New Inspiration.

I was lucky enough to get not one, but two new Cookbooks for Christmas.

 Brian bought me a Jamie Oliver book that I have been eye-ing. And my In-Laws got me a Michael Smith book. Needless to say, both of these books played a big part in my meal planning for January.

 1. Greek Stew - It was amazing. I've made this stew before but for some reason this time, it was unreal. Best stew I have ever made.

2. BLT's +A (The A is for avocado)

3. Sweet Potato Chilli (from pg.93 of the Michael Smith book) with Cinnamon Sour Cream

(as illustrated below)  and Chopped Salad (a family fav.)

4. Turkey Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes & Glazed Carrots (From Real Simple magazine)

5. Green Soup and Bacon Lentil Salad

6. Home-made Chicken Strips & Split Pea Soup (pg. 132 in my new Jamie Oliver book). The chicken is pretty much for the kids. They love it, so it's a Friday night treat.

7. Quinoa Garden Burgers & Cesar Salad

8. Quinoa Carrot & Lentil Stew with Bread

9. Cauliflower & Broccoli Bake

10. Poor Man Pasta (a family fav) - My moms recipe from her Home Ec class in high school.

11. Pita Pizzas

12. Beef Sliders & Home-made Fries with Spicy Ketchup (pg. 206 of Michael Smith)

I also have on-hand the ingredients to make Red Pepper Soup, Sweet Potato Curry Soup & Italian Wedding Soup for the nights when I just don't feel like cooking. Just because this is the order I make the meals in, doesn't mean we stick to it. Some days I am too tired. And sometimes something is starting to go bad & needs to be used.

There it is. The 1st 1/2 of the month. See any trends? I've blogged about this before, but nothing pains me more than throwing away spoiled food. But nothing is worse than having to eat the same thing you had the other day, just so it doesn't go to waste. So, to make the most of my ingredients, I try to use the thing over & over (but in a different way). This time it was bacon (used 3 times, but I will only buy one pack), sprouts & carrots. I also worked hard to be "light" on the meat this time around. There are 6 meat-less meals, and 2 others that are very light on meat. I love meat, but it's making us fat. And although it is a good source for iron & protein, we get plenty of that from other sources (I am forever grateful that my entire family loves beans, even Miles.). This meal plan is much healthier than the one I created for December.

Last Nights Dinner: Sweet Potato Chilli with

Cinnamon Sour Cream

 I cooked my veggies in a Chilli-infused Olive Oil that Brian ordered for me from Italy a while back. It is good, but I find it hard to use, I don't eat that much spicy food.

 I also don't use Cumin very often. It reminds me of an idiot on The Real Housewives of New Jersey. This woman has two cookbooks published in her name but pronounces Cumin - Come-in. It kills me. She also says Ingrediences instead of Ingredients. Anyway, the cumin and chili powder smelled amazing. And there's a little dried oregano in there as well. So pretty.

Gorgeous colors. It's one of the reasons I whip out my camera when I'm cooking.

With the Cinnamon Sour Cream and some green onions. I added WAY too much cinnamon. It was what was called for, but it was too much for me. I love cinnamon, but it masked some of the Chilli's flavour, so I had to mix in some more plain sour cream. Not a problem for me, sour cream in one of my favourite foods. Condiments? Whatever, I love it.