menu: week of may 10th

MENU:

Monday - Mud Soup (a.k.a. Potato Lentil Soup), French Bread, Green Salad

Tuesday - Tacos, Spanish Rice, Fruit

Wednesday - Cashew Chicken, Rice, Steamed Broccoli

Thursday - Spaghetti, Breadsticks, Salad, grape juice

Friday - Tin Foil Dinners, Fruit salad

Saturday - Hawaiian Haystacks, grapes

Sunday - Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad

RECIPES:

Mud Soup (a.k.a. Potato Lentil Soup)
2 strips cooked bacon
1 onion, chopped and sauteed
1 cup uncooked lentils
1/4 cup flour
Stir the above ingredients together and add:
6 cups beef broth
2 carrots, chopped or sliced
2 celery stalks, chopped or sliced (I prefer sliced for both the carrots and celery)
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
Simmer until lentils and veggies are cooked; at least 2 hours. Water may need to be added occasionally to keep it from burning.
After it is cooked, add:
1/4 cup fresh parsley OR 2 T. dried parsley
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
a pinch of nutmeg (1/4 - 1/2 tsp.)

* The bacon is optional.
** My mother, from whom the recipe came (she got it from a French chef at a restaraunt in Portland, but that is another story) takes a potato masher and mashes it up at the end. That is why we all called it Mud Soup when we were kids - after she mashed it, it looked like mud. I prefer it chunkier and so I don't mash it as much. Either way it is good.

Cashew Chicken

1 lb. boneless chicken breasts

2 cloves minced garlic

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 tsp soy sauce

1/2 cup cashews

2 tsp. veg. oil

3 diced red chilies - chopped

2 T. oyster sauce

1 bunch scallions cut into 2" pieces

cilantro to garnish

Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Heat oil in skillet. Add garlic and dried chilies and saute until browned. Add chicken and stir fry until done. Add red pepper. Stir in sauces. Add scallions and cashews - cook for 1-2 minutes. Serve over rice.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork (I don't think this is their exact recipe - but this one is just as good. I have tried a couple and I like this one the best)

about 3 lbs. pork loin

1 large jar Pace medium salsa

1 1/2 cans regular Coke

2 c. brown sugar

Sear pork with salt and pepper in frying pan. Put pork in crock pot with about 2 inches of water. Cook on high for 5 hours. Drain liquid and add other 3 ingredients. Cook for another 2-3 hours. Shred pork and serve in burritos, salad, or however you want.

Cilantro-Lime Dressing

1 packet Buttermilk Ranch dressing mix

ingredients for the ranch packet

1 jar La Victoria Green Salsa

1 bunch cilantro

jalepeno (optional)

lime

1 clove garlic

Make dressing according to package directions. In blender mix 1/3 jar of salsa (I usually about half), 1/2 of the cilantro, jalepeno to taste, lime juice, and garlic. Add to ranch.

I have a really good Cilantro-Lime Rice recipe - if you want it please leave a comment and I will add it on. Also I din't include the recipe for Hawaiian Haystacks. If you don't know what this is and you want that recipe then also leave a comment and I will add that one on too. For the spaghetti sauce I use, look back a few weeks; I have it there. And for Tin Foil Dinners, I can't remember how to make them. I am going to brainstorm with Scott when he gets home. Thanks!