Soup and Fruity Salad

Hubby has been good to me this week! I got TWO gourmet meals this night!!

Halloumi Cheese with Cucumber Lentil Salad

My new favorite cheese. Oh my...

California Taco Salad

I thought this was really good. We didn't have salsa to put on top though. I used some Louisiana hot sauce, but it really needed some true Mexican salsa. Otherwise, I loved the mango, black olives, ground beef, and avocados mixed together with the lettuce, cheese, black beans and vinaigrette dressing. Writing all this, I don't think we'll make this again. It wasn't a big hit with hubby. He may change his mind with some real salsa on top though.

Pasta Salad and Mashed Potatoes

This pasta salad was pretty easy. It would be a nice picnic or potluck meal... although it is better when it's warm! I love mashed potatoes- especially with a little sour cream and milk (and melted butter). This was taken from the Six O'Clock Scramble, although we used an orange bell pepper in lieu of the carrots:

This light and colorful pasta is perfect for welcoming spring. Serve it with a spinach salad with strawberries and slivered almonds.

• 16 oz. campanelle noodles, (which means bellflowers)
• 16 oz. broccoli florets, fresh or frozen
• 2 carrots, sliced (about 1 cup)
• 2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• 2 Tbsp. milk, any variety
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper

In a large pot, cook the pasta according to the package directions until it is al dente.

Meanwhile, in a separate medium stockpot, steam the broccoli and carrots in simmering water, covered, for about 5 minutes until they are tender but not mushy. (While the vegetables are cooking, prepare the salad.) Drain the vegetables, retaining 1/2 cup of their cooking water.

Drain the pasta and return it to the pot over medium-low heat. Add the butter, milk, cheeses, basil, salt and pepper and stir it thoroughly until the cheeses melt. If the sauce is too thick, stir in the reserved cooking water. Toss in the vegetables and serve it hot.

I think the mashed potatoes we made added a nice touch... as the boys loved them!

Honey Glazed Sockeye Salmon, Asparagus, and Salad

This was a hit with the whole family. The boys kept eating the salmon and asparagus. Great kids! I marinated the salmon in honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, fresh grated ginger, and pepper. I made a spicy mustard sauce to go on top. Hubby grilled the asparagus just right... with the stems over the hottest part of the flame and the tips not so much--- perfection.

Tuesday's Amazing Zucchini Pie

Pan Seared Salmon with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Salad

I so wish I had taken a picture of this beautiful meal. I mashed up the garlicy potatoes while dad pan seared the salmon. He made his super yummy shallot salad dressing with oil, vinegar, and mustard as well.

Spinach/Cheese Stuffed Shells Saturday

My mom made some yummy stuff shells from scratch. She didn't have a recipe so she made it up as went along. They were amazing!! The good thing is she made way too many and we'll have them for dinner and lunch a few more times this week! We also had some fruit and a yummy salad. Oh- and we didn't forget the wine either!!

Zucchini Ramen Salad Wednesday

Lunch of yogurt, hot dogs, mandarin oranges, pita chips, nutritional supplements (Juice Plus+). Hope Chaz likes it! Seems a little too sweet to me!! No wonder why he asks me to pack it for him every day!!

Dinner was quite different, but it wasn't all that bad. I almost felt like the veggies should have been cooked, but they were still fine raw. The basil added a nice touch to it, and the vinegar taste was different!! Cheap meal though!!

Peruvian Sopa a la Minuta Wednesday

We're going to a friend's house for dinner tonight and I'm bringing this soup and a salad:

Peruvian Sopa a la Minuta

It tastes pretty yummy--- although I had to add a couple more cups of water and some salt to season it (otherwise it was too bland). I've also sliced some jalapenos and have found that these really add a great flavor to the soup!!

I still need to make the salad, but most likely, it will just be lettuce, almonds, and oil/vinegar dressing.

Update from dinner- everyone loved the soup... 1 year old, 3 year old, 5 year old, and 4 30-something year olds! :)

Zucchini Pie and Spinach Wednesday

This Amazing Zucchini Pie is always a fave at our house... and I finally got a picture of it!! I also made a spinach salad with grapes, almonds, Parmesan cheese, and homemade vinaigrette dressing. Even the little ones thought it was a hit!! Yay!!

Caramelized Ginger Salmon, Salad and Couscous Sunday

Wow! This could have been served at a 5 star restaurant (well, maybe 3 or 4 star) and had a lot of happy customers. We loved this meal and will definitely do the caramelized ginger salmon again!!

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 Tbsp. lemon pepper seasoning
1 Tbsp. fresh grated or minced ginger root
4 green onions/scallions or 8 chives, chopped
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 lbs. (or use up to 2 lbs. for 6 servings) salmon fillet, preferably wild salmon

In a large measuring cup, stir together the soy sauce and the remaining ingredients except for the
salmon. Pour the mixture in a large flat dish with sides, and add the salmon, flesh down. Marinate the
salmon for at least 30 minutes and up to 12 hours.

Preheat the grill to medium heat; about 350 degrees on a gas grill (Or, cook the salmon in the oven at
350 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes). (Meanwhile, prepare the rice.) Bend up the edges of a sheet of
heavy duty foil that is slightly larger than the fillet. Put the foil on the grill, and put the salmon on top of
the foil, spooning the extra marinade evenly on top of the fish. Close the grill, and cook it over indirect
heat for about 20 – 25 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish and your grill’s heat), until the
fish is cooked through in the thickest part—do not flip it.

Seafood Pasta Salad Saturday

My friend Grace sent me this recipe (she actually found it in an old Betty Crocker cook book). This was so yummy and super easy to make. Unfortunately, Chaz didn't like the water chestnuts and was afraid to keep eating the pasta part.. but he did pretty good. Cooper slept through dinner again. Dad and I loved it!! The ginger in it is really nice.

5 oz. box of Q&Q vermicelli
2 grilled chicken breast cubed (or you could use a 8 0z. pack of fake crab meat if you want)
8 oz. can of sliced water chestnuts
1/4 cup of course chopped cilantro
2 medium carrots grated
1 cup of peeled and course chopped cucumber
Ginger Dressing ( below)

Cook vermicelli as directed on package, drain and rinse with cold water. Toss vermicelli, fake crab, water chestnuts, cilantro, carrots and cucumber with Ginger Dressing. Spoon onto a bed of lettuce if you want.

Ginger Dressing (so easy and you can make it ahead too)
1/3 cup mayo
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 T of soy sauce
1 t of sugar
1/2 t ground ginger
Dash of red pepper sauce, hot chili oil or hot sesame oil

Spicy English 7 Layer Salad Friday

Tonight is 4th Friday, so dinner must be ready and eaten so we can go play in the bounce house down the street--- thanks Kenny Dourham's backyard!!

So, we're trying this little number tonight. It's chilling in the fridge now:

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups small seashell pasta
* 4 carrots, peeled and julienned
* 1/2 head leaf lettuce - rinsed, dried, and chopped
* 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
* 3/4 cup frozen green peas
* 1/2 cup frozen whole-kernel corn
* 2 cups mayonnaise (I used one mayo and one plain yogurt)
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar (only had organic sugar cane)
* 1 tablespoon curry powder
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
* 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Tuna Steak with Corn and Salad Tuesday

We marinated the tuna steak and cooked it like this:

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 (4 ounce) tuna steaks

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large non-reactive dish, mix together the orange juice, soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, oregano, and pepper. Place the tuna steaks in the marinade and turn to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat grill for high heat.
3. Lightly oil grill grate. Cook the tuna steaks for 5 to 6 minutes, then turn and baste with the marinade. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, or to desired doneness. Discard any remaining marinade.

We also made an oil and vinegar dressing for a mixed green salad with sesame sticks, walnuts, dried cranberries, and arugula. The corn on the cob was for dessert!

The boys had dinner earlier- scrambled eggs with cheese, carrot sticks, and lots of pretzely and cookie-type snacks.

Honey Mustard Grilled Trout, Salad, and Pasta Tuesday

The boys couldn't wait for the grilled food to be done (like always) and they needed to get to bed before midnight, so I served them up some Orzo with tuna, pesto, and basil as well as some edamame with salt. The boys loved it.


For the grilled trout, we made an awesome honey mustard sauce:

• 1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Then put sliced onions on the grill, topped them with the trout, cooked a bit, then added the sauce, and cooked a bit more. The onions helped the fish not stick to the grill... I'm not sure if it gave the fish any taste or not because our trout had a thick skin.

We served this with a strawberry and avocado romaine salad with spicy French dressing. It was quite a yummy combo! Chaz thought the fish was too spicy. Next time we make it, I may lay off on the cayenne a little... just for the boys. And I'll definitely save half of the sauce for dipping later too... it was that good!!

Tuna Steak and Salsa with salad and potatoes Monday

We're grilling up some tuna steaks with a salsa to go on top- shredded carrots, chopped mango, chives, lime, cumin, and S&P. We'll grill some potatoes and also eat a salad.

The salad turned out awesome!! I added some spicy French dressing, capers, pine nuts, and cracked Ritz Crackers on top. So good with romaine lettuce!! The tuna turned out great too... I'll have to remember that one for sure! It was so easy too!!

Bison and Pineapple Kebabs, Mixed Salad Friday

The boys couldn't wait as long as it took to grill the food, so they started with PBJ, banana slices, and green beans.

We had Thunderheart Bison Rib Eye steak kebabs and pineapple (Chaz ate it up!) and also a mixed green salad with avocados, pine nuts, baby squash, and homemade vinaigrette dressing (balsamic vinegar, olive oil, S&P, spicy mustard, and a bit of honey). I had prepared potatoes with olive oil and butter, but we forgot to throw them on the fire!!

Broiled Squash Pasta with Cheese and Salad Tuesday

For lunch, we had two on-the-go lunch boxes ready for both boys. Mine was a Caesar salad turkey sandwich with cheese and a hard boiled egg. This is what the boys' looked like:



For dinner, I cooked up some broiled squash pasta with cheese and made a salad with avocado and vinaigrette dressing. I thought it turned out quite nice (even if dad was really late home from work- he's still not here actually! We'll see if he likes it!!). The boys ate some cauliflower too (and then a lot of it ended up on the floor after a fit of rage).



Oh- and I almost forgot about the banana pudding with real banana slices for dessert! Yum! Chaz gobbled it down!! Cooper didn't like it... he preferred a plain banana.

Grilled Salmon with Curried Peach Sauce Monday

Today for lunch we had mac and cheese (colby jack and parm with butter) and beef/cheddar sausages. The kids LOVED this meal---especially the sausage.

For dinner, we're having grilled salmon with curried peach sauce, grilled asparagus, and Caesar salad. Yummers. You can see it here in preparation:



The sauce calls for these ingredients sauteed for about 10 minutes until the peaches are soft:

• 2 fresh peaches, peeled and diced
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• salt and pepper to taste