Menu 1/28 - 2/3/2012

Well, here we are and I am sick again! Low fever and coughing a lot. Wondering if the pneumonia is back? Heading for the walk-in clinic tomorrow since my doctor was all booked up until Tuesday morning :( In the meantime, we still have to eat:
Saturday-- Grilled cheese and soup
Sunday-- Chicken Ranch Tacos (still haven't made)
Monday-- Slowcooker Pork Roast
Tuesday-- Breakfast
Wednesday-- Salmon Patties
Thursday-- Haven't planned this day, we'll see
Friday-- Chicken Spaghetti (provided I am still alive and up to making it!)

Menu 1/20 - 1/26/2012

So my menus lately have a LOT of repeats since I am not doing the best job lately with fixing what I planned! Then there is all the "forgetting" ingredients I have been plagued by recently. I sure hope this week starts a new trend!! Please also forgive this being a couple days late in posting, I totally forgot about it until adding my menu to This Week For Dinner today.
Friday– We finally had the Kobayashi Maru with pork So good!!!
Saturday– We had Raley Gravy
Sunday–Hubby will be gone so kids and I will probably have leftovers or hot dogs
Monday– Chicken & Gnocchi Soup that has been planned FOREVER!
Tuesday– Salmon and Mac
Wednesday– Beef Taco Skillet
Thursday– Chicken Ranch Tacos But since that would mean two Mexican style dishes in a row I foresee a change in the line-up…..sigh

Menu 1/14 - 1/19/2012

Finally feeling better and it seems like I haven't planned a good menu since last year (hardee har har). I have been craving soup so I put a couple of my favorites on this week's menu. Here we go:
Saturday-- frozen pizza
Sunday-- Chicken & Gnocchi soup
Monday-- Butter Bean Soup
Tuesday-- Kobayashi Maru with pork
Wednesday-- Salmon and mac & cheese
Thursday-- Raley Gravy

Bella Cucina Mini Donut Maker

For Christmas, my grandparents gave us a Bella Cucina Mini Donut Maker!

I am really excited about it because I have wanted one for a while. And it's red so it matches my kitchen. After my post-holiday bout of pneumonia, I felt well enough to finally give it a test drive. I used the Basic Donut Recipe included in the instruction booklet.
The Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 Tbsp vegetable oil

Plug in the donut maker and wipe the face of both plates with an oiled paper towel. While it preheats, whip up the batter.

Stir the dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.

Whisk together the egg, milk, and vanilla. Add wet mix to dry mix.

Beat with an electric mixer for one minute (or vigorously by hand).

Add oil and beat for one more minute. Pour by scant tablespoons into the donut wells.

Close the lid and wait about 2 minutes then check the donuts for doneness. Mine took about 2 or 3 minutes per batch.

They were very tasty plain. They reminded me of pancakes. Slightly sweet on their own they could be dressed up a thousand ways! I dusted with powdered sugar since those tend to be a Chaosville favorite.

I did not keep track of how many batches it made, sorry! I want to say it was at least 4 batches, so 28 donuts but it may have been a little more like 5 batches (35 donuts). In any case they were gone by morning but enjoyed by all!

I can't wait to try out some of the various glazes in the recipe booklet and I want to try to find a way to make some chocolate cake donuts; they are my favorite!


*UPDATE*
I recently made this pumpkin donut recipe in the Bella Cucina and they were perfection!

Menu 1/9 - 1/12/2012

Happy New Year! Sorry to have not posted in so long, but travel after Christmas and then a bout of pneumonia have made meals the last thing on my mind. I had planned to take pictures of all the great food we ate on our trip but I never did. Then as soon as we got home I was very sick and still am. I have planned out a few meals though, nothing fancy but it should nourish us enough to make it through the week!
Monday--Roasted pork loin with rice and black-eyed peas
Tuesday--Chicken Chili
Wednesday--Tuna Alfredo
Thursday--Breakfast (hopefully hubby's waffles!)

How "The Plans" Turned Out

So, Christmas is over and I am grading myself on how I did. If you read my Plans post (if you didn't click through really quickly) it seemed a little ambitious for me and truth be told, I didn't do it all....yet. I think I can finish them up though, we'll see.
In any case, I did all my baking on Thursday the 22nd. I started with this scene:

And my new secret weapon:

I got this as a free gift when I purchased a cookbook from Southern Living. It came with a recipe book out of which I chose Bourbon Pecan Bread for one of my Christmas loaves.
After an entire day with my oven on and three batches of each type of bread, I ended up with the means to send out this:

Truth be told, only two recipients got theirs in the pretty box! I ended up mailing them all out, even to family we would be visiting. I just figured it was the best way to get everyone their breads while still fresh. What I didn't realize was how much that would cost!! Oh, well, live and learn.
Anyhoo, each box contains: Cranberry-Orange bread, Pumpkin bread, Bourbon-Pecan bread, Double Chocolate loaf, Mocha Cappuccino mix, Peach freezer jam and Triple Berry freezer jam (unless I knew for sure that the family didn't like something in there). I had some leftovers after all the boxes were made so I was able to give some to other neighbors and the mail lady, and of course we ate some too. My favorite has got to be the Double Chocolate loaf!! I'm sad to say the Bourbon-Pecan doesn't thrill me though. It's not quite sweet enough. It's too bad too because it had the most expensive ingredient!!
I did not make the dog treats or the chex mix but I still have some time. The chex mix at least should get made today! Dog treats may have to wait until we get back from visiting family! I hope your Christmas was as wonderful as ours. I'll be back in 2012 with more tasty treats and yummy suppers. Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my blog!

Double Chocolate Loaf

Prepare yourself! This stuff is lethally delicious!! I found the recipe on BrownEyedBaker and she got it from Cookin' Canuck. The color of this bread alone is enough to make you drool. I LOVE this one!
The Ingredients:

¾ cup dark brown sugar

1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder

1½ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup granulated sugar

1½ teaspoons baking soda

¾ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

¾ cup buttermilk

½ cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used Hershey's Special Dark chips)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x5-inch loaf pan; set aside.

Combine the brown sugar, cocoa, flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed just to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolk to blend, then add the buttermilk, oil and vanilla; whisk until combined.

Turn the mixer to low and slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined.

Stir in the chopped chocolate by hand using a rubber spatula.

Give it all a good last stir, making sure to scrap up everything on the bottom and sides and mixing it in. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Marvel at the color of this rich, scrumptious bread. It's divine! It's blissful! It's easy! It's gone? What the what?! hmmmm, better go make some more!!

Cookin' Canuck includes the recipe for a peanut butter cream cheese spread to put on it. I didn't make this but here is how she says to do it:

To make the Cream Cheese Spread: Using a spoon, mix 5 ounces softened cream cheese in a medium bowl until soft and fluffy. Add 2 Tablespoons peanut butter and stir to completely combine, then add 1/3 cup sugar and stir briskly, until incorporated.

Store the loaf wrapped tightly with plastic wrap at room temperature; store the cream cheese spread covered with plastic wrap (or in an airtight container) in the refrigerator