Weekly Meal Plan: Mon, Oct. 21 - Sun, Oct. 27

Mon, Oct. 21:
BBQ Chicken Pizza and Caesar Salad

Tues, Oct. 22:
Leftovers

Weds, Oct. 23:
Date Night!!

Thurs, Oct. 24:
Mexican Take Out

Fri, Oct. 25:
Rotisserie Chicken, Slow Cooker "Baked" Potatoes, and Steamed Green Beans

Sat, Oct. 26:
Southwestern Stuffed Bell Peppers

Sun, Oct. 27:
Chicken Eggplant Tiki Masala over Saffron Rice with Naan Bread

BBQ Chicken Pizza

This is a great recipe to use up leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken, which is transformed into a pulled-pork style bbq chicken for the pizza.

BBQ Chicken Pizza (Serves 2 - 4)

Ingredients:
Prepared Raw Pizza Dough (you can be awesome and make your own, or you can be lazy like me and buy it in the frozen section at the grocery store)
Olive Oil
Garlic Salt or Garlic Powder
1 - 2 tablespoons BBQ Sauce
1/4 - 1/2 Bell Pepper, sliced into 1/4" thick rings
3 - 4 Mushrooms, sliced 1/4" thick
1/4 - 1/2 Onion, thinly sliced (preferably red onion)
3/4 - 1 cup BBQ Chicken (my recipe)
Mozzarella to taste (approximately 2 cups of shredded mozzarella)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F.

Roll out your pizza dough and brush the top with olive oil. Sprinkle garlic powder or garlic salt over the pizza dough, especially on the crust. Spread a thin layer of BBQ sauce onto the pizza dough. Sprinkle with mozzarella, top with veggies and chicken, and sprinkle on a bit more mozzarella (and even add some parmesan if you'd like!).

Bake pizza until the crust is golden brown and cheese is gooey. Remove pizza from oven and let rest on the pizza stone for 10 minutes if you can stand to wait that long to eat it! Cut pizza into slices and enjoy!

Family Recipe Creamed Onions

Family Recipe for Creamed Onions

Ingredients:
1 bag pearl onions
1 can evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter
1 bay leaf
1 pinch clove
1 pinch cinnamon
sugar to taste
salt
pepper
2 t corn starch (optional)

Directions:
Fill a medium size pot with water, add some salt and sugar, and bring to a boil. Toss in onions (skins and all) and boil for 4 - 6 minutes. Drain onions, rinse with cool water, and peel them.

Melt butter in medium size pot over low heat. Add sugar, spices, and evaporated milk, reserving 1 Tablespoon. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved. Add onions, and continue to whisk frequently over low heat. Combine reserved evaporated milk and cornstarch, mix well, and add to onions. Continue whisking frequently over low heat until dish is warmed through.

Note: I feel this dish gets better the longer it sits (either in the fridge overnight or on the back burner over low heat being whisked frequently while other dishes are prepared).

Naan Flatbread 2 Ways

Yogurt Naan Flatbread

Ingredients:
2 cups plain yogurt
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons garlic powder, or 2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic (optional)
2+ tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:
Combine ingredients. Knead until smooth and elastic (5 minutes). Place dough in oiled bowl, cover, and let rise 1+ hour.

Turn your oven broiler on high and place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of your oven.

Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll out each piece to ~ 1/8" thin. Bake naan for 3 to 5 minutes per side one piece at a time on your pizza stone. The naan is done when it's still soft but has golden to dark brown spots on each side. Brush with melted butter and cover with towel until all pieces are done, or until you're ready to serve them.

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Naan Flatbread (Note: this recipe is directly from Chef in Training)

Ingredients:
3-4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon sugar
3-4 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions:
Pour the milk into a liquid measure and heat in the microwave until warm to the touch (about 110 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer)

Pour the warm milk into a large bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Add the sugar, instant yeast, salt and 2 1/2 cups of the flour. Mix well to combine. Continue adding flour gradually in small amounts, until a soft dough is formed that cleans the sides of the bowl.

Knead the dough by mixer or hand until it is smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes in the mixer or 10 minutes by hand.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let it rest at room temperature, covered lightly with greased plastic wrap, for about 2 hours.

After the dough has rested, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, rounding each into a ball shape. Cover the pieces with a towel and let them rest for 30 minutes.

While the dough rests, preheat your oven to 500 degrees F and place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven.

Once the dough has rested for 30 minutes, one by one, roll each piece into a circle about 8 inches wide, depending on how thin or thick you want your naan. Lay the circle of dough on the hot pizza stone and spritz lightly with water.

Bake the naan for 2-4 minutes until it is lightly puffed (some pieces will puff more than others) and brown spots begin to appear on the top. Remove the naan from the baking stone and place on a cooling rack. Brush lightly with melted butter. Stack the hot naan on top of each other as it comes out of the oven. Cover the finished naan with a towel while cooking the rest of the naan.

Baked Potato Soup Version 2.0

Baked Potato Soup Version 2.0

Ingredients:
6 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into large pieces
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped (or enough baby carrots to approximately equal the amount of chopped celery)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 pieces bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces...or don't and crumble it later (more bacon is always welcome!)
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
1/2 cup heavy cream or half n half
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (more cheese is also always welcome!)
season salt (I like Lawry's) and pepper to taste

Directions:
Fry bacon until crispy in your soup pot. Make sure you do this in batches so you don't overcrowd the bacon. Do NOT clean the pan. Pour off most of the bacon grease, but leave approximately 1 tablespoon in the pot. Add onion, carrots, celery, salt, and pepper to the pot and cook over medium high heat for a few minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir the vegetables to get as much of the bacon remnants into the soup. Add garlic and chili pepper in adobo sauce and cook an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add potatoes to the pot and cook another minute or two.

Add chicken stock and heat soup to a gentle boil to cook the potatoes until soft (I use a fork to pierce the potato and when the potato chunk falls apart from my fork, it's time to mash!). Using your fancy-schmancy immersion or regular blender, lightly puree the soup (feel free to leave it as chunky as you like). If you don't have a fancy blending device, whip out your potato masher and go to town! Again, chunky soup is more than fine! Once soup is the desired consistency add the cream and cheese and stir well.

Just prior to serving the soup top with a few pieces of bacon, and additional cheese if desired. Fresh parsley makes a nice bright green garnish and can be minced and added to the soup if desired.

Note: if you're making a large batch this soup keeps well in the refrigerator, just place the bacon pieces in a separate container from the soup and add to the soup during the last bit of reheating. I tend to put soup in single serving portions in mason jars, and then tape a baggie of bacon to the top of the jar.

Weekly Meal Plan: Mon, Oct. 14 - Sun, Oct. 20

Mon, Oct. 14:
Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup

Also make: Amish Friendship Apple Spice Muffins (doubled the apple sauce and used butter instead of oil), Amish Friendship Cheesy Dill Rolls (added extra dill, onion, and 1 cup shredded colby jack cheese), Amish Friendship Bread Waffle Batter (added 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon)

Tue, Oct. 15:
Rotisserie Chicken, Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes, and Salad

Weds, Oct. 16:
Chicken and Potato Bake (aka Crustless Chicken Pot Pie)

Thurs, Oct. 17:
BBQ Chicken Wraps with Texas Pete Sweet Potato Fries

Fri, Oct. 18:
Chicken Yellow Squash and Mushroom Jalfrezi over Jasmine Rice with Naan Bread

Also make: Crock Pot Stock and Chocolate Pudding Pie

Sat, Oct. 19:
Sticky Slow Cooker Drumsticks, Marion's Mac n Cheese and Steamed Farmer's Market Green Beans

Sun, Oct. 20:
Ham Melts with Texas Pete Sweet Potato Fries

Also make: Baked Potato Soup Version 2.0 (recipe link coming soon!)

Marion's Mac n Cheese

"Best Mac and Cheese Ever" was the title of this recipe when I saw it on facebook, and my friend Marion made it and said it was delicious! Marion also mentioned that this makes a TON of mac n cheese (enough to fill a 2.5qt dish), so I have listed a half recipe below as well. I wish I knew the author so I could give them credit! If you know please post a comment and I will update the post!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 lb elbows macaroni
8 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup muenster cheese, shredded
1 cup mild cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 and 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly butter a deep 2 1/2 quart baking dish. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a rapid boil. Add pasta and oil to water. Cook for 7 minutes, or until somewhat tender. Drain well.

Return the pot to the stove over low heat and melt 8 tablespoons of butter. Add the drained pasta, half n half, eggs, sour cream, salt, pepper, and half the cheese.

Transfer to the prepared casserole dish, and top with remaining shredded cheese. Dot with remaining
butter. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and bubbly. Serve hot.

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1/2 Recipe Ingredients:
1 1/2t vegetable oil
8oz pasta
4T butter
1/2T butter
1.5 cups cheese (cheddar, muenster, monterey jack)
3/4c half n half
1/4c sour cream
1 egg, lightly beaten
salt & pepper

Follow directions as detailed above with the following adjustments:
Use a 1qt instead of 2 1/2qt baking dish.
Melt 4 tablespoons of butter.
Add only 1 egg.
Adjust baking time dependent on your dish, watching for the mac n cheese to be bubbly and the edges to be golden brown. Mine baked for

Weekly Meal Plan: Mon, Oct. 7 - Sun, Oct. 13

This week I didn't cook very much due to scheduling and a long weekend vacation, but I made up for it with lots of cooking and food prep the following Monday!

Mon, Oct. 7:
Spicy Honey Glazed Chicken Thighs, Zucchini, and Texas Pete Sweet Potato Fries

Tues, Oct. 8:
Take-out from my husband

Weds, Oct. 9:
Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches and Freezer Fries

Thurs, Oct. 10:
Catered Event Dinner

Fri, Oct. 11 - Sun, Oct. 13:
We went on vacation and ate out while we were away

Weekly Meal Plan: Mon, Sept. 30 - Sun, Oct. 6

Mon, Sept. 30
Pork Patties, Baked Potatoes, and Salad

Tues, Oct. 1:
Chicken, Mushroom, and Eggplant Vindaloo over Saffron Rice with Naan Bread

Weds, Oct. 2:
Mexican Take-out

Thurs, Oct. 3:
Pizza, Garlic Cheese Sticks, and Salad

Fri, Oct. 4:
Ham Melts and Carrot and Celery Stick with Ranch Dip

Sat, Oct. 5:
Fajita Chicken Nachos

Sun, Oct. 6:
Naan Bread Pepperoni, Mushroom, and Onion Pizzas

Philly Cheese Steak

Philly Cheese Steak
 
Ingredients:
~1lb thin eye strip steak (or whatever steak you like, thinly sliced)
1/2 medium onion, sliced
1 small bell pepper, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
3 medium size mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup plus wine (I used merlot, white wine would work fine too)
~1 teaspoon hotsauce (I used texas pete)
~1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce
sandwich or sub buns
mayo
lettuce
tomato
sliced cheese
butter
salt (I used Lawry's Season Salt)
pepper

Directions:
Slice steak into strips, going against the grain. Salt and pepper meat. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in saute pan. Saute steak over medium high heat for about 3 minutes on each side. Remove to a place. Add onion and bell pepper to the pan, sprinkle with season salt, and saute until vegetables are al dente (just starting to get soft). Remove pepper and onion to plate with steak. Add garlic and mushrooms and stir to coat with butter. Add additional butter if needed. Once mushrooms are coated with butter add wine to saute pan, being careful to avoid the steam. Stir and scrape any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan into the sauce and saute until wine is reduced by one third. Add a few shakes of hot sauce and worchestershire to taste. Add steak, pepper, and onion to the pan and stir into the sauce. Add more wine if sauce is too thin.

Butter buns and place face down on a pan over medium high heat. Toast until buns are brown around the edges. Remove buns from the pan and top bottom of bun with meat and veggie mixture and cheese. Place bun under broiler until cheese is melted. On top of bun spread with mayo, and add lettuce, and tomato!

Lemon Blueberry Rice Pudding

Lemon Blueberry Rice Pudding

Ingredients:
1 cup arborio rice
5 cups milk
zest/peel of 1 large lemon
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Combine rice, milk, lemon peel, dried blueberries, and vanilla extract in a saucepan over low heat. Simmer for 10 minutes, add sugar, and simmer until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is soft.

Note: DO NOT increase heat above simmer or your milk will separate and appear curdled.

Weekly Meal Plan: Mon, Sept. 23 - Sun, Sept. 29

Mon, Sept. 23:
Garlic Lemon Roast Chicken, Steamed Green Beans, Freezer Fries, and Leftover Hush Puppies

Tues, Sept. 24:
Leftover Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup with Tortilla Chips, Grated Cheddar, Sour Cream, and Pickled Jalapeno Toppings

Weds, Sept. 25:
Slow Cooker Brats with Onions, [Non-Greek]Roast Potatoes, and Baked Zucchini

Thurs, Sept. 26:
Slow Cooker Indonesian Chicken in Peanut Sauce over Jasmine Rice

Fri, Sept. 27:
Spicy Pork Sausage and Breadcrumb Stuffed Acorn Squash and Toasted French Bread

Also make: Lemon Blueberry Rice Pudding, Cream of Potato Soup, and Amish Friendship Bread Waffle Batter

Sat, Sept. 28:
Chicken Nachos

Sun, Sept. 29:
Alton's Perfect Potstickers, Improvised Asian Pork Dumplings, and Improvised Asian Stir Fry over Jasmine Rice

Baked Potato Soup

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:
6 russet potatoes, chopped into large pieces
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 pieces bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 cups milk
bouillon
1/2 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt
pepper

Directions:
Place potatoes in large pot, cover with water, add a half teaspoon salt, and boil until soft. Drain and set aside.

Fry bacon until crispy in your soup pot. Make sure you do this in batches so you don't overcrowd the bacon. Do NOT clean the pan. Pour off most of the bacon grease, but leave approximately 1 tablespoon in the pot. Add onion, carrots, celery, salt, and pepper to the pot and cook over medium high heat for a few minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir the vegetables to get as much of the bacon remnants into the soup. Add garlic and chili pepper in adobo sauce and cook an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add potatoes to the pot and cook another minute or two.

Turn heat to medium-low and add milk and bouillon. Stir well to combine. Using a blender (immersion or regular - or if you don't have something for that use a potato masher) puree half to two thirds of the soup and return to the pot. Add cheddar cheese and stir until cheese is melted.

Just prior to serving the soup top with a few pieces of bacon, and additional cheese if desired. Fresh parsley makes a nice bright green garnish and can be minced and added to the soup if desired.

Note: if you're making a large batch this soup keeps well in the refrigerator, just place the bacon pieces in a separate container from the soup and add to the soup during the last bit of reheating. I tend to put soup in single serving portions in mason jars, and then tape a baggie of bacon to the top of the jar.