Monday, October 31, 2011

Menu Plan for Week of October 31st

This weekend I made lasagna for a crowd and have a lot of leftovers to put in the freezer for later and also for leftovers this week. I addition, I have chicken and fish in my freezer that should be used up this week before all the specials come up for chicken and turkey for the holidays.

This is the time of year I end up stocking the freezer with turkey halves or quarters and ham slices. I have the meat department cut the low cost sale meats into serving sized for my family. Turkey quarters can be made into a meal for the week or weekend without too many leftovers to eat during the week. Also whole or half hams can be sliced into 1 inch steaks to freeze for quick weekday meals. My family loves ham steaks but paying over $3.99 per pound is not what I will pay. I will pay $.89-$1.09 per pound for my ham steaks.

Here is this week’s menu plan:

Monday-Lasagna

I am always amazed that people think lasagna take a lot of time to make. I made 2 large lasagnas this weekend in a little more than 20 minutes of hands on time. I put on a quick sauce with ground beef and ground pork (5 min). Then I mixed up ricotta cheese with 2 eggs, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning (2 min). I boiled water while making tea and put the no boil lasagna noodles to soak in the water. (5 min). When the sauce was done, I just layered sauce, noodles, cheese, sauce and repeated that 3 times per pan (10 min). Then just put them in the oven at 375 for 40 minutes. While they cooked, I took my shower and got ready for my guests. If I was not cooking for a crowd, I would have made two smaller lasagnas and put one in the freezer before cooking for a later date. Two meals done in less than 25 minutes of hands on work! That’s fast food!

Tuesday-Oven Fried Chicken Drumsticks with mashed potatoes and salad

My husband helped a friend with a machine he was having problems with last week. This friend has an enormous garden and he gave us salad greens, scallions, pears, parsley and cilantro. I used some of the lettuce this weekend with the lasagna but I have some left and will use it this week with dinners and lunches. Today I had a salad wrap for lunch (yum).

Wednesday-Salmon with rice and broccoli

Thursday-Chicken and Rice with some type of vegetable

My daughters love green beans from a can. I know they are not the healthiest way to eat green beans but at least they eat them! They will not eat them if they are frozen or fresh, so I will open and can for the green beans.

Friday-Pizza night

I will make linguica pizza and salad. My daughter does not like sauce on her pizza, so one of the pizzas will have no sauce and some veggies instead of linguica.
Have a great week!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Menu for Week of October 10th

This is coming out a little late because of the holiday weekend. Between going to college visits and everything else in our busy lives, I forgot to plan our menu. It is also our 24 anniversary week. So I need to plan a special meal on Tuesday. That means it may change, if my husband wants something different. So here goes for the week of October 10th

Monday—Spaghetti and Meatballs
My kids do not like my meatballs, so I buy Perdue premade turkey meatballs. I had a coupon and shop at a really inexpensive store, so to meatballs only cost me $2.24 per package. I will use only one with my regular sauce. We will probably throw in a salad to make a complete meal.

Tuesday—Salmon Filets with rice and green beans

Wednesday--Shepherd Pie
I usually just make this with ground beef, corn and mashed potatoes.

Thursday—Chicken Tenders with Lyonnais Potatoes and veggie
I usually just bread my tenders and oven fry them at 425 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. My potatoes, I put in a large skillet, layer thinly sliced potatoes and onions with salt, pepper and parsley. Add some butter and about ½ cup of water. Cover and simmer on low. You may need to turn every 10 minutes. Usually takes me about 20 minutes.

Friday-Leftover night
This is my free night.
Normally I only do menus for the weekdays because those are the busiest days for my family.

Enjoy and I hope it helps you.

Monday, October 3, 2011

October 2nd Menu Plan

Week of October 2nd Menu

Monday—Clam Boil

My father-in-law brought me a basket of clams, so it’s time for a clam boil.
Soft-shell clams
1 can of beer
Goya sazon seasoning
Salt to taste
Onions (1 per person)
Linguica (1 per person
Breakfast sausage (1 per person
Potatoes (1 per person
Hot Dogs (1 per person
Clean clams. I soak them in salt water several hours. Meanwhile, put onions, linguica, sausage, and potatoes in a stockpot with beer and seasoning. Simmer until potatoes and onions are tender. Add hot dogs and clams. Steam until clams are open.

Tuesday-Annatto chicken Skillet

This is a new Pampered Chef recipe that I am trying. It looks really quick, easy and delicious!

The Pampered Chef ®
Annatto Chicken Skillet
Recipe
1 small onion
1 red bell pepper
4 ounces chorizo
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 can (14.5 ounces) chicken broth
1 can (15 ounces) pigeon peas, drained
1 packet (.18 ounce) annatto seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt


1. Finely chop onion and bell pepper using Food Chopper; place in Prep Bowl. Cut chorizo into 1-inch pieces and chicken into 1 1/2-inch pieces using Utility Knife.
2. Add chorizo to (10-in.) Skillet; cook over medium-high heat 3-4 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently with Nylon Spoon. Remove chorizo from Skillet. Place chorizo in Classic Batter Bowl. Cook chicken in same Skillet 2-3 minutes or until browned. Remove chicken from Skillet; place in batter bowl with chorizo and set aside.
3. In same Skillet, combine onion, bell pepper, rice and garlic pressed with Garlic Press. Cook 3-4 minutes over medium-high heat or until onion begins to soften. Add broth, pigeon peas, seasoning packet and salt; bring to a boil. Add chorizo and chicken to Skillet; cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 15-20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and chicken and chorizo are cooked through. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff rice with fork and serve.
Yield: 6 servings
Nutrients per serving: Calories 430, Total Fat 9 g, Saturated Fat 3 g, Cholesterol 80 mg, Carbohydrate 55 g, Protein 31 g, Sodium 760 mg, Fiber 8 g
Cook's Tip: A green bell pepper can be substituted for the red bell pepper, if desired.

If you can't find boneless, skinless chicken thighs, purchase bone-in, skin-on thighs and remove bones and skin using Utility Knife.

Annatto, also known as achiote, is available in different forms, such as paste, pods or ground. It can be found in the Latin section of your grocery store. Use according to package directions.
© 2009 The Pampered Chef used under license.

Wednesday-Pasta and Meat Sauce

I did not get to make this last week because of all the leftovers I had. So I will make this with a salad.

Thursday-Lemon Herb Chicken Ring

I have more turkey leftover, so out from the freezer this will come. This is one of my favorite recipes.

Ingredients
2 cups chopped chicken or turkey
1 cup mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
2 tbsp parsley, fresh, chopped
1 tsp lemon peel
2 cloves garlic
5 tsp mayonnaise
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
Directions
1. *Preheat oven to 375
2. *Chop chicken, dice bell pepper, chop parsley, zest lemon
3. *Combine above with minced garlic, mozzarella cheese, mayo, and 1 tsp. Italian seasoning mix
4. *Reserve 2 Tbsp. parmesan cheese, add remaining
5. *Unroll crescent rolls, arrange triangles, slightly overlapping, in a circle to look like a sun.
6. *Roll wide ends of dough towards the center to make a 5" opening
7. *Spoon meat mixture evenly over dough in continuous circle
8. *Bring points of triangles over meat mixture and to the center of the ring; pinch to hold in place
9. *Sprinkle remaining parmesan over top
10. *Bake 28-30 minutes until golden brown

Friday-Linguica Calzones with Salad (or pizza)

I have some ground linguica and pizza dough, So I think I will make the calzone. Very easy.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out pizza dough. Sprinkle with about 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese. On top of cheese, sprinkle ground linguica. Roll up calzone, starting with the long end. Pinch ends. Put on the Rectangle Stone (on sale this month!). Bruch with a beaten egg. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden.