A Menu in the Works

I have been working on the menu for the week. Some weeks it just falls into place. Other weeks, like this one, I am just at a loss as to which direction to go. I try to use different proteins, vary the starches, vary the cuisines. It isn't easy. I doubt my family will ever know how much thought goes into this process. If they did, maybe they wouldn't be so quick to critique what we are having. :)

I do have a recipe I can't wait to share and hope to do so tonight, so check back in.

Anyway, here is where we are right now...always subject to change, of course.

Saturday (yesterday): Braided spaghetti bread, Caesar salad, birthday cake with buttercream frosting For me personally, the whole meal was yum, yum. I am really glad it was my "calories don't count" day. :)

Sunday: Pan seared swai (trying it a new way), Almond rice pilaf, Italian bread with Gorgonzola
(also a new recipe)

Monday: Salisbury steak (new recipe), Garlic-herb mashed potatoes (new recipe), rolls, carrots and Ranch, a dessert of some sort (Child 2's choice)

Tuesday: Chick Fil A (school event that night AND it is our youngest son's birthday)

Wednesday: On Your Own night

Thursday: Pork chops ole, garlic bread

Friday: Crockpot chicken parmesan (new recipe), angel hair pasta, salad, probably a bread of some sort :)

I can't think beyond that. :)

I know it seems silly to post this each week but it does help me plan out our meals and our grocery meal. And it really does keep us from eating out as much; I remind myself we have food and a plan...there is no reason to go out when we can eat at home.

So, what is for dinner at your house this week?

Reba

Pizza Bread

I don't think it is a secret. I LOVE pizza. Like I could eat it every week.

Except that I am counting calories these days.

And pizza is not a calorie friendly food.

Especially restaurant pizza.

Which is my favorite.

So I find myself looking for substitutes.

Constantly.

And in this age of Pinterest, I have found plenty.

So every week or other week, I find myself attempting a new one.

And most of them are met with "That is good..." or "Yeah, this is nice." response.

When I saw the photo for this pepperoni and cheese stuffed ciabatta bread on Pinterest, I knew I had to try it.

I also figured I would be the only one who really liked it.

So yesterday, I took a large oval shaped loaf of ciabatta bread (I think the original recipe probably uses the smaller ciabatta rolls, but that seemed more time consuming than I had time for :). And in less than 30 minutes, I had this "pizza bread".

We ate in shifts yesterday because hubby and oldest son attended a school meeting.

I heartily ate my one serving size (though I would have LOVED to have more...dumb calories).

Child 4 wasn't really in a hungry state; you just never know with him.

Child 2 made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which I expected. She tells me often how much she doesn't like pizza. Yes, she is one of my biological children...how is that possible??? :) She did glance at it during the meal though and announce that she might have liked it if she had tried it.

Child 3 happily asked for seconds.

Then later the boys came home.

They are the big "pizza" judges.

Not that this is pizza.

But they are the ones who will usually eat the pizza substitutes I make but not with much gusto.

Except this time they did.

They loved it.

And they ate every single bite.

No leftovers for me. :(

I think next time I will make two...

Ingredients:
Ciabatta Loaf

Pepperoni

Provolone Cheese

Directions:
Carefully cut the "top" off the ciabatta loaf and and hollow out the inside. My daughter likened it to a pumpkin. It did remind me of the act of gutting a pumpkin actually.

You can save the inside for bread crumbs for future recipes. Or feed the local ducks at your duck park. Or if you are really tired and too overwhelmed to think, you can just throw them out and think of it as disposing of calories.

Layer pepperoni and cheese as many times as needed to fill "bread bowl". It took two layers of each (10 slices of provolones and about 50 pepperoni).

Then replace the top.

The original recipe also places more provolone cheese on TOP of the "bread bowl".

I didn't...dumb calories.

Place on a piece of aluminum foil on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes.

I served ours with the squeezable pizza sauce on the side for dipping.

Enjoy!

I know.

It is simple. Nothing fancy.

But it works.

(I imagine you could add about whatever you wanted as far as toppings go)

I am already ready to make it again!

Reba

My Manic Menu

Crazy week.

It is only Monday, and it is a crazy week.

And it won't get any better.

At least until maybe Sunday.

Anyway, here is a possible menu which is always subject to change especially when it is a crazy week.

Sunday/Easter:
Breakfast- Overnight Coffee Cake
Dinner- Ham, black eye peas, Rhodes Texas rolls (YUM), 7 layer salad, Manchego mashed potatoes
Dessert- chocolate covered strawberries

Monday: Leftover ham and the fixings

Tuesday: Pepperoni Bread (new recipe), chips

Wednesday: Meatballs and gravy over white rice, carrots and Ranch, rolls of some sort (to be determined :)

Thursday: On Your Own night

Friday: Asian Pork with Mushrooms w/rice (new recipe), veggies and dip

Saturday: Child 4's birthday celebration! Braided spaghetti bread, sweet and sour salad, and of course, for dessert...birthday cake with buttercream frosting!

That is about how far into the future I can see right now. :)

What is for dinner at your house this week?

Reba

Manchego Mashed Potatoes

Right before Thanksgiving, our local grocery store (Harps) had a cheese tasting event. I didn't really realize that; I just stopped in with child 2 for some groceries. It was pure luck on my side. I LOVE cheese. And while all of the cheese treats were tasty, one stood out.

Machego Mashed Potatoes.

I do like mashed potatoes. I really do.

But these potatoes. I loved.

Why?

The cheese of course.

I was ready to go home and make a pot of them (since I only seemed to be allowed to have one sample). Child 2 was ready to join me too. She loved them too.

I got the recipe and checked out the cheese.

Manchego.

Then I saw the price.

And the dream was over.

Manchego is apparently a special cheese.

I am not overly frugal; I am terrible at cutting out coupons, and I do buy brand names mainly because there are some things I just prefer brand names for.

At the same time, I just cannot splurge. I mean, I am feeding a family of 6, including one very hungry teenager. I cannot use our whole paycheck for food. That is one of the reasons I plan out menus. It keeps us from buying food that will go to waste (and waist) as well as from eating out frequently.

My biggest splurge in the cheese department is Parmesan wedges to grate/shred on demand (usually my own demand). And even then, I do NOT get the high end Parmesan.

This cheese costs about 3 times what I pay for Parmesan.

Bummer.

Fast forward to this week.

I asked my parents if they would like to come over for Easter dinner (which is a twist since we usually go there :).

I had already decided we would have ham, the traditional meal. Sidenote on ham: One of my friends explained that one of the reasons we eat ham on Easter is because with Jesus' death and resurrection, we were freed from the law which banned ham as an unclean food. I don't know if that is true, but it sounds neat.

Anyway...
I thought Easter might be the perfect time to splurge.

I will admit, I almost walked away when I looked at the price again.

But in the end, the memories won out.

I bought the cheese.

And we had the potatoes tonight.

They were just as wonderful as I remembered.

This will not be in the regular line up for us due to the cost of the cheese. I just cannot justify spending that money.

But for very special occasions...well, if we can, we just might.

I do think I will use this basic recipe and substitute Parmesan on occasion. It isn't a fancy recipe but I REALLY liked the texture. And honestly Parmesan and Manchego have a similar taste, though I daresay that I like Manchego more.

I am not totally positive who to attribute this recipe to...I guess Harps? The main adjustments I made were reducing the amount of ingredients to what I could find.

Ingredients:
3 pounds baby red potatoes (or baby Yukon gold potatoes)

4 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces (I used Blue Bonnet light)

1/2 cup milk or cream (I used milk...did add a little more)

5 to 6 oz Manchego cheese, shredded

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Wash the potatoes (I just have to...I can't use dirty potatoes). I chose not to peel them; peels in mashed potatoes don't bother me. The recipe said to halve the potatoes, but I actually quartered them

Place potatoes in a large pan, filling with water just above the potatoes. I went ahead and added some salt at this point (just in the water).

Bring to a boil.

I didn't cover to bring to a boil but if you do, uncover once the water starts boiling.

Cook until the potatoes are tender, about 12-15 minutes.

Drain potatoes.

Return potatoes to the still warm pan.

Add milk, butter, cheese, and pepper (which I actually forgot this time around) to pan.

Mash potatoes until smooth.

Enjoy. Each and every bite.

And don't think about the cost. :)

Reba

Key West Shrimp and Chicken Kabobs

Yes, another Pinterest recipe.

Can you tell how visual I am?

I see pictures of food, read their description, and my mouth starts watering.

And some foods, some pictures, for whatever reason, get stuck in my mind. In my taste buds. In my dreams. And I just must make them.

This was one of those foods.

I saw the recipe on Pinterest not long ago, and I have just been waiting for a good day to grill.

Today seemed like that day.

At least until it started raining.

But apparently that didn't affect the food a whole lot.

There were only 2 shrimp left. And NO chicken.

I followed the recipe very closely, as well as the directions. There are only a couple minor changes I would make, and those are mainly in the preparation.

Overall, this was a winner. We WILL make it again!

Ingredients:
Chicken tenderloins (cut into small chunks) and/or peeled shrimp...I used about 5 tenderloins and 1 1/2 pounds shrimp. The shrimp was just right, size wise. I wish I had prepared more chicken and will know for next time.

2 tbsp honey

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp minced garlic (I just minced a garlic clove)

minced fresh cilantro (optional in the original recipe, but I think personally is a MUST :)

juice of a lime

Since I used both chicken and shrimp, I doubled the ingredients for the marinade.

Directions:
Mix the honey, soy sauce, vegetable oil, and garlic together. Add cilantro.

Place the mixture in a bowl or a gallon size ziplock. Then add chicken/shrimp to mixture.

Marinate the chicken/shrimp for 30 minutes (I do that in the fridge...I am terrified of food poisoning :).

Soak the skewers in water for at least five minutes.

At the end of 30 minutes (or longer), "thread" shrimp and chicken onto the skewers. I separated the food on the skewers since the chicken takes a little longer to cook than the shrimp does.  Makes it easier to regulate and not burn the shrimp.

Grill for 6-8 minutes per side for chicken, 2-4 minutes for shrimp.

Enjoy!

We had ours over the almond rice pilaf along with cheese filled breadsticks and carrots/Ranch.

Because I was running behind from my errands/outings, we didn't get to marinate the full amount of time. We will next time.

Like I said, it didn't stop us from eating it.

Two shrimps. That was all that was left...

Reba

Note:  Just made this for the second time.  Nothing left, and I even added more chicken this time!  I also made an extra batch of marinade right before grilling (minus the cilantro and lime juice) since it is so easy to make and hubby brushed it on the skewers while grilling.  It made the meat a little more moist and tasty. :)

Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Not long ago, I saw a recipe on Pinterest for stuffed chicken breasts. I already have a recipe for something similar, so I almost overlooked it. But something inside me said, "Try this one." Okay, it may have been my growling stomach. But wherever it came from, I listened.

And I am SOOOOOO glad I did.

I made this recipe (and followed the original fairly closely), placed it on the table, and waited for the response.

I believe hubby's words were "restaurant worthy".

Wow.

He is always complimentary but I don't remember ever hearing something like that!

I will be making this again. Probably soon since I only got one serving.

Ingredients:
Chicken breasts (I did use 6 and probably could have had 8 since there was NONE left over)

1 block cream cheese (I used light...oh, the original recipe doesn't call for that much. I made a creative change for my taste buds :)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (And I did do freshly grated)

1/4 cup minced fresh Basil leaves (so thankful for the spice "singles" I can buy in produce at the grocery store)

1 clove minced garlic

2 (or so) tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Using a knife, cut a slit in one side of the chicken breast. It is like a little pocket.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix the garlic, Parmesan cheese, softened cream cheese, and minced basil leaves together.

Spoon some of the mixture into each "pocket" chicken breast.

Heat oil in a skillet on the stove (medium high heat?).

Place each chicken breast on the skillet, cooking about 3-5 minutes, until chicken is browned.

Flip the chicken breasts and cook another 5-10 minutes.

At the end of that 10 minutes, I checked the chicken to make sure it had cooked all the way through.

Then I spooned all remaining mixture ingredients over the chicken AND into the skillet so it became a rich, cheesy sauce. Yum. (This was a little different than the original recipe)

I let it simmer a couple more minutes until the sauce was heated through, then I removed from the heat and let it rest a few minutes.

We ate ours atop a bed of angel hair pasta (the sauce and the pasta was REALLY good) with a side salad and some garlic knots.

Like I said, no chicken left in the end.

Always a sign of a good meal!

Reba

A Menu, A Menu...

Here is the possible menu for the week, always subject to change. As usual. As always. All of that stuff.

Saturday (as in past):
Seasoned pork tenderloin (I buy them that way), roasted Parmesan potatoes (new recipe), French bread, black eye peas, caramel pecan brownies and ice cream for dessert (child 4 assisting with this)

Sunday:
Breakfast- Pumpkin muffins
Dinner- Taco night, salsa, refried beans, chips

Monday: Stuffed chicken breasts (recipe to come...YUM), angel hair pasta, salad, garlic knots

Tuesday: Fried catfish nuggets, hush puppies, cole slaw, rolls (Child 1's night to help cook)

Wednesday: OYO night (on your own night)

Thursday: Sloppy joes, sweet potato fries, fruit

Friday: Popcorn and Shakes (movie night)

Saturday: Grilled shrimp and chicken, almond rice pilaf (yes again), Katie bread, carrots and Ranch

What is for dinner at your house?

Reba