Falafel

I don't know what made me decide to try to make falafel but I'm glad I did. I really like falafel and this turned out well.

I know falafel isn't really a Greek food but I always had it at this Greek place in San Diego. So, there's my segue to make a plug for Mamma Mia! (it's set in Greece) Go see this movie! I know a lot of people who have loved the musical. I haven't seen the musical but the movie was great. I saw the movie last night and I've had the music stuck in my head all day and I want to go see it again! You will laugh so much and have so much fun. The music is great, the plot is fun, the cast is excellent.

Okay, back to food. For the falafel I used this recipe, to which I made a few changes. I doubled most of the ingredients but just used one onion. I microwaved the beans for a few minutes and they were then quite easy to fork mash. I didn't have fresh parsley so I used a couple of Tablespoons of dried. I didn't have coriander either. I used baking soda instead of baking powder. Instead of putting all the bread crumbs into the mixture, I mixed in half and set the other half aside. I formed the balls, flattened them into patties, then dipped them into the bread crumbs. This worked really well. I don't think the mixture would have been moist enough if I had mixed in the entire amount of breadcrumbs. Also, dipping the patties in breadcrumbs gave them a great crust when I fried them in a little bit of olive oil. I put the patties in warmed pita bread, topped them with tomatoes, and a dcucumber yogurt sauce:

8 oz Greek (Mamma Mia! is set on a Greek island!) style yogurt (plain)

1/2 cucumber, chopped

1 t dill

1 t salt

Process all ingredients in a food processor.

Steak Sandwiches

Thin cut beef bottom round steaks were on sale a couple of weeks ago and I decided to use them for steak sandwiches. I pounded the steaks even thinner and cut them into strips. The sandwiches turned out really well. I grilled some onions for my sandwich, and that addition was fabulous! I love steak sandwiches. I need to plan a trip to Philadelphia so I can get a real one!

Quick Steak Sandwiches

1 pound thinly cut steak, sliced into strips

Marinade:

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

1/2 t paprika

1/2 t chili powder

1/2 t onion powder

1/4 t dry mustard

1/4 c Wocestershire sauce

4 steak rolls

Provolone Cheese

Grilled onions

Sliced tomatoes

Lettuce

Mayo

Mix all ingredients for marinade and pour over steak strips. Marinate at least 30 minutes. Add steak and extra marinade to hot skillet and saute until completely cooked. Pile steak into rolls and add desired toppings.

This Week's Menu

Monday 7/28:
* Italian Baked Pastina
* Steamed Broccoli

Tuesday 7/29:
* Steak Sandwiches
* Spinach Salad

Wednesday 7/30:
* Falafel Pitas
* Cucumber Sauce

Thursday 7/31:
* Chicken Parmesan
* Pasta
* Caesar Salad

Friday 8/1:
* Slippery Shrimp
* Steamed Broccoli
* Rice

Saturday 8/2:
* Rice & Beans
* Sliced Avocado

Sunday:
* Tilapia
* Zucchini Ribbon Pasta

Strawberry Pie

I thought I'd take advantage of strawberry season and make a strawberry pie. I stumbled across this recipe for strawberry pie and was sold on the idea of a shortbread crust but I didn't want to make a filling requiring gelatin. So, I tried this recipe for the filling. As I was reading the reviews on the filling recipe, I read something about spreading melted chocolate on strawberry pie crusts so they don't get soggy. Strawberries, chocolate, and a cookie crust? That seemed like a fantastic idea to me. I doubled the crust recipe and I was glad I did. It was difficult for me to even cover the pan with the doubled amount. I baked it and then spread on melted chocolate. I followed the filling recipe exactly and it turned out okay. It just seemed too jammy for me. I think this is a preference thing. If you like a jammy strawberry pie, the recipe seems great. Maybe I should try one with gelatin next time. Don't think I didn't eat the pie, though. I couldn't get enought of that crust! The chocolate makes the pie really rich and I think it might be too rich an addition for a lot of people, but I loved it. The combination of the cookie crust and the melted chocolate . . .my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Lasagna

I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of this lasagna because it always looks (and tastes) delicious. And, it's easy! I haven't been as on top of my blog lately because during all my recent spare time I've been reading The Host (thanks Carley!) by Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight saga. The book is really good, not as good as Twilight, but it's an easy read and extremely gripping. I haven't been able to put it down the last few days. I finally finished it today so here I am on my blog! Here is an easy version of meat lasagna that I always love.

Easy Meat Lasagna

1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
1/4 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-oz can Marinara sauce (Trader Joe's canned Marinara is excellent)
1 tsp dried basil
1 box no-boil lasagna noodles (12 noodles)
1 lb small curd, low-fat cottage cheese
1 egg
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cups mozarella cheese

Brown turkey, adding onion and garlic after a couple of minutes of cooking time. Drain grease. Add Marinara sauce and basil to turkey. Stir and let simmer about 5 minutes. Combine cottage cheese, egg, and parmesan cheese. Grease a 9x13 pan. Layer:

Sauce
4 Noodles
Cottage Cheese
Sauce
Mozarella Cheese
4 Noodles
Cottage Cheese
Sauce
Mozarella Cheese
4 Noodles
Cottage Cheese
Sauce
Mozarella Cheese

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

This Week's Menu

Monday 7/21:
* Chicken, Rice, Tomato Dish

Tuesday 7/22:
* Grilled Vegetable Quesadillas
* Guacamole

Wednesday 7/23:
* Lasagna
* Caesar Salad
* Garlic Bread

Thursday 7/24:
* Black Beans & Rice
* Sliced Avocado

Friday 7/25:
* Chicken Enchiladas
* Spinach Salad

Saturday 7/26:
* Beef Fajitas

Sunday 7/27:
* Tilapia
* Steamed Broccoli
* Boiled Potatoes

Tilapia with Balsamic Browned Butter and Creamy Farfalle

I saw an episode of 30-minute meals (I love that it's on when Jack is taking his nap) where Rachael Ray made this meal. It looked really good and I gave it a try. The tilapia turned out great and was so easy. I burned the balsamic sauce, I think my pan was too hot when I added the butter, but I don't think the fish needed anything at all. The pasta was pretty good. I used San Marzano tomatoes but I'm not sure that they were worth the extra money. I thought using the mascarpone cheese to make the sauce creamy was a great idea and it seemed to help the sauce a lot. Trying this recipe has induced me to try tilapia more often.

This Week's Menu

Monday 7/14:
* Mexican Lasagna
* Spinach Salad

Tuesday 7/15:
* Tilapia with Balsamic Browned Butter
* Creamy Farfalle with Bacon and Peas

Wednesday 7/16:
* Rice and Beans
* Sliced Avocado

Thursday 7/17:
* Grilled Chicken and Ratatouille

Friday 7/18:
* Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Saturday 7/19:
* Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches

Sunday 7/20:
* Slippery Shrimp

Stuffed Shells with Arrabbiata Sauce

This recipe is great. It's easy and delicious. I used bacon instead of pancetta and didn't have mint to use in the cheese. I also used low fat ricotta. The bacon, garlic, and red pepper really adds a lot of flavor to the marinara. This was a great meal!

Chicken Tostadas

I was inspired by this recipe to try making chicken tostadas. I followed the recipe's instructions for frying the tortillas and they were so good. I made my own topping. The tostadas turned out so well. We had them again the next day. Here's what I used:

6 corn tortillas

1/2 cup oil

1 can refried beans

3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1/2 cup salsa

shredded spinach

corn

chopped tomatoes
chopped avocado

shredded cheese

Fry tortillas, about 30 seconds per side in hot oil, and drain on paper towel. Heat refried beans. Mix salsa and chicken together and heat. Spread refried beans on tortillas. Add chicken then top with spinach, corn, tomatoes, avocado, and cheese.

Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

This is a pretty good pasta casserole. I doubled the recipe and added one sliced zucchini but it would have been better with two. The parmesan bread crumb topping is good. Jack loved this dinner. He had so much fun picking up the curly pasta.

Roman Style Chicken

This recipe is so good! I used four boneless skinless chicken breasts, and bacon instead of prociutto. This meal was a great new way to make chicken.

This Week's Menu

Monday 7/7:
* Turkey Sloppy Joes
* Steamed Broccoli

Tuesday 7/8:
* Mozarella Chicken Sandwiches
* Spinach salad

Wednesday 7/9:
* Roman Style Chicken
* Boiled Potatoes

Thursday 7/10:
* Italian Baked Chicken & Pastina
* Salad

Friday 7/11:
* Chicken Tostadas

Saturday 7/12:
* Chicken Club Wraps

Sunday 7/13:
* Stuffed Shells with Arrabbiata Sauce
* Spinach Salad
* Garlic Bread

Chicken Enchiladas from Real Simple

I found this recipe while I was browsing the July issue of Real Simple and I though it would be a good alternative to the chicken enchiladas I normally make. I grilled a lot of chicken earlier in the week and used 4 shredded chicken breasts for the filling. I used half of a can of corn, chopped vidalia onion instead of red onion, flour tortillas instead of corn, and a can of green enchilada sauce instead of making the green salsa. I made the enchiladas earlier in the day and when they were ready to be baked, poured the sauce over and cooked them for 20 minutes at 400. I really liked the filling for these enchiladas especially since it incorporates a couple of vegetables. It was a little more time consuming than my regular enchiladas but still easy.

Chicken Club Wraps

I found delicious looking spinach and garlic pesto tortillas at Wegmans (Thank you to Taryn for giving me the tour of this awesome grocery store!) and I had to find some way to use them. After Andrea introduced me to Brianna's Rich Poppy Seed Dressing (thanks Andrea! It is now my favorite salad dressing), I decided I absolutely needed to use them together. I loved this dinner. Here's what I used:

4, 10" Spinach & Garlic Pesto Tortillas
4 chicken breasts, grilled and chopped
1 heart romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
Brianna's Rich Poppy Seed Dressing
1 avocado, sliced
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Shredded cheddar cheese

Combine chicken, lettuce, and tomatoes in large bowl and toss with enough dressing to generously coat. Split salad between four tortillas. Top with avocado, bacon and cheese. Roll wraps and enjoy!

Grilled Salmon

Well, this dinner turned into grilled chicken. I was going to use this recipe to make salmon last night but the seafood department at the grocery store was out of the salmon filets that were on sale. I thought the marinade sounded really good, though, so I made it and marinated four chicken breasts and then grilled them on the grill pan. It was tasty on chicken but I bet it's even better on salmon. I served the chicken with garlic bread and spinach salad.

Fry Bread Tacos

The food court at BYU had a place that served these. They were always so good. I was thinking about them the other day and decided I'd give them a try. I used this recipe for the fry bread and then just made my regular taco filling (ground turkey, can of black beans, packet of taco seasoning). I doubled the recipe for the fry bread. The dough was so sticky and I added about another cup of flour. But, since I added it a little at a time and was mixing it with my hands, I over-kneaded the dough and it became a little tough. Still, though, the fry bread was really good. I followed advice of other reviewers and put a hole in the middle. So next time I will add extra flour up front and let my mixer knead the dough. These make for a delicious taco. We ate the extras with honey and powdered sugar. Yum!

Click here for a better recipe for the fry bread.