CSA,
Meal Planning,
St. Marys Farmers Market in
Weekly Menu/Cooking
Nancy |
Monday, May 28, 2012 at 2:57PM With the rensovations nearing completion things are busy and the house is even more of a disater than usual so meal planning and posting has taken a back burner for a little while becasue the house is even more cluttered as more thign get assembled and delivered for the basement.
I promise as soon as I get my new desk and get settled in the basement office area updates will become more regular. I will make note of any tasty recipes we try and share them when things settle down.
until then get out and experience your local farmers market and local vendors... the St. Mary's market has started up for the season and I have been enjoying fresh local grown lettuce and veggies :)
Nancy |
Sunday, April 22, 2012 at 12:53PM This week we revisit Great Easy Meals from Food Network for inspiration. I tried to gather light fresh meals that screamed spring, plus with the BBQ back out its time to grill everything :)
Sunday
Homemade Mac & Cheese with Asparagus
Monday
Spring chicken salad
Tuesday
Sausage & Pepper skewers with couscous
Wednesday
Steak with Avocado Sauce and Tomato Salad
Thursday
Moroccan grilled salmon with asparagus
Friday
Fontina risotto with chicken
Saturday
TBD depending on how much running around we do this day - it might be dinner out
Lunches for few days will be a BLT Pasta Salad
Food NEtwork,
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Weekly Menu/Cooking
Nancy |
Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 7:44PM
While we were on our adventure from Florida to Nassau to castaway Cay and eventually back to Florida we not only experienced the wonderful views, the tropical breezes and the semi-warm ocean we also ate a lot of new and exciting things. I have often said I need a certain number of days at Disney World just so I can eat everywhere I want to, well the Disney cruise is no different.
Disney Cruises use what they refer to as Rotational Dining, this allows you to experience all 3 dining rooms the ship has to offer. When you arrive in your stateroom there is a small card that gives you your dining locations and time for dinner each night of your cruise. In our Case we dined during the 2nd seating (8:15pm) in the following order Animators Pallette, Enchanted Garden, Royal Palace, Royal Palace and back to Animator Pallette. At first glace I am sure many of you will say well you went to 2 restuarants twice and while that is true we had 5 completely different menus because one night at the Royal Palace was Pirate Party Night and therefore a special menu was enjoyed and the final night at Animators we enjoyed a special See You Real Soon menu. The slideshow of pictures at the top of this post shows everything we ate, drank and enjoyed along with a few pictures of what happens if you are too full to have dessert, some pictures os the resturants themselves and even the menus from each night. As for the specifics of what we enjoyed, I have compiled everything into a handy table below.
The one other thing that I found awesome on the Disney Cruise for a foodie was the Anyone Can Cook series. during our sea day the Chef from Remi (the fancy formal dining room you pay extra for) gave some cooking lessons in the mornign he made Apple Strudle with the families and in the afternoon he showed the adults now to make Lobster Ravioli and then we got to enjoy a sample. I brought my recipe card home and I can't wait to give it a try with my pasta making equipment and my ravioli maker.
It is worth noting that rotational dining is only in play for dinner, breakfast and lunch there are a veriety of options which include a la carte breakfast in the restuarants or a buffet breakfast at Cabana's where you can sit out on the deck and enjoy the sun and breeze while you eat. this was generally our preference however we did try all options. For lunch there is quick food at the Radiator Springs service windows which includes burgers, pizza, chicken fingers, salads and sandwiches and then there is a buffet at Cabana's, this was our preference when we were on the ship for lunch because the selection was amazing. While on Castaway Cay (the Disney owned island) lunch is a BBQ buffet at Cookies featuring corn, ribs, burgers, hot dogs, chicken, fish and a wide veriety of salads and a few desserts. The beautiful thing about this BBQ is that it is included with your cruise because you are on the Disney Island, so not only do you get amazing quick beach food you don't have any extra expense.
In short the cruise was amazing, not only did I get to relax and recharge I also got to indulge my inner food geek. If you ask Paul, his favorite part was the ice cream machines that opened at 10am and didn't close until 11pm so he could have ice cream (a choice of 6 flavorsd or swirl at all times) anytime he wanted. And yes before you ask they do bring the ice cream machines out at Cookies as well so you can enjoy ice cream on the beach.
| March 22, 2012 Animators Pallete |
Nancy | Paul |
|---|---|---|
| Cocktail | Golden Breeze | Blueberrilicious |
| Appetizer | Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes | Wild Mushroom Risotto and Porcini Twist |
| Soup & Salad | Baked Potato and Chedder Cheese Soup | Baked Potato and Chedder Cheese Sou |
| Entree | Animators Trio of Veal | Lemon-Thyme Marinated Organic Chicken Breast |
| Dessert | Cookies & Cream Sundae | Cheesecake |
| March 23, 2012 Enchanted Garden |
||
| Cocktail | Winter Leafs | Snow Fall |
| Appetizer | North Atlantic Lobster Ravioli | North Atlantic Lobster Ravioli |
| Soup & Salad | Romaine Wedge | Romaine Wedge |
| Entree | Slow Raosted Prime Rib | Slow Raosted Prime Rib |
| Dessert | Dessert Trio | Everything else on the dessert menu (yes it was one of those nights) |
| March 24, 2012 Royal Palace (Pirate Night) |
||
| Cocktail | Captains Treasure | Rusty Anchor |
| Appetizer | Black Beard's Jumbo Crab Cake | Pirate's Golden "Pot Stickers" |
| Soup & Salad | Carribean Style Conch Chowder | Carribean Style Conch Chowder |
| Entree | Jack Sparrow's Barbecue Mariateed Beef Short Ribs | Jack Sparrow's Barbecue Mariateed Beef Short Ribs |
| Dessert | Banana Chocolate Crepe | Banana Chocolate Crepe |
| March 25, 2012 Royal Palace |
||
| Cocktail | Imperial illusion | Double Crowned |
| Appetizer (We shared both of these) |
Double Baked Spinach Soufflé | Escargot Gratinés |
| Soup & Salad | Belle's French Onion Soup | Avacado-Citrus Salad |
| Entree | Double Cut rack of Lamb with a Dijon Crust | Double Cut rack of Lamb with a Dijon Crust |
| Dessert | Tahitian Vanilla Creme Brulee | Mango Cheesecake |
| March 26, 2012 Animators Pallette (See Ya' Real Soon!) |
||
| Cocktail | Kissss | Eclipse |
| Appetizer | Grilled Chicken Sate | Artichoke, Spinach and Jalapeno Cheese Dip |
| Soup & Salad | Potato Leek Soup | Crawfish and Lobster Bisque |
| Entree | Seafood Linguini pasta | Seafood Linguini pasta |
| Dessert | Chocolate Mickey Treat (Ice Cream Bar coated in chocolate) | Chocolate Decadence |
Disney Cruise,
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Weekly Menu/Cooking
Nancy |
Sunday, April 15, 2012 at 10:34AM I know there are many missing weeks here and that will be explained shortly, I will soon be putting up a post about our vacation from the foodie's perspective so that you can enjoy the culinary journey we took while away.
In other news we have signed up for the CSA with Ann Slater Organic Farms again this year so there will be more adventures in working with new ingreadients in the future. The CSA should start weekly deliveries about the end of May so we still have some time to go but I thought it was worth mentioning here since I am sure most farmers that run these programs are doing enrollment now. I loved having farm fresh vegetables delivered to my house once a week for a flat rate, then I only had to stop by the farmers market for the meat to go with the veggies and maybe a few other veggies for a recipe but for the most part it was only fruit, cheese, occasionally bread and meat at the market on the weekend.
For now here is the menu for this week.
Sunday
Keema Fusion (This recipe came from a free calendar I got from Arkona Applicances while helping the In-laws shop) - this is Hamburgers sauteed with Indian spices served with Rice and Naan, it sounds really tasty.
Monday
Grilled Caesar Salad (Chef Mickey: Treasures From the Vault & Delicious New Favorites) and Grilled Chicken
Tuesday
Eanie Meanie Fettucine (Looneyspoon Collection) - the only modification I will be making is swapping a piece of grilled mahi mahi flaked into it instead of a can of tuna
Wednesday
Parrot Cay Salad (Chef Mickey: Treasures From the Vault & Delicious New Favorites) - A spinach Salad with a warm bacon dressing
Thursday
Not Humdrumsticks (Looneysppons Collection), Baked Asparagus with Parmesan, & Mashed Potatoes - This will be made with boneless skinles chicken thighs instead of drumsticks
This became friday's dinner and thursday we had a Potato, Bacon and Mushroom Frittata to use up leftover odds and ends. The Kababs will happen soon :)
Friday
DisKABABulated Beef Skewers with Rice (Looneyspoons Collection) - I am adding portabella mushrooms to this so the shewers will have steak, mushroom and onion marinated on the skewer and then grilled on the BBQ
This dinner got bumped to use up leftovers, we will have it soon though as the BBQ is out of the shed. As soon as it is all cleaned up for the season these will be on the menu :) We had the meal from Thursday for dinner friday, picute is with that description :)
Saturday
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Garlic and Goat Cheese Polenta (Chef Mickey: Treasures From the Vault & Delicious New Favorites) with a tossed salad - We will be helping finish off the In-laws moving so I thought I would make this for all of us when the last load arrives at the new house, its the first time I am making it for them to try but its a favorite of ours so I am sure they will enjoy.
Nancy |
Monday, March 5, 2012 at 2:30PM Work got busy and basement renovations have begun so life is a little upside down right now so I that is why I have missed a couple weeks... but have no fear we have been eating well and I will try and get some pictures posted as well as a small write up on the dinner experience we had at The Stratford Chef shool/The Prune Resturant with Celebrity Chef Connie Desousa from Alberta soon.
But until then... this weeks menu
Monday
Lunch: Egg Salad Wrap (Nancy), Chicken Salad Wrap (Paul), Veggies & Dip, Grapes, Apple, Yogurt
Dinner: Bacon & Egg Brunch Burgers with Salad
Tuesday
Lunch: Egg Salad Wrap (Nancy), Chicken Salad Wrap (Paul), Veggies & Dip, Grapes, Apple, Yogurt
Dinner: Grilled Chicken with Sundried Tomato and Goat Cheese Polenta (Chef Mickey: Treasures From the Vault & Delicious New Favorites, Pg. 102)
Wednesday
Lunch: Mixed Green Salad with Chicken, Veggies & Dip, Grapes, Apple, Yogurt
Dinner: Pork Stir Fry with Sweet & Sour Sauce
Thursday
Lunch: Strawberry & Goat Cheese Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken, Veggies & Dip, Grapes, Apple, Yogurt
Dinner: Chicken Asiago Pasta (Chef Mickey: Treasures From the Vault & Delicious New Favorites, Pg. 124)
Friday
Lunch: Out
Dinner: London Broil, Mashed Cauliflower & Veggies TBD
Saturday
Dinner with the D&D Crew
Sunday
Braised Short Ribs, Yukon Potatoe Stack (Chef Mickey: Treasures From the Vault & Delicious New Favorites, Pg. 144), and Brussel Sprouts