Menu Plan–August 26

Here we are – the start of another academic year.  Last week was spent gearing up for the new year.  Two days of faculty retreat (including a session led by yours truly), followed by exited freshman arriving to campus, was enough to get me ready for another year. 

Menu planning during the school year is different than the summer months, as we are more constrained by time.  So – quick meals, and menu items that can be prepared ahead of time make a big difference.  Last week, we pilot tested some recipes – especially some new lunch ideas I’m looking forward to sharing with you.  To see a recipe from the collage below, click on the image that interests you. 

This week, the back-to-school menu is in full swing.  I spent about three hours in the kitchen today making lunch items, and getting our kitchen ready for a busy week.  Here’s what we’re planning to eat:

Sunday
Whole Wheat Oat Bread with Blueberry Butter {new}
Leftover Ratatouille & brown rice
Neighborhood Spaghetti Feed {bring these caprese rolls)

To do: Thaw banana bread, thaw chicken, make brown rice & broccoli & breakfast bars

Monday {First Day of Classes!}
Honey Whole Wheat Banana Bread {new}, fruit & yogurt
Broccoli, Brown Rice and Black Beans with Cheddar Cheese
Balsamic Crusted Chicken & Grilled Veggies with Wild Rice

To do: Grill extra chicken breasts

Tuesday
Granola and blueberries
Leftovers
Chicken Parmesan Sandwiches {new}, Sweet Potato Fries

Wednesday
White Whole Wheat Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce
Leftovers
Mixed Roasted Veggies & Pasta, Broccoli

To do: Dice extra veggies for breakfast, shred some extra cheese

Thursday
Veggie Scramble
Simple Chicken Wraps, grilled veggies {leftover}
Grilling – Turkey Burgers, Pickles & sweet corn on the cob!

To do: Thaw burger buns, thaw pizza sauce

Friday
Granola and blueberries
Leftovers
Grilled Pizza, green beans

To Do: Make bagel dough, thaw sausages,

Saturday
Homemade bagels, blueberry butter
Clean out the fridge
Lazy Sunday Casserole {new, carryover}, veggies

Snacks
Popcorn
Applesauce {freezer}
Raspberry Rhubarb Breakfast Bars
Yogurt with fruit
Dried Fruit

Here’s to the start of my third year as a professor!  How time passed so quickly, I do not know.  We’re just taking things one week at a time, and enjoying every bite along the way. 

Find more great menus at OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday!

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Friday Favorite Finds #123

It’s Friday again – and the very last one before the semester starts up!  I’m really looking forward to being back working with college students – they are so passionate and engaged, it’s really fun.  Alas, my experimenting time in the kitchen will decrease until May – so we’ll have to find some quick and easy recipes to try. 

{All images are from the original recipe source, and linked through Pinterest}

Grilled Vegetables
{Love this idea!  Need to do it more often}

Source: orgjunkie.com via Finding Joy In My Kitchen on Pinterest

 

Chocolate Chip Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa
{I’ve been itching to try quinoa – this may have pushed me over the edge.  Now, if I can just find a source that isn’t cross contaminated with nuts!}

Source: howsweeteats.com via Finding Joy In My Kitchen on Pinterest

 

Bacon and Cheese Lentil Pie
{Lentils are a super healthy food; add bacon & cheese and you might even be able to pass these off with a picky eater!}

Source: thecheapskatecook.com via Finding Joy In My Kitchen on Pinterest

 

Raspberry Custard
{Fall raspberry season is just about here.  I don’t know if I dare make this – I’m afraid I’ll eat it all!!}

Source: cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com via Finding Joy In My Kitchen on Pinterest

 

 If you like these recipes, pin the source of the recipe & NOT my blog!  If you click on the recipe images, you’ll be directed to Pinterest where you can repin the recipes.  The talented chefs that came up with these recipes deserve the credit and traffic, so, please, please pin the source!

What did you find this week?

Please link up to a post containing your list of recipes to try -- do not link up individual recipes please, your links will be deleted.  Links that do not follow the guidelines will be deleted.  Be sure to leave a link back here to Finding Joy in My Kitchen.

Also – don’t forget to say hello when you stop to visit one another’s finds.  Everyone always appreciates a comment.

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Blueberry Biscuits with Vanilla Blueberry Sauce

I love mornings in my kitchen because the sun is brightly shining on that side of the house; it’s peaceful and quiet – the day hasn’t fully been awakened yet. 

It’s there I feel God’s presence as I cook and bake, listening to the birds chirp their morning chorus, and smelling sweet aromas as the breeze blows through our kitchen window. 

Eventually, Frog Price stirs and comes down to the kitchen wondering what creation he’ll see this morning. 

This weekend, he enjoyed these Blueberry Biscuits with Vanilla Berry Sauce. 

These are not your traditional biscuits – made with white whole wheat flour and half and half rather than heavy whipping cream & butter – and did I mention they are stuffed with berries?  Not to be confused with a muffin, these biscuits are not sweet.  But flavorful they are – especially with the blueberry vanilla sauce. 

Frog Prince and I enjoyed them on our lovely Saturday morning in our sun-filled kitchen.  I hope you also get to enjoy them in yours!    

Blueberry Biscuits with Vanilla Berry Sauce – Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens

Ingredients

• 2 C white whole wheat flour {we used King Arthur}
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 T sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg {slightly heaping}
• 1 C blueberries {we used fresh}
• 1 1/4 C half and half
• 2 C  berries (blueberries, raspberries or both)
• 2 T water
• 1 tsp. corn starch
• 1 T honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together the 2 C white whole wheat flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 2 T sugar, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. {heaping} nutmeg.  Mix well. 

Toss in the blueberries and get them coated by the flour.  This helps prevent the berries from squishing! 

Carefully add in the 1 1/4 C half and half and stir until just moist and all ingredients are incorporated. 

The dough will be wet at this point.  Feel free to toss in up to 1/8 C additional flour. 

Prepare a flat surface by placing a piece of parchment paper or a baking mat on your counter top or cutting board.  Sprinkle that surface with flour and spread it out with your hands so you have a lightly floured surface in front of you. 

Carefully dump out the biscuit dough onto the floured surface.  Make sure you have flour on your hands as well. 

My dough was quite "wet” at this point, so all I did was shape the dough into a 1-inch thick rectangle, about 8 inches square.  But, if your dough is less wet, the directions indicated that you should fold the dough four of five times, working in from each corner. 

Once you’ve achieved your 1-inch thick 8x8inch square, then use a floured knife or pizza cutter to cut the dough into 12 pieces (a 4x4 grid).  Don’t worry if you slice a few berries in the process. 

Transfer the parchment paper to a cookie sheet and bake at 425 on the upper rack for 17-20 minutes, until lightly browned on the top.

While the biscuits bake, prepare the berry sauce.  To make, place 1 C of berries in a saucepan or microwave safe bowl.  Add in 1 tsp. of corn starch and toss the berries to coat.  Then, add in 1 tsp. honey and 2 T water.  Heat until the berries are warmed and the skins of the blueberries pop.  The sauce should thicken slightly too.  You can do this over medium heat, stirring often, on the stove, or in the microwave; heating in 30 second intervals and stirring after each.

Stir in the remaining 1 C berries and 1 tsp. of vanilla. 

Cut apart the biscuits to serve and drizzle the vanilla berry sauce over the top. 

Enjoy!  

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Granola Crisp

This dessert (or breakfast) is ridiculously easy. 

Choose your favorite berries, add your favorite granola and bake.

It’s healthy enough for breakfast. 

But delicious enough for dessert.

Granola Crisp

Ingredients

• 3 C of your favorite berries (we used blueberries & raspberries)
• 1 C of your favorite granola (we used honey cinnamon)
• 1 tsp. corn starch
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions

Lightly spray a glass baking dish (8x8 or smaller, we used a 7x5) with olive oil. 

Toss 3 C berries (fresh or frozen will work) with 1 tsp. corn starch and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. 

Spread in the bottom of the baking dish. 

Sprinkle granola over the top. 

Bake at 325 for 30ish minutes until berries are bubbly.  Be sure to bake on the bottom rack of your oven so that the granola doesn’t get overly browned. 

Serve warm.  For an extra special treat, top with whipped cream. 

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Kitchen Tip: Cleaning your Misto

Do you have an olive oil sprayer like a Misto at your house?  I’ve had ours for about a year now, and up until July, it had been working quite well. 

Then, it started spraying a stream of olive oil.  Which, to me was still better than an aerosol-filled spray. 

But, it wasn’t the spray my Misto had delivered before. 

Thus, we embarked on a clean –a detox if you will, for your Misto. 

And, I’m happy to report, our Misto has a nice fine mist of olive oil now!

You will need:
1/3 C vinegar
3/4 C hot water + more hot water (divided)
1 squirt of dish soap

To clean, follow these simple steps:

1. Dump out any remaining oil in your Misto. 
2. Pour in 1/3 C vinegar.
3. Spray away until you’ve passed all 1/3 C of that vinegar through the Misto.  This helps break up the oil.
4. Place one squirt of dish soap into 3/4 C hot water.  No need to mix, just squirt it in.
5. Pour the soap/water mix into the Misto & spray away.
6. Rinse with hot water.
7. Pour in more hot water and continue spraying until the stream is clear and there is no more soap. 
8. Rinse. 
9. Set the pieces out to dry.

When dry, refill and use as directed. 

Do you have a Misto or other oil spraying product?  How do you like it? 

Linked to: Kitchen Tip Tuesday

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Grilled Zucchini Parmesan Strips

If you are grilling in the coming week, and have zucchini, please take my word and make these delicious Parmesan strips. 

To prepare them takes minutes, and if you already have your grill warmed up, then adding these to your dinner is as easy as can be. 

Grilled Zucchini Parmesan Strips – Adapted from Recipe Roundup

Ingredients

• 1 medium zucchini
• Olive oil
• Garlic powder or minced garlic
• Parmesan cheese
• Sea Salt

Directions

Begin by slicing the zucchini into thin, long strips.  Arrange them on a piece of tinfoil coated with olive oil. 

Season with sea salt, and garlic. 

Top with Parmesan cheese. 

Grill on the tinfoil  - either place the tinfoil on the grill directly, or place it onto a cookie sheet and place that on the grill.  We used a grill basket and that worked well too. 

Grill over medium heat for 10 minutes, taking care not to burn the bottom of the zucchini.  The cheese might get a little brown on the tinfoil, but that’s ok!

Serve warm. 

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Menu Plan–August 19

Hope you’ve all enjoyed your weekend!  It’s been a really relaxing one here – a little baking and cooking to start things off on Saturday morning, some gardening and plenty of walks outside with my hubby.  Our menu plan went pretty well last week:

A few of you commented on my “to do” list on my menu last week and said that you appreciated seeing how we make things happen at our house.  So, I’ll continue to include it – especially because it helps me too!

On our menu this week are lots of new-to-us recipes, including a special honey-butter popcorn I can’t wait to try for our movie date night on Friday!

Sunday
Blueberry Biscuits with Blueberry Sauce {new}, leftover
Spinach & Mushroom Quesadillas, green beans
Wild Rice Brats, Brat Buns, Corn on the Cob, Potato Packets and Fresh Berries

{To do: Roast veggies when grilling, make extra tortillas for the freezer, boil barley}

Monday
Granola and blueberries
Grilled Cheese with Roasted Tomatoes, Roasted Tomato Soup
Italian Balsamic Chicken Stir Fry {new} with brown rice

{To do: Make bread in the morning, make extra rice, thaw pork roast }

Tuesday – Faculty Retreat (Day 1)
White Whole Wheat Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce
Barley with Roasted Summer Vegetables {new}
Crockpot Pulled Pork and Sweet Potatoes {new}, Green Beans
Raspberry FroYo Popsicles {new}

{To do: Bake the baked oatmeal}

Wednesday – Faculty Retreat (Day 2)
Zucchini Bread Baked Oatmeal
Leftovers
Crustless Apple Pie

{To do: Thaw sausages, cut up carrots}

Thursday
Leftover Baked Oatmeal
Zucchini, Black Bean and Rice Skillet {new}
Lazy Sunday Casserole {new}

Friday {Dinner & Movie Date Night – Ratatouille!}
Granola & Blueberries
Leftovers
Remy’s Ratatouille, Brown Rice, Olive Garden Bread Sticks {freezer}
Honey Butter Popcorn {new}

Saturday
TBD
Grilling – Turkey Burgers, White Bean Veggie Burgers {new}, Pickles & more!

Snacks
Popcorn
Applesauce {freezer}
Roasted Red Pepper Dip & veggies or crackers
Yogurt with fruit
Granola Bars
Dried Fruit

Find more great menus at OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday!

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