menu #26

Monday: Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
Mashed Potatoes
Sauteed Spinach

Tuesday: home made pizza (deli pepperoni, fresh mozzarella)
Salad

Wednesday: Open-Face Burgers with Blue Cheese
Sweet Potato Fries

Thursday: Pannini's (deli ham, havarti cheese)
Home Made Potato Chips
Broccoli

Friday: Ranch Chicken (cheddar & bacon)
Baked Potatoes
Cauliflower

Chicken Scampi from Spain

This is the last of my fav's from the Holidays. I don't have a picture of it.. but it is beautiful, healthy and o-so delicious. This is a recipe from my sister in law, Cristy, who prepared it for our lunch one day. Cristy got this recipe while living in Spain. This recipe is very lemony. This is not a problem for me, because I happen to think there is no such thing as too much lemon. But You may want to add the lemon juice a little at a time to suit your taste.

1 Chopped onion
5 Garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup Olive oil
4 tbs Butter
3 Chicken breasts, chopped to bite size pieces, uncooked
Juice of 3 lemons
12 Mushrooms, sliced
4 Tomatoes chopped
salt and pepper
Cooked Penne Pasta enough to feed 4-6

In a large skillet, heat olive oil and butter. Add onions and mushrooms. saute until onions are translucent and mushrooms are a bit browned. Add garlic and saute for 45-60 seconds, do not let burn. Add Chicken and cook until no longer pink. Add tomatoes, juice of 3 lemons and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over pasta
Serves 4-6

Cauliflower Gratin

This is my second favorite recipe from the Holiday. I love Cauliflower. This was so creamy and yummy.

3 slices white sandwich bread, torn into large pieces - or you could use store bought bread crumbs

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cored and cut into small florets
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (1 cup)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, combine bread and Parmesan. Pulse until coarse crumbs form, about 3 to 4 times; set aside.
In a large saucepan with a lid, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour; cook, whisking constantly for 1 minute. Whisk in milk.
Add cauliflower, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cover, and cook until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; gradually stir in Gruyere.
Pour mixture into a 2-quart baking dish, and sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture. Cover with aluminum foil; bake until cauliflower is easily pierced with a knife, about 20 minutes. Remove foil, and bake until breadcrumbs are golden brown, about 20 minutes more. Serve. Serves 4.
Everyday Food, Martha Stewart

Caramel-Pecan Apple Pie

I am back from my 2 week Griswold Family Vacation trip. I came back with 2 extra suitcases packed full of toys and 7 extra pounds packed on my tush. So before I jump on my elliptical, I wanted to share a few of my favorite recipes from the holidays. This is number one. This pie was so darn good. Even people who didnt care for apple pie were pushing and shoving into the line for seconds.

7 cups sliced, peeled tart apples

1 ts. lemon juice

1 ts. vanilla extract

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

3 tbs. sugar

4 1/2 ts. ground cinnamon

1 tbs. cornstarch

1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping, room temp

1 unbaked pastry shell (or you can make your own)

3 tbs. butter, melted

STREUSEL TOPPING:

3/4 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup sugar

6 tbs. cold butter

1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping, room temp

In large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice and vanilla.  Combine the pecans, sugars, cinnamon and cornstarch; add to apple mixture and toss to coat.  Pour caramel topping over bottom of pastry shell. Top with apple mixture.  Shell should be full.  Drizzle with butter.

In a small bowl, combine flour, pecans and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over filling. 

Bake 350 for 55-65 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is browned.  Immediately drizzle with caramel topping. Cool on wire rack. 8 servings.

Taste of Home

Red Beans & Rice

Living in Texas adds so many different flavors to my cooking. We have southern food (I tried, for the first time, black-eyed peas and collared greens on New Years Day). We have Tex-Mex, and being from California originally, it has been pretty hard to get used to.
I often find myself looking at the menu I had planned and just don't feel like making it. When I came up with this recipe, I was looking for something to make with a new Wild Rice blend I had found at the grocery store. I really loved the flavors of it all - and thought I would share with you!

Red Beans & Rice
1 cup Wild Rice (I used a white, brown, red, & wild rice blend)
1.5 cups Chicken Stock
1/2 tsp Salt
2 Garlic Cloves, minced (or more if you like!)
1/2 of an Onion, diced (any kind you prefer, I used red in this)
1 Rotisserie Chicken
1 can Kidney Beans, drained & rinsed
-- Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium saute pan and bring to a boil. Then cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
--While the rice is working, cut up the rotisserie chicken into bite size pieces.
-- Once rice is done, add the chicken and beans, stir to combine. Then cover over a small flame for another 5-10 minutes.
--I served this with tortilla's, chopped cilantro & diced tomatoes. I think a grated pepper jack would be delicious, even some sliced olives.
Or go a different way and drizzle with some BBQ sauce and grated cheddar cheese.

menu #25

Monday: Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Onion Rings (i finally made this after 3 weeks of it being on the menu!)

Tuesday: White Chicken Chili
Jalapeno Cornbread

Wednesday: Out

Thursday: Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
Mashed Potatoes
Broccoli

Friday: Herb Crusted Salmon
Red Potatoes
Sauteed Spinach

and I (Nancy) am off on Christmas vacation! I hope to come back with some great recipes while I sit back in Colorado, enjoying the snow and my mothers fantastic cooking!

Christmas Eve & Day Menu

I thought I'd go ahead and post my menus for the coming holiday, especially since there won't be much cooking of regular meals this week!

Christmas Eve:
Appetizers -- Crab Cakes
Cilantro Lime Shrimp

Main Course -- Black Bean Soup with Keilbasa
Brown Rice

Desserts -- Hello Dolly Bars (also known as Magic Bars, 5-Layer Bars)
Touchdown Chocolate Bars (with White and Semi-Sweet Chocolate)
Chocolate Crinkles
Shortbread Wedges
White Chocolate Snowballs


Christmas Day:
Appetizers -- Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno's (our friends are bringing them!)
Chips & Salsa, Chips & Ranch Dip, Chips & Queso

Main Course -- New York Steaks (BBQ'd) with Blue Cheese Butter
Fancy Pants Baked Potatoes
Roasted Asparagus
Creamed Corn
Crusty Bread

Dessert -- More Christmas Goodies!!