August 1-31

Well, back to school is upon us again.  Both Paul and Tim are looking forward to going back and accepting the new challenges which lie ahead for us.  Tim will be teaching all of the AP Lang & Comp classes at his school and Paul will be starting off day 1 with a new group of 3rd graders at his.  Exciting times are ahead for both of us!

I know we promised some more new recipes ... they're coming, I promise.  Just give us time!

We're sticking with the month meal plan; experience has taught us to be a bit flexible when needed for dinners and dining out, but it has truly been a blessing to map out our meals like this.  We've had a summer full of new recipes, so this month we're going to blend some new with some old favorites (and new ones from the past couple months).

Here's what's for dinner this month:

Aug 1 - chicken cutlets w/ orange & arugula
Aug 2 - open
Aug 3 - shrimp taco salad
Aug 4 - Canadian bacon, baked egg, & mozzarella pizza
Aug 5 - grilled veggie & arugula salad
Aug 6 - BBQ chicken quesadillas*
Aug 7 - pork Milanese
Aug 8 - picante pizza
Aug 9 - open (dinner w/ friends - Jackie & KT)
Aug 10 - open (brunch at the Drop Bar)
Aug 11 - open
Aug 12 - chicken stroganoff
Aug 13 - fettuccine w/ shrimp & fresh tomato sauce
Aug 14 - mushroom fundido
Aug 15 - shrimp & cilantro pesto pizza
Aug 16 - enchilada pie
Aug 17 - open (lunch @ blanc burger)
Aug 18 - open
Aug 19 - chicken & spicy peanut salad*
Aug 20 - chipotle-lime shrimp burgers*
Aug 21 - chicken & spinach pizza
Aug 22 - open (Hello, Dolly! @ Musical Theatre Heritage)
Aug 23 - chipotle pork tacos
Aug 24 - open
Aug 25 - open
Aug 26 - spinach paella*
Aug 27 - Room 39 (Groupon & Tim's birthday)
Aug 28 - sausage & mash
Aug 29 - grilled sirloin & blue cheese pizza
Aug 30 - homemade tacos
Aug 31 - open (wedding reception for Eddie & Alyse - Congrats, you two!)

*Recipe included on the blog

July

We're back from vacation!  A wonderful time it was, but we are certainly happy to be back and in the routine of our daily life.  While Tim has 2 more official weeks of vacation, Paul started back to work for his school's summer jump start program on Monday.  Looks like its going to be a very heavy workload for him & its an early start back to the school year - which sucks for sure. 

Lots of highlights to bring you up to date on, so here you go...

Vacation -
We left on June 30th (at 6am) on a driving trip for this year's vacation down to the Gulf of Mexico & spent 4 days in Galveston, TX.  What a wonderful, relaxing time listening to the waves & spending the days at the beach.  We spent a day at Schlitterbahn burning our feet - it was HOT!  We enjoyed local dining establishments with food fresh from the gulf - our favorite was the Sunflower Bakery & Café with one of the BEST crab cakes served eggs Benedict style.  Awesome!  Leaving Galveston was hard, but we then went through Houston where we stopped for some lunch with a coworker of Tim's and on up to Dallas to spend a week with dear friends who recently moved there.  It was quite a fun time getting the opportunity to catch up on each other's lives & do some retail therapy.  We even spent a day at Southfork!  Yes, the home of the recently deceased JR Ewing - we even got to see the scene of the crime inside the house.  Yes, it was the first time they filmed inside the actual home at Southfork & it fittingly was the shooting of JR.  Awesome day followed by a pool party with some new friends.  Some of the best meals we had on vacation were in Dallas.  H3 Steakhouse, Oak, Meddlesome Moth, & Pakpao Thai to name a few.   Met some new friends at Pakpao Thai who shared desserts with us.  So nice & such a fun experience.  We spent a day at Six Flags over Dallas also where we ran into another one of Tim's coworkers.  Crazy!  That was a very fun & adventurous day for us.  Lots of rides - good times.  After Dallas, we took off for the large metropolis of Blanchard, OK to visit Tim's brother's family.  There, we enjoyed some great family time & going off the grid for a few days.  Got a great tip on pizza dough (from Sam's - who knew?!?) which we're using multiple times in the menu (as we try to do more pizzas).  We returned just in time for Paul's high school/college friend's wedding & reception on Sunday the 14th.  So, yes, if you did the math, we spent a wonderful 2 weeks traveling for vacation time.  It was so nice & relaxing to have the time with family and friends. 

The next week -
We had 3 days to rest from our vacation before Paul's sister & her boy came in town from DC & Paul's Grandma came in town from Virginia.  We took them to the Drop Bar & Haus in Martini Corner for dinner & lunch, viewed the Steamboat Arabia museum in River market, walked the Plaza, & had some KC BBQ at Gates.  On Saturday, they visited the Negro Baseball Museum & Jazz Museum in the 18th & Vine district.  Later that night we had a family cook out, & Sunday was family photos & a late lunch at Cheddar's.  On a personal note, Paul and I went to the Excelsior Springs Animal Control Center and picked up 3 new fur babies for our household on Saturday.  So far, so good!  All have settled in & are playing nice with each other.  Lots of lap time & cuddle bugs with us - we're very happy with them.

Whew! It's been a very BUSY month!  After all that, it's hard to believe that we did take the time to create the July menu after our return, but we did.  It's another month of new recipes we've never tried.  Recipes will certainly be posted soon - they've been really good so far.

Here's what's on the menu this month:

July 15 - Chinese orange BBQ Chicken
July 16 - Shish Kebabs with Spanakopita Orzo
July 17 - Roasted Vegetable Melts
July 18 - Drop Bar
July 19 - Gates BBQ
July 20 - Scruggs' Family BBQ
July 21 - Cheddars
July 22 - Summer Corn Fettuccine
July 23 - Cajun-Spiced Chicken Pizza
July 24 - Bluestem (Groupon)
July 25 - Shrimp & Chicken Jambalaya
July 26 - Chicken Tacos
July 27 - Jumbo Shrimp & Cilantro Pesto Pizza
July 28 - Open
July 29 - Green Salad w/ Yogurt Dressing
July 30 - BLT - Bacon, Leek, & Tomato
July 31 - Chicken Cutlets w/ Orange & Arugula
Aug. 1 - Canadian Bacon, Baked Egg, & Mozzarella Pizza
Aug. 2 - Shrimp Taco Salad
Aug. 3 - Open
Aug. 4 - Open

Shrimp and Papaya Salad in Avocado

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 1/2 cups ripe papaya, diced into 1/4 in. cubes
2 small lemons or 1 large lemon
1 cup chopped celery
1 red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
4 cups mesclun greens (or any spicy greens)
2 Tbsp. EVOO
2 large, ripe avocados
Fresh ground black pepper
About 15 chives, finely chopped, for garnish

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the shrimp, lower the heat to medium, and simmer until pink (about 5 min.); remove and rinse under cold water. Chop the shrimp into bite-sized pieces and place in a medium bowl. Add the papaya, juice of 1 lemon, celery, red onion, parsley, and 1/4 tsp. of salt and toss lightly just until combined. Gently fold in just enough mayonnaise so all the ingredients come together. Chill until cold to the touch.

When it's time to serve, lightly toss the mesclun greens in a medium bowl with the EVOO, the remaining salt, and some fresh ground pepper. divide the mixture among four salad plates. Halve the avocados lengthwise, cutting through the skin to the pit. Gently twist the halves until they separate and remove the pit. Using a large spoon, carefully scoop each half out of its skin. Place 1 avocado half on each salad plate and give each a little squeeze of the other lemon juice.

Fill the avocados with some of the shrimp salad, season with some fresh ground pepper, and garnish with the chives. Serve immediately.

*Original recipe courtesy of Cat Cora's Classics with a Twist p. 49

FYI: You will have LOTS of shrimp and papaya salad left over - it is great on toasted bread, kind-of like a chicken salad.

Spinach Paella

Paella
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp. saffron threads, crushed with the back of a spoon
1 lb. chicken tenders or boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4-by-3 in. strips
Salt & Pepper
1/4 cup EVOO
1 16 oz. link cooked turkey chorizo (or any sausage you like), diced into 1/4 in pieces
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 jalapenos, seeded, cored, and finely diced
1 cup drained and diced caned tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 cup medium-grain rice, preferably Spanish (or substitute Arborio)

Heat the chicken stock in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, reduce the heat to low, and keep at a simmer. Place the saffron in a small bowl; pour about 1/2 cup of the warm stock over the saffron and let steep.

Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt/pepper. Heat the EVOO in a large skillet over high heat until it shimmers but is not smoking. Add the sausage and the chicken to the pan; cook, stirring until golden brown on all sides (about 4-5 min.), and transfer the chicken and sausage to a plate. Add the bell pepper, jalapenos, tomatoes, and garlic to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-high. Cook until the peppers begin to caramelize (3-4 min.); stir in the paprika and cumin.

Pour the rice into the pan and stir until coated and toasted (about 1 1/2 min.). Pour in about 2 cups of the warm stock and add the saffron steeped liquid; return the chicken and sausage to the pan along with any juice on the plate. Stir to combine and simmer over medium-low heat, uncovered, until most of the stock has been absorbed (about 20 min.).

Spinach Puree
1 lb. baby spinach leaves, well washed
About 1/3 cup water

Meanwhile, in a blender, puree half of the spinach with the water. Add more spinach a little at a time until all the spinach has been pureed. If the mixture can't be pureed, add more water, 2 Tbsp. at a time; the puree should be very thick. Set aside.

Paella Assembly
4 scallions, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Taste the rice and add salt to taste. If the rice is still hard, add another cup of the warm stock and stir. Simmer until the broth is absorbed (10-15 min.); taste the rice again and add more stock if it is still too hard. Let the rice absorb the stock again; the rice is done when it has just a hint of firmness.

Turn off the heat, remove the pan from the heat, and cover the pan with a lid or a large sheet of foil, letting it rest for 5-10 min. Stir most of the spinach puree into the paella, reserving a few Tbsps. to garnish each dish. Taste the paella and add a bit of salt if needed. Dish out a serving of paella, sprinkle some scallions, a Tbsp. of the spinach puree, and some cilantro.

*Original recipe courtesy of Cat Cora's Classics with a Twist p. 134-136

Gilled Chile-Lime Flank Steak Soft Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

Steak Marinade
1 tsp. chile powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 large lime, zested and juiced
2 Tbsp. EVOO
1 1/2 lb. flank steak, trimmed of excess fat

In a small bowl, mix the spices, salt/pepper, lime zest/juice, and EVOO to make a paste. Place the steak in a shallow dish and rub the paste evenly over both sides. Cover and let marinate for 1 to 4 hours.

Pineapple Salsa
1 small pineapple (3-3 1/2 lbs.)
1 red onion, finely diced
1/2 cup (or so) chopped, fresh cilantro
1 lime, juiced and zested
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. EVOO
2 jalapenos, seeded, cored, and finely minced
Salt & Pepper

Light a charcoal grill about 30 min. before you are read to cook, or preheat a gas grill to medium-high.

Slice off the leafy top of the pineapple and just enough of the bottom so the fruit rests flat on a cutting board. Slice off the skin with a sharp knife, cutting from top to bottom and taking off as little of the flesh as possible, rotating the pineapple as you go. Discard the skin. Cut out any "eyes" with a paring knife and discard. Slice the fruit away from the core in 4 or 5 slabs, OR turn the pineapple on a side and slice in 1 in. thick rounds.

Place the pineapple slabs on the hot rill and grill until the fruit is just beginning to show some browning (1-2 min. per side or 4-5 min. per side if you want it really charred).

Let the pineapple cool for a few minutes, then dice into 1/2 in. cubes (FYI: if you did 1 in. thick pineapple rounds you need to cut out the core in each slice - cut the rounds into 4 pieces and then just slice out the middle). In a medium bowl, mix the diced pineapple, onion, cilantro, lime juice and zest, vinegar, EVOO, and jalapeno; salt/pepper to taste.

Assembly of Tacos
10 10 in. flour tortillas

Meanwhile, grill the steak for 3-4 min. on each side, or longer for well-done meat. Remove from the grill and let rest for 10 min. before thinly slicing.

Meanwhile, place the tortillas on the hot grill and grill for a bit (less than a minute) until charred on both sides; wrap in a cloth napkin to keep warm.

Assemble the tacos with a few pieces of steak on the bottom, top with some pineapple salsa, and enjoy!

*Original recipe courtesy of Cat Cora's Classics with a Twist p. 141 & 142

Grilled Avocado Cobb Salad with Apricot Dressing

Grilled Avocados
3 large, firm avocados, halved, pitted and peeled
1 Tbsp. EVOO
Salt & Pepper
1 lime, juiced

Preheat a gas grill to medium-high heat or light a charcoal grill.

Carefully brush the avocados evenly with EVOO and season them with salt/pepper. Grill the avocado halves just until grill marks form (2-3 min.). With a spatula, carefully turn the halves and cook for a few more minutes, until marks appear on the other side. Remove to a side dish and sprinkle lime juice over each half. Cool the avocados to room temperature or refrigerate until you're ready to assemble the salad.

(If you don't want to grill the avocados, just use 3 ripe avocados instead)

Apricot Dressing
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1/3 cup EVOO
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
Salt & Pepper

In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, apricot preserves, EVOO, thyme, and salt/pepper to taste.

Salad Assembly
3 romaine hearts, washed and chopped into bite-sized pieces
4 tomatoes, seeded and diced into small pieces
1 cup drained, diced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
4 large eggs, hard-boiled, peeled, whites and yolks coarsely chopped separately
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (optional)

In a large bowl, toss the lettuce with enough dressing to coat all the lettuce; reserve the rest of the dressing for topping. Carefully, slice the grilled avocados on the bias into thin slices. In a small bowl, mix the fresh and sun-dried tomatoes together.

Divide the lettuce into 4 salad bowls; arrange the avocado, tomato mixture, white and yellow hard-boiled eggs, bacon, and blue cheese into sections on top of the lettuce. If necessary, top with the left-over apricot dressing.

*Original recipe courtesy of Cat Cora's Classics with a Twist p. 67

Fish Tacos with Avocado Salsa

Salsa:
1 red onion, finely diced
3 jalapenos, seeded and finely diced
3 medium tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
2 avocados, seeded, skin removed, and finely diced
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime, zested and juiced
1/2 tsp. salt

Fish:
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 Tbsp. EVOO
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
14 oz. sole or tilapia fillets

Serving:
10-12 corn tortillas
2 cups finely shredded red cabbage

Put the salsa ingredients into a bowl and carefully stir to combine (FYI: the salsa can be made a few hours ahead, just remember to thoroughly cover the avocado pieces with the lime juice so they don't brown - ALSO, if you are making it ahead, don't add the salt until you are ready to serve).

Heat the broiler to high. Place the fish fillet on a baking sheet; add half of the seasonings to one side of the fillets, then flip and add the rest of the seasoning to the other side. Broil the fish for about 2-4 minutes on each side or until broiler has cooked the fish through (fish will be opaque and flaky). Let cook until easily handled, then break the fish up with your hands and place in a bowl.

Warm the tortillas under the broiler (place on a baking sheet and broil until starting to bubble and brown, then flip and repeat for the other side.)

To serve, put some red cabbage on the bottom of the tortilla, followed by the fish, and top with the avocado salsa (add a bit more cilantro for a fresh bite).

*Original recipe courtesy of 300 Calories or Less! p.. 86

Sausage, Peppers, and Mushroom Pizza

1 Tbsp. EVOO
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. sausage
8 oz. mushrooms, finely sliced
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 cup minced parsley
Flour
1 pizza crust
1 cup tomato sauce or jarred marinara sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat EVOO. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute; add the sausage and cook, breaking up sausage into small pieces, until browned. With a slotted spoon, remove sausage and set aside. In the sausage drippings, add the mushrooms and green peppers; cook until vegetables are tender (about 5 minutes). Take skillet off the heat and add the sausage and 1/3 cup parsley back in; toss to combine.

On a well floured surface, roll out pizza dough until 1/8 in. thick. With a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 6 square/rectangles. Roll out each square/rectangle until desired thickness or thinness is achieved adding more flour as needed. Place pizza crusts on 2 baking sheets and bake in the oven until a bit of color is on the bottom; flip and repeat for other side. Let cool for about 2 minutes or until easily handled.

Evenly spread the 1 cup tomato sauce/marinara sauce over the pizza crusts. Divide the sausage and veggie mixture evenly over each pizza crust. Top with the mozzarella cheese and return pizzas to the oven until cheese is melted and starting to brown (about 5-7 minutes).

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining parsley.

*Original recipe courtesy of The $5 Takeout Cookbook p. 145