Weekly Menu Plan and Photo Fun: Sweet Potato Skins and Cowgirl Time!
How was everyone’s Mother’s Day Weekend???
Mine was a blast {except for the lack of sleep that comes with spending the night in a cabin with 11 giggly 9-11 year old girls. But that’s to be expected, right???}
Our “digs” for the weekend…
I spent the weekend roughing it at Rawhide Ranch with 15 amazing young ladies/women from my daughter’s Girl Scout troop, a barnyard full of horses, several pens full of chickens/sheep/goats {you can read more here about my love of goats 
}, and 1 sweet cow named Pablo.
I also rode bareback on a horse for the first time ever {very cool!}, and delighted in watching SiSi and her friends rake up horse poop while us moms sat back and relaxed
All, in all, it was a wonderful weekend…
I hope yours was a well!
And, in case you need a little dinner inspiration for this week, here’s what’s cooking’ at our house this week…
SPICY RD WEEKLY MENU PLAN
DAY ONE
- Swiss Chard and Lemon Ricotta Pasta from The Wimpy Vegetarian
- Cherry tomatoes
- Orange Slices with Cinnamon
DAY TWO
- Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad Sandwiches {on Gluten-Free Bread} from Plum Pie
- Raw veggies: carrots, broccoli, cucumbers
- Fresh Strawberries
DAY THREE
- Healthy Sweet Potato Skins from Pinch of Yum
- Greek Yogurt
- Green Salad with lettuce, cucumber, avocado, and tomato.
- Apple slices with cinnamon
DAY FOUR
- Scrambled Eggs with spinach, sweet onion, and feta
- Brazilian Cheese Rolls , AKA “The Best Rolls Ever” from The Spicy RD
- Fresh mango
DAY FIVE
- Spicy Kung Po Chicken from Jeanette’s Healthy Living
- Brown rice
- Steamed broccoli
- Fresh watermelon
And if you are having a love-in with your veggies just now – I am – live on the edge and whack some oil-slicked sweet cherry tomatoes into a hot oven for a delicious pop of colour and extra flavour.
More goats to love…
#pastalove: Baked Enchilada Pasta
So…
What are you celebrating today?
Are you donning a sombrero, a serape, and searching for your last shaker of salt?
Are you cheering the ponies on to victory?
Or, are you chowing down on a big bowl of delicious pasta???
Me?
I’m doing all three
Happy Cinco de Mayo/Kentucky Derby/#Pastalove!
In honor of this months pasta love fest, and Cinco de Mayo, I created a baked enchilada pasta dish that’s partly based off of this recipe for enchiladas negras I whipped up last weekend for a party at our house.
And, for the Kentucky Derby part, Ian, the kids and I, will be heading down to our neighbor’s house for a big ol’ party.
I think there’s even a dessert for me, because my neighbor friend stopped by this morning to ask me if I had a gluten-free pie crust and some gluten-free flour she could use to make me a “surprise” pie.
I’m not sure exactly what it is, but I know it has chocolate in it
Don’t I have the nicest neighbor???
Sending you a little sunshine neighbor
We are big pasta eaters in our house, usually eating it at least once a week, but it’s easy to get in a pasta rut, and I usually end up making the same thing.
Pasta with marinara sauce and grass fed ground beef or ground bison…
Pasta with this homemade pesto sauce…
Pasta with olive oil, chopped tomatoes, chopped basil and fresh mozzarella…
And, once in a blue moon, I’ll even whip up some homemade gluten free pasta…
It’s all really yummy, and I never get any complaints on pasta night, but isn’t it nice to try something different for a change?
Here’s my recipe…
Ingredients
- 12 ounces dried regular or gluten-free pasta
- 16 ounces red enchilada sauce
- 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 sweet onion, finely chopped
- 6 ounce can of black olives, chopped
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
- 8 ounces shredded cheddar or other cheese
- cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and cook pasta in a large pot according to directions.
- While pasta is cooking, combine enchilada sauce and black beans in a blender or food processor and combine until pureed. Set aside.
- Chop onion and olives, and grate cheese.
- When pasta is cooked, pour it in to a colander to drain well. Then add in onions, olives, frozen corn, enchilada/bean sauce, and cottage cheese. Mix well, and pour in to a 13 x 9 inch pan. Top with grated cheese, and bake for 25 minutes, or until pasta is cooked through, and cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then serve with cilantro garnish on the side.
Spicy RD Recipe and Nutrition Notes:
- I used Ancient Harvest Quinoa Corn pasta which is my “go-to” gluten free pasta on most nights. It is relatively inexpensive compared to some other gluten-free pasta, and has a nice taste and texture. You just need to get over the yellow color. Other gluten-free pastas I like are Jovial foods brown rice pasta, DeBoles rice lasagna, and for a special meal, RP’s fresh pasta noodles.
- For the enchilada sauce, I used Frontera red chile enchilada sauce which has a nice flavor, with just a little hint of spice.
- Choose organic corn if you are staying away from GMO’s.
- Pureeing the black beans in to the enchilada sauce is a great way to add extra nutrients and fiber in to the dish. We are bean eaters at our house, but “non-bean” eaters might enjoy this too!
- I used Cabot 50 % Reduced Fat Cheddar to cut back on the calories, while still adding great flavor.
And, if your in the mood for a little libation, a nice sipping tequila with lime, {or a mint julep} makes for a fun celebration too.
Cheers!
May is #pastalove month!
Please join in on the #pastalove fun by linking up any pasta recipe from the month of May 2012. Don’t forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #pastalove event! The twitter hashtag is #pastalove .
And, please head on over to my lovely co-hosts to check out all their yummy pasta creations:
Astig Vegan, Badger Girl Learns to Cook, Big Fat Baker, Bon a croquer, Cake Duchess, Elephant Eats, Hobby and More, Mis Pensamientos, No One Likes Crumbley Cookies, Oh Cake, Rico sin Azucar, Simply Reem, Soni’s Food for Thought, Teaspoon of Spice, That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!, The Whimpy Vegetarian, Vegetarian Mamma, You Made That?, Vegan Yack Attack
Are you/did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo or The Kentucky Derby? What is your favorite “go-to” pasta dish? Take your pick: Tequila, Kentucky Bourbon, or a tall glass of water???
I love hearing from you! Please click here to leave a comment or ask a question, or leave a suggestion. And, if you enjoyed the post, please stumble, tweet, pin, or share this post to spread the word that healthy eating and delicious eating happily co-exist! Oh, and to make sure you don’t miss any Spicy food, fun, and adventure, please sign up for new post notifications via e-mail or feedburner. Cheers!
Banana Spice Milkshake
SUPER EASY, SUPER DELICIOUS…I just had to share this mornings “milkshake” that both my kids slurped up happily, then asked for more
BIG THANKS to Sage and Berries, a lovely blog I recently discovered, for the free downloadable yellow floral background pattern used here!
If you have kids, do they tend to like the same things, or do they have different tastes???
I LOVE hearing from you! Please click here to leave a comment or ask a question, or leave a suggestion. And, if you enjoyed the post, please stumble, tweet, pin, or share the word that healthy eating and delicious eating happily co-exist! Oh, and to make sure you don’t miss any Spicy food, fun, and adventure, please sign up for new post notifications via e-mail or feedburner. Cheers!
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