Recipes of the Year & Menu Planning Monday
*Scroll down for Menu Plan Monday*
Well, I hope you all had a wonderful and peaceful Christmas. We certainly enjoyed ourselves, as did the children. The house looks as if Santa threw up in it - toys everywhere - but I suppose it could be worse! Dinner was a bit of a let down I have to say, but it would appear I'm the only one who thought that way.
I thought a fun way to lead into the new Year would be to go over my top favourite recipes of 2007! Having this blog has made me try lots of new recipes and experiments, some successes, others dismal failures such as my cr-apple pie I made last night! ;-) So here are some of my favourites!
10. Ruth's Easy As Pie Banana Bread - This is an amazing Banana Bread recipe. With only two tablespoons of butter and no eggs, it's quite low in fat and relies on nothing but the bananas for flavour and moistness. It's so easy for the kids to make too as all they have to do is mash away. A definite favourite in this house and beyond, as they make great gifts too!
9. Lemon Meringue Tart - A delightfully tasty lemon meringue tart - it's soft and dainty and would be a perfect addition to any brunch or romantic meal. It took a little work to make the lemon curd and pastry from scratch, but well worth it!
8. Brazilian Black Beans and Rice - A tasty and frugal meal, this brought back childhood memories to me. Easy to make and even easier to eat!
7. Five Spice Duck and Bacon Fried Rice - I made this again a couple of weeks ago and remembered how much we loved it. It's really simple to make and ends up being quite the dramatic meal for minimum effort. Very tasty and unique!
6. Barbara's Baked Ziti - This is truly a classic. I have made it many times since, and three times for company - it never fails to impress. This is now officially one of the husband's favourite meals of all time. How I wish Italian sausage was more readily available here!
5. White Wine Chicken Pomodoro - This is a delightfully fresh meal that is wonderful for families or a romantic dinner for two. I've made this a few times since and we are always impressed!
4. Ella's Meatballs with "Garlicky" Rice - Although not authentic Italian meatballs in any way shape or form, these have got to be one of the best meatballs out there. I get more traffic to this page and more emails about this recipe than any other. Kids love it, adults love it, it's cost effective - everybody wins.
3. Sicilian Bonata - This pizza bread type delight is amazing. As you slice it you see coils of gooey mozzarella interspersed with roasted red peppers, prosciutto and whatever other delights you enclose in it! A delicious meal hot or cold and perfect for picnics.
2. Creamy Bacon and Thyme Chicken - This recipe is simply divine. Rich, creamy and elegant, no one will ever know how simple it was to prepare! Whilst usually reserved for an adult dinner in this house, the kids mop it up as well.
1. Potato Borek - I just discovered this recently and I have to say it is my favourite recipe of 2007. It's just such a unique and different recipe that it's got me hooked! Again, it is quite a frugal recipe, but full of goodness and varied flavours! A real winner!
So what do you think? Would you agree? What are your favourite recipes of 2007? Discuss!
One of my big New Years resolutions is to plan a weekly menu religiously. The amount of money I save when I do this is incredible and I for one am sick of being broke. I am going to focus on cooking more sensibly, making the most out of my ingredients and working with leftovers. I have designed an Excel template to use for this purpose. It has spaces for all three meals, as well as a spot for baking and reminders for things that need to be prepared the night before or in the morning. I also have a check box in front of each meal, which I will check if my husband will be with us for the meal. He works irregular hours, so this helps me decide what to cook. If he's not there I will make something that will reheat well later on when he gets home. To see this week's menu in the template, click here. Feel free to edit and use!Here is this week's menu. Am doing something a little special for New Years Ever. We'll all have yummy venison medallions for dinner, but closer to midnight I will bake some Camembert cheese in it's wooden box with white wine, shallots and black pepper and serve with a crusty baguette and champagne!
Monday:
Breakfast - Cheerios, Milk, Fruit, Homemade Yoghurt
Lunch - Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
Dinner - Prosciutto Wrapped Venison Medallions with Dauphinois Potatoes and Asparagus
Baking - Chocolate Chip Cookies
Tuesday:
Breakfast - Buttermilk Pancakes, Milk, Fruit
Lunch - BLT Sandwiches and Butternut Squash Soup
Dinner - Mrs Geraldine's Ground Beef Casserole
Wednesday:
Breakfast - Homemade Honey Granola, Homemade Yoghurt, Fruit, Milk
Lunch - Leftover Casserole
Dinner - Chicken Enchiladas
Baking - Make White Bread for AM
Thursday:
Breakfast - Cinnamon Toast, Homemade Yoghurt, Fruit, Milk
Lunch - Potato Borek
Dinner - Garlic Chicken, Broccoli and Rice
For Tomorrow - Make Pizza Dough
Friday:
Breakfast - Leftover Potato Borek
Lunch - In Dublin, will probably eat out
Dinner - Pizza
Reminder - Soak beans overnight for dinner tomorrow
Saturday:
Breakfast - Cheerios, Homemade Yoghurt, Fruit, Milk
Lunch - Thai Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup
Dinner - Pinto Beans, Brazilian Rice and Cornbread
Baking - Cornbread
Reminder - Double rice for breakfast tomorrow
Sunday:
Breakfast - Rice Pancakes, Applesauce, juice
Lunch/Dinner - Drunken Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Glazed Carrots
Reminders - Roast in Crockpot upon waking.
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