Monday: Chicken Enchiladas with refried beans
I made these tonight and the sauce was really yummy! I simplified the instructions a bit because I have a two year old and an almost five month old who both long for my attention around dinner prep time. The recipe instructs you to separate the onions and tomatoes out from the sauce by straining it and I wasn't about to make things so complicated. I simmered the sauce a little longer which brought the tomatoes down more and then simply used the sauce just as so, no straining, and they turned out most perfectly.
Tuesday: Frito Pie
Wednesday: Hearty and Healthy Bean and Cheese Nachos (and by healthy, I mean that they will have two wholesome dairy products on them, an abundance of cheese and all natural sour cream)
Thursday: Glazed Pork Chops with baked potatoes and veggies
Friday: Homemade Cheese Pizza and below I've included the recipe that I've adapted. I included it in another post but I thought I'd break it down more for you since I tend to ramble on about what I've changed and haven't changed in a recipe.
Saturday: Chicken nuggets, fresh fruit, and carrot sticks
Sunday: Chicken Vegetable Soup
Here is the pizza crust recipe I've adapted from the brown eyed baker
Pittman Perfect Pizza Dough:
Ingredients
½ cup warm water
1 envelope (2¼ teaspoons) of Fleischmann's Pizza Crust Yeast
1¼ cups water, at room temperature
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
4 cups bread flour (or I used 4 overflowing cups of All Purpose Flour and it worked!)
1½ teaspoons Kosher salt
Directions:
1. Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the room temperature water and oil and stir to combine. 2. Combine the flour and salt in a mixer using the paddle attachment (at a speed level of 2) and then pour in the liquid ingredients. If the dough does not readily form a ball , you may need to add a tiny bit of water. It should do this after approximately three to five minutes. If the dough looks too sticky then a bit of flour will help it to ball up. The dough's consistency should end up being smooth and elastic.
3. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead by hand for a few strokes to form a smooth, round ball. Put the dough into a deep oiled (again I used EVOO) bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours. Press the dough to deflate it.
4.Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball and cover it with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes. If you are only wanting to make one pizza you can store the other ball of dough in the freezer for another day. Wrap it up in some seran wrap and then throw it in a freezer bag. The day you want to use it, throw it in the fridge to thaw it out.
5. Preheat your oven to 500 and start assembling your pizza. Place the pizza crust on a lightly oiled (EVOO) baking sheet and stretch out to resemble a circle. Then slop some tomato sauce on it, then some mozzarella cheese or any other cheese your heart desires, and lastly, any other toppings you crave.
6. Bake it for 8-12 minutes or if you like it a bit crispier like myself, I venture closer to the 15 minute range.
7.Now go and enjoy your masterpiece pizza pie!
Dinner Line Up 2/13
Monday: pulled pork tacos (which I use a pork picnic roast, a 15oz can of undrained black beans and a 15oz can of green enchilada sauce, and throw all of these in a crock pot on low for 8 hours and here you have an easy peasy delicious meal!)
Tuesday: whole chicken cooked in crockpot
Wednesday: pork chops using this chilli spice rub
Thursday: Chicken Enchiladas
Friday: Homemade Pizza
Saturday:Tyson Chicken nuggets
Sunday: Chicken soup
Dinner Line Up 1/6
As we all know, when it comes to planning and cooking dinner, we must be flexible. With that said, I will admit that last week's menu did not go as planned. Tuesday was supposed to be my night to go grocery shopping. However, since we went out to dinner with the family that night, shopping didn't occur. Wednesday night approached and I didn't have the ingredients for the tacos I had planned. Therefore, I had to quickly improvise. I went to the fridge and went with my typical back up plan. I cooked and shredded the chicken breasts I had defrosted, grabbed the mole, and fried up some good 'ol tortillas. If you've never had mole before, let me introduce to you something that's quick, easy, and fabulous. My father in law introduced this to me some years ago.
The can gives directions but I've never followed them too much, or at all for that matter. I simply scoop some of this sweet goodness into a skillet (around two to three tablespoons), use some of the broth from the chicken I boiled, and stir it on low heat. I continue to add broth in order to get the constancy I like. I also add about a teaspoon of sugar (as my father in law has always done). Don't ask me what the sugar does but without it, it just doesn't taste quite the same!
Penelope loves her mole and will grab the shredded chicken and just dip it in the mole. I always have this in the fridge and it is my go to meal when I've forgotten to purchase something at the store for one my meals, or if I haven't gone grocery shopping. On Wednesday night, I used it to make glorified nachos, cutting up my tortillas in fourths and frying them up.
Then, we piled on the chicken, slopped some mole on them and of course, Penelope being the superb, well rounded eater that she is, added corn and black beans just like Mommy.
I will tell you that last week's zesty barbeque chicken was out of this world! I also did attempt the hamburger buns and was quite surprised to hear from my husband that he liked them. He is a Mrs. Baird's man only, and so when I placed his plate in front of him, I was certain he'd be eating a barbeque chicken sandwich, minus the bun. Instead, he took a bite and said, "It's good babe." Next time I make the buns, I will try to make them not spread out as far, if that makes any sense. Essentially, I want a thicker top and bottom so when I cut it into halves, it leaves me with a fluffy pillow of carbohydrate to bite into. I hope the second time I make these I get a little closer to what I'm looking for.
Here is this week's lineup:
Monday: spaghetti with ground turkey meat sauce
Tuesday: Chicken and Cheese Flautas with refried beans
Wednesday: Ranch Chicken with baked potatoes
Thursday: Cracker Bread Pork Chops with rice
Friday: Homemade Pizza
Saturday:Chicken nuggets (between nuggets and pizza, these are weekly staples in our diets!)
Sunday: Chicken soup
Dinner Line Up 1/30
Last week all the new recipes were delicious! I will admit though that the new pizza recipe I tried did give me some problems. The recipes calls for the pizza to cook on parchment paper. When I pulled it out, and cut it, I found that the crust stuck to the paper. I had to peel off quite a bit of the paper from the crust. Perhaps if I spray some cooking spray on the paper prior to rolling the dough out then that might prevent any sticking. Or perhaps some olive oil? I'll try these out the next time I make the St. Louis Style Pizza.
Monday: Today I made these taquitos using ground turkey. I revised the recipe by using cooking spray instead of the oil (you brush on the oil prior to throwing them in the oven) and then sprinkled kosher salt on them. These were really good and Penelope loved dipping them in sour cream!
Tuesday: Out to dinner with the family!
Wednesday: Crisp Black Bean Tacos with Feta Cheese and Slaw and I'll be adding chicken to these since my husband won't touch feta nor slaw with a ten foot pole.
Thursday: Slow Cooker Zesty BBQ Chicken I'm going to attempt to make my own Hamburger Buns which I'm totally excited about! I've been using yeast a lot lately and feel confident enough to try them out. I'll let ya know how it goes!
Friday: Homemade Pizza
Saturday: Ground turkey hamburgers with Heavenly Fries
Sunday: Kicking Garlic Buffalo Wings
Dinner Line Up 1/23
Monday: taco roll ups I modified this recipe by adding one taco seasoning packet instead of the various spices she recommends. They were delicious! I served them up with a can of black beans, yummy yummy!
Tuesday: brown sugar balsamic pork loin This was a crock pot dish so OF COURSE you can't go wrong!
Wednesday:cocoa and chilli pork chops The recommended time to leave the rub on the pork chops was ten minutes but I did 45 minutes. I don't know if it made a difference but Penelope ate these RIGHT UP!
Thursday: King Ranch- I do this southern dish a little different because my husband hates cream of mushroom soup and the mere thought of it repulses him. I simplify the recipe by mixing two cans of cream of chicken with two cans of lime and cilantro rotel tomatoes, add a package of taco seasoning, and heat this up. I use three chicken breasts,cooked and shredded, and layer in a large rectangular dish with all my other ingredients (the others ingredients include 2 cups of grated cheddar cheese and 14 corn tortillas shredded). I start with the sauce, then the chicken, followed by the shredded tortillas and last the cheese (if you need more than two cups of cheese just go for it!). I do a few layers always ending with tortillas and cheese and cook on 425 for 20 minutes.
Friday: St. Louis Style Pizza
Saturday: Good 'ol Tyson Chicken nuggets
Sunday: Paula Deans Chicken Noodle Soup
