Weekly Menu 5/4+

Saturday		meatloaf dakota bread peas
cinco de mayo		cheese enchiladas guacamole
Monday		skillet chicken & veggies rice
Tuesday		spaghetti garlic bread
Wednesday		sausage mac & cheese green beans
Thursday		pancakes eggs oj + bananas
Friday		weeknight chicken tacos

Meatloaf

Feel free to use your favorite recipe, this is one I really like, and you can double it and save one in the freezer uncooked for a busy night or if you need to send a meal to someone. 

2 lbs ground meat

2 eggs

½ c oatmeal

3T mustard

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Combine all ingredients with a good sprinkling of salt and pepper, garlic powder and onion powder too; of course that is only if you don’t feel like chopping up the real thing, like me.   Bake 45-50 min at 375. 

Peas

Dakota Bread (Cooks Country)

Makes one 10-inch loaf

In step 2, if the dough is still sticking to the sides of the mixing bowl after 2 minutes, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time, up to 3 tablespoons. Be sure to use hot cereal mix, not boxed cold breakfast cereals, which may also be labeled “seven-grain.”

INGREDIENTS

2 cups warm water (110 degrees)

1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) seven-grain hot cereal mix

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 1/2 cups (19 1/4 ounces) bread flour

1 3/4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast

3 tablespoons raw, unsalted pepitas

3 tablespoons raw, unsalted sunflower seeds

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

1 large egg, lightly beaten

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Grease large bowl. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In bowl of stand mixer, combine water, cereal, honey, and oil and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Add flour, salt, and yeast to cereal mixture. Fit stand mixer with dough hook and knead on low speed until dough is smooth and elastic, 4 to 6 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons pepitas and 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds to dough and knead for 1 minute longer. Turn out dough onto lightly floured counter and knead until seeds are evenly distributed, about 2 minutes.

3. Transfer dough to greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until almost doubled in size and fingertip depression in dough springs back slowly, 60 to 90 minutes.

4. Gently press down on center of dough to deflate. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and shape into tight round ball. Place dough on prepared sheet. Cover dough loosely with plastic and let rise at room temperature until almost doubled in size, 60 to 90 minutes.

5. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lowest positions and heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon pepitas, remaining 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds in small bowl. Using sharp knife, make ¼-inch-deep cross, 5 inches long, on top of loaf. Brush loaf with egg and sprinkle seed mixture evenly over top.

6. Place 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan on lowest oven rack and fill with 1 cup boiling water. Place baking sheet with dough on upper-middle rack and reduce oven to 375 degrees. Bake until crust is dark brown and bread registers 200 degrees, 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer loaf to wire rack and let cool completely, about 2 hours. Serve.

cinco de mayo

Cheese Enchiladas

12-14 tortillas

Butter for warming corn tortillas

2 c cooked ground beef (or leave this out)

½ c chopped onion

2-3 c grated cheese

2 cans red enchilada sauce

Heat beef, onion, and 1 can enchilada sauce in saucepan.  Warm corn tortillas with a little butter in cast iron skillet; stack on plate and keep warm.  Spread about ½ c plain sauce to 9x13 pan.  Put about ¼ c beef mixture to each tortilla and roll up, placing seam side down. 

Chips & Guacamole

Monday

Skillet Chicken with Veggies

Cut boneless chicken pieces into 1” cubes; sauté in 1T butter and 1T olive oil until almost cooked through.

Add frozen stir fry veggies and ½ c water; cover and cook until chicken is cooked and veggies are hot.  Top with soy sauce.

Rice

Tuesday

Cut up any leftover meatloaf for the spaghetti sauce

Spaghetti

Garlic Bread

Wednesday

Sausage Links

Mac & Cheese

4T butter

¼ c flour

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

½ tsp dry mustard

2c milk

6-8 slices of deluxe American cheese (so not the kind you have to unwrap individually)

½ c cottage cheese (it cooks in and you’ll never notice it)

1c grated cheddar

2c dry macaroni; cooked

Melt butter in a saucepan, add flour and seasonings; stir until slightly browned.   Add milk and stir occasionally until thickened.  Add American and cottage cheese until American is melted.  Combine with cooked macaroni in a 9x13 pan.  Top with cheddar, bake till cheese is melted and bubbly at 375 degrees; 15 minutes.

Green Beans

Thursday

Want to make your pancakes a little heartier?  We’ve been adding rolled oats, bacon bits, blueberries and chocolate chips.  With the last ingredient we don’t even need syrup. 

Pancakes

Eggs

Sliced Bananas in Orange Juice

Friday

Easy Chicken Tacos (America’s Test Kitchen)

3T butter

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce

¾ c chopped cilantro

½ c orange juice (I know you non-fruited meat people are cringing)

1T Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ lb boneless chicken

1 tsp yellow mustard

Salt & pepper

12 tortillas

Melt butter in a 12” skillet over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and chipotles and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in ½ c of the cilantro, juice and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil.  Add the chciekn and simmer, covered, over medium-low heat until chicken registers 160 degrees (about 10-15 minutes).  Flip chicken about half way through.  Remove from pan and cover.  Increase heat to medium-high and cook until liquid is reduced to ¼ c, about 5 minutes.  Off the heat, whisk in mustard.  Shred the chicken into bite sized pieces and return to skillet.  Add remaining cilantro and toss until well combined.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Salad & other Taco Toppings