Ham and Garden Veggie Shells

It started out pretty simple -- make ham and broccoli shells for dinner.  Then, I opened the fridge and saw zucchini and mushrooms staring at me saying "eat me".

Since I really was craving pasta shells, I decided to throw in the whole veggie gang -- and I'm glad I did.  Both Frog Prince and I actually like this version better than the original :)

I don't have many photos either -- it was more of a "clean out the fridge" meal that actually was better than we expected!

Ham and Garden Veggie Shells - Finding Joy in My Kitchen
{Print Recipe}

1/2 lb. whole wheat pasta {about 1/2 a box}
1 bag (16oz) frozen broccoli
1 medium zucchini, quartered
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1/2 C diced ham
1 1/2 C extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 T flour
1 C milk
salt and pepper, to taste

Begin by boiling the pasta.

Meanwhile, saute the ham, mushrooms and zucchini together in a large skillet over medium heat.  You may need to add a little olive oil to prevent the veggies from sticking to the pan.

Then, toss in the broccoli.

Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir to coat.

Slowly add in the milk, stirring to mix well, until a thick mixture is formed.  Note -- if the mixture is too thick, add more milk!

Add in the cooked and drained pasta.

Then, remove the dish from the heat.

Stir in the cheese and allow the heat in the dish to melt the cheese.

Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

This post is linked to:

• Delicious Dishes
• Totally Tasty Tuesday
• URS
• Ingredient Spotlight

Menu Plan - August 29

The end of August.  Really?  One month ago we were on our way to our new city... Tuesday, I start teaching two college biology courses.  All I can say is that God is good.

The excitement of the week {in between the faculty retreat, furniture shopping and hanging up photos} was having our first dinner guests!!  My college roommate of 4 years was in town with her husband.  Laura has been living in Turkey for 5 years, and the last time we saw each other was three years ago at our wedding... before that, it was when we graduated from college!

Frog Prince did most of the cooking {I made dessert} and we had a great time together.  It was lovely to get to know Laura's husband too!

We stuck to our menu plan pretty well last week --

Breakfast Sandwiches

Wheat English Muffins with Cherry Blueberry Preserve

Roasted Zucchini

{recipe to come}

Oregano Rosemary Pork Roast

{recipe to come}

Rhubarb Gingersnap Cheesecake

Ham and Garden Veggie Shells

{recipe to come}

Refrigerator Pickles

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake

Spinach and Mushroom Calzones

Cheeseburger Zucchini Boats

{recipe to come}

Roasted Tomato Soup

Twice Baked Spinach, Bacon and Cheese Potatoes

{recipe to come}

Here's our menu for this week:


Sunday
B - Cherry Blueberry Breakfast Cake {new}
L - Leftovers
D - Grilled Italian Sausages with bell peppers, whole wheat rolls, potato fries


Monday
B - Zucchini and Carrot Pancakes
D - Balsamic Chicken {new}, brown rice and veggies


Tuesday

B - Granola and fresh fruit

D - Vegetable Lasagna {made ahead of time} 

Wednesday
B - Leftover pancakes {freezer}
D - Crockpot Sloppy Joes, Whole Wheat Rolls, Corn on the Cob


Thursday
B - Leftover Sweet Potato Zucchini Applesauce Bread
D - Leftover lasagna


Friday
B - Granola and fresh fruit
D - Chicken Parmesan Hot Pockets {new}


Saturday
B - TBD
D - Ratatouille, brown rice and breadsticks

Breads
Zucchini Whole Wheat Bread {new}

Sweet Treats
Zucchini Cookies {new}

Snacks
Refrigerator Pickles
Dark Chocolate Cherry Granola Bars

Friday Favorites

Glorified Zucchini Casserole

Tasty Kitchen

Chicken Parm with Zucchini Noodles

Tasty Kitchen

Zucchini Absorption Pasta

Tasty Kitchen

Fried Zucchini Stings

Tasty Kitchen

Laura's Little Maple Cakes

Cutting Coupons in Kansas

Tomato Ricotta Tart

Princess of Quite A Lot

Strawberry Breakfast Bars

Mommie Cooks

Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes

Around My Family Table

Breakfast for Dinner on a Stick

A Beautiful Mess

Congo Bars

Inside BruCrew Life

Avocado Fries

Not Just Another Jen

Fresh Blueberry Pie

Family, Stamping and Food

Oatmeal Breakfast Bars {minus the nuts}

At Home with Haley

Cherry Blueberry Preserve

I love a great jelly/jam/preserve/spread --- but, until this weekend, I had never tried making them myself.  My grandma makes amazing strawberry rhubarb jam, but that whole process seemed too complicated for me.

Simple and straight forward.  That's what I'm looking for in a jelly recipe -- and this one is both.

Fresh or frozen berries, a little sugar, and an apple, for natural pectin {love that!}.

We'll be making jams/jellies/preserves/spreads again -- I can't wait to try out other combinations!


Cherry Blueberry Spread - Inspired by Kuzak's Closet
{Print Recipe}

16oz (~3 C) dark sweet cherries*, pitted and sliced
3 C blueberries
1 1/2 C sugar
1/2 apple, diced
~1 T water

*Fresh or frozen berries work fine!

Rinse the berries with water.  Then, place them in a large kettle and toss with sugar.  I used only a little sugar because the cherries were really sweet -- you may wish to increase the amount of sugar if your berries are tart.  Taste and see!

Then, add in the finely diced apple.

Place the mixture over medium heat and stir until the berries begin to cook.  You may need to add in 1 T of water (or OJ) to give the berries some liquid to help the cooking process begin.

Secure a candy thermometer to the side of the pan such that it's touching the berry mixture and not the bottom of the pan.  Heat to boiling, and continue heating and stirring until the mixture reaches 220 degrees.  You may also wish to use a potato masher to squish the berries while they cook.

When the mixture reaches 220, remove from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature.

Then, pour into sterilized jelly jars and refrigerate.

This recipe filled 2 and a half jelly jars.  And, yes, they are almost gone already.  You can also freeze the jelly for later consumption.

This will be a great way to use up berries that are "on their way out"!

Enjoy!



This post is linked to:

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
• Tasty Tuesday

Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Applesauce Zucchini Bread

more conveniently referred to as the fruit and veggie bread!

This recipe uses 100% whole wheat flour -- in white wheat flour.

I've gotten a few questions over the past few weeks about white wheat flour so, insert interlude here:

White whole wheat flour is whole wheat flour made from white berries rather than red wheat berries, hence the lighter color.  Not only that -- it's just as nutritious as wheat flour from red berries, but it has a fine enough texture that it can be substituted well for all-purpose flour.  In fact, at our house, we no longer buy all purpose flour, it's white wheat and red wheat for us!

Okay, that aside -- this recipe uses whole wheat, applesauce, sweet potato and zucchini!  And, yes, it tastes good.

 Next time I make it, I'm going to try using honey or molasses as a sweetener.  

It's a bread I can feel good about eating for breakfast... or as a dessert!

Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Applesauce Zucchini Bread - Adapted from Nave Family Food
{Print Recipe}

2 C white wheat flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C sugar
1/2 C applesauce
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 C sweet potato puree
1 1/2 C shredded zucchini

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, salt, soda and powder.

Next, add in the sugar.

Then, add in the applesauce, eggs, vanilla, sweet potato and zucchini.

Mix until just moist.

Pour into a lightly greased bundt pan, or a large loaf pan.

Bake at 350 for ~1 hour, or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 5-15 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack for complete cooling.

Wait until the bread is cooled before trying to slice it.  As challenging as it might be, it's worth the wait.

For an extra special treat -- toast a slice the next day... warm and crunchy... YUM!

This recipe is linked to:

• Tasty Tuesday
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Menu Plan - August 22

No big changes around the house this week -- just a few light fixtures and adding the knobs on the cabinets in the kitchen!  {there is one knob missing in this photo, but it was all I had uploaded and ready to go this morning!}

Oh.  And, making spaghetti sauce.  We have lots of tomatoes.

Now that we're getting settled, we're starting to sort out our schedule and figure out life in our new house, new state, new job and new job setting.  I'm quickly learning how much menu planning helps when both Frog Prince and I are working full time!  While our kitchen isn't fully finished yet, I'm certainly breaking it in well :)  

Whole Wheat English Muffins

{with cherry blueberry jam - new!}

Spinach Squares

Penne with Broccoli and Sausage

French Toast
{made using wheat oatmeal bread}

Spinach and Chicken Pasta

Blueberry Pancakes



Zucchini Parmesan
{with homemade spaghetti sauce}

Sweet Potato Zucchini Applesauce Bread

{recipe to come}

We're in the process of adjusting to having both of us employed full time; a situation that's new to us, and requires some planning ahead and maximizing weekend time in the kitchen to get ready for the week.

So far, we've found that making lunches the night before when we're putting away dinner helps save time in the morning.  We've also been relying on bulk breakfasts that we make over the weekend and freeze to enjoy during the week.  Any other suggestions for the newbies?

Our lunches consist of leftovers from our evening meals, as well as sandwiches with yogurt, fruit and veggies.  Frog Prince is on his own for lunches... with him working from home we only have to pack one lunch :)

On the menu this week:


Sunday
B - English Muffins with Cherry Blueberry Jelly
L - Leftovers
D -Grilling with the family!


Monday
B - Breakfast Sandwiches
D - Baked Zucchini Sticks {new} and crockpot spaghetti sauce; corn on the cob

Tuesday
B - Granola, fresh blueberries
D - Zucchini and Brown Rice Gratin {new}

Wednesday {Dinner with friends visiting from Turkey!}
B - Kris Kringle Pancakes, blueberry syrup

D - Pork roast in crockpot; potatoes, carrots; green beans

Dessert - Rhubarb Gingersnap Cheesecake

Thursday
D - Ham and Broccoli Shells, green beans
Dessert - Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake

Friday
B - Blueberry Rhubarb Oatmeal {new}
D - Cheeseburger Zucchini Boats {new}

Saturday
B - TBD
L - Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese
D - Pizza? Calzones? French Bread Pizza?  TBD.

Snacks

Dark Chocolate Cherry Granola Bars

Refrigerator Pickles

Bread

Zucchini Whole Wheat Bread Machine Bread {new}

Enjoy your week!

Friday Favorites

Zucchini Gratin

{Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner}

Summer Garden Vegetable Soup

{My Kitchen Cafe}

Spinach Calzone

{The Pursuit of Happiness}

Creamy Tomato Bisque

{Cooking During Stolen Moments}

Cherry Chicken Skillet

{Out of the Box and Into the Kitchen}

Cheesecake Ice Cream with Fresh Blueberries

{Simply Sugar and Gluten Free}

Black Bean Burgers

{The Design Girl Blog}

Patty Melts

{All Home Cooking. All Year Long}

Frozen Chocolate Mousse Pie

{Lynn's Kitchen Adventures}

Honeyed Banana Berry Cookies

{Picky Palate}

Baked Zucchini Sticks

{What Megan's Making}

Stuffed Italian Chicken

{Simply Sugar and Gluten Free}

Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

We have a beautiful {and productive} garden that the previous homeowners blessed us with!

This week, we had a chance to use a bucket full of ripe tomatoes to make our first batch of crockpot spaghetti sauce for the season!!

This sauce is runny; when you serve it, add in a can of tomato paste to create the consistency of sauce you enjoy. I like making it and freezing it without the paste because it helps conserve freezer space :)

Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce - Finding Joy in My Kitchen
{Print Recipe}

1 can (8oz) tomato sauce
~12 large tomatoes, peeled, sliced and chopped
2 T dried onion flakes
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1 medium bell pepper (green or purple is our favorite), diced
2 T brown sugar
4 garlic cloves
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Begin by harvesting your tomatoes.  Alternatively, if you don't have garden tomatoes, you can use two cans (14.5oz) of diced tomatoes, undrained, in their place.

Wash up your tomatoes, and then place them in a large bowl.

Pour boiling hot water over the tomatoes until they are covered.  Allow them to sit in the hot water for 3ish minutes.

Then, decant the hot water, carefully, so as not to burn yourself.

Cover the tomatoes with cold water and allow them to sit in the cool water for 2-3 minutes.

Begin with a tomato of your choosing and remove the skin -- it should pretty much fall right off.

Continue, until all tomatoes are peeled.  Then, slice and dice them.

Next, prepare the other vegetables, and combine them in a large crockpot.

Add in the tomatoes and stir to combine.

Season well, and then cover.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-6 hours, or until veggies are tender to your liking.

Cool, and then place into glass jars or freezer containers.

Cool completely in the fridge before placing your containers into the freezer {saves on your energy consumption}.

Serve as is {just add tomato paste to thicken}, use in dishes that call for spaghetti sauce, or add ground beef/turkey to make a meal.

Enjoy!


This post is linked to:
Delicious Dishes
Tasty Tuesdays
Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays
Ingredient Spotlight