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Menu Mondays

Saturday: take-out

Sunday: parmesan pork chops, garlic rice pilaf, green beans

Monday: steak, steamed broccoli, pasta

Tuesday: spaghetti and meatballs

Wednesday: creamy white chicken chili

Thursday: skillet beef stroganoff, salad

Friday: creamy white chicken chili leftovers

Saturday: stroganoff leftovers

 

Giveaway Winner!

The winner of the Panko giveaway is…
True Random Number Generator
Result:4

Katie @ Health for the Whole Self!
Katie @ Health for the Whole Self Says:
November 15, 2010 at 11:14 am | Reply edit
WOO HOO! The best new dish I recently tried was a slow cooker Moroccan stew.

Katie – please email me your full name/address at enkeli224@yahoo.com

Thanks to everyone who entered!!

Cauliflower Gratin

Ezra Pound Cake always has the best of the best recipes. Truly.

This one is no different. We eat a lot of roasted or steamed cauliflower and I was looking for a new preparation when I stumbled across this beauty in my Google Reader.

Cheesy, comforting — it’s basically like vegetarian macaroni and cheese, just like Rebecca says! It’s also a delicious side dish, and the cheesiness of it all makes it appealing even to folks who don’t like vegetables 😉

Cauliflower Gratin

(Ezra Pound Cake)

4-6 Servings

1 (3-pound) head cauliflower, cut into  florets

Kosher salt

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups hot milk

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

3/4 cup freshly grated Gruyere, divided (can be replaced with cheddar)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1/4 cup bread crumbs

Directions

– Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and bring a large pot of water to boil; add the cauliflower and cook for 5-6 minutes, until its tender but still firm. Drain and set aside.

– In another medium saucepan, over low heat, melt 2 tbsp of butter. Add the flour, stirring constantly for 2 minutes, then pour the hot milk (I just heated it up in the microwave in a glass measuring cup) into the butter-flour mixture, and stir until it comes to a boil. Boil, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, or until thickened.

– Take the pan off the heat, and add 1 teaspoon of salt, the pepper, 1/2 cup of the Gruyere, and the Parmesan.

– Pour 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of an 8 by 11 by 2-inch baking dish. Place the drained cauliflower on top, and then spread the remaining 2/3 of the sauce evenly on top.

– Combine the bread crumbs with the remaining 1/4 cup of Gruyere and sprinkle on top.

– Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, and drizzle over the gratin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.

 

Menu Mondays

Saturday: take-out

Sunday: spaghetti with meatballs, garlic bread, salad

Monday: steak, steamed broccoli, pasta

Tuesday: kahlua pork, rice, baked pineapple

Wednesday: potato-crusted mahi mahi, garlic green beans

Thursday: leftover kahlua pork

Friday: lemon pepper chicken, cauliflower gratin

Apologies…

My apologies if you start seeing old blog posts in your reader — you can just ignore them. I am working on a blog re-design, and, as a result, am fixing my categories and tags on most of my posts.

This ‘construction’ will be done by November 1st 🙂

Gnocchi Mac and Cheese

I really loved this recipe, but Dave wasn’t 100% sure about it. I think that the use of gruyere and fontina may be part of his hesitation – as we don’t normally use those cheeses in our macaroni and cheese – and I think I’d try it again with more ‘general’ cheeses, like a good cheddar and a mozzarella.

That being said, I loved it as it is – with the fancy cheese and all. Delicious! And it re-heats well 🙂

Gnocchi Mac and Cheese

(Noble Pig)

1 pound purchased or homemade gnocchi
2 Tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup shredded fontina cheese
Salt and white pepper to taste
1/3 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
Basil leaves for garnish, optional

Directions

– Preheat oven to 375^o F. Prepare gnocchi according to package directions.  Drain and place gnocchi in a single-layer in a 1-1/2 quart shallow baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.

– Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Whisk in flour until it thickens and bubbles, then whisk in milk and Dijon.  Continue to whisk mixture and cook until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.

– Combine Gruyere and fontina, then add by the handful to milk mixture, stirring until melted before adding the next handful.  Once all cheese is melted, season sauce with salt and pepper.

– Pour sauce over gnocchi and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano over top.  Bake gnocchi until they puff and cheese is golden and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Let gnocchi rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Menu Mondays

Saturday – Monday: On my own – hubs is busy!

Made some treats this weekend…

Orange Rolls

Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Tuesday: shepherd’s pie, crusty homemade bread

Wednesday: chicken fried rice, egg rolls

Thursday: leftover shepherd’s pie

Friday: leftover fried rice

Saturday: getting together with friends for a ‘soup party’! I’m making zuppa toscana

Sunday: homemade stromboli

Giveaway!!

I’m a little late on my giveaway, because I wanted to make sure I’d eaten the entree and could provide you with a review! 🙂

MyBlogSpark in conjunction with Good Earth provided me with a free whole grain/nutritious take on a prepared meal. The flavor I received was Good Earth Mediterranean Chicken. These meals are 100% whole grain, no trans fat, no artificial flavors, no artificial preservatives, no MSG — pretty impressive for a boxed meal!

I made this entree per the instructions —  and it was actually really good! It lacks in the veggies department  — Good Earth, try to add more veggies….or recommend them on the back! — so I ended up sauteeing some leftover summer squash and adding it — which made it a perfect, well-rounded meal.

Now you get to try it! And in addition, you get some cool swanky gear as well….

You get:

• 1 box Good Earth Mediterranean Chicken meal
• 2 sets of bamboo utensils (fork, knife, spoon)
• 2 small bamboo plates
• 1 small bamboo cutting board
• 1 large reuseable Jute bag

The utensils and plates are awesome — I took mine to work to use instead of using plastic when I need a plate/fork/knife/spoon!

The little cutting board is a life saver when you just need to slice some onion, or one veggie, or something, and don’t want to dirty your big board…

And the reuseable bad is sweet! It’s kind of hefty, so you can put weight in it with no worries!

Now onto the giveaway….

Just leave a comment below — any comment, really! And you’ll be entered in my giveaway for the swag above.

End date is Monday,  19th at 5pm EST! I will draw a winner Monday evening and announce it here!

Crockpot Pork Barbacoa

This crockpot pork recipe is delicious! It’s very similar to the Cafe Rio pork — but less sweet, and more of the pork flavor shines through.

Absolutely delicious! I imagine you could make this with chicken, as well, with similar results.

My pork didn’t turn out nearly as red as Joelen’s, but I think that’s because I was unable to find La Victoria taco sauce, and substitued another brand for it.

Still delicious!

We served it as tacos, and can be served any way mexican meat is  — tacos, nachos, enchiladas, burritos, over salad, etc!

Also: Since we hadn’t had it before, I elected to halve the recipe and make a 2 lb pork roast. Next time, I’ll make the full amount and freeze it for future meals! I also made this on a Sunday and just re-heated it during the week for our meals, since I wouldn’t be home during the week to add the other ingredients after 6 hours!

Pork Barbacoa

(Joelen’s Culinary Adventures)

5-6 pound pork roast
3-4 cloves minced garlic
1 onion, dicedwater

1 tablespoon cumin
1 cup dark brown sugar
12 oz bottle La Victoria taco sauce
20 oz Coke

Directions

– Place pork roast in a crock pot with the garlic and onion. Add water halfway covering roast. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

– Drain water and add remaining ingredients. Cook 4-6 more hours on low.

– Shred pork and serve with tortillas, rice or whatever you’d like.