What's for dinner?

I go through weeks where I love to cook, and I make extensive grocery lists for meals.  And, then there are weeks where it seems like I make pizza quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, or homemade macaroni and cheese every single night.  Jess and I did some heavy duty grocery shopping on Saturday evening in preparation for the upcoming arrival of our new baby.  I actually made a meal plan for the next 2 weeks, and I am excited about some of the dinners that I (or Jess) have planned to make.  Tonight for our Sunday dinner I tried out something new-- Sweet and Spicy Asian Pork Shoulder.  I found this recipe in one of my Real Simple magazines.  The pork was very tender, and the ginger, soy sauce, and brown sugar were flavorful against the meat and bok choy (bok choy adds the same type of texture to a meal as celery).
You can find this simple recipe here.

Zucchini Pie is a family favorite.  In fact, this is one of Simon's most requested meals.  For those who have an over-abundance of zucchini and basil growing in their gardens, this is the dinner for you!  I usually double the recipe for my family and substitute the grated provolone cheese for mozarella (only because that is what I have on hand).  Make sure that you use small(er) zucchini.  Overgrown zucchini is bland, less flavorful, and has big seeds. 
This is another Real Simple recipe that you can find here.

I'm not a vegetarian by any means, but I try to make a non-meat dinner every other day.  I found this recipe for Summer Veggie and Pesto Tart in my Family Fun magazine.  This is another great option for using up your garden grown veggies.

You can find this recipe here.

Fish, in the summertime, is always a refreshing, light, and mild substitute for heavy beef dishes.  Brahm has a tough time with meat.  He'll gnaw on it and then spit it out.  With the tenderness of fish, it just melts in your mouth.  I grew up only knowing fish to be those smelly, frozen, and battered sticks found in the freezer aisle of the grocery store.  Jess has opened up my horizons a bit since we have been married, and I prefer eating fish when we go out.  I am excited about making this recipe for Halibut and Sugar Snap Pea Salad.  For the recipe, go here.

Call me crazy, but I like hot soups even in the heat of the summer.  This recipe looked especially tasty (Sweet white corn soup with poblano puree).  When vegetables are all blended up, my children are more likely to try and actually like what they are eating.  I made a squash soup last fall that even my pickiest eater requested seconds of. 
This recipe can be found here.

Peachy Pork Tenderloin.  Who's mouth doesn't water when you hear Peach and Pork in the same sentence?  Thank goodness I have a husband who is a grilling maestro!  And, I have the perfect roll recipe to accompany this dish-- Buttered Rosemary Rolls.  Do not skimp on the sea salt.  It sounds strange-- sprinkling your rolls with salt, but it is HEAVENLY!
For the pork tenderloin recipe, go here.  For the roll recipe, click here.

While flipping through my America's Test Kitchen Baking Book, I came across this heavenly creation--New York Style Crumb Cake.  I decided that I would devote each Sunday as a day for baking a new dessert.  And, this is the recipe that I've decided upon. 
For the recipe, go here.

Fear Factor: Warren style

Do you remember the reality TV show, Fear Factor,where money hungry twenty-somethings and C list celebrities participated in wild stunts to compete for a large sum of money? If you can't recall this NBC show, I'm sure Fox (or the CW) probably airs reruns of it at 2:00 am in the morning. Anyway, tonight at the dinner table I got a little taste of Fear Factor. I made homemade macaroni and cheese and a green salad for dinner. Sound simple enough? Supposedly this is comfort food according to my Williams-Sonoma cookbook. But, Simon wasn't too comfortable eating it. In order for him to qualify for dessert, he had to down most of the food on his plate. Ava practically licked her plate clean, while Brahm kept begging for more cucumbers from my salad. Simon sat in his chair and sulked. I finally gave him 20 minutes to eat or miss out on dessert. He begged for me to help him. I started spoon feeding him like a 9 month old. Everything I put into his mouth, he immediately gagged on like he was eating a live African cockroach on Fear Factor. But just like Fear Factor, I wouldn't let him off the hook unless he swallowed what was in his mouth. Spitting out food didn't count. He finally ate the majority of his dinner with 3 minutes to spare.

It is weird that Simon is so picky when it comes to eating, because Jess and I are just the opposite. We love anything and everything. I remember when I was 16 years old and my parents took my siblings and me to a Swiss restaurant. My dad decided to order escargot. I tried this sauteed snail, and it was surprisingly good. It was very tender and smothered in a garlic butter sauce. My husband has introduced me to the world of sushi, which I love. The other night we ordered a pizza for the kids while Jess and I dined on sushi. I'm sure if I were to venture out of the U.S. I would be a little more timid in my experimentation with food. But my motto is: if food is well prepared, than anything will taste good.