Monday, October 26, 2009

Menu Plan

Well, we're headed to the doctor today for poor Ruby. I am also under the weather, and against my better judgment, I sent Charis to school today with the sniffles. On deck this week are meals that will bring us comfort and cure what ails us. (Sleep and lots of fluids should help, too.)

Monday
Chicken Pot Pie

Tuesday
Shepherd's Pie Skillet
Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Wednesday
Baked Potato Soup (with cheese, bacon bits, and sliced scallions)

Thursday
Two-Saucy MockZagna

Friday
Hawaiian chicken (Teriyaki-glazed chicken breasts topped with a pineapple ring and melted cheese. I'm pretty sure they don't eat this in Hawaii, but what else do you call it?)
Pineapple and Almond Rice Pilaf
Green Beans Amandine

Saturday
Leftovers

Sunday
Takeout

Also, My hubby's dad had back surgery on Saturday, and they also found out that he has cancer. It was a swell weekend, as you can imagine. He is in the hospital now, so our life and schedules have changed quite a bit. I will either rely heavily on the Menu Plan for this week's dinners, or else it might all need to be tossed out the window as circumstances change. Don't be shocked if you see a few of these items on next week's Plan...

Monday, October 19, 2009

Menu Plan

I really did a menu plan this week. I did! I wrote it on the back of my shopping list. Which got lost somewhere between Baking Needs and Produce. I opted not to roam around the store with ny two little ones in tow to try to retrieve it, which I think was the right decision. I think it went something like this:

Monday
Kielbasa
Sauerkraut
Mashed Potatoes
Broccoli

Tuesday
Chicken cutlet sandwiches
Homemade mac and cheese
Salad

Wednesday
Hot Chicken Salad

Thursday
Pork Medallions in sage cream sauce
Stuffing with celery, onions, and apple
(I may even go one better and make pork tenderloin roulade with the stuffing in the middle and the sauce over top. Or I may may take a nap instead.)

Friday
Pasta e Fagioli soup
Crusty Artisan Bread (that one's for you, Ellen)

Saturday
Leftovers

Sunday
fingers crossed...Takeout.


Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Two-bean Chili

There's something about a crisp, Fall day that makes me crave chili. Even if I'm chilled to the bone, one bowl of chili brings me back to right and makes me feel cozy. I've tried a million recipes with varied success, but this here recipe I'm about to give you is Chili The Way I Like It. It didn't come from a published recipe, it came from tinkering with process and spices, and it's not super hot, but it does have a nice heat at the back of it. Just The Way I Like It. If you're in need of a satisfying chili recipe, give this one a whirl!

Two-Bean Chili

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 c. water
28-32 oz. of canned tomatoes (I used a can of stewed tomatoes and a can of diced tomatoes because that's what I had on hand, but use whatever you've got)
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder (or use 1 clove minced)
1 1/2-2 tsp. chili powder (adjust this to your taste)
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
1 can kidney beans, mostly drained
1 can black beans, undrained

First, heat up a pot until it's "screaming hot" (as Rachel Ray likes to say), then crumble in your ground beef. Cook it most of the way through, constantly breaking it up with a spoon or spatula. Then add the salt and black pepper, along with the onion and water. Cook over high heat until most of the water has evaporated--this makes the meat nice and tender and really saturates it with the onion and salt and pepper. I could almost eat it just like this.

To the now-relatively-dry ground beef mixture, add the oregano, cumin, white pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, and cayenne. Stir the mixture over medium high heat for about a minute, just to "toast" the spices and bring out their flavor.

Then add the tomatoes and beans. Then toss in the bay leaf and give it a stir. Let the mixture come to a boil and then reduce it to a simmer for at least half an hour, preferably more. OR you could toss it into the crock pot and let it simmer for a long time on Low. Mmmmm good.

My favorite way to serve this is over pasta (radiatore, rotini, and elbow noodles are all favorites) and topped with cheese. Delish!

Serves 6.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Menu Plan

August 19th? REALLY? I can't believe it has been that long since I've posted anything. I am a terrible, horrible slacker.

So. My 5 year-old started school. Gone are the days of sitting at home playing with food; these days, I'm back and forth to school, and pick-up time often collides with the time I might ordinarily have spend making bread or doing other time-sensitive meal preparations. Pick-up time also collides with nap time, too, so now I do not typically have a moment in the day where the house is entirely quiet, and during which I am at liberty to cook and plan as I wish. Woe is me.

All this to say that my meal planning has completely fallen by the wayside, and we've sadly been turning to mostly quick-and-easy types of meals: tacos, spaghetti, and I'm drawing a blank here because I can't for the life of me remember what we've eaten in the past few weeks. Not good. I envisioned the spotless house and the carefully organized life that I thought would naturally flow from having only TWO children at home, but that has not been the case at all; it turns out Charis was a huge help to me, and I actually get much less accomplished without her here. Meals are no exception.

This will never do. Tacos, spaghetti, soups (soups!) and such have their place, and there are certainly days when there is no other option than a quick-and-easy meal, but I'd like to make a return to the variety we had in menu plans of old. This week, I sat down and planned not one, but TWO weeks' worth of meals. I figure a little bit of planning goes a long way.

Week 1
Monday
Eat out in celebration of our anniversary. Yay! No dishes!

Tuesday
Butterflied Korean Pork Loin (trying recipe for the first time tonight!)
Sesame Ramen Noodles
Sugar Snap Peas

Wednesday
Chili Mac
Cornbread

Thursday
Roasted Chicken
Roasted Potatoes
Glazed Carrots

Friday
Hot Chicken Salad
Green Beans

Saturday
Stuffed Shells
Salad

Sunday
Leftovers

Week 2

Monday
Schultzie's Mess
Buttermilk Biscuits with homemade peach jam

Tuesday
Country-style Ribs
Mac and Cheese
Broccoli
(OR Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole. We'll see)

Wednesday
Tomato Soup
Grilled cheese sandwiches

Thursday
Cheese Ravioli "Lasagna"
Salad

Friday
Chicken Pot Pie

Saturday
Leftovers

Sunday
Chinese Takeout