Menu Week 101

tostadas

Monday - Robyn's Meatloaf, baked potatoes & corn
Tuesday - Chicken & Wild Rice Soup w/ rolls & fruit
Wednesday - Tostadas
Thursday - Sticky Coconut Chicken, black beans & rice
Friday - eat out
Saturday - pizza
Sunday - Cuban Chicken Salad - yes again! It's really good (scroll down to find the recipe)

Giveaway Winner

And the winner is.....

Comment #9.....RITA!!!

Congratulations to Rita (please email me your mailing address: dinnersonme (at) gmail (dot) com) and thank you to all of you for your comments. It was fun to see what beef recipes you chose from the Beef. It's What's For Dinner website.

I thought the Monster Mash Meatball Soup chosen by Kristi was a cute Halloween idea, and the St Pat's Beef Pot Pie chosen by Ms Abelnap is just what a mama needs on a chilly fall evening.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Brunch Ideas

Anyone else planning on staying in their jammies until noon this weekend? Here are some yummy brunch ideas for you to enjoy with your families!

Oh and a quick reminder to enter the giveaway for the grilling gift bag. I've had a couple of emails about it and I guess I wasn't very clear in my last post - sorry. There are three separate ways you can enter, but you don't have to do all three. Also, I'm extending the cut off for the giveaway until Friday at midnight (MST). Not for any good reason, but just because I don't have any time to sit at the computer tomorrow until really late at night. So head back to the giveaway post and leave us a "where's the beef" comment! Now back to the brunch recipes....

German Apple Pancakes (recipe here)

Really delicious - very sweet. It's almost hard for me to eat something this sweet for breakfast. Almost. This was excellent in my cast iron skillet.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Strata (recipe here)
I wasn't sure how I would like this one, but it was yummy enough for me to make again! Mr. DoM said it reminded him of quiche. I don't want to talk about quiche. (see this post for why) I made a half-batch and it fed our family of 3 1/2.

Baked Oatmeal (recipe here)
This was my favorite of the three, although I would recommend adding to the recipe. We tried cinnamon & diced apples (oh so good!) and a friend of mine added cardamom to hers and topped it with peaches and cream. Next time I make this (probably Saturday) I will try a blueberry pecan.

100 Menus Giveaway (closed)

update: Giveaway is now closed. Thanks everyone!

I have two great things going this week: my one hundredth menu post, and the final week of the Beef. It's What's For Dinner Wednesdays Challenge. I have to say that it's been fun to participate in the BIWFD Challenge, and I've learned a bit more about beef after surfing around on their site (like this very handy little chart). As part of the final week of the Challenge, and to celebrate my 100th menu post, I'm giving away a grilling gift bag to one of my lucky readers, courtesy of the BIWFD people.

The grilling gift bag includes a copy of The Healthy Beef Cookbook -



a set of four Sur La Table Mini-Steak Thermometers -



a set of Crate & Barrel Grilling Tools, including a cute carrying bag -


plus a few more goodies! (As a thank you for being an ambassador for the Challenge, I was sent one of the grilling gift bags as well - that's what I used for the above photos. Your gift bag will be un-used and un-photographed :-)


Ready for the details? There will be three ways to enter the giveaway -

1. Leave a comment on this post that simply says "where's the beef?"
   
2. Blog about the giveaway on your blog, link to here, and then leave a comment on this post to let me know. (Be sure to include your blog address)
   
3. Visit the recipe finder on www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com then leave a comment on this post and tell me which yummy recipe has caught your eye.

The giveaway will be open until Friday, October 2 at Noon (MST). US residents only, please. Winner will be chosen using Random.org and announced Saturday morning. Good luck!

Menu Week 100 & A Giveaway

This is my 100th blogged menu! One hundred menus? Are you kidding me? That's a lot of dinners to figure out. I wanted to celebrate this event with a giveaway and as I was deciding what to include in the giveaway, I received an email that helped me make up my mind! For now, all I'm posting is my weekly menu. Check back tomorrow for the giveaway details!


Monday - Chicken Cordon Bleu Strata
Tuesday - Cuban Chicken Salad (you have to scroll down a bit for the recipe)
Wednesday - Beef Bourguingnonne
Thursday - Panzanella & Sweet Corn Puree
Friday - eat out
Saturday - roasted vegetable pizzas (testing out a new crust recipe this week)
Sunday - Creamy Vegetable Soup & rolls

Creamy Vegetable Soup

Need more menu ideas? Check out Menu Plan Monday @ orgjunkie.com

Beef Pot Roast with Maple Sweet Potatoes

This week's recipe for the Beef. It's What's For Dinner Wednesdays challenge was Beef Pot Roast with Maple Sweet Potatoes.



I think that Pot Roast is a tough recipe to recommend to anyone. Most people already have a pot roast recipe that they love, and prefer over all others. I am that way. It was not easy for me to take a lovely little pot roast and put it into a new recipe when I knew perfectly well that I had a roast recipe that my family already loved.

This roast did turn out great though. Here's what we liked about it:

• The fresh thyme - loved the flavor. Nothing beats fresh herbs.
  
• The addition of apple cider to the cooking liquids (which then later becomes gravy.)
• The quick gravy prep at the end. (I would label it as no-fail gravy, but as soon as I do that then I'll get an angry email from someone who failed at the gravy.)
  

From the start I had a gut feeling that the Maple Sweet Potatoes would not be a hit, so I had a back up plan ready to go. It added to my time spent in the kitchen, but in the end I was glad I had the regular mashed potatoes ready and warm on the stove. (Do you ever do that? Try out a new recipe and have a culinary contingency plan? I confess, I occasionally do that.)

Next time I make this pot roast (yes, there will be a next time) I'll skip the Maple Sweet Potatoes and just roast some sweet potato chunks in the oven with some salt, pepper and a little olive oil- mouth-watering and so very fall-esque.

Before I end my post, I just have to say that I laughed when I uploaded the photo. Mr. Dinner's on Me plated this up for me while I fed the toddler. Hello plate-o-starch! Just look at that meat to potatoes ratio!

If you participated in this week's challenge and tried out the recipe, don't forget to either leave a comment on the Facebook fan page or go and review the recipe to be eligible for the Beef Grilling Gift Bag giveaway!

Have a great weekend everyone, and be sure to check out what some other bloggers have done with this recipe.

Eat at Home
Family, Friends & Food
Cooking During Stolen Moments
Tried-and-True Cooking With Heidi

Menu Week 99

Monday - Beef Pot Roast with Maple Sweet Potatoes
Tuesday - Artichoke & Sun Dried Tomato Chicken
Wednesday - Chicken Burritos
Thursday - Chicken Cordon Bleu Strata
Friday - SuperMac
Saturday - eat out
Sunday - panini & roasted garden veggies

This week's treat: Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce












Need more menu ideas? Check out Menu Plan Monday