menu plan monday ~ february 8, 2010

DD turned 12 this weekend. How’d that happen?? Time flies… Anyhoo, we celebrated on her birthday with a little cheesecake and celebrated her birthday the next day with family (and the “real” cake).

birthday cheesecake

We’re expecting more snow today and tomorrow, so I’m taking that into account when planning the menu.

Monday
Tacoritos

Tuesday
Baked Salmon
Oven Fried Potato Wedges
Stir Fried Zucchini
corn

Wednesday
Baked Parmesan Chicken
Peas
Steamed Red Potatoes
Romaine Salad with orange, craisins and walnuts

Thursday
Pan Seared Shrimp
Rice
Stir fried sugar snap pea with cherry tomatoes
cornbread

Friday
Grilled Rosemary Chicken
Potato/Carrot Gratin
Peas
Green Salad

Saturday
Fridge Food
Peach Cobbler

Sunday / Valentine’s Day
Marinated Pork Tenderloin
Mashed Potatoes
Creamy Mushroom Bake
Corn
Steamed Green Beans
Green Salad
Baked Fudge
Whipped Cream

You can find more recipes and menu ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

birthday cupcakes

DD is celebrating a birthday this weekend. That means cupcakes for the classroom.

cupcakes for dd's birthday

Like me, she prefers white cake over chocolate. I decided to add some sprinkles to the batter to give the cupcakes a bit of fun color. Ummm…maybe a tablespoon? I didn’t measure.

add some sprinkles

Don’t add the sprinkles until the batter is completely mixed. Work quickly to stir them in with as little mixing as possible. The color will begin to melt immediately.

cupcake batter

Cool completely before frosting.

cupcakes for dd's birthday

I have a drawer full of sugary sprinkles and cookie decorations. But these tiny little balls have always been my favorite.

cupcakes for dd's birthday

And inside, little bits of color.

birthday cupcake

She transported them in the cupcake tin. Easiest way to do it. White cake, lots of frosting. The only way to go.

cupcakes for dd's birthday

~~Rhonda 🙂

can’t you tell it’s snowing out here?

"Can't you see it's snowing out here?"

Oreo sits on the carport roof and implores us to let him in. Dream on, kitty. I wonder how long he’ll sit there hoping before he finally heads for the garage?

~~Rhonda

menu plan monday ~ february 1, 2010

out the back door

We still have snow, though the temps are supposed to be a bit warmer this week. I think I’ll start the menu off with soup. Just the thing for cold weather.

Monday
Cheesy Potato/Sausage Soup
Rosemary Crackers

Tuesday
Bacon-Chicken Provolone Sandwiches
Oven Fried Potato Wedges
Grapes

Wednesday
Maple Mustard BBQ Pork Chops
Baby Baked Potatoes
Steamed Green Beans
Strawberry Orange Jell-O Salad

Thursday
Broiled Chicken
Paul’s Brazilian Beans and Rice
Green Salad

Friday
Ground Beef Burritos
Leftover rice and beans

Saturday
fridge food
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Sunday
Church Dinner
Potato/Sausage Casserole in the Crock Pot
Pumpkin Cake w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

simply great chicken

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” So says Edith Sitwell, British Poet, and I agree. I don’t know what Edith’s thoughts on summer were, but if you know me well, you know there is nowhere I’d rather be than at home, in my own bed, in my own kitchen, in my own garden, any time of year. Of course, a visit to the warm sunny beaches of the south east would not go amiss during the seemingly bleak days of January and February…but home is still my favorite. Three or four days away and I’m yearning to go home, counting down in my head…three more nights and I get to go home…two more nights and I get to go home…but I digress. Here’s a good recipe for a family dinner, chicken and cornbread warm from the oven and smelling, oh, so good, eaten at the kitchen table with the oven still warming the air. Especially if you forget to turn it off…

chicken for supper

I change recipes all the time. Substitute this, omit that, double the other thing… But here is one recipe I didn’t change at all. For one thing, there’s not much to change! For another, it has such rave reviews on the blogs on which I found it, that I wanted to give it an unadorned trial run.

Simply Great Chicken
(Source: Country Chicken cookbook)

3 1/2-4 lb. chicken, cut up and skin removed [I used six boneless, skinless thighs and two large boneless, skinless breasts cut into three pieces each.]
1 (.7 oz.) envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix
1/2 c. packed brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350*.

Place chicken in a single layer in a greased 9×13 baking dish. [I lined mine with non-stick aluminum foil and sprayed it with cooking spray.] In a small bowl, combine dry salad dressing mix and brown sugar; sprinkle over chicken.
Bake, uncovered, @ 350* for 55-60 minutes or until juices run clear. 4 servings.

chicken for supper

It was very good. Everyone liked it and wants to have it again. So there’s another recipe for my binder. Gonna need a new recipe binder any day now. I’ve already made two…one for general recipes and one for desserts. Wonder which way I should go with a new one. Maybe main dishes? And all the sides, beverages, snacks, etc. in the original one? I’ll have to ponder that.

~~Rhonda

crunchy baked pork chops

Supper this evening was late, but good. Crunchy Baked Pork Chops, Creamy Mushroom Bake, spinach with cashews, and corn.

supper...three new recipes

Crunchy Baked Pork Chops Click the link for the original recipe. I made a couple of minor changes.

salt
4 boneless center-cut pork chops, 6 to 8 ounces each, 3/4 to 1 inch thick, trimmed of excess fat
4 slices bread, cubed [I used homemade.]
1 small shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons) [I omitted this, as DH is allergic to onions.]
3 medium garlic cloves, minced [I used about 1/4 tsp. garlic powder.]
2 T. vegetable oil [I used olive oil.]
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 T. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves
2 T. minced fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup plus 6 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
3 large egg whites [I used two.]
3 T. Dijon mustard
Lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 350*.

Dissolve salt in a quart of water and submerge the pork chops. [I used a zippered plastic storage bag.] Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Rinse well and pat dry with paper towels.

Using a food processor, pulse the bread till small crumbs are formed.

making bread crumbs

Transfer crumbs to a baking sheet and add shallot, garlic, oil, salt, and pepper. Toss until crumbs are evenly coated with oil. Bake until deep golden brown and dry, about 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking time. Cool and toss crumbs with Parmesan, thyme, and parsley.

If you don’t have a food processor, you can toast bread slices in a low oven until dry, place them in a zippered plastic storage bag and crush till they’ve turned into crumbs. Toss with the other bread crumb ingredients. Nicely browned and crispy.

homemade bread crumbs

Place 1/4 cup flour in pie plate. In second pie plate, whisk egg whites and mustard until combined; add remaining 6 tablespoons flour and whisk until almost smooth, with pea-sized lumps remaining.

recipe

Increase oven temperature to 425*. Spray wire rack with nonstick cooking spray and place in rimmed baking sheet. Season chops with pepper. Dredge 1 pork chop in flour; shake off excess. Using tongs, coat with egg mixture; let excess drip off. Coat all sides of chop with bread crumb mixture, pressing gently so that thick layer of crumbs adheres to chop. Transfer breaded chop to wire rack. Repeat with remaining 3 chops. [I don’t have a pan with a rack, so I just placed the pork chops in a greased baking dish which worked fine.]

Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of chops registers 150 degrees, 17 to 25 minutes. Let rest on rack 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.

Crunchy Baked Pork Chops

Delicious. Next time I’m going to try the coating with chicken instead of pork chops. I’m sure it will be just as good.

I’ll post the Creamy Mushroom Bake and the spinach/cashew recipe soon. Both were delicious.

~~Rhonda

macro mondays ~ january 25, 2010

The theme for Macro Mondays this week was “paper thin.” I submitted four photos.

I took a picture of the Macro Mondays site, on my computer, with a sheet of vellum across part of the screen.

translucent

This is an older shot from our garden. The fragile delicacy of the iris petals fascinates me. It is amazing how well they stand up to wind and rain.

iris petals

This is shredded gift wrap stuffing. It is so tiny that I didn’t know it was cut in a zigzag pattern until I took the picture.

there's a thin line between...

For this picture, I opened a publishing program, filled a page with blue, and took a picture of the post-it notes in front of the computer screen.

paper thin

Next week’s theme hasn’t been posted yet…I’ll be checking often to see what we’re shooting for next week!

~~Rhonda

menu plan monday ~ january 25, 2010

Best food news this week? Fresh cherries are in! Yeah!

fresh cherries

DH requested tilapia for the menu, so that’s up first. I didn’t get to the Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad or the Sweet Mustard Roast last week, so am including them on this menu. Last week, we had Chinese take-out one evening instead of making supper and I changed the menu one evening to make chicken tortellini soup for DD who has had a cough and cold.

Monday
Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia
Cauliflower and Potato Gratin
asparagus
Butter Lettuce Sunshine Salad

Tuesday
Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad

Wednesday
Crunchy Baked Pork Chops
Creamy Mushroom Bake
baby bok choy with cashews
mashed potatoes [DD’s favorite]
peas

Thursday
Simply Great Chicken
rice
spinach salad
cornbread

Friday
sweet mustard roast
Oven Fried Potato Wedges
stir-fried sugar snap peas with cherry tomatoes
corn

Saturday
fridge food
Apple Cake in the crock pot

Sunday
Chicken Piccata
couscous
corn
peas
green salad

You can find more menu ideas and recipes at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

chicken tortellini soup

Our daughter has been home from school for two days with a cold, coughing, fever, etc. I had planned to make Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad for supper tonight, but thought a chicken soup would be better for a sick girl. After looking at a few chicken and tortellini recipes, I came up with my own version.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

Chicken Tortellini Soup

2 large chicken breasts, thawed if previously frozen (or 2 c. cooked diced chicken)
stock pot with enough water to cover the chicken breasts
1 c. celery, diced
1 c. carrots, diced
1 onion diced [I used 1 T. dry onion flakes.]
1 T. celery seed
1 tsp. dry basil
1 tsp. freshly minced thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dry thyme)
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 c. chicken broth
12 oz. cheese tortellini pasta [I used dry pasta.]
1/2 c. fresh parsley, chopped
3 c. spinach leaves, chopped
1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes (do not drain)
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
freshly grated Parmesan for garnish, optional

Put the chicken, celery, carrots, onion, celery seed, basil, thyme and garlic in the stock pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a bare simmer, cover, and cook the chicken for 15 minutes. Check internal temperature. Chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 165*. If you don’t have an instant read thermometer, the chicken is done when the juices run clear. Cutting into the thickest part of the chicken should show white meat, with no pink.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

Chicken Tortellini Soup

Remove chicken and let it rest for ten minutes before dicing it. If using chicken that has already been cooked, simmer the veggies and spices in the stockpot with 2 or 3 inches of water until tender, then proceed from here:

Add the chicken stock to the water and veggies. Bring to rolling boil and add the pasta. Cook for about half the time recommended. Remove from heat. The pasta will continue to cook in the hot liquid.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

Dice the chicken and return it to the pot.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

Add the parsley, spinach and crushed tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir well.

Serve hot with crusty bread. Sprinkle a little grated Parmesan on top each bowl, if desired. A crisp Romaine salad would be good with it.

After the soup sits, the pasta will soak up a lot of the moisture. If you want your soup with more liquid, add more. Water, broth, or tomato juice/sauce would work fine.

Enjoy! ~~Rhonda

stuffed shells florentine

Dinner tonight was Stuffed Shells Florentine. We’ve had this before and it’s really good.

Stuffed Shells Florentine [Click the link for the original recipe.]

1 12-oz box jumbo shells for stuffing
3 c. spaghetti sauce
3 c. fresh spinach, chopped
24 oz. Ricotta or cottage cheese
2 eggs
1 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. chopped parsley
salt to taste
2 c. shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided

[If you don’t have spaghetti sauce, you can use crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce. Sprinkle some dried oregano and basil over it for a some Italian flavor.]

While the water heats for the pasta, prepare your ingredients.

Stuffed Shells Florentine

Preheat the oven to 375*. Grease a 9×13 baking dish. Spread a bit of sauce in the bottom of the pan.

Stuffed Shells Florentine

Cook the pasta until al dente. It will continue to cook in the oven, so don’t cook it too soft at this stage. Drain.

While the pasta cooks, give the spinach a rough chop, toss it into a skillet and heat it for a few minutes, stirring a few times. No need to add oil. The water in the spinach will steam it. Don’t take it down to a total wilt. A few minutes of tossing in the skillet will do it. Remove from heat.

Stuffed Shells Florentine

Stuffed Shells Florentine Stuffed Shells Florentine

Mix the ricotta and the eggs until smooth.

Add the Parmesan, spinach, parsley, salt, and 1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese. Stir till well mixed.

Stuffed Shells Florentine Stuffed Shells Florentine

Stuff the shells. I use a small scoop and overfill it slightly. Perfect size.

Stuffed Shells Florentine

Stuffed Shells Florentine

Put the shells in the 9×13 pan. My pan was a touch smaller, so I layered the extra shells on top. Worked just fine. If making two layers, spread a bit of sauce between the layers. When all the shells are stuffed and in the pan, pour the rest of the sauce on top.

Stuffed Shells Florentine

Top the sauce with the remaining mozzarella cheese.

Stuffed Shells Florentine

Cover loosely with foil, and bake at 375* for 30 minutes.

Stuffed Shells Florentine

I served it with steamed sugar snap peas and toasted homemade bread, topped with a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkled with mozzarella cheese and broiled until the cheese melted.

Stuffed Shells Florentine

~~Rhonda