Menu Monday #30

Loving the darker shade! :)

We spent another nice, relaxing weekend at home this weekend. Josh decided to work from home on Friday morning, which meant it was like a 3-day weekend! :) There have definitely been perks for him not working in a manufacturing setting anymore. We enjoyed lunch out together at Atlanta Bread Company. We hadn't been in awhile and I had missed their roasted butternut squash soup! I took the afternoon off and enjoyed a cut and color with my favorite stylist, so I'm sporting a darker, more chocolate color now for the winter. I love it! That evening, we decided to stay in and order some pizza for dinner.

On Saturday morning, I tried a new recipe for strawberry pancakes. Ethan had been requesting some for weeks, so who was I to deny my 3-year-old some yummy pancakes?!? ;) I found a recipe from Rachael Ray, and tweaked it just a bit to fit our needs. Here's what I used...

Strawberry Pancakes with Cream Cheese Icing
(makes 18 pancakes, serves 5-6 people)

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1-16 oz package of strawberries, sliced

Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and vanilla. Preheat a nonstick griddle over medium heat. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir in the melted butter. The batter should be thick and smooth. Fold in the strawberries. Spoon the batter onto the griddle. Cook the pancakes until set and bubbled throughout, about 3 minutes. Flip them with a spatula and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Serve with cream cheese icing. Enjoy!

Looking sweet and innocent before gobbling up THREE pancakes!!

We all loved the flavor of these pancakes! Noah managed to gobble up THREE of them!! Wow. I seriously have no idea where he puts all that food in his tiny little body. Nor do I know how he manages to gain so little weight! I need some of his metabolism, that's for sure! ;) This pancake is probably better suited as a summer breakfast, but it worked for this weekend since we enjoyed temperatures in the high 60s again. Craziness for the middle of December in TN!

Breaking in the new bed!

Later on Saturday, we decided to go mattress shopping. We have been looking for awhile for something to replace the original mattress we bought when we moved into our first house almost 7 years ago. It has not held up nearly as well as we expected it to, leaving us both with sore necks and backs in the morning, so we were anxious to replace it. So, we bought ourselves a Christmas present - a new Tempurpedic Contour Signature mattress that was on sale! Awesome. We both prefer a very firm mattress, so this fit the bill perfectly. We managed to talk them in to delivering it that night, so we have enjoyed it the past 2 nights! :) Since we were waiting for the mattress to be delivered during dinner time, I ended up going out to pick up some take-out from the Yong Asian House. It's always a tasty meal, and was quick, too!

On Sunday morning, I wanted to try making some steel cut oats for breakfast. During the week, I had made some quick oats with dried cranberries and sliced almonds and they were delicious. Since I had a bit more time on the weekend (as in Daddy was there to distract the hungry little boys!), I wanted to try the steel cut variety, since they take longer. I used this recipe as a guide, to come up with this...

Apple Cinnamon Oats

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups water
• 3/4 cup steel cut oats
• Dash of salt
• 1 medium apple, peeled, cored & diced into 1/2-inch pieces (I used a honey crisp)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• Milk, if desired

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, bring the water and salt to a boil. Stir in the oats and bring to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the apples, cinnamon and brown sugar. Cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes, or until the oats are tender. Stir in the walnuts (and milk, if you want it to be a thinner consistency) before serving. Yum!

And now for our menu for the week.

Sunday: NY strip steak, oven roasted parmesan broccoli, oven roasted red potatoes

We fired up the grill since the weather was beautiful, in the high 60s again! The veggies were seasoned with EVOO, a little sea salt and freshly ground pepper. I also used some rosemary on the potatoes.

Monday: Baked pork chops, roasted sweet potatoes with honey and rosemary

I'll brown the pork chops with a quick sear, then finish them off by baking them in the oven. I haven't made the sweet potatoes in awhile, but both of the boys love them.

Tuesday: Melt in your mouth baked chicken, whole wheat rotini, oven roasted asparagus

This is such a great, easy meal that the kids will both eat. And it's healthy with the use of Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise! For my asparagus, I season with a little EVOO, sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Wednesday: Spaghetti and meatballs, oven roasted green beans

A classic. I use whole wheat spaghetti. For the meatballs, I'll use 1/2 lean ground beef and 1/2 sausage, for some great flavor. I didn't try roasting the beans last week because I didn't think it would work well with frozen beans. This week, I bought some fresh ones, so I'll season with a little EVOO, sea salt and freshly ground pepper before roasting.

Thursday: Buffalo ranch pulled chicken, rice, corn
I'm going to try this new recipe this week. It sounded tasty, so we'll see how it goes! I'll serve it over rice, with lightly buttered sweet corn on the side.

Friday: Girl's Night!

I'll be enjoying a night out with friends, so the guys will probably order a pizza here at home. I'm so excited!

Saturday: Out to eat

We'll eat out somewhere!

Happy meal planning to you this week. Are you ready for Christmas? I haven't done much shopping yet, so I better get it in gear! If you need ideas or some cash, keep reading!

If you haven't checked out Mom of the Year's posts on What Real Moms Want for Christmas yet, please do so! Keep tuning in every Monday, as you just might see someone you know there next week. ;)

And don't forget about the Target gift card and kreations by kristy gift certificate giveaway going on at Janine's Confessions of a Mommyaholic. Hurry on over before the contest ends Wednesday!