Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Aug 28, 2016

Sat - Fried Rice
Sun - Carnitas
Mon - Sliders
Tue - Taquitos
Wed - Quinoa Salad
Thur - Parmesan Chicken Strips

Fri - Mac and Cheese

Veggie Fried Rice

Fried Rice without extra veggies

1 bag Vegetable Stir-Fry Mix, 16 Oz, (I like Sugar Snap Pea Mix, you can use any you prefer.)
3 cups cooked white rice
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 cup peas and carrots frozen mix
2 eggs
Scramble eggs, cook. Warm up carrots and peas and veggie mix. In a non-stick skillet heat oil, vinegar and soy sauce on high - med-high. Add in rice. Stir until incorporated. Stir in eggs and veggies. Serve.

Pork Carnitas - slow cooker
Pork Carnitas Tacos with Slaw
Place the fresh 2 lb shoulder pork roast and 1 (19 oz) Mild Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce (verde/green) into the slow cooker. Cook in slow cooker 8 hours on low. Shred. Serve on warmed tortillas with taco fixings - such as cheese, lettuce or cabbage, onions, cilantro, lime juice. 


cheeseburger Sliders
8 Hawian Rolls
1 lb ground beef
1 tsp each salt and pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
8 slices cheddar or american cheese
sprinkle beef with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Mix lightly. Do not over mix, it ruins the texture of the meat. Make beef into 8 square patties, they should be a little wider then the rolls.Use your thumb to indent the middle of the patties. Cook on a electric grill or cast iron pan on Medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side.
Top with cheese when done, place on roll. Add toppings if desired, such as tomatoes, pickle, lettuce, onion, mayo. 

Taquitos
Food Network recipe. I will be using leftover pork carintas instead of chicken.

Quinoa, Cashew and Chicken Salad Full Circle Recipe
INGREDIENTS
for the quinoa:
1 Tbsp oil
1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, minced
for the dressing:
¼ cup lime juice
¼ olive oil
1 tsp cumin
salt and freshly ground pepper
for the salad:
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup roasted, unsalted, roasted cashews
6-8 red radishes, halved and sliced
2 large avocados, peeled, seeded and chopped
4 green onions, sliced
½ cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup golden raisins
Lettuce leaves for serving, green or butter, or spinach

INSTRUCTIONS
In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add quinoa and stir until fragrant and lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and toss for 30 seconds more. Add water, cover and turn to low. Let sit until all water is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let sit for 5 minutes more. Transfer to a sheet pan or flat dish and cool to room temperature or cooler.
In a small bowl place lime juice and drizzle in oil while whisking vigorously. Season with cumin, salt and pepper.
Mix cooled quinoa with the rest of the ingredients, pour dressing over salad and toss to mix. Serve over leaves of lettuce or spinach.
NOTE: nut allergies in this house, so NO nuts!

Parmesan Potatoes and Chicken Tenders
4 Baking Potatoes, sliced into thin circles
1 cup Kraft Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup flour
1/2 Italian bread crumbs
2 tbsp pepper (no salt, Kraft cheese is very salty)
1 tbsp garlic powder
Put flour, garlic, pepper, bread crumbs, and cheese into plastic freezer bag (gallon size) and shake to mix. Put in potatoes and shake until potatoes are coated. Use butter to coat the cookie sheet. Lay potatoes on the sheet in single layer (no over lapping). Bake at 350 in the oven until potatoes are done and light brown - about 30 minutes. Turning potatoes over once.
Chicken - 3-4 chicken breasts cut into strips. Use same coating and method as potatoes above. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 350F until no longer pink and reaches 165F temp. Turning strips over once. 
You can bake both potatoes and chicken in oven on 2 separate sheets, on middle and one rack above middle. Turn pan and switch racks half-way through cooking.

3 Cheese Mac n' Cheese
2 1/2 cups dry elbow macaroni
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
3 cups milk
1 cup EACH sharp cheddar, provolone, and gouda, shredded 
4 oz cream cheese
1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste
Fresh black pepper
Topping (optional): 3 tbsp butter,1 cup bread crumbs. if you desire a crispy topping. Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Boil the pasta to al dente, according to package. The water, like all pasta water, should be salted before hand until it tastes like salt water.
While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter on a med-high heat. Whisk in the flour, turn down the heat to low, and keep it moving for about 2-5 minutes, until it smells nutty. Make sure it's free of lumps. Turn the heat back up to high and stir in the milk, simmer, stirring constantly, until it starts to bubble. Turn down heat to medium. Stir in cream cheese, until incorporated  Stir in 1/3 of the cheese at a time, waiting for each patch to melt. Season with salt and pepper and nutmeg. Fold the macaroni into the mix. Taste, add more salt and pepper if needed. May serve now
OR  if desired, bake to get a crispy crust: pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. top with extra cheese and/or topping. Bake for 10-30 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving. (baked option showed above).

Week of Aug 21, 2016

2 bean salad with bacon
Sun - Penne with Meat Sauce
Mon - Chicken and Dumplings
Tue - Tamales
Wed - Sesame-Ginger Noodles
Thur - Pasta Salad with Italian Sausage
Fri - 2 Bean Salad with Bacon

Pasta and Meat Sauce
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 chopped onion
1/2 cup loosely packed, fresh basil
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 lb Italian Sausage or Ground Beef
1 lb spaghetti pasta
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

Brown meat in large skillet. Remove when done. add olive if needed for total of 2 tbsp fat in pan. saute onions in pan until translucent. Add garlic,cook until fragrant. Add in crushed tomatoes - juice and all into pan. Stir in seasoning and basil. Return meat and mix in. Allow to simmer for at least 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cook pasta according to package. 
Mix suace with pasta. Sprinkle with shredded cheese enjoy.

Baked Chicken and Dumplings
chicken and veggies
1 lb cooked, diced chicken or turkey
1 can cream of celery or chicken soup
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 small bag of frozen mixed veggies
1 1/2 can of water
salt and pepper
Sauté the onion, celery and garlic until onion is translucent. Meanwhile, mix soup, water, salt and pepper in a 9x13 baking pan. Add all other ingredients, and mix together.
 dumplings - drop biscuits
2  cups flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp soft butter
4 tbsp shortening
3/4 cup butter milk (to make butter milk - add 1 tsp of white vinegar to 3/4 cup milk, let sit 2 minutes)
 Mix dry ingredients, butter and shortening in a large mixing bowl with a fork or pastry bender. Until it resembles peas. Add butter milk mix until it forms a dough. Scoop small dumplings out of the mix and drop into the pan on top of the chicken/veg mix.
Bake at 375 uncovered until the dumplings are golden brown and done all the way through. About 30-40 minutes.

Pasta Salad
1 lb fusilli (spirals) pasta (multi-colored looks nice, can also use any small pasta -even tortellini)
1/2 to 1 cup Italian Dressing
1 cup diced sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
1/2 cup fresh sliced mushrooms (any variety)
2/3 cup pitted kalamata olives
1/2 diced green bell pepper
1 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cook pasta according to package directions. allow to cool. In a large salad bowl mix ingredients together. Start with 1/2 cup dressing to start, taste if add more if needed. Add salt and pepper last, to taste. It may not need salt at all depending on the dressing. Serve cool or slightly warm.

Green Bean Salad with bacon
Ingredients
3 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 tsp lemon juice
1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 pound green and/or wax beans, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
1 lb bacon, diced
Directions
1. Dressing: Whisk the juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl, then whisk in the olive oil. 
2. Brown bacon in a large non-stick skillet. Drain, leaving about 1-2 tbsp of drippings in skillet.
3. Cook grean/wax beans in skillet until tender, about 5 minutes. Stirring often. Add in white beans. Stir together. Empty into salad bowl with dressing. Serve warm or cold. 
4. Before serving, stir the parsley and chives into the salad and season with salt and pepper.