Tasty Water

Never thought you'd see this kind of a recipe, huh? Don't you get sick of drinking boring water, though? My mother-in-law made this and I love it! Here goes:

2 L water
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 t ginger, peeled and shredded
12 fresh mint leaves
1 lemon, peeled and sliced

add all ingredients to the water, chill 1 day and enjoy. It's supposed to be good for your digestive system (thanks to the ginger) and it's really pretty and tasty!

Fruit Pizza

My roommates birthday is Sunday and I was wondering if anyone has a fruit pizza recipe. I would love you forever! Thanks.

After Thanksgiving Menu

So, you might notice a slight theme to this week's menu.

Monday: Hawaiian Haystacks
Tuesday: Enchiladas, black beans and rice, salad
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Leftovers again (Derek's gone)
Friday: White Chili, salad
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: Taco Salad

Meagan's Menu Nov. 17-23

Monday: Nachos
Tuesday: Ham Casserole
Wednesday: Chicken Enchiladas
Thursday: Chicken Scallopini
Friday: Something Easy--Derek's gone till Sunday night
Saturday: Pizza for the Game
Sunday: Buckwheat Crepes with egg filling

Heidi's weekly menu...

I thought I'd make the rest of you feel great about yourselves and post my menu from this last week...
Sunday - I made chicken enchiladas
Monday - poptarts for breakfast, chicken enchiladas for lunch, chicken enchiladas for dinner
Tuesday - poptarts for breakfast, applesauce, cheese stick, pudding, animal crackers for lunch, chicken enchiladas for dinner
Wednesday - same as tuesday
Thursday - same as wednesday except for dinner I ate at the Cannon center and got my week's worth of variety in one meal. Believe me, all you can eat is a life saving invention.
Friday - I'm sure it will be the exact same as wednesday
Saturday - hopefully the chicken enchiladas are gone and I can move on to a new weekly meal. :D
haha... hopefully this makes you all smile :D I can't wait for James to get home if for nothing else than to help me eat the food that I've been eating for three days and still haven't finished. :D

Meagan's Menu Nov 10-16

Monday: Teriyaki Crockpot Chicken & Rice, Stirfry veggies
Tuesday: Tator-tot Casserole
Wednesday: Spinach Quiche & Applesauce
Thursday:Leftovers
Friday: Porcupine Meatballs & Rice, CA veggies
Saturday: Pizza for Lunch
Sunday: Breakfast

White Chocolate Chip Craisin Cookies

This is a recipe I got from... work... hehe... but of course, it called for like three pounds of flour, 1.75 pounds of butter, .7oz baking soda, etc. So, the other night I got a calculator and the internet and scaled the recipe down. I think I pretty much reinvented it because I'm pretty sure that some measurements are wrong, but I made them with these measurements and they turned out way good! Anyway, I feel like it's a healthy snack since it has craisins and nuts so I thought I'd share... And by the way, I don't actually like craisins very much but these are my favoritest cookies from work.

1 3/4 cups margarine
1 2/3 cups brown sugar
3 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 t baking soda
1.5 t salt
.5 t baking powder
1 T vanilla
5 cups flour
3.5 oz craisins
3.5 oz nuts (walnuts or pecans)
6-8 oz white chocolate chips

Cream first four ingredients
Add soda, powder, salt, vanilla, flour
Mix well
Add craisins, chips, and nuts
Bake at 350 until the top is lightly brown, then pull out and let sit on pan for a few minutes
Refrigerate leftover dough until needed.

Meagan's Menu Nov. 3-9

Wow, am I on top of things or what?

Monday: BBQ Chicken Pizza & Salad
Tuesday: Homemade Mac 'n Cheese, Cal. Veggies, Applesauce
Wednesday: Chicken Soup with Lentils & Barley, rolls
Thursday: Quiche, applesauce
Friday: Porcupine Meatballs & Rice, stirfry vegetables
Saturday: Pumpkin Soup & Pork Chops
Sunday: Leftovers

Stolen Post

Ok, I know I'm totally thieving, but check out these links for the dang cutest spooky recipes EVER!! This woman is in my ward, and is REALLY creative! Thought you'd enjoy it!

Christy's Spooky Menu
Christy's Spooky Menu 2

I loved these!

Chili recipie

Campbell soup chili. Yummm :) I don't have any good recipes for chili besides that. I do want the recipe for enchiladas though. Mom told me once but I don't remember what she said. I think one of my favorite dinners that are quick and easy to make would have to be Tater Tot Hot Dish. I love that stuff. I just made it two Sundays ago and I just finished the leftovers on Saturday. The recipe is. . . .

Brown 1 pound of Hamburger
1/2 onion chopped up
2 cans of Cream of mushroom soup

You will want to cook all of that together and then put that in the pan. On the top put a layer of tater tots on the top. Cook however the directions say on the Tater Tot bag.

Some good stir in ideas would be mash up some tater tots and put them in the rest of the hot dish or green beans. Green beans go so well with cream of mushroom soup.

Halloween Week Menu-Meagan

By the way...is anyone else eating out there?

Monday: Hamburgers, fried potatoes, steamed veggies
Tuesday: Grilled Ham & Cheese Sandwiches, salad
Wednesday: Turkey Sloppy Joes
Thursday: Chili & Corn Muffins
Friday: Leftover Chili & Muffins (Halloween you know)
Saturday: BBQ Chicken Pizza, salad
Sunday: Butternut Squash Soup

I've never tried Butternut Squash Soup, so I hope it is good. I want to try to eat more of the squashes (word?). They seem to be full of vitamins and such, so hopefully they taste good too!

Chili Recipes?

Hey. I need a chili recipe. It's been four years of throwing stuff in a pot, but I'm ready to try a recipe. Help me?

Dinner in a Pumpkin

Hey Mom I was wondering if you would post that amazing recipe you have for dinner in a pumpkin. It sounded like a very nice autumn dinner. Anyone else remember that dinner? I think it is one we won't ever forget. :)

M&M Cookies

1 1/3 C butter flavored shortening

1 C brown sugar

1 C white sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3 C flour

1 C Chocolate chips or M&M's

Cream shortening and sugar till fluffy. Add rest of ingredients. Drop by teaspoonfulls onto cookie sheet. Press three m&M's into the top of each cookie. Bake at 350 for 9 minutes or less. These are a great cookie to make with kids, since they can help put the M's on. My daughter got a kick out of it.

I'm Back & Menu (29th-5th)

Sorry, I was extraordinarily busy the last two weeks. This one looks like it will be a lot calmer. So, here we go.

Monday: Chicken Quesadillas & Broccoli

Tuesday: Shepherd's Pie

Wednesday: Banana Cake/Temple (take treat to babysitter)

Thursday: Clam Chowder

Friday: Sweet & Sour Pork, Rice

Saturday: Tinfoil Dinners & Salad

Sunday: Grilled Chicken, Barley Pilaf, Salad

I'll have to post recipes later. Happy Eating!

MENU for Jackie

So my menu is pretty crappy (not literally) but I eat on campus once a day and usually I either have pop tarts for breakfast or I have a bagel. Then I go through the whole day and eat something at work (snack) and then go home and eat. My schedule leaves no time to eat. Hopefully I'll get a lot of weight loss from this forced diet. haha, i wish i had time to go home and cook. I envy you people that can cook.

Spinach Lasagna

Spinach Lasagna

Here's a folate-rich recipe that makes getting your Bs a simple matter.

Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup sliced mushrooms
3 ounces
1/3-less-fat cream cheese (about 1/3 cup)
1 (12-ounce) container 1% low-fat cottage cheese
1/3 cup low-fat sour cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
12 cooked lasagna noodles
1 (27.5-ounce) jar low-fat chunky mushroom pasta sauce
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

*I added ½ pound hamburger to ours. It turned out really well. Preheat oven to 350°.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion and mushrooms; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Set aside.Beat the cream cheese at medium speed of a mixer until smooth; add the cottage cheese, sour cream, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, and eggs, beating well. Add the onion mixture and spinach, and beat well.Spread 1/2 cup of the spinach mixture in the bottom of a 13 x9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over the spinach mixture; top with 1 cup of spinach mixture, 3/4 cup of pasta sauce, 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, and 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese. Repeat the layers, ending with Parmesan cheese.Cover and bake at 350° for 50 minutes. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese; bake, uncovered, an additional 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.

I Can't Help It!

I made Spinach/Potato Soup, and it turned out so well! It's really rare that I make any pretty food, so I had to take pictures of this one. It was tasty, too! It's much more fun to do dinners now that it's on a pretty table instead of a card table! I finished the tablecloth and made placemats, so the card table looks much better now!

Shawna's Menu

So, I've only done this once before, but it worked out so well. I do two-week menus, so we only have to go shopping every two weeks. (I don't have a car on my own, and weekends are precious.) I'm not sure what days will be what meal, but here's the list:

Spinach & Potato Soup
Cashew Chicken
Taco Soup
Chicken and Wild Rice
Pasta w/meatballs
Ravioli (any good recipes?)
Tater-tot Casserole
Chef Salad
Kabobs
Beef Stroganoff
Hamburgers, Salad,
Chicken and Pasta Pesto

I figure if I throw in a few left-over nights, we'll be good for the next two weeks. Not as organized as I could be, but hey, I have a lot of time, so it's ok.

Meagan's Menu 8th-15th

So, I ended up not making tuna casserole on Saturday. Instead we had barbeque chicken pizza. Yum! I made two so it lasted 'till lunch on Monday. Hmm...maybe you don't really care. Anyway, here's my menu.

Monday: Macaroni & Cheese w/tuna, celery, spinach, and onions. (Interesting. I didn't think it was too bad, but I don't think I'll ever try to make Derek eat it.)
Tuesday: Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs, beans
Wednesday: Fettuccine with chicken, spinach, and orange sauce
Thursday: Lasagna, salad
Friday: Lasagna, salad
Saturday: Hamburgers, chips, salad
Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: Breakfast--eggs (red pepper, green pepper, mushrooms, bacon), potatoes, biscuits

Tuna Casserole?

Anyone have a recipe for tuna casserole? Mom??

Sesame Chicken

I got this recipe from Jenny, who got it from another food blog, Picky Palate. Anyway, here it is with her changes.

Closet Cooking's Sesame Chicken
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons pineapple juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons ginger (grated)
1 pound chicken (cut into bite sized pieces)
1 teaspoon peanut oil
4 servings cooked rice
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
green onions to garnish
Directions:
1. Mix the soy sauce, pineapple juice, honey, sugar, ginger and chicken in a ziplock bag and marinate in the fridge for about an hour.
2. Heat the oil in a pan.
3. Add the chicken and marinade to the pan and saute until the chicken is cooked and the sauce begins to thicken.
4. Serve on cooked rice and garnish with the sesame seeds and green onion.

I used fresh ginger for my first time ever and I think 2T. is too much for this recipe. I would put less in it since fresh ginger has such a strong flavor. And I used sesame oil instead of peanut oil. I also dipped the chicken (after taking it out of the marinade) in flour and fried it for a little bit in a little olive oil, then finished cooking it with some marinade to make a sauce.

Meagan's Menu 1st-7th

So, last week we were hardly home (see my blog) and so I have a lot of repeats.

Monday: Fajitas, Applesauce
Tuesday: Burritos (with quinoa, blackbeans,and hamburger), salad
Wednesday: Sesame Chicken, rice, stirfry veggies (broccoli, carrots, celery)
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: San Francisco Pork Chops, Rice, Salad
Saturday: Tuna Casserole
Sunday: Grilled Chicken Salad (or leftovers)

College Student Meals

Meagan gave me this idea but I absolutely fell in love with it. I made up an omelet mix and froze it. I put sausage, onions, celery, olives, and mushrooms into the mix. I made this on July 6th and I still have about half of it left. It works really well and after the hard work once you can eat it for months (if you live alone.) It is good and I eat it probably once a week if not more. Also, if you are lazy like me I just scramble my eggs in with the mix instead of the pretty omelet. I just put one egg in or two and I just eat it like scrambled eggs. It is way convenient.

Jackie's Menu for 8/31-9/6

Sunday: Ramen Noodle Stir Fry
Monday: Left over Green Chile
Tuesday: Left over hash-browns and eggs
Wednesday: Chicken of some sort (HELP I NEED CHICKEN RECIPES)
Thursday: Left over Green Chile
Friday: Sandwich
Saturday: Left over Stir Fry

Barleycorn Biscuits

This is one of my favorite recipes from Whole Grain Baking, my latest cooking obsession.

Barleycorn Biscuits
¾ cup barley flour
½ cup flour
¾ cup whole yellow cornmeal
1 tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
½ cup cold unsalted butter
1 large egg
¾ cup buttermilk
Melted butter for brushing tops

Preheat oven to 400.

Whisk flours, cut in butter. In a separate bowl whisk egg and buttermilk add all at once.

Unless you can find really fine whole cornmeal, I would allow the batter to sit for a while, maybe even overnight. Or, you can regrind the cornmeal, but that takes a while.

San Francisco Pork Chops

I got this recipe from Melinda. They are fantastic!
Heat a little oil in a frying pan (big enough to accommodate the amt. of pork chops you will be cooking). Brown each side of the pork chop (usually 4-5 pork chops for this recipe). Add 1 clove garlic to oil and pork chops and brown.
Then add the following sauce (mixed together):
2 TB oil
4 TB soy sauce
½ c. beef broth
4 TB Brown Sugar
¼ tsp. red pepper (or black pepper)
Cover and cook at a simmer for 30-35 minutes, flipping pork chops halfway through cooking time.Then you can take the pork chops out to add this next part, but I usually just leave them in and pour it around the chops.
Mix 4 tsp cornstarch to 2 TB water and add to sauce;stir till it thickens.
***This sauce recipe is for about 4-5 pork chops, so if you have more pork chops than that or want more sauce to pour over rice or something, I usually double the sauce recipe in this.

Meagan's Menu 25th-31st

25th Monday: Grilled Chicken & Macaroni
26th Tuesday: Barleycorn Muffins and Mexican Chicken & Beans
27th Wednesday: Burritos
28th Thursday: Sonoma Chicken Salad
29th Friday: San Fran Pork Chops, Rice
30th Saturday: Pizza
31st Sunday: Fajitas

Grandmary's Beef Salad

1 to 5 lbs beef (sliced very thin- any cut) Use as much as you want to make

Marinade
1/4 cup lime juice
1/3 cup Teriyaki sauce
1 clove of fresh minced garlic
2 T oil
1 T brown sugar
1 tsp pepper

Marinate overnight in zip-lock bag at room temperature. Knead in bag with marinade. Steam in marinade until tender and until marinade is nearly all gone. Drain slightly and chill.

Salad
1 cup cooked, drained and chilled shell macaroni
Lettuce torn into small pieces
Spinach stems removed
Frozen peas thawed and drained
1 red onion
Diced Cilantro to taste
Tomatoes cubed
Cucumber sliced paper thin
Bell pepper sliced paper thin
Artichoke hearts (the canned ones that are in brine)

The recipe can be added to for large groups, but plan for large servings. We use this for a main dish.

*I made this the other day and it was great. I did make a few changes. For example I served it with the meat warm (tossed it together right before serving). Also, please use the little shells. I improvised with rotini and I don't recommend it at all, especially since I overcooked it. Other than that, it was fantastic! Thanks Grandmary!

The Beginning

Hey there Family!
I thought that I would give the "Sweet Seven" title a chance to be fun again. We've talked about doing this for a while, so I am getting the ball rolling. This is a recipe and menu blog to help share ideas for dinner! I will start by posting my menu for the week and perhaps a few recipes. Help me out! Give me some of your recipes and menu ideas.