Thursday, April 2, 2009

What's Cooking -- April

Here are the "What's Cooking" archives for the month of April. I'll keep adding to the list as I update the column.

April 30th:
Tonight I am making the Chicken Pot Pie recipe from my new cookbook. It looks totally wonderful. It has a whole grain biscuit topping that looks pretty good too. The only thing I will have to change is the vegetables. Since I have lots of greens, I plan on adding some along with onions, carrots, beans and corn.

Side dish? That is the question. Salad again? I think so. Good thing we like salad!

April 29th:
After a long afternoon in the kitchen yesterday (power bars, Love Muffins, dinner, pulling meat off the chicken, then CLEAN UP), I am thankful for a simple night tonight.

We are having Black Bean Soup with a Garden Salad. How simple is that?

April 28th:
This morning I put a chicken in the crock pot. Tonight I will prepare some potatoes for a side dish... my kids love potatoes and they seem to fill the children's bottomless hunger. Then, I have an abundance of vegetables to choose from. I think with the weather being so warm, I would just like a salad... with my chicken on top.

This afternoon I also have to make power bars. If I get totally ambitious, I will try to make some Love Muffins too. If I do, I'll take pictures and post about this wheat-free muffin recipe.

April 27th:
I have got 1/2 a gallon of yogurt culturing... that is, I have warmed the milk and added the culture and the milk is now curdling.

Tonight I am picking up a produce box for me and four neighbors, so I will be serving leftovers once again. (Good thing I cook extra!)

Saturday night, I made a chicken and vegetable dish. Then, for my in-laws last night, I made a tortellini salad with asparagus. We will have both of those for supper tonight.

April 24th:
It is just me and the girls tonight so I am serving the leftovers from Witzy's birthday... right down to the leftover Raspberry Tart!

April 23rd:
I am making a recipe from my new cookbook tonight! We will be having Pecan and Coconut Encrusted Chicken with Kale, Carrots and Oven Roasted Potatoes.

April 22nd:
Today is Witzy's birthday. She has chosen to have homemade Macaroni and Cheese with steamed broccoli and a Raspberry Tart for dessert.

April 21st:
I will have a very busy afternoon today. I'm sure you've been there too. Days like today offer very little time for cooking. I try to plan ahead for these days.

This time around, I have something stored in the freezer for just such a day as this. I found some organic sprouted grain crust frozen pizzas for 70% off at Kroger the other day. They were marked down for closeout. I guess not that many people want a sprouted grain crust. One is chicken and feta, the other is tomato and basil. YAY... for affordable yet healthy freezer food!

We will have a large garden salad on the side too.

April 20th:
Do I dare??? My mother gave me a wonderful cookbook yesterday (more on this in my post), and I simply can't wait to try out some of the recipes! I'm not going to make the usual Monday Crock-Pot Chicken... the very Monday after I posted my cooking routines! I am itching to try something new.

I am thinking of making Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos. The "Do I Dare" question arises because my children dislike sweet potatoes every way except Sweet Potato Fries or Sweet Potato Muffins. Would they like these burritos? Do I dare try this recipe out? It sounds good to me... but.

I have all the ingredients, so I'll give it a go... and I'll make a side dish that they just love.

I will also go ahead and cook all the sweet potatoes I have at the same time. On Baking Day, I will make Sweet Potato Muffins.

April 17th:
Tonight is our 10th Wedding Anniversary! I am making the not-so-frugal, but greatly-loved Chicken Parmesan. Most of the chicken we eat is meat from a whole chicken, but I found some Organic Chicken Breasts on BIG SALE at the grocery store. We will have a garden salad as well.

For dessert, which we have on special occasions such as today, the kids and I have made a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cheesecake! YUM-O. The good thing about peanut butter cheesecakes is that they are already brown, so using a natural sweetener doesn't change the appearance.

April 16th:
Unfortunately, we are down to the very last selections of meat from our freezer. I am still looking for a good source for grass-fed beef.

Since I can't waste good food, even if I don't prefer it, we will be having venison tonight. I am going to use it in Black Bean and Vegetable Chili. Hopefully, all the flavors will mask the gamey taste. Tonight I will add mushrooms, onions, zucchini and chard to the chili. Yes, my children will eat greens in their chili. I chop everything very small.

I still have lots of salad vegetables from my produce box, so Rainbow will make a salad for us to have on the side.

April 15th:
As it is Wednesday, we will be having beans and rice tonight. I know... it doesn't seem too exciting, but the children gladly eat it... and we save a lot of money on this Frugal Night!

April 14th:
I am baking Salmon tonight. Since the green beens looked the neediest in my produce box, we will have them tonight too. I also will be serving Carrot and Beet Salad and more oven-roasted potatoes. The kids can't get enough of them!

April 13th:
For yesterday's Easter Luncheon, we had Roast Lamb with Oven Roasted Potatoes, Carrot and Beet Salad and Sugar Snap Peas.

Tonight I will be turning the leftover lamb into a skillet stew to serve with steamed brown rice. It is such a rainy day here, so stew seems like the comfort food we will all appreciate.

April 4-12:
Since this is our Spring Break week, I won't be cooking according to my normal routine. We even get to go out a few times! The meals I will prepare here at home will be as simple as possible, yet still made with whole foods. Here are some of my ideas for next week:












  • Preservative-Free Hot Dogs with Homemade French Fries (my kids LOVE this treat!)
  • Layered Dip (Taco-seasoned Beef, Beans, Guacamole, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, Olives, Cheese) with Non-GMO corn chips
  • Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Salad
  • Breakfast Burritos
  • Salmon Broccoli Pasta

April 3rd:
Today is my husband's birthday! He is truly an amazing man. My children are privileged to have such a loving father. And I am beyond blessed to have such an understanding husband.


We are baking a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pound Cake for this celebratory occasion. I will make some healthier alterations to the recipe, but it will be a special treat for us... with Breyer's Chocolate Chip ice cream on the side.


And, tonight --- we are going out for supper! YAY! I don't know whether going out is more special for my husband or for me... looking forward to a no cleanup evening.


April 2nd:
Tonight we are having "Taco Skillet" from a recipe I saw in an ad for Campbell's Tomato Soup. I don't use a can of soup. I've tweaked it so that I can make it without any processed foods. It is a family favorite... and really simple on nights when I've got late afternoon engagements.


We will have a large garden salad on the side too.


April 1st:
The challenge tonight is coming up with supper using only produce and pantry items. I have the goods from my box on Monday, but I haven't been to the grocery store for quite a while. I may be able to fit it in tonight, but not before supper.


So, I think we will be using some homemade chicken stock to make a vegetable and rice soup. If I get my act together before Ballet this afternoon, we should have "5 Minute Artisan Rolls" for dipping.

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