Meal Planning Rut

so, this year so far I have fallen into a little bit of a rut as far as my meal planning goes.  Don't get me wrong, I am still doing it, because for one it makes my grocery trips much easier and sticking to my detailed list saves me money and secondly, it also makes dinner time a little less stressful and more organized. So, what is the problem?  My husband traveling and working in Alaska for four months has caused me to slip into an eating more quick, kid-friendly foods, get them fed, bathed, and to bed as fast as I can kind of rut!  Hence, the reason why I haven't been posting my meal plans on here.  I mean, who wants to see menus of frozen pizza, spaghetti, chili dogs and mac and cheese? So, brace yourself come mid-March/first of April, because I will be blowing up this blog with tons of new recipes and more yumminess than you can stand! 

I'll leave you with this picture of some amazing stuffed poblano peppers my husband grilled when he was home this past weekend.  Now, if I can get him to share his recipe with me, I'll blog it!

Banana Nut Bread

i'm always on the look out for new banana nut bread recipes. tried this one and loved it! secret ingredient: cornflakes cereal! i blogged this recipe at Bright Copper Kettles this morning.  Check out the site and grab this banana nut bread recipe, you're sure to love it!

Slow Cooker Tuscan Beef Stew



this stew is so delicious and makes a large amount.  i always plan on having left overs for the next evening, but there is never enough left after my family goes back for seconds....and thirds!

 makes: 8 (1-cup) servings
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 8 hours on LOW or 4 hours on HIGH

ingredients:
1 tablespoon mixed pickling spice (i usually buy McCormick)
2 pounds beef stew meat, trimmed and cut into 1 to 1/2 inch cubes (if there is a value pack available, which may be a little over 2 pounds, i go ahead and buy this)
1 medium onion, cut into medium wedges
4 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch slices
3 medium size potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 teaspoon rosemary leaves, crushed
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon flour
8 slices day-old Italian bread, toasted

preparing it:
1.  Place the pickling spice in the center of a piece of cheesecloth or coffee filter.  Tie tightly with a long piece of string.
2.  Place beef cubes, onion, carrots, potatoes, crushed rosemary, garlic powder, and bouillon cubes to slow cooker.  Stir in tomatoes and wine.  Add pickling spice bundle. Cover.
3.  Cook 8 hours on LOW or 4  hours on HIGH.  Remove Pickling spice bundle.
4.  Thicken stew by mixing flour with 1 tablespoon water in medium bowl until smooth.  Stir in several tablespoons hot liquid from stew, then stir flour mixture into stew.  Cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until stew thickens slightly.  To serve, place 1 slice of bread in each bowl.  Spoon stew over bread.

tips: for best results, do not remove cover during cooking.

nutritional information:
Calories: 299
Fat: 7 grams
Fiber 3 grams
Protein: 32 grams
Carbs: 27 grams

again, this is a yummy stew that is easy to prepare, but just don't plan on having many left-overs!

enjoy!

Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan

this is some simply sensational asparagus!

you need:

1 lb. fresh asparagus

2 tBsp olive oil

salt

freshly ground black pepper

grated Parmesan cheese

cooking it:

1.  heat oven to 450 degrees.  Trim asparagus, snapping off touch ends.  drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over the center of a rimmed baking sheet; spread asparagus evenly in the pan, in a single layer.  drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive  oil; sprinkle with sat and freshly ground black pepper.

2. roast 5 minutes for crisp-tender asparagus, 8 minutes for softer asparagus.

3.  transfer asparagus to serving dish.  sprinkle with Parmesan cheese; serve immediately.

yields 4 servings.

...even my kids like this!

enjoy!