Our Menu: Week of March 17 to 23

Ah, the week of St. Patty’s Day!  My sister’s recent fascination with genealogy has uncovered that we are more Irish than anything!  I always knew we were at least a quarter Irish since my maternal grandfather was, but it turns out there’s good reason to raise a glass and say “Slainte” on March 17th!  What does this have to do with our menu, you ask?  Nothing, really!  Except that we went out to a pub on the 17^th for some grub and a couple of pints, thus making the menu shorter this week.  Next year I really want to make an Irish feast on St. Patrick’s Day and these are the recipes I am dying to try:

Guinness and Honey-Glazed Pork Loin
Colcannon 
Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Bailey’s Irish Cream Frosting  

Only 360 more days till St. Patrick's Day 2013!   Now, on to the week’s menu!

Ham and Potato Soup and Salad

A repeat – see this post.  I used gluten-free all-purpose flour this time and the soup didn’t get quite as thick, but it was still very tasty. 

BBQ Meat with Grilled Veggies

It’s only March, but I’m so excited that it’s BBQ season already!  The best part of the season is the super easy clean up after dinner. Jason and Brayden each had a steak on the ‘Q and I had a pork chop that I sprinkled with Montreal Steak Spice.  We also had grilled veggies on the BBQ for the first time this year and I was reminded of how much I LOVE them this way!  I included mushrooms, purple onion, cherry tomatoes, zucchini and asparagus. Toss them in a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper and some garlic powder and cook them in a BBQ basket.  They don’t take long at all and they are so good! 

Rosa’s Lasagna!

I have mentioned Rosa a few times (my sister’s mother-in-law) and I was so very lucky that I saw her this week and she sent me home with one of her lasagnas!  Rosa is the pasta and sauce master and makes both herself.  We steamed some cauliflower and broccoli to go with it and had a Caesar salad.  Thank you, Rosa!

Jerk Chicken Thighs, Spanish Rice and Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower

Bev (my sis) keeps raving about Grace Jerk Chicken Sauce and picked up a jar for me.  I rubbed it on some chicken thighs and roasted them in the oven.  Delicious but be forewarned, the sauce is HOT!  I used WAY too much!  I was going to make some plain rice to go with the chicken, but I decided to whip up some Spanish rice instead. It's very easy.  Saute a chopped onion and a couple of garlic cloves in some olive oil.  Add a can of diced tomatoes, about a tablespoon of chili powder, a teaspoon of cumin and some salt and pepper to taste.  Then add 2 cups of uncooked long grain rice.  Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and let it simmer until the rice is done. If it doesn't look like there's enough liquid for the amount of rice you used, just add some water.  I also steamed some broccoli and cauliflower to go with it.  

Saucy Green Beans and Sausage

A new recipe!  This was really easy and so tasty!  The ingredients are so simple but the flavour was fantastic.  We had leftover Spanish rice with it. 

Pita Pizzas and Salad

A simple supper for a Friday night.  See this post.