What did you have for dinner?

I have been trying to be good and plan what we will have for dinner. Some weeks I am great at this, others are more fly by the seat of your pants. This last week I was prepared. I tried to gauge where we had to be with how long it would take to make. Here is our list:

Monday: Tacos and Tapioca pudding. The tacos were traditional, the tapioca was the recipe from the box titled Tapioca egg cream. It was really easy to make, I did this in the afternoon so it would be ready for our family night treat. Why this combination? My Grandma Thiriot was known for her tapioca and when we would go to her house for family home evening this was usually what we would have for dinner and dessert. The only difference was that she would heat the corn tortillas in oil. They are tasty that way but a little more fattening than just warming them in the microwave.

Tuesday: This was a crazy day I made some Minestrone Soup and Pizza Grilled Cheese. We only ate the pizza grilled cheese and saved the soup for later.

The soup is souper easy, pun intended:

1 bottle of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1-2 cans chicken broth
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
macaroni or other small noodles
1-2 cans of garbanzo beans, juice included.
Mix together in a crockpot all day or on the stove for about an hour. Serve with parmesian cheese. You could add meat, but this is one of our meatless meals and is really satisfying.

The pizza grilled cheese are sooooooo yummy:
Butter one slice of bread, place on a hot griddle or skillet.
Top with provolone or mozzarella cheese, pepperoni and another piece of cheese and end with a buttered piece of bread. Cook both sides till golden and the cheese is melted.
Serve with spaghetti sauce as a dip. YUM!

Wednesday: Henry's birthday: Pizza, Root Beer and Cake

Thurdays: Creamy Chicken Taquitos, from Our Best Bites. We had these with rice and beans and they were a huge hit. These will definately be made again. I think I will keep them in the freezer and pop them out when I need them.

Friday: Italian Drip Beef from Pioneer Woman . Oh my, these were so yummy. I only added half the italian seasonings and it was almost too much. I will reduce it next time to maybe a quarter.

Now what are we going to have this week?

Variations of Buttercream

So besides tasty chocolate, this week I made a lemon cake for a funeral at church. I'm not sure why I made lemon, but it sounded springy and it felt like the right thing to do, maybe it would bring joy to someone at the funeral, I don't know. I couldn't decide what to put on the top of the cake. Should I make a 7-minute frosting, maybe some coconut. I called my mom for suggestions and she thought buttercream would be perfect, and of course it almost always is. So here is my variation of buttercream, I call it Lemonade buttercream, it would also be great with orange or lime. Mmmmmmm, yum.

Lemonade Buttercream
1lb powdered sugar
1/4 C butter, softened
pinch of salt
lemon zest from one lemon
juice from half a lemon
milk to the right consistency

Combine the powdered sugar, zest, salt and butter together, add juice and mix. Slowly add milk till it's thick, but not too thick. Spread on just about anything. Yum!