Marin Mama’s Weekly Dinner Menu for October 20th

Marin Mama's weekly dinner menu - October 20th

Eli is all smiles in the above picture because he’s wearing the jersey of his soccer idol, Messi.  It’s all about Messi right now in Eli’s world.  Honestly, I didn’t know who Messi was until 2 weeks ago, but now I do, and I bet there will be many more “Messi’s” in Eli’s world as the years go on.  So as you all know, Eli turned 9 last week!  We had his birthday party last Sunday and I have to say that it was a blast, but it was also exhausting. Sixteen boys is a lot to manage and I’m so glad that we had his party at a park, because a park is the perfect place for 16 boys to get their ya ya’s out.  I only got 2 photos of the whole party, can you believe it?  Those boys were too quick for me to get any sort of photo.  They were too busy playing kickball, soccer and four-square that I only managed to get 2 pretty lame pictures. I got a quick photo of Eli’s cake before it got devoured.  I made the pumpkin sheet cake with cream cheese frosting and it was the perfect cake as it fed all those boys. I didn’t want to mess up the frosting, so I put a large rimmed baking sheet under the cake pan and then covered it with another large rimmed baking sheet and just taped down the sides so it didn’t move. It kept the cake fresh and made it so easy to transport!

Happy 9th Birthday cake

I also attempted to get a photo of some of the boys before we sang happy birthday, and this is what they gave me.  Lovely, right?  At least Eli is looking at me and smiling. He’s so used to having to stop what’s he’s doing and pose for me at any moment.  Eli’s parties are so different from Zoe’s parties. Zoe and her friends love posing for pictures and they love sitting down to a nice meal chatting and having cake.  Eli and his buds just want to play, cram food down as quickly as they can, and then get back to playing.  I think next year we will just have his party in the late afternoon, serve snacks, ice-cream bars or cookies, and those boys will be happy campers, and my life will be easier as well.  Note to self,  keep it simple next year!

Boys at park

There was a lot of cooking going on at Marin mama’s casa this week. I baked these rosemary and sea salt popovers again so I could take photos and get the recipe out to you all.  I will post these this week and I know you’re all going to LOVE them!

Popovers with rosemary

On Monday I posted this below picture on Instagram of a kale and spinach smoothie I was making up as part of my mini cleanse from eating too much cake over the weekend.  I also posted the following hashtags #cakedetox #nomorecakeforaweek.

Kale and spinach smoothie

So this cake cleanse of mine lasted one day. Yep, one day. I caved and baked up some chocolate chip pumpkin bundt bread on Tuesday.  I wanted to try making it using 1/4 cup applesauce in place of the half the oil, and I also threw in some Greek yogurt as well as a few more spices.  It was so good and really moist!  So I ate tons of that this week.  Besides being a kale addict, I’m also a cake and cookie addict 🙂

Chocolate chip pumpkin bundt cake

I did make up some healthy dishes though. I made up some butternut squash tacos.  They were good, but I need to tweak the recipe a bit and add a sauce to it as well.

Butternut squash tacos

I also made up these coconut-lime pork tacos for dinner Friday night and they were so good, and so easy to make.  They have some interesting ingredients in them, such as coconut milk and pineapple juice, but it all works so well together and the family loved them!

Pork tacos

Last week I met up for lunch with a fellow food blogger, Nathalie who has a site called Vanille Verte.  Nathalie and I instantly hit it off and had such a great time taking about everything blog and food related!  Nathalie took a Natural Chef and Nutrition program at Bauman College, (where I want to go someday) so she knows a lot about nutrition.  Her blog is all about healthy cooking and showcases gluten-free recipes and healthy treats like these homemade peanut butter cups.  She just started blogging, but she already has some great recipes on there, and if you sign up with her blog via email, you get this awesome little e-book on creating a natural kitchen. Her  e-book is jam-packed with useful info and it’s a great reference tool. It made me want to create some sort of e-book.  Oh, if you check out her blog you have to see the post on her kitchen.  I’m totally having kitchen envy as her kitchen is so organized and clean, and I secretly love checking out what people have in their fridge as well as pantry.

Ok, let’s move onto this week’s menu.

Sunday night dinner

Buffalo apple burgers with sage jalapeño pesto and roasted cauliflower.  Eli and I will be heading back from Carmel on Sunday afternoon, so John and Zoe are in charge of dinner, and these burgers are what’s on the menu!  I’m so excited as we love these burgers, and the sage jalapeño pesto rocks!

Buffalo apple burger with jalapeno pesto

Roasted cauliflower

Monday night dinner

Vegetarian banh mi sandwiches and lacinato kale salad.  The kids are off from school today due to a teacher work day. We’re all excited because we haven’t had a mellow at home day in a while.  I’m going to be spending the day cooking and prepping for the week.  I’m going to roast up some chicken for the enchiladas I’m making tomorrow night.  My kids still have their Monday afternoon and night activities so I want dinner time to be easy. I’m making up the pickled veggies, the sriracha mayonnaise and the miso roasted tofu earlier in the day,(you can also make these up the day ahead) so all I have to do come dinner time is cut up some of the fresh veggies and assemble the sandwiches.  Easy peasy!

Vegetarian banh mi with siracha mayo

Kale Salad

Tuesday night dinner

Chicken enchiladas with pumpkin sauce and mixed greens with creamy mustard vinaigrette.  If you like pumpkin, then you will love these enchiladas. They’re super tasty and are a two-nighter meal which I love because I get a night off from cooking!  If you’re pressed for time, you can always cook and shred the chicken up ahead of time and then refrigerate it till you make the enchiladas or even use a rotisserie chicken.

Enchilada with pumpkin sauce

Mixed greens with creamy mustard vinaigrette

Wednesday night dinner

Leftover night!  We’re having the leftover pumpkin enchiladas and I’m making up a mixed green salad again!

Pan of chicken enchiladas

Mixed greens with creamy mustard vinaigrette

Thursday night dinner

Butternut squash souprosemary and sea salt popovers and aged gouda and salami.  This is a classic fall picnic sort of dinner.  Butternut squash is everywhere and on sale, so pick some up!  I just love that Robusto gouda that I used in my kale and pear salad, so I picked up some to have around the house.  We’re paring that with some sliced salami and I’m making up my new favorite popovers, rosemary and sea salt.  I will be sure to post the recipe this week for you all.

Butternut squash soup

Popovers with rosemary and sea salt

Friday night dinner

I had so much fun cooking and experimenting last Friday that I might just cook up something new again. I’m in a total cooking mode lately, as you can see from all of the new recipes I’ve been making. I think it’s the change of seasons and the fact that I’m craving savory fall dishes, but it’s good for all of you because I’m inspired to share new recipes. The only thing I have to do now is start publishing them faster and get them out to you, right?

Have a great Sunday everyone!

With love Jackie
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14 thoughts on “Marin Mama’s Weekly Dinner Menu for October 20th”

  1. Good to know the cake is good with halving the oil and using applesauce and Greek yog in place of the sour cream. It’s one of my fave pumpkin cakes to make. Although I have a vegan pumpkin cake this week that gives that one a run for its money! Have a great week, Jackie!

  2. That is a terrific menu for the week! Would love to know where you got the soccer jersey – looking for one for a Christmas gift for our grandson.

    1. Hi Marjorie! We got the soccer shirt at soccerpro.com and we got it in the youth section. I’m sure your grandson is going to love it 🙂 xoxo, Jackie

  3. Oh my gosh, you made me laugh about your cake cleanse lasting 1 day! That pumpkin bundt cake looks so worth it though, I can see why you gave up the cleanse! I so agree that there are inherently differences between boys and girls and your example about birthday parties is a prime example. The picture of the boys just cracks me up – you totally captured the boy spirit and I just love it! Miss this age, it was so fun. It’s nice to re-live it with your stories of Eli. Have a great week Jackie! xoxo, Sharon

      1. Yaay! I’m so glad you make the pumpkin sheet cake and that you all loved it 🙂 Glad you enjoyed and get the photos of Eli and his crew. They are all boys and I just love that about them. 🙂 xoxo, Jackie

  4. It’s probably not the best idea to read this post before eating lunch.
    Everything looks SO good!! I can’t wait to see the recipe for those rolls and that pumpkin cake looks incredible. Seriously, I’m drooling. Ahh, I can’t stop clicking on all of the links for the recipes! 😉 Your family is so lucky to have you for a cook.

    1. Awwww…. Sarah you’re too sweet! Thanks so much for your kind words. I’m posting the popover recipe either tomorrow, if I get the chance to write it up the post tonight, (which honestly, I don’t think I’m going to get) or definitely Wednesday! 🙂 xoxo, Jackie

  5. okay levi is just too stinkin cute. Happy birthday to him and i want that bundt cake! Like right now! Life is crazy! Getting ready to go to El Salvador next week to visit some church orphanages! I can’t wait but so much to do! Hope you are having a great week!

    1. Hi Colleen! I know, I have to write more. I’m hoping to get back into it this fall once I get settled into school. I’m still trying to figure it all out 🙂 xoxo, Jacquelyn

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