Menu Plan for the week of 9/3-9/8

 

Well, it was a holiday weekend so I am way behind.  Monday was the last day of the BEST OF THE WEST rib cookoff so dinner was served.  BTW Famous Dave's won so if you have one in your area go check them out and tell them CONGRATULATIONS! 

 

And I actually made it to the store this week!  Yea!!! So back to dinners at home...

 

Last night we had

 

Grilled Pork Chops with zucchini and ....

Twice Baked Potato Casserole! 

I made a few changes to the recipe, but overall still the same and the family loved it!  It was definitely a SUCCESS! ( you can check out all my tried and loved Pinterest Favorites here)

Now for the rest of the week!

WEDNESDAY:  Currently in the crockpot is Beef Stew

 

 

 

 

 





THURSDAY:   Tuscan Garlic Chicken from the Recipe Critic

 

 

 

 



 



Friday :  Homemade Pizza

 

Saturday :  BBQ Ribs ( gotta try our own now! )

 

Sunday:    Inside Out Hot Wings with homemade French Fries from the Creole Contessa

 

 

 

What's on Your Menu this week?

 

 

Chicken with sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts

Ever have cravings for something, creamy and hearty even in the summer?!?



Creamy Chicken with sundried tomatoes and Artichoke hearts

This is one of those meals, creamy parmesean sauce with sundried tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms and artichoke hearts...Yumm!!!!

 

 

I don't have a recipe for this, I'm sure there was one long ago and many changes ago but here is how I make it. 

 

Cook Noodles of your choice in a separate pot!  Remember to always salt the water.  Flavor each layer of your food!

 

1)  Melt a half stick of butter in a large skillet.  Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms.  Saute.  Add 1/2 a jar of marinated artichoke hearts and 1/2 a package of sundried tomatoes, sliced.  Mix well.  Remove from pan and set aside. 

 

2) Add 2 tbsp. of olive oil to the pan and heat til ripples appear.  While warming,  Put salt, pepper and galic powder on  3 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts and slice (across the grain) .  Add to pan when the ripples appear.  Gently cook until no longer pink in the middle about 6 minutes.  Remove from skillet and set aside. 

 

3)  Melt the other half of the stick of butter in the skillet, mix in 1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of milk ( whole for creamier, skim for a thinner sauce).  Gently warm.  Add 1 cup of grated parmesean cheese and mix til melted.  Add salt, pepper, parsley and garlic to taste. 

 

 

 

4)  Return the vegetables to the pan and reheat.  Add the chicken. 

 

 

 

Once everything has warmed and melded together, pour over drained noodles in the second pot. 

 





 

Enjoy!!

 

Linking up at cleanandscentsible

Olive Garden Recipes

I am absolutely amazed!  Olive Garden shares over 100 of its recipes on their website!!!

What would you try to create today? 

 I love to attempt copycat recipes to save the money instead of going out and while some are successful, some aren't even close.  But these are not copycats, they are from Olive Garden on their website. 

Chicken Gnocchi Veronese

I think this one is going on next weeks Menu!!

There are 13 appetizers like this

Bruschetta Cannelini

 

36 Main Dishes

 

 



Venetian Apricot Chicken



6 Sauces including....

 

Sambucca Chocolate Fudge Sauce



and Pizzas, Desserts, Vegetables, Soups, Side Dishes and Beverages

Go check them out and tell me what your favorite is!




Thai Shrimp Peanut Noodles

Wanting to try a little something different, I created this recipe, based on one of my favorite Thai foods. 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1 pound Spaghetti Noodles, cooked

3 cups of Broccolli florets lightly steamed

2 pounds of shrimp, thawed, peeled and deveined

2 tbsp butter

1/2 c peanut butter

1/3 c soy sauce

3 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp chili oil

1 tsp ginger powder

3 tbsp minced garlic

4 green onions sliced

1/3 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

 

 

In a large skillet, saute the shrimp and garlic in 2 tbsp butter for two to three minutes

 

 

While shrimp are cooking, in a small saucepan, combine peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili oil, ginger and peanuts.  Wisk over low heat until peanut butter has melted and all ingredients are well combined.  Set aside.

 

Add the brocolli to the shrimp just to warm.  Set aside. 

 

Drain spaghetti noodles and add the sauce.

 

 

 

Once well mixed, toss in the shrimp, brocolli and green onions. 

 

Enjoy!

 

It was delicious but very thick and peanutty. In the future I will add some low sodium chicken stock to the sauce. 

 

 

Linky Up at Savvy Southern Style

Cowboy Casserole Review

1.

On my weekly menu plan  I had this dish I found on Pinterest

Cowboy Casserole

We had it tonight, and though it sounded yummy I knew I had to make some changes. 

I started with two pounds of 80/20 ground beef browned with the one onion and two cloves of minced garlic.  To this I added two cans of ...

Campbell's New All Natural Soup

two cans of yellow kernel corn, drained; two teaspoons of chili powder and a generous splash of hot sauce.   A cowboy can't be eating any tomato-basil sauce, right?!?  Simmer until thick. 

While that was simmering, I baked two pounds of Ore- Ida tator tots at 425 to get them nice and crispy.

 Then I laid half of them in the bottom of a glass 13 x 9 casserole dish.  Topped with...

 The whole two cups of Monterey Jack on the bottom.  I poured the meat sauce over the cheese, then topped with the remaining tater tots.  I put the cheddar jack on top, put some fresh parsley, chopped on top.  Then back in the oven at 350  for 15 minutes to make sure all the cheese was melted and ooey gooey.  It was a phenomenal success!

  See I couldn't even take the picture of what was left for my husband (who was working late) without fingers getting in the pan.

 

Dry Skin in The Desert Sun!

1.

Here in the high desert of Nevada, the winters can be dry and brutal but the summers are worse! Our temperatures are not bad like Vegas, but with days averaging just above 100 degrees constantly, the skin stays dry.  You can put moisturizer on 10x a day and still have dry flaky skin! 

 

My saving grace this summer has been the discovery of this

 

 

Not only is it great to cook with, I have been making a homemade body butter that is absolutely amazing!  And oh so simple!!!

 

1 c.  of coconut oil

 

Place it in your mixer with the wisk attachment on high for 10 minutes.

Once it is all light and fluffy, in the last few seconds add a few drops of your favorite essential oil (mine is lavender) and continue until well distributed.  This will comfortably fill a pint size mason jar, but you can adjust the amount for your container. 

 

 

 

 

That is it!  Told you it was simple.  Some things to keep in mind though is the melting point of coconut oil is 76 degrees.  So you want to store it somewhere it will stay cool and without direct sunlight.  Also, when it hits your 98.6 degree body it will immediately liquify so go sparingly the first few times until you get it down. 

 

Coconut Oil has a million other uses that can be found around the internet or on a quick search of Pinterest but here are some more uses for your body:

 

1.  Make Up Remover - in the liquid form, apply a small dab and wipe away.  One of the great

                                       benefits is that coconut oil is anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial

 

2.  Deep Conditioning Hair Treatment - Leave on for about five minutes than shampoo as usual

 

3.  Use it in place of olive oil in your favorite sugar scrub recipe

 

For more homemade body products check out my board on Pinterest! 

 

And here is another great site I have found!

 



                                      

 

St.  Bontanica has 8 amazing Coconut oil uses for radiant skin!

 

 

This chart is floating around Pinterest it has some great info on it, too.  

 

 

 

 

What are some of your favorite uses for Coconut Oil?  

Menu Planning Monday - 07/22/13

1.

Wow, It has been long while since I posted this topic, but I still do it on a regular basis.  I put the menu on my little board in the kitchen and even my five year old looks at it and asks someone to read it for her.  So here is my plan for this week...

 

Beef Negimaki with Rice

 

 

 

Crockpot Asian Pork

 

Cowboy Lasagna

 

Santa Fe Stuffed Peppers

and

 

 

Savory Chicken

 

 

I'm only listing 5 meals a week because I know my family and life gets in the way!  We eat out way too much!  So some of these may carry over but if for some reason we stick to the plan and need the other two meals, I'll either do one of my old stand bys or checkout something from Pinterest!  There are always plenty of ideas there!



Shoofly Pie

One of my husband's favorite desserts is an old time recipe that takes him back to his childhood trips to the Amish country in Lancaster,PA.

This dessert recipe would normally make two pies but I haves the recipe from his mother to make just one. This would be taken to barn raisings to be shared with the community.

Mix together until crumbly:

1c. AP flour

3/4c. Brown sugar (light or dark)

1/8 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. Salted sweet cream butter

Set aside 1c. For topping

To remainder of crumbs add:
1 egg
3/4c. Molasses
1/4c. Karo corn syrup (light or dark)
3/4c. Hot water

Mix well, in a separate bowl mix together:
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 c hot water
Stir until dissolved and add to previous mixture.

Pour into uncooked pie crust... I am not a pie crust maker, I trust Pillsbury for that!





Top with reserved crumbs. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 375. Bake for an additional 30 minutes until top is dry and done.

That's all there is to it, as a side note if you are unsure of your oven being level, you might want to put a cookie sheet underneath for easy clean up and so you don't have to smell burning sugar the whole time the pie is baking. I didn't know mine was unlevel so now I know what I will be covering this week for Tips and Hints Tuesday!