Menu Plan Monday and 20 weeks!

It's Menu Plan Monday! Here is this week's menu for dinner:

Monday: Spaghetti with homemade meat marinara (since we ended up having chicken cacciatore last week)

Tuesday: Fat Tuesday!! Blueberry pancakes and scrapple

Wednesday: Chicken and Dumplings in the slowcooker

Thursday: Baked spinach gnocchi

Friday: Chinese carryout (meatless for Lent!)

Saturday: Leftovers!

I'm 20 weeks today! Happy half-way to me! We have our big ultrasound tomorrow in the morning! Stay tuned for tomorrow's post with all the details!

Menu Plan Monday and 18 weeks!

Well today I am 18 weeks! You know what that means- only two more weeks until the anatomy scan! Of course we are getting really anxious to see our baby again and make sure he/she is doing great. Naturally, we are also excited to see if Dominic will have a baby sister or brother to love on in a few months. We shall see!

I am feeling great! I have started feeling tiny flutters and last night, one good kick. Craving all kinds of dairy products like yogurt, cheese, ice cream and just plain 'ole skim milk. My new thing is Cheerios and milk in the morning. With Dominic, I craved Mexican food (not too easy to find in Central VA), peanut butter, and pineapple. I know that sounds terribly weird. I can still see my feet (yay) but I have definitely popped. My favorite pair of jeans are the skinny pair from Old Navy.com. I could literally sleep in them- they're just that comfortable. Oddly enough, my pre-pregnancy tops still fit and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

I've also been trying to be more organized in all areas of life. And one of my biggest organizational hurdles is trying to maintain a menu every week for the family. Dinner is a big deal in this house. All 3 (well, 4 by proxy) sit down every night to eat dinner as a family and what we eat holds a lot of weight. I stumbled upon a website that has all kinds of organizational tips, downloads and ideas for keeping your house (and your mind) in order. It's called I'm An Organizing Junkie and there seems to be a ton of good ideas and information.

Menu Plan Monday allows you to link up your blog post on the website so other blog readers can see what kinds of dinners they have planned for their families. I have already got some great ideas to give our menu some variety. Here is our menu for the week:

Monday: Homemade Roasted Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese

Tuesday: Rotisserie Chicken with Potatoes and Peas

Wednesday: Sausage and Tortellini Soup

Thursday: Spinach and Mushroom Quesadillas

Friday: Spaghetti with homemade marinara

Saturday: Leftovers!

Hope you have a great week!

Pumpkin pancakes

Well, these were a hit around my house last weekend. Dominic loved them, Bill loved them, it was great! It's a perfect breakfast meal for the season!

Pumpkin Pancakes
2 cups Bisquick
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
a pinch of allspice


Preheat electric skillet to 375 degrees.

Whisk all ingredients together until well blended. Do not over mix. Let it rest for 10 minutes. If you prefer a thinner batter, add more milk to desired consistency.

Turn the skillet down to 350 degrees.

Ladle quarter cup portions onto the skillet. Once edges are firm and bubbles appear, flip them once and cook another 1-3 minutes.

Serve immediately with margarine and syrup!

The perfect autumn meal!

Okay, so as I've said before I love to try new recipes (new to me) and I stumbled across this recipe in my Rachael Ray cookbook. I made this last night and it was a hit!

Maple Mustard Barbecued Pork Chops and Grilled Apples

Ingredients:
1/2 cup dark amber apple syrup
4 tablespoons, 1/4 cup, spicy brown mustard
1/4 cup apple cider
1/4 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon allspice, eyeball it in your hand
1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/3 palm full
8 center cut boneless pork loin chops, 1-inch thick
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Grill seasoning blend or salt and pepper (preferred brand McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning)
3 golden delicious apples, sliced across into 1/2-thick inch disks
Preheat grill pan or nonstick griddle pan over medium high heat. Preheat electric table top grills to high. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cooking directions:
Combine maple syrup, mustard, cider, onion, allspice and cumin in a small saucepan and cook together over moderate heat for 5 minutes until sauce begins to thicken a bit.

Coat chops lightly in oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook chops on hot grill pan or indoor grill 3 minutes on each side. Baste chops liberally with sauce, cook 2 or 3 minutes more. Transfer chops to a baking sheet. Baste again with sauce and transfer to a hot oven to finish cooking them. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until your apples are ready to come off the grill pan.

Wash apples but do not core or peel. Coat apple slices with a drizzle of oil. Season with grill seasoning or salt and pepper. Cover grill pan or indoor tabletop grill with as many pieces of apple as possible. As the apples get tender, pull them off and replace with more slices. Apples should cook 3 minutes on each side, you don't want them too soft, just tender.

Platter chops with apples along side and serve.

I also made one of my favorite recipes from Giada De Laurentiis- Tomato Vegetable Casserole

Tomato Vegetable Casserole

Ingredients
1 medium potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium yam, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced into rings
2 small or 1 large zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces
Salt and pepper
2 large ripe tomatoes, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch thick slices
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons dried Italian-style bread crumbs
Fresh basil sprigs, for garnish

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Toss the potato, yam, bell pepper, carrots, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss until coated. Spread vegetables evenly over the bottom of the pan.

Arrange the onion slices evenly over the vegetable mixture. Arrange the zucchini over the onion. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange the tomato slices over the zucchini.

Stir the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the Parmesan bread crumbs over the vegetables in the baking dish. Drizzle with the last tablespoon of olive oil.

Bake uncovered until the vegetables are tender, and the topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil sprigs, if desired.


I've made the veggies before. They get yummier every time I make them! This pork chop will definitely return to our menu soon!

Apple Mania!

We've been baking a lot here lately. Mostly new recipes (new to me...with my own added twist) to celebrate the leaves falling and cooler weather. I recently went to Target and picked up some ramekins in the $1.00 isle ($2.50 for a set of 4....not bad at all!). I knew I wanted to make something with them especially for Thanksgiving. My husband came across this recipe this afternoon and we decided to give it a try!

Easy Apple Dumplings

4 apples - peeled, cored and sliced into wedges
1/2 cup of sugar (or Splenda)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. of baking powder
1/8 tsp. of salt
1 egg beaten
4 tbsp. melted butter (or margarine)
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Prepare apples and butter 4 ramekins.
2. Mix 1/4 cup of the sugar with the cinnamon and brown sugar. Roll the apples in the sugar/cinnamon/brown sugar mixture and place into ramekins. We were able to put 5 apple wedges into each ramekin. Sprinkle the remaining mixture over the apples.
3. Stir together 1/4 cup of the remaining sugar with the flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, butter and vanilla. (Since the butter will be hot, you will need to temper your eggs to keep them from scrambling. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture. It should have a batter consistency.
4. Spoon batter over the apples and bake in a 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.
5 Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

The end result (before the dab of whipped cream):

My hubby's Clam Pizza

My hubby made this the other night and it was simply scrumptous! Here's how to make it:

3 tbsp of olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 jar of alfredo sauce
2 cans of clams
1 tsp of italian seasoning
1 store-bought or homemade pizza dough
1 1/2 cups of mozarella cheese
1 tsp of red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sautee onions and garlic in 1 tbsp of olive oil, cooking until softened and opague. Roll out dough and fold over edges to form the crust and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and poke holes in the dough to prevent bubbles from forming. Spread 2 tbsp of olive oil on pre-baked pizza dough. Add the alfredo sauce, onions, garlic and italian seasoning to the pizza. Next spread clams, mozzarella cheese, and red pepper flakes making sure it is evenly distributed.

Bake for an additional 8 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

So, I took a crack at making enchiladas for dinner last night....and they were a hit! I didn't take a picture of the finished product but here is the recipe:

1 1/2 lbs. of chicken breasts

1 tsp of vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

1 large red onion

2 cloves of garlic

2 cans of stewed tomatoes

5 green chiles - seeded and diced

3 cups of enchilada sauce

1 cup of corn

1 tsp of Mexican seasoning

1 tsp of cumin

1 tsp of garlic powder

1 tsp of salt

16 tortilla shells

1 cup of shredded cheese (I used cheddar and jack)

Heat oil in a medium-sized pan over medium heat. Season chicken with salt, cumin, Mexican seasoning and garlic powder. Cook 7 minutes on both sides or until no longer pink. Remove from pan and set aside to cool.

Saute onions and garlic in the chicken renderings. Add corn and chiles. Cook until veggies are softened. Pull chicken apart and add to the veggies. Let the mixture simmer for a few minutes. Ladle some enchilada sauce in a 13x9 inch pan.

Microwave the tortillas to make them pliable. Dip the tortillas in the enchilada sauce, fill the shells with the chicken and veggie mixture and fold them up. Place them seam-side down in the 13x9 inch pan. After all enchiladas are in the pan, sprinkle the cheese and place them into a preheated 350 degree oven. Cook for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven after cheese has completely melted.

I served them with sour cream, salsa, refried beans and Mexican rice.

They were SO yummy!!

And of course, they always go GREAT with one (or more) of these bad boys: