September Recipes

Here's a listing of the recipes from September, in alphabetical order.

Baked Ham

Fully Cooked (Ready-to-Eat or -Serve) Bone-In Ham
As there are many types of ham available, be sure to check the label to ensure you've selected a fully cooked variety.

REMOVE rind (if necessary) and score. Place in a shallow foil-lined roasting pan.

SCORING
Scoring a ham allows basting sauce or glaze to penetrate the meat, adding flavor. Use a paring knife to make shallow, even slits diagonally across the top of the ham in one direction, then repeat making slits in opposite direction to form diamond shapes. After scoring, insert cloves where the cuts meet.

INSERT ovenproof meat thermometer in thickest part of ham without touching the bone and bake at 325°F for 15-20 min./lb. of ham or until thermometer registers 140°F. Remove from oven. Allow ham to stand 10-15 min. Standing allows juices to settle before carving.
GLAZE with your favorite glaze recipe during the last half hour of cooking. Glaze a ham during the last 30 minutes of its cooking time. This allows the flavor to penetrate the ham without burning the glaze, which usually contains some form of sugar. Before glazing, garnish with pineapple slices or maraschino cherries, if desired. Be sure to discard any leftover glaze used to baste.
CARVING
To carve the shank or butt half, cut along the length of bone across to end of ham, using a fork to hold ham as you cut. Cut downwards through top half of roast to make slices. Repeat with remaining roast.

Orange-Pineapple Dijon Sauce for Ham

Makes: 3/4 cup sauce for basting and about 6 (2-Tbsp.) servings of sauce for serving with sliced ham
1 can (8 oz.) pineapple slices, un-drained
1 cup orange marmalade
2 Tbsp. GREY POUPON Dijon Mustard

DRAIN pineapple, reserving liquid. Mix reserved pineapple liquid, marmalade and mustard until well blended. Reserve 3/4 cup of the mustard mixture to brush on a ham during the last 30 minutes of baking time.
POUR remaining 3/4 cup mustard mixture into small saucepan; cook on medium heat until heated through, stirring occasionally. Serve over ham slices. Use pineapple slices to decorate ham before baking or serve pineapple slices with sliced baked ham.


Cranberry-Pineapple Sauce for Ham

Makes: 1 cup sauce for basting plus about 11 (2-Tbsp.) servings of sauce for serving with sliced ham

1 can (16 oz.) whole berry cranberry sauce
1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, un-drained
2 Tbsp. GREY POUPON Dijon Mustard

Place all ingredients in blender or food processor container; cover. Blend until smooth. Reserve 1 cup of the cranberry mixture to brush onto a ham during the last 30 minutes of baking time.
Cook remaining 1-1/3 cups cranberry mixture in small saucepan on medium heat until heated through, stirring occasionally. Serve over sliced ham.

** My Note - I use a simple glaze of brown sugar, balsamic vinegar & a little water. I don't measure - sorry. Just use about a cup of br0wn sugar, add balsamic vinegar to a thick paste, then add enough water to make it just spreadable. It's the best out of any I've tired. I don't put cloves in the scoring - my kids don't like the flavor it creates. My sister, Liesa has a good mustard cream recipe for ham, I'll get it from here and add it here later.

Black Bean Burrito Bake

1 (7oz) can chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
½ cup reduced fat sour cream
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed, drained & divided
1 cup whole-kernel corn, thawed
4 (8”) flour tortillas

1 cup bottled salsa
½ cup Monterey jack cheese

• Pre-heat oven to 350.
• Remove 1 chilli from can. Chop finely. (save rest for another use)
• Combine sour cream and chilli in medium bowl, and let sit for 10 minutes.
• Place ½ the beans in a food processor; process until finely chopped.
• Add chopped beans, remaining beans and corn to sour cream mixture.
• Spoon ½ cup bean mixture down the center of each tortilla, roll and place seam down in baking dish.
• Spread salsa over tortillas & sprinkle with cheese.
• Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Serve with yellow rice.
• Serves 4.

** My Note - I do not want to wash the food processor for 1/2 a can of beans! I just use 1 bowl. I smash 1/2 the black beans with a potato masher, then add all the other stuff into that same bowl. I don't add the salsa before baking. When we serve them, I serve them over a bed of shredded romaine lettuce, then we add salsa as desired. I use 7" whole wheat tortillas.

Chicken Curry Salad

3 cups cooked chicken breast
1 1/2 cups grapes , cut in halves
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained
2 Tablespoons grated onion
1 can water chestnuts, chopped (I left these out)
1/2 cup silvered almonds

Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon curry powder

Refrigerate overnight (not really necessary.)

** My Note - This is one I discovered this spring, and a new favorite for us. I serve it on soft whole wheat rolls, with a green salad as a side.

Deanna's Peach/Apple Betty

Ingredients:
4 cups Pared tart apples or 2 1/2 cups sliced and drained apples or peaches.
1/4 cup orange juice
1 cup Sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
Dash of Salt
1/2 cup butter
2 Tbl. Corn Starch

Instructions:
Combine apples or peaches in a large bowl and sprinkle with orange juice and 2 Tbl. or cornstarch for thickening.

Topping--
Combine sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.
Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.
Then Scatter mixture over apples or peaches.
Use a 6x12 pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 min. or until apples/peaches are done and topping is crisp.

Serve warm with cream or ice cream
Make 6 servings.

** My Note - This was a little too much for me (although Rick polished his off!) Next time I make it I will reduce the butter to 1/4 cup, and the sugar to 3/4 cup.

Pesto

1 and a half cups of basil (Whole leaves, packed down.)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 c pine nuts
3/4 c Parmesan cheese
3/4 c olive oil

Wash the basil and pat dry.
Add all the ingredients except the olive oil into a blender/food processor and mix. Drizzle the olive oil in a little at a time and continue mixing. Toss over warm pasta.

** My Note - I toss this over warm penne, then add halved cherry or grape tomatoes and pine nuts. We usually serve it with green salad & bread.


Potato, Ham & Corn Soup

4 potatoes, cubed
1 T butter
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup chopeed celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
4 T flour
1/2 lb chopped ham
1 1/2 cups corn

In a deep pot, saute celery, onion and salt in 1 T butter until the onion is clear and soft. Add potatoes and water to cover. Boil and cook 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. In a separate pan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Add the flour ans stir until creamy. Remove from heat. Slowly add the milk while stirring. Return to heat until thickened. Add to boiled potatoes. Return to a boil and cook until desired consistency. Add ham and corn and heat through.

** My Note - I got this recipe from my sister Sara, who got it from my sister Corinne, who uses her sister-in-law Kristin's adapted clam chowder recipe! We have lots of recipes for soup like this, but this is one of the best I've tasted and is super easy to make. My kids GOBBLE bowls full on it.


SUMMER VEGETABLE QUICHE

September Meal Plan

Week One

1- Penne with homemade pesto (take to BBQ at Blair's)
2- Eat Out (Vacation catch-up, last day of summer break)
3 -Turkey, Munster & spinach on spinach & garlic wraps. Grapes. Watermelon.
4 - BBQ chicken sandwiches. Corn on the cob. Spinach salad.
5 - IKEA (looking for trundle bed & new desk)
6 - Baked Mac-n-Cheese (for kids, big people are fasting.)


Week Two

7 - Hawaiian Haystacks
8 - Tri-color Alphabet pasta, tossed in butter & fresh parmesan. Salad. Garlic bread.
9 - Grilled Turkey & Swiss sandwiches. Corn chips & guacamole. Grilled zucchini (from our garden - yum.)
10 - Chicken Gyros. Cucumber Salad. Fresh peaches. Limeade.
11 -
12 - Pesto & Tomato Pizza on Wholewheat crust (homemade.)
13 - Eat Out (school shopping at outlet mall.)

Week Three

14 - Summer Vegetable Quiche. Green Salad. Rolls. Deanna's Peach Betty & Vanilla ice cream.
15 - Spinach tortellini.
16 - Sandwiches (Salami, swiss & spinach)
17 - Thai-Ginger marinated Salmon. Wild Rice Mix. Edemame.
18 - Vegetarian Soft Taco's.
19 -
20 - Curry Chicken Salad on Wholewheat Rolls. Mixed Baby Greens. Pineapple.

Week Four

21 - Milk Poached Tilapia with Chive Cream. Baked Potatoes. Broccoli
22 - Spaghetti with Marinara. Salad. Garlic Bread.
23 - Sandwiches
24 - Black Bean & Corn Burrito Bake (on a bed of lettuce) with salsa & sour cream.
25 - Chicken & Rice Salad, with Mango & chickpeas.
26 - Taco Salad.
27 -

Week 5 (or what there is of the week.)

28 - Baked Ham. Mashed potatoes. Green Beans. (Unseasonal, but needs to be used from freezer.)
29 - Spaghetti with Marinara. Salad. Garlic bread.
30 - Ham & Corn chowder. Cibbatta. (Use leftover ham from Sunday.)

** There are still a few blank days that I'm deciding on. I'll fill them in when I know what I'm making.

How to Get Started

Once I create my month, I often repeat it the next month or make only a few changes.
Each week when I go grocery shopping, I just look at my list of meals and I know what to buy. Along with staples of course. I think it cuts down on last minute trips to the store and impulse buys, helps us to eat well & a little healthier, and most of all (the reason I do it) reduces stress and the work load for me. Knowing what I am making ahead of time really helps me out. I know if I need to take something out of the freezer, or use the crock pot. I avoid being stressed out in the kitchen during the time of day that all my kids are home and the little one's are starting to melt down. It wouldn't work for everyone - if you like food spontaneity, you'd hate this - but it works pretty well for us.

So, several people who know that I do this have asked for a copy of the meals we have, plus recipes. Which, of course, I am happy to share.
However, unless you have people in your family with the same likes/dislikes as us - which is unlikely - it's better that you understand the process of how I make our meal plan, and then you can use the principles to custom make your own.

STEP ONE
Make a list of all the meals your family likes. I like to have mine divided into 2 types
Spring/Summer or Fall/Winter.

STEP TWO
Get a blank calendar page for the month. I use iCal now I have my Mac, but I just used a blank printed out page from Outlook when I had my PC.
I like to look at the whole month at once. I think it gives us more balance. If I'm adding a Mexican themed meal, and notice that we've had something like that 3 times in the previous two weeks, I can change things around. I also do a lot of repetition (especially on Mondays & Tuesdays) and it makes it easy to just add those meals to all Mondays at once, etc.

STEP THREE
Fill in any days on the calendar that have events planned already. Is it going to be someones birthday & they'll choose the meal that night? Are you going to be out & the babysitter will order Pizza? Will the whole family be dining out? Is it Fast Sunday the next day, and you'll be making a simple dinner on Saturday night just for your kids? Having people over & you'll need to make something that's good for a crowd? Add any holiday meals - the obvious one's are Christmas, Thanksgiving & Easter.


STEP FOUR
Decide what your food philosophy is. Are you looking to make mostly things that will be very easy to make? Cater to a picky eaters? Stay within a particular budget?

These are my "meal goals" -
* Work around our family schedule; this means that I try to have more simple meals on our busiest days in the week. For example, I try and have something that can be made ahead or done in the crock-pot on Wednesdays when we have a late piano lesson. I always do something that's a little nicer on Sunday's and plan for dessert then too. I make sure I don't forget a treat on Monday nights.
* Have Three Meatless Meals per Week; Rick complains he's "practically vegetarian" compared to how he used to eat, but I would like to do better. My kids love vegetables (it's fruit Emily & Jane have issues with) so why not? It's better for us, and better for the planet. I don't always make it the 3, but sometimes I get 4 or more meatless meals in the week, and then I'm super-happy!
* No Meals that Take More Than an Hour to Prepare; Dinner is only 1 of three meals and two snacks per day that I am preparing. We are always busy with Pre-School, swimming, soccer, ballroom dance, piano, play-dates, drama club, errands, etc.
I have 4 kids. Two of whom are Pre-Schooler's and my husband works insane hours - need I say more?

STEP FIVE
With my goals in my head, and my preplanned days already marked off, I start filling in the calendar. Here's how it works for us.

The kids & I LOVE spaghetti, but Rick hates it. Since he doesn't eat dinner with us through the week anyway (he gets home late, so we save his) we came up with a plan - we have pasta every Monday. Usually once a month it's spinach tortellini - and then I'll tell Rick and he'll eat that. Otherwise, he knows to grab himself an alternative on Monday nights on his way home, or eat leftovers from the fridge. We've been doing it this way for several years, and so far every one's happy.

Tuesdays are one of our busier days, and the day the house is cleaned from top to bottom. There's NO WAY we are eating anything with rice, or shredded cheese on Tuesdays. In fact, in the summer we eat outside on Tuesday. I'm OCD - I know- but I just have to go to bed one night in the week knowing my floor is clean! Tuesdays in the warmer months are always for Sandwiches - easy, not messy and fun to eat outside. In colder months we have soup. Yum! Often also hot homemade bread - or I grab some from the bakery if needs be. I can usually make the soup early in the day and reheat just before dinner. Soup simmering on the stove is wonderful to come home to when we're tired and cold.

Fridays I do something pretty casual. If Rick and I are stealing away for date-night it's easy for the kids and if we're home we often like to have a family movie night, and then we all feel like something easy. Often we make pizza. Homemade pizza is so yummy, and the benefit for us is we can all make our own kind (sausage & pepperoni for Rick, vegetarian for me, etc.)

All the other days I just plug in - trying to make sure we don't have fish more than once a week, or something Mexican, or curry more than once a week, etc.

So, there you go. Easy.

Let me know if you make one yourself ....

Emily's School Lunch

I don't really want my kids to buy school lunch. It's really not a good option. In Emily's case, it's really just not an option at all. Although I think she is a very healthy eater, she is also very particular. There's non way the school could cater to her preferences, so I do. She doesn't eat any kind of fruit, which is always such an easy thing to toss into a lunch box. She also doesn't like too much repetition, and I was getting tired of trying to come up with things for her each day. We came up with the perfect solution - a meal plan, just like we use for dinners. She has a rotating weekly schedule. She gets a variety of foods she likes to eat, and I don't have to think about it anymore (other than to make sure we have in the foods she likes - which we almost always do anyway.)

I have this pretty much memorized, but it's also printed out and stuck inside the pantry door as a reminder.

She has to take a snack every day (they eat it in class in the morning.) She also takes 2 SIGG water bottles - one in her lunchbox & one to keep at her desk.

Monday
Cream cheese mini bagel
cucumber slices

snack - crackers

Tuesday
Spinach & goat cheese salad
honey whole wheat pretzels

snack - baby carrots

Wednesday
Cheese sandwich (on wholewheat, no condiments) in warm weather
Thermos of soup (& oyster crackers) in cold weather

snack - broccoli (or other raw vegetable) & ranch dressing

Thursday
Crackers & brie
baby carrots

snack - snow peas (sometimes raw green beans)

Friday
Order school lunch

snack - we're going to see if we can get away with a cookie (even though they're technically not allowed.)

Why a New Blog?

Lots of people have asked about my meal plan. I'm not sure if it's because they are genuinely interested in making one themselves - or just can't believe that someone could be this type-A.

I have wanted for some time to put how I do it on my family blog - but just never seemed to get around to it. I have been working on our new fall / winter menu's recently, and thought I'd take the opportunity to do it now.

So here is my separate blog - which will probably be short, and not updated all that much. Hopefully it will help anyone wanting to plan their meals, or find new recipes.

Bon Appetit!