Menu Plan Monday

Here's what's in store for this week: (we have a lot of salad--I bought some this week and didn't remember we already had some in the fridge!)

Monday (we didn't have this last week...)
Apple-stuffed Roasted Pork Loin
Greeky Greek Roasted Potatoes
Broccoli (last of our garden's bounty!)

Tuesday
Maple-Orange Glazed Chicken
Nutty Rice Pilaf
Salad

Wednesday
Chili 5 Ways

Thursday
Cuban Panini (Medianoche)
Yellow Rice
Salad

Friday
Beef Short Ribs
Herbed Egg Noodles
Salad

Hopefully, I'll have a recipe or two posted this week, too. Cuban Panini, Greeky Greek Roasted Potatoes, or Cinnamon Rolls. Any preference?

Menu Plan Monday

My parents were here this weekend to watch our kids while we attended family wedding festivities, and while they were here, my mom cooked up a storm. She made barbecued beef sandwiches, homemade pizza, and meatloaf and scalloped potatoes. We also have leftover quiche from Saturday morning. We are STOCKED UP. So we'll probably pepper our dinners this week with some leftovers, and since I'm not going grocery shopping this week, we're having a pantry festival--dinners made with whatever is on hand. I still need to take stock of what we have before I come up with a menu, but I'd like to try this one week a month: skip the grocery store, the hassle, and the expense, and make do. I'll let you know how it goes!

And later today, I'll post my menu plan. See you soon!

Oh, yeah...

Monday
Leftover Buffet

Tuesday
Beef and Noodles
Salad

Wednesday
Finish the leftovers

Thursday
Pork Loin Medallions with apricot glaze
Mashed Potatoes
Broccoli

Friday
Shredded Beef Nachos with Queso
Refried Beans
Pan Roasted Corn

Saturday
Tomato Soup
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with bacon (on homemade Challah)

Sunday
Takeout

Menu Plan Monday

...a day late. It's a weird week for menu planning because a) my parents are coming to visit this weekend and b) we have a family wedding this weekend, but here's what I've got so far...

Monday
Homemade chicken egg rolls (EASY!)
Maple-Sesame Bacon Fried Rice

Tuesday
Pot Roast
Carrots
Garlic Bread

Wednesday
Baked Potato Soup

Thursday
Someone brings us a meal, maybe?
If not, then it'll be Turkey dinner.

Friday
Attend rehearsal dinner Pig Roast

Saturday
TBA lunch (Mom?)
Dinner reception at the country club (!! Fancy!!)

Sunday
Who knows? Any ideas, Mom?

I've got some desserts on tap, though:
"McDonald's" Fried Apple Pies (because of all of the extra egg roll wrappers)
Homemade chewy granola bars

I may also try to make some mozzarella appetizers with the extra wrappers. Yum!

Uncle Abe's Soft Pretzels

Okay, this one needs no story. This is just a recipe that is an amalgam of recipes claiming to be similar to "Mall" pretzels (you know the kind). I made these for the first time yesterday, and Abe thinks they're spot-on. I think they could use a bit more chewiness, so I've added in a bit of bread flour into the recipe. But if you don't have bread flour, don't sweat it--I used all all-purpose yesterday, and they still turned out really well. I ate four of them.

Soft Pretzels

4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. white sugar
1 1/4 c. warm water

1 c. bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
all-purpose flour *

1/4 c. baking soda
2 c. hot water

kosher or sea salt, or pretzel salt, if you've got it
3 Tbsp. melted butter

FIRST, mix together the yeast, 1 tsp. sugar, and 1 1/4 c. warm water, and set aside for 5 minutes to let the yeast get foamy. When it has, add in the oil.

Then, in a large bowl, combine the bread flour, sugar, and salt. Mix in the yeast mixture, *and then continue to add all-purpose flour until it makes a soft dough. (approx. 3-4 cups.) Turn dough onto a well-floured counter top, and knead in more flour until the dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer to an oiled bowl, turn to coat with oil, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about an hour).

In a large bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the hot water.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Dump the dough out onto the counter top and flatten slightly. Then, using a knife or pizza cutter, cut off a strip that is approximately 1/12th of the total dough. Roll it on the counter until it is about 16 inches long. Then, twist into the classic pretzel shape, dunk in the baking soda/water mixture, and transfer to a parchment-lined cookie sheet, or a cookie sheet that is well-greased. Repeat until all of the pretzels are twisted. You'll need two cookie sheets.

Then, sprinkle lightly with the salt, and pop into the hot oven. Bake for 4 minutes, then rotate baking sheets top-to-bottom and front-to-back. Bake until the pretzels are golden brown.

Remove from oven and brush with lots of melted butter. Enjoy!

Makes 12 pretzels.

Menu Plan Monday

Here's the tentative plan for this week.

Monday
Spaghetti and Meatballs

Tuesday
Roast Chicken
Garlic Smashed Potatoes
Glazed Carrots

Wednesday
Chicken Verde
Yellow Rice
Black Beans

Thursday
Short Ribs
Rice
Green Beans

Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Leftovers? McDonald's? Pizza? I won't be here, so it's anybody's guess!

I am currently recovering from a no-sleep week, so this week's menu reflects a little bit of that laziness! This week's menu is also a nod to the cooler weather we have in store for this week. Finally, comfort food sounds good again. Hello, fall food! I've missed you.

Monday
Beef and Peas over Savory Herb Noodles

Tuesday
Steak
Baked Potatoes
Salad with homemade croutons

Wednesday
Chicken Pot Pie

Thursday
Hot Chicken Salad
Salad

Friday
Ribs
Baked Mac n Cheese
Corn Dish

Saturday
Leftovers

Sunday
Chinese takeout, hopefully!

Spicy Orzo

A girl I know had cravings for Long John Silvers' hush puppies when she was pregnant. Ordinarily, this wouldn't seem odd. But she had, in fact, never eaten a hush puppy before in her life, so the sudden desire for them was inexplicable. It turned out that she loved them. Go figure.

I am no longer pregnant, but I can totally relate with the inexplicable-craving phenomenon. I once craved sweet-n-sour sauce even though I'd never had it before, and I, too, loved it. It was as if my taste buds had become ready for it and let me know when it was time. A similar thing happened with this dish: I woke up one morning craving orzo. I'd had orzo before, and all it is is rice-shaped pasta, so it was strange that I would crave orzo and not a pasta more familiar to me, like farfalle or rotini. But there it was: I HAD TO HAVE orzo.

Wouldn't you know it? I couldn't find orzo anywhere. I didn't think it was that uncommon of an item until I was craving it and couldn't find it in any store I visited. I even visited stores I don't usually frequent in the hope that they would carry these tiny little bits of pasta that were driving me slowly insane. They didn't.

Then some WEEKS later, when the craving had subsided, I was making my routine pass through the pasta aisle, and there they were, plain as day. Maybe they had been there all the time. I will never know. But I was still ready for them, so I purchased three boxes. I didn't want to be caught craving them with no recourse.

I still didn't know what I wanted to do with the orzo, but garlic sounded good. And butter. And my garden was exploding with basil; that sounded pretty good, too. And you know what else? Heat. Heat sounded good. When all is said and done, this recipe is probably closer to authentic Aglio e Olio than my actual Aglio e Olio recipe. But I think it works better here in this application with orzo than it would with any other pasta. The resulting dish is creamy, reminiscent of a risotto, with a lot of heat and flavor. AND it only takes about 12 minutes to make! Now, not only is the original orzo-something-or-other craving satisfied, but I've created a new item for me to crave. Let's get started, shall we?

Spicy Orzo

3 Tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic, pressed or very finely chopped
1/8-1/4 tsp. dried red pepper flakes (depending on your preferred heat level)
ground black pepper
1 1/2 c. uncooked orzo
2 c. chicken stock or broth
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. finely chopped fresh basil, or 1 Tbsp dried basil

Melt butter in a saucepan and add garlic, dried red pepper flakes, black pepper, and he dried basil (if using--if you're using fresh, WAIT.). Saute over low-ish medium heat for about 30 seconds, just to infuse the butter with the flavors, then add the orzo. Saute for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Slowly pour the chicken stock into the orzo mixture, and bring to a boil. After it comes to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for about 8 minutes, or until the stock is nearly absorbed and orzo is tender, stirring occasionally.

Remove from the heat, stir in parmesan and fresh basil (if using), and serve immediately. You may add a tablespoon or two of olive oil if you wish to keep the grains more separate or don't plan to serve it in the next three minutes.

Serves 4 as a side dish.

Menu what?

Hello mom! Yes, I have not posted plans in two weeks. Last week, I was simply too lazy to come up with one, but here were some highlights: Scalloped potatoes with ham, Taco soup with cilantro-lime rice, and pot roast with carrots and garlic and dill potatoes. Also, we had a County Fair meal which I will blog about later. Fall is here, no matter what the thermometer says.

This week is a different story. This week a deadline I had not been thinking about presented itself. Also, I have a bushel of corn shoved into my fridge awaiting its time for freezing. Yesterday afternoon, I babysat for a friend's kids. And last night, I was up until 1:45 with kids who were having sleeping/obedience issues. So far this week's meal highlights have been take-and-bake pizza, frozen pizza, frozen chicken nuggets, and Kraft mac'n'cheese, and I sense that similar things will show up on the menu later this week, too.

But after the craziness subsides, I'm looking forward to getting back in the swing of things with some smoked and grilled spareribs with my homemade BBQ rub, chicken pot pie, steak and smashed potatoes, fruit-glazed pork filets with herbed noodles, and Korean braised short ribs. I also need to make about 12 more batches of pesto to freeze, and we'll probably have a chicken/pesto cream sauce/pine nut/parmesan pasta dish to use some of it up. And I've been dreaming about a chicken gyro I had at the fair, and the delicious oregano/garlic/butter potatoes that came with it. I'll probably try to tackle those soon, too. Oh, man. I can't wait.

But I have to wait. I have other things to tackle this week, and I wouldn't enjoy cooking with guilt.

Back soon, and I've got some recipes up my sleeve, including a really tasty tzatziki sauce and a spicy orzo dish that is my new favorite! I've also noticed some gaping holes in my recipe collection that need to be plugged with some of our family favorites, like taco soup and chicken pot pie. So when time allows it again, I'll get those up! See you then!

Magnum Opus

Last night, I went nuts and made a meal for our history books. To quote Abe, "I love it when we have ribs, grilled chicken, red potatoes and green beans, baked beans, fresh corn, corn muffins, and a peach and blueberry tart...on a Thursday."

It started out simply--I had a rack of ribs that I wanted to smoke on our charcoal grill, and I thought I'd pair them with some baked beans, fresh corn (because I'm freezing bushels of it this week), and corn muffins. Then I decided to invite Abe's sister's family over, so I added the other stuff to the menu. It is probably Abe's favorite meal of all of the meals I have prepared for him thus far.

Along the way, I tried some new recipes (like a bbq rub and the potato and green bean dish, and the ribs themselves) andd perfected some old ones (like the barbecue sauce and grilled chicken) and I will be posting them shortly! Stay tuned!

Post-Labor Day Menu Plan

Labor Day. It's a funny holiday, really. It was first conceived to honor workers who labor for the union (like my hubby), but in recent years, I've seen lots of Happy Labor Day commercials that honor mothers who have gone through labor (me--three times). In reality, it's really a farewell-to-summer celebration and has nothing to do with either of the above anymore. Do you ever take a moment during YOUR cookout to remember your local Union leaders? Probably not.

This year's labor day, for us, featured a lot of actual labor. My house was a mess and people were coming over, so I labored all morning to get it picked up. And my hubby had several friends and family members over to help him labor on the house--namely, putting up the trim on the windows, a step that precedes siding installation. And there was no cookout. We had Subway sandwiches for lunch. And really, we had Subway sandwiches for dinner, because "lunch" didn't happen until about 4. Then our renter and his fiancee had a grilled pizza/nacho fest in our backyard that night, which we totally crashed. So no cooking for me yesterday! Viva Organized Labor and ambitious renters!

Without further ado, here's the plan for today and the rest of this week.

Tuesday (it's gonna be a hot one today)
Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Caprese Salad
Chips

Wednesday
Strawberry Grilled Chicken Salad with feta, almonds, onion and raspberry vinaigrette over Organic Herb Mix greens

Thursday
Ribs (forgot to thaw them last week)
Baked Beans
Peach Cobbler

Friday
Burgers
Oven Fries tossed with fresh dill

Saturday
Leftovers

Sunday
Pasta Salad with leftover chicken, basil, shredded mozarella, and grape tomatoes