New Situations Call for Old Favorites

This week has brought the first full week of school for my daughters. We've all been a bit tired as we adjust to the new schedule, with new teachers and new friends waiting to be made. Even though it's been my first week with all of my children in school, it's been very busy. Monday was a half-day for Kate, so she and I took the opportunity for one last fun outing to Bicentennial Mall. Tuesday and today I had appointments all day. So it's been a week full of activity, but with little invention in the kitchen:

Monday's Menu

Broccoli & Cheese Chicken Breasts
Salad with tomatoes & cucumbers from the garden

Tuesday's Menu

Whole Wheat Penne with Spaghetti Sauce (I added spinach and fresh tomatoes to boost the veggie intake)
Salad with tomatoes & cucumbers from the garden
Garlic bread (actually, hot dog buns dressed up as garlic bread...)

Wednesday's Menu

Scrambled Eggs
Cheese Toast
Fruit Smoothies

• 1/4 - 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 2-3 cups frozen fruit: mango, papaya, pineapple, blueberry
• 1 banana,
• 2 fresh peaches
• Blend all together in blender until smooth
  

We'll see what tomorrow brings... maybe next week I'll get back into the cooking groove.

Jason's Birthday Dinner

For the birthday boy this evening, we had pork loin, roasted green beans, marinated veggies and fruit salad. I have to say this was a wonderful meal. Had it not been a birthday dinner with dessert following, we all would have had seconds. As it was, A & B had seconds AFTER their cupcakes. Speaks pretty highly of it, wouldn't you say?

Unfortunately, with all of the birthday and pre-school busy-ness, I did not have time for pictures. So you'll just have to trust me that it was yummy!

Pork Loin

1 2-3 lb. pork loin
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup lingonberry jam
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning

Mix wine, jam, water and seasonings and marinate pork overnight.
Bake at 350 for approximately two hours or until tests done with meat thermometer.

Roasted Green Beans

2-3 cups green beans
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup almonds, broken
Salt & pepper

Mix all ingredients together.
Bake at 350 for thirty minutes

Marinated Veggies

2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced
4 cherry tomatoes, quartered
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt & pepper

Mix all together and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Fruit Salad

Peaches
Honeydew melon
Apples
Grapes

Dessert was lemon bars for the adults and cupcakes for the kids, all from Sweet 16th.

Chicken with Cucumber Sauce

We have an abundance of cucumbers from our garden right now. Having tired of marinated ones, I decided to try creating a cucumber sauce similar to the one you have at a Mediterranean restaurant. This wasn't quite as thick and creamy as I was aiming for, but I have a feeling it will taste even better on day two when it's had more time to chill.

Simple Chicken

4 split chicken breasts
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Mix wine, OJ and mustard.

Pour over chicken and marinate overnight or for as long as you have (I had about an hour). With a shorter marinade time, bake the chicken in the sauce at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour.

Cucumber Sauce

2-4 cucumbers, peeled and seeded
2-4 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1 tsp dried dill
1/2 cup plain yogurt
salt
pepper

Place cucumber in food processor or chopper until finely chopped, leaving a small portion to be diced by hand for texture.

Drain chopped cucumber to get rid of excess liquid.

Mix all ingredients and chill.

Serve over baked or grilled chicken.

Spicy Shrimp Pasta

I've been struggling to be creative in the kitchen. I'm not sure whether it's the summer doldrums, creativity channeled elsewhere or just a slump.

Regardless, tonight I needed help to come up with a way to use shrimp, spinach and feta cheese. The trio sounded good to me and I had all three on hand. Allrecipes.com provided the following (modified by yours truly)...

1 pound uncooked spaghetti
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons olive
8 plum tomatoes, chopped (from the Truss garden!)
2 cups white wine
1/2- 3/4 cup chopped frozen spinach
1-1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Cook pasta.

While the pasta cooks, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are soft.

Add tomatoes and white wine. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

Add shrimp and cook until they begin to turn white. When the shrimp begin to turn, add spinach.

Cook until spinach is warmed through. Add vinegar, spices and feta.

Serve over pasta.

After I defrosted my shrimp, I drizzled some extra virgin olive oil over them and sprinkled them with 1/4 tsp or so of cayenne pepper and Old Bay seasoning. I thought this would seal in the flavors. While this dish had some kick to it, it was not too spicy. B is not a fan of shrimp, but liked the rest of the dish and A & K both ate their servings. However, it was clearly a bigger treat to J and I. This is a meal to share with friends in the future...

A Tale of Two Tarts

Tomato tart has been a family favorite for years. Last week, I decided to experiment a bit and try two variations.

Tortilla Tart

1 10" flour tortilla
olive oil
garlic salt
shredded mozzarella cheese
plum tomatoes, sliced
feta cheese
fresh basil

Brush tortilla with olive oil.

Sprinkle with garlic salt.

Put a layer of mozzarella on and top with sliced tomatoes.

Brush tomatoes with olive oil.

Sprinkle feta, basil and salt and pepper.

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes (give or take).

Flat Tart

1 10" pie crust
olive oil
garlic salt
shredded mozzarella cheese
plum tomatoes, sliced
feta cheese
fresh basil

Brush pie crust with olive oil.

Sprinkle with garlic salt.

Put a layer of mozzarella on and top with sliced tomatoes, leaving a small edge of the pie crust free.

Brush tomatoes with olive oil.

Sprinkle feta, basil and salt and pepper.

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes (give or take).

The Results? The tortilla tart was good, but suffered by comparison to the flat tart. I'll try it again with pepper jack instead of feta and cilantro instead of basil. The flat tart was a nice change from my traditional tomato tart and was easier to put together. I also like that it used less cheese than the traditional, for nights when supplies might be running low...