Menu Ideas

A friend of mine on Facebook requested I put up a sample menu for ideas. Instead I will list some of the things we eat most often.

• Spaghetti w/cheesy garlic bread -- I think Josh is getting tired of it finally, but its my favorite. I usually make this once a week, but I'm trying to cut down for his sake.
• Lasagna -- Fancy spaghetti. It use to take a couple hours to make this, but I've got it down to about 30 minutes pre-cooking/prep time and then 30 minutes in the oven so it's easy.
• Roast w/mashed potatoes -- I make this 2 to 3 times a month. I usually make it on Tuesdays because I teach evening classes so I get home late. I put it in the crock pot in the morning, and call Josh around 2pm to double check it.
• Crunchy onion chicken w/green beans, mashed potatoes and sometimes gravy -- This is so easy its pathetic. Take the French's dried onions, the big can, put it in a ziplock back and crunch it up. Then dip your chicken breast in egg, cover it with the onion crunchies, and then back in the oven at 350* about 25 minutes on each side. The great thing about this is that you can cut it open to double check that it is ready, and then shmush the chicken back together with the crunchies and no one will ever know! Also so you know, I hate canned green beans so I usually cook them in a skillet with butter and garlic powder. And gravy should never come out of a packet.
• Caramelized Salmon with red potato fries -- Dump some brown sugar in skillet with butter and let it start to melt. If your salmon has skin then put that side up so that the top cooks first. Then when you flip it be sure to keep putting the brown sugar over it as it cooks. (Salmon should be flaky, in my opinion. It should be a light pink, not white because that's over cooked, and not dark pink because that's undercooked. It doesn't take long so you have to watch it. For the red potatoes I cook them like Josh's mom. 10 minutes in the microwave, and then in the oven with spices until they are golden brown.
• BBQ Meatballs and Rice -- The recipe is in the Betty Crocker cookbook except I don't put onions or anything like that in ours, and instead of bread crumbs I like the consistency I get by putting the croutons in the food processor. Pour a little bit of bbq in with the mix, not in the recipe, and then after they are cooked you can put the meatballs close together, pour more bbq sauce all over, and let it cook for another 10-minutes.
• Thanksgiving -- I've only done this once since we moved. I get a bone-in turkey breast and cook it in the crock pot then make all sorts of Thanksgiving foods to go with.
• Pizza -- We like Hamburger pineapple and chicken pineapple. I get the pre-made crust and go from there.
• Tacos -- Super easy.
• Pineapple Chicken -- The recipe is on this blog already.
• Fried Chicken w/mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans -- We don't have this very often because I hate cleaning it up, and it isn't good for us.

I can't think of anything else right now. I know there has to be other stuff, but this is what I'm remember for now. Anything that calls for hamburger I usually use turkey burger, but do use beef occasionally. It is the same price, taste the same, and is healthier. (The only thing I've really noticed a difference with taste in is the lasagna and spaghetti, but its not bad, just different.) Also to save money I've bought vegetables the last few weeks at the farmer's market, and started putting it away in the freezer. They are cheaper than the grocery store, local, and they taste better! Visit Pick Your Own to find farms in your area.

*I'm not sure what is going on with the editing of this post. I'm sorry if the bullet points get hard to read, but it isn't letting me fix it. pooey!*

Pineapple Chicken

This is my first home developed recipe, and I love it. If you find any ways to improve please share!

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless chicken breasts
• 1 (8oz) can pineapple chunks in juice
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon seaseme seeds
• 2 packages of steamfresh rice (or about 3-4 cups cooked rice)
• 1 shot brandy (optional)

Directions:

1. (If you are cooking your own rice make sure to start it before you start cutting your chicken so it is done in time.) Use kitchen shears to cut the chicken breast into 1/2" pieces and cook chicken in a lightly greased skillet. (It is best to cook it in a deep skillet so everything fits.) Once the chicken is fully cooked you may have to drain the excess oil/juices, and you can brown it further if you wish, be sure not to long because you want it to stay nice and moist.
2. While your chicken is cooking make your sauce by mixing the honey, soy sauce, seseame seeds, juice from the pineapples, and the brandy. I usually mix it up in my measuring cup so that it is easier to pour around the chicken.
3. After the chicken is cooked pour the sauce in the chicken along with the pineapple chunks, stir, and let it simmer for 5-8 minutes. (It should sort of smell like it is on the verge of scorching. If that doesn't make sense then bring it to a full boil first then turn down to a low medium heat to simmer.) During this time cook the Steamfresh rice packs. I usually use one pack of plain rice and one package of the rice with vegetables.
4. Once everything is cooked mix it together in the skillet, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally and serve.  (The longer you let it simmer the more it will be like fried rice.  I usually cook for the full 15 minutes up to 20 minutes so that it is still moist without being runny, but this is a personal preference. Just watch it and decided for yourself when to serve because everything has already been safely cooked.)

Cooked for about 3 minutes after rice was added, so it is still runny.