Menu Plan for 12/28-1/3/10

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was filled with food, fun and family...followed by Tums, sleep and a coma-like stint on the couch!

Seriously. And because we had electricity (unlike our 3 day outage last year!), it was a perfect day.

And because I got to "veg out" and watch "The Princess Bride" the next day, it made it better than perfect. Add in the dark chocolate Reeses peanut butter cups...

...let's just say, I would've given my children anything if they'd asked! Thankfully, they left me alone and didn't take advantage of me during my moment of weakness. (Okay, it was more like 12 moments of weakness, but who's counting?)

This week, we'll be "detoxing" from our sugar binge and eating from the freezer and pantry. We'll be enjoying several soups and adding in some vegetarian dishes, as well as using spelt flour for homemade pizza.

Here's what's cookin' this week...

Monday: Sourdough English muffin, poached egg, fresh squeezed orange/grapefruit juice
Peanut butter and jam crackers, clementines
*Tortellini Spinach Soup, multi-grain rolls

Tuesday: Soaked oatmeal w/ blueberries
Cheese & turkey quesadillas, apple slices
4 Bean dish, cornbread (carried over from last week)

Wednesday: Yogurt/granola/fruit parfaits
Taco salad
*Lentil soup, multi-grain rolls

Thursday: Plum smoothies, toast
*Black Bean Burgers, broccoli salad
Cheese fondue, pumpernickel and rye breads, fruit platter with yogurt dip, veggie platter, nitrite/nitrate free deli meats, sparkling apple cider

Friday: Waffles, juice
**Spinach/Ricotta White Pizza with homemade spelt crust**, salad

Saturday: Granola
Leftovers
Pesto Linguine, salad

Sunday: Granola
Melissa's choice (since she's cooking!)

*Recipes*

Tortellini Spinach Soup

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tb. olive oil
2 14-1/2 oz. cans chicken broth (or make your own)
14-1/2 oz. can stewed tomatoes (I use a quart of home-canned)
9 oz. pkg. cheese tortellini, uncooked
10 oz. pkg. frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained (semi-thaw and squeeze)
salt and pepper to taste
grated Parmesan cheese

In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, saute garlic in oil for 2-3 minutes. Add broth and tomatoes with juice; turn heat up to high and bring to boil. Stir in tortellini and cook according to package instructions. When tortellini is almost done, add spinach; heat through. Add salt and pepper. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over individual servings, before serving. Serves 6.

Lentil Soup

8 cups water
2 12 oz. pkg. dried lentils
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 quarts pureed tomatoes (Blend stewed tomatoes to get puree)
1 large sweet onion, diced
2 large carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tb. fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tb. sea salt
1 t. pepper
1/2 t. dried thyme
2 bay leaves, broken to release flavor
6 slices bacon, cooked (not crispy!) and chopped

Throw everything into pot. Let cook with lid on medium low for 2 or more hours. Easily adaptable to the crock-pot.

Black Bean Burgers

2 15 oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2 t. garlic salt
2 t. cayenne pepper (or less, if you don't like a little heat!)
8 whole grain buns, split
Garnish: sliced tomatoes, Swiss cheese slices, lettuce

Place black beans and onion in a food processor; process to a mashed consistency. Transfer to a bowl; mix in egg, bread crumbs and seasonings. Form into 8 burgers; cook on a grill or in a skillet with a little olive oil for about 5 minutes on each side, until golden. Place on buns; garnish as desired. Makes 8 sandwiches.

**I will post the recipe for Spinach/Ricotta White Pizza and the Spelt flour crust tomorrow!**

For more menu ideas, check out Organizing Junkie!