what's yours is "Minestone"

I had never made minestrone before.  I was planning out the menu for the week (you do that too, right?, of course you do.) and came across this recipe from Martha Stewart.  It was magically delicious.  There are so many "good things" in here.  Red onion, celery, carrot, pasilla peppers (my addition), tates, cannelini beans, cabbage, peas, tomatoes, and pasta (I used penne).  Made some sourdough croutons for supreme crunchiness, OH SNAP!

so, back to the menu thingy.  You really should give it some consideration.  wife and I have committed to dining out only once a month.  There are a few reasons for this.  The obvious one being that it saves a lot of money.  Number two reason:  It makes going out special.  We have a certain dollar amount that we set aside for things, i.e. going out to eat, etc.  by saving this money up for a month, we can afford to go somewhere really nice and not just a lot of really craptastic places.  the other obvious reason: It makes me a better cook and it makes me think about what we are putting into our bodies.  So....back to the menu...again...sorry, I got sidetracked there for a bit. every sunday, I make a menu for the week.  You might think that this a pain or you don't have time for this, I say phooey to that!  if you have time to watch tv, you have time to do this.  get together some cookbooks and just go through them and pick out some recipes you want to try.  arrange them into a week's worth of meals, being conscious of not serving similar things two days in a row, and then VOILA!  you have your grocery list.  remember what I said about saving money?  Well, you only need to buy things for what is on your menu.  You can eat leftover's for lunch that next day (because your dinner was so tasty, you'll be looking forward to a rerun), so your pretty much covered for the week.  Don't forget to pick up healthy snacks and fruit and veg.  

otherworldlynewsworthy news:

I am going to be a baking machine today.  cookies, galettes, and pie crust dough.  but first, I need to take mbf on a walkies and work out. pieces.

DISH recommends:

Making a Menu:  have you picked up the theme for todays post?  try it for one week, if you hate it, well, then you're probably a little bit stupid, but you can come up with some other inferior method:)  here's the menu for this week at my house:

Sun: Minestrone w/ sourdough croutons

Mon: Pork chops w/ apple gastrique, roasted potatoes, and braised greens

Tue: Spaghetti Marinara w/ snow pea salad

Wed: Shepherd's Pie w/ sauteed Broccoli

Thur: Ale-Braised Cornish hens w/ roasted root veg

Fri: Teriyaki Salmon Bowl

Sat: Rustic Elk stew