Master Meal Plan Week 1-2

Vegetable Beef Soup (FR)
I know there are a lot of versions of this recipe, this just happens to be mine, borrowed from a cookbook. This is so easy just to put on the stove, or a crock pot. And you can make a lot to share or a lot to freeze.

3-4 lb chuck roast cut into 1" pieces 1/2 tsp pepper
vegetable oil whatever vegetables you want to add
1- 1 1/2 gallons water 4 medium potatoes, diced
1 large onion quartered 3 - 29oz. cans whole tomatoes cut-up 2 tbs salt (with fresh tomatoes, retain all juices)
Brown chuck roast in small amount of vegetable oil until juices are formed. Do not drain. Add water, onion, salt, and pepper. Bring to boil, then simmer for 2 hours with lid on. Add vegetables, potatoes, and tomatoes. Bring to boil, then gently simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Salt to taste.

Lime and Honey Glazed Salmon (H, F, *)
This one is a great flavor. Even the spinach/vegetable mixture on the side is good by itself. It does contains a lot of ingredients and takes me longer than the 30 minutes it does Rachel Ray, but it's definitely a favorite.

Chicken and Spinach Linguine
I really enjoy this meal and love the pine nuts. I usually add more pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes than called for. Careful when you saute the pine nuts they can go from perfect to burnt very quickly. I've always thought it would be good to grill the chicken instead of saute it, but I've never tried it. Add a salad and some bread to this and you have a great company meal.

1/3 C pine nuts 1 1/2 C minced spinach (or rapini
1/2 C olive oil or Swiss chard)
1 lb chicken breast sliced 4 dried tomatoes in oil
375 gm linguine 1/2 C grated Romano cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced salt, pepper

Cook pine nuts until golden. Remove from heat, set aside. Heat 2 T olive oil; saute chicken, turning often for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Cook pasta as per package. Meanwhile, heat remaining oil. Saute garlic, pine nuts (setting a few aside for decoration) and spinach. Lower heat, add sliced dried tomatoes, cheese and chicken, then add pasta. Add salt and pepper. Decorate with remaining pine nuts.

Turkey Cutlets w/Rosemary Tomato Sauce (H)
Honestly I can't remember if I made this one or not. If I did it must not have made much of an impression.

Summer Corn and Squash Saute

If you like corn and squash, this is a great summer recipe while all the ingredients are fresh. I'll sometimes substitute frozen corn if I don't feel like all the work associated with scraping the fresh corn off the cob. And I can't ever find Monterey Jack cheese, so I use Mozzarella. But we love this one!

Summer Corn and Squash Saute

A Great Peach Cobbler

I just heard the other day that this is the "height" of peach season, so what a great time for a great peach cobbler. I got this recipe from a friend's mom while living in the Middle East. Since our fruit there was so fresh this cobbler never failed. And it's really easy. I made it with raspberries and blueberries for the 4th of July. And of course, you have to serve it with vanilla ice cream.

Hill Country Peach Cobbler
Serves 6-8

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 cup milk (low-fat works) 3 cups sliced fresh peaches, peels left on
1/2 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a medium saute pan set over medium-high heat until it bubbles and turns a nut brown color. Watch the butter closely, as it can go from browned to burned in a few seconds. Pour the butter into an 8 inch square baking dish.

In a medium bowl, stir the sugar, flour, baking powder and milk together. Pour the milk mixture on top of the melted butter. Do not stir. Without mixing, arrange the peaches evenly on top of the batter. Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar over the cobbler.

Bake the cobbler for 40-45 minutes, until the top turns golden brown. The batter will migrate form the bottom of the pan to over the peach slices partially. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tip: Fresh raspberries, blueberries, boysenberries, nectarines, and blackberries - either alone or in combination are equally good in the recipe. Frozen fruit works fine as along as it is defrosted and drained before using.

OCD Grocery Shopping Continued - Week 1-1

If you read my other blog you probably read my post about OCD Grocery Shopping. Since this is my cooking blog, I've decided that I will expand on that post here. I'll start with my first week of meals from my first 5 week menu with links to recipes, suggestions, and my thoughts on the meals. I only have 4 meals per week because of our eating habits at the time this was created. My second menu collection has 5, but it will be awhile before I post that one. These are my goals for each menu plan:

1. Include 1 poultry, 1 seafood, 1 beef/pork, and 1 soup, salad, or vegetarian meal each week. The vegetarian (I simply mean meatless, I don't stick to any vegetarian standards) and salad thing didn't work so well, because we like our meat. But the thought is that one vegetarian or salad meal would reduce the cost of the weeks groceries.
2. Include at least one "quick" meal per week and schedule it for a hectic evening.
   
3. I group meals together that have the same ingredients so that you can use all the items you buy and they don't go to waste. When I make my grocery lists I have three categories: staples (bread, yogurt, milk, etc.) weekly staples (things I need to make the meals but probably already have, like olive oil, spices, etc.) and necessary ingredients (things specific to the meal that I don't keep on hand). Before I go to the store, I check each category and mark off what I don't need. Each category is listed in the order I walk through the store.

This whole concept really works for me when I am using it effectively. I could be in and out of the store in less than 45 minutes (and I'm talking Super WalMart on a Saturday morning) and was spending less. My total bill each week was $70-75 and that included other things I bought like toilet paper, paper towels, etc. Of course that was before all the prices started going up like crazy. If you would like a copy of my grocery list for this week let me know.

Week 1-1

• Quick Chicken and Corn Chowder (H,F)
  This one is great we love it. It has a nice little kick to it, and I do mean little.
• Easy Pesto Salmon (H,F)
  
• Spicy Mexican Skillet Chicken (H,F), with Cornbread or Chips and Salsa and Guacamole
  This is one of my "go-to" recipes when I need something quick, easy, healthy, and good.
• Flank Steak with Cilantro Almond Pesto (H)
  CDK made this one once, and we weren't real impressed. Plus I don't think I bought the right steak. So, we didn't try it again.

Tell me if you try any of these, what you think, and if you have suggestions for sides. Sides are my weakness.

Welcome

I enjoy cooking and I know others do and others don't. Since it's something I enjoy, I thought I would blog about it. Mostly I hope to post recipes I've tried, what I thought about them, and suggestions for preparing them. It will just be the ramblings of a average cook learning more about cooking and how to make it more fun, interesting, healthy (but not always) and enjoyable.
So, Sahatayn (Arabic for Bon Apetite)!