Maybe I should start a new thread for all the recipes I am sure we are going to want to share. I know that as I have read through your menus, lots of dishes sound great. :thumbsup
I don't know if such a thread has started yet but I wanted to reply to your request. The pork chop recipe is from Stephanie O'Dell who did the Crockpot 365 blog. You can find it here -
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2009_01_25_archive.html
The green beans are super easy. In fact, the recipe comes from my daughter's pre-school as they do a program where they grow vegetables, make a recipe in class during the day and then send the recipe and ingredients home for us to make as a family. It is a lot of fun.
Sesame Green Beans
1.5lbs fresh green beans
1 TBSP olive oil
1/4 cup (I use less) sesame seeds
Wash and trim green beans. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add green beans and saute until tender. At the same time, heat sesame seeds in an ungreased frying pan on medium heat, shaking or stirring the pan frequently. Remove from heat when seeds start to darken (typically by this point the beans are done too). Mix the sesame seeds with the green beans and serve. If you want a bit more flavor, you can add low-sodium tamari or soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil to the beans when they are cooked.
Well, I successfully completed my first week of not eating out at all. I skipped two times when we normally always would eat out as well as at least one occasion when I would have suggested that we eat out. We might have cheated a bit on date night - we got take out, but from the grocery store. We bought a few pieces of fresh fruit, a loaf of sliced Italian bread, some pre-sliced block cheese and some trail mix and then we had a picnic in the park. It was actually a lot of fun and we spent half of what we normally spent eating out.
I did my shopping today and so I have three menus for this week - one for dinners, one for DD's lunch (she is in day camp) and one for my lunch. Here is my dinner one:
Tonight - We had Cuban braised beef with rice and mango (a Real Simple recipe) along with a green salad
Monday: Creamy ravioli and pesto (also a Real Simple recipe), probably with some frozen corn
Tuesday: DH has to go to a wake so we are having something quick- hot dogs and corn on the cob that will get cooked on the grill. I will probably also serve assorted cut up raw veggies
Wed: Spaghetti tossed with fresh tomato & garlic, garlic toast and green salad
Thurs: Garlic lime chicken fajitas (a McCormick recipe) with garlic roasted butternut squash (can you tell we like garlic here?)
Friday: Chicken skewers with peach and peppers (a Weelicious recipe) with rice and peas
Saturday: Chicken fried rice made with leftover rice, chicken and veggies from the week.
I'm going to read through this thread again to get inspired for next week!
