individually wrap them and freeze them for future lunches. I think I may whip up a couple batches just for my freezer before I go back to work... easy and versatile, they have yet to fail me... 

It was a love, love day here! HOORAY!! 

Go to Pancake Mix Recipe! 

Go to Tuna Cake Recipe!

Aloha Chicken Kebabs with Sweet Potato, Mozzarella Sticks with Cauliflower and Ketchup with Carrots

Tonight I cooked from the book of Jessica Seinfeld called Deceptively Delicious in an attempt to sneak some veggies into my son's stomach. The story that unfolded at our dinner table was a good news, bad news one ... I will start with the good. 

My son ate more Chicken Kebabs than I and declared that they were his most favourite ever and wants them for lunch tomorrow (there was left overs) That made me happy because they had sweet potatoes and pineapple on them so he got one veggie... Now here comes the bad... 

They were SO labour intensive! I must admit they were awesome, so worth the effort, but I would not dream of making these on a weeknight or for company. The Mozzarella Sticks with Cauliflower were a colossal FAIL! They started out great, until I cooked them, then they turned into little piles of hot mess. My son took one bite and said - YUCK! :( As for the "Ketchup" with Carrots - Even if you had no idea what ketchup was, you would know that this was not it. It turned out to basically be a dish of tomato paste with a hint of spice.

Go to Aloha Chicken Kebab Recipe!

Go to Mozzarella Stick Recipe!

Go to Ketchup Recipe!

Pineapple-Picante Stir fried Pork with Cabbage

When I was looking up recipes for this week's meal plan, I came across this recipe and the ingredient combination sounded so bizarre to me that I just had to give it a whirl. And you know what? I REALLY enjoyed it! I am the kind of person who LOVES trying new things and some times it really pays off! (Some times not so much) I would NEVER have guessed to mix Picante Sauce and pineapples and combine it with cabbage, but it works great and it is quite filling too. (Not to mention super quick) I definitely recommend it if you are in the mood for something a little off the beaten track.

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Spaghetti Pie

One word sums up this meal... Disappointed. After 45 minutes in the convection oven, the meatballs were still raw and the sauce was barely warm in the center. Not sure WHAT I did wrong, but after 50 minutes the boys were getting antsy for supper so I took the meatballs off and cooked them separately and put the sauce in a pot to simmer for 10 minutes. The flavour was okay but I personally like my own spaghetti sauce which has zucchini and carrots "snuck in" already so I think this recipe will be filed away to be used again, well... never... Sorry Jessica Seinfeld.

 

Go to Recipe!

Meal Plan ~ Week 4 - 2011

This week our family is starting to make baby steps toward our journey of becoming more aware of where our food comes from and choosing ethical options. We are not taking this lightly because eating ethically does not necessarily equate to eating economically. We are amazed at the plethora of information and options out there, and are feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment, but are learning more and more everyday.

If the concept of ethical eating interests you, you can get more general info at Eat Kind. For information on Slow Food in America check out Local Harvest and for listings of Farmer's Markets in America check this out. For listings of Farmer's Markets across Canada check out Homemakers who also have a great article on 5 eco-friendly eating habits that is worth a look at. And finally for more Alberta and Calgary specific resources check out  Slow Food and Calgary Farmer Market.  I will post more links and ideas as I come across them. Please feel free to share any information that you may have as well!!

And here begins the week where I start to honestly deceive my son into eating his veggies thanks to Jessica Seinfeld and her Cook Book Deceptively Delicious. Wish me luck!

Monday ~ Spaghetti Pie served with Tossed Salad

Tuesday ~ Pineapple Stir Fried Pork Tenderloin with Cabbage

Wednesday ~ Tuna Cakes served with Tossed Salad, Rice and Corn

Thursday ~ Aloha Chicken Kebabs, Mozzarella Sticks served with Steamed Broccoli

Friday ~ Barley Ricotta Cabbage Rolls

Saturday ~ Bolognese Style Penne served with Tossed Salad

Sunday ~ Company Coming - Parmesan Artichoke Dip, Shepard's Pie (no recipe) and Monkey Bread

Sometime this week I'll be making Deception Banana Bread, Deceiving Ketchup and Homemade Pancake Mix

Did you miss last week's reviews? Here is a taste of what happened... Follow me on Facebook to stay in the loop! 

For more meal plans and organization advise, visit Organizing Junkie