Showing posts with label salad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salad. Show all posts

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Ham and Cheese Paninis

There is something about Sunday nights- I just don't want to cook. I'm not sure why, but I never have any inspiration or desire on Sunday nights. Enter panini press. Now, I can make a decent dinner, without a lot of exertion. It's not just a sandwich, it's a panini. I don't feel like I am selling my family short, but I also don't have to put a whole lot of work in. :) I am looking forward to playing around with panini ideas this year.
We had ham and cheese paninis and salad with homemade Thousand Island dressing.

I spread Dijon mustard on both sides of the panini bread

I used Provolone cheese. My mom made these for me a while back and used fontina. They were way better with fontina. I'm saving my fontina cheese for another recipe this month.
Ham
I butter the bread on both sides. You can do olive oil, too. Cook for a few minutes.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Weekly Menu

Monday:
my son got sick- no cooking this night

Tuesday:
I can't remember!!
Isn't that awful?? I didn't take any pictures of whatever it was anyway...

Wednesday:
broiled salmon with Teriyaki glaze
roasted carrots
new potatoes*Even if you are not a huge carrots fan, give these a try. Slice carrots, season with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and roast in a 400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. They get sweet and yummy.

Thursday:
Game Night Food
(posted about it here)

Friday:
taco salad
This is a new favorite. I have always seen those taco salad shells at the grocery store, but never tried them until recently. YUM! This is easy and fun, something different for us, which is always good.
Follow the directions on the taco salad shell box. (No, it's not just a regular four tortilla. It feels different.) They give you little paper shells to cover the tortilla with to give it its shape.
Brown taco meat. I sauteed onions for a few minutes first and then added taco meat to it. I also added a can of kidney beans (drained and rinsed). I usually use pinto beans, but I had kidney beans already in my pantry, so I used those. I will be back to using pinto beans next time. Drain meat and beans. This time, I added a can of tomato sauce and a little chicken broth. I read this would get thick and be like a sauce for the meat. I did not care for the flavor of this- I will go back to what I did the last time- add a can of chili. When taco shells are done, I layer lettuce, meat and beans, cheese and top with sour cream.

Saturday:
chicken cordon bleu pasta
*From the Cooking with Paula Deen magazine- November/December issue

Chicken:
I used chicken tenders, but you can use breasts- just pound them down to make them thinner. Brush both sides of chicken with Dijon mustard and dredge in a mixture of breadcrumbs (1 cup), fresh thyme (1/4 tsp.), salt and pepper. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet and cook chicken. Brown both sides, then place chicken on a plate.
For creamy cheesy pasta (to go with chicken):
Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 cloves of garlic (minced) and 3/4 cup ham, chopped. Cook for 2 minutes. Add 2 Tbsp. flour, season with salt and pepper, stir constantly for 2 minutes.
Gradually stir in 1 cup half and half. Cook, stirring frequently, for 4-5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Add 1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese, stirring until melted. Add cooked pasta to pan, toss gently to coat with sauce.

Sunday:
Stuffed pork tenderloin
roasted acorn squash
new potatoes with roasted garlic

Acorn Squash:
Microwave squash one at a time to soften. Cut in half. Spoon out seeds and pulp in the middle. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil. Cream one stick of butter and 3/4 cup brown sugar- spread on squash. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, basting with extra butter mixture every 15 minutes. (Mine needed to cooked for 10 minutes longer)
Stuffed Pork Tenderloin:
The great thing about this is, use what you've got. This is what I had, so this is what I stuffed the pork with. First, saute one small onion, 2 cloves garlic, 2 ribs celery, and 1/2 package of mushrooms in butter. Season with salt and pepper. Cut the pork down the middle, but not all the way through. Stuff with stuffing mixture. I added fontina cheese, bread crumbs and thyme (again, just what I happened to have on hand) to the onion and mushroom mixture. I used toothpicks to hold the tenderloins together.Heat your pan on medium heat and brown the tenderloins on all sides, for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a baking dish, and cook at 450 for 10-15 minutes, until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 135. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Weekly Menu

I'll be sharing my menu from the past week. This way, I can share photos and reviews.
Our weekly menu:

Monday:
Spaghetti Pizza Pie (blogged about it here)
Caesar salad

Tuesday:
Chicken cordon bleu
mashed potatoes
steamed mixed veggies

Wednesday:
Sun dried tomato pesto with penne (thanks mom!)

Thursday:
brisket sandwiches
- I put a dry rub on the brisket, cooked it on low all day (from 8:30-3:00) in the crockpot. Then, I basted it with barbeque sauce and cooked it in the oven on 300 for 3 more hours. It was good!
mac n cheese

Friday:
cheeseburgers with hawaiian bread rolls and garlic mayo
french fries

Saturday:
chicken puffs
salad with homemade Thousand Island

Chicken Puffs (from Allrecipes)
2 chicken breasts- cubed
3 Tbsp. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
6 oz. cream cheese
6 Tbsp. butter
3 10-oz. cans refrigerated crescent roll dough (I didn't have crescent rolls, so I found a recipe and made my own. Recipe follows)
Preheat oven to 325.
In saucepan over medium heat, slowly cook and stir chicken, onion and garlic. Cook until onions are tender and chicken is lightly browned. In a bowl, blend chicken mixture, cream cheese, and butter.
If using crescent rolls, unroll and divide in half to make rectangles. Place a Tablespoon of chicken mixture on each rectangle, and fold up. Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

MY chicken puffs
I used 2 cans of chicken breast. Chicken is so expensive! I either buy canned chicken breast or frozen chicken in a bag. I usually only get the packaged chicken when it's buy one, get one free!
And, I didn't have crescent rolls, so I found a recipe and made my own dough. This dough is so good!! I can't wait to make it again and I'm already thinking of other yummy fillings to try.
Crescent Roll Dough
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
3/4 c. warm water
1/2 c. white sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 c. shortening
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 c. butter softened

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Once dissolved, add to a large bowl, and stir sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth, then mix in remaining flour until smooth. Knead dough, then cover it and let rise in a warm place (I put it in the laundry room) until double (about 1 1/2 hours).
Risen dough
Punch down dough and divide in half.
I cut it into rectangles and rolled thin. My helper and I added chicken mixture to the middle.
Then fold it up, and make sure no chicken is peeking out anywhere.
Let sit for another hour, to rise again. Brush with softened butter, and bake for 13-15 minutes. I also sprinkled with garlic powder.
All done!This dough really is amazing, it tasted awesome and was easy- you just need a few hours:)

Wow, this was a long post. Maybe next time, I will just do the menu as it's own post, and any recipes I share as their own post. Well, thanks for sticking with it- any suggestions are always welcome.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Tip for today

My kids love salad. My mom thinks it's weird (but great) that my 3 and 4-year old LOVE salad. Well, since we make salad pretty often, I was always running out of dressing. Not anymore! Instead of buying new bottles of dressing, I got good recipes for the kinds I make most often. The cool thing is the ingredients are some that I always have, so I never have to be out of dressing or spend money on it at the store.

Thousand Island
3/4 c. mayo
1/8 c. ketchup
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. worchestershire sauce
1/4 c. sweet pickle relish

Mix all ingredients. Taste. If it's too red, add more mayo. If it's to white, add more ketchup. I don't even look at the measurements anymore, I just squirt some ketchup and mayo in a bowl, then add a dash of lemon juice and worchestershire, and a good bit of relish. We like relish.

Easy Caesar Dressing
3/4 bottle of Italian dressing
1/3 c. mayo
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. mustard
1 t soy sauce

Again, mix all ingredients and taste. Alot of times I forget to add the soy sauce or mustard, and I probably add more parmesan than that. This is really good- I make this every time instead of buying the Cardini's that I used to buy.

I love having these easy options, and being able to throw a salad together whenever I want.