Menu Monday: Week Three

Yay! We are back to Monday again, and another installment of Menu Monday!
So what's on the menu at the Ford's house this week? Lots of warm comforting food, with quite a few seasonal yummies thrown in.

Black & White Vegetarian Chili

This link is a three for one! There are three Chili recipes contained here, and all of them are super easy. We have made the curry chili and the pumpkin chili before (and I even combined the two recipes for an even more delicious result!), but this time I chose the Black and White Chili, just to shake things up. So far the pumpkin Chili is my favorite, but we'll see if that changes!

Tomato, Herb, and Goat Cheese Frittata

This recipe hails from my newest favorite recipe blog Naturally Ella. She is my kind of cook! She uses natural, wholesome, in-season produce in here recipes. This one is from October, and uses the last of her yummy tomatoes, so not in season anymore, but still delicious! And thanks to my handy, dandy, anniversary gift I am now able to make Frittatas! Yum Yum Yum! I have a very big love for cheese of all kind, but goat cheese has to be one of my favorite to cook with. It is so tangy and creamy, and works well with so many kinds of food! Don't be afraid to try it, it is delicious!

Roasted Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion, and Goat Cheese Tart

 Now that you know of my obsession with cheese it will come at no surprise that this recipe contains three cheeses! Add in the deliciousness of butternut squash (a staple around here during the winter months), and delectable caramelized onions and there was no way this one was not making it on the menu this week. Bonus is I still have some butternut squash leftover from last weeks Lasagna, so I don't have to carry home a heavy squash!

Roasted Curried Tomatoes with Fried Paneer and Rice

Another lovely recipe from Naturally Ella. This is a lighter take on Indian Food, and seemed like just the right thing to round out my menu. With fresh paneer it should be amazing! I love that I can make Indian food more affordable and accessible now that I can make my own paneer. Learning to make Paneer, Mozzarella, and Ricotta cheeses has really changed the way I look at recipes. I see those ingredients as a gallon of milk, and boy does that make it seem more doable on a budget! Now if only I could learn to make Goat Cheese and find goats milk locally.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup with Lime

Our last recipe hails from Kalyn's Kitchen. With the cold weather I can't help but throw in more soups into our menu. I love soup, and I am trying to convert my husband to loving soup and chili. So far I have found one soup and one chili he actually likes. This recipe mainly made it on here because I have two extra cans of Black beans in my pantry, and a large sweet potato that has to be used. That makes this soup a budget helper, as all I have to pick up are some limes! Score! I always love finding recipes that use what I have on hand!

Menu Monday: Week Two

It's been a long week around here. I got super busy putting in some projects for a Design Team call and neglected my blog mid-week last week. I thought of posting on the weekend, but with all the snow we received it made our errands more difficult and draining than usual and I just didn't find the time.


SO let's get a fresh start this morning! On to this weeks Menu monday! This one is brought to you by my husband who volunteered to menu plan this week.

Tofu Makhani

At our house Indian Food is comfort food. It's aromas fill our house on many occasions because we love it so much! This particular recipe is an easy one to get your feet wet with. The only ingredient I have had a hard time finding is the Fenegrek Leaves, and you can find those online on Amazon for a decent price. This is the ultimate in sweet and savory, deliciousness. It is even better with paneer, so if you have some on hand, or are lucky enough to know how to make it I suggest going that route. Perhaps there will be a tutorial on making paneer in the near future.

Adult Grilled Cheese

We made our own variation on this lovely sandwich. Ours contained Sharp white Cheddar instead of fresh mozzarella (though if I had had the time we would have made some fresh mozzarella, that stuff is amazing!!), and thinly sliced tomatoes instead of the pepperoni. Served on sourdough bread with some tomato soup these were a perfect choice for a cold snowy day!

 

Black Bean and Guac Burritos

These beauties come from the blog Naturally Ella. I just discovered this blog, but the multitude of delicious recipes means I will likely be making some more of her wonderful food. Obviously my husband was in an Avocado mood this week as he chose recipes! I won't complain, I love the little green fruits! And with the large ones on sale for .80 each this week I am thrilled!

 

Butternut Squash Lasagna

This is the most addictive lasagna I have ever had! No delicious you won't even notice that there aren't ANY of the traditional lasagna elements in it (except lasagna noodles of course!) The butternut squash is the perfect fall filling for lasagna, and when paired with yummy fresh basil the depth of flavors in this one are amazing. If you only try on recipe I post ever this is the one I suggest. You will not regret it. Thank you Batter Licker for a wonderful family favorite! 

 

Pizza Puffs 

Last but not least, a sure hit with the kids, Pizza puffs from Lick the Bowl Good. I don't know about you, but anything that is snack sized gets a great review with my kids. They love food made on their scale! And if you give them something to dip it in than you have a sure fire winner! These will be made at my house this week, with the adaptation of mushrooms instead off pepperoni (though I am sure my kids would eat the pepperoni up!) I suspect I will be hailed as the greatest mommy ever on the night these are served, and that much pasta sauce will end up all over my children.

So there you have it! Some menu Inspiration for this week! Let me know if you try any of them, and what you think!

Menu Monday- Week One

Sometimes it is easy to get stuck in a food rut around our house, making the same things over and over again. We have our favorites around here, and often we fail to branch out from them.
In an effort to get a more varied menu going in our house I am going to start sharing 5 recipes every Monday that we are trying at our house this week! Hopefully it will help you branch out too and try new things!
So without further ado let's start off this week's Menu Monday round-up!



Roasted Red Pepper Soup With Roasted Chickpeas
This recipe hails from the blog Edible Perspective. It caught my eye with it's lovely red-ish orange color. Just looks divine! Fall is a time for soup in my opinion, so I like to have at least one soup recipe planned a week (despite my husband pretty much hating soup... silly husband!) We will probably serve it with some bread maker bread. Yum yum! Or maybe a Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Now that sounds good!




Stir-Fried Tofu with Scallions, Garlic, Ginger, and Soy Sauce
A week's menu at our house would not be complete without a Tofu recipe. I know, you must be thinking "How the heck does she get her children to eat tofu?!". The answer is, my children beg for tofu, it is their favorite food. Yes, you heard right. My 5 year old and three year old both love tofu. This recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen looked amazing today, so on the menu it goes!




Gina's Creamy Mushroom Lasagna
Another much loved ingredient that hardly a week goes by without it ending up in our food is Mushrooms. When I saw mushrooms mixed with another favorite around here, lasagna, I knew this had to be on this weeks menu. Crazy me even plans to make her own ricotta for it! Have I ever mentioned I make some of my own cheese? I've got Paneer and Fresh Mozzarella under my belt already, so Ricotta should be a breeze, right? This lovely recipe comes from AllRecipes.com

Slow Cooker Black Bean, Corn and Spinach Enchiladas

This amazing looking concoction comes from Sweet Happy Life. The reason it landed on my menu this week? It's a crockpot recipe, which can be a lifesaver on a day when I have a lot to do. This may end up being a Friday recipe, so I can make my Husband do it before he goes to work (Yes, I make my husband cook occasionally, mostly on weekends). I love that it uses mostly stuff I have on hand, but I will be skipping the homemade sauce just for convenience.



 Roasted Veggie and Black Bean Burritos
These are a favorite around here, despite my husband professing he doesn't like sweet potatoes. I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen, which has become one of my favorite places to find recipes. In an average week we usually find two recipes from that site on our list. These are quite delicious, and pretty easy. They give me that sweet and savory combo that I am a sucker for.




Well there you have it folks! That's what is on the table at our house this week! They will be supplemented with a dinner out (Rumbi's is giving away free meals this week if you bring in two cans of food for the food bank! Good for the community, and good for your wallet!), and a quick prepare recipe. All of these recipes are vegetarian, and the top two are vegan. If you try any of these recipes let me know, and leave a review on the websites they came from! I'd love to see what you think!