So, I spent the good part of late last night planning our menu. I would like to have done it earlier so I could have shopped based on the few things I needed, but I actually need to replenish a lot of basics this week and will have to make that weekly trip to the store today. But here is what our family will be enjoying this week:
Monday:
Roasted chicken, Risotto with Asparagus & Fennel, Foccacia
Roasted Chicken (homeade not store bought), Risotto with Asparagus and Fennel (I love Mario Batali's recipe here.) And some fresh foccacia which I will bake up this afternoon. This is an easy meal since we have ballet and baseball this afternoon/evening. But the extra chicken will go into Wednesdays meal and the extra foccacia will go in the kids lunches tomorrow.
Tuesday:
Baked Tilapia, steamed summer veggies and potato pancakes.
I love to take the Tilapia, squeeze on ample amounts of lemon, sprinkle on some lemon pepper, garlic salt, add a small dab of butter and thinly sliced onions, wrap in parchment paper and bake in the oven til done. The kids devour this. I am going to see what veggies look good at the store today and steam up a bunch, we use to make latka's as kids and I have found my kids love these too. Grate several potatoes (I use 10), sprinle with baking soda to help get all the liquid out of the potatoes, drain well, pat dry, grate and onion, add 2 eggs, 3/4 c. flour, salt & pepper. Heat oil in shallow pan, form mix into patties, and fry on both sides til crisp and golden. I remember eating these with apple sauce as a kid, but since we havent made any applesauce yet, I think we will just serve with some sour cream.
Wednesday:
Chicken Enchillada's and salad:
(using left over chicken), shred the chicken, in large bowl mix softened cream cheese, 2c. cheddar cheese, 1 sm can green chilies, 1/2c. sliced black olives, 1/4 c. chopped cilantro, handful of chopped green onions. Mix together well, spoon good amount into tortilla's roll closed. In 9x13 spread tomato sauce thinly to cover bottom, place rolled enchilladas in pan, once pan is full, top enchilladas with a mix of rotel and tomato sauce. Sprinkle with another cup of cheese. Bake 350 for 25 min. covered - remove foil for last 5 min of baking. We usually top these with our salad and sour cream, but my kids prefer their salads on the side.
Thursday:
Gnocchi and Vegetable Ragu
This is the recipe for the gnocchi that I use. (and since I will already be buying potatoes for the latka's this should help finish them off). And since I am buying vegetables to steam off earlier in the week I will use the rest of them to make a nice ragu, I will roast off the vegetables, probably a mix of zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, onions, summer squash, fennel, and toss in diced tomatoes, vegetable stock, garlic, basil, and parsley. Topped with a drizzle of nice evoo and served with a nice crunchy loaf of artisan bread that I will bake up earlier in the day.
Friday:
Black Bean Chili and tortillas
Its just too simple, and I can make it ahead so we can eat before the rush of Friday night. At this point if I have any left over veggies they will all get cooked - (or if they are leftover from a meal, I will just toss them in). Soak 1 1/2 # black beans drain. Saute onion, garlic and add to large pan, toss in black beans, chili powder, cumin, oregano, grated orange peel (abdout 2tsp), add water (about 10 c or more depending on size of pot) let simmer a few hours. Add a few chipoltle chilis and mash up the beans just a bit (make sure to stir often during the two hours of cook time). Add S&P to taste. Then I will make and heat up some fresh tortillas to go along side. This is served with a sour cream that I mix with chipoltle tabasco - so good on top. I will also have some cut green onions, and cheese to top with.
Saturday:
Anything Goes Grill day
Well, now that I have my list, I am off to the store to see what veggies I can find. But not before I check out all my favorite coupon sites.
well, happy shopping, happy eating and happy monday!
oh, before I go - here is a shot of the quiche I made last week - the crust was to-die for.... its a new favorite savory crust - recipe follows pictures:
1 stick cold butter (cut into small pieces)
3/4 tbsp ice water
spices: (mix in sm. bowl)
celery salt, garlic pepper, onion salt, paprika, oregano, thyme, cayenne (i used about 1-2 tbsp of each - more paprika and garlic pepper than eny of the other) mixed well, add about 2 - 2 1/2 tsp of the mix to the flour.
Then cut in the cold butter til dough is crumbly, (i dont use a food processer for this - just two forks) then add VERY cold water a tad at a time just until dough comes together. then form into disk and put in fridge for an hour. take our and roll - press into pie pan (see how rustic and yummy it loos)..cook off before adding quiche mix with either pie weights or line with foil and fill with dried beans. about 15 min. then add quiche mixture and bake til done... everyone in my family ate this up - even the kids who were sceptical at first (notice no spinach - inadvertantly left it out - but the peppers made it oh so good!)
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