Friday, March 12, 2010

March Meals

Chicken Noodle Soup - Britta

Hearty Lentil Soup and Mint Chocolate Brownies - Cheryl

Creamy Pesto Gnocchi with Chicken
- Julianne

Pork Carnitas and Black Bean Burritos - Julie

Chicken Lulu - Kimberly

Teriyaki Chicken - Lindsay

Johnsonville Brats - Margaret

Tilapia and Couscous - Melanie

White Chili - Tawnee

Chicken Enchiladas and Spanish Rice - Veronica

Chicken Lulu

1 green pepper, cut in strips
1 small onion
1 tsp curry powder
2 TBS butter
1 can cream of chicken
1 cup thickened broth (1/4 cup flour)
2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
1 cup pineapple chunks with juice
3 cups cooked rice

Saute green pepper, onion with curry powder and butter. Stir in soup, thickened chicken broth, chicken and pineapple. Place cooked rice in a casserole dish and pour mixture over rice. *optional: sprinkle with toasted almonds and paprika. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Spanish Rice

2 c. rice
chopped tomatoes
chopped green pepper
chopped onions
4 1/2 c. chicken broth
3 tsp. cumin powder
dash of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Fry rice until slightly brown. Add veggies and cook until onion is clear. Add chicken broth, cumin powder, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Let cook 20-30 min. or until liquid is gone.

Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken
12 oz. sour cream
Shredded cheese
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can milk
1 small can green chilis
10-12 corn tortillas

Boil chicken for about 30 minutes. Mix chicken with sour cream and shredded cheese. Mix cream of chicken, milk, and green chilis with mixer. Soften the tortillas with a little oil. Fill tortillas with chicken mixture. Pour sauce over, top with shredded cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 min.

Mint Chocolate Brownies

Brownie:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup oil
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Mix butter, cocoa and sugar; beat in eggs and vanilla. Sift flour with salt and stir in. Spread into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 for 20-50 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Mint Frosting:

6 Tbs butter, softened
1 lb. powdered sugar
1-3 Tbs milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp mint extract
Green food coloring

Beat butter and sugar. Add enough milk to make a smooth but thick frosting. Add extracts and food coloring to make light green. Spread over cooled brownies. Chill until firm.

Chocolate Topping:

Melt 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips with 4 Tbs butter. Spread over chilled frosting layer. Chill until set.

Hearty Lentil Soup

1/2 lb. ground Italian or sage sausage
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup grated carrots
1 garlic clove, minced
6 cups chicken broth
1 28-oz can crushed or diced tomatoes
3/4 cup dry lentils
3/4 cup pearl barley
1/2 tsp each dried thyme, oregano & rosemary
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup shredded Swiss or parmesan (opt.)
1/2 cup half & half (opt.)

In large pot, break up sausage and brown with the next 4 ingredients. Drain grease. Add next 6 ingredients and boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 45 minutes or until lentils and barley are tender.

Optional: Turn off heat and stir in half & half and salt to taste. Sprinkle with cheese.

Couscous

Box of Couscous
Broccoli
Tomato

Dice up the tomato and broccoli into small pieces. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes (long enough to lightly cook them). Prepare couscous as indicated on the box. When couscous is done cooking, add the broccoli and tomatoes. Mix together and let stand for 5 minutes then serve.

Tilapia

Tilapia
¼ cup butter, melted
Parmesan cheese, grated
Italian bread crumbs
lemon

Preheat oven to 400°. Remove loins from vacuum pack and place on a cooking pan or casserole dish.

Brush lightly with melted butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs, or your favorite seasoning, on each side. Then sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until done. Fully cooked fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork. Let stand for 2 minutes then serve.

After you remove the fish from the oven, squeeze fresh lemon over the fish.

Teriyaki Chicken

Chicken breasts
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
4-6 Tbsp honey
6-8 Tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp ginger powder

Marinate chicken 24 hours. Put chicken with sauce in baking dish and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Baste while baking. Serve over rice or noodles.