Weekly Meal Plan

Going back to my weekly meal planning. I realize I don't blog much otherwise!

On this week's menu:

• Paula Dean Tacos, chips with salsa and guacamole, and Fiesta Black Beans
• Black Bean & Sweet Potato Chili topped with cheese and cilantro, served with corn chips and fresh fruit
• Crockpot Chicken Parmesan with angel hair pasta, roasted brussel sprouts, fruit, and bread
• Pizza
• Eggplant Lasagna - a new recipe off of pinterest so it is not up on my blog, green beans, fresh fruit and bread
• Black Bean Burgers topped with avocado (or guacamole), tomatoes and cheese, served with chips or potato wedges and broccoli
• Sunday is still TBD

Sweet Treat: testing out a chocolate cupcake recipe. =)

Update: Picture of my cupcakes (from my phone - so lame picture). They turned out pretty stinkin' good!

Eggplant Panini

I've seen so many eggplant sandwiches on Pinterest and they all look so good. Recently Skinny Taste posted an eggplant sandwich recipe that looked easy and delicious, so I started with hers and made a few adjustments to make it our own. I used a different bread and added some greens and red onion. I even made my own pesto for the first time and it turned out great!

3-4 slices No-Knead Focaccia Bread

Eggplant

Tomato, sliced

Red onion, thinly sliced

Mozzarella cheese, sliced

Spinach/Arugula mix

Pesto

Peel eggplant and slice. You can lay on a paper towel lines cookie sheet and season with salt for about 30 minutes to absorb the excess moisture.

Preheat your panini press. Spray a little cooking spray and sprinkle each slice of eggplant with salt and pepper and grill in the press. Repeat with remaining eggplant slices.

Assemble sandwiches: eggplant, greens, tomato, red onion, mozzarella cheese, and a spread pesto on the top piece of bread.

Grill in the press until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted.

Strawberry Icebox Cake

Original recipe found here. This is easy and so good. Terrible for you. But so so good.

2 pounds fresh strawberries,w ashed

3 1/4 cup whipping cream, divided

1/3 cup confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla

4 sleeves (about 19 ounces, or 24-28 whole crackers) graham crackers

2 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped

Take out a few of the best looking strawberries and set them aside for the garnish. Hull the remainder of the strawberries and slice each berry into thin slices.

With a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, whip 3 cups of cream until it just hold stiff peaks. Add the confectioners sugar, and vanilla and whip to combine.

Spread a small spoonful of whipped cream on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan, or similarly-sized platter. Lay down six graham crackers. Lightly cover the top of the graham crackers with more whipped cream, an then a single later of strawberries. Repeat three times, until you have four layers of graham crackers. Spread the last of the whipped cream over the top and swirl it lightly with a spoon. Add a few more strawberries.

To make the ganache, heat the cream until bubbles form around the edges, then pour over the chopped chocolate. Let it stand for a few minutes, then whisk until the mixture is thick and glossy. Drizzle over the layered dessert with a spoon or use a squeeze bottle.

Refrigerate for at least four hours, or until the crackers have softened completely. Garnish with additional berries.

Three Years Old

My little boy turned THREE on July 1st! Thanks to Pinterest I found the idea to list some of his favorite things on his 3 year picture.

I look forward to using it in his newest scrapbook that I'll be getting started on soon. I have to finish up last year's and order it first.

No-Knead Focaccia

I found this on Pinterest and it has to be one of the easiest and tastiest bread recipes I've found. And it is cheap to make. I love to use it to make turkey, avocado, and swiss paninis. Andrew loves to make caprese sandwiches cold on it - tomato, mozzarella, basil, and balsamic vinegar.

Keep in mind that you start this recipe the night before and bake it in the morning.

1 cup whole wheat flour

3 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp yeast

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 cups water

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

2 Tbsp corn meal

The night before, combine flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Stir until everything is combined and then stir in water. The result should be one sticky, shaggy lump of dough. If there is still dry flour in the bowl or everything isn’t sticking together, add a bit more water. Loosely cover and let sit overnight at room temperature (about 14 hours).

The next day the dough will be wet, fluffy, and maybe even bubbling. Use a spatula and scrape down the dough from the sides of the bowl and turn the dough over on itself.

Prepare a baking sheet with foil and non-stick spray and a generous sprinkling of cornmeal. Dust your hands with flour and sprinkle a little on top of the dough to keep it from sticking to your hands. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet. Stretch and pat the dough out into a large rectangle. You may need to dust your hands with flour throughout this process to keep the dough from sticking. It will be very wet and sticky.

Drizzle olive oil over the surface of the dough and use a soft brush to spread it evenly over the surface. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning (or any type of herbs) over top. Let the dough rise for another hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Using your fingers, press dimples into the risen dough. Bake the focaccia for 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven or until the surface is golden brown. After removing from the oven, transfer the focaccia to a wire rack to cool.