Our Menu: Week of February 4-10

Fajitas and Steamed Asparagus

Chicken breasts, peppers, onions, a fajita “kit” if you like, and there’s dinner.  I make my own fajita seasoning, use corn tortillas and add salsa, sour cream and grated cheddar for toppings.  Steam some asparagus on the side and there you have it!

“Schlop” and Salad

This is something I’ve been making for Brayden since he was really young and it’s still one of his favourites.  It started as kind of my own version of “Hamburger Helper” since I prefer not to buy packaged, processed foods like that and it’s really simple.  Brown some ground chicken (or beef if you like) in a large pan on the stove with some olive oil.  Sprinkle in some dried oregano, basil, and salt and pepper, all to taste.  Mince a couple of fresh garlic cloves and add to the mix.  When the chicken is cooked, add 2 cans of diced tomatoes then grate a bunch of fresh parmesan into it.  Sometimes I add mozzarella too, if I have some.  I don’t know measurements, I just keep grating until it looks cheesy enough! Cook a bag of pasta (penne or rotini) and when it’s done, drain it, add it to the mixture and stir it up. Let it all simmer for a bit to let the cheese melt and that’s it.   A note:  I use brown rice penne or rotini, which honestly doesn’t hold up as well in this particular recipe as wheat pasta does, but I use it anyway.  Served with a salad.

Butter Chicken and Cauliflower with Basmati Rice and Salad

See this post!  I skipped the Chana Masala this time as I didn’t have time to make it.

Pork Stir Fry

Jason likes to make a stir fry, so he cooked this one.  He used a pork tenderloin sliced really thin and whatever veggies we had on hand.  A little sesame oil, fresh garlic and an onion for seasoning, along with a splash of Teriyaki sauce and you have a delicious stir fry. Served over sticky rice.

Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese and Salad

Love this!  See this post. 

Baked Chicken, Mushroom and Rice Casserole and Salad

This is a new one out of a cookbook I borrowed from the library called Not Your Mother’s Casseroles.  We really enjoyed this and I would make it again.  The recipe calls for 1 cup of rice, but I used 1 ½ cups and it was just enough to cover the bottom of my casserole dish.  I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but I’d try it with chicken breasts next time.  I should also mention that this isn’t that quick to make so it would be best saved for a weekend or a day when you have more time. 

Casserole Dish:  9-13 inch baking dish or 3-quart casserole

Bake time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked rice (white or brown, see my note above)

1 small sprig fresh rosemary (I used dried and just sprinkled a bit in the bottom of the dish)

2 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Olive oil

½ pound white mushrooms, sliced

1 small white onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 2/3 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon smoked paprika (I used regular paprika)

¾ cup plain yogurt (I think sour cream would work well too, but NOT light – too runny)

Preheat the oven to 350.  Lightly grease the baking dish with olive oil.  Spread the rice in an even layer in the dish, place the sprig of rosemary in the centre (or sprinkle a bit of dried over the rice).

Cut the chicken in bite-sized pieces, season with S and P, and cook in a drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet over med-high heat.  Sauté until brown, remove from pan and place on top of rice in the baking dish.

Add the mushrooms to the skillet and let them cook until they are nice and golden brown.  The longer you let them cook, the better and the more flavourful they will become.  If necessary, add another drizzle of olive oil to the pan and add the onion and garlic.  Cook till he onion is translucent (approx 5 mins).

Raise the heat to high and add the broth.  Bring to a simmer scraping brown bits from the pan.  Remove from heat and stir in the paprika, 1 ½ tsp of salt and the yogurt.

Pour the broth and mushroom mixture over the rice and chicken. Cover the dish tightly with foil or a lid and bake for 55 minutes.  Remove the foil or lid and bake for an additional 5 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Our Menu: Week of January 21 to 27

First, my apologies for not posting this sooner!  I've been a little busy getting little O on track with sleep and naps.  Here is our menu from the week of January 21 to 27, 2012. 

Mexican Pulled Pork and Pinto Beans (Crock Pot) 

This is a rotating favourite of ours in the fall/winter.  I adapted a recipe called “Pork Burrito Bowls”, which was neither a burrito nor a bowl, into this.  I don’t have a ‘recipe’ per se, but this is what I do:

Sprinkle a package of taco seasoning in the crock pot, pour in some salsa (our fave is Herdez, and I use about half the jar), a cup of water (this amount can vary depending on the size of your pork roast or tenderloin) and add a can of pinto beans (don’t drain).  Stir it up so that the taco seasoning gets well mixed.  Then place a good size pork tenderloin or a 1.5-2 lb pork loin roast in the crock. Spoon some of the liquid over top of the pork. Cook it on high for 6 hours or low for 8, or until the pork is done.  Pull the pork apart with a fork and mix it all up.  I serve it over rice with a dollop of sour cream on top and sometimes some extra salsa.  As a side, we will have steamed broccoli and a salad.   You could also make this into burritos and put it in tortillas. 

Butter Chicken with Cauliflower and Chana Masala 
I buy President’s Choice Butter Chicken sauce, cut up boneless skinless chicken breasts and a head of cauliflower and mix it all together in a big pan on the stovetop.  To make more sauce and to use up all of the sauce left in the jar I pour about ¾ cup of milk in the jar, shake it up and add it to the mix.  For the Chana Masala I bought a small box of spice mix at an Indian market and follow the directions. I use canned chickpeas.  Served with basmati rice cooked in our rice cooker (best invention ever, perfect rice every time), and added a salad to this meal as well.  

Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese 

See my post titled Skinny and Tasty.  Love this recipe!  Served with a salad. If your kids (or husband... ahem, my brother-in-law...) won't eat broccoli, this might be a good way to get it in them. You can't even taste it.

Turkey Meatloaf, Roasted Potatoes, Steamed Asparagus and Salad 

I don’t follow a recipe for my turkey meatloaf, but basically I just mix the ground turkey together with half an envelope of onion soup mix, a good squeeze of BBQ sauce (PC Gourmet is my fave), an egg and about half a cup of bread crumbs.  I always line my loaf pan with parchment paper too (soak the parchment paper in water first for best results).  I also tossed some baby potatoes with olive oil, S&P and garlic powder and roasted them in the oven while the meatloaf was cooking.  Asparagus – just steamed on the stove top.  And a salad.

Quinoa Chicken Broccoli Casserole – from my "Quinoa 365" cookbook 

Love this cookbook so much, but this one was a miss.  Somewhat strange ingredient combination and flavour and not worth talking about.  Wouldn’t make it again!

Sausage, Peppers and Tomatoes over Pasta with Caesar Salad   

This is really simple and a nice alternative to your typical spagballs (as they say in the UK!).  I cook a package of Italian sausages on the stovetop (hot or mild, you choose), and then cut them into 1 inch pieces.  Cut up a couple of peppers (I prefer red or orange), an onion and add in a can of diced tomatoes.  Sprinkle some garlic powder or some fresh minced garlic and maybe a tbsp of oregano and let it cook for a bit.  Serve over brown rice spaghetti.  For the Caesar salad, I cheat and buy it in a bag.