April Recipes: Week 1

Our menu for the week of April 15th -

Avocado and Chicken Salad
Meatloaf
Pasta Shells in Double Cheese Sauce
Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup

Pasta Shells in Double Cheese Sauce
http://www.canadianliving.com/food/quick_and_easy/pasta_shells_in_double_cheese_sauce.php

Preparation Tip: This pasta is so quick and easy to make, prep ahead of time isn't necessary.

Lilah's Take: You really can't go wrong with pasta and cheese in our house!

Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup

This soup was really good. The next time I make it, I will garnish it with cilantro and banana slices!

Lilah's Take: Despite the fact that this soup is black, Lilah seemed to really like it. The dollop of sour cream served in the middle of the soup probably helped. She had bread for dipping which also helped to make it fun.

Ingredients
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 16oz. package of dried black beans
2 cups chicken broth
5 cups hot water
juice of a lime
1-2 tsp. coarse sea salt
sour cream for serving

Directions
Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery and pepper, saute until soft and starting to brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cumin and cook for another minute. Transfer mixture to slow cooker. Add beans, broth and water, cover and cook on low heat for about 5 hours.
Before serving, add the salt and lime juice and stir well. Using an immersion blender, puree a bit in the slow cooker so that it is half smooth, half chunky. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream.
 
Meatloaf

This meatloaf is quick and easy to put together. It is also very forgiving in that you can add just about anything you have on hand in place of the tomato sauce. I have used pasta sauce, chili sauce and ketchup and they have all been delicious. I also like to spread ketchup or chili sauce on top of the meatloaf before baking.

Preparation Tip: Assemble the meatloaf when you have a few spare minutes earlier in the day and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to bake it.

Lilah's Take: Meatloaf is a hit in our house, Lilah gobbles it up especially when she has a little ketchup for dipping...in her opinion, anything is better with some kind of dip!

Ingredients
1 pkg. ground beef
3/4 c. oatmeal
1 small onion, chopped
1 c. tomato sauce (or whatever you have on hand/leftover in the fridge)
1/4 c. chili sauce (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Combine all ingredients (I find it easiest to do this with my hands). Press into a loaf pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour.

Avocado Chicken Salad
http://www.canadianliving.com/food/quick_and_easy/avocado_chicken_salad.php

This salad was DELICIOUS! It would be a great salad to make in the summer when the last thing you feel like doing is cooking.

Preparation Tip: Most of the ingredients for this salad can be prepared ahead of time whenever you have a few minutes in your day. Cook the chicken (which I did in a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil because we don't have a BBQ), mix together the dressing, cook the corn, chop the vegetables *with the exception of the avocado* and toss them together with the corn, boil the eggs and wash the lettuce ahead of time so that come dinner time it is just a matter of assembling the salad and chopping the avocado and tomato.

Lilah's Take: I omitted the hot pepper sauce because Lilah won't eat anything that is too spicy. She also doesn't eat lettuce so I served it to her without. She ate around the avocado, but didn't seem to mind the rest of the salad.