Super Stuffed Baked Potatoes

I am not a big supporter of "sneaking" vegetables into kid's food to get them to eat veggies, but this recipe for super stuffed baked potatoes is an exception.  I like to have a meatless meal, or at least a less-meat meal, once a week.  That does not always go over well with the boys in the family.  I served these potatoes as the main course and a side of grilled chicken tenders.  No complaints!

Butternut Squash Soup

This week, like most, is busy.  I bought a butternut squash last week and it still was not cooked.  I cut it in half and roasted it in the oven two nights ago.  I seeded it and scraped out the pulp and it was refrigerated until last night when I finally had time to make soup.

I sliced two leeks (and cleaned them) and peeled and diced one carrot; season with salt and pepper.  I sauteed the leeks and carrot in 1/2 cup of butter until they were sightly browned.  Add the squash to the pot and saute for about 3 minutes.  De glaze the pan with 1 cup of white wine.  Add enough chicken stock to cover the squash and simmer until the carrots are tender.  Use an immersion blender or food processor to puree the soup.  If desired, top the soup with a little heavy cream.

Make Your Own Pizza

It is the best "go to" dinner around...make your own pizza night.  I originally planned it for Friday, but we ended up going to a friend's house.  Monday night, relaxing (in between practices, that is), easy clean up, early to bed.

If I get really ambitious, a salad!

Fettuccine with Crab-Tomato Butter Sauce

One of the best recipes ever!, yes ever!, published is Tomato Butter.  I made one batch of the butter during the summer and needed to make a second batch because it is so good and I wanted to have some during the winter months.  I froze the extra in small batches. 

Yesterday, I used the butter to create a crab sauce for fettuccine.  I first seasoned the crab meat with Old Bay seasoning.  I heated the seasoned crab in a skillet and added the tomato butter, a stick of butter, and red pepper flakes.  I tossed the sauce with cooked fettuccine and topped with Parmesan.  Delicious!

Weeknight Enchiladas

Monday will be a busy day and I am planning to make weeknight enchiladas.  I got the recipe from the Easy Weeknight Favorites cookbook from Southern Living.  The linked website is the exact recipe.

To make tomorrow's meal preparation easier and faster, I cooked the onion and ground beef with the tomato soup and enchilada sauce.  That mixture is sitting in my refrigerator.  Tomorrow, all I have to do is assemble the enchiladas and bake.

Chicken, Potato, and Leek Pie

Sunday...comfort food.  Oh, and three football games.  And rain.  Good thing my plan was for Chicken, Potato and Leek Pie.  One change I made was that I used chicken breast instead of the chicken thighs.  Also, I cooked the chicken yesterday so all I had to do when I got home was to assemble and bake.

I do confess, I cheated.  I only went to one game today and left the hubby with the rest of the games.  It was the second day of rainy football and I wanted to bring the youngest home (and me too).  Salad and dinner was ready when everyone walked in.

First Day of School

My intention, back in May or June, was to increase my blogging about cooking.  I figured I would be cooking more and have those recipes to share.  I was half correct.  I cooked, but I did not blog.  I apologize.

Today, for my family was the first day of school.  This fall, our schedule includes junior varsity football, junior football and cheerleading, dance will start in a few weeks, and work for mom and dad.  Many of you know the routine.

Getting a meal together today was easy (but starting next week, Wednesdays I will be getting home later than today).  I was home to greet the three youngest getting off the bus and before junior football and cheer practice, I prepped rice by par cooking and I have the sauce for Marmalade Meatballs ready.  The meatball recipe is usually done in the crock pot, but I did not plan ahead.  It will take no time to pull it together when we all get home. (While the kids are at practice, I will be at yoga and my husband will get the kids home from practice.  I will have about a half an hour to get cooking before they get home.)  I will heat and put together a salad, and some frozen vegetables.  Dinner done.