The Weekly Menu

Abandonment

2011-03-12T15:56:00.001-08:00

Poor thing, I have abandoned you.

Recipe of the Week: Banana Fritter Pancakes

2010-08-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this was kind of my booboo on a recipe and it turned out pretty good. I'm still not completely satisfied with the results, but it's still really good and I'll keep working on it.

Banana Fritter Pancakes

Ingredients:

4 ripe bananas
2 T melted margarine
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
2 cups flour
4 T white sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt (opt.)
1/2 or 1 t ground cinnamon (to taste)
1/4 t nutmeg (to taste)
Oil
Powdered Sugar

Directions:

Mash bananas
Mix in eggs, milk, and margarine
In a separate bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add to wet mixure and mix well.
In a deep frying pan heat oil. Use enough oil to cover the bottom in a centimeter thick layer.
On medium heat add large dolops of the batter (I used an icecream scoop). Fry on each side until lightly browned - now I had a problem with getting the middles cooked without over cooking them, which left them slightly gooey. I'm not sure how to fix this yet or if I want to (it was good that way). If you have kids though, I would make sure they're cooked all the way through to avoid any threat of salmonella.
Serve warm with powdered sugar sprinkled on top.

I really like these. I think they would be good with almost any chopped fruit added in: apples, pears, pineapple. We also served them with honey and maple syrup. Yum :)

Thursday: Pizza Pepperoni Pasta

2010-08-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

Pizza Pepperoni Pasta:

Ingredients:

10 slices of pepperoni
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
8 oz Ziti or Elbow Macaroni Noodles
1 can/jar of pizza or spaghetti sauce
10 olives sliced

Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions
Mix in pizza sauce and parmesan cheese
Layer top with pepperoni, olives, and mozzarella cheese
Microwave for 3 minutes to melt cheese, or bake at 350 until cheese melts and starts to brown. (I microwave during the summer because it's so hot)

Layout Q.

2010-08-22T18:06:00.000-07:00

I like this layout a lot, but it's not very condusive to what I'm trying to do. I need something that will allow me to section out each part of a recipe, instead of one long list. Any thoughts?

Are there any good sights out there with layouts that might help??? Your feedback is much appreciated.

Sunday: Cider Pork Ribs / Mashed Sweet Potatoes / Broiled Blueberry Dessert

2010-08-22T17:42:00.001-07:00

Gosh, I am having such a hard time keeping up right now. Because we're moving, I just can't seem to muster the energy to bust out that "Good-Home-Cookin." Well, anyways, here was tonights meal:

Cider Pork Ribs -

Taste of Home Recipe from Betty Nichols of Oregon

it may not look like much, but this is delicious. I think it's my favorite meal we've had in a long, long time.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
Dash pepper
2 Boneless Pork Ribs (or you could use chops, but ribs are cheaper)
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Green onions, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp. dried thyme (if you don't have thyme, don't worry about it.)
1 tsp. light brown sugar opt.
1 cup apple cider or juice (If you use juice - we did - add a couple dashes of cinnamon)

Directions:

First, if your meat is frozen I always defrost a little long in the microwave, until the outside starts to cook a little - this helps me cut down on the actual cooking time of most recipes
In a large bag or bowl, combine flour, salt, and pepper. Add pork and toss to coat.
In a large skillet brown the chops in oil, remove.
In same skillet saute onions, garlic, and thyme (if you have it - we didn't) for about 2-3 minutes or until browned slightly.
Return pork to the pan
Add cider (or juice and cinnamon) and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160.
Serve with slotted spoon.

This was INCREDIBLE!!! It was so tasty. I am definetly going to make this again. Next time I think I might add some canned halved apricots during the last 5 minutes or so. Yummy!

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 large can (32 oz) chopped sweet potatoes (technically yams)
1 Tbsp. packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine ingredients into a medium glass bowl. Microwave for 3 1/2 minutes. Mash with a fork and stir.

Super easy, super amazing with this meal.

Broiled Blueberry Dessert

Ingredients:

1 cup blueberries (fresh, frozen and defrosted - whatever works for you)
1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Directions:

Divide blueberries among 2 oven proof small custard cups.
Spread with yogurt or sour cream (we did the yogurt).
Sprinkle with brown sugar
Place on a baking sheet
Broil 3-4 minutes close to the heat source and or until bubbly and sugar is melted.

(I have a pic of this as well, will get up soon)

Please remember, cooking times may very. I am currently at a fairly high altitude so everything takes longer - and I usually put up the time it takes for me to cook something.

Monday: Garlic Green Beans and Barbecue Short Ribs

2010-08-16T18:08:00.000-07:00

Barbecue Short Ribs

Ingredients:
2 Boneless Pork Ribs
1/2 Cup Barbecue sauce

Easiest thing ever. Drench the ribs in sauce. Marinate for 1 hour. Cook on a barbecue grill for 1/2 hour or until cooked through.

Garlic Green Beans
From Kelly Tolman (great friend and good cook)

Ingredients:
1 can whole green beans
1 T minced garlic
1 T olive oil
1 tsp garlic Mrs. Dash
1 tsp lemon juice
Dash of Pepper
1 T water

Heat oil in a frying pan. Add the rest of ingredients, except for water, and cook until piping hot and starting to blacken on the bottom of pan. Add water and stir, scraping up some of the stuff that's been stuck to the bottom of the pan and turning black - this gives it a charbroiled tastes which is delicious. I love these with almost any meal, esp. because they are so easy and fast!

Moving

2010-08-13T19:53:00.001-07:00

So we just found out we had to move (our landlord is selling), hence why I haven't posted anything all week. We've been house hunting from dawn until dusk and boy am I exhausted. I haven't cooked a real dinner all week. I'm sorry guys.

Monday: Chicken Berry Salad and Blue Cheese Herb Bread

2010-08-05T10:36:00.000-07:00

Blue Cheese Herb Loaf
Again, these recipes are from a Taste of Home magazine

Ingredients:

1 Tube (12oz) refrigerated flaky buttermilk biscuits (you can use whatever biscuits you want)
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
3 Tbsp. crumbled blue cheese
1 Tbsp. dried minced onion
2 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. dried tarragon
1 tsp. minced chives
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. dried oregano

Directions:

Separate biscuits and cut each into quarters
Arrange into an 11 in. long loaf on a greased baking sheet.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients
Brush over loaf
Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Chicken Berry Salad

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 garlic clove minced
dash of salt
dash of pepper

1 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
3 cups torn lettuce
about 1/4 cup blueberries
about 1/4 cup raspberries
about 6 strawberries, sliced
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. blue cheese
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. butter melted
1 avocado (opt.)

Directions:

Use the first six ingredients to marinate the chicken breast. If you don't have time for that, you can just cook the chicken and add the sauce in toward the end. It makes a nice light glaze.
To candy the walnuts, melt butter in a small skillet. Add sugar and stir till dissolved. Add walnuts heat to a boil, stirring constantly. Return to low.
In a large bowl combine the lettuce, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, walnuts, and avocados if you choose to use them.
Serve with chicken and cheeses on top

This makes such a pretty meal. It's very healthy and easy.

Friday: Lasagna

2010-08-05T10:24:00.000-07:00

This is actually what we had on Sunday - the weekend is always a shambles for me, but who wants to get caught up in the technicalities.

This is my mother-in-laws recipe, it's very tasty

Easy Homemade Lasagna

Ingredients:

12 lasagna noodles
2 cans tomato paste
2 lbs ground beef
2 lbs mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 32oz carton cottage cheese (much cheaper than using Ricotta cheese)
A plentiful supply of oregano, basil, italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder

Directions:

To make sauce: mix 2 cans of tomato paste with 3 cans of water. Add seasonings to taste. I like a lot of garlic, but that's just me personally.
Cook beef until browned through
Add the beef to the sauce
Cook noodles according to package directions
Grease a 9x13 baking pan
Layer: 3 Noodles - Sauce mix - Cheese - Cottage Cheese
There should be four layers
Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes
Enjoy, cause it's so yummy.

Again, I wish I had took a picture. But I think everyone knows what lasagna looks like.

Thursday: Pizza night

2010-08-05T10:21:00.000-07:00

Traditionally for us this is our pizza night, but often we have left overs from the night before or lunch. Now, just a warning unless you make extra all those greek pizzas will be gone before the nights over, so don't plan on having them the next day. Just a heads up.

Wednesday: Greek-ish Pizzas, Salmon Cheese Spread

2010-08-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

I wish I had took pictures of these, the pizzas were absolutely divine and so pretty.

Greek-ish Pizza

Ingredients

3 pita breads
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 small tomato thinly sliced
1 chicken breast, cubed
2 Tbsp. barbecue sauce
1 tsp. italian seasoning
3 Tbsp. Italian dressing
1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced (opt. for the spicy lover)

Directions

Cook the chicken so it's white through and just beginning to brown.
Add the italian seasoning and barbecue sauce and cook until golden brown
Spread 1 Tbsp of italian dressing on each pita
Arrange the chicken and rest of ingredients on each pita as desired
Place pitas on an ungreased baking sheet
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes
Serve immediately

I cooked these in our toaster oven and they came out just fine, plus it kept us from heating up the house in the middle of the hot summer.

Salmon Cheese Spread

Ingredients

3 oz cream cheese softened
1 can salmon, drained, boned, skinned
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
Assorted Crackers

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients
Serve on crackers

Tuesday - Leftovers

2010-08-03T20:58:00.001-07:00

The rice beef mixture from the Stuffed Pepper makes so much you can have it for leftovers the next night with a simple salad and more of the salsa and chips.

Monday: Stuffed Bell Peppers and Pineapple/Watermelon Salsa

2010-08-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients

4 Bell peppers
1 lb ground beef
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained.
1 package (5.3 oz) "Knorr Sides Plus: Roasted Chicken Rice"
2 3/4 cups of water
1/4 package of taco meat seasoning (a full packages is usually 1.25 oz)
3 T ketchup
1/4 cup Mexican cheese blend

Directions

Cook Knorr rice according to package directions using 2 cups of the water. (If you don't have the Knorr rice you can easily make something similar with white rice cooked in water and chicken bullion. You can also add whatever veggies you like to it since the Knorr comes with dried peas, carrots, and corn.)
While the rice is cooking brown the ground beef.
Once the beef is cooked add taco seasoning with 1/2 cup of water and cook uncovered until most of the water has cooked in.
Mix the cooked rice and beef with the can of diced tomatoes and green chilies and 3 T ketchup
Cut the tops out of the bell peppers and remove as much of the seeds as possible using care not to crack the walls of the pepper.
Spoon the rice/beef mixture into the peppers filling to the top.
In a large sauce pan put about an inch of water and heat to a low boil.
Place full bell peppers in the pan and cover cooking for about 15-20 minutes, or until soft with a slightly wilted look.
Serve hot with the cheese sprinkled on top, Yum!

Pineapple or Watermelon Salsa
(I got this recipe from a Taste of Home magazine, the submitter was Teri Rasey - so credit goes where it's due)

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups chopped pineapple or watermelon (you pick, or be daring and try both)
1 cup finely chopped cucumber
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro
4-1/2 tsp. chopped seeded jalapeno pepper (1 to 3 jalapenos, it depends on how much spice you like)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. grated lime peel
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

To be honest, this recipe is really good, but tastes better the next day. When you use watermelon it's especially tasty with Sweet Chile Doritos.

Let Try This Again

2010-08-03T20:17:00.002-07:00

Sorry it's been so long. I meant to keep this going and then I had a baby - Boy I didn't realize how that would change things. However, I'm in my summer break right now and have found myself with more time. So here I am, ready to try this again. We'll see what happens.

Pizza Pounds

2009-06-13T02:28:00.001-07:00

Ok, so the title of this article is terribly misleading, but I really liked the information in it concerning the calorie counts of popular pizzas and what to eat instead. However, I'll bet that if you just want an amazing tasting pizza, the fattier ones are the way to go.

Article: Pizza Nutrition

Meat Lovers ~ Week One

2009-06-04T21:53:00.000-07:00

This was one of my first weeks and I will tell you, this was during some of the toughest times of our marriage. We had no money to buy food for the week and were living off of our very small pantry. Here's what I came up with to fill our stomachs, and it turned out pretty good.
(This was also during the winter, hence the many meat dishes)

Monday-
Jambalaya
A Family Recipe
1-2lb cubed cooked ham
1lb Italian Sausage
10 shrimp (only add as many as you'll eat at a time as reheating the shrimp with left-overs will make them chewy.)
2 16oz cans of chopped tomatoes
1 chopped bell pepper (or more to taste)
1/2 onion, diced
3 large garlic cloves, minced
5 bay leaves
1/2 t of salt
1/4 t of pepper
2 heaping T of chili powder
1/2 t of thyme (opt.)

1. Precook Italian sausage and drain.
2. Combine all the ingredients, except shrimp, in a large pot or crock pot on low. Let simmer for at least 1 hour. The longer you cook this, the better it tastes. 3. In the last 3 minutes of cooking, add the shrimp.
4. Serve over rice.

(If you're really tight on a budget, you can leave out the sausage and shrimp. It still tastes very good!)

Tuesday-
Homemade Ham and Potato Soup

picture by bizzymomma on allrecipes.com
Delicious Ham and Potato Soup Recipe
I used the left over ham from the night before in this recipe. Since I had bought a ham on bone, I also placed the bone in the pot and cooked it with this, removing when done.

Wednesday-
Tuna Alfredo with Mushrooms
1 can Tuna in water
1/2 a 12oz package of fettuccine noodles
1 small can of mushrooms and stems
Sauce: Your choice
1 pkg of Alfredo sauce dry mix - requires milk and butter
or
1 jar of pre-made Alfredo sauce
or
Use this recipe as a base - White Sauce

1. Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water.
2. Meanwhile, if you are making your sauce, follow according to directions.
3. Combine cooked noodles, sauce, tuna, and mushrooms in a large bowl and toss.
4. Serve hot.

Thursday-
Lemon Garlic Chicken

picture by ladyjaypee at allrecipes.com
(I wish I had a picture of the one I made, it came out beautifully - not that this one didn't)

Roasted Lemon Herb Chicken Recipe
My modifications:
4 cloves garlic, chopped into slices
I pierced the skin of the chicken in many placed and pushed the slices of garlic in before cooking
I also left out the mustard powder, cause we didn't have any, but it still was great
I also pressed about 2 more cloves of garlic and put them inside the chicken with about a 1/3 of the basting sauce.
This came out sooo tender and moist. Plus we had ton's of left overs which I used the next week as filling in Homemade Won tons.

Friday-
Asian Orange Chicken

picture by DetectiveL on allrecipes.com
Asian Orange Chicken Recipe
This is the most amazing orange chicken I've ever had!!! (Let me emphasize those explanation marks -!!!!!!!) It even blew Panda Express' orange chicken out of the water.
Modification:
We did it the fatty way and deep fried the chicken in a deep frier.

Saturday-
Left over night
(you choose, we always have enough from one of the previous nights that I only can do 6 different meals and then enjoy some microwave magic)

Sunday-
Homemade Pizzas
I've never before shared my pizza dough recipe, it's very special to me... but there's a first for everything.
Dough:
2-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 t of salt
1 t of sugar
1 cup warm water
Garlic salt (to taste)

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water, let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Add sugar, flour, salt and mix well. The dough will be very sticky. Let rise for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, grease pizza pan
3. Stretch dough on pizza pan, sprinkle with lots of garlic salt. Let sit 10 more minutes
4. Put on sauce and toppings.

Pizza Sauce:
1 can tomato paste, thinned out according to instructions on can
Add Italian seasonings, garlic salt, seasoning salt, pepper, oregano, and basil to taste. I like loads of seasonings to it gets pretty intensely spiced up. But that's my preference.
Toppings:
What I love about pizza, is it's so personalized. You can do what ever strikes you; plain cheese, pepperoni, meat lovers, or veggie delight with artichoke hearts/sun dried tomatoes/mushrooms/bells/and anything else.

Dessert Option-
Cream Cheese Bars
This is one of my favorite, fast desserts!

Cream Cheese BarsII Recipe
Modifications:
I prefer to leave off the top layer of crescent roll dough. Instead I just put on the cinnamon and sugar or a layer of fruit preserves. I also cut way down on the sugar, usually only doing a 1/2 cup.
I even used this recipe for a modified cheesecake. Alterations included adding a 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 more 8oz package of cream cheese. I cooked it in a round pan and removed it when the middle was almost set. It was very good and VERY rich!

(These recipes are about right for two fairly hearty eaters, change portion sizes as needed)
***************************************************************
Shopping List:
Meats:
1 whole small chicken
2 chicken breasts
2 lbs precooked ham
1 can tuna in water
Any meats for pizza toppings (I would use left over chicken from Thursday)
1 lb Italian sausage (opt.)
1 lb shrimp (opt.)

Dairy:
2 8oz packages of cream cheese (opt. if you do the dessert)

Produce:
1 Bell Pepper
2 16oz cans of chopped tomatoes
2 bulbs of garlic
3-5 Potatoes
1 large onion
1 stalk green onion
1 Orange
1 can tomato paste
1 small can of mushrooms
2 lemons or 1 cup lemon juice
2 stalks celery
Any other toppings you want for pizza

Breads and Rice:
6 oz of Fettuccine noodles
Rice for Jambalaya
1 pkg crescent rolls

Spices and Flavorings:
5 Bay leaves
2 T chicken bullion (I actually left this out of the potato soup and it was still amazing!)
Soy Sauce
Vanilla extract

Oil and Condiments:
12 T oil or butter

Pantry:
4 cups milk
Cornstarch
Flour
Rice vinegar *or white vinegar*

Spices:
Brown Sugar
White Sugar
Ginger
Italian Seasonings
Oregano
Basil
Thyme
Seasoning Salt
Garlic Salt
Salt
Pepper

Sauce for Alfredo (however you're choosing to do it.)

The Benefits of Scratch

2009-06-04T21:30:00.001-07:00

I can't tell you how much better homemade food tastes! Some perhaps, were lucky enough to grow up in families where nightly meals were a tradition, but I never really did. Both of my parents always worked, and while my dad did cook during periods of my childhood, fast food often became a staple. I was amazed when I went to college - couldn't afford fast food - and was forced into the wonderful world of homemade cooking. What a delight!
As I've slowly built up my cooking prowess (granted it has far to go), I've really learned the benefit of cooking from scratch. I had never had homemade bread until I was 19 and I was immediately entranced. When I made my first pie crust, (now I am an addiction and I refuse to buy pre-made crusts)I couldn't get over how relaxing and fun it was.
While cooking from scratch does have it's pit falls; mainly, time. However, for my family the benefits have out weighed the negatives.
Not only is cooking from scratch bring out some incredible flavors, but it's usually MUCH, MUCH cheaper. In our town, decent bread costs at least $2 a loaf. Instead, I can buy a 25lb bag of flour for $8.95 which I'll get at least 40 loafs out of from my bread machine. With that in mind, I'm willing to take the time to do it.
And on top of everything else, cooking from scratch has given me a sense of going back to my roots. With all the amazing tools we have nowadays, even when starting with just the basic materials, have found a sense of awe at my predecessors and how much preparation was required for them in their cooking.
I love the benefits of scratch, and while I understand it doesn't work for everyone, I highly suggest that if you are on a budget considering trying to find some ways to cut on buying it pre-made. Try pizza and spaghetti sauce made with tomato paste and spices. Or a cream pie filling from sugar, flour, and milk. Sunday's are a great day, if time is short, to plan ahead and freeze/refrigerate parts of meals for the week ahead.
My best wishes,
Jennifer