Utmost apologies.

I was unable to post last weeks menu due to a family emergencies. My mom had part of her kidney removed(due to some cancer) and I had to place my grandma in a nursing home, then Zach had a trip to the ER with an almost cast of pneumonia. On top of everything my husband's ex moved to town and wants to meet Zach and I...hmm I think that is every bad thing that happened..anyways here is the menu:

Sunday: (grillout)

Cilantro Lime chicken skewers
baked beans
green salad

Chicken:
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into meduim bite size chunks
(this is easiest to do when chicken is just slightly frozen)
1/4 tsp any type grill seasoning
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon oil
to go on skewers:
1 cup of cherry or grape or large tomato chunks
1/2 cup large onion chunks
1 cup large green pepper chunks
skewer sticks
Combine chicken and seasoning in zip lock bag and mariante for 1-2 hours.
Soak skewers in water for about 15 minutes. Slide chicken and veggies on stick alternating, chicken, veggie,veggie, chicken, veggie, veggie, chicken and so on.

Serve with baked beans and a nice green salad.

Monday:
Crock pot Asian style pork
steamed rice and sugar snap peas

2 large pork steaks(deboned and cubed)
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
3 minced garlic cloves
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
optional toppings:
green onions
peanuts
cilantro


Heat oil on non-stick skillet brown pork for 3-5 minutes. Spray inside of crock. Place pork inside. Combine ingredients in bowl, wisking in cornstarch last. Cook on high for 4-5 hours. Remove pork. Place juice in non stick pan and reduce, for 15 minutes or until thickened. Serve with steamed sugar snap peas over rice.

Tuesday:
Beef Enchiladas
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
3 tbsp. oil
Pinch of cumin
12 corn tortillas
1/4 c. ripe olives, chopped
1 1/2 c. grated Cheddar cheese
3/4 c. onion, chopped
3 c. enchilada sauce
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach (defrosted and drained)
2 tsp. salt
Oil for frying

Saute' meat and onions until meat is crumbly and onions are limp. Add 1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce, cumin, salt and simmer 30 minutes. Meanwhile, soft fry tortillas in oil and drain on paper towels. Dip each tortilla in remaining heated enchilada sauce, coating both sides. Add ripe olives and spinach to cooked meat and divide mixture among the tortillas. Roll and place overlapped side down in baking dish. Spoon remaining sauce over. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Can substitute cooked chicken for ground beef.


Wednesday:
Eat up those awesome leftovers!


Thursday:
Scalloped Potatoes with ham and shredded carrots

2 cups ham, cubed small
5 large potatoes, peeled and sliced (about 1/4 thick)
6 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 pinch nutmeg
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350. Cut ham into small cubes and set aside. Peel and slice potatoes, put them in a bowl with enough water to cover them. Heat the butter in a medium sized pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft but not brown. Add the flour and stir to make a roux. Add the milk and stir constantly. Once it comes to a gentle boil turn heat down and let the sauce cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionaly. Stir in the italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. In a greased 2 quart baking dish put a layer of half the potatoes,the carrots and followed by half the ham. Pour half the white sauce followed by half a cup of cheese. Make another layer of potatoes and ham and pour the remaining sauce over the top.
Cover and bake at 350 for 50 minutes. Remove from oven and top with remaining cheese and bake for another 20 minute or until the potatoes are tender.

Friday:
Chicken in Sour Cream

8 chicken thighs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 pinch salt
1 pinch paprika
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix (my store carries an organic brand)
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried dill weed

Brown chicken in oil over medium heat. Place in a greased baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika to taste. Combine mushroom soup, onion soup mix, sour cream, lemon juice, and dill weed. Pour over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees F for one hour, or until chicken is tender and sauce is brown. This dish is seriously addictive!

Happy trails folks!

make your own on Wednesday

Herb Veggie Dip Mix

1 T. dried parsley
1 T. dried thyme
1 ½ tsp. dried tarragon
1 ½ tsp. minced onion
¾ tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Combine the above ingredients and stir until well blended. Place in a Ziploc bag and seal. Attach a tag with the directions (below) on how to prepare the dip.

HERB VEGGIE DIP
1 pkg. Herb Veggie Dip Mix
2 cups sour cream
2 tsp. lemon juice

Combine the Herb Veggie Dip Mix with the sour cream and lemon juice. Stir until well blended. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Serve with assorted fresh vegetables.

menu!

We had an exciting week. Zach started school and I celebrated my 33rd birthday. Zach did really well at school. I had more separation anxiety than he did. He kept telling me that it was only for "seven hours, mom." I can't believe he came home with tons of energy. I thought for sure he would be exhausted. Getting information about his day was like pulling teeth. I can't wait to send him again on Monday. Tuesday is his dental procedure so he will be home for a few days...bummer. Enjoy this week's menu!

Sunday:
Corn and chicken dinner(courtesy of Taste of Home)
3 garlic cloves, minced, divided
1/2 cup butter, divided
3 pounds chicken legs and thighs (about 8 pieces)
3 ears fresh corn, husked, cleaned and cut into thirds
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons dried tarragon, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tomatoes, seeded and cut into chunks

In a Dutch oven or large skillet, cook chicken in butter over medium heat until browned on each side. Add two-thirds of the garlic; cook for 1-2 minutes or until garlic is tender. Reduce heat; stir in corn and water. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon tarragon, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until a thermometer reads 180°.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine remaining garlic and tarragon; saute for 3 minutes or until garlic is tender. Layer zucchini and tomatoes over the chicken mixture. Drizzle seasoned butter over all; cover and cook for 3-5 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Monday:
Pan fried fish with tomato topping
Orzo

1-2 lbs white fish
1 can diced tomatoes or 2 medium fresh diced plus 1/8 cup water
1/2 cup white wine
1/3 cup diced kalamata olives
1 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon capers
2 cups fresh spinach
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper
olive oil

Salt and pepper fish. Cook over medium heat in non-stick pan with olive oil. Remove from heat after fish flakes easily. Set aside. Add onions to pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, wine, olives, capers, garlic and spinach. Saute for 2 more minutes or until spinach has wilted. Serve hot over fish. Serve with a side of orzo pasta.


Tuesday:
baked potato bar

Serve with baked potatoes:
Chili, salsa, sour cream, steamed broccoli, cheddar cheese, bacon bits, green onions, sauteed mushrooms, peas, anything else your family likes!

Wednesday:
Slow cooker short ribs
steamed sugar snap peas

¾ cups flour
½ teaspoon each salt and pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
4-5 beef, boneless short ribs
3 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
½ onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes or two diced fresh
1 Tablespoon brown sugar

Combine flour salt & pepper and paprika in a shallow baking dish or pie plate. Dredge short ribs in flour mixture, coating all sides. Place butter and olive oil in a large skillet and place pan on medium-low heat until butter melts. Lightly shake excess flour off each rib and place ribs in pan. Brown ribs on all sides. Place ribs in bottom of a slow cooker. Without cleaning the skillet, saute onions and garlic cloves. Drain the liquid from the tomatoes into the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes or until liquid is reduced. Add tomatoes and sugar to the skillet and stir. Pour the tomato mixture over ribs. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve over rice or pasta.

Thursday:
Chicken tetrazzini

1 purchased roasted chicken
8 oz. dried spaghetti or linguine, broken in half
12 oz. fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
8 oz. small whole fresh mushrooms
3 medium red and/or yellow sweet peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 14-oz. can chicken broth
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese (2 oz.)
1 Tbsp. finely shredded lemon peel
2 slices sourdough bread, cut into cubes (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. snipped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove meat from chicken; discard bones. Cut chicken pieces in chunks to equal 3 cups. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Add asparagus the last 1 minute of cooking. Drain. Return to pan.
Meanwhile, in large skillet cook mushrooms and sweet peppers in hot butter over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and black pepper until well combined. Add broth and milk all at once. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add mushroom mixture, chicken pieces, Swiss cheese, and half the lemon peel to pasta mixture. Toss gently to coat. Spoon pasta mixture into a baking dish.In a medium bowl toss together bread cubes, olive oil, and remaining lemon peel. Spread bread cube mixture on pasta mixture. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with parsley before serving. Makes 10 (1-cup) servings. Can freeze half later for a second meal too!

Friday:
Easy soft beef tacos
re fried beans
You guys can figure this one out!

Convience Food Wednesday

I know I have posted this recipe before but these are so good and easy to make. Also these are great for the school lunch box!
Granola bars:
2 1/2 cups oats
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Bake this for about 30 minutes on spread out on a baking sheet at 300 degrees.
When almost done baking, cook wet ingredients in sauce pan:
4 T butter or margarine
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
Whisk together until bubbly, remove from heat and add 1/4 cup honey. Whisk together.
Put oat mixture into bowl, pour sauce over, and mix together until all is well coated, let cool slightly. Add 1/4 cup chocolate or carob chips.
Place onto greased pan, about 1 inch high. Bake for 25 minutes. Cut into bars as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let remain in pan until completely cool, about an hour or so. Remove bars and place into air tight container.

Back in the Saddle again.

So much has been going on! Our Buff Orphington chicken also turned out to be a rooster, so we ate him. Since roosters have a history of being tough I put him in the crock pot. It tasted just like turkey! YUM.
The fair is in town, so we have been busy with that. I won a third place ribbon with my Balsamic vegetables over Baked eggplant. But than not placing I guess. I was beat by an Eggplant Parmesan...how typical, ughhh! Anyways, things are returning to normal around here. I had my final visit from the Dept of child welfare, and they closed the case, I guess I am not injuring or harming children by having chickens...Jesus Christ people are so stupid. So it is with great joy I post this week's menu. Chow Evie

Sunday: Grill out night:
Grilled Greek marinated pork chops
fresh corn on the cob
canned baked beans
tomato with cuke and onion salad also in Greek dressing, sprinkled with feta cheese.
Marinate 4-6 pork chops in Greek style dressing(I like Ken's)for a few hours. Grill for 4-6 minutes on each side.

Monday:
Crock pot beef Stroganoff
1 1/2 pounds round steak, cut into thin strips
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 large onion, sliced
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 tablespoon dry white wine
4 to 8 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms, lightly sauteed in butter
1/3 cup flour
1 cup sour cream

Sprinkle steak strips with salt and pepper; place in the bottom of crock pot with the sliced onion. Mix garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, bouillon and ketchup. Pour over meat. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or until tender. Turn to high and add sauteed mushrooms. Dissolve flour in a small amount of cold water. Add to meat mixture, stirring until blended. Cook on high for 15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Stir in sour cream; turn slow cooker off.

Tuesday:
Oven fried drumsticks
Boxed white mac and cheese shells with broccoli(dump the brocc in while boiling shells)
8 Drumsticks
1 egg
1 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp paprika


Preheat oven to 400. Spray a cookie sheet. Mix dry ingredients. In separate bowl beat egg. Dip drumsticks into egg mixture then into dry mixture one at a time. Lightly spray each drumstick after placing on pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until done.

Wednesday:
Black beans with red peppers and coconut rice
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 large red bell pepper sliced
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt and pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 cup coconut milk
1 box frozen spinach
1 can black beans
cook rice replacing 1 cup of water with 1 cup of coconut milk. Meanwhile saute onions and garlic in oil, 2-3 minutes, then adding red peppers and eventually spinach. Add black beans with liquid and all spices cook for 5 more minutes. Serve over rice.

Thursday:
Blue Cheese burgers
Oven baked sweet potato fries
raw veggies and dip

3 pounds lean ground beef
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup minced fresh chives
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard

In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, blue cheese, chives, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, salt, and mustard. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours. Broil or grill for 5 minutes on each side.

Friday:
Happy Birthday Evie!
No cooking
Also Zach's first day of school