Happy Holiday Monday!

Happy MLK Day!

Or otherwise known as the Slamkova family dentist day. I plan most of my dental appointments around scheduled time off to save my sick days for when the kids are really sick. This leaves for a fun-filled afternoon at the dentist. Needless to say, I should be the one to get a treat out of the treasure box and it should be fermented and made of grapes.

This week's menu is all for the sake of simplicity and cold weather. The one exception is my salsa recipe. I am always in the mood for salsa and I wanted to try to make it with canned tomatoes since the limes are in season. It does fit with the simple theme and I guess it warms you up.


Meatless Monday - Marinara Soup
I am a sucker for tomato soup. I love the Campbell's but if you look at the ingredients, you wonder where all the tomatoes are. This is just as easy and is really fantastic. If you want, serve it with sandwiches or a grilled cheese.

1 – 28 oz. jar good marinara (no high fructose corn syrup)
2 T. butter
2 T. your favorite fresh herb (I use rosemary.)
2 cups chicken stock
½ cup cream or non-fat cream
Pinch of nutmeg

Sauté herbs in butter in a medium sauce pan for 3-4 minutes. Add marinara, stock, cream, and nutmeg and heat for 5 minutes or until hot. Yes, it’s that easy and the taste is to die for.

Two for Tuesday - Crockpot Black Bean Soup

1 lb dried black beans, washed and stones removed
3 onions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced (powdered works fine, too)
1 ham hocks or 3/4 cup cubed ham
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups water
2 tablespoons vinegar

Soak beans overnight in water. Drain. Put everything but the vinegar in the crockpot and cook on low 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours. If you like a smooth, thick soup, puree half of the beans. Add vinegar in just before serving. Use leftover whole beans on nachos tomorrow night.

Nacho Night with Salsa -

Tortilla chips
2 cups shredded cheese, mexican style or sharp cheddar
Black beans leftover from last night
Sour cream
Salsa, recipe follows

Turn oven broiler on high and cover cookie sheet with tin foil. Place chips on cookie sheet in an almost single layer and top with shredded cheese and beans. Broil chips until cheese is melted and bubbly. Eat with sour cream and salsa.

Salsa:
1-2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped
1 lime, juiced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, minced
1 handful cilantro, chopped, if desired
1 large 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Salt and pepper to taste.



Pesto Pizza (Homemade Whole Wheat Crust)

Crust should be started about an hour in advance. It's not hard and totally worth it.
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 T. honey
2 cups whole wheat floor, plus more for dusting
1 tsp. salt

Toppings:
Pesto
Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a small bowl, dissolve honey in warm water, then add the yeast. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl combine flour and salt. Make a well in the middle and add the yeast mixture. Stir well to combine. Cover and set in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes. If you are running short on time, let it rise 5 minutes and the continue.
Roll dough on a floured pizza pan and poke a few holes in it with a fork.
Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until desired crispiness is achieved.

Top with pesto and cheese and continue baking until cheese has melted and crust is golden brown and crunchy.


Egg Salad -
This is a comfort food for me. Boil your eggs as usual or bake them in the oven in the shell for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

8 hard boiled eggs
2-3 T. mayo
1 tsp. mustard
1 T. dill relish
1 T. dill relish juice
Salt and pepper

Mash eggs with a fork or pastry blender until eggs are fine crumbles. Add all other ingredients until combined. Serve as a sandwich, on crackers, or on a salad.

Snack night! Popcorn -
I have not bought bags of microwave popcorn in over a year. My kids eat a ton of popcorn though. I found this great way to make all natural popcorn in the microwave for a fraction of the cost.

Paper lunch sack, you can find them at every grocery store
3 T. popcorn kernels, buy the big bag and keep it in a large jar
olive oil, in a spray bottle
salt
Choose one of the following:
fresh ground black pepper
cinnamon sugar
old Bay seasoning
parmesan cheese and rosemary

Place popcorn in bag and fold over top to keep the popcorn in the bag. Place in the microwave and cook for the normal amount of time, mine is 4 minutes. Stop if kernels slow to 3 seconds between popping. Take bag out of microwave and open slowly. Spray with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Top with seasoning if desired. Enjoy!


This week is so busy, I know that we'll just have sandwiches or leftovers one night. I hope that this gets you through to Friday.

With high hopes and happy helpers,
Brooke