This past week was my turn, once again, to take an entire week to plan and cook all the supper meals. It worked out well, since Mom was still gone Monday and didn't get back from SC until late Tuesday afternoon.
My first meal was simple - Sausage and Corn Chowder with some of Hannah's toasted bread. Yum! For dessert I made Chocolate Fudge Cookies.
For Mom's welcome home meal, we had something that's been on my Pinterest board for awhile: Parmesan Honey Pork Loin Roast. I think everyone really liked this one! We also had salad and onion roasted potatoes with it.
Wednesday night was one of my more involved meals, Fried Rice with marinated steak on top. For the rice, I followed part of this recipe. Then for the steak marinade, I used this one. The main side dish was a definite keeper, Honey Lime Rainbow Fruit Salad. It took a lot of time to dice all the fruit, but it was worth it. Sooo good! We actually made this a second time already, for guests on Sunday. Dessert was Coconut Cream Poke Cake (Pinterest!) - just a 9x13 yellow cake, poked and cream of coconut poured on top, iced with whipped topping and coconut.
Thursday was leftover day! Yay for leftovers! :) That gave Hannah a free kitchen to make her weekly batch of bread and also a batch of soap.
Friday was our Mexican night. The girls really liked this meal, it wasn't the guys' favorite, though. Chicken and Avocado Enchiladas, another Pinterest pick, were the main dish, with both poblano and jalapeno peppers in the filling. They weren't that spicy, I could have left some more of the seeds in to up the heat, I think. Sides were Mexican style black beans and creamy white cheddar baked corn. For dessert, we had Mexican "Fried" Ice Cream Dessert. I didn't put quite as much sugar in the topping as they call for...they say 3/4 cup, but I put more like 1/2 cup, and it was plenty sweet. We also had this dessert on Sunday when our company came over. Yum!
Saturday - Valentine's Day and Italian night! This was Dad's favorite meal of the week. Two more of my Pinterest recipes finally got to be made: Chicken Parmesan Meatballs and Stuffed Italian Bread. :) A salad (with heart shaped cucumbers and tomatoes) and strawberry limeade rounded out the meal.
For the final dessert, I made individual Raspberry Red Velvet Brownie trifles. I didn't follow an exact recipe for these, it was just a mix of several ideas. This is the recipe I used for the brownies. The trifles were layered with brownie chunks, chocolate syrup, red raspberries, and whipped cream.
All in all, it was a fun week! I enjoyed getting to plan out everything and try some new recipes. Several dishes were definitely make-agains. Let me know if you try any and how they turn out!
~Sarah
Those Chicken and Avocado Enchiladas sound right up my alley (except without too much heat). I absolutely love avocados/guacamole, and they are very good for you. I think I might have to try to make this. I love black beans too, so maybe I'll do both. I don't usually do big recipes, since it's just me, but like you said, yay for leftovers. I can't wait to see you all! I'm keeping a close eye on the weather forecast. Snow snow go away, DON'T come back another day! I don't think I can shovel another flake! I was actually shoveling my street today, because the plow doesn't come by as often as it should. It brought back memories of Teeter Hill.
Posted by: Toots | Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at 12:41 AM
oh, my! what a lovely menu! yum!
Posted by: erica | Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at 01:06 PM
Sarah, Hannah, can I borrow each of you for a week?? haha
Posted by: Joanna | Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at 07:01 PM
I like how you're always adventurous, trying out new recipes. These look tasty (even to my non-meat-eating eyes)
Posted by: Nic | Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 03:11 AM
When I went to check your blog for a new entry moments ago, I thought, "I love the Girotti's blog!" And that is in spite of not winning "Holly Jolly Bingo" last Christmas...I'm certain that I was sabotaged, but I'll let bygones be bygones.😢
ANYWAY, I stay up w/your blog, and eat it w/a spoon...even the posts about quilting. 😉
I hope that you all are staying warm. It was a frigid 50 something in the Bay Area of NorCal yesterday, so we're trying to stay warm, too.
Posted by: Cathy | Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 11:37 AM
I am getting my appetite back.Your food looks so yummy.
Posted by: Tammy C | Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 01:50 PM
Looks like a week of delicious meals! I love planning ahead, my husband even made me a menu calendar to help me!
- Nancy
On The Home Front
Posted by: Nancy W | Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 04:34 PM
What great looking meals. I'm sure they tasted wonderful too!
Victoria
Posted by: victoria | Friday, February 20, 2015 at 01:19 PM
What a great idea to take turns cooking! I mentioned that to my husband once, but he didn't go for it. ever. Just kidding, I love to cook, and I want to try the sausage corn chowder. It sounds wonderful.
Thanks for sharing the meals and photos. Love the flowers. :)
I see Cathy is still miffed. ;) *waves*
Posted by: Toni | Friday, February 20, 2015 at 07:35 PM
Everything looks really good and yummy! I will have to try some of the recipes.
Posted by: Heather Pickle | Wednesday, March 04, 2015 at 07:37 PM