What's cookin' this week? -- June 21, 2010

Hello everyone! Welcome to this week’s menu! Sorry for the delay posting this week. It has definitely been a crazy weekend! We had a birthday party for the little one and a graduation party for the husband on the same day, then recovery/Father’s Day on Sunday.

When I was planning for the parties, I wanted to find things that were healthy, relatively inexpensive and would quickly feed lots of people. I came across this website called chipotlefans.com. There are recipes for Chipotle-like food that turned out pretty fantastic! This week we are eating lots of Chipotle-esque leftovers in other meals. I will include the recipes we used too because many of you from the party are asking about them!

So what are we eating this week? The hubby is also going to be gone this weekend so we are trying to keep it easy and light.

MONDAY
Taco salad (super easy combination of whatever you have in the cabinets)

TUESDAY
Kind of a crazy day so we are meeting for dinner before going our separate ways

WEDNESDAY
Chicken and veggie stir fry
Fruit salad

THURSDAY
Spaghetti with pasta sauce
Salad and garlic bread

FRIDAY
Cheese quesadillas on the quesadilla maker

RECIPES

Chipotle Grilled Chicken Marinade (modified slightly)
1 tsp. ancho chile powder (can find in the spice section)
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. cumin powder
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano chopped
3 garlic cloves
¼ red onion, quartered
¼ c. vegetable oil
4 chicken breasts

Add all ingredients except meat in food processor. Puree until smooth. Put marinade and chicken in plastic Ziploc bag. Refrigerate at least one hour and up to 24 hrs.

After marinating, heat grill to about 400 degrees or heat small amount of oil in skillet if cooking inside. Grill lightly, turning only once, until done. Cook about four minutes on each side.

Chipotle’s Guacamole
(This recipe is fantastic! We really liked it)
2 avocados
½ of a jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
¼ of a red onion, finely chopped
2 heaping tablespoons of cilantro, finely chopped
¼ of a lime, juiced
¼ tsp. salt

Chipotle Corn Salsa
6 ears sweet yellow corn (frozen corn works well too)2 poblano chilies1/2 red onion2 red jalapenos (not much difference between red and green so get what you can find)1/3 cup chopped cilantro1 tablespoon lime juiceSalt and pepper to taste
Roast the corn and Poblano chilies on a grill or BBQ and let cool. Cut the corn off the cob. Dice the Poblano chilies, onion, and red jalapenos. Combine all the ingredients and season to taste.

Chipotle Rice
1 teaspoon vegetable oil or butter
2 tsp. fresh cilantro
2/3 cup white rice
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Lime

In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute. Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.

Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry
We have leftover chicken and some veggies from a veggie tray that I'm going to mix up with some rice for a yummy, quick and healthy meal. Here is a recipe for chicken stir fry to try with whatever veggies you have or like.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Stir-Fry/Detail.aspx

OWN WHAT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY EATS ONE MEAL AT A TIME

What's cookin' this week? May 22, 2010

After being gone for two weeks and practically clearing out the entire refrigerator, I’m back at it and ready to cook this week. I actually missed it while I was gone! This week I had some extra time to work on the menu early so it starts Saturday and goes through Friday giving you a few more menu options to enjoy.

This week has a few familiar favorites and some easy recipes to enjoy the grill while easing back into the swing of things. Between the refrigerator survivors and the happy box, I tried to pick menus that used as much of what we have as I could. I’ve included some of the recipes below for you to try out so apologies for the long post.

SATURDAY
Spinach and Asiago Cheese Chicken Sausages (they are basically brats and they are fantastic!) – Sam’s Club
Mustard Potato Salad
Baked Beans
Mangos

With a church picnic tomorrow, I am also making a fantastic macaroni salad and a strawberry pie. I will also whip up the marinade for tomorrow’s dinner.

SUNDAY
Chicken with Mediterranean marinade
Couscous
Grilled avocado

MONDAY
Greek salad with warm pitas

TUESDAY
Manicotti
Salad
Garlic Bread

WEDNESDAY
Leftovers

THURSDAY
Eggplant, prosciutto and mozzarella cheese “sandwiches”
Hummus and pitas

FRIDAY
Leftovers

Hope you enjoy a few recipes from this week and remember…

OWN WHAT YOUR FAMILY EATS

RECIPES FOR THIS WEEK

Macaroni Salad (Aunt Mary’s recipe)
If you are worried about being outside, this is the perfect macaroni salad. It doesn’t have much dressing and is packed with veggies! It is really tasty. This recipe doesn’t really have measurements so you have to just cut and see.
Small box macaroni, cooked
Cauliflower, chopped
Celery, chopped
Colby jack cheese, cubed or grated
Broccoli, chopped
Onions, chopped
Bacon, cooked and crumbled

Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
¼ cup sugar

Directions
Use amount of vegetables as desired, same for cheese and bacon. Dressing can be multiplied to desired creaminess

Mediterranean marinade (from Weber’s Real Grilling™)
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Mix ingredients – makes about ¼ cup

Greek Salad with warm pitas (adaptation from Rachael Ray’s 365: No Repeats recipe)
This is one of my husband’s favorite meals. We’ve adapted it slightly.
1 ½ lbs. chicken tenders
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon grill seasoning
2 pitas split open
1 large garlic clove minced and mashed to a paste
Zest of 1 lemon and juice of 2 lemons
1 seedless cucumber sliced into half moons
4 vine-ripe tomatoes cut into wedges
1 small red onion (if desired)
½ cup fresh parsley leaves coarsely chopped
¼ cup fresh mint leaves coarsely chopped
1 cup pitted kalamata olives coarsely chopped
Feta cheese (crumbled)
Romaine lettuce coarsely chopped

Directions
Cook/grill chicken and season with oregano and grill seasoning. Grill the split pita halves for a minute. Remove when crisp, break or tear into large pieces and reserve. Combine garlic with zest of lemon and juice of 1.5 lemons in bottom of a large shallow bowl. Add cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, parsley, mint, olives, romaine lettuce and reserved bread. Add olive oil and lots of salt and black pepper. Toss salad with hands to combine well. Top salad with grilled chicken and feta cheese.

Option – instead of tearing up pitas, put salad into pitas and eat.

Spinach and Cheese Manicotti (modified from Aunt Mary)
1 10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (you can also use fresh spinach)
1 15 oz. ricotta cheese
1 c. shredded mozzarella
¼ c. shredded parmesan cheese (I’ve also used the grated parmesan)
1 egg
2 tsp. minced fresh parsley
½ tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. pepper
Manicotti shells
2 jars spaghetti sauce of your choice

Directions
Mix together ingredients. Stuff uncooked 8 oz. package of manicotti with filling. Combine two 28-oz. jars spaghetti sauce with 1 ½ c. water. Spread 1 c. sauce into 13x9x2” pan. Arrange stuffed shells over sauce and cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with more mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake uncovered at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until heated through.

Eggplant, prosciutto and mozzarella cheese “sandwiches” (from Weber’s Real Grilling™)
2 medium red bell peppers
Extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 globe eggplants (about 1 pound each, trimmed)
8 thin slices prosciutto
8 slices mozzarella, each ¼ inch thick
8 medium fresh basil leaves

Directions
Grill the bell peppers over direct medium heat until they are blackened and blistered all over (12-15 minutes) turning occasionally. Place the peppers in a medium bowl and cover with plastic to trap steam. Set aside for at least 10 minutes, then peel the skin and discard the stems and seeds. Place peppers in a food processor with 1 Tbsp. oil and salt and pepper. Process until smooth scraping down the sides as needed.

Cut each eggplant crosswise into 8 slices, each about ½ inch thick. Lightly brush or spray both sides with oil. Grill over direct medium heat until the underside is well marked (3-4 minutes). Transfer half of the slices to a tray with the grilled sides facing up. Turn the remaining slices over and grill until well marked on both sides (3-4 minutes)

Place a Tbsp. of red pepper mixture in the center of the grilled side of each eggplant slice on the tray. Place a slice of prosciutto, slice of mozzarella and basil leaf on top of red pepper mixture. Top each “sandwich” with a slice of eggplant that has been grilled on both sides. Place uncooked side of sandwich onto grill over direct medium heat until cheese is softened and the sandwiches are heated through (2-3 minutes).

Serve warm with remaining pepper mixture spooned, if desired.