Week of November 2, 2008

Our family ate a large amount of pasta last week, but no one was complaining (except maybe my thighs). Beth's Quick Meat Sauce and the Pasta with Sausage and Mushroom Sauce were both tasty and satisfying. I made enough both times so I could freeze some for later, and we all thought it was a pleasant change to the other types of sauces we normally eat with our pasta. It was the first time I had cooked with sausage, and the flavour was unmistakable . . . and so good!

I didn't get to the shepherd's pie on Friday - I had forgotten it was Halloween and we were far too busy for cooking that afternoon. I'm doing it tonight and it's good timing because it's a chilly day. We received three bunches of leeks in our veggie basket this week, so I'm hoping to do a few batches of the leek soup and freeze some. In my hopes to do one crock-pot recipe a week, I found this one that looks simple and tasty.

Another goal of mine is to experiment with simpler, easy recipes that are very kid-friendly. I still have one very picky eater who regularly doesn't eat what the rest of us do at meal time. To cut back on the number of meals I'm preparing per night, I'm hoping to lure him in with some very basic recipes I found in my "Better Baby Food" book published by The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. It's full of amazing baby and toddler recipes, and it's where I found the Sloppy Joe recipe.

Thursday is Paul's birthday. I'm not sure what I'm going to do for dinner, we may go out or order his favourite Indian food in. Just didn't want you to think I was eating cake for dinner! The cake is for his birthday.

Sunday: Cheddar-Topped Shepherd's Pie
Monday: Potato Leek Soup
Tuesday: Freezer dinner (Baked Ziti or Turkey Soup)
Wednesday: Crock-Pot Pasta Fagioli
Thursday: Dark Chocolate Cake with Ganache Frosting
Friday: Freezer dinner (we have so many it's not funny)
Saturday: Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joe Sauce

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 T vinegar
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp prepared mustard
1 T ketchup
Hot dog or hamburger buns

1. In a frying pan over medium-high heat, cook ground beef. Drain off fat. With a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a paper towel-lined plate or colander to drain.

2. Add onions to frying pan and saute until soft. Return beef to pan, along with tomatoes, vinegar, brown sugar, salt, Worcestershire Sauce, mustard and ketchup. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally until thick (about 45 minutes).

3. Serve on hot dog or hamburger buns!