throwing my {chef's} hat into the ring

it was quite the domestic weekend here at la maison de belle et beau.  on saturday we crossed the mountain to head to the nearest "city" {i use that term lightly} to catch a matinee {we saw 'the king's speech' and LOVED it!} and start our registry at target.  the beau had a blast with the scan gun.  i have a feeling he added in some extra items when i wasn't looking.  when we got home, i made a recipe i have been dying to try since i saw it on the cover of the november martha stewart living: apple crostata with cheddar crust. so, so yummy.  i am a cheese freak and like any true southerner, i love a little melted cheese on top of my apple pie.  this just makes things a bit more haute cuisine.  i didn't have any granny smith apples, so i just used 4 red delicious apples and cut back the granulated sugar to 1/4 cup.  i only made half the pie dough recipe and i replaced 1/4 cup of the flour with a 1/4 cup of yellow cornmeal.  other than those adjustments, i followed everything to the letter.  i have no hesitation in saying this will be my new go-to apple pie recipe.  the free form crostata is so much simpler than a crimped pie crust.  the cheddar pie dough made the flakiest crust i've ever had and it also cut out some of the cloying sweetness that i usually don't like in apple pies.  it also got the man stamp of approval.

yesterday the beau had to work all day, so i took care of a few little projects around the house and ran errands.  i also got started on what many other bloggers are already doing...menu monday!  i already try to cook for us most nights of the week, but i don't do a great job of planning those meals in advance, so we end up either eating out somewhere not very healthy or spending too much money running to the grocery store to throw something together.  now that we're getting into the beau's busy season and we're both trying to be mindful of money and calories, i think menu planning is going to be great for us. we will be having at least one vegetarian meal each week and the goal is that each meal will be healthy.  there are a few "splurge" meals thrown in for good measure. we started last night, so you get a bonus day this week!

sunday: tomato and sausage risotto.  this will now be added to our permanent "splurge" rotation. it was SO yummy and the beau absolutely loved it.

monday: slow-cooker green chile tacos with frozen southwestern corn {i'm adding some additional chopped red pepper}.  i've been wanting to try this recipe for ages!

tuesday: cider-glazed chicken browned butter-pecan rice and sauteed spinach

wednesday: seared salmon with lemon kale salad. healthy, healthy, healthy!

thursday: butternut squash and apple soup with french bread.  this recipe is an old favorite.  i use chicken stock instead of water and reduce the curry to one tablespoon.  it makes a TON of soup, so we're having friends over.

friday: date night.  the beau is in charge, so we'll either eat out or he'll cook. 

saturday: we're going to an engagement party for some friends of ours

sunday: leftovers!

and an indication that this is going to be a GREAT week, i started the day with my favorite oh-so-european breakfast: a soft-boiled egg and wheat toast.  comforting, delicious, and healthy.

picture found here

happy monday, mes amours!