Weekly Meal Planning, Week of 6.7.10

This week is all about clearing out the good old Google Reader, which has filled up again with all of the delicious dishes my favorite food bloggers are making. I am really, really excited about this week's menu, because it's full of things I've been dying to try.

Monday: 7 can taco soup in the Crock pot. Mine may actually be more like 5 or 6 cans, because I may not use as many beans as the recipe calls for.

Tuesday: Spinach and artichoke macaroni and cheese

Wednesday: Smothered chicken with brown rice, roasted asparagus

Thursday: Creamy roasted tomato pesto pasta, garlic bread

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Southwestern egg rolls

Sunday: Creamy chicken and bacon pastry pockets, salad

No-Bake Cereal Treats

A month or so ago, I stumbled upon Weelicious. I can’t even remember what I was originally searching for; all I know is that I spent at least an hour on the site, paging through all of the delicious, healthy recipes. I immediately added it to my Reader, and when these treats popped up, I knew I had to make them for Andrew immediately.

If you have a toddler, he or she will love these. You will love them, too, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll eat six or seven of them without even realizing you’re doing it. I wanted to get a picture of Andrew eating one to share with you -- and to prove just how much he loved them! -- but honestly, they disappeared too quickly.

The original recipe calls for rice syrup, but that’s not readily available in my local supermarket. I decided to use honey as my sweetener instead, which was delicious. It made the treats pretty sticky, but Andrew and I agreed that their stickiness just made them more fun to eat. Lisa made these too using corn syrup, which she said worked really well, so that’s another alternative.

These were so good, I just may make another batch of them this weekend. I know Andrew wouldn’t complain if I did!

No-Bake Cereal Treats
source: Weelicious

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
4 cups honey-nut Cheerios

1. Place the peanut butter and honey in a small saucepan over low to medium heat and warm for 2 minutes or until it becomes smooth and combined.

2. Place the cereal in a bowl.

3. Pour the warm peanut butter and honey mixture into the bowl with the cereal and stir to combine.

4. Shape into cookies or place the mixture into a 9 x 9 inch ungreased pan, pat down and then cut into bars. The mixture will harden as it cools.

Pasta with Asparagus, Lemon and Goat Cheese

Sorry today’s post is up a little later than usual. This day has sort of gotten away from me. Do you ever have days like that? You’re just going along, doing your thing, and suddenly you look down and six hours have gone by.

Anyway, I loved the pasta dish I’m sharing with you today. However, I was the only one in our house who really enjoyed it. Joe isn’t a big fan of lemon in savory dishes, and apparently Andrew is following in his footsteps, because although this dish is full of things he typically loves (pasta, asparagus, and goat cheese), he took one bite and didn’t want anymore. And honestly, I was okay with that, because it just left more for me! Did I mention I loved this pasta?

I made some changes to this recipe, the most notable being that I roasted the asparagus before I added it to the pasta. Pretty much any time a recipe calls for asparagus, you can bet I’m roasting it, no matter what the recipe says. I just love the nutty, rich flavor that roasting the asparagus brings out. My adapted version of the recipe is below.

This pasta dish is light and refreshing and tastes like spring. And it was so quick, too, which made it the perfect meal for a weeknight. Those boys don't know what they were missing.

Pasta with Asparagus, Lemon and Goat Cheese
source: adapted from Epicurious

1 pound penne pasta
1 pound slender asparagus spears, trimmed, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon melted butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
1 5- to 5 1/2-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange asparagus spears in a single layer on a baking sheet. Combine olive oil and butter and pour over asparagus. Season liberally with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Roast, tossing as needed, for 15 minutes or until spears are browned and tender.

2. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, stirring occasionally.

3. While pasta is cooking, in a large bowl, combine lemon peel and goat cheese. Stir until smooth.

4. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Add hot pasta, asparagus, and 1/4 cup reserved cooking liquid to bowl with cheese mixture. Toss to coat, adding more reserved liquid if dry. Season pasta to taste with salt and pepper.

Baked Bean Chili

I know what you’re thinking: She’s posting a chili recipe? In June? And yes, I know it’s not exactly chili weather, but don’t click away just yet, because this particular chili? It has baked beans in it. And to me, baked beans are a quintessentially summer food. Therefore, it’s okay to make and eat this chili in the warmer months. And you definitely should make it, because it’s totally delicious and couldn't be easier.

I was intrigued by the use of baked beans in this chili, and attracted to the fact that they would make this come together in no time. After all, baked beans already have a really thick sauce and tons of flavor on their own, so they’re perfect for chili. I can’t believe I never thought of that before! They add a really nice sweetness to the chili that balances the heat perfectly. I changed the recipe up quite a bit, so my adapted version is below.

We all really liked this, even Andrew, who had two bowls. I have to admit that it’s nowhere near as good as my classic chili recipe, but it’s delicious and quick, and on the hot summer nights that are about to hit us you just can’t beat that.

Baked Bean Chili
source: adapted from Taste of Home

1 pound ground beef
Salt and pepper to taste
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
1 envelope chili seasoning
1 28-ounce can baked beans (I used the kind with extra bacon and brown sugar)
1 28-ounce can tomato sauce

1. In a Dutch oven, cook beef over medium-high heat until no longer pink; drain.

2. Return beef to pot along with bell pepper and onion (with a small amount of olive oil, if needed). Add salt and pepper to taste and cook until vegetables are softened. Add garlic; cook and stir constantly for 30 seconds.

3. Stir in chili seasoning, baked beans, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Sweet BBQ Chicken Kabobs

Good morning everyone! I hope you all had fantastic long holiday weekends. I don’t know about you, but I think the Tuesday after a long weekend is so much worse than any Monday. Our weekend was so crazy, I feel like I need at least two days to recover from it! We had so much fun, though.

I have a really delicious chicken kabob recipe to share with you today. This recipe comes from The Sisters’ Café, which is one of my very favorite food blogs. There are five ladies who contribute, and they post yummy recipes so frequently it makes my head spin!

We all really enjoyed these chicken kabobs. I actually broiled them instead of grilling them because it was raining the day I made these (but then, what day isn’t it raining here lately?), and that worked fine, but next time I make them I’ll definitely grill them for the extra flavor. I’ve posted the original instructions below, since I only broiled them out of necessity.

I think our favorite part of these kabobs was the pineapple; it tasted so delicious doused in BBQ sauce, and it was a nice balance to the bell peppers and the chicken. With some rice pilaf on the side, these made for a quick, delicious, and simple dinner. It was affordable, too; I only used one large chicken breast, and I got seven kabobs out of it. I’ll definitely be making them again this summer!

Sweet BBQ Chicken Kabobs
source: slightly adapted from The Sisters’ Café

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups fresh pineapple chunks (1 1/2 inch)

1 each red and green bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

3 tablespoons orange juice

1. Heat grill to medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste and thread alternately with pineapple and peppers onto skewers to make kabobs.

2. Mix BBQ sauce and juice and brush some of the sauce mixture onto kabobs. Grill 8 to 10 minutes or until chicken is done, turning and brushing occasionally with remaining sauce mixture.