Weekly Menu 2/19+

 

Saturday

1. Cook extra chicken tonight to use in the enchiladas Monday.
2. Friday night get your chicken ready. If you are just getting to the store on Saturday, get it marinating as soon in the day as possible.
3. Use 3-4 lbs of pieces of chicken if you'd rather not mess with a whole bird.

Roasted Sticky Chicken  (Menus4Moms)

• 1 large chicken -- (roasting)
• 1 cup onion -- chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 4 teaspoons salt

This should have been done last night: In a small bowl, thoroughly combine all the spices. Remove giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the spice mixture into the chicken, both inside and out, making sure it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin. Place in a re-sealable plastic bag, seal and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to roast chicken, stuff cavity with onions, and place in the crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours. Let chicken rest about 10 minutes before carving.

OR you can cook chicken in an oven roasting bag for five hours at 250 degrees. Of course all the food safety experts are probably freaking out about this low cooking temperature, but five hours of cooking has to weigh in somewhere. Use your best judgment.

Rice-a-roni

• 3T butter
• ¼ c vermicelli (yellow box) crushed in your hand
• 1 c rice
• 2 c chicken broth
• 1 T parsley

Saute rice and vermicelli in butter until vermicelli starts to brown. Add chicken broth and parsley; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.

Broccoli

Sunday

1. Today is a great day to get the insides ready for your enchiladas tomorrow. You can even fully assemble them and let the first person home get them going in the oven tomorrow. Add 10 extra minutes to the cooking time to account for the pre-assembled dinner.
2. Use your favorite brownie mix and then sprinkle coarse salt over the top of the brownies just before baking. My favorite recipe is the plain Betty Crocker fudge brownies, and then I add ½ c chocolate chips.

Chicken Fried Steak

• Tenderized or ¼” thick pieces of round steak
• flour
• 1 sleeve saltines (I prefer zesta), pulverized.
• 1 egg
• 1 c milk
• seasonings: salt, pepper, paprika, dry mustard, garlic powder, onion powder
• canola oil for frying

Heat about 1/4” oil in large skillet. Mix egg and milk in a shallow bowl. In a separate bowl mix ~1c flour, saltines, and seasonings. Dip meat first in milk mixture, then in flour. Place in hot oil and cook until edges of meat start to show signs of cooking. Flip and cook on other side. Adjust your temperature down if first side got overly brown (ie burned) before the edges started to cook.

Mashed Potatoes

Green Beans

Brownies with Sea Salt

Monday

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas (Pioneer Woman)

• 12 whole Corn Tortillas
• Canola Oil, For Frying
• 1 can (20 Ounce) Enchilada Sauce
• 2 cups Sour Cream
• 3 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Grated
• 2 c cooked, chopped chicken (Andrea's addition)
• 1 cup Sliced/chopped Green Onions
• ½ teaspoons Ground Cumin
• ¼ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper

Mix together sour cream, green onions 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar, chicken, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Heat canola oil in a skillet over medium heat. Heat enchilada sauce in a separate skillet or saucepan. Using tongs, fry tortillas one at a time, for only about five to ten seconds per side (don’t allow to crisp.) Remove from oil, then dunk tortilla in enchilada sauce. Lay tortilla on a plate, then spoon a good two or three tablespoons of the sour cream mixture in the middle. Roll tortilla, then place face down in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and sour cream mixture. (If there’s any sour cream mixture left over, use it as a dip for tortilla chips!) Cover the dish with the remaining cheese, then bake for 15 to 20 minutes until bubbly. Serve immediately. Place a dollop of sour cream on each serving, then sprinkle on sliced green onions.

Apple Grape Salad

• 3 sliced and cored Granny Smith apples
• 1 bunch red grapes, pulled from the stems
• chopped walnuts (optional)
• 8 oz. vanilla yogurt
• 3 oz. cream cheese

Combine fruit and serve with vanilla yogurt mixed with cream cheese (use a mixer for a smooth blend).
Tuesday

1. If you are on a low carb diet, this meal is great if you don’t add the tater tots. You can make ½ of the pan for the adults and then add the tots for the tots.
2. The dessert is really good, even if you don’t like cottage cheese, because you blend it up really well and it becomes and smooth creamy blend with a bit of honey and pineapple for sweetness.

Tater Tot or Not Casserole

adapted from: GREEN BEAN AND HAMBURGER CASSEROLE (Linda's Low Carb)

• 2 c cooked ground beef
• 2 14-ounce cans French cut green beans, well-drained
• 4 ounce can mushrooms, drained
• 1 small onion, diced, 2 1/2 ounces
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise (not low/no-fat)
• 8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 c tater tots

Saute onion, celery and mushrooms in 1T butter or olive oil. Mix all ingredients in a 2 to 2 1/2 quart greased casserole. Top with tater tots on all or part of the casserole. Bake, uncovered, at 350º for 40 minutes until hot and bubbly. Top tots with extra cheese if you'd like.

Cottage Cheese & Pineapple

• 16 oz cottage cheese
• 1 can crushed pineapple, drained
• 2T honey

Blend cottage cheese with blender, hand blender, food processor etc until creamy. It won't take long and don’t be grossed out (you know who you are). Add in honey and blend again. Fold in pineapple. Chill and serve.

Crock Pot Wednesday

Pork Roast Tacos with Green Chili Sauce

Place pork roast in crock pot and pour can of green chili enchilada sauce over the top. Cook for 8-12 hours, depending on how long you will be gone from home.

Tortillas

Toppings: cheese, cilantro, tomatoes

Thursday

1. If you like the dessert tonight, L gets the credit for making it up.

Sloppy Joes (Quick Cooking)

• 2 c cooked ground beef
• ½ c chopped celery
• 1/3 c chopped onion
• 2T chopped red bell pepper
• 1 c ketchup
• ½ c chili sauce
• 1 T sugar
• 1 T brown sugar
• 1 T cider vinegar
• 2 tsp dry mustard
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• hamburger buns

In large skillet saute veggies in 1T olive oil. Add meat when veggies are tender. Stir in remaining ingredients (except buns) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes uncovered. Serve on buns.

Chocolate Pudding Delight

Crust:

• 1 c graham cracker crumbs
• 2T sugar
• ¼ melted butter

Filling:

• chocolate pudding
• sliced bananas
• cool whip

combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press into the bottom and up sides (if you want) of a pie plate. Bake crust for 10 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Slice bananas on to crust. Top with pudding and then finish with cool whip.

Friday

Beanie Weenies

Cut up hot dogs and mix with pork n beans if you can stop yourself from eating the beans right out of the can with a potato chip. Sorry, reverted to the midnight snack of my youth.

Carrot Sticks

Chips

Sliced oranges

Saturday		Roast Sticky Chicken Rice a Roni Broccoli
Sunday		Chicken Fried Steak Mashed Potatoes Green Beans Brownies with Sea Salt
Monday		Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas Apple Grape Yogurt Salad
Tuesday		Tater Tot or Not Casserole Cottage Cheese & Pineapple
Wednesday		Pork Roast Tacos W/ Green Chili Sauce Tortillas Toppings
Thursday		Sloppy Joes Chocolate Pudding Delight
Friday		Beanie Weenies Carrot Sticks Chips