Nothing to Report, Except Some Recipes

Other than increasingly uncomfortable nights, there is little change here.  A couple of things going on with my body might mean that labor is in sight, but I won't get too graphic here.  Of course, my doctor says they really don't indicate a time frame, but it keeps me going.  Trying to will myself into labor this morning (I might have had a light contraction or two) did not work.

So instead of baby updates, I'll add some links to some of my favorite recipes from our Summer Fasting Menu.
 

• Fish (or Shrimp) Tacos ~ I'm replacing the shrimp with some kind of white fish, since I already have a couple of shrimp dishes on the menu.
• Dumplings with Soy Slaw ~ This one is a serious favorite of mine.  And so summery.

To finish sharing the dinners on our menu, here are the final three:

The Shrimp Stir Fry night is just combining a bag of precooked shrimp with a bag or two of stir fry veggies, and either throwing together a sauce yourself (I like to mix rice or cider vinegar, honey, soy sauce, and sesame oil to taste) or using some kind of prepared sauce (either a bottle or something that came with the veggies).  This is my Errand Day easy meal.

The next recipe comes from a cookbook my Mom gave me in college, The Kitchenless Cookbook, by Suanne Beverly.  I've changed it a bit, so I think I can offer it here in my own format.  I love this stuff.  I eat it right out of the bowl.

Finally, I created this recipe from the contents of the pantry in the home of one of the families we house-sat for last summer as we were moving back to Chicago.  It turned out amazing—probably due to the amount of olive oil I used.  It might be improved with fresh parsley.  I used tubetti in my initial creation, but I recently bought shells, because those will catch the peas and walnut pieces well.  I'm making myself hungry....

Now, to see if I get through a week of using this menu before Baby arrives and my Mom takes over my kitchen!  (Thank you, Mom!)

Apostle's Fast Menu

In about a week and a half, we will be entering the Apostle's Fast.  As per the last post, I have created a set weekly menu for our meals during this time.  I'd like to share our menu and possibly some recipes as I am able.  Mary is my inspiration in this.

I don't know how far I'll get with this project during the Apostle's Fast, or even if I'll do much cooking from this menu--I'm about two weeks away from delivering a baby and my mother will be in town to take care of household tasks for a while.  :)  But I'll be recycling this menu for the Dormition Fast in August and can pick it up again then.

My menu may look much different from another family's fasting menu.  I won't go into all the details--many will be obvious from looking at our menu.  What one actually eats during a fast should be decided in consultation with one's spiritual father.  I'm happy to answer any questions, though.

 With that said, here is our proposed (and un-tested!) Apostle's Fast Menu:

One of the recipes on our menu is Moroccan Couscous Salad.  I developed it from a favorite crock pot recipe from a Saving Dinner Menu Mailer.

A huge thank you to Mary for the inspiration to work on this; for layout, font, and illustration ideas (being an incredibly generous person, I know she won't mind how similar my pages look to hers); for tips on getting my Mac to create these images; and for all the amazing resources she provides.  It has been a pleasure getting to know her a little through her blog.

Muffin Tin Meals?

Here's a great idea to use up leftovers or just be creative with lunches:

Muffin Tin Meals

Five Ingredient (Mostly Lent-Friendly) Recipes

A cooking and housekeeping tips website that I frequent (www.hillbillyhousewife.com) is asking for five-ingredient recipes for a new cookbook, so I submitted these that I created. I thought I'd share them here for the pleasure of anyone who might still check my blog.


Salmon and Peppers

1 large onion, sliced into medium thickness rings
1 large green (or other color) pepper, sliced into rings
6 small to medium salmon fillets (can be frozen--I cook this from frozen)
spice mix (seasoned salt, homemade spice rub, italian seasoning, you can experiment)

Heat a little oil, and saute onions and peppers in a deep skillet or large pot. When these are about half cooked, place (frozen) salmon fillets on top of veggies in skillet. Season fillets with spice mix. (You can let the fillets defrost slightly and then sprinkle on both sides, or as one side defrosts, you can flip and season... or just make it simple and sprinkle the whole thing liberally.) Cook until fish is done. Makes a yummy sauce. Serve over rice or potatoes.


Coconut-Tomato Curry
(Lent-friendly if made with garbanzos instead of chicken)

1 med-large onion, large diced (may add garlic, if desired)
curry powder (and other Indian spices to taste, if desired)
1 can tomato sauce
1 can coconut milk
2 med-large tomatoes, large diced (canned are fine)
2 large chicken breasts, whole or large chunks (or 1 can garbanzos, or add both, or a combination)

Saute onions in oil (and garlic if you want). Add curry (and other spices if desired) to onions. Once curry is mixed in thoroughly, add tomato sauce and coconut milk. Stir to combine.

Add chicken pieces (and/or garbanzo beans) and let simmer until chicken is cooked through. Add tomato chunks and simmer again until tomatoes are done to your liking. Adjust seasonings as necessary.

Serve over rice or noodles--good with green peas or green beans on the side.

[OK, I know, this has six ingredients, but two or more just involve opening cans! If you need this to have five ingredients, then you could probably substitute a can of diced tomatoes (maybe something seasoned?) or stewed tomatoes for the tomato sauce and chopped tomatoes. Other veggies can be added too, like zucchini or eggplant.]


1-2-3 Stew

1 can red kidney beans (or white cannelini, or great northern, or garbanzos)
2 cans zucchini in Italian tomato sauce
3 russet potatoes, large diced

Micro-cook potatoes in a covered dish (or boil on the stove) until soft. Heat oil in a large pot and saute for a minute or two. Add remaining ingredients (beans and zucchini). Stir and simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve--good with green beans on the side.

(Probably could substitute a couple of small to medium fresh zucchini and a can of tomato sauce with some Italian seasoning for the zucchini in Italian tomato sauce. Someone gave me the cans of zucchini, so I developed this recipe. It's not something I usually buy.)

Frugal Baking Thought of the Day

Use less!

Not being one to want to forgo the use of things like nuts and chocolate chips in baked goods (the rare ones that I actually make...) simply because we are poor, the thought occurred to me the other day that I can just use half as much.

Sure, there would not be quite as much goodness in every bite, but enough to get the general idea. I put this idea to use in a batch of muffins I made from some failed tapioca pudding. I'll post a photo later. Too bad I didn't get a picture of the pudding: it looked awful.

Seafood Jambalaya

I love Trader Joes. They should pay me to advertize. Anyway, since Susannah's birth, I've given myself permission to make "easy meals." No more "everything from scratch" attitude. However, I still don't like eating food that isn't food (ie., has a lot of extra non-food ingredients). Enter Trader Joes. They have convenience foods (a term I prefer over "processed food" since theirs aren't) that taste like food. Food that I would make. So, I'd like to share some of my creations. Some recipes are inspired by the store's flyers, but I usually tweak them.

Seafood Jambalaya
Serves 3 to 4

2 packets (envelope?) Veggie Jambalaya (not refridgerated or frozen)
1 bag frozen seafood mix or (if you're not that
adventurous) 1 bag frozen shrimp (uncooked)

Mainly, just follow the instructions on the bags for both of these and combine, but here's some more details than that.

Heat Veggie Jambalaya in microwave as per instructions on back. Defrost shrimp or seafood mix under warm running water. Heat a little oil in a skillet and then cook until almost done (just as shrimp are beginning to look firm and slightly pink) then add Jambalaya to skillet. Stir frequently until all heated through and shrimp is done.

I served with a can of heated TJs Cuban Black Beans (with a handful of frozen mixed veggies added) and some other cooked-from-frozen veggies. This is slightly spicy and very tasty!