What's cookin'? (April 21-26)

Saturday:  BBQ steak, roasted green beans, salad
Sunday:  Baked beans, hotdogs
Monday:  Cabbage roll casserole
Tuesday:  Pork carnitas
Wednesday:  BBQ honey garlic sausages, salad
Thursday:  Soup and grilled sandwiches

Real Food Connections Kitchen Basket

Milk, eggs, whole wheat bread, raw-milk edame

Broccoli sprouts, sprouted beans, mushrooms, potatoes, frozen blueberries, cabbage, basil plant

BBQ Steak Sandwich

We had some random pieces of steak left from the farm beef my cousin and her husband gave us and I wasn't sure what to do with it. The husband asked for steak sandwiches, which made for a perfect weeknight dinner!

Spinach salad = spinach, shallot, strawberries, mushrooms, feta, poppy seed dressing

Green beans = Tossed in EVOO and tuscan seasoning, roasted

Steak sandwich = steak, red pepper, mushroom, onion tossed in BBQ sauce, on a bun, topped with cajun gouda

Whatcha got cookin'? (April 13-19)

Friday: Honey soy glazed pork, wild rice, roasted red pepper, mushroom and onion
Saturday: Honey soy glazed salmon, wild rice, roasted green beans, red pepper and mushrooms
Sunday: Boar sausage on a bun topped with caramelized onion and mushroom, spinach salad (spinach, red onion, mushroom, strawberries and feta)
Monday: Steak sandwiches and salad
Tuesday: Sweet potato carrot soup, grilled pastrami sandwiches
Wednesday: Pulled pork, coleslaw
Thursday: Omelette's and toast

I am kind of writing this post mid-stream, but that's OK because it means I get to post some photos too!
The honey soy glaze recipe I tried out was really good and I had enough to use it again on Saturday for the salmon. It is a really versatile sauce that would go well on almost any meat. And, I used the leftover salmon for a brunch omelette on Sunday morning!

Honey-Soy Glaze

• 2 tbsp soy sauce


• 1 tbsp honey


• 2 tbsp Asian sesame salad dressing


• 1 tbsp fresh crushed garlic


• 1 tsp ginger


• S&P

I doubled this badboy, because I did the pork in the crock-pot, then used the remained for the salmon.

Real Food Connections Kitchen Basket

Milk, eggs, bread, raw-milk Cajun Gouda
Broccoli sprouts, sprouted beans, mushrooms, onions, shallots, cabbage, granola, frozen strawberries, apples

Shepherd's Pie

I love shepherd's pie! I didn't really grow up eating it, but my husband did, so I set out to find a good recipe when we started dating. I try to avoid cream-of-whatever soups, but it really does make the recipe. If you make this up and bake it all at once, it is a bit time consuming. I prefer to make it the night before and just bake it when I get home. This makes a great post-baby delivery or potluck contribution.

Adding a good quantity of onion and mushroom to the meat layer really adds some bulk to the meat layer, without adding calories. You don't even really taste the mushrooms. Finely chopped, they blend in texture wise and take on the flavour of the meat.

Ingredients:

Meat layer:

• 1lb of ground meat (I used lamb this time and it was AMAZING! But beef or turkey would do)


• 1 medium onion, chopped


• 1 tbsp crushed garlic


• 1lb of mushrooms, chopped


• 1 can of low-fat cream of mushroom soup


• 1/3 c. ketchup (I used the Heinz spicey for a little extra kick!)


• 1 tsp thyme


• s&p

Veg Layer:

• I used fresh carrots (steamed) and canned peas, but you can use what ever fresh or frozen veg mix you like

Potato Layer:

• Potatoes


• Milk


• Butter (or low fat sour cream or greek yogurt)


• s&p


• Low fat shredded cheddar


• Paprika

Directions:

1. Spray a large, deep rectangular baking dish. Preheat over at 350 F.


2. Put potatoes on to boil while you do step 3.


3. In a skillet, soften the chopped onion and mushrooms. Add ground meat and brown. Once the meat is cooked, stir in the remaining ingredients for the meat layer. Spread evenly in the bottom of the pan.


4. Layer mixed vegetables.


5. By now, the potatoes are done cooking. Mash them and add whatever ingredients you add to your very best mashed pots. I like to add a little bit of extra liquid, so the baking doesn't dry them out. Spread the potatoes over the veg mixture.


6. Top with a little grated cheese and sprinkle with paprika.


7. Bake at 350 F for 30 mins. Let is sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. I can never wait that long, so it just ends up looking a mess on my plate!

Mango-Mustard Glazed Tilapia

Photo from Kraft.com

When I got home last night, I decided it would be a good idea to make not only the tilapia on the menu, but supper for tonight, at the same time. This resulted in a ravenous Sarah when dinner was served, who totally forgot to take a photo. My fish looked pretty much the same as the kraft version, maybe just a little saucy-er (I love sauce!) I served it over wild rice with a side of roasted broccoli, carrots, mushrooms and onion.

The best part about it was that it was QUICK and so, so easy.

Ingredients:

• 5 Tilapia fillets


• 1/4 c. mango chutney


• 2 tbsp grainy mustard (Gray Poupon or other spicey mustard)


• s&p

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. If you roasting veggies, they take about 20-25 minutes. The fish will only take 12. So, put the veggies in as soon as the oven is heated.


2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it.


3. Mix the mango chutney and mustard.


4. Place the tilapia on the baking sheet and smear a spoonful of the mustard-chutney on the tilapia.


5. Bake for 12 minutes. Sprinkle with a little green onion or cilantro and serve!
   

The Bare-Cupboards Menu Planning Challenge

We just got home for a 4-day weekend visiting family and the cupboards (along with our pocket books) are fairly bare. I decided to challenge myself to avoid groceries until Thursday, when we get our kitchen box and I can make a better plan.

So, here is the mini-meal plan for the week!

Tuesday: Mustard-mango glazed tilapia, wild rice, roasted broccoli
Wednesday: Shepherd's pie, made with locally raised grass-fed organic ground lamb
Thursday: Honey-soy glazed pork tenderloin, wild rice and a veggie of some kind

The tilapia and the pork are new recipes. Look out for a post if they are as good as the sound!

Heeey good lookin', whatcha got cookin'?

I am often asked what a week of healthy eating looks like in our house, so I thought I would start posting our weekly meal plan, along with a list of the contents of our Kitchen Box from Real Food Connections.

APRIL 1-7

Sunday: Brown sugar and balsamic pork tenderloin, roasted potatoes and broccoli
Monday: Grilled BBQ Chicken Salad Sandwich, tomato vegetable soup
Tuesday: Chicken quesadillas, roasted broccoli
Wednesday: Curried lamb burgers topped with goat cheese, red pepper, red onion and buckwheat shoots and raosted broccoli
Thuesday: Leftovers

And then we are off visiting family for Easter!

Can you tell we got a giant bag of broccoli at Costco this week?!

Real Food Connections Kitchen Box

Whole wheat bread, eggs, milk, raw milk dill and havarti
Potatoes prepped for roasting (washed cut, tossed in sunflower oil and herbs)
Buckwheat shoots, mushrooms, sprouted beans, onions, garlic, fresh italian herb mix