Hello! We are back from Costa Rica. I had almost an entire week off from cooking and it was glorious. As any mom will know, there is a lot of food preparation required for toddlers. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and finally dinner. It was so nice not having to worry about that for a whole week.

I am actually excited about cooking this week and you will probably be able to tell in my overly ambitious meal plan. But first, I wanted to share my favorite Costa Rican breakfast I had on vacation.

 

Chorreada

Chorreada

Costa Rican Breakfast menu

 

 You can see the description on the menu: corn pancakes, turrialba cheese, and brown sugar.

Oh. My. God.

It was amazing. The pancakes were just a little sweet and the cheese added just a hint of saltiness.  There was just a faint sprinkling of brown sugar and that’s all it really needed. I am determined to remake this breakfast. I will keep you updated on my progress.

Meal plans:

I am in the final phases of reviewing the pdfs of the cookbook, so I am pretty much done. Because of that, I am hitting my books again. I have so many wonderful cookbooks that I have neglected the last 6 months. This week I am making a few tried and true recipes, and one new one.

Adobe Chicken (recipe from Steamy Kitchen cookbook), veggie packed brown rice, and broccoli, : This is the new recipe. I picked it because I had all the ingredients and it sounded promising.

Homemade Veggie burgers (recipe from Homemade Pantry cookbook), homemade coleslaw, and sweet potato fries: I am bringing a replica of this dinner to a new vegetarian mama. I love this recipe because it makes a lot of burgers and they freeze well.

Marinated pork tenderloin with veggies (grilled or in the oven): I don’t have a plan for the marinade yet. Any suggestions?

Grilled or Broiled eggplant and onion slices with fresh mozzarella and marinara: We got 20 lbs of sweet Texas 105 onions. I am so excited to rip into it. You can eat these onions like apples. Will definitely be making homemade (baked) onion rings in the future!

Girls Nights Dinners: Manatee is working late three nights this week, so G and I will need something easy and fast.

Indian packets with leftover veggie rice and naan. I still haven’t turned G onto Indian food. She will probably enjoy the naan with veggies and hummus.

Very veggie pizza– either homemade or from papa murphy’s. Before you get too impressed, I buy premade crusts and keep a stock of pizza sauce and cheese in the freezer. Will really just be cutting up veggies to put on top.

Slow cooker flank steak tacos (recipe from 100 days of Real Food): We supplement this with lots of added veggies, fat-free Greek yogurt, and lots of shredded lettuce.

Extras:

Hard boiled eggs

Chickpea Quinoa Salad– to have something healthy in the house for snacks and lunches.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus- I am always a little freaked out when one of my favorite brands has a recall and recently Sabra recalled its classic hummus. Thank goodness I just created a great recipe for the new cookbook!

Shake Packets: When I was gone, I put together shake packets for my parents to make shakes for G. I will be posting the how-to on the blog this week (fingers crossed!)

Carmelized Onion Dip: I have had a major craving for this lately. Thank goodness we have 20 lbs of onions.

Cran-Blueberry Crumble OR Brownies: I promised the new mama a homemade baked treat, so I better deliver.

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I am hitting the books for this meal plan with some of my fave cookbooks. What are some of your favorite cookbooks that you use again and again?

 

 

 

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