Menu and recipe review

I seriously JUST wrote this whole post only for it to suddenly disappear. (insert string of words I won't write here.) Let's see if I can remember what it said.

There's something about the first of the month being on a Monday that sits oddly with me. The whole week and the whole month sprawl out ahead beckoning with responsibility and opportunity. I see both the long list of what I need to accomplish as well as the chance to start anew and fresh. Do you have a similar reaction?

Since it is Monday, I should start the week by sharing my menu. Let me admit and apologize for the fact that there are a few repeats from last week as we did eat out a few times.

Breakfasts: (all with fruit) Cereal, Juice, Breakfast burritos, Cinnamon sugar croissants, omelets w/toast

Lunches: Leftovers, PB&J, Angel hair pasta with white sauce w/salad, Cheese quesidillas, soup w/grilled cheese, Tuna noodles

Dinners: 

Bell'alimento's Farmstead Ravioli

Farmstead ravioli with zucchini w/salad

Walnut and rosemary oven fried chicken w/ smashed red potatoes and field peas

Brats w/potato salad & grilled corn

BBQ tofu pizza w/salad

Easy Vegetable Beef soup (substitute soy crumbles for beef) over pasta

I'm linking up to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

__________________________________________________

Here's my review of the recipes we did eat last week.

Whole wheat pancakes: These were fluffier than I am used to, but they were just fine otherwise. I did add some blueberries. I liked that the recipe came together in one bowl instead of several for less mess. I will most likely make these again.

Baked Rigatoni: This was really good. I did make a few adjustments as I used some blended, roasted tomatoes in place of some of the marinara (we had extra tomatoes the neighbor gave us that needed to be used) and I didn't use near as much goat cheese as the recipe recommended. I probably used less than half and there was still plenty of goat-y-ness to it. In addition, there was way, way too much cheese in general. And, if I'm saying that. . .it's TOO MUCH CHEESE! I would probably half the mozzarella amount too. With those adjustments, I might make this again.

Mac-and-cheese style cauliflower: I waffled back and forth over whether to make this dish or not. I wasn't able to get the nutritional yeast and it seemed like a ton of steps just for some cheesy cauliflower (sometimes I should read the recipes a little closer before I put them on the menu.) In the end, I did make it (substituting a little ground mustard and salt for the nutritional yeast) and it was tasty. However, I probably won't make this again as we don't need our cauliflower to be that complex in order to enjoy it.

_______________________________________

Lastly, I listed this bracelet in the shop today.

Growing Wild Bracelet

Now that I've written this post twice, I'm anxious to be done with it and move on to what the rest of the week and month have in store for me. I hope your Monday is treating you a little better!