Menu Time: May 13th - 17th, 2013

When you go shopping this weekend pick up an extra lemon, i'll tell you what we're doing with it later this weekend. There are some great deals at Safeway (steak, whole chickens) and Sprouts (Strawberries, Watermelon, Shrimp) this week that we're taking advantage of for this weeks menu.

Monday - Steak sandwiches Broccoli and Carrot slaw (I like rice wine vinegar and sesame oil to top this but you can do any dressing really)

Tuesday - Grilled chicken and shrimp, cous cous, grilled Brussels Sprouts (quarter, blanch, toss with olive oil and throw in the grill pan with salt and pepper, delish)

Wednesday - Roasted sweet potato, quinoa and bacon topping (BACON!)

Thursday - Steak and red bean nachos (Using up any leftovers from Monday night)

Friday - Rice noodles with edamame, carrots, egg and chives (from the garden!)

Menu Time: May 6th - 10th, 2013

New feature for the blog, well heck just posting is a new feature but let's not go down that road. I'll start/resume posting the menu for the week. My method for making up a menu is pretty simple. I take a quick glance at the fridge, freezer and pantry and get some things in mind that should be used up first. Then i'll take a glance at the ads for the local grocers and see what on sale can compliment what we already have in the house. We try to eat seasonally as much as possible which helps avoid burnout of the same thing over and over as well. Hope you enjoy the first week's go at it.

Monday - Beef stew with drop biscuit topping

We're starting the week off by using up some leftovers. We had beef stew last week and have just enough to throw the leftovers into a baking dish and top it off with some drop biscuits.

Tuesday - Pizza night

You can find my dough recipe here but this week I might try Alton Brown's recipe again, just remember it takes a day in the fridge so start early.

Wednesday - Sautéed chicken breasts with butter sauce, green beans, cous cous

It's not really as complicated as it sounds. I swear.

Thursday - Baked sweet potate with black beans and quinoa.

I'm gonna cheat and use canned black beans, probably cook the quinoa earlier in the week too.

Friday - Rice noodles with beef and snow peas

I've been using this method for pretty much any noodle dish lately since it's infinitely adaptable and stupid simple.

Essentials

In the spirit of more "regular" posts I'll take up the topic of what recipes are Essential for our house. These are things we can make at almost a moment's notice because all the ingredients are already in the house. They can be adapted to many situations or whims if you want to change them up and I'll post a few variations of each that we have enjoyed. Here is the list of posts to come, so far, and any suggestions are welcomed!

No Knead Bread
Granola
Brine
Roast Chicken
Chicken Stock
Baked Mac n Cheese
Pancakes
Split Pea Soup
Pizza Dough
Marinara Sauce

my facebook friends hate kale, so i made snap peas

I posed a question today on Facebook about dinner tonight, whether to saute the kale in the fridge or snap peas from the garden to go along with some pan roasted salmon. The snap peas won in a landslide, of the 4 people who responded anyway. I of course succumbed to the peer pressure and cooked up the peas along with the salmon, recipe follows.

Pan Roasted Salmon with snap peas and carrots


Ingredients
4 oz Salmon fillet
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 sprig thyme
1 medium carrot peeled and diced.
1 handful of snap peas from the garden (what you don't have a garden?) trimmed and rinsed





Directions Heat a saute pan over medium heat for at least 5 minutes, add the oil
Season both sides of the fish with plenty of salt and pepper and put skin down in the pan, cook for 3-4 minutes until the fish releases from the pan easily.
Flip and cook on the other side for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Flip again, add the butter and put the thyme on the fish.
Baste the fish and herbs with the butter/oil for 2-3 additional minutes.
Blanch the carrots for 3 minutes and drain.
Add carrots and peas to the pan, cook for 2-3 additional minutes.

Serve with your favorite Pinot Noir and a hunk of bread.

Menu Time: Cinco de Mayo 2009

A belated menu this week and one full of old favorites. Who's got ideas for new recipes for me to try?

Sunday
Grilled Lamb in Pita, Tomato Cucumber Yogurt Salad

Monday
Chicken Nachos

Tuesday
Rice and Beans, Spinach Salad

Wednesday
Steak with herb butter, Cucumber Tomato salad with vinaigrette

Thursday
BBQ Pork Chops, Foil Potatoes

Friday
Chicken and green bean stir fry, veggie fried rice

Recipe: Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients
1 Chicken Breast (bone and skin on)
1 Medium Potato
2 Large Carrots
1/2 Cup Peas
1/2 Cup green beans
1/2 Cup Other veg as wanted
1 Tbsp Chopped Parsley
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Flour
1 Cup Chicken Stock
1/2 Cup Milk
1 twig thyme
1 Pie Crust

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Melt butter over medium heat
3. Stir flour into butter and let the roux cook for 2-3 minutes until getting a good amount of color, be careful not to burn it
4. Whisk in chicken stock and milk to eliminate lumps, add twig of thyme, salt and pepper to taste
5. Poach the chicken breast in water or stock till cooked through, remove from heat and let cool, cut into large pieces
6. Peal and cube the potato and carrot into 1/4 inch size pieces
7. Simmer or microwave all veggies for a few minutes until just par cooked
8. Put the bottom crust into a pie plate
9. Put the chicken, veggies and gravy into the pie, top with the chopped parsley
10. Put the top crust on and folder over the edges.
11. Place some aluminum foil over the edges of the crust to prevent it from burning
12. Bake for 40-50 minutes

Serves 4

Menu Time: April 27, 2009

What forgotten wonders lay waiting to be cooked in your freezer? Yesterday I found some meatballs, half a loaf of french bread, chicken breasts and a frozen pie crust. All of these find their way into dinners this week.

Sunday
Chicken fried rice - this is turning into quite the staple around our house and is a great way to use up those random leftover bits of veg and meat from the previous week you just could not bear to throw out!

Monday
Open face meatball subs, Asparagus and peas with herb butter

Tuesday
Going to the baseball game, and it's $1 hot dog night, I'll let you guess what we're having. That's right, nachos, or maybe tacos before the game . . or a burrito from the guy outside the stadium . . or sushi on the way there . . so many choices . . struggling to choose . . must get back to blog post . .

Wednesday
Chicken Pot Pie and salad

Thursday
Asparagus and ham frittata with oven roasted potatoes

Friday
Delivery Pizza night, everybody deserves a night off from the cooking after all