Meal Plan 8/23-8/29

Meal plans are wonderful, but life happens. Here is a review of last week's eats and how it all turned out.

Previous Week (Meal Plan 8/16-8/22)


Last week I made everything on the meal plan, except Saturday's burgers. Everything was fantastic. I tried three new recipes (pasta with sun dried tomatoes, chicken tabbouleh, and meatballs) and can't wait to make them again. Look for upcoming recipe posts for the pasta and tabbouleh.


Meal Plan 8/23-8/29


We are going out of town on Saturday and need to use up leftovers. It is going to be a light cooking week. 


Monday: leftover chicken piccata
Tuesday: pizza with dough from freezer
Wednesday: spaghetti with meatballs from freezer
Thursday: picadillo with white rice
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: San Francisco ??
Sunday: San Francisco ??

If you are in need of further inspiration check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.


I have procrastinated with the vacation planning. We will be gone two weeks. The week in San Francisco is booked since the husband has a conference. Any suggestions for how to fill up my days while my husband is occupied? I will have a 12 month old with me and we are staying in the Union Square area.


I have not yet booked the second week of the vacation. I am leaning toward a relaxing short stay near Big Sur somewhere, a return trip to Yosemite, and back to San Francisco for the last couple days to explore Muir Woods. 


Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

Raspberry Granita

It's been a blistering summer in South Florida. What else is new? The heat and humidity are stifling. The heat has completely zapped my desire to cook, therefore Betty Crapper has resorted to eating foolproof cool desserts such as raspberry granita with lemon sorbet!

Making granita could not be easier. Puree fruit, strain mixture, add water and sugar, stir, freeze, and scrape every so often. Granita requires the minimal amount of effort Betty Crapper is capable of this summer. You should try it when you are feeling lazy.

Just don't try it when you are pressed for time. Granita requires lots and lots of time. Lucky for me, I don't have to do much during that time and can devote my attention to my one year old. Where did these last 12 months go?

Raspberry Granita
Adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop 

4 cups raspberries (fresh or thawed frozen)
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
 
Puree raspberries in a blender. Pass through a fine mesh sieve to remove seeds. Add water and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Freeze for one hour. Remove from freezer and stir with a fork. Return to freezer. Every 30 minutes remove from freezer and scrape with a fork until mixture has achieved fine crystal perfection!


Tips 

• Use some of the required water when pureeing the raspberries. It will be easier to strain the seeds out.
• Strain the mixture in small batches. Remove seeds from the sieve after each batch. Those little seeds clog up the sieve and make straining a nightmare.
• Pairs very well with lemon sorbet. Make both at the same time.

Meal Plan 8/16-8/22

Meal plans are wonderful, but life happens. Here is a review of last week's eats and how it all turned out.

Last week we were out of town Thursday to Sunday visiting family in Orlando. Betty Crapper's kitchen was mostly closed. On Monday I made chicken fajitas with homemade tortillas and salsa. The rest of the week home was spent emptying the refrigerator and eating leftovers.

Meal Plan

Monday: fusili pasta with sun dried tomatoes

Tuesday: ground beef tacos with homemade flour tortillas, salsa, and guacamole

Wednesday: chicken tabbouleh

Thursday: spaghetti with meatballs

Friday: leftovers

Saturday: grilled burgers with homemade buns

Sunday: chicken piccata

I reserve the right to make substitutions and deletions due to laziness!

Baking/Sweets Wish List

• chocolate cupcakes
• lemon granita
• white bread

If you are in need of further inspiration check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Apple Cake

As a young child, Betty Crapper refused most fruits. She loved vegetables, but couldn't tolerate the taste or texture of fruits. Apples were the exception. Betty Crapper didn't love apples; she tolerated apples. Betty Crapper's mother used to try and make her eat an apple a day. Oh the trauma!

This apple cake is delicious and deserving of your attention whenever you have a surplus of apples and a craving for sweets. It's a very easy recipe and does not require complex assembly like the Tiramisu Cake I made last month. You can even convince yourself it's healthy. Betty Crapper's mother used to tell a stubborn little girl, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. This cake has FOUR!

Betty Crapper would make apple cake more often if peeling, coring, and chopping apples wasn't so much work. Remember, Betty Crapper is lazy!

Apple Cake

(adapted from Better Homes and Gardens All Time Favorite Cake & Cookie Recipes, 1980)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

4 medium cooking apples

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup cooking oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup finely chopped walnuts

Grease and lightly flour a 9-inch tube pan. Stir together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Peel, core, and finely chop apples; set aside. In a large bowl stir together eggs and vanilla; beat on high for 2 minutes. Gradually add oil and beat for two minutes. Gradually beat in sugar. Add dry ingredients, apples, and walnuts alternately. Beat well after each addition. Beat at medium for 3 minutes. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes or until cake tests done. Place cake on wire rack and cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely. Drizzle with powdered sugar icing or sift powdered sugar on top.

Powdered Sugar Icing

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

milk

Stir together powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk (about 1 1/2 tbsp) until of pouring consistency.

You know you want a slice. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Meal Plan 8/9-8/15

Meal plans are wonderful, but life happens. Here is a review of last week's eats and how it all turned out.

Previous Week (Meal Plan 8/2-8/8)

Last week Betty Crapper didn't cook as much as I would have liked. I managed to make marinara sauce for spaghetti, pepperoni pizza from dough in my freezer, and picadillo. We never got to the chicken fajitas or the penne pasta from the freezer because we ate out at Outback Steakhouse and Five Guys Burgers. We also ordered pizza from one of my favorite local Italian restaurants Mama Mia's when family descended on the house on Sunday.

Meal Plan 8/9-8/15

There will not be much cooking at Betty Crapper's house this week and that's a good thing. We are driving up to Orlando for a long weekend to meet family driving down from North Carolina. We've rented a house with a grill and a pool. I am positive we will over indulge. 

Monday: Chicken Fajitas

Tuesday: leftovers

Wednesday: penne pasta from freezer

Thursday: on the road

Friday: TBD

Saturday: TBD

Sunday: on the road

If you are in need of further inspiration, check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Meal Plan 8/2-8/8

Meal plans are wonderful, but life happens. Here is a review of last week's eats and how it all turned out.

Previous Week (Meal Plan 7/26-8/1)

Life intervened and many meals did not get made last week. Betty Crapper was lazy busy reading some good books and enjoying the beach. There's still a few more books to go in the series and a few more beach days left this summer. What is a girl to do? What would you do?

Monday, I made Ellie Krieger's four cheese penne pasta and half is sitting in my freezer right now. Tuesday and Thursday were spent at the beach. After a long day having fun, Betty Crapper did not cook. Tuesday, we ate leftover pasta and Thursday we had air. That's right, air. Betty Crapper did not cook! Wednesday, I'm so glad I made Pioneer Woman's Chicken Parmigiana. It was delicious and will be made again. Friday, I met my husband for lunch and ate such a huge meal there's no way we could eat dinner. That's two days in a row of no cooking. Saturday, my wonderful husband made ham fried rice. If you are keeping score, that's four days of no cooking last week. Woo Hoo!!!! Sunday, I made peach chicken. 

Meal Plan 8/2-8/8

Monday: ate at Outback Steakhouse

Tuesday: spaghetti with homemade marinara sauce and salad (baby greens, grape tomatoes, & homemade croutons)

Wednesday: pepperoni pizza (dough from freezer)

Thursday: picadillo with white rice

Friday: chicken fajitas

Saturday: four cheese penne pasta from freezer

Sunday: TBD

I reserve the right to make substitutions and deletions due to laziness!

If you are in need of further inspiration check out the weekly Menu Plan Monday post over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.