Easy Dinner Blog

Mar 5, New Menus for the Week of 3/8/10

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:46:50 GMT

The new menus and grocery shopping list are posted for next week. If you are trying to figure out some interesting things to make with chicken I've included a few recipes that are easy and zippy. Have a great week!

Feb 26, Mexican Mostacholi

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:40:02 GMT

Mexican Mostacholi combines healthy ground turkey and black beans with mexican spices penne pasta, and cheddar cheese for a new type of dinner casserole..

Feb 23, Apple Cupcakes

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:59:19 GMT

Yummy apple cupcakes with a cream cheese and coconut frosting. Gotta love cupcake recipes!

Feb 19, New Menus for the Week of 2/21/10

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:32:39 GMT

The new menus and grocery shopping list for next week have been posted. I will be including a meatless meal in the menus for the next six weeks for those of you who observe Lent. Have a great week!

Feb 18, Anniversary Dinner Recipe Request

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:12:06 GMT

I subscriber from Alabama recently asked for a suggestion for how to prepare a pork tenderloin for her husband for their anniversary. In response, I posted a recipe for a Stuffed Pork Tenderloin. Tonight she wrote back:
"I must say that the 'STUFFED PORK TENDERLOIN' really was a surprise. My husband is still talking about it! He & I really LOVED it. Thanks again for your assistance in trying to think of 'Something Different' to fix for an Anniversary dinner surprise. I Truly appreciate your help.

Feb 12, New Menus Have Been Posted for Next Week

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:48:39 GMT

New dinner menus have been posted for the week of 2/15/10 along with the grocery shopping list that corresponds to the recipes listed. Have a great week!

Feb 10, Stuffed Pork Tenderloin Recipe

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:08:14 GMT

This stuffed pork tenderloin recipe is one of my favorite dinner party recipes, and is also great to make for special occasion dinners.

Feb 10, Strawberry Pie Recipe

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:39:37 GMT

A great strawberry pie recipe that you can make for a weeknight treat or special occassion dessert. This recipe combines a cream cheese filling with fresh strawberries for a yummy dessert.

Feb 10, Slow Cooker Roast Beef with Gravy

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:51:12 GMT

Making this Slow Cooker Roast Beef can make an easy weeknight meal seem like Sunday dinnner.

Feb 5, New Menus for the Week of 2/8/10

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:01:23 GMT

The new menus for next week have been posted. I've had several requests from viewers who sometimes need to access the menus from the previous week. So, a new feature has been added to the menu page with a link to the previous week's menus. Hope that helps and have a great week!

Feb 4, New Friends are Great!

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:16:29 GMT

I have a relatively new section on this site, called Recipes From Friends. This is a section that viewers can submit, rank and comment on their own recipes and the recipes submitted by others. I want to thank Susie from Illinois from submitting a vegetarian recipe for Healthy Fried Rice and a SPECIAL THANKS to Tracy in North Carolina for submitting eight recipes! All of their recipes as well as recipes that others have submitted are listed in the Recipes from Friends section. Recipes will also be highlighted in this blog as they are submitted. Thanks again, I can't wait to try these!

Feb 4, Linguini with Spinach Cream Sauce

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:51:19 GMT

8 oz linguini 3 Tbsp butter 1 cup sliced mushrooms 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese 1 1/2 cups half-n-half 1 (10oz) pkg

Feb 4, Tortellini-Spinach Soup

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:50:44 GMT

**SAUTE TOGETHER** 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 small minced onion 3 cloves chopped garlic **To onions and garlic mixture, add 4 cups vegetable broth. Bring to

Feb 4, Crockpot Chili

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:50:16 GMT

1/2 lb dry pinto or kidney beans** (soak beans overnight and then boil for 10 min and drain before putting in crockpot) 2 (14.5 oz) cans tomatoes 1.5 lbs

Feb 3, Potato Soup Verde

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:14:37 GMT

1.5 Tbsp butter 1 large onion diced (or 1 bag frozen diced onions) 4 large baking potatoes, peeled and quartered 2 (10.5 oz) cans condensed clear chicken

Feb 3, Fresh Herb & Parmesan Monkey Bread

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:13:25 GMT

1.5 loaves frozen bread dough (thawed) 1/4 cup melted butter 1 cup grated parmesan cheese 1 Tbsp each of fresh rosemary, sage, basil & thyme (OR 1

Feb 3, Shrimp Scampi

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:12:29 GMT

So good and so easy! 1.5 Tbsp olive oil 1.5 Tbsp minced garlic 1.5 lbs peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Feb 3, Sauteed Shrimp with Artichokes & Cilantro

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:09:47 GMT

1 Tbsp olive oil 1 lb peeled and deveined large shrimp 1 (14oz) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro 1 Tbsp fresh

Feb 3, Scrambled Egg Pizza

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:08:44 GMT

Could be vegetarian with egg & bacon substitutes. EXCELLENT DISH!! 1 (16oz) loaf frozen whole wheat bread dough, thawed 1 cup chopped zucchini 1 cup

Jan 31, Heathly Fried Rice

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 01:51:33 GMT

1 package firm tofu 2 packages boil in bag brown rice 1 tbsp sesame oil edamame (as much as you'd like) Chopped fresh mushrooms (as much as you'd like)

Jan 29, New Menus for the Week of 2/1/10 Have Been Posted

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:00:07 GMT

The new menus and grocery list for next week have been posted. If you are an e-zine subscriber, I am attempting to send out my e-zines less frequently and posting much of that info on this blog instead. Subscribers will still receive periodic e-mails with easy cooking tips, but I'm trying to unclutter mailboxes by eliminating the e-zine that just announced when new menus have been posted.

Jan 29, Smothered Round Steak with BBQ Onions

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:43:18 GMT

This smothered round steak is an easy oven baked steak recipe that is inexpensive to make but fork tender to eat

Jan 29, Tips To Get Kids (and Adults!) to Eat Their Veggies

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:49:23 GMT

Ideas for getting more fruits and vegetables into the diet (for kids and adults alike)
Keep fresh fruits washed and visible. A fruit bowl on the table or cut up fruit with dinner helps.
Make smoothies. Have kids select their favorites and make them in the blender together. Keep frozen fruit on hand, and instead of throwing out ripe bananas, peel them, wrap them and freeze them. A strawberry-banana smoothie can easily be thrown together with milk, frozen strawberries and a banana.
Set out cut up vegetables with dip about an hour before dinner. Kids and adults will pick at it as they ask whats for dinner. Then, if they dont eat veggies at dinner, you can see that they have already eaten them.
As kids walk in the door from school, set out some grapes, cut up apple, or melon. This will be the first thing they see and will likely grab some before seeking out a cookie.
Create a backyard garden. Plant some cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, or bell peppers. Its more fun eating something youve grown yourself.

Thanks go Dietitian Sandra Nissenberg for these terrific ideas. If you would like more ideas, check out her book: Ideas from Quick Meals for Healthy Kids and Busy Parents, by Sandra Nissenberg, John Wiley & Sons, New York

Jan 22, What Are You Having For Dinner This Week?

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:49:24 GMT

If you don't want to bother with planning out your meals yourself, I've just posted my new plans and the corresponding grocery list for this coming week. Included are some of our family favorite recipes including Slower Cooker Braised Short Ribs, Baked Subs and a great recipe for a Warm Pork Tenderloin Salad.

Jan 15, New Dinner Menus and Grocery List Have Been Posted

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:55:14 GMT

New free dinner menus with a corresponding printable grocery list have been updated for the coming week. Included in this week's menus is a recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken and Sausage Cassoulet which has been getting great reviews and one of my favorites, Fettuccini with Roasted Asparagus and Goat Cheese Have a great week!

Jan 11, Meal Planning Does Save Money: One Subscriber's Experience

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:47:45 GMT

I just received the following e-mail from a subscriber in Virginia:
I often shop at the grocery store in a random way - just buying what is on sale - and once I'm home I don't know how to compose a meal out of the ingredients. I stock up on tons of sale items, only to throw them away when they expire. So I was really pleased last week to find your website and I tried your shopping list. I spent about $130 for the week's groceries. I was pleasantly surprised to have nothing go to waste and my husband loved having the leftovers for lunch the next day. So I feel like I am saving in two ways - only buying what I need and not having my husband buy his lunch every day. Plus my kids raved about the Italian beef sandwiches with homemade fries. They were actually silent at the dinner table as they savored their meal!

Jan 9, In the News!

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:37:35 GMT

An article in the Buffalo Grove Countryside Newspaper about this site. Several subscribers are quoted, are you one of them?