For Family...

Last week it hit me: I've grown tired. Tired of standing at the open freezer thinking, "Hmm...what can I make tonight?" Tired of going back to old stand-by dinners because I hadn't planned. Time to get back to menu-planning. Not only does it kick my butt into gear, it helps with our grocery budget. We don't get what we don't need, or things I pick up "just in case." So, yesterday I sat down with my piles of cookbooks and cooking magazines and planned my menu. For around $200 (plus the price of whatever items I had left in the freezer and pantry), I have a menu for the next 2 weeks! When planning a menu, I try to make sure I add foods that are the favorite of each of my family members. Tonight was for Kiersten.

First up, two recipes I've just recently tried: Pioneer Woman's "The Best Baked Beans Ever," and Paula Deen's bacon-wrapped chicken, posted by another blogger. I'll lead you to those recipes here. I've actually blogged before about the chicken.

The newest member of my kitchen repertoire would be the divine au gratin potatoes. Originally intended to become au gratin mashed potatoes from Cuisine at Home magazine,  that soon changed. After I sliced the potatoes with one of my new favorite tools, Richard and I decided they were too pretty to turn to mush!! So I layered them in my 9x13 and topped them with white sharp cheddar cheese.  The recipe calls to mash them once they've boiled for 30 minutes, then top with Parmesan cheese and chives. What I ended up doing was much easier, less time-consuming, and much tastier, in my opinion! Even Miss Picky ate them up! One of the parts I love is that there is absolutely no butter in this recipe!!  Not only does that cut out a ton of fat, it also keeps the sauce from becoming an oily mess as it cools.

My Kuhn-Rikon Mandoline. I LOVE THIS!

Boiling the potatoes in the milk/cream mixture

Browned cheese!! Even better: this is white cheddar!

Au Gratin Potatoes (adapted from Cuisine at Home Magazine)

4 lbs Golden Russett potatoes

2 c Half & Half

1 cup of milk (I used 2%)

1 cup cheddar cheese (I didn't measure - just grated right onto the potatoes!)

Heat oven to 350. Slice potatoes as thin as possible. Add to large pot with the half & half and milk. Bring to a boil & let boil for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
Pour into a 9x13 dish (it will be very full!)

Top with cheese, bake for 30 minutes. 

This makes for a pretty dense layer of potatoes. Feel free to cut back!

The baked beans had some serious kick. In the recipe, she says to feel free to add jalapeños to the pepper & onion mixture. Well hello! I have quite a few in my freezer, as we have some growing in our garden. I added 2. That was probably one too many. I had made enough for half of a recipe, but ended up adding more beans to level out the spice. But even after that, it was still pretty spicy. However, the kids ate it up without one complaint about the spice! Love it! 

Man, that's a beautiful dish! After seeing the sides,Richard asked how many people we were having over for dinner.

The bacon-wrapped chicken is something Kiersten is constantly requesting. If you've read my previous posts, you'll see it discussed before. As always, it was a hit. 

For dessert, the kids had Edy's fruit popsicles. Mainly because the baked goods weren't done until they were in bed. A friend asked for the recipe to what most people call Monster Cookies. In my cookbook, they're called Peanut Butter Jumbos. The reason for both those names is the size. However, since we're TRYING to be good, I made them a normal cookie size. The recipe also calls for M&Ms, but we didn't have any. I like them just fine this way, though. 

My "milk" and cookies. And by milk,

I mean Kahlua & Cream. :-)

Peanut Butter Jumbos
1/2 c (1 stick) butter, softened
1 c packed brown sugar
1 c granulated sugar
1 1/2 c peanut butter
3 eggs
2 t baking soda
1 t vanilla
4 1/2 c rolled oats
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips*
1 c M&Ms*

Heat oven to 350. Lightly grease cookie sheet, or line with parchment paper. Beat butter, sugars, PB, and eggs in large bowl until blended. Blend in baking soda, vanilla, and oats until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips & M&Ms. Scoop out about 1/3 c of dough for each cookie. Place on cookie sheets, spacing about 4 inches apart. Press each cookie to flatten slightly. Bake 15-20 minutes or until firm in the center. Remove to wire racks to cool.

*For my own baking, I used 2 cups of chocolate chips in place of 1 c each of the chips and candy. Also, I used a heaping tablespoon of batter, and baked for 10 minutes. 

This made 4 dozen normal-sized cookies.

Time to get off to bed. I'm hoping to get up and Zumba EARLY in the morning. That way I don't feel so guilty about eating all these wonderful foods!