A Week of Recipes

Last week I was assigned to make all our evening meals, like Sarah did for our family last month. I enjoyed planning out the menus and included many new recipes to try. It was a task to come up with foods that the whole family would enjoy, especially since most everything sounds good to me, but I think it was mostly successful.

I mentioned before the week started that there would be at least 3 different nationalities represented in my cooking, so everyone was curious to see how the week unfolded. Each morning I would post the menu on the refrigerator, so that everyone would know what to (hopefully) look forward to, rather than it being a complete surprise.

Monday's Menu:

• Jamaican Jerk Burgers 
• Mango Pineapple Salsa
• Grilled Carrots
• Butterscotch Pie

The first day of the week was going to have the warmest temperatures, so I chose that night to grill outside.The burgers were spicy, basted with this sauce, and to stick with the Caribbean theme I made a cool pineapple/mango salsa to top them. While the hamburgers were grilling, a foil packet of carrots were also easily roasted alongside.  

Tuesday's Menu:

• Kung Pao Chicken over Rice
• Roasted Veggies
• White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies (delegated to Sarah)

This was a fun and relatively quick meal to prepare. In years past some of us have enjoyed ordering Kung Pao chicken at restaurants, so I decided to create it at home. An authentic ingredient missing from my version was Sichuan peppercorns, but the substitution of red curry paste gave it some heat. Roasted red peppers and broccoli went well with this Chinese dish. 

I made this recipe for lunch midweek, using the last of the butternut squash from our 2012 garden, and Wednesday night we had various leftovers.

Thursday's Menu:

• Gnocchi with Prosciutto Sauce 
• Italian Garden Salad
• Breadsticks
• Chocolate Mousse

Italian night! Gnocchi are homemade dumplings/pasta, many times made with potatoes, although the beginner recipe I followed called for ricotta cheese. It was fun and easy to do, as pasta-making goes. I ended up making enough for about 15 servings, so we have been enjoying it for additional meals, too. The tomato sauce for this main dish (similar to this) was inspired by some of my grampa's favorite recipes that he wrote out for me long ago. Prosciutto, Italian cured ham, was stirred into the seasoned sauce. 

The special dessert was somewhat of a Pinterest fail....it didn't look quite as cute as the original. I put aside the star tip and spooned the creamy chocolate mixture into bowls. It still tasted good.

Friday's Menu:

• Meatloaf Cupcakes
• Green Beans
• Cheddar Biscuits
• Applesauce

When your main dish is a "cupcake" (sprinkles included), you have a complete meal! The meat took a shorter time to cook than if I had baked it as a typical loaf. It was topped with mashed potatos and broiled. 

Saturday's Dessert:

• Fruit Platter with Cookie Dough Dip

Sunday's Menu:

• Spicy Chicken Lentil Soup
• Irish Soda Bread

I put the ingredients in the crockpot to cook most of the day, and it was close to being ready when we got home from church that afternoon. Traditional Irish soda bread has just 4 ingredients, and we ate the crusty loaf with our soup, it being St. Patrick's Day. Sarah wanted to make a green dessert, so later that evening we sipped on Coconut Lime Floats. 

And that wrapped up my one week of cooking. Granted, if I were normally cooking every day, I would have included some simpler stand-by meals, but I wanted to pack in as many new recipes to experiment with as I could into this special week. There are a few more I want to try...maybe once Granny returns and can join us!

~Hannah

Comments

[Carrie]

Your cupcakes are adorable. I'll have to remember them for my kids.

[victoria]

Some amazing cooking going on in your home. You did a great job of keeping your family well fed.

Victoria

[Aunt Bet]

These look like adventurous meals, Hannah! you tried some cool things. I am sure Granny will be glad to test some of your recipes for you when she gets back! I'm getting SAD!!! it will be so lonely here without her.

[Nic]

Everything looks very tasty. I might have to try my hand with the gnocchi. I've not tried making my own before