Weekly Menu 7/27+

Saturday		turkey burgers red potatoes & green beans chocolate choc chip cookies
Sunday		skillet paella cantaloupe & blueberries
Monday		frito salad
Tuesday		king ranch chicken
Wednesday		bruschetta chicken pasta garlic bread
Thursday		beef shepard’s pie
Friday		sausage calzones

Saturday

--Turkey burgers are a great recipe to double and keep the extras in the freezer wrapped individually in waxed paper

--These cookies were very good, be careful and don't over bake though.  J was able to make them 98% on his own.  I needed to show him how to measure cocoa and also how to measure baking soda, but beyond that he was flying solo while I made supper. 

Turkey Burgers(Taste of Home)

3/4 cup chopped sweet onion

2 teaspoons butter

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 medium carrot, grated

1/4 cup dry red wine or Progresso ® Chicken Broth

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 pound lean ground turkey (or beef)

1/2 cup barbecue sauce, divided

In a large nonstick skillet, saute onion in butter for 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and carrot; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Add the wine, salt and pepper; simmer for 2-3 minutes or until liquid is evaporated.

Transfer to a large bowl; cool slightly. Crumble turkey over mixture and mix well. Shape into four patties. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  (if you are in a rush, you can skip this step)  Grill patties, uncovered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 8-10 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 165° and juices run clear, brushing occasionally with 1/4 cup barbecue sauce.

Red Potatoes & Green Beans

Dice potatoes and bring to a boil; cook for 15 min.  Add in green beans until potatoes and beans are tender; about 10 more minutes.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup chopped walnuts

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time and mix to incorporate.  Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.  Place the all-purpose flour, baking soda, kosher salt and cocoa powder.  The mixture will appear homogenous with no separate ingredients showing.  Add the flour and cocoa mix to the creamed butter and sugar.  Mix together until the dough appears completely combined - about 3 minutes.  Add all the walnuts and chocolate chips and stir them into the dough.  Drop by two teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Or roll into balls, place about two inches apart on the sheet, and flatten slightly with your fingers.  Bake for 11 minutes at 350 degrees.  The cookies will appear to be just barely firm with a sheen to their surfaces.  Allow to cool on the sheet for about one minute before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.  Store in airtight containers.

Sunday

If the extra seafood makes this dish too expensive feel free to just make it a sausage and chicken dish. 

Skillet Paella (Food Network)

Spice Mix for chicken

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

2 teaspoons dried oregano

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

3lbs chicken thighs (skin removed)

1/4 cup  olive oil

2 Spanish chorizo sausages, thickly sliced

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, crushed

Bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped, reserve some for garnish

1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed

4 cups short grain Spanish rice

6 cups water, warm

Generous pinch saffron threads

1 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed (optional)

1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined (optional)

2 lobster tails (optional)

1/2 cup sweet peas, frozen and thawed

Lemon wedges, for serving

Rub the spice mix all over the chicken and marinate chicken for 1 hour in the refrigerator.   Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.   Saute the chorizo until browned, remove and reserve. Add chicken skin-side down and brown on all sides, turning with tongs. Add salt and freshly ground pepper. Remove from pan and reserve.  In the same pan, make a sofrito by sauteing the onions, garlic, and parsley. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes on a medium heat. Then, add tomatoes and cook until the mixture caramelizes a bit and the flavors meld.  Fold in the rice and stir-fry to coat the grains.  Pour in water and simmer for 10 minutes, gently moving the pan around so the rice cooks evenly and absorbs the liquid. Add chicken, chorizo, and saffron.  Add the clams and shrimp, tucking them into the rice.  The shrimp will take about 8 minutes to cook.  Give the paella a good shake and let it simmer, without stirring, until the rice is al dente, for about 15 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, when the rice is filling the pan, add the lobster tails. When the paella is cooked and the rice looks fluffy and moist, turn the heat up for 40 seconds until you can smell the rice toast at the bottom, then it's perfect.

Cantaloupe and blueberry salad

Monday

Frito Salad

1 lg. head lettuce

1 onion, diced finely

2 c. grated Cheddar cheese

2 tomatoes, diced

2 c cooked ground beef (seasoned for tacos if you want)

1 can red beans, drained and rinsed

1 bottle Catalina dressing (eyeball this so you don't soak it too much)

1 green pepper, diced

1 pkg. Fritos, crushed

Chop up everything, combine in a large bowl (except for Fritos) and mix in enough dressing to coat everything well.  Think chop salad at a restaurant.  Add in the Fritos for each serving so they don't get soggy. 

Tuesday

King Ranch Chicken

2-3 c cooked chicken

1 can cream mushroom soup

1 can mushrooms, drained

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can Rotel (partially drained)

Corn tortillas (cut in wedges)

Cheddar cheese

Green onions for garnish

You can use the crockpot to simmer this all day (minus the tortillas, cheese and green onion) or put it in a saucepan before putting layering with tortillas and cheese and baking in the oven.  Bake at 350 for ~20 minutes, or until bubbly.

Rice

Wednesday

Pound this chicken flat and dredge through flour, egg and then a parmesan/breadcrumb mixture or grill the chicken. 

Bruschetta Chicken

Boneless chicken pieces, pounded flat between pieces of wax paper

¼ c flour

1 beaten egg

½ c breadcrumbs + ½ c parmesan cheese

Olive oil

Finely chopped tomatoes

Basil chiffonade  (roll up the leaves and then thinly slice through all layers)

Dredge chicken through flour, then into egg and finally into breadcrumb mixture.  Pan fry in olive oil in medium hot skillet.  Top with tomatoes and basil.  Of course a little more parm is a good idea too. 

Pasta

Garlic bread

Thursday

Beef Sheppard’s Pie

Cooked ground beef or cut up raw beef

16oz frozen mixed veggies

1 can cream of celery

1 packet brown gravy mix

1 ½ c water/broth or wine

Combine all ingredients in crockpot and let it cook for the day.  Top with mashed potatoes when ready to serve. 

Friday

Sausage Calzones

1 lb frozen bread dough, refrigerated pizza crust, home made crust, crust you buy from Sam’s etc

1-2 c Italian sausage

1 c frozen spinach, thawed and well drained

¼ c Parmesan

½ c cottage cheese

½ tsp basil and oregano

1 c mozzarella cheese

1 c diced tomatoes

Combine spinach, cottage cheese, parmesan, basil and oregano.  Divide dough into four pieces.  Roll out each piece into a large rectangle.  Top each piece with ¼ of the tomatoes, sausage, and spinach mixture, keeping toppings on one end of the rectangle.  Fold over the non-covered half and crimp edges.  Carefully move to a baking sheet and top with olive oil and some kosher salt.  Cut slits in top of calzone and bake until crust is cooked.