Menu Plans

Menu Plan

Sarah

Weekly Meal Plan - check it out on thepajamachef.com!

Hey hey! I’ve been doing weekly menu plans on the blog for a long time. To be honest, they aren’t always super popular but they are for me to use to plan out my weekly meals and make my grocery list. The stuff of life, right?!? Anyways, this week I’m trying something new… teaming up with a group of blogging friends to share a joint meal plan. Woohoo easy! And tasty. Everything sounds SO good this week, doesn’t it?!? Have a great week! 🙂

This week’s meal plan was brought you to by:

The Spiffy Cookie | Foodtastic Mom | The Pajama Chef | Big Bear’s Wife |

The Cooking Actress | Pies and Plots

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Quinoa Black Bean Burritos with Southwest Sauce | thepajamachef.com

Thursday

Friday

  • DAY OFF – Go out to eat or order in! Or have leftovers. 🙂

Saturday

Sunday

Side Dish

Dessert

Pin this to your meal planning board for easy access all week long!

Weekly Meal Plan - check it out on thepajamachef.com! Weekly Meal Plan - check it out on thepajamachef.com!

 

Main Dishes, Recipes, Soups

Italian Wedding Soup

Sarah

Italian Wedding Soup reminds me of chicken noodle soup, hold the chicken and add the meatballs. This version has tiny turkey meatballs and is SO tasty!

Italian Wedding Soup | thepajamachef.com

I feel like every other recipe I’m making and sharing this winter has been soup! But it’s just so good this time of year so I can’t resist. 🙂 Before making this Italian Wedding Soup, I’m not sure I had ever really had it before. I just saw the recipe in a magazine and thought it would be good! Guess what? It was! Ha. Big surprise there, right?

Italian Wedding Soup | thepajamachef.com

Since I don’t have a family version or favorite restaurant version to compare this to, I can’t really say that this is the best Italian Wedding Soup of all time or anything like that. But I can say it’s incredible! And why wouldn’t it be? It really does remind me of a twist on chicken noodle soup. You have the same basic base: chicken broth, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, pasta… and then you add in some cute ‘n tiny meatballs [with a twist of lemon for some extra tasty oomp!] and some spinach. Then BOOM! You’ve got a tasty and interesting soup, hearty enough to eat alone, with some crusty bread and a side salad or a tasty sandwich. Enjoy! 🙂

one year ago: Falafel, Tzatziki, and Greek Lemon Rice
two years ago: Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
three years ago: Red Velvet Marshmallow Bites
four years ago: Sunrise Muffins
five years ago: Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

Italian Wedding Soup

  • Servings: 10-12
  • Print

from September/October 2014 Taste of Home

Ingredients:

for meatballs

  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1/4 cup bread crumbs
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • zest of 1/2 a lemon
  • 1 pound ground chicken or turkey

for soup

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 carrots, chopped
  • 2 small or 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 4 ribs of celery, chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups small pasta [like acini di pepe, orzo, or ditalini]
  • 2 – 10 ounce packages fresh spinach, roughly chopped
  • additional Parmesan, for serving

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for the meatballs. Mix well–your hands are going to work best! Roll into small, 1 inch meatballs and place on a baking sheet and pop in the fridge to chill for a few minutes.

Next, begin on the soup. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add carrots and onion and cook until almost tender, about 6 minutes. Add celery and cook another 2 minutes, then add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Pour in chicken broth and season with pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Gently drop in meatballs. Allow to cook, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Add pasta and allow to cook for another 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook until meatballs and pasta are fully cooked. Stir in spinach, then serve, topped with more Parmesan. Enjoy!

 

Menu Plans

Menu Plan

Sarah

Menu Plan | thepajamachef.com

Week of February 22nd

Monday: Cilantro Lime White Bean Soup
Tuesday: Mexican Chicken Alfredo
Wednesday: smoked sausage, baked potatoes, & salad
Thursday: after working late, breakfast for dinner… eggs or a frittata 🙂
Friday: out to eat
Saturday: dinner with family
Sunday: leftovers

Cakes, Desserts, Recipes

SRC: S’mores Bundt Cake

Sarah

This incredible S’mores Bundt Cake is made with graham cracker crumbs–no flour–and is so delicious you won’t be able to stop at just one slice! You’ll always want “s’more!” Hahaha. But seriously, even though it’s super rich, you will. 🙂

This incredible S'mores Bundt Cake is made with graham cracker crumbs--no flour--and is so delicious you won't be able to stop at just one slice! You'll always want "s'more!" Hahaha. But seriously, even though it's super rich, you will. :) #secretrecipeclub

Heyyyy it’s another Secret Recipe Club Monday! Yay! And it’s Presidents’ Day so Ben has a three day weekend. I decided to take the day off too… what fun 🙂 This month I was assigned to Margaret’s blog, Tea and Scones. She has lots of great recipes, which is no surprise because with a food blog, who doesn’t? Hahaha lame, sorry. Anyway, Margaret loves to bake and cook and share her culinary adventures with the world. 🙂 Her favorite thing to bake is scones, preferably if they can be enjoyed with tea, so I should have baked scones from her blog. Instead I made an AMAZING s’mores bundt cake. Seriously, this cake can’t be missed! But in case you do want to miss it, or eat something else besides sugary sweet cake that you can’t get enough of, maybe one of her other recipes suits your fancy. Swedish Meatballs, Baked Carbonara, Sweet Potato Muffins, Cantaloupe Pie, Cinnamon Graham Cracker Ice Cream… the list can go on… seriously, this blog is FULL of deliciousness, and sweetness too because Margaret just sounds wonderful! 🙂

This incredible S'mores Bundt Cake is made with graham cracker crumbs--no flour--and is so delicious you won't be able to stop at just one slice! You'll always want "s'more!" Hahaha. But seriously, even though it's super rich, you will. :) #secretrecipeclub

Speaking of sweet, if you don’t like sweet, this cake isn’t for you. Good thing I don’t know too many people like this, because this cake is insanely good! It may just be my new go-to party dessert. I don’t think anyone would mind. 🙂 This cake has SO much deliciousness in it. And on it. 🙂 I normally don’t do all the fancy toppings but I’m so glad I did this time!

This incredible S'mores Bundt Cake is made with graham cracker crumbs--no flour--and is so delicious you won't be able to stop at just one slice! You'll always want "s'more!" Hahaha. But seriously, even though it's super rich, you will. :) #secretrecipeclub

First, you have yourself a graham cracker bundt cake. Sounds pretty good right? What if I told you that there’s NO flour in the cake, except what’s in the graham cracker crumbs? Sounds pretty weird, but it works! There are five eggs, butter, and sour cream all coming together to make truly delicious and moist [sorry! It is though.] cake. Next, inside the cake is a layer [Margaret calls it a hidden surprise!] of chocolate chips and marshmallow fluff. Yum! My fluff puffed up through the batter and actually became a little caramelized in the oven, so it was more s’mores like. #nocomplaintshere On top, you have not just one but TWO toppings–a rich chocolate ganache AND a silky smooth marshmallow glaze AND some extra graham cracker crumbs. Ohhh man. This cake just got real, folks. Double of each ingredient. Graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate. What a great combination!

This incredible S'mores Bundt Cake is made with graham cracker crumbs--no flour--and is so delicious you won't be able to stop at just one slice! You'll always want "s'more!" Hahaha. But seriously, even though it's super rich, you will. :) #secretrecipeclub

This s’mores bundt cake is intense, and almost better than the real deal because you don’t have to stand over a fire to make it. 🙂 I recommend making it for a special occasion because it is rich and a wee bit time consuming and kinda sorta messy. You should have seen my kitchen explode after I made it. I just made it because it sounded yummy… is that special enough? Hope so! And I hope you give this cake a try soon! My recommendations for this recipe are sky high! Thanks, Margaret, for a great recipe! 🙂

This incredible S'mores Bundt Cake is made with graham cracker crumbs--no flour--and is so delicious you won't be able to stop at just one slice! You'll always want "s'more!" Hahaha. But seriously, even though it's super rich, you will. :) #secretrecipeclub

one year ago: Crumb Topped Apple Pie
two years ago: Fresh Cranberry Coffee Cake
three years ago: Go-To Pancakes
four years ago: Mexican Chicken Alfredo
five years ago: Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

S'mores Bundt Cake

  • Servings: 12
  • Print

from Tea and Scones

Ingredients:

  • 2 2/3 cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs [about 8 ounces]
  • 2/3 cup coconut flakes [I omitted]
  • 2/3 cup chopped nuts, either pecans or walnuts [I omitted]
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 5 tablespoons butter, softened and divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 5 eggs, separated
  • 1 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 8 ounces chocolate chips, divided
  • 13 ounces marshmallow fluff, divided
  • 1/4 cup half and half or heavy cream
  • additional graham cracker crumbs, for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 or 12 cup bundt pan and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, coconut, nuts, and baking soda.

With an electric mixer, beat together sugar, brown sugar, and 3 tablespoons butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg yolks, then beat until combined. Next, alternate between adding graham cracker crumb mixture and sour cream, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Do not overmix.

Place egg whites in a separate bowl, and beat with a whisk until stiff peaks form. Fold into cake batter.

Spoon about 1/3 to 1/2 of the batter into prepared bundt pan. Sprinkle with half of the chocolate chips and top with half of the marshmallow fluff. You’ll want to press down gently to better incorporate the marshmallow fluff in the batter. Top with the remaining batter.

Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool cake in the pan for about 20 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

When cake is cooled, place on a serving platter, then make chocolate ganache and marshmallow glaze.

To make ganache, add remaining chocolate chips and half and half/heavy cream to a small saucepan set over low heat. Constantly whisk until chocolate has melted and cream has been incorporated into the chocolate. Mixture will thicken slightly. Let cool off heat for a few minutes before drizzling on cake.

While cool, place 2 tablespoons butter with remaining marshmallow fluff in another saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk continually until melted and smooth. Pour over top of ganache, then top with additional graham cracker crumbs, if desired.

Enjoy!

Be sure to check out all the other recipes for SRC today at the link below!

Reviews

#FreshTastyValentines Wrap Up

Sarah

As you might have noticed, the past week or so has been all about #FreshTastyValentines on my blog. And now Valentine’s Day is upon us! I hope you have a great day with your loved ones! Maybe with one of these tasty recipes?

Brighten up your Valentine's Day celebration with this refreshing Grapefruit-Walnut Sheet Cake! You won't want to miss the grapefruit cream cheese frosting! :) #FreshTastyValentines

Grapefruit-Walnut Snack Cake

This sweet potato hash combines pretty much all my favorite things... sweet potatoes, black beans, red peppers, bacon, and fried eggs. Ginger and grapefruit zest give it an unforgettable special tangy flavor! #FreshTastyValentinesTangy Sweet Potato Hash

Sweet and nutty, these Apple Peanut Butter Pancakes with Sautéed Cinnamon Apples are a great way to start your day! #FreshTastyValentinesApple Peanut Butter Pancakes with Sauteed Cinnamon Apples

Or maybe you want to read about my nursery here. 🙂 I wouldn’t object to that either! Haha.

The giveaway from #FreshTastyValentines is over, but I wanted to thank Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla for all her hard work in organizing this great event! Also a big thanks goes out to our wonderful sponsors! You can find some of the many delicious recipes here.

#FreshTastyValentines Sponsors

Over the past couple of weeks, my recipes [and my everyday life in the kitchen] has featured products from these sponsors… which I just love! Though I wasn’t able to try items from every sponsor [all the bloggers got to share the love!], everything I did receive was awesome! If you check out the recipes I shared, I got to use products from many of these wonderful companies in my dish and in my prep. Though I didn’t manage to write a post highlighting all the items I tried, I wanted to give a shoutout to a few special companies.

First, Casabella. They sent us two toys to play with–a garlic roaster and clip ‘n strip shears. These will BOTH be super handy in my kitchen this summer. The garlic roaster is perfect for roasting garlic without a mess–and in an environmentally friendly way [no more wasting aluminum foil!]. Plus it’s silicone so it’s light and tucks away small in the drawer. The shears are great for cutting herbs. Right now I’m just using grocery store herbs, but I always have a big back porch herb garden every summer, so these will be handy for running outside to cut a snip or two of herbs for dinner. Thanks!

Second, Mann Packing… a wonderful produce company! They sent me some product coupons and I have to admit I haven’t found them in the Nashville area [but maybe the stores have just been out of stock… I’ll keep looking]. Whenever we visit Ben’s family, I always hit up Meijer since we don’t have one where we live… and it’s a good place to get some snacks before our 8 hour drive home. I usually pick up some trail mix for me, beef jerky for Ben, and Mann’s delicious Stringless Sugar Snap Peas for us to share. This is not an ad–this has been my tradition for a long time. We’ve been married for almost seven years, folks. Ben and I can seriously demolish a bag in like 5 minutes flat. It’s crazy… they are SO GOOD–and such a treat on a road trip… so refreshing and addictive. I hope I can find them in Nashville soon. 🙂 No other kind of snap peas compares. 🙂

Third, T.Lish. You may remember this dressing from #HotSummerEats last year. This stuff is still as good as ever! Lately salads haven’t sounded that good to me, so I’ve been getting my veggies through one dish meals like my beloved sweet potato hash and lots of raw snacky veggies, like carrots and peppers and cucumbers. To help me enjoy these veggies a little more, I’ve been a-dipping in ranch–and also T.Lish’s chipotle dressing! So yum. I love how much T.Lish has expanded–you can find these delicious dressings at Publix now! 🙂

Lastly, BenBella Vegan. Just the other day, my copy of Dining at The Ravens appeared at my doorstep… and it’s beautiful, intriguing VEGAN cookbook. How fun is that?!? I don’t do a ton of vegan cooking [though we do eat a fair amount of vegetarian food so vegan isn’t too far of a leap]. This is a lovely cookbook. I haven’t gotten a chance to play around with it much, but there are several recipes I want to try asap–like some Wild Mushroom Crepes, Mushroom Pesto and Sun Dried Tomato Burger, and their signature Kale Salad. I also love how they have a section of vegan pantry basics… sour creams [two types!], ricotta, cashew cheese… great tips for vegan newbie cooks like me. 🙂 If I ever find myself along the Medocino coast of California, you can bet I will be visiting this restaurant!

#FreshTastyValentines Wrap Up

I hope you’ve enjoyed this week of #FreshtastyValentines. Thanks for reading! I’ll be back with a delicious recipe tomorrow so don’t go too far, friends! Happy Valentine’s Day!

Disclosure: I received complimentary products from Casabella, Mann Packing, T.Lish, and Ben Bella Vegan for my participation in #FreshTastyValentines. However, I was not required to write a positive review and I was not otherwise compensated for this post. The thoughts expressed above are entirely my own. Thanks to Casabella, Mann Packing, T.Lish, and Ben Bella Vegan for their sponsorship of this event!