Saturday, January 7, 2012

Jan 2nd Week Review and Menu Plan

It's the beginning of a new year and things are off to a dizzying pace. But we're used to that. AND we are all healthy, which is more than I can say for how we were at Christmas time! Again, can I just say a huge thank you to those who man hospitals and urgent cares and are on call during the holidays? Thank you!

Okay, so since I have much more time at the end of the week than at the beginning of the week I thought I'd maybe (read maybe) try to start reviewing our weeks meals and hopefully give a menu plan for the following week.

On Monday we had a new creation for us - Ham and Spinach Rolls. What I did was take some fresh onion, garlic, and spinach (about two cups, fresh, chopped). I sauted them together in olive oil with some red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Once they were soft, I added diced ham - about a cup and a half. Then I added about a cup of ricotta cheese and some shredded Parmesan cheese. This acted as our filling. Instead of using manicotti shells or those jumbo shells, I used Barilla's no-bake lasagna sheets, softened for a couple minutes after pouring boiling water over them. They roll up very nicely! For a sauce, I made a Bechamel sauce with melted provolone in it. Over all, they were pretty good! Served with a green salad on the side.

Tuesday brought the start of the work/school week for us. I made Chicken and Dumplings from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food January 2012 magazine. Of course, I made my stock in the pressure cooker - turned out great! The kids enjoyed this meal. Yea for that!

On Wednesday, I made broiled salmon (marinated with soy sauce, garlic, ginger and brown sugar) with brown rice (again in the pressure cooker). We had a side salad with this as well.

Thursday was one of my favorite meals with Chicken Fajitas with Black Beans (pressure cooker) and an Avocado Salsa on the side. Yum! I've given up finding the perfect fajita marinade. I usually wing it and it works out pretty well. This time I used lime juice, minced onion, minced garlic, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, some hot sauce, some cayenne pepper, black pepper, and canola oil. The fact that the peppers were from this summer's garden probably helped make the taste all that much better.

Friday was a great, comfort food night. We had mini-meatloaves, caramelized butternut squash (baked with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg), and Caesar salads with homemade croûtons (hey, I didn't have any on hand!). I did make a dessert too - magic cookie bars. Yum!

So this coming week, here's what I have planned:

Monday: Citrus Herb Pork Chops with Avocado and Grapefruit Salad
Tuesday: Blackbean Soup with Salad
Wednesday: Spaghetti and Meatballs with Salad
Thursday: Sautéd Chicken Breast with Lemon and Capers, Roasted Potatoes, Green Beans
Friday: Pizza

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