challenge...

I know this may seem like a silly thing to put out there because lots of people probably do this already, but I am going to put it out there to keep myself accountable...

I am going to cook dinner at home for 30 days straight!

Here are the rules I have applied to this challenge:
I must cook dinner at home for 30 days straight.
The only way that I will not be cooking dinner is if someone invites us over to their house for dinner
We will not be buying dinner out
Lunches dont count because Johnny cannot really bring his lunch to work, but I am still going to eat lunch at home with the girls as often as possible
We will be able to have one lunch out per weekend, if we are home that means that we are eating here
Challenge starts tonight, but Rylee's birthday (Friday) and the day of her party (Saturday) dont count as part of the 30 days

If I use a recipe that I can link to on the internet, I will post it here, if not, I will post as often as possible what we had for dinner

Tonight's dinner? Penne with Butternut Squash by Giada DeLauretiis (love her!)

yummy...

now, I would never claim to be the best cook in the world, but over the past year or so I have really started to like trying out new recipes and making food that axtually involves some work rather than dumping things out of a box (although there is a time and place for that too...frozen taquitos? yum!)

so, last night I decided to make shepherds pie. we used to go out with some friends every year for St Patricks Day to an Irish restaurant and it is what I ordered every year. I decided a couple of months ago to try to make it myself at home and I loved the way it turned out and decided to make it again last night. It turned out super yummy...yummy enough that even Anna almost cleaned her plate!

here's how...

ingredients:
1 lb ground beef or turkey (I used elk last night because we have a whole bunch of it from Johnny's brothers recent trip to Colorado)
random veggies (I used corn and carrots last night but last time I made it I used a bag of frozen mixed veggies). Chop up any larger pieces in to small bites
one large onion
about 4 large potatos
butter
olive oil
flour
milk
seasonings-I used thyme, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes last night

how to:
heat olive oil in a skillet and cook onions down until translucent, add veggies and cook until they are a bit softer
add meat and brown, make sure you add your seasonings to the meat
after meat is done cooking, add about 4 tablespoons of flour and a little bit of milk (maybe 1/4 cup) and stir consistently until a thick sauce forms
heat your oven to 350
pour this mixture in to a baking dish
while the meat and veggies have been cooking, boil your potatos (cut them in to smaller chunks so they will cook faster)
mash the potatos with milk and butter. make sure you add enough liquid so that they dont dry out when they cook in the oven
add the potatos to the top of the meat mixture in the baking dish
put the whole mess in the oven and cook for about 45 minutes to an hour.
take it out and enjoy! :)

I served mine with bread made from a recipe found here. Have you ever checked out this site before? Seriously awesome recipes and she and some of her friends have put together a travelling supper club that I would LOVE to check out some time.I never thought I would be able to make my own bread but this was seriously so easy!

yuuuum!

been baking a lot around here lately...

you can find this recipe here...love her site!

weekly meatless meal

this week, Johnny took on the cooking duties and I have to say that his meatless meal turned out MUCH BETTER than my attempt at the butternut squash risotto...

this week, Johnny made Chile Rellenos and they were delicious. Chile Rellenos are the one thing I never ever order at a mexican restaurant. I dont know why, but I think the idea of the chile kind of scared me off. I am scared no more! These are delicious and I really dont think that a restaurant's chile rellenos could ever stack up to these as they were stuffed with refried beans and jack cheese...YUM!

picture was taken after my first relleno was gone, so I apologize for the messy plate ;)

menu planning

in an effort to stay at home more often and keep the girls on an earlier bedtime schedule (in addition to many other reasons, one of which is to eat healthier) we are cooking at home more often. So, inspired by my friend Melanie I have decided to start doing a weekly meal plan. The plan is always subject to change if we make dinner plans or if something comes up, but at least with my menu planned out for the week I have an idea of what to shop for and wont be missing one key ingredient like I always am when I try to cook something last minute. Also, inspired by Melanie and my friend Heather I am going to try to cook one meatless meal a week so if you have any suggestions please send them my way!

So, for this week, here is my menu plan:

Monday-butternut squash risotto (recipe can be found on Melanie's recipe journal)
Tuesday-shepherds pie (just kind of mixing a few recipes I have found online with the ingredients that I have on hand)
Wednesday-fish (thanks to some friends who recently came back from a 5 day ocean fishing trip, we have a really excellent selection of fish on hand. anna even loves it so it's a double WIN!)
Thursday-leftovers or Johnny will pick something up on his way home
Friday-?