Thursday, May 7, 2009

May Meals

Dijon Pork Chops - Britta

Chili - Heidi

Salsa Bean Salad with Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken - Julianne

Teriyaki Chicken - Julie

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole - Kimberly

Chicken Tetrazzini - Kim

Cajun Jambalaya and Hushpuppies - Melanie

French Dip Sandwiches
- Naomi

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
- Rachel

Taco Salad - Tawnee

Chicken Tetrazzini

3 C. Chicken Pieces
8 oz Package of Spaghetti
1 C. Chopped Green Pepper
1 C Chopped Onion
3 C Monterey Jack Cheese (or Cheddar)
2 Cans Cream Chicken Soup
1 1/4 Cup Milk

Boil spaghetti until mostly done. In the meantime, saute green pepper and onion. Mix all ingredients, bag and freeze. When thawed, put into a casserole dish, cover and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Dijon Pork Chops

5 boneless pork chops
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs (can use plain bread or cracker crumbs if that's all you have but add a dash of Italian seasoning)

In a bowl, combine Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Lightly season the pork chops with salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Then use a pastry brush to brush each side of the pork chops with the Dijon mixture, or you can use a fork to dip each pork chop in the mixture. Next, coat each side with the Italian seasoned bread crumbs.

Thaw in refrigerator or cook directly from freezer. Set your oven to the broil setting and allow to preheat. Place pork chops on a broiler pan (or use a cookie sheet with a baking rack on top to allow the drippings to fall) and broil each side for 10-12 minutes or until pork chops are thoroughly cooked inside. (Adjust time depending on whether you thawed first or took directly from freezer.)

Chili

1 lb. ground beef, browned with 1 C. chopped onion. Drain Fat.
2 14.5 oz. cans round peeled tomatoes with juice (I use a quart of home canned tomatoes pureed slightly)
1 15.5 oz. can kidney beans
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1-2 Tbs. chili powder (I use the maximum amount)
2 tsp. sugar (I use 1 tsp.)

Combine all ingredients and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

Salsa Bean Salad with Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken

Salsa Bean Salad

1 can yellow hominy
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 1/2 cup Red Onion
4 large tomatoes diced
1 1/2 t cumin
1 1/2 red chili powder
3T lime juice
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1T olive oil

Serve on tortillas with grilled chicken or steak.

Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken. (I won't actually marinade the chicken for meal group because it would require that you make it within hours--otherwise the lime juice can really over power the chicken).

For the marinade

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon finely chopped lime zest
salt & freshly ground black pepper
3 large whole boneless chicken breasts (6 breast halves)

Directions

1. Prepare the marinade: In a small bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients and whisk to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

2. Place the chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to flatten slightly with a rolling pin. Arrange the chicken breasts in a large shallow glass dish and pour the marinade over, Turning to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours, turning several times to make sure the marinade covers all the chicken.

3. Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for medium high heat grilling. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on grill rack. Grill, turning once for 7 to 10 minutes on each side, or until juices run clear. Alternatively, you may broil the breasts for 7 to 10 minutes on each side, once again, until the juices run clear.

4. To serve, place the chicken on individual plates (or tortillas) and spoon the bean salsa on top. (Mango Salsa is also a good substitute)

Chicken Teriyaki

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 cup Sprite (or any lemon lime soda)
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic
pepper to taste

Put all marinade ingredients in ziploc bag and shake around, then add chicken and let sit for an hour or freeze.

From frozen: Defrost and throw on the grill.


Garlic Rosemary Mashed Potatoes

8 cups peeled, chopped, boiled potatoes
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp. garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary (crushed)

Mix all ingredients with mixer, adding more or less milk to the consistency you prefer.

From frozen: Defrost and place in pan on stovetop until heated through. Be careful not to cook too hot, it will burn easily. Also, if the consistency is too thin, just cook a little longer. Sometimes the liquids separate from the potatoes.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

12 corn tortillas
8 oz sour cream
can of cooked chicken, drained
can cream of chicken soup
green chilies
cheddar cheese

Tear tortillas into about 2'' in pieces and put in mixing bowl.
Add all the other ingredients except cheese.
Put mixture in cooking dish and sprinkle cheese over the top.
Cook at 350 degrees for 30 min.

Cajun Jambalaya and Hushpuppies

Ingredients:

½ cup chopped onion, sautéed well (can add more, if you like onion)
½ cup coarsely chopped green pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T butter or margarine
2 T flour
2½ cups water
½ cup dry white wine (or you can use ¼ cup cider vinegar and ¼ cup of water)
2 T parsley, chopped
1 bay leaf, crushed
½ t dried whole thyme
½ t red pepper (cayenne pepper)
1¼ t salt
Pepper to taste
5 cups peeled, diced tomatoes (or can use 5 cans stewed tomatoes with juice) You can also add 2
to 3 small cans of Snap-E-Tom tomato juice if you like it spicier.
2 cups uncooked, regular white rice
1 lb. polish sausage, cut into ¼-inch slices
4 whole chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, and cut into bite-size pieces
½ lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 can of chopped green chilies
Tabasco to taste (usually better to leave the Tabasco out and just serve it at the table)

In a large Dutch oven or pan, sauté the onion, green pepper, and garlic in butter until tender. Add flour, stirring until smooth. Gradually add water, and wine, stirring until blended. Add remaining ingredients except the shrimp. Bring it to a boil, stirring frequently so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of your pan. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring frequently. Add shrimp and simmer 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink.

Serves 10 to 15

FROM FROZEN: Thaw completely. Reconstitute with water. Can add additional cans of stewed tomatoes are Snap-E-Tom to loosen it up.



HUSHPUPPIES

Ingredients:
¾ cup fine cornmeal 1 tsp Cajn spices
¼ cup flour 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 T sugar 2 T onion, grated
1 tsp baking powder 1 egg, lightly beaten
½ tsp baking soda ½ cup buttermilk
¼ tsp onion salt 1 T water
¼ tsp chili powder Oil, for deep frying

1. In a mixing bowl combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, b.powder, b.soda, onion salt, chili powder and Cajun spices. Add garlic and grated onion.
2. Stir together egg, buttermilk and water and pour over dry mixture; stir until dry ingredients are just moistened.
3. Heat oil in a deep, heavy pan until moderately hot (375°F) . Carefully spoon tablespoonfuls of batter into hot oil. Cook until puffy and lightly golden, turning each once or twice to cook evenly.
4. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon or strainer. Drain on paper towels. Keep warm in a 325°F oven while frying the rest. Serve warm.

NOTE: Cook only 4-5 Hushpuppies at a time as overcrowding the pan will reduce the oil temperature and cause Hushpuppies to absorb excess oil. The depth of oil in the pan is important. There should be enough oil to cover the food completely by about 1 inch while it is cooking.

Cajun Spices: mix the spices together and store ina spice jar.

1 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder
2 tsp white pepper
2 tsp cracked black pepper
1 ½ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp dried thyme
½ tsp dried oregano

FROM FROZEN: thaw and warm up in a 325°F oven

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

2 full chicken breasts (boiled, lightly seasoned, chopped)
1 cup finely chopped cooked broccoli
2 cans cream of _____ soup (I use cream of chicken or broccoli)
11/2 cups cheese shredded
10 corn tortillas

Mix together chicken, broccoli, 1 can of soup and 3/4 cup cheese. Place 2-3 TBS of mixture in each corn tortilla (wrap 10 corn tortillas in a moist paper towel and heat for one minute to prevent breaking). Line tortillas up in a casserole dish and cover all with remaining can of cream of chicken soup and 3/4 cup cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 min.

10 tortilla rolls make 6-8 servings.