little break

>> Friday, July 16, 2010

Hey all you menu blog followers...as you might have noticed I haven't been posting menus lately. It isn't because I haven't been making menus. I have. It is just my menus in the summer are pretty laid-back. I don't like to be in my kitchen during that time of day in the summertime - it is west-facing and gets soooooo hot. So we do lots of salads and BBQing. If you are dying for ideas leave a comment and I will start adding my summer menus.


THANKS,
Emily

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menu for week of june 28th

>> Monday, June 28, 2010

MENU:

Monday - Taco Salad, Spanish Rice, Fruit Platter

Tuesday - Cobb Salad with grilled chicken

Wednesday - Tortilla Stack, green salad

Thursday - Grilled Drumsticks, potato wedges, strawberries

Friday - Deli Wraps

Saturday - Neighborhood BBQ

Sunday - Ravioli, green salad, breadsticks

I think most of these dishes are pretty self explanatory, but if you have any questions just let me know.

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menu for week of june 14th

>> Monday, June 14, 2010

Don't you love how my blog looks. My amazing and creative friend Heather did it all for me! I love it. THANKS Heather!!!

Menu:
Monday - Chicken curry, cous cous, flat bread, peaches

Tuesday - BBQ chicken kebabs over seasoned egg noddles, grapes

Wednesday - Baked Chimichangas, green salad

Thursday - Brown-rice bowls with shrimp..., fruit salad

Friday or Saturday - One those days will be a leftover day and the other will be: Leek and Potato pie, Ham, salad

Sunday - Sticky Chicken, steamed rice, green salad

Recipes:

Chicken Curry:
2 or 3 chicken breasts
2-3 T. curry powder
Medium onion, cut into pieces
2-3 c. water
2 carrots, cut into strips
2 potatoes, cut into medium sized cubes
salt and pepper to taste
1 T. oil
couscous

Cut up chicken breast and put in ziplock bag or with bowl curry powder. Coat the chicken well. Heat oil in skillet and brown the meat. Add the chopped onion and saute. Add 1 cup water, cover, and let simmer for about 45 minutes. Add carrots and potatoes (can also add cauliflower, celery, etc) and simmer for 25-30 minutes until veggies are done adding water as it boils off.

Baked Chimichangas:
2 lbs chicken breast
2 cups water
2 T. chili powder
2 T. white vinegar
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can tomato sauce
1 4-oz can chopped green chilies
1 cup cheese (cheddar or Monterey Jack), shredded
12 10-in tortillas

Cut chicken into pieces and combine with water and next 5 ingredients in saucepan. Heat to boil. Cover and reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook on low for 1 hour or until water evaporates. Remove meat and shred. Stir in tomato sauce, chilies, cheese, and green onions.
Heat tortillas. Spoon mixture inside, fold and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 or until crisp.

Brown-Rice Bowls with Shrimp...:
salt and pepper
1 c. long-grain brown rice
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 T. rice vinegar
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 T. olive oil
1 pound shrimp
1/2 pound snow peas, trimmed and halved on the diagonal
1 piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 avocado, cut into chunks

In large saucepan bring 2 cups of salted water to a boil. Add rice, cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 45-50 minutes; until water is absorbed. Meanwhile in a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, lemon juice, vinegar, and sugar until sugar is dissolved. When rice has finished cooking, hear oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add shrimp, snow peas, and ginger; season with salt and pepper. Cook until shrimp are opaque throughout and peas are bright green, 2-3 minutes. Divide rice among four bowls and top with shrimp mixture and avocado. Serve sauce on the side.

NOTE: I haven't tried this yet; I found it in a magazine and it sounded pretty good. So let me know what you think once you have tried it.

Leek and Potato Pie:
2 large leeks
1 3/4 lbs. potatoes, peeled or scrubbed and thinly sliced
1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. butter or margarine
2 1/4 c. milk

Mix together the flour, salt and pepper. Place 1/3 of potatoes in a layer in a baking dish (9x13). Sprinkle half the leeks on top, half of the flour mixture, and 1/3 of the butter.

Spead a layer of potatoes on top and sprinkle with the rest of the leeks and seasoned flour. Dot with half of the butter. Top with the remaining potatoes. Dot with rest of butter.

Heat milk and pout over potatoes. Cover with foil or lid and bake for 45 minutes at 450 degrees. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes.


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menu for week of june 7th

>> Monday, June 7, 2010

Sorry about the two week break; I don't know what happened last week. Just one of those weeks were it was hard to pull it all together...


MENU:
Mon - Chicken Salad in croissants, sliced mango

Tues - Fish Tacos, fruit salad

Wed - Poor Man's Pizza, green salad

Thurs - Burritos with rotisserie chicken, strawberries

Fri - Fancy grilled chicken salad, french bread rolls

Sat - Shrimp pasta primavera, bread sticks, green salad

Sun - Olive spaghetti, rolls, salad

RECIPES:
Chicken Salad:
Combine the following and allow to marinade for as long as possible:

5 c. cooked chicken, chunked (I usually use less)
3 T. veg. or olive oil
3 T. orange juice
3 T. white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. salt

Add after it has marinaded:
3 c. cooked rice
1 1/2 c. grapes, cut into pieces
1 1/2 c. sliced celery
1 can crushed or chunk pineapple, drained
1 11-oz can mandarin oranges (I have never added these b/c we don't like them)
1 c. slivered almonds (or less)
1 1/2 c. mayonnaise

Mix all together and serve in a croissant.

Fish Tacos: Scott makes the fish tacos around here and they are best I have ever had. If I can convince him, I will have him add the recipe he uses!

Poor Man's Pizza:
For the crust:
1c. warm water
1 T. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 T. oil
2 1/2 c. flour

Mix together and let rise for 20 minutes. Lay out flat on cookie sheet and bake for about 5 minutes at 450 degrees. It won't be done all the way, but take it out and add the toppings. After the toppings are added put back in oven until edges are light brown - about 7 minutes.

Toppings for Poor Man's Pizza (this what makes it "poor"):
Drizzle with a little Italian Dressing, put sliced tomatoes on, then sauteed onions and bell pepper. You can also add olives.
OR just add regular pizza toppings with pizza sauce.

Olive Spaghetti:
about 3 T. olive oil
saute a couple cloves of garlic in that
add
two cans (14 oz) petite diced tomatoes
2 T. tomato paste
as many olives as you want (I put them in whole, but you could slice them in half)
about 1 T. oregano
salt and pepper to taste
a little water if it becomes too thick (sometimes I will add a little juice from the can of olives and it adds such a great flavor)

Serve over thin spaghetti or angel hair.

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week of may 24th

>> Tuesday, May 25, 2010

So I haven't been feeling well since Sunday and most of the people in my house are feeling about the same. Because of this, none of us really has much of an appetite. I won't be doing a menu this week. SORRY!


Check back next week!

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menu: week of may 17th

>> Monday, May 17, 2010

MENU:
Mon - BBQ at friend's house

Tues - Burritos (using leftover pork from Sunday), fresh fruit

Wed - Black Bean Soup, green salad

Thurs - Parmesan Chicken, seasoned rice, steamed broccoli

Fri - Pizza, root beer (I will be gone, so this will probably be Little Caesars - if you want a recipe for dough leave a comment and I will put one on)

Sat - BBQ for friend's birthday

Sun - Stuffed Shells (I know, we just had this, but they sound good again), salad, rolls, grape juice

RECIPES:
Parmesan Chicken
1/4 c. bread crumbs
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. parsley
salt and pepper to taste
4-6 chicken breasts (I cut them in strips because I like smaller pieces)

Dip chicken in either melted butter or some milk (I use milk). Mix dry ingredients in ziplock bag, after dipping chicken in milk throw in bag. Seal it and shake. Place in greased 9x13. Bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees.

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menu: week of may 10th

>> Monday, May 10, 2010

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!

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