Weekly Menu 5/21+

Saturday		Hamburgers Tater Tots
Sunday		Chicken Fried Steak Gravy Mashed Potatoes Green Beans
Monday		Cajun Chicken Pasta Salad
Tuesday		Santa Fe Wraps Baked Potato Salad
Wednesday		Saucy Chopped Steak Broccoli Rice
Thursday		Energy Pancakes Berry Smoothies
Friday		Cowboy Pie Quick Baked Beans Lemon Blueberry Crumb Bars

Saturday

Hamburgers

Tater tots

Sunday

Chicken Fried Steak

• 2lb round steak or tenderized cube steak; cut into serving sized pieces about 5” square
• flour
• crushed cracker crumbs (I prefer Zesta)
• salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder
• 1 egg
• ½ c milk
• oil for frying

Combine flour, cracker crumbs and seasonings (it's hard to over-season the flour at this point) in a shallow bowl. In a separate bowl combine egg and milk. Dredge meat through egg/milk mixture and then into flour/cracker mixture. Fry in hot oil until cooked through. When edges begin to turn brown, that's how you know when it is time to turn the meat over and cook the other side.

Mashed Potatoes

Boil peeled and cubed potatoes ~20 minutes until tender. Drain. Add ½ c milk and ¼ c butter. Use hand mixer to whip potatoes. Add extra butter and milk as needed to make creamy.

Gravy

• ¼ c butter
• ¼ flour
• salt & pepper
• 2 c milk

Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour and salt & pepper until slightly brown. Add in milk all at once, and stir to remove lumps which will happen as milk begins to warm up.

Green Beans

Monday

Cajun Chicken Pasta (Pioneer Woman)

• 3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Cubes
• 3 teaspoons Cajun Spice Mix, More To Taste
• 1 pound Fettuccine
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Green Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
• 1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
• ½ whole Large Red Onion, Sliced
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 4 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
• 2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• ½ cups White Wine
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• Cayenne Pepper To Taste
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
• Salt To Taste
• Chopped Fresh Parsley, To Taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain when pasta is still al dente; do not overcook!

Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun spice over chicken pieces. Toss around to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy skillet over high heat. Add half the chicken in a single layer; do not stir. Allow chicken to brown on one side, about 1 minute. Flip to the other side and cook an additional minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean plate. Repeat with remaining chicken. Remove chicken, leaving pan on high heat. Add remaining olive oil and butter. When heated, add peppers, onions, and garlic. Sprinkle on remaining Cajun spice, and add salt if needed. Cook over very high heat for 1 minute, stirring gently and trying to get the vegetables as dark/black as possible. Add tomatoes and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove all vegetables from the pan. With the pan over high heat, pour in the wine and chicken broth. Cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in cream, stirring/whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until cream starts to thicken the mixture. Taste and add freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and/or salt to taste. Sauce should be spicy! Finally, add chicken and vegetables to sauce, making sure to include all the juices that have drained onto the plate. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and hot. Add drained fettuccine and toss to combine. Top with chopped fresh parsley and chow down!

Salad

Tuesday

Santa Fe Wraps

• Flour tortillas
• mayo
• 2 c cooked chicken or turkey
• thinly sliced avocado
• thinly sliced purple onion
• Colby jack cheese slices

spread tortillas with mayo, top with cheese slice, chicken, avocado, onion

Baked Potato Salad

• 2lb red potatoes; quartered
• ½ c mayo
• ¼ c buttermilk
• 2T chopped green onions
• ½ c grated cheddar cheese
• 4T bacon bits (no bacos, please)

Boil potatoes until tender ~20 minutes; drain and cool. Mix mayo,buttermilk and green onions. Add potatoes, cheese and bacon bits.

Wednesday

1. Mix up tomorrow nights pancakes, they need to sit at least overnight, so if you cant get to it tonight, then you can still mix it up in the morning, but the oats need a chance to soften before cooking the pancakes.
2. Another step for tomorrow night is to freeze the bananas. Slice them in 1” pieces or less, place on a plate or in a resealable container and then freeze. You can buy yellow bananas on the weekend and take care of this step on Sunday night. They certainly wont go bad a few extra days in the freezer.

Saucy Chopped Steak (Kraft Food & Family)

• 1 lb ground beef
• salt and pepper
• 1 T butter
• 8 oz sliced mushrooms
• ½ c chopped onions
• 1T worcestershire sauce
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 2T parsley

Combine beef, salt and pepper; shape into 1/2” thick patties. Melt butter in large skillet and cook 5 min per side until done. Transfer to platter to keep warm. I like to use my skillet lid to cover the meat to keep it warm while I prepare the sauce. Melt additional butter if needed in skillet and add onions, mushrooms; cook and stir ~3 minutes. Stir in Worcestershire sauce; and stir 2 minutes or until onions are crsip-tender. Add cream cheese; cook 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Spoon over patties and top with parsley.

Broccoli

Rice

Thursday

1. The pancake batter needs time to sit in the fridge and the smoothies need to have their bananas frozen ahead of time too.

Energy Pancakes (Texas Co-op Power)

• 1 egg
• 2 ½ c milk
• 2T honey
• 1 ¼ whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 2T oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ¾ c rolled oats
• ¾ c raisins
• ¼ c sunflower seeds (hulled :))
• ¼ c wheat germ
• ¼ c bran
• 1 apple, cored and shredded

In large bowl combine egg, milk and honey. Sift flour with baking powder and add to egg mixture with oil and vanilla. Blend well. Mix in remaining ingredients. Store in fridge overnight. Spoon batter onto hot griddle when ready to cook.

Berry Smoothies (per smoothie)

• 1 c plain yogurt
• 4-5 frozen banana pieces
• 3-4 berries
• ½ c orange juice

Combine all ingredients in blender and process until well combined. You can skip adding in extra ice when you use the frozen bananas and it will keep your smoothie from being watered down.

Friday

1. Last day of school!!!! well it is at our house anyway. Hopefully it is at your house too.

Cowboy Pie

• 1lb bulk breakfast sausage, cooked
• 1 c grated cheddar cheese
• 2 packaged jiffy corn muffin mix
• ½ tsp sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 c milk

Cook breakfast sausage in cast iron skillet, drain. Sprinkle cheese over meat and add a few small pats of butter. While meat is cooking combine corn muffin mix with sugar, eggs and milk. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Pour cornbread mix over meat mixture. Bake in a hot 400 degree oven for 20 min, or until cooked through.

Quick Baked Beans

Combine cooked pinto beans with BBQ sauce, minced onion and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Lemon Blueberry Crumb Bars (Kraft Food & Family)

• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 2 eggs, divided
• 2 tsp zest and 3T lemon juice, divided
• 16 oz cream cheese
• ½ c sugar
• 2 ½ c blueberries

Line 9x13 pan with foil or parchment paper, extending over sides. In large bowl combine melted butter, cake mix, 1 egg and 1 T lemon juice. Beat with mixer until well blended. Press 2/3 of mixture onto the bottom of prepared pan. Set aside remaining 'crust/crumb' mixture in small bowl. In same large bowl combine cream cheese and sugar with mixer until well blended. Add remaining egg, lemon juice and zest; mix well. Pour over crust; top with berries. Pinch small pieces of remaining crumb mixture and drop into cream cheese layer. Bake 48-50 minutes until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 1 hour. Use foil handles to lift dessert from pan before cutting into bars. Keep refrigerated.