Typically, I'm not a menu planner, but....

For vacation purposes, I thought it would be best.

The camp we stay at has a very limited kitchen, but still very workable. In fact, that is one of the best things about vacation...less stuff. I bring up as much food as we can fit as the closest store is 30 mins. away and is quite expensive given how far up we are (unless you count Young's which not only sells a small selection of food, but bait, tackle and hunting/fishing licenses along with gas!) We generally take one day and travel to the Berlin area to hit the most beautiful and well laid out super EvilMart I've ever been to. Dude - it has a view of the White Mountains from its parking lot!

Breakfast and lunch each day are the same. For breakfast we have an assortment of dry cereals and I always make pancakes. This year I am bringing the waffle maker, too, as the boys are on a kick. I will bring up mixed dried ingredients for the pancakes and waffles and then add the eggs and milk/yogurt once we get there.

Lunch will be either sandwiches (am bringing quite a few loaves of homemade bread) or leftovers from the evening before depending on where our travels are taking us that day.

I also will be bringing some homemade cookies, homemade vanilla almond granola, blueberry lemon pound cake. banana bars and a new snack mix that doesn't make quite as much as my usual go to mix (it also doesn't cost an arm and a leg!)

So without further adieu, here is my menu. Being the crazy kind of person I am /grin/, I doubt this is the exact order of things, but you'll get the idea.

Friday - spaghetti w/red sauce, homemade french bread, mixed greens salad

Saturday-baked honey mustard chicken breasts, brown rice, veggies

Sunday -Slow cooked Pepperocini Beef Shank on grinder rolls, salad

Monday - Make your own wrap (lettuce, tomato, cheese, meats), melon

Tuesday - Nitrate free Chili dogs, salad, fruit

Wednesday - Turkey burgers, homemade potato buns, salad, fruit

Thursday - Takeout...likely Chinese as we tried a place last year that was fantastic or maybe pizza

Friday - Ground turkey Cooking Light Sloppy Joes on homemade potato rolls, salad

Purple Princess Cake with Almond flavored Ermine Frosting

It was the little girl's 5th birthday on Wednesday. I have typically made her a white cake with strawberries and blueberries because her birthday is so close to July 4th (red, white & blue). This year as I was browsing recipes for "berry cakes from scratch", I found a version of a Pink Lady cake that used pureed strawberries. Since she wanted strawberries and blueberries, I decided to call mine a Purple Princess Cake. As far as the frosting, my favorite is an Ermine frosting. SO light and not too sweet despite being pretty much butter and sugar.

This cake will make (3) 8" rounds although I baked mine in a large Longaberger lasagna pan.

Purple Princess Cake

4 1/4 c. flour
2 1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbsp plus 2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter (3/4 c.)
1/2 c. coconut oil
2 c. sliced strawberries (fresh or frozen unsweetened)
1 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen unsweetened)
1 overripe banana
4 eggs
2/3 c. plain yogurt

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour pan(s).

Puree the berries and banana in food processor.

Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large mixer bowl. Add in butter, coconut oil and berry puree. Mix well. Add in eggs one at a time and then plain yogurt. Mix until well combined but do not overbeat.

Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (about an hour for one large pan - probably about half that time for 8" pans).

Cool completely before frosting.

Almond flavored Ermine Frosting

3 Tbsp. flour
1 c. milk
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 c. sugar
1 c. confectioner's sugar (can leave this out)

Cook milk and flour in saucepan over medium heat until thickened. Add small pinch of salt, mix well and set aside to cool just a bit. Beat butter and sugar together. Add in slightly cooled flour mixture and beat until well incorporated. Add in extract and confectioners sugar to taste.

Tuscan Style Cannellini Salad

This is one of the most used recipes I have from Cooking Light. I LOVE THIS SALAD! It is easy and yummy - two reasons it makes great summer fare.

Tonight I served it with BLT's made on our everyday bread and baby dill pickles. This dinner was a huge hit with everyone.


Tuscan Style Cannellini Salad
Serves 4

1 16oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed well
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 c. chopped vidalia or red onion
1 clove garlic, minced
3-4 basil leaves, chopped into ribbons (chiffonade)
2 Tbsp. red wine or balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1 Tbsp. Italian parsley
pinch of salt
2-3 turns ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients into a bowl. Place in fridge and let sit for an hour for flavors to marinade.

Best breakfast ever

So I'm not usually a huge breakfast lover. I love my coffee and that's about it. Since I've decided to get serious about getting to a healthy weight and toning my middle aged body, I've had to seriously change how I view food. (Believe me, it's not easy.) I love food. I like to eat food. Food is sometimes how I comfort myself which is likely why my body looks the way it does. Anyway, this is my new breakfast routine. I may switch it up a little bit here and there, but it seems to be the perfect fit for me. (And it helps that all the ingredients are things that I always have on hand.)

Breakfast Blend

1/2 c. Stonyfield Farm lowfat French Vanilla Yogurt
1/2 c. Wyman's Frozen Wild Blueberries
2 Tbsp. toasted wheat germ
1/2 c. cereal (cheerios, rice crispies, etc. - even homemade granola is yummy)

Blend all ingredients in a bowl. Eat & enjoy!

Because I eat this while the blueberries are still frozen, it seems more like some kind of icy, creamy treat than a meal. I'm sure you could blend it up and make it into a smoothie as well if that is more your thing. In any case, it sure is yummy.

Ground turkey & Orzo skillet

Picked up a couple of pounds of ground turkey today and then when it was time to cook, I wanted to find something easy. This is pretty good and you could change it up pretty easily to incorporate the things you like most. The best part? One large family sized skillet to clean. Even with the spinach and tomatoes, everyone had seconds - probably because it looked so pretty with the dark green of the spinach and deep red of the tomatoes.

This recipe is written to feed 8.

Ground Turkey & Orzo Skillet

2 lbs ground turkey
30 oz. diced tomatoes (approx. two cans or one box)
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large onion, diced
2 Tbsp. EVOO
1 tsp. dried oregano, basil & rosemary
2 c. frozen spinach, thawed
2 c. chicken broth
1 lb orzo
salt & pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese

In large skillet or pan, heat EVOO and add in turkey. Cook for a few minutes and then add in salt, pepper, garlic & onion. Cook mixture until turkey is fully cooked. Add in tomatoes, herbs, spinach and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then add in orzo. Cover and lower heat to simmer for about 10 minutes or until orzo is tender. Serve with grated parmesan.

Not a recipe - just an endorsement

Kettle brand Salt & Pepper Krinkle cut potato chips. Hubby looked at me skeptically when I picked them up. He is not skeptical anymore.

Yes, they are still potato chips and not a healthy meal option, but good for a once in awhile treat. This is what it says on the bag:

Our Natural Promise:
Absolutely NOTHING artificial
No Trans fats
No Preservatives
NON GMO ingredients or oils
Gluten Free
No MSG
Only Natural colors & flavors
Real Food Ingredients

Ingredients:
Potatoes, vegetable oil (safflower and/or sunflower oil), rice flour, salt, spices (black pepper, white pepper), yeast extract, garlic powder, onion powder, citric acid, spice extract (black pepper oil), jalapeno powder.

So yeah, unless you are going to make your own (which you can - my mother used to make them for my siblings), this is the brand to buy. A big shout out to Kettle brand for making real food for real people. They will be my choice from now on when I am in the market for chips.

Potato Leek Soup

One of my most favorite parts of working outside my home was being able to eat something someone else prepared for lunch each day. Most days I ate a salad from the grocery store down the street or we picked up soup and salad from a restaurant. The best soup was always the potato leek. I have never made it up until this point, but in browsing the fresh veggies the leeks always seem to call to me. I finally gave in and bought them. After doing some research, this is the soup I ended up with. I don't use cream, half & half, milk or creme fraiche like many of the recipes I found online which makes it a bit less fatty. To cut down the fat even more, you could go with just the EVOO instead of the butter & EVOO.

Potato Leek Soup

2 med. leeks, trimmed of dark green leaves, sliced lengthwise & washed well (Save dark greens)
8-10 small-med. potatoes, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
minced garlic (4-5 cloves)
32 oz. vegetable stock*
salt & pepper
EVOO
2 Tbsp. butter

*I made my own vegetable stock using the dark greens & root pieces from the leeks, the carrot peelings & ends, celery leaves & ends along with some herbs, garlic and a large pinch of salt. Just add water enough to cover and then some (about 8-10 cups). Strain the mixture before using.*

Place potatoes into vegetable stock and cook until fork tender.

While potatoes are cooking, dice leeks and saute in a fry pan along with the carrot, celery & garlic in a mixture of EVOO & butter. Remove from heat once leeks become translucent and mixture is very fragrant.

Once potatoes are done, remove from the liquid (I use my spider skimmer) and place into food processor (or blender). Add just enough of the cooking liquid to make a thick, yet soupy base (about 6 cups). Place potato mixture back into the pot and add in the leek mixture. Cook low and slow for a couple of hours, stirring every so often to prevent sticking on the bottom of the pan.

I served this with our homemade sandwich bread which was sliced thick, smeared with some butter and Parmesan and stuck under the broiler for about 3-4 minutes. (Just long enough to melt the cheese and brown the edges. It was a terrific accompaniment.