Thursday Lunch - Lentil-Barley, Kale with Sauteed Leeks (June 10)

Green lentils are always a quick meal to make, but when you add the barley, the time increases by around 20 minutes. Still, well worth the time. After the lentils and barley were done, I added the kale and some slivered carrots, cooking them just a moment more. In the meantime, saute leeks, onion and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil. This takes about 15 minutes, until the leeks are golden. Plate with a grilled-on-your-stove pita bread and the leek saute over the lentils. Add a little heat, chili flakes or cayenne, to tease your taste buds and dig in.

Kids liked this one, too. Most of them.

Cost Breakdown:

lentils, dry: $ .50

barley: $.50

kale: $2

carrot, onion, garlic: $1

leek: $1

pita: $3

Total to feed a family of 5:

$8.00 

4 out of 5 stars

Lentil-Barley, Kale with Sauteed Leeks Recipe

Tuesday Lunch - Beans and Rice with Corn and Avocado Salsa (Kate) (June 8)

Kate made today's lunch. She took a simple idea - beans and rice - added freshly toasted and ground coriander and cumin seeds and made a salsa using corn, avocado, tomato and cilantro. Yes, I have a ten-year old who loves cilantro and said the salsa would not be salsa without it!

Very tasty and easy dish.

Cost Breakdown:

rice: $.50

beans: $4

avocado and tomatoes: $3.25

corn, cilantro, onion, peppers, spices: $2.50

Total to feed a family of 5
(Dad gets it in his lunch tomorrow.):

$10.25

4 out of 5 stars

Beans and Rice with Corn and Avocado Salsa Recipe

Wednesday Dinner - Root Vegetable Shepherd's Pie with Whipped Parsnip-Potato (June 2)

European Night

Is it just my kids or do all kids and root vegetables not get along? Is it something in their genes?? Hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed this variation of Shepherd's Pie, with sweet potatoes, adzuki beans, turnips, carrots and peas, but the kids...well, didn't. I bet they will when they get older. I've learned that children actually are very sensitive to certain taste profiles, especially bitter. My job, as I see it, is to keep exposing their juvenile taste buds to different flavors, and let them figure it out later.

Mission accomplished tonight.

3 out of 5 stars

Root Vegetable Shepherd's Pie Recipe 

Tuesday Lunch - Braised Sweet Potato and Cauliflower (June 1)

Braising the vegetables in tomato puree and orange marmalade certainly gave this dish its flavor profile. Adding the black-eyed peas was a good touch because it balanced out the sweetness of the marmalade with some earthiness of the peas. Overall it was pretty good; very easy to make, too - the whole thing took about 20 minutes. I served it with a hearty whole grain slice of bread.

Maybe not a make-again-please-mommy-dish, but definitely worth making it at least once.

3 out of 5 stars

Braised Sweet Potato and Cauliflower Recipe

Monday Lunch - Tacos (Cat) (May 31)

Cat cooked the meal for lunch. With a little coaxing, she managed to make some very good tacos. Simple. Pan-seared Boca patties, a can of pinto beans, refried, sliced avocados, tomatoes, and lettuce, and a bit of Better Than Sour Cream. Satisfying and comforting.

4 out of 5 stars

Friday Lunch - Minestrone Soup (May 28)

Olive Garden style.

Cat loves Olive Garden's Minestrone soup, but to pay $8 for a simple soup, dry bread sticks, and a salad with no dressing, makes little sense, not to mention what the rest of us would eat. So, we had to make it at home for her, and I think we've made it even better.

An optional pesto swirl adds an extra dimension.

Of course, not everyone likes Minestrone, so this reduces the stars:

4 out of 5 stars

Minestrone Soup Recipe

Friday Lunch - Quesedilla (May 21)

Leftovers!

I had some beans and rice leftover, so I made a quick quesedilla, adding grilled peppers and onions. Topped with some Tofutti Sour Cream, it made a fast, delicious lunch that even the kids enjoyed.

4 out of 5 stars

Tuesday Dinner - Cheeze and Spinach Enchiladas (May 18)

This was an absolute hit! With everyone, except my oldest daughter, who does not care for enchiladas or spinach, which removes this dish from the running for her. The rest of us were okay with that, though; more for us! I used half Daiya Cheddar and half Follow Your Heart Mozzarella, shredded, and melted them on the stove, adding the spinach and grilled onions, and a little chili powder. Not only did it melt well, but it tasted creamy and divine. This is a very high 5 stars, only lowered because Daughter Number One doesn't like anything, it seems.

5.5 stars out of 5

 

Blue Corn Enchiladas Recipe

Tuesday Lunch - Three Bean Salad with Sandwich (May 18)

I made the salad a few hours before we ate it. I adapted it from Fat Free and Easy by Jennifer Raymond. We were out all morning, so a quick sandwich of Tofurkey with Veganaise and the salad was just perfect.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Monday Dinner - Mexican Beans and Rice (May 17)

This is a family favorite, from Vegan Fire and Spice by Robin Robertson. I adapted it by adding tortilla chips instead of bread crumbs. It is very easy to prepare as long as you have cooked beans and cooked rice on hand.

Since there are five people in this family making the menu, looking over this week's meals, it seems we have inadvertently made it Mexican week. We have tonight's meal, the salad tomorrow is Southwestern, Cat is making Tacos, and there is Enchiladas scheduled for the weekend.
Ole!

5 out of 5 stars

Thursday Lunch - Chipotle Chili (Mikel) (May 13)

Mikel (14), cooked today's lunch. He also baked blue cornbread in a cast iron muffin pan. Excellent! He served it with Better Than Sour Cream.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Chipotle Chili Recipe