Menu Plan Monday

Here's a look at what's on the menu for this week....

Monday- Three cheese garlic chicken pasta, salad, french bread and honey dew melon
Tuesday- Salad and french bread
Wednesday- chili and cornbread
Thursday- Leftovers
Friday- Homemade pizza
Saturday- Sandwiches and salad

Homemade Graham Crackers

I got this recipe from Heavenly Homemaker's and we absolutely LOVE it! These graham crackers are soooo much better than store bought graham crackers! And so easy to make!!

I used all purpose flour today instead of the whole wheat flour. I really like the texture better than with the whole wheat. But, either works.

2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
½ cup rapadura or sucanat (I always use organic sugar)
1 t. baking powder
½ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
¼ t. cinnamon
4 T. honey
¼ c. water
1 t. vanilla
1 stick butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Melt stick of butter. Set aside

3. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

4. Add the liquids: honey, water, vanilla and melted butter.

5. Stir well until a nice ball of dough is formed.

6. Cut two pieces of Parchment paper the size of the cookie sheet.

7. Lay one piece of parchment paper on the cookie sheet.

8. Place the ball of dough on the parchment paper.

9. Lay the other piece of parchment paper on top of the ball of dough. Squish dough down a little with your fist.

10. Use the rolling pin to roll the dough between the pieces of parchment paper. Roll until the dough covers the whole cookie sheet.

11. Remove the top piece of parchment paper. Cut rolled dough into 2 inch squares, or cut shapes with cookie cutters, being sure to separate the shapes from the surrounding dough a little.

12. Bake in oven for 18 minutes.

13. Turn oven off, but leave crackers in the oven to get crisp.

14. Remove from oven after 30 minutes to one hour. Break graham crackers apart.
Store in a air tight container.

This weeks menu

Here's a looks at what's on the menu for this week.... it's a few days late, but this week has been crazy!!!

Monday-Portobello mushroom burgers, asparagus, and salad
Tuesday-BBQ chicken sandwiches, sweet potato fries, and fruit salad
Wednesday-homemade pizzas
Thursday- French bread sandwiches, melon, chips
Friday- breakfast- french toast, sausage and fresh fruit
Saturday- quesadillas, fresh cut up veggies

Portobello-Prosciutto Burgers

I got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman's website. We made these Monday night and they were SOOOOOO good!!! We skipped soaking the mushrooms in the red wine and the prosciutto. I will definitely be making these again! They were delish!

Ingredients

• ½ cups Mayonnaise
• 16 whole Basil Leaves
  
• 8 whole Large Portobello Mushrooms
• 1 cup Red Wine (optional)
• Olive Oil For Brushing
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 4 slices Provolone Cheese
• 4 slices Prosciutto
• 4 whole Kaiser Rolls, Split
• Extra Basil Leaves

Rinse mushrooms thoroughly. Soak in red wine for 20 to 30 minutes

Combine mayonnaise and basil in a food processor or blender (I used my magic bullet). Pulse until basil is totally mixed in with the mayonnaise. Set aside.

Grill mushrooms in a grill pan or on a charcoal grill, brushing lightly with olive oil and sprinkling with salt and pepper. Melt provolone cheese over the four largest mushrooms. Remove mushrooms from grill and stack the other four mushrooms on top of the cheese-topped mushrooms. (The mushrooms we had were pretty big so we just used one per bun)

Drizzle griddle with olive oil. Toast kaiser rolls over medium-low heat until very crispy and toasted.

Spread basil mayonnaise generously on both the top and bottom halves of the kaiser roll. Place the mushroom on the bottom half, then place the prosciutto slice on top. Finally, top with basil leaves and the other half of the roll.

*I think these would be really good topped with lettuce and tomato.

Pumpkin Oatmeal

I got this recipe from my Deceptively Delicious cookbook and it's one of our favorite fall breakfast meals! The boys absolutely LOVE this oatmeal!!

1 cup milk
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 tsp natural peanut butter (optional)
Dried fruit and nuts (optional)
Pure maple syrup, for serving

In a small saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla and spice. Bring to a gentle boil and stir in the oatmeal. Reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes, until the oatmeal is soft and creamy. Stir in the peanut butter, if using.

Spoon the oatmeal into bowls, sprinkle with dried fruits and nuts and serve with warm maple syrup.

Veggie Casserole

Eggplant, chopped into bite-size pieces
fresh mushrooms, sliced
zucchini, and yellow squash , chopped into bite size pieces
red onions, diced
red peppers, diced
homemade marinara or store bought spaghetti sauce (I use one with chunky tomato, basil, and garlic)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to coat with the sauce. Spread into a casserole dish and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

Stuffed Zucchini

I made this the other and it was SO good!!! I'll definitely make this again. Although, I did it a bit differently. I didn't add the sausage, tomato soup, or water. I used Italian diced tomatoes and added a clove of garlic and sprinkled mozzarella cheese on top for the last 5 or 6 minutes. Next time, I'll probably add basil and oregano to the meat mixture.

Ingredients

• 4 medium zucchini
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
• 1 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C). Grease or spray a 13x9 inch baking dish.
2. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out the seeds. Chop and reserve about 3/4 of the seeds for the stuffing. In a medium bowl, mix together the ground beef, sausage, chopped onion, bread crumbs, egg and the reserved zucchini seeds. Place the meat mixture equally into all of the zucchini halves; mixture should be piled up over the top. Place the filled zucchini halves into the prepared baking dish.
3. In a bowl, stir together the crushed tomatoes, tomato soup, and water. Spoon the tomato mixture over the filled zucchini, liberally. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes, or until meat is fully cooked. You may want to place foil or a cookie sheet underneath the baking dish because it tends to bubble over and splash.