October Schedule

Updated

SWAP ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 4

Laura= grilled chicken skewers with rice and salad

Taylore= Homemade pizza

Wendy= Mini Cheddar Meat Loaves and Green Salad

Betsy= Asian Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Cauliflower

SWAP ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 11

Laura= fish tacos (chicken for the Coulombes!) with black beans and rice

Taylore= Poppyseed Chicken

Wendy= Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks and Roasted Potatoes

Betsy= Kalua Pork with Rice, Pineapple, and Green Salad

SWAP ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 18

Laura=Beef stew with bread and salad

Taylore= Chicken Pot Pie

Wendy= BBQ beef with rolls and green beans.

Betsy= Thai Chicken Yellow Curry with Rice and Gyozas

SWAP ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 25

Laura= grilled sausages and onions with sweet potato fries

Taylore= Chili and Cornbread

Wendy= Roast Chicken with Baked Potatoes and Broccoli

Betsy= Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes

Review of September

Hi ladies! Since we said we were going to "evaluate" our meal swap at the end of the month, I thought I should get that conversation going.

1. BUDGET: Just curious how much you all are spending each week. I've been keeping track and it seems that I'm spending between 12-15 dollars per family each week. I think that's a pretty good range considering we're using fresh veggies and meat. I could probably feed my family for less if I went to Taco Bell, bought a Costco pizza, or ate mac and cheese...but that's not nearly as healthy or delicious as our meals! :) I think that we are all saving money doing this because we are able to buy in bulk and actually use up everything we buy.

2. HUSBANDS/KIDS: What do your husbands think of this? Mine would prefer more low-carb meals, but I know that's restrictive so I have just been making the carb meals on the nights he is gone. Are you kids liking the meals? I know that some kids are pickier than others, but I want to make sure that we aren't making more work for each other. Are we all making meals that are kid-friendly? My kids are the least picky kids on the planet and have loved every meal. I think Levi ate almost all of Laura's chili last week and the rest of us only got one bowl each. Personally, I discovered how much I love Kalamata olives and have been craving them every day. HA!

3. SWAP TIME AND PLACE: Is this working out for everyone? It's working great for me!

4. MEALS: I like how we are now doing meal kits. I think the meals taste more fresh if we just put together the ingredients and any initial prep that we can help out with and let each person do more of the actual cooking. How about we do this for another month with new meals. Then at the end of October we can vote on which meals were our families' favorites that could be repeated. Let's all agree that we won't be offended if some of meals don't get voted for! Maybe one of you who is good at that sort of thing can make a little survey for us to vote with. Maybe we'll get so good at this that we can start having a "secret ingredient" each week like on Iron Chef....Ha!

5. SCHEDULE: I am happy to make a new October meal calendar so we all know what is coming next week. It's helpful to know ahead of time in case one of us needs to change our meal...like Taylor and I did because we've had such a hot week. I have Wendy's meals so if you could send me your meals, I will arrange them on a calendar and post it here.

6. Anything else we need to discuss??

Pasta and Sausage Bake

Ingredients:
1 box of penne noodles
2 jars of tomato and basil sauce (I like to use Classico)
1 block of graded mozzarella cheese
1 bag of parmesan cheese

Instructions:
Boil noodles. Cook Sausage. (Both are already done for you)
Mix noodles, 1 ½ jars of sauce, sausage and mozzarella cheese together in a big pan. Put all into a 9x 13 baking dish. Pour the remaining sauce around the edges and over the top to keep the meal more moist. Cover/sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese. I put saran wrap and then foil over the top of the baking dish. (I learned this from a friend who’s a caterer. Don’t remember her reason….but I still do it.)
Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes (or until hot all the way through). Once it’s hot, remove the saran wrap and foil. Broil on high for 5-7 minutes until the top is crispy.
Serve with salad (that’s been provided) and bread. Enjoy!
PS I completely ran out of time this afternoon when I was putting the meal together. I am so sorry I didn’t get the salad stuff all the way chopped for you. I didn’t leave enough time to do so. Hope you can forgive me. J/K!

(posted for Taylore)

Roasted Chicken with Balsamic Vinaigrette, Spinach Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette & Rosemary Olive Bread

Preparation:

• Thaw marinated chicken. Thaw bread (if frozen).
• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Place thawed chicken and marinade juices in a 13x9-inch baking dish.
• Bake for 35-45 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
• Put bread in the oven for the last 5-10 minutes to warm.
• Assemble salad: cranberries, feta, pecans and spinach. Toss with vinaigrette.
• Put chicken in a serving dish and sprinkle with lemon zest and chopped parsley.
• Serve chicken with salad with bread.

Roasted Chicken with Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe

(from Giada de Laurentiis)

Ingredients:

* 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

* 1/4 cup Dijon mustard

* 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)

* 3 garlic cloves, minced

* 1/2 cup olive oil

* 1 tsp salt

* 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

* 1 (4-pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces (giblets, neck and backbone reserved for

another use) [I usually just use boneless chicken breasts.]

* 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

* 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Whisk the vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper in small bowl to blend. Combine the vinaigrette and chicken pieces in a large resealable plastic bag; seal the bag and toss to coat. [You can freeze the marinated chicken at this point. Then, thaw in the refrigerator.] Refrigerate, turning the chicken pieces occasionally, for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove chicken from the bag and arrange the chicken pieces in a large baking dish. Roast until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30-45 minutes. If your chicken browns too quickly, cover it with foil for the remaining cooking time. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter.

[I usually don’t do this part because of the extra hassle—and because the chicken tends to have plenty of flavor without the extra sauce.] Carefully pour the cooking liquid into a small, heavy saucepan and spoon off excess oil from atop cooking liquid. Boil until liquid reduces by about half and thickens slightly, about 8 minutes.

Sprinkle the lemon zest and parsley over the chicken, and serve.