I am feeling ready for the upcoming week. My kitchen is clean (a huge bonus) and chicken for tomorrow night's supper is almost thawed (I need to stick it in a marinade tonight). For some reason I feel like posting our menu plan for suppers for the week ... so I guess I will! lol.
Sunday: Hot Beef & Pasta on Caesar Salad
This is one of my favourites from Sandi Richard's Cooking For the Rushed: The Healthy Family. The recipe can also be found here. The only annoying thing about this recipe is that it uses 1/4 c of vegetable juice - something we don't drink in our house. Last week at Superstore I bought a 6-pack of small V8 cans so I used part of one for dinner. I might have been able to freeze the rest for future dinners but I was too lazy. Maybe I'll try with my next can. I love that this recipe has so many vegetables! The leftovers of the 'topping' for the salad I can eat as a full meal for lunch the next day, or I'll make fresh lettuce / caesar dressing and eat it as described again.
Monday: Chinese chicken, rice, steamed broccoli
My Mom makes super yummy chinese chicken wings about twice a year. They are very simple to make but growing up they were such a treat (probably because they taste so good!) Chicken wings are expensive and not very healthy. I've decided to try cutting up some boneless, skinless chicken breasts into wing-sized pieces and try marinating them in the sauce and cooking them instead. The marinade is just: 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup soy sauce, 1/4 tsp ginger powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder. I imagine I'll have to cook the chicken less than I would wings ... the wings cook at 400 for 1 hour (covered), then at 350 for 30 minutes (uncovered). Not sure what I'll do for the chicken tomorrow. These taste better the more times they are reheated. So yummy!
I am terrible with rice, so once I found a recipe that worked I have continued to do it that way. It is also very simple. It can be scaled to any amount, but I usually do: 1 1/2 cups brown rice, 2 Tbsp margarine, 1 tsp salt. Combine in a casserole dish. Pour 3 cups of boiling water over rice and stir. Pop in a 400 degree oven (covered) for 1 hour. Voila! In the summer I'll do this first thing in the morning and then pop it in the microwave for 6 - 10 minutes right before supper.
And steamed broccoli ... pretty simple ;) I've been finding frozen broccoli has gotten really expensive lately so this summer, when fresh broccoli goes on sale, I'm going to buy a whole bunch, blanche it, and freeze it myself.
Tuesday: Baked salmon with dill-mustard sauce, roasted veggies (including potatoes)
This salmon recipe is my new favourite. My new goal is to have seafood at least once a week. I know this is nowhere near the current recommendation, but it's a start. I already have the sauce made for this from last time I made it, so it should be fairly simple.
For veggies I think I'm going to do some acorn squash, zucchini, and potatoes. It will be my first chance to try cutting up a squash since I got my new knives. I'm excited to see how they stand up!
Wednesday: Beef stew with biscuits
Would you believe I never had beef stew before I had it at Peter's house when we were dating? I guess my Mom didn't like it growing up so I didn't even really know what it was until we had it at his house. I really enjoy it every once in a while, and it's great on cold winter days, so it's on the menu for this week.
I do my stew in the slowcooker, so I'll probably toss the meat with some flour, salt, and pepper, then put it in the slowcooker. I'll add some carrots, onion, and potatoes (yes, I make a really simple stew). Then will come some water and half a package of Clubhouse's slowcooker stew seasoning. I discovered the seasoning package last year and I love it. It makes such a flavourful stew.
And here is the biscuit recipe I'm enjoying at the moment. I am notorious for always searching for new and better recipes, so who knows how long until I switch to a new one? I never keep buttermilk in the house so I just put a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice in a 1-cup measuring cup, then fill with milk and let stand 10 minutes. I'm sure everyone knows that trick, but just in case! Oh, and I always make the biscuits with half whole wheat and half white flour. I may try all whole wheat at some point but I'm worried they might not be as fluffy.
Thursday: Fiery pork skewers, rice, coleslaw
I love these pork skewers but kind of forgot about them until something brought them to mind last week. Since pork tenderloin was also on sale last week, I decided to add them to the menu. I'm already anticipating them eagerly. The other two parts of the meal are pretty self-explanatory.
Friday: Spaghetti, salad
Since I use bottled spaghetti sauce and boxed whole wheat spaghetti, this is my easy meal of the week! lol. And the ground beef is already cooked in the freezer.
Saturday: Pizza, salad
Homemade pizza on the weekend has become a tradition in our house this winter. Mostly because it is impossible to get a good takeout pizza around here! I enjoy Boston Pizza's or Pizza Hut's pizza, but both of those are an hour away. My current favourite pizza dough and sauce recipes ... For the sauce I usually use tomato paste (add a full can of water instead of just 1/4 c) and I simmer it for a while so it gets thick enough. We usually top our pizza with pepperoni (we've started buying the sticks and cutting it ourselves. It tastes so much better than pre-sliced!), bacon, ground beef, green peppers, mushrooms, and cheese. I saute my veggies before I put them on. Just a little of each of these toppings, though. Not a pound each like the crazy pizzas in town!
And ... that's what I'll be cooking this week. I love being in the kitchen, which is good considering I have to cook 3 meals a day, 7 days a week, for the foreseeable future :)
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