Meals for Week of September 6, 2010

Labor Day Cooking

At first I told myself I would not write about Labor Day cooking.  Everywhere you look there’s information; be it sales at the supermarket, the program line up on Food Network and every food/cooking website.  But then I thought I might as well share a couple of great recipes that are good for taking to a barbecue potluck.

Guacamole- This is how I make mine and I have people tell me they love it.  I avoid chopped raw onions which just about every other recipe includes.  I don’t like raw onions and so therefore I don’t put it in MY guacamole.  I do however add a little of a fresh salsa or a pico de gallo, which does contain onions and to me, it’s the right amount to add flavor, but not have it be overpowered by onions like so many guacamoles can be.

Spinach Artichoke Dip- Ooey, gooey and delicious.  Another party food I am often asked to make.  You can mix it ahead of time and bake it at the party, or just re-warm it in the microwave or oven just before serving it.

Broccoli Salad- There is a great ready to assemble broccoli salad kit you can find at Costco, I have had it and it’s good.  But I also like this recipe and it’s really very easy to make.

Snickerdoodle Blondies- My kids LOVE these.  It makes a lot, so it’s great for a party. 

Lunch Ideas

I wanted to share a couple links that have lots of ideas for packing lunches.

I recently wrote about Easy Lunch Boxes- They have a great photo gallery of their boxes packed with lunches.  Tons of inspiration even if you don’t have them.  Although I highly recommend you try them. 

Building a Nutritious Lunchbox- Toward the bottom of this short article is a link to a larger list of lunch ideas.

Meals for Week of September 6, 2010
This week I chose some recipes based on requests from my Facebook page.  There are some crock pot recipes as well as quick and easy meals for busy weeknights.



Fresh Tomato Sauce- Give it a try!  This recipe breaks it down and makes it very simple.  One thing that I do is skip the step of peeling the tomatoes and just roast them at a low temperature in the oven and then push it all through a sieve.

Crockpot Salsa Chicken- Just a few ingredients and incredibly easy.  When it’s ready you could shred the chicken to eat in tortillas or to make a taco-style salad.

Curried Ground Turkey with Potatoes- Incredibly flexible recipe for you to swap in whatever vegetables you want.  It’s inexpensive using ground turkey and very healthy.

Bow Tie Pasta with Feta and Lemon Pepper Chicken- Inspired by fettuccine alfredo, but considerably lighter, this is a great one-pot dish.  You can always make the chicken portion in advance or use this recipe to fix with leftover grilled chicken from another meal.

Fresh Vegetable Quesadillas with Corn Relish- Lovely summer food!  I love that these are grilled instead of pan-fried.  Use a stovetop grill pan or an electric grill if you don’t feel like grilling outdoors.

Stuffed Zucchini with Turkey Sausage- This is one of those recipes you use when you have an overgrown zucchini.

Chili Taco Casserole- A kid friendly casserole that you can always lighten up using ground turkey and whole wheat tortillas.

Crock Pot Tomato Soup- the cooking sherry in this recipe can be replaced with chicken or vegetable broth.  It’s a great way to use up tomatoes from your garden.  Serve it with biscuits or a grilled cheese sandwich and it’s a meal.

Green Bean Ham and Cheese Frittata- This is typically a breakfast or brunch item, but I love it for dinner because you can spend about 10 minutes getting it ready and then let it bake for 25 to 30 minutes, leaving you time to do something else.  It’s got everything you need in one dish, or you can add a salad or eat it with some fruit.

Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia with Salsa- My preference is to eat this with Trader Joe’s pineapple salsa, or to make a fresh mango salsa (diced mango, chopped cilantro, lime juice and chili powder).  Tilapia is such a great, inexpensive fish.

Side Dishes/Dessert

Three Bean Salad with Vinaigrette- Give this a try instead of the usual green salad.  You can swap out the beans listed for other kinds if you prefer.

Blackberry Cobbler- Delicious, vegan and lower in fat than traditional cobbler.  Plus very easy to make.

Raw Berry Crisp- A great healthy dessert, perfect to bring to a BBQ or to make for yourself on a weeknight.