Menu Plan Monday

The weather has cooled off considerably this month and the kids are back at school, so I've been cooking more. Here's what we're eating this week:

Sunday--Ravioli, salad
Monday--Stuffed pork chops/turkey tenders, baked potatoes, acorn squash
Tuesday--Chicken pot pie
Wednesday--Enchiladas
Thursday--Kids' choice; hubby is out of town
Friday--Pizza
Saturday--Tacos

Egg in a Green Pepper Hole

I heard about this alternative to Egg in a Hole when I was listening to Martha Stewart radio on Sirius.

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 bell pepper (any color), cut into four 1/2-inch-thick rings
4 large eggs
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 teaspoons grated Parmesan (I forgot the Parmesan this time)
4 slices multigrain bread, toasted
8 cups mixed salad greens (We did not have salad with ours, just fresh fruit)

1. In a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high. Add bell pepper, then crack 1 egg into the middle of each pepper ring. Season with salt and pepper and cook until egg whites are mostly set but yolks are still runny, 2 to 3 minutes. Gently flip and cook 1 minute more for over easy. Sprinkle with Parmesan and place each egg on a slice of toast. Toss salad greens with 1 teaspoon oil and season with salt and pepper; serve alongside eggs.

Freezer Jam

This summer, I made freezer jam for the first time ever. I had raspberries from my mom and blueberries that I bought by the case, and I added a few strawberries at the end to get just the right amount of fruit. I followed the directions from the Sure Jell package. It was so easy, I'm not sure why I had never tried it before!

I'm not always sure if it's cost effective to make my own versus buying a product, so I broke down the cost of making this batch of jam:

I used Polaner All Fruit jars I had saved=FREE
Sugar was on sale for $0.69 when you bought 2 Sure Jells. I used about $0.25 of sugar
Sure Jell was $1.69 each; I used a coupon for $1 off 2, making each package $1.19
The raspberries were free from my mom.
The blueberries small amount of strawberries were about $2.
So for $3.44 I got 8+ jars of jam, or $0.43 per jar. And I know exactly what's in it (no high fructose corn syrup!) Not bad!

Triple Berry Crisp

Another recipe from allrecipes.com.

1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries (I used strawberries)
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
4 tablespoons white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups butter (I only used 1 cup of butter)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

1. In a large bowl, gently toss together blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and white sugar; set aside.
2. In a separate large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press half of mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Cover with berries. Sprinkle remaining crumble mixture over the berries.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until fruit is bubbly and topping is golden brown.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

This recipe is from allrecipes.com.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (I did not use walnuts)

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Combine the egg, oil, milk, lemon juice and vanilla; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in zucchini, chocolate chips and walnuts. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done.

Grilled Salmon Packets

I don't have a recipe for this, just the steps I followed to grill some salmon.

Ready to grill

I put each piece of salmon on a square of aluminum foil, sprinkled with dill, and then layered with veggies: green beans fresh from the garden, zucchini, and grape tomatoes. Then I drizzled with olive oil, wrapped up, and grilled until the salmon was done--maybe 15 minutes?

Ready to eat

Menu Plan Monday

School starts tomorrow, cooler weather has arrived, and I'm ready to get back on schedule again. The last month just flew by, and I have several recipes to post. But now, here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday--Stuffed peppers, applesauce
Monday--Homemade vegetable soup, rolls
Tuesday--Grilled pork chops, mashed potatoes, cole slaw
Wednesday--Chicken and rice, carrots
Thursday--Chili or tuna hot dish
Friday/Saturday--Out of town