February 2-8, 2010

2 T – Chicken Korma, Cucumber Salad, Flat Bread
3 W – Ratatouille Niçoise, French Bread
4 R – French Onion Soup, Salad
5 F – Oven Fried Chicken, Spicy Sweet Potatoes, Creamed Spinach
6 S – Italian Shepherd’s Pie, Salad
7 U – Curry Chicken Pot Pie
8 M – Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Peas and Carrots

I have decided on a cooking goal for 2010 - it's vegetarian main dishes - or the formal title - Vegetarian Main Dishes that Satisfy a Meat-Eating Man. I intend to include a meat-less meal at least once a week. As a secondary goal, I want to continue to make homemade bread.

Some of these recipes are from the latest edition of Taste of Home and are "subscriber only" on the website. If you would like a recipe and know my email address, I can hook you up ;)

In Season: Grapefruit

When I was a kid, I just did not know what was good - I wouldn't touch beans, stuffed peppers, or Chinese food...and of course I didn't like grapefruits - what can I say, I was crazy. Grapefruits are in season about half the year, but they have been on sale only recently in our Publix - about fifty cents per pound if you buy a 5lb bag, which I have been happy to do!

Some nutritional facts about grapefruits - they are high in vitamins A and C and are also a source of calcium, folate, and fiber. Nutritiondata.com lists cornflakes as one of the best foods to pair grapefruit with to get a complete protein...and come to think of it, that sounds pretty good!

Personally, grapefruit has such a unique tangy taste that I found myself questioning, should I be eating this while pregnant? And a little searching online revealed that not only is it fine to eat while you're pregnant, a lot of women crave it while they are pregnant.

January 20-26, 2010

20 T – Shredded Beef Au Jus (on Buns), Baked Beans, Corn on the Cob
21 W – Curry Chicken, Rice
22 R – Tuna Veggie Macaroni, Italian Sweet Bread
23 F – Mostaccioli Beef Casserole, Green Beans
24 S – A Friend’s Birthday Party
25 U – Chicken over Curly Noodles, Mixed Oriental Vegetables
26 M – Pork Ranchero Enchiladas, Yellow Rice, Refried Beans

The Shredded Beef Au Jus is leftover from tonight - it could not be an easier slow-cooker recipe. My slow-cooker runs a little hot, so I started it late. Meal planning was pretty easy this week. I thumbed through an old issue of Simple and Delicious (a spin off of Taste of Home) and just made a list of everything that looked good - and being 15 weeks pregnant EVERYTHING looked good!

Daily Bread: Italian Sweet Bread

I tried a new bread recipe recently - we were having spaghetti and I...well actually I read this recipe and it sounded good and I thought spaghetti would go well with it! It did :) This little loaf is soft and the Italian seasonings on top really liven it up. The original recipe makes 2 round loaves, but I halved it and that was plenty for us.

Italian Sweet Bread
1/2 cup milk
1 egg (beaten and divided into 2 equal portions)
1 tbsp butter, softened
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
about 2 cups of flour
1 tsp yeast (instant if you've got it!)
1/2 tbsp water
Italian Seasoning

Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt and yeast and mix well. Stir in milk, 1/2 egg, and butter. Stir in enough flour to make a soft, workable ball. Knead about 5 minutes and let rise - 45 minutes should be enough. Press out air, make a ball and place in a greased cake round, let proof for 45 minutes. Add water to remaining egg, brush egg wash over the loaf and sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until the internal temp is about 200 degrees. Be careful not to go over 212!

Note, if you are using regular old active dry yeast, you must use warm milk, that is the NICE NICE NICE thing about instant yeast - you can use cold milk or water and it still rises. This eliminates a problem I used to have because I had trouble getting the water or milk hot enough, but not too hot.