Week of March 5, 2017

cheese zombies

Sun - Sausage and Biscuits
Mon - Caesar Chicken Bake
Tue - Pork Roast with Root Vegetables
Wed Cheese Zombies with Tomato Bisque
Thur Alphabet Soup
Fri - Beef-a-roni
Sat - Chicken and Rice bake

Biscuits and Gravy

Biscuits:

2  cups Bisquick mix (OR all purpose flour, add another 1/4-1/2 milk)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

4 tbsp softened butter

4 tbsp shortening

1/2 cup butter milk (to make butter milk - add 1 tsp of white vinegar to 1/2 cup milk, let sit 2 minutes)

Cooking Buscuits: 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. For drop biscuits, use a scoop or a spoon and spoon out onto greased cookie sheet. For rolled biscuits, knead dough into ball. Roll out to 3/4 inch thick. Cut with biscuit cutter and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Making Gravy: Scrap the pan and remove the big chucks. Leave 3 tbsp of drippings in pan, add melted butter to the pan if you do not have 3 tbsp of drippings. Mix the flour and seasonings (except salt and pepper). On high heat, using a whisk, add the flour mix to the pan. Stir until incorporated, then turn down the heat to low and stir for 1-2 minutes or until it smells nutty. Turn the heat back up to high and slowly add the milk, constantly whisking. Boil until the gravy comes to the thickness you like (remember it will continue to thicken off the heat for a bit). Mix in sausage. Taste, add salt and pepper as necessary.

Chicken Caesar Bake

Chicken Caesar Bake
2 canisters Crescent Rolls
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast
1 bag (12 oz) steamable, frozen broccoli and cauliflower florets
2 tbsp Oscar Meyer real bacon pieces
1/2 cup Caesar dressing
Parmesan cheese, shredded

Mix cooked chicken, veggies, bacon, and dressing in a bowl. Lay out crescent rolls to make pockets. 2 triangles on bottom and 2 triangles for the top. Crimp edges together so it does not leak. Scoop filling into middle, put on top dough layer. Crimp or pinch together, leaving a few little openings on top to vent.
Sprinkle top with cheese (optional)
Bake 350F for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Pork Roast

 1 3 lb pork roast

1 cup veggie broth

4 medium red potatoes, quartered

2 large sweet potatoes/yams, 1 inch pieces

8 oz of baby carrots

1/2 medium onion

4 cloves garlic

2 parsnips, celery root, or turnips (or 1 of each) quartered

1 bay leaf

1 tsp each thyme, rosemary, and parsley

                                                                                                    

Sprinkle roast with salt and pepper. Put broth and herbs in bottom of pan, along with the onion and garlic. Cook roast in 350 roasting pan, covered, for 1 hour. Take out roast.  Add veggies, put roast back in, cover and cook for another hour or until veggies are tender roast reaches 165 in thickest part.  Let rest, covered in foil, for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Pan of Cheese Zombies

"Cheese Zombies"
This recipe you can use my bread recipe at the last stage of the recipe (on the bread recipe page) OR 2 packages of Grands biscuits kneaded together; and any cheese you prefer, although if you want it to taste like the "cheese zombies" we remember for Zillah Elementary, you have to use Velveta!
Preheat oven to 350F. Place a rolled out 1/4 inch think rectangle of dough on a greased cookie sheet. Please cheese slices on dough, touching but not overlapping. Place another rectangle of dough on top. Brush top with melted butter. Bake until the dough is done, lightly browned and the cheese is melted (about 20-30 minutes). Let cool 5 minutes before cutting. Serve warm with hot soup.

Alphabet Soup
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes 
1 bag (11 oz) frozen mixed veggies (carrots, peas,green beans)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
6 cups vegetable stock

3/4 cup alphabet pasta

3 garlic cloves, pressed
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook onion in oil in a large stock pot until translucent. Add garlic, saute until fragrant. Add stock and tomatoes, heat on high until boiling. Add other ingredients. Heat on medium-high heat until hot and the pasta is cooked. Taste, add salt and pepper to taste. 

Beefaroni

1 lb ditalini or  macaroni

1 lb ground beef, sprinkled with seasoning salt

15 oz tomato sauce

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Sprinkle ground beef with seasoning salt. Brown over medium heat. Drain. If pan is very greasy, use paper towel to clean out (about 1 tbsp of grease is okay). Return meat to pan.  Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package. Drain, keep warm. Mix tomato sauce, sugar and seasonings together. Stir sauce with meat in pan over medium heat. Stir in pasta. Mix until all pasta is covered and sauce is warm. Taste, add salt and pepper as needed.

Chicken and Rice Casserole
4 skinless, boneless breast filet
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups of water

1 cup milk
2 cups dry Long Grain White Minute Rice
2 tsp+ each Salt and Pepper
1 tsp Garlic Salt
Grease a 9x13 pan with butter. Sprinkle Chicken Breasts with salt and pepper - both sides. Mix rice, salt, pepper, garlic, soup and water in the pan. Evenly spread out rice. Place chicken on top. Cover with foil. Bake in 350F oven for 45-60  minutes, or until rice is done and chicken is no longer pink and liquid is adsorbed. Serve with a vegetable or salad.