what we're eating this week

today is my cook-day for the week and it's going to be a doozy as I plan to cook not only dinners, but also snacks and some breakfast items too. Here's what's on the schedule (along with nursing Mister Man, singing E-I-E-I-O with Little Miss and sitting down for a quiet lunch with Deputy Handsome while the kids are napping):

• Cuban Black Beans from the Flat Belly Diet Cookbook
• just reheat and make "fried" bananas on the day we want to eat
• Carrot Cupcakes with Orange Frosting from the Flat Belly Diet Cookbook
• should have made these over the weekend when my Dad was in town - carrot cake is his favorite!
• chocolate-oatmeal bars from the Flat Belly Diet Family Cookbook 
• I checked this cookbook out from the library, but I think I need to add it to my home collection! 
• Parmesan Biscuits from Giada At Home
• these will make fantastic sandwiches with all the extra lunch meat in our fridge from the super sale at Albertson's last week
• Mediterranean Vegetable Pie from epicurious
• dinner for me while Deputy Handsome is working night-shift 
• Citruis Ricotta Pancakes from Eat Me by Kenny Shopsin
• you can store pancakes in the fridge or freezer and then just pop them in the toaster when you're ready to eat
• the filling for Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps from the Flat Belly Diet Cookbook
• also will have to shred some veggies to top the wraps
• Braciole (thinly pounded beef with stuffing, slow-cooked in red sauce)
• sort of making it up on my own but influenced by the Everything One Pot cookbook and also Rachel Ray
• this will be dinner tonight with orzo and steamed broccoli and we'll have lots of leftovers

These meals will take us through to the Independence Day holiday! We have only one free evening between now and then and all this cooking ahead will make for easier nights when Deputy Handsome is gone and will allow more family time on that one night we have all together.