::two week::

monday:: salad wraps
tuesday:: taquitos & chips & dip
wednesday:: chicken fajitas & sweet corn on the cob
thursday:: {{eating out}}
friday:: southwest turkey burgers, sweet potato fries, corn on cob
saturday:: chicken salad on sourdough
sunday:: honey mustard chicken & green beans

monday:: {{husband in field}}
tuesday:: mexican pizza
wednesday:: spinach feta pasta
thursday:: pesto chicken quesadilla
friday::{{eating out}}
saturday:: salad wraps
sunday::

::two week menu::

monday:: {{husband in field}}
tuesday:: 7 layer dip
wednesday:: diablo shrimp pasta
thursday:: leftovers
friday:: red and white spinach lasagna, parmesan zucchini, crunchy tossed salad, and garlic bread {{we had guests - which is why we had so much food}}
saturday:: sloppy jo, slop-sloppy joes
sunday:: salad wraps

monday:: {{husband in field}}
tuesday:: taco chicken & wild rice
wednesday:: basil mozarella pizza
thursday:: {{Vegas - picking up sis at la aeroport}}
friday:: chicken aflredo pasta {{use leftover alfredo from lasagna}}
saturday:: shrimp nachos
sunday:: {{Vegas - taking sis to la aeroport}}

mediterranean turkey burgers

as promised, the turkey burgers. i know, i know, there must be thousands of people holding their breath, waiting...

but seriously, these are good. once upon a time, i went to eat at Red Ruby for dinner. and i got an avocado turkey burger. and it was my first turkey burger. and i fell in love. since i don't eat red meat, this was a real discovery. so i decided i would start ordering turkey burgers anywhere we went to eat to see how they stacked up. then my friend suggested i just make some. she told me how to do it, told me to google 'mediterranean turkey burgers' if i forgot any of it, and ta-da. well, i did forget, and i did google, but it wasn't like what she said. SO i don't know if the title up there is correct. so be it.

okay, so i'm not doing a recipe card for these because they are "so simpo!"

1. dice 3-4-5 cloves of garlic, whatever you feel like.

2. heat up the garlic in some olive oil in a saucepan, maybe 2 T. ish

3. throw in a few handfuls of baby spinach. i use whatever i need to finish out the bag before it goes bad. this will wilt way, way down, though, so don't be scared.

4. remove from heat.

5. cut up some mozarella chunks. i actually used one string cheese because that was all i had. plus, i put cheese on top, anyway, so i don't want to go ridiculously overboard.

6. combine the cheese and the spinach mixture in a meat-safe bowl. (that means one that you will wash really, really, really good. can you tell i'm not really a pro at preparing meat?) add your ground turkey. i use the leanest i can buy, and chad is usually nice enough to do the squishing. this means two things. a. i don't have to do it. b. the patties will turn out enormous! but i can't complain.

7. add some salt and pepper if you like. you don't need too much, the garlic will really flavor it for you.

8. cook until there is no pink. we are, sadly, sans grill, so we cook them on the foreman, but they still turn out delicious.

9. remember, since your turkey is very lean (even if you don't get the leanest), no spatula-squishing while they're cooking! you'll squish out all the juice and then your burger will be dry.

since there's spinach in there, i don't put any lettuce on top, but i definitely add tomato. this last time, i threw in some chopped up green onion into the patty and that was smashing. otherwise, grill up some onion while you're cooking the patty and put that on top. mmmm. and, like i said, i still put cheese on top.

do not be afraid of the picture. i'm sorry it's not a better one, but that's all we got before they disappeared. and that's not weird white turkey meat hanging off the edge, it's lots of delicious melted cheese stick.

::two week::

monday:: {{home alone}}
tuesday:: chicken salad sandwiches {{on sourdough}}
wednesday:: paninis: turkeys, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, provolone & sweet potato fries
thursday:: 7 layer dip & chips
friday:: tomato feta pasta
saturday:: {{dd}}
sunday:: chicken enchilada casserole

monday:: {{home alone}}
tuesday:: taco tuesday!
wednesday:: egg salad sandwiches {{america's test kitchen recipe}}
thursday:: lemon zuc pasta
friday:: {{dd}}
saturday:: baked toquitos
sunday:: turkey burgers, corn on the cob, and brazillian lemonade

::two week menu::

i was talking with sis today about my two-week dinners and she asked that i share them so she could get ideas. here are my disclaimers:

• i'll not post a grocery list since the ingredients that i have on hand will vary from yours.
• i'm not that great at this, yet, but i'm working on it.
• i'll only list my main dish since i usually just grab vegetables for the sides from whatever is available and cheap. i may update sides after i do my grocery shopping... we'll see.
• monday nights i don't plan anything since the husband is in the field
• i plan at least once/week for eating out {{dd}}.
• wednesdays we usually get home late so that's typically a sandwich meal, or something easy.

hope this helps someone!

Lemon Herb Zucchini Pasta

Okay, this recipe is another from one of my favorite recipe blogs, Our Best Bites, and I love it! I've made it 3-4 times and the last time I made it, it wasn't as good as I remembered. It's all in the parm - don't make it if you don't have the fresh stuff. I didn't realize I was all out, until it was too late, so I used the stuff in the green bottle. Medium. But with the real stuff, it's absolutely delicious - and it's got some lemon flavor that's not too strong, so Chad really loves it, too.

{{photo and recipe courtesty Our Best Bites}}

BANANA BREAD

So I think most people have a go-to banana bread recipe, but if not, this one is delicious! I love it hot with melted butter, straight out of the oven, or the next day, with cream cheese. Mmmm...

This recipe came from my Test Kitchen cookbook, with some slight modifications by me.

*Tip: Do not try to substitute applesauce for the yogurt. Um, I may or may not know from experience. And if you don't have vanilla yogurt, you can even try a flavored that you think may turn out okay. No wheat flour? No problem, go back to the full amount of all purpose.

Enjoy!

CHILI by Karen

TACO CHICKEN SOUP

VEGGIE CHILI

Welcome, Tasty Tuesdays! Well, not that it really concerns the blog...there is no tasty tuesday on this blog. It's a work thing. Once a month, at work, we have a theme and anyone who wants to participate brings a dish and a recipe. January was "soups, stews, and chilis".

We had 5 folks who brought a dish, but I only got 3 recipes. Hmmph, we'll have to keep working on this! But what this means for blogger-land is that this website will start getting new posts again!

So without further ado, my recipe: from Mom, a veggie chili.

Chad and I both agree that this is good. But it's really good when you add sour cream and avocado. Just our opinion.

thanksgiving...

Sorry for the lack of new recipe cards lately... it's been a while since we've had a quiet weekend!

BUT... I'm thinking recipes.

We're travelling for Thanksgiving, so I don't have to worry about the big stuff. But I'm even worried about the little stuff. So I've been trying recipes for items we have to take.

I tried this over the weekend and though I've never liked the stuff, I'm a convert! It's coming with us.

And "baked" this last night to take to work today. BIG hit, although it wasn't quite cheesy enough for me.

And we'll take these if only we can find the right kind of cheese...!

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving with loved ones all around. As always, if you find a recipe, or get one at the dinner table, share it with us and you'll get a recipe card...(recipes listed above coming soon)

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI

When I first got this recipe from Ms. O, I have to admit: I looked it over, set it aside and it took me a while before I made it. BIG mistake. I finally put the ingredients on my shopping list last week and we both LOVED it... once it actually turns cool here (yep, folks are still wearing sundresses. It's NOVEMBER!) this will become a staple. I halved this recipe, since it's just the two of us, and we got 4 good size portions out of it (2nds for ::him:: and lunch for ::me:: the next day). Also, I couldn't find the anaheim, so I skipped it and it turned out awesome. I cut out ALL the stems and seeds, and it had just enough heat for me, but I'm kind of a wuss...you can crank up the heat as much as you want with seeds, though. And, as always, be careful when cutting peppers so you don't get the "heat" in your eyes (make sure to wash thoroughly, etc.) Thanks, lady!

EP's Apple Crisp

Okay, here's a recipe that I found on this blog and it is soooo good. I hate to admit it and I kind of feel un-American saying it, but sometimes I think Apple Crisp is boring. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. Usually I don't have enough crumb to apple ratio, and the apples are just...cooked apples. But this recipe is different. So much crumb! Like seriously. I actually added the "heaping" to her recipe because I could have done with MORE apple. Okay, enough exclamation points and capitals....it's good, try it, you'll like it. Oh, and since it's made of apples, it's okay to heap on the ice cream and whipped cream. Although, I'll be honest, I'd just go for the ice cream on it...it's sweet enough. Anyway, enjoy, and thanks, EP!

CARAMEL APPLE CIDER

This stuff is amazing. I've been drinking it forever and finally got around to looking for a recipe...voila! ...and so easy! I've tweaked it a little since I first blogged about on my personal blog and I think it's juuuust right now. Not just for Autumn either...Christmastime? Perfect.

Carrot Cupcakes

I'm sorry that I can't remember where this recipe came from, cuz it's fabulous. One of the girls at work brought in her uber-healthy cookbook full of recipes that is every kid's worst nightmare. And these were in there. It's hard to mess up a carrot cake, but this recipe is awesome because it's chock full of all the good stuff. I don't like carrot cake where you only get maybe one tiny piece of carrot in each piece. What's the point?

Anyway. Full of nuts and carrots, and soooo moist. As far as the frosting: just find a recipe in your cookbook for the cream cheese frosting if you make these soon. I'll try to find a really good recipe and post it later because the recipe I have always turns out a little too...sticky. It's delicious, though, to add either some zest or juice of lemon OR orange to the frosting...or try coconut on top. Just have fun experimenting. My favorite is the lemony cream cheese frosting (of course). These are also really good for breakfast without the frosting (if you're too weaksauce for sugar in the morning).

*and thanks to Martha for the photo!