Menu #5 of 2013

Well it's easier to make a menu when you get to carry over a bunch from the previous! I'm kind of excited about this menu because there are many times that we get to the end of the menu and I've either put off all the things that take a little longer or I just don't feel like cooking the couple of things that are left. That's the dilemma right? Trying to make sure you have 2 weeks of stuff you actually want to eat. It's just so fun in the beginning of the menu period when you have 14 delicious meals to choose from. When you are down to two time-intensive meals, both of which are not what "you feel like tonight," it's much harder to resist running to a restaurant.

So here's Menu #5:

• Thai Peanut Wraps
• Chiken Broccoli Packets
• Flank Steak with Chimichurri & Homemade Sweet Potato Fries
• Crockpot Zuppa Toscana
• Tortellini Soup
• Steak w/Chicago Marinade & Baked Potatoes
• Italian Chicken & Noodles
• Shrimp Scampi
• Salmon (AGAIN, I actually made this last week) with Roasted Vegetables
• Baked Eggs & Hashbrowns
• Hamburgers & Buffalo Cauliflower
• Pesto Pasta with Chicken Sausage
• BBQ Pork Fried Rice
• Chicken Fajitas & Mexican Rice

Tonight we had the Pesto Pasta and it was delicious! And fast! I really recommend this one. The kids were immediately saying this one was a keeper and Logan doesn't even like pesto. We didn't hardly modify the recipe so here it is, copy and pasted from Gimme Some Oven: (my notes are in purple)

Pesto Pasta with Chicken Sausage & Roasted Brussels Sprouts  

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and any yellowed/browned outer leaves removed, then sliced in half
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
• 1 lb (16 oz.) orecchiette (or any pasta) [I used whole grain medium shells]
• 4 chicken sausage links (I used spicy Italian), sliced into 1/4" thick coins [I used 5 - Aidell's Apple Chicken Sausage from Costco]
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup pesto
• Parmesan cheese, for serving

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix together brussels sprouts, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, salt and pepper. Gently stir until well-combined.

 

Prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil, then spread the brussels sprouts on it evenly. Roast for about 20-30 minutes, stirring once partway through, or until they are crispy on the outside and cooked on the inside. (My batch of tiny sprouts only took about 12 minutes to cook.) [We cooked ours for 15] Remove from oven and set aside.

 

Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, turning occasionally, until nearly-browned, about 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic, and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant and the sausage is browned.

 

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. (I begin heating my water while preparing the brussel sprouts, and added the pasta to the boiling water just after beginning to cook the sausage.)

 

Once the pasta is cooked, drain the water (reserving 1/4 cup pasta water), and then toss together the pasta, pesto, cooked sausage and garlic, and brussels sprouts. Add in some of the reserved pasta water if needed for extra moisture.

 

Serve warm, and sprinkle with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.

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Menu #4 of 2013

Wow, I can’t believe I haven’t posted ANYTHING since February 5^th! February has been a busy month though. The hubs had to go to LA for work for a good chunk of February so I was single-mom-ing it for a while. My last menu was made before Bud went to LA and, while I was pretty good at still coming home and making dinner, we did fudge a few nights.

Here’s menu #4 of 2013:

·        Chicken Broccoli Packets

·        Enchilada Casserole

·        Hearty Chicken Stew

·        Cilantro Lime Jalapeno Chicken Salad

·        Thai Peanut Wraps

·        Flank Steak with Chimichurri & Homemade Sweet Potato Fries

·        Crockpot Zuppa Toscana

·        Brazilian Shrimp Soup & Pao de Queijo

·        Grilled Pork Chops, Grits and Brussels

·        Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

·        Tzatziki Pasta Salad

·        Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage

·        Salmon & Roasted Brussels

·        Hawaiian Grilled Chicken & Spinach

I wish I would've gotten this post up when I originally wrote the list but alas, life gets in the way. So there are some carryovers to next menu because of the following:

Lilly was having a VERY bad day one day and told me that she would feel better if she got to have Chinese food for dinner. So I stopped at Lucky Dragon on the way home. She was right, I saw her smile after that.

I hadn't been feeling great - and my back had been hurting - so one night I swung by Pizza Hut and let them make dinner for us.

Because we just weren't in the mood to make Enchilada Casserole, we decided to go to Playa Bonita instead. It was a Friday. I really needed a margarita. :)

Since Brandon was gone and I was still cooking we ended up having a good amount of leftovers so one night I took the easy way out and cleaned the fridge.

Another night I forgot to take anything out to thaw and the kids said they wanted hot dogs, so we had hot dogs...and a can of baked beans....and store bought potato salad. It was yummy but UGH the preservatives we ate that night!

Here and there I think I quickly made something that was easy to grab from the freezer too. I definitely can't say that this was the ultimate home cooking couple of weeks. However, I did manage to make a good amount of new dishes - even one from Brazil! - and mostly they were all delicious.

Since I'm so bad at posting recipes (or linking to them), if you find me on Pinterest you'll be able to find these recipes. If you want to know what I did differently just let me know!

Happy cooking....and better luck next menu :)