Week 119 Menu

Sunday: Birthday dinner for my dad - pork chops, baked apples, green bean fries, salad, and chocolate cake!
Monday: Yorkshire pudding with cranberry sauce
Tuesday: Dry BBQ rub chicken thighs in slow cooker with oven-baked pearl onion poppers (experiment!)
Wednesday: Dinner at church
Thursday: Chicken thigh with cranberry sauce and roasted broccoli
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: Out

Green Bean Fries

Ahhh. The spring growing season is in full force here in Florida! I have learned to eat a lot of Florida's locally-grown fare: greens, kale, brussel sprouts,..yum!! We also get giant bags of green beans. The beans are huge and fantastic, but there's only so many boiled green beans a family can eat!

Cue the green bean fry! Truly you can make a "fry" out of any vegetable, but the shape of the green bean lends itself perfectly to a fry! I've made tempura-battered green beans before, but it's messy, oily, and tedious to fry them in small batches (but also quite yummy!). So, instead, let's try oven-baked fries. And, people, I believe we have a winner!!! I made them this weekend and they were so good that they were requested again for later that week! I believe we will be eating a lot of these guys this summer!


Green Bean Fries


1/2 lb green beans, washed and trimmed
1 c breadcrumbs
1/2 c flour
2 eggs
2 T water

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Set up a breading station: flour in one bowl, eggs and water in another, and breadcrumbs in a Ziploc bag.
3. Cover beans in flour (shake off excess). Roll in egg wash, then toss in the breadcrumb bag. Shake up bag to coat beans.
4. Lay out fries on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.

Serve hot with any choice of dipping sauces.

Week 118 Menu

Sunday: Pasta with  butter and green bean fries
Monday: Lasagna roll-ups from the freezer and roasted potatoes/onions
Tuesday: Roasted acorn squash with cinnamon apples and couscous
Wednesday: Dinner at church
Thursday: Vegetable soup and rustic white bread
Friday: Enchiladas (chicken for them, vegan for me)
Saturday: Out.

Week 117 Menu

Sunday: Chicken/tofu Pad Thai
Monday: Individual homemade pizzas with a variety of toppings and jicama slaw (inspired by the Cantina Laredo side I had on Saturday)
Tuesday: Baked Polenta Pie (Two Peas) with oven fries (featuring Peter Wilcox potatoes from the CSA!)
Wednesday: Dinner at church
Thursday: Husband at work dinner; for the girls - Smashed Chickpea and Avocado salad in a bread bowl (my spin on Two Peas' recipe) and roasted carrots from CSA
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Out

Week 116 Menu

Sunday: Pasta, meatballs and Braised celery
Monday: Engine 2 vegetable lasagna from freezer
Tuesday: Beef soup from freezer with Rustic white bread (goodLife Eats) and Vegan green bean casserole
Wednesday: Dinner at church
Thursday: Chicken Pot Pie (maybe extras for the freezer??) with stuffed baked potatoes
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Out? Friends over?

Lunch/Snacks/Extras:
   - Sweet and salty roasted chickpeas
   - Roasted butternut squash, kale, tomatoes (all with mustard vinaigrette) for salads and wraps
   - English muffins...big hit last week!

Cadbury Creme Eggs

What says Easter better than a Cadbury Creme Egg? And, seriously, how long will they continue to show the same Cadbury Chicken audition commercial from the '90s? It is pretty funny, though.

You know I love me some Pinterest - mostly just to kill some time. But, every once in a while, you see something you simply must make. And,  homemade Cadbury Creme Eggs fall in that category. Creme Eggs are Scott's favorite Easter candy. So, of course, I had to give them a shot!

I get a little nervous with candy/dessert recipes. I much prefer to cook something more on the savory side. But, this recipe is very easy to get great results just like the real thing! The taste is pretty spot-on.

Notes:
- I first made a small batch. The source recipe calls to dip the eggs in chocolate twice. But, Scott said it was too much chocolate.....did you hear me? Too much chocolate??!! Can there be such a thing? They were quite tasty, but there was a lot more chocolate than the Cadbury originals (but incredibly yummy!!). My second attempt I only dipped them once, and it tasted a bit more authentic.
- If you are hand-shaping the eggs, the shape won't be completely egg-shaped like the Cadbury originals, but who the heck cares??!! You have a tray of Cadbury Creme Eggs!!!
- I only had dark corn syrup on hand. The "egg whites" were a bit off-white, but the taste was still great.
- After rolling out 8 eggs, the bowls of dough (for lack of a better word) started to get soft. So, every 8 eggs, I popped the tray of formed eggs and dough back into the fridge to firm up.
- The vanilla was a bit overpowering, so I decreased the amount.

Cadbury Creme Eggs

from A Way to His Heart


1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups powdered sugar
4 drops yellow food coloring
2 drops red food coloring
8 oz. milk chocolate chips
1.5 Tbsp shortening

1. Combine the corn syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. Beat well with an electric mixer. Add sugar, one cup at a time, mixing by hand after each addition. 
2. Remove about 1/3 of the mix and place in a small bowl. Add yellow and red food coloring and stir. Cover both mixes and refrigerate at least 2 hours. 
3. When mixes are firm, roll a small ball from the orange filling and wrap around it a portion of the white filling that is twice that size. Form into the shape of an egg and place onto a cookie sheet that has been brushed with shortening. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. 
4. Combine chocolate chips with shortening in glass bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Then stir and microwave for another minute. 
5. Use a fork to dip each center into the chocolate. Place candy onto wax paper to dry. Refrigerate until chocolate is set.
6. If all the eggs haven't been devoured immediately, store in fridge until ready to eat.

Makes about 26 1.5 inch eggs.

Week 115 Menu

Looks like I'm not doing a lot of cooking this week. I feel kind of bad, but we have great friends and I will take the help while it's offered!

Sunday: Steaks on the grill, homemade rolls, roasted brussel sprouts, pumpkin pie (so not an "Easter dessert," but a family favorite!)
Monday: Friend bringing over Garlic Parmesan Chicken!
Tuesday: Another friend bringing Chicken Artichoke Pasta Bake!
Wednesday: Dinner at church
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Probably more leftovers!
Saturday: Chicken & Dumplings, biscuits and green beans from a friend

Since I'm home for lunch during maternity leave, I'm trying to have some healthy options around the house. So, I'm making (or have already made this weekend):
- Black bean hummus with various crudite
- Rustic white bread
- English muffins
- Roasted butternut squash, roasted cherry tomatoes & sautéed swiss chard for wraps