Week 42 Menu

Sunday: Pork chop with fiesta corn
Monday: BLTs
Tuesday: Sweet and Smoky Ribs in the slow cooker!
Wednesday: Pasta with eggplant ragout
Thursday: Sweet Potato Gnocchi (from freezer)
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Out

Birthday Party!

On Saturday, we had friends over and celebrated Shelby's second birthday! After her nap, I asked her if she wanted to wear a dress. "NO!" I pulled out her pink, frilly dress. "NO, NO,....YES!!!" She was so cute.



Jennifer and Elvin brought Alexis. Harry brought his parents. Plus, other friends of ours. We got a cake from Publix...and it looked exactly like the picture! A Cake Wreck it was not!

And, when it came time for us to present the cake to her. We all started singing Happy Birthday and Shelby got shy and hid. When we told her to blow out the candles and she wouldn't. So, I blew them out. Shelby got wide-eyed, pointed at the cake and said, "More!" So, we lit the candles again and she helped blow them out. She definitely liked to eat the cake! After this picture, she demanded a napkin.

Menu:
Burgers/hot dogs
Fruit (strawberries, raspberries, & pineapple)
Fruit dip
Pasta salad with carmelized onions, roasted red peppers and peas
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Homemade chips
Cake and ice cream

Minestrone Soup

One of the new recipes I tried during Freezer Cooking Octoberfest was Pioneer Woman's Minestrone Soup. I have to say it was pretty fantastic! The vegetables stayed pretty crisp. And, even though it was frozen, it tasted pretty fresh!

The best part was that Shelby liked it! She saw Mama & Daddy eating their soup and wanted her own. With her bowl and spoon, she picked out the onions, carrots, and white beans! The absolute BEST part was when Scott tried to teach her to slurp up the broth! She didn't quite get the concept between suck in and blow out. The following video should explain everything!





Roasted Vegetable Minestrone
from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients
■2 whole Zucchini, Halved, Cut Into Strips, Then Cubed
■2 whole Summer Squash, Halved, Cut Into Strips, Then Cubed
■8 ounces, weight White Mushrooms, Stems Removed And Quartered
■2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
■Kosher Salt To Taste
■2 Tablespoons (additional) Olive Oil
■2 whole Carrots, Washed And Sliced (not Peeled)
■1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
■3 stalks Celery, Sliced (leaves Included)
■8 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
■2 cans Cannelini Beans, Rinsed
■1 cup (heaping) Cut Green Beans, Fresh Or Frozen
■1-½ cup Medium Or Small Pasta Shells, Uncooked
■1 can (14.5) Diced Tomatoes With Juice
■Salt And Pepper, to taste
■¼ teaspoons Turmeric (optional)
■Parmesan Cheese, Shaved

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Toss cubed zucchini, squash, and mushrooms in a bowl with olive oil and a sprinkling of kosher salt. Arrange onto two sheet pans (to avoid crowding) and roast in the hot oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until brown and black parts begin to show. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add carrots, onions, and celery and stir to cook for 3 minutes. Pour in broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for ten minutes.

Add cannelini beans and green beans. Cook on low for five minutes. Add pasta and cook for an additional five minutes. Add canned tomatoes, stir, and cook for an additional five minutes on low heat. Check for seasonings, adding salt, pepper, and turmeric.

Add roasted vegetables at the very end. Stir and allow to simmer and heat for a few minutes before serving. Be sure to check seasoning! Add more broth if necessary to increase liquid amount.

Serve with Parmesan shavings and crusty Italian bread.

Week 41 Menu

Sunday: Leftovers from the birthday party!
Monday: More leftovers! (why is it that you ALWAYS make 2.5 times more food than you really need for a party?!)
Tuesday: Minestrone Soup and crusty bread
Wednesday: Stuffed Shells (from This Week for Dinner)
Thursday: Pancakes
Friday: Homemade pizza
Saturday: Out

Week 40 Menu

Sunday: Burgers on the grill with homemade buns
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Schezuan Chicken (from the freezer)
Wednesday: Pork tenderloin (from the freezer)
Thursday: Butternut squash risotto with leftover pork
Friday: Homemade pizza
Saturday: Shelby's birthday party!

Freezer Cooking - October

My freezer cooking extravaganza is going to take place next Thursday or Friday. I have a couple days off around Shelby's birthday. The princess is turning two, and we're making progress with getting her to eat what we're eating. The girl loves meat (red meat, chicken, ribs,...it doesn't matter). So, this month will have a larger focus on "hiding" veggies in yummy foods that will be acceptable to our expressive toddler.

I have been bookmarking recipes that I'm excited to try! It's an ambitious plan, but boy does it help having dinner just a quick thaw away!


Here's my plan!
- Wheat Pizza Dough x3 (from Smitten Kitchen)
- Hamburger Buns x2
- Stuffed Shells (from This Week for Dinner)
- Minestrone Soup (from Pioneer Woman)
- Green Meatballs
- Chicken Pot Pie (since it's getting to be decent weather again!)
- Sweet Potato Gnocchi (from Three many Cooks)

Where Did October Go?

It has been a crazy October! I've only had time to post menus!...not even review the new recipes we've tried! We've had a lot of good times this month Two sets of grandparents visited, Scott and I each had a week out of town for work in October, and culminated with Shelby's 2nd birthday party today (a blog post will certainly follow recounting it!).

When I was in St. Louis for a class, I got to pet a Clydesdale! Please note that the handler had to lower the horse's head so my friend could get both me and the horse in the same frame....not a proud moment for me. :)



I also had a fantastic view from my hotel room! This hotel is adjacent to the Cardinals' ballpark (I faced the river, as you can see). It was the last homestand of the season. The Cards shoot off fireworks after homeruns and victories. Judging from their season, they had a lot of fireworks leftover. Well, on our first night there, I was completely freaked out by random explosions outside my room! Once I realized what was going on, I was just annoyed that the fireworks continued until 11pm (long past my bedtime).

Week 39 Menu

Sunday: Chicken & roasted potatoes/onion/squash/zuchinni
Monday: Grilled cheeses
Tuesday: Spinach Enchiladas
Wednesday: Grilled flank steak & fiesta corn
Thursday: Obama Chili in the slow cooker with crusty bread
Friday - Saturday: Baba Lawrences in town for the weekend!

Week 38 Menu

Sunday: Grilling out with Grandpa & Grandma Benjamin
Monday: Grilled chicken with rice (carmelized onions and Craisins included)
Tuesday: Pasta with eggplant ragout
Wednesday: Slow cooker chili
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Homemade pizza
Saturday: Out