Gougere

Sounds fancy but there're just cheese puffs. I'm not a baker but these are so easy & so good. Great with soup or beans.

1 cup water

6 tablespoons butter

1 cup flour

4 eggs

1 cup gruyere or sharp cheddar cheese

Heat water & butter in pan until boiling, add flour & stir quickly with a wooden spoon until it forms a ball. Beat in the eggs. Don't get discouraged, it looks like it won't work but just keep mixing , it will look like mashed potatoes. Stir in the cheese. Arrange in small mounds on a baking sheet & bake for 30 45 minutes at 425.

You can add other ingredients like herbs, roasted garlic or olives in the center.  Great party treats!

This weeks menu

Saturday: Bean Burritos We ate these Saturday and I froze the rest. They are almost gone! They are so great to send for lunches or to grab when you need a healthy, fast lunch.

Sunday: Mini-Turkey burgers (as featured in Amie's little green cookbook)

Monday: Pasta and roast vegetables (pictured) I also made a cheese sauce for the kids to add to their noodles. The veg are so flavorful when roasted it hardly needs anything else.

Tuesday: Chipotle Sloppy Joe's from Cooking Light. Must have pickles. I didn't make cole slaw with it but I think it would benefit from having some on the side (or on the sandwich)

Wednesday: Slow-Cooker Lasagna

Thursday: left-overs

Friday: whatever the babysitter cooks (chicken nuggets?)

Most of these were ideas from Amie! from this blog. Don't you feel like it is paying off, now?

Creamy Chicken Stroganoff

1 large can Reduced-Fat Cream of Mushroom soup

1/4 cup sour cream

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 medium red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

8 strips cooked bacon

1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves

1 bay leaf

garnish: parsley and Parmesan cheese

Saute onion in 1 tbsp olive oil until caramelized; pour 1/2 onions into bottom of crock pot. Top with chicken.

Mix soup, sour cream, thyme and bay leaf together and pour over chicken. Top with remaining onions.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Add bacon the last 30-45 minutes.

Serve over whole-wheat egg noodles or brown rice.

Saucy Stir-Fried Pork

This stir-fried pork recipe is from Kraft foods. I don't usually use much from their magazine, but this one actually tasted good. You can use variations on the vegetables included, and I usually double the amount of the soy sauce mixture. I also add in some fresh grated ginger root.

Chocolate Cake

Chocolate cake lovers beware! This is a really moist cake (maybe not so healthy either...) and can be served up with your choice of icing (I prefer without), ice cream, whipped cream, and even your choice of chocolate sauce (Good ol' Betty Crocker's is good).

The Perfect Buttermilk Chocolate Cake Recipe
2 C flour
2 C sugar
3/4 C Hershey's Cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs
1 tsp salt
1 C buttermilk
1 C vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 300 F
2. Lightly grease and flour 9 X 13 pan
3. Place all ingredients in mixing bowl
4. Mix at medium or medium high speed until all ingredients are blended and smooth.
5. Pour into pan and bake for 1 hour.

Open-faced Veggie Melt

Homemade bread+layer of mayo+baby spinach+layer of sliced jack cheese+sliced mushrooms+orange bell pepper+parmesan+garlic salt; broiled=heaven!

Spring Break Menu

Last night: Sausage and Grits Casserole

Tonight: Breaded Pork chops and Spinach-Green bean Casserole

Tomorrow: Smoked sausage and Roasted Veggies- Hobo style!
Wednesday: Noodle Stir-fry

Thursday: leftovers!!!

Friday: Tandoori Kebabs, Roasted Veggies and Naan