Weekly Menu 4/2+

Saturday		Baked Chicken Baked Potatoes Ranch Green Beans
Sunday		Sausage Broccoli Manicotti Salad
Monday		Sub Sandwiches Chips Carrot Sticks Cookies
Tuesday		Beef with Peppers Eggrolls Oranges
Wednesday		Chicken Parmesan Angel Hair Pasta Garlic Bread
Thursday		Sausage Bean Medley Kicked Up Cornbread Cantaloupe
Friday		Filet-o-Fish Tater Tots Mixed Veggies

Saturday

Baked Chicken

Baked Potatoes

Ranch Green Beans

Add dry ranch dressing mix to your green beans as they cook

Sunday

1. This is a good recipe to make ahead or double and have one stored in your freezer.
2. When you are filling the shells, you can put all of the filling into a ziploc bag and cut a hole in the corner of the bag to help 'pipe' the filling in there. Start small, you can always get bigger. :)

Sausage Broccoli Manicotti (Quick Cooking)

• 8 oz manicotti shells, cooked-rinsed and drained
  FILLING:
• 2 c cottage cheese (small curd)
• 10 oz frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and well drained
• 1 c shredded mozzarella
• ¼ c parmesan
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp parsely
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp garlic powder
  SAUCE:
• 1 lb bulk Italian Sausage
• 4 c spaghetti sauce
• 2 minced garlic cloves

Extra cheeses: ½ c mozzarella + ½ c parmesan

In skillet cook sausage, drain. Add sauce and minced garlic. Spread 1 c meat sauce in greased 9x13 pan. Stuff shells with filling mixture. Arrange over sauce. Top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with additional ½ c mozzarella and ½ c parmesan. Bake, uncovered at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until heated through.

Salad

Monday (NCAA Finals)

1. Tonight should be the NCAA finals, so it's more of a tailgate themed dinner. I wont attempt to tell you who is playing tonight, because back in the day when my son was 12 yrs old I said I was rooting for a team that had been out for at least two weeks; he was mortified on my behalf.
2. I can tell you with pretty good authority that if I picked the team for my bracket, they are out. I've heard some teams are setting up a fund to pay me for not picking them next year.

Sub Sandwiches/Grinders/whatever ya call 'em.

Chips

Carrot Sticks

Cookies

Tuesday

Beef with Peppers (Pioneer Woman)

• 1-½ pound Flank Steak, Sliced Very Thin Against The Grain
• ½ cups Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• 3 Tablespoons Sherry
• 2 Tablespoons Packed Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Fresh Ginger
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 teaspoon Red Chile Paste (or A Few Dashes Red Chile Oil)
• 2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
• 1 whole Medium Yellow Onion Sliced
• 2 whole Red Bell Peppers, Cored And Sliced Into Rings
• 1 Tablespoon Diced Fresh Jalapeno (or 1 Teaspoon Dice Hot Pepper)
• Red Pepper Flakes, For Sprinkling
• Cilantro Leaves

Mix together soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, cornstarch, ginger, garlic, and chili paste (or chili oil.) Place sliced beef in the mixture and toss to coat. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high to high heat. When it is very hot, throw in the onions and cook for less than a minute. Remove to a separate plate. Return skillet to flame, allow to reheat, and add bell peppers (and hot pepper/jalapeno if using.) Cook for a minute, tossing, until peppers have brown/black bits but are still firm. Remove to a plate. Return skillet to heat and allow to get hot. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the skillet. Add 1/3 of the meat mixture, evenly distributing over the surface of the skillet. Allow to sit for 20 to 30 seconds, then turn with tongs. Cook for another 30 seconds, then remove to a separate plate. Repeat with remaining meat until all brown. Reduce heat to low. Add all meat, onions, and peppers to the skillet and toss to combine. Pour in remaining sauce (the sauce the meat marinated in*) and stir. Allow to simmer on low for a few minutes. Sauce will slowly thicken. Turn off heat.

*Update/Note: you can also whip up an extra batch of liquid if you do not want to use the same liquid you use for the meat. Turn off boiling water, then throw in noodles. Stir, then allow noodles to sit in hot water for 8 minutes or so (check package directions to be sure.) Drain, then add 1/2 the noodles to stir fry. Toss together, then add more noodles to taste. Add very hot water if needed to thin. Top with cilantro leaves. Serve immediately.

Wednesday

Chicken Parmesan

• ~2 lb boneless chicken
• ½ c parmesan cheese
• ½ c panko or regular bread crumbs
• ¼ c melted butter
• salt and pepper
• 1T oregano
• 1T parsley

Melt butter in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish mix remaining ingredients (except chicken). Crumple a piece of foil the size of your baking sheet and place on the sheet. Dredge chicken through butter then through dry ingredients and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until done.

Angel Hair Pasta (with Sauce if desired)

Salad

Crock Pot Thursday

1. The longer you have to let this cook the better the flavors will come together. If you have all day, you can even start with dried soaked beans, instead of canned.

Sausage Bean Medley

• ½ c dried black beans
• ½ c dried red beans
• 1 c dried pinto beans
• 1 lb sausage, sliced in thin circles
• 1 c bbq sauce
• 1 c chopped onion
• 1T brown sugar
• 1T worcestershire sauce

Soak beans overnight. Allow beans to still be covered plus 1” of water. Add in remaining ingredients. Turn on crock pot and cook all day.

Kicked Up Cornbread (Tasty Kitchen)

• 1 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1 cup Cornmeal
• 2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ pounds Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
• ¾ cups Scant Sugar
• 4 whole Large Eggs, At Room Temperature
• 1-½ cup Cream Style Corn
• ½ cups (small Can) Crushed Pineapple
• 1 cup Grated Cheddar Cheese
• ¼ cups (small Can) Diced Green Chiles

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Butter and flour a 9″ square baking dish.

Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and set aside. In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. (The mixture may appear curdled at some point, and that is okay.) Add the corn, pineapple, cheese, green chiles and mix to blend. On low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until blended.

Bake until a tester comes out clean and the cornbread is golden brown on top, about 40 minutes. Serve warm.

Friday

Homemade Filet-o-Fish

• Frozen Fish Filet
• Hamburger bun, grilled (if you want to be more authentic)
• Tartar Sauce
• American Cheese

Tater Tots

Frozen Mixed Veggies